Danielle Paquette

Agonizing story about an American watching her family starve in Gaza over the phone

They once shared recipes. Now her family is going hungry in Gaza. A U.S. citizen watches from afar as her relatives in a war zone struggle to survive.

Ghada used to swap recipes with her family in Gaza: crispy falafel, baked chicken, grilled beef kebab.

Now her Aunt Fairouz, a proud foodie, is down to 3 cups of lentils. And her 12-year-old cousins, twin boys, have lost a quarter of their body weight:

wapo.st/452owZ9

They splurged on a home. Then their American dream began cracking. For a Haitian family in Springfield, Ohio, the house on Chestnut Avenue represented their future in this country. They’re now wondering what can be salvaged.

A deep dispatch from Springfield, Ohio, an epicenter of Trump-Vance attacks on Haitians who were encouraged to come there. @daniellepaquette.bsky.social profiles a pastor and family who invested everything in America -- but now their lives and home are cracking
www.washingtonpost.com/nation/inter...

They splurged on a home. Then their American dream began cracking. For a Haitian family in Springfield, Ohio, the house on Chestnut Avenue represented their future in this country. They’re now wondering what can be salvaged.

A Haitian family spent their life savings on an Ohio home *just* before President Trump accused immigrants in their city of eating dogs & cats.

Then cracks surfaced on their walls, ceiling and peaceful American life they'd envisioned:

www.washingtonpost.com/nation/inter...

As Trump shakes trust in U.S., a hub for F-16 fighter jets braces for impact Booming exports turned a South Carolina city into the “Global Home of the F-16.” Slipping foreign demand among angry allies could hurt that economic engine.

In a manufacturing hub that Trump handily won, nerves are fraying.

“We don’t need to have beefs that will lead to economic slowdown," one tech school student said of MAGA's attitude toward overseas allies. wapo.st/4hYJ1cw

For Europeans, Signal chat gives unfiltered view of Trump team’s disdain European officials saw the screenshots as more proof in private of what the Trump team has indicated in public: scorn for America’s traditional allies.

“JD Vance and his mates clearly aren’t fit to run a group chat, let alone the world’s strongest military force,” one Brit lawmaker said. “It has to make our security services nervous about the intelligence we’re sharing with them.”

www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

Law firms refuse to represent Trump opponents in the wake of his attacks The result is an extraordinary threat to constitutional rights of due process and representation and a far weaker effort to challenge Trump’s actions in court than during his first term.

"The president is following a playbook from other countries whose leaders have sought to undermine democratic systems [attacking] lawyers with the effect of hollowing out a pillar of justice systems to expand their power."
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

To review what we from @washingtonpost.com are reporting out of the IRS today:

- Projected tax revenue this year is down 10% ($500 billion) as Trump's downsizing is emboldening tax cheats

- IRS is nearing an agreement with ICE to assist on mass deportations

Republicans, independents crave answers from GOP congressman in Alabama Rep. Dale Strong’s constituents are demanding a response as the politician faces backlash to DOGE cutbacks in a district awash with federal money.

They’re not “left-wing liberals.” And they want to hear from their GOP congressman: wapo.st/4ivIcZG

Column | Trump’s plan to downsize government could put downtown D.C. up for sale As we await a revised list of properties the GSA deems “non-core,” a critic ponders the fate of Washington’s historic landscape.

Decades of largely bipartisan agreement about the role and purpose of federal architecture — to serve the public and symbolize that service visually — could be shredded.

The very idea of the public realm would be at stake.

wapo.st/3QOnLe9

DOGE wants them ‘gone’ but makes it hard for federal workers to move on Many federal workers are unable to get unemployment benefits because of the wording of their firings, and others are uncertain whether they can seek new jobs.

DOGE is like a toxic ex, federal workers say: Wanting them “gone” while sabotaging a clean break.

wapo.st/4iultg7

Pentagon moves to gut operations focused on reducing civilian harm Officials at the Defense Department’s Civilian Protection Center of Excellence, which seeks to limit collateral damage from military strikes against enemy combatants, were told to accept a buyout or b...

NEW: The Defense Department is moving to dismantle efforts focused on reducing civilian harm in U.S. military operations from @alexhorton.bsky.social, me and @danlamothe.bsky.social 🎁 wapo.st/4h6jH3M

Bashing government employees like this seems risky to the combat vet:

On one hand, he thought, the administration’s conduct could be stoking anti-fed hostility. On the other, a laid-off staffer could go nuts and strike back.

“Are they trying to create the next McVeigh?” he wondered aloud.

“We have a scar in our downtown,” said OKC’s Republican mayor, David Holt, “that should serve as a reminder of what occurs when you go down this path of dehumanization.”

Federal workers haunted by Oklahoma City bombing fear Trump’s barbs The anti-government attack lingers in the memories of those bracing for DOGE layoffs.

Federal workers in Oklahoma say they agree with slashing bloat.

But Trump & Musk’s taunting is disturbing to some who remember the OKC bombing — an anti-gov attack.

“It’s the lack of basic decency that infuriates me,” said one DoD staffer, a combat vet. “The demonizing.”
wapo.st/3XnK51X

Trump’s global funding freeze leaves anti-terror programs in limbo U.S. officials say now-suspended programs across Africa were designed specifically to respond to national security threats and contain the spread of terrorism.

President Donald Trump’s sweeping freeze on U.S. foreign assistance has threatened programs intended to counter al-Shabab bombmakers, contain the spread of al-Qaeda across West Africa and secure Islamic State prisoners in the Middle East:

wapo.st/433wxMZ

In Trump’s Cuts to Aid and Refugees, a Clash Over Christian Values Vice President JD Vance and the Pope square off, as faith-based groups face an existential crisis.

Don't miss this terrific story, packed with perspective, from Elizabeth Dias -- In Trump’s Cuts to Aid and Refugees, a Clash Over Christian Values www.nytimes.com/2025/02/15/u...

Signal Messenger Contact Follow this link to message on Signal.

I cover the U.S. military and the Pentagon for @washingtonpost.com. Send secure tips and story ideas on Signal:

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Layoffs to hit IRS as DOGE targets tax collections Several people briefed on the matter said cuts to the IRS cuts numbering in the thousands. One target is tax collections.

🚨NEWS: Massive layoffs are about to hit the IRS -- around 10,000 employees -- potentially in the middle of filing season.

Of particular interest to the DOGE: Cutting IRS enforcement capabilities.

-- with @jeffstein.bsky.social + Hannah Natanson

GOP lawmakers scramble to protect foreign aid as food relief languishes Late Thursday, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to temporarily lift the funding freeze on U.S. assistance and development programs abroad.

DOGE cuts have imperiled Food for Peace, a GOP-beloved program that has purchased surplus commodities from American farmers for starvation-risk communities overseas

wapo.st/4b02YNY

Treasury was warned DOGE access to payments marked an ‘insider threat’ The assessment, done by the contractor Booz Allen, came before Treasury formally tapped an ally of Elon Musk to oversee the payment system.

NEWS: Treasury warned in memo circulating internally that DOGE access to powerful payment network represents an "unprecedented insider threat risk," documents show

Assessment was conducted by a threat intelligence center run by Booz Allen
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

A staffer for Elon Musk's DOGE resigned on Thursday after The Wall Street Journal asked about the staffer's connection to a social-media account that advocated for racism and eugenics.

The staffer had access to the Treasury Department's payment systems.

www.wsj.com/tech/doge-st...

Dozens of Clinical Trials Have Been Frozen in Response to Trump’s USAID Order The stop-work order on U.S.A.I.D.-funded research has left thousands of people with experimental drugs and devices in their bodies, with no access to monitoring or care.

The stop-work order on U.S.A.I.D.-funded research has left thousands of people with experimental drugs and devices in their bodies, with no access to monitoring or care.

www.nytimes.com/2025/02/06/h...

DID YOU KNOW: When Charli XCX sings "bumpin' that," she's referring to the Phil Bump newsletter and how you should subscribe? bsky.app/profile/pbum...

Fear, pain and hunger: The dire impact of U.S. funding cuts in Africa Across Africa, the policies of the Trump administration are already having profound consequences for some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people.

USAID saves lives + stabilizes some of the world’s poorest/most volatile regions while acting as a bulwark against Russian and Chinese influence.

“We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper,” Elon Musk said.

www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

Dow Trump tariffs rattle markets; Dow slides 500 points Investors braced for a trade war after President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico and China and pledged tariffs on the European Union.

“Markets don’t like tariffs.”

wapo.st/3Q66jBq

What is USAID, the government agency targeted by Trump and Elon Musk? Elon Musk called USAID a criminal organization that should “die.” Proponents say it’s a key arm of U.S. influence that, if destroyed, “cannot be easily rebuilt.”

Elon Musk called USAID a criminal organization that should “die.” Proponents say it’s a key arm of U.S. influence that, if destroyed, “cannot be easily rebuilt.”

President Trump's trade war is here.

Trump said Friday there is nothing Canada, Mexico and China can do to stop it.

1) Tariffs will be enacted on Feb. 1
2) Tariffs on oil and gas by Feb. 18
3) Oil tariff could be 10%
4) He said there "absolutely" will be tariffs on Europe, too.

Senior U.S. official exits after rift with Musk allies over payment system A top Treasury career staffer, David A. Lebryk, announced his retirement. Surrogates of Musk’s DOGE effort had sought access to sensitive payment systems.

This story is why the @washingtonpost.com exists and needs to thrive. The situation with Elon Musk at Treasury bears very close watching and needs deeper examination. www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Interim U.S. attorney fires more than 2 dozen Jan. 6 prosecutors in D.C. Interim U.S. Attorney Ed Martin is dismissing more than two dozen federal prosecutors in his D.C. office who worked on Capitol riot cases over the past four years.

New Washington Post reporting:

"Interim U.S. Attorney Ed Martin has dismissed roughly 30 federal prosecutors who worked on Capitol riot cases in the Washington, D.C., office over the past four years, two people familiar with the matter said Friday."

www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...