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6:30 AM ET, February 21, 2025

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 Top Items: 
ProPublica:
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 …
RELATED:
Meredith Lee Hill / Politico:
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 …
Winston Cho / The Hollywood Reporter:
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, Law & Crime and HuffPost
NBC News:   Georgia Republican faces town hall backlash over DOGE's ‘chainsaw approach’ to government cuts
Kyle Cheney / Politico:
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 …
RELATED:
Ryan J. Reilly / NBC News:
Senate confirms Kash Patel as FBI director  —  The Trump loyalist is taking over a bureau in turmoil over firings and an effort to gather names of people who worked on Jan. 6 Capitol riot investigations.  —  WASHINGTON — Kash Patel, a longtime loyalist to President Donald Trump …
Ryan Lucas / NPR:
Senate confirms Kash Patel, fierce critic of FBI, to head the bureau  —  The Republican-led Senate voted Thursday to confirm Kash Patel as the new FBI director despite questions about whether he has the qualifications and the temperament to lead the nation's most powerful law enforcement agency.
Hailey Fuchs / Politico:
Senate confirms Kash Patel to lead FBI
Lindsay Whitehurst / Associated Press:
Live updates: Senate narrowly confirms Kash Patel for FBI director
Justine McDaniel / Washington Post:
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 …
Discussion: Raw Story, The Hill and Grabien
RELATED:
Philip Bump / Washington Post:
Half of Trump's first month in office saw him visiting Trump properties
Discussion: HuffPost and Daily Kos
Larry Diamond / The UnPopulist:   Trump's America Is in a Free Fall—Not a Slippery Slope—to Tyranny
NBC10 Philadelphia:
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 …
Helen Branswell / STAT:
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 …
RELATED:
Politico:
RFK Jr. prepares shake-up of vaccine advisers
Discussion: Senator Patty Murray and NPR
CNN:
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
Washington Post:
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
Jon Campbell / Gothamist:
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
RELATED:
NBC News:
Gov. Kathy Hochul won't remove embattled NYC Mayor Eric Adams — for now
Asher Notheis / Washington Examiner:
CPAC attendees rejoice over McConnell's retirement: ‘Way past time’  —  Attendees at the 2025 Conservative Political Action Committee in Washington, D.C., celebrated Sen. Mitch McConnell's (R-KY) retirement, which was announced during Day Two of the annual event.
RELATED:
Bruce Schreiner / Associated Press:
Sen. Mitch McConnell won't seek reelection in 2026, ending long tenure as Republican power broker
Scott Macfarlane / CBS News:
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 …
William Vaillancourt / The Daily Beast:
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 …
Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:
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
New York Times:
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 …
Jack Dolan / Los Angeles Times:
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: Plain Dealer
ProPublica:
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 …
Politico:
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 …
Suzanne Vranica / Wall Street Journal:
X Hinted at Possible Deal Trouble in Talks With Ad Giant to Increase Spending  —  Interpublic recently signed an advertising agreement with the platform; other agencies are also in negotiations  —  A lawyer at advertising conglomerate Interpublic Group fielded a phone call in December …
Francis Fukuyama / Persuasion:
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 …
Corbin Hiar / Politico:
‘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 …
Meredith Deliso / ABC News:
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 …
Samantha Hendrickson / The Columbus Dispatch:
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
New York Times:
Trump Dismantles Government Fight Against Foreign Influence Operations  —  The Trump administration has reassigned or forced out several dozen government employees who had been working to fight foreign interference in U.S. elections at multiple agencies, according to current and former officials.
Josh Peter / USA Today:
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.
New York Times:
Is That Legal?  A Guide to Trump's Big Moves So Far.  —  Examining the legality of 38 major actions the president has taken in his first month.  —  In his first month in office, President Trump has ordered a radical set of changes to the federal government.
 
 
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 More Items: 
Danny Nguyen / Politico:
Neera Tanden is returning to the Center for American Progress. She thinks Democrats have work to do.
Discussion: New York Times and Semafor
Jacob Bogage / Washington Post:
Treasury agrees to block DOGE's access to personal taxpayer data at IRS
Discussion: Politico and The Hill
April Ehrlich / OPB:
Trump's firing of Forest Service workers raises concerns about wildfires in Oregon, the West
Josh Barro / Very Serious:
Democrats Need Their Own DEI Purge
Discussion: Mediaite
Stephanie Nolen / New York Times:
Emergency Food, TB Tests and H.I.V. Drugs: Vital Health Aid Remains Frozen Despite Court Ruling
 Earlier Items: 
Nate Brought / Nate Brought on LinkedIn:
This evening I did something that would have been unthinkable just 4-5 months ago, and submitted my resignation to NIH Acting Director Dr. Matthew Memoli to be effective February 28, 2025. …
Axios:
Scoop: U.S. to pull delegation from UN climate science meeting
Discussion: Reuters and Watts Up With That?
Alaric DeArment / New Republic:
Americans Are Heading for the Exits
Wired:
The National Institute of Standards and Technology Braces for Mass Firings
Discussion: New Republic, Fortune and Axios
NBC News:
Judge rules against union bid to block mass federal layoffs by Trump
Norman Ornstein / The Contrarian:
Just Another Example of Trump's Reckless, Punitive, and Narcissistic actions
Zoë Schiffer / Wired:
DOGE Puts $1 Spending Limit on Government Employee Credit Cards
Discussion: The Gateway Pundit
 

 
From Techmeme:

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is working on a lighter and cheaper Vision Pro and a Mac-tethered model with ultra-low latency; iPadOS 19 overhaul will make it more like macOS

Bill Toulas / BleepingComputer:
A look at slopsquatting, a supply chain attack where threat actors create malicious packages on indexes using AI-hallucinated names resembling popular libraries

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
According to a recently published support page, OpenAI may soon require organizations to complete an ID verification process to access new advanced AI models

 
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