Things Trump Did - Day IX | Blog#42
RFK, Jr. shows his ineptitude right on our TV screens
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RFK, Jr. Live Confirmation hearing
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Kansas faces one of the largest tuberculosis outbreaks in US history
So far, there have been 67 confirmed cases of active TB related to the outbreak.
As of Jan. 24, there have been 67 confirmed cases of active TB including 60 in Wyandotte County and seven in Johnson County, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
Additionally, there are 79 confirmed latent TB cases, including 77 in Wyandotte County and two in Johnson County. Wyandotte County contains part of Kansas City and Johnson County is just southwest of Kansas City.
Continue reading at ABC News
Related:
Pam Bondi gets Judiciary panel nod to serve as Trump's AG
Why it matters: President Trump is now a step closer to installing a loyalist in the nation's highest law enforcement role, empowering a MAGA overhaul of the Justice Department that could include investigating his political enemies.
Continue reading at Axios
Note from Rima: The documents case was dismissed today, without there being an AG in place
Fetterman to attend Trump’s Laken Riley bill signing
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) plans to be at the White House on Wednesday to attend President Trump’s signing of the Laken Riley Act, which seeks to detain migrants charged with some non-violent crimes, and was passed both chambers last week.
“I believe a secure border creates a more secure nation and it’s just common sense. I believe a stronger border is fully compatible with my commitment to immigration. I also believe our nation should protect our Dreamers,” Fetterman said in a statement on Wednesday.
Continue reading at The Hill
Note from Rima: Senator Fetterman has been undergoing some rather alarming changes in positions, tilting rightward
White House: Government employees who resign are not expected to work
Government employees who accept the president's offer to resign and get paid through the end of September are not expected to keep working, a senior White House official confirmed to Axios Wednesday morning.
Why it matters: Federal workers have been confused since the offer went out Tuesday afternoon.
While the offer has been characterized as a "buyout," workers told Axios — and posted in message boards — that the documents they've received are unclear as to whether they'd be asked to work after tendering their resignation.
Zoom in: The White House official's comments echo those from DOGE, or the Department of Government Efficiency, on X.com.
Continue reading at Axios
RFK Jr. struggles to answer Medicaid questions in confirmation hearing
Driving the news: Kennedy seemed to struggle when Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) pushed him on what reforms he would propose for Medicaid, a program that provides coverage to some 72 million Americans.
Kennedy described Medicaid, a state-federal program, as being "fully paid for" by the federal government.
Medicaid is funded by both the states and the federal government. The program represents $1 out of every $6 spent on health care in the U.S., per a 2023 report from KFF.
Continue reading at Axios
Budget blueprint takes shape as House chairs detail fiscal targets
As Republicans wrap up policy retreat, Johnson moves to set "floor" for cuts.
DORAL, Florida — Republicans on Wednesday gave shape to their ambitious party-line domestic policy plans, with several House chairs outlining the fiscal parameters they plan to meet as lawmakers begin writing a budgetary blueprint for the effort.
In addition to deep spending cuts across committee jurisdictions, Republicans are targeting $125 billion in additional defense spending in the package, according to two people with direct knowledge who were granted anonymity to discuss the private meeting.
Continue reading at Politico
‘We have to figure this out’: Rising flood risks delivers double blow to communities with housing shortages
A POLITICO analysis found roughly a quarter of all large metro areas face both housing shortages and high flood risk.
A little-noticed flood last summer in an Illinois city that left one dead and swallowed up homes and businesses after heavy rainfall left a damaged community struggling to figure out what’s next.
But after the neighborhood near Keith Creek in Rockford, Illinois, went through at least its third major flooding event in less than 20 years, the city expanded its voluntary buyout program to demolish flood-prone properties and reduce development along the waterway. State Sen. Steve Stadelman said he knew that the city’s decision not to simply rebuild was the right one — even though it takes land off the market for a community also facing a significant housing shortage that’s contributing to higher prices.
Continue reading on Politico
Dems urge Rubio to rescue a refugee program he once supported
Leading Democrats on the House and Senate Judiciary Committees want the new Secretary of State to intervene in a funding pause to a resettlement program for refugees in the U.S.
Congressional Democrats are appealing to Marco Rubio to restart refugee resettlement services — something the new Secretary of State supported as a Republican senator from Florida — after the Trump administration issued stop work orders to halt programs.
In a letter, shared first with POLITICO, a group of lawmakers urged their former colleague to use his leverage to undo the pause on Reception and Placement services, which help refugees rebuild in the U.S.
Continue reading at Politico
Medicaid payment systems back online after outage
The outage came after the Trump administration on Monday ordered a sweeping pause on federal spending. States and lawmakers early Tuesday began reporting that portals across the country were inaccessible.
States have regained access to federal funds after a nationwide outage of the program’s payment processing systems on Tuesday created mass confusion across the country.
Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) on Wednesday confirmed the systems were back online during an exchange with committee ranking member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) during a hearing to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
Continue reading at Politico
1 big thing: The four-way tax tug-of-war
The central economic policy goal for President Trump and congressional Republicans this year is to extend and build upon their 2017 tax reform. It won't be easy.
The big picture: To succeed, the president and congressional leadership must manage an exquisitely complicated set of economic and political trade-offs, while maintaining lockstep unity in a Republican party with the narrowest of majorities.
The key decision-makers in the White House and on Capitol Hill are like a person in the center of a four-way tug-of-war, in which giving a little in any one direction causes problems with the other three.
As work begins on Republicans' biggest legislative priority, understanding this web of interconnections and trade-offs is crucial to making sense of daily developments.
Continue reading at Axios
The pro-growth imperative
The bedrock of Republican economic philosophy since at least President Reagan has been the potential for a well-designed tax policy to unleash much faster economic growth.
But not all tax cuts are created equal.
Tax provisions that give companies greater incentive to invest — to build factories, spend on research and development, and so forth — result in higher capital stock and higher economy-wide productivity.
That should mean higher incomes.
Between the lines: Business interests and more traditional conservatives like former Vice President Mike Pence want to make sure these concerns don't get lost in the shuffle, amid Trump's emphasis on tariffs and tax breaks that resonated on the campaign trail.
Continue reading at Axios
New Florida law allowing C-sections outside hospitals could be national model
But critics point to the role that a private equity-backed physicians group played in its passage.
A recently enacted Florida law that allows doctors to deliver babies via cesarean section in clinics outside of hospitals could be a blueprint for other states, even as critics point to the role that a private equity-backed physicians group played in its passage.
The United States has poor maternal health outcomes compared with peer nations, and hospital labor and delivery units are shuttering around the country because of financial strain. Supporters say the Florida law could increase access to maternity care and lower costs for expecting patients.
But critics, including some physician, hospital and midwife groups, warn it’s an untested model that could put the health of mothers and babies at risk. They also note that private equity firms that have made other forays into health care have attracted state scrutiny for allegedly valuing profits over patient safety.
Alex Borsa, a researcher at Columbia University whose published work focuses on private equity’s impact on health care, said he’s not surprised that Florida has become the testing ground for such clinics.
Continue reading at Stateline.org (Pew Research affiliate)
House Democrat: Colleagues need to focus on ‘reestablishing our own credibility’
Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) sent a message to his colleagues in the Democratic Party, urging them to focus on “reestablishing our own credibility” and to revert from solely “bashing” what President Trump’s administration does in response.
“My party needs to reestablish our credibility on a number of issues. It’s not going to be enough, even if it is strategic and tactical and smart, to criticize what Donald Trump does. I mean, we have to do that and we have to do it intelligently, it’s just not gonna be enough because we don’t have the credibility that we need on issues like immigration, like DEI, dealing with racism and discrimination, like the economy,” Smith said during his Tuesday night appearance on NewsNation’s show “CUOMO.”
Continue reading on The Hill
As a Rising Political Star, Gabbard Paid to Mask Her Sect’s Ties to Alleged Scheme
Years before Tulsi Gabbard became Trump’s pick to coordinate U.S. spy agencies, she tried to evade unwanted scrutiny
To defend and burnish Tulsi Gabbard’s image as her political star was rising, her congressional campaign hired a public-affairs firm in 2017 that tried to suppress coverage of an alleged pyramid scheme connected to her Hindu sect, according to interviews, emails and Federal Election Commission records.
Gabbard, a former House member who is now President Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence, was raised in the Science of Identity Foundation, a sect tied to a direct-marketing firm accused of running a pyramid scheme in several countries. Neither Gabbard, the sect nor the firm, QI Group, wanted the relationships scrutinized.
Continue reading at the Wall Street Journal
DOJ moves to drop charges against former GOP lawmaker in case criticized by Trump
The step likely ends a legal saga that drove ex-Rep. Jeff Fortenberry from Congress over foreign donations.
The Justice Department has moved to drop its criminal prosecution of former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, a Nebraska Republican who resigned last year after a conviction on charges that he lied to the FBI.
Fortenberry’s conviction by a federal jury in Los Angeles in 2022 was subsequently overturned by an appeals court that ruled he should have been tried in Kansas or Washington, D.C. The Justice Department renewed the case in Washington and he was awaiting a new trial when Donald Trump won the 2024 election.
Continue reading at Politico
Jack Schlossberg launches hours-long X rant during RFK Jr.’s confirmation hearing
Trump’s Health and Human Services nominee is his cousin.
In all caps, Schlossberg is responding in real time to Kennedy's views on abortion and chronic diseases, and is calling out Kennedy for being a “liar” and a “guru shaman figure” who runs a cult.
“LIFE AND DEATH DECISIONS by someone who cannot tell the truth,” Schlossberg wrote on X.
Continue reading on Politico
Project 2025 is already massively reshaping America
The OMB memo is the boldest, and clearest example of how the administration is employing Project 2025’s strategies.
While Vought has yet to be confirmed by the Senate, multiple people close to the administration told POLITICO that both he and Trump policy chief Stephen Miller have played key roles in the funding freeze. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt, during her first briefing Tuesday, said she spoke with Vought Tuesday morning about the memo and that “the line to his office is open for other federal government agencies.”
It’s not the only example of how Project 2025 promises are coming to fruition. The president has moved to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs, re-up his previous “Schedule F” initiative that allows him to more easily fire career employees and reinstate service members who had been dismissed for failing to receive the Covid-19 vaccine at the height of the pandemic.
Continue reading on Politico
Fed hits pause on interest rate cuts amid Trump’s flurry of economic plans
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday hit pause on interest rate cuts in its first key decision of President Donald Trump’s second term.
It’s a move that’s likely to stoke tensions between the central bank and the new president, who has argued that he should have some say in Fed policy.
Central bank officials opted to keep borrowing costs elevated as they await further progress on inflation.
Continue reading/viewing on CNN.com
I highly recommend Chris Geidner’s law newsletter.
Senate advances Zeldin toward confirmation
A final vote on the EPA nominee is scheduled for later Wednesday.
The Senate on Wednesday voted 56-42 to move to a final vote on Lee Zeldin's nomination to be administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Three Democrats — Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), who backed Zeldin in committee, and his fellow Arizonan Ruben Gallego, as well as John Fetterman of Pennsylvania — joined the chamber's Republicans in voting to end debate and moving to final confirmation.
Continue reading on Politico
Court blocks airline service fee disclosure rule
An appeals court blocked the Biden administration’s rule that required airlines to disclose upfront their service fees.
The court said Tuesday that the Department of Transportation (DOT) failed to comply with procedural rules, including providing the airline companies a chance to comment on the study used to create the rule.
Continue reading at The Hill
GOP Speaker backs Trump buyout plan: ‘Drastic times call for drastic measures’
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Wednesday backed the Trump administration’s decision to offer buyouts to federal workers who do not plan to return to the office, telling reporters that “drastic times call for drastic measures.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Democrats demand Patel information in special counsel’s classified documents report
Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are demanding to see the volume of former special counsel Jack Smith’s report dealing with the Mar-a-Lago classified documents investigation, asserting it has relevant information about Kash Patel, President Trump’s pick to lead the FBI.
The Democrats’ letter references prior reporting surrounding Patel’s grand jury testimony as prosecutors investigated Trump, granting the aide immunity to discuss his role.
Continue reading at The Hill
Trump to federal workers: Return to office ‘or be terminated’
President Trump on Wednesday warned that federal workers will have to show up to the office “or be terminated,” framing his administration’s so-called buyout offers to 2 million employees as an effort to shrink the government
Continue reading at The Hill
Trump opens door to earlier deportation of many Venezuelans from U.S.
WASHINGTON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem cut the duration of deportation protections for 600,000 Venezuelans in the U.S. as the Trump administration searches for ways to ramp up removals of Venezuelan nationals, she said on Wednesday.
Noem told Fox News that she rescinded the previous administration's move to grant Venezuelans in the U.S. an additional 18 months of deportation relief and access to work permits through the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program, opening the possibility the protections could expire later this year.
Continue reading at Reuters
Lutnick says he won’t dismantle NOAA as called for in Project 2025
President Trump’s pick to lead the Commerce Department assured senators on Wednesday that he won’t try to dismantle the nation’s climate, oceans and weather science agency during a largely genial confirmation hearing.
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) asked Commerce nominee Howard Lutnick if he would want to break up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which falls under the department.
“I have no interest in separating it. That is not on my agenda,” Lutnick said.
Continue reading at The Hill
Frustration over Trump funding freeze dominates Lutnick confirmation hearing
Democratic senators on the typically bipartisan Committee on Commerce, Science and Technology had a nearly singular focus on the issue, asking Lutnick if he’d obey orders that defy the law.
Democrats have made it clear they want Donald Trump’s nominees to pay the price of the president’s federal aid freeze. Billionaire Howard Lutnick, the pick to lead the Commerce Department, had his turn on Wednesday.
Democratic senators on the typically bipartisan Committee on Commerce, Science and Technology had a nearly singular focus on the issue, asking Lutnick if he’d obey orders that defy the law. The freeze caused widespread backlash and was seemingly rescinded by the White House during Lutnick’s confirmation hearing.
Continue reading at Politico
Trump orders preparation of Guantanamo Bay facility to house migrants
President Trump said he is signing an executive order on Wednesday to prepare a massive facility at Guantanamo Bay to be used to house deported migrants.
The order will direct the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security to prepare a 30,000-person migrant facility at Guantanamo Bay, a facility in Cuba that has been used to house military prisoners, including several involved in the 9/11 attacks.
“We have 30,000 beds in Guantanamo to detain the worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people,” Trump said during an event to sign the Laken Riley Act into law, stiffening the nation’s immigration laws.
Continue reading at The Hill
White House aide says spending freeze isn’t being rescinded despite memo
The White House is claiming the Wednesday move by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) rescinding a controversial order that froze a wide swath of federal financial assistance is not actually an end to curbing government spending.
“This is NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze. It is simply a rescission of the OMB memo. Why? To end any confusion created by the court’s injunction. The President’s EO’s on federal funding remain in full force and effect, and will be rigorously implemented,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on social media platform X.
Continue reading at The Hill
American students' reading skills drop to record lows
U.S. students had record-low reading comprehension scores last year in a learning loss trend exacerbated by the pandemic, according to a national education report released Wednesday.
Why it matters: Students across age groups demonstrated continued declines in reading comprehension, despite efforts to reverse the slip. Gaps between high- and low-achieving students have also widened.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), often called the Nation's Report Card, is administered under the umbrella of the U.S. Department of Education.
Continue reading at Axios
Who is Russ Vought, Trump's pick for DC's regulatory gatekeeper
Vought is no stranger to the OMB, having led the department during Trump's first term.
Before joining the first Trump administration, Vought was the vice president of Heritage Action for America, a sister organization to the Heritage Foundation, which produced the now-infamous Project 2025.
Vought was one of the co-authors of Project 2025, writing a section on the Executive Office.
After leaving government in 2021, Vought founded the Center for Renewing America, a conservative think tank.
Continue reading at Axios
Rubio exempting ‘life-saving humanitarian assistance’ from foreign aid restrictions
Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a waiver on Tuesday exempting “life-saving humanitarian assistance” from President Trump’s executive order pausing nearly all foreign aid during a period of review.
Trump’s executive order pausing funding, issued on his first day in office, suspended any new U.S. foreign development assistance for 90 days and directed a review of foreign aid programs to ensure they lined up with Trump’s “America First” foreign policy.
The executive order also included a waiver for the secretary of State to waive the rules for “specific programs.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Presidents say the craziest shit edition:
Things to know about the Trump administration order on miles per gallon for cars and pickups
DETROIT (AP) — Hours after being sworn in as the new U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy took aim at the main way the federal government regulates miles per gallon for cars and pickup trucks — also a principal way that it regulates air pollution and addresses climate change. Duffy ordered the federal agency in charge of fuel economy standards to reverse them as soon as possible. The standards have been in place since the 1970s energy crisis and were intended to conserve fuel and save consumers money at the gas pump.
Continue reading at the Associated Press
Another judge is preparing to block Trump’s spending freeze, despite White House cleanup
U.S. District Judge Jack McConnell said a bid by the White House to rescind a “hugely ambiguous” order implementing the freeze appeared to be undercut by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s subsequent statement that the freeze was still in effect.
A federal judge said Wednesday he intends to issue a new block on President Donald Trump’s effort to freeze an enormous swath of federal spending, citing the White House’s contradictory signals about the policy.
U.S. District Judge Jack McConnell said a bid by the White House to rescind a “hugely ambiguous” order implementing the freeze appeared to be undercut by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s subsequent statement that the freeze was still in effect.
Continue reading at Politico
What does State consider ‘life-saving’ aid?
The humanitarian aid world started out shocked, but now it’s just really confused.
Secretary of State MARCO RUBIO’s decision to grant more exceptions to a blanket new Trump administration foreign aid freeze has brought some relief to the humanitarian community, but many in that world are still trying to understand what the new waivers truly encompass and how much of their work fits.
In a communication sent Tuesday, Rubio said aid groups may keep using U.S. funds for “life-saving humanitarian assistance.” That “applies to core life-saving medicine, medical services, food, shelter, and subsistence assistance, as well as supplies and reasonable administrative costs as necessary to deliver such assistance.”
Rubio said the waiver does not cover work related to abortions, family planning conferences, gender or DEl programs, gender-affirming care, or other so-called “non-life saving assistance.” (U.S. law has for decades banned any foreign aid from being used to provide or promote abortion as a method of family planning.) The waiver was previously reported by Reuters.
Continue reading at Politico
Trump bashes Fed after bank doesn’t cut rates
“Because Jay Powell and the Fed failed to stop the problem they created with Inflation, I will do it by unleashing American Energy production, slashing Regulation, rebalancing International Trade, and reigniting American Manufacturing, but I will do much more than stopping Inflation, I will make our Country financially, and otherwise, powerful again!” Trump wrote.
“If the Fed had spent less time on DEI, gender ideology, “green” energy, and fake climate change, Inflation would never have been a problem. Instead, we suffered from the worst Inflation in the History of our Country!”
Continue reading at The Hill
Judge signals toward granting Dem challenge to OMB freeze after order rescinded
A federal judge said Wednesday he plans to grant a group of Democratic attorneys general’s request to block President Trump’s freeze on federal aid, even though the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memo was rescinded amid confusion earlier in the day.
At the end of a 35-minute virtual hearing, U.S. District Judge John McConnell signaled he agreed the OMB’s rescission of its Monday night announcement did not moot the motion filed by 22 states and Washington, D.C.
Continue reading at The Hill
Trump signs executive order to defund schools teaching CRT, ‘radical gender ideology’
President Trump signed an executive order to prohibit federal funds from going to K-12 public schools that teach critical race theory (CRT) or gender issues.
The order, which could quickly face legal challenges, “prohibits federal funding of the indoctrination of children which includes radical gender ideology and critical race theory in the classroom.”
The Education secretary and Defense secretary — for schools run by the defense department — are ordered to create a strategy for ending “indoctrination in K-12 education” within 90 days.
Continue reading at The Hill
Fetterman: RFK Jr.’s nomination in trouble after rocky hearing
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who was thought to be open to voting for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to head the Department of Health and Human Services, now says the nominee is in serious trouble after his rocky confirmation hearing.
“I don’t think it went well for him today. I don’t think that was a good one,” he said after Kennedy sparred with Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee over his past statements and stance on vaccines.
Fetterman said after the bruising hearing that he thinks Kennedy’s nomination may be “moot.”
“It’s moot,” he said when asked if he’s still open to voting for Kennedy. “I’m not really sure how much support’s going to emerge after that.”
Continue reading at The Hill
From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Trump makes his first moves on education, but no McMahon hearing in sight
President Trump made his first major moves on education Wednesday, signing a series of executive orders that come even before his nominee to lead the Education Department, Linda McMahon, has had her Senate confirmation hearing.
While the Department of Education is led by Denise Carter in the meantime, it will need to start work immediately on Trump’s orders on school choice, critical race theory (CRT) and combatting college antisemitism.
Supporters and opponents are already gearing up for fights around what Trump’s orders mean for K-12 and higher education.
Continue reading at The Hill
Democrats leave ’emergency’ meeting vowing ‘street fight’ in response to Trump actions
“House Democrats are now fully engaged. The bell has rung. I think we see this for the constitutional test that it is, and we’re going to be aggressively pushing back,” echoed Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.).
“Leader Jeffries described it as a legal fight, a legislative fight and a street fight. And I couldn’t put it better.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Trump went for shock and awe. Now he’s mopping up.
There was widespread concern even before the White House walked its plans back.
It didn’t take long for Donald Trump’s second White House to end up in clean-up mode.
Trump’s budget office has rescinded his proposed freeze on large swathes of federal aid, capping off a whirlwind 48 hours in which the president’s push to reign in spending sowed chaos across levels of government that administration officials were left scrambling to contain.
Continue reading at Politico
Senate’s reconciliation blueprint is ready to go, Thune says
The two-bill plan could move alongside the House GOP’s one-bill plan.
“We’ve been ready for a while. … Everything is ready to go,” Thune said, explaining that he and fellow GOP senators are partially “waiting to see what the House is going to do.”
“I think there’s a point at which we will decide to pull the trigger,” he added, calling it “a question of — ultimately, of strategy.”
Under the Senate plan that has been described by multiple lawmakers, Republicans would first attempt to pass a smaller bill encompassing border security, defense and energy measures. Later would come a larger, more complex tax-focused bill
Continue reading at Politico
Trump’s DOJ in talks to drop Eric Adams criminal case
The discussions come after the New York City mayor has been courting Donald Trump.
NEW YORK — Top Department of Justice officials under President Donald Trump have been talking with Manhattan prosecutors about dropping criminal charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions.
The conversations between DOJ and both the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and the mayor’s legal team were first reported by The New York Times.
Continue reading at Politico
Democrats prep for Patel in the hot seat
Kash Patel's confirmation hearing Wednesday morning gives Democrats a long-sought chance to question how a staunch Trump loyalist will run the FBI.
Kash Patel, President Donald Trump’s controversial pick for FBI director, will have his day before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday — and Senate Democrats have been battle-testing their message in hopes it might break through.
It started a few weeks ago, when Democrats turned attorney general nominee Pam Bondi’s confirmation hearing into a practice round for Patel’s grilling. There, Democrats brought up the FBI nominee repeatedly, asking Bondi to respond to a variety of incendiary statements Patel had made over the years, including about his plans to go after members of the “Executive Branch Deep State.”
Continue reading at Politico
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi is wading into DNC chair race, throwing her weight behind Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler in a statement provided first to POLITICO.
"For several years, I have had the honor and success to work with Ben Wikler from his thousands of events to save our health care at MoveOn to his winning tough elections in Wisconsin including Justice Janet Protasiewicz and Senator Tammy Baldwin. As a former State Chair and longtime DNC member, I have enormous respect for the DNC and the grassroots activism it engenders. It is with great confidence that I endorse Ben Wikler for Chair as the candidate best suited to lead us to a stronger DNC and many Democratic victories," she said.
Continue reading at Politico
Flu map: These states are now at CDC’s highest activity level
The flu positivity rate from lab tests across the country has jumped week-to-week from 18% to 25%, with documented flu activity especially high some states.
The following 14 states, along with New York City, are now at the CDC’s highest tier of influenza activity: Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, South Carolina and Tennessee.
Continue reading at The Hill
Artists can copyright works made with AI assistance: Agency
Artists can copyright work they create using tools powered by artificial intelligence, as long as sufficient human creativity is involved, according to a new report from the U.S. Copyright Office.
The report, published Wednesday, sought to address questions of copyrightability for work created by AI or with the help of AI-powered tools, amid an uptick in copyright applications for AI-generated work.
The Copyright Office said it makes decisions on a case-by-case basis but clarified that it will approach such questions by examining the degree of human input and creativity in each work.
Continue reading at The Hill
CVS gives customers a way to get into locked cabinets
Instead of waiting for an employee to take pity on you and unlock the cabinets in the deodorant aisle, some CVS customers are getting another way to access the locked-up shampoo and ibuprofen they seek.
CVS said the company is testing the ability to let customers open locked display cabinets using the CVS Health app. The technology is currently being tested in three New York City locations and will be expanded to “approximately 10 stores on the West Coast in 2025,” CVS spokesperson Tara Burke told Nexstar.
Continue reading at The Hill
Native American tribes say ICE harassing members amid raids
Zoom in: The Navajo Nation, one of the nation's largest tribes, said federal immigration agents have been questioning its members.
"My office has received multiple reports from Navajo citizens that they have had negative, and sometimes traumatizing, experiences with federal agents targeting undocumented immigrants," Navajo President Buu Nygren said in a statement.
Navajo Nation officials told CNN on Monday that at least 15 Indigenous people in the southwestern U.S. have reported being questioned or detained by immigration officers in the past week.
The 17.5 million-acre Navajo Nation is in northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah. It's larger than 10 states.
Zuckerberg hails Trump administration on Meta earnings call
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday praised President Trump’s administration and said he looks forward to “redefining” the relationship the tech giant has with governments.
“This is also going to be a big year for redefining our relationship with governments,” Zuckerberg said on a Meta earnings call on Wednesday.
“We now have a US administration that is proud of our leading companies, prioritizes American technology winning and that will defend our values and interests abroad,” Zuckerberg continued.
Continue reading on The Hill
Trump admin lays out framework for order targeting transgender protections
Details: The memo instructs heads of government departments and agencies to do the following, no later than 5pm Friday:
Notify employees whose job descriptions include initiatives relating to gender ideology that they're being put on administrative leave;
Ensure intimate spaces designed for women are designated by biological sex rather than gender identity;
Turn off emails settings that ask users for gender pronouns;
Disband employee resource groups that "inculcate or promote gender ideology;"
And ensure all forms say "sex" instead of "gender."
Continue reading on Axios
Democrats hammered by ugly unpopularity numbers
The Democratic Party is the most unpopular it's been in polling that dates back to 2008, according to a new survey from Quinnipiac University.
Why it matters: Democrats are struggling to repair their image with voters after a bruising 2024 election that put President Trump in the White House and Republicans in control of both houses of Congress.
Continue reading on Axios
Scoop: GOP fight coming over labor unions
Why it matters: GOP leaders see an opportunity for a new, working-class coalition, which includes more union outreach. It's a major shift, and fault lines are already forming over President Trump's pro-labor Cabinet nominee, former Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer.
Zoom in: Hawley has been quietly circulating draft legislation that would prevent employers from stalling union contract negotiations — keeping the process to months, not years, according to a copy obtained by Axios.
He is looking for a Democratic co-sponsor.
Continue reading on Axios
The collision was between a civilian airliner and a Blackhawk helicopter
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