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9:25 AM ET, February 27, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Berkeley Lovelace Jr / NBC News:
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 …
Discussion: Washington Post
RELATED:
Nina Golgowski / HuffPost:
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 …
New York Times:
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 …
Insights:
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.
Alexander Tin / CBS News:
FDA cancels meeting to update next season's flu vaccines
NBC News:
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
RELATED:
Associated Press:
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 …
RELATED:
Andrew Duehren / New York Times:
GOP Gambles on Budget Plan That Helps the Rich and Cuts Aid to the Poor
Washington Post:
Threat of Medicaid cuts looms over GOP lawmakers
Robert Berkvist / New York Times:
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 …
GovExec.com:
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.
RELATED:
Washington Post:
DOGE barrels toward a fresh round of firings, the most widespread yet
Discussion: The Guardian
The Guardian:
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 …
Discussion: BBC and New York Times
RELATED:
Washington Post:
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 …
Washington Post:
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” …
Peter Baker / New York Times:
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.
Emily Davies / Washington Post:
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 …
Chris Cameron / New York Times:
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 …
RELATED:
Aaron Wiener / Washington Post:
Federal agencies given deadline for plans to move offices out of D.C. area
Discussion: The Independent
Alan Rappeport / New York Times:
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
RELATED:
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard / Telegraph:   Economists are starting to worry about a serious Trump recession
Steven Erlanger / New York Times:
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 and Reuters
RELATED:
Patsy Widakuswara / Voice of America:
British PM Starmer to meet Trump at White House
Margaret Sullivan / The Guardian:
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.
Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling / New Republic:
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 …
Associated Press:
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 …
The White House:
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 …
Cameron Barr / Cameron Barr on LinkedIn:
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 …
Josh Barro / The Atlantic:
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 …
CNN:
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
New York Times:
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 …
Discussion: Politico, Reuters and Bloomberg
Burt Neuborne / Just Security:
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 …
Jane C. Timm / NBC News:
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
Sam Prance / Capital:
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.
Wired:
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
 
 
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 More Items: 
Will Saletan / The Bulwark:
Vance Gets Creepy About Immigrants, Again
Discussion: Twitchy and New York Post
Ari Daniel / NPR:
Why Dean Karlan, chief economist of USAID, resigned on Tuesday
Discussion: Advocate
Christian Paz / Vox:
What happened to the Gays for Trump?
Amber Phillips / Washington Post:
Is what DOGE is doing legal?
Discussion: Fortune
Nicole Narea / Vox:
Elon Musk's big mistake with the IRS, explained in 3 charts
Discussion: New York Times
 Earlier Items: 
Associated Press:
Pentagon orders new purge of social media sites to dump diversity, inclusion mentions by March 5
Discussion: Reuters and CBS News
Dominick Mastrangelo / The Hill:
WHCA head: Public ‘can no longer trust’ pool reports under White House control
Bloomberg:
Trump Team Weighs Pulling Funds for Moderna Bird Flu Vaccine
Discussion: Megyn Kelly
Reuters:
US government spending has not slowed under Trump so far, data shows
Discussion: New Republic
Josh Fiallo / The Daily Beast:
RFK Dismisses Measles Outbreak That Killed Kid as No Biggie
 

 
From Techmeme:

Will Oremus / Washington Post:
The US House passes the Take It Down Act to criminalize posting nonconsensual sexual images of others, including deepfakes, and require platforms to remove them

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Alibaba unveils the Qwen3 family of open-weight “hybrid” AI reasoning models, including Qwen3-235B-A22B, with 235B total parameters and 22B activated parameters

Reece Rogers / Wired:
OpenAI says it will start showing product recommendations in ChatGPT, even for logged-out users, with buy buttons that link to merchants' sites

 
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