By
Today’s edition of quick hits.
* The rare-earth agreement: “The Oval Office shouting match has for now shattered hopes for the minerals deal, which Trump and his allies had presented as an important step forward for Ukraine on the road to peace with Russia more than three years after the war began.”
* In related news: “The State Department this week terminated a U.S. Agency for International Development initiative that has invested hundreds of millions of dollars to help restore Ukraine’s energy grid from attacks by the Russian military, according to two USAID officials working on the agency’s Ukraine mission.”
* CFPB news: “The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Trump-appointed leadership plans to fire nearly all its 1,700 employees while ‘winding down’ the agency, according to testimony from employees.”
* Remember when issues like these were debated in Congress? “President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order aimed at making English the official language of the U.S., according to a White House official. It’s the first time in history the country would have an official language, though the majority of U.S. states have already designated English as their official language. It is unclear when Trump will sign the order.”
* The latest on Texas’ measles outbreak: “Texas is facing its worst measles outbreak in decades, as cases have jumped from two to 146 in just one month. A child is dead, 20 more are hospitalized and the worst is likely still ahead, public health experts say, as Texas’ decreasing vaccination rates leave swaths of the state exposed to the most contagious virus humans currently face.”
* I wonder if the firing of the judge advocates general were related to this story: “President Trump has rolled back constraints on American commanders to authorize airstrikes and special operation raids outside conventional battlefields, broadening the range of people who can be targeted, according to U.S. officials with knowledge of the policy shift. The quiet but seismic recalibration dismantles Biden-era mandates and signals a return to more aggressive counterterrorism policies Trump first instituted in his first term.”
* Stueve’s resignation letter is worth your time: “One of the Justice Department’s highest-ranking spokespeople, Joshua Stueve, submitted a resignation letter today, citing a ‘hostile and toxic work environment.’ Stueve, senior communications adviser and spokesperson, said his last day will be tomorrow.”
* Disappointed conspiracy theorists: “A much-ballyhooed release of documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein case devolved into anger and disappointment Thursday, with conservative figures and even Attorney General Pam Bondi alleging FBI agents were hiding the full case files.”
* FAA: “Billionaire presidential adviser Elon Musk on Thursday falsely accused Verizon, a rival contractor of his SpaceX Starlink system, of putting U.S. air safety at risk through a communications system that is actually operated by L3Harris. Musk admitted that he made a mistake when he said Verizon operated the Federal Aviation Administration’s communications system.”
* On a related note, Musk published a far-from-encouraging message: “There is a shortage of top notch air traffic controllers. If you have retired, but are open to returning to work, please consider doing so.”
Have a safe weekend.