News

Summary

Elon Musk and his allies have reportedly taken control of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and bypassed officials to send a mass resignation email to over 2.3 million federal employees.

The email, titled “Fork in the Road,” offers buyouts to those who voluntarily resign, mirroring a similar approach Musk used at Twitter.

Musk has placed close associates in leadership positions at OPM, raising concerns over his growing influence in Trump's administration.

Federal employees remain skeptical about the buyout’s legitimacy.

Summary

Concerns over Washington, D.C.'s congested airspace were raised before Wednesday’s fatal crash at Reagan National Airport, which killed all 64 aboard an American Airlines jet and three on a military helicopter.

Lawmakers and citizens had warned about excessive military training flights in the area, but efforts to limit air traffic were overridden by Congress.

Army secretary nominee Daniel Driscoll called the crash “preventable” and pledged to review training practices.

Investigations by the FAA and NTSB are ongoing.

The Abacus Data-GZERO poll surveyed 1,500 Americans on politically radioactive issues like tariffs, fentanyl, and immigration. On the big one, tariffs, 47% of Trump voters support a 25% tariff on Canadian goods, while 67% of Democrats oppose it. Why the split? Republicans see it as a pain-free exercise. Only 19% of Trump voters believe tariffs on Canada will have a negative impact on them, as opposed to 65% of Democrat voters. “It’s striking how many Trump supporters appear unfazed by the impact of tariffs or Canadian retaliation,” says David Coletto, CEO of Abacus. “They may see it as cost-free now, but that blind spot could become a real liability if people start feeling the economic hit.”

Clearly this has not landed with Trump voters, who not only see tariffs as a net benefit to Americans but also believe that Canadians are taking advantage of them. That’s right, even though the free trade deal was negotiated by Ronald Reagan and Trump, somehow crafty ol’ Canada pulled a fast one on both of them. According to the poll, 67% of Trump voters believe the free trade pact benefits Canada “way more” than it does the US. Overall, 50% of Americans believe there is a huge trade deficit between the US and Canada, which means that Americans are basically “subsidizing” their northern neighbor.

That’s not true, by the way. The trade deficit between the US and Canada is not $250 billion, as Trump repeats, but less than $100 billion, mainly because Canada supplies the US with 24% of its energy, at a discounted price.

Paywall removed: https://archive.is/hfDP0

Summary

The appointment of former Tesla engineer Thomas Shedd as head of the Technology Transformation Services (TTS) has disrupted the agency responsible for U.S. government IT infrastructure.

TTS employees report being summoned to sudden meetings with unidentified individuals lacking government credentials, raising concerns over security and oversight.

Shedd, aligned with Musk’s government efficiency initiatives, emphasizes cost-cutting and tech adoption.

Workers fear the changes could expose sensitive data or compromise government operations, while confusion grows over the agency’s direction under new leadership.

Summary

Emily Hernandez, a Trump-pardoned Jan. 6 Capitol rioter, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for a 2022 drunk driving crash that killed Victoria Wilson and seriously injured her husband in Missouri.

Hernandez was driving on the wrong side of the highway at twice the legal alcohol limit.

She had previously served 45 days for stealing part of Nancy Pelosi’s office sign.

Her case adds to concerns over Trump’s pardons, as other pardoned rioters have faced new legal troubles.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/24940002

"One, a senior adviser to the director, is a 21-year-old whose online resume touts his work for Palantir," per Wired, while another "who reports directly to Scales, graduated from high school in 2024." A copy of the latter's resume include his summer internship with Musk's Neuralink, alongside jobs as — we assure you that we are not joking — a camp counselor and bike mechanic.

Although both these tykes are ostensibly poised to rip and tear through America's federal agencies, Wired declined to name them "because of their ages" — a somewhat baffling choice given that both appear to be of legal age. (And if they're not, well, that's a much bigger problem.)

Populating the OPM with naive-yet-loyal yes men seems to be a key strategy in Trump's plan to drastically cut down the federal workforce.

A Mississippi district attorney proposed new legislation Wednesday to pay bounty hunters a reward for helping to deport immigrants in the country illegally.

Summary

The FAA is facing a leadership vacuum amid a major aviation disaster after former administrator Michael Whitaker resigned on January 20th, following clashes with Elon Musk.

Musk, angered by FAA fines against SpaceX, publicly called for Whitaker’s resignation.

The crisis intensified after an Army helicopter collided with an American Airlines jet in Washington, D.C., killing all on board.

Trump has appointed Chris Rocheleau as acting FAA administrator, with Musk reportedly influencing government staffing decisions.

The FAA also struggles with underfunding and air traffic control staffing shortages.

For the families of the released hostages, it was a day they had long been waiting for.

Wilas Thaenna wept after receiving a call to say his son Pongsak had been freed on Thursday.

"I never thought this day would come, everything has been too quiet for a while," the 65-year-old told the BBC.

He revealed he had barely slept the night before, as he was so excited at the prospect of his son being released.

"I don't know how to explain how I got through all that happened," he continued.

"My son was taken captive, I lost my wife, I had to stay strong.

"First five or six months, I've lost so much weight. It was distressing, I didn't have strength to do anything or go anywhere. I was worried all the time.

President Trump's new head of the Federal Communications Commission has ordered an investigation of NPR and PBS, with an eye toward unraveling federal funding for all public broadcasting.

"I am concerned that NPR and PBS broadcasts could be violating federal law by airing commercials," Chairman Brendan Carr wrote on Wednesday to the presidents and chief executives of NPR and PBS, Katherine Maher and Paula A. Kerger, respectively. "In particular, it is possible that NPR and PBS member stations are broadcasting underwriting announcements that cross the line into prohibited commercial advertisements."

The FCC does not directly regulate the two networks. Instead, it evaluates the actions of roughly 1,500 public broadcasting stations across the country, which hold licenses granted by the FCC for use of public airwaves for radio and television, even in the digital age.

Summary

Calvin Robinson, a Michigan priest with the Anglican Catholic Church, has been defrocked after making what appeared to be a Nazi salute at the National Pro-Life Summit on January 25.

The church revoked his license, condemning the gesture as harmful and contrary to Christian values.

Robinson defended it as a joke mocking liberals' criticism of Elon Musk, whose own gestures and comments on Nazism have sparked controversy.