RFK Jr. Has Horrific Response to Measles Death  —  An unvaccinated child in west Texas died of measles on Wednesday, marking the first time that someone has died from the viral illness in the U.S. in a decade.  —  So far, 18 people have been hospitalized for the disease around Lubbock …

Jeff Bezos is muzzling the Washington Post's opinion section.  That's a death knell  —  'I couldn't be more sad and disgusted,' says former top editor Martin Baron  —  Owners and publishers of news organizations often exert their will on opinion sections.  It would be naive to think otherwise.

Justice Department tells judges it can't comply with court-ordered deadline to release frozen aid funding  —  In court filings, the DOJ contends it will take “weeks” to free the funding that a federal judge ordered to be released almost two weeks ago.  —  The Trump administration …

FDA cancels meeting to select flu strains for next season's shots  —  The canceled meeting comes just days after a CDC vaccine advisory committee meeting was abruptly postponed.  —  A Food and Drug Administration vaccine advisory committee meeting scheduled for March to select the strains …

Social Security Administration Could Cut Half Its Workforce  —  Sources tell the Prospect that a meeting called for a 50 percent reduction in an agency that millions rely on for benefit implementation.  —  There are more than 1,200 Social Security field offices across the country.

Senate Republicans say House budget won't fly with them  —  Tuesday's big win for Speaker Mike Johnson might not last long.  —  House Republicans spent weeks in painstaking negotiations before delivering a budget blueprint for “one big, beautiful bill.”  Now Senate Republicans are preparing to tear it apart.

In Trump's Washington, a Moscow-Like Chill Takes Hold  —  A new administration's efforts to pressure the news media, punish political opponents and tame the nation's tycoons evoke the early days of President Vladimir V. Putin's reign in Russia.  —  She asked too many questions that the president didn't like.

DOGE Staffers at HUD Are From an AI Real Estate Firm and a Mobile Home Operator  —  Elon Musk's men at HUD come from the real estate sector.  They have access to vast stores of personal and financial data—and control over who can access which HUD systems.  —  On February 10 …

VA pauses billions in cuts lauded by Musk as lawmakers and veterans decry loss of critical care  —  The Department of Veterans Affairs has temporarily suspended billions of dollars in planned contract cuts following concerns that the move would hurt critical veterans' health services …

Trump Press Sec Seethes at Media over Musk as More Bad Econ News Hits … At Tuesday's media briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that the White House will now decide who attends briefings, an effort to insulate President Trump from tough scrutiny.

Musk claims DOGE ‘restored’ Ebola prevention effort.  Officials disagree.  —  USAID's initiatives to fight Ebola and other diseases have been gutted, current and former agency officials said  —  Elon Musk on Wednesday acknowledged that the U.S. DOGE Service “accidentally canceled” …

Trump Administration Escalates Layoffs of Federal Workers  —  Federal officials circulated a memo asking agency leaders to plan even more job reductions after thousands of federal workers were fired in recent weeks.  —  The Trump administration moved forward on Wednesday with plans …

Democrats Need to Clean House  —  The problem with the party goes way beyond the $10 words.  —  At the University of Chicago's Institute of Politics last week, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was nearly apoplectic about the diversity spectacles at the recent Democratic National …

Musk's Ex-Twitter Workers Win Severance Over ‘Fork in the Road’ Email  — Ex-employees prevail in challenges to ‘Fork in the Road’ email  — Billionaire has Trump's support using similar tactics at DOGE  —  Former Twitter employees are scoring early victories in legal challenges …

Implementing the President's “Department of Government Efficiency” Cost Efficiency Initiative  —  By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:  —  Section 1.  Purpose.  This order commences a transformation …

Who Is the Anonymous Data Expert Telling Elon Which Cuts to Make?  —  Conservatives have used DataRepublican to spread misinformation about federal agencies.  She's been working at a tech firm that's battled the CFPB … The account, and its alleged findings of mismanaged government agency spending …

Dozens of DOGE ‘receipts’ saved no money and killed contracts meant to boost efficiency  —  Many of the receipts published by Elon Musk's DOGE aren't receipts at all — they're negotiated deals with vetted vendors who might do future government work.  —  Take a quick look at the Department …

Chief Justice John Roberts pauses order for Trump admin to pay $2 billion in foreign aid by midnight  —  Chief Justice John Roberts on Wednesday paused a court-imposed midnight deadline that would have required the Trump administration to spend $2 billion in frozen foreign aid …

DOJ has abruptly broadened its view of Trump's Jan. 6 pardons.  A judge wants answers.  —  A Trump-appointed judge grilled a Justice Department prosecutor on the department's change in position.  —  Three weeks ago, the Justice Department was emphatic: Donald Trump may have pardoned Kentuckian Dan Wilson …

Following executive orders, 'The President's Own' Marine Band scraps concert  —  The canceled collaboration with Equity Arc was to feature high-school musicians of color who competed for spots to perform with the U.S. Marine Band.  —  There is perhaps no band closer to the president's ear …

Trump faces Truth Social backlash over AI video of Gaza with topless Netanyahu and bearded bellydancers  —  Users of president's own social media site criticise video showing reimagined Gaza featuring Trump and Israeli PM sipping cocktails  —  Donald Trump is facing a backlash …

The Supreme Court is in “radical agreement” that a bizarre DEI rule needs to go  —  The proper term for a Supreme Court session where the justices hear verbal presentations by lawyers is an “oral argument,” but Wednesday's hearing in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services hardly qualified as an argument.