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An unvaccinated child in Texas has died from measles, authorities said Wednesday, marking the first US fatality from the highly contagious disease in nearly a decade as health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. downplayed a growing outbreak.The death comes as immunization rates decline nationwide, with the latest cases concentrated in a Mennonite religious community that has historically shown vaccine hesitancy.It arrives at a delicate moment for US public health as Kennedy, who has long spread falsehoods about the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, begins his tenure leading the Department of Health and Human Services.”The school-aged child who was not vaccinated was hospitalized in Lubbock last week and tested positive for measles,” the state health department said in a statement, with city officials adding the child died “within the last 24 hours.”This year more than 130 measles cases already have been reported in west Texas and neighboring New Mexico, the vast majority in unvaccinated children.Around 20 have been hospitalized in Texas, and officials warn the outbreak is likely to grow.During a meeting of President Donald Trump’s cabinet, Kennedy downplayed the situation, stating, “It’s not unusual. You have measles outbreaks every year.”He also stated the death toll as two — but neither the Texas nor New Mexico health departments said they knew of any additional fatality.The confirmed death “should serve as a reminder that there was a reason that the vaccine was developed and that the vaccine is a value to individuals,” infectious disease physician Amesh Adalja of Johns Hopkins University told AFP.Lara Johnson, chief medical officer at Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock, Texas where the child was treated, told reporters that when she graduated from medical school in 2002, “I was confident I would never see a measles outbreak unless I chose to work internationally.”- Religious exemptions -The outbreak’s epicenter is Gaines County, home to a large Mennonite community, a Christian sect related to the Amish.Texas law allows vaccine exemptions for reasons of conscience, including religious beliefs.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends a 95 percent vaccination rate to maintain “herd immunity.”However, coverage among kindergartners has dropped from 95.2 percent in the 2019–2020 school year to 92.7 percent in 2023–2024, leaving some 280,000 children vulnerable.The last US measles-related death was in 2015, when a woman in Washington state died from pneumonia caused by the virus. She had been vaccinated but was taking immunosuppressive medication. Before that, the previous recorded measles death was in 2003.- Airborne threat -Measles is a highly contagious respiratory virus spread through droplets when an infected person coughs, sneezes or simply breathes.Known for its characteristic rash, it poses a serious risk to unvaccinated individuals, including infants under 12 months who aren’t ordinarily eligible for vaccination, and those with weakened immune systems.During outbreaks, about one in five infected individuals requires hospitalization, and one in 20 develops pneumonia. In rare cases, measles leads to brain swelling and can be fatal.The good news is vaccination is exceedingly effective at conferring lifetime immunity — with one dose estimated to be 93 percent effective, and two doses 97 percent.Before the measles vaccine’s introduction in 1963, it is thought that millions of Americans contracted the disease annually, and several hundred died. While measles was declared eliminated in the US in 2000, outbreaks persist each year.The United States reported 285 measles cases in 2024, according to the CDC. The largest recent outbreak was in 2019, with 1,274 cases, primarily in Orthodox Jewish communities in New York and New Jersey, the highest national total in decades.RFK Jr. has repeatedly and falsely linked the MMR vaccine to autism, a claim thoroughly debunked by scientific research.In one of his first actions as health secretary, the federal health department postponed a routine meeting of an independent advisory panel that makes vaccine recommendations to the CDC.

The United States has slashed its multi-year aid contracts by 92 percent, as it sought around $60 billion in savings in development and overseas humanitarian programs, the State Department said Wednesday.President Donald Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office, demanding a 90-day freeze on all US foreign aid to give his administration time to review overseas spending, with an eye to gutting programs not aligned with his “America First” agenda.A federal judge had given the Trump administration on Tuesday less than two days to unfreeze all aid after a previous court order issued nearly two weeks earlier went ignored.But the Trump administration filed an emergency petition to the US Supreme Court, which issued an administrative stay late Wednesday, pausing the lower court’s order.”At the conclusion of a process led by USAID leadership, including tranches personally reviewed by Secretary (Marco) Rubio, nearly 5,800 awards with $54 billion in value remaining were identified for elimination as part of the America First agenda — a 92 percent reduction,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement.The administration’s review in part targeted multi-year foreign assistance contracts awarded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), with the vast majority eliminated during its course.It also looked at more than 9,100 grants involving foreign assistance, valued at more than $15.9 billion. Following the review, 4,100 grants worth almost $4.4 billion were targeted to be eliminated, a 28 percent reduction. “These commonsense eliminations will allow the bureaus, along with their contracting and grants officers, to focus on remaining programs, find additional efficiencies and tailor subsequent programs more closely to the Administration’s America First priorities,” the State Department statement said.USAID distributes US humanitarian aid around the world, with health and emergency programs in around 120 countries.Programs that were not cut included food assistance, life-saving medical treatments for diseases like HIV and malaria, and support for countries including Haiti, Cuba, Venezuela and Lebanon, among others, the State Department spokesperson said.Late Wednesday, US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issued the administrative stay, which grants the Trump administration temporary reprieve from having to unfreeze around $2 billion in payments for overdue foreign aid.The decision also gives the court more time to consider the matter.- ‘Bankrupt’ without cuts -USAID, created after a bill passed by Congress in 1961, had a workforce of more than 10,000 employees before the freeze, which sparked shock and dismay among personnel.During his election campaign, Trump promised to slash federal government spending and bureaucracy, a task he bestowed upon his top donor and close advisor Elon Musk, as part of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).Trump has said USAID was “run by radical lunatics” while Musk has described it as a “criminal organization” needing to be put “through the woodchipper.”The agency announced on February 23 that it was laying off 1,600 of its employees in the United States and placing most of the remaining staff on administrative leave.Musk, the world’s richest person, spoke about the controversial DOGE program at Trump’s first cabinet meeting Wednesday. “If we don’t do this, America will go bankrupt,” the tech tycoon told cabinet members, adding that he was “taking a lot of flak, and getting a lot of death threats.” One-third of his DOGE staff resigned in protest on Tuesday after he engineered a mass email to the federal government’s two million workers, ordering them to justify their work or risk being fired.US media reported that some cabinet members had expressed frustration over the DOGE emails, but Trump insisted at the cabinet meeting that his team was “thrilled” with Musk.Trump also signed an executive order on Wednesday broadening DOGE’s power to review federal spending on contracts, grants and loans.The order said it “commences a transformation in Federal spending” and called for a number of changes, including a “credit card freeze.””To the maximum extent permitted by law, all credit cards held by agency employees shall be treated as frozen for 30 days from the date of this order.”The freeze does not extend to staff in critical services such as “disaster relief or natural disaster response benefits.”

Oscar-winning US actor Gene Hackman and his long-time wife Betsy Arakawa have been found dead inside their home in New Mexico, media outlets reported on Thursday.Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said the couple was found dead on Wednesday afternoon, adding that there was no immediate indication of foul play, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican and Sky News. Mendoza did not provide a cause of death.The media reports said the couple, who were married since 1991, died along with their dog. Hackman, who had turned 95 late last month, was once voted as likely to flop in showbiz but instead went on to win two Oscar awards. Arakawa was a 63-year-old classical pianist.Hollywood director Francis Ford Coppola on Thursday mourned the loss of Hackman.”The loss of a great artist, always cause for both mourning and celebration: Gene Hackman a great actor, inspiring and magnificent in his work and complexity,” Coppola wrote in a post on Instagram. “I mourn his loss, and celebrate his existence and contribution.”Hackman is perhaps best known for his portrayal of the tough and vulgar New York cop Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in the 1971 crime thriller “The French Connection” — for which he won an Oscar for best actor.He won another golden statuette two decades later for best supporting actor for his portrayal of the brutal small-town sheriff “Little Bill” Daggett in the 1992 western “Unforgiven.”Throughout his acting career, Hackman drew on his talents and versatility, taking on a series of gritty roles and delivering thoughtful, intelligent performances.”It really costs me a lot emotionally to watch myself on screen,” the actor once said. “I think of myself, and feel like I’m quite young, and then I look at this old man with the baggy chins and the tired eyes and the receding hairline and all that.”- Unlikely star -Born in Illinois during the Great Depression, Hackman came from a broken family.His father left when he was 13, waving enigmatically as he drove away one day, and his mother later died in a fire.Hackman later used his personal turmoil as fuel to flesh out his characters.He was an unlikely star, coming to acting relatively late in life after dabbling in a series of jobs, and only attracting attention in his 30s.According to Hollywood legend, after his enrollment at the Pasadena Playhouse in California in the late 1950s, he and a fellow student, one Dustin Hoffman, were voted the “least likely to succeed.”Upon graduation, Hackman earned work off-Broadway and began to turn heads.He earned his first Oscar nomination for best supporting actor in “Bonnie and Clyde.” That landmark 1967 film, in which Hackman played Clyde’s brother Buck Barrow, put him firmly on track for stardom. Hackman notched up dozens of film credits in his career, working well into his 60s and 70s although he stayed out of the limelight, instead writing and painting.Into the 21st century, he starred in “The Heist” and “The Royal Tenenbaums” in 2001, the latter winning him his third competitive Golden Globe, before announcing his retirement in 2008.

Influencer Andrew Tate, facing charges of human trafficking and rape in Romania, left for the United States on Thursday, airport sources told AFP.Romanian prosecutors allege that former kickboxer Tate, 38, his brother Tristan, 36, and two women set up a criminal organisation in Romania and Britain in early 2021 and sexually exploited several victims.The brothers, who have a British and American nationality, insist they are innocent.The Romanian organised crime squad DIICOT said the two brothers, who left for the US together, remained “under judicial supervision” and had to  “appear before the judicial authorities at every summons”.”Violation in bad faith of the obligations incumbent on them may lead to the replacement of judicial control with a higher custodial measure,” DIICOT said.Romanian aviation news media BoardingPass said “a Gulfstream G550 private jet took off from Bucharest, Romania, bound for Fort Lauderdale” just after 6:00 am (0400 GMT).”The flight… will be operated non-stop and will last 12 hours,” it added.Four British women who have accused Andrew Tate of rape voiced concern last week that the US government might push Romania to ease their travel restrictions.The Financial Times has said US President Donald Trump’s administration brought up Tate’s case with Romanian authorities earlier this month, calling for Bucharest to return the brothers’ passports.- ‘Gaslighting’ -Romanian Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu said Trump’s envoy Richard Grenell raised the case with him at the Munich Security Conference earlier in February.The four women, who are bringing a civil case against Tate at the High Court in the UK accusing him of rape and coercive control between 2013 and 2016, urged Washington not to get involved.”These are women who are the victims of the most horrible and horrific alleged crimes,” the victims’ UK lawyer Matthew Jury told BBC Newsnight.”And to see the most powerful man in the world support their alleged abuser is incredibly traumatising. It’s retraumatising for them. It’s gaslighting of a sort,” he added.Andrew Tate moved to Romania years ago after first starting a webcam business in the UK.He leapt to fame in 2016 when he first appeared on the UK’s “Big Brother” reality television show, but was removed after a video emerged showing him attacking a woman.He then turned to social media platforms to promote his often misogynistic and divisive views on how to be successful.Banned from Instagram and TikTok for his views, Tate is followed by more than 10 million people on X watching his homophobic and racist posts.A Romanian court has granted a British request to extradite the Tates to Britain, but only after legal proceedings in Romania have concluded.Last year, the Tates were sentenced in a tax fraud case in Britain.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday accused North Korea of being behind the theft of $1.5 billion worth of digital assets last week, the largest crypto heist in history.Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange Bybit reported last week that it had been robbed of 400,000 in cryptocurrency Ethereum.According to the company, attackers exploited security protocols during a transaction, enabling them to transfer the assets to an unidentified address.On Wednesday, the US government pointed the finger at Pyongyang.”(North Korea) was responsible for the theft of approximately $1.5 billion USD in virtual assets from cryptocurrency exchange, Bybit,” the FBI said in a public service announcement.The bureau said a group called TraderTraitor, also known as the Lazarus Group, was behind the theft. It said they were “proceeding rapidly and have converted some of the stolen assets to Bitcoin and other virtual assets dispersed across thousands of addresses on multiple blockchains”.”It is expected these assets will be further laundered and eventually converted to fiat currency,” the FBI added.Lazarus Group gained notoriety a decade ago when it was accused of hacking into Sony Pictures as revenge for “The Interview,” a film that mocked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.It was also allegedly behind the 2022 $620 million heist of Ethereum and USD Coin from the Ronin Network in 2022, previously the biggest crypto theft in history.And in December, the United States and Japan blamed it for the theft of cryptocurrency worth over $300 million from the Japan-based exchange DMM Bitcoin.North Korea’s cyber-warfare program dates back to at least the mid-1990s, and the country has been dubbed “the world’s most prolific cyber-thief” by a cybersecurity firm.Pyongyang’s program has grown to a 6,000-strong cyber-warfare unit known as Bureau 121 that operates from several countries, according to a 2020 US military report.A United Nations panel on North Korea’s evasion of sanctions last year estimated the nation has stolen more than $3 billion in cryptocurrency since 2017.Much of the hacking activity is reportedly directed by Pyongyang’s Reconnaissance General Bureau, its primary foreign intelligence agency.Money stolen helps to fund the country’s nuclear weapons program, the panel said.

The United States will remove transgender troops from the military unless they obtain a waiver on a case-by-case basis, the Pentagon said in a Wednesday memo.The memo became public as part of a court filing in a case challenging President Donald Trump’s late January executive order that was aimed at barring military service by transgender personnel.”Service members who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria will be processed for separation from military service,” the memo said.These troops may be “considered for a waiver on a case-by-case basis, provided there is a compelling government interest in retaining the service member that directly supports warfighting capabilities,” it said.To obtain such a waiver, troops must show that they have never attempted to transition, as well as demonstrate “36 consecutive months of stability in the service member’s sex without clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.”Another Pentagon memo issued earlier this month barred transgender people from joining the military and halted gender transition treatment for others who are already in uniform.The latest memo also states that “applicants for military service… who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria are disqualified for military service,” as are those with “a history of cross-sex hormone therapy or sex reassignment or genital reconstruction surgery as treatment for gender dysphoria.”- Shifting US policies -Disqualified applicants can also obtain a waiver if there is a “compelling government interest” in them joining the military and they are “willing and able to adhere to all applicable standards, including the standards associated with the applicant’s sex.”Transgender Americans have faced a roller coaster of changing policies on military service in recent years, with Democratic administrations seeking to permit them to serve openly, while Trump has repeatedly sought to keep them out of the ranks.The US military lifted a ban on transgender troops in 2016, during Democrat Barack Obama’s second term as president.Under that policy, trans troops already serving were permitted to do so openly, and transgender recruits were set to start being accepted by July 1, 2017.But the first Trump administration postponed that date to 2018 before deciding to reverse the policy entirely.Trump’s controversial restrictions on transgender military service — which underwent changes in response to various court challenges — eventually came into force in April 2019 following a protracted legal battle that went all the way to the nation’s top court.Trump’s Democratic successor Joe Biden moved to reverse the restrictions just days after he took office in 2021, saying all Americans qualified to serve should be able to do so.After returning to office in January, Trump issued an executive order executive order that again took aim at transgender troops, saying: “Expressing a false ‘gender identity’ divergent from an individual’s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service.”Transgender issues have roiled US politics in recent years, as states controlled by Democrats and Republicans have moved in opposite directions on policies ranging from medical treatment to what books on the topic are allowed in public or school libraries.

A leading domestic violence charity severed ties Thursday with Australia’s National Rugby League after it invited US President Donald Trump to its season-opening games in Las Vegas this weekend.White Ribbon Australia, part of a global social movement working to end men’s violence against women, called the NRL’s decision “disappointing and frankly, tone deaf”.”Sporting organisations like the NRL have a vital role to play in promoting a culture of safety and respect for women,” it said in a statement.”We believe the fans and participants of the NRL — almost half of whom are female — deserve better. “After the NRL’s decision to associate with known perpetrators, White Ribbon Australia contacted the NRL to insist they remove any reference to us on their promotional material. “The NRL has since complied with this request.”White Ribbon, which has had a relationship with the NRL since the mid-2000s, did not specifically name Trump.But national broadcaster ABC and other media said he was the focus of their protest, along with Ultimate Fighting Championship boss Dana White who also received an invite.It followed Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’Landys appearing on US TV programme Fox and Friends carrying a match ball emblazoned with the word “TRUMP” to invite the president to the season-opening games.The Australian Rugby League Commission is the sport’s administrator and controls the NRL.Trump was found liable for sexually abusing and later defaming writer E. Jean Carroll in 2023, with the verdict upheld by a federal appeals court last year.White was caught on camera in New Year’s Eve in 2022 slapping his wife in a nightclub. He publically apologised and faced no charges.NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo defended the decision to invite Trump.”We are playing this match in America. We’re being hosted by America,” the Sydney Morning Herald cited him as saying at a function overnight in Las Vegas.”Last year we invited Joe Biden, this year we invited Donald Trump. We invited the sitting president of the country in which we visit.”It’s not an unusual practice to do this. “It’s not to say we have any political affiliation with any party. We’re a sport. We’re about bringing people together no matter what your political beliefs, no matter what your background.”Trump has attended several high-profile sporting events recently, including the Daytona 500 and the Super Bowl.The NRL made its first foray to America last year with a double-header at the 65,000-seat Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, which it is repeating this year.It has long wanted to stage games in the United States as a way to grow the sport outside Australia, where it is hugely popular.

Tom Blackburn was so proud of his Tesla, he even bought one in bright red to stand out. But with company CEO Elon Musk’s foray into US politics, he’s sworn never to buy from the electric carmaker again.Musk has already divided Americans by helping President Donald Trump slash government spending in moves denounced as illegal and immoral by critics.Now the controversy may be ricocheting against Tesla – his pioneering brand once adored by environmentally conscious buyers.”I’m just a little embarrassed to be driving it at this point,” retired attorney Blackburn told AFP of the Tesla he bought more than a decade ago. “I have pretty much soured on Tesla as a brand.” A bumper sticker reading “I bought this before I knew he was crazy” has adorned his car since last year.The 76-year-old from Virginia jokes: “Now I think I need something stronger.”Musk became chief executive of Tesla in 2008, overseeing the company’s rise to the world’s most valuable automaker in terms of market capitalization.But analysts say Musk’s political endeavors — including backing far-right parties in Europe and sharing conspiracy theories online — could isolate Tesla’s traditionally liberal market base.”I think he will have a long-term damaging effect on the brand and the business,” said Daniel Binns, global CEO of Elmwood Brand Consultancy.He said that Tesla needs to “disassociate” from Musk in its marketing, warning of a “perfect storm” looming as an aging lineup of cars puts it at risk of losing customers to rival companies.”The brand on so many levels is not aligned with its audience and the market is filled with fantastic competitors,” Binns told AFP.Tesla’s share price slumped by nine percent this week as it reported disappointing sales in Europe, which traders at least partly attributed to issues with how buyers view Musk. However, investors are yet to see strong evidence that the billionaire’s politics are hurting Tesla’s business.”Increased political activity does create a risk that Tesla may alienate some consumers from buying a Tesla, but it’s too early to say there is an impact to the company,” said Seth Goldstein, equity strategist at Morningstar.- ‘Dump your stock’ -Controversies generated by Musk, including what resembled a Nazi salute — he said it was not one — at a Trump rally, have nonetheless already prompted a backlash.Kumait Jaroje, a physician from the Boston area, told AFP he is trying to sell his Tesla Cybertruck to avoid harassment after a note reading “Nazi F*** Off” was stuck on it.The 40-year-old, who supported Trump in November’s election, bought the futuristic-looking vehicle in gold last year to advertise his cosmetic surgery, but said he has since been sworn at and cut off by other motorists. “I’m avoiding driving it,” said Jaroje, adding that “Tesla has become a label for people who like Musk — which is not true.”Around 54 percent of Americans hold unfavorable views of Musk, according to a Pew Research Center poll, though the results are split on party lines with Democrats far more critical than Republicans.Some are showing their opposition to Musk by protesting at Tesla showrooms and encouraging owners to “Dump your stock” to devalue the vehicles. American singer Sheryl Crow sold her Tesla in protest of Musk this month and said the proceeds would go to NPR, a US radio network that faces cuts in its government funding.Yet Luis Garay, an independent who voted Democrat in the election, told AFP he can separate Musk’s political views from Tesla. “We love Tesla cars, we don’t like Elon Musk’s political views,” said the 68-year-old from Maryland. For self-described liberal Margaret Moerchen, from US capital Washington, it is crucial she makes clear that “our driving a Tesla does not endorse Elon Musk.”Her Tesla, which she bought in 2015 to reduce her carbon emissions, is now covered in stickers reading “Up with EVs, down with Musk” and the LGBTQ pride flag.The 45-year-old astronomer said she won’t be buying Tesla again and instead cited her interest in competitor Rivian. “Tesla’s not the only game in town anymore,” she said.

Fake stories that atmospheric experiments are triggering natural disasters have led to US states pushing blanket bans on weather modification, which experts say may jeopardize current local scientific programs and hinder future research.From recent deadly flooding in Kentucky to the Florida and North Carolina monster hurricanes of 2024, Americans have amplified increasingly conspiratorial explanations for extreme weather events — even blaming manufactured clouds blocking sunlight for the devastation.In response, lawmakers are moving to criminalize legitimate scientific experiments in the atmosphere.In Kentucky, Republican John Hodgson told AFP he introduced a bill because his constituents “do not want to allow any government attempts to modify the solar radiation or weather.”But no such government program played a role in the state’s weather whiplash.”None of this is government control,” said Shane Holinde, a meteorologist at the Kentucky Climate Center.”It is all Mother Nature,” he told AFP of the “rollercoaster of a month.” The severe weather events claimed 23 lives across the state, according to Democratic Governor Andy Beshear.The actions in Kentucky and other states highlight how misinformation has become entrenched in political discourse, driving legislative efforts in response to conspiracy theories.Tennessee is the first and only state to have passed such a law, despite witness testimony citing chemtrails — a conspiracy that purports toxic chemicals are being sprayed from aircraft.Kentucky bill co-sponsor, Republican Steve Rawlings, also alluded to them, telling local media his efforts address constituents’ concerns of “streaks in the skies.”The efforts reflect general confusion over beneficial, small-scale activities, such as targeted cloud seeding programs in the arid West and large-scale geoengineering projects that are still decades away from possible implementation.For example, the text targets stratospheric aerosol injection — a futuristic technique that the wider public knows little about.Scientists hope the method might allow them to shift the total energy balance between the Earth and the Sun and reduce some of the most blatant effects of climate change, including supercharged floods and storms, but it is currently only at a research stage.The Kentucky legislation mirrors bills advancing in Florida and Arizona since the start of the year.Edward Parson, environmental law professor at UCLA, said such bills often seek “to prohibit something that is not happening.”He warned that as more states consider these laws, people will be misled to believe they are “a sensible, legitimate” issue.- Blanket bans -As global warming makes weather extremes more likely, each new natural disaster brings further pushback against “weather control” from an increasingly loud crowd, including prominent political figures such as Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene.Blanket bans also run the risk of hindering projects shown to benefit farmers by managing hyper-local precipitation and reducing crop losses from hail.”These state legislations feel a little bit like a knee-jerk reaction,” said Deborah Sivas, environmental law professor at Stanford University, while cautioning regulation around larger geoengineering experiments may prove necessary on an international scale.”There is a bigger conversation to be had about if you can do things to manipulate weather patterns” over the ocean or other large shared areas, she said.Dana Willbanks of Columbia University’s Climate Science Legal Defense Fund is tracking science-silencing initiatives nationwide.She pointed to a surge of climate-skeptic discourse and censorship at all levels of government since the start of the second Trump administration, down to city councils and school boards.”We are going to start seeing more and more outrageous bills” like bans on weather control, she said.

The few dozen demonstrators strode through the US Senate halls, taking their angry message door to door — part of growing grassroots protests against sweeping cuts to the government workforce led by billionaire Elon Musk. Trailed by security personnel warning them not to block the busy halls, the federal workers filed into the offices of multiple Republican senators, including majority leader John Thune, to voice their distress.”The goal is to make ourselves heard,” said Steve, 33, who like many federal workers and contractors unsure about their futures, asked not to use his whole name for fear of reprisal.”We brought up examples of how people are directly impacted by the dismantling of agencies,” Steve said.Musk’s unprecedented onslaught against the US civil service in the first weeks of President Donald Trump’s second administration has upended entire agencies, leaving career government workers confused and bitter.”Everybody is feeling the pain,” Steve said. Some of the senators seemed “receptive” at first, but when asked what they’d do to help, “it’s crickets.”Trump’s shock-and-awe approach, backed by an avalanche of executive orders seeking to put his hard-right stamp on every facet of government, has not seen anything like the kind of mass public protests seen at the start of his first term in 2017. But resistance is emerging among current and former federal worker, who are responding with demonstrations, media campaigns, high-profile resignations and lawsuits.”It’s very grassroots,” said Vera Zlidar, a furloughed contractor for the USAID agency, which has been gutted in Musk’s campaign.”The work that we do touches so many facets of people’s lives,” she said. Social media pages, message boards and websites have proliferated with thousands of followers, aimed at mobilizing resistance, as well as sharing how the cuts will impact everyday Americans.The Senate protests vary in size but have turned into a daily event.”We have to save ourselves,” said one federal worker and protest organizer, again asking not to be identified.- Resignations  -Some federal workers have protested by resigning.This week, roughly a third of technology staffers at Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) quit, saying that they would not work in a way that puts the country at risk.Before the approximately 20 staffers left DOGE, federal employees had created a website called “We Are the Builders” to share stories of the impact of DOGE actions, arguing that it was crippling agencies’ abilities to provide crucial services. Part of the group’s logo is a spoon — a symbol now used by federal workers to protest Musk’s cuts, referencing an email from the tech entrepreneur’s team titled “Fork in the Road,” in which government employees were given an offer to leave with eight months’ pay or risk being fired in future.US media reported instances of federal workers flooding work message groups with spoon emojis to troll Musk lieutenants or adding the cutlery symbol to their work online profiles.  Dozens of lawsuits have also sprouted against Musk’s threats or demands, with mixed results. The largest federal employee union, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), has vowed to challenge and unlawful terminations, calling Musk “unhinged.” – ‘Superpower’ -Republican congress members, who control both the House and the Senate, are unanimously loyal to Trump. However, tension over Musk’s rampage is growing in areas of the party.And a February Washington Post-Ipsos poll showed dislike of Musk’s approach to shrinking the federal work force.But Musk and the White House have been unmoved. The richest person on Earth has posted a slew of messages on his X platform disparaging federal works and sharing polls by his own America PAC — a political action committee he founded to support Trump — saying DOGE “is one of the most popular parts” of the president’s agenda.The protester organizer said pressure is bound to grow as more agencies come under Musk’s knife and thousands of out-of-work civil servants find themselves ejected.”Free time is their superpower,” the organizer said.