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At Least Now We Know the Truth — Sign up for Trump's Return, a newsletter featuring coverage of the second Trump presidency. — At least the Oval Office meeting held by President Donald Trump and Vice President J. D. Vance with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was held in front of the cameras.
Discussion:
Reuters, New York Magazine, NOTUS, The Hill, Euromaidan Press, Washington Examiner and Breitbart
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Russian state media briefly enters Oval Office during Zelenskyy meeting — The White House did not address how the unapproved reporter was able to gain access to the Oval Office. — The White House last week announced that “all journalists deserve a seat” in the Oval Office press pool.


Excerpts From the Fiery Exchange Between Trump and Zelensky at the White House — During the Oval Office meeting, President Trump told the Ukrainian leader: “You're either going to make a deal or we're out.” — A meeting between President Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine …
Discussion:
Forbes, BBC, Raw Story, The Independent, American Greatness and Breitbart


Live updates: Trump cuts short talks with Ukraine's Zelenskyy after Oval Office blow up — Watch live as U.S. President Donald Trump greets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington, D.C. — President Donald Trump has cut short talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy …


Trump, Zelensky and Vance Argue Over Ukraine War — “Do you disagree that you've had problems bringing people into your military?” “We have problems.” “And do you think that it's respectful to come to the Oval Office of the United States of America and attack the administration that is trying …
Discussion:
RedState, New York Daily News and Diane Ravitch's blog


Contentious Trump-Zelensky meeting threatens U.S. support for Ukraine
Discussion:
NBC News, Washington Examiner, The Hill, New York Times, Fortune, The Independent, Daily Mail, Sanity Clause, Breitbart, New York Post and Euromaidan Press

Trump cancels news conference with Zelensky after contentious Oval Office meeting
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New York Times, The Hill, USA Today, Raw Story, Fox News, The Daily Caller, Washington Times, CBS News, Human Events, Mediaite, IJR, The Federalist, The Gateway Pundit, Townhall, NewsNation, Blaze Media, Associated Press, One America News Network, Twitchy, The National Pulse and The Daily Sceptic

Zelenskyy leaves the White House early after Trump meeting gets heated
Discussion:
The Hill, Axios, RedState, The Floridian, Mediaite, The Guardian and Los Angeles Times

A Russian state media reporter gained entry to the Oval Office for Trump-Zelensky sit-down
Discussion:
New York Post and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

A confrontation in the Oval Office and a fractured wartime alliance
Discussion:
ABC News, Associated Press and The Hill

“The free world needs a new leader”: Allies defend Zelensky after Trump debacle
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Hill, Reuters, Rolling Stone, The Daily Caller, Fox News, Al Jazeera, Deseret News, The Daily Signal, Breitbart, The Federalist, Asia Times, Daily Mail, The Kyiv Independent, RedState, Euromaidan Press, Associated Press, Deadline, The National Pulse, UPI, PoliticusUSA and Mediaite

Ukraine ally Graham suggests Zelensky be replaced after Trump clash
Discussion:
Scripps News, Fox News, The Hill, Roll Call, RedState, The Gateway Pundit, NewsNation, The National Pulse, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, TMZ.com and Blaze Media

Trump And Vance Ambush Zelensky In Prelude To Betrayal
Discussion:
The Atlantic, The Hill, Politico, Washington Examiner, Hollywood Life, Rolling Stone, Foreign Policy, CNBC, New York Post, Fox News, USA Today, Breitbart, The Maine Wire, CBS News, Raw Story, New Republic, New Jersey Online, Associated Press, Townhall, The American Conservative, New York Magazine, TMZ.com, Irish Examiner, Mediaite, PoliticusUSA, Twitchy, The Daily Wire, The Independent and The Daily Signal

Trump-Zelenskyy White House meeting on mineral deal devolves into shouting match
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Bloomberg, Axios, The Hill, New York Post, New Jersey Online, CNBC, Deseret News, alicublog, Pen Strokes, U.S. Constitution.net, Fox News, CBS News, The New Civil Rights Movement, Townhall, FOX 32 Chicago, Daily Mail, USA Today, Foreign Policy, Breitbart, Raw Story, RedState, NPR, Euromaidan Press, Associated Press and Mediaite

Zelenskyy to visit Trump and finish negotiation over Ukraine's minerals
Discussion:
The Kyiv Independent, New Jersey Online, The Hill, Washington Examiner, USA Today, Associated Press, Axios, Business Insider, Fox News, New York Post, New York Daily News, Breitbart, Deseret News, The War Zone, E&E News, Al Jazeera, Daily Caller News Foundation, The Guardian, Daily Mail, Roll Call, El País, DCReport.org, Raw Story, Agence France-Presse, Washington Times, HotAir, Semafor, The Independent, Scripps News and IJR



Exclusive: Hegseth orders Cyber Command to stand down on Russia planning — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week ordered U.S. Cyber Command to stand down from all planning against Russia, including offensive digital actions, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Discussion:
Digby's Hullabaloo, more at Techmeme »


Bezos' changes at ‘Washington Post’ lead to mass subscription cancellations — again — More than 75,000 digital subscribers to The Washington Post have cancelled since its owner, billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, announced on Wednesday that he would radically overhaul the paper's opinion pages …
Discussion:
Business Insider, CNN, New York Post, The Hill, The National Pulse, Diane Ravitch's blog and The Daily Wire, more at Mediagazer »
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Trump says he had dinner with Bezos week of Washington Post changes
Discussion:
Business Insider and The Independent, more at Mediagazer »


Exclusive: US intel shows Russia and China are attempting to recruit disgruntled federal employees, sources say — Foreign adversaries including Russia and China have recently directed their intelligence services to ramp up recruiting of US federal employees working in national security …
Discussion:
The Post Millennial, RedState and DefenseScoop


What to know about the Epstein files release, from redactions to ‘Rickrolling’ — The Justice Department released a batch of files from its investigation into the late disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on Thursday, after considerable fanfare.
Discussion:
Fox News, MeidasTouch News, Rolling Stone, The Hill, Forbes, Washington Post, Global News, Mother Jones, Mediaite, Gizmodo, Business Insider, Blaze Media and The Gateway Pundit
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Bondi accuses FBI of withholding ‘thousands of pages’ of Epstein files
Discussion:
U.S. Constitution.net, One America News Network and The Independent

(Not) New: These Are Not the Epstein Files You're Looking For
Discussion:
The Daily Wire, The Gateway Pundit, New York Post and Townhall


Hegseth Warned of Military Action if Mexico Fails to Meet Trump's Border Demands — The defense secretary's closed-door comments have unnerved Mexican officials negotiating to avoid 25% tariffs — MEXICO CITY—It was the first call U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth held …
Discussion:
The Hill
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Ex-Biden staffer: Campaign was ‘gaslighting’ public with ‘denial’ of age, ability concerns — A former staffer for the Biden White House argued that then-President Biden's campaign was “gaslighting” the public by denying concerns about his cognitive fitness for office.
Discussion:
Mediaite, One America News Network, Daily Mail and IJR
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Hundreds of weather forecasters fired in latest wave of DOGE cuts — Hundreds of weather forecasters and other federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration employees on probationary status were fired Thursday, lawmakers and weather experts said. Federal workers who were not let …
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OPB, Axios, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, The Atlantic, Gizmodo, Vox, NPR, Twitchy, The Colorado Sun, Oregonian, The Independent, USA Today, New Republic, Mediaite, Mock Paper Scissors, Breitbart, Raw Story, Baltimore Sun and Daily Kos


Musk Makes Big Mistake While Trying to Smear CNN Legal Analyst Norm Eisen — CARELESS — The billionaire DOGE chief found a woman with the same last name as a lawyer he hates. Cue the conspiracy.
Discussion:
Electrek


State Department terminates U.S. support of Ukraine energy grid restoration — The USAID initiative had invested hundreds of millions of dollars in helping Ukraine's energy grid recover from attacks from Russia. — WASHINGTON — The State Department this week terminated a U.S. Agency …
Discussion:
RedState, Euromaidan Press, The Kyiv Independent, The Gateway Pundit, Fox Business and The Post Millennial


RFK Jr. moves to eliminate public comment on HHS decisions — In notice to Federal Register, health agency says public participation is not needed in many decisions — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — Friday proposing to strip public participation from much of the business his department conducts.


IRS rejected request for addresses of people believed to be in U.S. illegally — Immigration enforcement officials sought home addresses for 700,000 people and asked for skilled auditors to investigate businesses. The tax agency is forbidden from sharing protected information, even with other parts of the government.


U.S. Mint takes Jan. 6 coin honoring officers who protected the Capitol off its website — The coins are duplicates of Congressional Gold Medals issued to law enforcement officers who protected the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. — The U.S. Mint has removed from its website …
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Speaker Mike Johnson Is Living in a D.C. House That Is the Center of a Pastor's Secretive Influence Campaign — ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published. — In 2021, Steve Berger …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo


Trump administration retreats in fight against Russian cyber threats — Recent incidents indicate US is no longer characterizing Russia as a cybersecurity threat, marking a radical departure: ‘Putin is on the inside now’ — Don't let a billionaire's algorithm control what you read.


How Elon Musk Executed His Takeover of the Federal Bureaucracy — The operation was driven with a frenetic focus by the billionaire, who channeled his resentment of regulatory oversight into a drastic overhaul of government agencies. — On the last Friday of September 2023 …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Forbes, The Daily Signal, The Independent, Reason and Wall Street Journal


Trump to Sign Executive Order Making English Official U.S. Language — The U.S. has never had a national language in its nearly 250-year history — WASHINGTON—President Trump is planning to sign an executive order that would for the first time make English the official language of the U.S., according to White House officials.
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Reuters, Associated Press, New York Times, CNBC, NBC News, Fox News, Washington Post, The Guardian, The Hill, The Daily Wire, New York Daily News, Townhall, RedState, UPI, El País, MeidasTouch News, masslive.com, USA Today, Mediaite, One America News Network, Axios, Breitbart, The Post Millennial, Daily Kos, The Independent, The National Pulse, PoliticusUSA, The Root, Backbencher, The Daily Caller and Washington Examiner


Trump's Assault on Social Security — Social Security is our biggest and most successful safety net program. The annual $1.6 trillion in benefits constitutes 21% of federal spending and 40% of older adults' income. It lifts more people out of poverty than any other government program.
Discussion:
Rolling Stone, NPR, Raw Story, WAGA-TV, Talking Points Memo, American Doom and Newsweek


Republicans consider major budget change to obscure deficit impact of extending Trump's tax cuts — GOP leaders argue that extending Trump's expiring 2017 tax cuts shouldn't be treated as costing any money. Democrats compare the tactic to nuking the 60-vote filibuster rule.
Discussion:
Committee for a …, New York Magazine and Florida Politics


‘Trump Gaza’ AI video creators say they don't want to be the president's ‘propaganda machine’ — Co-creators Solo Avital and Ariel Vromen said they're not sure how their video made its way to the president and that the video was meant to be satirical. — The creators of a controversial …
Discussion:
Blaze Media