Check out Mini-memeorandum for simple mobiles or memeorandum Mobile for modern smartphones.
1:25 AM ET, February 13, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
New York Times:
Live Updates: Federal Resignation Program Moves Ahead After Judge Signs Off  —  Where Things Stand  — Trimming federal work force: A federal judge said the Trump administration's deferred resignation program for federal workers could move forward, allowing the White House to advance …
Discussion: CNN, Forbes and Axios, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Trump closes down federal worker buyout offer after judge lifts hold  —  The administration moved to close the buyout program Wednesday evening after a federal judge in Massachusetts rejected a call from several labor groups that sued to block the initiative
The Boston Globe:
Judge clears way for Trump's plan to downsize federal workforce. Follow live updates.
Discussion: Associated Press
NBC News:
Judge rules Trump's sweeping plan to persuade federal workers to resign can move forward
Discussion: The National Pulse
Wall Street Journal:
Judge Lifts Freeze on Trump's Buyout Plan for Federal Workers
Discussion: Politico and USA Today
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:
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
Associated Press:
White House says it's the judges — not Trump — causing a ‘constitutional crisis’  —  In the weeks since Donald Trump returned to office, Democrats and legal scholars have warned that he's provoking a constitutional crisis by trying to expand his power and ignore laws that stand in his way.
RELATED:
Zoe Tillman / Bloomberg:
Trump Removal of Whistleblower Agency Head Blocked by Judge  — Judge held Trump's firing of Hampton Dellinger likely unlawful  — Other independent agency officials are suing over removals  —  A federal judge in Washington blocked for now President Donald Trump from removing the head …
Discussion: The Gateway Pundit
Dan Mangan / CNBC:
Elon Musk's X to pay about $10 million to settle 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.
RELATED:
J.D. Wolf / MeidasTouch News:
Pro-Hitler Ad Runs on Elon Musk's X Amid His Growing Ties to Trump
Discussion: MacRumors
Wall Street Journal:
Musk's X Agrees to Pay About $10 Million to Settle Trump Lawsuit
Rene Marsh / CNN:
Mass firings have begun at federal agencies  —  Mass firings have begun at federal agencies, with terminations of probationary employees underway at the Department of Education and the Small Business Administration, federal employees and union sources told CNN Wednesday.
Luis Ferré-Sadurní / New York Times:
New York Got $80 Million for Migrants.  The White House Took It Back.  —  The New York City comptroller's office, which first noticed the missing money, said that the Federal Emergency Management Agency had unilaterally taken the funds from the city's accounts.
RELATED:
Associated Press:
FEMA yanks back $80 million that New York City meant to cover hotel costs for migrants
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:
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.
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 …
New York Times:
Some Migrants Sent by Trump to Guantánamo Are Being Held by Military Guards  —  The Times has obtained a list of 53 Venezuelan men the Trump administration has put in a wartime prison built to hold Al Qaeda suspects.  —  Dozens of Venezuelan migrants sent by the Trump administration …
RELATED:
Teddy Rosenbluth / New York Times:
Measles Outbreak Hits Town in Texas  —  As of Tuesday, 22 children and two adults had been infected, all of whom were unvaccinated, local officials said.  —  A worsening measles outbreak has taken root in Texas, sickening two dozen and hospitalizing nine on the western edge of the state …
Discussion: ABC News, Ars Technica, CBS News and UPI
Abby Vesoulis / Mother Jones:
Sen. Elizabeth Warren's Two-Word Plan to Save the CFPB From Elon Musk  —  “Banks hated this agency from the first time I ever talked about it.”  —  Following the 2008 global financial crisis, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was established by Congress to reign …
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:
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 …
Josh Funk / Associated Press:
US eggs prices hit a record high of $4.95 and are likely to keep climbing  —  Egg prices hit a record high as the U.S. contends with an ongoing bird flu outbreak, but consumers didn't need government figures released Wednesday to tell them eggs are terribly expensive and hard to find at times because of an ongoing.
Dan Froomkin / Heads Up News:
What you can do to fight the Trump agenda  —  “What can I do?”  —  That's the question a lot of you are asking.  —  I've spent the last week exploring that question.  And the overarching answer, based on my research, is that you should reach out and make connections with others …
New York Times:
Behind Kennedy's Vow to ‘Follow the Science’ on Vaccines  —  Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cited a disputed study from a close network of fellow vaccine skeptics during his confirmation hearings.  His critics say it is part of a pattern that raises concerns about whose research he would elevate as health secretary.
Discussion: The Republic News and Breitbart
RELATED:
Daniel Payne / Politico:
Why the health care industry is letting RFK Jr. cruise to confirmation
Discussion: New York Times
Leah Feiger / Wired:
The GSA Plans to Sell Hundreds of Its Federal Government Buildings  —  The General Services Administration, staffed at its upper levels by Elon Musk associates, plans to sell 500-plus buildings—some of which house government agencies and the offices of US senators.
Peter Baker / New York Times:
Trump and Musk Hunt for Corruption, Very Selectively  —  Spending that the White House does not like is being labeled fraudulent.  At the same time, President Trump is rolling back anticorruption efforts and ethical standards for himself and allies like Elon Musk.
Discussion: LewRockwell
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.
Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:
“Largest data breach in US history”: Three more lawsuits try to stop DOGE … The US DOGE Service's access to the private data of ordinary Americans and federal employees is being challenged in several lawsuits filed this week.  —  Three new complaints seek court orders that would stop …
Oliver Darcy / Status:
A Runaway Carr  —  Pressed by Status over text message, FCC boss Brendan Carr defended his actions—including his decision not to go after Rupert Murdoch's Fox. … Carr had already revived petitions filed by pro-MAGA forces against ABC, NBC, and CBS.  He had also announced a string …
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 …
Holly Otterbein / Politico:
Bernie Sanders launches high-profile offensive against ‘the oligarchy’  —  “He likes spreading his message, and likes being adored,” a former aide said.  —  Bernie Sanders, the two-time presidential candidate, is barnstorming Iowa and Nebraska to rally voters against what he calls …
Justin Williams / New York Times:
Department of Education rescinds Title IX guidance that NIL payments must be proportionate  —  The U.S. Department of Education has officially rescinded a nine-page fact sheet on Title IX guidance that was released last month under the outgoing presidential administration, a move that was anticipated by many within college sports.
 
 
 Archived Page Info: 
This is a snapshot of memeorandum at 1:25 AM ET, February 13, 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: 
Mychael Schnell / The Hill:
House GOP budget resolution hangs in the balance as hardliners hold out support
Discussion: Raw Story
Justin Ling / Wired:
Revenge of the Covid Conspiracy Theorists
Joyce Vance / Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance:
Call it what it is.  —  A week ago, I wrote a piece here called “Is It Really a Coup?”
Discussion: Washington Post
The Guardian:
Musk's ‘efficiency’ agency site adds data from controversial rightwing thinktank
David Bauder / Associated Press:
White House says it has the right to punish AP reporters over Gulf naming dispute
Amir Khafagy / Documented:
After False ICE Raid Reports, New York Sikhs Mobilize Against Misinformation
Michael Woolf / RNS:
Ronald Reagan failed to end the sanctuary movement. Here's why Trump will too.
 Earlier Items: 
The Hill:
Dems to Musk: ‘Hands off’ Medicare, Medicaid
Discussion: Politico
Alex DeLuca / Miami New Times:
Inside Enrique Tarrio's Miami Return: Politics, the Proud Boys, and the Road Ahead
Discussion: Raw Story and Mediaite
Reese Gorman / NOTUS:
Republicans Face Their First Big Test on Reconciliation — And the White House Has Doubts About Success
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
Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
Top N.I.H. Official Abruptly Resigns as Trump Orders Deep Cuts
Discussion: CBS News
NBC News:
Senate votes to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as top U.S. intelligence official
 

 
From Techmeme:

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

Liv McMahon / BBC:
Vice President JD Vance, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr denounce the EU's €120M X fine

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

 
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