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To Russia, With Love, Donald — Here at The Bulwark, you might have noticed, we tend to take a pretty cynical view of the current occupant in the Oval Office. And yet, we confess that not even we had this one on our Week Four bingo cards: … Epic troll, sir! Very cool! Happy Thursday.
Discussion:
Salt Lake Tribune and Washington Examiner
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Trump tells BBC that Russia has ‘the cards’ in peace negotiations — Donald Trump says he believes Russia has “the cards” in any peace talks to end the war in Ukraine because Russia has “taken a lot of territory”. — The US president told the BBC he trusted that Moscow wants to see an end to the war …
Discussion:
CNN, Daily Mail, European Council …, Politico, Euromaidan Press, Raw Story, The Hill, Fox News, The Kyiv Independent, Associated Press, New York Times, USA Today, RedState, New York Post, The Gateway Pundit, HuffPost, The Guardian, Breitbart, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Townhall and RTÉ


Trump's flood of false claims about Ukraine
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Roll Call, Foreign Policy, BBC, Associated Press, The Hill, emptywheel, New York Post, The Daily Wire, HuffPost, Reuters and New Republic

US figures do not support Trump claims on Ukraine spending
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New Jersey Online, The Atlantic, UPI and Politico

The past week has solidified a sea change in American—and global—history. …
Discussion:
The Week

Is Trump about to hand Ukraine to Russia?
Discussion:
Reuters, New Republic, NBC News, The Kyiv Independent, The Guardian, Euractiv, Bloomberg, PolitiFact, The Political Insider, Politico, Metro.co.uk, RTÉ, Al Jazeera, UPI and The Hill

Trump Flips the Script on the Ukraine War, Blaming Zelensky Not Putin
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, New Jersey Online, NPR, Politico, Syracuse Post-Standard, The Hill, HuffPost, BBC, UPI, New Republic, Semafor, WHDH-TV, Fox News, The Kyiv Independent, RTÉ, Daily Mail, Axios, Diplomatic,, The National Pulse, Deseret News, USA Today, New York Daily News, PBS NewsHour, The Independent, Reuters, Washington Times, Raw Story, Crikey, The Daily Wire, CBS News, Plain Dealer, Mediaite, Scripps News, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, Daily Kos, Jewish Insider, Blaze Media, NOTUS and NBC News


“They're Scared Shitless”: The Threat of Political Violence Informing Trump's Grip on Congress — With the president smashing norm after norm, even lawmakers within his party have feared for their personal safety, and at least one has told confidants that it has swayed his decision-making.
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‘Transatlantic relations are over’ as Trump sides with Putin, says top German MP
Discussion:
Politico

Republican lawmaker seeks US judge's impeachment over ruling against Trump
Discussion:
The Daily Wire and Daily Caller News Foundation


DOGE released data about federal contract savings. It doesn't add up — A new online tracker on the Department of Government Efficiency's website puts a dollar amount on the estimated savings from the DOGE effort to slash federal government spending at $55 billion. — But an NPR analysis finds the numbers don't add up.
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HuffPost, The Hill, Bloomberg, Rolling Stone, Gizmodo, Washington Examiner, USA Today, CBS News, New Republic and al.com
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The Incompetence of DOGE Is a Feature, Not a Bug — A series of mistakes by DOGE shows just how arbitrary and destructive this slash-and-burn strategy can get. — Within just the last week or so, Elon Musk's DOGE hit team of mostly young, almost exclusively male engineers and executives have done the following:


It's Easy To Save Billions In Taxpayer Funds When Everything Is Made Up
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HuffPost, The Independent, New York Magazine, The Daily Beast, New York Times, Raw Story and CBS News

Trump floating returning 20% of DOGE savings to American people
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Hill, The Gateway Pundit, The National Pulse, Daily Mail, Associated Press, NBC News, Al Jazeera, New York Post, Washington Post, Bloomberg, Business Insider, One America News Network, Florida Politics, Semafor, Forbes, New Jersey Online, Fox Business, Fortune, LewRockwell and The Independent


Ex-NFL punter Chris Kluwe calls MAGA ‘a Nazi movement’ in protest that led to his arrest — Former NFL punter Chris Kluwe was arrested Tuesday on a charge of disturbing an assembly in Huntington Beach, California, per the city's arrest log. The incident occurred at a city council meeting.
Discussion:
Raw Story
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Ex-NFL punter Chris Kluwe arrested over protest at Huntington Beach City Council meeting — Former NFL punter Chris Kluwe was arrested over a protest at a city council meeting in Huntington Beach, California on Tuesday. — Kluwe was protesting Huntington Beach's decision to display a plaque …

Former NFL player Chris Kluwe arrested during Huntington Beach City Council meeting
Discussion:
Plain Dealer and Fox News


Jesse Watters Makes On-Air Plea to Trump for Veteran Friend Who Got 'DOGE'd' In Pentagon Cuts — Fox News host Jesse Watters made an on-air plea that the Trump administration be “less callous” when implementing when laying off federal employees after a military veteran friend was “DOGE'd” in Elon Musk's Pentagon cuts.
Discussion:
The Independent and Bloomberg


US objects to calling out ‘Russian aggression’ in G7 statement on Ukraine — Trump administration splits with allies on holding Moscow responsible for war — The US is opposing calling Russia the aggressor in a G7 statement on the third anniversary of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine …
Discussion:
Euromaidan Press
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My Open Letter to Elon Musk — Elon Musk recently posted on his site that another lawyer and I are “undermining civilization.” He goes on to ask if we suffered childhood trauma and concludes by suggesting we are suffering from “generational trauma.” This is my response. — Mr. Musk,
Discussion:
Raw Story


IRS plans to lay off 7,000 probationary workers beginning Thursday, AP source says — The IRS will lay off roughly 7,000 workers in Washington and around the country beginning Thursday, a person familiar with the plans told The Associated Press. The layoffs affect probationary employees …
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Many of Trump's early actions are unpopular, Post-Ipsos poll finds — Reviews from Americans on President Donald Trump's second term are mixed to negative, and 57 percent say he has exceeded his authority since taking office.
Discussion:
Reuters, New Jersey Online, Fox News, Staten Island Advance, Daily Mail, The Japan Times, Washington Times and Semafor


ICE Prosecutor in Dallas Runs White Supremacist X Account — Fear of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids began to spread the day after President Donald Trump was inaugurated for the second time. Posts on social media and Reddit claimed that ICE had already been spotted …


DOGE Cuts 9/11 Survivors' Fund, and Republicans Join Democrats in Rebuke — After 20 percent of the World Trade Center Health Program staff was terminated last week, Democratic lawmakers were outraged. On Wednesday, Republican lawmakers joined them. — In a rare pushback against President Donald J …
Discussion:
Spectrum News NY1, Washington Examiner, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer …, abc7NY and ABC News


DOGE Now Has Access to the Top US Cybersecurity Agency — DOGE technologists Edward Coristine—the 19-year-old known online as “Big Balls”—and Kyle Schutt are now listed as staff at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. — Edward Coristine, a 19-year-old engineer …
Discussion:
Nextgov/FCW, more at Techmeme »


Elite lawyers sell out the rule of law — Sullivan & Cromwell enlist in Trump's assault on the justice system. … ⚖️ 📜 🏛️ — As Trump moves forward with his assault on the rule of law and our nation's democracy, lawyers must decide if they will stand …


Texas Banned Abortion. Then Sepsis Rates Soared. — ProPublica's first-of-its-kind analysis is the most detailed look yet into a rise in life-threatening complications for women experiencing pregnancy loss under Texas' abortion ban. — Life of the Mother: How Abortion Bans Lead to Preventable Deaths


A judge in Mississippi orders newspaper to remove editorial, so we're publishing it — At Scioto Valley Guardian, Ohio's leading news website, we stand unwaveringly for the freedom of the press—a cornerstone of democracy enshrined in the First Amendment. Today, we are reprinting an editorial …
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New York Times, Associated Press, Raw Story, Twitchy and The Independent, more at Mediagazer »


D.C. U.S. attorney probing Democrats over alleged threats, documents show — Analysts say Ed Martin's ‘Operation Whirlwind,’ which targets statements by Democrats and others about Elon Musk, justices and government workers, is meant to stifle criticism. — D.C.'s top prosecutor escalated …
Discussion:
Esquire, Rolling Stone and New York Times


New poll says 27% of Canadians view the United States as an ‘enemy’ country — OTTAWA — A new poll suggests that more than a quarter of Canadians — 27 per cent — now see the United States as an “enemy” country, while another 30 per cent still say they consider the U.S. an ally.Another 27 per cent …
Discussion:
CityNews Toronto


Trump receives widespread backlash to social post calling himself ‘king’ — US president made comparison after administration rescinded New York City's congestion pricing plan — Donald Trump is receiving widespread backlash after he likened himself to a “king” on social media following …
Discussion:
RedState, Rolling Stone, New York Post, PinkNews, New York Times, abc7NY, The Hill, NBC News, Associated Press, The Independent, Gizmodo, The City, Politico and The Daily Wire


USDS Engineering Director Resigns: ‘This Is Not the Mission I Came to Serve’ — “I do not believe that DOGE can continue to deliver the work of USDS, based on their actions so far,” wrote Anne Marshall in a LinkedIn post on Wednesday. — The director of data science and engineering …


Freshman Congressman tells constituent he is powerless to stop Musk's budget cuts — At an open house in Fairbanks on Monday, Alaskan Congressman Nick Begich (R) told constituents that there was nothing he could do to stop agency budget cuts being implemented by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and Elon Musk.
Discussion:
KTUU and Anchorage Daily News


Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Ends Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders — PRESERVING FEDERAL BENEFITS FOR AMERICAN CITIZENS: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to ensure taxpayer resources are not used to incentivize or support illegal immigration.


These feds took Trump's ‘fork’ deal. Then they got fired — creating a government ‘mess.’ — The Trump administration is racing to fix mistakes after some agencies fired probationary employees who had accepted the deferred resignation offer for federal workers.


Cal Fire captain found stabbed to death inside of her San Diego County home — A Cal Fire captain was found stabbed to death inside of her San Diego County home on Monday and authorities are still searching for the suspect. — Deputies were dispatched to a home in the 20200 block …
Discussion:
New York Post, Los Angeles Times and KFOR-TV


11-year-old took her own life after classmates threatened to call ICE on her family, devastated mother reveals — ‘I waited a whole week for a miracle that my daughter would be well, but unfortunately, nothing could be done,’ despaired her mother — Your support helps us to tell the story
Discussion:
New York Post, WFAA-TV, Raw Story and Mediaite


Andrew Cuomo supporter prepares reception ahead of likely mayoral bid — A “save the date” notice for a March 4 event is being planned for the ex-governor as he weighs a run for mayor. — NEW YORK — Supporters of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo are mobilizing to boost him as he prepares to run for New York City mayor.


‘Stagflation’ fears haunt US markets despite Trump's pro-growth agenda — Stubborn inflation and President Donald Trump's hard-line trade policies have rekindled fears of stagflation, a worrying mix of sluggish growth and relentless inflation that haunted the U.S. in the 1970s, even as markets remain upbeat on his pro-growth agenda.