A 25-Year-Old With Elon Musk Ties Has Direct Access to the Federal Payment System  —  The Bureau of the Fiscal Service is a sleepy part of the Treasury Department.  It's also where, sources say, a 25-year-old engineer tied to Elon Musk has admin privileges over the code that controls Social Security payments, tax returns, and more.

‘Accidental’ F.B.I. Chief Builds a Following as Agency's Defender  —  Brian Driscoll was accidentally catapulted into the acting director's chair on Jan. 20 and has defended the bureau from the potential of mass firings, inspiring memes and satirical clips.  —  Brian Driscoll …

About 20,000 federal workers took “buyout” so far, official says  —  About 20,000 federal workers have accepted the “buyout” offer put forward by the Trump administration last week, a senior administration official tells Axios. … - The offer is open through Thursday, meaning the total could rise …

White House preparing executive order to abolish the Department of Education  —  The planned order follows years of campaign promises from President Donald Trump to abolish the federal Education Department.  —  The White House is preparing an executive order to eliminate the Department of Education …

‘Things Are Going to Get Intense:’ How a Musk Ally Plans to Push AI on the Government  —  Thomas Shedd, a Musk-associate and now head of the General Services Administration's Technology Transformation Services (TTS), told government tech workers in a meeting this week that the administration plans …

RFK Jr. passes key HHS confirmation hurdle with Senate panel vote  —  Robert F. Kennedy Jr., once seen as a longshot to serve as America's top health official, is now set to head to the Senate floor for a confirmation vote.  —  Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is now one step closer to running …

NFL to remove ‘End Racism’ messaging in end zone ahead of Super Bowl: Sources  —  NEW ORLEANS — At his annual news conference Monday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell expressed strong support for the league's policies designed to promote diversity at the club-employment level and indicated that those endeavors will continue.

Trump Claims Victory Over Canada, Mexico After Getting ... Basically Nothing  —  The president made a show of temporarily postponing a regional trade war after Mexico and Canada promised him things they were already doing  —  Donald Trump has temporarily delayed the implementation of tariffs …

Here are the words putting science in the crosshairs of Trump's orders  —  National Science Foundation staff have been combing through thousands of active science research projects, alongside a list of keywords, to determine if they include activities that violate Trump's executive orders.  —  “Women.”

Republican Senators Say They're Fine Handing Their Power to Elon Musk  —  Musk's actions may be unconstitutional but “nobody should bellyache about that,” Sen. Thom Tillis said.  — Copy  —  Tech billionaire Elon Musk is working to shut down government agencies and cancel congressionally approved funding …

‘Beyond betrayal.’ Venezuelans in Florida are angry at Trump immigration policy  —  MIAMI — Venezuelan migrants in South Florida say they feel betrayed by a Trump administration decision to end legal protections for hundreds of thousands of people who fled dictatorships and sought refuge in the U.S.

Proud Boys Lose Control of Their Name to a Black Church They Vandalized  —  A judge awarded the trademarked name and symbols to a Washington church to help satisfy a $2.8 million judgment against the far-right group.  —  The Proud Boys no longer have control over their own name.

Waffle House is placing a surcharge on every egg it sells  —  New York CNN —  The soaring price of eggs has forced Waffle House to add a temporary surcharge on customers' orders.  —  The Georgia-based chain is adding a 50-cent charge per egg because of the “nationwide rise in cost of eggs …

Ocasio-Cortez: Musk ‘one of the most unintelligent billionaires I have ever met’  —  Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) slammed tech billionaire and “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) head Elon Musk as “one of the most unintelligent billionaires that I have ever met.”

Scoop: Senate Dems plot USAID revenge on Trump … - Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) told Axios on Tuesday that he's willing to place holds on Trump nominees on the Senate Judiciary Committee.  — Blumenthal said the caucus is proceeding as if there is a blanket hold on Trump nominations.

U.S. Begins Migrant Flights to Guantanamo Bay  —  The Trump administration has said it would expand operations at the American naval base in Cuba to hold up to 30,000 immigrants  —  WASHINGTON—The first flights carrying detained migrants from the U.S. to Guantanamo Bay have headed …

State audit finds overall unnecessary spending under former UF President Ben Sasse  —  Sasse's expenditures included more than $300,000 in private jet flights  —  A preliminary report from the Florida Auditor General found UF failed to prevent former President Ben Sasse from leveraging …

Half of Wisconsin Head Start programs can't access needed funds after federal freeze  —  One Head Start center in Waukesha closed last week, leaving more than 250 families without child care  —  One week after the Trump administration ordered a pause on federal grants and loans …

Trump makes a provocative choice for the National Counterterrorism Center  —  Joe Kent has alleged associations with white nationalists and has embraced a variety of conspiracy theories.  —  As Donald Trump assembled a team after his election victory, he chose quite a few Republicans who ran and lost bids for elected office.

Waffle House adding surcharge for every egg ordered  —  (NEXSTAR) - Waffle House restaurants across the nation will be adding a 50 cent surcharge to every egg ordered amid soaring prices due to inflation and the bird flu epidemic.  —  The surcharge took effect Monday, according to a Waffle House memo shared with Nexstar.