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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 …
Discussion:
New Republic, STAT and Washington Post
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A Midnight Global Health Massacre — Jam-packed one this morning. Let's get right into it, shall we? Happy Thursday. — Is W. Awake? — by Sam Stein — On Wednesday, reports began dribbling out that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had signed off on eliminating 92 percent of USAID grants …


Trump administration says it's cutting 90% of USAID foreign aid contracts
Discussion:
The Guardian, Politico, Fox News, The Hill, Semafor, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Post Millennial, Daily Caller News Foundation, Newsmax, Raw Story, Reuters, The Kyiv Independent, Axios, Al Jazeera, Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, Associated Press, The Daily Signal, NewsNation, The Washington Free Beacon and CBS News

F.D.A. Cancels Meeting of Vaccine Experts Scheduled to Advise on Flu Shots
Discussion:
Rolling Stone, Bloomberg, CNN, New York Post, Dr. Rubin's Substack, CNBC, Daily Kos, STAT and Crooks and Liars

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

Chief Justice John Roberts pauses order for Trump admin to pay $2 billion in foreign aid by midnight
Discussion:
New Republic, Breitbart and Axios


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.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Politico, USA Today, Washington Examiner, Axios, NOTUS, Roll Call and PoliticusUSA
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Musk to meet with House Republicans — Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters Thursday that he's trying to schedule a meeting of House Republicans with Elon Musk soon to discuss the work of the Department of Government Efficiency. Johnson, who met with Musk at the White House late Tuesday …
Discussion:
American Thinker, PBS NewsHour, Reuters, Raw Story and E&E News


Republicans terrified of crossing Trump due to physical threats, Democrat says — Eric Swalwell says threats to them and their families are stopping GOP officials from criticizing president — Republicans on Capitol Hill are shying away from criticizing Donald Trump's policies over fears …
Discussion:
The Hill


GOP Gambles on Budget Plan That Helps the Rich and Cuts Aid to the Poor — The House Republican budget plan would pair tax cuts that primarily benefit the rich with cuts to programs that help the poor. — The Republican Party won the last election in no small part because of its new appeal …
Discussion:
Axios, Los Angeles Times, The Hill, Washington Times, HuffPost, Associated Press, Letters from an American, Forbes, Daily Kos, Breitbart and Democrats

Trump's Third-Term Talk Faces Pushback From a Democratic Congressman
Discussion:
American Prospect


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:
New York Times and Reuters
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Trump intervention suspected as Andrew Tate, brother Tristan leave Romania for U.S. despite rape charges — London — Self-proclaimed misogynist social media influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan have been allowed to leave Romania on a private jet bound for the U.S. despite facing rape …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, USA Today and Rolling Stone


Andrew Tate, who faces rape and trafficking charges in Romania, has left for the US — Influencer brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate, who are charged with human trafficking in Romania, left for the U.S. after authorities lifted travel restrictions imposed as part of the case, an official said Thursday.
Discussion:
New Republic, Reuters, MeidasTouch News, Fox News, Al Jazeera, The Daily Caller, WFLA, Associated Press, New York Daily News, WAGA-TV, Los Angeles Times, Raw Story, Metro.co.uk, PinkNews and Deadline

Tate brothers arrive in Florida after Romanian prosecutors agreed to let them leave
Discussion:
UPI, Politico, CNN, The Gateway Pundit, Florida Politics and New York Post


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 …
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Guardian, Variety, CNN, Washington Post, BBC, Breitbart, IndieWire, PinkNews, Raw Story, Fox News, Reuters, Los Angeles Times, Voice of America, Adweek, IJR, The Hollywood Reporter, Al Jazeera, Irish Examiner, UPI, New Jersey Online, Daily Mail, The Daily Caller, Althouse, WAGA-TV, Mediaite, Gizmodo, Chicago Sun Times, CBS News, New York Post, Virtual Globetrotting, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, Hollywood Life, TMZ.com, New York Daily News, Page Six, Semafor, TVLine and Twitchy


Who Is in DOGE? Tracking Its Staffers and Allies in the Federal Government — The New York Times identified 45 people within the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, a group formed by Elon Musk that in a short few weeks has radically upended federal agencies. Few members have formal Washington experience.
Discussion:
Bloomberg
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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:
New Republic, OutsideTheBeltway, NPR, Business Insider, Lawyers, Guns & Money, emptywheel, Raw Story, The Independent, Daily Kos, Fox Business, Gizmodo, Daily Mail and Rolling Stone


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 …
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money


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:
Reuters, MeidasTouch News, New Republic, The Information, IJR, The Independent, The Register, CBS News and Digby's Hullabaloo, more at Techmeme »
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The Era of Purges — Here is what happened. An intelligence employee at the National Security Agency leaked chats of fellow officers to a political activist. The chats included inappropriate messages, mostly around medical issues, plus mockery of political commenters.
Discussion:
Erin In The Morning, PinkNews and 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 …
Discussion:
NBC News, The Guardian, Forbes, Must Read Alaska, 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


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.
Discussion:
Zeteo, The Message Box, NPR, Politico, The Washington Free Beacon, Raw Story, Associated Press, The Verge, Axios, New Republic, Mediaite, JONATHAN TURLEY, American Crisis, The Nation, The Daily Wire, Status, Twitchy, Althouse, Crikey, Daily Kos, Ace of Spades HQ, The Information, The Atlantic, Mock Paper Scissors, The Daily Caller, CNBC, 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, New York Daily News, Breitbart, The Independent, PoliticusUSA, USA Today, IJR, Townhall, Variety, Eschaton, New York Post, Fox News, New York Times, The Daily Beast, Blue Virginia and Washington Post, more at Mediagazer »
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How the Bezos-Trump alliance began
Discussion:
American Greatness, Townhall and The Hill, more at Mediagazer »


Trump administration struggles to rehire fired bird flu employees — USDA supervisors are being asked to justify rehires and some employees still haven't gotten their laptops back. — The Trump administration touted a nearly $1 billion plan Wednesday to combat the spread of avian flu …
Discussion:
Associated Press and FOX 32 Chicago


Chief Justice Allows U.S. to Continue Freeze on Foreign Aid Payments — Lawyers for the government had said it would miss a deadline to release more than $1.5 billion in payments for past aid work and sought a late intervention from the Supreme Court. — Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr …
Discussion:
Associated Press, HotAir, The Hill, Fox News, The National Pulse, The Guardian, UPI, Business Insider, Al Jazeera and Althouse
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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.
Discussion:
Politico, New York Post, CNN, Mediaite, Raw Story, The Daily Signal, HuffPost, Vanity Fair, The Guardian, New Republic and The Hill, more at Mediagazer »


5th Circuit rebuffs ruling against Planned Parenthood — The unanimous ruling overturns a decision by Texas U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Donald Trump appointee. — A three-judge panel at the conservative-leaning 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday reversed …


MacArthur Foundation to increase giving for two years in response to ‘crisis’ — NEW YORK — The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation will increase its giving over the next two years in response to what it calls a “crisis” prompted by the Trump administration's freeze on federal foreign aid …


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


Art Museum of Americas cancels shows of Black, LGBTQ artists following Trump orders — Participants said the museum, run by the Organization of American States, shut down two upcoming exhibitions featuring major American and international artists. — The Art Museum of the Americas …
Discussion:
Advocate


Trump says Canada, Mexico tariffs will go into effect March 4 — It could be a negotiating tactic: Trump similarly pledged to levy tariffs earlier this month before backing off at the last minute. — President Donald Trump pledged Thursday to enforce his planned 25 percent tariffs on Canada …
Discussion:
CNBC, CNN, The Hill, Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, Reuters, Washington Times, Forbes, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, Associated Press, Fox Business, The Guardian and The Independent


Vance Gets Creepy About Immigrants, Again — ON TUESDAY, JD VANCE rebuked Americans of Ukrainian ancestry who oppose his betrayal of Ukraine. The rebuke is instructive. It shows us how Vance, Donald Trump, and many of their followers think about immigration and foreign policy.
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, The Daily Sceptic and Twitchy


Elon Musk's Starlink Is Keeping Modern Slavery Compounds Online — A WIRED investigation reveals that criminals who make billions from scam compounds in Myanmar—where tens of thousands of people are enslaved—are using Starlink to get online. — The plea for help arrived last summer.
Discussion:
Agence France-Presse, Reuters, New York Times, Associated Press and Voice of America, more at Techmeme »


Cruel and Usual: Republicans Prepare to Gut Medicaid — And their own supporters will be among the biggest victims — West Virginia is a very red state; Donald Trump received more than two thirds of its votes last year. — It's also a poor state, left behind by the 21st century economy.
Discussion:
CT Mirror


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 …