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6:30 PM ET, February 17, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Tara Copp / Associated Press:
Trump begins firings of FAA air traffic control staff just weeks after fatal DC plane crash  —  The Trump administration has begun firing several hundred Federal Aviation Administration employees, upending staff on a busy air travel weekend and just weeks after a January fatal mid-air collision …
RELATED:
Pete Muntean / CNN:
Hundreds of FAA probationary workers fired by Trump administration, union says  —  The Trump administration has started firing hundreds of Federal Aviation Administration probationary employees who maintain critical air traffic control infrastructure, according to their union.
Paul Krugman:
Our Government Is Experiencing a Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly
Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo
RELATED:
RELATED:
Peter Stone / The Guardian:
‘This is a coup’: Trump and Musk's purge is cutting more than costs, say experts
Discussion: TechCrunch and The Independent
Tom Hals / Reuters:   Judge calls rare hearing on a holiday in case against Musk's DOGE
Gideon Rachman / Financial Times:
Vance's real warning to Europe  —  Europeans need to reduce their dangerous dependence on an adversarial America  —  When JD Vance took the stage at the Munich Security Conference last week, he issued a stern warning.  The US vice-president told the assembled politicians and diplomats …
Discussion: Asia Times
RELATED:
Lauren Irwin / The Hill:
Rubio spars with Brennan over Vance's Munich speech
Associated Press:
European leaders gather for emergency talks, fearing that Trump has abandoned age-old allies
Eliza Collins / Wall Street Journal:
Trump Voters Splinter Over His Rapid Shake-Up of Washington  —  Some core supporters love his no-holds-barred approach, but several swing voters are taken aback at his early moves
Discussion: Fox News and Raw Story
RELATED:
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 …
Daniel Bice / Journal Sentinel:
Bice: An Elon Musk-backed group buys at least $670,000 of TV time to support Brad Schimel  —  Conservative Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel said just recently he was hoping conservative third-party groups would start buying up TV time in the state “very soon.”  —  Ask and you shall receive.
Discussion: WisPolitics
Edward Helmore / The Guardian:
Jewish man mistakes two Israeli tourists for Palestinians and opens fire on them in Miami  —  Victims reportedly posted ‘death to Arabs’ on social media after shooting while suspect held on attempted murder charges  —  A Jewish man in Miami Beach is facing charges of attempted murder following accusations …
Pranshu Verma / Washington Post:
Elon Musk ridiculed a blind person on X. Then a mob went to work.  —  Musk's unparalleled online reach on X has given him a powerful tool to attack individuals who criticize DOGE.  —  Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette works at the Project on Government Oversight, a nonpartisan watchdog group focused on reducing bureaucratic waste.
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 …
Popular Information:
In botched DEI purge, OSHA trashes workplace safety guidelines  —  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has ordered the digital and physical destruction of 18 publications on workplace safety practices, according to an internal February 7 email obtained by Popular Information.
Discussion: Raw Story
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) …
Washington Post:
Trump casts psychiatric and weight-loss drugs as threats to children  —  Trump directed a panel headed by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to assess “the prevalence of and threat” posed by SSRIs, mood stabilizers, stimulants, and weight-loss drugs.
Discussion: Eschaton
Matt Binder / disruptionist:
Elon Musk's X blocks links to Signal, the encrypted messaging service  —  Signal has been a primary method of communication for federal workers looking to blow the whistle on DOGE.  —  Elon Musk's social media platform, X, is currently banning links to “Signal.me,” a URL used by the encrypted messaging service Signal.
Politico:
‘Five alarm warning’: Possible DOGE access to private taxpayer data sparks outcry  —  The Elon Musk-run effort wants to study a system that includes tax returns, Social Security numbers and other information.  —  Democrats and tax experts are sounding alarms about a plan by Elon Musk's DOGE team …
Sarah K. Burris / Raw Story:
‘Turned out the lights’: Fury hits Washington Post as it refuses to run $115K anti-Musk ad  —  The Washington Post canceled plans to run a front-and back-page advertisement that would have earned the paper $115,000 — and ran straight into fresh fury.  —  The ad, reportedly sponsored …
Marita Vlachou / HuffPost:
Elon Musk Says Team Behind CBS's ‘60 Minutes’ Deserves ‘A Long Prison Sentence’  —  “60 Minutes are the biggest liars in the world!” the world's richest man wrote on his social media platform, X.  —  LOADING  —  Elon Musk, President Donald Trump's billionaire ally, on Sunday repeatedly attacked CBS's …
Discussion: Mediaite, New Republic and CBS News
RELATED:
Tom Nichols / The Atlantic:
The Death of Government Expertise  —  Why Trump and Musk are on a firing spree  —  One of the greatest tricks that Donald Trump and Elon Musk ever pulled is to convince millions of people that DOGE, the self-styled Department of Government Efficiency, is about government efficiency.
Marc Caputo / Axios:
Scoop: Why Trump targets AP … - “This isn't just about the Gulf of America,” White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich told Axios. … - The dispute with AP is part of Trump's broader effort to discredit legacy media outlets and the public's trust in the press — already at a record low.
Nahal Toosi / Politico:
The Marco Rubio Guide to Survival is Not Working Well  —  The secretary of State is taking positions that were once anathema and sounding very Trumpy online.  —  It is becoming increasingly clear that Marco Rubio is secretary of State in name only.  —  Since taking over Foggy Bottom …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Ailia Zehra / The Hill:
Homan says he's asked DOJ whether Ocasio-Cortez is impeding ICE
Pema Levy / Mother Jones:
There's No Way Elon Musk's Job is Legal
Discussion: Rolling Stone
New York Times:
Trump Pushes Business Interests in Golf, Mideast and New York as Conflicts Abound
Jennifer Jett / NBC News:
China accuses U.S. of ‘serious regression’ in its Taiwan position after change to State Dept. website
Eli McKown-Dawson / Silver Bulletin:
So, how did the polls do in 2024? It's complicated.
 Earlier Items: 
Brad Reed / Raw Story:
'Can't be saved': Former Canadian defense official says relationship with U.S. is over
Carole Cadwalladr / The Power:
US Coup Gains Speed
Liza Featherstone / New Republic:
Musk and Trump Are Cutting Popular Programs. That's Deliberate.
Jill Colvin / Associated Press:
Mike Pence emerges as one of the few Republicans willing to challenge Trump 2.0
Lisa Needham / Public Notice:
Trump has already weaponized the Department of Education
Luke Broadwater / New York Times:
Trump Targets a Growing List of Those He Sees as Disloyal
Discussion: Frontpage Mag and Raw Story
 

 
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

Foo Yun Chee / Reuters:
The EU fines X €120M for breaching online content rules, the first fine under the DSA, citing issues like its deceptive blue checkmarks, after a two-year probe

Wall Street Journal:
Sources: SpaceX is planning a secondary share sale that would value the company at $800B, surpassing OpenAI to make it the most valuable US private company

 
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