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4:45 PM ET, February 4, 2025

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 Top Items: 
Wired:
A 25-Year-Old With Elon Musk Ties Has Direct Access to the Federal Payment System  —  The Bureau of the Fiscal Service is a sleepy part of the Treasury Department.  It's also where, sources say, a 25-year-old engineer tied to Elon Musk has admin privileges over the code that controls Social Security payments, tax returns, and more.
RELATED:
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Musk Cronies Dive Into Treasury Dept Payments Code Base  —  Overnight, Wired reported that, contrary to published reports that DOGE operatives at the Treasury Department are limited to “read only” access to department payment systems, this is not true.  A 25-year-old DOGE operative named Marko Elez …
Dell Cameron / Wired:
Federal Workers Sue to Disconnect DOGE Server  —  Two federal workers, citing reports that Elon Musk's associates are operating an illegally connected email server at OPM, seek a restraining order.  —  Federal employees are seeking a temporary restraining order as part of a class action lawsuit accusing …
Discussion: Raw Story
Slate:
Elon Musk's Power Grab Is Lawless, Dangerous, and—Yes—a Coup  —  The federal government is currently under relentless and unlawful assault by a man no one elected to lead it.  With Donald Trump's blessing and enabling, Elon Musk and his confederates have laid siege to the executive branch …
Rolling Stone:
Inside Trump and Musk's Clumsy, ‘Exhausting’ Hunt for Leakers
Discussion: Raw Story
Notes on the Crises:
Day Five of the Trump-Musk Treasury Payments Crisis of 2025: Not “Read Only” access anymore
Discussion: American Prospect and Raw Story
David Dayen / American Prospect:   Illegal Executive Spending Decisions Are Happening Now
David Ingram / NBC News:
Elon Musk and DOGE are hacking the government
NBC News:
White House preparing executive order to abolish the Department of Education  —  The planned order follows years of campaign promises from President Donald Trump to abolish the federal Education Department.  —  The White House is preparing an executive order to eliminate the Department of Education …
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:   Trump Order Set to Ban Transgender Girls and Women From Female School Sports
Noah Feldman / Bloomberg:
Trump Is Testing Our Constitutional System. It's Doing Fine.
Discussion: ABC News
Washington Post:
Here are the words putting science in the crosshairs of Trump's orders
Discussion: Nature and The Daily Caller
CNN:
FBI turns over names of 5,000 employees who worked on January 6 cases to Trump Justice Department, as agents sue  —  FBI officials have complied with demands to provide the Justice Department with a list of thousands of employees who worked on investigations related to the January 6, 2021 …
RELATED:
Adam Goldman / New York Times:
‘Accidental’ F.B.I. Chief Builds a Following as Agency's Defender  —  Brian Driscoll was accidentally catapulted into the acting director's chair on Jan. 20 and has defended the bureau from the potential of mass firings, inspiring memes and satirical clips.  —  Brian Driscoll …
Discussion: Default and The Daily Beast
Politico:
FBI agents sue to block DOJ from compiling list of officials who worked on Jan. 6 or Trump cases  —  The agents are fearful that the Trump-led Justice Department will exact punishment against employees deemed disloyal.  —  FBI agents who worked on cases stemming from the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol …
NBC News:
FBI agents file lawsuits alleging Justice Department ‘retribution’ over their work on Jan. 6 cases  —  The agents allege a survey regarding their role in any Capitol riot investigations is meant to identify targets to be fired “as a form of politically motivated retribution.”
Discussion: Washington Post
Marc Caputo / Axios:
About 20,000 federal workers took “buyout” so far, official says  —  About 20,000 federal workers have accepted the “buyout” offer put forward by the Trump administration last week, a senior administration official tells Axios. … - The offer is open through Thursday, meaning the total could rise …
RELATED:
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
We Did This to Ourselves  —  Four years ago today, the House of Representatives voted to remove …
Discussion: Wall Street Journal and CNN
Washington Post:
RFK Jr. closes in on HHS cabinet post after Senate panel vote  —  Robert F. Kennedy Jr., once seen as a longshot to serve as America's top health official, is now set to head to the Senate floor for a confirmation vote.  —  Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is now one step closer to running …
RELATED:
Adam Wren / Politico:
Sen. Todd Young will back Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence
New York Times:
Trump Administration Live Updates: Committee Votes to Advance Tulsi Gabbard's Bid for Intelligence Post
Dan De Luce / NBC News:
Senate committee backs Tulsi Gabbard as next intelligence chief
Michael Silver / New York Times:
NFL to remove ‘End Racism’ messaging in end zone ahead of Super Bowl: Sources  —  NEW ORLEANS — At his annual news conference Monday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell expressed strong support for the league's policies designed to promote diversity at the club-employment level and indicated that those endeavors will continue.
RELATED:
CNN:
Trump expected to attend Super Bowl, White House official says
Sahil Kapur / NBC News:
Negotiations stall ahead of shutdown deadline as Democrats slam Trump for subverting spending laws  —  Democrats are eying the March 14 deadline to push back on Trump's recent unilateral actions, saying he needs to follow the law on government funding.  —  WASHINGTON — Government funding negotiations …
Discussion: DNyuz
NOTUS:
Republican Senators Say They're Fine Handing Their Power to Elon Musk  —  Musk's actions may be unconstitutional but “nobody should bellyache about that,” Sen. Thom Tillis said.  — Copy  —  Tech billionaire Elon Musk is working to shut down government agencies and cancel congressionally approved funding …
Bloomberg:
EU Sees a Path to Negotiate With Trump to Avoid a Tariff Fight  — Trump said this week that EU duties ‘will definitely happen’  — EU trade ministers discussed the situation on Tuesday
Discussion: USA Today and BBC
RELATED:
Ari Hawkins / Politico:
Key House Republican: We ‘need to come to terms’ with Trump's tariffs
Discussion: Raw Story and Reuters
Associated Press:
China counters with tariffs on US products. It will also investigate Google
Jason Koebler / 404 Media:
‘Things Are Going to Get Intense:’ How a Musk Ally Plans to Push AI on the Government  —  Thomas Shedd, a Musk-associate and now head of the General Services Administration's Technology Transformation Services (TTS), told government tech workers in a meeting this week that the administration plans …
Greg Allen / NPR:
‘Beyond betrayal.’ Venezuelans in Florida are angry at Trump immigration policy  —  MIAMI — Venezuelan migrants in South Florida say they feel betrayed by a Trump administration decision to end legal protections for hundreds of thousands of people who fled dictatorships and sought refuge in the U.S.
Lauren Irwin / The Hill:
Ocasio-Cortez: Musk ‘one of the most unintelligent billionaires I have ever met’  —  Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) slammed tech billionaire and “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) head Elon Musk as “one of the most unintelligent billionaires that I have ever met.”
RELATED:
Alan Feuer / New York Times:
Proud Boys Lose Control of Their Name to a Black Church They Vandalized  —  A judge awarded the trademarked name and symbols to a Washington church to help satisfy a $2.8 million judgment against the far-right group.  —  The Proud Boys no longer have control over their own name.
Jean Chemnick / Politico:
EPA spending freeze continues despite court orders  —  Two judges have ordered the administration to lift the freeze.  But nonprofits and states still can't get money for contracts backed by the Inflation Reduction Act.  —  The Trump administration is still freezing many climate …
Discussion: Oregonian, Bloomberg and RedState
Jordan Valinsky / CNN:
Waffle House is placing a surcharge on every egg it sells  —  New York CNN —  The soaring price of eggs has forced Waffle House to add a temporary surcharge on customers' orders.  —  The Georgia-based chain is adding a 50-cent charge per egg because of the “nationwide rise in cost of eggs …
Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Begins Migrant Flights to Guantanamo Bay  —  The Trump administration has said it would expand operations at the American naval base in Cuba to hold up to 30,000 immigrants  —  WASHINGTON—The first flights carrying detained migrants from the U.S. to Guantanamo Bay have headed …
Stephen Neukam / Axios:
Scoop: Senate Dems plot USAID revenge on Trump … - Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) told Axios on Tuesday that he's willing to place holds on Trump nominees on the Senate Judiciary Committee.  — Blumenthal said the caucus is proceeding as if there is a blanket hold on Trump nominations.
Andrea Hsu / NPR:
Trump administration adds fine print to ‘Fork’ resignation offer, deepening confusion  —  It's been a week since nearly all 2.3 million civilian employees of the federal government were presented with an offer: Agree to resign from your job by Feb. 6 and keep your pay and benefits through the end of September.
Garrett Shanley / The Independent Florida Alligator:
State audit finds overall unnecessary spending under former UF President Ben Sasse  —  Sasse's expenditures included more than $300,000 in private jet flights  —  A preliminary report from the Florida Auditor General found UF failed to prevent former President Ben Sasse from leveraging …
Discussion: Politico and Florida Politics
Richelle Wilson / WPR:
Half of Wisconsin Head Start programs can't access needed funds after federal freeze  —  One Head Start center in Waukesha closed last week, leaving more than 250 families without child care  —  One week after the Trump administration ordered a pause on federal grants and loans …
Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo
 
 
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 More Items: 
Eric Martin / Bloomberg:
Trump Weighing Nicaragua's Future in Free-Trade Pact, Rubio Says
Discussion: Reuters, The Tico Times and The Hill
The Hill:
Senate preparing to move first on budget package amid House stalemate
The Hill:
Waffle House adding surcharge for every egg ordered
Politico:
Trump moves to put nearly all USAID Washington staff on leave
Discussion: The Gateway Pundit
 Earlier Items: 
Ajit Niranjan / The Guardian:
Temperatures at north pole 20C above average and beyond ice melting point
Michael McElroy / Cardinal & Pine:
Army helicopter pilot killed in DC plane crash was one of the NC voters Jefferson Griffin is trying to disenfranchise
Amanda Marcotte / Salon:
“Hitler actually had some good ideas”: Musk's covert coup is guided by internet trolls
Discussion: WTTG-TV and Digby's Hullabaloo
CNN:
El Salvador offers to house violent US criminals and deportees of any nationality in unprecedented deal
Judd Legum / Popular Information:
Affirmative action for white men
 

 
From Techmeme:

Hayden Field / CNBC:
In its proposal for White House's AI Action Plan, OpenAI calls for a strategy that preserves “American AI models' ability to learn from copyrighted material”

Emma Roth / The Verge:
Google says Gemini can now personalize answers based on users' search history, available as an experimental feature to Gemini and Gemini Advanced subscribers

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is planning a new AirPods feature as part of iOS 19 that will enable live translation of in-person conversations
 
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