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Live from NPR News, I'm Kourva Coleman.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky goes to the White House today

to meet with President Trump. They're supposed to sign a preliminary deal that gives the U.S. access to

Ukraine's natural resources. Here's NPR's Joanna Kikis. The idea of swapping revenue from Ukraine's

natural resources for continued U.S. support came from Zelensky himself last year as part of

his proposal to end the war. Zolensky says the deal on the table today is a framework rather than a

final agreement, and it says the U.S. and Ukraine will jointly develop deposits of rare earth metals

and critical minerals. NPR's Joanna Kikisis reporting. A federal judge in California has ruled against

the Trump administration's mass layoffs of many federal workers. The judge says it's likely illegal.

He has ordered a halt to the firings at some agencies and says these should be rescinded. The judge

has set another hearing on the case for next month. Meanwhile,

the Trump administration has been dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The headquarters in Washington for USAID has been closed for weeks. NPR's Michelle Kellerman

reports that yesterday, some workers were finally able to go in and clean out their desks.

Employees who have been fired or put on administrative leave were told to show up at the Ronald

Reagan building at an appointed time and given 15 minutes to clear their desks.

Former USAID administrator Samantha Power was greeting them in the lobby.

The manner in which this is being done is the exact opposite of USAID's mission.

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