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9:50 AM ET, February 15, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Ari Natter / Bloomberg:
Dismissed Nuclear Bomb Specialists Recalled by Energy Department  — About 300-400 workers tied to nuclear programs were dismissed  — Agency seeks to bring back workers after chaotic terminations  —  The Energy Department is seeking to bring back nuclear energy specialists …
Discussion: Reuters
RELATED:
CNN:
Trump officials fired nuclear staff not realizing they oversee the country's weapons stockpile, sources say  —  Trump administration officials fired more than 300 staffers Thursday night at the National Nuclear Security Administration — the agency tasked with managing the nation's nuclear stockpile …
Politico:
‘Like a tornado hit’: Stunned federal workers take stock of mass layoffs — and brace for repercussions  —  The Trump administration could face political backlash from voters in Republican and Democratic states who suddenly find a host of services vanish.  —  Americans could soon start …
RELATED:
Brian Merchant / Blood in the Machine:
The federal tech workers facing down DOGE
Discussion: ZeroHedge News
Associated Press:
Anger, chaos and confusion take hold as federal workers face mass layoffs
Melody Schreiber / The Guardian:
Musk's takeover of US health agencies raises pandemic threat, experts warn
Discussion: NPR
Washington Post:
Justice officials move to drop Adams case after 7 lawyers refuse, resign in protest  —  Acting deputy attorney general Emil Bove told prosecutors in Washington to find someone who would seek to have the case dismissed, or risk losing their jobs  —  The Justice Department on Friday filed …
RELATED:
NBC News:
Justice Department moves to dismiss Eric Adams case after extraordinary internal revolt  —  The filing does not spell the end of the high-profile case.  A federal court judge must approve the decision to drop the charges.  —  The Justice Department on Friday moved to dismiss corruption charges …
Benjamin Weiser / New York Times:
Seven Former Manhattan U.S. Attorneys Voice Support for Sassoon
Discussion: CBS News
Sarah N. Lynch / Reuters:
Federal prosecutor will sign motion to dismiss Adams charges in bid to save colleagues' jobs, sources say
Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:
Elon Musk's DOGE Posts Classified Data On Its New Website  —  “People are scrambling” to see if their sensitive information has been accessed by Musk's programmers, said one federal intelligence employee.  —  LOADING  —  WASHINGTON — Elon Musk's team at the so-called Department …
Jim Tankersley / New York Times:
German Chancellor Rebukes Vance for Supporting Party That Downplays Nazis  —  At the Munich Security Conference, Olaf Scholz accused the U.S. vice president of unacceptable interference in Germany's coming elections.  —  Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany on Saturday accused Vice President JD Vance …
Discussion: Reuters
RELATED:
New York Times:
Vance Tells Europeans to Stop Shunning Parties Deemed Extreme
Arne Delfs / Bloomberg:
German Leader Denounces Vance's Overture to Far-Right Party
Discussion: Politico
Joel Swanson / Religion Dispatches:
JD Vance is Merely the Latest Conservative Christian to Use Nazi Camps to Cleanse His Antisemitism Sins
Discussion: The Forward
Politico:
JD Vance attacks Europe over migration, free speech
Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
This is a perfectly fine hill for the AP to die on  —  The wire service's reporters have been barred from White House events.  Next time, it could be you.  —  The world is now filled with media critics, media analysts, media prognosticators, media experts, media everything.
RELATED:
David Bauder / Associated Press:
AP reporter and photographer barred from Air Force One over ‘Gulf of Mexico’ terminology dispute
Hunter Walker / Talking Points Memo:
Inside The ‘Bizarre’ Meeting Where DOGE Requested ‘Extensive System Access’ At IRS  —  The Internal Revenue Service has now joined the list of federal agencies and offices experiencing life on the “DOGE” side.  Two sources told TPM that a staffer affiliated with President Trump and Elon Musk's controversial …
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Layoffs to hit IRS as DOGE targets tax collections
Ellie Wolfe / The Baltimore Banner:
Naval Academy faculty told to avoid ‘divisive concepts’ like ‘systemic racism’  —  The guidance from the provost follows President Trump's recent DEI-focused executive order, which some say seeks to erase history and diversity.  —  Faculty at the Naval Academy are no longer permitted …
New York Times:
Seeking a Mar-a-Lago Vibe, Trump Considers Paving Over Grass in Rose Garden  —  The president has been discussing plans to rip up the grass in one of the White House's most iconic locations and put in a hard surface to serve as a patio like the one at his Florida home and club.
Discussion: Raw Story, Mediaite and The Daily Wire
Eric Geller / Wired:
Top US Election Security Watchdog Forced to Stop Election Security Work  —  The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has frozen efforts to aid states in securing elections, according to an internal memo viewed by WIRED.  —  The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency …
Washington Post:
As federal workers and aid recipients reel, Trump's team says: So what?  —  “They get the one starving kid in Sudan that isn't going to have a USAID bottle, and they make everything DOGE has done about the starving kid in Sudan,” a White House official said.
Discussion: Inside Climate News
Reuters:
US Defense Secretary Hegseth's Europe debut irks allies, wins Trump's nod  —  U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's attention-grabbing overseas debut may have irritated some key Republicans and alienated allies in Europe, where his statements on Ukraine and NATO went down like a lead balloon.
RELATED:
Joshua Posaner / Politico:
Zelenskyy: ‘The time has come’ for a European army
Brenda Wintrode / The Baltimore Banner:
Maryland National Guard out of Frederick Douglass parade after DoD order declares Black History Month ‘dead’  —  Strict guidance from the national defense department crushed plans for an Eastern Shore parade held in honor of Frederick Douglass' 207th birthday because it was being held during …
Greg Sargent / New Republic:
Trump-Musk Scandal at USAID Takes Unnerving Turn With Vile Leaked Memo … Shockingly, it turns out that empowering the richest human being on the planet to maliciously and gratuitously heap additional misery on that planet's most poor, hungry, and desperate people might—just might …
Elizabeth Dias / New York Times:
In Trump's Cuts to Aid and Refugees, a Clash Over Christian Values  —  Vice President JD Vance and the Pope square off, as faith-based groups face an existential crisis.  —  Since World War II, as refugees fled Europe, Christian charity groups have delivered lifesaving American assistance around the world.
Politico:
Special counsel Jack Smith discloses ‘gift’ of $140,000 in free legal services  —  It's not clear precisely why Smith sought outside legal advice.  —  Jack Smith, the special counsel who brought two criminal cases against President Donald Trump, received $140,000 in pro bono legal services …
Tim Fang / CBS News:
3 men claiming to be from DOGE show up at San Francisco City Hall, demand records  —  San Francisco city officials are investigating after three men who claimed to be from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) showed up at City Hall on Friday demanding records from offices before fleeing.
Helen Branswell / STAT:
CDC cuts expected to devastate Epidemic Intelligence Service, a ‘crown jewel’ of public health  —  EIS officers investigate disease outbreaks and health threats in the U.S. and abroad  —  The Trump administration's campaign to slash the federal civil service will hit one of the crown jewels of global public health on Friday.
Mother Jones:
National Archives Head Resigns as Trump Takes Control of Records  —  Sources name conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt and far-right journalist John Solomon as potential replacements.  —  The acting head of the National Archives announced his resignation on Friday, paving the way for Donald …
Discussion: CBS News
Washington Post:
See inside DOGE's playbook for eliminating DEI  —  Documents obtained by The Washington Post detail step-by-step plans the U.S. DOGE Service developed to purge federal agencies of diversity, equity, and inclusion workers and offices.  DOGE, which stands for Department of Government Efficiency …
New York Times:
Don't Assume Trump Is Wrong About Birthright Citizenship  —  On his first day in office, President Trump issued an executive order that purports to end birthright citizenship for certain children.  It does so despite Section 1 of the 14th Amendment, which declares, “All persons born …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Vox:
The roots of Donald Trump's fixation with South Africa
Discussion: The Guardian
Ben Casselman / New York Times:
Does Uncertainty Harm the Economy? Business Leaders Are About to Find Out.
Alan Z. Rozenshtein / Default:
The TikTok Ban Withers Away
Benjamin Mueller / New York Times:
Trump Will Withhold Money From Schools That Require Covid Vaccines
Kiera Butler / Mother Jones:
RFK Jr. Is Already Taking Aim at Antidepressants
Jennifer Ludden / NPR:
HUD employees are bracing for what they hear will be ‘drastic’ staff cuts
Discussion: NOTUS
Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:
Intel Agency Confirms It Removed So-Called DEI Items From Its Secured Museum
Discussion: Raw Story
 Earlier Items: 
Mother Jones:
Kash Patel Failed to Disclose Companies Involved in a Million-Dollar Land Deal
New York Times:
N.I.H. Research Grants Lag $1 Billion Behind Last Year's
Discussion: The Hill and WisPolitics
Washington Post:
Trump administration's firing of federal employees hits multiple agencies
Discussion: New York Times
Megan Lebowitz / NBC News:
Judge temporarily blocks mass terminations at Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Reuters:
US bird flu response disrupted in early weeks of Trump administration, sources say
Discussion: Fox Business and Daily Mail
Politico:
Trump's cuts hit red states, triggering GOP pushback
Discussion: Alternet.org and Raw Story
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Todd Spangler / Variety:
Alphabet says it surpassed 270M paid subscriptions, driven by YouTube and Google One, and reports YouTube Q1 ad revenue up 10.3% YoY to $8.93B, vs. $8.97B est.

Etan Vlessing / The Hollywood Reporter:
Comcast reports Peacock losses fell to $215M in Q1 from $639M in Q1 2024, revenue rose 16% YoY to $1.2B, and paying subscribers hit 41M, up from 36M in Q4 2024

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
Facebook will reduce the reach of accounts sharing spammy content and make them ineligible for monetization, after Zuckerberg promised a return to “OG Facebook”

 
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