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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 …
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Axios, NPR, Rolling Stone, Metro.co.uk, New Republic, New York Times, Associated Press, WAGA-TV, New York Daily News and Texas Department …


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 …
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CNN, STAT, Bloomberg, Crooks and Liars 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 …
Discussion:
Law and Chaos, The Hill and IJR
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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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The Hill, WNYW-TV, Bloomberg, RedState, Washington Times, Axios, Wall Street Journal, USA Today and The Gateway Pundit

Chief Justice Allows U.S. to Continue Freeze on Foreign Aid Payments
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Associated Press, HotAir, The Guardian, UPI, Business Insider, Althouse and Al Jazeera


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, Axios, NOTUS, PoliticusUSA, RedState and NPR
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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, HuffPost, Associated Press, Forbes, Letters from an American, Breitbart, Democrats and No More Mister Nice Blog

Party Leaders Order Lawmakers: Make Sure to Show Up!
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The Daily Beast, Washington Examiner, New York Times, Twitchy, Axios, The Atlanta Voice and Washington Post

Shutdown fight could delay GOP budget push, Thune says
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The Hill, Axios, Washington Examiner, NBC News, Semafor, The Daily Wire and Raw Story

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 and Bloomberg

Johnson rules out steepest Medicaid cut options
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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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Associated Press, Variety, The Guardian, CNN, BBC, IndieWire, Breitbart, Raw Story, Reuters, Fox News, PinkNews, Al Jazeera, Los Angeles Times, The Daily Caller, Voice of America, The Hollywood Reporter, New Jersey Online, Daily Mail, Mediaite, Irish Examiner, WAGA-TV, Page Six, Vanity Fair, WHDH-TV, TMZ.com, New York Daily News, New York Post, Rolling Stone, TVLine, Semafor, Hollywood Life, UPI and Twitchy


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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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 and New York Times
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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 and Associated Press, more at Techmeme »


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


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, New York Post, Raw Story, The Daily Signal, HuffPost, The Guardian, New Republic, The Hill, RedState, Breitbart and The Independent, more at Mediagazer »


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 …


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 …
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NBC News, Must Read Alaska, Business Insider, Associated Press, Washington Times, The Hill, ABC News and Politico
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Federal agencies given deadline for plans to move offices out of D.C. area
Discussion:
The Independent


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


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 …


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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The Hill, 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 …


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 …


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 …
Discussion:
WHDH-TV, Fox News and The Independent


Austrian Parties Reach Deal to Form Government Without Far Right — The announcement was a victory for mainstream political parties, after earlier talks involving the hard-right Freedom Party broke down. — Three mainstream political parties in Austria said on Thursday that they had reached …


No, the Defense Department Did Not “Ignore” a Judicial Order in 1973 Cambodia Bombing Case — In an otherwise thoughtful article about many of the complex separation of powers issues raised by President Donald Trump's blitzkrieg against the structure and personnel of his own government …


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


Pedro Pascal calls out “vile and pathetic” transphobic trolls after defending trans rights — Pedro Pascal, whose sister Lux is a trans woman, is a prominent trans ally and he has no time for transphobia. — Loading audio... Transphobia? Not on Pedro Pascal's watch.


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