Check out Mini-memeorandum for simple mobiles or memeorandum Mobile for modern smartphones.
8:50 PM ET, February 12, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Lawrence Hurley / NBC News:
This obscure law is one reason Trump's agenda keeps losing in court  —  Lawsuits challenging Trump policies raise big constitutional questions, but they also rely on a law that requires the government to follow the correct procedures when changing course.  —  WASHINGTON — Lawyers challenging …
RELATED:
Associated Press:
White House says judges balking at Trump's actions are provoking a ‘constitutional crisis’  —  The White House said Wednesday that court rulings going against the Trump administration are coming from “judicial activists” on the bench whose decisions amount to a “constitutional crisis.”
Bill Scher / Washington Monthly:
It's a Good Thing Democrats Didn't Pack the Courts
Discussion: The Gateway Pundit
RELATED:
Washington Post:
New Kennedy Center board elects Trump as chair.  Rutter departs as president.  —  President Trump's refashioned board of trustees voted him chairman in a meeting Wednesday afternoon.  President Deborah Rutter told staff she was leaving the institution.  —  The Kennedy Center board …
Wall Street Journal:
Judge Lifts Freeze on Trump's Buyout Plan for Federal Workers
Discussion: Politico
Ryan Grim / Drop Site News:
“Armored Tesla” forecast to win $400 million State Department contract after Trump's election, government document shows  —  The State Department's procurement forecast, revised as of late December 2024, lists Tesla as the recipient of the largest expected contract, with Marco Rubio's department planning …
RELATED:
Miles Klee / Rolling Stone:
The Trump Administration Might Just Spend $400 Million on ‘Armored’ Teslas
Discussion: ABC News and El País
New York Times:
Live Updates: Trump Holds Call With Putin to Start Talks on Ending Ukraine War  —  Where Things Stand  — Trump-Putin call: President Trump said that he had “a lengthy and highly productive” call with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Wednesday that he characterized as the start of the negotiation to end the war in Ukraine.
RELATED:
NBC News:
Senate votes to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as top U.S. intelligence official  —  Gabbard overcame initial skepticism from some Republican senators about her nomination, underscoring Trump's grip on the party.  —  WASHINGTON — The GOP-controlled Senate early Wednesday morning voted …
Reese Gorman / NOTUS:
Republicans Face Their First Big Test on Reconciliation — And the White House Has Doubts About Success
New York Times:
Republicans Love Trump's Spending Cuts.  Just Not in Their States.  —  Even as they praise the president's unilateral actions to slash federal spending, G.O.P. lawmakers have quietly moved to seek carve outs or exemptions for their own constituents.  —  Republicans in Congress have responded …
Discussion: NBC News and Raw Story
RELATED:
NBC News:
House GOP releases budget calling for trillions in cuts to taxes and spending
Ben Leonard / Politico:
Energy and Commerce Committee's Medicaid problem just got tougher
Steve Benen / MSNBC:
Hegseth's rough start: Pentagon chief faces protest at U.S. base abroad  —  The question isn't why the defense secretary faced pushback at U.S. European Command headquarters; the question is whether he'll see more protests soon.  —  Though it still seems hard to believe, a couple of weeks ago …
RELATED:
U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell:
McConnell Comments on Gabbard Nomination  —  Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, issued the following statement today on the nomination of Tulsi Gabbard to serve as Director of National Intelligence:
RELATED:
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:   McConnell only Republican to vote against Gabbard
Wall Street Journal:
Musk's X Agrees to Pay About $10 Million to Settle Trump Lawsuit  —  Musk's platform becomes second social-media company to settle with Trump after Jan. 6, 2021 riot triggered bans  —  WASHINGTON—Elon Musk's X has agreed to pay about $10 million to settle a lawsuit that Donald Trump brought …
RELATED:
Dan Mangan / CNBC:
Elon Musk's company X settles Trump lawsuit over account suspension … Social media company X has agreed to pay about $10 million to settle a lawsuit by President Donald Trump, who has put X's billionaire owner Elon Musk in charge of a major government cost- and staff-cutting effort, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
Reuters:
US sues New York state officials over immigration enforcement, attorney general says  —  The U.S. Justice Department has sued New York State officials over alleged failures to enforce federal immigration law, Attorney General Pam Bondi told reporters on Wednesday.
Bobby Allyn / NPR:
Elon Musk's DOGE takes aim at agency that had plans of regulating X  —  Elon Musk made a big leap late last month toward his long-shot goal of turning X into an “everything app,” a service that could encompass a broad range of services, including the ability to transfer money, similar to Venmo or PayPal.
RELATED:
Abby Vesoulis / Mother Jones:
Sen. Elizabeth Warren's Two-Word Plan to Save the CFPB From Elon Musk
New York Times:
Trump Softens Tone on Inflation After Pledging to Lower Prices  —  President Trump pledged to lower costs on “Day 1” as a candidate.  His administration now acknowledges it will take more time.  —  President Trump promised voters that, if elected, he would enact policies that would bring prices down on “Day 1” in office.
RELATED:
Colby Smith / New York Times:
CPI Report: Inflation Rose Unexpectedly in January
Judd Legum / Popular Information:
BREAKING: NIH admits funding freeze is illegal, will resume issuing grants  —  On Monday afternoon, Popular Information broke the news that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) had frozen virtually all grant funding in violation of two federal court orders.
Associated Press:
Federal judge won't prevent withholding of FEMA funding for New York City migrant hotel stays  —  The Federal Emergency Management Agency has clawed back more than $80 million from New York City, officials said Wednesday, escalating a dispute between the Trump administration and the nation's largest city …
RELATED:
New York Daily News:
Trump revokes $80 million from NYC after threat to claw back FEMA cash used to care for migrants
NBC News:
Judge rules Trump's sweeping plan to persuade federal workers to resign can move forward  —  U.S. District Judge George A. O'Toole Jr. dissolved his restraining order blocking the “deferred resignations” program after finding the plaintiffs lacked legal standing.
Discussion: The National Pulse
RELATED:
New York Times:
Family of Venezuelan Migrant Sent to Guantánamo: ‘My Brother Is Not a Criminal.’ … Luis Alberto Castillo, a father of one from Venezuela, entered the United States on Jan. 19, one day before Donald Trump became president for a second term — swept into office on a promise to treat undocumented migrants with a heavy hand.
Nicholas Fandos / New York Times:
Eric Adams Discussed Possible Republican Primary Run With G.O.P. Leader  —  The mayor discussed options to run for re-election in the Republican contest as recently as Monday.  Asked for comment, he said he was running as a Democrat.  —  Mayor Eric Adams of New York City has quietly explored running …
Discussion: USA Today, Politico and Twin Cities
Daniel Payne / Politico:
Why the health care industry is letting RFK Jr. cruise to confirmation  —  From drugmakers to doctors, few health care groups are asking senators to block Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from becoming HHS secretary.  —  Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s expected Senate confirmation on Thursday to lead …
Discussion: New York Times
RELATED:
New York Times:
Behind Kennedy's Vow to ‘Follow the Science’ on Vaccines
Discussion: Breitbart
The Boston Globe:
Judge clears way for Trump's plan to downsize federal workforce.  Follow live updates.  —  A federal judge in Boston cleared the way for President Trump's plan to downsize the federal workforce with a deferred resignation program.  —  US District Judge George O'Toole Jr. found a group …
David Zipper / Slate:
Americans Are Actually in a Position to Make Elon Musk Feel Our Rage  —  The company is in a precarious position.  This is a case where buying choices can effectively communicate rage.  —  There are myriad reasons to loathe Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, who has become a top ally of Donald Trump.
Discussion: Raw Story and Forbes
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Her parents were injured in a Tesla crash. She ended up having to pay Tesla damages
Discussion: Electrek and TechCrunch
Timothy Gardner / Reuters:
Democratic US lawmakers ask Energy Department about any DOGE access to nuclear data  —  Two U.S. Democratic lawmakers pressed the secretary of energy on Wednesday whether members of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency have access to classified information on nuclear weapons …
more at Techmeme »
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Donald Trump is Now the Mayor of New York  —  The Trump DOJ's decision to drop charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams may not be the most serious act of prosecutorial corruption in decades but it's almost certainly the most brazen.  The stated reasons for dropping the charges were absurd …
 
 
 Archived Page Info: 
This is a snapshot of memeorandum at 8:50 PM ET, February 12, 2025.

View the current page or another snapshot:


 
 See Also: 
memeorandum: site main
memeorandum River: reverse chronological memeorandum
memeorandum Mobile: for phones
memeorandum Leaderboard: memeorandum's top sources
 
 Subscribe: 
memeorandum RSS feed
memeorandum on Mastodon
 
 
 More Items: 
Jessica Grose / New York Times:
The Risks Trump Poses to K-12 Education
Meredith Lee Hill / Politico:
House GOP budget plan targets deep SNAP cuts
Discussion: USA Today
ABC News:
US embassies instructed to prepare for staff reductions: Sources
Adam Cancryn / Politico:
RFK Jr. taps former border patrol agent as senior adviser
Leah Feiger / Wired:
The GSA Plans to Sell Hundreds of Its Federal Government Buildings
Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
Top N.I.H. Official Abruptly Resigns as Trump Orders Deep Cuts
Discussion: CBS News
 Earlier Items: 
Justine Calma / The Verge:
The Trump administration restores federal webpages after court order
Charles Franklin / Homepage:
New Marquette Law School Poll national survey finds public strongly favors some Trump policies, strongly opposes others
emptywheel:
Trump Fired Inspectors General Who Identified $183.5 Billion in Waste, Fraud, and Abuse
Discussion: CNN
ABC News:
US to swap Marc Fogel for Russian cybercrime kingpin Alexander Vinnik: Official
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
When President Musk Speaks, Donald Trump Listens
Discussion: NBC News
David Frum / The Atlantic:
Why the COVID Deniers Won
Discussion: The Democracy Labs
 

 
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

Oliver Darcy / Status:
Sources: David Ellison's interference in WBD's failed summer talks to extend HBO Max's South Park licensing deal left David Zaslav distrustful of Ellison

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”
 
Sister Sites:

Techmeme
 Top news and commentary for technology's leaders, from all around the web
Mediagazer
 Top news and commentary for media professionals from all around the web
WeSmirch
 The top celebrity news from all around the web on a single page