🖥️ Federal workers scramble for desks

What's CITY Talking About?

Venezuelan Couple Arrested in Southeast DC

ICE agents detained a Venezuelan couple this week, two years after they moved to D.C. The couple had been granted protected status while their asylum claims were being processed, but are now facing misdemeanor illegal entry charges. Advocates say the unusual case could set a precedent for thousands of others. [LA Times]

Judge Orders Federal Probationary Staff Reinstated

A federal judge ordered six government agencies to rehire probationary employees let go in DOGE’s slash of the federal workforce, effective immediately. The judge called the firing process a "sham," while reinstating workers at the Defense, Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Energy, Interior, and Treasury Departments. [The Guardian]

DC Students Fight Proposed Budget Cuts

Hundreds of D.C. students, parents, and teachers rallied outside the Senate offices yesterday to protest the stopgap funding bill that would slash $1 billion from D.C.’s local budget. The House passed the bill on Tuesday. Local schools would bear the brunt of the cuts. [City Cast DC 🎧]

• "If you want to sit up [in Congress] and make unilateral decisions, then you all need to look our children in the face and tell them why you are doing what you're doing." LaJoy Johnson-Law, a Ward 8 State Board of Education candidate, told us at the rally.

The Cherry Blossoms Are Coming!

The Cherry Blossoms by the Tidal Basin have reached the first of five budding stages before peak bloom. The small green buds appeared a little later than previous years but should reach the second stage — florets — by next weekend. [Washington Post 🔒]

DC Connections Trivia

If you’ve ever played the New York Times Connections quiz then you know the drill.

👉 Create groups of four. You get unlimited guesses, but the fewer the better! Your only hint is that they are all D.C.-related.

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