News Wrap: Judge blocks Trump’s plans to freeze federal grants and loans until Monday

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• Amna Nawaz:

  We start the day's other headlines with the Trump administration's efforts to freeze trillions of dollars in grants and loans.

  This afternoon, a judge in Rhode Island sided with nearly two dozen states that had requested a temporary restraining order to pause the measure. That comes after a judge in Washington had halted the plan, but only until Monday.

  Earlier this week, a government memo called on agencies to freeze funding to make sure it's in line with President Trump's agenda. That sent shockwaves through the states, schools and organizations that rely on those funds. That memo was then rescinded, though the White House press secretary has insisted that a funding freeze is still in the works.

  A senior Trump administration official traveled to Venezuela today to speak with President Nicolas Maduro about migrants. Venezuelan state TV showed the envoy for special missions Richard Grenell meeting with the authoritarian leader in Caracas. White House officials say he urged Maduro to take back deported migrants who've committed crimes in the U.S. and pushed for the release of several imprisoned Americans.

  The meeting comes after — weeks after Maduro was sworn in for a third term following last year's highly disputed election. The U.S. and several other Western nations do not recognize his victory.

  Turning now to the Middle East, where Israeli officials have confirmed the names of three hostages set to be released tomorrow by Hamas. They include American Israeli Keith Siegel, French Israeli Ofer Calderon, and Yarden Bibas. The news that Bibas will be released has raised questions about the fate of his wife and two young sons also taken captive on October 7.

  Hamas said earlier in the war that they'd been killed in an Israeli airstrike. Israel has not verified that claim. In the meantime, Palestinian officials say that Israel has agreed to release 90 prisoners as part of the fourth such exchange between the two sides.

  The United Nations says that Rwandan-backed rebels are expanding their presence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The M23 group took the major Eastern city of Goma earlier this week and has advanced into South Kivu province. Congolese forces were able to repel and attack late last night, but the rebels have vowed to march to Congo's capital of Kinshasa about 1,000 miles away.

  In the meantime, the rebel-controlled Goma remains largely without water and electricity. The city has been a humanitarian hub for more than six million people in the region who have been displaced by the conflict.

• Kavira Aline, Congo Resident (through interpreter):

  We no longer had people to protect us when fighting broke out. I hope M23 have pity on us. May they bring us peace. What we are going through is not meant for children of God. We live like animals. We are suffering.

• Amna Nawaz:

  The U.N. also said today that it's concerned about growing human rights violations stemming from the conflict. This includes reports of executions at the hands of the rebels, as well as sexual violence carried out by the Congolese government forces.

  Back in this country, a New York doctor was indicted today for allegedly prescribing an abortion pill online to a teenager in Louisiana, where the procedure is banned with few exceptions. A grand jury there charged Dr. Margaret Carpenter and her company with — quote — "criminal abortion by means of abortion-inducing drugs," a felony.

  Louisiana classifies the abortion drugs mifepristone and misoprostol as controlled dangerous substances. This appears to be the first case of criminal charges against a doctor for sending abortion pills to another state since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022.

  On Wall Street today, stocks ended lower amid concerns about President Trump's tariffs. The Dow Jones industrial average lost more than 300 points on the day. The Nasdaq dropped more than 50 points. The S&P 500 also ended the week in negative territory.

  And today marks the fifth anniversary of not one, but two moments that changed our world forever. First up, Brexit. At 11:00 p.m. London time on this day in 2020, Big Ben marked the moment when the U.K. officially left the European Union. Five years later, the economic, social and cultural shift is still playing out.

• Also today:

  Alex Azar, Former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary: I have today declared that the coronavirus presents a public health emergency in the United States.

• Amna Nawaz:

  It is five years since U.S. health officials declared a public health emergency over the newly reported coronavirus. COVID went on to shut down schools and offices nationwide and claim the lives of more than 1.2 million Americans.