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Just two weeks ago, there were tens of thousands of U.S. Agency for International Development workers in Africa. Soon, there will be only 12, the New York Times reported Saturday.

Worldwide, the agency’s workforce has been whittled down to just 300.

The drastic action, which took just days to unfurl, came after President Donald issued an executive order to reevaluate foregin aid. It threatens a catastrophic international crisis, experts told the Times.

“We are in disbelief,” Medhanye Alem, who works for the Center for Victims of Torture in Ethiopia, said.

Sub-Saharan Africa received more than $8 billion a year from in U.S. foreign aid, money that fed starving children, provided lifesaving care and humanitarian assistance.

But Trump wants that to end.

“CLOSE IT DOWN!” he posted on social media Friday, along with claims of fraud and waste in the agency. Its headquarters in D.C. has already been shuttered — though that is being challenged in court.

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“The speed and shock of the administration’s actions have already led to confusion, fear and even paranoia at USAID offices across Africa,” the Times reported.

And governments are scrambling to figure out how to step into the gaping hole that’s been left.

“The consequences are also reverberating across an aid sector that, for better or worse, has been a pillar of Western engagement with Africa for over six decades. With the collapse of USAID, that entire model is badly shaken,” the Times reported.

“This is dramatic and consequential, and it’s hard to imagine rowing it back,” Murithi Mutiga, a program director at the International Crisis Group, told the Times.

“Once, the primacy of the West was assumed” in Africa, he said. “No more.”

As well as staff, the future of huge refugee camps, health care centers and programs — which relied heavily on American money — face destruction.

In Kenya, a stockpile of drugs for HIV will last a year, the report said. But there are no health workers to administer them.

And in some African nations, Trump’s move could result in anarchy, experts said.

“We could see governance effectively cease in a few countries, unless others step up to replace the hole left by the U.S.,” said Charlie Robertson, an economist who specializes in Africa.

"Texas reports new measles outbreak in West Texas" was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.

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At least 10 cases of measles — eight of which are among school-aged children — have been reported in Gaines County in West Texas over the past two weeks, driving worries of an escalating outbreak.

Of the cases so far, seven have been hospitalized, according to a Texas Health and Human Services alert. All were unvaccinated and residents of Gaines County, which has a population of about 22,000 and borders New Mexico.

“Due to the highly contagious nature of this disease, additional cases are likely to occur in Gaines County and the surrounding communities,” the alert said.

The new cases come more than a week after Texas health officials reported two Measles cases out of Gaines County, both involving unvaccinated school-aged children. Both children were hospitalized in Lubbock and later discharged. Earlier this week, state health officials said the number of cases had grown to six. Since then, cases have increased further.

West Texas is not alone in new cases of measles. In January, new measles cases were also reported in Harris County, prompting a health alert from the state and marking the first time Texans were confirmed to have the disease since 2023. The two Harris County cases involved unvaccinated adult residents.

Measles is a highly contagious airborne disease. Symptoms could include a high fever, cough, runny nose and rash that starts on the face but then extends to the rest of the body. The health consequences of getting measles can be serious and sometimes result in death.

Last year, 40% of all the 245 nationwide who contracted measles were hospitalized, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than half of those hospitalized with measles last year were under the age of five.

The disease’s prevalence has accelerated in recent years. According to the CDC, by March 2024 there were more reported measles cases that year than in all of 2023. The rise comes more than two decades after measles was considered eliminated by health agencies in 2000, meaning that there had been no continuous spreading of the disease for 12 months.

The new cases both nationwide and in Texas come as the state’s measles vaccination rate among kindergarteners has dropped since the COVID-19 pandemic. The vaccination rate was 97% in the 2019-20 school year and declined to 94.3% for 2023-24. Around the same time, the number of vaccine exemption requests in Texas have doubled from 45,900 in 2018 to 93,000 in 2024.

State lawmakers have filed more than 20 bills so far this legislative session aimed at weakening vaccination mandates. One proposal would even amend the Texas Constitution to preserve a Texans’ right to refuse vaccination.

Texas health officials have consistently said that vaccination is the best way for people to steer clear of measles and other preventable diseases. The vaccination process includes two separate doses.

“Children too young to be vaccinated are more likely to have severe complications if they get infected with the measles virus,” the Texas health officials wrote in a Jan. 30 release. “However, each MMR dose lowers the risk of infection and the severity of illness if infected.”

Experts recommend that children get the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine in two doses: the first between 12 months and 15 months of age and the second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose is about 93% effective at preventing measles infection, and two doses are about 97% effective.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/08/measles-west-texas-vaccine-outbreak/.

The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.

Donald Trump's decision to choose Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) to be his ambassador to the United Nations may have doomed multiple initiatives pushed by his administration in the closely divided U.S. House of Representatives.

According to a report from Politico, the House currently stands at a 218 Republicans to 215 Democrats majority that could shrink to 217 GOP members if New York Democrats have their way.

As Politico's Nick Reisman is reporting, New York State "lawmakers on Friday introduced a bill that would allow Gov. Kathy Hochul to schedule special elections under some circumstances until the November general election."

ALSO READ: 'Making America less safe': Democrats warn of disaster as Trump purges the CIA

With the bill expected to pass on Monday over GOP objections, Hochul has expressed approval and she could have a hand in handicapping House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) who is already struggling with his fractious caucus.

According to the report, Republicans are furious at he prospect of months with the seat sitting empty as the House attempts to forward Trump's agenda.

New York Senate Minority Leader Robert Ort complained, "These shameless Albany politicians can’t win on their disastrous policies like sky-high crime, out-of-control taxes, or an illegal migrant crisis they created, so they’re resorting to using Albany swamp tactics. The Senate Republicans are prepared to join any effort with the Trump administration to bring the hammer down on the brazen corruption in Albany.”

House Rep. Richard Hudson (R-VA) also expressed his disgust.

“The voters deserve to have a voice in Congress as soon as possible, any delay is a pure power grab by Kathy Hochul and Hakeem Jeffries to silence working families across Upstate New York," he stated.

You can read more here.