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6:45 PM ET, February 2, 2025

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 Top Items: 
Vittoria Elliott / Wired:
The Young, Inexperienced Engineers Aiding Elon Musk's Government Takeover  —  Engineers between 19 and 24, most linked to Musk's companies, are playing a key role as he seizes control of federal infrastructure.  —  Elon Musk's takeover of federal government infrastructure is ongoing …
RELATED:
CNN:
Senior USAID security officials put on leave after refusing Musk's DOGE access to agency systems  —  Two top security officials at the US Agency for International Development were put on administrative leave Saturday night after refusing to allow officials from Elon Musk's Department …
David McAfee / Raw Story:
‘This is a five-alarm fire’: Experts pounce on Musk's new ‘grave national security threat’  —  It was reported on Sunday that two officials at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) were threatened with arrest and then put on leave after refusing to let Elon Musk access systems at the agency …
Politico:
Musk on USAID: ‘Time for it to die’  —  His statement comes as signs increasingly point to the Trump administration folding the development aid agency into the State Department.  —  Tech mogul and Trump ally Elon Musk said Sunday that it's time for the U.S. Agency for International Development …
Discussion: NBC News and NPR
ABC News:
Turmoil inside USAID: DOGE reps take over offices, senior officials placed on leave  —  DOGE leader Elon Musk has called USAID a “criminal organization.”  —  Tesla, SpaceX and X CEO Elon Musk arrives for the Inauguration of Donald J. Trump in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, Jan. 20, 2025 in Washington.
Washington Post:
USAID security officials on leave after refusing access to Musk allies
Discussion: New York Times
Reuters:
More USAID staff ousted as Trump administration dismantles aid agency
Discussion: CBS News and NBC News
New York Times:
Top Security Officials at Aid Agency Put on Leave After Denying Access to Musk Team
Discussion: Washington Post and Oregonian
Financial Times:
Trump faces backlash from business as tariffs ignite inflation fears  —  Experts warn aggressive trade measures against US allies will hurt consumers and roil supply chains  —  Donald Trump faced a backlash from business groups and some in his own Republican party after kicking off a trade war …
RELATED:
CBC News:
Doug Ford announces Ontario ban on American liquor in response to U.S. tariffs
Discussion: Saywhat Politics
Matina Stevis-Gridneff / New York Times:
Trudeau Details Canada's Retaliation Plans in Emotional Rebuke of Trump Tariffs
Zia Weise / Politico:
China to retaliate after Trump fires first salvo in trade war
New York Times:
Top F.B.I. Agent in New York Vows to ‘Dig In’ After Removals at Agency  —  James E. Dennehy, the highly respected leader of the largest and most important field office in the bureau, said in an email to staff that the F.B.I. was in a “battle of our own.”  —  The top agent at the F.B.I.'s …
Discussion: Washington Examiner
RELATED:
Amanda Friedman / Politico:
Sen. Mark Warner warns of ramifications for Trump's FBI and Justice Department firings  —  The Virginia Democrat says the impacts could be “devastating” for cybersecurity and crime investigations.  —  Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) said on Sunday that the Trump administration's recent firings …
Discussion: Raw Story, Washington Post and CBS News
Timothy Snyder / Thinking about:
The Logic of Destruction  —  What is a country?  The way its people govern themselves.  America exists because its people elect those who make and execute laws.  The assumption of a democracy is that individuals have dignity and rights that they realize and protect by acting together.
Discussion: Scripting News
RELATED:
Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
Throughout now-president Donald Trump's 2024 campaign, it was clear that his support was coming …
Discussion: The Colorado Sun
Michelle Myers / The Philadelphia Inquirer:
ICE raided his family's North Philly car wash. Here is Jeffrey Lee's account of what happened.  —  Jeffrey Lee, 35, was en route to his family's business, Complete Autowash Philly, when a call came through his car's speaker.  The caller ID read “Dad” but there was an ICE agent on the other end …
David Bauder / Associated Press:
The power of independent journalism: From her Brooklyn apartment, she ‘scooped’ the nation's media  —  First word of the Trump administration's since-rescinded order to freeze spending on federal loans and grants came not from a major news organization, but from a woman working alone in her Brooklyn apartment.
Samuel Bagenstos / Inside/Outside:
Why Write About the Illegality of What Trump and Musk are Doing?  —  NYU Law professor Noah Rosenblum posted on Bluesky yesterday that “[t]here has never been a larger gap in my (admittedly quite short) professional life between how lay folks and law profs are talking about what is happening in government right now.
Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo
The White House:
IMPOSING DUTIES TO ADDRESS THE FLOW OF ILLICIT DRUGS ACROSS OUR NORTHERN BORDER  —  By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)
RELATED:
Josh Boak / Associated Press:
Trump says Americans could feel ‘some pain’ from his new tariffs that are triggering a trade war
Associated Press:
Rubio meets Panamanian president as Trump demands canal control and pressures US neighbors  —  U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino on Sunday that the Central American ally must immediately reduce Chinese influence over the Panama Canal area …
RELATED:
United States Department of State:
Secretary Rubio's Meeting with Panamanian President Mulino
Yamiche Alcindor / NBC News:
Union official says Education Department employees were placed on leave after taking diversity training during Trump's first term  —  A letter to the affected employees obtained by NBC News said they would continue to receive their full salaries and benefits and would not be required to do any work-related tasks.
Ezra Klein / New York Times:
Don't Believe Him  —  This is an edited transcript of an audio essay on “The Ezra Klein Show.”  You can listen to the conversation by following or subscribing to the show on the NYT Audio App, Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts.
 
 
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 More Items: 
Jared Gans / The Hill:
Paxton weighs Cornyn challenge as Texas GOP rift deepens
KFF:
A Look at Federal Health Data Taken Offline
Rebecca Solnit / The Guardian:
Fighting for justice doesn't have to be a big dramatic act. It can be small
Zack Colman / Politico:
Trump's talking about shutting down FEMA. Republicans hate that idea.
Discussion: Bloomberg, RedState and The Hill
 Earlier Items: 
Robert B. Hubbell / Today's Edition Newsletter:
The coup rolls on, but we will prevail.
Discussion: DNyuz
Sarah Fortinsky / The Hill:
GOP pollster says Trump voters ‘tired’ of being accused of racism
David Smith / The Guardian:
Wrecking ball: Trump's war on ‘woke’ marks US society's plunge into ‘dark times’
Gary Fineout / Politico:
Florida Republicans just declared war on each other
Discussion: Honolulu Civil Beat
Aaron Zitner / Wall Street Journal:
Trump Kicks Aside Congress With Sweeping Claims of Presidential Power
Discussion: Washington Post and The Bulwark
Jonathan Martin / Politico:
Memo to Elon: Know Your Boss
Discussion: Raw Story
 

 
From Techmeme:

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
OpenAI releases GPT‑4.1, GPT‑4.1 mini, and GPT‑4.1 nano, which excel at coding, instruction following, and long context understanding, available via its API

New York Times:
FTC v. Meta: in opening arguments, FTC lawyers accuse Meta of a “buy-or-bury strategy” to cement a social networking monopoly by buying Instagram and WhatsApp

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Apple plans to begin on-device, privacy-centric analysis of user data, comparing it to synthetic data, to improve AI, in beta versions of iOS 18.5, macOS 15.5
 
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