NOTUS

The trade war with Canada is now risking electricity blackouts in New York, Michigan, Minnesota, and other Northern states. In all the uproar over Ontario's 25% electricity tariff and Trump's angry response today, we're missing the biggest risk — the stability of the grid itself. I dug into the details for NOTUS.

NOTUS’ Jasmine Wright: “Does this administration still consider Canada to be a close ally?” Press Sec. Karoline Leavitt: “Canada is a neighbor, they are a partner. They have always been an ally. Perhaps they are becoming a competitor now...[Pres. Trump] believes Canadians will be better served economically, militarily, if they were to become the 51st state.”

NOTUS and the Allbritton Journalism Institute thank all who attended and tuned into Media and Democracy: Covering Trump 2.0, a conversation with top political journalists on the role of journalism in 2025 and beyond. ?? Watch the full discussion: https://lnkd.in/efePDsT9

This week on NOTUS ??: ↘? President Donald Trump and Elon Musk have been floating the idea of DOGE-funded stimulus checks. Republicans say the move could be “inflationary.” https://lnkd.in/evsrBX9r ↘? The Trump administration is backtracking on plans to close a Department of Energy office building in New Mexico that managed one of the country’s most crucial nuclear waste storage sites. https://lnkd.in/e5WAHBDT ↘? Rep. Richard Hudson, chair of the NRCC, had a bit of advice for his fellow GOP lawmakers: Stop holding in-person town halls. https://lnkd.in/evs5B2dW ↘? Democrats want to compete with Republicans who dominated podcasts and social media in 2024. Party leadership is experimenting with new approaches, such as inviting “new media voices” like content creator Brian Tyler Cohen to whip meetings. https://lnkd.in/entPHs2c ↘? As DOGE steamrolls its way through federal agencies, potential allies who agree there is need for reform feel disenfranchised and worse off. https://lnkd.in/eFuzSpyV ?? Explore these stories and more: https://www.notus.org/

So fortunate to be a colleague of Anna Kramer and the Allbritton Journalism Institute / NOTUS team. Earlier this week, Anna broke a story?about a planned DOGE lease termination that would have shut down a Department of Energy office in Carlsbad, New Mexico, "where at least 200 people work to supervise highly radioactive waste from the U.S.’s nuclear defense activities." Borrowing from Tara Golshan here, her story informed federal leaders that this was happening, led to the New Mexico Political Report?republishing?the story and doing their own follow-on reporting?that pressed New Mexico Democrats in Congress, and ultimately prompted officials to take action. The DOGE lease termination?has now been reversed. The lawmaker who represents this town,?Rep. Gabe Vasquez,?told Anna that her reporting was why this happened. #journalism

This week on NOTUS ??: ↘? Pres. Donald Trump has taken unprecedented steps to reshape the federal government. Will the Supreme Court let him? https://lnkd.in/e_HX7bkt ↘? The CDC has been quiet nationally on the measles outbreak. State and local public-health officials say their dealings with the agency have been business as usual. https://lnkd.in/edBx5kpC ↘? As DOGE comes for the Department of Defense, high-level leadership at the Pentagon is “trying to do their best” with very little information. https://lnkd.in/eVm_jxrb ↘? Elon Musk was a key player in the president’s first cabinet meeting despite not being an official member. https://lnkd.in/eiMHV-ya ↘? Utilizing the Congressional Review Act, Republicans are planning to break decades of precedent — and possibly the law — to stop California from banning new gas cars. https://lnkd.in/eJYSdSr5 ?? NOTUS and the Allbritton Journalism Institute are partnering with a group of local newsrooms around the country for the Washington Bureau Initiative. This partnership will give readers in local communities the reporting they need to understand what their elected representatives are doing in Congress — and how the actions taken by Congress, the White House and federal agencies are impacting their lives. Read more: https://lnkd.in/dus_MNy2 ?? To get these stories and more in your inbox, subscribe to the NOTUS daily newsletter: https://lnkd.in/e7N6Wv6s

NEW: Today, we announced The Washington Bureau Initiative, a new network with local newsrooms that will provide critical nonpartisan political reporting from D.C. The first local newsrooms joining NOTUS in this effort are: - Verite News New Orleans - Oklahoma Watch - San José Spotlight - NEWSWELL at Arizona State University (Times of San Diego, Stocktonia, Santa Barbara News-Press) - The Assembly from North Carolina Read more: https://lnkd.in/dus_MNy2

An important, co-bylined piece by Margaret Manto and Teresa Carr for NOTUS and Undark Magazine. "I know what Marxism is, and this was not that.”

This week on NOTUS ??: ↘? Republicans say Pres. Trump’s USAID cuts will hurt American farmers. https://lnkd.in/egtAn_qg ↘? The Trump administration’s new approach to health and medical data has left a hazy picture of the country’s fight against bird flu and has complicated communication between the federal health bureaucracy and state agencies. https://lnkd.in/eUtEtbXC ↘? James Braid, Trump’s liaison to Capitol Hill, isn’t a household name. But the fate of the MAGA legislative agenda could be in his hands. https://lnkd.in/eQYRXyBr ↘? In the shadow of Joe Biden’s failed presidential bid, Senate Democrats say age isn’t necessarily an issue in their own elections. https://lnkd.in/etFrj8Ns ↘? Pres. Trump, the self-proclaimed “father of IVF,” signed an executive order aimed at expanding access to in vitro fertilization. https://lnkd.in/enNT35Ak ?? To get these stories and more in your inbox, subscribe to the NOTUS daily newsletter: https://lnkd.in/e7N6Wv6s

States across the country are unable to access hundreds of millions of federal dollars for energy upgrades, disaster resilience, infrastructure and environmental cleanup, officials told NOTUS. #energy #infrastructure https://bit.ly/3XcuIcN