Top Items:
Lauren Easton / The Associated Press:
AP statement on Oval Office access — The Associated Press issued this statement on Tuesday from Executive Editor Julie Pace: — As a global news organization, The Associated Press informs billions of people around the world every day with factual, nonpartisan journalism.
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Live Updates: Musk Asserts Without Proof That He's Fixing a Bureaucracy Rife With Fraud — The billionaire, chosen by President Trump to lead a federal overhaul, insisted he was working transparently, but his team's secretive actions have delivered shocks across the government.
Discussion:
USA Today, Reuters, Wall Street Journal, The Independent, New York Post, Forbes, Business Insider, NPR, Rolling Stone, Lawyers, Guns & Money, CNBC, The Hill, ABC News, CBS News and Grabien

Hegseth's visit to U.S. base in Germany met with student walkout — The civil disobedience by dozens of middle schoolers — and some adults — was aimed at the Trump administration's rollback of DEI initiatives. — February 11, 2025 — Live updates: Trump signs executive order calling on agencies to work with Elon Musk-led group
Discussion:
RedState and The Daily Signal

The Staffers Helping Elon Musk Dismantle and Downsize the U.S. Government, One Agency at a Time — Musk and his lieutenants are reshaping the government and its mission with the blessing of President Trump. ProPublica has confirmed the names and roles of more than 30 staffers affiliated with the billionaire.

Trump fires USAID inspector general one day after blistering report — Paul K. Martin, appointed by President Joe Biden, was dismissed a day after issuing a report assessing the Trump administration implemented its aid freeze and stop-work order. — February 11, 2025

Trump Orders Plans for ‘Large Scale’ Work Force Cuts and Expands Musk's Power — The latest executive order by the president made clear that the billionaire's cost-cutting team will have continuing oversight of the Civil Service. — President Trump signed an executive order …
Discussion:
The Guardian and Shore News Network, more at Techmeme »
Jennifer Hansler / CNN:
USAID IG fired day after report critical of impacts of Trump administration's dismantling of the agency
USAID IG fired day after report critical of impacts of Trump administration's dismantling of the agency
Discussion:
Raw Story, Fox News, Politico, NBC News, Associated Press, Forbes, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit and Defense One

Elon Musk's Business Empire Scores Benefits Under Trump Shake-Up
Discussion:
Wired, The Information, The Hill, Robert Reich, E&E News, Mediaite, Fox Business, Drezner's World and Hackwhackers, more at Techmeme »
Oliver Darcy / Status:
Soon-Shiong's La-La Land
Washington Post:
Trump executive order vows substantial cuts to federal workforce
Trump executive order vows substantial cuts to federal workforce
Discussion:
CBS News
Ben Johansen / Politico:
Associated Press blocked from Oval Office after not using ‘Gulf of America’
Associated Press blocked from Oval Office after not using ‘Gulf of America’
Discussion:
The Japan Times and The Verge
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
White House Bars Reporter From Event Over A.P.'s Use of ‘Gulf of Mexico’
White House Bars Reporter From Event Over A.P.'s Use of ‘Gulf of Mexico’
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Moderate Voice, Raw Story and Bloomberg, more at Mediagazer »
Shelby Talcott / Semafor:
Trump moves to ‘significantly’ reduce federal workforce
Trump moves to ‘significantly’ reduce federal workforce
Discussion:
Reuters, Daily Mail, GovExec.com, Politico, New Republic, The National Pulse and Washington Post
Hadas Gold / CNN:
The AP says it was blocked from the Oval Office over continuing to use “Gulf of Mexico”
The AP says it was blocked from the Oval Office over continuing to use “Gulf of Mexico”
Discussion:
The Daily Wire, Business Insider, Hollywood Life, CityNews Toronto, New York Post, al.com, USA Today, Axios, The Independent, Chicago Sun Times, Fox News, Al Jazeera and BGR
Politico:
Paging Mr. Vance — Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the power dynamics …
Paging Mr. Vance — Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the power dynamics …
Discussion:
Politico
Katherine Doyle / NBC News:
Jordan's King Abdullah II signals openness to Trump's plan to move Palestinians out of Gaza
Jordan's King Abdullah II signals openness to Trump's plan to move Palestinians out of Gaza
Discussion:
New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Breitbart, Responsible Statecraft, New York Post, Deseret News, ZeroHedge News, The Daily Wire, Los Angeles Times, UPI, Washington Examiner, Townhall, Raw Story, Al Jazeera, Forbes, Metro.co.uk, freebeacon.com, Jewish Insider, One America News Network, CNN, Scripps News, Fox News, NPR, New York Daily News, Associated Press, The Hill, HotAir, CBS News, The Japan Times, New York Times and San Diego Union-Tribune

FEMA official ignores judge's latest order, demands freeze on grant funding — Federal workers are being swept into the fight between Donald Trump and federal courts, with four FEMA aides fired Tuesday for being “deep state activists.” — WASHINGTON — A senior official …
Discussion:
Mediaite, New Republic, Alternet.org and The National Pulse
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Top FEMA Official Is Fired Over Payments for N.Y.C. Migrant Shelters — The Trump administration fired the Federal Emergency Management Agency's chief financial officer and three others after Elon Musk misleadingly claimed the agency had used disaster-relief funds for migrant services.
Discussion:
RedState, Fox News, ABC News, Associated Press, Washington Examiner, New York Post, HotAir, Forbes, Breitbart, Blaze Media, American Greatness, The Daily Signal, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, Exposing the role …, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Wire, Scripps News, The National Pulse, Ace of Spades HQ and Reuters
Patrick Reis / Vox:
Has Trump's agenda stalled?
Has Trump's agenda stalled?
Discussion:
Politico, Christian Science Monitor, The Independent, Axios, Talking Points Memo and CBS News

Scoop: Dems “pissed” at liberal groups MoveOn, Indivisible … - “People are pissed,” a senior House Democrat who was at the meeting said of lawmakers' reaction to the calls. — The Democrat said Jeffries himself is “very frustrated” at the groups, who are trying to stir up a more confrontational opposition to Trump.

Implementing The President's “Department of Government Efficiency” Workforce Optimization Initiative — By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: — Section 1. Purpose.
Discussion:
Axios, Business Insider, Townhall, New York Times, UPI, Defense One, FedScoop, Federal News Network and Scripps News
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Not Hyperbole Anymore: Musk Is In Charge of the US Government — These are wild times at TPM because they're wild times in the American government. It's hard to keep up with everything happening from one moment to the next. I had not had a chance to look at the new DOGE executive order President signed …
Discussion:
Breitbart

Project 2025 Is Gutting Medical Funding That Helped Russell Vought's Own Kid — The National Institutes of Health, the federal government's leading medical research agency, came under attack by Project 2025 well before its architect, Russell Vought, was confirmed to Donald Trump's second-term cabinet …

Voters Were Right About the Economy. The Data Was Wrong. — Here's why unemployment is higher, wages are lower and growth less robust than government statistics suggest. — Before the presidential election, many Democrats were puzzled by the seeming disconnect between “economic reality” …
Discussion:
HotAir

Appeals court rejects Trump administration bid to reinstate funding freeze — The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied the Justice Department's request to pause a judge's order while it challenges the order in court. — A federal appeals court on Tuesday rejected the Trump administration's bid …
Discussion:
Reuters, New York Post, JURIST, Politico, USA Today, New Republic, Daily Kos, MPR News, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller and NPR
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Lindsay Whitehurst / Associated Press:
Appeals court rejects Trump administration push to reinstate spending freezes on grants and loans
Appeals court rejects Trump administration push to reinstate spending freezes on grants and loans
Discussion:
PoliticusUSA and The Nation

Musk's ‘Doge’ guts nearly $1bn in US education department's research office — Cuts in effect wipe out Institute of Education Sciences, one of the country's largest funders of education research — Elon Musk and the Trump administration's so-called “department of government efficiency” …
Discussion:
Chalkbeat, Breitbart, NPR, New York Post, The College Fix and The Lever
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Treasury officials: Musk ally ‘mistakenly’ had power to alter payments system — The incident prompted an internal forensic investigation that remains ongoing. — Treasury Department officials said Tuesday that the agency last week “mistakenly” and “briefly” gave a member of Elon Musk's team …
Discussion:
Washington Post and Associated Press

American Detainee Marc Fogel Arrives in U.S. Following Release From Russian Custody — Arrested in 2021, the schoolteacher was serving a 14-year prison sentence — American Marc Fogel arrived in the U.S. on Tuesday night after his release from Russia, where he was arrested in 2021 on marijuana charges …
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New York Times:
Russia Releases U.S. Prisoner After Talks With Trump Envoy
Russia Releases U.S. Prisoner After Talks With Trump Envoy
Discussion:
Axios, Al Jazeera, CBS News, Politico, IJR, ZeroHedge News, New York Post, The Guardian, Townhall, EADaily, Daily Mail, freebeacon.com, Fox News, USA Today, Forbes, The Hill, Reuters, Mediaite, Raw Story, The Post Millennial and Semafor

Dozens of CFPB Workers Fired in After-Hours Blitz — Some affected employees of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau were notified with an email that addressed them as [EmployeeFirstName][EmployeeLastName], [Job Title], [Division]. — Dozens of Consumer Finance Protection Bureau employees …
Discussion:
Slate and Yahoo Finance

Judge orders HHS, CDC and FDA to restore deleted webpages with health information — Washington — A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Food and Drug Administration to restore webpages and data …

Apple Is Renaming Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America on Maps App — Change to occur for US users and then roll out globally later — Move follows Google; Microsoft and MapQuest haven't made shift — Apple Inc. is renaming the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America on its Maps app …
Julianne McShane / Mother Jones:
Please Don't Use Nancy Mace's So-Called Victim Hotline, Advocates Say — On the House floor Monday night—in a speech that was jarring, graphic, and nearly an hour long—Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) made disturbing allegations of sexual abuse against four men from her home state, one of whom is her ex-fiancé.

Federal Agency Fires Staff, Calls It an Error, Fires Them Again — Small Business Administration workers receive series of emails — Firings align with Musk's effort to reduce federal workforce — President Donald Trump's Small Business Administration told probationary staff members …
Discussion:
Politico

President Elon Musk Suddenly Realizes He Might Not Know How to Govern — A weekend interaction between Vanity Fair's Molly Jong-Fast and Elon Musk unexpectedly showcased just how little the world's richest man understands about the effects of his slashing spree at the top of the federal government.
Discussion:
Daily Kos

DOGE teen ran image-sharing site linked to URLs referencing pedophilia and the KKK — Edward Coristine, a 19-year-old member of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), launched an image-sharing website in 2021 that featured custom “shitposting” web addresses that redirected to content hosted on his site.

Almost $500 million in food is at risk of spoilage after USAID pause, report says — Almost $500 million in food aid is at risk of spoilage as it sits in ports, ships and warehouses after funding for the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, was paused by the Trump administration …

Trump DOJ Accused of Deleting Evidence In Jan. 6 Court Cases — Videos are mysteriously missing from an online portal that is legally required to house evidence related to Jan. 6 cases, according to a new lawsuit. — LOADING — Federal courts and judges have repeatedly ordered …

The Path to American Authoritarianism — What Comes After Democratic Breakdown — Donald Trump's first election to the presidency in 2016 triggered an energetic defense of democracy from the American establishment. But his return to office has been met with striking indifference.

Trump administration owes US business millions in unpaid bills amid USAID shutdown, lawsuit says — The White House fired the inspector general for the U.S. Agency for International Development on Tuesday, a U.S. official said. It comes a day after the watchdog's office warned …
Discussion:
Reuters

Donald Trump Is Delusional — AMONG THE REALITY-BASED COMMUNITY—those of us who acknowledge Donald Trump's prodigious history of false statements—there's a longstanding debate. Some think Trump knows better and is simply lying. Others think he's sincerely delusional.
Discussion:
HuffPost, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Alternet.org and Status

Senator Accuses F.B.I. Nominee of Covertly Directing Dismissals — A top Democrat demanded an investigation and suggested that the nominee, Kash Patel, may have lied under oath, citing what he described as multiple sources. — The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Raw Story, Washington Post, NBC News, Roll Call, PoliticusUSA, USA Today, Reuters, CBS News, New Republic, CNBC, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos and Forbes