Dave Thomas

Exclusive: Trump administration formally axes Elon Musk's 'five things' email The Trump administration on Tuesday formally axed a program launched by billionaire former Trump adviser Elon Musk requiring federal employees to summarize their five workplace achievements from the prior week, as first reported by Reuters.

Exclusive: Trump administration formally axes Elon Musk's 'five things' email reut.rs/41nUAEn

Trump on roof

Trump on roof

(h/t @helenkennedy.bsky.social)

New nonprofit firm in Washington adds to legal resistance to Trump A group of former lawyers from the U.S. Justice Department and major law firms launched a new nonprofit on Monday to take on cases for free opposing actions by the Trump administration.

NEW: A group of former lawyers from DOJ and major law firms have launched the Washington Litigation Group, a pro bono, non-profit firm that will represent targets of criminal and congressional investigations and pursue civil litigation targeting Trump's EOs www.reuters.com/legal/govern...

A group of former lawyers from the U.S. Justice Department and major law firms launched a new nonprofit on Monday to take on cases for free opposing actions by the Trump administration @davidjthomas.bsky.social reut.rs/4lgJTLc

Exclusive: Tesla's brand loyalty collapsed after Musk backed Trump, data shows Tesla for years had more repeat U.S. customers than any other major automotive brand but its loyalty has plunged since CEO Elon Musk endorsed President Donald Trump last summer, according to data from research firm S&P Global Mobility shared exclusively with Reuters.

"That industry-leading brand loyalty rate started to nosedive in July, that data showed, when Musk endorsed Trump following an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania on the Republican nominee." www.reuters.com/business/aut...

Going to fanboy for a moment that @jamellebouie.net reposted my work!

Reuters found that major US law firms, fearing political backlash, have pulled back or hidden pro-bono and civil-rights work that could conflict with the Trump administration reut.rs/4l8V7kE

Despite holding legal immigration status.

White House backs away from IVF coverage mandate despite Trump’s campaign pledge, Washington Post reports The White House has no current plans to mandate insurance coverage for IVF, despite President Donald Trump’s campaign promise to expand access to fertility treatments, The Washington post reported on Saturday.

White House backs away from IVF coverage mandate despite Trump’s campaign pledge, Washington Post reports reut.rs/4of21YB

The rise of AI tools that write about you when you die Families and funeral directors are using AI obituary generators to more efficiently memorialize the dead. What happens when they get it wrong?

New: A few weeks ago, when my father-in-law died, the funeral home asked if we wanted to use AI to write his obituary. So I dug into it and found that it's the biggest new trend in "death care." Tens of thousands of AI obits have been made already. Often the families don't even know wapo.st/4okuxIg

Trump And Miller Compel Colleges Not To Enroll International Students Trump officials are using rules, policies and agreements to compel and discourage U.S. universities from enrolling international students.

Wow. Had not realized that Columbia’s settlement with Trump admin included a commitment to decrease international student enrollment. In what way does this help “combat antisemitism,” which is supposedly the administration’s objective?
www.forbes.com/sites/stuart...

I saw Inside Man in high school and was delightfully surprised by how good it was. It was my first Spike Lee movie so I didn't really know what to expect.

Businesses got some clarity on Trump’s trade deal. They aren't reassured. Trump's Thursday tariff announcements caught some in corporate America by surprise.

“Once those prices go up, they have a hard time coming down.” www.politico.com/news/2025/08...

I've given up on buying Mario/Sonic backpacks for my kids because they always break a couple of months later. We bought a Jansport for my oldest in first grade and he's about to enter third grade with it.

Trump administration requests voter data from Illinois elections board Letter comes the same week as hearing scheduled in related lawsuit

The Trump administration has asked Illinois election officials for a copy of the state’s voter registration database, including sensitive data about individual voters and detailed information about the state’s efforts to scrub ineligible voters from the rolls. www.illinoistimes.com/news-opinion...

Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, Sony Pictures settle songwriter's 'Dazed and Confused' lawsuit Songwriter Jake Holmes has settled a lawsuit that accused former Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, music publisher Warner Chappell and film studio Sony Pictures of violating his rights in the song "Dazed and Confused," according to a Friday filing in California federal court.

Songwriter Jake Holmes has settled a lawsuit that accused former Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, music publisher Warner Chappell and film studio Sony Pictures of violating his rights in the song "Dazed and Confused," according to a Friday filing in California federal court.

How the information ecosystem works on X today: A random account aggregates my reporting, recounting scoops from our Media Matters story, and uses it to drive subscriptions to their Substack. Elon Musk sees it and endorses it, with apparently no idea he's reading the NYT, a publication he hates.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) announced today that it will begin an orderly wind-down of its operations following the passage of a federal rescissions package and the release of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s FY 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-H) appropriations bill, which excludes funding for CPB for the first time in more than five decades. For nearly 60 years, CPB has carried out its Congressional mission to build and sustain a trusted public media system that informs, educates, and serves communities across the country. Through partnerships with local stations and producers, CPB has supported educational content, locally relevant journalism, emergency communications, cultural programming, and essential services for Americans in every community. “Despite the extraordinary efforts of millions of Americans who called, wrote, and petitioned Congress to preserve federal funding for CPB, we now face the difficult reality of closing our operations,” said CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison. “CPB remains committed to fulfilling its fiduciary responsibilities and supporting our partners through this transition with transparency and care.”

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is shutting down operations after loss of federal funding:

The only people allowed to bring their own food into restaurants are parents with little children who are just the worst eaters in the world. And even then, it should just be snacks or something.

Inside Jeffrey Epstein’s Forgotten AI Summit Long before ChatGPT, a group of AI luminaries gathered on an island to discuss the future of artificial intelligence. Their funder ultimately cast a shadow on all who attended.

Long before ChatGPT, a group of AI luminaries gathered on an island to discuss the future of artificial intelligence. Their funder ultimately cast a shadow on all who attended. www.wired.com/story/epstei...

Forged signatures found on Mayor Adams’ petitions to run as an independent The Adams campaign said it is conducting a review after Gothamist found signatures that were fraudulently obtained or outright forged.

NEW: Mayor Eric Adams’ re-election campaign submitted faked and fraudulently obtained petition signatures in his effort to secure a spot on the November ballot as an independent candidate, a Gothamist investigation has found.
gothamist.com/news/forged-...

White House official Jeffrey Clark should be stripped of his Washington, D.C., law license for his efforts to help President Donald Trump overturn his 2020 election defeat, an attorney regulatory panel said @davidjthomas.bsky.social reut.rs/3HdPELw

Lawyers face objections to multimillion-dollar fees after no-cash settlement with Schwab @mikescarcella.bsky.social @davidjthomas.bsky.social reut.rs/46C0SUv

Smithsonian removes Trump from impeachment exhibit in American History Museum A temporary placard, on display since 2021, described the president's historic impeachments. Officials said the exhibit was restored to an earlier version following a review of legacy content.

Smithsonian's American History museum does a White House "content review" then rewrites history, removing Trump's impeachments. A spokesperson says "it became clear that the ‘Limits of Presidential Power’ section ... needed to be addressed" wapo.st/3HhfyxU @janaykingsberry.bsky.social

What if Phil Hartman had not died in 1998

Trump’s war on Big Law leads firms to retreat from ’pro bono’ work for underdogs Major law firms are scaling back the free work they do for advocacy groups fighting the government in the wake of Donald Trump’s attacks on the profession. Interviews with over 60 lawyers and 30 nonprofits show legal aid groups now have fewer resources to defend the vulnerable.

... to compile an authoritative account of the fallout from Trump’s intimidation of Big Law.

www.reuters.com/investigatio...

This was a group effort. @mikespector.bsky.social, @bradheath.bsky.social, @kristinacooke.bsky.social, @mikescarcella.bsky.social, myself and others interviewed more than 60 lawyers, reviewed 50 law firm websites, contacted more than 70 nonprofits and analyzed millions of court records...

Dozens of major law firms have scaled back pro bono work, diversity initiatives and litigation that could place them in conflict with the Trump administration, a Reuters investigation found. Many firms are making a strategic calculation: withdraw or risk becoming the next target.

Trump’s war on Big Law leads firms to retreat from ’pro bono’ work for underdogs Major law firms are scaling back the free work they do for advocacy groups fighting the government in the wake of Donald Trump’s attacks on the profession. Interviews with over 60 lawyers and 30 nonprofits show legal aid groups now have fewer resources to defend the vulnerable.

For months, we have been talking with lawyers and non-profit leaders to see what kind of impact President Trump's crackdown on the U.S. legal industry has had on major law firms that do pro bono work for advocacy groups.

We found that major law firms are indeed pulling back.

During President Trump's first term, the most powerful U.S. law firms represented plaintiffs in about 2.5% immigration lawsuits against the government -- people challenging their detention, their denial of status, etc.

Since Trump took office, those firms' share of the cases dropped to 0.6%.