NOAA Purge Will Get People Killed and Social Security Is Next - The Friday AM Quickie 2/28/25
Look up tonight! There's a rare planetary alignment of seven planets in our solar system, the nearest five of which should be visible to the naked eye. No word on what this means for The Vibes. Jacob's back Monday. - Corey
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THE BIG NEWS
Trumpocalypse: Vulnerable Republicans Waver on Medicaid Cuts
- 'There Will be People Who Die': At Least 1,300 Forecasters and Scientists Fired from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Former NOAA research director Craig McLean calls the purge "callous, insulting, vengeful, and offensive," warning that the "nation will be compromised in safety, science and international standing by these reckless, blind acts," and concluding, "This is not my America." via the Washington Post, the Guardian, and the AP.
- Clinton Judge Sides with Unions, Orders Halt to Some 'Illegal' Federal Worker Firings But the unelected oligarch Elon Musk's purge continues, with the "already chronically understaffed" Social Security Adminstration "preparing to lay off at least 7,000 people from its workforce of 60,000" and close many field offices. via the New York Times, the Associated Press, and Politico.
- Price Hikes Coming: Tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China Will Take Effect Next Tuesday, Trump Says Meanwhile, the number of Americans filing for jobless benefits rose by 22,000 to the highest number in five months, and the figures don't yet include the mass federal worker firings by Elon Musk's DOGE goon squad. via the AP, CBS News, and Politico.
- 'Could You Take on Russia By Yourselves?' Trump Asks Visiting British Prime Minister Keir Starmer "Well," Starmer responded, to nervous laughter, after attempting to secure Trump's cooperation on Ukraine by buttering him up with an "unprecedented" second state visit to meet King Charles at Westminster; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets with Trump today. via the Washington Post, the Guardian, and the New York Times.
- Pete Hegseth's Pentagon Begins Effort to Identify, Root Out, and Remove Estimated 4,240 Trans Troops "The administration has doubled down on betraying servicemembers who have faithfully followed the rules, met the same standards as others, and put their lives on the line to serve our country," Shannon Minter, legal director at the the National Center for Lesbian Rights, says. "This is a complete purge of all transgender individuals from military service." via the AP, NBC News, and the New York Times.
- FBI and ATF Director Kash Patel Tells Agents He Plans to Work From Las Vegas as His 'Concerned' Advisors Resign In a video call with top agents around the country yesterday, "Patel said he would like the FBI to partner with Ultimate Fighting Championship, the popular mixed martial arts company. His incoming deputy, Dan Bongino, is a big fan." via the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.
- Even Republicans Realize Justice Department's 'Epstein Files' Release Is a Bad Joke Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi gave first crack at the nothingburger documents in big white prop binders on the late serial sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein to far-right influencers Jack Posobiec, Chaya Raichik, and Mike Cernovich. via the Washington Post, NBC News, and the AP.
- Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern Calls for Nationwide General Strike The party's Congressional leaders are, by contrast, not totally sure what to do about Elon Musk's unconstitutional government takeover. via MASSterList and HuffPost.
MORE STORIES TO WATCH
Toxic Tate Brothers Land in Florida After Trump Envoy Secured Their Escape from Charges in Romania
Loathsome British-American "manosphere" influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan have led millions of boys and young men down a path of hatred with videos saying women should be treated as men's property and that the path to wealth and happiness is paved with misogynistic abuse and extreme right-wing politics. Romanian police arrested the Tates in 2022 and charged them with rape, sex with a minor, human trafficking, money laundering, and forming an organized crime group; they were placed on house arrest a year later and subsequently forbidden from leaving the country. Enter the Trump administration. According to BBC News and the Financial Times, US special envoy Richard Grenell raised the Tates' plight with Romanian Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu at the Munich Security Conference, requesting that authorities "return the brothers' passports and allow them to travel while they wait for court proceedings to conclude." And, per HuffPost, one of Tate's lawyers, the dodgy Paul Ingrassia, works as a Justice Department liaison in the White House. Yesterday the Tates landed in Fort Lauderdale on a private jet. Trump claims he knows nothing about their case. Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis says the Tates aren't welcome, adding, "I don't know how it came to this." Same.
Nazi Threats Spur Black Ohioans to Form Armed Guard
Things are getting heated in the Cincinnati suburbs. On Feb. 7, a dozen or more neo-Nazis wearing body armor, carrying AR-15 rifles, and waving swastika flags set up and marched on a highway overpass near the majority-black town of Lincoln Heights, frightening children at a nearby elementary school. A large group of counterprotesters, some also armed, drove the Nazis away. Police did nothing, claiming, per NBC News, that "no laws were broken and officers were obligated to protect the demonstrators' First Amendment right to free speech." Disturbed by the lack of support from authorities, some Black residents of Lincoln Heights decided to take up arms and form checkpoints. The Lincoln Heights Safety and Watch Program claims about 70 "guards," the Washington Post reports, plus the support of many in the community who still feel under threat from racist violence. On Sunday, residents woke up to discover Ku Klux Klan leaflets littering the streets; a man police found with the leaflets in his car was given a misdemeanor citation for littering. "Lincoln Heights is saying, if you're not going to protect us, then we're going to protect ourselves," Alandes Powell, a 62-year-old nonprofit director, tells the Post.
QUICKEST QUICKIES
- From Island Prison, Leader of Kurdistan Workers' Party Calls for Guerrilla Group to Lay Down Arms and Dissolve While PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan's statement "did not mention a quid pro quo," with the Turkish government, one pro-Kurdish lawmaker told reporters that the PKK's dissolution would require Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to end his crackdown on Kurdish politicians. via the Washington Post, the Associated Press, and the Guardian.
- New Mexico Police Investigate 'Suspicious' Death of Actor Gene Hackman, His Wife, and Their Dog The acclaimed actor's second wife Betsy Arakawa, a concert pianist, was found dead near one of their three dogs in a separate room from Hackman with prescription pills scattered on the floor; investigators found "no obvious signs of a gas leak." via Variety, the AP, and Rolling Stone.
- New York Gov. Kathy Hochul Orders Cancelation of CUNY Palestinian Studies Position Meanwhile at Columbia University and Barnard College, dozens of students protested the explusion of two students who interrupted a class on the history of Israel last month. via the New York Times and the Guardian.
- 'No Amazon, No Walmart, No Best Buy': Celebrities Join Call for 'Economic Blackout' Today The one-day boycott organized on social media by Chicago meditation teacher John Schwarz dovetails with the ongoing "Latino Freeze" campaign and similar efforts by civil rights groups targeting big-box retailers for ending their diversity programs. via NBC News, the Los Angeles Times, and the AP.
SOME NUMBER
37 percent
That's the share of homeless people in California who say they regularly use illegal drugs according to a new study, with many users reporting that they want to seek treatment but cannot obtain it. As the Los Angeles Times reports, the study's findings contradict "a public perception that drug use is endemic to homeless camps."
ON THE SHOW TODAY
2/21: Happy Friday! Sam and Emma speak with Heather Digby Parton, contributing writer at Salon.com and proprietor of the blog Hullabaloo, to round up the week in news.
DON'T MISS MR CLIPS
Socialist Zohran Mamdani SURGES in NYC Mayor Poll
Eric Adams, meanwhile, is a no-show!
Trump Forces His Cabinet to Clap for Elon
What is even happening?
PARTING WORDS
"I transitioned to save my life. ... The purpose of this bill and the purpose of every anti-trans bill is to further erase us from public life and to stigmatize our existence. The sum total of every anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ bill is to make our existence illegal."
-- Iowa Democratic state Rep. Aime Wichtendahl, a transgender woman, speaking out against a Republican bill removing gender identity protections from the state's civil rights law, the first of its kind, which passed both chambers of the state legislature yesterday despite a large protest at the Capitol.
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