News that got my attention today
Thursday, February 20, 2025
Trump wants to abolish the IRS and fund government through tariffs. (How about you try your hair-brained experiments on someone else’s country?)
He called Zelensky a “dictator.”
The French prime minister, François Bayrou, said on Thursday that “the risk of war has never been so high since 1945”. Denmark said it would rapidly increase defense spending.
Trump called himself a king and the White House shared an image of him wearing a crown.
Archeologists found the first pharoah’s tomb in more than a century — that of Thutmose II (I read a lot of Egyptology in the 1990s and I actually remember that name, though I couldn’t tell you what he was kown for).
Germany’s far right AfD party doubled its support since 2021.
Brazilian authorities charged former President Jair Bolsonaro and 33 others yesterday with orchestrating a coup after the 2022 presidential election, among other crimes. (Brazil knows how to handle an autogolpe. Nobody should be surprised that Trump is seeking retribution against the people he perceives as enemies. If you aim to take out powerful people, you had best not miss.)
Former Vice President Kamala Harris signs with talent firm Creative Artists Agency; CAA signed former President Joe Biden to a similar deal two weeks ago. (That’s all good; it’s not like the US is facing a crisis for which we require Democratic Party leadership. You just keep bringing in the money, guys; it’s what you’re good at.)
A judge ordered a Mississippi newsletter to remove an editorial criticizing city officials.
Kennedy issued guidance recognizing only two sexes, citing “biological truth.” (Bullshit.)
Doctors love the Noah Wylie TV series “The Pitt.”” (We do too.)
Sources: The Guardian: First Thing, The New York Times: Today’s Headlines, 1440