By Ted Hesson

WASHINGTON – The U.S. State Department this week suspended funding to groups that assist refugees with housing, job placement and other needs as part of a broad pause on aid, a letter reviewed by Reuters shows.

The letter, dated Friday, said the agencies must stop all work related to the paused federal grants and “cancel as many outstanding obligations as possible.”

President Donald Trump halted the resettlement of refugees from overseas indefinitely as part of a broad immigration crackdown after taking office on Monday, calling for a review in three months to determine whether the program sufficiently benefits Americans. Trump also ordered a 90-day pause in foreign development assistance, a move that could affect humanitarian efforts around the world, including in Afghanistan, where relief operations are already stretched thin.

The order freezing funding for U.S. refugee groups could make it harder for refugees already in the U.S. to keep their housing, find jobs and adapt to U.S. life, three people familiar with the move said. Groups were still reviewing the impact of the suspension, they said.

John Slocum, executive director of Refugee Council USA, a coalition of aid groups, called the funding freeze “unfathomably cruel” and urged Trump to reverse course.

CNN first reported the funding pause. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Outgoing President Joe Biden ramped up refugee admissions during his tenure, accepting 100,000 in fiscal-year 2024 and on pace for more this year.

Another 100,000 refugees abroad had been fully vetted and ready to travel to the U.S. as of mid-January, a senior Biden administration official told Reuters last week.

Trump’s abrupt refugee halt led to cancellations of all scheduled refugee arrivals, including 1,660 Afghans, some of whom were family members of U.S. military personnel.

New York, New York–(Newsfile Corp. – January 25, 2025) – Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law LLP (“Scott+Scott”), a shareholder and consumer rights litigation firm, is investigating whether TransMedics Group (NASDAQ:), Inc. (“TransMedics Group” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: ™DX) or certain of its officers and directors issued misleading and false statements and/or failed to disclose information material to investors in violation of federal securities laws.

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TransMedics Group operates an organ transplant ecosystem under which it offers patented technology to preserve and mobilize organs, services that support transplant centers and medical teams, and a logistics arm that facilitates the entire chain.

On October 28, 2024, the Company released its 3Q24 financial results. During the associated earnings call, the Company revealed that its revenue missed its estimates by a wide margin and that revenues were down sequentially. On this news, the Company’s stock price fell $39.24, or more than 30%, on October 29, 2024, trading on high trading volume.

Then, after market hours on December 2, 2024, TransMedics Group issued a press release that revealed, among other things, additional information about the Company’s expected growth. Specifically, the Company lowered its FY24 revenue guidance from between $425M and $445M to $428M and $432M. On this news, the Company’s stock fell $13.70, or more than 16%, to close at $71.44 per share on December 3, 2024, trading on unusually high volume.

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If you purchased or otherwise own TransMedics Group securities and have suffered a loss, realized or unrealized, and you wish to discuss this investigation, please contact attorney Nicholas Bruno at (888) 398-9312 or at nbruno@scott-scott.com.

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT IF YOU CAN RECOVER YOUR LOSSES

ABOUT US
Scott+Scott is an international law firm known for its expertise in representing corporate clients, institutional investors, businesses, and individuals harmed by anticompetitive conduct or other forms of wrongdoing, including securities law and shareholder violations. With more than 100 attorneys in eight offices in the United States, as well as three offices in Europe, our advocacy has resulted in significant monetary settlements on behalf of our clients, along with other forms of relief. Our highly experienced attorneys have been recognized for being among the top financial lawyers in 2024 by Lawdragon, WWL: Commercial Litigation 2024, and Legal 500 in Antitrust Civil Litigation, and have received top Chambers 2024 rankings. In addition, we have been repeatedly recognized by the American Antitrust Institute for the successful litigation of high-stakes anticompetitive claims in the United States. To learn more about Scott+Scott, our attorneys, or complex case resolution, please visit www.scott-scott.com.

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To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/237019

By Maayan Lubell, Nidal al-Mughrabi and Dawoud Abu Alkas

JERUSALEM/CAIRO/GAZA (Reuters) -Hamas freed four female Israeli soldiers on Saturday in exchange for 200 Palestinian prisoners in the second swap under the Gaza truce, but a delay in releasing another hostage prompted Israel to halt the return of Gazans to the enclave’s bombed-out north.

The four freed Israelis were led onto a podium in Gaza City amid a large crowd of Palestinians and surrounded by dozens of armed Hamas men. They waved and smiled before being led off, entering Red Cross vehicles to be transported to Israeli forces.

Soon after, buses carrying released Palestinian prisoners were seen departing from the Israeli Ofer military prison in the occupied West Bank. Israel’s Prison Service said all 200 had been released.

The releases on either side were greeted by cheering crowds, including Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv and Palestinians assembled in Ramallah.

But the failure of Hamas to release another hostage, a female Israeli civilian, led Israel to announce it was halting plans to let Palestinians return to northern parts of Gaza, the area worst hit in the war. Hamas said it would free her next week, and called the halt to the reopening of the north a violation of the truce.

The truce calls for Hamas to release 33 women, children, elderly, sick and wounded hostages over a six-week first phase, with Israel freeing 30 prisoners for each civilian and 50 for each soldier.

The four Israeli soldiers freed on Saturday – Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag – had all been stationed at an observation post on the edge of Gaza when Hamas fighters overran their base and abducted them during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel that precipitated the war.

Their parents clapped and cried out in joy when they saw them on screen, watching the handover live from a nearby military base across the border. In Tel Aviv, hundreds of Israelis gathered at a rallying point now widely referred to as Hostages Square, crying, embracing and cheering as the release was aired on a giant screen.

The women were reunited with their families and then flown aboard helicopters to a hospital in central Israel. Video released by the Israeli military showed them embracing tightly with their parents, in smiles and tears.

The 200 Palestinians freed on Saturday include militants, some serving life sentences for involvement in attacks that killed dozens of people, according to a list published by Hamas.

Israel says those convicted of killing Israelis will not be permitted to return home. Around 70 will be deported to Egypt, Palestinian officials said, and from there to another country, possibly Turkey, Qatar or Algeria.

Another 16 were sent to Gaza and the rest were released to the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where cheering crowds waving Palestinian flags gathered in Ramallah to greet them.

DISPUTE

Joy in Israel over Saturday’s release was clouded by disappointment after it emerged that Arbel Yehud, 29, who had been abducted with her boyfriend from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, was not among those released on Saturday.

An Israeli military spokesman called it a breach of the truce, while Hamas said it was a technical issue. A Hamas official said the group had informed mediators that she was alive and would be freed next Saturday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Palestinians in Gaza would not be allowed to cross back to the northern part of the territory until the issue was resolved.

Palestinian officials said as many as 650,000 displaced people were waiting to return to the north from Sunday under the ceasefire. Witnesses said there was a stampede on a road leading to the north, blocked by Israeli troops who opened fire.

Medics said one person was killed there by suspected Israeli fire, one of only a handful of fatalities reported since the truce began. Two others were injured. Reuters sought comment from the Israeli military on the incident.

Thousands of people were massed with their belongings along the coastal road, where they said an Israeli tank continued to block the road to the north.

“I will not go back to the tent,” Zaki Kashef, 26, waiting on the coastal road to return north from Deir Al-Balah where he has been sheltering with his family for more than a year, told Reuters via a chat app. “Where are the mediators? Why can’t they force Israel to respect the deal?”

The ceasefire agreement, worked out after months of on-off negotiations brokered by Qatar and Egypt and backed by the United States, has halted the fighting for the first time in more than a year.

Following Saturday’s release, 90 hostages remain in Gaza, according to Israeli authorities, who have declared around a third of them dead in absentia.

Twenty-six are still slated for release in the first phase, after which the sides are expected to negotiate the exchange of the rest, including men of military age, and withdrawal of Israeli forces.

Families of hostages due to be released in later phases worry that the ceasefire could break down first. Some Israelis critical of the truce say Israel must resume fighting to prevent Hamas from returning to power in Gaza. Hamas says it will not free all hostages until the war ends for good.

Israel launched its campaign in Gaza following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, when militants killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, Israel’s campaign has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to health authorities there. More than 400 Israeli soldiers have also died in Gaza combat.