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.
RELATED:


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

US FDA suspends food safety quality checks after staff cuts
Discussion:
Food & Water Watch


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 …
RELATED:


Bessent privately urges caution as Trump attacks Powell — Any attempt to remove the Fed chair — a legally questionable option Trump considered in his first term — would feed instability in markets already woozy from the recent tariff whiplash. — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent …

Trump Says Fed Chair Jerome Powell's ‘Termination Cannot Come Fast Enough’

Trump: If I ask Powell to leave, 'he'll be out of there'
Discussion:
Axios, Fortune, KRDO, CBS News, NOTUS, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Al Jazeera and WBAL Baltimore 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, The Hill, CBS News, Fox News, RedState, Townhall, One America News Network, Mediaite, Hollywood Life, The Gateway Pundit, E! Online, New York Daily News, Florida Politics, WUSA, UPI, Associated Press, Boing Boing, The Western Journal, The Post Millennial, FOX 35 Orlando, Not the Bee, WSVN-TV and WHDH-TV
RELATED:


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 …

FSU shooting: Six injured, one critically; man arrested; campus locked down
Discussion:
NPR, CBS News, WSVN-TV, Florida Politics, Associated Press, WCTV, Fox News, Breitbart, The Hill, RedState, Raw Story, Orlando Sentinel, RVM News, FOX 35 Orlando, Metro.co.uk, Townhall, TMZ.com, Bangor Daily News, New York Times, Mediaite and Sun-Sentinel


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:
Reason, NPR, USA Today, New York Post, New Republic, Blaze Media, WUSA, Associated Press and The Independent
RELATED:

Judges Smack Down Trump's ‘Shocking’ and ‘Lawless’ Arguments in Abrego Garcia Case
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Mother Jones, New York Times, The Atlantic, CNN and Baltimore Sun


GOP photos at El Salvador prison evoke Abu Ghraib—and worse — Members of Congress visited CECOT for some torture tourism—and to prove loyalty to Trump. … A row of Latino men with shaved heads and stoic expressions wearing identical white boxer shorts stand behind thick metal bars.
Discussion:
Axios, Salt Lake Tribune, NBC News, The Gateway Pundit, Truthout and Senator Chris Van Hollen on YouTube
RELATED:


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 …


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:
New York Times, Associated Press, USA Today, Fox News, NPR, CBS News, Reuters, Politico, The Hill, Washington Times, ABC News, UPI, Washington Examiner, Scripps News, Blaze Media, Bloomberg, The Gateway Pundit, The Independent, ZeroHedge News, Los Angeles Times, Roll Call, Law Dork, SCOTUSblog and New Jersey Office …
RELATED:

Supreme Court will review Trump's attempt to ban birthright citizenship
Discussion:
Deseret News


‘We are all afraid’: Speaking to Alaska nonprofit leaders, Murkowski gets candid on upheaval in federal government — U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski told a room full of Alaska nonprofit leaders that the tumult of tariffs, executive orders, court battles, and cuts to federal services under …
RELATED:

Lisa Murkowski Says ‘We Are All Afraid’ Of Retaliation By Donald Trump
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Times, The Gateway Pundit and New Jersey Online


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:
Forbes


Will Harvard Go Full Hillsdale? … Harvard University has rejected various demands of a presidential commission on anti-Semitism. — The task force wants to persuade Harvard to ensure Jewish students on its campus are no longer harassed, or else lose its federal funding.
Discussion:
Reason
RELATED:


Trump Threatens to Block Harvard From Enrolling International Students
Discussion:
Politico, Associated Press, CBS News, Axios, Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, Financial Times, The Harvard Crimson, Inside Higher Ed, CNN, CNBC, The Independent, Breitbart, The Hill, RedState, Middle East Monitor, RVM News, The Washington Free Beacon, Al Jazeera, KDFX-TV, Washington Post, New York Post and Semafor

House GOP probes Harvard over federal funding
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Townhall, Inside Higher Ed, New York Post and Fox News


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:
The Hill, Mediaite, Raw Story, New Republic, PennLive, The Independent and ABC News
RELATED:

Trump Official Asked I.R.S. About Audit of ‘High-Profile Friend of the President’
Discussion:
The Detroit News and The Hill


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:
USA Today, Engadget, NPR and Fox Business, more at Techmeme »


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:
Washington Examiner, Mediaite, RVM News, Politico, HotAir, National Review, RedState, The National Pulse, New Jersey Online, Twitchy, Blaze Media and Raw Story


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


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:
New York Daily News, The City and The Independent

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


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!).”


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:
KRDO and New Republic


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:
Alternet.org


Exclusive: Musk's SpaceX is frontrunner to build Trump's Golden Dome missile shield — Elon Musk's SpaceX and two partners have emerged as frontrunners to win a crucial part of President Donald Trump's “Golden Dome” missile defense shield, six people familiar with the matter said.


US-born citizen being held for ICE under Florida's new anti-immigration law — Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez, a 20-year-old U.S. citizen, was being held in the Leon County Jail Thursday, charged with illegally entering Florida as an “unauthorized alien” — even as a supporter waved his U.S. birth certificate in court.
Discussion:
FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth


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


Van Hollen stopped at military checkpoint on way to Salvadoran prison — TECOLUCA, El Salvador - Sen. Chris Van Hollen was stopped by armed guards Thursday at a military checkpoint and turned away less than two miles from the notorious prison where a Maryland father who was wrongly deported from the U.S. is being held.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Washington Examiner, The Hill, KDFX-TV, New York Times, Axios, NPR, PBS NewsHour, Twitchy, Associated Press, Reuters, Breitbart, RedState, The Daily Wire, AMAC, Baltimore Sun, Daily Kos, Tennessee Star, The Post Millennial, American Thinker, New Republic, Fox News, ABC News, RVM News and The Gateway Pundit


What's the Real Quid Pro Quo with Bukele? — I'm am co-publishing my notes for CAFE Insider right here on my Substack, so you can get them immediately! Listen to this note and get insights from myself and other legal experts by following The Counsel Podcast from CAFE. — Dear Reader,


House Republicans Worry Trump's Rescission Package Might Endanger Reconciliation — “Trump is running out of political goodwill with members, and if he tries to codify the unpopular cuts and reconciliation at the same time, he might not get either done,” one GOP member told NOTUS. — Copy


US Weather Analysis for 27 States Goes Dark in Funding Lapse — Weather analysis tools used by a wide array of businesses and government entities across the US have gone dark after funding for long-running regional climate hubs lapsed. — The websites for four US National Oceanic …


Trump's pick to be DC's top prosecutor failed to report nearly 200 appearances on far-right media outlets to Senate — Ed Martin, the Trump administration's nominee to serve as US attorney for Washington, DC, failed to report hundreds of media appearances he's made in the past few years …
Discussion:
The Atlantic, New York Times, The Independent, Talking Points Memo and Washington Examiner, more at Mediagazer »


Trump Media urges regulators to investigate hedge fund's vast bet against stock — Company behind Truth Social accuses London-based hedge fund Qube of alleged ‘suspicious trading activity’ — Callum Jones in New York and Joanna Partridge in London — Donald Trump's fledgling media firm …
Discussion:
Trump Media & …, Raw Story and Sherwood News