Judge orders 1,000 Voice of America staffers back to work in rebuke to Kari Lake - NPR

A federal judge ordered approximately 1,000 Voice of America staffers to return to work, rejecting an effort by Kari Lake, the Trump-appointed head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, to lay them off. Lake had moved to eliminate the positions as part of a broader restructuring effort at the agency that oversees U.S. international broadcasting outlets. The judge found that the layoffs likely violated federal law requiring advance notice and consultation with employee representatives before mass terminations. The ruling represents a legal setback for the Trump administration's effort to reshape the agency and marks a significant moment in ongoing disputes over how much authority political appointees have over federal workforce decisions. Voice of America, which reaches tens of millions of people globally, has long been a flashpoint between Democratic and Republican administrations over editorial independence and government influence.