Top Items:
Reuters:
Exclusive: White House uses USAID funds for budget director Vought's security, documents show — The White House budget office is using millions of dollars from the former U.S. foreign aid agency to pay for the security detail of Russell Vought, President Donald Trump's budget chief …
Discussion:
Wonkette, Mother Jones, The Moderate Voice, Raw Story and New Republic
Wall Street Journal:
A Pilot Fired Over Kristi Noem's Missing Blanket and the Constant Chaos Inside DHS — Secretary, with close adviser Corey Lewandowski, faces fire for confrontational immigration crackdown and self-promotional style; White House to wind down Minnesota operations — Kristi Noem knew she needed a reset.
Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Congress Jets Off as D.H.S. Shuts Down — Despite a deadlock over funding for the agency, lawmakers left town and left Democratic and White House negotiators to try to work out a deal in their absence. — When a disruptive government shutdown nears, the Capitol is usually occupied …
Discussion:
CBS News, The Hill, Salon, Townhall, New York Sun, Joe.My.God., Politico, Axios, MS NOW, NewsNation, NOTUS, Roll Call, Scripps News, Tampa Free Press and NewsMax.com
RELATED:
Meg Kinnard / Associated Press:
What to know about the Homeland Security shutdown starting this weekend — Another shutdown for parts of the federal government is expected this weekend as lawmakers debate new restrictions on President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement agenda. — Funding for the Department of Homeland Security is set to expire Saturday.
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Guardian, New York Times, Fox News, Washington Examiner, The Hill, Wall Street Journal, Axios, KTVZ-TV, NewsNation and The Federalist
Washington Post:
White House, RFK Jr. shake up health leadership after controversies — Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s health department is undergoing a major leadership overhaul. — The White House and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are shaking up the health department's leadership team ahead of the midterms …
Discussion:
Politico, Axios, MS NOW, Joe.My.God. and Wall Street Journal
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Joseph Choi / The Hill:
HHS shaking up top personnel to push Trump, MAHA priorities ahead of midterms — Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday announced a reshuffling of top staffers in his department as the Trump administration looks to shore up health wins that can boost GOP success in the upcoming midterms.
Michael S. Derby / Reuters:
NY Fed report says Americans pay for almost all of Trump's tariffs — Americans are shouldering almost all of President Donald Trump's import tax surge, a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said on Thursday. — The bank said 90% of the tariffs imposed by the president …
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Colby Smith / New York Times:
U.S. Inflation Eased at Start of the Year
U.S. Inflation Eased at Start of the Year
Discussion:
CBS News, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, The White House, CNBC, The Daily Caller, Florida's Voice, twitchy.com, RedState, Semafor, Townhall, Newsweek, The National Pulse and Axios
Christopher Rugaber / Associated Press:
Inflation measure falls to nearly five-year low as gas prices fall and housing costs cool
Steve Kopack / NBC News:
Inflation cooled in January, offering some relief for consumers
Inflation cooled in January, offering some relief for consumers
Discussion:
CBS News, Breitbart, The Daily Wire, UPI, Fox Business, The Hill, News Talk 105.9 and The American Conservative
New York Times:
Meta Plans to Add Facial Recognition Technology to Its Smart Glasses — In an internal memo last year, Meta said the political tumult in the United States would distract critics from the feature's release. — Five years ago, Facebook shut down the facial recognition system for tagging people …
Discussion:
The Verge, The Information and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »
ProPublica:
What Meetings Among Trump Lawyers Reveal About the FBI's Seizure of Election Records in Georgia — The Missouri prosecutor overseeing an investigation into the 2020 vote in Fulton County, Georgia, has taken part in meetings since last fall with lawyers tasked by President Donald Trump to reinvestigate his loss to Joe Biden.
Discussion:
New York Magazine and Law and Chaos
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Lisa Needham / Public Notice:
The Fulton County raid is part of Trump's total war on voting
The Fulton County raid is part of Trump's total war on voting
Discussion:
The Conversation, Truthout and Washington Post
Washington Post:
ICE plans to spend $38.3 billion turning warehouses into detention centers — Documents released Thursday offer the most complete picture to date of the Trump administration's controversial and costly plan to overhaul immigrant detention using industrial buildings.
Discussion:
Axios, The Appeal, Joe.My.God., The Guardian, MS NOW, Oregonian, Spotlight PA, Slate and Mother Jones
Axios:
Behind the Curtain: Resistance rising — Little by little, week after week, a subtle but significant shift is unfolding in American politics: Institutions and even a small but growing number of Republicans are standing up to President Trump. … But the law of political gravity is starting to apply to Trump.
Discussion:
Hopium Chronicles and Semafor
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Gregory Svirnovskiy / Politico:
Slotkin looks to make sure DOJ has ended investigation into military video
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Hill and ABC News
Eric Levitz / Vox:
The real lesson of Trump's failed prosecution of 6 Democrats
The real lesson of Trump's failed prosecution of 6 Democrats
Discussion:
Straight Arrow News, The Atlantic and Christian Science Monitor
The Athletic:
President Trump pardons Hall of Famer Joe Klecko and four other former NFL players — Share full article — President Donald Trump pardoned former NFL players Joe Klecko, Nate Newton, Jamal Lewis, Travis Henry and the late Billy Cannon on Thursday, according to White House pardon czar Alice Marie Johnson.
Discussion:
Mediaite, NewsMax.com, Blaze Media and New Jersey Online
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Paul Krugman:
The MAGA Bubble Is Imploding — Americans aren't buying Trumpist gaslighting about the economy … Attorney General Pam Bondi's meltdown on Wednesday while being questioned the House Judiciary Committee was exceptional, even by this administration's rock-bottom standards.
Discussion:
Raw Story, Balloon Juice and CNN
Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:
What Minnesota Really Thinks Of The End Of Trump's ICE Surge — The mood in Minneapolis may not be what you would expect. — Border czar Tom Homan delivered the news on Thursday that Minnesotans living under federal occupation have been desperately waiting for: the end …
Discussion:
New York Times and Reuters
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Pooja Salhotra / New York Times:
A D.H.S. Shutdown Looms. Bruised Minnesotans Urge Their Parties to Dig In.
A D.H.S. Shutdown Looms. Bruised Minnesotans Urge Their Parties to Dig In.
Discussion:
The Guardian and Council on Foreign Relations
ProPublica:
“Not Ready for Prime Time.” A Federal Tool to Check Voter Citizenship Keeps Making Mistakes. — When county clerk Brianna Lennon got an email in November saying a newly expanded federal system had flagged 74 people on the county's voter roll as potential noncitizens, she was taken aback.
Discussion:
Truthout, Washington Times, One America News Network, The Post Millennial and The Philadelphia Inquirer
New York Times:
The Infrastructure of Jeffrey Epstein's Power — This is an edited transcript of “The Ezra Klein Show.” You can listen to the episode wherever you get your podcasts. — At the end of January, President Trump's Justice Department released what it said was the last tranche of the Jeffrey Epstein files …
Discussion:
New Republic, Lawyers, Guns & Money and The.Ink
RELATED:
David Remnick / New Yorker:
The Epstein Files Reveal What Trump Knew
The Epstein Files Reveal What Trump Knew
Discussion:
Washington Examiner
New York Times:
Justice Department Sues Harvard for Admissions Records — The Trump administration appears to have renewed its pressure campaign against Harvard since President Trump backtracked this month on a possible settlement with the Ivy League school. — The Trump administration sued Harvard University on Friday …
RELATED:
C. Frances / The Intercept:
The Woman Alex Pretti Was Killed Trying to Defend Is an EMT. Federal Agents Stopped Her From Giving First Aid. — MINNEAPOLIS — The struggle that killed Alex Pretti began with a shove. It ended with gunshots. — In the final moments before he was shot and killed by federal authorities in Minneapolis …
Discussion:
Straight Arrow News and Mediaite
Samuel Oakford / Washington Post:
The Don Lemon indictment: Video appears to contradict key claims — The former CNN anchor, now an independent journalist, faces criminal charges after covering a protest at a church in St. Paul last month — Video footage appears to contradict key aspects of a federal indictment's descriptions …
Discussion:
Axios, CNN, Deadline, The Daily Signal, The Post Millennial, NewsNation and NewsMax.com, more at Mediagazer »
Jacob Owens / KVOA-TV:
Nanos pushes back on claims of withholding evidence in Guthrie case — TUCSON, Ariz. (KVOA) - Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos is pushing back on claims that he is withholding crucial evidence from the FBI in the Nancy Guthrie case. — Nanos denies the allegations, describing the report as “not even close to the truth.”
Discussion:
NewsNation, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, New York Post, Washington Examiner, InTouch Weekly, NewsMax.com, TMZ.com, Forbes, Fox News, The Hollywood Reporter, RADAR and CBS News
RELATED:
Jana Winter / Reuters:
Exclusive: Arizona sheriff blocks FBI access to evidence in Nancy Guthrie abduction, source says
Exclusive: Arizona sheriff blocks FBI access to evidence in Nancy Guthrie abduction, source says
Discussion:
The Guardian, Fox News, Deadline, Page Six, Tampa Free Press, The Daily Caller, The Wrap, IJR, RedState, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, The Post Millennial, TMZ.com, UPI, InTouch Weekly and New York Post
AP-NORC:
A majority disapprove of how Trump is handling Greenland — Twenty-four percent of adults approve of Trump's handling of Greenland; 72% disapprove. … The Trump administration's approach to Greenland is proving unpopular among U.S. adults, according to a new AP-NORC poll.
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Hill, Truthout, FOX 10 Phoenix, Newsweek, MeidasTouch News, The Dispatch and Navigator Research
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge:
Ring cancels its partnership with Flock Safety after surveillance backlash — Following mounting pressure and a questionable Super Bowl ad, the Amazon-owned company walked back its plan to integrate with the controversial law-enforcement technology company.
Discussion:
flocksafety.com, CBS News, Associated Press, KVIA-TV, Reason, UPI, CNBC, Gizmodo, The Ring Blog, TechCrunch, Straight Arrow News, Mashable, Variety, The Register, Futurism and Berkeleyside, more at Techmeme »
Associated Press:
Logistics giant DP World replaces chairman named in Jeffrey Epstein documents — Dubai has announced a new chairman for DP World, one of the world's largest logistics companies, replacing the outgoing head who was named in the Jeffrey Epstein documents. The announcement by the government's …
Discussion:
Financial Times, The Guardian, Reuters, NewsNation, ABC News, GV Wire, CBS News, New York Post, New York Times, FreightWaves, Al Jazeera, KVIA-TV, Newsweek, NewsMax.com, Transport Topics, Bloomberg, France 24, Bangor Daily News, Semafor, Forbes and 5Pillars
Media Matters for America:
Jesse Watters: “Epstein got his money from two Jewish billionaires” and “the Jewish banking dynasty, the Rothschilds”
Discussion:
Wonkette
Sophie Brams / The Hill:
Pride flag returns to Stonewall National Monument after Trump administration removal — A rainbow Pride flag is once again flying over Stonewall National Monument in New York City, days after the LGBTQ symbol was removed from the historic site due to a federal order from President Trump, according to local outlets.
Politico:
ICE says federal agents appear to have lied about confrontation that led to shooting … Agents had initially said that two men — Alfredo Aljorna and Julio Sosa Celis - assaulted them with a broom and a shovel before one of them shot Sosa Celis. … Local law enforcement and prosecutors are also investigating the incident.
Jen Rice / Democracy Docket:
In victory for Democrats, Virginia Supreme Court says redistricting vote can go forward — In a big win for Virginia Democrats' efforts to counter President Donald Trump's GOP gerrymanders in other states, the Virginia Supreme Court said the state can hold its special election on the redistricting plan.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, NBC News, Fox News, Associated Press, NPR, RedState, Roll Call, Cardinal News, Blue Virginia, Election Law Blog and Independent Women
Matt Cohen / Democracy Docket:
‘A massive burden on American eligible voters’: State election chiefs oppose GOP voter suppression bills — The Democratic chief election officials of six states are denouncing two new voter suppression bills making their way through Congress — underscoring how the legislation would place …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, ABC11, Los Angeles Times and TheGrio
