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10:05 AM ET, February 13, 2025

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 Top Items: 
Bobby Allyn / NPR:
Trump administration set to purchase $400 million worth of armored Teslas  —  The Trump administration is expected to purchase $400 million worth of armored Tesla vehicles, according to a new State Department document detailing procurement for fiscal year 2025.
RELATED:
Chad De Guzman / Time:
Mention of Tesla Removed From $400 Million State Dept. Contract Amid Scrutiny of Musk  —  The State Department was planning to buy $400 million worth of “Armored Tesla” later this year, according to its 2025 procurement forecast, a document outlining projections of anticipated contracts, which was published in December.
Discussion: Alternet.org and Crooks and Liars
Politico:
Playbook: A make-or-break moment  —  With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine  —  Good morning.  This is Eugene Daniels in the driver's seat on a consequential day for the House GOP, President Trump's legislative agenda, American health care, the FBI, India and all of Europe.
Discussion: Punchbowl News and New York Times
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 …
Jack Ewing / New York Times:
State Dept. Plans $400 Million Purchase of Armored Tesla Cybertrucks
Discussion: The Independent
Politico:
Johnson's budget dare
Discussion: Semafor and E&E News
Financial Times:
Donald Trump opens the door to Vladimir Putin's grandest ambitions  —  Russian leader wants a new security architecture to give his country a sphere of influence in Europe  —  Vladimir Putin's initial plan to capture Ukraine in a few days ended in disaster.
RELATED:
Politico:
Europe braces for a future without the US as a reliable ally  —  European defense leaders are preparing for a tense gathering with the Trump team.  —  MUNICH — European allies are bracing this week for the answer to a question they've been dreading to ask: Can they really count on the United States?
Bloomberg:
Trump Pushes Fading Zelenskiy Toward Risky Ukraine Election
Discussion: Reuters and El País
Zachary Basu / Axios:
Hegseth's Ukraine bombshell and Trump's Putin call leave NATO reeling
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
RELATED:
Axios:   Behind the Curtain: Masculine maximalism
Washington Post:   Trump takes aim at agencies that police wrongdoing, protect federal workers
Christopher F. Schuetze / New York Times:
Dozens Injured as Driver Crashes Car Into Munich Protest  —  The authorities believe the crash, into a union's strike-day demonstration, was a deliberate attack carried out by a 24-year-old man who was known to the police.  —  More than two dozen people were injured when a car crashed …
RELATED:
Igor Bobic / HuffPost:
Democratic Sen. John Fetterman: 'There Isn't A Constitutional Crisis'  —  Everyone needs to cool it on the rhetoric, the Pennsylvania senator said Wednesday.  —  LOADING  —  Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) urged everyone to tone down the rhetoric about President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk moving …
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
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Trump and Musk can't seem to locate much evidence of fraud  —  They keep justifying their bold moves as combating fraud, but they have been unable so far to point to much of anything specific that's actually fraudulent.  —  President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's efforts to disrupt …
RELATED:
Peter Baker / New York Times:
Trump and Musk Hunt for Corruption, Very Selectively
Discussion: LewRockwell
Judd Legum / Popular Information:
Trump executive order leads to $100 energy bill hike for hundreds in Alabama  —  Donald Trump promised that, as president, he would drastically lower Americans' energy bills.  “[W]e're going to make it a much — a much different place,” Trump said during a November 14 speech at Mar-a-Lago.
Discussion: Roll Call
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:
Brittany Gibson / Axios:
Trump's mass deportation plan hits its own wall
Discussion: NBC News
Sadanand Dhume / Wall Street Journal:
If Indians and Pakistanis Can Relocate, Why Can't Gazans?  —  Population transfers aren't a Trump innovation.  There are plenty of examples from the 20th century.  —  President Trump's idea that the U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip and relocate two million Palestinians has elicited outrage and derision.
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.
Washington Post:
Justice, FBI ousters remove longtime experts from daily threats meeting  —  Trump administration shake-ups at the Justice Department and FBI have eroded continuity on national security matters, people familiar with the situation said.  —  Every morning at 9:45, top FBI and Justice Department officials meet …
Eliot Chen / The Wire China:
DOGE's Latest Target is Seen as a Gift to the CCP … The Treasury Department has frozen funding disbursements to the National Endowment for Democracy, a U.S.-government funded organization that promotes democracy around the world and is a longtime bugbear of the Chinese Communist Party.
RELATED:
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 …
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 …
Washington Post:
Musk team kicks off federal layoffs as White House eyes big cuts  —  The Trump administration's plan for shrinking the civilian workforce is coming into increasingly clear view.  —  Billionaire Elon Musk's team has initiated sweeping layoffs of federal employees, as the Trump administration races …
Discussion: Axios and Raw Story
RELATED:
Noah Weiland / New York Times:   Trump Tests Legal Limits in Pushing out Federal Employees
Jonathan Lambert / NPR:
Sen. Ted Cruz's list of ‘woke’ science includes self-driving cars and solar eclipses  —  There is nothing like being in the path of totality during a total solar eclipse.  —  “For just a few minutes, it feels like the whole world stands still and yet everything changes,” says Corinne Brevik …
David Bixenspan / Public Notice:
Linda McMahon is much worse than you think  —  💭 🤔 💥 With corporate outlets obeying in advance, supporting independent political media is more important right now than ever.  Public Notice is possible thanks to paid subscribers.  If you aren't one already …
Discussion: NBC News and Associated Press
Axios:
Trump nominations loom over Senate's cherished Munich trip … - In an email to senators, Thune warned they may have to stay in town to vote on President Trump's nominations on Friday, sources familiar with the matter told Axios.  — That would delay, and potentially cancel …
Discussion: Punchbowl News
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.
Joseph Choi / The Hill:
Trump's move to slash research funding shakes medical community  —  Efforts by the Trump administration to drastically cut federal investments in medical research are threatening to kneecap major research institutions and stifle scientific progress to combat chronic illnesses.
Politico:
EU Parliament urges lawmakers to only use encrypted messages after China hacks  —  The advice comes after it was revealed that a China-linked hacking group conducted large-scale intrusions on U.S. and global telecommunication providers.  —  The European Parliament has asked lawmakers …
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: The Independent, USA Today and Politico
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.
Washington Post:
Trump's inflation problem  —  The Washington Post's essential guide to power and influence in D.C.  —  with research by Alec Dent  —  Good morning, Early Birds.  Happy Galentine's Day to those who celebrate.  Send tips to [email protected].  Thanks for waking up with us.
 
 
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 More Items: 
Sergio Hernández / ProPublica:
ProPublica Updates Supreme Connections Database With Previously Missing Disclosures
Megan Brenan / Gallup:
More Democrats Favor Party Moderation Than in Past
Discussion: Semafor
Ken Bensinger / New York Times:
How Elon Musk and the Right Are Trying to Recast Reporting as ‘Doxxing’
more at Mediagazer »
Oliver Darcy / Status:
A Runaway Carr  —  Pressed by Status over text message, FCC boss Brendan Carr defended his actions …
Discussion: New York Post
 Earlier Items: 
Justin Ling / Wired:
Revenge of the Covid Conspiracy Theorists
Zoe Tillman / Bloomberg:
Trump Removal of Whistleblower Agency Head Blocked by Judge
Discussion: The Gateway Pundit
Holly Otterbein / Politico:
Bernie Sanders launches high-profile offensive against ‘the oligarchy’
Discussion: PoliticusUSA
Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:
“Largest data breach in US history”: Three more lawsuits try to stop DOGE
Dan Froomkin / Heads Up News:
What you can do to fight the Trump agenda
U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell:
McConnell Comments on Gabbard Nomination
 

 
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
 
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