THE SITUATION REPORT:  Stocks bounced back yesterday after President Trump announced a one-month reprieve for tariffs levied on cars imported from Canada and Mexico. Trump had not mentioned his tariffs or their influence on the markets in his thundering speech Tuesday night.

  But firings and cost slashings continue. The administration is reported to be planning to let go of as many as 70,000 employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs. In a memo obtained by several news outlets, the target would be to revert back to 2019-era staffing levels, which means 70,000 employees could be terminated. The VA employed over 470,000 people as of October 2024.

  Massive federal cuts are hitting the younger employees, possibly creating an age and experience gap in years to come. The CIA has begun to fire recent hires, calling them to an off-site location and asking them to surrender their credentials. The NY Times reports that, “In fact, some young agency officers working inside Langley have been hesitant to answer their phones.”

DEPARTMENT OF GROSS ERROR: Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has deleted hundreds more claims from its error-plagued website, removing what had been claimed to be $4 billion savings made for taxpayers.

  It was the second time in a week that DOGE had deleted some of its biggest claims. Last week they erased five of their biggest savings claims on their so-called “Wall of Receipts,” their list of canceled contracts, that were originally posted on February 19^th.

  Since that first posting, the total amount of savings that the initiative has claimed from cutting contracts has steadily declined, from $16 billion at first to less than $9 billion now. DOGE is clearly not looking before they swing the axe.

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE: 

— The Supreme Court yesterday shot down President Trump’s attempt to freeze nearly $2 billion in foreign aid in a 5-4 decision with Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joining the three liberal members. The unsigned order merely said that the trial level judge “should clarify what obligations the government must fulfill.” 

  Although the decision went against Trump, three justices voted in favor of presidential power over Congress and the courts.

— President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the National Institutes of Health said in a confirmation hearing yesterday that he’s open to  having more studies on the links between vaccines and autism.

   Although multiple studies have long proved no link, vaccine skeptics like to say, “I’m just asking the question.” Dr. Jay Bhattacharya would serve under HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has made false claims about links between vaccines and autism. Bhattacharya is a health economist and professor at Stanford University, is well-known for his criticism of Covid lockdowns and mitigation policies. He said, “I think that the mandates that many scientists push have led to the lack of confidence that so many of the public has in science.”

— Budget slasher Elon Musk told a Morgan Stanley finance conference yesterday that  he believes the US Postal Service and Amtrak need to be privatized and that “we should privatize anything that can reasonably be privatized.” He said it’s “kind of embarrassing” how other countries have “way better passenger rail than we do.” 

  Musk said, “Basically something’s got to have some chance of going bankrupt or there’s not a good feedback loop for improvement.”

THE WAR ROOM: After pausing military aid to Ukraine on Monday, officials confirm that President Trump also suspended intelligence sharing that helps Ukraine forces know where the Russians are and what they’re doing. This could have serious consequences on the battlefield.

  European leaders are meeting in Brussels today to talk about defending Ukraine and all of Europe as Trump pulls back the US.

  “This is a watershed moment for Europe — and Ukraine is part of our European family,” Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Union’s executive arm said, “Europe faces a clear and present danger, and therefore Europe has to be able to protect itself, to defend itself, as we have to put Ukraine in a position to protect itself.”

  In the Middle East, the US is now negotiating directly with Hamas for the return of hostages and to end the Gaza War. It’s a break with US policy not to deal directly with terrorist groups.

  President Trump said in a social media post, “release all of the hostages now, not later,” including the remains of dead hostages, “or it is OVER for you.” It’s not as if Israel hasn’t already said that.

CHANNEL CHANGE: NBC News named its streaming service anchor Tom Llamas to take over as the anchor of “NBC Nightly News” following the departure of Lester Holt this summer. The 45-year-old Llamas was previously with ABC News and joined NBC in 2021. The name is pronounced “Yamas.”

  Layoffs have begun at ABC News and CBS snapped up veteran producer Tom Cibrowski to be President and Executive Editor of CBS News.

  ABC News is shutting down its FiveThirtyEight website in a cost-cutting move. The website founded by Nate Silver and sold to ABC publishes polls and political information and was a groundbreaker in establishing data-based political coverage.  

THE SPIN RACK: A South Carolina man convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend’s parents in 2001 is scheduled to be executed by firing squad tomorrow. Brad Sigmon, 67, said he chose the bullet over the electric chair because he’s afraid the chair would “burn and cook him alive.” — —  A South Korean fighter jet on a joint exercise with the US mistakenly bombed a village near the North Korean border. Fifteen people were injured.

BELOW THE FOLD: The NY Post reports that actress Cheryl Hines ordered her husband Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to move her from LA to DC so she can keep watch on her husband who has a notorious wandering eye. Last year he had a “sexting” affair with political writer Olivia Nuzzi. 

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