Top Items:
New York Times:
Trump Proposes U.S. Takeover of Gaza and Says All Palestinians Should Leave — The president met with the Israeli prime minister at the White House, meeting in person with another world leader for the first time since returning to power. — 1.9k — President Trump declared on Tuesday …
Discussion:
Politico, HuffPost, Associated Press, The Intercept, The Hill, CNN, Reuters, RedState, Reason, NPR, Fox News, Mediaite, Asia Times, DNyuz, Daily Mail, Today's Edition Newsletter, OutsideTheBeltway, Jewish Insider, The Forward, LUIGI MANGIONE FAN, Breitbart, Washington Examiner, Wall Street Journal, ABC News, Al Jazeera, Raw Story, Bloomberg and WTOP News
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NBC News:
‘Deranged’ and ‘problematic’: Bipartisan lawmakers bash Trump's Gaza proposal — Trump said Tuesday night that the U.S. “will take over Gaza” and send in troops “if necessary.” — Criticism and concern spread across both sides of the aisle Tuesday night following President Donald Trump's announcement …
Associated Press:
Trump's suggestion the US ‘take over’ the Gaza Strip is rejected by allies and adversaries alike — President Donald Trump's proposal that the United States “take over” the Gaza Strip and permanently resettle its Palestinian residents was swiftly rejected and denounced on Wednesday by American allies and adversaries alike.
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
Why Elon Will Be Trump's Undoing — Yes, yes, “the wheels of justice grind slowly” and all that. But when do the courts get involved? — Happy Wednesday. — Never Musk — by William Kristol — It's grim out there. Limiting the damage done by Donald Trump and the Trumpists …
Discussion:
The Kyiv Independent
Peter Baker / New York Times:
With Gaza Plan, an Unbound Trump Pushes an Improbable Idea
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Frontpage Mag, CBS News, Digby's Hullabaloo, DNyuz, Fox News, Washington Post, Al Jazeera, Axios, Politico, The Daily Sceptic, Informed Comment, Reuters, The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, freebeacon.com, RedState, Algemeiner.com, CNBC, Metro.co.uk, USA Today, Mediaite, Grabien and The Independent
Politico:
Trump's plan to ‘take over’ Gaza Strip confuses GOP lawmakers
Trump's plan to ‘take over’ Gaza Strip confuses GOP lawmakers
Discussion:
The Guardian, Mediaite and NOTUS
Washington Post:
Trump proposes U.S. ‘take over’ Gaza, permanent displacement of residents
Trump proposes U.S. ‘take over’ Gaza, permanent displacement of residents
Discussion:
MeidasTouch News, Politico, New York Times, Bloomberg, CBS News, Jerusalem Post, UPI, israelhayom.com, Tennessee Star, Reuters, Associated Press, The Guardian, HotAir, Roll Call, The Japan Times, Breitbart, DNyuz, Semafor, CNBC, Raw Story, USA Today, Grabien and Al Jazeera
Jamelle Bouie / New York Times:
There Is No Going Back — Even if anyone had elected Elon Musk to anything, the last week would still be one of the most serious examples of executive branch malfeasance in American history. — Musk has seized hold of critical levers of power and authority within the federal government …
Discussion:
Slate, DNyuz and Chicago Tribune
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Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Trump Brazenly Defies Laws in Escalating Executive Power Grab — In the radical opening weeks of his second term, President Trump has appeared to feel little constraint by any need to show respect for the rule of law. — In his first term, President Trump seemed to relish ripping through …
Washington Post:
U.S. government officials privately warn Musk's blitz appears illegal — The billionaire's DOGE team has launched an all-out assault on federal agencies, triggering numerous legal objections. — The chaotic blitz by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has triggered legal …
Discussion:
HuffPost, Politico, New Republic, NPR, American Greatness, Al Jazeera and Daily Mail, more at Mediagazer »
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New York Times:
A Legal Counteroffensive to Beat Back Trump's Government Purges — A raft of new lawsuits contend that President Trump and Elon Musk are breaking the law to ransack the F.B.I. and other federal agencies. The courts will now decide. — Workers from across the federal government set off …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Rolling Stone, Spectrum News NY1, Federal News Network, Vox, FedScoop, Bloomberg, DNyuz, Nebraska Examiner, Nextgov/FCW, CNN and Daily Mail
NBC News:
Elon Musk gets quiet White House reminders his power isn't unchecked — Trump's aides have signaled behind the scenes that Musk still reports to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles. — Tech billionaire and newly minted “special government employee” Elon Musk has received quiet White House reminders …
Discussion:
HuffPost
The Atlantic:
Trump Advisers Stopped Musk From Hiring a Noncitizen at DOGE — As Elon Musk set out to upend the federal bureaucracy on behalf of Donald Trump, he reached out to Trump's team with an unusual request: U.S. law generally prohibits noncitizens from working for the federal government …
Discussion:
HuffPost
Rachael Bade / Politico:
Democrats Are Falling For Trump and Musk's Foreign Aid Trap — Three veteran strategists want their party to be more thoughtful about fighting Trump's anti-bureaucracy campaign. — After three months of soul-searching about how to revive their party, some Democrats this week believe …
Discussion:
New York Times, Fox News, Democracy Now, No More Mister Nice Blog, Raw Story, Bloomberg, The Bulwark and The Independent
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Ivana Saric / Axios:
America's adversaries cheer Trump admin's USAID teardown … - Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev praised Elon Musk — Trump's righthand man who has led the charge against USAID — for “trying to plug USAID's Deep Throat.” — Russian ultra-nationalist Alexander Dugin praised …
Discussion:
New York Times, The Guardian, DNyuz and CBS News
CNN:
Rubio's years of strong support for USAID stands in contrast to his sudden criticism of the aid agency
Discussion:
The Daily Signal, Raw Story, The Independent, Chicago Tribune, American Greatness and HuffPost
Nicholas Wu / Politico:
New Democratic bill targets Elon Musk
Washington Post:
USAID announces sweeping moves to sideline remaining staff
USAID announces sweeping moves to sideline remaining staff
Discussion:
Twitchy, Mediaite, Bloomberg, Axios, Washington Examiner, RedState, USA Today, Fox News and The Gateway Pundit
NPR:
‘Thank you for your service’: Trump administration puts USAID staff on leave
‘Thank you for your service’: Trump administration puts USAID staff on leave
Discussion:
New York Times, The Hill, Wired, CBS News, RedState, Reuters, Al Jazeera and LewRockwell
Andrew Solender / Axios:
Congressional Democrats denied entry to Treasury Department
Congressional Democrats denied entry to Treasury Department
Discussion:
Business Insider, Reuters, The Nation, Twitchy, Wall Street Journal, The Daily Caller, The Guardian, RedState, The Gateway Pundit and New York Times
Wall Street Journal:
The CIA Is About to Get a Trump Makeover — Spy agency's workforce receives buyout-style offer — WASHINGTON—The Central Intelligence Agency offered buyouts to its entire workforce Tuesday, in what officials said is a bid to bring the agency in line with President Trump's priorities, including targeting drug cartels.
RELATED:
Reuters:
CIA offers buyouts to entire workforce to align with Trump priorities, sources say — The Central Intelligence Agency offered buyouts to its entire workforce Tuesday, citing an aim to bring the agency in line with U.S. President Donald Trump's priorities, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
New York Times:
U.S. Postal Service Reverses Decision to Halt Parcel Service From China — The Postal Service will continue to accept parcels from Hong Kong and China despite a new executive order that will require greater inspection of packages. — The United States Postal Service on Wednesday …
Discussion:
Politico, Raw Story, WUSA, DNyuz, Semafor and BIG by Matt Stoller, more at Techmeme »
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Zen Soo / Associated Press:
USPS has suspended parcels from Hong Kong and China. Here's what it means for Shein and Temu
Discussion:
Axios, Bloomberg, Fortune, Reuters, WXIA-TV, Quartz, Associated Press, DNyuz, Raw Story, The Verge, Semafor, New York Times, WNYW-TV, Forbes, UPI, The Independent, The Information, The Guardian, Eschaton, ABC7, New York Magazine and Daily Mail, more at Techmeme »
Michael Sainato / The Guardian:
Doge staffers enter Noaa headquarters and incite reports of cuts and threats — Members reportedly sought access to IT systems at agency that Project 2025 has called ‘harmful to US prosperity’ — Staffers with Elon Musk's “department of government efficiency” (Doge) reportedly entered …
Discussion:
E&E News, Bloomberg, Axios, Associated Press and The Hill
NBC News:
Federal health workers terrified after ‘DEI’ website publishes list of ‘targets’ — The site calls out workers who have been involved with DEI initiatives. A majority are Black. — Federal health workers are expressing fear and alarm after a website called “DEI Watch List” published the photos …
Discussion:
Pharyngula
Punchbowl News:
2/5/25 ☀️ AM: … Yet it's fair to say, at this moment, things aren't going well. — Speaker Mike Johnson and the House Republican committee chairs initially proposed between $500 billion to $700 billion in spending cuts as part of a massive reconciliation package.
Discussion:
masslive.com
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Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Musk shocks lawmakers, setting himself on collision course — Billionaire businessman Elon Musk is on a collision course with lawmakers on Capitol Hill who are starting to challenge his authority. — Senate Republicans acknowledge they need to cut government spending …
Discussion:
IJR
RELATED:
Jennifer Scholtes / Politico:
Shutdown anxiety rises on Capitol Hill amid Trump chaos
Suhasini Raj / New York Times:
Migrants Are Deported to India on U.S. Military Plane — The flight appeared to be the first use of an American military aircraft to deport people to India, which is one of the top sources of illegal immigration to the United States. — A U.S. military plane with at least 100 aboard landed …
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Indian Express, The Independent, Reuters, Bloomberg and Daily Mail
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Aseem Bassi / India Today:
US military plane carrying 104 illegal Indian immigrants lands in Amritsar
US military plane carrying 104 illegal Indian immigrants lands in Amritsar
Discussion:
DNyuz
Phil Mattingly / CNN:
Treasury says Musk's DOGE has not rejected payments in first attempt to clarify access granted to critical system — The Treasury Department said Elon Musk aides detailed to the agency have “read-only” access to its sensitive $5 trillion US payments system and that no payments have been suspended …
Discussion:
U.S. Department …, The Register, Raw Story, Fox News, Scripps News, WUSA, CBS News, Federal News Network, New Republic and Politico
RELATED:
Alan Rappeport / New York Times:
Treasury Defends Musk Team's Access to Federal Payment System
Treasury Defends Musk Team's Access to Federal Payment System
Discussion:
The Guardian, Politico, Notes on the Crises, Associated Press, The Daily Caller, Bloomberg, WUSA, Fox Business, Axios, IJR, CBS News, Scripps News, WTOP News, PoliticusUSA, American Prospect, MarketWatch and Townhall
Hamilton Nolan / How Things Work:
The Business Community Is Extraordinarily Stupid — You may have noticed that wealthy international businessmen—the jet set class with the means to be anywhere—do not typically choose to live and headquarter their businesses in Russia. Nor do they choose to base themselves in Hungary, or El Salvador, or North Korea.
Paul Krugman:
Have We Been Partying Like It's 1999? — This bubble may end with a tech-bro bailout — The political insanity of the past few days has been exhausting, and it is by no means over. But with the North American trade war temporarily (?) on hold, maybe I can take a day to write about a more comforting topic: financial insanity.
Judd Legum / Popular Information:
The “deferred resignation” scam — Last week, Popular Information broke down the “offer” that the Trump administration was making to millions of federal employees to induce them to resign voluntarily. The Trump administration wanted federal employees to believe that if they agreed …
Discussion:
CNN, DNyuz, FedSmith.com, Denver Post, Washington Examiner, GovExec.com, NY State Attorney General, WTOP News, The Gateway Pundit and Bloomberg
Associated Press:
Protests against Trump and Project 2025 are planned in cities across the US — A movement to oppose the early actions of President Donald Trump's administration is taking off online, with plans to protest across the U.S. on Wednesday. — The movement has organized under the hashtags #buildtheresistance …

