Extra, Extra
Unwanted Advance: “Two Republicans, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, broke ranks with Trump and his allies who have mounted an extensive public campaign to push Hegseth toward confirmation.” And yet, the Senate has advanced his confirmation. The final vote is scheduled for Friday. (Pete Hegseth has so many disqualifying characteristics that it’s distracted everyone from the fact that he has no qualifying experience.)
+ Trump Dump: As you might imagine, there is a ton of Trump news this week and not much coverage of other topics. The only one who hopes this changes more than you is me. For now, here’s a sampling of the headlines. Trump Administration Temporarily Mutes Federal Health Officials. Trump’s anger toward World Health Organization may reshape global health, politics. “Public health experts say the nation’s departure could cripple the WHO’s operations — the United States is responsible for nearly 20 percent of its funding — or leave an opening for China to assume greater control over the agency that helps coordinate the response to international health crises.” (We’ve almost forgotten how terrible Trump was during the pandemic. This might jar our memories.) Trump Revokes Security Detail for Pompeo and Others, Despite Threats From Iran. Trump’s FCC chair gets to work on punishing TV news stations accused of bias. Heather Cox Richardson on Trump’s Jan 6 pardons. “Marc Caputo of Axios reported today that Trump’s decision to pardon or commute the sentences of all the January 6 rioters convicted of crimes for that day’s events, including those who attacked police officers, was a spur of the moment decision by Trump apparently designed to get the issue behind him quickly. ‘Trump just said: ‘F*ck it: Release ‘em all,‘ an advisor recalled.” Meanwhile, Trump picks father of convicted Jan. 6 rioter to serve as CEO of U.S. Agency for Global Media. And Why Trump’s Meme Coins Have Alarmed Both Crypto Insiders and Legal Experts. This list of headlines is exhausting, but far from exhaustive. I’m trying to figure out how (and whether I want) to cover Trump 2.
+ We Can Rebuild It? Rebuilding Gaza will be a massive project. Here are 5 things to know. (Two biggest challenges: The ceasefire is still only temporary. Hamas is still in charge.)
+ Fire in the Whole: “Overnight water drops helped stop the spread of a huge wildfire churning through rugged mountains north of Los Angeles and firefighters battled to increase containment as dangerous winds whipped up again Thursday.” No, this is not an item I accidentally copied and pasted from last week. The LA area is facing another massive fire.
+ Vacation Plans on Ice: “Two winter camping novices spend a night out with an Arctic explorer to learn how to stay warm – and even enjoy – camping in freezing weather.” Minnesota Star Tribune: I braved winter camping and so can you. Probably. (In my house, we fight over blankets when it gets down into the 50s.)
