Last week, President Trump named Stephen Miller as his new White House chief of staff. Miller has a long history of promoting white nationalist ideas. But a Popular Information review of 105 articles in 36 mainstream publications about Miller’s appointment found that only two articles used the term “white nationalist” in reference to Miller.
Calley Means, a former White House advisor who left his position last month, has accused the White House of systemic corruption. Means, who is associated with the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, says that top Trump aides, including former White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, abandoned the administration’s priorities on health issues to serve corporate interests.
This week, the Senate voted 73-25 to advance a bill to expedite the permitting process for new energy projects. While its sponsors say the legislation will benefit fossil fuels and renewable energy, the benefits for renewables rely on good-faith implementation from the Trump administration. Trump has already said the administration will not approve new wind projects.
The best of the rest
The Trump administration awarded a small company, XpresTest, “nearly $40 million to screen for Ebola and other infectious diseases just months after a firm linked to President Donald Trump’s elder sons invested in its parent company.” (ProPublica)
The second Trump administration has expedited recruitment for federal immigration officers. A Washington Post analysis of around 300 new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) hires, based on hacked data, “found at least 19 [ICE] officers who had faced past allegations of misconduct or criminal charges, or had other employment red flags.” (The Washington Post)
Until recently, courts upheld the legality of automated license plate readers (ALPRs), like Flock. But two recent court decisions, one from the Supreme Court and one from an Oklahoma district court, suggest that the use of ALPRs without a warrant may violate the Fourth Amendment. (Lawfare)
Numerical information
200%: The amount Trump Media & Technology Group’s third-quarter revenue grew compared to last year. The increase is mainly due to its new service that sells faster access to Trump’s Truth Social posts to Wall Street traders, Mother Jones reported.
Over $1.2 million: The cost to taxpayers of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s 23 flights over the last two years to Florida for his son’s football games.
-$180 billion: The reduction of Nvidia’s market cap after CEO Jensen Huang resigned amid news of his affair with a suspected Chinese spy.
Quote of the week
“All I did was have the courage to imagine a night like this. I had the courage to believe in Mississippi.”
– Democrat Scott Colom in a victory speech Wednesday after he was declared the winner of the Mississippi Senate race. He will be the state’s first Black senator since the Reconstruction era.
Photo of the week
