Trump begins firings of FAA air traffic control staff just weeks after fatal DC plane crash  —  The Trump administration has begun firing several hundred Federal Aviation Administration employees, upending staff on a busy air travel weekend and just weeks after a January fatal mid-air collision …

Musk's DOGE seeks access to personal taxpayer data, raising alarm at IRS  —  The unusual request would put sensitive data about millions of American taxpayers in the hands of Trump political appointees.  —  Elon Musk's U.S. DOGE Service is seeking access to a heavily-guarded Internal Revenue Service system …

Trump Voters Splinter Over His Rapid Shake-Up of Washington  —  Some core supporters love his no-holds-barred approach, but several swing voters are taken aback at his early moves

Elon Musk's X blocks links to Signal, the encrypted messaging service  —  Signal has been a primary method of communication for federal workers looking to blow the whistle on DOGE.  —  Elon Musk's social media platform, X, is currently banning links to “Signal.me,” a URL used by the encrypted messaging service Signal.

Trump administration pressures Romania to lift restrictions on Tate brothers  —  Tristan and Andrew Tate have been charged with sexual misconduct, organised crime and money laundering  —  The Trump administration has pressured Romanian authorities to lift travel restrictions …

Vance's real warning to Europe  —  Europeans need to reduce their dangerous dependence on an adversarial America  —  When JD Vance took the stage at the Munich Security Conference last week, he issued a stern warning.  The US vice-president told the assembled politicians and diplomats …

‘This is a coup’: Trump and Musk's purge is cutting more than costs, say experts  —  In slashing staff and disabling entire agencies the administration is lacerating the structures of US democracy  —  Donald Trump and Elon Musk's radical drive to slash billions of dollars in annual federal spending …

Washington Post backs out of ‘Fire Elon Musk’ ad order  —  The Washington Post this week backed out of a “Fire Elon Musk” advertising order that was to run as a wrap on some of its Tuesday editions, according to the advocacy group Common Cause.  —  The group said it signed a $115,000 agreement …

Elon Musk ridiculed a blind person on X. Then a mob went to work.  —  Musk's unparalleled online reach on X has given him a powerful tool to attack individuals who criticize DOGE.  —  Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette works at the Project on Government Oversight, a nonpartisan watchdog group focused on reducing bureaucratic waste.

Ukraine Calls on Europe to Nominate Envoy for Peace Talks  —  Ukraine wants Europe to swiftly nominate a representative for potential peace negotiations with the US and Russia, one of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's top advisers said.  —  “It should be a quickly made decision,” Ihor Zhovkva …

In botched DEI purge, OSHA trashes workplace safety guidelines  —  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has ordered the digital and physical destruction of 18 publications on workplace safety practices, according to an internal February 7 email obtained by Popular Information.

The Marco Rubio Guide to Survival is Not Working Well  —  The secretary of State is taking positions that were once anathema and sounding very Trumpy online.  —  It is becoming increasingly clear that Marco Rubio is secretary of State in name only.  —  Since taking over Foggy Bottom …

Mike Pence emerges as one of the few Republicans willing to challenge Trump 2.0  —  His group spent nearly $1 million on ads opposing Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump's pick to lead the nation's health agencies.  He's delivering speeches urging the president to stand with longstanding foreign allies …

Trump has already weaponized the Department of Education  —  He vowed to kill it.  What he's doing to it instead is even worse. … 🤔 📚 🎒  —  During the 2024 election, Donald Trump made no secret of his plan to close the Department of Education (DOE).

An Opposition Worthy Of Its Name  —  We should all have realistic expectations, but Democrats could absolutely do better.  Here's how.  —  ∙ Paid  —  Since my last newsletter:  — The Justice Department nearly collapsed under the strain of one of the biggest acts of public corruption in U.S. history.

Jan. 6 Rioters Argue Pardons Apply to Charges Including Murder Plot, Child Porn  —  Defendants argue that Trump pardons should absolve them of additional crimes, some discovered during investigations of the Capitol riot