The Breach

Recently, some headlines have suggested that the federal courts may be the “last bulwark” against Trump’s drive to centralize executive power. Others have argued that the state attorney generals are our “last line of defense” to save our democracy.

While these make for dramatic headlines in a scary time, the truth is a bit more complicated, and ultimately, even scarier.

When constitutional scholars talk about “checks and balances,” they usually are referring to the interplay between the three branches of the federal government — the executive, legislative and judicial.

Since all three are now under Republican control, and the GOP is in turn under the sway of right-wing extremists, that is a cause for red-alert alarm bells alone.

But an important additional check on power is our federalized system, which mandates a certain degree of decentralized power-sharing between the states, cities and regional branches of the central government.

It is these distributed layers that are now under assault by Trump’s Justice Department. The seven resignations by prosecutors in the wake of suspending the federal corruption charges against NYC Mayor Eric Adams illustrate the direct threat both to local authorities and the traditional independence of U.S. Attorneys in places like the Southern District of New York, or the 9th Circuit on the west coast.

Other Trump initiatives are challenging state power in various ways in blue areas like California, New York and Illinois. The first ICE raids, for example, were by design staged in Chicago. The administration is targeting jurisdictions that have proclaimed sanctuary status protecting immigrants for future mass deportation raids.

There are two great vulnerabilities hampering the ability of local and state authorities to resist the Trump power grab. One is control over the federal purse strings, which now lies with the Republican-controlled Congress, although even that check is now being challenged by DOGE.

To a large degree, cities and states depend on federal funds to finance their programs and to help them recover after the increasingly frequent natural disasters caused by climate change. The scale of events like mega-hurricanes and massive wildfires makes the cost of recovery beyond any state’s capacity — even California with the largest state budget.

The other vulnerability is the frightening rise of right-wing militias now they are free to resume plots like their plan to kidnap Michigan’s Democratic governor. These groups will be emboldened if and when Trump dog-whistles them into action, safe in the knowledge he will pardon them no matter how heinous their acts against his “enemies.”

It is now not difficult to imagine a series of events that could fatally undermine our democracy.

I wish this was all a paranoid fantasy, and I’d more than happy to be wrong about all of this. But should any kind of resistance movement to Trump’s authoritarian oligarchy emerge, I fear the risk of political violence to suppress the leaders of that movement is high.

The true last line of defense is those of us, the American people, who refuse to give up the hard-earned freedoms we’ve achieved over the past 248 years. Unfortunately, it looks like we now will have an extended battle on our hands.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

“We’re here, right by your side.” — Ontario (advertisement)

HEADLINES:

• JD Vance attacks Europe over free speech and migration (BBC)

• Vance’s message is simple: drink the Maga Kool-Aid or you’re on your own (Telegraph)

• World leaders expected clarity on Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine. Instead, JD Vance scolded them on immigration and lectured them about censorship (Fortune)

• Vance meets with leader of far-right German party, blasts European leaders (WP)

• NATO is in disarray after the US announces that its security priorities lie elsewhere (AP)

• Judge orders US to restore funds for foreign aid programs (Reuters)

• Trump’s A.G. Just Did Something So Corrupt She Should Be Fired Already (TNR)

• The Justice Department’s recent instruction to drop corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams has prompted a wave of resignations from key federal prosecutors on Thursday, including one attorney who said the order "amounted to a quid pro quo." [HuffPost]

• Federal prosecutors resign after order to drop Eric Adams case (Today)

• Danielle Sassoon’s American Bravery — A conservative prosecutor in New York makes the first bold move against Donald Trump’s rampaging Presidency. (New Yorker)

• Some federal workers given just 30 minutes to leave amid Trump layoffs (Guardian)

• A Consumer Financial Watchdog’s Fate Is Unclear. Here’s What’s at Stake. (WSJ)

• This Watchdog Agency Shielded Troops and Veterans from Fraud. Musk and Trump Just Gutted It. (Military.com)

• Nazi flags can fly in Utah schools, but not pride flags, GOP lawmaker says (Salt Lake Tribune)

• Trump firings cause chaos at agency responsible for America's nuclear weapons (NPR)

• ICE Raids Send Chill Through Migrant Workforces (WSJ)

• The real obstacle for Trump’s campaign against DEI isn’t Democrats. It’s demography (CNN)

• Senate Panel Advances Kash Patel’s Bid for F.B.I. Director Amid Agency Turmoil (NYT)

• Who’s working for Elon Musk’s DOGE? (WP)

• The Erasing of American Science (Atlantic)

• Will Student Loans Be Cancelled If Trump Shuts Down Department Of Education? (Forbes)

• Laid-off Meta employees blast Zuckerberg for running the ‘cruelest tech company out there’ as some claim they were blindsided after parental leave (Fortune)

• Video shows whale gulping up kayaker: ‘I thought I had died’ (WP)

• The damage done when the journalists get the story wrong (Al Jazeera)

• Female protagonists reach parity with men in top-grossing films of 2024 (AP)

• Go ahead and flirt with AI, just don’t fall in love (WP)

• A new study is offering a good reason to stop depending on tools like ChatGPT for everything. [HuffPost]

• Concerned Bartender Takes Away Pete Hegseth’s Security Clearance (The Onion)

ARCHIVAL VIDEO:

Norah Jones — Forever Young at memorial for Steve Jobs

When Stories Cross Paths

One of our biggest projects at the Center for Investigative Reporting in the early years started out based on reporting I’d done for Pacific News Service and Rolling Stone. It was loosely called the “export of poison” and ultimately led to a joint project with Mother Jones called the “Corporate Crime of the Century,” which won a National Magazine Award, plus our book called Circle of Poison.

Going back still further, the way I got started on this reporting track was a humble item indeed — a packet of Kool-Aid in Afghanistan. In the list of ingredients on the back of the packet was cyclamates, an artificial sweetener that had been banned by the FDA as a carcinogen.

I had purchased the Kool-Aid at a bazaar in Kabul while serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer from 1969-71, and found it odd that something banned in the U.S. had found its way to one of the poorest countries in the world.

Back in the states, while working as a freelance reporter researching “export of poison” stories, I discovered that another journalist, Stan Sesser, had solved the cyclamate mystery when he published an expose in the Wall Street Journal documenting that U.S. companies had dumped products contain the carcinogen overseas after the FDA ban.

As fate would have it, I met Stan Sesser around the time we formed CIR in 1977. He was teaching journalism classes at U-C, Berkeley and wrote us a glowing letter of recommendation just as we were getting started.

A meticulous reporter who footnoted every allegation in his stories, Stan inspired us during those early years when we shared office space with him in downtown Oakland.

When I got the sad news recently that Stan Sesser had died at the age of 81, I thought back to how that packet of Kool-Aid over fifty years ago had bound our early careers together. It is with the greatest respect that I remember Stan Sesser, a fine journalist, R.I.P.

(The painting on canvas is by Daisy.)

***
On what might otherwise have seemed a dreary afternoon, given the rain outside and the state of the nation, I felt warm and hopeful inside thanks to a space heater I recently purchased and a cup of Philz coffee courtesy of a friend who brought me a 2-lb. bag a couple weeks ago.

These are the perfect conditions for me to write — the weather, the comfort and the feeling of connectedness.

Academics who study these kinds of things contend that there are only a few basic categories of stories in the world. I don’t recall the exact number, but that doesn’t really matter because that only makes it a better subject for academic debate. We can just agree that it is a discrete number that depends on who’s doing the categorizing.

So if the experts are right, any story I attempt to tell you has already been told, possibly millions of times over. A younger writer might get discouraged by this problem but I look at it from another perspective.

The way I see it, when it comes to a good story, it’s all in the telling, and I just told you one.

(Thanks to Susanna for the coffee.)

HEADLINES:

• There’s a Term for What Trump and Musk Are Doing — How regime change happens in America (Atlantic)

• DOGE Is Hacking America — The U.S. government has experienced what may be the most consequential security breach in its history. (Foreign Policy)

• Justice, FBI ousters remove longtime experts from daily threats meeting (WP)

• White House terminates top federal prosecutors amid DOJ, FBI purge (NBC)

• Top prosecutor resigns after being told to drop case against NYC mayor Eric Adams (BBC)

• Musk team kicks off federal layoffs as White House eyes big cuts (WP)

• JD Vance throws down a high-risk gauntlet for America's judiciary (MSNBC)

• Senate confirms RFK Jr. as Health and Human Services secretary (CNN)

• DOGE rips through Education Department, cutting contracts, staff and grants (WP)

• Elon Musk claims to know the net worths of federal employees, raising a fundamental question about how he could have possibly obtained the information in the first place. [HuffPost]

• Trump expected to announce reciprocal tariffs (Guardian)

• Trump’s push for ‘efficiency’ may destroy the EPA. What does that mean for you? (Grist)

• Judge removes key legal hurdle for Trump’s plan to trim federal workforce with deferred resignations (AP)

• Trump Admits He Caved to Putin in Phone Call on Ukraine (TNR)

• Trump says he backs Ukraine, but early concessions to Russia are sparking concerns – especially in Europe, where leaders say talks on ending the war will affect their own security. (Reuters)

• Donald Trump opens the door to Vladimir Putin’s grandest ambitions (Financial Times)

• Hegseth suggests Ukraine should abandon hope of winning all territory back from Russia (AP)

• Israel and Hamas Agree to Resolve Cease-Fire Dispute (WSJ)

• A.P. Accuses White House of Violating First Amendment (NYT)

• Immigrant rights activists vow to disrupt ICE raids in California (LAT)

• NYT’s Eric Lipton on How Musk Empire Benefits as He Slashes Fed. Gov’t; Trump Cryptocurrency Schemes (Democracy Now)

• US Homeland Security says election security personnel placed on leave (Reuters)

• House Republicans shared a broad outline of their plans for the federal budget, using cuts to social programs to help pay for trillions of dollars in tax cuts. [HuffPost]

• Federal judge blocks Trump’s order aiming to restrict health care for transgender youth (WP)

• Evacuations issued in Southern California as heavy rain brings threat of debris flows in areas scarred by wildfires (CNN)

• A far-right party is heading for its strongest result yet in Germany’s election (AP)

• The Song Kris Kristofferson Wrote for Carly Simon During Their Brief Romance (American Songwriter)

• Can the Human Body Endure a Voyage to Mars? (New Yorker)

• Elon Musk will withdraw bid for OpenAI’s nonprofit if its board agrees to terms (TechCrunch)

• Google, Amazon-backed Anthropic develops hybrid AI model with reasoning ability (Seeking Alpha)

• AI is evolving so quickly that bank analysts are becoming self-aware (Financial Times)

• AI Agents Are Everywhere…and Nowhere (WSJ)

• OpenAI lays out plans for GPT-5 (Verge)

• How Did DeepSeek Build Its A.I. With Less Money? (NYT)

• Man Allows All Cookies So Website Won’t Be Mad At Him (The Onion)

What's Happening Here

In one of his many moves, Trump is proposing to cut thousands of jobs in the Justice Department and FBI, specifically targeting those he deems to be “disloyal.” 

As part of this effort, according to numerous reports, the administration has been compiling lists of those who worked on the Jan. 6th cases. Among these officials are the government’s top counter- terrorism experts.

Should these people lose their jobs, the federal government will be far more vulnerable to a terrorist attack that could further weaken our democracy and lead directly to a much greater centralization of executive power — which some believe is Trump’s ultimate goal.

There would be no one left to keep an eye on the extremist militias that are reorganizing now their leaders have been pardoned for their Jan. 6th crimes.

Stripped of its critical defenses, the government would be ill-prepared to prevent a major terrorist event that in turn could lead to martial law and the kind of authoritarian system our nation has opposed for 248 years. 

If under some sort of false pretext the domestic terrorists should again storm the Capitol, this time they may find that the doors have been left wide open, courtesy of their commander-in-chief.

I’m afraid more and more this situation resembles that of Germany’s in the 1930s. Let us not forget that Hitler initially took office through the electoral system, only to provoke a crisis and then assume complete power. 

The question I’m asking myself now is am I just being paranoid or is that what is happening right here right before our eyes?

HEADLINES:

• Trump upends US policy on Ukraine and says he and Putin have agreed to begin talks on ending the war (AP)

• Trump opens the door to Vladimir Putin’s grandest ambitions (Financial Times)

• Hegseth to NATO: U.S. troops won't guarantee Ukraine's security after war (Axios)

• Hegseth calls Ukraine’s peace goals ‘unrealistic’ in meeting with allies (WP)

• Hegseth heckled and booed by military families at pro-DEI protest in Germany (Guardian)

• More job cuts expected at Justice Department, FBI (CBS)

• Trump official targeting Jan. 6 investigators worked on those cases himself (NPR)

• DOGE’s power expands as federal agencies start planning large-scale layoffs (CNN)

• White House says judges balking at Trump's actions are provoking a 'constitutional crisis' (AP)

• The Trump administration is defying court rulings against Elon Musk’s pet project and dismissing concerns about conflicts of interest (Rolling Stone)

• Here’s what federal judges could do if they’re ignored by the Trump administration (CNN)

• What Marbury v. Madison means for the Supreme Court — and America (AP)

• Trump executive order vows substantial cuts to federal workforce (WP)

• Misleading Ice data ‘laying groundwork’ for mass deportations, advocates say (Guardian)

• Project 2025 Is Gutting Medical Funding That Helped Russell Vought’s Own Kid (Mother Jones)

• Tulsi Gabbard confirmed as Trump’s director of national intelligence, Senate poised to advance RFK Jr. (WP)

• Mark Zuckerberg warned employees to prepare for an ‘intense year.’ He just laid off 3,600 workers—including some who claim they got glowing reviews (Fortune)

• Tesla Can’t Afford Another Twitter-Size Distraction (WSJ)

• Jordanian King Rebuffs Trump Proposal to Displace Palestinians in Gaza (NYT)

• Concern mounts over Gaza ceasefire as Israel calls up reservists (Reuters)

• Gaza Cease-Fire Imperiled as Netanyahu Threatens to Resume ‘Intense Fighting’ (NYT)

• Could a rebellion in eastern Congo widen into a regional war? (AP)

• Elon Musk's xAI plans massive hiring spree of thousands to train Grok, employees say (Business Insider)

• Thomson Reuters wins an early court battle over AI, copyright, and fair use (Verge)

• Crawl, then walk, before you run with AI agents, experts recommend (ZDNet)

• Investigation Finds Elon Musk’s Hair-Plug Guy Given Highest Security Clearance (The Onion)

  ARCHIVAL VIDEO:

  Joan Baez & Marianne Faithfull Sing "As Tears Go By" In Bob Dylan's Hotel Room (May 1965) —partial clip

 

Corruption Inc.

Today’s top story illustrates why Eon Musk’s DOGE appointment is a walking conflict of interest. There is a distinct irony in Musk appearing in the Oval Office proclaiming his findings of massive waste and fraud in the federal government. Meanwhile on to that top story.

From the Associated Press:

Elon Musk has long railed against the U.S. government, saying a crushing number of federal investigations and safety programs have stymied Tesla, his electric car company, and its efforts to create fleets of robotaxis and other self-driving automobiles.

Now, Musk’s close relationship with President Donald Trump means many of those federal headaches could vanish within weeks or months.

On the potential chopping block: crash investigations into Tesla’s partially automated vehicles; a Justice Department criminal probe examining whether Musk and Tesla have overstated their cars’ self-driving capabilities; and a government mandate to report crash data on vehicles using technology like Tesla’s Autopilot.

The consequences of such actions could prove dire, say safety advocates who credit the federal investigations and recalls with saving lives.

“Musk wants to run the Department of Transportation,” said Missy Cummings, a former senior safety adviser at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “I’ve lost count of the number of investigations that are underway with Tesla. They will all be gone.”

The actions have sparked outcries from legal scholars who say the Trump administration’s actions are without modern-day precedent and are already upending the balance of power in Washington.

The Trump administration has not yet declared any actions that could benefit Tesla or Musk’s other companies. However, snuffing out federal investigations or jettisoning safety initiatives would be an easier task than their assault on regulators and the bureaucracy.

Investigations into companies like Tesla can be shut down overnight by the new leaders of agencies. And safety programs created through an agency order or initiative — not by laws passed by Congress or adopted through a formal regulatory process — can also be quickly dissolved by new leaders. Unlike many of the dismantling efforts that Trump and Musk have launched in recent weeks, stalling or killing such probes and programs would not be subject to legal challenges.

As such, the temporal and fragile nature of the federal probes and safety programs make them easy targets for those seeking to weaken government oversight and upend long-established norms.

“Trump’s election, and the bromance between Trump and Musk, will essentially lead to the defanging of a regulatory environment that’s been stifling Tesla,” said Daniel Ives, a veteran Wall Street technology and automobile industry analyst.

HEADLINES:

• With firings and lax enforcement, Trump is moving to dismantle government’s public integrity guardrails (AP)

• Fiery Directives Under Trump’s Justice Dept. Signal a Significant Shift (NYT)

• Top Democrat Warns The U.S. Is 'Staring The Death Of Democracy In The Eyes' (HuffPost)

• Key things to know about how Tesla could benefit from Elon Musk’s assault on government (AP)

• The CFPB took aim at Big Tech. Then Elon Musk moved to dismantle it. (WP)

• Trump Muses About a Third Term, Over and Over Again (NYT)

• Trump’s Plan Comes Into Focus: Make America Corrupt Again (Rolling Stone)

• Trump pushes ahead as courts, Democrats try to block him (WP)

• White House Failed to Comply With Court Order, Judge Rules (NYT)

• What do Hamas delay and Trump threat mean for Gaza ceasefire deal? (Guardian)

• Jordan's King Abdullah heads to the White House as Trump pushes a Gaza takeover plan (NPR)

• Trump pressures Egypt and Jordan to take Palestinians displaced from Gaza (WP)

• UC president says cuts to key federal research funds would be ‘catastrophic’ (Berkeleyside)

• We got a staff list for Elon Musk’s DOGE (Business Insider)

• The European Union said it would respond with "firm and proportionate countermeasures" after US President Donald Trump's decision to impose tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, escalating fears of a trade war. (Reuters)

• Trump's push to make Canada the 51st state could backfire on Republicans (MSNBC)

• Canada is not going to be the 51st state, former envoy says (Politico)

• Trump's national security adviser: 'I don't think there's any plans to invade Canada' (NBC)

• China builds space alliances in Africa. (Reuters)

• US justice department tells prosecutors to drop NYC mayor's corruption case (BBC)

• Trump Killed a Major Report on Nature. They’re Trying to Publish It Anyway. (NYT)

• A New Kind of Crisis for American Universities (Atlantic)

• What the judicial branch can do when a president refuses to comply with a court order (NPR)

• Remote work was a boon for people with disabilities. What happens as employers pull back? (USA Today)

• Why Taylor Swift Getting Booed at the Super Bowl Was Even More Chilling Than You Think (Glamour)

• Vance pushes ‘America First’ AI agenda, accuses allies of overregulation (WP)

• Intel Stock Soars After JD Vance Vows AI Chips Will Be Made in U.S. (Barron’s)

• What’s Behind Elon Musk’s Hostile Bid for Control of OpenAI (NYT)

• Pinkfish helps enterprises build AI agents through natural language processing (TechCrunch)

• Poll Finds Majority Of Americans Would Support Wind Turbines If They Sliced Deli Meat As Well (The Onion)

 

The Moment for Muckrakers

At first glance, the story I’m going to tell you may seem only obliquely related to the enormous challenge we face in how to prevent the Trump-Musk criminal syndicate from dismantling our government, but hang in there. because I promise there is a link, and it is a hopeful one.

Back in December, I posted a piece called “A Wrinkle in Time,” which discussed an expose published by the Guardian, entitled “Revealed: the US government-funded ‘private social network’ attacking pesticide critics.”

The Guardian article revealed the existence of a private portal used by the agrochemical industry and its allies in government to maintain detailed profiles of anyone they deemed anti-pesticide,

This included a “wide range of personal information about hundreds of individuals from around the world deemed a threat to industry interests.” Gathering this data was financed, in part, by US taxpayer dollars ”to downplay pesticide dangers, discredit opponents and undermine international policymaking.”

Investigative reporters know that simply thing a light on something unsavory is sometimes enough to have an impact and that is exactly what happened in this matter.

Yesterday the Guardian reported: US-funded ‘social network’ attacking pesticide critics shuts down after Guardian investigation.” The original expose had prompted a widespread backlash, which forced the operators of the network to stop what they had been doing.

So here is the link to the larger dilemma facing those of us who want to stop Trump and Musk from succeeding in demolishing the federal government. We need investigative reporters who will expose the illegality and immorality and provoke a public backlash that will force them to stop.

It may seem like a long shot, but just in the past few days, three new investigations have showed up in the daily list of headlines I aggregate. All three have the potential to help motivate members of the public to resist the destruction of our democracy.

• Elon Musk’s Enemy, USAID, Was Investigating Starlink’s Contracts in Ukraine (Gizmodo). Is this why Musk targeted USAID?

• In chaotic Washington blitz, Elon Musk’s ultimate goal becomes clear. Shrink government, control data and -- according to one official closely watching the billionaire’s DOGE -- replace “the human workforce with machines.” (WP)

• Revealed: how a shadowy group of far-right donors is funding federal employee watchlists. Project 2025 architects are among those behind the American Accountability Foundation and their blacklists targeting people of color (Guardian)

It will take a lot more of this kind of courageous muckraking to stop Trump and Musk, but as long as we still have a free press, there is hope that our best journalists will step up and do what now urgently needs to be done.

HEADLINES:

• Federal judge says Trump administration has been violating court order to disburse grant funding (WP)

• Hamas suspends hostage releases - Israel says military now on 'highest alert' (BBC)

• Trump says Palestinians will have no right of return to Gaza under his plan (Guardian)

• Trump has unleashed chaos by distraction upon the international community. That’s no accident (AP)

• The world needs USAID (WP)

• Elon Musk’s gutting of US agencies is illegal, experts say. How do you muzzle Doge? (Guardian)

• Musk’s Threats Suddenly Darken as Trump Legal Losses Trigger MAGA Fury (TNR)

• Third judge blocks Trump’s order ending birthright citizenship for kids of people in US illegally (AP)

• With Steel and Aluminum Tariffs, Trump Relaunches Familiar Fight (NYT)

• China’s Strategy in Trade War: Threaten U.S. Tech Companies (WSJ)

• China Is at the Heart of Trump Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum (NYT)

• Trump said Sunday night he has directed the Treasure Department to stop minting new pennies, calling them too expensive and “so wasteful.” [AP]

• At Least 10 Student Loan And Federal Aid Programs Run By The Department Of Education May Be Cut (Forbes)

• Farmers on the hook for millions after Trump freezes USDA funds (WP)

• Farmers ‘very worried’ as US pesticide firms push to bar cancer diagnoses lawsuits (Guardian)

• Trump’s Shameful Campaign Against Transgender Americans (NYT)

• US-funded ‘social network’ attacking pesticide critics shuts down after Guardian investigation (Guardian)

• Humanitarian Organizations Arrive In Philadelphia To Feed City’s Hungover Residents (The Onion)

 

Retreat

 Among Trump’s flurry of moves was one that has received little attention — he has withdrawn US participation and support for the UN Human Rights Council.

***

One of the disquieting awkwardnesses of the later stages of life is the realization that there now are many important concepts and institutions that are younger than you are.

For example, you might say that people my age are older than human rights.

That somewhat shocking assertion is based in the fact that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights wasn’t issued by the UN until late 1948, after we early Baby Boomers had already toddled onto the scene.

It is a tragic reality of human history that it took until the end of World War II for the world to get around to taking such an elemental step toward equality and justice.

Then again, women only got the right to vote in the U.S. a century ago, and racial segregation persisted into the 1960s. Sexism and racial discrimination remain embedded structurally in our society to this day.

The achievement of full human rights anywhere on the planet remains elusive and aspirational, which is why the work of advocacy organizations devoted to exposing human rights abuses is so important.

Lately I’ve become newly curious about origin of our basic concepts of human rights. Historians have long traced it back to 539 BC, when Cyrus the Great conquered the city of Babylon, freed the slaves, and declared that people should have a choice in their religion.

This inspired many of the reforms in Greece, Rome and India — ancient societies that advanced the rights and freedoms of people beyond what previously had been known.

It was many centuries later before further advances like the U.S. Declaration of Independence in 1776.

That occurred just over the equivalent of three of my lifetimes ago. We still have a long way to go as a species, but there is some small comfort that over the past 76 years, we’ve made some progress inside the U.S. on civil rights, women’s rights, gay and lesbian rights (if not along the entire spectrum of gender and sexuality), disability rights, and discriminatory practices like ageism, bullying, religious extremism and many other forms of hate.

But all of those advances are now under systematic assault by the Trump administration. His war on DEI is in fact an attempt to backtrack on all of this progress. In that context, and it is no surprise that Trump withdrew from the UN Human Rights Council.

He is leading our country backwards. It is up to those of us who recognize this to block his way.

HEADLINES:

• Vance questions authority of US judges to challenge Trump (BBC)

• The courts stand between Musk and a Treasury takeover (Financial Times)

• Why Federal Courts May Be the Last Bulwark Against Trump (NYT)

• Trump says he expects Musk to find billions in Pentagon waste (Reuters)

• Trump Has Disturbing Response to DOGE’s Massive Overreach of Power (TNR)

• Musk's "move fast, break things" ethos threatens U.S. security (Axios)

• How the tactics Musk brought to Washington backfired at Twitter (AP)

• Trump to announce 25% steel and aluminum tariffs in latest trade escalation (Reuters)

• How the UN is responding to Trump saying he'll withdraw support (CBC)

• U.S. intelligence, law enforcement candidates face Trump loyalty test (WP)

• Consumer financial watchdog is ordered by acting director to stop fighting financial abuse (CNN)

• 'No thanks': White South Africans turn down Trump's immigration offer (Reuters)

• The Minority Voters Who Love Trump’s Dismantling of DEI (WSJ)

• ICE fears prompt foreign workers and students to keep visas close (Axios)

• US and China teeter on edge of trade war as tariff deadline looms (Financial 

  Times)

• Kurdish officials fear Islamic State revival as US aid cuts loom (Guardian)

• Trump says he has spoken to Putin about ending the Ukraine war, NY Post reports (Reuters)

• Jordan, home to millions of Palestinians, fears Trump’s Gaza proposal (WP)

• No One Wants the Trump Resistance Celebrity to Come Back. Unless Maybe It’s Him. (Slate)

• Buffy Sainte-Marie stripped of prestigious Canadian honor (NPR)

• What DeepSeek? Big Tech Keeps Its A.I. Building Boom Alive. (NYT)

• Nazi Hopes Elon Musk Antisemitism Apology As Disingenuous As It Seemed (The Onion)

VIDEO: R.E.M. - Losing My Religion (Trafalgar Square 2001)

Sunday Mix

(A sunset 17 years ago)

HEADLINES:

• In chaotic Washington blitz, Elon Musk’s ultimate goal becomes clear. Shrink government, control data and -- according to one official closely watching the billionaire’s DOGE -- replace “the human workforce with machines.” (WP)

• Revealed: how a shadowy group of far-right donors is funding federal employee watchlists. Project 2025 architects are among those behind the American Accountability Foundation and their blacklists targeting people of color (Guardian)

• U.S.A.I.D. Turmoil Threatens Key Aid Supplies to Gaza, Officials Say (NYT)

• Palestinian prisoners released by Israel after Hamas frees hostages (BBC)

• Trump opponents move a mountain of legal challenges (Reuters)

• The War on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (New Yorker)

• In Trump’s actions, opponents see more than cuts — they see a constitutional crisis (WP)

• Judge Halts Access to Treasury Payment Systems by Elon Musk’s Team (NYT)

• Treasury was warned DOGE access to payments marked an ‘insider threat’ (WP)

• A Reagan Appointee Just Showed How All Judges Should Respond to Trump’s Lawless Rampage (Slate)

• Trump dismisses archivist to the United States (WP)

• Behind Closed Doors, Trudeau Says Trump Threat to Take Over Canada Is Real (NYT)

• France opens probe into Musk’s X over algorithm (Politico)

• Elon's X army takes the wheel (Axios)

• NIH slashes funding for research overhead, leaving universities scrambling (Politico)

• Trump says he will fire Kennedy Center board members, appoint himself chairman (WP)

• The Trump administration is throwing more Pentagon reporters out of their workspaces (AP)

• Kash Patel was paid by Russian filmmaker with Kremlin ties, documents show (WP)

• Book bans could escalate after Department of Education dismisses censorship complaints (Axios)

• Trump’s New Line of Attack Against the Media Gains Momentum (NYT)

• EPA employees who work on environmental justice are put on leave (NPR)

• Is Artificial Intelligence Really Worth the Hype? (NYT)

• Think Tank Called ‘The Himmler Institute’ Assures Nation This All Legal (The Onion)

ARCHIVAL VIDEOs: 

Levon Helm & Sheryl Crow - Evangeline

Kris Kristofferson and Lady Antebellum with "Help Me Make It Through the Night"