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Anyone Can Push Updates to the DOGE.gov Website — The doge.gov website that was spun up to track Elon Musk's cuts to the federal government is insecure and pulls from a database that can be edited by anyone, according to two separate people who found the vulnerability and shared it with 404 Media.
Discussion:
Alternet.org, Raw Story, The Verge, Wired, Fortune, New Republic, Mashable, Breitbart, Daily Kos, Reason and Washington Examiner, more at Techmeme »


Senior Republican senator ‘puzzled’ and ‘disturbed’ by Hegseth's Ukraine remarks — Live coverage from Munich: POLITICO is on the ground at the Munich Security Conference, where we're having conversations with top officials, lawmakers and experts at our POLITICO Pub. Follow our exclusive coverage here.
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The Hill, New Republic, Politico, New Jersey Online, Raw Story, Daily Kos, Daily Mail, Wide World of News, Alternet.org, El País, The American Spectator, Mediaite, Breitbart, EADaily, Foreign Policy, Townhall, Reuters, NOTUS and Axios
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Vance Wields Threat of Sanctions, Military Action to Push Putin Into Ukraine Deal — In interview with The Wall Street Journal, vice president says Ukraine must have ‘sovereign independence’ — PARIS—Vice President JD Vance said Thursday that the U.S. would hit Moscow with sanctions …
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Washington Examiner, Washington Post, The Hill, New York Times, Townhall, Breitbart, Fox News, Euractiv, Reuters, HuffPost, Daily Mail, ZeroHedge News, The Guardian, The Republic News, EADaily, The Japan Times, Associated Press, The National Interest, Bloomberg, The Defense Post and Financial Times


VP Slaps Down Hegseth by Threatening Putin With U.S. Troops
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Steady, Washington Post and New York Post

Hegseth stands by Ukraine comments as GOP senator slams “rookie mistake”
Discussion:
CNN, New Republic, Associated Press, EADaily, Fox News, The Guardian, Reuters, Digby's Hullabaloo and spiked


How the Justice Dept. Helped Sink Its Own Case Against Eric Adams — A top Trump appointee guided Mr. Adams's legal team as they crafted an argument for dismissing corruption charges against the mayor of America's largest city. — President Trump had just taken office when lawyers …
Discussion:
NBC News
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Fool Me Twice, I'll Make You FBI Director — Plus: Going along to get along in a time of democratic decline. — Roses are red, — The Bulwark is rad— As we've always said: — Orange Man Bad. — We hope you have a happy Valentine's Day, if you're into that sort of thing.
Discussion:
Civil Discourse …


Live Updates: Upheaval Over Adams Case Spreads as Calls for His Resignation Grow

Trump DOJ's order to drop Eric Adams case sparks mass resignations
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, New York Times, CNN, New Republic, Law Dork, Mock Paper Scissors, Raw Story, CBS News, JURIST, Politico, emptywheel, Bloomberg and Tangle

Danielle Sassoon and Other Officials Resign After Order to Drop Eric Adams Case
Discussion:
Rolling Stone, CNN, The Contrarian, BBC, New York Post, New Republic, New York Daily News, Sun-Sentinel, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, CBS News, The Free Press, Reason, Hell Gate, Associated Press, Raw Story, Scripps News, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Politico, CNBC, Bloomberg, Digby's Hullabaloo, New York Magazine, The Independent and Alternet.org

Trump Official's Demand in Adams Case Forces Justice Dept. Showdown
Discussion:
RedState

Danielle Sassoon's Letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Annotated

Read Danielle Sassoon's Letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Twitchy, The 19th, New York Daily News, New York Post, CBS News, ABC7, Reuters, USA Today and The City

124. The Thursday Night Massacre(s)
Discussion:
New York Times, Pepperspectives, abc7NY, Wired and PoliticusUSA

Republicans put health care cuts front and center to advance agenda — House Republicans are putting cuts to Medicaid at the top of their list of budget cuts to help pay for their wide-ranging agenda that spans tax cuts, energy production and border security.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Alternet.org, The Dispatch, The Daily Signal and Daily Kos
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House Republicans advance their budget after appeasing hard-liners
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19FortyFive, NBC News, Punchbowl News, Raw Story, Washington Examiner, Roll Call, NOTUS and E&E News

Sweeping safety-net cuts have GOP centrists questioning Johnson's budget
Discussion:
Washington Examiner and CNN

GOP got an ‘alarming glimpse at the future’ as it eyes massive cut: report
Discussion:
Mediaite, Politico, WisPolitics, WBEZ and New Republic


Nazi flags can fly in Utah schools, but not pride flags, GOP lawmaker says — A new bill would allow for Nazi and Confederate flags to be displayed in some instances in Utah schools and government buildings, but pride flags would be banned. — An ongoing fight in Utah to ban pride flags …
Discussion:
The Independent, Transgender World, CityNews Toronto, UPI and Washington Examiner


Read the Resignation Letter From Hagan Scotten — Hagan Scotten, an assistant U.S. attorney, wrote to Emil Bove, acting deputy attorney general, refusing to drop the case against Mayor Eric Adams. … Around the New York Region — A look at life, culture, politics and more in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.


The Undocumented Workers Who Helped Build Elon Musk's Texas Gigafactory — Tesla and SpaceX both relied on their labor while Musk advocated for a border crackdown. — Cristy was in her early 50s when she took a job with a cleaning subcontractor on a construction project …


Louisiana Department of Health says it will no longer promote mass vaccination — The Louisiana Department of Health will no longer promote mass vaccination, the state's surgeon general, Dr. Ralph Abraham, told state health workers Thursday. — “The State of Louisiana and LDH …
Discussion:
NOLA.com, New York Times and Associated Press


This Small Rust-Belt City Holds the Secret to Democrats' Latino Woes — During the final, frenzied week of the 2024 campaign, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris both made campaign stops in a place whose significance in the election had largely been overlooked by observers: Reading …
Discussion:
Raw Story


The AP provides a model of effective press resistance — 🧭 🗺️ 🌎 With corporate outlets obeying in advance, supporting independent political media is more important right now than ever. Public Notice is possible thanks to paid subscribers.


Sweeping cuts hit recent federal hires as Trump administration slashes workforce — Federal workers have begun receiving layoff notices as the Trump administration moves ahead with plans to drastically downsize the government. — While the full scale of layoffs isn't yet clear …
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Trump Officials Escalate Layoffs, Targeting Most of 200,000 Workers on Probation
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RedState, Associated Press, Alternet.org, Wall Street Journal, NBC News, Politico, WXIA-TV, Reason, The Fucking News, The Hotshot Wake Up, ZeroHedge News, Reuters, Townhall, Bloomberg, ABC7, E&E News and Forbes


Kennedy Center staff describe climate of fear as events drop from calendar — Issa Rae became the first major artist to publicly cancel an upcoming show at the center after President Trump took over its board and leadership. — The fallout from President Donald Trump's takeover …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Washingtonian, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter and New York Times
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Stars pull out of shows and positions at Kennedy Center after Trump takeover
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PinkNews, Variety, WHDH-TV, The Daily Caller, Breitbart, New Jersey Online, NPR, CBS News, The Daily Wire, American Greatness, The Post Millennial, New York Post, HuffPost, Daily Kos and al.com


Billionaire Airbnb Co-Founder Is Said to Take Role in Musk's Government Initiative — Joe Gebbia is a board member at Tesla and is close to Elon Musk, the company's C.E.O. — One of Elon Musk's closest friends, a billionaire co-founder of Airbnb, is taking a role in President Trump's administration …
Discussion:
The Independent


Plane carrying Secretary of State Rubio to Europe turned around because of a mechanical issue — An Air Force plane carrying Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, Sen. Jim Risch, to Germany for the Munich Security Conference was forced to return …
Discussion:
PJ Media, Associated Press, New York Post, UPI, EADaily, NBC News, CBS News, ABC News, Fox News and The Gateway Pundit


Elon Musk's DOGE Targets FOIA Requests at Agency Under its Purview — The government efficiency group also wants to be notified when there's any attempt at oversight from Congress, inspectors general, even the Government Accountability Office. … Valentine's Day aside …


How the Trumps Turned an Election Victory Into a Cash Bonanza — First lady's documentary deal with Amazon, president's legal settlements and other transactions near $80 million so far; Trump library a major beneficiary — | Illustrations by Alexandra Citrin-Safadi/WSJ
Discussion:
New Republic and The Independent, more at Mediagazer »


Trump Wants to Destroy All Academia, Not Just the Woke Parts — In 2021, JD Vance gave a speech to the National Conservatism Conference, a gathering of Trumpist thinkers and politicians, titled “The Universities Are the Enemy.” It contained the usual complaints about critical race theory …


Judge Orders Trump Administration to Resume Foreign Aid Spending — The judge faulted the logic of a blanket freeze on foreign aid spending and found that groups that depend on the aid had made a strong initial showing of “irreparable harm.” — A federal judge ordered the Trump administration …
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Trump insults McConnell over RFK Jr. vote, casts doubts on polio diagnosis — ‘I have no idea if he had polio,’ Trump said when asked about the 82-year-old Kentucky senator's decision to vote against Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
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New Republic, Esquire, Raw Story, Breitbart, Associated Press, Twitchy, New York Daily News, The Independent, CBS News, Megyn Kelly, HuffPost, The Hill, The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite, NPR, Roll Call, Forbes, Grabien and New York Post
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Don't Be Fooled, ‘Trump Is a Weak President’ — Trump lacks the skill to govern in the way the founders intended. — How much is President Trump testing the Constitution? And what are the other branches of government doing about it? This week on “Matter of Opinion,” …


Abortion Provider Won't Be Extradited to Louisiana, N.Y. Governor Says — The case could lead to a battle in federal court over whether states that support abortion rights can protect doctors who provide abortion services. — Louisiana officials seeking to prosecute a New York doctor …
Discussion:
Reuters, Forbes, Fox News, Associated Press, New York Post, Washington Examiner, CBS News, Grabien and Abortion, Every Day
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Texas judge fines NY doctor for prescribing abortion pills to woman near Dallas
Discussion:
New York Times, USA Today, Associated Press, STAT, Governor Kathy Hochul, Raw Story and LifeNews.com


Hegseth team invites far-right activist Jack Posobiec on overseas trip — The offer triggered alarm among Pentagon officials concerned about the military being dragged into partisan warfare.
Discussion:
New Republic, Alternet.org, Raw Story and Mediaite


Russian Drone Damages Radiation Shield at Chernobyl, Ukraine Says — President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine called the damage “significant” but said there were no signs of radiation leaks. A Kremlin spokesman denied that Russia had carried out the strike.
Discussion:
Axios, MeidasTouch News, USA Today, Reuters, Gizmodo, Global News, Scripps News, Associated Press, CBS News, UPI, Metro.co.uk, Forbes, BulgarianMilitary.com, The Japan Times, Fox News and Politico