Judge blocks OPM, Education Department from sharing personal info with DOGE The order is the most wide-ranging block on DOGE’s activities to date.

A judge has blocked the Education Department and OPM from sharing personal info with DOGE — the most wide-ranging block on DOGE’s activities to date.

(CNBC) - The Trump administration’s purge of federal workers may ultimately amount to the biggest job cut in U.S. history, which is likely to have ramifications for the economy, especially at the local level, according to economists.

www.cnbc.com/2025/02/23/h...

Trump Administration Live Updates: News on Elon Musk, Russia Peace Talks and RFK Jr.

NEW: Trump campaign co-chief Chris LaCivita is advising a conservative Albanian political party whose leader is under US sanctions for “significant corruption.”

LaCivita says the sanctions are political, & casts the party as Trump-aligned.

“I’m exporting MAGA — Make Albania Great Again!”

USDA says it accidentally fired officials working on bird flu and is trying to rehire them In a statement, an Agriculture Department spokesperson told NBC News that officials are "working to swiftly rectify the situation."

USDA says it accidentally fired officials working on bird flu and is trying to rehire them

In a statement, an Agriculture Department spokesperson told NBC News that officials are "working to swiftly rectify the situation."

www.nbcnews.com/politics/dog...

Our colleagues at the @AP are the best in the business, total professionals and straight as they come. Since I started covering the White House in 1996, no president has punished a mainstay of the press pool to enforce his personal choice of what words they use in their stories.

Vance Says ‘Judges Aren’t Allowed to Control’ Trump’s ‘Legitimate Power’ The declaration by the vice president came as court orders have temporarily blocked parts of the Trump administration’s agenda.

As judges increasingly block Trump orders they deem potentially illegal or unconstitutional, Trump, Vance and Musk go on the offense and raise the question of whether they will ultimately defy the courts. @charliesavage.bsky.social Minho Kim www.nytimes.com/2025/02/09/u...

How a Canadian scientist and a venomous lizard helped pave the way for Ozempic - National | Globalnews.ca In 1984, Dr. Daniel Drucker, an endocrinologist from the University of Toronto, discovered a hormone that helped pave the way for popular diabetes drugs such as Ozempic.

This is the most relevant article to NIH and research cuts I’ve seen.

Imagine if this was today , how many people would be saying “Why are we studying Gila Monsters and their impact on diabetes ? That’s wasted money !”

globalnews.ca/news/9793403...

Trump Says Palestinians Have ‘No Alternative’ but to Leave Gaza: Live Updates

Breaking News: President Trump declared Palestinians had “no alternative” but to leave Gaza, before meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel.

This is so good.

Trump moves to put nearly all USAID Washington staff on leave Some 1,400 people will be notified Tuesday, on top of about 600 who were placed on leave starting Sunday night.

The Trump administration is preparing to place nearly all of USAID's Washington-based staff on leave.

Some 1,400 people will be notified today, on top of about 600 who were placed on leave starting Sunday night.

Want Eggs With Your Breakfast? Pay a Surcharge, Waffle House Says. The restaurant chain, which serves breakfast all day, said it was adding the temporary 50-cent surcharge because the bird flu has caused a shortage in the egg supply.

Waffle House announced its all-day breakfast will now cost an extra 50 cents for each egg. The temporary surcharge, which went into effect on Monday, is meant to address the rising cost of eggs because of a shortage caused by the bird flu.

Sen. Marco Rubio, big USAID guy.

Sec. of State Marco Rubio, not so much

thebulwark.com/p/musks-usai...

F.B.I. Agents File Suit to Prevent Trump Team From Disclosing Their Identities Employees who participated in Jan. 6 investigations contend in two lawsuits that they believe the administration intends to reveal their identities, endangering them and their families.

Two sets of FBI agents who investigated the Jan. 6 attack filed lawsuits to prevent the Trump administration from disclosing their identities.

Opinion | Gramm and Summers: A Letter on Tariffs From Economists to Trump Like our predecessors in 1930, we oppose the use of tariffs as a general tool for economic policy.

PHIL GRAMM/LARRY SUMMERS: “.. we are united in our belief that broad-based tariffs will impede economic growth, risk triggering a trade war, and inflict long-term harm on the economy.”

@wsj.com
www.wsj.com/opinion/a-le...

Trump's FCC chief opens investigation into NPR and PBS Brendan Carr, the new head of the Federal Communications Commission under President Trump, says the public broadcasters are being investigated for allegedly running commercials.

People! I'll be talking about FCC chief's investigation into PBS & NPR - and how it ties in to push to cut all federal funds for public broadcasting

Tune in at 5.44/7.44p tonight on All Things Considered

My earlier story:
www.npr.org/2025/01/30/n...

Analysis | Trump launched air controller diversity program that he now decries At a news conference, Trump read a list of conditions he called disqualifying, but his administration started such hiring in 2019.

NEW --> Trump launched air controller diversity program that he now decries wapo.st/3Cy3Pc6

Live updates: A day before D.C. plane crash, another jet landing at Reagan National had to ‘go-around’ The American Airlines plane operating as American Eagle Flight 5342 collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan National Airport.

Breaking news: A day before the midair crash in D.C., another jet was forced to abort its first landing at Reagan National Airport because of a helicopter.

Live updates: Day before D.C. plane crash, another jet had to abort first landing at Reagan National The American Airlines plane operating as American Eagle Flight 5342 collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan National Airport.

WAPO: “.. Just 24 hours before the collision of American Eagle Flight 5342 and an Army Black Hawk .. another jet trying to land there had to make a second approach after a helicopter appeared near its flight path, according to an audio recording ..”

www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

Trump got what he wanted with Colombia. But his tactics could come back to bite him. Stoking confrontations to show strength, the president risks alienating allies and aiding China.

".. For South America 'the message is that it’s not a good idea to be very closely interlinked with the United States, because you might pay a heavy price. .. And as a result of that, China’s prospects for stronger ties have been enhanced.”

@politico.com
www.politico.com/news/2025/01...

My daughter is a data scientist tracking malaria outbreaks in Africa, funded by the State Department. She's had an immediate stop work order as her work. In his confirmation hearing Senator Rubio argued forcefully in favour of US funding for malaria research in Africa. Does China step in here?

Guest on Megyn Kelly this week: “So, that's the thing is the funniest joke we ever pulled on the Democrats was convincing them that Project 2025 wasn't real…it's over, we won, yes, we're going to do Project 2025. And the other thing is, it's good.”

Keene man arrested for storming the Capitol on Jan. 6 rejects Trump’s pardon On his first day in office this week, President Donald Trump pardoned all rioters at the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Jason Riddle served time in jail for his participation in the 2021 riot.

“I was treated like a celebrity for having stormed the Capitol building. Not just from the inmates, but from the staff as well. The first thing a correctional officer said to me when I reported in the booking was, 'Let's go, Brandon.'“

This has been a very interesting week for Trump and the WSJ.

These are the right questions.

Good overview from
@kattybkay.bsky.social

"Separate the signal from the noise...watch what he does not what he says"
Important take for the next four years.
youtu.be/h87KnWfUNso?...

Government employees are being told to report on colleagues who may try to disguise DEI hiring efforts, or face consequences if they fail to do so.

Trump hits NIH with ‘devastating’ freezes on meetings, travel, communications, and hiring Researchers facing

www.science.org/content/arti...

some reporters have been too loose with phrasing like DEI. makes it sound like it's all abt post-George Floyd murder stuff. As he notes, they're ditching anti-discrimination policies that go back to LBJ.

Trump Administration Live Updates: Latest News on Executive Orders and D.E.I. Crackdown

(NYT) - The Trump administration on Wednesday threatened federal employees with “adverse consequences” if they fail to report on colleagues who defy orders to purge diversity, equity and inclusion efforts from their agencies.

@nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/01...

New — Trump executive order on TikTok directs the Attorney General not to take any action to enforce the Act for 75 days. “During this period, the DOJ shall take no action to enforce the Act or impose any penalties against any entity for any noncompliance with the Act.”