Top Items:


White House pauses all federal grants, sparking confusion — Trillions of dollars could be on hold, according to an Office of Management and Budget memo. — The White House budget office is ordering a pause to all grants and loans disbursed by the federal government …
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Trump administration orders sweeping freeze of federal aid — In a two-page memo, the Office of Management and Budget ordered all federal agencies to temporarily suspend payments. — One week in, the Trump administration is broadening its assault on the functions of government …


Trump administration fires DOJ officials who worked on criminal investigations of the president — The DOJ employees had been involved in special counsel Jack Smith's investigation that led to Trump's classified documents and Jan. 6 cases. — WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice …
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Trump-Appointed Prosecutor Opens Review of Justice Department's Jan. 6 Cases — Lawyers who worked on the matters are asked to turn over files, notes and other records — WASHINGTON—A top Trump-appointed prosecutor has opened an internal review of the Justice Department's decision …


Trump Justice Department fires officials who investigated Trump and launches ‘special project’ into January 6 cases — More than a dozen officials who worked on the criminal investigations into Donald Trump have been fired, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Discussion:
NBC News, RedState, Townhall, New York Times, emptywheel and New Republic


Justice Department fires more than a dozen key officials on former Special Counsel Jack Smith's team — Acting Attorney General James McHenry 'does not trust these officials to assist in faithfully implementing the President's agenda' — EXCLUSIVE: The Justice Department is firing …
Discussion:
CNBC, HuffPost, Daily Mail, Digby's Hullabaloo, Ace of Spades HQ, NPR, CBS News, The Gateway Pundit, Reuters and The Post Millennial


Week One inside Trump's DOJ: ‘It feels like a non-violent war’
Discussion:
Alternet.org, RedState and Raw Story

Interim D.C. U.S. attorney Ed Martin launches probe of Jan. 6 prosecutions
Discussion:
ABC News and The Post Millennial

Live updates: Justice Department fires over a dozen employees who helped prosecute Trump
Discussion:
CBS News, Alaska Beacon, WHDH-TV, Mediaite, USA Today and PBS NewsHour

DOJ fires officials who worked on Jack Smith's Trump investigation
Discussion:
Associated Press and New Republic

Acting attorney general fires prosecutors who worked for special counsel Jack Smith
Discussion:
New York Times, Al Jazeera, New York Post, Bloomberg, The Hill, USA Today, ABC News and The Japan Times


Top USAID career staff placed on immediate leave — “This is like taking out all the generals,” said a former Trump administration official informed of the decision. — The Trump administration has ordered dozens of top career employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development …
Discussion:
Associated Press and NBC News
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Fired Inspectors General Raise Alarms as Trump Administration Moves to Finalize Purge

‘It will kill people’: Chaos, confusion after Trump halts US foreign aid
Discussion:
Raw Story, Alternet.org, Reuters and Bloomberg


Man Pardoned in Jan. 6 Riot Is Fatally Shot by Sheriff's Deputy During Traffic Stop — The police said that Matthew W. Huttle, 42, of Hobart, Ind., who was sentenced to six months for his role in the riot at the U.S. Capitol in 2021, resisted arrest after he was stopped in Indiana on Sunday.
Discussion:
ABC7, Daily Mail and USA Today
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Jan. 6 rioter pardoned by Trump shot, killed by sheriff's deputy
Discussion:
Raw Story, The Guardian, The Indianapolis Star, Politico, Associated Press, PinkNews, New York Post, Mediaite, Chicago Tribune, FOX 32 Chicago and Florida Politics


Acosta La Vista — The anchor signaled to associates in private conversations over the weekend that he intends to depart the network, Status has learned. … The anchor, I'm told, signaled to associates in private conversations over the weekend that he intends to depart the network …
Discussion:
Mediaite, RedState, The Post Millennial and The Gateway Pundit, more at Mediagazer »


Trump Administration Halts H.I.V. Drug Distribution in Poor Countries — PEPFAR's computer systems also are being taken offline, a sign that the program may not return, as Republican critics had hoped. — The Trump administration has instructed organizations in other countries …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Advocate, Brown Babe, Mediaite and them.


Trump's Victory Over Colombia Now Looks Less Clear Cut — Colombia sends own planes to bring people home after showdown — Trump runs the risk of overuse of tariff, sanctions threats — A deportation arrangement with Colombia that the White House on Sunday night presented …
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Behind the Colombia Blowup: Mapping Trump's Rapid-Escalation Tactics
Discussion:
Al Jazeera, CNN, Quartz, Raw Story, Reuters, The Gateway Pundit, OutsideTheBeltway, CBS News, Must Read Alaska and Daily Mail


Google says it will change Gulf of Mexico to ‘Gulf of America’ in Maps after government updates … Google said Monday it will change the name of Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America” after the government updates its “official government sources.” — The company also said it will start using Mount McKinley …
Discussion:
The Hill, Reuters, Benzinga, Must Read Alaska, Mediaite, New York Post, TechCrunch, The Gateway Pundit, The Verge and Scripps News, more at Techmeme »


CDC ordered to stop working with WHO immediately, upending expectations of an extended withdrawal — U.S. public health officials have been told to stop working with the World Health Organization, effective immediately. A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official …
Discussion:
MeidasTouch News, Mock Paper Scissors and Alternet.org
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CDC staff ordered to cut off communication with WHO
Discussion:
Alternet.org


Tillis Assured Hegseth's Former Sister-in-Law Her Testimony Could Convince GOP Senators to Vote No — North Carolina senator provided pivotal 50th ‘yes’ vote to confirm Hegseth as defense secretary — WASHINGTON—A key witness in the contentious Senate confirmation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth …
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money and Raw Story


Chief Corruption Prosecutor Resigns From Justice Dept. — Corey Amundson chose to leave the department after being told he was being reassigned by the Trump administration to a position related to immigration enforcement. — The head of the Justice Department's public integrity section …
Discussion:
Reuters and Washington Examiner
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Scott Bessent easily wins Senate confirmation to lead Treasury … - Bessent, 62, founded hedge fund Key Square Capital Management. … - During his confirmation hearing, Bessent warned of economic disaster if Trump's 2017 tax cuts aren't extended, calling the effort"the single most important economic issue of the day."
Discussion:
CNN, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, The Hill, Advocate, Raw Story, Reuters and Fox News
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Scott Bessent confirmed as treasury secretary, giving him a key role in extending Trump's tax cuts
Discussion:
New York Times, Raw Story, Breitbart, CBS News, The Gateway Pundit, Bloomberg, Fox Business, The Hill, IJR, Washington Examiner, Alternet.org, Roll Call, RedState, Townhall, One America News Network, CoinDesk, freebeacon.com, Business Insider, USA Today, Reuters, Scripps News, NPR and Washington Blade


Banking regulator rescinds more than 200 job offers for examiners it needs — A federal hiring freeze has made the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. even more short-handed. — A government-wide hiring freeze has led the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to yank job offers to more than 200 new examiners …


Inside a network of AI-generated newsletters targeting “small town America” — Good Daily, which operates in 47 states and 355 towns and cities across the U.S., is run by one person. — On first glance, Good Day Fort Collins appears to be a standard local news round-up.


Trump Paralyzes Independent Rights Watchdog, Firing Members Selected by Democrats — The move removed three of the four sitting members of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, leaving it unable to act as the Trump administration begins reshaping intelligence agencies.
Discussion:
Raw Story


They Followed North Carolina Election Rules When They Cast Their Ballots. Now Their Votes Could Be Tossed Anyway. — A Republican judge is trying to overturn his election loss by challenging more than 60,000 ballots. These are some of those voters' stories.


Direct File shows how civic tech can work for good — Good evening from Washington, where the news cycles are moving faster than rats on a hot tin roof. — Thanks to all of the news subscribers over the weekend and everyone whose become a member since soft launch last year.
Discussion:
New York Daily News, Fortune and The Hill


Murkowski and Chemnitz: Greenland “Ally, not an Asset” — Washington, DC - Today, United States Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska and Co-Chair of the Standing Committee of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region) and Aaja Chemnitz (Member of Danish Parliament representing Greenland for Inuit Ataqatigiit …


Trump Pardoned A Jan. 6 Rioter. Now He's ‘At Large’ For A Crime. — The alleged victim is under 17 years old, prosecutors said. — LOADING — Andrew Taake's legal troubles might not be over — even though the Texas man was just pardoned by President Donald Trump after being convicted …
Discussion:
Mediaite, New York Daily News, Raw Story and Daily Mail


Tucker Carlson's son Buckley is joining JD Vance's staff — Vance has brought over several of his Senate staff to serve in his VP office. — Vice President JD Vance walks from Air Force Two as he arrives at Tri-Cities Airport, Jan. 27, 2025, in Blountville, Tenn.
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money, Mediaite, The Hill, New York Daily News and The Gateway Pundit


Anchor Dimitri Sotis, whose distinctive warm voice led WTOP's evening news, dies at 55 — WTOP will honor Dimitri Sotis' legacy with a live hourlong radio special at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 27, on 103.5 FM and on the WTOP News app. Listen live here. — WTOP evening anchor Dimitri Sotis …


Quaker groups file suit over end of policy restricting ICE arrests in houses of worship — The suit appears to be the first from a faith-based organization challenging the change in court. — A group of Quaker congregations are suing the Department of Homeland Security for changing a policy …
Discussion:
New York Post, Axios, Saywhat Politics and New Republic


Trump To Tariff Chips Made In Taiwan, Targeting TSMC — The tariffs would ensnare cutting-edge smartphone and PC-related chips for Apple, AMD and Nvidia if enacted. But Trump is betting his plan will bring more chip production to the US. — President Trump is preparing …
Discussion:
HuffPost and Tom's Hardware


Memos to Federal Employees Were Written By People With Ties to Project 2025, Metadata Shows — Some of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) memos sent to federal workers about firing, hiring freezes, and mandatory return to office demands were seemingly written by people who were previously employed …