At least 38 DOGE members work, or have worked, for one of Elon Musk’s companies.
Meanwhile, nearly two dozen DOGE officials are making cuts to the same federal agencies that regulate the industries that employed them.
government
Trump Vowed to Clean Up Washington, Then His Team Hired a Man Who Pushed a Scam the IRS Called the “Worst of the Worst”
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Frank Schuler was a leading promoter of a tax deduction derided as a scam by prosecutors, senators and the IRS. Now he’s a senior adviser to the General Services Administration, which manages the federal government’s property.
A $3.7 million Capitol Hill townhouse is the D.C. headquarters of a secretive political influence project.
It’s owned by a major GOP donor. But one of the most powerful men in the country recently moved in: House Speaker Mike Johnson.
U.S. agents suspected Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele and some in his inner circle of diverting USAID funds to MS-13 leaders. Agents sought to review any U.S. bank accounts held by 15 Salvadoran political figures including Bukele, other senior officials and their relatives.
#News #ElSalvador #Trump #Bukele #USAID #Politics #Government #Crime
Hello World!
I just spoke with a #US #Senator office about the #fediverse . They're asking for more information to help spread around #Capital #Hill in small bite sized easy to understand pieces. I'm obviously going to give them @elena beautiful #movie on the #fedi (with some light editing which she's agreed to).
I'll of course show them https://fediverse.info/ and https://fedi.tips/ which are great websites. I figured I'd give them examples of amazing #AP projects such as #mastodon , #pixelfed , #peertube , #bandwagon , and #bonfire ; even things like @admin .
I'd love to know from folks any EASY to understand projects that best encompass the Fediverse and explanations of it.
What are some projects you'd hand to your friends and family that would explain and display to them what we are?
I'll say this isn't going to happen over night. There's lot of questions around regulations, trust & safety, etc. But I feel it's pertinent to at least get the conversation going, especially considering the current state of disdain for big social media and the impending legislation around these things.
I'll finally state if there's anyone in this list that does NOT want to be involved with this, that's totally fine and I understand and I can exclude you from the materials I give to them.
#boost #boostplease #government #laws #activityPub
@benpate @peertube @bonfire
@stefano @dansup @Mastodon
U.S. Housing Agency Considers Launching Crypto Experiment
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The Department of Housing and Urban Development, which oversees billions in aid and insures more than a trillion dollars in mortgages, is pondering using the blockchain and a stablecoin. One HUD official derided it as “monopoly money.”
#News #Housing #Crypto #Government #USPolitics #Trump #Blockchain
Threat in Your Medicine Cabinet: The FDA’s Gamble on America’s Drugs
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A ProPublica investigation found that for more than a decade, the FDA gave substandard factories banned from the United States a special pass to keep sending drugs to an unsuspecting public.
https://www.propublica.org/article/fda-drug-loophole-sun-pharma?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
A high-ranking NASA official warned his employees to “use discretion” in public when displaying badges or emblems that identify them as federal workers — part of an effort, the agency says, to protect its staff amid “stories of possible harassment.”
Two Transgender Girls, Six Federal Agencies. How Trump Is Trying to Pressure Maine Into Obedience.
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Maine said it wouldn’t break state law to follow President Donald Trump’s order barring transgender girls from playing girls’ sports. Then came a barrage of investigations and threats targeting the state’s federal funding.
#News #Maine #Trump #Trans #Sports #Girls #USPolitics #Government #LGBTQ #TransRights
Washington Blues: A Government Town Faces a Gloomy Future
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For years, Washington, D.C., was insulated from many of the economic forces that decimated many older U.S. cities. Now, as Elon Musk’s mass layoffs shake everything from employment to real estate, the region faces the prospect of decline.
https://www.propublica.org/article/washington-dc-trump-musk-federal-government-cutbacks-gloomy-future?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
National Cancer Institute Employees Can’t Publish Information on These Topics Without Special Approval
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Vaccines. Fluoride. Autism. Communications involving these and 20 other “controversial, high profile, or sensitive” topics will get extra scrutiny under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
#News #Vaccines #Autism #Health #RFK #Medicine #Science #Government #USPolitics #Trump
Senators Demand Investigation Into Canceled VA Contracts, Citing “Damning Reporting From ProPublica”
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The senators are calling for a federal watchdog to investigate the Trump administration’s killing of hundreds of VA contracts. Among their concerns: ProPublica revealed DOGE used artificial intelligence to mark contracts as “munchable.”
https://www.propublica.org/article/doge-veterans-affairs-ai-senator-investigation?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
Emails Reveal Top IRS Lawyer Warned Trump Firings Were a “Fraud” on The Courts
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The Trump administration cited “performance” failures to justify its mass firing of IRS workers. But this claim was “false,” a senior agency attorney warned officials, because the administration had not conducted any such performance assessment.
https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-irs-firings-doge-fraud-law-job-performance?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
“ProPublica’s reporting revealed these cancelled contracts were delivering essential services … and exposed the cruel and dumb AI formulas DOGE bros used to cancel contracts,” Sen. Blumenthal said. “Veterans and all Americans deserve transparency.”
#DOGE #Veterans #AI #Health #Government #Technology #Journalism #Transparency
Killing Grants That Have Saved Lives: Trump’s Cuts Signal End to Government Work on Terrorism Prevention
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Tens of millions of dollars slated for violence prevention have been cut or are frozen as DOGE steamrolls the national security sector. “This is the government getting out of the terrorism business,” said one grant recipient.
https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-doge-budget-cuts-terrorism-prevention?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Terrorism #Security #Government #Trump #DOGE #USPolitics
In October, we published secret recordings of Russell Vought discussing plans to eviscerate entire agencies and decimate the morale of federal workers if Trump won a second term.
It's hard to imagine a more prescient piece of journalism, our editor-in-chief writes.
https://www.propublica.org/article/propublica-russell-vought-prophetic-trump-second-term?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
States Fear Critical Funding From FEMA May Be Drying Up
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Many states rely on the federal government for the vast majority of their emergency management funding. Now, local leaders are looking for clues about the money — and the future of FEMA itself.
https://www.propublica.org/article/fema-grants-trump-emergencies?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #FEMA #Hurricane #Disaster #Emergency #Government #Trump
NIH Ends Future Funding to Study the Health Effects of Climate Change
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It’s unclear whether the guidance will impact active grants, but it appears to halt opportunities for future studies. One climate health expert said the directive would have a “devastating” impact on much-needed research.
#News #Climate #NIH #Health #ClimateChange #Research #Government #Trump #RFKJr
Elon Musk’s lobbyists spent tens of thousands of dollars on things like gifts and meals for Texas elected officials this year.
But, in most cases, state transparency laws do not require them to disclose which elected officials they wine and dine.
https://www.propublica.org/article/elon-musk-texas-lobbyists-influence-law?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #ElonMusk #Texas #Law #SpaceX #Tesla #Government #Business #Musk
Bloodied Faces, Sobbing Children: #Immigration Officers Smash Car Windows to Speed Up Arrests
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We’ve documented nearly 50 incidents of immigration officers shattering car windows to make arrests — a tactic experts say was rarely used before #Trump took office.
#ICE claims its officers use a “minimum amount of force.”
You can judge for yourself.
#News #Government #HumanRights #Police #Courts #Politics
https://projects.propublica.org/trump-ice-smashed-windows-deportation-arrests/
Federal Investigators Were Preparing Two Texas Housing Discrimination Cases — Until Trump Took Over
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The government spent years probing allegations that a Dallas HOA created rules to kick poor Black people out and that Texas discriminated against minority residents in Houston after Hurricane Harvey, only to suddenly reverse course under Trump.
https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-hud-texas-housing-discrimination-cases-dallas-houston?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
In the five years since Texas created a $1.4 billion fund to guard against destructive flooding, at least 90 local governments turned down tens of millions of dollars in grants and loans.
That money went unused for years.
https://www.propublica.org/article/kerr-county-state-grants-flood-warning-system?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Texas #Government #Floods #USPolitics #Emergency #Disaster
How Investigative Journalists Actually Find Fraud, Waste and Abuse
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While investigative journalists immerse themselves in minutiae to identify waste and fraud, Elon Musk’s team has taken a chainsaw approach to spending based on cursory examinations. That might help explain some of their well-publicized stumbles, our editor-in-chief writes.
https://www.propublica.org/article/doge-government-waste-fraud-approach?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#Journalism #ElonMusk #DOGE #Government #USPolitics #Musk #Fraud
With deep job cuts at the FDA, inspectors say the ongoing strain could compromise policing an industry spread across more than 90 countries.
“Things will be missed, we are going to have a lot less safe drugs,” a former inspector said.
https://www.propublica.org/article/fda-cuts-drug-factory-inspections?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
A Little-Known Microsoft Program Could Expose the Defense Department to Chinese Hackers
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The Pentagon bans foreign citizens from accessing highly sensitive data, but Microsoft bypasses this by using engineers in China and elsewhere to remotely instruct American “escorts” who may lack expertise to identify malicious code.
#News #Tech #Cybersecurity #Technology #Microsoft #Government #Data