Top Items:
Bloomberg:
Musk's DOGE Teen Was Fired By Cybersecurity Firm for Leaking Company Secrets — Edward Coristine posted online that he had retained access to the firm's servers. Now he has access to sensitive government information. — Edward Coristine, a 19-year-old member of Elon Musk's squad that's …
Discussion:
New York Times, The Hill, Mediaite, New Republic, The Independent, Raw Story, Gizmodo and Wired, more at Techmeme »
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Reuters:
Staffer with Elon Musk's DOGE amplified white supremacists online — One of the people working with billionaire Elon Musk in his efforts to overhaul the U.S. government is a Berkeley-educated computer scientist who has boosted white supremacists and misogynists online.
Discussion:
Axios, Mashable and The Independent
New York Times:
Vance and Trump Call for Rehiring of DOGE Staffer Who Quit Over Racist Posts. Musk Obliges.
Vance and Trump Call for Rehiring of DOGE Staffer Who Quit Over Racist Posts. Musk Obliges.
Discussion:
The Guardian, Arizona Republic, Associated Press, Raw Story, Twitchy, NBC News, The Gateway Pundit, HuffPost, Breitbart, New Republic, Forbes, Townhall, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The American Spectator, Washington Examiner, American Greatness, Fortune, New York Post, Daily Caller News Foundation, Mediaite, Mercury News, RedState, Rolling Stone, Daily Kos, Scripps News, The Root, Truthout, The Verge, The National Pulse, PinkNews, Advocate, Axios, Daily Mail and Wall Street Journal
Patrick Svitek / Washington Post:
Musk to rehire DOGE staffer with history of racist tweets
Musk to rehire DOGE staffer with history of racist tweets
Discussion:
CNBC, The Guardian, Mediaite, Business Insider, Raw Story, Politico, Bloomberg, OutsideTheBeltway and Crooks and Liars, more at Techmeme »
Wired:
A US Treasury Threat Intelligence Analysis Designates DOGE Staff as ‘Insider Threat’ — An internal email reviewed by WIRED calls DOGE staff's access to federal payments systems “the single biggest insider threat risk the Bureau of the Fiscal Service has ever faced.”
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The Atlantic:
The Government's Computing Experts Say They Are Terrified … Elon musk's unceasing attempts to access the data and information systems of the federal government range so widely, and are so unprecedented and unpredictable, that government computing experts believe the effort has spun out of control.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Time, CBS News, Foreign Affairs, The Verge, HotAir, Mashable, Raw Story, Musk Watch, Digby's Hullabaloo, Washington Examiner and MeidasTouch News
Washington Post:
Treasury installs ally of Musk's DOGE as head of payment system
Discussion:
Raw Story, RedState, Deep Left Field, Gizmodo, New Republic and Bloomberg
Politico:
19 states sue Trump, Treasury to halt DOGE access
19 states sue Trump, Treasury to halt DOGE access
Discussion:
Mercury News, ZeroHedge News, Michigan Advance, Associated Press, CBS News and Fox News
ProPublica:
Elon Musk's DOGE Is Expected to Examine Another Treasury System Next Week
Elon Musk's DOGE Is Expected to Examine Another Treasury System Next Week
Discussion:
Washington Post, Washingtonian, KRDO, Bloomberg and Bloomberg Law
Michael Stratford / Politico:
Treasury elevates Musk ally to lead government payment system
Treasury elevates Musk ally to lead government payment system
Discussion:
Fox News, Bloomberg, Forbes, Vox, NPR, Tampa Free Press, New York Times, Associated Press, HuffPost, Reuters, One America News Network, The Post Millennial and CNN
New York Times:
Trump Says He Will Dismiss Kennedy Center Board Members and Install Himself as Chair — The move by the president, whose authority to make the changes was not clear, is the latest attempt to bring a Washington institution under his control. — President Trump announced his intention …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, The Hill, RedState, The Guardian, Axios and WUSA
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New York Times:
Judge Will Freeze Elements of Trump Plan to Shut Down U.S.A.I.D. — Where Things Stand — Political payback: President Trump said on Friday that he was revoking former President Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s security clearances, and made clear that he was doing so because Mr. Biden had rescinded his privileges four years ago.
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, The Atlantic and One America News Network
Ted Johnson / Deadline:
Donald Trump Says He'll Name Himself Chairman Of Kennedy Center And Oust Board Members — Donald Trump said that he will oust board members of the Kennedy Center, while naming himself as its new chairman. — David Rubenstein is the current chairman of the center and agreed to stay in that role through 2026.
Discussion:
Washington Post and Shore News Network
Sharon Knolle / The Wrap:
Donald Trump Says He's Firing Kennedy Center Board Members, Naming Himself Chairman
Discussion:
Politico, NPR, Washington Examiner, Rolling Stone, CNN, USA Today, CBS News, Blaze Media, IndieWire, The Hollywood Reporter, Raw Story, Mediaite, Florida Politics, The Gateway Pundit, Consequence and Variety
Will Weissert / Associated Press:
Trump says he's firing Kennedy Center board of trustees members and naming himself chairman
Trump says he's firing Kennedy Center board of trustees members and naming himself chairman
Discussion:
Fox News, The Daily Wire, Los Angeles Times, Baltimore Sun and CBS News
Christina Jewett / New York Times:
Deep Cuts to Medical Research Funds Could Hobble University Budgets — Grants from the National Institutes of Health come with additional money for overhead. Proposed funding cuts would leave colleges with large budget gaps. — The National Institutes of Health announced a new policy Friday …
RELATED:
grants.nih.gov:
Supplemental Guidance to the 2024 NIH Grants Policy Statement: Indirect Cost Rates — Related Announcements — Issued by — Office of The Director, National Institutes of Health (OD) — Purpose — The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awards a large number of grants providing …
Discussion:
STAT, Ars Technica and Raw Story
Mother Jones:
Kash Patel Took $25,000 From Russia-Linked Firm to Appear on an Anti-FBI TV Series — Last year, Kash Patel, the MAGA provocateur whom Donald Trump has nominated to head the FBI, received $25,000 from a Russia-linked production company to participate in a documentary in which he assailed the FBI and called for closing its headquarters.
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Washington Post:
Kash Patel was paid by Russian filmmaker with Kremlin ties, documents show — Patel, President Trump's nominee to be FBI director, was paid $25,000 last year by a film company that has promoted anti-Western views advanced by the Kremlin, documents show. — Kash Patel, President Donald Trump's nominee …
Discussion:
The Independent and Associated Press
Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair:
Is Donald Trump Afraid of Elon Musk? — The president has long operated without anything resembling worry when it comes to appointments or executive action, but as his most powerful—and richest—political ally chainsaws his way through the federal government, some observers wonder if Trump might be tasting his own medicine.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Associated Press, Business Insider, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, Daily Mail and Chicago Tribune
RELATED:
Katherine Long / Wall Street Journal:
Trump Calls for Rehiring of DOGE Staffer Who Resigned Over Racist Posts
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, Associated Press, Forbes, Townhall, driftglass, New Republic, Fortune and Beyer
Darlene Superville / Associated Press:
Trump says he's ending Biden's classified intelligence briefings in payback move — President Donald Trump said Friday that he's revoking former President Joe Biden's access to government secrets and ending the daily intelligence briefings he's receiving in payback for Biden doing the same to him in 2021.
Discussion:
Fox News, NBC News, Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, Breitbart, CBS News, Forbes, Daily Caller News Foundation, Scripps News, American Greatness, Axios, The Gateway Pundit, USA Today, Raw Story, One America News Network, RedState, NPR, Al Jazeera, New York Post, Daily Mail, The Independent, Mediaite, KRDO, The Post Millennial, Blaze Media and WTOP News
RELATED:
Pew Research Center:
1. Trump's second term: Early ratings and expectations — Table of Contents Table of Contents — Americans are deeply divided over Donald Trump's plans and the way he is handling his job in the early weeks of his return to the presidency. — Overall, 47% of U.S. adults approve …
ProPublica:
The Elite Lawyers Working for Elon Musk's DOGE Include Former Supreme Court Clerks — ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published. — As members of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency …
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money, Reuters, The Gateway Pundit and Twitchy
NBC News:
Judge to pause Trump administration effort to gut USAID's workforce by thousands — Two labor groups had sued the Trump administration after it said that thousands of USAID employees would be placed on administrative leave starting at 11:59 p.m. Friday. — A federal judge on Friday …
Discussion:
CNBC, Raw Story, The Daily Wire, RedState, Scripps News, CNN, New York Post, CBS News, The Gateway Pundit, IJR, Politico, USA Today and NPR
Jordain Carney / Politico:
Senate Republicans release budget blueprint ahead of Wednesday markup — Senate Republicans will hold a committee vote next week on a budget blueprint that will unlock their two-bill strategy for enacting the heart of President Donald Trump's domestic policy agenda.
Discussion:
The Daily Signal, NBC News, Wisconsin Examiner, CBS News, New York Post, Washington Examiner, Breaking Defense, Blaze Media, Baltimore Sun, E&E News, NPR and KRDO
RELATED:
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
Trump and Musk Attack Journalists by Name in Social Media Posts — Since his inauguration, the president has been quick to demonize what he calls “the fake news media.” On Friday, both men demanded that individuals be fired. — President Trump has made clear his animus toward mainstream media organizations.
Discussion:
Deadline, Newsbusters, Raw Story and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
Rachel Selzer / Democracy Docket:
North Carolina Judge Rejects GOP State Supreme Court Candidate's Bid To Throw Out 60K Ballots — A Wake County Superior Court judge rejected a bid by GOP North Carolina Supreme Court candidate Jefferson Griffin to overturn his 2024 election loss to incumbent Democratic Justice Allison Riggs …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Raw Story, Cardinal & Pine, NC Newsline and Carolina Journal
Reuters:
Exclusive: Trump Air Force nominee arranged satellite contract in manner that favored Musk's SpaceX, sources say — President Donald Trump's nominee as Air Force Secretary, currently a top official at the national spy satellite agency, arranged a multibillion-dollar contract solicitation …
Louise Matsakis / Wired:
Trump's FBI Pick Kash Patel Took Up to $5M in Stock from Chinese Ecommerce Giant Shein — Donald Trump's pick for FBI director told senators he has no plans to divest his shares, which his financial disclosure form says were received in exchange for consulting services.
Discussion:
Reuters, The Information, Raw Story, CNN and freebeacon.com, more at Techmeme »
Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:
Former GOP Director Of FBI, CIA Urges Chuck Grassley To Stop Kash Patel's Nomination — “After all the hard work that you've done over your career, to allow it to be destroyed on your watch would not be a legacy I would want,” warned William Webster. — LOADING
Discussion:
Raw Story
New York Times:
Falsehoods Fuel the Right-Wing Crusade Against U.S.A.I.D. — As the Trump administration works to dismantle the aid agency, right-wing influencers have flooded the internet with falsehoods about its work. — The video falsely claiming that the United States Agency for International …
Discussion:
NPR, Forbes, The Atlantic, The Guardian, TMZ.com, Althouse and Lee Fang, more at Mediagazer »
Kathryn Watson / CBS News:
Trump fires archivist of the United States, official who oversees government records — President Trump has fired Archivist of the United States Colleen J. Shogan, the government official responsible for preserving and providing access to government records.
Qasim Rashid / Let's Address This with Qasim Rashid:
AG Bondi to Criminally Prosecute Private Entities for DEIA — Bondi makes clear that the “again” in MAGA refers to the period of Jim Crow America — This week a contact at the DOJ sent me a dozen memos just been issued by new US Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Maya C. Miller / New York Times:
As Trump and Musk Upend Washington, Congressional Phones Can't Keep Up — In the three weeks since President Trump took office and gave Elon Musk free rein inside the federal government, millions of calls have poured in to members of Congress, jamming the system.
Discussion:
Breitbart and Washingtonian
Lorie Konish / CNBC:
RFK Jr. had up to $1.2 million in credit card debt — what experts say about tackling high balances … Americans' credit card balances soared to a record $1.17 trillion in 2024 — and even the wealthy are not immune from carrying these balances. — One example is Robert F. Kennedy Jr. …
Discussion:
CBS News
Joshua Keating / Vox:
Why Trump's plan to “clean out” Gaza actually matters — It's a safe bet that much of what President Donald Trump described in two press availabilities at the White House alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, as well as a follow-up social media post, is not going to happen.
Discussion:
The Forward, Washington Post and New York Times
David Enrich / New York Times:
Trump's New Line of Attack Against the Media Gains Momentum — First Amendment experts say Mr. Trump's lawsuits, based on an unproven legal theory, lack merit. But more could be on the way. — Media lawyers scoffed last year when President Trump sued two news organizations for producing journalism that …
Discussion:
Mercury News and Forbes
Amy Maxmen / KFF Health News:
Measles Outbreak Mounts Among Children in One of Texas' Least Vaccinated Counties — A measles outbreak is growing in a Texas county with dangerously low vaccination rates. — In late January, two school-age children from Gaines County were hospitalized with measles.
Discussion:
Ars Technica, CNN, The Hill, WAGA-TV and WXIA-TV


