Trump opponents move a mountain of legal challenges

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Weekend Briefing

From Reuters Daily Briefing

By Robert MacMillan, Reuters.com Weekend Editor

Welcome to the Weekend Briefing. We're positively crammed with good stories below, but first: Reporters Mari Saito, Anastasiia Malenko and Erin Banco join the World News podcast to discuss what went wrong with Joe Biden's arms shipments to Ukraine. In this week's City Memo, editor Donna Bryson delivers a tasty tour of Denver. And I must correct the record: I wrote in last week's edition that Trump imposed tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico. I was half a day early, which means I was wrong.

Trump opponents move a mountain of legal challenges

REUTERS/Kent Nishimura

See all of you in court: President Trump's broad assertion of executive power has left judges across the U.S. as the only significant check on his moves to upend the government. From restricting birthright citizenship to withholding funding to firing members of independent federal agencies to buying out federal workers, it looks like the Supreme Court could be the ultimate check on his authority. Recommended: This story on how Trump's funding freeze is affecting projects in America that Congress already agreed to support.
Action and confusion: A federal judge paused Trump's bid to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development. Trump's hold on foreign aid has wrought confusion and paralysis in the field. A Burmese refugee with lung problems died along the Thailand-Myanmar border after she was discharged from a U.S. funded hospital that was ordered to close. Trump said he will announce reciprocal tariffs on many countries. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet Trump in Washington next week after the U.S. sent many Indians home in shackles. Elon Musk's cost-cutting department continues its push to get inside the government's inner gears. He wants to kill the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. And a federal prosecutor said he will investigate government employees based on Musk's referral.

'Let's do a deal,' Zelenskiy tells Trump

Speaking his language: Volodymyr Zelenskiy in an interview with Reuters said he wants Ukraine to supply the U.S. with rare earths and other minerals in return for financial support for its war effort against Russia.
Not speaking his language: One of the most piquant reactions to Trump's plan to take over the Gaza Strip and redevelop it as a luxury beach resort came from Gaza resident Samir Abu Basel: "Trump can go to hell, with his ideas, with his money, and with his beliefs." Trump sanctioned International Criminal Court staff who work on cases on U.S. allies, including Israel. Israelis recounted their struggles with the release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Hamas' Israeli hostages.

Worst may be yet to come in eastern Congo

Emergency in the east: The head of the U.N. Human Rights Council said multiple reports of rape, gang rape and sexual slavery horrified him. Rwanda rejected accusations that it was responsible for the conflict involving the M23 rebels.
And in the west: More than 100 Kenyan police arrived in Port-au-Prince to reinforce the Haiti security mission. The U.S. issued a waiver on aid to the mission after earlier freezing funding. Sexual violence against children has surged in the past year, UNICEF warned.

Cigna links executive pay to customer satisfaction

Insurance: Cigna Group will tie executive compensation to customer satisfaction as it tries to address criticism over medical-care denials and delays. The move comes two months after the killing of the head of UnitedHealth's insurance unit, which sparked anger from many Americans who struggle to receive and pay for medical care. State Farm wants to raise its premiums in California to offset wildfire payouts.
Technology: Human-resources company Workday will cut 1,750 jobs, or 8.5% of its workforce so it can invest more money in artificial intelligence. Apple said the EU's digital policy was undermining its customer confidence after a pornography app became available to iPhone users. HotTub's owner is billing it as the world's "1st Apple-approved porn app."

Before I forget…

- Sweden will seek to tighten its gun laws in the wake of the country's deadliest mass shooting. Police are trying to determine a motive for the attack.
- A Tunisian court sentenced top politicians, former officials and journalists to long prison terms. President Kais Saied called his critics criminals, traitors and terrorists, and warned that any judges who freed them would be considered to be abetting them.
- A neo-Nazi leader accused of plotting to attack Baltimore's power grid was found guilty of conspiring to damage an energy facility. He faces up to 20 years in prison.
- Some programs can't be frozen: The State Department will host 50 Super Bowl watch parties over six continents. Critics say Trump's attendance at the game may be the reason why the NFL is using "Choose Love" for its end zone instead of "End Racism." And here's a short, sweet coda to today's briefing: The "Never Miss a Super Bowl Club" trio has attended every championship game since 1967.

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