Thursday Briefing – The New York Times

On By Littum

The Trump administration yesterday threatened federal employees with “adverse consequences” if they fail to report colleagues who defy orders to purge diversity, equity and inclusion efforts from their agencies.

Tens of thousands of workers were warned that officials would not tolerate any efforts to “obfuscate these programs by using coded or imprecise language,” and were given 10 days to report their observations to a special email account without risking disciplinary actions. Follow our live coverage of the new Trump administration.

Trump also took steps to fulfill his campaign promise to enact mass deportations of undocumented immigrants. In a memo issued yesterday, the Justice Department asked U.S. attorneys to investigate and prosecute state and city officials if they refused to enforce the administration’s new immigration policies.

The move comes as the Homeland Security Department prepares to conduct raids in cities with high numbers of undocumented immigrants. The Trump team, concerned that career department employees will not carry out orders they deem immoral or illegal, has considered taking disciplinary action against prosecutors who refuse to comply.

Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers formally apologized to Prince Harry as part of a multimillion dollar settlement over a phone-hacking scandal. The 11th-hour deal avoided what would have been weeks of damaging testimony in a trial that was just about to begin.

Newsgroup Newspapers admitted that one of its tabloids, the now defunct News of the World, hacked Harry’s mobile phone. The News Group also offered a “full and unequivocal apology” on behalf of The Sun, another publication, for prying into the prince’s life. Although neither side disclosed the size of the settlement, it was worth at least 10 million pounds ($12.3 million), according to two people with knowledge of the negotiations.

Mark Landler, our London bureau chief, told us the deal was “unusual in that it recognizes the wrongdoing of Murdoch’s tabloid, The Sun, which the company had never done before.” He added that the settlement allowed the company to avoid a lawsuit, which could have led to a far “greater degree of accountability.”

As anti-migrant sentiment rises across Europe, citizens of sub-Saharan Africa trying to reach the continent are being pushed back by North African governments on a scale not seen for years. Last month, for example, Libya deported more than 600 men from Niger.

The EU has signed bilateral agreements with Tunisia, Morocco, Libya and Mauritania, which include financial support to curb migrant flows. The strategy appears to be working: Illegal border crossings fell sharply in 2024, according to recent data.

But rights groups say the methods used to prevent sub-Saharan migrants from traveling to Europe include well-documented human rights abuses, such as leaving migrants in the Sahara without food or water or holding them in North African prisons.

The year promises to be a record for travelers. Our travel team explored the latest trends, including alpine stays in New Zealand, the allure of the “digital detox” and solo travel as a group activity.

Lived Life: José Jiménez, a Puerto Rican who in the late 1960s turned a Chicago gang called the Young Lords into a militant voice for expanded social services, fair housing and education, has died at age 76.

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The Oscar nominations will be announced today, and unlike years past when the winners’ names seemed already engraved on statuettes, this season remains fluid.

Kyle Buchanan, The Times’ awards season columnist, wants to be surprised. But he also has a few front-runners in mind. Here are his predictions for the top six Oscar categories, after factoring in industry chatter and nods from past awards shows.