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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 …
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Washington Post
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RFK Jr. Dismisses Measles Outbreak As ‘Not Unusual’ After Child's Death — “We have measles outbreaks every year,” Trump's health secretary said when asked about the death, which is the nation's first in a decade. — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent vaccine skeptic …
Discussion:
Axios, NPR, Rolling Stone, Metro.co.uk, New Republic, New York Times, NOTUS, Associated Press, WAGA-TV, Texas Department … and New York Daily News


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 …


F.D.A. Cancels Meeting of Vaccine Experts Scheduled to Advise on Flu Shots — The cancellation plays into fears among scientists who worry that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will use his position as health secretary to sow doubts about vaccines. — A panel of scientific experts that advises …
Discussion:
CNN, STAT, Crooks and Liars, Bloomberg and New York Post


Breaking: US FDA Cancels Upcoming Adcomm Discussing 2025-2026 Flu Vaccine — The Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee meeting next month was scheduled to select strains for the 2025-2026 flu vaccine. The cancellation could mean delays in vaccine availability.

FDA cancels meeting to update next season's flu vaccines
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money and Slow Boring


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 …
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Law and Chaos, UPI, The Hill and IJR
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Chief justice allows Trump administration to keep foreign aid frozen for now — Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris told the high court that the administration cannot comply with a midnight deadline. — The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court Wednesday night to lift …
Discussion:
New York Times, Newsmax, CBS News, Blaze Media, Al Jazeera and The Gateway Pundit


Trump administration says it's cutting 90% of USAID foreign aid contracts — The Trump administration said Wednesday it is eliminating more than 90% of the U.S. Agency for International Development's foreign aid contracts and $60 billion in overall U.S. assistance around the world …


Supreme Court grants Trump request to pause USAID payments order
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NPR, The Guardian, Reuters, The Gateway Pundit, RedState, Washington Times, Axios, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Bloomberg, Business Insider and Politico


Democrats should make Elon Musk the face of the GOP budget — 📊 🔥 📊 With corporate outlets obeying in advance, supporting independent political media is more important right now than ever. Public Notice is possible thanks to paid subscribers.
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Politico, USA Today, Washington Examiner, Roll Call, PoliticusUSA, RedState, Axios and NOTUS
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GOP Gambles on Budget Plan That Helps the Rich and Cuts Aid to the Poor
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The Hill, Axios, Washington Times, Associated Press, HuffPost, Forbes, Letters from an American, Breitbart and Democrats

Shutdown fight could delay GOP budget push, Thune says
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Axios, Washington Examiner and NBC News

Threat of Medicaid cuts looms over GOP lawmakers
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Vox, Paul Krugman, Los Angeles Times, ABC News, Roll Call, HuffPost, New York Times, Hollywood Life, The Hill, Daily Kos, CT Mirror, Raw Story, Congressman Kevin Mullin, Bloomberg and E&E News

Johnson rules out steepest Medicaid cut options
Discussion:
KFF, Raw Story, Mississippi Today and NOTUS


Gene Hackman, Hollywood's Consummate Everyman, Dies at 95 — The winner of two Oscars, he was hailed for his nuanced performances in films like “The French Connection,” “Unforgiven” and “The Royal Tenenbaums.” — Gene Hackman, who never fit the mold of a Hollywood movie star …
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Top Social Security deputies leave amid rumored staff cuts — Most of the Social Security Administration's regional commissioners have decided to retire at the end of this week, following mysterious meetings with agency leaders about plans to slash its workforce.
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FAA targeting Verizon contract in favor of Musk's Starlink, sources say — Turning the $2.4 billion project over to Musk's company would be a major test of conflict-of-interest rules in government contracting. — Just now — The Federal Aviation Administration is close to canceling …
Discussion:
The Register, Digby's Hullabaloo, CBS News, Associated Press and Gizmodo, more at Techmeme »


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.
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CNN, The Daily Signal, New York Post, Raw Story, HuffPost, New Republic, RedState, Breitbart, Associated Press, The Independent and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »


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” …
Discussion:
NPR, Business Insider, emptywheel, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Raw Story, Rolling Stone, The Independent, Daily Kos, Fox Business, Gizmodo, Daily Mail and New Republic


U.S. Economy Shows Signs of Strain From Trump's Tariffs and Spending Cuts — Consumer and business sentiment is wobbling as fiscal support fades and fears rise that tariffs will lead to higher prices. — The United States economy is starting to show signs of strain as President Trump's abrupt moves …
Discussion:
The Contrarian
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Federal agencies given deadline for plans to move offices out of D.C. area — A Trump administration memo directed agency heads to submit by April 14 plans to move offices and bureaus to “less-costly parts of the country.” — The Trump administration is giving federal agencies until mid-April …
Discussion:
The Independent
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Trump Administration Escalates Layoffs of Federal Workers
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NBC News, Must Read Alaska, Business Insider, Associated Press, Washington Times, The Hill, ABC News and Politico


Some European Allies Fear Trump Is Out to Destroy Them — Debate is building over just how deep the Trump administration's antagonism runs, and whether the real goal is to destroy the European Union. — During his first term in office, President Trump described the European Union “as a foe …
Discussion:
Semafor, NPR, Reuters and Euromaidan Press
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British PM Starmer to meet Trump at White House
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NBC News, Washington Post, Reuters, NewsNation, El País, Associated Press, Semafor, Euromaidan Press, Bloomberg, Politico, New York Times, The Guardian, Daily Mail, CNN and The Gateway Pundit


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.
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Zeteo, The Daily Beast, Politico, Axios, NPR, The Nation, The Verge, American Crisis, New Republic, Status, Twitchy, Crikey, Daily Kos, Ace of Spades HQ, The Washington Free Beacon, The Information, The Atlantic, The Daily Caller, CNBC, Mock Paper Scissors, The National Pulse, Instapundit, The Daily Signal, New York Magazine, New Jersey Online, Daily Caller News Foundation, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Times, Washington Examiner, Newsbusters, Associated Press, New York Daily News, Breitbart, The Independent, PoliticusUSA, USA Today, Townhall, IJR, Variety, Raw Story, New York Post, Washington Post, New York Times, Fox News and Blue Virginia, more at Mediagazer »


Andrew Tate and brother leave Romania for US after travel ban lifted — Self-styled ‘misogynist influencer’ and brother Tristan had been banned from leaving Romania since December 2023 — The self-styled “misogynist influencer” Andrew Tate and his brother, Tristan, have left Romania …
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BBC, New York Times, FOX 32 Chicago, Los Angeles Times, Metro.co.uk, Reuters, Deadline and New York Post


WHCA head: Public ‘can no longer trust’ pool reports under White House control — The head of the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) says the public can no longer trust pool reports now that the reporters included in the small group will be controlled by President Trump's team.
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White House Correspondents' Association cedes control of pool reports to Trump administration
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The Federalist, Fox News, @amuse, Washington Post, The Guardian, Reuters, CNN, The Hill, Al Jazeera, Breitbart, CBS News, PBS NewsHour and American Greatness, more at Mediagazer »


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 …
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Washington Post, Washington Examiner, Talking Points Memo, Breitbart, The Hill, Reuters, Raw Story and Task & Purpose


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 …
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Townhall, RedState, WNYW-TV, GovExec.com, TechCrunch and Federal News Network


Today I am ending my professional association with The Washington Post. Since my decision to step down as senior managing editor in 2023, I have been privileged to work on contract as a senior associate editor, helping to oversee investigative projects and undertaking other tasks at the behest …


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 …


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 …


She hoped Trump's victory would change her life, but not like this — Ryleigh Cooper is normally more focused on motherhood than politics. Then came DOGE. — BALDWIN, Mich. — Ryleigh Cooper exhaled as she slid onto the couch after nine hours of work for the U.S. Forest Service …


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 …
Discussion:
PBS NewsHour and CBS News


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 …
Discussion:
ProPublica


What happened to the Gays for Trump? — Voters in Germany maintained a few global trends this past weekend: They kicked out incumbents, their youth moved to the right, and they delivered another surprise. Their radical, anti-immigrant party (Alternative für Deutschland, or AfD) …


Elon Musk's big mistake with the IRS, explained in 3 charts — Elon Musk's cut-first, aim-later run through the federal government is predicated on the idea that the nation's finances are in crisis and that it needs to drastically cut spending to recover. But at least one cut Musk's team …
Discussion:
New York Times