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USAID workers at Washington HQ told to stay home on Monday in unexpected, early-morning email — The main office of the US Agency for International Development in Washington was unexpectedly closed Monday and workers were emailed shortly after midnight that they should not come in …
Discussion:
The Federalist and Reuters
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Musk Says DOGE Halting Treasury Payments to US Contractors — Musk Calls USAID ‘a criminal organization’ that should ‘die’ — Billionaire expanding his reach across government spending — Elon Musk said his “DOGE team” of government efficiency enforcers is shutting down payments …

The split personality of Big Journalism in covering this nightmare — On Friday, three reporters at the Washington Post broke a huge story. It might have sounded like some kind of bureaucratic development inside the federal government, but it was much more important than that.

The Young, Inexperienced Engineers Aiding Elon Musk's Government Takeover — Engineers between 19 and 24, most linked to Musk's companies, are playing a key role as he seizes control of federal infrastructure. — Elon Musk's takeover of federal government infrastructure is ongoing …

USAID staffers told to stay out of Washington headquarters after Musk said Trump agreed to close it — Staffers of the U.S. Agency for International Development were instructed to stay out of the agency's Washington headquarters on Monday, according to a notice distributed to them …

Trump Administration Closes USAID Headquarters — Monday closure comes as Elon Musk and DOGE are pushing to get rid of foreign-assistance agency — WASHINGTON—The U.S. Agency for International Development closed its headquarters to agency personnel on Monday following moves …
Lee Moran / HuffPost:
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Sounds ‘Five Alarm Fire’ Over Latest Elon Musk News
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Sounds ‘Five Alarm Fire’ Over Latest Elon Musk News
Discussion:
Raw Story, The Message Box and Associated Press
Notes on the Crises:
Elon Musk Wants to Get Operational Control of the Treasury's Payment System. This Could Not Possibly Be More Dangerous
Elon Musk Wants to Get Operational Control of the Treasury's Payment System. This Could Not Possibly Be More Dangerous
Discussion:
Rolling Stone, Paul Krugman, The Lens and New York Times
Bloomberg:
Behind DOGE's Standoff at USAID: Desk Searches and Elon Musk Calling
Behind DOGE's Standoff at USAID: Desk Searches and Elon Musk Calling
Discussion:
New York Times, New Republic, NBC News, The Independent and DNyuz
Alexander Vindman / Why It Matters:
Hostile Takeover — “Department of Government Efficiency” Hijacks The Federal Government
Hostile Takeover — “Department of Government Efficiency” Hijacks The Federal Government
Discussion:
New York Magazine and Mashable
Wall Street Journal:
Musk Moves With Lightning Speed to Exert Control Over the Government
Musk Moves With Lightning Speed to Exert Control Over the Government
Discussion:
Letters from an American, Axios, The Hill, New York Times, The Guardian, DNyuz, The Gateway Pundit, UPI, Washington Post, Reuters and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »
Ellen Knickmeyer / Associated Press:
Elon Musk says President Donald Trump has ‘agreed’ USAID should be shut down
Elon Musk says President Donald Trump has ‘agreed’ USAID should be shut down
Discussion:
CBS News, Reuters, MeidasTouch News, USA Today, The Hill, New York Times, Law Dork, WTTG-TV, Associated Press, NPR, Raw Story, DNyuz, The Independent, The Gateway Pundit, Politico, RedState, Forbes, Oregonian, Fandom Frenzy, Mashable, Washington Examiner and Daily Mail
David McAfee / Raw Story:
‘This is a five-alarm fire’: Experts pounce on Musk's new ‘grave national security threat’
‘This is a five-alarm fire’: Experts pounce on Musk's new ‘grave national security threat’
Discussion:
CNN

Trump used fentanyl to justify tariffs, but the crisis was already easing — President Trump says illegal street fentanyl is one of the main justifications for sweeping trade tariffs he plans to impose against Canada, China and Mexico on Tuesday. A statement issued by the White House describes …
Discussion:
New York Times, emptywheel, Associated Press, Raw Story, Bloomberg, The Moderate Voice, Breitbart, Axios, UnHerd, Reuters, Washington Examiner, The White House, Grabien, NBC News, Fox News and UPI, more at Techmeme »
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U.S. Markets Roiled by Trump Tariffs — Stock indexes in the United States fell, and shares in Asian manufacturers and European carmakers tumbled on concern that tariffs will hurt trade and disrupt supply chains. — President Trump's decision to impose sweeping tariffs …
Discussion:
HuffPost, E&E News, DNyuz, Politico, Al Jazeera, Kyodo News+ and The Guardian

Dow futures drop more than 450 points after Trump hits U.S. trading partners with tariffs: Live updates
Lindsay Wise / Wall Street Journal:
Trump's Move to Put Tariff Hikes Ahead of Tax Cuts Has Spooked Almost Everyone
Trump's Move to Put Tariff Hikes Ahead of Tax Cuts Has Spooked Almost Everyone
Discussion:
Quartz, New Republic and Grabien
Reuters:
Trump says Americans may feel ‘pain’ in trade war with Mexico, Canada, China
Trump says Americans may feel ‘pain’ in trade war with Mexico, Canada, China
Discussion:
CBS News, DNyuz, Los Angeles Times, New York Post, CNBC, The Guardian, USA Today, Semafor and RedState
Alan Rappeport / New York Times:
Trump Tariffs Threaten to Upend Global Economic Order
Trump Tariffs Threaten to Upend Global Economic Order
Discussion:
HuffPost, New Republic, EsstN, Bloomberg, ChinaTalk, DNyuz, BBC, Fortune, CBS News, 19FortyFive, The Free Press, Salon, Reuters, Raw Story, Chicago Tribune, Digital Trends, NBC News, Financial Times, The New European, The Business of Fashion, Mediaite, The Guardian, The American Conservative, NPR, Forbes and San Diego Union-Tribune
Felix Salmon / Axios:
Trade war begins, as Trump leaves the world guessing
Trade war begins, as Trump leaves the world guessing
Discussion:
Reuters, New York Times, Bloomberg, UnHerd, Daily Mail, USA Today, Mediaite, Forbes, Associated Press and CNN
New York Times:
Tariff Retaliation Begins as Trump Acknowledges ‘Pain’ Is Possible
Tariff Retaliation Begins as Trump Acknowledges ‘Pain’ Is Possible
Discussion:
Bloomberg, The Guardian, Quartz, The Dispatch, Forbes, DNyuz, The City, Reuters, Mother Jones, Lawyers, Guns & Money, UPI, Associated Press, The Independent, NBC News, HuffPost, Al Jazeera, Daily Mail, Wall Street Journal, Politico and Fox Business

Federal Workers Block Doors of Admin Building Over Elon Musk Data Breach — Nearly 100 Federal employees took part in a protest now into its second day of a takeover by Elon Musk surrogates of the high administration arm of the Federal government. Photo: DCMediaGroup
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Musk associates given unfettered access to private data of government employees — The Musk-connected political hires include two recent high school graduates — Several of Elon Musk's associates installed at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) have received unprecedented access …
Discussion:
The Guardian

Sen. McConnell on what he'll do as President Trump shakes up Washington with an onslaught of executive orders — Sen. Mitch McConnell, after stepping down from his Senate leadership position, bucked President Trump and was one of only three Republicans to vote against the president's nominee for defense secretary.
Discussion:
RedState, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story and Mediaite
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Primary Every Democrat … I spent almost a decade covering the United States Senate. So, believe me when I tell you that I do not want to be a United States senator. Imagine having a job where your mere existence in the role is a symbol of democratic backsliding, where your leaders torture …
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Thousands rally in downtown Los Angeles, shut down 101 Freeway to protest Trump's immigration policies — Thousands of demonstrators rallied in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday and shut down a section of the 101 Freeway to protest President Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration and his aggressive deportation policies.
Discussion:
KTLA, CBS News, KTVU-TV, KNSD-TV, PinkNews, Daily Breeze, ABC7, USA Today, Breitbart, New York Post, Variety, RedState, DNyuz, KFMB, The Gateway Pundit and Deep Learning State Machine

Follow the Money — Hey guys, I'm sending out Monday's Triad on Sunday night for reasons that will be clear when you read it. So you won't get another Triad in your inbox on Monday—but keep your eyes on the Bulwark homepage, YouTube channel, and podcasts. The team is doing great work making sense of the chaos monkeys.

Are America's four main adversaries really in cahoots? — Hours after Donald Trump was sworn in as president, China's Xi Jinping made a call to Russian President Vladimir Putin in which, according to the Chinese foreign ministry's readout, the two leaders pledged to deepen their …

What's at risk when the federal government also is — The sudden stop in federal funding reminded Americans how vital the government is in people's lives. — When the seven-day-old Trump administration last week declared that nearly all federal spending would be halted indefinitely …

Exclusive: Trump's meme coin made nearly $100 million in trading fees, as small traders lost money — Entities behind President Donald Trump's crypto coin have accumulated close to $100 million in trading fees in less than two weeks, according to estimates from three blockchain analysis firms …
Discussion:
DNyuz, more at Techmeme »

Some migrants arrested in Trump's immigration crackdown have been released back into the U.S. — Space constraints and court orders have led ICE to release migrants on monitoring programs after they're arrested. — The Trump administration aggressively publicized the arrests …

Trump Vows to Punish South Africa Over Expropriation Law — Ramaphosa enacted new expropriation policy last month — Rand weakened as much as 2% against dollar after Trump comment — President Donald Trump said the US would halt all future funding to South Africa because of its new land-expropriation law.
Discussion:
Reuters, The Guardian, New York Times, Fox News, Raw Story, Al Jazeera, Associated Press, UPI, The Independent, RedState and Human Events
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