News from the Note…
A round up of the day’s news that might be of interest to you.
This is an OPEN THREAD, folks. Chat about any of the stories listed, share links to stories that caught your eye today, and generally have a good time discussing whatever you want.
A US judge in Seattle accused President Trump of ignoring the rule of law for political and personal gain as he declared an executive order the Republican signed curtailing birthright citizenship to be unconstitutional. Subscribe to The Daily Docket: reut.rs/4aBvwvO
— Reuters Legal (@legal.reuters.com) February 7, 2025 at 12:45 PM
[image or embed]
NEW: The Department of Government Efficiency has built a “firewall” separating Elon Musk’s team from the 200 or so legacy United States Digital Service workers, sources tell WIRED.
— WIRED (@wired.com) February 7, 2025 at 1:06 PM
[image or embed]
DOJ agrees to give two-days’ notice if it releases names of FBI employees who worked on January 6 cases
— CNN (@cnn.com) February 7, 2025 at 1:37 PM
[image or embed]
Hamas has released the names of three Israeli men it said it would free from Gaza on Saturday, in what will be the fifth round of exchanges under the ongoing ceasefire.
— CNN (@cnn.com) February 7, 2025 at 1:02 PM
[image or embed]
The Kremlin said there had been a lot of inaccurate reports on US plans for ending the Ukraine war and called for patience as speculation swirled around the timing of a possible meeting between presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump reut.rs/4jGIWwd
— Reuters (@reuters.com) February 7, 2025 at 9:16 AM
[image or embed]
On Wednesday, Musk shared a faked video claiming USAID had sponsored celebrity visits to Ukraine. Darren Linvill of Clemson University’s Media Forensics Hub told NBC News the video was manufactured Russian propaganda. @brandyzadrozny.bsky.social on the origins of the USAID conspiracy theories:
— NBC News (@nbcnews.com) February 7, 2025 at 9:18 AM
[image or embed]
US President Donald Trump's ability to swiftly impose, and then delay, tariffs on top trading partners has left world markets swinging one way and then another reut.rs/40PJMOf
— Reuters (@reuters.com) February 7, 2025 at 7:27 AM
[image or embed]
USAID is expected to be reduced to about 290 workers from the more than 5,000 foreign service officers, civil servants and personal service contractors it currently employs, according to two sources familiar with the plans.
— NBC News (@nbcnews.com) February 6, 2025 at 9:24 PM
[image or embed]
In an email obtained by NPR, employees at EPA's Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights were told they were on administrative leave, effective immediately.
— NPR (@npr.org) February 7, 2025 at 11:39 AM
[image or embed]
Exclusive: Democrats on the House Oversight Committee launched an inquiry today into the Trump administration's dismantling of the USAID.
— Axios (@axios.com) February 7, 2025 at 11:05 AM
[image or embed]
Senate Democrats demanded answers from the Education Department on Thursday about the scope of Elon Musk’s data collection efforts at the agency, which appears to be a focus of the Trump administration’s cost-cutting initiative.
— The New York Times (@nytimes.com) February 7, 2025 at 6:49 AM
[image or embed]
JUST IN: 143,000 jobs added in January 2025, jobless rate drops
— Axios (@axios.com) February 7, 2025 at 8:46 AM
[image or embed]
That's the way one scientist puts it — referring to how infected wild birds survive long enough to spread it to birds and mammals around the world. And that's a serious risk for human health.
— NPR (@npr.org) February 7, 2025 at 1:41 PM
[image or embed]
