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 …

Democrats' playbook for Trump 2.0: Tune out the noise and focus on economic issues  —  As Trump floods the zone in his first week in office, Democrats are departing from their “resistance” strategy in his first term and zeroing in on issues that cost them the last election.

Michigan's Gary Peters won't seek reelection to U.S. Senate.  Here's why  —  Washington ― Gary Peters, Michigan's senior senator and a former congressman, said he won't seek reelection next year and will retire from the U.S. Senate when his second term ends in January 2027.

Trump Ousts Top Labor Board Leaders Who Backed Broader Worker Rights  —  Jennifer Abruzzo says she was fired by email late on Monday  —  Donald Trump is forcing out top leaders of the US labor board, ushering in a swift reboot of workplace law enforcement while testing the limits of presidential authority.

120. The Impoundment Crisis of 2025  —  The Trump administration's Monday spending freeze is likely to provoke a crisis over the constitutionality of “impoundment”—one that the justices could well have to resolve *very* soon.  —  Welcome back to “One First,” a weekly newsletter that aims …

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 …

Trump signs 4 new executive orders, transforming military  —  President Trump signed a bevy of new executive orders Monday evening that have the potential to significantly transform the Defense Department (DOD).  —  The new orders prevent transgender people from openly serving in the military …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Week One inside Trump's DOJ: ‘It feels like a non-violent war’  —  Fear reigns among the staff at the beleaguered law-enforcement agency as a new reality sets in.  —  Career lawyers and staff at the Department of Justice say the rush of changes in the first week of the Trump administration make them feel like they're under siege.

He Did It: Trump Calls for Ending the Federal Income Tax!  —  President Trump has once again demonstrated his unwavering commitment to making America great again by proposing a return to the economic policies that once made the United States the wealthiest and most powerful nation in the world, namely ending the federal income tax.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem joins immigration enforcement operations in NYC  —  She witnessed both criminal and civil enforcement operations, sources said.  —  Newly sworn in Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem rides along on an immigration enforcement operation in New York City, Jan. 28, 2025.

Trump's Dictatorial Theory of Presidential Power - What the Executive Orders, in the Aggregate, Tell Us  —  In a flurry of executive orders and proclamations this past week, President Donald Trump took decisive action on a range of significant issues including border enforcement, energy policy …

No Limits: Crypto Scams Set to Proliferate in 2025  —  Donald Trump drew attention when he launched a so-called “meme coin” immediately before his inauguration.  The value of the cryptocurrency, called $TRUMP, reached a price of $73 within a day of its release, giving it a total market valuation of about $72 billion.

Congressional Republicans' coming war on poor people  —  What we know about GOP reconciliation plans  —  Donald Trump is nothing if not a master of attention, and the eyes of the world have been on his executive orders.  With most of these, my sense is that there's less to them than meets the eye …

The MAGA terror has begun  —  Their leader is glorifying political violence and weaponizing the threat of it.  —  ⛓️‍💥 ✍️ ⚖️ With corporate outlets obeying in advance, supporting independent media is more important right now than ever.

Border Czar Tom Homan Responds To Selena Gomez Crying Over Deportations: ‘No Apologies’  —  Trump's immigration enforcement pick had blunt words for the “Only Murders in the Building” star.  —  LOADING  —  Tom Homan, President Donald Trump's border czar, was not moved Monday by viral video …

By killing remote work, DOGE will only bleed taxpayers dry  —  Republicans in Congress, bolstered by a 41-page report from the House Oversight Committee, have unleashed a wave of criticism against federal telework policies.  Their claims, aired at a Jan. 15 congressional hearing titled …

The Largest Tuberculosis Outbreak in U.S. History Is Happening Right Now in Kansas  —  And the news comes as the Trump administration has “paused” all public messaging by the CDC.  —  I always thought I'd missed a lot not having been born in the 19th century.  From The Topeka Capital-Journal:

Johnson Joins the Trump Entourage, Shrinking the Role of House Speaker  —  In positioning himself as a junior partner to the president and doing his bidding on matters large and small, the Louisiana Republican is diminishing a job that involves leading a coequal branch of government.

Emmer cheers Trump's federal aid freeze  —  DORAL, Florida — The No. 3 House Republican applauded Donald Trump's sweeping move to freeze federal aid Tuesday morning, calling it a step to shake up the status quo.  Whip Tom Emmer said in a brief interview on the sidelines of the House GOP retreat …