Facing a New Year where traditional journalism outlets face gigantic challenges, there is a bit of good news: Consumers have never had more power to choose where and how they get information. Here's an essay w/some ideas on how to pick trustworthy sources. https://loom.ly/dSUyk5c

“While many of DOGE's initial outsized promises to increase efficiency and slash spending never fully materialized, the Trump administration has not given up on those goals.” www.npr.org/2025/12/22/n...

On DOGE’s watch, federal spending did not go down at all. It went up. But is still led to cuts that closed offices, canceled programs and deprived people of food, medicine and other aid. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/u...

Scoop: The lone employee behind CISA's Pre-Ransomware Notification Initiative resigned on Friday rather than take a forced reassignment to FEMA. CISA says PRNI will continue, but sources said David Stern's loss will be a major setback for it. My story: www.cybersecuritydive.com/news/cisa-ra...

Roughly 25,000 people have expressed interest in joining the Trump administration's cadre of engineers known as Tech Force, a senior Trump administration official said on Tuesday, as the U.S. government looks to install staff with AI expertise in federal roles. www.reuters.com/business/med...

1 - the exec branch can't decline to spend $ Congress appropriated 2- the fed govt can't use federal $ to extort states over policy/political disagreements 3-the fed govt can't use federal $ to impose conditions unrelated to the funding program 4-the fed govt can't use federal $ to coerce states

"On DOGE’s watch, federal spending did not go down at all. It went up." From @nytimes.com: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/u...

The Trump administration is recalling nearly 30 ambassadors and other senior career diplomats to ensure embassies reflect its “America First” priorities, a move critics said would weaken U.S. credibility abroad.

Trump takes aim at diversity visa after suspect in Brown shooting linked to program: "What we're seeing is this administration using these cases, these stories, as a pretext to their own end, which is to target people from countries that they deem to be undesirable" www.reuters.com/legal/govern...

The latest example of a tech exec changing their views on immigration. The move coincides with President Trump’s second term —> www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

TikTok signs deal to sell US unit to American investor-led venture - www.reuters.com/business/ame...

More than a half-dozen federal employees from departments including Justice, Veterans Affairs, State and Agriculture who quit or lost their jobs during President Trump's second term are running for Congress as Democrats. www.reuters.com/world/us/the...

Exclusive: FTC investigating Instacart's AI pricing tool, source says - www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...

Nasdaq is planning to submit paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday to roll out round-the-clock trading of stocks, Anirban Sen reports for Reuters. www.reuters.com/business/fin...

U.S. officials are weighing potential terrorism-related sanctions for the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter. www.reuters.com/world/middle...

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Wednesday. www.reuters.com/world/americ...

Elon Musk said DOGE was only "a little bit successful" on a podcast Tuesday, adding that he would not lead the project again. (Note: the podcast's host was former Trump administration official Katie Miller and not an independent journalist.) www.reuters.com/world/us/elo...

EXCLUSIVE: Federal tax prosecutions fell to their lowest level in decades this year, declining more than 27% from the year before as the Trump administration cut the ranks of attorneys and agents who pursue those cases, a Reuters examination has found. www.reuters.com/world/tax-pr...

A judge on Thursday blocked the U.S. State Department from immediately laying off more than 250 workers, a legal setback for President Donald Trump and his mass firings of government employees. www.reuters.com/business/wor...

Big free speech implications here —> www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...

Free speech news

Fired employees file First Amendment lawsuit against EPA reut.rs/44Hw0jB

Trump's purge of federal workers with DEI-related jobs targeted in lawsuit - www.reuters.com/legal/govern...

There have been at least 19 murders in D.C. since Trump deployed the National Guard here in August. One was the murder of a Guard soldier less than a week ago.

Hannah Claire Brimelow, a Tim Poole employee and daughter of white nationalist VDARE founder Peter Brimelow, is part of the new “press” corps covering the Pentagon after the Trump admin forced out most journalists. Laura Loomer is also there.

NEW: President Trump has repeatedly threatened to bring federal agents, or even soldiers, to San Francisco to battle crime. His administration has actually done the opposite, quietly taking federal law enforcement away from the city to do immigration work instead. www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...

‘I am your retribution’: In his second term, Trump has turned that rallying cry into a governing principle. A Reuters tally finds at least 470 people, businesses and institutions targeted for payback. Full investigation: reut.rs/49B2UWt

More detail from NOTUS about the National Design Studio, the Trump admin project to improve government websites www.notus.org/trump-white-...

New: Reuters documented at least 470 targets of retribution under Trump’s leadership – from federal employees and prosecutors to universities and media outlets. The list illuminates the sweeping effort by the president and his administration to punish dissent. www.reuters.com/investigates...

New: A federal judge in California ruled that Trump's administration cannot impose mandatory detention on thousands of migrants held by U.S. immigration authorities nationally without first giving them an opportunity to seek release on bond. www.reuters.com/legal/govern...

My conversation with LiveNOW on FOX about DOGE --> www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJfj...

I'll be on @wamu.org's 1A at 11 a.m. to talk about the end of DOGE. Listen at the link below -> the1a.org/segments/the...

DOGE concept goes global — Japan unveils its version of DOGE aimed at cutting wasteful spending - www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...

Amazon pledges up to $50 billion to expand AI, supercomputing for US government reut.rs/48h5rCK

Pentagon threatens to prosecute Senator Mark Kelly by recalling him to Navy service reut.rs/43Nry2o

Dave mentions the end of DOGE in his "performance review" for Elon Musk:

NEW: The U.S. government will shed about 317,000 employees this year, Trump HR director Scott Kupor said in a statement. It hired 68,000 workers in 2025, he said. (We previously reported these figures were lower.) www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...

The Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency has ceased to be. www.reuters.com/world/us/dog...

My latest story 👇

NEW: The Trump administration is considering options to enhance its ability to close government offices and end programs it no longer wants, according to a proposal seen by Reuters. This would make it easier to manage the legal consequences of layoffs. www.reuters.com/world/trump-...

Trump allied billionaire (and new owned of CBS) Larry Ellison is also trying to buy Warner Brothers and CNN, and has held discussions at the White House about firing CNN journalists the President doesn't like

BREAKING: President Donald Trump is considering an executive order that would seek to preempt state laws on artificial intelligence through lawsuits and by withholding federal funding, according to a draft of the order seen by Reuters reut.rs/485QCmm

New: Reuters has tallied job losses, suspensions and investigations stemming from the reaction to Charlie Kirk's Sept. 10 assassination. Its findings: More than 600 Americans have been punished, and the figure is likely to be an under-count. www.reuters.com/investigatio...

New: President Donald Trump’s administration is poised to end long-standing whistleblower protections for senior career federal employees, according to draft documents reviewed by Reuters. Our story: www.reuters.com/legal/govern...

Now is the time to prepare to not set your house on fire this Thanksgiving.

Nearly two dozen arrested as faith leaders protest outside Chicago-area ICE facility reut.rs/49lQnWS

Reopening: The U.S. government is due to lumber back to life on Thursday after the longest shutdown in U.S. history snarled air traffic, cut food assistance to low-income Americans and forced more than 1 million workers to go unpaid for more than a month. www.reuters.com/sustainabili...

Live Updates: US House passes bill to end government shutdown, sending it to Trump for his signature reut.rs/47D3hhT

The Senate deal to end the shutdown would *prohibit* federal agencies from firing employees through January 30, 2026. That's a win for federal worker unions and their allies. It would stall Trump’s campaign to downsize the federal workforce. Senate voting on that agreement now.

FYI - The law requires federal employees receive backpay after the government shutdown ends. President Trump signed that law during his first term. The president and his team have threatened not to give backpay to the workers. That would conflict with the law.