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.
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Hackwhackers and Alternet.org
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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:
Crooks and Liars
Jack Ewing / New York Times:
State Dept. Plans $400 Million Purchase of Armored Tesla Cybertrucks — The department plans to buy armored Tesla vehicles. Elon Musk, who is leading efforts to cut government spending, has won more than $13 billion in government contracts in the past five years.
Discussion:
Futurism and The Independent
Jack Ewing / New York Times:
State Department Revises Plan to Buy Armored Teslas
State Department Revises Plan to Buy Armored Teslas
Discussion:
Alternet.org, Fortune and Raw Story
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.
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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?
Discussion:
The Guardian, CBS News, Reuters, Politico, Telegraph, Financial Times, Defense One, Responsible Statecraft, Bloomberg, The New European, New York Post, Foreign Policy and BBC
The Bulwark:
A Valentine for Vladimir — Plus: How did the federal government take $80 million out of a private bank account?
Discussion:
Gazette, The Defense Post, Writing from London, The Guardian, Politico and Grabien
Zachary Basu / Axios:
Hegseth's Ukraine bombshell and Trump's Putin call leave NATO reeling
Hegseth's Ukraine bombshell and Trump's Putin call leave NATO reeling
Discussion:
Fox News, Bloomberg, The Gateway Pundit, EADaily, ZeroHedge News, New York Times, CNN, KFTC-TV, Chicago Tribune, Reuters, HuffPost, Foreign Policy, Raw Story, Semafor, Al Jazeera, Daily Mail, Kyodo News+, Atlantic Council, Politico, Washington Post, Associated Press, ABC News, New York Post, The Guardian, Vox, Diplomatic,, The Independent, Roll Call, El País, One America News Network, The Post Millennial, New Republic, U.S. Department of Defense, NPR, Baltimore Sun, Breitbart, San Diego Union-Tribune, Ace of Spades HQ, Scottie's Playtime, WTTG-TV, The American Conservative, Saywhat Politics and MPR News
Jakub Krupa / The Guardian:
Politicians weigh in on immigration debate after 28 injured as car hits crowd in Munich - Europe live
Politicians weigh in on immigration debate after 28 injured as car hits crowd in Munich - Europe live
Discussion:
Reuters, Politico, Global News, New York Post, CBS News, The National Pulse, Al Jazeera, Metro.co.uk, Fortune and Semafor
Aamer Madhani / Associated Press:
VP Vance is visiting the Dachau concentration camp memorial on eve of his big meeting with Zelenskyy
VP Vance is visiting the Dachau concentration camp memorial on eve of his big meeting with Zelenskyy
Discussion:
Daily Mail, Fox News, Shore News Network, IJR, CBS News, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Fox Business and Deseret News
Politico:
Russia rejoices at Trump-Putin call as Zelenskyy rejects talks without Ukraine present
Russia rejoices at Trump-Putin call as Zelenskyy rejects talks without Ukraine present
Discussion:
The Guardian, Reuters, Daily Mail, The National Interest, ZeroHedge News, New York Post, The Daily Wire, Patterico's Pontifications, Fox News, The Poke, Politico, Associated Press, Alternet.org, EADaily, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, The Economist, One America News Network, CBS News, New York Times, New York Daily News, NBC News, Bloomberg, Forbes and New Jersey Online
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 …
Discussion:
The Independent, Raw Story, Plain Dealer, Washington Examiner, Futurism, HuffPost, The Japan Times, Associated Press, New York Times, The Borowitz Report, USA Today and NPR
RELATED:
Paul Krugman:
Elon Musk Is Faking It
Discussion:
Letters from an American, Blaze Media, RedState, Agence France-Presse, Alternet.org, New Republic, Twitchy, Fox Business, Breitbart and New York Times
Peter Baker / New York Times:
Trump and Musk Hunt for Corruption, Very Selectively
Trump and Musk Hunt for Corruption, Very Selectively
Discussion:
RedState, The Independent and LewRockwell
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 …
Discussion:
NPR, Digby's Hullabaloo, Townhall, The Gateway Pundit, The Independent, Axios, USA Today and Mother Jones
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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:
Associated Press and NBC News
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Avery Lotz / Axios:
Linda McMahon auditions to lead Education Department Trump wants to eliminate
Linda McMahon auditions to lead Education Department Trump wants to eliminate
Discussion:
Reuters, Breitbart, NBC News, NPR, New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, CBS News, NOTUS, Carolina Journal and HuffPost
Zack Beauchamp / Vox:
How to stop Trump's power grab — At this point, there is little doubt that President Donald Trump and Elon Musk are engaged in a fundamentally unlawful effort to rewrite the American constitutional order. Their efforts to redirect federal spending are attempts to seize Congress's power of the purse …
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 …
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 …
Discussion:
Fox News, Daily Kos, Associated Press, The Federalist, Washington Examiner, E&E News, Above the Law and NPR
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
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.
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
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
Discussion:
Reuters, The Post Millennial, The Independent, New Republic, Daily Mail, NBC News, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Townhall, Semafor, HotAir, WAGA-TV, Raw Story and Fox News
RELATED:
Shelby Talcott / Semafor:
75,000 workers accept Trump's buyout program
75,000 workers accept Trump's buyout program
Discussion:
Scripps News, Washington Examiner, Business Insider, NBC News, Associated Press, Breitbart, Reason, ZeroHedge News, Axios, USA Today, Bloomberg and Reuters
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.
Discussion:
Nextgov/FCW, Wired, NPR, GovExec.com, Business Insider, New Republic, Fortune and Bloomberg
City & State New York:
Trump administration sues NY over ‘Green Light’ law — The 2019 law lets undocumented immigrants get driver's licenses and prevents federal immigration authorities from accessing DMV data without a warrant. — U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announces a lawsuit against New York state on Feb. 12, 2025.
Discussion:
New York Times, Associated Press, The Guardian, Bloomberg, Fox News and Forbes
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:
Lawyers, Guns & Money, ABC News, CBS News, Ars Technica and UPI
David Kurtz / Talking Points Memo:
The White House Is Now Running The Justice Department — A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM's Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version. — As Bad As It Gets — The dangerous co-optation of the Justice Department by the Trump White House continues in ways both substantive and symbolic.
Phelim Kine / Politico:
Elon Musk's attacks on a group long backed by the GOP prompt Republican shrugs — A funding freeze is pushing the National Endowment for Democracy and groups it supports toward shutdown. — One of Elon Musk's latest targets is a nonprofit dedicated to bolstering democracy overseas that has long been a darling of the GOP.
Discussion:
Just Security, The Gateway Pundit, Drezner's World, Nudity and Nerdery and The National Pulse
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 …
Discussion:
RedState, The War Zone and Washington Post
Joe Rossignol / MacRumors:
Apple Resumes Advertising on X — Apple this month started advertising on X for the first time in more than a year. The company had stopped advertising on the social media platform in November 2023 following controversial remarks made by its owner Elon Musk.
Discussion:
MeidasTouch News, The Verge and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »
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 …
Discussion:
Associated Press and Breitbart
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:
New York Times, Axios, The Independent and Raw Story
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.
Discussion:
Hell Gate, Associated Press, Law and Chaos, Daily Mail, The Independent, Above the Law, Politico, The City, New York Magazine, abc7NY, New York Post, Forbes and New York Daily News
Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal:
Jayapal Introduces Constitutional Amendment to Reverse Citizens United — WASHINGTON — U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) introduced an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would end corporate personhood, reverse Citizens United, put power back into the hands of people, and make it clear that money does not equal speech.


