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2:45 PM ET, February 7, 2025

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RELATED:
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 …
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.
Wired:
The US Treasury Claimed DOGE Technologist Didn't Have ‘Write Access’ When He Actually Did  —  Sources tell WIRED that the ability of DOGE's Marko Elez to alter code controlling trillions in federal spending was rescinded days after US Treasury and White House officials said it didn't exist.
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
Rachel Wolf / Fox News:
Democrats try to enter Department of Education amid outrage over possible DOGE cuts  —  As they surrounded a man in front of Department of Education door, lawmakers repeatedly insisted that they had the right to enter the building  —  Thirty House Democrats on Friday morning attempted …
RELATED:
Andrew Solender / Axios:
Scoop: Jeffries' centrists press him to let them vote for GOP bills
Discussion: NOTUS
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.
Matthew Continetti / freebeacon.com:
Trump's Youth Revolution  —  Column: How America's oldest president became a Gen Z icon  —  News alert: Washington Post journalists are panicked that some DOGE employees previously worked at Elon Musk's private-sector companies and “are in their early 20s.”  —  The horror.
Discussion: American Thinker
RELATED:
Zack Budryk / The Hill:
Transportation Department suspends $5 billion EV charger program  —  The Federal Highway Administration (FHA) on Thursday announced the suspension of a Biden-era electric vehicle (EV) charging network, the latest in a series of moves by the Trump administration to gut its predecessors' energy and environmental moves.
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
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 …
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 …
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
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.
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 …
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
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 …
Lauren Villagran / USA Today:
ACLU demands access to Guantanamo immigrant detention center  —  The ACLU on Friday demanded attorneys be granted access to immigrants shipped to Guantanamo, saying the law forbids the government from using the prison as “a legal black hole.”  —  The Trump administration has transferred …
Discussion: Reuters, CBS News and KRDO
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
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 …
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
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.
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.”
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 …
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 …
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: 
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
The Hill:
Judges curb Trump's sweeping executive actions
Discussion: Townhall
Associated Press:
Live poultry markets ordered shut in New York City due to avian flu outbreak
The White House:
Amendment to Duties Addressing the Synthetic Opioid Supply Chain in the People's Republic of China
Reuters:
Exclusive: Zelenskiy says 'Let's do a deal', offering Trump mineral partnership, seeking security
Discussion: Al Jazeera
 Earlier Items: 
Brian Barrett / Wired:
The US Government Is Not a Startup
Discussion: Townhall and Washington Post
Amy Maxmen / KFF Health News:
Measles Outbreak Mounts Among Children in One of Texas' Least Vaccinated Counties
Discussion: WAGA-TV and WXIA-TV
Adrian Carrasquillo / The Bulwark:
Trump's Deportation Dragnet Widens and Puerto Ricans Are Getting Caught in It
 

 
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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

Foo Yun Chee / Reuters:
The EU fines X €120M for breaching online content rules, the first fine under the DSA, citing issues like its deceptive blue checkmarks, after a two-year probe

Echo Wang / Reuters:
Meta acquires Limitless, which makes a pendant-style AI wearable that records and transcribes real-world conversations; Limitless has raised more than $33M

 
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