Top Items:
Meredith Lee Hill / Politico:
Vought: Mass firings will begin ‘in a day or two’ — OMB chief Russ Vought told House Republicans on a private call Wednesday that the administration will start mass reduction in force moves, or firings, of federal workers “in a day or two,” according to four people granted anonymity to describe the call.
Discussion:
Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, The Independent, Bloomberg, RedState, The Register, New York Times, Forbes, Esquire and Blaze Media
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Jordain Carney / Politico:
How John Thune sees the shutdown ending … “I keep telling them: When they have eight or 10 — preferably 10, or more — when they have a critical mass, let me know if there's a conversation they want to have,” Thune said. — He insisted he would not negotiate on the substance of an extension while the government is closed.
Discussion:
OutsideTheBeltway
Mike Lillis / The Hill:
Democratic leaders hold firm in face of mass firing threat: ‘Cruelty is the point’
Discussion:
MarketWatch, New York Times, The Parnas Perspective, Oregon Capital Chronicle, NewsMax.com, New Republic, Not the Bee and AFSCME
Robert Jimison / New York Times:
These Democrats Voted With Republicans Against a Shutdown
These Democrats Voted With Republicans Against a Shutdown
Discussion:
Advocate, The Daily Caller, National Review, The Hill, MSNBC, Roll Call, The Daily Signal, NRCC, Daily Mail, Washington Examiner, IJR, New York Times, Mediaite, Daily Kos, ABC News and New York Sun
Kate Santaliz / Axios:
White House to begin firing federal workers within"day or two"
White House to begin firing federal workers within"day or two"
Discussion:
NBC News, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Times Now, CNBC, NewsMax.com, NPR and The Hill
Drew Friedman / Federal News Network:
Government shutdown layoffs to occur ‘very soon,’ White House warns
Government shutdown layoffs to occur ‘very soon,’ White House warns
Discussion:
WTOP News
Dave Jamieson / HuffPost:
Trump Admin Tells Furloughed Workers To Set OOO Message Blaming Democrats For Shutdown — One health department employee said the directions seemed to be “coercing” subordinates into political activity. — After the government shutdown began Wednesday morning, furloughed employees …
Discussion:
Raw Story
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Vittoria Elliott / Wired:
Federal Workers Are Being Told to Blame Democrats for the Shutdown — Workers at one agency were given unhinged, partisan language to use when setting out-of-office replies. — At 9:35am on Wednesday, the first morning of the US government shutdown, employees at the Small Business Administration …
Discussion:
Axios, HuffPost, WTOP News, The Daily Caller, New York Times, Washington Examiner, The Daily Signal and New Republic
Reuters:
FBI cuts ties with Anti-Defamation League, FBI director says — The FBI said on Wednesday it had cut ties with the Anti-Defamation League, a prominent Jewish group that tracks antisemitism, after Republicans criticized the group for including slain activist Charlie Kirk's organization in a glossary on extremism.
Discussion:
The Western Journal, Not the Bee, Blaze Media, Israpundit and Fox News
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Gabby Deutch / Jewish Insider:
FBI's Kash Patel attacks ADL as ‘extreme group functioning like a terrorist organization’ — The FBI director said the bureau is cutting all formal ties with the Jewish civil rights group — FBI Director Kash Patel called the Anti-Defamation League “an extreme group functioning …
Discussion:
Breitbart
Rachel Wolf / Fox News:
Patel cuts ties Comey's FBI made with ADL as organization faces backlash for TPUSA criticism — 'That era is finished. This FBI formally rejects Comey's policies and any partnership with the ADL,' Patel said — EXCLUSIVE - FBI Director Kash Patel is cutting ties with the Anti-Defamation League …
Discussion:
Al Jazeera, twitchy.com, HotAir, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, RedState, IJR, The National Pulse, Blaze Media, The Gateway Pundit, The Post Millennial and NewsMax.com
Aaron Pellish / Politico:
Kash Patel pulls the plug on ADL's FBI training on extremism
Kash Patel pulls the plug on ADL's FBI training on extremism
Discussion:
Raw Story
Aaron Pellish / Politico:
Trump targets states that voted for Harris in shutdown fight … New York-area lawmakers reacted with fury to the infrastructure cuts earlier Wednesday. — “Political revenge. Clearly outlined by Trump, time and again. He sees the U.S. as Blue and Red, and Blue states are enemies,” …
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Malcolm Ferguson / New Republic:
Trump Cuts Funding to 16 Blue States That Didn't Vote for Him
Discussion:
Raw Story, E&E News, Scripps News, The National Pulse and NOTUS
Dan Mangan / CNBC:
Trump administration cancels nearly $8 billion in climate funding to blue states: Vought
Trump administration cancels nearly $8 billion in climate funding to blue states: Vought
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, Breitbart, RedState and Daily Kos
Ben Geman / Axios:
DOE ends billions in clean-energy awards following Vought tweet
DOE ends billions in clean-energy awards following Vought tweet
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, CBS News and Raw Story
Slate:
There's a New Lawsuit Against “Kavanaugh Stops.” It's Absolutely Devastating. — Gregory Bovino, the officer in charge of roving immigration enforcement in American cities, admitted this week that his agents arrest people based on “how they look.” Asked by a WBEZ reporter to elaborate …
Associated Press:
Activists say Israeli navy has begun intercepting a Gaza-bound aid flotilla — Activists on board a flotilla of vessels sailing toward Gaza said late Wednesday that the Israeli navy had intercepted three of its boats as they approached the besieged Palestinian territory.
Discussion:
Ynetnews, New York Times, Reuters, The Times of Israel, Associated Press, The Western Journal, France 24, Washington Examiner, Breitbart, Al Jazeera, Drop Site News, New York Post, Metro.co.uk, Times Now, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, GB News, Zeteo, Politico, El País, The Forward, WHYY and Middle East Monitor
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John Sexton / HotAir:
Israel Blocks Greta Thunberg's Flotilla
Israel Blocks Greta Thunberg's Flotilla
Discussion:
Times Now, Al Jazeera, Daily Mail, Reuters, GB News and New York Times
Cathy Young / The UnPopulist:
Hegseth's Hatred of Americans Makes Him Unfit for Office but a Perfect Fit for Trump — The secretary is a Christian nationalist who wants to eliminate those who don't agree with his totalitarian vision — The speech delivered by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth yesterday at an extraordinary meeting …
Discussion:
The Atlantic
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Eliot A. Cohen / The Atlantic:
Pete Hegseth Is Living the Dream
Discussion:
NextDraft, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Onward and Upward
Andrew Egger / The Bulwark:
The Silence of the Generals — Well, here we go: The federal government has shut down.
The Silence of the Generals — Well, here we go: The federal government has shut down.
Discussion:
Common Dreams, Vox, The Nation, HuffPost and How Things Work
Associated Press:
Looming health insurance spikes for millions are at the heart of the government shutdown — The U.S. government shut down Wednesday, with Democratic lawmakers insisting that any deal address their health care demands and Republicans saying those negotiations can happen after the government is funded.
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Wall Street Journal:
White House Asks Colleges to Sign Sweeping Agreement to Get Funding Advantage — An initial round of nine schools is being asked to sign a wide-ranging accord — The Trump administration is laying out a set of operating principles that it wants universities to agree to in exchange for preferential access to federal funds.
Keith Schneider / New York Times:
Jane Goodall, Eminent Primatologist Who Chronicled the Lives of Chimps, Dies at 91 — Her discoveries in the 1960s about how chimpanzees behaved in the wild broke new ground and represented what was called “one of the Western world's great scientific achievements.”
Discussion:
ABC News, People, CNN, Washington Post, The Guardian, NPR, Los Angeles Times, Fox News, The Free Press, NewsMax.com, Associated Press, Breitbart, Slate, Al Jazeera, Reuters, Gizmodo, Mercury News, The Daily Caller, Deseret News, France 24, GB News, The 19th, Deadline, Times Now, twitchy.com, Daily Mail, Townhall, The Hill, El País, CBS News, Variety, UPI, One America News Network, Rolling Stone, TMZ.com, E&E News, The A.V. Club, Page Six, WTOP News, Vogue Business, Metro.co.uk and al.com
Washington Post:
White House fires much of the National Council on the Humanities — The White House appeared to fire all but four members of the National Council on the Humanities, an advisory board to the head of the government's grantmaking agency. — The White House on Wednesday abruptly terminated …
Discussion:
Reuters, New York Times, NOTUS, NewsMax.com and The Hill
Josh Christenson / New York Post:
Howard Lutnick tells ‘Pod Force One’ ex-neighbor Jeffrey Epstein showed off massage room, made creepy comment during townhouse tour — Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, in a notable break with the Department of Justice, claimed late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein was “the greatest blackmailer ever” …
Discussion:
Axios, Daily Mail, Raw Story, The Hill, Mediaite, New Jersey Online and New Republic
Jason Koebler / 404 Media:
OpenAI's Sora 2 Copyright Infringement Machine Features Nazi SpongeBobs and Criminal Pikachus — Within moments of opening OpenAI's new AI slop app Sora, I am watching Pikachu steal Poké Balls from a CVS. Then I am watching SpongeBob-as-Hitler give a speech about the “scourge of fish ruining Bikini Bottom.”
Discussion:
Poynter, Yahoo News, Gizmodo and Breitbart, more at Techmeme »
Sean James / Mediaite:
Joe Rogan Defends Hegseth Address to Generals: ‘No More Identity Politics and B*llshit’ — Joe Rogan heartily approved of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth's speech to top commanders and his proposed changes to the U.S. military, saying it was nice there would be “no more identify politics and b*llshit” infecting the armed forces.
Discussion:
al.com, IJR, The Hill, NewsNation and NewsMax.com
Dorothy Thompson / Harper's:
Who Goes Nazi? — It is an interesting and somewhat macabre parlor game to play at a large gathering of one's acquaintances: to speculate who in a showdown would go Nazi. By now, I think I know. I have gone through the experience many times—in Germany, in Austria, and in France.
Avery Lotz / Axios:
Female veterans slam Hegseth's questioning of their combat fitness … - But Elisa Cardnell, the president and CEO of the Service Women's Action Network, said in a statement the “physical requirements for infantry school, special operations, or any other combat role are already gender-neutral.”
Discussion:
USA Today, Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill, The American Spectator, Newsbusters, The Hill and Scripps News
Matthew Xiao / The Washington Free Beacon:
Democratic Virginia AG Nominee Convicted in 2022 After Driving 116 MPH at Midnight, Court Records Reveal — Jay Jones, who completed 1,000 hours of community service in lieu of jail time, is set to challenge Republican incumbent Jason Miyares on the ballot next month
Discussion:
Richmond Times-Dispatch, New York Post, The Daily Caller, RedState and Fox News
Jennifer Jacobs / CBS News:
U.N. Ambassador Mike Waltz isn't part of Trump's Cabinet, sources say — The post of United Nations ambassador isn't a Cabinet position, according to sources familiar with the matter, as President Trump signals the decreased importance of the U.N. to his administration.
Quinnipiac University Poll:
Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro Hits 60% Job Approval, Leads Republicans In 2026, 2028 Matchups, Quinnipiac University Pennsylvania Poll Finds; Dems Sour On Fetterman While GOP Voters Approve Of Him — mail_outline — As Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro winds down his third year in office …
Discussion:
The Hill, Newsweek, The Daily Caller and New Jersey Online
Tyler Jett / Des Moines Register:
Des Moines superintendent did not receive the doctoral degree he frequently claimed … The superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools did not obtain a doctoral degree from a Maryland university, as he has claimed for many years. — Ian Roberts, who was arrested by U.S. Immigration …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Iowa Starting Line and HotAir
Amanda Marcotte / Salon:
MAGA can't expand its base — and Christian music tells us why — The songs from Charlie Kirk's memorial exposed a serious problem — Donald Trump's authoritarian aspirations face one major obstacle: He is not very popular. As counterintuitive as it may seem, political science shows …
Discussion:
Raw Story
ProPublica:
Trading on Tom Homan: Inside the Push to Cash in on the Trump Administration's Deportation Campaign — ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published. — The first time a Pennsylvania consultant …
Caroline Vakil / The Hill:
Conservative appellate Judge Maria Lazar launches bid for open Wisconsin state Supreme Court seat — Conservative appellate Judge Maria Lazar announced on Wednesday that she would be launching a bid for an open Wisconsin Supreme Court seat vacated by conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley.
Discussion:
WPR, NewsMax.com, Associated Press, Washington Examiner and WisPolitics
Maria Sacchetti / Washington Post:
Immigration judge denies Kilmar Abrego García's request to reopen case — The judge found “insufficient evidence” to show that the Trump administration would send Abrego to Uganda, according to a copy of the decision reviewed by The Washington Post. — A U.S. immigration judge …
Brady Knox / Washington Examiner:
Hochul alleges DHS cut $187M from counterterrorism funding with ‘no discretion’ — Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) on Monday alleged that President Donald Trump's Department of Homeland Security cut $187 million from New York's counterterrorism funds with no explanation.
Discussion:
Governor Kathy Hochul, New York Post, Raw Story, MSNBC, NewsMax.com and New York Times
Greg Sargent / New Republic:
Trump's Rage at Zohran Just Backfired in a Surprisingly Revealing Way — The Democrats who are capturing media and public attention right now all share something in common. They are openly and urgently leveling with the American people about a singular basic reality: President Trump …
Discussion:
Raw Story


