Top Items:


RFK Jr. forces out Peter Marks, FDA's top vaccine scientist — Marks, an architect of Operation Warp Speed, warned that a recent measles outbreak shows how confidence in science and public health is being “undermined.” — The Trump administration on Friday pushed out Peter Marks …
Discussion:
Politico and Rolling Stone
RELATED:


Top F.D.A. Vaccine Official Resigns, Citing Kennedy's ‘Misinformation and Lies’ — Dr. Peter Marks, a veteran of the agency, wrote that undermining confidence in vaccines is irresponsible and a danger to public health. — The Food and Drug Administration's top vaccine official …

The CDC Buried a Measles Forecast That Stressed the Need for Vaccinations — ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published. — Leaders at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ordered staff …
Discussion:
The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, Baltimore Sun, The Barbed Wire, Mercury News and Plain Dealer


Top Vaccine Official Out at FDA — In his resignation letter, Dr. Peter Marks cited ‘misinformation and lies’ from Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr. — The Food and Drug Administration's top vaccine official has been pushed out, according to people familiar with the matter.
Discussion:
CNN, STAT, Lawyers, Guns & Money and “Relentless” Newsletter


Judges block Trump executive orders targeting law firms tied to Mueller probe — Two federal judges in separate rulings late Friday froze parts of President Donald Trump's executive orders targeting the law firms Jenner & Block and WilmerHale, both firms linked to the Robert Mueller investigation Trump has sought to punish.
RELATED:

Two major law firms fight back against Trump orders seen as retribution
Discussion:
The Guardian, USA Today, Associated Press, CNBC, Washington Post and Executive Functions


Trump Administration Live Updates: Major Law Firm Makes Deal to Avoid Punishing Order, President Says
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Examiner, CNBC, Washington Times, New Republic, Raw Story, Politico, NOTUS, CBS News, HuffPost, Bloomberg and NPR


DOGE Plans to Rebuild SSA Code Base in Months, Risking Benefits and System Collapse — Social Security systems contain tens of millions of lines of code written in COBOL, an archaic programming language. Safely rewriting that code would take years—DOGE wants it done in months.
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Register, The Mahablog, Raw Story, Mock Paper Scissors and driftglass, more at Techmeme »


Trump Commutes Ozy Media Founder's Sentence Just Before His Surrender — Carlos Watson, who started the now-defunct digital media company, had been sentenced to almost 10 years in prison for trying to defraud investors and lenders. — President Trump on Friday commuted the sentence of Carlos Watson …
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Independent, Variety and Deadline
RELATED:

Trump commutes sentence of Ozy Media founder Carlos Watson just before prison surrender
Discussion:
UPI, Columbia Journalism Review and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Collision warning sounds in cockpit of Delta plane due to close call with Air Force jet near Reagan National Airport — A close call between a Delta Air Lines Airbus A319 taking off from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and a US Air Force T-38 jet, often used by the military for training …
Discussion:
Reuters, CBS News, New York Post and WUSA


Hegseth Brought His Wife to Sensitive Meetings With Foreign Military Officials — Defense secretary's wife is a former Fox News executive. His handling of sensitive information is under fire after he shared details about a strike on Houthi militants in a group chat on a commercial messaging platform.


Federal judge blocks Trump from dismantling Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — A federal judge agreed Friday to block the Trump administration from dismantling the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an agency that was targeted for mass firings before the court's intervention.
Discussion:
OPB, CNN, The Hill, Reuters, Fox Business, Al Jazeera, Politico, Blaze Media, RedState, The Independent, Wall Street Journal, Axios, Raw Story, The Atlantic, The Verge, One America News Network and ABC News
RELATED:


Federal judge blocks mass firings of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau workers
Discussion:
Reuters

Judge Blocks Trump Administration From Dismantling CFPB
Discussion:
State of California


Wall Street tumbles, and S&P 500 drops 2% on worries about slower economy, higher inflation — Another wipeout is swamping Wall Street Friday on worries about a potentially toxic mix of worsening inflation and a U.S. economy slowing because of households afraid to spend due to the global trade war.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Democrats, The Hill, CBS News, New York Times, San Diego Union-Tribune and New Jersey Online
RELATED:


Consumer sentiment worsens as inflation fears grow, University of Michigan survey shows

Dow sinks 600 points. Stocks are on track for their worst quarter since 2023
Discussion:
CNBC, Raw Story, Deadline, Daily Kos and The Atlanta Voice


Musk's xAI buys Musk's X social media platform for $33 billion — Elon Musk's xAI artificial intelligence firm has acquired Musk's X, the social media outfit formerly known as Twitter for $33 billion. — The all-stock deal announced on Friday consolidates two of Musk's multiple portfolio companies …
Discussion:
New York Times, CNBC, TechCrunch, NBC News, Semafor, Mercury News, UPI, Fortune, The Verge, Wired, KTVZ-TV, RTÉ, The Hill, CBS News, The Information, Ars Technica, Engadget, Rolling Stone, Deadline, Variety, KFMB, The Post Millennial and The Hollywood Reporter, more at Mediagazer »


Vance, citing threats from Russia and China, urges Greenland to ‘cut a deal’ with the U.S. — “When the president says 'We've got to have Greenland,' he's saying this island is not safe,” the vice president said. — Vice President JD Vance on Friday did not rule out using military action …
Discussion:
New York Times, The Guardian, Politico, Raw Story, The Daily Signal, Forbes, Washington Examiner, The Daily Wire, Fox News, NPR, Mediaite, USA Today and Al Jazeera
RELATED:

JD Vance says US needs control of Greenland to fend off China and Russia
Discussion:
Al Jazeera, Politico, Townhall, RedState, One America News Network, Wall Street Journal, Raw Story, USA Today, The Daily Wire, WCSH, Baltimore Sun, UPI, Scripps News and New Republic


Hegseth's younger brother is serving in a key role inside the Pentagon — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's younger brother is serving in a key position inside the Pentagon as a Department of Homeland Security liaison and senior adviser, Hegseth's office confirmed.


RFK Jr. to gut vaccine promotion and HIV prevention office, sources say — The entire staff of the federal government's Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy is expected to be laid off, multiple federal health officials told CBS News Friday. The moves are part of a broader …
Discussion:
Advocate


Appeals court clears way for Trump to fire leaders of ‘independent’ federal agencies — The ruling is a victory for Trump's effort to control regulatory bodies that Congress intended to operate with some independence. — A federal appeals court has cleared the way for President Donald Trump …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Raw Story, CBS News, LAist, KTVZ-TV, USA Today, Fox News, New York Times, The Hill, Democracy Docket, The Daily Caller, RedState, HotAir and Washington Examiner
RELATED:


Musk changes reason for visiting Wisconsin to hand out $2 million ahead of Supreme Court election — Wisconsin's Democratic attorney general asked a court on Friday to block billionaire Elon Musk from handing out $1 million checks to voters this weekend, just two days before the state's hotly contested Supreme Court was to be decided.
RELATED:


Trump admin offers Voice of America employees buyouts as judge blocks it from being shut down — Just as a federal judge issued an order blocking the administration's efforts to dismantle the broadcaster, U.S. Agency for Global Media staffers received an email offering them a renewed opportunity …
Discussion:
ABC17NEWS and New York Daily News, more at Mediagazer »
RELATED:

U.S. Judge to Halt Trump's Effort to Dismantle Voice of America
Discussion:
The Hill, Reuters, Government Accountability … and Washington Post


Elon Musk stepping down from DOGE in May. Here's what he said — Elon Musk may be getting out of DOGE. — On Thursday, Musk said he plans to step down from his role in Donald Trump's administration this spring. — The head of Tesla and X owner said he plans on stepping down in May during …
Discussion:
The National Pulse, The Daily Signal, The Daily Wire, Bloomberg and RedState


Judge releases detained Venezuelan couple with temporary protected status — The judge said the detention of the couple was baseless and unlawful.
Discussion:
Raw Story


Russian medical researcher at Harvard, who protested the Ukraine war, detained by ICE — Kseniia Petrova's attorney said her previous arrest in Russia and social media activity “will almost certainly ensure a nice, hefty jail sentence for her” if she is deported back.


Columbia University's President, Katrina Armstrong, Resigns — Katrina Armstrong is leaving the post a week after the university agreed to a list of demands from the White House. — Columbia University changed its president on Friday evening, one week after the university bowed to a series …


Trump Admin Spies on Social Media of Student Visa Holders — Ideological purge of foreign students revealed in new leaked directive — The Trump administration is requiring that foreign students studying in, or seeking to study in the United States, pass an ideological test in order to obtain a visa …
Discussion:
The Guardian


Trump blocked from deporting migrants to countries where they're not citizens — A federal judge said deportees must first have a “meaningful opportunity” to seek humanitarian protection in the United States. — A federal judge in Boston issued a temporary emergency order blocking …


Winning: Notorious Venezuelan Illegal Alien ‘Influencer’ Repatriated — In another win for the Trump administration and the American people, an extremely annoying Venezuelan illegal immigrant, Leonel Moreno, has been sent back to Venezuela. — And boy, is the schadenfreude strong with this one.
Discussion:
New York Post, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Twitchy, Ace of Spades HQ and The Gateway Pundit


Strong earthquake strikes central Myanmar, panic in Bangkok — A powerful earthquake killed more than 140 people in Myanmar on Friday, authorities said, toppling buildings and wrecking infrastructure across a wide area, including a skyscraper under construction in neighbouring Thailand.
Discussion:
BBC, Associated Press, Blaze Media, New York Times, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, RTÉ, Deadline, Los Angeles Times, KFMB, MMA Fighting, NPR, Forbes, KTVZ-TV, Fortune, Fox News, ABC17NEWS, The US Sun, The Diplomat, Bloomberg, Al Jazeera, Portal and Semafor


Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's ‘kafir’ tattoo draws criticism. What does it mean? — Hegseth has previously attracted attention over his many tattoos. This time, new photos show that he has the word ‘kafir’ on his upper arm. What does that mean and what do critics say it's indicating?
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, The Independent and Raw Story


USAID terminates nearly all its remaining employees — The Trump administration is terminating nearly all of the remaining 900 employees of the United States Agency for International Development, in a final reduction-in-force. — Virtually no one will be spared, not even political appointees …


Vance and top Trump advisers suggested firing Waltz — The national security adviser almost got fired. He still might. — On Wednesday evening — following a brutal day of headlines surrounding the now-infamous Signal chat — Vice President JD Vance, chief of staff Susie Wiles …
Discussion:
CBS News


UAW's Shawn Fain slams Trump executive order targeting federal unions — Shawn Fain, the president of the United Automobile Workers, assailed a new executive order signed this week by President Trump as an attack on federal workers. — He compared it to the 1981 air traffic controller strike …
Discussion:
UAW, Baltimore Sun and The Gateway Pundit


What is the Smithsonian, and why is President Trump unhappy with it? — President Donald Trump's executive order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” targets the Smithsonian Institution — which has, he contends, “come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology.”
Discussion:
Politico, Ars Technica, Blaze Media, KTVZ-TV, Breitbart, NPR, WTTG-TV, Baltimore Sun, Plain Dealer, Vanity Fair, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Washington Examiner, The Daily Wire, Daily Kos, CBS News, Daily Mail and Raw Story


Cuomo held up Citi Field mass vaccine site amid beef with de Blasio — The account, shared by nine people involved in New York's pandemic response, conflicts with the image Cuomo cultivated as a steady leader in a time of tumult. — NEW YORK — In early 2021, pandemic-battered New Yorkers …
Discussion:
Slow Boring