Sifting through the chaos

A rundown of The Navigator's coverage of threats to American democracy, plus coverage of climate, economics, food systems, and rights.

The political situation in the United States has people here and around the world honestly frightened for the future. A country founded on self-government is witnessing an extralegal rapid-fire takeover by unaccountable tech interests, as checks on authoritarian rule and corruption are removed.

We share here a few of our pieces covering events. At the bottom we list some essential reading and reporting from others.

One of the most important sources for tracking the ongoing Constitutional crisis is Just Security’s Litigation Tracker. A note from Just Security:

This public resource tracks legal challenges to Trump administration actions. If you think we are missing anything, you can email us at lte@justsecurity.org. Special thanks to Just Security Student Staff Editors Anna Braverman, Isaac Buck, Rick Da, Charlotte Kahan, and Jeremy Venook, and to Matthew Fouracre and Nour Soubani.

We have also noted the following as important coverage of apparent extralegal activity by DOGE and the Trump administration:

• WIRED: DOGE Has Started Gutting a Key US Technology Agency / Elon Musk’s DOGE Is Working on a Custom Chatbot Called GSAi

• The Atlantic: Elon Musk Is Breaking the National-Security System

• Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: Why DOGE’s meddling at Treasury could have catastrophic consequences for the US economy

• The Washington Post: Elon Musk’s DOGE is feeding sensitive federal data into AI to target cuts

• Bloomberg: Dismissed Nuclear Bomb Specialists Recalled by Energy Department

• The Associated Press: USAID staffers describe colleagues abandoned in violence in Congo as DOGE ends assistance programs

• ProPublica: “We’ve Been Essentially Muzzled”: Department of Education Halts Thousands of Civil Rights Investigations Under Trump

• The New York Times: A Justice Dept. in Turmoil Moves to Dismiss Eric Adams’s Corruption Case

• CREW: CREW, Democracy Forward sue to block Trump’s illegal plan to fire government workers

• The Guardian: Musk’s takeover of US health agencies raises pandemic threat, experts warn

• NBC: Judge temporarily blocks mass terminations at Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

• FastCompany: Trump’s firing of the U.S. government archivist is far worse than it might seem

Each of these sources is also covering the wider landscape of unorthodox, dangerous, and unconstitutional activity associated with the new administration’s unprecedented power grab.

Among the questions many are asking is: Who will come to the rescue if things keep getting worse? We believe the response in a system of self-government starts with good information and mutual support. Your awareness is part of the solution. Image: Abraham Osorio.

We also want to make sure we are covering wider issues affecting the health and wellbeing of all. A few of these items are listed here:

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