Local news deserves high marks for coverage of the doge fallout

Reporters are telling gripping human stories, connecting the dots from DC to main street, going beyond acronyms to explain what government agencies do & giving voice to concerns of regular people

[Indistinct Chatter]

Musk’s cost-cutting team is laying off workers at the auto safety agency overseeing his car company

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has cut a “modest” amount of positions, according to a statement from the agency. Musk has accused NHTSA of holding back progress on self-driving technology with its investigations and recalls.

AP News

Talk of a “Feb 28 Economic Blackout” is spreading on social media. What is it?

“For our entire lives, they have told us we have no choice … that we have to accept these insane prices, the corporate greed, the billionaire tax breaks, all while we struggle to just to get by,” Schwarz said in a video posted to his Instagram account. “February 28, the 24-hour economic blackout: no Amazon, no Walmart, no fast food, no gas, not a single unnecessary dollar spent … for one day, we are going to finally turn the tables.”

CBS News

Republicans Face Angry Voters at Town Halls, Hinting at Broader Backlash

After a monthlong honeymoon for the G.O.P. at the start of President Trump’s term, lawmakers are confronting a groundswell of fear and disaffection in districts around the country.

The New York Times (Gift)

‘Heinous actions’: opposition to Trump, slow to energize, shakes off its slumber

“I have to believe, given the heinous actions that are being signed with a Sharpie on the daily, abridging people’s personal freedoms, their civil rights, our social service programs, our aid abroad, that somebody would have a conscience,” Duffy-Smith said. “And once you start tipping the iceberg, other right-minded people will follow.”

The Guardian

Wisconsin pro soccer team gives JK Rowling the middle finger over trans rights

Can you be pro-LGBTQ and still embrace the Potterverse? Or is anything related to J.K. Rowling simply off-limits for a sports club that prides itself on being inclusive?

Outsports

The Great Resegregation

The Trump administration’s attacks on DEI are aimed at reversing the civil-rights movement.

The Atlantic (Gift)

Buttigieg weighs a decision with huge implications for Democrats: Run for Senate or president?

For now, Buttigieg, the 43-year-old former U.S. transportation secretary, is discussing his future with party officials, labor leaders and top strategists. He must decide soon whether he wants to return to the national spotlight as a candidate in Michigan’s U.S. Senate race or step aside to instead seek a much bigger role as his party’s next presidential nominee.

AP News

Government agencies give conflicting guidance on Musk email

An email sent to 2.3 million workers asking them to outline their work last week is leading to confusion and differing instructions across the government.

The Washington Post (Gift)

Growing measles outbreak in Texas could get ‘a lot worse,’ experts say

Some private schools have shut down because of a rapidly escalating measles outbreak in West Texas. Local health departments are overstretched, pausing other important work as they race to limit the spread of this highly contagious virus.

Since the outbreak emerged three weeks ago, the Texas health department has confirmed 90 cases with 16 hospitalizations as of Feb. 21. Most of those infected are under age 18. Officials suspect that nine additional measles cases reported in New Mexico, across the border from the epicenter of the Texas outbreak in Gaines, are linked to the Texas outbreak. Ongoing investigations seek to confirm that connection.

San Francisco Chronicle

Trump officials launch ICE effort to deport unaccompanied migrant children

The Trump administration is directing immigration agents to track down hundreds of thousands of migrant children who entered the United States without their parents, expanding the president’s mass deportation effort, according to an internal memo reviewed by Reuters.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo outlines an unprecedented push to target migrant children who crossed the border illegally as unaccompanied minors. It lays out four phases of implementation, beginning with a planning phase on January 27, though it did not provide a start date for enforcement operations.

Reuters

Chris Murphy Emerges as a Clear Voice for Democrats Countering Trump

The third-term senator from Connecticut is eschewing caution and throwing out the traditional political playbook as he seeks a broader audience for his critiques of the president and his agenda.

The New York Times (Gift)

Straight woman lost two jobs to gay colleagues. Supreme Court will decide if she can sue.

Marlean Ames twice lost jobs at the Ohio Department of Youth Services to other candidates she thought were less qualified.

Both workers were gay and Ames, a heterosexual, tried to sue for discrimination.

“I was straight and pushed aside,” Ames told Reuters.

But a federal judge dismissed her suit because Ames hadn’t provided “background circumstances” showing the department was “that unusual employer who discriminates against the majority.”

The Supreme Court will debate Wednesday whether judges can use that threshold test for workplace discrimination allegations not involving members of a minority group.

USA Today

Trump halts medical research funding in apparent violation of judge’s order

The Trump administration has blocked a crucial step in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) process for funding medical research, likely in violation of a federal judge’s temporary restraining order on federal funding freezes.

The NIH has stopped submitting study sections – meetings in which scientists peer review NIH grant funding proposals – to the Federal Register after the Trump administration paused health agency communications. By law, study sections must appear on the register 15 days in advance of meetings.

“The idea is that the public has the right to know who’s giving advice to the federal government and when they’re meeting,” said Jeremy Berg, a biochemist who has overseen NIH funding in the past.

The Guardian

Trump Order Shifts the Financial Burden of Climate Change Onto Individuals

As climate change takes hold — the earth has already warmed more than half the total amount scientists project will cause catastrophic destabilization — the size and frequency of billion-dollar disasters has exploded, and the bills for climate damages have begun to affect people’s lives. Economists warn that it could be the steep financial price of adapting to this rapid shift, as much as environmental change itself, that will prove the most challenging and destabilizing.

ProPublica

Accessibility Initiatives Are Taking a Hit Across the Sciences

Confusion has ensued about the future of programs and research supporting people with disabilities as a result of President Trump’s executive order.

The New York Times (Gift)

‘See You In Court’: Maine Gov. Goes Head-To-Head With Trump Over Trans Athlete Ban

“Are you not gonna comply with it?” Trump asked Mills, as seen in video footage shared on social media.

I’m complying with state and federal law,” Mills responded.

“We are the federal law,” he retorted. “Well, you better do it. You better do it because you’re not gonna get any federal funding at all if you don’t.”

Trump then repeated MAGA talking points on “men playing in women’s sports.” 

“See you in court,” Mills eventually answered.

“Good, I’ll see you in court. I look forward to that. That should be a real easy one. And enjoy your life after governor ’cause I don’t think you’ll be in elected politics,” he said. 

Huffpost

Khamenei vows ‘resistance’ to Israel as Iran officials attend Nasrallah funeral

Khamenei praised Nasrallah as “a great mujahid (fighter) and prominent leader”, and Safieddine as “a close confidant and an inseparable part of the leadership”.

Al Monitor

How one community in Chile is blessed and cursed with lithium

“The lithium won’t last forever,” sighs 72-year-old Sara Plaza, a lifelong resident of Peine. “For the next generations there won’t be water and there won’t be work — there won’t be anything.”

NPR

The Muslim drag queen helping asylum seekers prove they are gay

The Telegraph reported last year how a record number of asylum seekers claiming to be gay had been allowed to stay in Britain, rising to 2,133 from 762. In 2019, 475 claims were successful.

The Telegraph

U.S. man in same-sex marriage loses long-term residency bid in Japan

The Supreme Court upheld the Tokyo High Court’s 2023 ruling that said a same-sex couple in Japan does not have the equivalent status as a heterosexual couple. The man, Andrew High, had argued that the denial violates the Constitution’s guarantee of equality under the law.

Kyodo News

America’s loss, China’s gain: top Chinese universities welcome PhD refugees from the US

As the US cuts funding and suspends graduate admissions, China’s leading educational institutions are offering new academic pathways

South China Morning Post

Zelensky Offers to Step Down, if Ukraine Can Join NATO

It was not clear if the Ukrainian leader was serious or if he was just reacting to attacks against him from Washington and Moscow. He also pushed back against a minerals deal proposed by the United States.

The New York Times (Gift)

Pope Francis breaks silence from hospital with heartfelt message as he remains in ‘critical condition’

Pope Francis reached out to the world on Sunday, sharing a message of gratitude as he remained hospitalized in critical condition due to a severe lung infection. Blood tests have also suggested the pope is enduring early kidney failure.

Irish Star

‘People are so polite’: the Ukrainian refugee bonding with the British over borscht and chips

First Ukrainian refugee to arrive in UK after Russia invasion says even the British dogs are better behaved, but that ‘the weather is sad’

The Guardian

Hamas says Israel endangering Gaza ceasefire by postponing prisoner release

A senior Hamas official has accused Israel of attempting to scupper the ceasefire agreement by delaying the release of hundreds of Palestinian detainees.

The New Arab

Lebanon not battleground for ‘wars of others’, leader tells Iran

“Lebanon has grown tired of the wars of others on its land,” Aoun told the Iranian officials, according to a statement shared by the newly appointed president, a former army chief seen as close to the West.

“Countries should not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries,” he added.

Al Monitor