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Originally posted by parabellum:
This douchebag is out at CNN. They put him on the graveyard shift, so widdle Jimmy is taking his football and going home.

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Originally posted by parabellum:
This douchebag is out at CNN. They put him on the graveyard shift, so widdle Jimmy is taking his football and going home.

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Lynne Patton will serve as Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Minority Outreach, where she will be charged with ensuring that President Trump continues to build upon his historic Election Day support from Blacks, Latinos and Women. Patton served as Senior Advisor on the Trump Campaign and has been one of the Trump family’s longest serving and most trusted aides. Prior to joining the Trump campaign, Patton was the Regional Administrator for Federal Region II at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Senior Advisor to Secretary Ben Carson. At HUD, Lynne worked tirelessly to bring accountability, reform and results to some of the most challenging housing issues facing our country. From championing the rights of underserved communities to exposing corruption and mismanagement within public housing systems, Lynne consistently fought for fairness and opportunity, earning her the bipartisan respect of industry peers and local elected officials alike. Lynne’s deep connection to the issues affecting minority communities combined with her remarkable interpersonal skills, makes her the ideal person to lead this critical outreach effort. She holds a B.S. from the University of Miami and attended Quinnipiac University, School of Law.

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Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
Excellent

Google Maps will make Trump’s changes to show Gulf of America and Mount McKinley

The Gulf of America and Mount McKinley will soon appear on Google Maps to reflect President Trump’s decision to rename the two topographical features, the company announced Monday.

The navigation mainstay will make the changes as soon as the Department of the Interior updates the Geographic Names Information System, Google said.

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Reuters.comTrump administration targets dozens of senior USAID staff after aid freeze
By Daphne Psaledakis, Humeyra Pamuk and Simon Lewis
January 27, 20259:25 PM ESTUpdated 5 hours ago

WASHINGTON, Jan 27 (Reuters) - The Trump administration has put on leave about 60 senior career officials at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), sources familiar with the matter said, after Washington put a sweeping freeze on U.S. aid worldwide.
The administration on Saturday urged USAID staff to help transform how Washington allocates aid around the world in line with Trump's "America First" policy and threatened "disciplinary action" for any staff ignoring its orders.

An internal memo sent to USAID employees on Monday evening said the new leadership identified several actions in the agency that "appeared to be designed to circumvent the President's Executive Orders and the mandate from the American people."

"As a result, we have placed a number of USAID employees on administrative leave with full pay and benefits until further notice while we complete our analysis of these actions," Acting Administrator Jason Gray said in the memo, reviewed by Reuters.

The administration's actions threaten billions of dollars of life-saving aid from the world's largest single donor. In fiscal year 2023, the U.S. disbursed $72 billion in assistance. It provided 42% of all humanitarian aid tracked by the United Nations in 2024.
The memo did not spell out how many people were affected by the decision, but six sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that it was around 57 to 60 people.

Those being put on leave comprised career staff in the leadership positions of almost all USAID bureaus based in Washington, with roles ranging from energy security to water security, children's education and digital technology, two of the sources said. Staff in the agency's general counsel's office were among those targeted.

"People are calling it the Monday afternoon massacre," said Francisco Bencosme, who was USAID's China policy lead until earlier this month.
"This decision undermines our national security and emboldens our adversaries ... Instead of focusing on China, North Korea, or Russia, the Trump Administration is going after public servants who have served multiple administrations - including the first Trump administration."
USAID did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Politico was first to report that people were put on leave.

Officials put on leave said they received an email with a memo on Monday afternoon informing them they were being placed on excused absence, otherwise known as administrative leave, effective immediately, and no reason was provided.

It said they must be available by telephone and email during normal work hours and must remain available to report to work if directed to do so, but were not to enter USAID premises or access USAID systems.

One senior official put on leave said they had sought to help implement the executive orders.

"This is a serious dismantling of an entire agency," the official said.

LIFE-SAVING SUPPORT

Since returning to office last week, the administration has reassigned or fired hundreds of workers in several agencies, aiming to fulfill Trump's vow to remake a federal bureaucracy he believes was hostile to him during his 2017-2021 presidency.

Hours after taking office, Trump ordered a 90-day pause in foreign aid to review if it was aligned with his foreign policy priorities. On Friday, the State Department issued a stop-work order worldwide even for existing assistance.

A second memo on Saturday made it clear to USAID staff that the pause on foreign aid spending meant “a complete halt”. The only exceptions are for emergency humanitarian food assistance and for officials returning to their duty stations.

Further waivers could be issued but will require substantial justification and are subject to a double-layered approval process that includes a final say from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

USAID-funded programs help millions of people around the world fight against HIV/AIDS and provide support for everything from access to clean water, healthcare infrastructure and childrens' health.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for the United States to consider additional exemptions.

"If this is not reversed, it will wreck U.S. foreign aid... It would permanently weaken USAID," said Jeremy Konyndyk, a former USAID official who is now president of Refugees International.

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Originally posted by Pavilion:
Chickens come home to roost.

Harris & Becerra

Rather than investigate Planned Parenthood, then California Attorney General Kamala Harris met with top Planned Parenthood officials in 2016 and subsequently ordered criminal investigations into Merritt and Daleiden while the next state attorney general, Xavier Becerra, eventually charged them with violating California’s recording law.