Extra, Extra
Bigly if True: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with Trump to try to pull the American president back toward our allies, and to explain, in Ukraine, we can’t have “peace that rewards the aggressor.” He’s got his work cut out for him. At the start of the meeting, Trump said of Putin, “I think he’ll keep his word. I’ve spoken to him, I’ve known him for a long time now, we had to go through the Russian hoax together.”
+ Tariff Not Now, When? “It’s the latest in a pattern of vague and changeable tariff pronouncements, leading many to be unsure of how seriously to take the threats.” Trump shifts date for Canada and Mexico tariffs — again. Somehow, top CEOs are surprised by the chaos. American business leaders are turning on Trump — fast.
+ Trans Troops: Transgender US service members to be removed from military, Pentagon memo shows. “Trump signed an executive order last month that took aim at transgender troops in a personal way – at one point saying that a man identifying as a woman was ‘not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member.'” (What is avoiding service with fake bone spurs and disparaging fallen troops consistent with?)
+ Doge Breeds: “The New York Times identified 45 people within the so-called Department of Government Efficiency.” (Gift Article): The People Carrying Out Musk’s Plans at DOGE. And from Brian Barrett in Wired: The DOGE Takeover Is Worse Than You Think. “You may be aware, for instance, that a 19-year-old who goes by ‘Big Balls’ online plays some role in all this. Seems bad. But you may have missed that Edward Coristine has since been installed at the nation’s top cybersecurity agency. And the State Department and the Small Business Administration. And he has a Department of Homeland Security email address and, by the way, also had a recent side gig selling AI Discord bots to Russians. See? Worse than you think.”
+ This is Not a Yoke: “U.S. officials are warning Americans not to scramble across the border looking for a sunny side up bargain.” U.S. Customs and Border Protection is cracking down on border egg smuggling.
+ Stunt Doubletake: Ahead of the Oscars, let’s celebrate the 2025 Stunt Awards. (In this era, none of these stunts seem any more daring or nauseating than opening 50 news tabs simultaneously.)
