I heard some good news – unofficially – and wrote this story for Aviation International News, where I am the Defense Editor:

http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2017-03-20/reprieve-likely-u-2-dragon-lady

Nothing is confirmed until the full President’s Budget for defense in Fiscal Year 2018 is published in a few weeks’ time. That budget will also include (as usual), a forecast for spending over the next five years – the Five-Year Defense Plan (FYDP).

The previous FYDP included the first actions to retire the U-2 in FY2018 – the run-down of the overhaul depot at Palmdale and the end of training new pilots at Beale AFB. That would have been followed by a phased withdrawal of the fleet in FY2019 and FY2020.