Hacker News with Generative AI: US Politics

DHL suspends high value US deliveries (bbc.com)
DHL Express is suspending deliveries to the US worth more than $800 (£603) because of a "significant increase" in red tape at customs following the introduction of Donald Trump's new tariff regime.
US House Panel Says China's DeepSeek Is a 'Profound Threat' to National Security (gizmodo.com)
A bipartisan House committee on Wednesday recommended placing restrictions on the export of AI models to China after concluding that DeepSeek trained its low-cost models using data from OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
Alarm on campus after FBI raid on Chinese cybersecurity professor's home (theguardian.com)
When FBI and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents descended recently on two homes owned by Xiaofeng Wang, a Chinese national and cybersecurity professor at Indiana University, many in the idyllic college town of Bloomington were shocked.
ICE Agents Realize They Arrested Wrong Teen, Say 'Take Him Anyway' (newsweek.com)
Federal immigration authorities apprehended a 19-year-old in New York despite realizing he was not the intended target.
The Fantastical Showerhead Executive Order (reason.com)
President Trump issued a flurry of additional executive orders and presidential memoranda this week, many of which concerned regulatory policy.
How to speed up US passenger rail, without bullet trains (bloomberg.com)
A new report shows how Amtrak and commuter railroads can reduce “dead time” and increase speeds for less than it would cost to build new high-speed rail lines.
Trump Admin Faces 'Insider Trading' Investigation (newsweek.com)
Senator Adam Schiff has said Democrats in Congress will begin probing President Donald Trump's administration for insider trading following the recent volatility in the markets caused by his shifting tariffs.
Amazon Said to Make a Bid to Buy TikTok in the U.S. (nytimes.com)
Amazon has put in a last-minute bid to acquire all of TikTok, the popular video app, as it approaches an April deadline to be separated from its Chinese owner or face a ban in the United States, according to three people familiar with the bid.
Cory Booker's anti-Trump speech on Senate floor has lasted 17 hours and counting (npr.org)
Sen. Cory Booker has spent all of Monday night and Tuesday morning on the Senate floor, delivering an impassioned speech in protest of the Trump administration's policies.
The Democrats Are in Denial About 2024 (nytimes.com)
Last year’s election was close, despite President Trump’s hyperbolic claims about his margin of victory. Still, the Democratic Party clearly lost — and not only the presidential race. It also lost control of the Senate and failed to recapture the House of Representatives. Of the 11 governor’s races held last year, Democrats won three. In state legislature races, they won fewer than 45 percent of the seats.
RFK, Jr. Laying Off Entire Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/Aids Policy (forbes.com)
The U.S. is still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic with more and more long COVID cases emerging. Bird flu is a growing threat. Measles outbreaks have been occurring. Antibiotic-resistant organisms continue to spread in healthcare settings. So what do you do next if you are in charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which is supposed to protect the health of humans in the U.S.? How about lay off the entire staff of the U.S.
How to Avoid US-Based Digital Services–and Why You Might Want To (wired.com)
Amid growing concerns over Big Tech firms aligning with Trump administration policies, people are starting to move their digital lives to services based overseas. Here's what you need to know.
Trump Says Biden's Pardons Are 'Void' and 'Vacant' Because of Autopen (nytimes.com)
President Trump wrote on social media on Sunday night that he no longer considered valid the pardons his predecessor granted to members of the bipartisan House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attacks on the Capitol, and a range of other people whom Mr. Trump sees as his political enemies, because they were signed using an autopen device.
Trump ends Fauci security detail, he'd feel no responsibility if harm befell him (apnews.com)
President Donald Trump has ended the federal security detail for Dr. Anthony Fauci, the infectious disease expert who advised him on the COVID-19 pandemic, a person familiar with the matter said Friday.
DOGE's Cuts to the IRS Threaten to Cost More Than Doge Will Ever Save (propublica.org)
The Trump administration claims gutting federal agencies will save money, but cutting the IRS means the government collects less taxes. “If you’re interested in the deficit and curbing it, why would you cut back on the revenue side?” one expert asks.
Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Establishes the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (whitehouse.gov)
CREATING A STRATEGIC BITCOIN RESERVE AND DIGITAL ASSET STOCKPILE: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile, positioning the United States as a leader among nations in government digital asset strategy.
US Citizens Were 80 Percent of Crossers with Fentanyl (2024) (cato.org)
Trump calls for repealing the CHIPS Act (nytimes.com)
President Trump, delivering an address to a joint session of Congress six weeks into his second term, described the country he inherited from former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. as overrun by violent immigrants and crushed under high prices. He lauded the flurry of action he has taken so far, adding that he was “just getting started.”
House and Senate Democratic Boycott Grows Against Trump Address (politicususa.com)
House and Senate Democratic leadership have decided to leave it up each of their members to decide whether or not they will attend Trump’s Tuesday night address before a join session of Congress, but many Democrats are not going to attend the speech. Others are planning to walk out, or bring guests that will highlight the pain that Trump is causing.
Trump purge hits CHIPS Act office, two-fifths of staff to be terminated (tomshardware.com)
CDC terminates flu vaccine promotion campaign (npr.org)
As flu rages, the Trump administration has pulled the plug on a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention flu immunization campaign that targeted high-risk groups, including pregnant women.
Researcher Captures Contents of 'DEI.gov' Before It Was Hidden Behind a Password (404media.co)
A German researcher captured the contents of the White House’s “DEI.gov” during a brief period when it was not password protected.
US prosecutor in New York resigns after order to drop mayoral case (ft.com)
The legal theory that would make Trump the most powerful president in US history (vox.com)
President Donald Trump recently attempted to fire Gwynne Wilcox, a member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and its former chair.
Elon Musk is reportedly taking control of the inner workings of US govt agencies (techcrunch.com)
People working for, or with, Elon Musk are reportedly taking over the inner workings of multiple government agencies, including the Office of Personnel Management and the Treasury Department.
US government agency argues that money isn't property–so it can take yours (reason.com)
In a jaw-dropping argument, the Department of Justice claims seizing $50,000 from a small business doesn’t violate property rights because money isn’t property.
Cointelpro (wikipedia.org)
COINTELPRO (a syllabic abbreviation derived from Counter Intelligence Program) was a series of covert and illegal[1][2] projects conducted between 1956 and 1971 by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) aimed at surveilling, infiltrating, discrediting, and disrupting American political organizations that the FBI perceived as subversive.[3][4][5][6]
US Civil servants are being asked who they voted for in 2024 election (independent.co.uk)
Incoming senior Trump administration officials have begun questioning career civil servants who work on the White House National Security Council about who they voted for in the 2024 election, their political contributions and whether they have made social media posts that could be considered incriminating by President-elect Donald Trump's team, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter.
POTUS Tracker – Executive Orders, Presidential Schedule, Signed Legislation (potustracker.us)
POTUS Tracker experienced significant downtime on 1/28 due to an overloaded server.
Trump orders release of last JFK, RFK, King assassination files (yahoo.com)
US President Donald Trump ordered the declassification Thursday of the last secret files on the assassination of president John F. Kennedy, a case that still fuels conspiracy theories more than 60 years after his death.