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DOGE Plans to Rebuild SSA Codebase 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:
Raw Story and Mock Paper Scissors, more at Techmeme »


They Are Going to Take Everything If We Don't Stop Them — The worst thing that the federal government has done to labor unions in my lifetime happened last night. Donald Trump signed an executive order saying that the government will no longer recognize and bargain with a huge portion of the unions that represent federal workers.
Discussion:
New York Times
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Trump moves to strip unionization rights from most federal workers — It's the latest effort in his drive to disempower the federal bureaucracy. — President Donald Trump is trying to revoke collective bargaining rights from most federal employees — the latest move in his aggressive campaign to weaken the federal workforce.
Discussion:
The Hill, City & State New York, Baltimore Sun and Block Club Chicago



AFL-CIO President on Federal Collective Bargaining Executive Order: “Very Definition of Union-Busting”
Discussion:
NOTUS

Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Exempts Agencies with National Security Missions from Federal Collective Bargaining Requirements
Discussion:
Rolling Stone, CNN, The Daily Wire, Washington Examiner and The Post Millennial

Trump administration moves to end union rights for many federal workers
Discussion:
Associated Press, UPI, New Republic, Washington Times, The Nation and The Colorado Sun

Exclusions from Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs
Discussion:
Washington Post, USA Today, Federal News Network, RedState, EMPIRE REPORT …, The Guardian, Raw Story, Fox News and Defense One


Detained Tufts Student Is Moved to Louisiana Despite Judge's Order — Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish national with a student visa, was detained by federal authorities this week — Federal agents moved a Turkish student arrested in Massachusetts to Louisiana despite a judge's order barring her transfer without notice.
Discussion:
Beyer, The Guardian, New Republic, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, masslive.com, CBS News, RTÉ, The Hill, CNN, Baltimore Sun, New York Times, Forbes, Washington Examiner and Axios
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio Remarks to the Press — SECRETARY RUBIO: Grant? — QUESTION: The Ukrainian children who — SECRETARY RUBIO: Oh, the data. The data is secured. We secured the data. We'll transfer it to the appropriate party. We've ensured that.
Discussion:
Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Floridian, UPI and The Kyiv Independent


The Biggest Scandal of the Second Trump Term Isn't “Signalgate” — On March 26, 2024, Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish Ph.D. student at Tufts University, co-authored an op-ed criticizing the university's response to student demands for divestment from Israel, which was published in its student newspaper.
Discussion:
The Bulwark, Washington Examiner, The Guardian, Bloomberg, The Post Millennial, Vox, Fox News, The Hill, Al Jazeera and Vanity Fair


Musk butts up against Wisconsin state law with (now deleted) $1 million check giveaway — Election law experts were skeptical about the billionaire's move. — Elon Musk will visit Wisconsin on Sunday ahead of the state's high-profile Supreme Court election.
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Musk deletes post promising he'd go to Wisconsin to deliver $2 million to Supreme Court race voters — Billionaire Elon Musk on Friday clarified his reasons for visiting Wisconsin two days ahead of its hotly contested Supreme Court election after deleting a social media post saying he planned to …
Discussion:
New York Times, USA Today, The Independent, Forbes, Bangor Daily News and WPR

Wisconsin Democratic leader accuses Musk of ‘illegal’ actions in Supreme Court race
Discussion:
The Contrarian, Washington Examiner, PoliticusUSA, WKOW, LifeNews.com, WisPolitics, UPI, The Independent and The Daily Wire


Trump Warned U.S. Automakers Not to Raise Prices in Response to Tariffs — Threat came in a call earlier this month, in which carmakers feared punishment if prices go up — When President Trump convened CEOs of some of the country's top automakers for a call earlier this month …
Discussion:
Reuters, New Jersey Online, The US Sun, NewsNation, USA Today, New Republic, The Independent, Fortune, Eschaton, Cafe Hayek, WBUR, Raw Story and American Automakers Statement …
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'If We Don't Get Our S—t Together, Then We Are Going to Be in a Permanent Minority' — It's been months since Democrats suffered a devastating defeat at the polls. For all the talk about the party's need for change, few seem actually willing to make the leap.
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Fox News, New York Times, Washington Examiner, Data For Progress, American Thinker, The Status Kuo and LewRockwell
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Stefanik's withdrawal suggests Republicans are sweating their thin margins
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Associated Press, CBS News, Washington Post, Raw Story, New Jersey Online, Washington Examiner, The Dispatch, New York Daily News, PoliticusUSA, The Daily Signal, Daily Kos, National Review, Washington Times, Semafor, 77 WABC, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, New Republic, City & State New York, NPR, Bloomberg, Axios, The Gateway Pundit, RedState and Roll Call


Another law firm targeted by Trump sues to block punishing executive order — Jenner & Block is the second law firm to try to fight Trump in court over his executive orders. — A law firm targeted by President Donald Trump sued Friday to bar enforcement of his executive order that seeks …
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Trump Administration Live Updates: Major Law Firm Makes Deal to Avoid Punishing Order, President Says

Trump gets $100M deal with Skadden law firm amid pressure campaign
Discussion:
Politico, CNBC, Bloomberg, The Guardian, Above the Law and New York Times


This Is Just Dumb — It's not the hypocrisy that bothers me; it's the stupidity. We're all shocked — shocked! — that President Trump and his team don't actually care about protecting classified information or federal record retention laws. But we knew that already.
Discussion:
The Hill, Politico, The Guardian, CNBC, Scripps News, Fox News, al.com, Mediaite, Raw Story and New Jersey Online


Trump pardons Nikola founder Trevor Milton in securities fraud case … President Donald Trump pardoned Nikola Corp. founder Trevor Milton for his October 2022 conviction of federal crimes related to defrauding investors with false claims about the success of the electric and hydrogen-powered truck maker.
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Associated Press, Axios, New York Times, USA Today, The Hill, Trevor Milton Media, Bloomberg, UPI, Fox Business, Engadget, The Verge, CBS News, TechCrunch, Raw Story and Electrek
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Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History — 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 and Policy. Over the past decade, Americans have witnessed a concerted …
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Washington Post, New York Times, Washington Examiner, CBS News, Plain Dealer, Vanity Fair, Axios, Ars Technica, KTVZ-TV, El País, RedState, IJR, New York Daily News, Diane Ravitch's blog, UPI, Los Angeles Times, Mediaite, The Hill, Must Read Alaska, The Gateway Pundit, Bloomberg, HISTORICITY, Deadline and Nudity and Nerdery
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Trump executive order on Smithsonian targets funding for programs with ‘improper ideology’
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NBC News, CBS News, Wall Street Journal, NPR, WTTG-TV, Baltimore Sun, ABC17NEWS, Raw Story, Washington Post, Reuters, The White House, Althouse, Daily Kos, Al Jazeera, Daily Mail, WBUR, Rolling Stone, ABC News, Associated Press, The Battalion, Fox News, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Saywhat Politics and The Independent


Utah Becomes First State to Ban Fluoride in Public Water — Medical experts warn the move could have consequences for oral health, especially among children. — Utah has become the first U.S. state to outlaw the addition of fluoride to public drinking water.
Discussion:
Associated Press, Washington Examiner, USA Today, UPI, CBS News, Baltimore Sun, Fortune, Deseret News, New Republic and Not the Bee
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The Everything Scandal — Democrats have shown real signs of life since The Atlantic exposed the amateurish inner-workings of the Trump administration. But in the interests of keeping them bucked up so they don't return to hibernation (and, frankly, in the interest of fueling distrust between …
Discussion:
CNN


Dow sinks 600 points. Stocks are on track for their worst quarter since 2023 — New York CNN — US stocks were lower Friday as investors digested souring consumer sentiment and inflation data that showed an uptick in one of the Federal Reserve's key gauges, underscoring the delicate state …
Discussion:
CNBC and The Atlanta Voice


Officials say texts sent by Waltz, Ratcliffe in Signal chat may have damaged US' ongoing ability to gather intel on Houthis — Current and former US officials have told CNN they believe two texts sent by national security adviser Mike Waltz and CIA Director John Ratcliffe …
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Washington Examiner, The Free Press, Raw Story, CBS News, KTVZ-TV and The Guardian


North Carolina judge challenging outcome of race wore Confederate uniform in college photo — A judge challenging the outcome of his North Carolina Supreme Court race was photographed wearing Confederate military garb and posing before a Confederate battle flag when he was a member …


Prime Minister Carney speaks with President of the United States Donald J. Trump — Prime Minister Carney speaks with President of the United States Donald J. Trump — Today, the Prime Minister, Mark Carney, spoke with the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump.


Fallout coming for House GOP over Trump's rug pull on Stefanik — President Trump's dramatic rug pull of Rep. Elise Stefanik's (R-N.Y.) UN ambassador nomination has given House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) a new series of headaches. — Why it matters: Johnson has to reassure GOP lawmakers …
Discussion:
The Hill, The Independent, Mediaite, The Daily Wire and New York Times


Bannon: Trump ‘going to prison’ if Democrat wins White House in 2028 — President Trump's former adviser Steve Bannon predicted Thursday that President Trump will go to prison if a Democrat wins back the White House in 2028. — “God forbid we don't win in '28, President Trump is going to prison …


Texas Never Wanted RFK Jr.'s Unproven Measles Treatment — Kennedy made a show of shipping vitamin A to measles-stricken communities. The state's public-health department didn't take up the offer. — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., staring down his first major health crisis as the head of Health and Human Services, had a plan.
Discussion:
Raw Story, TPR, The Barbed Wire, Techdirt and KFF


Senate Overturns Rule Limiting Bank Overdraft Fees to $5 — Lawmakers voted to invalidate a rule adopted last year by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. It now moves to the House. — The Senate voted Thursday to strike down a rule capping most bank overdraft fees at $5 …


FEMA blocks $10B in disaster aid over immigration concerns — The move is part of a wholesale review of 56 FEMA programs to ensure they meet President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement efforts. — The Federal Emergency Management Agency has frozen nearly $10 billion in disaster aid …
Discussion:
Scientific American


Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Works to Make Our Nation's Capital Safe and Beautiful — MAKING WASHINGTON THE GREATEST CAPITAL CITY IN THE WORLD: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to make Washington, D.C. what it should be—the pride of every American to whom it belongs.
Discussion:
The National Pulse, PoPville, Blaze Media, Washington Examiner, Axios, Breitbart, WUSA, IJR, WTTG-TV and Bloomberg