memeorandum: 3/3/25 ☀️ AM: — Three crises facing Trump and Republicans (Punchbowl News)

7:35 AM ET, March 3, 2025

Top Items:

Hegseth Orders Pentagon to Stop Offensive Cyberoperations Against Russia — The defense secretary's instructions, which were given before President Trump's blowup with the Ukrainian president, are apparently part of an effort to draw Russia into talks on the war.

Discussion: Fortune, The Daily Sceptic, The Register, UPI, The Independent and The American Conservative

Victor Goury-Laffont / Politico:

France has ‘trouble understanding’ US halt on cyber operations against Russia — PARIS — French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noël Barrot voiced his confusion over reports that the United States' Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered a halt of offensive cyber operations against Russia.

CBS News:

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has paused cyber offensive against Russia — Multiple U.S. officials tell CBS News that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has issued a directive to U.S. Cyber Command to pause planning against Russia, including offensive digital actions.

Discussion: Letters from an American

NBC News:
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth orders a halt to offensive cyber operations against Russia

Discussion: Cybersecurity … and Townhall

Sarah Fortinsky / The Hill:

RFK Jr says Texas measles outbreak a ‘call to action’ — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), said the measles outbreak in west Texas is a “call to action,” as he encouraged parents to consider whether to get their children vaccinated.

Discussion: Fox News

Rebecca Falconer / Axios:

RFK Jr. urges people to get vaccinated amid deadly Texas outbreak … - He has previously repeated debunked claims about vaccines and provided elusive answers to senators on his stance on vaccinations ahead of being confirmed. … - Kennedy wrote that before the introduction of the measles …

Lauren Irwin / The Hill: Measles outbreak continues to spike with nearly 150 reported cases

Fenit Nirappil / Washington Post:
Amid West Texas measles outbreak, vaccine resistance hardens

Discussion: CBS News, New Republic, New York Post, Al Jazeera, Contemplating Life … and The Hill

Teddy Rosenbluth / New York Times:
Federal Officials Underplaying Measles Vaccination, Experts Say

Discussion: WHDH-TV

Marc A. Thiessen / Washington Post:

Zelensky must mend the breach with Trump — or resign — Zelensky's stubbornness has badly hurt Ukraine. — On Thursday, President Donald Trump was publicly pledging to help Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky regain Russian-occupied territory at the peace table.

Discussion: Financial Times, The Dispatch, Crooked Media, The Hill and CBS News

Jakub Krupa / The Guardian:
Zelenskyy says minerals deal is ready to be signed as he seeks to move conversation on from White House spat - live

Discussion: CNN, Associated Press, Breitbart, Boston Herald, Bloomberg, UPI, New York Times and The Kyiv Independent

Politico: Macron urges Europe to boost defense spending to over 3 percent of GDP

Aliaksandr Kudrytski / Bloomberg:
Zelenskiy Says He'd Meet Trump Again for ‘Serious’ Talks

Discussion: Reuters and New Republic

Nayla Razzouk / Bloomberg:
Macron Tells Figaro France, UK Working on Ukraine Truce Plan

Discussion: Reuters, New York Times, The Kyiv Independent, Politico and Metro.co.uk

New York Times:

Trump Turns Up Trade Pressure on China After Beijing Fails to Come Running — China is still cautiously trying to figure out what Trump wants. The president has threatened big tariffs in response to the inaction. — When President Trump threatened tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China in January …

Discussion: Reuters

Reuters:
US tariffs on Canada and Mexico coming Tuesday but may not be 25%, commerce chief says

Discussion: Bloomberg, Washington Post, Fortune, New York Times, UPI, Blaze Media, Semafor, Washington Examiner, Global News, CBS News, Reuters and Axios

Amy Hawkins / The Guardian:
‘America is going down’: China can capitalise on damage caused by Trump, former PLA colonel says

Discussion: Semafor and The Daily Wire

Wall Street Journal:
The Countries Fueling America's $1.2 Trillion Goods Trade Deficit, in Charts

Discussion: Bloomberg, Cafe Hayek and Blaze Media

Simon Romero / New York Times:
Troops, Cartels and China: What Mexico Is Doing to Stave Off Tariffs

Discussion: Bloomberg and CNBC

Josh Boak / Associated Press:

The Trump administration may exclude government spending from GDP, obscuring the impact of DOGE cuts — Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday that government spending could be separated from gross domestic product reports in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Catkora and Associated Press

Punchbowl News:

3/3/25 ☀️ AM: — Three crises facing Trump and Republicans — Young, one-time skeptic, wants to be a ‘team player’ for Trump — Top Hill staffers predict government shutdown — Hochul's D.C. ad, now live at Union Station — Three crises facing Trump and Republicans

Jack Blanchard / Politico:

Playbook: Trump's tariff countdown — With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine — This is Jack Blanchard. — LAST NIGHT'S TV: “Anora”, the Brooklyn-based dramedy about a young sex worker and a Russian oligarch's son, was the runaway winner at last night's Academy Awards ceremony …

Wall Street Journal: Trump Has Glossed Over High Prices. Republicans Worry It Will Cost Them.

Francesca Ebel / Washington Post:

Washington now ‘largely aligns’ with Moscow's vision, Kremlin says — Tension between the United States and Ukraine, laid bare in the Oval Office meeting of Trump and Zelensky, is seen in Moscow as a “gift.” — MOSCOW — The Trump administration's rewrite of decades of U.S. foreign policy on Russia …

Discussion: Axios, The Kyiv Independent, The Guardian, CNN, Semafor, Reuters and Politico

Apoorva Mandavilli / New York Times:

U.S.A.I.D. Memos Detail Human Costs of Cuts to Foreign Aid — The world is likely to see millions more malaria infections and 200,000 cases of paralytic polio each year, according to an agency whistle-blower. — The Trump administration's decision to withdraw foreign aid and dismantle …

Discussion: Reuters

John Hudson / Washington Post:
Senior USAID official ousted as he details problems providing lifesaving aid

Discussion: Raw Story

Vicky Ge Huang / Wall Street Journal:

Crypto Prices Jump After Trump Announces Five Tokens for Strategic Reserve — Bitcoin, ether, solana, Ripple-linked XRP and cardano will be in the stockpile — Crypto prices surged Sunday after President Trump said he would move forward on a U.S. crypto strategic reserve that would include bitcoin …

Discussion: Washington Post, CoinDesk, Raw Story and New York Post, more at Techmeme »

Lauren Irwin / The Hill:
Trump announces US crypto reserve

Discussion: CNBC, UPI, Fortune, The Verge, TechCrunch, Fox Business, Wall Street Journal, Reuters and Axios

Paige Skinner / HuffPost:

Elon Musk Thinks U.S. Should Leave NATO And The United Nations — Elon Musk has been tasked with cutting government spending. — Elon Musk, who holds no official cabinet position in the administration, wrote on social media that he agrees the United States should leave NATO and the United Nations.

Discussion: New York Post, The Post Millennial, The Independent, Daily Mail, Washington Examiner, One America News Network and The Kyiv Independent

Edward Wong / New York Times:

Rubio Bypasses Congress to Send Israel $4 Billion in Arms — Secretary of State Marco Rubio's emergency declaration calls for sending 2,000-pound bombs and other weapons to Israel as the war in Gaza continues. — Secretary of State Marco Rubio has invoked “emergency authorities” …

Discussion: Jewish Insider, National Review, The Hill, Fox News, Breitbart, PBS NewsHour and Reuters

Maya C. Miller / New York Times:

Democrats Invite Fired Federal Workers to Trump's Congressional Address — The move comes as lawmakers hear from constituents over President Trump's and Elon Musk's efforts to slash federal spending and cull the civil service ranks. — Rather than boycott President Trump's address …

Discussion: The Federalist and Hartford Courant

Abbie VanSickle / New York Times:

At Supreme Court, Mexico to Offer Culprit for Cartel Violence: Gun Makers — The dispute focuses on whether Mexico can hold U.S. manufacturers liable for gun violence and comes amid rising tensions between the countries. — Mexico's president offered a warning last month in response to news …

Discussion: USA Today and Washington Post

Jenna Deml / PortlandTribune.com:

Wyden to skip Trump's first speech to Congress, hold town hall instead — Democratic Oregon U.S. Sen/ Ron Wyden has announced he will be skipping President Trump's first first speech to Congress in his second term to hold an online town hall. — During his constitutionally-required address …

Discussion: Associated Press, NPR and New York Daily News

Kai Kupferschmidt / Science:

Pentagon guts national security program that harnessed social science — Dozens of U.S. academics lose grants from Minerva program for studies related to terrorism, drug trafficking, and other threats — The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is gutting a landmark project designed …

Jan Ransom / New York Times:

N.Y. State Police Investigate Death of Another Inmate at Upstate Prison — A 22-year-old inmate at Mid-State Correctional Facility in Marcy, N.Y., died Saturday. Nine inmates said he was viciously beaten by corrections officers. — The State Police are investigating the death of a prisoner …

Discussion: New York Post