Top Items:
Nick Niedzwiadek / Politico:
Biden moves to defang political assaults on federal workforce — The move is widely seen as a response to former President Donald Trump's efforts to root out what he called a “deep state” that thwarted his policies. — The Biden administration put the finishing touches Thursday on a plan …
Discussion:
Fox News, Raw Story and GovExec.com
RELATED:
U.S. Office of Personnel Management:
RELEASE: OPM Issues Final Rule to Reinforce and Clarify Protections for Nonpartisan Career Civil Service — Washington, D.C. - The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) today announced a final rule that clarifies and reinforces long-standing protections and merit system principles for career civil servants.
Discussion:
Axios, The Hill, The Daily Caller and Blue Virginia
Will Weissert / Associated Press:
New rule strengthening federal job protections could counter Trump promises to remake the government
New rule strengthening federal job protections could counter Trump promises to remake the government
Discussion:
The Guardian and Associated Press
Politico:
Playbook: How Mike Johnson boxed himself in — With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine — DRIVING THE DAY — WHAT JEN O'MALLEY DILLON IS READING — The GOP-backed bid to change Nebraska's presidential elector system to a winner-take-all setup — likely giving DONALD TRUMP …
Discussion:
The Epoch Times, The Bulwark, Raw Story and Resolute Square
RELATED:
Rachael Bade / Politico:
Why Mike Johnson's perch has suddenly grown precarious — Facing escalating internal clashes, the new speaker watches the walls close in. — To hear Mike Johnson tell it, he's not having much fun as speaker. He has complained about the long hours and constant travel …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, PoliticusUSA and LGBTQ Nation
Manu Raju / CNN:
Greene keeps alive campaign to oust Johnson and warns against new push for Ukraine aid
Greene keeps alive campaign to oust Johnson and warns against new push for Ukraine aid
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, MeidasTouch, Politico, The Kyiv Independent, RedState, Bloomberg, Radio Free Europe/Radio … and The Hill
Sarah Fortinsky / The Hill:
Greene says Speaker Johnson is a ‘Democrat,’ comparable to Nancy Pelosi
Greene says Speaker Johnson is a ‘Democrat,’ comparable to Nancy Pelosi
Discussion:
Raw Story, Mediaite, Breitbart and Washington Examiner
WOWT-TV:
Attempt to consolidate Electoral College votes fails in Nebraska Legislature — ‘Winner-take-all’ change would eliminate Democrats' opportunity to repeat the 2020 ‘blue dot’ win for Biden — LINCOLN, Neb. (WOWT) - An attempt to turn Nebraska into a “winner-take-all” state …
RELATED:
NBC News:
Nebraska legislators buck Trump by blocking Electoral College vote change — for now — Former President Donald Trump and Republican Gov. Jim Pillen have called on lawmakers to change the state's Electoral College vote allocation to a winner-take-all system.
Discussion:
The Hill, Lincoln Journal Star, Digby's Hullabaloo, New York Times, The Daily Caller, Nebraska Examiner, Breitbart, USA Today and Fox News
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Jack Smith puts Judge Aileen Cannon on notice — Judge Aileen M. Cannon has left many legal experts dumbfounded with her handling of the criminal classified documents case against former president Donald Trump, the man who nominated her to the federal bench. — And special counsel Jack Smith appears to be losing patience with her.
Discussion:
The Hill, HuffPost, Mediaite, Raw Story, Los Angeles Times, Newsbusters, Rolling Stone, Salon, Talking Points Memo, NBC News, Breitbart, Semafor, New Republic, KDFX-TV, The Gateway Pundit, emptywheel, CNN, Washington Examiner, Washington Times, Business Insider, Balloon Juice, The Daily Caller, Digby's Hullabaloo, The Guardian, USA Today, Axios, Law & Crime, The Daily Beast, Bloomberg, MeidasTouch, CBS News and New York Times
RELATED:
Liz Dye / Public Notice:
Missouri's ridiculous lawfare against Media Matters — AG Andrew Bailey is punishing the watchdog group for making Elon Musk sad. … Move over Ken Paxton! There's a new crazy state attorney general in town, and he's coming for your crooked crown. — Last week, Missouri Attorney General …
New York Times:
Judge Won't Delay Trump's Criminal Trial to Wait for Immunity Ruling — The former president had asked the judge to push back his Manhattan criminal trial, slated to begin April 15, until after the Supreme Court decides whether he is immune from prosecution.
Discussion:
USA Today, CNN, The Gateway Pundit, Reuters, Mediaite, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, RTÉ, Axios, Voice of America and Associated Press
RELATED:
Emily Baumgaertner / New York Times:
Judge Orders Timely Housing for Migrant Children Waiting at Border — The decision established that minors at open-air sites were in legal custody of the Department of Homeland Security and thus must receive safe shelter, even if they had not yet been formally processed.
New York Times:
Trump Spoke Recently With Saudi Leader — It is not clear what the former president discussed with Prince Mohammed bin Salman, but news of their call came amid Biden administration negotiations with the Saudis over a Middle East peace plan. — Former President Donald J. Trump spoke recently …
Discussion:
Raw Story, New York Post, Business Insider and Reuters
Judd Legum / Popular Information:
Elon Musk's viral lie about the 2024 election uses bogus data — In October 2022, Elon Musk completed his purchase of Twitter. He then dramatically changed the algorithm to boost his own tweets. The new algorithm, according to a February 2023 report by Platformer, “artificially boosted Musk's tweets …
Discussion:
Gizmodo, Rolling Stone and The Texas Secretary of State
Don Wolfensberger / The Hill:
Has televising Congress dumbed it down? — During the 1970s, the U.S. House debated whether to televise its floor proceedings and, if so, how best to do it. Should there be a network pool of cameras, or should they use an House-owned and operated system? With the strong guidance of Speaker Thomas …
Dan Ladden-Hall / The Daily Beast:
John Eastman Asks for Delay in Disbarment Citing Hefty Legal Fees — BILLS TO PAY — The former Trump lawyer says he could be facing a total outlay of $3 million. — Former Donald Trump lawyer John Eastman is asking a judge to pause his disbarment so he can continue to work and earn income …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, Washington Examiner and Los Angeles Times
Marilyn W. Thompson / ProPublica:
As Elections Loom, Congressional Maps Challenged as Discriminatory Will Remain in Place — With control of the House of Representatives hanging in the balance, the time-consuming appeals process means elections in multiple districts will take place using maps that have been challenged as discriminatory to voters of color.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
Brandi Buchman / Law & Crime:
Rejected and ‘returned for correction’: Docs for Trump's $175M bond get bounced — A review of the New York County Supreme Court docket on Wednesday shows that paperwork for former President Donald Trump's newly-secured bond of $175 million was temporarily rejected and “returned for correction.”
Rafael Bernal / The Hill:
Biden extends some immigrant work permits, potentially saving thousands of jobs — The Biden administration on Thursday is announcing an extension of work permits for certain categories of immigrants, potentially preventing hundreds of thousands of people from losing their jobs overnight.
Noah Bressner / Axios:
New Bill Clinton memoir coming after November election … - “I knew as I entered this new chapter of my life that I'd keep score the way I always have,” Clinton says in the announcement. — “Are people better off when you quit than when you started?
Discussion:
The Hill, Associated Press and Deadline
Aaron Sibarium / Washington Free Beacon:
Minority Contracting Comes to Medicine — When public hospitals purchase medical equipment or rely on outside doctors, they typically consider the price and quality of each vendor. — In Tarrant County, Texas, they consider something else, too: the race and gender of the vendor's owners.
Isaac Arnsdorf / Washington Post:
How Steve Bannon guided the MAGA movement's rebound from Jan. 6 — A shroud of black mesh fence closed around the bright marble colonnades of the U.S. Capitol campus. The twelve‐foot barrier, topped with razor wire and guarded by troops in combat fatigues with flak vests and long rifles …
Discussion:
The Guardian and Washington Monthly
Michael Kunzelman / Associated Press:
Man who used megaphone to lead attack on police during Capitol riot gets more than 7 years in prison — A Washington state man who used a megaphone to orchestrate a mob's attack on police officers guarding the U.S. Capitol was sentenced on Wednesday to more than seven years in prison.
Discussion:
Salon, US Department of Justice, New Jersey Online, UPI, MeidasTouch, Law & Crime, Axios, KDFX-TV, The Hill, Associated Press and NBC News
NBC News:
Top Israeli official Ron Dermer began yelling during a meeting with U.S. officials about Gaza, officials say — The meeting grew tense after the Americans questioned an Israeli plan to evacuate more than 1 million Palestinian civilians from Rafah and house them in tents.
Discussion:
The Times of Israel and NBC Bay Area
Fox News:
Youngkin mourns K-9 dog stabbed to death by ‘barbaric’ MS-13 gang members: ‘Will be held accountable’ — The K-9 dog named Rivan was ‘repeatedly stabbed and kicked by the inmates’ — FIRST ON FOX: Gov. Glenn Youngkin, R-Va., vows to hold a group of “barbaric” MS-13 members accountable …
Discussion:
VADOC, CBS News, Twitchy, New York Post and Blaze Media