Top Items:
Washington Post:
Top Social Security official exits after clash with Musk's DOGE over data — Yet another top career staffer is leaving the administration amid a disagreement over a request by Elon Musk's team for sensitive government information.
Discussion:
The Hill, Axios, Fox News, New York Post, The 19th, NBC News, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Gateway Pundit, Daily Mail, Raw Story, Digby's Hullabaloo, Mediaite and Talking Points Memo
RELATED:
Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Who's in charge of DOGE? Not Elon Musk, White House says — A Trump administration personnel official says Musk has “no actual or formal authority to make government decisions.” — Elon Musk is not the leader of DOGE — the mysterious Trump administration operation overseeing an effort to break and remake the federal bureaucracy.
Discussion:
The Fucking News and The Gateway Pundit
New York Times:
Top Social Security Official Leaves After Musk Team Seeks Data Access
Top Social Security Official Leaves After Musk Team Seeks Data Access
Discussion:
The Independent, Fox News, PoliticusUSA, RedState, Grabien and Daily Kos
Associated Press:
Judge to rule swiftly on effort to block DOGE from assessing data and firing federal employees
Judge to rule swiftly on effort to block DOGE from assessing data and firing federal employees
Discussion:
Fox News, The Hill, Raw Story, Scripps News, NBC News, Washington Examiner, RedState and The Gateway Pundit
Reuters:
Judge appears inclined to deny request to block DOGE's mass firings, access to data
Judge appears inclined to deny request to block DOGE's mass firings, access to data
Discussion:
IJR, HotAir, Fox News, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Politico, The Post Millennial, UPI and Reuters
Declan Harty / Politico:
Musk's DOGE expected to arrive at SEC in coming days
Musk's DOGE expected to arrive at SEC in coming days
Discussion:
Washington Post, CoinDesk, The Independent, The Hill and Fox Business
David Gilbert / Wired:
No, 150-Year-Olds Aren't Collecting Social Security Benefits — Elon Musk claims to have found rampant fraud in the Social Security Administration. There's a much simpler explanation. — Elon Musk has repeatedly claimed that his so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) …
Discussion:
Poynter, PolitiFact, New York Post and Washington Examiner
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Social Security head steps down over DOGE access of recipient information, sources say — The Social Security Administration's acting commissioner has stepped down from her role at the agency over Department of Government Efficiency requests to access Social Security recipient information …
Discussion:
IJR, ABC News, CBS News and Daily Mail
New York Daily News:
NYC Mayor Adams calls demands to resign over Trump DOJ indictment dismissal a ‘modern day Mein Kampf,’ sparking outrage — Mayor Adams contended Monday that renewed calls for his resignation over President Trump's Justice Department bid to drop his corruption indictment amounts to …
Discussion:
Raw Story and New York Post
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Governor weighs removing NYC Mayor Adams after his top deputies quit amid criminal case turmoil
Discussion:
USA Today, New York Times, New York Post, The Post Millennial, Townhall, Fox News, Mediaite, Associated Press, Bloomberg, ABC News, The Hill and Politico
Governor Kathy Hochul:
Statement from Governor Kathy Hochul
Statement from Governor Kathy Hochul
Discussion:
Politico, New York Daily News, Lawyers, Guns & Money, NPR and Fox News
New York Times:
Under Trump's Mass Deportation Plan, Some Migrants Are Being Sent to Panama — Migrants deported from the United States are being held at the Decapolis Hotel Panama in Panama City. The deportees come from Afghanistan, Iran, China and other nations. — They arrived at the United States border …
Discussion:
New York Post
New York Times:
Thousands Gather on Presidents' Day to Call Trump a Tyrant — Thousands of protesters opposing broad swaths of President Trump's agenda took to the streets across the country, including outside the U.S. Capitol. — Thousands of protesters opposing broad swaths of President Trump's agenda took …
Discussion:
Associated Press
RELATED:
Tim Dickinson / Rolling Stone:
‘No Kings Day’: Protesters Denounce Trump and Musk
‘No Kings Day’: Protesters Denounce Trump and Musk
Discussion:
Axios, The Indian Express, Twitchy, WMTW-TV, KFOR-TV, TechCrunch, The Hill, The Gateway Pundit, Daily Kos, Denver Post, Scripps News, PoliticusUSA, Daily Mail and New Republic
Remy Tumin / New York Times:
Delta Plane Overturns at Toronto Airport While Landing — The airport said on social media that emergency teams were responding and that all passengers and crew were accounted for. — A Delta Air Lines flight arriving at Toronto Pearson Airport from Minneapolis appears to have overturned …
Discussion:
CBC News, The Hill, CTV News, Fox News, CNN, New York Post, USA Today, RTÉ, Reuters, Forbes, Wall Street Journal, IJR, NPR, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, Al Jazeera, Washington Examiner, UPI, New York Daily News, WHDH-TV, Fox Business, WAGA-TV, The Daily Wire, CBS News, Townhall, Mediaite, The Indian Express, RedState, San Diego Union-Tribune, The Japan Times, Associated Press, PBS NewsHour, Breitbart, One America News Network, TMZ.com and Politico
Reuters:
Exclusive: FDA staff reviewing Musk's Neuralink were included in DOGE employee firings, sources say — U.S. Food and Drug Administration employees reviewing Elon Musk's brain implant company Neuralink were fired over the weekend as part of a broader purge of the federal workforce, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter.
Discussion:
Raw Story
New York Times:
C.I.A. Expands Secret Drone Flights Over Mexico — The covert program, begun during the Biden administration and stepped up by President Trump, is hunting for the location of fentanyl labs. — The United States has stepped up secret drone flights over Mexico to hunt for fentanyl labs …
BBC:
Putin ready to speak to Zelensky ‘if necessary’, Kremlin says as US and Russia hold talks — Summary — The US and Russia are holding talks in Saudi Arabia about the war in Ukraine - it's the first in-person meeting since Moscow's full-scale invasion three years ago
Discussion:
Reuters, Fortune, Bloomberg, The Moderate Voice, Semafor, CNN, The American Conservative, Associated Press, Politico and The Indian Express
RELATED:
Mark Hertling / The Bulwark:
Marco Rubio Is Walking into a Trap
Discussion:
Newsweek and Washington Examiner
Timothy Snyder / Thinking about:
Peace or Partition? — Russians and Americans speak about Ukraine, without Ukrainians
Peace or Partition? — Russians and Americans speak about Ukraine, without Ukrainians
Discussion:
CNN, NBC News, Washington Post, Bloomberg, UPI, The Federalist, New York Times, New York Daily News, The Independent, Al Jazeera, Reuters, Forbes, The Japan Times, The Gateway Pundit and Daily Mail
Sunjeev Bery / The Intercept:
This Is the Way to Stop Elon Musk — With the backing of President Donald Trump, Elon Musk has embarked on an unconstitutional rampage against the federal government. The world's wealthiest man is trying to shut down key agencies and programs that protect the health, welfare, and prosperity of millions of Americans.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Julia Ainsley / NBC News:
Department of Homeland Security preparing to fire hundreds of senior leaders this week — The firings are a move not to reduce the size of the workforce but to get rid of people the administration sees as not on board with its goals. — The Trump administration is preparing to fire hundreds …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Townhall, Grabien and Saywhat Politics
Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge:
A team from SpaceX is being brought in to overhaul the FAA's air traffic control system — The visit comes after a union representing FAA workers says hundreds are being laid off. … A team from Elon Musk's SpaceX is visiting the Air Traffic Control Command Center in Virginia Monday …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Rolling Stone, Axios, New York Post, The Guardian, Townhall, Daily Mail, The Fucking News, Hollywood Life, Politico, KFOR-TV, UPI, RedState, Daily Kos, Washington Examiner, The Hill, TechCrunch and CNN
Julie Creswell / New York Times:
Washington Post Cancels Ad From Groups Calling for Trump to Fire Musk — The newspaper told Common Cause, an advocacy group, that it was pulling its special ad, which would have covered the front and back pages of some Tuesday editions. — An advertisement that was set to run in some editions …
Discussion:
Mock Paper Scissors, CNN, Raw Story, New Republic and The Hill, more at Mediagazer »
David Edwards / Raw Story:
'It's gone': Elon Musk suggests without evidence that gold was ‘stolen’ from Fort Knox — Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Department of Government Efficiency Chair Elon Musk demanded access to the gold stored at Fort Knox. — Writing on Musk's social media platform X, Lee said he was repeatedly denied access …
Gavin Bade / Wall Street Journal:
Republican Senators Try to Curb Influence of Trump Tariff Hawk — White House trade adviser has had major influence on punitive levies as Trump's trade team awaits Senate confirmation — WASHINGTON—President Trump has peppered the first month of his presidency with trade actions even before the bulk of his trade team is in place.
Discussion:
New York Times, Cafe Hayek and Raw Story
Amanda Friedman / Politico:
Hegseth claims Biden administration targeted him with IRS audit — The Defense secretary posted a photo of a letter showing the IRS seeking more than $33,000. — Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Monday accused the Biden administration of orchestrating a last-minute audit of him and his wife …
Discussion:
The Hill, American Greatness, New York Post, Breitbart, RedState, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, Twitchy and Washington Examiner
Ben Penn / Bloomberg Law:
White House Email Snafu Said to Stall Firings of US Attorneys — The White House sent termination emails to the wrong addresses of as many as 22 US attorneys who learned they'd been dismissed five days later after a perplexing weekend, said two people familiar with the process.
Discussion:
Executive Functions
Rebecca Traister / New York Magazine:
Wokeness Is Not to Blame for Trump — How a misdiagnosis of the 2024 election has calcified into self-defeating conventional wisdom. — In the midst of chaos and cataclysm, it's rare to find agreement across partisan divides, but in the months since Donald Trump won his second presidential election …
Timothy L. O'Brien / Bloomberg:
Trump Isn't Playacting When He Invokes Napoleon — The president is fawning over strongmen past and present because he wants to emulate them. — President Donald Trump invoked Napoleon over the weekend, inspired, it would appear, by Rod Steiger's portrayal of the military dictator …
Discussion:
Associated Press
Tom Gerken / BBC:
Argentina president faces impeachment calls over crypto crash — Argentine President Javier Milei is facing impeachment calls - and legal action accusing him of fraud - over his promotion of cryptocurrency on social media. — Milei posted on X, formerly Twitter, about the $LIBRA coin on Friday …
Discussion:
Raw Story, JURIST, Al Jazeera, Bloomberg, Euronews, Semafor, CityNews Toronto, Reuters, The Indian Express and Politico
Washington Post:
Trump administration fires thousands for ‘performance’ without evidence, in messy rush — Many probationary employees targeted in latest Trump cuts across agencies had excellent ratings; legal challenges are expected. — The first message from her manager on Saturday afternoon misspelled Amanda Mae Downey's name.

