Playbook: Donny does Davos  —  With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine  —  Good Thursday morning.  This is Jack Blanchard, four days in and already running dangerously low on supplies of Yorkshire Tea.  Messages of support to [email protected].  —  DRIVING THE DAY

CNN Plots Major Overhaul as It Enters a New Trump Era  —  Mark Thompson has promised to reinvent CNN since he arrived in 2023.  Now, he is remaking the network's TV lineup and its work force.  —  Give people news when and where they want it.  —  That, says Mark Thompson, CNN's chief executive …

Trump hits NIH with ‘devastating’ freezes on meetings, travel, communications, and hiring  —  Researchers facing “a lot uncertainty, fear and panic”  —  Donald Trump's return to the White House is already having a big impact at the $47.4 billion U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) …

Trump threatens to withhold aid for California wildfires in first TV interview since inauguration  —  “I don't think we should give California anything until they let water flow down,” he told Sean Hannity  —  Trump slams Biden over prosecutions, pardons  —  President Donald Trump threatened …

The shitcoin presidency  —  $TRUMP is taking corruption to new levels.  —  Donald Trump declared on the campaign trail that he'd be a “crypto president” during his second term.  He said he'd make America “the crypto capital of the planet” and a “bitcoin superpower.”

CBS 58 weather reporter Sam Kuffel is out after criticizing Elon Musk arm gesture  —  Daniel Bice Mary SpicuzzaMilwaukee Journal Sentinel  —  A Milwaukee TV weather forecaster has been dropped by her station one day after she criticized Elon Musk on social media for his straight-arm gesture that many have likened to a Nazi salute.

ChatGPT down: AI chat app not working as website goes offline  —  Your support helps us to tell the story  —  From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing.  Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro …

Trump says FEMA is “getting in the way” … - Trump and others in the GOP have in recent months complained that FEMA's disaster response has been biased against Republicans. … - “FEMA is a whole ‘nother discussion because all it does is complicate everything,” he told Fox News’ Sean Hannity in the prerecorded interview.

Three Disturbing Signs of Fourth Estate Failure  —  Corporate executives behaving obsequiously towards Donald Trump and his lackeys may be disturbing to witness, but it is squarely within their primary charge of increasing shareholder value.  Sucking up to a transactional president who uses power …

What Republicans Could Cut to Pay for Trump's Tax Cuts: Medicaid and More  —  President Trump wants a massive tax cut and immigration crackdown bill.  Now Republicans must decide what to cut to help pay for it.  —  Top Republicans are passing around an extensive menu of ideas to cover …

Justice Department freezes all cases in civil rights division  —  The memo doesn't state how long the freeze will last, but it essentially shuts down the civil rights division for at least the first weeks of the Trump administration.  —  The Justice Department has ordered its civil rights division …

Trump Calls for MSNBC to Be Shut Down in Nighttime Rant  —  The president has already sued CBS for $10 billion over its “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris.

With Support Dwindling and Trump in Power, Zelensky Could Face Tough Re-election  —  The high popularity that the Ukrainian president had in the early days of the Russian invasion, with an approval rating of about 90 percent, has dipped badly.  —  Since Russia invaded his country three years ago …

Trump suggests it was a mistake Biden didn't pardon himself  —  President Trump on Wednesday repeatedly suggested it was a mistake that former President Biden did not preemptively pardon himself before leaving office.  —  Trump, in a sit-down interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity …

Donald Trump's war on DEI is not about “merit”  —  Executive orders attacking DEI are about promoting unqualified white men over diverse candidates  —  Donald Trump lies about everything, but the lies strewn throughout his executive order shutting down diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) …

Trump's agenda rests in the hands of a 91-year-old  —  With the gerontocracy under a microscope, the Senate Judiciary chair holds the keys to Donald Trump's agenda.  —  The core of President Donald Trump's agenda runs through Chuck Grassley, who has been in the chamber longer than his vice president has been alive.

Trump pardons police officers convicted of murder, obstruction in man's death  —  President Donald Trump pardoned two Washington, D.C. police officers convicted in the death of Karon Hylton-Brown, who was riding a moped on a sidewalk without a helmet when he ignored instructions to stop.

Lawmakers have their eyes on governors' mansions … Nearly 20 lawmakers are taking active steps or exploring a bid for governor in their home states, according to interviews with over a dozen sources.  Even though Republicans have unified control of Washington, the prospect of leading an entire state …

Mississippi politician files ‘Contraception Begins at Erection Act’  —  JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - A state senator in Mississippi has filed a bill entitled the “Contraception Begins at Erection Act.”  —  As written by Sen. Bradford Blackmon, the bill would make it “unlawful for a person …

‘The gloves are off’: Trump appears poised to cash in from his presidency in new ways  —  President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump released meme coins just days before he took the oath of office.  A splashy pre-inaugural party was held at a property his company owns.

Federal employees are told to name colleagues who work in DEI roles or risk ‘adverse consequences’  —  Emails sent to government workers at numerous agencies gave employees 10 days to report if a colleague's job relates to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

Why Trump's AI plan made Elon Musk flip out  —  A feel-good photo op just triggered a billionaire slapfight.  Here's what's really at stake.  —  At the White House on Tuesday, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son confidently predicted that “artificial superintelligence” will kick off America's “golden age.”