2025

MEDLEY, Fla. – WNBA stars Angel Reese, Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier and Brittney Griner were in action as the second weekend of Unrivaled women’s basketball continued Saturday night.

Lexie Hull scored 19 points, Kahleah Copper had 18 points, and Chelsea Gray scored the game-winning bucket to help the Rose beat the Mist 71-66 in the first game Saturday night.

Collier scored an Unrivaled-high 33 points with 18 rebounds, and Allisha Gray scored the game-deciding bucket to finish with 21 points as the Lunar Owls beat the Phantom 82-58 in the second game.

Heat star Jimmy Butler, U.S. Olympian Gabby Thomas, and former NBA star John Wall were in attendance for the games Saturday night.

Check out these highlights from Saturday’s Unrivaled games at Wayfair Arena:

Unrivaled highlights: Mist vs. Rose

Unrivaled final score: Lunar Owls 82, Phantom 58

Napheesa Collier scored an Unrivaled-high 33 points with 18 rebounds, and Allisha Gray scored the game-deciding bucket to finish with 21 points as the Lunar Owls beat the Phantom 82-58 in the second game Saturday night.

“We come in, wanting to win,” Collier said after the game.

Skylar Diggins-Smith finished with 16 points for the Lunar Owls, who improved to 3-0 after their first three games in league play.

Satou Sabally led the Phantom with 19 points, while Natisha Hiedeman finished with 18 points, and Brittney Griner had 10 points and five rebounds. The Phantom won their first game Friday, but fell to 1-3 on the season.

Unrivaled score: Lunar Owls 71, Phantom 51 after third quarter

Target winning score: 82

Napheesa Collier has 29 points and 15 rebounds, and the Lunar Owls are 11 points away from a 3-0 start in Unrivaled. The target winning score is 82 points. Allisha Gray has 18 points, while Skylar Diggins-Smith has 16 points for the Lunar Owls, who lead by 20 points after the third quarter.

Satou Sabally leads the Phantom with 19 points, while Natisha Hiedeman has 11 points, and Brittney Griner has 10 points and five rebounds.

Unrivaled halftime score: Lunar Owls 46, Phantom 37 after second quarter

Napheesa Collier, Skylar Diggins-Smith and Allisha Gray each have 14 points, and the Lunar Owls lead 46-37 at the end of the second quarter.

Collier also has 12 rebounds for the Lunar Owls, hoping to stay undefeated in their third game.

Satou Sabally has 12 points to lead the Phantom (1-2).

Unrivaled score: Lunar Owls 23, Phantom 11 after first quarter

Napheesa Collier has nine points and nine rebounds in the first quarter, while Skylar Diggins-Smith has eight points and Allisha Gray has six points for the Lunar Owls, up 23-11 after the first quarter.

Katie Lou Samuelson has seven points for the Phantom, while Brittney Griner and Natasha Cloud have started a combined 0-7 from the field.

Unrivaled final score: Rose 71, Mist 66

Lexie Hull scored 19 points, Kahleah Copper had 18, and Chelsea Gray scored the game-winning bucket to help the Rose beat the Mist 71-66 in the first game Saturday night.

Azurá Stevens added 16 points and seven rebounds, while Gray also had seven rebounds and six assists in the Rose’s first win of the Unrivaled season.

“We needed a win. We needed to get it done,” Gray said after the game.

The Mist, however, are winless after the first two weeks of Unrivaled play. League co-founder Breanna Stewart had 20 points and nine rebounds for the Mist, who fell to 0-4.

Unrivaled score: Rose 60, Mist 58 after third quarter

Target score: 71

The Rose or Mist are one quarter away from their first win of the season: The target winning score of 71 points must be reached to secure a victory.

Lexie Hull has 19 points and Kahleah Copper has 18 points for the Rose, while Breanna Stewart leads all scorers with 20 points for the Mist.

Unrivaled halftime score: Rose 40, Mist 34 after second quarter

Lexie Hull has 15 points, Kahleah Copper has 11 points, and Chelsea Gray has seven rebounds and five assists for the Rose, up 40-34 on the Mist after the first half.

Breanna Stewart has 14 points and five rebounds for the Mist, while Jewell Loyd and Aaliyah Edwards each have six points.

Unrivaled score: Rose 22, Mist 19 after first quarter

It’s a back-and-forth affair to start this game between the Rose and Mist.

Lexie Hull has eight points, and Kahleah Copper has seven points for the Rose, while Breanna Stewart has 10 points for the Mist in the first quarter.

How to watch Unrivaled games on TV Saturday night

Unrivaled is available on cable television on TruTV in the United States, and TSN+ in Canada.

How to live stream Unrivaled games on Saturday night

Unrivaled games are also available to live stream on Max, and internationally on YouTube.

Mist (0-3) vs. Rose (0-2) preview

Stewart had 27 points and 11 rebounds, Rickea Jackson added 24 points, but the Mist fell 74-69 to the Phantom on Friday night to fall to 0-3. They hope to avoid two winless weekends.

Kaleah Cooper (19.0) and Chelsea Gray (17.5) are the leading scorers for Rose, while Reese averages 10 rebounds through the first two games. The Vinyl and Lunar Owls beat Rose last weekend.

Lunar Owls (2-0) vs. Phantom (1-2) preview

Collier is Unrivaled’s leading scorer averaging 29.0 points from the Lunar Owls’ first two games, wins against the Mist and Rose last week.

Griner and Sabally each scored 29 points to help Phantom get its first win of the season against the Mist on Friday night. Griner was able to play through a hip pointer to score the game-winning basket. She’ll play on Saturday.

Alyssa Thomas has knee injury at Unrivaled Friday night

Alyssa Thomas, of the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun, has a right knee injury after leaving the Laces’ win in the second game Friday. The Laces return to action Monday.

Sabrina Ionescu not playing Unrivaled games in Week 2

WNBA champion Sabrina Ionescu won’t be available for Phantom, after participating in promotional activities during NBA Paris Games this week.

Unrivaled Week 2 games on Monday

The second weekend of Unrivaled games ends Monday on TNT:

Vinyl vs. Lunar Owls at 7:30 p.m.

Rose vs. Laces, 8:30 p.m.

What is Unrivaled?

Six teams with 36 of the best women’s basketball players in the world, including Sabrina Ionescu and Brittney Griner, will compete in 3-on-3, full court games for the next nine weeks.

Where is Unrivaled playing games?

Games will be played at Wayfair Arena in Medley, Fla., which is in the Miami metropolitan area, about 7 miles from Miami International Airport.

Unrivaled team names and rosters

Laces: Stefanie Dolson, Tiffany Hayes, Kate Martin, Kayla McBride, Alyssa Thomas, Jackie Young.
Lunar Owls: Shakira Austin, Napheesa Collier, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Allisha Gray, Courtney Williams, Cameron Brink (IR).
Mist: DiJonai Carrington, Aaliyah Edwards, Rickea Jackson, Jewell Loyd, NaLyssa Smith (relief player contract), Breanna Stewart, Courtney Vandersloot.
Phantom: Natasha Cloud, Brittney Griner, Natisha Hiedeman (relief player contract), Sabrina Ionescu, Marina Mabrey, Satou Sabally, Katie Lou Samuelson.
Rose: Kahleah Copper, Chelsea Gray, Lexie Hull, Angel Reese, Azura Stevens, Brittney Sykes.
Vinyl: Aliyah Boston, Rae Burrell, Jordin Canada, Dearica Hamby, Rhyne Howard, Arike Ogunbowale.

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Sports

Everything to know about Jets’ new GM, Darren Mougey

The New York Jets are no longer hiring for head coach and general manager.

Another job came off the market on Saturday, reducing the NFL’s unemployment rate, as the Jets hired Darren Mougey to be their next general manager, the team announced.

The 39-year-old Mougey departs the Denver Broncos as a man on a meteoric rise, having earned three promotions in the Mile High City since 2020. His 12-year run there comes to an end with promotion No. 4. The Broncos’ assistant general manager now slides into the big chair in Florham Park, N.J.

The hiring cycle has been a long process for the Jets after firing head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas during the season. New York interviewed over 30 candidates in total between their two big openings before finally settling on Mougey and Aaron Glenn.

It leaves the Jacksonville Jaguars as the only NFL team with a general manager position available.

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

Here’s what to know about Mougey.

Who is Darren Mougey?

Mougey played college football at San Diego State University, where he overlapped with Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell. The two have been closely connected over the years, but Mougey settled into a front office role a couple years after college.

He joined the Broncos as a scouting intern in 2012, remaining with the organization until being hired by the Jets this offseason. Mougey was promoted to personnel and scouting assistant in 2013, before becoming a college and pro personnel scout in 2014.

Mougey’s career began to take off in 2015 when he assumed the role of area scout, remaining in that job through the 2019 season.

After that, the rise only continued. He was the assistant director of college scouting in 2020, director of player personnel in 2021 and received the assistant general manager title in 2022.

Mougey has stuck around through six head coaches and two general managers during his time in Denver, becoming a mainstay in the organization.

He was described as a ‘sounding board’ for Sean Payton, according to NFL Network’s Peter Schrager. Payton is also notoriously close with the Jets’ new coach, which provides some insight into who the team’s new regime is influenced by.

Darren Mougey pronunciation

Mougey isn’t among the self-explanatory names out there. If you want to get the Jets’ new general manager’s name right in conversation, it’s pronounced, ‘MOO-GEE.’

This story was updated with new information.

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Politics

CIA releases new analysis on COVID origins favoring lab leak theory

The CIA has changed its assessment on the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, now favoring the lab leak theory. Under its new director, John Ratcliffe, the agency released an assessment on the origins of COVID-19.

The review was ordered by former President Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan toward the end of Biden’s time in office.

Analysts made the assessment with ‘low confidence’ despite former CIA director Bill Burns, who remained agnostic on the origins, telling the agency it needed to look at the existing evidence again and come down on one side or the other.

The agency has maintained for years it did not have enough intelligence to conclude whether COVID originated in a lab or a wet market in Wuhan, China. Despite the new assessment favoring a lab leak, there was no indication of new evidence.

‘CIA assesses with low confidence that a research-related origin of the COVID-19 pandemic is more likely than a natural origin based on the available body of reporting. CIA continues to assess that both research-related and natural origin scenarios of the COVID-19 pandemic remain plausible,’ a CIA spokesperson told Fox News.

‘We have low confidence in this judgment and will continue to evaluate any available credible new intelligence reporting or open-source information that could change CIA’s assessment.’

Ratcliffe, who was confirmed Thursday, has long been a proponent of the lab leak theory. In an interview with Breitbart, Ratcliffe framed the assessment of COVID’s origins as part of a broader strategy ‘addressing the threat from China.’

He also said he wants the CIA to ‘get off the sidelines’ and take a stand.

In a March 2023 Fox News piece co-written with Cliff Sims, Ratcliffe accused the Biden administration of trying to keep a growing consensus around the lab leak theory quiet by suppressing ‘what can clearly be assessed from the intelligence they possess.’

He also cast doubt on the notion that the CIA did not have enough evidence to come to a conclusion about the virus’ origins.

‘The CIA is the world’s premier spy agency. Its reach is unmatched, its ability to acquire information unrivaled. And yet here we are three-and-a-half years later and there is ample public reporting that the CIA just doesn’t have enough information to make an assessment. This is utter nonsense,’ the March 2023 piece says.

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Sports

Everything to know about Jets’ reported new GM, Darren Mougey

The New York Jets are no longer hiring for head coach and general manager.

Another job came off the market on Saturday, reducing the NFL’s unemployment rate as the team hired Darren Mougey to be their next general manager, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

The 39-year-old Mougey departs the Denver Broncos as a man on a meteoric rise, having earned three promotions in the Mile High City since 2020. His 12-year run there comes to an end with promotion No. 4. The Broncos’ assistant general manager now slides into the big chair in Florham Park, N.J.

The hiring cycle has been a long process for the Jets after firing head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas during the season. New York interviewed over 30 candidates in total between their two big openings before finally settling on Mougey and Aaron Glenn.

It leaves the Jacksonville Jaguars as the only NFL team with a general manager position available.

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

Here’s what to know about Mougey.

Who is Darren Mougey?

Mougey played college football at San Diego State University, where he overlapped with current Vikings’ coach, Kevin O’Connell. The two have been closely connected over the years, but Mougey settled into a front office role a couple years after college.

He joined the Broncos as a scouting intern in 2012, remaining with the organization until being hired by the Jets this offseason. Mougey was then promoted to personnel and scouting assistant in 2013, before becoming the college and pro personnel scout in 2014.

Mougey’s career began to take off in 2015 when he assumed the role of area scout, remaining in that job through the 2019 season.

After that, the rise only continued. He was the assistant director of college scouting in 2020, director of player personnel in 2021 and received the assistant general manager title in 2022.

Mougey has stuck around through six head coaches and two general managers during his time in Denver, becoming a mainstay in the organization.

He was described as a ‘sounding board’ for Sean Payton, according to NFL Network’s Peter Schrager. Payton is also notoriously close with the Jets’ new coach, which provides some insight into who the team’s new regime is influenced by.

Darren Mougey pronunciation

Mougey isn’t among the self-explanatory names out there. If you want to get the Jets’ new general manager’s name right in conversation, it’s pronounced, ‘MOO-GEE.’

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

Sports

Astros GM: Door to bring back free agent Alex Bregman ‘cracked’ open

‘When we made some trades and moves this offseason, we never realized that Bregman would still be on the market at this point,’ Brown said at the team’s fan fest on Saturday. ‘We’ve had some conversations, and the interesting thing is that he is still available, so it’s not as if we are not talking about him.’

Houston has already traded All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for third baseman Isaac Paredes, right-hander Hayden Wesneski and third baseman prospect Cam Smith. They also signed free agent first baseman Christian Walker to a three-year deal worth $60 million this offseason.

“I would say [the door is] cracked,” Brown said of Bregman. “The fact that he’s still available, it just makes it interesting. Like ’man, this guy is such a good player, he’s done so many wonderful things here.’ We’ll stick with the cracked door and see where our conversations lead.”

Bregman, 30, hit .260 with 26 home runs and 75 RBI in 2024. Drafted second overall by the Astros in 2015, Bregman helped the team win World Series titles in 2017 and 2022.

All things Astros: Latest Houston Astros news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

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Sports

Shedeur Sanders meets with NFL teams, won’t play in Shrine Bowl

Colorado football quarterback Shedeur Sanders will not participate in practices or for the East-West Shrine Bowl game but will meet with NFL scouts in Denton, Texas.

The Buffaloes signal-caller will only participate in meetings and has already met with the Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns, and New York Giants, according to ESPN. Those three teams hold the top three picks in the 2025 NFL draft scheduled for April 24 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

The meeting with Sanders and the Titans lasted about 45 minutes, including a surprise FaceTime call from Sanders’ father, Deion Sanders, a Colorado coach.

‘He’s really poised and had (a) mature way about him,’ Titans coach Brian Callahan said to ESPN about the meeting. ‘You can tell he’s been in the spotlight and knows how to handle it.’

Sanders passed for 4,134 yards, 37 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 2024 for the Buffaloes. He is widely expected to be one of the first quarterbacks selected and in play to be a top-5 or top-10 pick in the draft.

Saturday was the first day of practices for the 100th annual East-West Shrine Bowl, which will be played at 8 p.m. ET Thursday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Sanders is expected to talk to the media on Saturday afternoon.

The East-West Shrine Bowl pits the top seniors head-to-head for a week of practices before a game with 100 prospective NFL players having a chance to showcase their talents.

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Sports

Bronny throws down poster dunk, scores career-high points in G League

Bronny James scored a G League career-high 31 points, including a poster dunk, in the South Bay Lakers’ 122-110 victory against the Rip City Remix Friday.

James, the son of Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, made 10-for-22 shots from the field, including 5-for-11 on 3-pointers. He also had three assists, two rebounds and two steals.

Bronny scored 25 of his points in the second half, including 13 in the fourth quarter. He threw down a powerful one-handed dunk for an and-1 opportunity in the third quarter, giving South Bay an 81-80 lead. The dunk was part of a 16-4 run that put South Bay ahead 94-84.

His previous G League career-high in points was 30 set on Dec. 12.

‘I’m just trying to get my confidence back is all,” Bronny told Spectrum Sports, adding, ‘Trying to go out and play my game, learn from every game. While I’m not playing in the G League, learn from the Lakers, learn from my vets and just keep trying to be myself. … I’m happy with my results right now. Anytime I’m playing basketball, anytime I’m out here breathing, anytime I’m out here walking, I’m having fun and I’m grateful.’

All things Lakers: Latest Los Angeles Lakers news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

In July of 2023, Bronny sustained a life-threatening sudden cardiac arrest while working out on the USC campus.

After playing one season for the USC Trojans, he was a second-round pick in the 2024 NBA draft (55th overall) and signed a four-year, $7.8 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Bronny has played sparingly with his NBA team, appearing in 12 games for a total of 29 minutes. In the G League, he averages 16.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists. Earlier in this season, LeBron and Bronny became the first father-son combo to play in the NBA at the same time, and they did it in the same game for the same team.

(This story was updated with additional information.)

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Sports

Keys, husband and coach shed tears after Australian Open win

Madison Keys finally broke through and can call herself a Grand Slam champion after beating the defending two-time Australian Open winner Aryna Sabalenka in three sets 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 on Saturday.

Keys at age 29 was eight years removed from her last Grand Slam final appearance, a defeat in the 2017 U.S. Open to Sloane Stephens.

After the match, Keys thanked many, including her husband and coach, former American tennis player Bjorn Fratengelo. The two just got married in November.

Keys, who will match a career-high No. 7 when the new ATP rankings come out on Monday, said when she was younger that she would have had to carry a heavy burden if she did not win a Grand Slam.

‘I have wanted this for so long and I have been in a grand slam final before, it did not go my way,’ Keys said. ‘I didn’t know if I was going to be able to get back to this position to try and win a trophy again and my team believed in me every step of the way, so thank you so much.’

In her 46th Grand Slam appearance (the third most before winning a women’s major title), Keys beat the tournament’s top two seeds and gave her husband a hug after the match, while Sabalenka threw her racket in frustration.

‘They believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself and helped me every step of the way. Last year was so tough with some really bad injuries and I didn’t know if I was going to be able to do it again and to be here and have this trophy and also be able to do it with my husband, who is kind of dazed and confused over there. I love you all so much and I cannot wait for more,’ Keys said.

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Business

Universal’s ‘Wicked: For Good’ creates a unique marketing challenge

Universal is hoping the excitement around “Wicked” can hang around — for good.

The movie studio faces a unique challenge: promote and release two build-on films just one year apart. Part one of the “Wicked” cinematic project dazzled at the box office, collecting more than $700 million in global ticket sales through Sunday. Not only did it have the highest opening of any theatrical Broadway adaptation, but it is also now the highest-grossing film based on a Broadway musical, according to data from Comscore.

The question for Universal ahead of the release of part two — “Wicked: For Good,” due out in November — is how to keep its biggest fans engaged without alienating its more casual audiences.

Marketing experts told CNBC that pent-up demand for the movie, combined with the first film’s success, makes promoting its follow-up much easier.

″[Generating] close to $500 million is an amazing feat for that film,” said Mike Polydoros, CEO at cinematic marketing agency PaperAirplane Media. “They have all these fans who have seen the movie over and over again and came to the sing-alongs. They’ve marked their calendars for the second part of the movie.

“So, the marketing of it is more about keeping that group engaged and keeping them [informed] … and giving them just enough nuggets without oversaturating,” Polydoros said.

Universal already has one thing working in its favor: When it launches the marketing campaign for “Wicked: For Good,” it will be able to add best picture Academy Award nominee to its franchise promotions.

On Thursday, the studio snared 10 nominations for “Wicked,” including for lead actress, supporting actress, film editing, sound, score, production design, costume, visual effects and makeup and hairstyling.

The overall marketing plan for “Wicked: For Good” is expected to be similar to the playbook used for “Wicked” with a few alterations to keep it fresh and avoid oversaturating audiences.

Universal jumpstarted the first film’s advertising strategy with a teaser trailer that ran during the Super Bowl in February. The nearly 90-second spot gave fans their first glimpse of Oz, as well as Cynthia Erivo’s triumphant battle cry from “Defying Gravity,” the closing number of the first act of the Broadway musical.

“There wasn’t a debate,” Michael Moses, Universal’s chief marketing officer, told Variety back in November. “When you’re working on materials, you always have those kinds of conversations. But if there’s a single sound associated with ‘Wicked,’ it’s certainly that end to ‘Defying Gravity.’ … Ending that spot with it felt assured and inescapably the right call.”

The Super Bowl ad spot was followed up by another teaser trailer at the annual CinemaCon in Las Vegas in April and a quick appearance from Elphaba (Erivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande). The co-stars attended the Met Gala in New York City a month later, walking the red carpet together and closing out the evening with a surprise performance. Then, in July, the pair were spotted at the Paris Olympics, which was televised by NBC.

“Our filmmakers and our talent were very accessible throughout this process,” said Dave O’Connor, president of franchise management and brand strategy at Universal. “Many of them participated in various parts of our campaign, from the straight marketing that we did for the film, but also with our partnerships and some of the unique opportunities that our company brought to the table. So I think that was also something that felt organic and authentic to the process.”

Universal peppered audiences with different iterations of the film’s trailer and teaser videos throughout the summer, leading into its big marketing push — more than 400 corporate brand partnerships. Retail stores were flooded with pink and green merchandise, from apparel, accessories, footwear, beauty and costumes to home decor, toys and even one-of-a-kind cars. The collections ranged in price, allowing consumers to choose from affordable and luxury options to show off their love of all things “Wicked.”

“I get asked a lot, ‘What is the state of exhibition?‘” said Brandon Jones, president and chief marketing officer of FilmFrog. “And I think that ‘Wicked’ is the perfect example of this. The state of exhibition is, and has always been, to influence culture.”

With nine months before the release of “Wicked: For Good,” Universal will look to repeat the success of the first film’s marketing campaign, but with some variation.

“I think our intent would not be to replicate, but certainly to evolve and to continue to do incredible work and find the right balance of partnerships that can innovate and really match the heart of the next film,” O’Connor said.

Like “Wicked,” “Wicked: For Good” arrives the weekend before Thanksgiving. This gives the film breathing room for a solid opening weekend before Disney drops its traditional animated release the day before the holiday. This year, it will be “Zootopia 2.”

“Wicked: For Good” will then be able to capitalize on school vacations and family gatherings to fuel a strong second week of ticket sales — the same strategy employed for “Wicked” amid the surprise release of Disney’s “Moana 2” on the Thanksgiving holiday last year.

Cinemas will also look to capitalize on the prior success of “Wicked” when promoting “Wicked: For Good.” While Universal will provide creative assets such as trailers, standees and other digital and physical materials, theaters big and small will look for ways to lure audiences to their locations with special collectible popcorn buckets and unique food and drink options.

“Until, really, the last [decade], exhibitors just relied on studios to do most of the marketing and that really started to change around 2016 or 2017,” said Jones. “Because the relationship between the film and the moviegoer is actually managed by exhibitors. Because you don’t buy your ticket for ‘Wicked’ from Universal. You buy it from your local movie theater.”

Jones noted that the quick release of “Wicked: For Good,” almost exactly one year after “Wicked,” allows movie theaters to engage with guests more acutely.

Using ticket sales data, cinemas can market on a one-to-one basis during the 12-month period between releases to not only promote the second film, but also entice moviegoers to return for other in-theater programming that is similar to “Wicked.”

“It’s one thing to market the movie, it’s another thing to market the experience of going to the movies,” Jones added.

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal is the distributor of “Wicked” and owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the U.S. broadcast rights holder to all Summer and Winter Games through 2032.

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Politics

Trump fires 17 government watchdogs at various federal agencies

President Donald Trump fired 17 independent watchdogs at various federal agencies late Friday, a Trump administration official confirmed to Fox News, as he continues to reshape the government at a blistering pace.

Trump dismissed inspectors general at agencies within the Defense Department, State Department, Energy Department, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Department of Veterans Affairs and more, notifying them by email from the White House Presidential Personnel Office, the Washington Post first reported.

‘It’s a widespread massacre,’ one of the terminated inspectors general told the Post. ‘Whoever Trump puts in now will be viewed as loyalists, and that undermines the entire system.’

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that Trump’s action may violate federal law that requires the president to give 30 days’ notice to Congress of his intent to fire any independent watchdog, the Associated Press reported.

‘There may be good reason the IGs were fired. We need to know that if so,’ Grassley said in a statement. ‘I’d like further explanation from President Trump. Regardless, the 30 day detailed notice of removal that the law demands was not provided to Congress.’

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Inspectors general at federal agencies are called on to investigate government waste, fraud and abuse. They operate independently and can serve in multiple administrations.

The mass firing is Trump’s latest attempt to force the federal bureaucracy into submission after he shut down diversity, equity and inclusion programs, rescinded job offers and sidelined more than 150 national security and foreign policy officials. Trump began his second term with the intent of purging any opponents of his agenda from the government and replacing them with officials who would execute his orders without hesitation.

Among those spared from Trump’s wrath was Department of Justice inspector general Michael Horowitz, the New York Times reported. Horowitz led the investigation of the FBI’s Russian collusion probe, which exposed at least 17 ‘significant inaccuracies and omissions’ in the FBI’s application for a FISA warrant in the Crossfire Hurricane investigation.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., slammed Trump’s firings, calling them a ‘purge of independent watchdogs in the middle of the night.’

‘President Trump is dismantling checks on his power and paving the way for widespread corruption,’ Warren posted on X.

During his first term, Trump fired five inspectors general in less than two months in 2020. This included the State Department, whose inspector general had played a role in the president’s impeachment proceedings.

Last year, Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden fired the inspector general of the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, after an investigation found the official had created a hostile work environment.

In 2022, Congress passed reforms that strengthened protections for inspectors general and made it harder to replace them with political appointees, requiring the president to explain their removal.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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