An Ignoble Experiment: The 7: What Trump’s funding freeze could hit; a Kennedy family feud; prehistoric puke; and more

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By Jamie Ross and Hannah Jewell

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Good morning. It's Wednesday, Jan. 29, and Lunar New Year celebrations are underway. It's the Year of the Snake — find your Chinese zodiac sign here. Now let's get to the news.

The White House offered most federal workers an incentive to resign.

The details: The offer, which includes pay through September, was sent to millions of workers yesterday. Separately, a return-to-office policy may impact more than a million workers.
Also yesterday: President Donald Trump moved to restrict transgender care for youths. And Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth took extraordinary actions against Trump foe Mark Milley.
Zooming out: Trump made 31 key campaign promises — see his progress here.

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A federal judge blocked Trump's federal spending freeze after a day of chaos.

The latest: The freeze will be paused until at least Monday, the judge said. It followed mass confusion in Washington, and a defense from new press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Digging deeper: Some states could no longer access critical Medicaid dollars yesterday. We broke down how the potential freeze could affect other programs here.

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s cousin, Caroline, warned senators against confirming him.

Why? She called Trump's health secretary pick a "predator" who has misled family members of sick children. It came ahead of this morning's Senate hearing — watch live here.
What else to know: RFK Jr. disparaged vaccines in recent years and made baseless claims on race, a Post investigation found. He could play a key role in Trump's border plans.

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A new, rare strain of bird flu was detected in the U.S.

What is it? The H5N9 strain, found at a California duck farm. It does not pose a grave threat to humans, but scientists worry bird flu could spread more easily as it evolves.
In other health news: There's growing evidence that smoke from wildfires could be hurting your brain. Long-term exposure has been linked to dementia.

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Test scores show students still aren't recovering from the pandemic.

How? Reading scores continued to fall last year, a new report shows. Math results improved, but are still lower than pre-pandemic levels. Absenteeism is part of the problem.
Can you do better? Take this quiz to try math questions for fourth-, eighth- and 12th-graders.
In other education news: Utah students are no longer allowed to bring their own copies of banned books to school.

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A civilian jet broke the sound barrier for the first time.

A historic flight: Boom Supersonic's XB-1 aircraft broke the sound barrier three times in a test over the Mojave Desert yesterday — a first for a privately developed and built aircraft.
Why it matters: It's a big step in the company's effort to bring supersonic air travel to the masses, flying more than twice as fast as a regular passenger plane.

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Some prehistoric puke was discovered by a fossil hunter in Denmark.

The fossil of a regurgitated lump of sea lily fragments. (Sten Lennart Jakobsen/East Zealand Museum/AFP/Getty Images)

What you're looking at: The remains of two crinoids (ocean-floor animals also known as sea lilies) that were swallowed and thrown up by a predator some 66 million years ago.
It's gross, but fascinating: It could offer clues about the diets of ancient sea creatures. This animal, who clearly had a delicate stomach, was most likely a shark or a large fish.

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Before you go … what's all the fuss about DeepSeek? Our reporter tried the AI app — it's impressively strange. Plus: How "Phone Free February" could improve your health.

One more good read: A corgi police officer lost part of his bonus because he looked fed-up at work. The internet can relate.

And finally … test your news knowledge with The Post's daily quiz, On the Record. Click here to play. Or try our word games, Keyword and the brand-new Wridges.

You're all caught up. See you tomorrow.