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Discussion Thread

The discussion thread is for casual and off-topic conversation that doesn&#39;t merit its own submission. If you&#39;ve got a good meme, article, or question, please post it outside the DT. Meta discussion is allowed, but if you want to get the attention of the mods, make a post in /r/metaNL

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PALEO: Paleontology

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Why does the U.S. Government Need $400M for Armored Teslas?


White House official says he 'never agreed' Canada won't be 51st state in meeting with premiers | CBC News


Mass firings have begun at federal agencies


Dozens of new obesity drugs are coming: these are the ones to watch


After years of considering three potential sites, the city is abandoning plans to establish a 33-unit tiny home campus, leaving Long Beach on the hook for millions it already spent.

Long Beach gives up on ‘tiny homes’ shelter, returns $5.6 million state grant


Speaker Mike Johnson’s budget plan is in trouble as multiple GOP hardliners seek last-minute changes that could risk support from the party’s centrist middle — jeopardizing leadership’s plans to kickstart President Donald Trump’s agenda in Congress.

Just hours after the House GOP’s compromise plan was released, fiscal hawks in the chamber lined up to call for steeper cuts beyond the current reduction target of $1.5 trillion over a decade. But the size of those cuts is already difficult for some GOP centrists to swallow, with Republicans, including Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, still unwilling to say whether they support cuts of that size.

Rep. Ralph Norman, a South Carolina Republican who sits on the House Budget Committee that will vote on the measure Thursday, declined to say if he would support it and said he wants to guarantee that the final bill will include policy such as work requirements for Medicaid, as well as an anti-red tape bill called the REINS Act. Three other members of that panel — Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, Tom McClintock of California and Andrew Clyde of Georgia — would not answer when asked how they’d vote on Thursday. A fourth member, Rep. Ben Cline of Virginia, said he is a “lean yes.”

Some signaled that conservatives could make changes to the measure during Thursday’s markup, though they declined to offer details. Rep. Scott Perry, a Pennsylvania Republican and member of the House Freedom Caucus who does not sit on the budget panel, suggested that changes could come during the makeup on Thursday though he wouldn’t offer more details.

The backlash from GOP hardliners is sharp despite weeks of behind-the-scenes negotiations between Johnson, his leadership team and the right flank of the conference. Rep. Eric Burlison of Missouri called the spending cuts target “pathetic” and said he believes there are at least a half dozen Republicans who agree and would oppose the plan on the floor. That number — given Johnson’s razor-thin margins — is enough to tank the bill.

The budget plan requires Republicans to cut at least $1.5 trillion in mandatory spending, with a goal of $2 trillion. But many conservatives say they want to see a specific target of $2 trillion, saying otherwise that extra half-trillion in cuts won’t happen.

Achieving that level of cuts will likely require Republicans to find savings in Medicaid, which has made some centrist-leaning Republicans uneasy. And some are frustrated that ultraconservatives demanded changes to the previous measure, which Speaker Johnson had outlined to GOP lawmakers earlier in the year.

GOP hardliners threaten revolt over Johnson plan to implement Trump agenda | CNN Politics


Eric Adams Discussed Possible Republican Primary Run With G.O.P. Leader


Judge Lifts Freeze on Trump’s Buyout Plan for Federal Workers


X Agrees to Pay About 10 Million to Settle Trump Lawsuit


Ukraine fears being cut out of talks between America and Russia


Left-Wing Xenophobia in Europe


The higher level of spending cuts in the newly released House Republican budget blueprint means some current food aid benefits for low-income Americans will likely be reduced, according to two GOP lawmakers.

House Republicans were already targeting expanded work requirements across the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which currently helps to feed more than 40 million low-income Americans.

But the new plan to be marked up by the House Budget Committee on Thursday contains instructions for the Agriculture Committee to slash $230 billion across programs under its purview, meaning work requirements and changes to state waivers alone won't reach that target number, said the lawmakers with knowledge about the ongoing talks.

Cutting current benefits to low-income families has been a point of tension with a handful of Republicans in competitive districts, who are warning against deep cuts across safety net programs ahead of the 2026 midterms.

House GOP budget plan targets deep SNAP cuts

The higher level of spending cuts in the newly released House Republican budget blueprint means some current food aid benefits for low-income Americans will likely be reduced, according to two GOP lawmakers.

House Republicans were already targeting expanded work requirements across the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which currently helps to feed more than 40 million low-income Americans.

But the new plan to be marked up by the House Budget Committee on Thursday contains instructions for the Agriculture Committee to slash $230 billion across programs under its purview, meaning work requirements and changes to state waivers alone won&#39;t reach that target number, said the lawmakers with knowledge about the ongoing talks.

Cutting current benefits to low-income families has been a point of tension with a handful of Republicans in competitive districts, who are warning against deep cuts across safety net programs ahead of the 2026 midterms.


Land Tax Reform for Better Cities and Agrarian Justice in Indiana: An Open Letter to the State Legislature


Virginia Democrats have a new message for the tens of thousands of federal workers who will vote in their state elections this fall: Republicans stood by silently as President Donald Trump came for your jobs.

The state’s off-year races are often a bellwether for the national mood a year before the midterms. But they are poised to take on even more significance this November because so many government employees and contractors who live in Northern Virginia are experiencing firsthand the impact of the Trump administration’s attempt to shrink the federal bureaucracy.

Trump has steamrolled through his first few weeks in office, while Democrats have struggled to muster the kind of resistance they put up during his first term. But in recent days, they have started to zero in on Elon Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency as a foil, painting the tech mogul as an unelected South African billionaire wreaking chaos on everyday Americans.

At Trump’s behest, Musk has used DOGE as a beachhead to attack the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, USAID and the Department of Education. DOGE has offered buyouts to thousands of federal workers and threatened layoffs to those who don’t take it.

And if Musk and DOGE have given national Democrats an opening to make an argument against Republicans — Musk himself is less popular than Trump, according to recent polling — the Virginia elections may stand as a test case.

Virginia Republicans argue that Democrats failed to address voters’ economic anxieties when they had total control of the state’s government — and that they will punish them at the ballot box instead.

How Trump’s assault on bureaucracy could rock Virginia elections


China’s Xi Is Building Economic Fortress Against U.S. Pressure


In rural America, more women are saying ‘I don’t’ | Many Americans still imagine rural areas as bastions of traditional families. That’s no longer the case


Republicans in Congress have responded to President Trump’s unilateral moves to freeze federal spending, dismantle programs and fire civil servants with a collective shrug, staying mostly silent and even praising him as he circumvents the legislative branch.

But in recent days, as his slash-and-burn campaign to remake the government has begun to affect their states and districts, some Republicans have tried to push back in subtle ways. They have sought carve outs and special consideration for agriculture programs, scientific research and more, even as they cheered on Mr. Trump’s overall approach.

Their swift and quiet moves to protect their own pieces of the federal spending pie without critiquing Mr. Trump are an early indication of the political realities that could pose obstacles to the president’s push. Many programs he has targeted for cost-cutting have entrenched constituencies in Congress built up by Republicans over many years. It is one reason that shrinking the size of the federal government will be a mammoth task, despite the G.O.P.’s posture of maximum deference to Mr. Trump.

Ms. Britt was one of the first Republicans to raise concerns at home soon after the Trump administration directed the National Institutes of Health to slash $4 billion in overhead costs for medical research grantees, a move that has since been paused by a federal judge. Ms. Britt, whose state has received more than $518 million in N.I.H. grants for projects currently active there, told a local news outlet that she would press administration officials to take a “smart, targeted approach” to cuts so as to “not hinder lifesaving, groundbreaking research at high-achieving institutions” such as the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

In the House, a group of Republicans from farm states and districts introduced legislation this week that aims to salvage a foreign aid program targeted for extinction by Mr. Trump as part of his effort to wipe out the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The bill would transfer oversight of the Food for Peace program, which purchases crops at market price from American farmers and distributes them to hungry people abroad, from U.S.A.I.D. to the Agriculture Department. The lawmakers argued that their legislation fulfills the spirit of what Mr. Trump calls his “mandate” to slim down the federal bureaucracy and make it more efficient.

Not all Republicans are pushing back on Mr. Trump’s efforts to slash federal spending, even when those cuts hit programs in their states.

Republicans Love Trump’s Spending Cuts. Just Not in Their States.


Diet drug boom weighs heavily on state budgets


California’s Untapped Pool of Firefighters


Germany’s Olaf Scholz hits back at racism accusations in election race


‘On the brink of a dictatorship’: Democratic state attorneys general condemn Trump’s actions


Russian defence spending exceeds all of Europe combined, study finds


While the Trump administration has highlighted transfers of dangerous criminals and suspected gang members to Guantanamo Bay, it is also sending nonviolent, "low-risk" migrant detainees who lack serious criminal records or any at all, according to two U.S. officials and internal government documents.

When he ordered officials to convert facilities inside the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, into a large-scale immigration detention site late last month, President Trump said it would house the "worst" migrants and "provide additional detention space for high-priority criminal aliens."

Administration officials have since touted military flights to Guantanamo that they said have transported migrants in the U.S. illegally who have also committed violent crimes like murder and rape, as well as alleged members of Tren de Aragua, the infamous gang that originated in Venezuelan prisons.

Internal documents and interviews with U.S. officials indicate the administration has sent migrant criminals and alleged gang members to Guantanamo, detaining them in the post-9/11 maximum-security prison that also houses, in a separate section, more than a dozen terrorism suspects.

But in addition to sending those with criminal records or suspected or known gang ties — classified as "high-risk" detainees — U.S. officials have also transported migrants deemed to be "low-risk" to Guantanamo, according to the government documents obtained by CBS News. More low-risk migrants are expected to be transported on Wednesday, alongside high-risk detainees, the documents show.

Federal immigration authorities define low-risk detainees as migrants who face deportation because they are in the U.S. illegally but who have not been arrested or convicted of violent offenses or other serious crimes, government guidelines show. U.S. officials said they could include migrants who lack any criminal record but have been ordered deported because of civil immigration violations, like entering the country without proper documents.

U.S. sending nonviolent, "low-risk" migrants to Guantanamo, despite vow to detain "the worst" there

While the Trump administration has highlighted transfers of dangerous criminals and suspected gang members to Guantanamo Bay, it is also sending nonviolent, &quot;low-risk&quot; migrant detainees who lack serious criminal records or any at all, according to two U.S. officials and internal government documents.

When he ordered officials to convert facilities inside the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, into a large-scale immigration detention site late last month, President Trump said it would house the &quot;worst&quot; migrants and &quot;provide additional detention space for high-priority criminal aliens.&quot;

Administration officials have since touted military flights to Guantanamo that they said have transported migrants in the U.S. illegally who have also committed violent crimes like murder and rape, as well as alleged members of Tren de Aragua, the infamous gang that originated in Venezuelan prisons.

Internal documents and interviews with U.S. officials indicate the administration has sent migrant criminals and alleged gang members to Guantanamo, detaining them in the post-9/11 maximum-security prison that also houses, in a separate section, more than a dozen terrorism suspects.

But in addition to sending those with criminal records or suspected or known gang ties — classified as &quot;high-risk&quot; detainees — U.S. officials have also transported migrants deemed to be &quot;low-risk&quot; to Guantanamo, according to the government documents obtained by CBS News. More low-risk migrants are expected to be transported on Wednesday, alongside high-risk detainees, the documents show.

Federal immigration authorities define low-risk detainees as migrants who face deportation because they are in the U.S. illegally but who have not been arrested or convicted of violent offenses or other serious crimes, government guidelines show. U.S. officials said they could include migrants who lack any criminal record but have been ordered deported because of civil immigration violations, like entering the country without proper documents.


Polish government and presidential candidate declare “zero tolerance” for immigrant criminals


Trump, Putin Agree to Negotiate Over Ukraine War


Trump says US and Russia to start talks on Ukraine war ‘immediately’


Anti-anti-neoliberalism is also not enough


Mitch McConnell: Kentuckians can't afford the high cost of Trump's tariffs


Pierre Poilievre’s Lead Was Supposed to Be Unshakable. It Isn’t


Tulsi Gabbard confirmed


Gabbard Confirmed as Director of National Intelligence


Austria's coalition talks collapse as far right pulls out


Family of Venezuelan Migrant Sent to Guantánamo: ‘My Brother Is Not a Criminal.’


Suspend Hungary’s Voting Rights to Save the EU’s Credibility


Jack Goldsmith of Harvard Law, AEI & LawFare writes that the importance of Trump vs US is not the immunity decision, but the expansion of executive power.

He writes that the administration's behavior signals that it believes in a maximalist view of the unitary executive and that it plans to cite the case in upcoming battles.

>last Fall, I argued that the “decision’s main significance for the presidency” lies not in its holding about presidential immunity, but rather “in its expansive discussion of exclusive presidential powers, independent of the immunity ruling.”

Beyond summarizing the case & specific examples of enhanced power (Removal, power over law enforcement), Goldsmith notes how the administration has sought to push back against limits like the Impoundment Act, to outline what seems to be their operating theory.

Not only is the President a branch of govt, per Trump vs US, but that all aspects of the executive are entirely part of the legal body of the President.

He quotes Adrian Vermule:

>>There is no such thing as executive power given to subordinate officers or administrative agencies in their own right; there is only, ever, the executive power of the President, which alone incarnates and gives legal life to the legal authority of all his subordinates.

 At the conclusion Goldsmith mentions that this goes beyond Pam Bondis insistence that the AG is the President's lawyer but that:

> as Vermeule says, the views that all congressional delegations of power to executive branch officials, including adjudicatory power, are in reality “delegations to the President,” and that “subordinate officers enjoy the President’s own immunity from civil and criminal process.”

Goldsmith also speaks about this at length on the [LawFare podcast](https://pca.st/podcast/a59acb20-2dff-012f-fd83-525400c11844)

The President’s Favorite Decision: The Influence of Trump v. U.S. in Trump 2.0

Jack Goldsmith of Harvard Law, AEI &amp; LawFare writes that the importance of Trump vs US is not the immunity decision, but the expansion of executive power.

He writes that the administration&#39;s behavior signals that it believes in a maximalist view of the unitary executive and that it plans to cite the case in upcoming battles.

last Fall, I argued that the “decision’s main significance for the presidency” lies not in its holding about presidential immunity, but rather “in its expansive discussion of exclusive presidential powers, independent of the immunity ruling.”

Beyond summarizing the case &amp; specific examples of enhanced power (Removal, power over law enforcement), Goldsmith notes how the administration has sought to push back against limits like the Impoundment Act, to outline what seems to be their operating theory.

Not only is the President a branch of govt, per Trump vs US, but that all aspects of the executive are entirely part of the legal body of the President.

He quotes Adrian Vermule:

There is no such thing as executive power given to subordinate officers or administrative agencies in their own right; there is only, ever, the executive power of the President, which alone incarnates and gives legal life to the legal authority of all his subordinates.

At the conclusion Goldsmith mentions that this goes beyond Pam Bondis insistence that the AG is the President&#39;s lawyer but that:

as Vermeule says, the views that all congressional delegations of power to executive branch officials, including adjudicatory power, are in reality “delegations to the President,” and that “subordinate officers enjoy the President’s own immunity from civil and criminal process.”

Goldsmith also speaks about this at length on the LawFare podcast


By their powers combined, he is Captain Inflation!


House Republicans on Wednesday released a blueprint that they intend to use to advance President Trump’s legislative agenda, breaking through an impasse that had stymied the conference for days.

The budget resolution acts as an outline for the reconciliation process, mandating minimums for spending cuts each committee will be tasked with making over the next 10 years, and a cap for how much the Ways and Means Committee will be allowed to increase the deficit through tax cuts over the coming decade.

The resolution includes a $4.5 trillion cap on the deficit impact of the Republicans’ plan to extend Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, a number that the Ways and Means Committee will use to craft the tax portion of the legislation.

It also sets a $100 billion cap on spending for the Armed Services Committee, a $90 billion cap on spending for the Homeland Security Committee and a $110 billion cap on spending for the Judiciary Committee.

And it includes a $4 trillion increase of the debt limit.

On the spending cuts front, the measure lays out minimums for other panels: $230 billion for the Agriculture Committee, $330 billion for the Education and Workforce Committee, $880 billion for the Energy and Commerce Committee, $1 billion for the Financial Services Committee, $1 billion for the Natural Resources Committee, $50 billion for the Oversight and Government Reform Committee and $10 billion for the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

House Republicans unveil blueprint to advance Trump’s agenda


Russia is increasing its forces on Finland's eastern border - new information from Estonian foreign intelligence (machine translated)


The New American Imperialism (Francis Fukuyama)

:francis_fukuyama: End History I Am No Longer Asking


Trump says interest rates should be lowered to go 'hand in hand' with his tariffs


For the Netherlands it should be noted that PVV isn't the only far-right party. There's also FvD and its offshoots, which were very successful newcomers a few years ago but have now lost most of their votes to PVV again.

So PVV votes =/= total far right votes

Far right surge in Europe

For the Netherlands it should be noted that PVV isn&#39;t the only far-right party. There&#39;s also FvD and its offshoots, which were very successful newcomers a few years ago but have now lost most of their votes to PVV again.

So PVV votes =/= total far right votes


Polish prosecutors reopen fraud investigation into real estate deal linked to PiS leader


Hegseth Says Return to Ukraine’s Pre-War Borders Is ‘Unrealistic’, no Accession to NATO


Why No One Can Fix the Broken Licensing System


The Kremlin said early Wednesday that American Marc Fogel’s release came in conjunction with the Trump administration granting freedom to a Russian citizen held in a U.S. prison — though they were not identified.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters the former prisoner would be named after they reach Russian soil in the next several days, The Associated Press reported. The move is unlike other prisoner swaps between the U.S. and Russia, where the individuals have been named ahead of time.

The Trump administration had kept quiet about how the release was secured, and the president did not say if he had spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The exchange was the first deal negotiated between the current administration and Russia. The president argued that it could be a step toward ending the Russia-Ukraine war, Reuters reported.

Despite Tuesday’s release, there are several other U.S. citizens that still remain in Russian custody.

Jailed Russian released in US in exchange for Marc Fogel: Kremlin


Ukraine’s president fears Donald Trump is keeping him out of the loop


US aid freeze claims first victims as oxygen supplies cut off


https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm

Consensus forecast was for 0.3% MoM, 2.9% YoY, so actual figures surprised on the high side.

**Core CPI** (all items less food and energy) rose 0.4% MoM, 3.3% YoY (compared with 0.2% MoM, 3.2% YoY in December).

Consensus forecast (per Investing.com) for core CPI was 0.3% MoM, 3.1% YoY, so actual figures surprised on the high side.

[FRED graph of YoY change in headline and core CPI](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=1dW3R).

[FRED graph of MoM change in headline and core CPI](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=1dW3V).

January 2025 CPI release: index up 0.5% MoM, 3.0% YoY (compared with 0.4% MoM, 2.9% YoY in December)

https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm

Consensus forecast was for 0.3% MoM, 2.9% YoY, so actual figures surprised on the high side.

Core CPI (all items less food and energy) rose 0.4% MoM, 3.3% YoY (compared with 0.2% MoM, 3.2% YoY in December).

Consensus forecast (per Investing.com) for core CPI was 0.3% MoM, 3.1% YoY, so actual figures surprised on the high side.

FRED graph of YoY change in headline and core CPI.

FRED graph of MoM change in headline and core CPI.


Fixing Social Security

:asean: Association of Southeast Asian Nations


The growing problem of child homelessness in the US | Many feel forced to hide their status through shame or fear of being taken into care


Fukuyama was right: history did end. We're just living through the sequels nobody wanted.


California’s High-Risk Insurer Gets $1 Billion Bailout After L.A. Fires | The move will likely lead to higher costs for households across the state, and may push more insurers to leave, intensifying a home insurance crisis


Donald Trump’s Super Bowl tariffs are an act of self-harm | Duties on aluminium and steel will throttle American industry and fragment global markets


President Trump promised voters that, if elected, he would enact policies that would bring prices down on “Day 1” in office.

But three weeks into his term, Mr. Trump and White House officials have become more measured in how they discuss their efforts to tame inflation. They have begun downplaying the likelihood that consumer costs like groceries will decline anytime soon, reflecting the limited power that presidents have to control prices. Those are largely determined by global economic forces.

The shifting tone could allow Mr. Trump to reset expectations about how fast prices will come down as he pursues policies like tariffs and tax cuts, which economists say could exacerbate inflation.

Mr. Trump and his advisers believe that expanding American energy production and rolling back regulations will reduce costs. They also argue that some of Mr. Trump’s tax proposals, such as eliminating taxes on overtime, would curb inflation by giving workers more incentives to work longer hours, therefore expanding the labor force.

At a news briefing last week, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said Mr. Trump was doing everything possible to alleviate the nation’s cost-of-living crisis. But when asked at what point Americans would begin to experience relief from high consumer prices, she said, “I don’t have a timeline.”

Although it is still very early in Mr. Trump’s term, Democrats have been highlighting signs of higher prices as an indication that the Trump administration’s policies are not working.

With High Prices Persisting, Trump Tempers Tone on Slaying Inflation


21 million PLN spent by Poland’s PiS government on a museum… that never existed


Does more education lead to less sex?


Y'all got any more of that ambition checking ambition?


Jan. 6 court evidence ‘disappeared,’ attorneys for press group say : NPR


Republicans are considering doing away with one of Wall Street’s favorite tax breaks at the encouragement of President Trump, one that has long enjoyed Republican support and that could put up yet another obstacle on the road to a tax bill.

The tax break on carried interest — often called the carried interest loophole — allows the managers of investment funds such as private equity firms and hedge funds to count their income as capital gains and thereby have it be subject to a lower tax rate.

The tax rule, which has been debated by lawmakers for more than a decade and has come within a hair’s breadth of getting canceled in previous legislative fights, would affect compensation levels at some of Wall Street’s most powerful firms.

Republicans say that canceling the tax break would improve the public perception of their tax law, which includes many tax breaks for business owners and other taxpayers at the top end of the income spectrum.

However, ending the tax break could make extending the Trump tax cuts seem more egalitarian, Republicans said. According to one distributional analysis of the extensions by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), the richest 1 percent would receive an average tax cut of around $36,300 while nearly all other income segments would actually see a tax increase.

Amid such a skew, Republicans are seeing the appeal of targeting a Wall Street-focused tax break, though they say the discussion is still in early stages.

Republicans weigh ending Wall Street’s favorite tax break


Tariffs won’t bring back America’s unipolar moment


The World’s Policeman Goes Rogue. If America is going to threaten its allies, Europe will have to step up and defend itself [Op-ed by former NATO Secretary General Rasmussen]


The Path to American Authoritarianism


Surge of far-right populism comes for Korea


Target Price Not Quantity


"Misguided Crusade": 6 US Lawmakers Slam Team Biden Over Adani Action


The [discussion thread](https://neoliber.al/dt) is for casual and off-topic conversation that doesn't merit its own submission. If you've got a good meme, article, or question, please post it outside the DT. Meta discussion is allowed, but if you want to get the attention of the mods, make a post in /r/metaNL ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^[](https://i.imgur.com/cu8BHQU.png)

## Links

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## Upcoming Events

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* Feb 19: [Atlanta New Liberals February Social](https://cnliberalism.org/events/atlanta-new-liberals-february-social)
* Feb 19: [Bay Area New Liberals February Happy Hour](https://cnliberalism.org/events/bay-area-new-liberals-february-happy-hour)
* Feb 19: [Twin Cities New Liberals February Meetup](https://cnliberalism.org/events/twin-cities-new-liberals-february-meetup)
* Feb 20: [RDU New Liberals February Social ](https://cnliberalism.org/events/rdu-new-liberals-february-social)

Discussion Thread

The discussion thread is for casual and off-topic conversation that doesn&#39;t merit its own submission. If you&#39;ve got a good meme, article, or question, please post it outside the DT. Meta discussion is allowed, but if you want to get the attention of the mods, make a post in /r/metaNL

Links

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Upcoming Events

Feb 13: Advance Huntsville + YIMBY Happy Hour

Feb 18: NYC New Liberals February Social

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Feb 19: Bay Area New Liberals February Happy Hour

Feb 19: Twin Cities New Liberals February Meetup

Feb 20: RDU New Liberals February Social


Implementing The President's "Department of Government Efficiency" Workforce Optimization Initiative


Two top Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have been removed from their positions, as the White House ramps up pressure on the agency to increase arrests and deportations to meet President Donald Trump’s promise to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, according to an administration official and a person familiar with the decision.

Russell Hott and Peter Berg, who held top positions in the enforcement division of ICE, will return, respectively, to the agency’s Washington field office and to St. Paul, Minnesota.

Todd Lyons, who previously ran the agency’s Boston office, will take over as acting head of ICE Enforcement and Removal operations, the people said. The changes were first reported by the Washington Post.

The shake-up at ICE comes as the president, and his top immigration officials, are increasingly frustrated with the current pace of arrests and deportations — as well as the release of some migrants due to lack of detention capacity. ICE has increased arrests in recent weeks, but the Trump administration continues to face a slew of challenges as it tries to move quickly to fulfill the president’s mass deportations promise, an ambitious undertaking that will take funding, time and resources to scale up.

The administration has blitzed the airwaves and social media feeds with announcements of enforcement actions by ICE, and White House social media accounts have highlighted photos of shackled migrants being loaded onto military aircraft and mugshots of arrested migrants. During the last week in January, ICE averaged more than 800 arrests a day, according to data posted on X. But over the last week, the agency has stopped publishing daily arrest figures.

Top ICE officials removed as White House ramps up pressure on deportations


Hours after he signed an executive order Tuesday requiring federal agencies to work with the Elon Musk-led DOGE Service to cut their current workforce and limit future hiring, the termination notices started hitting the in-boxes of a few hundred probationary employees at the Small Business Administration.

Those same employees had actually first received emails on Friday evening informing them they were being let go, according to two people familiar with the situation. Supervisors, the people said, had not been notified and scrambled to get clarity about the situation.

It wasn’t until Monday afternoon that SBA officials clarified that the termination notices were a mistake. In an email, those who’d received the unsigned draft letter were informed that it was “sent in error … [and] not currently in effect. That explanation was hardly reassuring for SBA employees who remained in limbo.

On Tuesday, shortly after Trump signed the executive order giving Musk’s DOGE outfit even more authority and reach than it already had, the same people got the email again. This time it was real. And whereas the draft they received on Friday specified that their terminations would take effect on Feb. 21, the new email stated that their jobs were being ended immediately.

“They seemingly jerked people around like this for the sake of EO choreography,” one of the people familiar said.

DOGE order triggers firings at SBA of employees prematurely fired Friday


DR Congo conflict: Rebels attack army ending lull in fighting


An American Jahiliyyah?


I hate this timeline


US accuses Australia of breaking ‘verbal commitment’ on aluminium exports as Trump weighs tariffs exemption


Government documents show Va Lecia Adams Kellum, who leads an agency that manages over $700 million in homeless services contracts each year, inked deals with the nonprofit where her husband is a senior staffer.

LA's top homelessness official signed $2.1 million contract with husband's employer


California homeowners will have to fund half of high-risk insurer's $1 billion ‘bailout’


A Justification of Georgist Fiscal Policy – Part 1: Taxation


Republicans think economy will improve over the next year, Democrats expect it to get worse


The General Services Administration is aggressively pursuing cuts to its personnel, office space and contracts to achieve a 50% reduction in total spending.

A source familiar with the situation at GSA, however, said agency leaders are now signaling they may need to slow workforce reduction efforts, “because they’re losing too many key people.”

A federal judge has paused the deadline for federal employees to accept the Office of Personnel Management’s “deferred resignation” offer, but at least five Senior Executive Service personnel from GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service have accepted the deal.

GSA employees tell Federal News Network they’re concerned losing a significant of SES personnel could impact the agency’s ability to keep offering its current programs and initiatives. Without replacements, they say GSA will have to close or consolidate several key services.

GSA ‘losing too many people,’ as leaders pursue cuts to personnel, office space and contracts


BREAKING: Trump Announces Further Changes To Gulf Of America


Three of America’s top milk-producing states aren’t a part of federal surveillance testing for bird flu even as a new variant is turning up in dairy cattle, in what some public health experts say is a troubling gap in the national effort to identify and detect the spread of the virus.

The U.S. Agriculture Department started a voluntary milk-testing program in December after the virus was found to have jumped to cattle in March. The recent outbreak of avian influenza in the United States was first detected in 2022, but has picked up steam over the last year, decimating poultry farms nationwide, killing tens of millions of birds and driving up the price of eggs.

While the risk to humans remains low, many public and animal health experts argue that broad, nationwide testing of milk is critical to containing virus cases that might otherwise go undetected, giving the variants more opportunities to spread to animals — and to humans.

Texas, Wisconsin and Idaho, three of the country’s top five milk-producing states, aren’t participating in the voluntary federal testing program. And though efforts are underway to get them on board, it’s not clear when they will join or how long it will take.

Texas had the first known case of bird flu in cattle, the first person believed to be infected by a mammal, and a case in dairy cattle as recently as December. But the state’s agriculture commissioner, Sid Miller, said surveillance milk testing was unnecessary, since there are currently no active cases of bird flu in the state’s commercial cattle or poultry.

Wisconsin said it “continues to work toward” enrolling in the USDA’s testing program and is working closely with state and federal partners to monitor bird flu developments, according to a spokesperson for the state agriculture department.

Idaho did not respond to requests for comment but is not currently participating in the program, according to the USDA.

Bird flu is spreading in cattle, but some states still aren't part of U.S. milk testing


The inspector general of the US Agency for International Development was fired on Tuesday, a day after his office released a report critical of the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the agency, a source familiar with the matter told CNN.

Paul Martin was informed by an email from the deputy director of the Office of Presidential Personnel on Tuesday evening that his position as inspector general of USAID was “terminated, effective immediately.”

A spokesperson for the USAID Office of Inspector General confirmed Martin’s termination and said no reason was given for his ouster. CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.

Martin had served as inspector general since December 2023. While President Donald Trump fired inspectors general from more than a dozen federal agencies during his first week in office, the USAID watchdog had remained in place. An IG conducts investigations and audits into any potential malfeasance, fraud, waste or abuse by a government agency or its personnel, and issues reports and recommendations on its findings. An inspector general’s office is intended to operate independently.

In a report Monday, the USAID OIG said that the Trump administration’s reduction of USAID personnel and its sweeping freeze on foreign assistance had made it more difficult to track and respond to potential misuse of $8.2 billion in US taxpayer-funded humanitarian assistance.

USAID IG fired day after report critical of impacts of Trump administration’s dismantling of the agency | CNN Politics


Stephen Harper says Canada should ‘accept any level of damage’ to fight back against Donald Trump


Elmo at the Oval Office today (behind the scenes)


Trump loses bid to pause judge's order barring funding freezes


Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced last week that El Salvador's president offered to incarcerate deportees from the U.S. of any nationality, including U.S. citizens, but the deal came the same day as a less-publicized offer from the United States: nuclear power.

El Salvador's Foreign Minister Alexandra Hill Tinoco said a civil nuclear cooperation agreement with the U.S. would help power the central American country "at competitive pricing without depending on geopolitics or on oil prices."

Rubio hailed the nuclear cooperation agreement just before announcing that El Salvador's president, Nayib Bukele, also agreed to take deportees and incarcerated Americans from the U.S. and "put them in his jails."

Bukele said he would charge the United States a "relatively low" fee to house convicted criminals in El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, a mega-prison built to hold up to 40,000 people. He said the nominal cost for America would help make  El Salvador's prison system sustainable.

The nuclear agreement is a potential national security win for the United States, according to Edward Kee, who in 2022 was appointed to the Department of Energy's Nuclear Energy Advisory Committee.

El Salvador is unlikely to close in on nuclear power while President Trump is in office, according to Francisco Monaldi, director of the Latin America Energy Program at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy.

When El Salvador agreed to put migrants in "mega-prison," the U.S. paved the way for nuclear power

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced last week that El Salvador&#39;s president offered to incarcerate deportees from the U.S. of any nationality, including U.S. citizens, but the deal came the same day as a less-publicized offer from the United States: nuclear power.

El Salvador&#39;s Foreign Minister Alexandra Hill Tinoco said a civil nuclear cooperation agreement with the U.S. would help power the central American country &quot;at competitive pricing without depending on geopolitics or on oil prices.&quot;

Rubio hailed the nuclear cooperation agreement just before announcing that El Salvador&#39;s president, Nayib Bukele, also agreed to take deportees and incarcerated Americans from the U.S. and &quot;put them in his jails.&quot;

Bukele said he would charge the United States a &quot;relatively low&quot; fee to house convicted criminals in El Salvador&#39;s Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, a mega-prison built to hold up to 40,000 people. He said the nominal cost for America would help make  El Salvador&#39;s prison system sustainable.

The nuclear agreement is a potential national security win for the United States, according to Edward Kee, who in 2022 was appointed to the Department of Energy&#39;s Nuclear Energy Advisory Committee.

El Salvador is unlikely to close in on nuclear power while President Trump is in office, according to Francisco Monaldi, director of the Latin America Energy Program at Rice University&#39;s Baker Institute for Public Policy.


House Republican leaders on Tuesday downplayed the possibility of cuts to Medicaid benefits as they seek a reconciliation bill with up to $2 trillion in savings.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) sought to reassure the public — and potential jittery members of their own caucus — that the Medicaid changes under discussion include work requirements and fraud reduction, not drastic cuts like lowering the federal match for Medicaid expansion states or instituting a per capita cap.

House Republicans are debating how deep they need to cut to pay for an extension of President Trump’s tax cuts and border enforcement funding, and how much political backlash they can endure.

One of the prime targets is Medicaid, the joint federal and state-funded program that provides health coverage to more than 72 million low-income Americans. Republicans see Medicaid as a program rife with fraud and abuse and have long sought to rein in its spending.

Work requirements would save about $100 billion over a decade. But hard-line conservatives are pushing for a bottom-line figure of at least $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion, which could necessitate even more cuts.

The most controversial changes, like lowering the federal match for the Medicaid expansion population and instituting a per capita cap, would save $561 billion and up to $900 billion over a decade respectively, according to House GOP estimates.

Scalise on Tuesday didn’t rule out going further on Medicaid cuts, but he also suggested the primary focus was work requirements.

GOP leaders downplay Medicaid cuts as they seek $2T in savings


Is This What Cancel Culture Achieved?


Federal Reserve's Jerome Powell says there's no need to rush on interest rate cuts


Maya Train budget slashed by Mexico’s president


Trump orders all agencies to comply with DOGE mass downsizing.


Social workers are Democrats. Real-estate brokers are Republicans. What does your job say about your politics?

The Great Political Sort Is Happening at the Office


AP statement on Oval Office access | This afternoon, AP’s reporter was blocked from attending an executive order signing


Trump fires one-third of federal employee appeals board


EU launches InvestAI initiative to mobilise €200 billion of investment in artificial intelligence


In Latin America, even in the event of rising US tariffs, people do not support strengthing ties with China, nor retaliatory tariffs.

Based Latin Americans all over the place. Happy to see 🇦🇷🇧🇷🇨🇴🇲🇽🇨🇱

Atlas Intel: majority of Latin Americans support the use of the U.S. military force to depose the Venezuela dictatorship, among other findings


Voters Were Right About the Economy. The Data Was Wrong.


Top FEMA Official Is Fired Over Payments for N.Y.C. Migrant Shelters


Pittsburgh-area teacher Marc Fogel released from Russian prison after more than 3 years


Deb Haaland, Ex-Interior Secretary, Is Running for Governor of New Mexico


Senator Accuses Kash Patel of Covertly Directing F.B.I. Dismissals


FEMA official ignores judge's latest order, demands freeze on grant funding


Why annexing Canada would destroy the United States


Universities are failing to boost economic growth


Carney blames U.S. aggression toward Canada on social inequality down south


China's car sales post biggest drop in almost a year in January


Poland to launch government commission investigating political abuse of power


The House GOP says it's ready to go first on reconciliation, warning it won't even consider the Senate GOP's bill on the border, energy and defense.

This escalates the strategic fight between the two chambers over how to get the Trump tax cuts extended past this year — while also adding billions in spending on deportation infrastructure and the military.

The Senate wants two bills, handling border security, energy and defense first. Tax cuts would come later this year. The House wants one big bill, arguing it would be too hard to pass two distinct measures.

House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) plans to start marking up a House bill on Thursday or Friday, he told reporters on Tuesday.

Senate Budget Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has released text for the first bill. It's scheduled to be marked up at the committee level on Wednesday, putting pressure on the House to move faster.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told his deputies Monday that the House won't put a Senate two-track bill on the floor, Punchbowl first reported.

House and Senate GOP go to war over reconciliation

The House GOP says it&#39;s ready to go first on reconciliation, warning it won&#39;t even consider the Senate GOP&#39;s bill on the border, energy and defense.

This escalates the strategic fight between the two chambers over how to get the Trump tax cuts extended past this year — while also adding billions in spending on deportation infrastructure and the military.

The Senate wants two bills, handling border security, energy and defense first. Tax cuts would come later this year. The House wants one big bill, arguing it would be too hard to pass two distinct measures.

House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) plans to start marking up a House bill on Thursday or Friday, he told reporters on Tuesday.

Senate Budget Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has released text for the first bill. It&#39;s scheduled to be marked up at the committee level on Wednesday, putting pressure on the House to move faster.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told his deputies Monday that the House won&#39;t put a Senate two-track bill on the floor, Punchbowl first reported.


Covid Learning Losses: We explain the ways students haven’t recovered


‘Trump trades’ start to misfire as dollar weakens


Trudeau warns Vance about impact of U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs


The GOP Says They Love Elon. Privately, They’re Expressing Concerns.


Trump threatens Canadian cars with tariffs up to 100%


Trump administration targets Education Department research arm in latest cuts


Ukrainian ambassador shares details on Volhynia massacre exhumations


Tech vs finance: the social wars | No longer the most powerful profession, finance still provides better company


Make foreign aid great | What it means to take "efficiency" seriously, not as a pretext for destruction


Avian flu in America is a political problem and a health threat


Revealed: how a shadowy group of far-right donors is funding federal employee watchlists


Zelenskyy: Europe cannot guarantee Ukraine’s security without America


Why economists got free trade with China so wrong


In landmark zoning reform, Cambridge, Massachusetts votes to legalize four-story multifamily homes citywide


Will AGI Replace us like Cars Replaced Horses?


What can the world’s most walkable cities teach other places? | Researchers show how more urban areas could become 15-minute cities


Lithuanian minister suggests accepting some migrants, paying EU levy for rest


Republican Congressman proposes bill to restore lend-lease for Ukraine program


Watch "Ursula von der Leyen announces new era of EU security. "Modern warfare is too big for every single state, and this is where the European cooperation delivers"" on Streamable.


The arm of the Democratic Party focused on state legislative races announced its initial target map for the upcoming election cycle Tuesday, identifying 10 states where they will seek to combat President Donald Trump’s agenda and prepare for the next redistricting cycle at the end of the decade.

In plans shared first with NBC News, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) will target the state Houses in Virginia and Pennsylvania, where Democrats have one-seat majorities, as well as both chambers of the state Legislature in Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin and Alaska.

The legislatures in those four states are narrowly divided. Minnesota's House is expected to be tied following a special election next month, while Democrats have a one-seat majority in the state Senate. In Michigan, Democrats hold a one-seat majority in the state Senate while Republicans have a three-seat majority in the state House.

Wisconsin Republicans have a two-seat majority in the state Senate and a five-seat majority in the state House, while the Alaska Legislature is governed by multipartisan coalitions with significant numbers of Democrats.

The DLCC will also attempt to cut into Republican majorities in the Arizona House and Senate, the Georgia House and the New Hampshire House and in both chambers in North Carolina. Just one seat in the North Carolina House keeps the GOP from a legislative supermajority, protecting the Democratic governor’s veto power.

Democrats will be able to test out their message in the new Trump administration starting this fall in Virginia, which is hosting gubernatorial and state legislative elections.

Democrats unveil state legislative map for the next election cycle, with eyes on opposing Trump's agenda and redistricting

The arm of the Democratic Party focused on state legislative races announced its initial target map for the upcoming election cycle Tuesday, identifying 10 states where they will seek to combat President Donald Trump’s agenda and prepare for the next redistricting cycle at the end of the decade.

In plans shared first with NBC News, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) will target the state Houses in Virginia and Pennsylvania, where Democrats have one-seat majorities, as well as both chambers of the state Legislature in Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin and Alaska.

The legislatures in those four states are narrowly divided. Minnesota&#39;s House is expected to be tied following a special election next month, while Democrats have a one-seat majority in the state Senate. In Michigan, Democrats hold a one-seat majority in the state Senate while Republicans have a three-seat majority in the state House.

Wisconsin Republicans have a two-seat majority in the state Senate and a five-seat majority in the state House, while the Alaska Legislature is governed by multipartisan coalitions with significant numbers of Democrats.

The DLCC will also attempt to cut into Republican majorities in the Arizona House and Senate, the Georgia House and the New Hampshire House and in both chambers in North Carolina. Just one seat in the North Carolina House keeps the GOP from a legislative supermajority, protecting the Democratic governor’s veto power.

Democrats will be able to test out their message in the new Trump administration starting this fall in Virginia, which is hosting gubernatorial and state legislative elections.


War in eastern Congo escalates amid international hesitancy


EU plans radical budget overhaul handing more power to capitals


‘We’ll all have to go vegan’: Wisconsin dairy farmers fret over immigration crackdown

:commonwealth: Hell yes, I'm tough enough!


Sudan army nears biggest victory of civil war with assault on capital


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Links

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It is a humbling admission for an old ally. “They don’t listen to us,” General Asim Munir, Pakistan’s army chief, complained about the Afghan Taliban last month. In General Munir’s reckoning Pakistan is not asking for much. All the country needs from its “brotherly neighbour” is to stop the “spread of terrorism in Pakistan from across the border”. A helping hand, as it were, from the Afghan Taliban.

Instead, the powerful unelected generals who run Pakistan have mostly received a middle finger. In December, 16 Pakistani soldiers were killed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Pakistani wing of the Taliban, in a border attack. Pakistan’s armed forces responded by bombing TTP hideouts in Afghanistan. That prompted the Taliban to defend the TTP as “guests” and vow revenge. That month the Taliban attacked Pakistani troops on the border.

Pakistan’s anger at its vexatious ally is well founded. Violence is up: in 2024 there were 521 terrorist attacks in Pakistan, a 70% increase on the year before, according to the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies, an Islamabad-based think-tank. This resulted in nearly 2,000 casualties. Militant violence, which had been in decline in Pakistan since 2014, has increased every year since the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan, following America’s withdrawal of troops from the country in 2021.

Much of the violence last year, with over 300 attacks, can be attributed to the TTP. Pakistani officials estimate 10,000 of its fighters now roam along the border between the two countries. The TTP has narrowed its focus and its goals: it mostly attacks military targets, and is demanding a reversal of the merger in 2018 between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a province of Pakistan, and British-era tribal areas.

“Pakistan miscalculated in assuming the Taliban would be a reliable and pliable ally once in power,” says Andrew Wilder at the United States Institute of Peace, a think-tank. Pakistan’s lopsided relations among the Afghan Taliban factions have added to the problem. Pakistan’s army is close to the Haqqani network, with its strongholds in eastern Afghanistan. By contrast, the TTP pledges allegiance to the Taliban’s leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada. Relations between him and Pakistan’s generals are far cooler.

Wizened Afghan hands have known the Taliban to be stubborn allies since inception. In the 1990s they gave sanctuary to Pakistani sectarian militants who tormented the country’s Shias. They refused to hand over the leaders Pakistan demanded. But Pakistan’s dysfunctional politics also complicates the relationship between the two countries. The province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where there were 295 militant attacks last year, is governed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, the party founded by Imran Khan, the jailed former prime minister. Its chief minister insists on negotiating unilaterally with the Taliban, incensing the federal government. The army, which opposes such talks, wants Mr Khan’s provincial government to beef up its police resources to fight the TTP.

The government is trying other negotiating tactics. Since September 2023 some 815,000 Afghans have been evicted from Pakistan. (The United Nations estimates another 3m, fleeing Afghanistan’s long wars, remain.) Trade between the two countries has nosedived. Even so, the Afghan Taliban are unmoved. They know Pakistan’s arm-twisting has its limits.

Last month the Taliban hosted the Iranian foreign minister in Kabul, a first since 2017. Trade was on the agenda. Earlier in January India’s foreign secretary met the Taliban’s foreign minister in Dubai, to Pakistan’s annoyance. “We ask them to start acting and behaving like a state [and to] understand [their] obligations,” a senior Pakistani security official complains. “But nothing changes.” So much for that ally.

Pakistan is furious with the Afghan Taliban


Trump, Putin, Xi and the new age of empire


China’s stunning new campaign to turn the world against Taiwan


As USAID retreats, China pounces


"Today is our new independence day" - Donnie probably


Trump says he is considering tariff exemptions on Australian steel and aluminum


The Trump administration has asked the FBI for a list of probationary employees and individual justifications for keeping anyone who has been at the bureau for less than two years, sparking a new round of fears within a bureau that has been rocked by the first three weeks of Donald Trump's presidency.

The news comes amid an ongoing dispute over an effort to gather names of FBI employees who worked on Jan. 6 cases. A federal judge signed off Friday on an agreement that forbids the public release of the list of FBI employees who worked on the sprawling probe, which grew to be the largest in FBI history, with more than 1,500 defendants.

Trump administration orders list of new FBI recruits, deepening fears of cuts

The Trump administration has asked the FBI for a list of probationary employees and individual justifications for keeping anyone who has been at the bureau for less than two years, sparking a new round of fears within a bureau that has been rocked by the first three weeks of Donald Trump&#39;s presidency.

The news comes amid an ongoing dispute over an effort to gather names of FBI employees who worked on Jan. 6 cases. A federal judge signed off Friday on an agreement that forbids the public release of the list of FBI employees who worked on the sprawling probe, which grew to be the largest in FBI history, with more than 1,500 defendants.


Two Venezuelan planes flew to the United States on Monday and returned home with deported Venezuelans, signaling a possible improvement in relations between longtime diplomatic adversaries and a victory for President Donald Trump in his efforts to get more countries to take their people back.

The U.S. and Venezuelan governments separately confirmed the flights by Venezuelan airline Conviasa without saying how many were aboard or disclosing their routes.

The Venezuelan government confirmed the flights in a statement that took issue with an “ill-intentioned” and “false” narrative around the presence of members of the Tren de Aragua gang in the United States. It said most Venezuelan immigrants are decent, hard-working people and that U.S. officials sought to stigmatize the South American country.

Deportation flights from the U.S. to Venezuela were halted for years but restarted for a short time under the Biden administration in October 2023 when a jet transported about 130 migrants home. Venezuelans began showing up at the U.S. border with Mexico in large numbers in 2021 and are currently one of the largest nationalities entering illegally.

Monday’s flights came days after the first flights of immigrants to a U.S. military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio struck agreements with El Salvador and Guatemala for those countries to take people who were not their citizens.

Trump wrote after Grennell’s visit that the Maduro government had agreed to receive “all Venezuela illegal aliens who were encamped in the U.S., including gang members of Tren de Aragua,” and pay for their transportation. Six Americans held in Venezuela were released at the time.

In its statement Monday, the Venezuelan government didn’t comment on any future flights.

Venezuela sends 2 planes to US to return migrants, signaling a potential improvement in relations


Schumer: Senate Democrats won't push for government shutdown


Mace takes to House floor to accuse ex-fiancé and others of sex abuse, exploitation. All deny it.


Graham Allison and Niall Ferguson (on X) claim that the US and China will be entering a phase of detente through some type of "deal" by next year


Republicans propose new taxes on scholarships, ending student loan repayment plans


When Taxation is Not Theft: How Privatized Economic Rent is its Own form of Theft, and Why taxing it is Just


Schumer warns GOP against a 'Trump shutdown'


The Army and other service branches are abandoning recruiting efforts at a prestigious Black engineering event this week, turning down access to a key pool of highly qualified potential applicants amid President Donald Trump's purge of diversity initiatives in the military.

Until this week, Army Recruiting Command had a long-standing public partnership with the Black Engineer of the Year Awards, or BEYA, an annual conference that draws students, academics and professionals in science, technology, engineering and math, also known as STEM.

The event, which takes place in Baltimore, has historically been a key venue for the Pentagon to recruit talent, including awarding Reserve Officers' Training Corps scholarships and pitching military service to rising engineers. Past BEYA events have included the Army chief of staff and the defense secretary.

The services cited concerns that participation in the predominantly Black event could run afoul of Trump's orders and the Pentagon's intensifying push to erase diversity efforts in the military, according to multiple sources familiar with the decision. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Jan. 31 ordered that Black History Month, Women's History Month and others were officially "dead" and that the military would no longer mark them.

Additional recruiting events tied to specific racial or gender groups are also likely to be scrapped, two defense officials told Military.com. That includes other conferences and career fairs with thousands of participants. The decision to abandon the Black engineering event marks a significant shift in military recruiting strategy -- and sparked calls of discrimination.

While the services are pulling out of BEYA, a well-established pipeline for high-caliber STEM talent, they remain engaged with other events. Last week, the same Army recruiting unit that would have attended BEYA instead participated in a National Rifle Association-sponsored event in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, a predominantly white gathering that recruiters acknowledge is less likely to yield high-quality applicants.

Military Drops Recruiting Efforts at Prestigious Black Engineering Awards Event

The Army and other service branches are abandoning recruiting efforts at a prestigious Black engineering event this week, turning down access to a key pool of highly qualified potential applicants amid President Donald Trump&#39;s purge of diversity initiatives in the military.

Until this week, Army Recruiting Command had a long-standing public partnership with the Black Engineer of the Year Awards, or BEYA, an annual conference that draws students, academics and professionals in science, technology, engineering and math, also known as STEM.

The event, which takes place in Baltimore, has historically been a key venue for the Pentagon to recruit talent, including awarding Reserve Officers&#39; Training Corps scholarships and pitching military service to rising engineers. Past BEYA events have included the Army chief of staff and the defense secretary.

The services cited concerns that participation in the predominantly Black event could run afoul of Trump&#39;s orders and the Pentagon&#39;s intensifying push to erase diversity efforts in the military, according to multiple sources familiar with the decision. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Jan. 31 ordered that Black History Month, Women&#39;s History Month and others were officially &quot;dead&quot; and that the military would no longer mark them.

Additional recruiting events tied to specific racial or gender groups are also likely to be scrapped, two defense officials told Military.com. That includes other conferences and career fairs with thousands of participants. The decision to abandon the Black engineering event marks a significant shift in military recruiting strategy -- and sparked calls of discrimination.

While the services are pulling out of BEYA, a well-established pipeline for high-caliber STEM talent, they remain engaged with other events. Last week, the same Army recruiting unit that would have attended BEYA instead participated in a National Rifle Association-sponsored event in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, a predominantly white gathering that recruiters acknowledge is less likely to yield high-quality applicants.


Hey everyone,

It was just officially announced that there will be a Stand Up for Science Rally on Friday March 7th from 12-4 in DC and state capitals all over the US. In light of the recent NIH/NSF funding cuts, we are standing in solidarity with our fellow scientists and researchers. This is a great way to get involved and project our collective voice! Spread the word! Shoutout to u/Over_Researcher_4329 for organizing

Stand Up for Science 2025


The American Federation of Government Employees is already the largest federal employee union, but it’s setting new membership records as the Trump administration advances a slew of policies targeting government workers.

AFGE currently stands at 321,000 dues-paying members, its highest level ever, and is on track to reach 325,000 dues-paying members by the end of the week.

Everett Kelly, the union’s national president, told reporters on Monday that AFGE originally planned to reach that membership goal by December 2025.

AFGE represents more than 800,000 federal employees and D.C. government workers.

Before last November’s presidential election, Kelley said AFGE might add 900 or 1,000 new members a month. But so far in 2025, the union is seeing a more than eightfold increase in those numbers.

AFGE saw a net gain of 8,000 members in January, and so far in February, has seen a net gain of more than 8,200 members.

Kelley said 750 new bargaining units across the federal government have reached out and asked AFGE to represent them. Kelley said that, based on initial vetting, at least 150 of those units are “very serious” about joining AFGE. The union currently has about 900 local unions.

AFGE sees surge in new members as its lawsuits stall Trump’s federal workforce policies


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The dismissal of criminal charges against Donald Trump for concealing classified records at Mar-a-Lago eliminated a significant barrier to making records about the probe public, a federal judge ruled Monday.

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell said Trump’s election as president — which forced the end of the criminal case — combined with the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity mean Trump is effectively insulated from any criminal responsibility for his conduct.

That means the FBI’s previous reasons for refusing to gather and disclose records related to the probe no longer apply, Howell wrote in a ruling in a Freedom of Information Act case brought by journalist Jason Leopold. She noted that while the dismissal of charges against Trump may have reduced his criminal exposure, it “ironically” made him more susceptible to public scrutiny for his conduct.

She ordered the FBI to comb its records for documents responsive to the FOIA request and confer with Leopold about a timetable for release, providing an update to the court by Feb. 20.

Howell’s ruling comes amid an effort by public interest groups and congressional Democrats to access former special counsel Jack Smith’s final report on Trump’s concealment of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago after his first term. Trump faced dozens of felony charges in the case until they were dismissed by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who ruled last year that Smith’s appointment was unlawful.

Typically, the FBI refuses to “confirm or deny” the existence of a criminal investigation, a response meant to protect the secrecy of ongoing investigations and the privacy of people who may not ultimately be charged. But Howell said that rationale — known as a Glomar response — no longer applies to documents contained in Trump’s Mar-a-Lago file.

FBI must disclose more info about Trump classified docs case, judge rules


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President Donald Trump will to sign an executive order directing the Department of Justice to pause enforcing a nearly half-century-old law that prohibits American companies and foreign firms from bribing officials of foreign governments to obtain or retain business.

The pause will be implemented to avoid putting U.S. businesses at an economic disadvantage to foreign competitors.

Trump reportedly will tell Attorney General Pam Bondi to prepare new guidelines for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement.

Trump to pause enforcement of law banning bribery of foreign officials


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House Democrats are ramping up their efforts to respond to President Donald Trump's sweeping overhaul of the federal government by creating a task force that could lead to lawsuits against the administration.

The new "Rapid Response Task Force and Litigation Working Group" is part of a "multifaceted struggle to protect and defend everyday Americans from the harm being inflicted by this administration," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Monday in a letter to colleagues.

The task force will be chaired by Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), a top Jeffries ally who serves in the extended leadership circle. Its co-chairs will be other Democratic committee heads including Rep. Rosa DeLauro (Conn.) of Appropriations, Rep. Gerry Connolly (Va.) of Oversight and Rep. Jamie Raskin (Md.) of Judiciary.

Democrats have faced some pressure from their base and a flood of calls to their offices demanding they mount a more determined resistance to Trump and his allies. Jeffries has been laying out a plan for the party's opposition, and Democrats are expected to use their limited leverage in government funding talks that will play out over the coming month. But their ability to influence policy is still limited by the party's minority status in both the House and Senate.

House Democrats create a Trump-focused ‘rapid response task force’

House Democrats are ramping up their efforts to respond to President Donald Trump&#39;s sweeping overhaul of the federal government by creating a task force that could lead to lawsuits against the administration.

The new &quot;Rapid Response Task Force and Litigation Working Group&quot; is part of a &quot;multifaceted struggle to protect and defend everyday Americans from the harm being inflicted by this administration,&quot; House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Monday in a letter to colleagues.

The task force will be chaired by Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), a top Jeffries ally who serves in the extended leadership circle. Its co-chairs will be other Democratic committee heads including Rep. Rosa DeLauro (Conn.) of Appropriations, Rep. Gerry Connolly (Va.) of Oversight and Rep. Jamie Raskin (Md.) of Judiciary.

Democrats have faced some pressure from their base and a flood of calls to their offices demanding they mount a more determined resistance to Trump and his allies. Jeffries has been laying out a plan for the party&#39;s opposition, and Democrats are expected to use their limited leverage in government funding talks that will play out over the coming month. But their ability to influence policy is still limited by the party&#39;s minority status in both the House and Senate.


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There's gotta be a catch right? Trump actually doing something for the middle class sounds too good to be true

Trump asks GOP leaders to end tax perks for billionaire sports owners, hedge funds to cover ‘middle class’ cuts

There&#39;s gotta be a catch right? Trump actually doing something for the middle class sounds too good to be true


President Donald Trump wants to make a deal with Gov. Kathy Hochul on a controversial New York toll program as House Republicans push to rescind federal approval.

One option would walk back the controversial Manhattan toll program while providing “major investments” for New York City infrastructure, a person familiar with the ongoing discussions told POLITICO.

Trump also sees other transit issues in the city like bike lanes, e-bikes and parking “as all part of the problem and solution,” the person said.

The Democratic governor has spoken with the Republican president several times in recent weeks about the tolls, which are meant to raise $1 billion to bond for $15 billion — money to fix the region’s dilapidated mass transit infrastructure.

Trump’s administration could rescind federal approval for the toll program through the Department of Transportation. The move would result in halting the toll program and likely trigger a legal challenge by New York.

Hochul’s office in response Sunday did not deny Trump was willing to strike a deal on the tolls, which have become political fodder for the governor’s likely 2026 opponents.

Trump holds Manhattan toll plan's fate in his hands


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The White House said a hot streak in new recruits was a response to President Donald Trump's election, but the Army has been making recruiting gains since last year.

Trump takes credit for Army recruiting surge, but it started a year ago

The White House said a hot streak in new recruits was a response to President Donald Trump&#39;s election, but the Army has been making recruiting gains since last year.


Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), the ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said they are launching a portal for whistleblowers to expose wrongdoing and abuses of power in the Trump administration.

“As Senate Republicans refuse to fulfill their constitutional duty to provide a check on the executive branch, Senate Democrats remain steadfast in our commitment to uncovering the truth. We are prepared to issue demand letters, preserve public records and pursue legal action where necessary,” Schumer and Peters wrote in a letter to federal civil service employees and public servants.

They noted that the Whistleblower Protection Act prohibits retaliation against federal employees who disclose evidence of wrongdoing

“Whistleblowers are essential to helping uncover fraud and abuse in the federal government. If you have information you want to share about wrongdoing, abuse of power, and threats to public safety, we stand ready to support you in your pursuit of truth and justice,” they wrote.

Monday’s announcement of the new portal is the latest escalation of Democratic tactics in pushing back against the Trump administration’s efforts to freeze spending and cut federal programs.

Senate Democrats launch portal for whistleblowers in Trump administration


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