Top Items:

Senators receive affidavit containing new allegations against Pete Hegseth, who denies the claims — The former sister-in-law of Trump's defense secretary pick said that Hegseth made his second wife fear for her safety. Hegseth's second wife said, “There was no physical abuse in my marriage.”
Discussion:
HuffPost, Axios, Fox News, The Guardian, Associated Press, CBS News, Democrats, The Federalist, New Republic, Roll Call, Joe.My.God., Forbes, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, Mediaite and The Independent
RELATED:

Hegseth Ex-Sister-in-Law Tells Senators He Was ‘Abusive’ to Second Wife — A woman once married to the brother of Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary nominee, submitted a sworn statement to the Senate in a late-hour complication to his confirmation. His attorney denied her account.
Discussion:
USA Today and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Hegseth Routinely Passed Out from Alcohol Abuse, Witness Says — Trump's Pentagon pick has denied allegations, calling them part of a ‘smear campaign’ — Pete Hegseth, President Trump's pick to run the Pentagon, regularly abused alcohol to the point that he passed out at family gatherings …

Senate learns of new allegations against Hegseth — The Defense secretary nominee's former sister-in-law, in an affidavit, said she witnessed his drunken aggression and that his second wife worried about her safety. — Pete Hegseth's former sister-in-law, in an affidavit given to senators on Tuesday …

Trump picks fights with his party — The Scoop — As jubilant as Republican lawmakers are over Donald Trump's second term, they're facing a familiar reality: The president is back to picking fights with them and trying to bend them to his will. — From pardoning Jan. 6 offenders …
Discussion:
NOTUS, The Hill, Washington Post, NBC News, HuffPost, Politico, Mediaite, Rolling Stone, ABC News, Alternet.org, The Independent, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Raw Story and The Gateway Pundit
RELATED:

Navarro says Trump laying foundation for tariffs to come
Discussion:
Bloomberg, New York Times, The White House, USA Today, NPR, Business Insider, Foreign Policy, E&E News and DNyuz
Robert Jimison / New York Times:
On Capitol Hill, Only a Handful of Republicans Object to Jan. 6 Pardons
On Capitol Hill, Only a Handful of Republicans Object to Jan. 6 Pardons
Discussion:
NBC News, Reuters, ABC News, The Independent, HuffPost and New Jersey Online
Sarah Rumpf / Mediaite:
‘I Agree With the Vice President’: Mitch McConnell Tweaks Trump Over Jan. 6 Pardons by Citing JD Vance's Recent Comments
‘I Agree With the Vice President’: Mitch McConnell Tweaks Trump Over Jan. 6 Pardons by Citing JD Vance's Recent Comments
Discussion:
Breitbart, CNN, The Hill, The Post Millennial, The Daily Signal, Joe.My.God., Axios and New Jersey Online
Nikki McCann Ramirez / Rolling Stone:
Meet the Violent Jan. 6 Criminals Trump Let Back on the Streets
Meet the Violent Jan. 6 Criminals Trump Let Back on the Streets
Discussion:
New York Times
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
An All-Out Assault on the Rule of Law

Trump signs order seeking to rename Alaska's Denali and the Gulf of Mexico — President Donald Trump said the Gulf of Mexico will be called Gulf of America, while the Denali mountain peak will revert to its old name, Mount McKinley. — President Donald Trump on Monday issued …
Discussion:
New York Times, NPR, Newsweek, The Guardian, Metro.co.uk, Townhall and Daily Mail
RELATED:

Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness
Discussion:
USA Today, New York Times, The Independent, The Mahablog, Fox News, Gizmodo, Mother Jones, Reason, Semafor, Althouse, U.S. Embassy & Consulates …, Florida's Voice and Forbes
Caroline Vakil / The Hill:
Hillary Clinton laughs as Trump announces ‘Gulf of America’ order
Hillary Clinton laughs as Trump announces ‘Gulf of America’ order
Discussion:
The Guardian, DNyuz and Daily Mail
ACLU:
Immigrants' Rights Advocates Sue Trump Administration Over Birthright Citizenship Executive Order — New order puts newborns in harm's way, is unconstitutional, and flouts fundamental American values — CONCORD, N.H. — Immigrants' rights advocates today sued the Trump administration …
Discussion:
Business Insider, The Bulwark, Axios, NBC News, Washington Examiner, Associated Press, NPR, CBS News, USA Today, VTDigger, The Guardian, Minnesota Reformer, Alaska Beacon, Reuters, CNN, WBUR, Alternet.org, Los Angeles Times, The White House, New Jersey Online, The Daily Caller, Reason, WisPolitics, Boston Herald, Forbes and Daily Kos
RELATED:

Twenty-two States Sue to Stop Trump's Birthright Citizenship Order
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Pluribus News, Politico, The Atlantic, Associated Press, Washington Times, Florida Politics, DNyuz, The Hill, New York Daily News, The Guardian, American Thinker, Mercury News, The Verge, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Digby's Hullabaloo, Gizmodo, USA Today, Joe.My.God. and Courthouse News Service, more at Techmeme »

Coast Guard Commandant terminated over border lapses, recruitment, DEI focus: official — Senior DHS official confirms to Fox News Digital Coast Guard Adm. Linda Fagan has been relieved of her post — EXCLUSIVE: The Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard has been terminated over concerns about the border …
Discussion:
U.S. Coast Guard, Defense One, Military Times, USNI News, City Journal, The Federalist, Breitbart, Daily Mail, CBS News, Breaking Defense, The Hill and WHDH-TV
RELATED:
April Rubin / Axios:
Trump starts military overhaul by ousting first female Coast Guard commandant
Trump starts military overhaul by ousting first female Coast Guard commandant
Discussion:
Washington Post, Politico, New York Times, CT Mirror, Forbes, Baltimore Sun, UPI and Raw Story

Trump to announce up to $500 billion in private sector AI infrastructure investment — President Trump is set to announce billions of dollars in private sector investment to build artificial intelligence infrastructure in the United States, CBS News has learned.
Discussion:
Scripps News, The Hill, Bloomberg, ABC News, New York Post, CoinDesk, Semafor, Boston Herald, DNyuz, Futurism, Forbes and Associated Press, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:

Trump says ICE can arrest people at churches and schools, directs agency to use ‘common sense’ — Federal immigration authorities will be permitted to arrest people and carry out enforcement actions in and near places such as churches and schools, marking a departure from long-standing policy to avoid so-called sensitive areas.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Scripps News, ABC News, Associated Press, CBS News, Alternet.org, Baltimore Sun, Reuters, Hartford Courant and Raw Story
RELATED:

Federal Employees Union Sues Trump Over Worker Protections — The National Treasury Employees Union argues a move to “radically reshape the civil service” by making it easier to fire federal workers violates the will of Congress. — The National Treasury Employees Union said on Tuesday …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner and CNN
RELATED:

Trump terminates John Bolton's security detail within hours of taking office — Within hours of taking office, President Donald Trump terminated the Secret Service detail that was assigned to his former national security adviser John Bolton, Bolton confirmed to CNN on Tuesday.
Discussion:
Fox News, New York Times, Washington Examiner, The Hill, ABC News, Associated Press, Townhall, New York Post, Mediaite, CBS News, Breitbart and Reason

AOC slams ADL for excusing Elon Musk's ‘awkward gesture:’ 'You're defending a Heil Hitler salute' — Musk spoke at an inauguration event for President Trump after he was sworn in on Monday — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., attacked the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) …
Discussion:
The Hill, HuffPost, Alternet.org, Townhall, Baltimore Sun, Louder With Crowder, New York Post and The Forward
RELATED:
George Wright / BBC:
Musk responds to backlash over gesture at Trump rally
Musk responds to backlash over gesture at Trump rally
Discussion:
HuffPost, Washington Examiner, Salon, Associated Press, Advocate, Fox News, One America News Network, Raw Story, Reuters, The Hollywood Reporter, Global News, Euronews, New York Magazine, Townhall, Vanity Fair, The Guardian, RedState, Slate, Politico, DNyuz, Forbes, Joe.My.God., Breitbart, New York Post, The Independent, The Daily Caller, Atlanta Black Star, Mediaite, The Root and Al Jazeera, more at Techmeme »

Judges Begin Freeing Jan. 6 Defendants and Dismissing Their Cases — Two prominent far-right extremists with central roles in the Capitol attack, Enrique Tarrio of the Proud Boys and Stewart Rhodes of the Oath Keepers militia, have been set free. — One day after President Donald J …
RELATED:

America's second Paris withdrawal is not like the first … - There may be sufficient momentum now in both the Paris regime as well as the burgeoning clean energy sector that this will make only a symbolic difference. … - Last time the U.S. left, no other country followed that move.
Discussion:
Associated Press and Raw Story
RELATED:

Instagram hides search results for ‘Democrats’ — Meta says its working urgently to fix a problem with Instagram which results in a “results hidden” message when users search for the terms “Democrat” or “Democrats”. — Some social media users have accused the company of political bias …
Discussion:
Alternet.org and The Independent

Bishop Calls Out Trump and Vance To Their Face — This stunning video highlights the first direct call out received by Trump and Vance since taking office. — This afternoon, Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde fearlessly called out Donald Trump and JD Vance to their faces at a national prayer service.
Discussion:
USA Today, UPI, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, Advocate, NewsNation, Raw Story, Washington Examiner, American Greatness, New Jersey Online, Crooks and Liars and The Hill

Decentralized Social Media Is the Only Alternative to the Tech Oligarchy — If it wasn't already obvious, the last 72 hours have made it crystal clear that it is urgent to build and mainstream alternative, decentralized social media platforms that are resistant to government censorship and control …

The Land of Greater Fools — America as a big con. — Successful criminals and politicians both understand the wisdom of going big. It's a felony to steal a thousand bucks. It's still a felony to steal a billion. Might as well steal the billion. Likewise, it takes about the same amount …

Justice Dept. removes senior career officials from key positions — The Justice Department reassignments involve top career officials in the national security and criminal divisions, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. — The Trump administration has removed …
Discussion:
GovExec.com

Protecting The United States From Foreign Terrorists And Other National Security And Public Safety Threats — PROTECTING THE UNITED STATES FROM FOREIGN TERRORISTS AND OTHER — NATIONAL SECURITY AND PUBLIC SAFETY THREATS — By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution …
Discussion:
Skift, The Times of Israel, VIBE.com and Daily Caller News Foundation
RELATED:

Donald Trump's Medicare Executive Order Explained — 's executive order 14087, which was put in place to lower the cost of prescription drugs for Americans. — Newsweek has reached out to the Trump transition team outside of regular working hours via email for comment. — Why It Matters
Discussion:
The Hill, Fortune, Raw Story and PoliticusUSA

Trump's Billionaire Arbitrage — The president has always possessed a magical ability to convince voters that he's still an Imus-style populist, even as he conducts his corporate favor trading practically in the open. But watching Trump at the inauguration, flanked by a platoon of billionaire supplicants …
Discussion:
Digby's Hullabaloo