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Trump has pulled Fauci's security detail, source says — President Donald Trump has terminated Dr. Anthony Fauci's security detail that was being provided and paid for by the National Institutes of Health, a source familiar with the situation tells CNN. It was pulled on Thursday night.
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Trump returns — and so does his astounding ignorance — If you feel off-kilter, you're in good company. The president seems downright bewildered. — “I think we're going to do things that people would be shocked at,” President Donald Trump declared on his second day in office.
Discussion:
Plain Dealer, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Daily Signal, New Jersey Online and NOTUS


Trump enlists attorney general to investigate Biden administration — President has thrown weight of justice department behind two politically charged reviews into his personal grievances — Donald Trump has tasked the attorney general in two executive orders to conduct far-reaching investigations …


Fauci Stripped of Government Security Protection
Discussion:
Daily Mail, Associated Press, Daily Kos, Axios, Bloomberg, Los Angeles Times, New Republic, DNyuz and Politico


US Secret Service approached South Side school, not ICE agents: officials — Chicago Public Schools officials claimed they denied ICE entry to Hamline Elementary School Friday morning — Live streaming newscasts, breaking news, weather & original, local programming.
Discussion:
Oklahoma Voice, New York Daily News and The Independent
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ICE agents ‘showed up’ at Chicago school amid heightened concerns of raids — Schools across the Chicago area have released guidance about potential situations after the Trump Administration revoked previous guidance prohibiting immigration arrests at schools, churches and hospitals
Discussion:
CNN, Chicago Tribune, Chalkbeat, The Hill, Axios, LAist, The Times-Tribune, Chicago Sun Times, Block Club Chicago, New Jersey Online, WUSA, Raw Story, The Daily Caller and Wirepoints


Donald Trump in fiery call with Denmark's prime minister over Greenland — US president insisted he wants to take over Arctic island — Donald Trump insisted he was serious in his determination to take over Greenland in a fiery telephone call with Denmark's prime minister, according to senior European officials.
Discussion:
The Hill, Politico, New York Post, Gizmodo, Mediaite, Daily Caller News Foundation, Raw Story, RTÉ, Semafor and Alternet.org


Experts saw Samoa's plunging vaccination rates as a crisis. RFK Jr. saw an opportunity. — New details show how Robert F. Kennedy Jr., then chair of an anti-vaccine group and now Trump's pick for health secretary, sought to exploit a deadly vaccine accident.
Discussion:
Politico, New Republic, Fox News, DNyuz, Scripps News and The Hill
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Facing FBI investigation that Trump could halt, Andy Ogles proposes allowing third term for president — The Tennessee congressman, who was effusive in his praise of President Trump, faces an FBI investigation over allegations of fraud in reporting a $320,000 personal loan to his campaign.
Discussion:
CNBC
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State Department issues immediate, widespread pause on foreign aid — The “stop-work orders” appear to apply to US aid for all countries except Israel and Egypt. — Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday issued new guidance halting spending on most existing foreign aid grants for 90 days.
Discussion:
Financial Times, Associated Press, Reuters, The Gateway Pundit, Forbes and DNyuz


Sensing Political Support, Abortion Opponents Raise Ambitions — The March for Life on Friday will bring together a movement invigorated by some early moves of the second Trump administration. — Anti-abortion activists are charging ahead with their ultimate mission to end all abortions nationwide …
Discussion:
Politico, Washington Examiner, Associated Press, New Republic, Roll Call, The Guardian, The 19th, The Daily Signal, Michigan Advance, NOTUS, Washington Post, NBC News and The Hill
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Johnson touts ‘new era’ of abortion opposition under Trump
Discussion:
Politico, Axios, Slate and Speaker of the House …

Trump pardons anti-abortion activists who blockaded clinic entrances


Trump's Obscene Jan. 6 Pardons Will Live in Infamy — Sanctioning violence is what authoritarians do — As Inauguration Day neared, Donald Trump and his associates put out a reassuring message: while the new president would pardon many Jan. 6 rioters, as he had promised supporters, he would do so in a responsible and prudent way.
Discussion:
Raw Story, Washington Post, The Dean's Report and ABC News
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Supreme Court to weigh whether states can allow religious public schools — The Supreme Court agreed Friday to consider whether the state of Oklahoma may fund a proposed religious charter school, the first of its kind in the country — The Supreme Court agreed Friday to consider whether …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Associated Press, The Hill, Los Angeles Times, HuffPost, New Republic, Oklahoma Voice and Chalkbeat
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Supreme Court to hear church-state fight over Oklahoma bid to launch first publicly funded religious school
Discussion:
Reuters, USA Today, Bloomberg, New York Times, Oklahoma Voice and Reason


Dems Worry Sen. Whitehouse Considering Vote for RFK Jr — Wanted to share some information on the RFK Jr. nomination before the Senate. — It probably won't surprise you that RFK Jr., along with Tulsi Gabbard, are among the few Trump nominees who might actually not get confirmed.
Discussion:
WPRI.com, Digby's Hullabaloo, The Independent and New Republic


Trump's Plan to Crush the Academic Left — Last year, Chris Rufo, the influential right-wing strategist who spearheaded the campaign against diversity, equity and inclusion, or D.E.I., initiatives, told me about his ambitions for a second Trump presidency. He hoped, he said …
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money, Baltimore Sun and Fox News
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Paul Krugman on Leaving the New York Times — The paper wanted to take away his newsletter or make him write less frequently, he says. — For two and a half decades, Paul Krugman's columns in the New York Times were beacons of intelligence and common sense.


Elon Musk doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt — Since Donald Trump's rise to power, some liberals have developed a bad habit of seeing secret Nazi imagery everywhere on the right. — Be it Laura Ingraham allegedly sieg-heiling at the 2016 Republican National Convention …
Discussion:
Twitchy, Colorado Times Recorder, PolitiFact, The Hill, Jewish Insider and HuffPost
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Musk Tells a ‘Joke’
Discussion:
CNN, OutsideTheBeltway, VINnews, MPR News and The Hill


Team Trump Says Mark Zuckerberg Has ‘More Ass-Kissing’ to Do — Trump's aides and allies aren't ready to buy the Facebook chief's right-wing conversion. “He can't just snap his fingers and make the past not happen” … The Meta CEO and Facebook co-founder reportedly promised the administration …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Futurism and Wired, more at Techmeme »


Wall Street Banks Prepare to Sell Billions of Dollars of X Loans — Banks are hoping to sell the X debt at around 90 to 95 cents on the dollar — Banks are getting ready to sell billions of dollars in debt borrowed by Elon Musk's X, bringing Wall Street a step closer to exiting …
Discussion:
Reuters, The Verge and Futurism, more at Techmeme »


RFK Jr. skipped meeting where officials planned fight against a future pandemic — The session between Trump and Biden administration officials is required of transitions and included other Trump Cabinet nominees. — As Biden officials packed up the White House last week …


Trump Leaves Democrats Dazed and on the Defensive — Locked out of power in Washington, the party is struggling to agree on a unified message of opposition. Some of its lawmakers are even telling Republicans they want to work together. — As President Trump pushes aggressively to reshape …
Discussion:
HotAir, UnHerd, NBC News, ABC News and Washington Examiner
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The Border Debate Is Over. Dems Lost.
Discussion:
Capitol News Illinois, Associated Press, The Daily Caller, Fox News, Fox Business and DNyuz


Newark mayor: ICE raided business without a warrant, detained U.S. citizens — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents carried out a raid on a Newark business Thursday, detaining non-citizens and citizens alike, according to Mayor Ras J. Baraka. — The incident, which could not immediately …
Discussion:
NorthJersey.com, CBS News, Fox News, El País, NewsNation, New Jersey Globe, New York Post, Reuters, Raw Story, Truthout, abc7NY, Alternet.org, WNYW-TV, New York Magazine, Eater, Scripps News, The Hill, MeidasTouch News, Daily Kos, New York Daily News, DNyuz, USA Today, The Guardian, Justin's Political Corner, Bloomberg, UPI, Axios and City of Newark


Mexico refuses to accept a U.S. deportation flight — The Mexican government has criticized President Donald Trump's unilateral immigration actions, and the landing would have required Mexico's assistance. — WASHINGTON — Mexico denied a U.S. military plane access to land Thursday …
Discussion:
Fox News, The Hill, Bloomberg, Instapundit, Daily Mail, American Greatness, Townhall and New York Times


Trump Says States Should Manage Disasters. Former FEMA Leaders Agree. — “I'd rather see the states take care of their own problems,” the president said. Federal emergency managers from both parties have made the same argument. — President Trump plans to tour damage on Friday …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Daily Kos, Raw Story, New Republic, NPR, NBC News, Al Jazeera, Roll Call, Semafor, The Gateway Pundit, Heatmap News, Politico, Bloomberg, Scripps News, Rolling Stone, Daily Mail, New York Post, The Guardian, Forbes, Fox News, DNyuz, American Greatness, MeidasTouch News, Digby's Hullabaloo, The Hill, Reuters, Salon, Washington Examiner, Alternet.org and Grist
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Trump recommends ending FEMA ahead of California fire site visit
Discussion:
Politico, ABC News, Washington Examiner, Washington Post, CBS News, USA Today, Breitbart, NPR, Townhall, Reuters, Daily Kos, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, The Hill, The Gateway Pundit, DNyuz, The Independent, UPI, WNYW-TV, WVEC, Scripps News, IJR and Saywhat Politics


The immigrant crackdown has begun. Its first target might surprise you. — Trump is not just going after foreigners who break the law. — Donald Trump promised to crack down on illegal immigration, a vow many Americans support. But so far, his administration has been much more fixated …
Discussion:
Baltimore Sun, RTÉ and CBS News


Inside the room: Where House Republicans are looking to slash … We got our hands on the presentations that House committee chairs made during a closed-door Republican conference meeting this week. — They lay out a road map of where the GOP's hunt for spending cuts is heading right now.
Discussion:
Axios, New York Magazine, The Daily Caller and DNyuz


Trump Pauses Disbursements to Program Supplying H.I.V. Treatment Worldwide — Pepfar, which is estimated to have delivered lifesaving treatment as many as 25 million people in 54 countries, faces a funding delay of as long as 180 days. — The Trump administration has halted disbursement …


Target rolls back DEI initiatives, the latest big company to retreat … Target on Friday said it's rolling back diversity, equity and inclusion programs — including some that aim to make its workforce and merchandise better reflect its customers. — In a memo sent to its employees …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Hill, CBS News, Al Jazeera, DNyuz, Baltimore Sun, Twitchy, Forbes, New York Post and Fox Business


Two Words and a World of Trouble — Let me tell you a story about clowns evolving into velociraptors. — ∙ Paid — Bill Kristol sat in for Sarah on the Secret Pod today and it was dark. Just a warning. If you're not in good head-space to begin with today, maybe skip this episode?