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In the news today: The Trump administration is tapping National Guard and Army Reserve lawyers to be temporary immigration judges; the FDA approves another generic abortion pill, drawing outrage from conservative groups; and Munich Airport is temporarily shut after drone sightings. Also, Sarah Mullally is named the first female Archbishop of Canterbury.

Federal agents stand outside an immigration court at the Jacob K. Javits federal building in New York, in September. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

U.S. NEWS

Trump administration taps Army Reserve and National Guard for temporary immigration judges

The Trump administration is tapping National Guard and Army Reserve lawyers to be temporary immigration judges after firing dozens of existing judges, the latest step in a broader plan that experts warn could harm immigration courts and the military justice system. Read more.

Why this matters:

• Training for the first group of Army lawyers begins Monday and training for the second group is expected to start in the spring, several former and current military reserve lawyers said they were told.
  
  

• Some immigration and military law experts are concerned the reservists will be put in the job without enough training or experience after more than 100 immigration judges were fired or left. Of particular concern, the administration is not requiring experience as an administrative law judge or in immigration law as in the past, said Margaret Stock, a retired Army lieutenant colonel and immigration lawyer.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• Justice Department fires key prosecutor in elite office already beset by turmoil, AP sources say

   

• The blame game is on at federal agencies, where political messages fault Democrats for the shutdown

   

• Trump no longer distancing himself from Project 2025 as he uses shutdown to further pursue its goals

   

• A look at which federal agencies are furloughing workers

   

• An interactive map of where federal workers live

   

• Fundraising groups step up to help reopen national park sites and welcome visitors

   

• Trump administration cuts nearly $8B in clean energy projects in states that backed Harris

   

• Arizona Democrat elected last month can’t be sworn in while the House is out of session

   

• Nebraska Republicans are targeting voter-approved medical marijuana, following other GOP-led states

   

• Ohio’s Jon Husted could be in the US Senate’s toughest 2026 race

   

• Man pleads guilty to throwing Molotov cocktail at deputies during LA immigration protest

   

• LA running club monitors for immigration agents

   

• Former Iowa superintendent charged with federal firearms offense after immigration arrest

   

• Where immigrants went during an unprecedented influx at the US border, by the numbers

   

• US government is phasing out paper checks. Here’s what that means for you

U.S. NEWS

FDA approves another generic abortion pill, prompting outrage from conservatives

Federal officials have approved another generic version of the abortion pill mifepristone, a regulatory formality that quickly triggered pushback from anti-abortion groups and politicians aligned with the Trump administration. Read more.

Why this matters:

• Drugmaker Evita Solutions announced on its website that the Food and Drug Administration signed off on its low-cost form of the pill, which is approved to end pregnancies through 10 weeks.
  
  

• Students for Life Action, which opposes abortion, in a statement Thursday called the approval “a stain on the Trump presidency and another sign that the deep state at the FDA must go.” Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri also criticized the move in a post on X, stating, “I have lost confidence in the leadership at FDA.”

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• Pope intervenes in US abortion debate by raising what it really means to be ‘pro-life’
  
  
• Maine clinics also hit by cuts that targeted Planned Parenthood plan to halt primary care

WORLD NEWS

Munich Airport temporarily shut after drone sightings, another mysterious overflight in EU airspace

Munich Airport was temporarily shut down overnight after several drone sightings in the area, the latest mysterious drone overflights in the airspace of European Union member countries, officials said. Read more.

What to know:

• The incident was the latest in a series of incidents of mysterious drone sightings over airports as well as other critical infrastructure sites in several European Union member countries. It wasn’t immediately clear who has been behind the flyovers, but European authorities have expressed concerns it could be Russia.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• European positions on Russia harden as drone incidents, cyberattacks and sabotage mount
  
  
• Putin praises Trump but warns that supplies of US long-range missile to Ukraine will badly hurt ties
  
  
• Zelenskyy warns that Russian drones endanger Chernobyl and other nuclear plants in Ukraine

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IN OTHER NEWS

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Los Angeles County: Massive fire erupts at Chevron refinery

Church of England: Sarah Mullally is named the first female Archbishop of Canterbury

Texas: Megachurch founder Robert Morris pleads guilty to child sex abuse charges

Yom Kippur attack: UK police release names of the 2 victims of the Manchester synagogue attack

Yosemite National Park: