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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.
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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 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 …

Fauci Stripped of Government Security Protection
Discussion:
Daily Mail, CBS News, Daily Kos, Axios, Bloomberg, Los Angeles Times, New Republic, DNyuz and Politico

US Secret Service approached South Side school, not ICE agents: officials — Chicago Public Schools officials claimed they denied ICE entry to Hamline Elementary School Friday morning — Live streaming newscasts, breaking news, weather & original, local programming.
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Chicago Tribune, Oklahoma Voice, New York Daily News, The Independent, Chicago Sun Times and Block Club Chicago
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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, Chalkbeat, The Hill, Axios, LAist, DNyuz, Chicago Tribune, The Times-Tribune, WUSA, Raw Story, New Jersey Online, The Daily Caller 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.
Discussion:
The Hill, Politico, New York Post, Gizmodo, The Independent, Mediaite, Daily Caller News Foundation, RTÉ, Semafor, Alternet.org and Raw Story

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
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Facing FBI investigation that Trump could halt, Andy Ogles proposes allowing third term for president — The Tennessee congressman, who was effusive in his praise of President Trump, faces an FBI investigation over allegations of fraud in reporting a $320,000 personal loan to his campaign.
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CNBC
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Steve Benen / MSNBC:
New GOP bill would let Trump (but not Obama) run for a third term
New GOP bill would let Trump (but not Obama) run for a third term
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CNBC, Axios, The Gateway Pundit, Townhall, HotAir, The Independent, No More Mister Nice Blog, TheGrio, Hollywood Life, HuffPost, Forbes, New Republic, Scripps News, IJR, The Hill, Daily Mail, Raw Story, Fox News, Washington Examiner and Alternet.org

Mexico refuses to accept a U.S. deportation flight — The Mexican government has criticized President Donald Trump's unilateral immigration actions, and the landing would have required Mexico's assistance. — WASHINGTON — Mexico denied a U.S. military plane access to land Thursday …
Discussion:
Fox News, The Hill, Bloomberg, Instapundit, Daily Mail, American Greatness, Townhall and New York Times

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:
The Guardian, Associated Press, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, UPI, The Gateway Pundit, Forbes, Reuters, Washington Blade and DNyuz

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:
Raw Story, Washington Post, The Dean's Report and ABC News
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Freed Jan. 6 Convicts Are Back on the Street and Ready to Help Trump
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, The Guardian, The Dispatch, WSVN-TV and New York Post
Jonathan Chait / The Atlantic:
There Is No Resistance — To see how far the lines of normal have moved since President Donald …
There Is No Resistance — To see how far the lines of normal have moved since President Donald …
Discussion:
NewsBreak

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, Digby's Hullabaloo, The Independent and New Republic

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
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Supreme Court to weigh whether states can allow religious public schools — The Supreme Court agreed Friday to consider whether the state of Oklahoma may fund a proposed religious charter school, the first of its kind in the country — The Supreme Court agreed Friday to consider whether …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Associated Press, The Hill, Los Angeles Times, New Republic, HuffPost, Oklahoma Voice and Chalkbeat
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Lawrence Hurley / NBC News:
Supreme Court to hear church-state fight over Oklahoma bid to launch first publicly funded religious school
Supreme Court to hear church-state fight over Oklahoma bid to launch first publicly funded religious school
Discussion:
Reuters, USA Today, Bloomberg, New York Times, Oklahoma Voice and Reason

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:
Twitchy, Colorado Times Recorder, PolitiFact, The Hill, Jewish Insider and HuffPost
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William Kristol / The Bulwark:
Musk Tells a ‘Joke’
Musk Tells a ‘Joke’
Discussion:
CNN, OutsideTheBeltway, VINnews, MPR News and The Hill

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.

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 and Wired, more at Techmeme »

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, New Republic, Roll Call, The Guardian, DNyuz, The 19th, The Daily Signal, Michigan Advance, NOTUS, Washington Post and NBC News
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Christine Fernando / Associated Press:
Trump pardons anti-abortion activists who blockaded clinic entrances
Trump pardons anti-abortion activists who blockaded clinic entrances

Wall Street Banks Prepare to Sell Billions of Dollars of X Loans — Banks are hoping to sell the X debt at around 90 to 95 cents on the dollar — Banks are getting ready to sell billions of dollars in debt borrowed by Elon Musk's X, bringing Wall Street a step closer to exiting …
Discussion:
Reuters, The Verge and Futurism, more at Techmeme »

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 …

Trump Leaves Democrats Dazed and on the Defensive — Locked out of power in Washington, the party is struggling to agree on a unified message of opposition. Some of its lawmakers are even telling Republicans they want to work together. — As President Trump pushes aggressively to reshape …
Discussion:
HotAir, UnHerd, ABC News, NBC News and Washington Examiner
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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

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 …
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NorthJersey.com, CBS News, NewsNation, Fox News, El País, New Jersey Globe, New York Post, New Jersey Monitor, Reuters, Raw Story, Truthout, abc7NY, Alternet.org, WNYW-TV, New York Magazine, Eater, Scripps News, The Hill, MeidasTouch News, Daily Kos, New York Daily News, DNyuz, USA Today, The Guardian, Justin's Political Corner, Bloomberg, UPI, Axios and City of Newark

The immigrant crackdown has begun. Its first target might surprise you. — Trump is not just going after foreigners who break the law. — Donald Trump promised to crack down on illegal immigration, a vow many Americans support. But so far, his administration has been much more fixated …
Discussion:
Baltimore Sun, RTÉ and CBS News

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, Daily Kos, Raw Story, New Republic, NPR, NBC News, Al Jazeera, Roll Call, Semafor, The Gateway Pundit, Heatmap News, Daily Mail, Politico, New York Post, Bloomberg, Scripps News, The Guardian, Forbes, Fox News, DNyuz, American Greatness, MeidasTouch News, Rolling Stone, Digby's Hullabaloo, The Hill, Reuters, Salon, Washington Examiner, Alternet.org and Grist
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Kevin Breuninger / CNBC:
Trump recommends ending FEMA ahead of California fire site visit
Trump recommends ending FEMA ahead of California fire site visit
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ABC News, Washington Examiner, Politico, CBS News, USA Today, Washington Post, Breitbart, NPR, Reuters, Townhall, Daily Kos, Wall Street Journal, The Hill, Associated Press, DNyuz, The Independent, The Gateway Pundit, UPI, WNYW-TV, WVEC, Scripps News, IJR and Saywhat Politics

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:
Axios, New York Magazine, The Daily Caller and DNyuz

Trump Pauses Disbursements to Program Supplying H.I.V. Treatment Worldwide — Pepfar, which is estimated to have delivered lifesaving treatment as many as 25 million people in 54 countries, faces a funding delay of as long as 180 days. — The Trump administration has halted disbursement …

House Democrats worry a repeat loser will ruin their chances in a Michigan battleground — Some Democrats are worried the third time will not be the charm for a failed congressional candidate. Carl Marlinga, a septuagenarian former judge and attorney, is telling Michigan Democrats that he plans …
Discussion:
Raw Story

DOGE Will Allow Elon Musk to Surveil the US Government From the Inside — A former USDS employee called the repurposing of the Digital Service into DOGE an “A+ bureaucratic jiujitsu move.” It will give Musk and his associates access to unclassified data in every government agency.

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?