Top Items:
Erin Doherty / Axios:
French leader cancels CPAC speech after Bannon's apparent Nazi salute … - Bannon did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment. — A CPAC representative did not respond to a request for comment Friday. … - “As a result, I have taken the immediate decision to cancel …
Discussion:
Politico, The Hill, Reuters, HuffPost, HotAir, Newsweek, The Guardian, The Forward, Daily Kos, Twin Cities, lonestarlive.com, Le Monde, New York Daily News, Daily Mail, TMZ.com, PinkNews, New Republic and The Independent
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William Vaillancourt / The Daily Beast:
Steve Bannon Mimics Elon Musk's VERY Controversial Salute — Former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon whipped up Friday's Conservative Political Action Conference crowd by talking about the possibility of the President Donald Trump staying in office for a third term in 2028 …
Discussion:
USA Today, Mediaite, Raw Story, Washington Examiner and HuffPost
Jakub Krupa / The Guardian:
French far-right leader cancels US speech after Steve Bannon appears to make Nazi salute at CPAC - Europe live — Jordan Bardella cancels speech at US conference after former Trump aide appeared to make gesture at end of his speech at event on Thursday night
Discussion:
The Kyiv Independent
The Guardian:
French far-right leader cancels CPAC speech over Steve Bannon's ‘Nazi’ salute
French far-right leader cancels CPAC speech over Steve Bannon's ‘Nazi’ salute
Discussion:
People For and Raw Story
NBC News:
French far-right leader cancels CPAC speech, calling out Steve Bannon's ‘Nazi ideology’ hand gesture
Discussion:
The Forward
Agence France-Presse:
France Far-right Leader Cancels US Speech After ‘Nazi Gesture’ By Ex-Trump Aide
France Far-right Leader Cancels US Speech After ‘Nazi Gesture’ By Ex-Trump Aide
Discussion:
Semafor
Michael Gold / New York Times:
Bannon's Salute at CPAC, Echoing Musk, Prompts a French Protest
Bannon's Salute at CPAC, Echoing Musk, Prompts a French Protest
Discussion:
Al Jazeera, Forbes, RTÉ, New Republic, The National Pulse and New York Post
Julia Ainsley / NBC News:
Trump administration reassigning acting ICE director — Caleb Vitello, who the administration had chosen to run ICE on an interim basis, is out amid anger from the president and border czar over the pace of deportations. — The Trump administration has removed Caleb Vitello …
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Noah Berlatsky / Public Notice:
AOC shows how to fight back and stand strong — 🗣️ 🫶 🪧 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.
Discussion:
The Daily Signal and Gothamist
Ted Hesson / Reuters:
Trump deported 37,660 in first month, lagging Biden but poised to ramp up
Trump deported 37,660 in first month, lagging Biden but poised to ramp up
Discussion:
Times-Standard, Louder With Crowder, The American Spectator and KASW-TV
Rolling Stone:
Trump and Elon's ‘Pointless Bloodbath’ at the FAA Is Even Worse Than You Think — The Trump administration fired several FAA lawyers tasked with helping keep reckless and drunk pilots out of the skies — and officials are baffled — Late last week, just as Presidents' Day weekend was starting …
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Malcolm Ferguson / New Republic:
Trump's Firing Spree at FAA Was Even More Terrible Than He Admitted
Discussion:
Politico, New Jersey Online, The Independent and InDepthNH.org
Joan Walsh / The Nation:
Trump's Firing Frenzy Is Hitting the GOP Where It Hurts
Trump's Firing Frenzy Is Hitting the GOP Where It Hurts
Discussion:
ClearanceJobs and Scripps News
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
Inside DOGE's Dumbest Cut Yet — Andrew had meant to spend yesterday soaking in the sights and sounds at CPAC, but found himself tied up reporting our lead story below. So he missed Vice President JD Vance's culture-war ruminations, Steve Bannon's calls for a third Trump term in 2028 …
Discussion:
Politico, New Republic, Newsbusters, The American Conservative, Twitchy, IJR, The Daily Wire, The Hill, Fox News, Washington Times and Washington Post
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Elie Mystal / The Nation:
This Executive Order Reveals the Trump-Musk Endgame — A recent order aimed at destroying independent regulatory agencies isn't just about taking control of the state—it's a giant cash-grab in disguise. — Bluesky — Pocket — The orders and actions of Donald Trump and his co-president Elon Musk are all part of a piece.
Discussion:
Federal News Network, Voice of America and Washington Examiner
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New Republic:
Bad News for Trump as Brutal New Polls Show Him and Elon Musk Sinking — Three new national polls—from CNN, Gallup, and The Washington Post—show that President Donald Trump's job approval is decidedly underwater. Importantly, the polls also show majorities rejecting Trump's authoritarian governance.
Discussion:
New Jersey Online, Al Jazeera and Chicago Sun Times
Politico:
MAGA takes aim at the Republican hawks — Trump loyalists are sending a message to the GOP's foreign policy traditionalists. — Top allies of President Donald Trump are in an escalating clash with the Republican Party's once-powerful defense hawks, viewing them as key obstacles standing …
Discussion:
Vox, CBS News, The Daily Caller, The Guardian, Associated Press and Washington Examiner
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Douglas Murray / New York Post:
Mr. President: Putin is THE dictator and 10 Ukraine-Russia war truths we ignore at our peril
Discussion:
Associated Press, Politico, New Republic, New Jersey Online and Euromaidan Press
Bryan Mena / CNN:
US consumer sentiment plunges over tariff and inflation fears — Inflation is picking up again and President Donald Trump said this week it's all his predecessor's fault. But no matter who Trump blames for inflation, America's economic mood is now souring — and Trump is getting the heat for it.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, The Hill, Raw Story and Tax Foundation
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Qasim Nauman / New York Times:
Justice Dept. to Drop Discrimination Case Against Elon Musk's SpaceX — The Justice Department had sued SpaceX in 2023, accusing the company of violating federal law by refusing to hire refugees and people granted asylum in the United States. — The U.S. Justice Department said Thursday …
Discussion:
RedState, New York Post, Fox Business, Axios and Bloomberg
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Sarah Jeong / The Verge:
I cannot describe how strange Elon Musk's CPAC appearance was — So here's a literal transcript, instead. … Elon Musk spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Thursday, giving a strange and often inarticulate on-stage interview to Newsmax presenter Rob Schmitt.
Discussion:
Associated Press, Politico, Reuters, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Daily Caller News Foundation, NBC News, The Post Millennial, Daily Kos, HuffPost, Twitchy, El País, New York Daily News, USA Today, The Daily Wire, The Independent, One America News Network, UPI, TMZ.com, New York Post, The Hill, Washington Times, Raw Story, Daily Mail, al.com and The Gateway Pundit
Violet Jira / NOTUS:
Rep. Cory Mills Is Under Investigation for Alleged Assault, Police Say — The Florida lawmaker, who intends to run for the Senate, is being investigated by D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department for an incident reported at a residential address. — Copy
Discussion:
Florida Politics
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Amy Maxmen / KFF Health News:
Texas Measles Outbreak Nears 100 Cases, Raising Concerns About Undetected Spread — Some private schools have shut down because of a rapidly escalating measles outbreak in West Texas. Local health departments are overstretched, pausing other important work as they race to limit the spread of this highly contagious virus.
David Gardner / The Daily Beast:
Melania Trump's Astonishing Verdict on Her Husband Revealed — A bombshell new book makes some startling new revelations about Donald Trump's bizarre marriage to Melania. “She f—ing hates him,” a “Mar-a-Lago patio confidant” of Trump and his family told Michael Wolff.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Ashleigh Fields / The Hill:
83 percent of Americans disapprove of Trump's Jan. 6 pardons: Poll — A majority of Americans are displeased with President Trump over his decision to pardon nearly all of those charged for their role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, according to a poll.
Jacob Bogage / Washington Post:
Trump expected to take control of USPS, fire postal board, officials say — The move threatens to upend trillions of dollars in ecommerce business and the 250-year-old Postal Service.
Discussion:
Reuters, Wall Street Journal, Washington Examiner, New Republic, Fortune, Rolling Stone, The Independent, CNN, The Week, Daily Mail, Mediaite, Raw Story, prima donna … and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Benjamin Weiser / New York Times:
Judge in Eric Adams Case Names Lawyer to Argue Against Dropping of Charges — Judge Dale E. Ho said that with Eric Adams's lawyer and federal prosecutors agreeing to end the case, he needed to hear independent arguments. — A federal judge on Friday deferred ruling on the Justice Department's request …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, NPR, Politico, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, The Hill, Bloomberg, Raw Story, New York Daily News and abc7NY
RELATED:
Lauren del Valle / CNN:
Judge vacates Eric Adams corruption trial but doesn't immediately dismiss charges
Judge vacates Eric Adams corruption trial but doesn't immediately dismiss charges
Discussion:
Reuters, New York Post, freebeacon.com, USA Today, UPI, Forbes, WALV-TV, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit and CBS News
Catie Edmondson / New York Times:
Senate G.O.P. Passes Budget Resolution, and Punts on Tough Questions — Approval of the Republican budget plan left major questions about tax cuts and spending reduction for another day. — The budget plan that Republicans pushed through the Senate early Friday was a necessary …
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NBC News:
Georgia Republican faces town hall backlash over DOGE's ‘chainsaw approach’ to government cuts — Rep. Rich McCormick, who represents a safe GOP district, came under harsh criticism that focused on the Trump administration's moves to slash federal jobs and budgets.
RELATED:
Winston Cho / The Hollywood Reporter:
Paramount Is Starting to Fight Back Against Trump in ‘60 Minutes’ Lawsuit
Paramount Is Starting to Fight Back Against Trump in ‘60 Minutes’ Lawsuit
Discussion:
HuffPost, Law & Crime and Deadline
Isabel van Brugen / The Daily Beast:
Former Intelligence Officer Claims KGB Recruited Trump — A former Soviet intelligence officer has alleged that Donald Trump was recruited by the KGB in 1987 and given the codename “Krasnov.” Alnur Mussayev, 71, a former head of intelligence in Kazakhstan and before that a Soviet KGB officer …
Discussion:
Byline Times
Zeynep Tufekci / New York Times:
Here Are the Digital Clues to What Musk Is Really Up To — Watching Elon Musk and his band of young acolytes slash their way through the federal government, many observers have struggled to understand how such a small group could do so much damage in so little time.
Discussion:
The Atlantic
Washington Post:
Musk's blitzkrieg is unnerving many of Trump's senior advisers — Officials have been blindsided by DOGE's actions. But the president's strong support of the group means other advisers have limited options. — Top treasury officials have complained about disruption.
Discussion:
Raw Story and Washington Examiner
Zach Schonfeld / The Hill:
Supreme Court unanimously sides with Hungary in Holocaust survivors' lawsuit — The Supreme Court unanimously sided with Hungary on Friday by rejecting a group of Holocaust survivors' legal theory that sought to haul the country into American courts to pay compensation.
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times and SCOTUSblog
CNN:
Pentagon hits pause on plan to carry out mass firings of civilian employees, officials say — The Defense Department has temporarily paused a plan to carry out mass firings of civilian probationary employees until Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and the Pentagon's Office of General Counsel …
Discussion:
The Hill, Defense One, Forbes and Daily Caller News Foundation

