Update 2025-01-29-day-1471.markdown

_posts/2025-01-29-day-1471.markdown

@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ todayInOneSentence: 'The White House rescinded an order freezing federal grants
 
 * **Elon Musk allies now occupy top roles at the Office of Personnel Management, the federal agency overseeing government hiring**. Appointees include individuals with ties to Musk’s companies — xAI, Neuralink, and the Boring Company— as well as Palantir and the NRA. Some new senior officials have limited experience, including a 21-year-old former Palantir employee and a recent high school graduate. Experts warn the staffing shakeup could accelerate Trump’s push to purge civil servants, with one calling the changes “reminiscent of Stalin.” The administration is reportedly using AI and data analysis to identify employees for reclassification under Schedule F, making them easier to fire. ([WIRED](https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-lackeys-office-personnel-management-opm-neuralink-x-boring-stalin/))
 
-3/ **The Justice Department dropped its appeal of Judge Aileen Cannon’s ruling that special counsel Jack Smith was unlawfully appointed and had no authority to prosecute Trump**. the decision ensures that charges against Trump’s former co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, cannot be revived. Cannon dismissed the indictment in July, breaking with legal precedent by ruling that Attorney General Merrick Garland lacked the authority to appoint Smith. While Smith initially appealed, he later dropped Trump from the case after the November election, citing DOJ policy against prosecuting a sitting president. With the appeal abandoned, the classified documents investigation against Trump and his associates is effectively over. The decision ensures the case will not be revived against Trump and his associates, and raises questions about whether Smith’s final report will be made public. Cannon previously blocked the DOJ from sharing the report with Congress, and Trump’s DOJ is expected to keep it sealed. ([Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/01/29/trump-classified-documents-jack-smith-appeal-cannon-dropped/) / [ABC News](https://abcnews.go.com/US/doj-trump-moves-drop-appeal-classified-docs-case/story?id=117985723) / [New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/29/us/politics/trump-classified-documents-case.html) / [Politico](https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/29/doj-moves-to-drop-prosecution-of-former-trump-classified-document-co-defendants-00201232) / [CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/29/politics/classified-documents-dropped-trump-codefendants/) / [CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/29/trump-classified-documents-case-doj-drops-appeal-against-co-defendants.html) / [CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-classified-documents-case-walt-nauta-carlos-de-oliveira/) / [Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-01-29/doj-drops-fight-to-prosecute-trump-co-defendants-in-records-case) / [Axios](https://www.axios.com/2025/01/29/trump-doj-classified-documents-case-dismiss-request) / [Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/trump-justice-department-classified-documents-c887926663beeb5a04d45c7c896609ba))
+3/ **The Justice Department dropped its appeal of Judge Aileen Cannon’s ruling that special counsel Jack Smith was unlawfully appointed and had no authority to prosecute Trump**. The decision ensures that charges against Trump’s former co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, cannot be revived. Cannon dismissed the indictment in July, breaking with legal precedent by ruling that Attorney General Merrick Garland lacked the authority to appoint Smith. While Smith initially appealed, he later dropped Trump from the case after the November election, citing DOJ policy against prosecuting a sitting president. With the appeal abandoned, the classified documents investigation against Trump and his associates is effectively over. The decision ensures the case will not be revived against Trump and his associates, and raises questions about whether Smith’s final report will be made public. Cannon previously blocked the DOJ from sharing the report with Congress, and Trump’s DOJ is expected to keep it sealed. ([Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/01/29/trump-classified-documents-jack-smith-appeal-cannon-dropped/) / [ABC News](https://abcnews.go.com/US/doj-trump-moves-drop-appeal-classified-docs-case/story?id=117985723) / [New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/29/us/politics/trump-classified-documents-case.html) / [Politico](https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/29/doj-moves-to-drop-prosecution-of-former-trump-classified-document-co-defendants-00201232) / [CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/29/politics/classified-documents-dropped-trump-codefendants/) / [CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/29/trump-classified-documents-case-doj-drops-appeal-against-co-defendants.html) / [CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-classified-documents-case-walt-nauta-carlos-de-oliveira/) / [Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-01-29/doj-drops-fight-to-prosecute-trump-co-defendants-in-records-case) / [Axios](https://www.axios.com/2025/01/29/trump-doj-classified-documents-case-dismiss-request) / [Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/trump-justice-department-classified-documents-c887926663beeb5a04d45c7c896609ba))
 
 * **Trump appealed his 34 felony convictions for orchestrating an illegal conspiracy to influence the 2016 presidential election by falsifying business records**. His lawyers claims the prosecution set a “dangerous precedent.” ([Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/trump-hush-money-appeal-stormy-daniels-249a77a70cab97137595f000fbd49307) / [Politico](https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/29/trump-new-lawyers-hush-money-appeal-00201219))
 
@@ -65,4 +65,4 @@ poll/ **45% of Americans approve of Trump's performance as president** – down
 
 8. **Trump blamed Fed Chair Jerome Powell for inflation**, criticizing the central bank for keeping interest rates steady. He claimed the Fed’s focus on climate and diversity policies worsened the economy and pledged to cut regulations to lower costs. Powell did not respond to Trump’s remarks. ([CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/29/trump-accuses-fed-powell-of-creating-inflation-on-heels-of-rate-decision.html))
 
-9. **Trump will sign an executive order expanding school choice**, directing federal agencies to allow public funds for private and religious schools. ([CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/29/politics/executive-actions-trump-school-choice/index.html) / [NBC News](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-sign-sweeping-executive-order-expand-school-choice-rcna189779))
+9. **Trump will sign an executive order expanding school choice**, directing federal agencies to allow public funds for private and religious schools. ([CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/29/politics/executive-actions-trump-school-choice/index.html) / [NBC News](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-sign-sweeping-executive-order-expand-school-choice-rcna189779))