“Tulsi Gabbard, director of National Intelligence, said Tuesday more than 100 intelligence officers will be fired for taking part in sexually explicit discussions in agency chat rooms. Gabbard said on Fox News she ‘put out a directive’ on Tuesday that those who took part in these chats on the National Security Agency’s (NSA) ‘Intelink’ messaging platform will also have their security clearances revoked. Gabbard earlier Tuesday confirmed a report by conservative activist Christopher Rufo, who writes for City Journal, that the DNI was sending a memo directing all intelligence agencies to identify the employees who participated in the chats that included discussion on transgender identity.” (02/26/25)
“The federal government’s personnel and budget offices issued a memo to the leaders of all executive branch agencies on Wednesday directing them to submit ‘reorganization plans’ within two weeks and prepare for large-scale firings. In the memo, the heads of the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management asked agencies to submit these plans by March 13 and to prepare for ‘reductions in force.’ … The memo outlined some exclusions, including positions ‘necessary to meet law enforcement, border security, national security, immigration enforcement, or public safety responsibilities;’ military personnel; officials who were appointed by President Trump or confirmed by the Senate; the executive office of the president and the U.S. postal service.” (02/26/25)
“The United Nations has urged the international community to respond to what it called human rights violations by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s government as it seeks to further consolidate power, according to a report published on Wednesday. Ortega, a former leftist rebel who initially came to power in 1979 and returned in 2007, has been extending his control by allowing his presidency to ‘coordinate’ judicial and legislative duties as well as expanding state control over media. The UN report accuses Ortega and his wife, Rosario Murillo, who serves as co-president, of having ‘transformed the country into an authoritarian state where no independent institutions remain.’ The UN experts urged legal action against Nicaragua, highlighting human rights abuses in the Latin American country, which they said follow patterns that have been previously established as crimes against humanity.” (02/26/25)
“In a potential landmark action, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin has privately urged President Donald Trump’s administration to reconsider a scientific finding that has long been the central basis for U.S. action against climate change. Zeldin called for a rewrite of the agency’s finding that determined planet-warming greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare, according to four people who were briefed on the matter but spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the recommendation is not public. The 2009 finding under the Clean Air Act is the legal underpinning of a host of climate regulations for motor vehicles, power plants and other pollution sources.” (02/26/25)
“A Missouri woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to a federal charge accusing her of concocting a brazen plot to defraud Elvis Presley’s family by trying to auction off his Graceland mansion and property before a judge halted the mysterious foreclosure sale. … [Lisa Jeanine] Findley, of Kimberling City, falsely claimed Presley’s daughter borrowed $3.8 million from a bogus private lender and had pledged Graceland as collateral for the loan before her death in January 2023, prosecutors said when she was charged in August 2024. She then threatened to sell Graceland to the highest bidder if Presley’s family didn’t pay a $2.85 million settlement, according to authorities. Findley posed as three different people allegedly involved with the fake lender, fabricated loan documents, and published a fraudulent foreclosure notice in a Memphis newspaper announcing the auction of Graceland in May 2024, prosecutors said.” (02/25/25)
“Days after Israel failed to release hundreds of Palestinian [hostages] in exchange for six hostages held in Gaza, the government has agreed to a new exchange, according to an Israeli source and Hamas, indicating the fragile ceasefire remains intact for now. The Egyptian-brokered agreement between Hamas and Israel will see the exchange of the final four bodies of hostages due to be released in the first phase of the ceasefire deal for the 620 Palestinian [hostages] that should have been freed last Saturday, according to the Israeli source. Among the [hostages] are 23 children and one woman.” (02/26/25)
“Ukraine and the United States have agreed to terms on a deal relating to critical minerals and other resources, according to a senior Ukrainian official. While Ukraine has said it agreed to the deal, President Donald Trump did not confirm the U.S. had agreed yet, instead saying he had heard Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit Washington, D.C., to finalize the deal on Friday and that ‘it’s OK with me if he’d like to.’ ‘And he would like to sign it together with me,’ he added. ‘And I understand that’s a big deal, a very big deal.’ However, later, he said, ‘We’ve pretty much negotiated our deal on raw earth.'” (02/25/25)
“Republicans in the US House of Representatives narrowly passed a multi-trillion dollar government spending bill on Tuesday, a major boost for President Donald Trump that advances his 2025 agenda. The 217-215 vote was seen as a key early test for Republican House speaker Mike Johnson, who cancelled an earlier vote as it appeared he did not have enough support. … The budget will have to be merged with a separate budget which is under consideration by the US Senate, in a process called reconciliation.” (02/25/25)
“The Supreme Court on Tuesday threw out the murder conviction and death penalty for Richard Glossip, an Oklahoma man who has steadfastly maintained his innocence and averted multiple attempts by the state to execute him. The justices found that Glossip’s trial violated his constitutional rights. The justices heard arguments in October in a case that produced a rare alliance in which lawyers for Glossip and the state argued that the high court should overturn Glossip’s conviction and death sentence because he did not get a fair trial. … Glossip was convicted and sentenced to death in the 1997 killing in Oklahoma City of his former boss, motel owner Barry Van Treese, in what prosecutors have alleged was a murder-for-hire scheme.” (02/25/25)
“The US state department has ordered officials worldwide to deny visas to transgender athletes attempting to come to the US for sports competitions and to issue permanent visa bans against those who are deemed to misrepresent their birth sex on visa applications. The 24 February state department cable obtained by the Guardian instructs visa officers to apply Immigration and Nationality Act section 212(a)(6)(C)(i) – the ‘permanent fraud bar’ – against trans applicants. Unlike regular visa denials, this section triggers lifetime exclusion from the United States with limited waiver possibilities. … The instructions come after Donald Trump issued an executive order on 5 February barring trans athletes from competing in women’s sports. While signing the order, the president directed the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, to deny visas to ‘men attempting to fraudulently enter the United States while identifying themselves as women athletes’ during the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles – which will take place under Trump’s watch.” (02/25/26)
