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12:40 PM ET, January 12, 2026

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System:
Statement from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell  —  Good evening.  —  On Friday, the Department of Justice served the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas, threatening a criminal indictment related to my testimony before the Senate Banking Committee last June.
RELATED:
New York Times:
Federal Prosecutors Open Investigation Into Fed Chair Powell  —  The investigation, which is said to center on renovations of the Federal Reserve's headquarters in Washington, signals an escalation in the long-running clash between President Trump and the chair.
Statement / Statement on the Federal Reserve:
Statement on the Federal Reserve  —  The Federal Reserve's independence and the public's perception of that independence are critical for economic performance, including achieving the goals Congress has set for the Federal Reserve of stable prices, maximum employment, and moderate long-term interest rates.
Discussion: Associated Press
Jeff Cox / CNBC:
Yellen says Powell probe ‘extremely chilling’ for Fed independence, market should be concerned  —  Former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on Monday condemned an investigation into her successor, Jerome Powell, saying it compromises the central bank's independence.
Politico:
Fed up  —  Good Monday morning.  This is Jack Blanchard.  Get in touch.  —  LOOK WHO'S BACK: Elon Musk takes another step toward full rehabilitation within the Trump administration today, appearing in public alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Texas.
Discussion: Thom Tillis …
Max Zahn / ABC News:
Stocks fall after Trump's DOJ opens criminal probe into Fed Chair Powell  —  Powell rebuked the probe as an effort to undermine the Fed's independence.  —  Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York on January 12, 2026.  —  Stocks slid in early trading …
Bloomberg:
Bill Pulte Seen as Key Instigator Behind Powell Subpoena  —  Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte was a driving force behind the Trump administration's decision to subpoena the Federal Reserve, according to people familiar with the matter, intensifying pressure on the central bank …
NBC News:
'I don't know anything about it': Trump denies involvement in DOJ's Fed subpoenas  —  In a brief interview with NBC News Sunday, Trump said he didn't know about the Justice Department subpoenaing the Federal Reserve but said chair Jerome Powell is “not very good.”
Politico:
GOP angst grows over Powell investigation  —  A growing number of Republicans on Capitol Hill are expressing unease with the Justice Department's move to investigate Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, a sign that the probe could become a major inflection point over GOP lawmakers' concerns about central bank independence.
Discussion: The Hill, Reuters and Newsweek
Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:   The news has seemed to move more and more quickly in the last week. …
Colby Smith / New York Times:
Fed Changes Course and Takes On Trump's Political Fight
Discussion: NewsNation
Financial Times:
Gold hits record high on worries over Fed independence
Discussion: CNN and New York Times
Dexter Filkins / New Yorker:
How Marco Rubio Went from “Little Marco” to Trump's Foreign-Policy Enabler
Discussion: Orlando Sentinel
William Kristol / The Bulwark:   Take the Masks Off  —  For his entire second term, Donald Trump has been grousing …
Washington Post:
Trump is trying to change how the midterm elections are conducted … Five years ago, President Donald Trump pressured Republican county election officials, state lawmakers and members of Congress to find him votes after he lost his reelection bid.  Now, he's seeking to change the rules before ballots are cast.
Discussion: Raw Story
RELATED:
New York Times:
Trump Regrets Not Seizing Voting Machines After 2020 Election
Discussion: Democracy Docket
Anna Betts / The Guardian:   Trump regrets not seizing voting machines after 2020 election loss
Erica L. Green / New York Times:
Trump Says Civil Rights Led to White People Being ‘Very Badly Treated’  —  President Trump's comments were a blunt distillation of his administration's racial politics, which rest on the belief that white people have become the real victims of discrimination in America.
Discussion: The Independent and NewsMax.com
RELATED:
Alexander Willis / Raw Story:
Trump appalls with attack on Civil Rights Act: ‘White people very badly treated’  —  Critics pounced on President Donald Trump Monday after he complained to the New York Times that the Civil Rights Act - the landmark 1964 legislation that outlawed racial discrimination - was “unfair in certain cases” …
RELATED:
Barak Ravid / Axios:
Trump says he's looking at “very strong options” for supporting Iran protests
Stephen Collinson / CNN:
Trump purges ‘lame duck’ claims with brute force, retribution and play for global domination
Discussion: Raw Story
Elena Schneider / Politico:
Former Rep. Mary Peltola jumps into Alaska Senate race … “Systemic change is the only way to bring down grocery costs, save our fisheries, lower energy prices and build new housing Alaskans can afford,” Peltola said.  “It's about time Alaskans teach the rest of the country what Alaska First and, really, America First looks like.”
Maya Kaufman / Politico:
Nearly 15,000 nurses go on strike at top New York City hospitals … “It is deeply offensive that they would rather use their billions to fight against their own nurses than settle a fair contract,” union president Nancy Hagans said in a statement.  “Nurses do not want to strike, but our bosses have forced us out on strike.”
Janna Brancolini / The Daily Beast:
Trump, 79, Answers Simple Question With Bizarre Word Salad  —  WHAT KNOWS MEANS  —  The president dodged the question before giving a confused answer.  —  President Donald Trump gave a bizarre response to a simple question about what it would mean for the ICE agent who killed a woman in Minneapolis to be immune from prosecution.
Discussion: Raw Story
RELATED:
Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
New High of 45% in U.S. Identify as Political Independents  —  More independents lean Democratic than Republican, giving Democrats edge in party affiliation for first time since 2021  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — A record-high 45% of U.S. adults identified as political independents in 2025 …
New York Times:
Two Hours, Scores of Questions, 23,000 Words: Our Interview With President Trump  —  Four New York Times reporters pressed Mr. Trump about a range of topics in a nearly two-hour interview.  Here is a transcript of their conversation.  —  President Trump spoke to four New York Times reporters …
Judd Legum / Popular Information:
Kill, smear, cover-up  —  On January 7, Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother and U.S. citizen, was fatally shot by ICE agent Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis.  After her death, Good was subjected to a vicious smear campaign by the President, the Vice President, administration officials, and their allies.
Discussion: BBC and HuffPost
Annie Linskey / Wall Street Journal:
Trump ‘Inclined’ to Keep Exxon Out of Venezuela  —  President says he didn't like comments from company's CEO during a meeting Friday at the White House  —  WASHINGTON—President Trump said he might block Exxon Mobil from drilling in Venezuela after the company's top executive publicly acknowledged …
Joyce Vance / Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance:
The Week Ahead  —  Tonight's column is far longer than I like to run, perhaps the longest one ever.  But please don't give up on it.  Although I'd planned to write about developments we expect this week in various lawsuits, these are the times we live in.  The situation with ICE is critical right now.
Discussion: NBC News and Raw Story
Noah Berlatsky / Public Notice:
Republicans in Congress show signs of life  —  PN is supported by paid subscribers.  Become one ⬇️  —  ✌️ Subscribe to PN ✌️  —  The new year so far has been a miserable chronicle of democratic collapse and authoritarian brutality.
Discussion: New Republic
Olivia Beavers / Wall Street Journal:
GOP Stock-Trading Crackdown Gains Momentum  —  Proposal would prohibit members of Congress from making new purchases of individual stocks  —  WASHINGTON—House Republicans including GOP leaders are lining up behind a stock-trading crackdown that they think is their best shot …
Tal Axelrod / Axios:
Bongino to resume podcast on Feb. 2  —  Former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino will resume his podcast on Feb. 2, marking the grassroots return of one of the right's most prominent brawlers. … - Since leaving his administration post earlier this month, he has hammered critics within …
KKCO:
Teen dies of cancer days after mother arrested by ICE: 'She's never gonna see him'  —  By WBOC via CNN Newsource  —  SALISBURY, Md. (WBOC) - A Maryland man is navigating two devastating blows to his family after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested his wife just days …
Wall Street Journal:
Washington's New Lobbyists: Paid Online Influencers With Few Rules  —  Corporate and foreign interests pour money into getting pro-Trump social-media stars to push their causes  —  Last summer, Donald Trump's 28-year-old former campaign aide Alex Bruesewitz had some new advice for the president …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Shane Goldmacher / New York Times:
Inside Democrats' Brewing Debate Over Which States Should Vote First in 2028
Emily Peck / Axios:
Trump funding freeze could stretch child care to a breaking point
Julia Shapero / The Hill:
Meta selects Dina Powell McCormick as president and vice chair
Seb Starcevic / Politico:
Moldova's Sandu says she would vote for reunification with Romania
Discussion: Reuters
Jeet Heer / The Nation:
Renee Good's Killing Has Unleashed MAGA's Misogyny
Amanda Marcotte / Salon:
MAGA is weirdly thirsty for Barron Trump
Discussion: Raw Story
Yuliya Talmazan / NBC News:
Greenland faces ‘fateful moment’ as Trump says U.S. will take it ‘one way or the other’
 Earlier Items: 
Lisa Friedman / New York Times:
Under Trump, U.S. Adds Fuel to a Heating Planet
Eric Levitz / Vox:
The fiction at the heart of America's political divide
Michelle Cottle / New York Times:
The Rare Republican Who Brawls With Trump — and Is Ready for More
Christian Paz / Vox:
The violent “randomness” of ICE's deportation campaign
Discussion: Associated Press and Breitbart
Chan Ho-him / Associated Press:
China and the EU agree on steps to resolve their dispute over EV imports
Discussion: UPI, Electrek and Gulf Stream Blues
Axios:
Behind the Curtain: The Haves, Have-Nots, Have-Lots economy
Associated Press:
Trump's motorcade in Florida rerouted due to ‘suspicious object’
 

 
From Techmeme:

Scott Shambaugh / The Shamblog:
A matplotlib maintainer explains how an AI agent that suggests code changes on open source repos wrote a hit piece on him after a rejection, and the aftermath

Eduardo Baptista / Reuters:
ByteDance launches Doubao 2.0, an “agent era” upgrade of China's most widely used AI app capable of executing multi-step tasks, ahead of the Lunar New Year

Jessica Brice / Bloomberg:
A deep dive into a global money-laundering ecosystem powered by crypto and messaging apps like WeChat and Telegram, used by drug cartels and criminal groups

 
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