Appeals Court Pauses VOA Worker Reinstatement

0:00An appeals court just hit pause on a judge's order to bring back hundreds of voice of America workers from pay leave. A three-judge panel from the DC Circuit agreed, Tuesday to suspend the ruling while the Trump administration appeals. That means more than 1,000 employees stay on administrative leave for now, possibly months as the case plays out. This stems from US District Judge Royce Lambert's decision back on March 17th. He ordered the agency restored after a god effectively shut down about a year ago by executive order. Lambert, appointed by Ronald Reagan, also said Kari Lake, Trump's pick to run it, lacked the legal power for those moves. Voice of America has been limping along with just the skeleton crew ever since. Folks are watching closely because it's a big deal for global news reactions split along party lines, with some cheering the delay and others fuming. Over the shutdowns impact on US broadcasting abroad. The panel includes judges with mixed backgrounds, Karen LeCrav Henderson from George H.W.

1:00Bush, Robert Wilkins from Barack Obama, and Gregory Katz's from Trump. No word yet on when they'll rule, but it's clear the legal fight over the agency's future is far from over. For now, VOA keeps broadcasting on a shoestring to millions worldwide and we'll see how this appeals shakes out in the coming months. Stay tuned for updates. That's your Durham News Today update. AI powered and always on.