7. Leland Dudek, a Social Security Administration dedicated bureaucrat was placed on leave and nearly fired after admitting on LinkedIn to aiding DOGE by sharing documents, reallocating funds, and bypassing leadership to tackle agency waste. Acting Commissioner Michelle King left after resisting DOGE’s access to SSA data, and Dudek was spared from punishment and took her place as interim leader. It was hailed as a win for frustrated civil servants eager to fix systemic mismanagement by U.S. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah). Now at the helm until Trump’s nominee Frank Bisignano is confirmed, Dudek embodies a rare alliance between DOGE’s efficiency crusade and insiders who know where fraud festers, targeting issues like illegal immigrants exploiting Social Security numbers and fake disability claims.
6. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall and 19 state attorneys general filed an amicus brief backing Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), asserting that lawsuits from opposing states unconstitutionally obstruct the president’s mandate to tackle federal fraud, waste, and abuse. Marshall charged that the “radical left” is exploiting the judiciary to safeguard a corrupt system, undermining the clear will of Americans who elected Trump to safeguard their tax dollars. The Trump administration also got another win in the legal arena and can proceed with mass firings of federal employees, rejecting labor unions’ attempts to halt the Elon Musk-led overhaul, which has already slashed billions in spending, thousands of jobs, and secured 75,000 buyouts as the media declares a bloodbath.
5. After a Cullman County grand jury indicted Hanceville Police Chief Jason Marlin and four officers on 26 charges — ranging from drug injections on duty to misusing databases and tampering with evidence via a broomstick-accessed room; the remaining department employees were placed on administrative leave. At 5 p.m. Wednesday, the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office assumed patrol duties for Hanceville’s 3,300 residents, following a meeting between Mayor Jimmy Sawyer and Sheriff Matt Gentry to address the crisis. With the city council set to convene Feb. 27 to debate the department’s fate, both officials pledged to prioritize public safety as the fallout from the “criminal enterprise” allegations continues to unfold..
4. A potential constitutional amendment from State Rep. Arnold Mooney (R-Indian Springs), mandates that Alabama public schools broadcast or perform the first stanza of “The Star-Spangled Banner” weekly, using either a Library of Congress recording or school-sanctioned musical group, to ensure students connect with its 100-year legacy of patriotic inspiration. The bill stipulates that local boards must choose an archived version from the Library of Congress website or arrange a live performance, positioning it as a cultural imperative. Non-compliance risks defunding, which is comical but probably 100% effective way to get kids to hear the anthem every week. Unrelated: Canada beat USA Hockey 3-2 … USA USA USA.
3. One of the more “controversial” nominees of President Donald Trump, Kash Patel, secured Senate confirmation as FBI Director on with a tight 51-49 vote, facing opposition from Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), with both Alabama senators voting in the affirmative. Sen. Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) celebrated the rapid pace of Trump nominee confirmations, expressing confidence that Patel would redirect the FBI’s focus to combating terrorists and criminals, ending its targeting of Americans for their politics. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) echoed this, asserting Patel would overhaul the agency to serve the people again, taking charge of its $2.2 billion budget and 38,000-strong workforce to bolster national security..
2. The Alabama Farmers Federation wants to create a self-funded health plans for its members, projecting coverage for 10,000 people within five years, inspired by Tennessee’s successful model, amid a farm economy losing over $1 billion annually, the bill is sponsored by State Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur). Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama is not psyched about this as they are already controlling over 90% of the state’s insurance market. BCBS counters that ALFA’s plan dodges critical regulations, risks leaving out farmers with pre-existing condition – who make up most of its aging base – and could spike premiums for others by cherry-picking healthy enrollees. Critic Rep. Frances Holk-Jones (R-Foley) and 30 advocacy groups, including the American Cancer Society, blast the plan as “junk” coverage lacking transparency and essential benefits, such as mammograms. ALFA insists it’s a tailored benefit, not insurance, designed to ease the burden of soaring health costs rivaling mortgage payments.
1. NASA has announced that it worked out a deal with the Office of Personnel Management to avoid the Trump administration’s expected mass layoffs, choosing instead to base cuts for its 1,300 probationary employees on performance or voluntary terms, thus preserving much of its 18,000-person workforce critical to the Artemis moon program. While this averted a feared “indiscriminate dismissal” of over 1,000 workers — the largest since Apollo’s end — about 900 employees (5%) took a deferred resignation deal, staying on payroll through September. The Planetary Society’s Casey Dreier welcomed the strategic shift but cautioned that blunt, non-targeted cuts elsewhere could still jeopardize NASA’s lunar ambitions, unlike the Apollo era when layoffs followed a completed mission rather than one ramping up. Additionally, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed Pentagon and military leaders to identify 8% in annual budget cuts over the next five years, not to shrink the department’s total funding, but to reallocate those savings toward Trump administration priorities, adding, “it is not a cut.”
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