First measles death is reported in the West Texas outbreak that's infected more than 120 people  —  A person who was hospitalized has died from measles in West Texas, the first death in an outbreak that began late last month.  Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center spokesperson Melissa Whitfield confirmed the death Wednesday.

Jeff Bezos' Directive for Washington Post Opinion Pages Leads to Editor David Shipley's Exit  —  David Shipley, The Post's opinion editor, is resigning after trying to persuade Jeff Bezos to reconsider the new direction.  — 1k  —  Jeff Bezos, the owner of The Washington Post …

Trump and Musk's slash-and-burn tactics are a sticking point in talks to prevent a shutdown  —  Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democratic appropriator, urged Republicans to help stop Trump from usurping Congress' spending powers and not to “follow Elon towards a shutdown.”

DOGE Staffers at HUD Are From an AI Real Estate Firm and a Mobile Home Operator  —  Elon Musk's men at HUD come from the real estate sector.  They have access to vast stores of personal and financial data—and control over who can access which HUD systems.  —  On February 10 …

Trump Press Sec Seethes at Media over Musk as More Bad Econ News Hits … At Tuesday's media briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that the White House will now decide who attends briefings, an effort to insulate President Trump from tough scrutiny.

Musk claims DOGE ‘restored’ Ebola prevention effort.  Officials disagree.  —  USAID's initiatives to fight Ebola and other diseases have been gutted, current and former agency officials said  —  Elon Musk on Wednesday acknowledged that the U.S. DOGE Service “accidentally canceled” …

DOGE reps will fan out across the government  —  Trump order requires every agency to have a direct line to Elon Musk's efficiency project.  —  All federal agencies will soon have their own Elon Musk.  —  An executive order handed down Wednesday by President Donald Trump directs all agencies …

Justice Department tells judges it can't comply with court-ordered deadline to release frozen aid funding  —  In court filings, the DOJ contends it will take “weeks” to free the funding that a federal judge ordered to be released almost two weeks ago.  —  The Trump administration …

Social Security Administration Could Cut Half Its Workforce  —  Sources tell the Prospect that a meeting called for a 50 percent reduction in an agency that millions rely on for benefit implementation.  —  There are more than 1,200 Social Security field offices across the country.

In Trump's Washington, a Moscow-Like Chill Takes Hold  —  A new administration's efforts to pressure the news media, punish political opponents and tame the nation's tycoons evoke the early days of President Vladimir V. Putin's reign in Russia.  —  She asked too many questions that the president didn't like.

The Supreme Court is in “radical agreement” that a bizarre DEI rule needs to go  —  The proper term for a Supreme Court session where the justices hear verbal presentations by lawyers is an “oral argument,” but Wednesday's hearing in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services hardly qualified as an argument.

Trump administration cutting 90% of USAID foreign aid contracts, documents show  —  The Trump administration said Wednesday it is eliminating more than 90% of the U.S. Agency for International Development's foreign aid contracts and $60 billion in overall U.S. assistance around the world.

Implementing the President's “Department of Government Efficiency” Cost Efficiency Initiative  —  By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:  —  Section 1.  Purpose.  This order commences a transformation …

Musk's Ex-Twitter Workers Win Severance Over ‘Fork in the Road’ Email  — Ex-employees prevail in challenges to ‘Fork in the Road’ email  — Billionaire has Trump's support using similar tactics at DOGE  —  Former Twitter employees are scoring early victories in legal challenges …

Trump's nominee for solicitor general won't rule out ignoring court orders in ‘extreme cases’  —  President Donald Trump's nominee to be solicitor general told the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday that presidents might rightfully defy court orders in “extreme cases.”

Who Is the Anonymous Data Expert Telling Elon Which Cuts to Make?  —  Conservatives have used DataRepublican to spread misinformation about federal agencies.  She's been working at a tech firm that's battled the CFPB … The account, and its alleged findings of mismanaged government agency spending …

Trump faces Truth Social backlash over AI video of Gaza with topless Netanyahu and bearded bellydancers  —  Users of president's own social media site criticise video showing reimagined Gaza featuring Trump and Israeli PM sipping cocktails  —  Donald Trump is facing a backlash …

VA pauses billions in cuts lauded by Musk as lawmakers and veterans decry loss of critical care  —  The Department of Veterans Affairs has temporarily suspended billions of dollars in planned contract cuts following concerns that the move would hurt critical veterans' health services …

Elon Musk's business empire is built on $38 billion in government funding  —  Government infusions at key moments helped Tesla and SpaceX flourish, boosting Musk's wealth  —  Elon Musk and his cost-cutting U.S. DOGE Service team have been on a mission to trim government largesse.

Musk's Empire Is Reaping $2 Million Per Day From Trump  —  While the billionaire is touting cuts to government, the new administration has already delivered $86 million to Musk's rocket company since the inauguration. … 🎧 On Lever Time: Welcome to the United States of Crypto.

Democrats Need to Clean House  —  The problem with the party goes way beyond the $10 words.  —  At the University of Chicago's Institute of Politics last week, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was nearly apoplectic about the diversity spectacles at the recent Democratic National …

DOJ has abruptly broadened its view of Trump's Jan. 6 pardons.  A judge wants answers.  —  A Trump-appointed judge grilled a Justice Department prosecutor on the department's change in position.  —  Three weeks ago, the Justice Department was emphatic: Donald Trump may have pardoned Kentuckian Dan Wilson …

F.D.A. Cancels Meeting of Vaccine Experts Scheduled to Advise on Flu Shots  —  The cancellation plays into fears among scientists who worry that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will use his position as health secretary to sow doubts about vaccines.  —  A panel of scientific experts that advises …

Trump scraps Biden-era fair housing rule  —  Trump had weaponized an earlier version of the rule during the 2020 campaign, declaring that Democrats wanted to “abolish the suburbs.”  —  The Trump administration on Wednesday revoked a Biden-era fair housing proposed rule requiring localities …

Decline of Christianity in the U.S. Has Slowed, May Have Leveled Off  —  Findings from the 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study  —  Table of Contents Table of Contents  —  Findings from the 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study  —  Pew Research Center conducts the Religious Landscape Study …

American Airlines flight from Boston aborts landing at D.C. airport to avoid departing plane  —  An American Airlines flight from Boston aborted its landing at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. Tuesday morning to avoid another plane that was taking off on the same runway, authorities said.

RFK Dismisses Measles Outbreak That Killed Kid as No Biggie  —  “It is not unusual, we have measles outbreaks every year,” he claims.

Economists are starting to worry about a serious Trump recession  —  Tariffs on America's neighbours and assault on federal government will hit US economy  —  Donald Trump's assault on the US federal government and the world's interlinked manufacturing system have together reached an economic tipping point.

DOGE barrels toward a fresh round of firings, the most widespread yet  —  Records show a Department of Labor component that enforces equal employment opportunity laws is developing a plan to reduce its workforce by 90 percent.  —  Elon Musk's U.S. DOGE Service is barreling toward a fresh round of firings …

Following executive orders, 'The President's Own' Marine Band scraps concert  —  The canceled collaboration with Equity Arc was to feature high-school musicians of color who competed for spots to perform with the U.S. Marine Band.  —  There is perhaps no band closer to the president's ear …