Short Takes – 2-5-25

Republicans stare down massive deficits to extend Trump tax cuts. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: ““We don’t want to blow a hole in the deficit by extending the Trump-era tax cuts, for example,” Johnson said on Fox News on Monday. “But we’re definitely going to get that extended. We’ve got to find those savings.””

Musk shocks lawmakers, setting himself on collision course. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: ““I urge [Secretary of State Marco] Rubio to distribute the $340 million in American-grown food currently stalled in U.S. ports to reach those in need. Time is running out before this life-saving aid perishes,” he [Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.)] posted on social media.”

Program Approval: Georgia Central Railway, L.P. and Heart of Georgia Railroad, Inc. Federal Register FRA notice. Summary: “FRA is issuing this notice to approve a petition from Georgia Central Railway, L.P. (GC) and Heart of Georgia Railroad, Inc. (HOG) (collectively, Petitioners), subsidiaries of Genesee and Wyoming (G&W), for a Test Program designed to test self-propelled, zero-emission, battery-electric rail vehicles and their associated computer and telemetry technology systems, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the system and new operational approaches to rail vehicle technology in the short-haul movement of containers. The approval grants limited, temporary suspension of certain FRA rules necessary to facilitate the conduct of the Test Program, including an exemption for certain safety appliance laws (collectively, Impacted FRA Safety Standards).”

What’s next for smart glasses? TechnologyReview.com article. Pull quote: “These smaller players will also have an important role in creating new experiences for wearers of smart glasses. A big part of smart glasses’ usefulness hinges on their ability to send and receive information from a wearer’s smartphone—and third-party developers’ interest in building apps that run on them. The more the public can do with their glasses, the more likely they are to buy them.”

NOTE: There were no EO’s published in today’s Federal Register.