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... A federal judge in California found a U.S. Office of Personnel Management memo that directed the firing of thousands of probationary employees was unlawful and should be rescinded, while another in Washington, D.C., ordered the restoration of foreign aid that was supposed to be freed weeks ago.

The plaintiffs -- and the judge -- in the foreign aid case have accused the government of continued stonewalling, while plaintiffs in cases involving the suspension of refugee program funding charged the administration is failing to fully comply with court orders.

Here's a look at the swirl of legal developments over the past week.

Mass firings of probationary workers 'illegal'

A federal judge in California on Thursday ordered OPM to rescind a memo and email telling agencies to get rid of probationary employees. The directions, communicated in a Jan. 20 memo and Feb. 14 internal email, are "illegal" and "should be stopped, rescinded," Judge William Alsup said.

"The Office of Personnel Management does not have any authority whatsoever under any statute in the history of the universe to hire and fire employees within another agency," the judge found. "It can hire its own employees, yes. Can fire them. But it cannot order or direct some other agency to do so," Alsup said. ...