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10:35 PM ET, February 7, 2025

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RELATED:
The Atlantic:
The Government's Computing Experts Say They Are Terrified … Elon musk's unceasing attempts to access the data and information systems of the federal government range so widely, and are so unprecedented and unpredictable, that government computing experts believe the effort has spun out of control.
Time:
Inside Elon Musk's War on Washington
Michael Stratford / Politico:
Treasury elevates Musk ally to lead government payment system
Bloomberg:
Musk's DOGE Teen Was Fired By Cybersecurity Firm for Leaking Company Secrets  —  Edward Coristine posted online that he had retained access to the firm's servers.  Now he has access to sensitive government information.  —  Edward Coristine, a 19-year-old member of Elon Musk's squad that's …
RELATED:
Brian Krebs / Krebs on Security:
Teen on Musk's DOGE Team Graduated from ‘The Com’
Discussion: Wired, more at Techmeme »
New York Times:
Trump Says He Will Dismiss Kennedy Center Board Members and Install Himself as Chair  —  The move by the president, whose authority to make the changes was not clear, is the latest attempt to bring a Washington institution under his control.  —  President Trump announced his intention …
RELATED:
New York Times:
Judge Will Freeze Elements of Trump Plan to Shut Down U.S.A.I.D.  —  Where Things Stand  — Political payback: President Trump said on Friday that he was revoking former President Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s security clearances, and made clear that he was doing so because Mr. Biden had rescinded his privileges four years ago.
Ted Johnson / Deadline:
Donald Trump Says He'll Name Himself Chairman Of Kennedy Center And Oust Board Members  —  Donald Trump said that he will oust board members of the Kennedy Center, while naming himself as its new chairman.  —  David Rubenstein is the current chairman of the center and agreed to stay in that role through 2026.
Sharon Knolle / The Wrap:
Donald Trump Says He's Firing Kennedy Center Board Members, Naming Himself Chairman
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
Trump and Musk Attack Journalists by Name in Social Media Posts  —  Since his inauguration, the president has been quick to demonize what he calls “the fake news media.”  On Friday, both men demanded that individuals be fired.  —  President Trump has made clear his animus toward mainstream media organizations.
RELATED:
Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair:
Is Donald Trump Afraid of Elon Musk?  —  The president has long operated without anything resembling worry when it comes to appointments or executive action, but as his most powerful—and richest—political ally chainsaws his way through the federal government, some observers wonder if Trump might be tasting his own medicine.
New York Times:
Vance and Trump Call for Rehiring of DOGE Staffer Who Quit Over Racist Posts. Musk Obliges.
CNBC:
Musk to rehire Treasury DOGE staffer behind racist posts after Trump endorses idea
Mother Jones:
Kash Patel Took $25,000 From Russia-Linked Firm to Appear on an Anti-FBI TV Series  —  Last year, Kash Patel, the MAGA provocateur whom Donald Trump has nominated to head the FBI, received $25,000 from a Russia-linked production company to participate in a documentary in which he assailed the FBI and called for closing its headquarters.
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Kash Patel was paid by Russian filmmaker with Kremlin ties, documents show
grants.nih.gov:
Key Dates  —  Related Announcements  —  Issued by  —  Office of The Director, National Institutes of Health (OD)  —  Purpose  —  The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awards a large number of grants providing substantial federal funding for research purposes.
Discussion: Ars Technica and STAT
RELATED:
Christina Jewett / New York Times:   Deep Cuts to Medical Research Funds Could Hobble University Budgets
STAT:   STAT+: NIH plans to slash support for indirect research costs, sending shockwaves through science
Reuters:
Staffer with Elon Musk's DOGE amplified white supremacists online  —  One of the people working with billionaire Elon Musk in his efforts to overhaul the U.S. government is a Berkeley-educated computer scientist who has boosted white supremacists and misogynists online.
Discussion: Mashable and The Independent
RELATED:
John Hyatt / Forbes:
The Now Deleted Tweets Of DOGE Staffer Gavin Kliger
Discussion: Slate and Fox News
Associated Press:
Trump says he's revoking Biden's security clearance, ending intelligence briefings in payback move  —  President Donald Trump said Friday that he's revoking former President Joe Biden's security clearance and ending the daily intelligence briefings he's receiving in payback for Biden doing the same to him in 2021.
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Trump hints at tariffs on Japan during meeting with its prime minister  —  President Donald Trump hinted during a news conference that Japan could soon face U.S. tariffs if it doesn't take steps to buy more from the United States.  The comments come as Japan's new prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba …
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:   Trump Is Unraveling the World Order With Unprecedented Speed
Vjosa Isai / New York Times:
Behind Closed Doors, Trudeau Says Trump Threat to Take Over Canada Is Real
Kathryn Watson / CBS News:
Trump fires archivist of the United States, official who oversees government records  —  President Trump has fired Archivist of the United States Colleen J. Shogan, the government official responsible for preserving and providing access to government records.
Discussion: 404 Media, Bloomberg, KRDO, ABC News and Fox News
Pew Research Center:
1. Trump's second term: Early ratings and expectations  —  Table of Contents Table of Contents  —  Americans are deeply divided over Donald Trump's plans and the way he is handling his job in the early weeks of his return to the presidency.  —  Overall, 47% of U.S. adults approve …
Discussion: YouGov and Breitbart
NBC News:
Judge to pause Trump administration effort to gut USAID's workforce by thousands  —  Two labor groups had sued the Trump administration after it said that thousands of USAID employees would be placed on administrative leave starting at 11:59 p.m. Friday.  —  A federal judge on Friday …
Jordain Carney / Politico:
Senate Republicans release budget blueprint ahead of Wednesday markup  —  Senate Republicans will hold a committee vote next week on a budget blueprint that will unlock their two-bill strategy for enacting the heart of President Donald Trump's domestic policy agenda.
RELATED:
Reuters:
Exclusive: Trump Air Force nominee arranged satellite contract in manner that favored Musk's SpaceX, sources say  —  President Donald Trump's nominee as Air Force Secretary, currently a top official at the national spy satellite agency, arranged a multibillion-dollar contract solicitation …
Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:
Former GOP Director Of FBI, CIA Urges Chuck Grassley To Stop Kash Patel's Nomination  —  “After all the hard work that you've done over your career, to allow it to be destroyed on your watch would not be a legacy I would want,” warned William Webster.  —  LOADING
Discussion: Raw Story
New York Times:
Falsehoods Fuel the Right-Wing Crusade Against U.S.A.I.D.  —  As the Trump administration works to dismantle the aid agency, right-wing influencers have flooded the internet with falsehoods about its work.  —  The video falsely claiming that the United States Agency for International …
ProPublica:
The Elite Lawyers Working for Elon Musk's DOGE Include Former Supreme Court Clerks  —  ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.  Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published.  —  As members of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency …
Discussion: Reuters, The Gateway Pundit and Twitchy
Rachel Selzer / Democracy Docket:
North Carolina Judge Rejects GOP State Supreme Court Candidate's Bid To Throw Out 60K Ballots  —  A Wake County Superior Court judge rejected a bid by GOP North Carolina Supreme Court candidate Jefferson Griffin to overturn his 2024 election loss to incumbent Democratic Justice Allison Riggs …
Louise Matsakis / Wired:
Trump's FBI Pick Kash Patel Took Up to $5M in Stock from Chinese Ecommerce Giant Shein  —  Donald Trump's pick for FBI director told senators he has no plans to divest his shares, which his financial disclosure form says were received in exchange for consulting services.
Amy Maxmen / KFF Health News:
Measles Outbreak Mounts Among Children in One of Texas' Least Vaccinated Counties  —  A measles outbreak is growing in a Texas county with dangerously low vaccination rates.  —  In late January, two school-age children from Gaines County were hospitalized with measles.
Discussion: Ars Technica, CNN, The Hill, WAGA-TV and WXIA-TV
Qasim Rashid / Let's Address This with Qasim Rashid:
AG Bondi to Criminally Prosecute Private Entities for DEIA  —  Bondi makes clear that the “again” in MAGA refers to the period of Jim Crow America  —  This week a contact at the DOJ sent me a dozen memos just been issued by new US Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Maya C. Miller / New York Times:
As Trump and Musk Upend Washington, Congressional Phones Can't Keep Up  —  In the three weeks since President Trump took office and gave Elon Musk free rein inside the federal government, millions of calls have poured in to members of Congress, jamming the system.
Discussion: Breitbart and Washingtonian
 
 
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 More Items: 
Antonio Pequeño IV / Forbes:
Pete Hegseth Under Fire From Dems Over Alleged $49,000 ‘Emergency’ Paint Job For Government Home
Discussion: Bloomberg
Lorie Konish / CNBC:
RFK Jr. had up to $1.2 million in credit card debt — what experts say about tackling high balances
Discussion: CBS News
Associated Press:
Springfield, Ohio, sues neo-Nazi group that it says led Haitian intimidation
Discussion: The Independent
David Enrich / New York Times:
Trump's New Line of Attack Against the Media Gains Momentum
Discussion: Mercury News and Forbes
Zeke Miller / Associated Press:
Trump orders freeze of aid to South Africa, citing country's land expropriation law
 Earlier Items: 
Cory Doctorow / Pluralistic:
Pluralistic: “The Fagin figure leading Elon Musk's merry band of pubescent sovereignty pickpockets” (07 Feb 2025)
Discussion: Mitchipedia
Politico:
‘CFPB RIP’: Elon Musk is already descending on his next target
Caleb Brennan / Heartland Signal:
Controversial Christian nationalist legislation introduced in North Dakota House
Joseph Menn / Washington Post:
U.K. orders Apple to let it spy on users' encrypted accounts
Andrea Long Chu / New York Magazine:
Goodbye, Pamela Paul
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Filip Timotija / The Hill:
Source says “most” journalists at Voice of America were put on administrative leave, a day after Trump signed an EO aimed at eliminating the USAGM

Tara Bennett / AV Club:
How Looney Tunes' first original animated feature got released, as WBD's legacy franchise is at a crossroads, all but abandoned by the studio it helped define

Martin Fackler / New York Times:
A look at Japan's first media nonprofit dedicated to investigative journalism, Tokyo Investigative Newsroom Tansa, started eight years ago by Makoto Watanabe
 
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