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The U.S. Attorney for DC is not ‘President Trump’s lawyer,’ as Ed Martin now describes himself

The U.S. Attorney for DC is not ‘President Trump’s lawyer,’ as Ed Martin now describes himself

Rolling Stone reports: Interim U.S. Attorney Ed Martin has already vowed to operate as a legal attack dog for Elon Musk and DOGE, and is now styling himself and those in his office as President Donald Trump’s personal lawyers. “As President Trumps’ lawyers, we are proud to fight to protect his leadership as our President and we are vigilant in standing against entities like the AP that refuse to put America first,” Martin wrote in a post from the United…

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Neo-Nazi group plots rebuild as Kash Patel takes control of the FBI

Neo-Nazi group plots rebuild as Kash Patel takes control of the FBI

The Guardian reports: An international neo-Nazi terrorist group with origins in the US appears to be quickly rebuilding its global and stateside ranks, according to information obtained by the Guardian from its digital accounts. Founded in 2018, the Base has been the intense focus of a years-long FBI counter-terrorism investigation that has resulted in more than a dozen of its members arrested. It has plotted an assassination, mass shootings and other actions in Europe, which made it a proscribed terrorist…

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Ukrainians are proudly democratic but resoundingly reject wartime elections

Ukrainians are proudly democratic but resoundingly reject wartime elections

Peter Dickinson writes: As the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion draws close, the chorus of voices calling for new elections in Ukraine is growing louder and louder. Curiously, however, these calls are not coming from the Ukrainians themselves, but from the Kremlin and the Trump White House. Since his inauguration one month ago, US President Donald Trump has begun echoing Russian demands for fresh Ukrainian elections. This week, he sparked outrage by branding Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator…

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Wealthiest 10% of Americans account for 50% of all spending

Wealthiest 10% of Americans account for 50% of all spending

The Wall Street Journal reports: Many Americans are pinching pennies, exhausted by high prices and stubborn inflation. The well-off are spending with abandon. The top 10% of earners—households making about $250,000 a year or more—are splurging on everything from vacations to designer handbags, buoyed by big gains in stocks, real estate and other assets. Those consumers now account for 49.7% of all spending, a record in data going back to 1989, according to an analysis by Moody’s Analytics. Three decades…

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Tesla protests gain momentum

Tesla protests gain momentum

electrek reports: Protests at Tesla stores are gaining momentum across the US as people are fighting back against Elon Musk’s government takeover, and the hate is spreading to owners. Last week, we reported on a new effort to organize protests at Tesla stores worldwide, but primarily in North America. There were significant turnouts to disrupt Tesla operations by picketing in front of dozens of stores. But the movement is ongoing, and there were protests against this weekend and more planned…

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Trump will align himself with whomever he wants — to hell with America’s allies

Trump will align himself with whomever he wants — to hell with America’s allies

Anne Applebaum writes: At a major multinational security conference in Munich last weekend, I sat in a room full of defense ministers, four-star generals, and security analysts—people who procure ammunition for Ukrainian missile defense, or who worry about Russian ships cutting fiber optic cables in the Baltic Sea. All of them were expecting Vice President J. D. Vance to address these kinds of concerns. Instead, Vance told a series of misleading stories designed to demonstrate that European democracies aren’t democratic….

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Republicans face angry voters at town hall meetings as broader backlash brews

Republicans face angry voters at town hall meetings as broader backlash brews

The New York Times reports: Some came with complaints about Elon Musk, President Trump’s billionaire ally who is carrying out an assault on the federal bureaucracy. Others demanded guarantees that Republicans in Congress would not raid the social safety net. Still others chided the G.O.P. to push back against Mr. Trump’s moves to trample the constitutional power of Congress. When Representative Pete Sessions, Republican of Texas, arrived at a crowded community center on Saturday in the small rural town of…

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Key agencies, including some led by Trump loyalists, refuse to back Musk’s latest draconian demand

Key agencies, including some led by Trump loyalists, refuse to back Musk’s latest draconian demand

The Associated Press reports: Key U.S. agencies, including the FBI, State Department and the Pentagon, have instructed their employees not to comply with cost-cutting chief Elon Musk’s demand that federal workers explain what they accomplished last week — or risk losing their jobs. That resistance has intensified a pervasive sense of chaos and confusion, while highlighting a potential power struggle among President Donald Trump’s allies, that is affecting federal employees across the country as a new workweek is about to…

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Trump administration’s mass firings could leave federal government with ‘monumental’ bill, say experts

Trump administration’s mass firings could leave federal government with ‘monumental’ bill, say experts

The Guardian reports: Donald Trump’s administration could rack up a “monumental” bill and is breaking the law by firing government workers on spurious grounds, according to a top labor lawyer. Officials have cited “poor performance” when terminating thousands of federal workers. In many cases it’s not true, according to employees embroiled in the blitz, many of whom are now seeking legal advice. Jacob Malcom was acting deputy assistant secretary for policy and environmental management, and director of the office of…

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DOGE operative given access to Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency

DOGE operative given access to Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency

Nextgov/FCW reports: Edward Coristine, a 19-year-old staffer in billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency with a reported history of interacting with hacking groups, has been given physical access to building facilities at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Coristine is listed with a DHS email address and has been seen inside CISA, according to a person familiar with the matter and a directory image viewed by Nextgov/FCW. It is not clear what systems he had access to. CISA and…

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Why the oil industry supports carbon capture

Why the oil industry supports carbon capture

Zoë Schlanger writes: The Trump administration is fully engaged in a drive to eliminate virtually any government activity or mention related to climate change—with a few notable exceptions. Take, for example, a single tax credit in Joe Biden’s signature climate law that may have the best chance of survival out of any climate-coded policy. A provision in the Inflation Reduction Act, known as 45Q, enlarged a tax credit for any company willing to capture carbon dioxide. A version of this…

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‘Worse than the Second Intifada’: West Bank refugees reel from Israeli offensive

‘Worse than the Second Intifada’: West Bank refugees reel from Israeli offensive

Hanno Hauenstein reports: Sameera Abu Rmeleh steps over mountains of rubble and debris to reach what’s left of her home in Jenin refugee camp. It’s a cold, rainy day in the northern West Bank, and the camp is almost unrecognizable. Smashed concrete, burned-out cars, bullet casings, and the lifeless bodies of stray dogs line the streets as far as the eye can see. About 100 meters away, Israeli bulldozers and armored vehicles move around with purpose. “What is happening now…

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‘Chainsaw economics,’ now deployed by Musk, drove more than 50% of Argentinians into poverty

‘Chainsaw economics,’ now deployed by Musk, drove more than 50% of Argentinians into poverty

  Jess Bidgood writes: The music was booming. The ballroom was packed. And Elon Musk was onstage, waving a chain saw in the air. I had already seen other surreal sights at the Conservative Political Action Conference — a man with a cat on his shoulder, freshly pardoned Proud Boys roaming around — but it was clear that this would be one of the indelible images of the annual MAGA confab. Musk roared — or was he just making a…

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How Trump’s bid to control lithium mining in Ukraine would benefit Elon Musk

How Trump’s bid to control lithium mining in Ukraine would benefit Elon Musk

The Daily Beast reports: Elon Musk‘s future prosperity is inextricably linked to lithium, the vital mineral required for many of his businesses, from Tesla to X to SpaceX. Tech may be marching into the future. But it is still battery-powered. Dubbed ‘white gold’, lithium is notoriously difficult to mine in the United States. A $1 billion lithium refinery that Musk is building in Corpus Christi, Texas could use as many as eight million gallons of water a day in a…

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