Trump orders mass firings and grocery stores limit egg purchases: Morning Rundown

Mass firings of probationary federal workers begins, affecting potentially hundreds of thousands of people. Grocery stores are placing limits on how many eggs customers can purchase. And a hairdresser has sued several companies, alleging a link between hair dyes and cancer.  

Here’s what to know today.

Trump administration goes after probationary federal employees

Hundreds of thousands of jobs are at stake as President Donald Trump’s administration began a mass firing of federal workers yesterday after the Office of Personnel Management met with agency leaders and advised them to dismiss probationary employees, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The move comes as the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has promised to slash what they paint as wasteful spending. Earlier this week, an OPM spokesperson said about 75,000 federal employees accepted the White House’s “deferred resignation” offer to leave their roles but be paid through September.

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Employees who have probationary status have typically been with the federal government for only one or two years — before their civil service protections have kicked in. The exact number of people who will be terminated was not immediately clear.

The Department of Veterans Affairs announced that it was dismissing more than 1,000 employees, including certain probationary employees. There are more than 43,000 probationary employees across the department, but the “vast majority” of them were exempt from firings, the agency said.

The Education Department began terminating dozens of probationary employees this week as well. At the Department of Housing and Urban development, senior-level managers were told who on their teams would be cut. The U.S. Forest Service is planning to terminate at least 3,400 people, one source said.

Read the full story here.

More Trump administration and politics news:

• The White House has terminated several U.S. attorneys across the country, including one who had worked on Jan. 6 cases. 
• The top federal prosecutor in New York and two senior federal prosecutors in Washington have resigned after they refused to follow a Justice Department order to drop the corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams.
• The Justice Department’s order to drop the corruption charges against Adams, as well as the administration’s other unprecedented moves threatens open the floodgates to a surge of corruption, former prosecutors and watchdog groups said.  
• A judge ordered the Trump administration to temporarily allow the disbursement of foreign aid.
• A federal judge temporarily blocked Trump’s order aimed at restricting transgender health care for anyone under the age of 19.
• Trump signed a memorandum calling for “fair and reciprocal” trade tariffs on all major U.S. trading partners, including longtime allies.
• A group of 14 states filed a lawsuit arguing that the power granted to Elon Musk is unconstitutional.
• The approval of Musk’s DOGE subordinates to use software that could allow for vast data transfers has alarmed some Labor Department employees.
• The Senate voted 52-48 to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist, as the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
• Sen. Mitch McConnell was the lone Republican to vote against RFK Jr.’s confirmation yesterday, but it’s not the first time in recent weeks that the 82-year-old has acted separately from his party. As one former aide put it: “I think we’ve reached peak YOLO McConnell.”

Trump and Putin’s talk puts Ukraine in a tough spot

When President Donald Trump previewed what an agreement to end the war between Russia and Ukraine might look like, he appeared to sympathize with Russia’s perspective. It was unlikely that Ukraine would get back territory occupied by Russia or that it would eventually join NATO, Trump said Wednesday, when he said that he had talked to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump’s defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, said this week that Europe needs to take the lead in ending the war. 

The conversation between Trump and Putin, as well as Hegseth’s comments, have left European leaders struggling to figure out where they fit in. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has little choice but to keep a brave face as the mood shifts in his country, from early hopes of a total victory to a desire among Ukrainians to act as quickly as possible end the fighting.  

Both Europe and Ukraine have insisted that they be part of any negotiations, especially as they tackle a chief concern: that, in a few years, Putin could eventually launch an attack against a NATO member.

Egg rationing is mandated at some grocery stores

The average price for a dozen eggs rose to around $5 last month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a notable jump from this time last year when the household staple was around $3. And as highly infectious bird flu decimates the chicken population and reduces egg supplies nationwide, prices are expected to climb this year by over 20%, according to an outlook by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

As a result, some of the nation’s biggest grocery store chains have started limiting the amount of eggs that individual consumers can buy. For example, Walmart is capping bulk buyers at two 60-count cartons per purchase, while Trader Joe’s only allows customers a dozen per day. In New York City, some bodegas are even selling individual eggs. Here’s which other stores are placing limits on customers. 

Eggs are also at the center of a political fight. The product’s high costs have prompted Democrats to demand that President Donald Trump fulfill his campaign promise to immediately start reducing the price of grocery items.

Read All About It

•  Apple and Google have made TikTok available on their U.S. app stores again.
• A winter downpour in Los Angeles prompted emergency evacuations in areas near the burn scars of recent wildfires.
• Igloo has recalled more than 1 million rolling coolers over concerns that they could cause fingertip amputation.
• Quarterback Aaron Rodgers will not be returning to the New York Jets next season.

Staff Pick: Hairdresser files lawsuit alleging link between hair dye and cancer

When Hector Corvera said he was a hairdresser after being diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2023, his urologist answered, “Hmm, that explains it.” At the time, Corvera didn’t have time to think about the response. But now, he’s suing beauty behemoth L’Oreal and 10 other cosmetic companies, alleging his cancer was caused by the hair dye chemicals he was exposed to consistently over his 40 years as a hairstylist.

I dug through numerous studies, experiments and reports dating back to the 1970s and spoke to research scientists and oncologists to evaluate what the medical evidence suggests for people like Corvera. Our reporting found that some modern hair dyes contain carcinogens. While research on how this can impact women who dye their hair is inconclusive, it is robust for hairdressers.

“Cosmetics undergo no FDA testing before they go on the market,” Corvera’s attorney said. “So the guinea pigs, so to speak, are the people that use or wear the cosmetics.” — Yasmine Salam, associate producer, NBC News Investigations

NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified

Amid a nationwide egg shortage, the NBC Select team lays out everything you need to know about storing eggs to make them last longer. Plus, our editors tested multiple beard balms that can help you moisturize and maintain your facial hair. 

Sign up to The Selection newsletter for hands-on product reviews, expert shopping tips and a look at the best deals and sales each week.

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