Top Items:


“They're Scared Shitless”: The Threat of Political Violence Informing Trump's Grip on Congress — With the president smashing norm after norm, even lawmakers within his party have feared for their personal safety, and at least one has told confidants that it has swayed his decision-making.
Discussion:
New York Times, NOTUS, The Hill, Associated Press, Politico, Deseret News, The Guardian and Wall Street Journal
RELATED:


EXCLUSIVE: VP J.D. Vance Warns Zelensky Over ‘Disgraceful’ Public Attacks on Trump, Confirms Ukrainian Elections Are Now U.S. Policy. — EXCLUSIVE: VP J.D. Vance Warns Zelensky Over ‘Disgraceful’ Public Attacks on Trump, Confirms Ukrainian Elections Are Now U.S. Policy.


After ceding power of the purse, GOP lawmakers beg Trump team for funds — Republican senators are asking Cabinet secretaries and other Trump officials to let money flow back into their states. — Republican senators find themselves in an unusual position these days …
Discussion:
ABC News, Raw Story, New Republic and No More Mister Nice Blog


Zelensky and Trump Trade Blows as Feud Escalates Over Peace Talks — President Trump called Volodymyr Zelensky a “dictator” after the Ukrainian president took issue with his statements on the war with Russia. — 2.3k — Constant Méheut and Anton Troianovski
Discussion:
Daily Mail, Fox News, Washington Post, NBC News, CNN, Rolling Stone, The Hill, CBS News, Associated Press, University of Manchester, Israpundit, Los Angeles Times, 19FortyFive, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, New Jersey Online, Mediaite, Crikey, RedState, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, Raw Story, Patterico's Pontifications, The National Pulse, Washington Examiner, American Greatness, Washington Times, The Independent, HuffPost, The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart, Blaze Media, Semafor, The Week, RTÉ, IJR and The Kyiv Independent


GOP senators fact check Trump's Ukraine rhetoric, while still backing his strategy — Some Senate Republicans took issue Wednesday with President Trump's escalating criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a “dictator” and his false assertion that Ukraine provoked the ongoing war with Russia, now in its third year.

Trump's America is Putin's ally now — LONDON — The thing about a war is it forces people to pick a side. And Donald Trump, it seems to many in Europe, is siding with Vladimir Putin. — Seven days of presidential interventions in the Russia-Ukraine conflict have made real the nightmares …
Discussion:
Politico, New York Times, The Week and The Guardian


Hegseth considering firing generals as early as this week
Discussion:
ABC News, The Independent, KGW-TV, NPR and Punchbowl News

Trump Hands the World to China
Discussion:
New York Times, Asia Times, Digby's Hullabaloo and Blaze Media

Goldman accuses Trump of ‘dozens of impeachable offenses’ in first days back in White House
Discussion:
Scripps News

‘You would see lawsuits:’ Susan Collins fires new warning shot at Trump on spending
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Reason and Advocate

Trump Issues Order to Expand His Power Over Agencies Congress Made Independent

Trump blaming Ukraine for Putin's war leaves Europe reeling
Discussion:
New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Raw Story, Reuters, Fox News, Politico, The Mahablog, New Jersey Online, 19FortyFive, Twitchy, The Week, Euromaidan Press and MeidasTouch News

Republicans rebuke Trump on Ukraine — gently
Discussion:
Axios, ABC News, The Atlantic and New Republic


ICE Prosecutor in Dallas Runs White Supremacist X Account — Fear of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids began to spread the day after President Donald Trump was inaugurated for the second time. Posts on social media and Reddit claimed that ICE had already been spotted …

Majority Say System Of Checks & Balances Not Working Well, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Congressional Job Approval: Democrats Hit All-Time Low, Republicans Hit Record High — mail_outline — Less than 4 in 10 voters think the system of checks and balances between the executive …
Discussion:
The Hill, Breitbart, Blaze Media, Townhall, IJR, New York Daily News and PoliticusUSA
RELATED:

Why the White House insists Elon Musk is merely an ‘employee’
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion and The Hill

Did DOGE Take Credit for Spending Cuts Related to President Carter's Death?
Discussion:
Bloomberg, emptywheel and Tangle


One confirmed dead in Marana Regional Airport crash Wednesday morning — KGUN 9 has a crew on scene — MARANA, Ariz. (KGUN) — A crash has occurred at Marana Regional Airport, 11700 W. Avra Valley Road, Wednesday morning, KGUN 9 has confirmed with airport personnel.
Discussion:
KOLD-TV, New York Post, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, UPI and WRIC ABC 8News
RELATED:


NYC congestion pricing axed as Trump pulls approval of hated toll — Congestion pricing, we hardly knew ye. — New York City's spectacularly unpopular congestion pricing scheme is on death row as the Trump administration will announce Wednesday it is pulling its approval of the toll …
Discussion:
NBC News, New York Times, Washington Examiner, CBS News, Associated Press, New York Daily News, freebeacon.com, Staten Island Advance, State of the Planet, abc7NY, nyc.streetsblog, Politico, UPI, The Daily Wire, The City, Daily Kos, City Journal, Washington Times, Reason, New Jersey Online, Gizmodo, Los Angeles Times, Raw Story, Fox News, Daily Caller News Foundation, Axios, Bloomberg, Twitchy, Boston Herald, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Digby's Hullabaloo, OutsideTheBeltway, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, One America News Network, City & State New York, New York Magazine, The Post Millennial, The Guardian, USA Today, NOTUS, The Hill and E&E News
RELATED:


Trump receives widespread backlash to social post calling himself ‘king’
Discussion:
The Hill, Associated Press, abc7NY, New York Post, New York Times and The Independent

Trump on Himself: ‘LONG LIVE THE KING!’
Discussion:
NBC News, Associated Press, The Hill, CBS News, New York Times, New Republic, Christian Science Monitor and New York Post


Trump's approval rating slips as Americans worry about the economy — U.S. President Donald Trump's approval rating has ticked slightly lower in recent days as more Americans worried about the direction of the U.S. economy as the new leader threatens a host of countries with tariffs, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
RELATED:

Trump's Job Approval Rating at 45%; Congress' Jumps to 29%
Discussion:
Fox News, USA Today, The Hill and Washington Examiner


IRS expected to fire 6,700 employees beginning Thursday — The Internal Revenue Service is preparing to conduct mass firings of 6,700 employees beginning Thursday, according to multiple employees notified of the plans. — Staff in their probationary periods—mostly recent hires …
RELATED:


Trump administration orders Pentagon to plan for sweeping budget cuts — The directive, detailed in a memo dated Tuesday, exempts a handful of programs, including the president's expanded military mission along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Discussion:
CNN, New York Times, The Guardian, CNBC, Breaking Defense, UPI, New York Post, USA Today, Forbes, New Republic, SpaceNews, Raw Story, IJR, Washington Examiner, Twitchy and Associated Press


Oops: Trump-Musk Cuts Just Wrecked an NIH Org Championed by GOPers — With co-Presidents Donald Trump and Elon Musk now inflicting deep cuts on federal agencies that sponsor medical research, thousands of scientists, researchers, and medical professionals are getting fired.


Cal Fire captain found stabbed to death inside of her San Diego County home — A Cal Fire captain was found stabbed to death inside of her San Diego County home on Monday and authorities are still searching for the suspect. — Deputies were dispatched to a home in the 20200 block …
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times and KFOR-TV


Trump says ‘inflation is back’: ‘I had nothing to do with it’ — President Trump is seeking to distance himself from a rise in inflation, arguing that the uptick had “nothing to do” with his return to the Oval Office. — Trump instead placed the blame on former President Biden in an interview Tuesday …
Discussion:
HuffPost, The Atlantic, Axios, Scripps News, UnHerd, Fortune, Deseret News, The Gateway Pundit, PoliticusUSA, Associated Press, The Guardian and Fox News
RELATED:


A Frustrated Trump Wants His New Air Force One Planes Pronto — Among the ways being discussed to force faster delivery of two presidential planes are relaxing security clearances for Boeing workers and even purchasing a temporary luxury plane and retrofitting it.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, Futurism and Daily Mail


Two more staffers quit John Fetterman's office as the senator carves his own lane with Trump — The imminent exit of two of Fetterman's longest-serving staffers continues a string of departures from the senator's office over the past year. — Two of Sen. John Fetterman's longest-serving staff members …
Discussion:
The Hill and The Intercept


Judge appears on track to let DOJ dismiss Eric Adams case — Some legal experts and advocacy groups had urged the judge to forcefully push back against the Justice Department's decision to abandon the case. — NEW YORK — The Justice Department appears likely to get the green light …
Discussion:
NBC News, NPR, The Hill, NOTUS, Mother Jones, PBS NewsHour, New York Magazine, Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, New York Daily News, Bloomberg, CNBC, Talking Points Memo, abc7NY and New York Times
RELATED:

Judge grills Emil Bove on his motion to dismiss Eric Adams indictment
Discussion:
Associated Press, New York Daily News, New York Times and abc7NY


Ex-NFL punter Chris Kluwe arrested over protest at Huntington Beach City Council meeting — Former NFL punter Chris Kluwe was arrested over a protest at a city council meeting in Huntington Beach, California on Tuesday. — Kluwe was protesting Huntington Beach's decision to display a plaque …
Discussion:
The Hill, TMZ.com, New York Post, Reading Eagle, Blaze Media, The Daily Caller, Fox News and Orange County Register

DOGE Has ‘God Mode’ Access to Government Data — The president's special commission now has an unprecedented ability to view and manipulate information at many federal agencies. — If you have tips about the remaking of the federal government, you can contact Charlie, Ian …


Citing ‘Biological Truth,’ Kennedy Issues Guidance Recognizing Only Two Sexes — The new guidance follows President Trump's demand that the Health and Human Services Department align with his executive order barring transgender athletes from women's sports.
Discussion:
Office on Women's Health, UPI, The Indian Express, Advocate, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion and The Post Millennial


These Are the SpaceX Engineers Already Working Inside the FAA — SpaceX engineers were said to be simply touring the Federal Aviation Administration on Monday. In fact, some were already being onboarded at the agency under a policy designed to increase “employment opportunities for people with disabilities.”


Diary — I decided to keep a record of my thoughts as events transpire, a diary. I have read several reactions by Germans to the rise of Nazism and I was struck by their difficulty to understand where the daily events they lived through could or would lead. In retrospect, we will know, analyze, and make sense.

The Situation: What America Stands For Now — Great powers keep what they can grab. And smaller powers suck it up. — Meet The Authors … The Situation on Friday asked whether it was still possible to serve ethically as a federal prosecutor. — Today, let's stare betrayal in the face.


Foreign aid groups want Rubio held in contempt over funding freeze — The groups and the Trump administration are fighting in court while billions of dollars in foreign aid remain in limbo. — Two nonprofits that have had their foreign aid grants frozen asked a judge Wednesday to hold Secretary …