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2:55 PM ET, February 7, 2025

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Washington Post:
Treasury installs ally of Musk's DOGE as head of payment system  —  The move follows the ousting of a career official who rebuffed attempts to use the payment system to stop federal spending.  —  The Treasury Department will make an ally of billionaire Elon Musk's U.S. DOGE Service the head …
Time:
Inside Elon Musk's War on Washington  —  The standoff at 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue was not much of a spectacle. … The agency's staff refused.  No guns were drawn.  No punches thrown.  Nobody involved the police.  But in these early days of the Trump Administration …
Wired:
The US Treasury Claimed DOGE Technologist Didn't Have ‘Write Access’ When He Actually Did
Dominick Mastrangelo / The Hill:   New Time cover features Musk behind Resolute Desk
Annie Porter / Slate:
I Work in the Office Carrying Out the Government Purge.  Here's What I Want You to Know.  —  We're as freaked out and angry as everyone else.  —  I'm a career civil servant at the federal government's Office of Personnel Management, and I'm sorry.  Normally, the only time anyone hears …
Discussion: Washington Post, Steady and Raw Story
RELATED:
Newsweek:
DOGE Emails Went Out to Federal Judges by Mistake  —  One of the people who received an email from allies of  —  was a federal judge overseeing a lawsuit aimed at blocking these messages.  —  “I, like probably every other judge in the country, also received the [Office of Personnel Management] …
Scott Pilutik / Slate:
Why Elon Musk's Buyout Offer “Reads Like a Scam”  —  Elon Musk's “Fork in the Road” email offering 2.3 million federal civil servants a “deferred resignation” through September set off a number of legal questions this country has never been forced to consider, and they're finally making their way to federal court.
Gordon Brown / The Guardian:
Be clear about what Trump and Musk's aid axe will do: people will face terror and starve, many will die  —  The decimation of USAid is already having a terrible effect in some of the poorest places on the planet.  It damages America: it will harm us all  —  An earthquake of magnitude 7.0 or above could not have caused more carnage.
Discussion: New York Times
RELATED:
New Republic:
Transcript: Trump's Angry USAID Rant Undercut by Surprise Rubio Video
Dan Mangan / CNBC:
Vance tells Musk that DOGE staffer who resigned after posting racist tweets should be rehired … Vice President JD Vance on Friday called for the rehiring of a DOGE staffer who resigned from a sensitive Trump administration post over the exposure of tweets advocating for racism and eugenics.
RELATED:
Isaac Schorr / Mediaite:
Elon Musk Demands Firing of ‘Disgusting and Cruel’ WSJ Reporter Who Uncovered DOGE Employee's Racist Tweets  —  Elon Musk, the richest man in the world and head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), suggested that The Wall Street Journal reporter responsible for uncovering …
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.
Andrew Solender / Axios:
Scoop: Jeffries' centrists press him to let them vote for GOP bills … - The discussion, according to one House Democrat who was present, centered on giving centrist and swing-district Democrats “flexibility to take certain votes.” … - Said another member who was at the meeting …
Discussion: NOTUS
RELATED:
Joseph Menn / Washington Post:
U.K. orders Apple to let it spy on users' encrypted accounts  —  Secret order requires blanket access to protected cloud backups around the world, which if implemented would undermine Apple's privacy pledge to its users.  —  Security officials in the United Kingdom have demanded that Apple create …
Michael Sainato / The Guardian:
‘Constitutional emergency’: senior US Democrat demands inquiry into Musk's government blitz  —  Exclusive: Bobby Scott sounds alarm over ‘void of oversight’ as Doge accesses sensitive data within US agencies  —  Elon Musk's blitz through the US federal government has triggered a …
Discussion: Nextgov/FCW and Democracy Docket
Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:
How to Win the USAID Fight  —  First up: Sarah and I argued about everything on the Secret pod today.  The show is here.  —  Second: An update on yesterday's story about the confusion surrounding Trump's (maybe?) firing the head of the National Archives.  There had been conflicting reports …
Discussion: DNyuz
Peter Zimonjic / CBC News:
Trudeau tells business leaders at economic summit Trump's 51st state threat ‘is a real thing’  —  PM meeting business leaders, unions to discuss fortifying Canada's trade in face of Trump's tariff threat  —  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told business leaders at the Canada-U.S. Economic Summit …
Public Notice:
The “cognitively irresponsible” presidency  —  “It's a giveaway that a leader is an authoritarian,” Jen Mercieca tells us.  —  ∙ Paid … 🗣️ 🎤 🤯  —  The volume of BS that Donald Trump blasts into the public sphere on a daily basis is flabbergasting.
Rolling Stone:
Dem Overseeing ‘Digital Assets’ to Hold Luxury Retreat With Crypto Kingpin  —  Ruben Gallego, Arizona's new senator, is set to hold a fundraising weekend with Silicon Valley investor Marc Andreessen and blogger Matt Yglesias  —  Freshman Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego was recently named …
Discussion: Gizmodo and New York Times
The Hill:
Judges curb Trump's sweeping executive actions  —  Federal judges are curbing President Trump's sweeping directives to reshape the government, issuing a flurry of rulings blocking his agenda from charging forward.  —  More than three dozen lawsuits have been filed challenging major …
Discussion: Townhall
Andrea Long Chu / New York Magazine:
Goodbye, Pamela Paul … Goodbye, Pamela Paul!  You hardly knew us.  —  The controversial columnist is exiting the New York Times “Opinion” section this spring as part of a wave of job cuts.  In 2022, after a decade of editing the Book Review, Paul joined “Opinion,” where she quickly gained …
Ezra Klein / New York Times:
What Elon Musk Wants  —  This is an edited transcript of an episode of “The Ezra Klein Show.”  You can listen to the conversation by following or subscribing to the show on the NYT Audio App, Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts.
Discussion: HotAir, CNN and Grabien
New York Times:
Young Aides Emerge as Enforcers in Musk's Broadside Against Government  —  Much of the billionaire's handiwork — gaining access to internal systems and asking employees to justify their jobs — is being driven by a group of engineers operating in secrecy.  —  At the end of his third week …
Derrick Bryson Taylor / New York Times:
Ye Takes Back Apology and Calls Himself a Nazi in Social Media Rant  —  The rapper praised Hitler and took back an apology he made in 2023 for his past antisemitic remarks.  —  Ye, the rapper and designer formerly known as Kanye West, took back the apology he made in 2023 …
Caleb Brennan / Heartland Signal:
Controversial Christian nationalist legislation introduced in North Dakota House  —  At the start of the new legislative session, a group of North Dakota legislators put forward a potentially unconstitutional resolution that would have the state “acknowledge the Kingship of Jesus Christ.”
Politico:
Trump considering Blagojevich for ambassador to Serbia  —  The former governor of Illinois, whose corruption conviction sentence Trump commuted, chaired a group called Serbians for Trump in the 2024 election.  —  President Donald Trump is considering nominating former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich …
Discussion: Raw Story
Russell Contreras / Axios:
Exclusive: Jewish groups rebuke Trump on immigration, Musk moves … - The groups emphasize that legitimate policy debates and disagreements are fine — and note that there are disputes among the letter's signees — but say Trump's recent actions go far beyond that.
Discussion: Sun-Sentinel
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
MAGA's Sickening Hypocrisy: From ‘Save The Children’ To ‘Defund The Org That Actually Saves Children’  —  After years of screaming “save the children” while baselessly accusing others of exploiting kids, the Trump administration is now trying to destroy the actual infrastructure that saves children.
Discussion: The Verge
CNN:
‘Treated like criminals’: Shackling of Indians aboard 40-hour migrant flight sparks new outrage against Trump  —  New Delhi CNN —  US officials kept around 100 deported Indian migrants in shackles for their 40-hour flight home, including during bathroom breaks, in the latest incident …
Brian Barrett / Wired:
The US Government Is Not a Startup  —  Elon Musk is moving fast and breaking things that can't afford to be broken.  —  It feels like no one should have to say this, and yet we are in a situation where it needs to be said, very loudly and clearly, before it's too late to do anything about it: The United States is not a startup.
Discussion: Townhall and Washington Post
The White House:
Amendment to Duties Addressing the Synthetic Opioid Supply Chain in the People's Republic of China  —  By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) …
Reese Gorman / NOTUS:
GOP Lawmakers Are Already Annoyed by Trump's Chaotic Governing Style  —  “Hard to defend controversial executive orders when there's no heads-up nor rationale,” one GOP lawmaker told NOTUS.  — Copy  —  After a turbulent few weeks to begin his presidency, Republicans in Congress …
Makena Kelly / Wired:
DOGE Builds ‘Firewall’ Between Musk's Team and Legacy USDS Workers  —  “As far as I can tell, they're hiding,” one USDS employee said about the DOGE team.  —  The Department of Government Efficiency has built a “firewall” separating Elon Musk's team from the 200 or so legacy workers employed …
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.  —  USE OUR CONTENT  —  In late January, two school-age children from Gaines County were hospitalized with measles.
Discussion: WAGA-TV and WXIA-TV
CBS News:
Trump considering allowing sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel  —  President Trump is considering allowing Japan's Nippon Steel to complete its $14.1 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel, according to multiple sources.  —  Approval of the transaction isn't definite, and Mr. Trump has not made a final decision, sources say.
Robert Downen / The Texas Tribune:
Houston man pardoned by Trump arrested on child sex charge  —  Andrew Taake received a six-year sentence for assaulting officers on Jan. 6.  He was arrested Thursday on an outstanding charge of soliciting a minor.  —  A Houston man who was recently pardoned by President Donald Trump for his role …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Katherine Stewart / New York Times:
Now Will We Believe What Is Happening Right in Front of Us?
Discussion: Just Security
Dan Hon / MIT Technology Review:
From COBOL to chaos: Elon Musk, DOGE, and the Evil Housekeeper Problem
Rebecca Beitsch / The Hill:
Exclusive: ACLU asks Congress to investigate plans to fire ‘probationary’ federal employees
Associated Press:
Live poultry markets ordered shut in New York City due to avian flu outbreak
Lauren Villagran / USA Today:
ACLU demands access to Guantanamo immigrant detention center
Discussion: Reuters, CBS News and KRDO
 Earlier Items: 
Reuters:
Exclusive: Zelenskiy says 'Let's do a deal', offering Trump mineral partnership, seeking security
Discussion: Al Jazeera
Zack Budryk / The Hill:
Transportation Department suspends $5 billion EV charger program
Discussion: Politico
Adrian Carrasquillo / The Bulwark:
Trump's Deportation Dragnet Widens and Puerto Ricans Are Getting Caught in It
Matthew Continetti / freebeacon.com:
Trump's Youth Revolution
Discussion: American Thinker
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
Netflix agrees to acquire WBD's studios and streaming business in an $82.7B cash-and-stock deal, including debt, to close after WBD splits in two in Q3 2026

Alexandra Steigrad / New York Post:
Sources: Forbes has cut ties with dozens of contributing writers; one exec said Forbes needs to ensure the contributor model is “financially sound”

Liam Scott / Columbia Journalism Review:
A look at the First Amendment Watch's SLAPP Back Initiative, a US SLAPP tracker; in 2024, 69 of 500 cases involved the media, of which 46 were dismissed

 
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