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Cabinet Celebrates Musk, ‘Trump Gaza’ Video & Alexa+ Debuts - Thursday, February 27, 2025
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The news to know for Thursday, February 27, 2025! We’ll tell you why the first gathering of President Trump’s new cabinet ended up centered around a non-cabinet member: Elon Musk, and how the government is preparing for another, larger round of...
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Erica Mandy
Today is Thursday, February 27th. We'll tell you why the first gathering of President Trump's new Cabinet ended up centered around a non Cabinet member, Elon Musk, and how the government is preparing for another larger round of mass layoffs. Also, we're talking about a controversial video the president posted online showing a reimagined version of Gaza, complete with nightclubs, golden Trump statues, and American dollar bills. Plus what a new mission is hoping to accomplish on the moon, what a recent survey learned about America's LGBTQ population, and what Amazon's Alexa will be able to do with the power of AI. Those stories and even more news next. Welcome. Welcome to the Newsworthy. All the day's news in around 10 minutes. Fast, fair, fun, and on the go. I'm Erica Mandy. Thanks so much for being here. You ready? Let's do this. At his first Cabinet meeting of the new term, President Trump surrounded himself with all the people at the seat of power in his administration. But much of the meeting was focused on Trump's top budget cutter, Elon Musk. Even though he's not actually a Cabinet member. There has been talk of a power struggle between Musk and the new Cabinet members since he's gone over their heads a few times. So about 12 minutes into the meeting, Trump addressed it with a joke saying, quote, is anybody unhappy with Elon? If you are, we'll throw him out of here. The Cabinet started clapping. Then Elon Musk defended his work. He said if the government doesn't make drastic cuts, it will go bankrupt, but that he's confident he can find a trillion dollars in savings. Musk and Trump also talked about the email sent out last weekend asking federal workers for lists of accomplishments. The White House says about a million employees responded, but more than a million did not, and Trump now says their jobs are maybe on the chopping block. Without mentioning that email one way or another, a new White House memo went out telling federal agencies to prepare for large scale layoffs and this round will go beyond the workers hired in the last couple of years. Agency leaders were told to coordinate with the Department of Government Efficiency and come up with a plan in the next couple of weeks. Labor unions have sued the Trump administration over its downsizing plans, but so far the courts have not agreed to put the job cuts on hold. So, to be continued, the White House is creating a national registry for undocumented immigrants. The Homeland Security Department gave a few details saying the registry will include any migrants over 14 years old who came to the US without the proper paperwork. It will include not only their names, but their addresses and fingerprints, and everyone on the registry will get some kind of ID card they'll have to carry at all times. For now, the U.S. citizenship and Immigration Service website just tells migrants to create an online account and says more registry information will come out soon. At this point, it's estimated about 13 million undocumented immigrants are living in the U.S. but the American Immigration Council says the vast majority of them have been here for at least 15 years, and it's not clear how many will actually register. Homeland Security officials say those who don't could face time in prison. Another big part of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown has been deportations, but so far they've been lagging. Reuters cites data that shows nearly 38,000 people were deported during President Trump's first month in office. That's more than 20,000 fewer deportations than the monthly average over the last year when President Biden was in office, though it's also worth noting fewer people have been crossing the border since Trump came into office. President Trump seems to have shared his vision for a remade Gaza Strip, and it's getting a lot of pushback. On social media. He posted a video generated by artificial intelligence. It shows children coming out of rubble into a world of palm trees, yachts and skyscrapers, including gold hotels labeled Trump Gaza. It also includes some unique images, like bearded belly dancers, a giant golden statue of President Trump, and a child carrying a Trump balloon. It shows the president himself dancing in a nightclub and sunbathing by the pool with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, all under an AI generated dance track about Trump Gaza. You can see it for yourself. We've posted a link to the Truth Social post in our Episode notes on our website. Remember, Trump already suggested the US should take over the Gaza Strip and relocate the Palestinians who live there. But critics call his plan and the video offensive and arrogant for many reasons, including not taking Palestinian culture into account. The White House defended the video, calling Trump a visionary. And for now, the Trump administration's Mideast team is still focused on peace talks in Gaza. For the first time, President Trump's efforts to remake the federal government have reached the U.S. supreme Court, and in his first decision, Chief Justice John Roberts has sided with the president, at least for now. Justice Roberts paused a lower court order that told the Trump administration to release $2 billion in frozen foreign aid by tonight. Most of the money was for aid work that's already been completed, but Trump's team said it wasn't able to meet that deadline to be clear, the courts still need to decide whether the president could actually freeze the $2 billion in the first place. The question here was just should the aid keep flowing while the courts work it out? And the chief justice's decision just means the payments can stay paused for at least a few more days. Meanwhile, the foreign aid cuts keep coming. Just yesterday, the Trump administration permanently ended $60 billion in American assistance around the world. The U.S. agency for International Development, aka USAID, is already reeling from mass firings, but now officials say these latest cuts account for about 90% of the agency's work. USAID funds food, health, development and democracy programs abroad. But President Trump says foreign aid has grown wasteful and is at odds with America's vital interests, so his administration wants to start cutting ties. That said, many nonprofit organizations are now fundraising to help make up for it. They admit it won't be easy to fill the hole left by the US Government pulling out, so for now, they're just trying to plug the immediate gaps. More news still coming up, but first, thanks to our sponsor Hiya Health. Whether my kiddo is in an eat anything phase or buttered noodles only phase I at least know Haya's best selling children's vitamins are helping to fill gaps in his diet and support his growing body and brain. No matter what. I started giving him Haya vitamins right when he turned two and now at three and a half years old, he's still loving them as part of his morning routine. So much so that we've also added in Haya's Kids Probiotic along the way. I love that Haya is made with zero sugar, tastes great, and that every batch is third party tested for heavy metals so I know they're safe and nutritious. And if you're tired of battling with your kids to eat their greens, Haya now has Kids Daily Greens plus Superfoods, a chocolate flavored greens powder designed specifically for kids. Packed with more than 55 whole food ingredients to support brain power development and digestion. Just scoop, shake and sip with milk or any non dairy beverage for a delicious and nutritious boost your kids will actually enjoy. We've worked out a special deal with Hiya for their best selling children's vitamin. Receive 50% off your first order. To claim this deal you must go to Hiyahealth.com newsworthy this deal is not available on their regular website, so go to H I Y A H E a l t h.com newsworthy and get your kids the full body nourishment they need to grow into healthy adults. Now back to the news. Another private company is headed to the moon on a mission to find ice and cell service. Texas based Intuitive Machines launched its latest moon lander atop a SpaceX rocket yesterday. Intuitive Machines actually first made history last year when it became the first company to land a private spacecraft on the moon all in one piece. But this time, the company is aiming for even more. It's sending a spacecraft called Athena to the lunar south pole. As we've mentioned before, the region is considered crucial. Scientists think it could have stores of ice that could be converted to breathable air, drinking water, even rocket fuel. So when Athena gets there, it's supposed to deploy several robots, as well as a drill to scour for ice. It also has equipment ready to test out the cell network on the moon. But Athena won't be alone up there. Last month, an American company and a Japanese company both launched their own landers to the moon, making this the first time three separate landers have been headed to the lunar surface all at the same time. Unfortunately, the Texas measles outbreak we told you about is getting worse, and this week a child died, making it the first American measles death in a decade. The state's health department says the child was not vaccinated, but it didn't share any details about what their health was like before coming down with measles. More than 130 people have gotten sick in this outbreak that spans from western Texas to eastern New Mexico. Most of them are children, and about 20% of them have been admitted to the hospital. Patients have had symptoms like a high fever, congestion, cough and a rash. Health officials expect there are even more cases out there. Since measles is highly contagious, they're encouraging anyone who is not vaccinated yet to go ahead and get that measles mumps rubella vaccine as soon as possible, starting at 12 months old. More often, online influencers best known for offering beauty, travel and lifestyle advice are offering medical advice to this week, the American Medical association published a new study that looked at nearly 1,000 TikTok and Instagram posts from top influencers promoting medical tests, for example Full Body MRI scans, genetic testing that says it can identify early signs of cancer, fertility testing, and more. At this point, there's little evidence these tests can benefit healthy people, but online creators call them life saving, and they're reaching hundreds of millions of followers. The recent study says more than 87% of the posts reviewed mentioned the test's benefits, but only 15% of them mentioned potential harms and more than two thirds came from accounts that benefited financially from the posts. The top researcher behind the latest study says she's worried about the tests finding abnormalities that would most likely have never caused any issues. So people could end up getting costly and invasive procedures that aren't needed, and they could actually impact their physical and mental health. The study's author is calling for more regulation so medical misinformation doesn't spread. There's a new artificial intelligence version of Amazon's Alexa. Instead of being a digital assistant like the original, Alexa calls itself your new best friend in the digital world, and it has a lot more capabilities. For example, you can ask Alexa to order groceries for you, book a dinner reservation or send event invitations to your friends. It should be able to read a study guide and test you on the answers or research trips and create itineraries. Amazon says it can take pictures and analyze images. You'll also be able to share documents with Alexa, like handwritten notes, recipes, emails, instruction manuals and pictures, all of which it will be able to reference later. It should also be able to memorize personal details like your diet and movie preferences, and a lot more. Alexa should work with almost every Alexa device released so far, and there's a new Alexa app to go with it. Alexa is $20 a month on its own or free for Amazon prime members. It will start rolling out next month. That's it for the main news today. So now it's time for Thing to Know Thursday. But first, a quick break for our sponsor Oneskin. You may have heard the word peptide in skincare before, but apparently they're not all created equal. OneSkin's OS1 peptide does not just sit on the top of the skin. It's scientifically formulated to penetrate the cells within skin's deeper layers. It improving key skin health markers like collagen production, hydration and skin barrier function. Plus, from my less scientific view of just using it every morning and night, I love the feel of one skin's face and eye topical supplements. They're lightweight, not greasy, but still very hydrating and it seems to be making a positive difference for my skin. Plus, I appreciate that Oneskin believes the purpose of skincare is not just about how you look, but also to optimize your skin's biology. Founded and led by an all woman team of skin longevity scientists, Oneskin is redefining the aging process with their proprietary OS1 peptide, the first ingredient proven to help skin look, feel and behave like its younger self. Get 15% off with code newsworthy at OneSkin co. That's 15% off OneSkin co with code Newsworthy. After your purchase they'll ask you where you heard about them. So please support our show and tell them we sent you. Invest in the health and longevity of your skin. With one skin your future self will thank you. Okay, now back to Think To Know Thursday. More Americans than ever before now identify as something other than heterosexual. A new Gallup poll found nearly one in 10 adults consider themselves part of the LGBTQ community. That's double what it was just in 2020. And for Gen Z, it's 1 in 5, meaning adults 27 and younger are the most likely to identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or something else. The findings are based on phone interviews done last year with more than 14,000Americans. The same survey found identifying as LGBTQ is more common for women than men, more common in cities than rural areas, and more common among Democrats than Republicans. Researchers say as trends change, it mostly comes down to awareness. Alright, thank you so much for listening today and making us part of your daily routine. We'll catch you up on more News to know tomorrow. Until then, have a great day.