Top Items:


FDA making plans to end its routine food safety inspections, sources say — The Food and Drug Administration is drawing up plans that would end most of its routine food safety inspections work, multiple federal health officials tell CBS News, and effectively outsource this oversight to state and local authorities.
Discussion:
Alternet.org, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Mock Paper Scissors
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A deadly E. coli outbreak hit 15 states, but the FDA chose not to publicize it — The outbreak linked to romaine lettuce killed one person and sickened at least 88 more, including a 9-year-old boy who nearly died of kidney failure. — An E. coli outbreak linked to romaine lettuce ripped across 15 states …
Discussion:
Esquire, The Independent and New York Daily News


Appeals court won't lift order to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia's return in blistering opinion — The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday declined to lift a judge's order that the Trump administration “facilitate” the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, admonishing the Justice Department in the ruling.
Discussion:
Rolling Stone, Associated Press, Reason, NPR, Law Dork, Raw Story, CBS News, New York Post, Blaze Media, WUSA, New Republic, USA Today and The Independent
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Sen. Chris Van Hollen meets with Kilmar Abrego Garcia in El Salvador — The Maryland Democrat flew to the Central American country this week with the goal of meeting with Abrego Garcia, who the Trump administration says was mistakenly deported. — Sen. Chris Van Hollen confirmed Thursday night …
Discussion:
CBS News, CNN, Politico, Rolling Stone, The Hill, Washington Examiner, NOTUS, Reuters, The Guardian, USA Today, Associated Press, Washington Times, Raw Story, New York Post, The Daily Signal, The Independent, Baltimore Sun, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Wire, The Post Millennial, Letters from an American, NPR, KDFX-TV, WUSA, Lawyers, Guns & Money, RedState and AMAC


Conservative judge blasts Trump administration's ‘shocking’ conduct in Abrego Garcia case
Discussion:
The Contrarian, Raw Story, ABC News, Rolling Stone, Wall Street Journal and Mother Jones

Van Hollen stopped at military checkpoint on way to Salvadoran prison
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Politico, New York Times, The National Pulse, Associated Press, RedState, The Daily Wire, Twitchy, Breitbart, The Hill, Baltimore Sun, Daily Kos, Reuters, The Post Millennial, Axios, Washington Examiner, Fox News, New Republic, American Thinker, Tennessee Star, PBS NewsHour, NPR and ABC News


Live Updates: Active shooter reported at Florida State University; multiple patients hospitalized — The university sent out an alert urging students to seek shelter as a shooter was reported in the area of the student union. … FSU was site of shooting in 2014
Discussion:
CNN, USA Today, The Guardian, Daily Caller News Foundation, Fox News, CBS News, The Daily Wire, WUSA, UPI, Townhall, RedState, E! Online, The Hill, One America News Network, Hollywood Life, The Western Journal, Mediaite, New York Daily News, Boing Boing, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, FOX 35 Orlando, The Post Millennial, Not the Bee, WSVN-TV and Florida Politics
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At least 4 injured in shooting at Florida State University, suspect in custody: Sources — Police are responding to the scene, which is near the Student Union. — LIVE — People comfort each other on Florida State University's campus in Tallahassee, Fla., where law enforcement responded …
Discussion:
WFTV, NBC News, New York Post, Associated Press, Mediaite, Blaze Media, WSVN-TV, WUSA, The Hill, KTFT, One America News Network, HotAir, Hollywood Life, Reuters, CBS News, Washington Examiner, FOX 35 Orlando, WHDH-TV and The Gateway Pundit


FSU shooting: Six injured, one critically; man arrested; campus locked down — There is an active shooter on Florida State University's Tallahassee campus, according to an alert sent from the university, with multiple social media reports of gunshots being heard. … ‘It was terrifying’


Trump Has for Months Privately Discussed Firing Fed Chair Powell — The president hasn't made a decision on whether to try to oust Powell, and some of his advisers have warned against the move — WASHINGTON—President Trump has for months privately discussed firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell …
Discussion:
The Hill, NPR, Politico, CBS News, New York Post, Adventus, Associated Press, CNBC, Washington Post, Washington Times, NOTUS, The National Pulse, NextDraft, Bloomberg, WBAL Baltimore News, UPI, One America News Network, Forbes, KDFX-TV, The Post Millennial, The Virginian-Pilot, ZeroHedge News, Quartz, Business Insider, CNN, Mediaite, The Independent, USA Today and Boston Herald
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U.S.-born American citizen under ICE hold in Florida after driving from Georgia — Juan Carlos Gomez-Lopez is being held even though a county judge found his birth certificate “authentic” and said there wasn't reason to consider him an “illegal alien.” — A U.S.-born American citizen …
Discussion:
Inside Higher Ed, New Republic, KDFX-TV, The Independent and Adventus
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The CFPB Has Been Gutted — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau terminated the positions of 1,400 of the agency's 1,700 employees; medical debt and student loans will now be deprioritized. — More than 1,400 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) workers were terminated …
Discussion:
Fox Business, CBS News, USA Today, Bloomberg and NPR, more at Techmeme »
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What's Happening Is Not Normal. America Needs an Uprising That Is Not Normal. — In the beginning there was agony. Under the empires of old, the strong did what they willed and the weak suffered what they must. — But over the centuries, people built the sinews of civilization …
Discussion:
Mediaite, The Guardian, Politico, Alternet.org and Raw Story


Supreme Court to hear oral arguments on whether Trump can implement birthright citizenship plan — The Trump administration wants to end automatic birthright citizenship as enshrined in the Constitution's 14th Amendment. — WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday said it will hear …
Discussion:
NPR, New York Times, USA Today, Axios, Associated Press, CBS News, Fox News, ABC News, UPI, The Independent, Law Dork, ZeroHedge News, SCOTUSblog, Bloomberg, Los Angeles Times, Roll Call, The Hill, Politico, Washington Times, Blaze Media, Scripps News, The Gateway Pundit and Washington Examiner
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US Supreme Court to hear Trump bid to enforce birthright citizenship order
Discussion:
USA Today, Bloomberg, Breitbart, Raw Story, One America News Network, Daily Mail, New York Times, Fox News, KDFX-TV, The Western Journal and Axios


Top House Republicans refuse to authorize El Salvador trips — House Republican committee chairs are refusing to authorize Democrats' requests to lead official congressional delegations to El Salvador, Axios has learned. — Why it matters: Democrats want to go to the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo …
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GOP photos at El Salvador prison evoke Abu Ghraib—and worse
Discussion:
Salt Lake Tribune, Axios, The Gateway Pundit, NBC News and Truthout


Trump appointee asked IRS to review audit of MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell — Experts say the outreach on behalf of Lindell, a Trump political ally, is highly unusual and represents a change in how political appointees engage with the IRS.
Discussion:
Mediaite, Raw Story, New Republic, The Hill, The Independent, PennLive and ABC News
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Trump Official Asked I.R.S. About Audit of ‘High-Profile Friend of the President’
Discussion:
The Detroit News and The Hill


James Carville says he might sue ‘contemptible little twerp’ David Hogg for challenging incumbent Democrats — NewsNation anchor Chris Cuomo appeared to egg James Carville on, telling the veteran Democratic strategist to ‘sue his punk a**’ — James Carville railed against Democratic …
Discussion:
HuffPost, Mediaite, The Daily Wire, Fox News, The National Pulse, HotAir, ZeroHedge News, RedState, Washington Examiner, RVM News, National Review, Twitchy, New Jersey Online, Blaze Media, Politico and Raw Story


As Garber Stands Against Trump, Money From Harvard Donors Pours In — After Harvard publicly rejected the Trump administration's demands, a wave of support — and money — has come rushing in. — In the 24 hours after Harvard President Alan M. Garber '76 announced that he would not comply …
Discussion:
New York Times and Forbes


Appeals court panel hears arguments on AP's access to White House — A three-judge panel was skeptical of arguments that the administration is facing imminent harm. — A federal appeals court panel appeared skeptical at a hearing Thursday of the Trump administration's request …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Hill and Associated Press
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Trump's newest grift: Building a cryptocurrency empire while destroying its regulators — Listen to me read this post here (not an AI-generated voice!), subscribe to the feed in your podcast app, or download the recording for later. — In an unprecedented abuse of presidential power …


Google's digital ad network declared an illegal monopoly, joining its search engine in penalty box — Google has been branded an abusive monopolist by a federal judge for the second time in less than a year, this time for illegally exploiting some of its online marketing technology to boost …
Discussion:
The Verge, Bloomberg, New York Times, CNN, Reuters, Wall Street Journal, Axios, The Information, Wired, Ars Technica, TechCrunch, The Daily Wire, The Daily Caller, 9to5Google, CNET, Adweek, Fox Business, Daily Mail, Washington Times, BIG by Matt Stoller, UPI, ZeroHedge News, Los Angeles Times, Variety, One America News Network, New York Post, Deadline, Politico, Engadget, WBAL Baltimore News, Washington Examiner, Associated Press, Sherwood News, CBS News, The Register, Common Dreams, The Hill and The Post Millennial, more at Mediagazer »


RFK Jr. Says There Are No Autistic Poets. We Asked an Autistic Poet. — “I will challenge RFK Jr. to write a poem as good as me any day of the week.” — To Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—and contrary to medical consensus and decades of study—autism is an appalling, family-destroying “disease.”
Discussion:
Scientific American, Metro.co.uk, Variety and Axios
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Nearly 300 apply as French university offers US academics ‘scientific asylum’ — Aix-Marseille University generates interest amid a US crackdown and calls for a ‘scientific refugee’ status — Nearly 300 academics have applied to a French university's offer to take in US-based researchers rattled …
Discussion:
Raw Story


America's Mad King … Last monday, Donald Trump, seeking to fortify public support for his massive, across-the-board tariffs, posted: “The United States has a chance to do something that should have been done DECADES AGO. Don't be Weak! Don't be Stupid! Don't be a PANICAN (A new party based on Weak and Stupid people!).”

Trump Team Eyes Politically Connected Startup to Overhaul $700 Billion Government Payments Program — ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published. — Four days before Donald Trump's inauguration …
Discussion:
TechCrunch


Leaked: Palantir's Plan to Help ICE Deport People — Palantir, the surveillance giant, is taking on an increased role with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), including finding the physical location of people who are marked for deportation, according to Palantir Slacks and other internal messages obtained by 404 Media.
Discussion:
Futurism


A Depleted Hamas Is So Low on Cash That It Can't Pay Its Fighters — Israel has disrupted the Gaza militant group's sources of cash and ability to distribute it — Hamas is facing a new problem in Gaza: coming up with the cash it needs to pay its rank and file.
Discussion:
Reuters, HotAir, Commentary Magazine and Daily Caller News Foundation


American doctor receives email from immigration officials telling her to leave the country immediately — Dr. Lisa Anderson, 58, was born in Pennsylvania and is a U.S. citizen. — A doctor born in the United States says she received an email from federal immigration authorities demanding that she leave the country immediately.
Discussion:
The City, New York Daily News and The Independent


Prominent ultra-processed food researcher leaves NIH, alleges censorship — Kevin Hall, a leading expert on ultra-processed foods, has raised concerns about the future of nutrition research and science at NIH. — Six years ago, Kevin Hall led a landmark study providing the most compelling evidence …
Discussion:
HuffPost, CBS News, The Hill, The Independent, Washington Examiner, Fox News and Axios


Trump's First-Quarter Approval Rating Below Average, at 45% — Americans' 44% confidence in Trump to manage economy similar to his first term, but better than other U.S. leaders — WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump is closing out the first quarter of his second term in office …
Discussion:
Rochester Democrat … and Adventus


This ‘College Protester’ Isn't Real. It's an AI-Powered Undercover Bot for Cops — Massive Blue is helping cops deploy AI-powered social media bots to talk to people they suspect are anything from violent sex criminals all the way to vaguely defined “protesters.”
Discussion:
Raw Story


BYU Ph.D. student's international student visa revoked over apparent fishing license violation — A Brigham Young University Ph.D. candidate from Japan has had his international student visa revoked — perhaps because of a fishing violation from years ago. — Outside of a couple …
Discussion:
New Republic and KDFX-TV


Ex-New York Times editorial page editor apologizes to Sarah Palin at defamation trial — An emotional former opinion page editor for The New York Times delivered a tearful apology Thursday to Sarah Palin as he testified about a 2017 editorial that she says damaged her reputation.