The IRS is nearing an agreement to allow immigration officials to use tax data to confirm the names and addresses of people suspected of being in the country illegally, according to four people familiar with the matter, culminating weeks of negotiations over using the tax system to support President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign. Under the agreement, Immigration and Customs Enforcement could submit names and addresses of suspected undocumented immigrants to the IRS to cross-reference with confidential taxpayer databases, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of professional reprisals. Normally, personal tax information — even an individual’s name and address — is considered confidential and closely guarded within the IRS. Unlawfully disclosing tax data carries civil and criminal penalties. However, tax information may be shared with other federal law enforcement under certain, limited conditions — and typically with approval from a court. It would be unusual, if not unprecedented, for taxpayer privacy law exceptions to be used to justify cooperation with immigration enforcement, the people said. The proposed agreement has alarmed career officials at the IRS, the people said, who worry that the arrangement risks abusing a narrow and seldom-used section of privacy law that’s meant to help investigators build criminal cases, not enforce criminal penalties. Caption from article by Jacob Bogage and Jeff Stein.

The Social Security numbers and other private information of more than 400 former congressional staffers and others were made public Tuesday in the unredacted files related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, according to a review by The Washington Post. More than 60,000 pages related to the 1963 assassination were released this week by the Trump administration. Many of the pages had been previously disclosed, but with redactions. Many, but not all, redactions have been removed. The records have been posted to the National Archives webpage under the headline “JFK Assassination Records — 2025 Documents Release.” After The Post reported the inadvertent disclosure Wednesday, The White House rushed to mitigate the impact. The National Archives started screening the documents for Social Security numbers so that the Social Security Administration could identify living individuals and issue them new numbers, a White House official said. In the meantime, the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the plan, said those affected will receive free credit monitoring.

A massive storm system sliced through the country this weekend, leveling homes, spurring crashes and killing at least 39 people in more than a half-dozen states. The system spawned at least 81 tornadoes across eight states since Friday: Mississippi, Missouri, Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana and Georgia. The violent weather laid waste to hundreds of buildings. Wildfires broke out, raging fiercely in Oklahoma and Texas. Dust storms wrought havoc, diminishing visibility and leading to deadly vehicle pileups. And through Sunday evening, the amount of destruction across the country was becoming clearer still. Based on reporting by: Anumita Kaur, Mariana Alfaro, Matthew Cappucci, Ben Noll and Kelly Kasulis Cho.

Two federal judges on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to immediately offer jobs back to thousands of fired probationary workers as they imposed separate, broad roadblocks on the administration’s efforts. The rulings — in Maryland and California — mark the most significant challenge so far to Trump’s campaign to shrink and reshape the sprawling, 2.3-million-person bureaucracy. Trump would now have to appeal and win in two, separate legal cases — or seek Supreme Court involvement — to get his workforce reduction effort back on course. Based on reporting by Salvador Rizzo and Katie Mettler.

Steak ’n Shake goes full MAGA. In mid-January, Steak ’n Shake announced that all of its restaurants would switch to cooking their french fries with beef tallow. Executives said the move would make for tastier fries. It also aligned Steak ’n Shake with President Donald Trump’s top health official, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has made replacing seed oils a key plank of his plans to overhaul America’s food industry. Conservatives hailed Steak ’n Shake’s decision as a win for Trump’s controversial Cabinet pick. “We RFK’ed our fries,” Steak ’n Shake COO Dan Edwards said in a February Fox News interview. Now, Steak ’n Shake’s X account posts images of Tesla-themed storefronts on Mars and slogans like “Make Frying Oil Tallow Again” printed on MAGA-esque red hats. The account reposted endorsements from conservative firebrands like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) and Laura Loomer, who snapped a picture of herself dining at the establishment. Marketing researchers said Steak ’n Shake is the latest example of brands targeting increasingly polarized consumers across the country. Some questioned the suddenness of Steak ’n Shake’s pivot and whether, in a time where other brands seen affiliating with Trump or his policies have faced boycotts and violence, the publicity would beget sales or backlash. “This really feels like a Hail Mary,” said Marcus Collins, a former marketing professional and a clinical assistant professor of marketing at the University of Michigan. Caption from article by Daniel Wu.

The European Union and Canada hit back Wednesday at President Donald Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs with their own levies, announcing tariffs on billions of dollars’ worth of U.S. products, including bourbon and motorcycles, while warning of further retaliation The 27-nation E.U. said its two-stage response would target roughly $28 billion in U.S. exports, while Canada announced 25 percent retaliatory tariffs on roughly $20.7 billion ($29.8 billion Canadian dollars) worth of American goods. The announcement of the European measures came at the same time that Trump’s tariffs took effect Wednesday. Canada’s announcement came several hours later Wednesday morning. Based on reporting by: Ellen Francis, Maham Javaid and Terrence McCoy.

Enter the #PostPeeps2025 Diorama Contest! Post your creation, or email us at universe@washpost.com by April 16th. Dioramas are scored by: Theme: Often pop culture references or news stories. Typically, the best themes are relevant to the year of the contest. I.e. “The Great British Peep Show” in 2024. Originality: While Peeps have become more versatile, there’s only so much you can do with the two basic shapes. Contestants who really find a way to create an original master-peep-ce truly succeed. Craftsmanship: Although a diorama typically exists within a shoe box, this is more about what someone can do with a small space and with the tools available to them in their apartment, house or Peep-filled castle. Showmanship: Where the presentation element comes into play. For those who submit their Peep dioramas via video presentation, this is where you can get a leg up on the competition. Edibility: Can you eat it? How much of it can you eat? Does the shoe box look edible? The winners will be announced Friday, April 18th.

Did Canada impose dairy tariffs first? Fact check: Canada DOES impose 250% tariffs on U.S. dairy products, but only after the U.S. reaches or exceeds a quota. We have never exceeded that quota. This agreement is part of a deal Trump made with Canada in 2018.

Canada was BLINDSIDED by the U.S. this week. President Donald Trump on Thursday postponed for another month imposing tariffs on certain Mexican and Canadian products that comply with the North American free-trade treaty — the latest swerve in the roller coaster of U.S. trade relations roiling financial markets for a third straight day. The pause on tariffs applies only to imports that comply with the free-trade agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico signed during Trump’s first term. About 50 percent of goods from Mexico and 62 percent from Canada, including computers, will still face the tariffs implemented this week, a White House official said Thursday. Canadian energy and potash, a key component of fertilizer, will be taxed at a lower rate of 10 percent. Meanwhile, in Canada, Trump’s tariffs and threats to make Canada the 51st state have drawn fury and severely fractured U.S.-Canada ties. Canada sends 80 percent of its exports to the United States, and economists forecast that the tariffs could tip the economy into a recession. Canada earlier this week imposed retaliatory tariffs on $20 billion worth of U.S. goods and planned to impose levies on an additional $90 billion worth of goods 21 days later. Canadian Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Thursday in a post on X that the government will delay the second round of retaliatory tariffs until April 2, “while we continue to work for the removal of all tariffs.”’ Caption from article by Abha Bhattarai, Mary Beth Sheridan and Amanda Coletta.

Less than 48 hours after slapping tariffs on all goods from Canada and Mexico, President Donald Trump agreed to a one-month reprieve for automobile imports that qualify for duty-free treatment under the North American trade agreement negotiated during his first term. The president’s decision followed a telephone conversation with executives from the Big Three automakers — General Motors, Ford and Stellantis — who sought relief from the new import taxes. Each of the automakers over the past several decades has developed complex supply chains that cross North American borders multiple times before delivering a finished product.

Here’s a quick recap of Trump’s 2025 address to a joint session of Congress. President Donald Trump delivered the first big speech to Congress of his second term Tuesday night, amid a series of major subplots. Those included his administration’s continued and legally dubious massive overhaul of the federal government, tense negotiations over the war in Ukraine that resulted in an extraordinary Oval Office blow-up Friday, and new tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico on Tuesday that have sent shock waves through the economy. Each of these initiatives have tested even Republicans’ tolerance for an increasingly uninhibited Trump, though he was met with sustained applause and cheers from seemingly enthusiastic GOP lawmakers attending the speech. Caption from article by Aaron Blake.

DOGE fired (then rehired) nuclear workers. Amid the tumult of mass firings, the Trump administration’s dismissal of workers who maintain America’s nuclear weapons delivered perhaps the greatest shock. These are people with highly sensitive jobs, the Energy Department would later acknowledge, who should have never been fired. Almost all the workers were rehired in an embarrassing about-face, a prominent example of how the administration has had to reverse dismissals in multiple instances where its scattershot approach caused deeper damage to agencies than anticipated. The employees of the National Nuclear Security Administration are stewards of a sprawling government system that keeps 5,000 nuclear warheads secure and ready. They make sure radiation doesn’t leak, weapons don’t mistakenly detonate and plutonium doesn’t get into the wrong hands. Yet late the night before Valentine’s Day, the Trump administration perfunctorily fired 17 percent of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s workforce, over the strenuous objections of senior nuclear officials. “The president said workers critical to national security would be exempt from the firings. But then there was an active decision to say these positions are not critical to national security,” said an official at the nuclear agency, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid reprisals. “It is so absurd I don’t even know what to say.” Caption from article by Evan Halper and Hannah Natanson.

Hundreds of probationary employees at NOAA and The National Weather Service were fired on Thursday. A federal judge ruled the mass firing of probationary workers across the government were probably illegal. This week the Social Security Administration also announced it was closing its Office of Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced plans to sell U.S. residence permits for $5 million — the latest example of what experts call “residence by investment” programs, a popular tool of global mobility for the world’s wealthy elite. Based on reporting by President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced plans to sell U.S. residence permits for $5 million — the latest example of what experts call “residence by investment” programs, a popular tool of global mobility for the world’s wealthy elite. Based on reporting by Annabelle Timsit.

An ‘economic blackout’ is coming for Amazon and other big retailers. A social media campaign has sparked plans for an “economic blackout” on Friday, one of several boycotts planned by activists intent on sending a message to large corporations at a time when many Americans are struggling to keep up with costs. The initiative calls on consumers to suspend all spending, both online and in-person, for one day. Its organizer, The People’s Union USA, bills itself as a nonpartisan, grass-roots movement dedicated to economic resistance. The People’s Union USA website lists boycotts throughout the spring, including: * March 7-14: Amazon, including Whole Foods and Prime purchases (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.) * March 21-28: Nestlé, whose brands include Nescafé, Toll House, Stouffer’s and Purina * March 28: A 24-hour economic blackout of all large retailers * April 7 to April 13: Walmart * April 18: A 24-hour economic blackout of all large retailers. * April 21-27: General Mills, whose brands include Betty Crocker, Cheerios, Gold Medal, Green Giant, Pillsbury and Yoplait Caption from article by Ben Brasch and Jaclyn Peiser.

Someone got $38 BILLION in government funding. It’s Elon Musk. his businesses have received at least $38 billion in government contracts, loans, subsidies and tax credits, often at critical moments, a Washington Post analysis has found, helping seed the growth that has made him the world’s richest person. The payments stretch back more than 20 years. Shortly after becoming CEO of a cash-strapped Tesla in 2008, Musk fought hard to secure a low-interest loan from the Energy Department, according to two people directly involved with the process, holding daily briefings with company executives about the paperwork and spending hours with a government loan officer. Caption from article by Desmond Butler, Trisha Thadani, Emmanuel Martinez, Aaron Gregg, Luis Melgar, Jonathan O'Connell and Dan Keating.