Top Items:
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
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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 Hill, The Intercept, Axios, CNN, RedState, Reason, Reuters, Fox News, Raw Story, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, NPR, Mediaite, Asia Times, Daily Mail, Today's Edition Newsletter, DNyuz, Jewish Insider, The Forward, LUIGI MANGIONE FAN, Breitbart, Washington Examiner, Wall Street Journal, ABC News, Al Jazeera, Bloomberg and WTOP News
Peter Baker / New York Times:
With Gaza Plan, an Unbound Trump Pushes an Improbable Idea — Once a critic of nation building, the president now envisions taking over a Middle East enclave, driving out its Palestinian population and transforming it into “the Riviera of the Middle East.” — President Trump basked …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, CNN, Frontpage Mag, CBS News, Digby's Hullabaloo, DNyuz, Fox News, Al Jazeera, Washington Post, The Daily Sceptic, Informed Comment, Reuters, Politico, The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, freebeacon.com, RedState, Algemeiner.com, CNBC, Metro.co.uk, USA Today, Mediaite, Grabien and The Independent
Associated Press:
Trump's suggestion the US ‘take over’ the Gaza Strip is rejected by allies and adversaries alike
Trump's suggestion the US ‘take over’ the Gaza Strip is rejected by allies and adversaries alike
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 and Al Jazeera, 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:
Rolling Stone, Washington Post, Spectrum News NY1, Federal News Network, FedScoop, Vox, 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
Tyler McBrien / New York Times:
Musk? Trump? Who Exactly Is Running the Federal Government?
Musk? Trump? Who Exactly Is Running the Federal Government?
Discussion:
Raw Story and Liberal Currents
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.
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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:
Axios, Reuters, Fox News, Democracy Now, New York Times, No More Mister Nice Blog, Raw Story, Bloomberg, The Bulwark and The Independent
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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
Jennifer Scholtes / Politico:
Why Washington is getting nervous about a shutdown
Discussion:
Raw Story
Nicholas Wu / Politico:
New Democratic bill targets Elon Musk
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:
Raw Story, DNyuz, The Guardian and CBS News
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Paul Sonne / New York Times:
Foreign Strongmen Cheer as Musk Dismantles U.S. Aid Agency
Discussion:
Digby's Hullabaloo
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:
Axios, E&E News, Bloomberg, Associated Press and The Hill, more at Techmeme »
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, 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:
Bloomberg, Fortune, Axios, Reuters, Fox Business, WXIA-TV, Associated Press, Quartz, The Verge, Semafor, Raw Story, The Independent, DNyuz, Forbes, UPI, New York Times, WNYW-TV, The Information, The Guardian, Eschaton, ABC7, New York Magazine and Daily Mail, more at Techmeme »
Zeyi Yang / Wired:
USPS Resumes Accepting Packages From China After Unexpected Suspension
USPS Resumes Accepting Packages From China After Unexpected Suspension
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Hill, USA Today, CNN, UPI, KFTC-TV, The Verge, Hollywood Life, Forbes, Al Jazeera, DNyuz, Reuters, WUSA and CBS News
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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CNN:
Pam Bondi expected to move quickly to assert control of Justice Department — Newly confirmed Attorney General Pam Bondi will arrive for her first day at the Justice Department Wednesday amid a firestorm over firings of agents and prosecutors who have worked on cases related to Donald Trump and the January 6, 2021, US Capitol riot.
Discussion:
NBC News
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Roger Parloff / Default:
Trump's Petty Purge of 15 Young Jan. 6 Prosecutors
Liz Dye / Public Notice:
Trump declares flawless victory in pointless trade war — Keep pulling the fire alarm, eventually no one will pay attention to the noise. — 🇨🇦 🇺🇸 🇲🇽 With corporate outlets obeying in advance, supporting independent media is more important than ever right now.
Discussion:
Law and Chaos, Politico, Baltimore Sun and Rolling Stone
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Ed Mazza / HuffPost:
‘He Choked!’: Canadian Lawmaker Taunts Donald Trump, Then Issues Stern Warning
‘He Choked!’: Canadian Lawmaker Taunts Donald Trump, Then Issues Stern Warning
Discussion:
The Hill and Washington Post
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.
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 …
Maria Sacchetti / Washington Post:
Trump administration may allow local police to arrest immigrants — The program has been dormant since the Obama administration scrapped it in 2012 following multiple federal investigations, lawsuits and complaints. — The Trump administration is considering deputizing state …
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:
India Today, Associated Press, The Indian Express, The Independent, WTOP News, Reuters, DNyuz, Bloomberg and Daily Mail
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, WTOP News, NY State Attorney General, The Gateway Pundit and Bloomberg
Associated Press:
Trump says he's ‘left instructions’ for Iran to be ‘obliterated’ if it assassinates him — President Donald Trump said Tuesday he's given his advisers instructions to “obliterate” Iran if it assassinates him. — MORE VIDEOS — The Aga Khan, spiritual leader of the world's millions of Ismaili Muslims, has died aged 88
Discussion:
Associated Press, New York Post, Al Jazeera, WAGA-TV, RedState, IJR, WNYW-TV, The Gateway Pundit, Blaze Media, Raw Story, Daily Mail, Washington Examiner, Fox News, Israpundit and Metro.co.uk


