Layla A. Jones

thank you for reading

Update: A White House official told me Trump will increase tariffs if countries don't follow through.

“We expect our trading partners to live up to their commitments in our trade agreements. President Trump reserves the right to adjust tariff rates if any party reneges.”

Experts Say Foreign Governments Are ‘Playing Trump’ on Tariffs President Donald Trump on Thursday night signed an executive order applying blanket...

I talked to a bunch of foreign trade policy experts, including one who worked under both the Obama and Trump administrations. They all told me Trump is being played.

AND large parts of his so-called trade agreements actually amount to nothing. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/experts...

thank you!

This is a brand new job for me. I've been here for only about a month. But I can already see how important TPM's voice and approach is for this political moment. Our independence and your help makes that work possible.

Beyond that, this is a special year for the publication. TPM is celebrating its 25th anniversary. And because of contributions and memberships, we're still expanding. Executive Editor @johnalight.bsky.social lays out what that's looked like in this amazing post talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/what-...

My job @talkingpointsmemo.com is holding a fundraising drive for The Journalism Fund

TPM is 90% member funded which means we're not beholden to big corporate interests & most of our spending goes to salaries so every dollar raised helps me have a job! accounts.talkingpointsmemo.com/contribute

My colleague @johnalight.bsky.social offers a really valuable breakdown of what @talkingpointsmemo.com is and why we are a really great place to read and support during this moment in American history:

Obscure But Painful Reconciliation Package Cuts You May Have Missed There are a lot of well-documented ways the alliterative Senate reconciliation package,...

Policies GOP senators approved range from the needlessly harmful — like the end of a nominal air pollution grant program for low-income schools — to one which threatens to prevent lower-income students from pursuing higher education at all. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/obscure...

Bill Moyers Saw What Was Coming I cannot say for sure when Bill Moyers first developed such a...

I wrote about my former boss, Bill Moyers.

How Donald Trump’s Media Business Could Influence Domestic Policy Almost as soon as Donald Trump was inaugurated in January, Trump Media...

From a $2B bitcoin treasury to politically-branded ETFs, Trump's media company $DJT stands to do more than enrich the president. It adds one more way Trump's policy decisions could be influenced by his business interests - my latest for @talkingpointsmemo.com talkingpointsmemo.com/news/how-don...

Musk’s DOGE Cuts to the Federal Workforce Are Already Upending the D.C. Area Housing Market Melissa Harris had her future meticulously planned. But after more than 37...

For my first story at @talkingpointsmemo.com, I talked to a former NIH employee who left the DMV because of DOGE cuts.

She's part of a trend experts are watching: public servants impacted by DOGE leaving the Beltway – a potential blow to the DC-area economy
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/musk-do...

Musk’s DOGE Cuts to the Federal Workforce Are Already Upending the D.C. Area Housing Market Melissa Harris had her future meticulously planned. But after more than 37...

Newly jobless federal workers are afraid of not having healthcare or being able to find new roles.

Paying for a home is another area being upended by DOGE's “reduction-in-force” initiative

More from @laylaayanna.bsky.social

talkingpointsmemo.com/news/musk-do...

ProPublica obtained records showing how a DOGE software engineer with no health care or government experience created an AI model to identify contracts to kill at the VA.

@bxroberts.org‬ takes us through what we learned when we asked experts to review the model’s underlying instructions and code ⤵️

TPM is proud to announce two new additions to our team — @baelay.bsky.social will be joining us as a reporter, and @allegrak.bsky.social will be rejoining us as a deputy editor.

If You Are Part Of This 1 Community, You Have Every Right To Be Paranoid About Where Your Genetic Data Is Going 23andMe's bankruptcy notice comes with some pressing questions about where our DNA will end up.

Genetics experts told me Black ppl could be at extra risk with the sale of 23andMe and all its genetic data. “[T]here is a worry about the misuse of this data to support racist ideas about racial categories and specifically about Black folks.”

Me for @huffpost.com
www.huffpost.com/entry/23andm...

A US Treasury Threat Intelligence Analysis Designates DOGE Staff as ‘Insider Threat’ An internal email reviewed by WIRED calls DOGE staff's access to federal payments systems “the single biggest insider threat risk the Bureau of the Fiscal Service has ever faced.”

SCOOP: A US Treasury threat intelligence analysis has designated DOGE staff an ‘insider threat'. An internal email reviewed by WIRED calls DOGE staff's access to federal payments systems “the single biggest insider threat risk the Bureau of the Fiscal Service has ever faced.”

This is exactly what I said. Why should people have to be subjected to this?

“I think sometimes genre is a code word to keep us in our place as artists, and I just want to encourage people to do what they’re passionate about” - Beyoncé after winning Best Country Album for “Cowboy Carter”

Beyoncé Becomes First Black Woman to Win Best Country Album Grammy With ‘Cowboy Carter’ The cultural icon also took home the award for best country duo/group performance for “II MOST WANTED” featuring Miley Cyrus.

and she and Miley's song won 🏆 www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/music-n...

Plane crash near Roosevelt Mall in Northeast Philadelphia; multiple victims reported Police reported that there was a possible plane crash shortly after 6 p.m. at Roosevelt Mall.

Plane crash of some sort in Northeast Philadelphia (gift link) share.inquirer.com/OnqlAG

Whole Foods Workers in Philadelphia Vote to Form Chain’s First Union (Gift Article) The union win comes as Amazon, which owns the grocery chain, is also fighting labor organizing in its warehouse and delivery businesses.

Workers at a Whole Foods in Philadelphia just voted to become the first unionized store in Amazon’s grocery chain

A sick snow goose in West Philadelphia is the city’s first suspected case of avian flu, health officials say It’s the first bird in the city to test positive during a national outbreak of the highly infectious virus.

😬 www.inquirer.com/health/avian...

So Lamar Jackson gets to play and break records but not Saquon? I’m still mad about that!

Love seeing @danyelsmith.bsky.social in the Luther doc adding that vibrant color like you always do!

I wanna get a trainer for the New Year but I wanna tell them my goal is to become Saquon Barkley AND to be able to hurdle someone backwards, land, spin, and sprint within 6 months

Meet Robert Faulds, the 92-year-old Navy vet whose internet sleuthing could save the city $11.4 million Faulds’ work could help the city recover an estimated $11.4 million in tax revenue annually, according to the Controllers’ report.

My former colleague @baelay.bsky.social, left @inquirer.com with a wonderful holiday gift as she sets a new path. This story is heart warming.
www.inquirer.com/politics/phi...

Truly hit hard by this Party City news ☹️

Ann Taylor drip is so real 😂