Audit of Musk DOGE team’s access to federal government’s payment system to begin

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Treasury Department’s Office of Inspector General says it’s launching an audit of the security controls for the federal government’s payment system. That’s after Democratic senators raised red flags about the access provided to Trump aide Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. The audit will also review the past two years of the system’s transactions as it relates to Musk’s assertion of “alleged fraudulent payments.” That’s according to a letter from Treasury’s deputy inspector general obtained Friday by The Associated Press. The audit marks part of the broader effort led by Democratic lawmakers and federal employee unions to provide transparency about DOGE’s activities under President Donald Trump’s Republican administration.

Homeowner pleads guilty to shooting Black teen Ralph Yarl who rang the wrong doorbell

LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) — An 86-year-old Kansas City man has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in the 2023 shooting of Ralph Yarl, a Black honor student who rang the man’s doorbell by mistake. Andrew Lester had been set to stand trial next week on charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action in the shooting of the 16-year-old. Lester pleaded guilty Friday to second-degree assault. Yarl showed up on Lester’s doorstep after he mixed up the streets where he was supposed to pick up his twin siblings. Lester’s attorney has long argued that Lester was acting in self-defense. The shooting shocked the country and renewed a national debate about gun policies and race in the U.S.

Second federal judge pauses Trump’s order against gender-affirming care for youth

SEATTLE (AP) — A second federal judge has paused President Donald Trump’s executive order halting federal support for gender-affirming care for transgender youth under 19. U.S. District Court Judge Lauren King issued a temporary restraining order on Friday. The decision came one day after another federal judge in Baltimore temporarily blocked Trump’s directive for 14 days. The president’s order calls for halting federal funding for institutions that provide the care and excluding the care from coverage through government-run insurance programs. Democratic attorneys general from Washington state, Oregon and Minnesota argue the order discriminates against transgender people.

NTSB: Helicopter crew in collision with plane may not have heard key instruction from tower

WASHINGTON (AP) — Investigators say the crew of the helicopter that collided midair with an American Airlines jet near Washington D.C.’s Ronald Reagan National Airport might not have heard instructions from the air traffic controller to pass behind the plane. National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said the recording from the Black Hawk helicopter cockpit suggests the crew may have missed the key instruction just before the Jan. 29 collision, in which all 67 aboard the two aircraft were killed.