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DOGE's Millions: As Musk and Trump Gut Government, Their Ax-Cutting Agency Gets Cash Infusion — ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published. — While Elon Musk and his underlings demand budget cuts …
Discussion:
Defense One, Twitchy, E&E News, ClearanceJobs, Washington Times and Reuters
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The private GOP panic over the slash-and-burn DOGE firings — White House aides are inundated with congressional calls as Republicans fret. — A growing number of congressional Republicans are desperately trying to back-channel with White House officials as President Donald Trump's Department …
Discussion:
USA Today, Raw Story, Washington Examiner and Associated Press


Paramount Is Starting to Fight Back Against Trump in ‘60 Minutes’ Lawsuit — The CBS News owner's legal strategy has revolved around arguments challenging the President's insistence that it should stay in federal court in Texas, in addition to raising the specter of discovery and arbitration.
Discussion:
Deadline, HuffPost and Law & Crime


Playbook: DOGE bites Republicans
Discussion:
Daily Caller News Foundation, Washington Examiner, Fox News, The Hill and Washington Post

‘Stand up for us!’ Republican shouted down as he defends DOGE cuts at town hall
Discussion:
CBS News and Musk Watch


Trump expected to take control of USPS, fire postal board, officials say — The move threatens to upend trillions of dollars in ecommerce business and the 250-year-old Postal Service.
Discussion:
Daily Mail, Mediaite, Wall Street Journal, Raw Story and Lawyers, Guns & Money


Justice Department broadens Trump's Jan. 6 clemency as it moves to drop gun cases — In court papers, DOJ revealed a newly expansive interpretation of the president's Jan. 6 pardons. — The Justice Department now says that President Donald Trump's clemency for Jan. 6 rioters covers unrelated crimes …
Discussion:
The Hill, New York Times, Raw Story, MPR News, The Independent, CBS News, Mediaite, Law & Crime and Blaze Media
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Senate confirms Kash Patel, fierce critic of FBI, to head the bureau
Discussion:
Rolling Stone, Raw Story, The Federalist, Blaze Media, RTÉ, Hollywood Life, The Hill, FOX8 WGHP, U.S. Senator Susan Collins …, UPI and CBS News

Trump Administration Live Updates: Senate Confirms Kash Patel as F.B.I. Chief
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New Republic, Associated Press, Twitchy, ABC News, Semafor, Daily Kos, The Daily Caller, The Hill, NPR, CBS News, Fox News, UPI, The Political Insider, Lawyers, Guns & Money, New York Daily News, NBC News, WAGA-TV, Bloomberg, RedState, E&E News, Politico, The National Pulse, RTÉ, Mediaite, New York Post, Townhall, Washington Examiner and The American Conservative

Live updates: Senate narrowly confirms Kash Patel for FBI director
Discussion:
CNN, Politico, Reuters, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, New York Times, PBS NewsHour, Los Angeles Times, Axios, HotAir, Nextgov/FCW, The Indian Express, USA Today, Townhall, Washington Times, The National Pulse, The Leadership Conference …, The Gateway Pundit, ABC News, The Hill, Associated Press, CBS News and Tea Party Patriots


Hundreds of Philly IRS workers laid off on Thursday, union says — Around 400 Philadelphia IRS workers are expected to be laid off on Thursday, Feb. 20, union leader Alex Jay Berman confirmed — Hundreds of Philadelphia IRS employees were laid off on Thursday as part of the Trump administration's efforts …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Axios, Denver Post, Bloomberg, The Daily Caller, Forbes, Blaze Media, FOX8 WGHP, Business Insider, Fox News, Associated Press, IJR, Politico, New York Times, GovExec.com and Federal News Network


Trump again raises idea of running for an unconstitutional third term — The suggestion followed a stretch of days in which Trump referred to himself as a king and quoted a dictator in suggesting that he was immune from following laws — President Donald Trump on Thursday again raised …
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Trump's Putinization of America — It's not just in foreign policy that the President is turning Russia's way. — No matter how many times Donald Trump openly parrots the Kremlin line, it's never not going to sound wrong coming from the President of the United States.
Discussion:
Plain Dealer
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Mr. President: Putin is THE dictator and 9 other Ukraine-Russia war truths we ignore at our peril
Discussion:
Raw Story, Washington Examiner, The Daily Wire and Bloomberg

Zelensky's five moves that set off Trump
Discussion:
American Greatness, Breitbart, Fox News, Daily Mail, The Kyiv Independent, The Daily Wire, Florida Politics, RTÉ, NBC News and Diplomatic,


Elon Musk's private security detail gets deputized by US Marshals Service — The US Marshals Service has deputized members of Elon Musk's private security detail, giving them certain rights and protections of federal law enforcement agents, three law enforcement officials familiar with the matter told CNN.
Discussion:
CBS News


U.S. says it will drop immigration case against SpaceX — The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday said it would drop a case accusing Elon Musk's space technology company SpaceX of refusing to hire certain immigrants. — The Justice Department last month signaled it could back away from the case …
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Justice Dept. to Drop Discrimination Case Against Elon Musk's SpaceX
Discussion:
Bloomberg


Ohio GOP Rep. Balderson says Trump's executive orders ‘getting out of control’ — Republican U.S. Rep. Troy Balderson described President Donald Trump's flurry of executive orders as “getting out of control” at a Westerville Area Chamber business luncheon Thursday, saying that only Congress can do certain things.
Discussion:
Mediaite
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Trump takes aim at Pelosi's hometown legacy
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Raw Story, New York Times, KRON4, The San Francisco Standard and Bloomberg


Justice Department deletes database tracking federal police misconduct — Trump executive order ends National Law Enforcement Accountability Database, which Trump proposed creating in 2020 — The first nationwide database tracking misconduct by federal police officers has been shut …
Discussion:
Axios


HHS orders CDC to halt some vaccine ads, saying RFK Jr. wants message focused on ‘informed consent’ — Experts fear effort to recalibrate tone could dampen vaccine uptake — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was ordered to shelve promotions it developed for a variety of vaccines …
Discussion:
Politico, Fortune, Washington Examiner, Washington Times, LewRockwell, NPR and UPI


Steve Bannon Mimics Elon Musk's VERY Controversial Salute — Former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon whipped up Friday's Conservative Political Action Conference crowd by talking about the possibility of the President Donald Trump staying in office for a third term in 2028 …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Washington Examiner, The Independent and HuffPost


Gov. Hochul says she won't remove NYC Mayor Adams from office … We rely on your support to make local news available to all — Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2025. Donate today — Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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Gov. Kathy Hochul won't remove embattled NYC Mayor Eric Adams — for now
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Washington Examiner, Townhall, Staten Island Advance, Axios, Politico, Fox News, Bloomberg, CNBC, CBS News, New York Post, NPR, The Post Millennial, Raw Story, Forbes, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The City, New York Daily News and HotAir

Education Department “Lifting the Pause” on Some Civil Rights Probes, but Not for Race or Gender Cases — ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published. — The U.S. Department of Education …
Discussion:
Associated Press and The Independent


‘Cowardliness at the top’: Science agency staff revolt over cuts — At an emotional meeting, foundation officials announced layoffs for about 10 percent of their workforce and warned of more firings to come. — The National Science Foundation went beyond the staff cuts demanded …
Discussion:
HotAir, The Register and American Enterprise Institute


Acting U.S. attorney opens inquiries into Democrats alleging possible threats to DOGE, Supreme Court justices — Ed Martin, the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, revealed he has opened inquiries into public statements of Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader in the U.S. Senate …
Discussion:
Civil Discourse …, Politico, Raw Story, New York Post, RedState, Advocate, New Republic, The Hill, Gizmodo, Washington Post, The Gateway Pundit, Talking Points Memo and Esquire


Trump Administration Abruptly Clears Out Migrants It Sent to Guantánamo — A transfer operation on Thursday repatriated 177 Venezuelans via a handoff in Honduras, while one migrant was brought back to U.S. soil. — The Trump administration on Thursday transferred all of the Venezuelan migrants …
Discussion:
Migrant Insider, Associated Press, Al Jazeera, Informed Comment, Reuters, Bloomberg, NPR, The Hill, NBC News and The Independent


Trump administration backtracks on eliminating thousands of national parks employees — Following a loud public outcry about job cuts at the National Parks Service — and a relentless media campaign from outdoors enthusiasts across the country — it looks like the Trump administration has blinked.
Discussion:
Salt Lake Tribune


I cannot describe how strange Elon Musk's CPAC appearance was — So here's a literal transcript, instead. … Elon Musk spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Thursday, giving a strange and often inarticulate on-stage interview to Newsmax presenter Rob Schmitt.


Chris Kluwe isn't backing down after arrest for MAGA protest. 'Somebody's got to step up' — HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. - Former NFL punter Chris Kluwe wore a T-shirt, shorts and flip flops when he showed up to talk about his arrest Tuesday night during the Huntington Beach City Council meeting.


Judge warns Trump administration not to dodge court order unfreezing foreign aid — Officials avoid contempt of court, but can't implement any broad holds on payments, a judge ruled. — A federal judge delivered a stern warning to the Trump administration that it must abide by a court order …


Musk and His Millions Enter Wisconsin Supreme Court Race — Elon Musk's super PAC has spent $1 million on canvassing operations supporting the conservative candidate in the race, his first election spending after the 2024 campaign. — Elon Musk's super PAC is back.
Discussion:
CNN, Washington Examiner and Mother Jones


The Ultimate Betrayal — America just switched sides in the Ukraine war. … Even though anyone with eyes could see this coming, Donald Trump's recent moves with regard to Ukraine and Russia come as a huge blow. We are in the midst of a global fight between Western liberal democracy …


Grand jury recommends Alabama police department be ‘immediately abolished’ — Five officers were indicted amid a probe into the Hanceville Police Department. — Cody Alan Kelso, Jason Scott Wilbanks, Jason Shane Marlin, William Andrew Shelnutt, and Eric Michael Kelso are shown …
Discussion:
CBS News, al.com, Montgomery Advertiser, UPI and New York Post


Trump Suddenly Slips in 3 Brutal New Polls—and Musk Looks Even Worse — Three new national polls—from CNN, Gallup, and The Washington Post—show that President Donald Trump's job approval is decidedly underwater. Importantly, the polls also show majorities rejecting Trump's authoritarian governance.
Discussion:
Digby's Hullabaloo, Chicago Sun Times and Lawyers, Guns & Money


2/21/25 ☀️ AM: … There are two ways to look at this: This resolution is a bit out of step with the Trump administration. Trump publicly said Wednesday that he likes the much broader House GOP resolution better and hopes Hill Republicans rally around that.
Discussion:
Conservative Partnership …, Politico, CBS News, New York Times, NBC News, Roll Call, The Hill, Washington Times and Washington Examiner