Top Items:


Here's how Republicans are planning to throw millions off Medicaid and lie about it — Trump is teaching his minions to say, “We didn't insure anyone"/"They deserved it." — A lot of the horror in the Donald Trump sequel is new. — Sure, he was terrible the first time James Comey and Vladimir Putin made him president.
Discussion:
The Hill
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Republicans' plans for Medicaid have a political problem — GOP lawmakers expected to vote soon on slashing the insurance program for low-income people represent tens of millions reliant on it. — House Republicans who represent large numbers of Medicaid recipients are pushing …
Discussion:
New York Times


The Trump Administration Keeps Citing an Untrue Stat as It Targets Federal Workers — A “survey of our niche audience for our niche audience” was the source for the claim that only 6% of federal employees are working full time in their offices. The number isn't true.
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Musk Vows to Suspend Federal Workers Who Don't Return to Office
Discussion:
ABC News, Politico, Fox News, MeidasTouch News, The Guardian, The Hill, CBS News, Daily Mail, Vanity Fair, Washington Times and Wired

Trump deploys SpongeBob meme to troll DOGE critics
Discussion:
The Hill, MeidasTouch News, CNN, Talking Points Memo, Bloomberg, RedState, The Post Millennial, New York Post, FEDweek and ClearanceJobs

Email starts power clash between Musk and agency leaders — even the Trump loyalists
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Associated Press, Bloomberg, FOX 26 Houston, Townhall, Law & Crime, The Hill, The Independent, New York Post, New York Times, WNYW-TV, USA Today, Althouse, Fox News, ABC News, Breitbart, Wired, CNN, Washington Times and NPR


UPDATE on town hall chaos: Woman who was dragged out speaks, police chief condemns security, name of security firm confirmed — COEUR d'ALENE — A legislative town hall organized by the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee devolved into chaos Saturday when unidentified …
Discussion:
The Independent


Right-Wing Commentator Named F.B.I. Deputy Director — The choice of Dan Bongino is a radical departure from the bureau's history of having a veteran agent serve in the key role that oversees operations. — Dan Bongino, a former New York City police officer and Secret Service agent turned right-wing pundit …
Discussion:
Doomsday Scenario, Rolling Stone, The Hill, Politico, Democrats, Blaze Media, Axios, Zeteo, Associated Press, WNYW-TV, Washington Times and Deadline
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Trump names podcaster Dan Bongino as deputy FBI director — US President Donald Trump has appointed podcaster and commentator Dan Bongino as deputy director of the FBI. — Trump posted on social media that Bongino was “a man of incredible love and passion for our Country” …


DOGE is the Theranos of Cost-Cutting — And other notes from the Chaos — Today's post will really be two short posts on different but related topics: The failure of DOGE to make any progress on its stated goals, and what's beginning to look like a rapid loss of confidence in Donald Trump's economic policies.
Discussion:
Musk Watch and Newsweek
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Despite the hype, DOGE hasn't found a shred of fraud
Discussion:
Poynter


Trump manufacturing win: Apple to spend $500 billion in U.S., hire 20,000 … - Apple's new investment — much of it in red states — lets Trump say to other companies: Apple can do it. … Apple CEO Tim Cook said in the announcement: “We are bullish on the future of American innovation …
Discussion:
Apple, The Hill, TechCrunch, The Verge, RedState, KHOU-TV, The Daily Caller, The National Pulse, The Post Millennial, Washington Times, Semafor, CBS News, New York Times, 9to5Mac, Fox Business and Daily Mail
RELATED:


Apple, Under Threat from Trump Tariffs, Will Add 20,000 US Jobs
Discussion:
Reuters and BGR, more at Techmeme »


Judge blocks DOE, OPM from disclosing troves of sensitive personal data to DOGE — A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily barred the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing troves of sensitive personal data from federal agencies. — U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman ruled …
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Angry Democratic donors turn off the flow of money — Democrats are anxious to rebuild their party on the heels of President Trump's victory in November. But they have a major problem as they try to refashion their brand: The money isn't there. — Democratic donors …
Discussion:
Breitbart and The Gateway Pundit


The U.S. Economy Depends More Than Ever on Rich People — The highest-earning 10% of Americans have increased their spending far beyond inflation. Everyone else hasn't.


Supreme Court rejects challenges to abortion clinic ‘buffer zone’ laws that restrict protesters — The two cases questioned a longstanding precedent that upheld such laws, which opponents say violate free speech rights. — WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday declined to consider overturning …


Lester Holt is stepping down as anchor of ‘NBC Nightly News’ after a decade — Holt will move full time to NBC's news magazine show “Dateline” at the beginning of the summer. — Lester Holt, the anchor and managing editor of “NBC Nightly News” for a decade, announced Monday that he is stepping …
Discussion:
New York Times


Just 1 in 3 approve of job Trump doing on inflation: Survey — Just 1 in 3 people approve of the job President Trump is doing to curb inflation, a survey released Sunday found. — Thirty-two percent of respondents in the poll, released Sunday by Reuters and Ipsos, approve of the job Trump …
Discussion:
Reuters


Germany's Merz vows ‘independence’ from Trump's America, warning NATO may soon be dead — BERLIN — Friedrich Merz did not even wait for the final results in Germany's election before delivering what could well be a defining verdict on U.S. President Donald Trump, consigning Europe's 80-year alliance with the United States to the past.


What Felt Impossible Became Possible — I've spent many hours since the election reading about the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s. It started the day after election day when I had hours to kill in the lobby of a Hampton Inn, waiting for a room to open up. I loaded a library archive page up on my phone …


As Facebook Abandons Fact-Checking, It's Also Offering Bonuses for Viral Content — ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published. — Hours after Donald Trump was sworn in as president …


Trump Just Fired 6,700 I.R.S. Workers in the Middle of Tax Season. That's a Huge Mistake. — If you were to ask the top chief executives in the world to name the best strategy to attack waste in their organizations and balance the books, there is one answer you would be very …
Discussion:
Syracuse Post-Standard, Marketplace and Raw Story


Congestion Pricing Reduced Traffic. Now It's Hitting Revenue Goals. — Revenue figures from the Manhattan tolling plan showed that the program is on track to raise billions for mass transit repairs. — New York's congestion pricing plan raised $48.6 million in tolls during its first month …
Discussion:
New York Post and Fortune

The Administrative State's Two Faces — The attack on the administrative state takes on only half of it—the wrong half. — Meet The Authors … In many ways, the first month of the second Trump administration has been shocking. The President has quickly and emphatically demonstrated …


Trumpism Is Not Inevitable — But if Trump and Musk are going to be defeated, it has to start now. — It's a time for taking the tiny wins where you can get them. On Friday, The Bulwark published a piece spotlighting the story of Scott Curtis, a FEMA chief of staff who took Elon Musk's …
Discussion:
The Independent


‘People are really bulled up’: Stock surge has some on Wall Street worried — A growing collection of hedge fund managers, financiers and analysts say the markets are now running too hot and are at risk of a sudden downturn. — Donald Trump's election helped turbocharge an already surging bull market …
Discussion:
Raw Story


The Real Goal of the Trump Economy — The president isn't trying to engineer prosperity for Americans. He's seeking power for himself. — A quarter century ago, Vladimir Putin gathered 21 of Russia's top oligarchs in the Kremlin to let them know that he, not they, held power in Russia.


What Elon Musk's war on federal workers owes to Gamergate — The long-ago troll tantrum from video gamers upset by women kicked off the culture wars for the stupid era — One of the most unnerving aspects of billionaire Elon Musk's illegal rampage through the federal government is how stupid it is.


Neo-Nazi group plots rebuild as Trump's FBI chief takes helm, audio reveals — Exclusive: Terrorist group the Base appears defiant as new administration aims to deprioritize threat from far right — An international neo-Nazi terrorist group with origins in the US appears to be quickly rebuilding …
Discussion:
Raw Story


The inside story of how President Trump came to name the ‘Gulf of America’ — Weeks before retaking office, Trump decided to add the measure to his Day 1 agenda, elevating a liberal joke that had become a conservative meme into an action that has come to symbolize the tenor of his term.
Discussion:
Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »


How Canada Hopes to Thwart Trump — By wooing governors and cultivating cross-border bonhomie, Canada's premiers aim to quell the calls for tariffs and annexation. — The annual winter meeting of the National Governor's Association in Washington always brings a retinue of staff …


U.S. Views of Israel, Ukraine, Mexico Most Divided by Party — WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans rate Canada, Japan, Great Britain and Denmark the most positively among 22 countries asked about, with each country viewed favorably by over 80% of U.S adults. Iran, North Korea and Afghanistan …
Discussion:
The Hill


The Coup Has Failed — Trump's falling approval ratings reveal an out-of-touch presidency, and have given space for allies to turn against him. — President Donald Trump walks from the Oval Office to board Marine One as he departs from the South Lawn of the White House, February 14, 2025, in Washington.