Top Items:

Trump has pulled Fauci's security detail, source says — President Donald Trump has terminated Dr. Anthony Fauci's security detail that was being provided and paid for by the National Institutes of Health, a source familiar with the situation tells CNN. It was pulled on Thursday night.
RELATED:

Trump returns — and so does his astounding ignorance — If you feel off-kilter, you're in good company. The president seems downright bewildered. — “I think we're going to do things that people would be shocked at,” President Donald Trump declared on his second day in office.
Discussion:
Plain Dealer, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Daily Signal, New Jersey Online and NOTUS

Trump's Plan to Crush the Academic Left — Last year, Chris Rufo, the influential right-wing strategist who spearheaded the campaign against diversity, equity and inclusion, or D.E.I., initiatives, told me about his ambitions for a second Trump presidency. He hoped, he said …
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money, Baltimore Sun and Fox News

Fauci Stripped of Government Security Protection
Discussion:
Daily Mail, Axios, Associated Press, Bloomberg, New Republic, Los Angeles Times, DNyuz and Politico
Reuters:
Trump says he ended security for former top COVID official Anthony Fauci
Trump says he ended security for former top COVID official Anthony Fauci
Discussion:
One America News Network
Brett Samuels / The Hill:
Trump cuts Fauci's security detail
Trump cuts Fauci's security detail
Discussion:
The Independent, UPI, RedState and Daily Mail

ICE agents ‘showed up’ at Chicago school amid heightened concerns of raids — Schools across the Chicago area have released guidance about potential situations after the Trump Administration revoked previous guidance prohibiting immigration arrests at schools, churches and hospitals
Discussion:
CNN, Chicago Tribune, Chalkbeat, Axios, Chicago Sun Times, Block Club Chicago, WUSA, New Jersey Online, Raw Story and The Daily Caller
RELATED:

ICE agents denied entry to South Side elementary school, Chicago Public Schools claims — CPS and CTU officials claim ICE agents were denied entry to a school Friday. — CHICAGO (WLS) — Chicago Public Schools officials claim U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were denied entry …
Discussion:
Chicago Tribune, The Independent and Wirepoints

Donald Trump in fiery call with Denmark's prime minister over Greenland — US president insisted he wants to take over Arctic island — Donald Trump insisted he was serious in his determination to take over Greenland in a fiery telephone call with Denmark's prime minister, according to senior European officials.

Experts saw Samoa's plunging vaccination rates as a crisis. RFK Jr. saw an opportunity. — New details show how Robert F. Kennedy Jr., then chair of an anti-vaccine group and now Trump's pick for health secretary, sought to exploit a deadly vaccine accident.
Discussion:
Politico, New Republic, Fox News, DNyuz, Scripps News and The Hill
RELATED:

Newark mayor: ICE raided business without a warrant, detained U.S. citizens — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents carried out a raid on a Newark business Thursday, detaining non-citizens and citizens alike, according to Mayor Ras J. Baraka. — The incident, which could not immediately …
Discussion:
Fox News, El País, Reuters, New York Post, abc7NY, Alternet.org, WNYW-TV, Eater, Scripps News, MeidasTouch News, Daily Kos, DNyuz, CBS News, New Jersey Globe, USA Today, The Guardian, Bloomberg and The Hill
RELATED:

Trump Leaves Democrats Dazed and on the Defensive
Discussion:
HotAir, UnHerd, NBC News, ABC News and Washington Examiner
Adrian Carrasquillo / The Bulwark:
The Border Debate Is Over. Dems Lost.
The Border Debate Is Over. Dems Lost.
Discussion:
Capitol News Illinois, Associated Press, The Daily Caller, Fox News, Fox Business and DNyuz

State Department issues immediate, widespread pause on foreign aid — The “stop-work orders” appear to apply to US aid for all countries except Israel and Egypt. — Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday issued new guidance halting spending on most existing foreign aid grants for 90 days.
Discussion:
Financial Times, Reuters, Forbes and DNyuz

Paul Krugman on Leaving the New York Times — The paper wanted to take away his newsletter or make him write less frequently, he says. — For two and a half decades, Paul Krugman's columns in the New York Times were beacons of intelligence and common sense.

Elon Musk doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt — Since Donald Trump's rise to power, some liberals have developed a bad habit of seeing secret Nazi imagery everywhere on the right. — Be it Laura Ingraham allegedly sieg-heiling at the 2016 Republican National Convention …
Discussion:
Colorado Times Recorder, PolitiFact, The Hill, Jewish Insider and HuffPost
RELATED:
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
Musk Tells a ‘Joke’
Musk Tells a ‘Joke’
Discussion:
CNN, OutsideTheBeltway, VINnews, MPR News and The Hill

Trump Says States Should Manage Disasters. Former FEMA Leaders Agree. — “I'd rather see the states take care of their own problems,” the president said. Federal emergency managers from both parties have made the same argument. — President Trump plans to tour damage on Friday …
Discussion:
Associated Press, New Republic, NBC News, Daily Kos, Raw Story, NPR, Politico, Bloomberg, Scripps News, Rolling Stone, Semafor, The Gateway Pundit, Heatmap News, Daily Mail, Fox News, New York Post, The Guardian, American Greatness, Forbes, DNyuz, MeidasTouch News, Digby's Hullabaloo, Reuters, The Hill, Salon, Washington Examiner, Alternet.org and Grist
RELATED:

Newsom plans to crash Trump's LA wildfire visit
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Daily Mail, Daily Kos, The Hollywood Reporter, The Hill, LAist, Breitbart, CBS News, ABC News, NBC News, Palo Alto Online, New York Post, Instapundit, DNyuz, Wall Street Journal, Semafor, Orange County Register, Bloomberg, TMZ.com, Governor of California, NewsNation and Mercury News
Kevin Breuninger / CNBC:
Trump recommends ending FEMA ahead of California fire site visit
Trump recommends ending FEMA ahead of California fire site visit
Discussion:
CBS News, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Washington Examiner, NPR, The Hill, Townhall, Reuters, Associated Press, The Gateway Pundit, DNyuz, The Independent, UPI, WNYW-TV, WVEC, Scripps News, IJR, USA Today and Saywhat Politics

Dems Worry Sen. Whitehouse Considering Vote for RFK Jr — Wanted to share some information on the RFK Jr. nomination before the Senate. — It probably won't surprise you that RFK Jr., along with Tulsi Gabbard, are among the few Trump nominees who might actually not get confirmed.
Discussion:
WPRI.com, New Republic and The Independent

Trump's Obscene Jan. 6 Pardons Will Live in Infamy — Sanctioning violence is what authoritarians do — As Inauguration Day neared, Donald Trump and his associates put out a reassuring message: while the new president would pardon many Jan. 6 rioters, as he had promised supporters, he would do so in a responsible and prudent way.
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Dean's Report and ABC News
RELATED:

Trump enlists attorney general to investigate Biden administration — President has thrown weight of justice department behind two politically charged reviews into his personal grievances — Donald Trump has tasked the attorney general in two executive orders to conduct far-reaching investigations …

Team Trump Says Mark Zuckerberg Has ‘More Ass-Kissing’ to Do — Trump's aides and allies aren't ready to buy the Facebook chief's right-wing conversion. “He can't just snap his fingers and make the past not happen” … The Meta CEO and Facebook co-founder reportedly promised the administration …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Futurism and Wired, more at Techmeme »

DOJ asks judge to drop order barring Oath Keepers from visiting Capitol — Stewart Rhodes, previously sentenced to 18 years for seditious conspiracy, was at the Capitol Wednesday chatting up lawmakers and reporters. — The Justice Department is asking a federal judge to drop …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Bloomberg, Talking Points Memo, NPR, New Republic, Mediaite, Raw Story and Fox News
RELATED:

Sensing Political Support, Abortion Opponents Raise Ambitions — The March for Life on Friday will bring together a movement invigorated by some early moves of the second Trump administration. — Anti-abortion activists are charging ahead with their ultimate mission to end all abortions nationwide …
Discussion:
The Hill, Politico, Washington Examiner, Associated Press, The Guardian, The Daily Signal, Michigan Advance, NOTUS, Washington Post, Axios, NBC News, DNyuz and The 19th

Trump administration tests the power to email every federal employee at once — The new feature, announced by the Office of Personnel Management, aligns with the goals of DOGE. — WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's administration is testing a new capability that would allow officials …
Discussion:
The Root
RELATED:

Supreme Court to hear church-state fight over Oklahoma bid to launch first publicly funded religious school — An attempt to authorize the Catholic school was challenged as a violation of the First Amendment, which limits government involvement in religion.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Reuters, Bloomberg, New York Times and Reason

RFK Jr. skipped meeting where officials planned fight against a future pandemic — The session between Trump and Biden administration officials is required of transitions and included other Trump Cabinet nominees. — As Biden officials packed up the White House last week …

Rutgers Center Cancels Conference in Response to Trump DEI Orders — The Rutgers University Center for Minority Serving Institutions announced Thursday that it has canceled an upcoming virtual conference about registered apprenticeship programs as a result of President Trump's executive …

Inside the room: Where House Republicans are looking to slash … We got our hands on the presentations that House committee chairs made during a closed-door Republican conference meeting this week. — They lay out a road map of where the GOP's hunt for spending cuts is heading right now.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and DNyuz

Two Words and a World of Trouble — Let me tell you a story about clowns evolving into velociraptors. — ∙ Paid — Bill Kristol sat in for Sarah on the Secret Pod today and it was dark. Just a warning. If you're not in good head-space to begin with today, maybe skip this episode?

New GOP bill would let Trump (but not Obama) run for a third term — Rep. Andy Ogles' bill to amend the Constitution and empower Donald Trump to seek a third term will inevitably fail. That doesn't mean it's irrelevant. — About a week after Donald Trump was elected to a second term …

Target rolls back DEI initiatives, the latest big company to retreat … Target on Friday said it's rolling back diversity, equity and inclusion programs — including some that aim to make its workforce and merchandise better reflect its customers. — In a memo sent to its employees …
Discussion:
The Hill, Business Insider, CBS News, Baltimore Sun, Forbes, Twitchy, DNyuz, The Daily Signal, New York Post, Fox Business and The Post Millennial

Fetterman touts new federal rule boosting wages for thousands of federal workers in Pa. — Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., is hailing a new rule that ends a longstanding pay disparity between hourly and salaried federal workers. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)