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7:30 PM ET, January 31, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Tim Reid / Reuters:
Exclusive: Musk aides lock government workers out of computer systems at US agency, sources say  —  Aides to Elon Musk charged with running the U.S. government human resources agency have locked career civil servants out of computer systems that contain the personal data of millions of federal employees …
Washington Post:
Senior U.S. official to exit after rift with Musk allies over payment system  —  A top Treasury career staffer is expected to depart.  Surrogates of Musk's DOGE effort had sought access to sensitive payment systems.  —  The highest-ranking career official at the Treasury Department …
RELATED:
Greg Sargent / New Republic:
Trump and Elon Musk Just Pulled Off Another Purge—and It's a Scary One  —  President Donald Trump has granted Elon Musk unprecedented power to carry out his war on the “deep state.”  The justification for this is supposed to be that the government is corrupted to its core precisely …
Discussion: CNN
Wired:
Elon Musk's Friends Have Infiltrated Another Government Agency  —  Elon Musk's former employees are trying to use White House credentials to access General Services Administration tech, giving them the potential to remote into laptops, read emails, and more, sources say.
Hafiz Rashid / New Republic:
Elon Musk Is Trying to Get Control of Key Payment System—at Any Cost  —  A top-ranking official in the U.S. Department of the Treasury is resigning after a fight with Elon Musk over a sensitive payment system.  —  The Washington Post reports that David Lebryk, who has worked in the department …
Discussion: Bloomberg, alicublog and The Mahablog
Sean O'Kane / TechCrunch:
Elon Musk is reportedly taking control of the inner workings of US government agencies
Discussion: Wired and New York Times
ABC News:
Federal employees told to remove pronouns from email signatures by end of day  —  The mandate is the latest effort in the Trump administration's push to end DEI.  —  President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, Jan. 30, 2025.
RELATED:
NPR:
Trump administration purges websites across federal health agencies  —  At the direction of the Trump administration, the federal Department of Health and Human Services and its agencies are purging its websites of information and data on a broad array of topics — from adolescent health to LGBTQ+ rights to HIV.
Discussion: Axios and The Verge
Reuters:
Trump putting ‘pause’ on most US government websites, source says
Discussion: Raw Story and DefenseScoop
CBS News:
Agencies asked to scrub federal government websites to remove diversity-related content
more at Mediagazer »
Theresa Gaffney / STAT:
CDC removal of databases on sexual orientation, gender identity sparks alarm
Discussion: New York Times, The Atlantic and DNyuz
NBC News:
Some federal websites temporarily go dark after order to comply with Trump DEI directive
Discussion: USA Today and WUSA
Spencer Hsu / Washington Post:
Interim U.S. attorney fires more than 2 dozen Jan. 6 prosecutors in D.C.  —  Interim U.S. Attorney Ed Martin is dismissing more than two dozen federal prosecutors in his D.C. office who worked on Capitol riot cases over the past four years.
RELATED:
CNN:
FBI agents who worked on January 6 and Trump investigations are expected to be fired Friday  —  The Trump administration is set to expand a purge of career law enforcement officials, with dozens of FBI agents who worked on January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack and Trump-related investigations …
NBC News:
Trump administration forces out multiple senior FBI officials  —  The move came hours after FBI director nominee Kash Patel testified in his confirmation hearing he was “not aware of” plans to remove FBI officials who investigated Trump.  —  Trump administration officials have forced …
Jeff Cox / CNBC:
Trump tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China begin Saturday, White House says … In an apparent ending to weeks of intense speculation, the White House confirmed Friday that President Donald Trump will be leveling aggressive tariffs this weekend on major U.S. trading partners.
RELATED:
New York Times:
The Treasury official who oversees payments resigns suddenly.
Jarrett Renshaw / Reuters:
Exclusive: Trump set to impose tariffs on Mexico, Canada starting on March 1, sources say
Joan Westenberg / The Index:   These Clowns are Economic Illiterates
Associated Press:
White House says Trump tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China will come Saturday. No word on exemptions
Nandika Chatterjee / The Daily Beast:
Trump Admin Emails Air Traffic Controllers: Quit Your Jobs  —  REALLY?!  —  Federal employees were told they could use their paid time off to explore “dream destinations” before quitting.
Associated Press:
New York doctor indicted for prescribing abortion pill in Louisiana  —  A New York doctor was indicted by a Louisiana grand jury on Friday for allegedly prescribing an abortion pill online in the Deep South state, which has one of the strictest near-total abortion bans in the country.
Washington Post:
House GOP nears plan for Trump's agenda — but may not have the votes  —  Republicans will attempt a tax and spending bill that will not require substantial budget cuts, but there may be serious math problems ahead.  —  House Republicans are uniting around a massive tax and spending bill …
Discussion: E&E News and New York Times
RELATED:
Ian Millhiser / Vox:
Brett Kavanaugh has very bad news for Donald Trump
Brian Stelter / CNN:
CBS staff alarmed by reports of settlement talks with Trump over ‘60 Minutes’ Harris interview  —  Journalists, including some at CBS News, are expressing alarm at reports that CBS parent company Paramount Global is trying to settle a legally dubious lawsuit lodged by President Donald Trump last fall.
RELATED:
Lois Henry / SJV Water:
Decision to dump water from Tulare County lakes altered after sending locals into a mad scramble  —  Water managers were relieved Thursday evening after the Army Corps of Engineers agreed to back off of a sudden decision earlier in the day to dump massive amounts of water from Kaweah and Success lakes.
Discussion: Los Angeles Times
Washington Post:
Trump administration seeking access to database of immigrant minors  —  The Office of Refugee Resettlement, which is responsible for caring for unaccompanied minors, has long operated independently of ICE.  —  The Trump administration is seeking to grant U.S. immigration officers access …
Axios:
Scoop: New White House video has “Angel Moms” blasting Selena Gomez on immigration … - “You don't know who you're crying for,” Tammy Nobles, an “Angel Mom” whose daughter, Kayla Hamilton, was killed in July 2022 by a gang member, says in the video, addressing Gomez.
Discussion: Yahoo News and Daily Mail
Phil Williams / WTVF-TV:
Career prosecutors withdraw from federal criminal investigation of GOP Congressman Andy Ogles  —  Local prosecutors are not commenting, but move may signal plans to drop investigation of one of President Trump's Republican allies  —  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Federal prosecutors based …
Discussion: Raw Story
David Bauder / Associated Press:
Former ‘Meet the Press’ moderator Chuck Todd exits NBC News after nearly two decades  —  Former “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd is leaving NBC News after nearly 18 years at the network.  —  Todd said in a memo to NBC News colleagues that Friday was his last day.
RELATED:
Jay Stahl / USA Today:
Chuck Todd exiting NBC News after nearly 20 years as Trump starts second term
Drew Friedman / Federal News Network:
Trump administration directs 70% cut to internal OPM staffing, programs  —  Trump administration officials are taking major steps to cut down the size of the workforce and federal programs at the Office of Personnel Management.  —  During an internal meeting Friday morning …
Melissa Brown / The Tennessean:
Tennessee GOP passes immigration law to criminalize elected officials' votes  —  Tennessee Republicans finalized an immigration bill Thursday establishing a new enforcement office exempt from public records law and criminalizing local officials who support sanctuary policies for immigrants.
CNN:
EPA workers receive emails warning their employment could be terminated  —  More than 1,100 employees at the Environmental Protection Agency received notice this week that they were deemed to be on probationary status and warning they could be fired immediately, according to an email obtained by CNN.
Kate Kelly / New York Times:
Official Email Urges Federal Workers to Find More Productive Jobs  —  On Thursday, vast numbers of the government work force received an “F.A.Q.s” e-mail on how to leave their “lower productivity jobs” in government for more productive ones in business.  —  Late on Thursday …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Camilo Montoya-Galvez / CBS News:
Trump officials make plans to revoke legal status of migrants welcomed under Biden
Garrett M. Graff / Doomsday Scenario:
A Red-Alert for Democracy: The Patel FBI Purge Begins
US Department of Justice:
Former Senior Adviser for the Federal Reserve Indicted on Charges of Economic Espionage
Discussion: CNBC, WAGA-TV and RedState
Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:
Please Don't Resign  —  How to stop Elon Musk.  (And Trump.)  —  ∙ Paid
Lee Soo-Jung / Korea Joongang Daily:
150,000 Koreans in U.S. subject to Trump's deportation order: Report
Discussion: Raw Story
Michael Tomasky / New Republic:
We've Now Learned the Three Principles of Trumpism, and They're Ugly
Discussion: The News-Herald
 Earlier Items: 
Slate:
The D.C. Air Disaster Is a Flashing Warning Sign About DOGE
John Ganz / Unpopular Front:
Groyperfication  —  I'm working on something long-ish on the “vibe shift” discourse …
New York Times:
Clues From D.C. Plane Crash Suggest Multiple Failures in Aviation Safety
David Corn / Mother Jones:
SCOOP: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Admits Settlement for “Misconduct” Accusation
Discussion: Mediaite and New Republic
James Romoser / Politico:
How Trump Could Snatch a Third Term — Despite the 22nd Amendment
Discussion: Raw Story
Meg Kinnard / Associated Press:
The DNC's outgoing chair says Democrats should have stuck with Joe Biden in 2024
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Matthew Keys / The Desk:
Amazon is set to launch a dedicated linear channel in the Prime Video app in Germany and Austria, offering a selection of Amazon Originals, sports, and more

Luke Bouma / Cord Cutters News:
Sinclair tests AI-driven, live audio translations in Spanish of local newscasts in Baltimore, San Antonio, West Palm Beach, and Las Vegas on their YouTube feeds

Jonathan Lemire / The Atlantic:
After AP was banned, some WH correspondents floated the idea of boycotting covering Trump events in protest, but members of TV networks pushed back on the idea
 
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