Top Items:
Washington Post:
Senior U.S. official to exit after rift with Musk allies over payment system — A top Treasury career staffer is expected to depart. Surrogates of Musk's DOGE effort had sought access to sensitive payment systems. — The highest-ranking career official at the Treasury Department …
Discussion:
MeidasTouch News, Slate, Ars Technica, Rolling Stone, Daily Kos, Raw Story and emptywheel
RELATED:
Tim Reid / Reuters:
Exclusive: Musk aides lock government workers out of computer systems at US agency, sources say — Aides to Elon Musk charged with running the U.S. government human resources agency have locked career civil servants out of computer systems that contain the personal data of millions of federal employees …
Discussion:
NBC News and Rolling Stone
Hafiz Rashid / New Republic:
Elon Musk Is Trying to Get Control of Key Payment System—at Any Cost — A top-ranking official in the U.S. Department of the Treasury is resigning after a fight with Elon Musk over a sensitive payment system. — The Washington Post reports that David Lebryk, who has worked in the department …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, The Mahablog and alicublog
Jeff Cox / CNBC:
Trump tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China begin Saturday, White House says … In an apparent ending to weeks of intense speculation, the White House confirmed Friday that President Donald Trump will be leveling aggressive tariffs this weekend on major U.S. trading partners.
Discussion:
CBS News, Daily Mail, Reuters, ABC News, USA Today, Reason, The Guardian, DNyuz, The Independent, Associated Press, Global News, New York Post, Semafor and Washington Examiner
RELATED:
Jarrett Renshaw / Reuters:
Exclusive: Trump set to impose tariffs on Mexico, Canada starting on March 1, sources say
Exclusive: Trump set to impose tariffs on Mexico, Canada starting on March 1, sources say
Discussion:
Axios, Townhall, Associated Press, The Gateway Pundit and Raw Story
Associated Press:
White House says Trump tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China will come Saturday. No word on exemptions
White House says Trump tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China will come Saturday. No word on exemptions
Discussion:
Arizona Republic, Washington Examiner, CBS News, WAGA-TV, The Register, Fox Business, New York Times, Mediaite, BBC, Sun-Sentinel, Associated Press, NPR, Forbes, Reuters, Quartz, The Verge, DNyuz, Canadian Press, WTOP News, Must Read Alaska, Al Jazeera, Bloomberg, The Hill and The Post Millennial
New York Times:
Paramount in Settlement Talks With Trump Over ‘60 Minutes’ Lawsuit — A settlement, if reached, would be an extraordinary concession by a major U.S. media company to a sitting president. — When Donald J. Trump sued CBS for $10 billion days before the 2024 election, accusing the company …
RELATED:
Brian Stelter / CNN:
CBS staff alarmed by reports of settlement talks with Trump over ‘60 Minutes’ Harris interview
The Bulwark:
A Wannabe Authoritarian Hard At Work
A Wannabe Authoritarian Hard At Work
Discussion:
OutsideTheBeltway, Lawyers, Guns & Money and The News-Herald
Oliver Darcy / Status:
The Art of the Kneel — If a settlement deal is inked with Donald Trump, Shari Redstone …
The Art of the Kneel — If a settlement deal is inked with Donald Trump, Shari Redstone …
Discussion:
The Independent, New York Post and Mediaite
Aaron Rupar / Public Notice:
DCA crash puts Trump's appalling unfitness on full display — 🔊📺 🎥 With corporate outlets obeying in advance, supporting independent media is more important than ever right now. Public Notice is made possible by paid subscribers. If you aren't one already …
Discussion:
Politico, The Hill, Breitbart, The Economic Times, Blaze Media and The Guardian
RELATED:
Peter Baker / New York Times:
From Anguish to Aggression: Trump Goes on Offense After Midair Collision
Discussion:
The Japan Times, Advocate and The Hill
Miles Klee / Rolling Stone:
Trump and Allies Default to Racist Explanation of Deadly Air Collision
Trump and Allies Default to Racist Explanation of Deadly Air Collision
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Fortune, Mother Jones, Press Watch, The Federalist, The Hill, Wired, Daily Kos, New Republic and Business Insider
Joseph Shapiro / NPR:
People with intellectual disabilities do lots of jobs — but they don't direct air traffic
People with intellectual disabilities do lots of jobs — but they don't direct air traffic
Discussion:
HuffPost, BBC, CNN, Mediaite, Raw Story, PinkNews, The Independent, New York Times, The Daily Wire, Instapundit, Daily Mail, New Republic, Breitbart, USA Today and The National Pulse
Stephen Neukam / Axios:
Scoop: Sanders probing Trump's purge of labor officials … - Sanders requested from leaders at the National Labor Relations Board and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission any communications with the Trump transition team or administration, according to a letter obtained by Axios.
Discussion:
Twitchy
RELATED:
CNN:
EPA workers receive emails warning their employment could be terminated — More than 1,100 employees at the Environmental Protection Agency received notice this week that they were deemed to be on probationary status and warning they could be fired immediately, according to an email obtained by CNN.
Discussion:
Just Security, Townhall and GovExec.com
ABC News:
Federal employees told to remove pronouns from email signatures by end of day — The mandate is the latest effort in the Trump administration's push to end DEI. — President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, Jan. 30, 2025.
Discussion:
STAT, Washington Examiner, Townhall, Baltimore Sun, The Gateway Pundit, RedState, The Post Millennial, New York Daily News, Whiskey Riff, Twitchy and New Republic
CNN:
FBI agents who worked on January 6 and Trump investigations are expected to be fired Friday — The Trump administration is set to expand a purge of career law enforcement officials, with dozens of FBI agents who worked on January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack and Trump-related investigations …
Discussion:
Denver Post, American Greatness, HotAir, RedState, New York Times, One America News Network, Forbes, Townhall, The National Pulse, Raw Story, Associated Press, CBS News, MPR News, Reuters, New Yorker and NBC News
RELATED:
Phil Williams / WTVF-TV:
Career prosecutors withdraw from federal criminal investigation of GOP Congressman Andy Ogles — Local prosecutors are not commenting, but move may signal plans to drop investigation of one of President Trump's Republican allies — NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Federal prosecutors based …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Associated Press:
New York doctor indicted for prescribing abortion pill in Louisiana — A New York doctor was indicted by a Louisiana grand jury on Friday for allegedly prescribing an abortion pill online in the Deep South state, which has one of the strictest near-total abortion bans in the country.
Discussion:
WTOP News
John Ganz / Unpopular Front:
Groyperfication — I'm working on something long-ish on the “vibe shift” discourse that I'm hoping will come in lieu of the Sunday Reading, Watching supplement. But I just wanted to quickly remark again on what I think is an underreported key to understanding contemporary politics …
Politico:
USDA ordered to scrub climate change from websites — The directive could affect information across dozens of programs including climate-smart agriculture initiatives. — Agriculture Department employees have been ordered to delete landing pages discussing climate change across agency websites …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner
David Corn / Mother Jones:
SCOOP: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Admits Settlement for “Misconduct” Accusation — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has admitted to the US Senate that he has reached at least one settlement agreement in which he was accused of misconduct or inappropriate behavior. — After the Senate Finance Committee …
Discussion:
Mediaite and New Republic
Lois Henry / SJV Water:
Decision to dump water from Tulare County lakes altered after sending locals into a mad scramble — Water managers were relieved Thursday evening after the Army Corps of Engineers agreed to back off of a sudden decision earlier in the day to dump massive amounts of water from Kaweah and Success lakes.
Jay Stahl / USA Today:
Chuck Todd exiting NBC News after nearly 20 years as Trump starts second term — Chuck Todd is leaving NBC News. — The NBC chief political analyst and former “Meet The Press” moderator announced the news in a memo shared with staff Friday. The exit comes amid broad shifts …
Discussion:
Fox News, New York Times, The Guardian, Variety, New York Post, Axios, TVLine, The Hollywood Reporter, Blaze Media, Hollywood Life, Associated Press, Adweek, RedState, Los Angeles Times, Deadline, The National Pulse, Daily Caller News Foundation, The Gateway Pundit, The Independent, Newsbusters, New York Daily News, Just Jared, Ace of Spades HQ, Chicago Tribune and Instapundit, more at Mediagazer »
Slate:
The D.C. Air Disaster Is a Flashing Warning Sign About DOGE — From the moment he returned to the White House, Donald Trump launched a full-scale assault on the federal workforce. The president has fired or demoted an unprecedented number of senior officials and civil servants.
Discussion:
The Verge
Natasha Korecki / NBC News:
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker blocks Jan. 6 rioters from state jobs after Trump pardons — In a written directive, the Democratic Illinois governor tells his hiring office that “no one who attempts to overthrow a government should serve in government.” — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is blocking …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, CBS News, New Republic and Raw Story
John Hudson / Washington Post:
A career official tried to undo Trump's purge at USAID. He was then purged, too. — The dramatic purge and counter-purge played out in emails obtained by The Washington Post, as Trump's pause on aid upends humanitarian work around the world. — The Trump administration's purge of dozens …
Discussion:
Fox News, Talking Points Memo, New Republic and OutsideTheBeltway
Meg Kinnard / Associated Press:
The DNC's outgoing chair says Democrats should have stuck with Joe Biden in 2024 — As the Democratic National Committee prepares to elect a new chair, its departing leader says Democrats should have stuck with Joe Biden in the 2024 race. In an interview with The Associated Press …
Discussion:
NBC News, HotAir, Fox News, Rolling Stone, Daily Mail, CBS News, freebeacon.com, The Guardian, Twitchy, Daily Caller News Foundation, The Hill and New York Post
James Romoser / Politico:
How Trump Could Snatch a Third Term — Despite the 22nd Amendment — Four ways Trump could stay in power beyond 2028. — Less than two weeks have passed since the last presidential inauguration, but try to imagine the next one. — It's Jan. 20, 2029. The nation has weathered another tumultuous four years under Donald Trump.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Sanjana Karanth / HuffPost:
New DOT Memo Directs Funds To Communities With Higher ‘Marriage And Birth Rates’ — The memo also said recipients of federal transportation funding must also cooperate with immigration enforcement, a hit to so-called sanctuary cities. — LOADING — The Department of Transportation …
Discussion:
MeidasTouch News, Raw Story, Daily Kos and CT Mirror
Stephanie Kirchgaessner / The Guardian:
WhatsApp says journalists and civil society members were targets of Israeli spyware — Messaging app said it had ‘high confidence’ some users were targeted and ‘possibly compromised’ by Paragon Solutions spyware — Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington DC
Discussion:
Al Jazeera, Reuters, Engadget, TechCrunch and The Verge, more at Mediagazer »


