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HARD NUMBERS: Anti-Musk petition grows, Measles on the move, Trump hawks gold cards, Polls gauge president’s approval

​Elon Musk speaks during the first Cabinet meeting hosted by President Donald Trump at the White House on Feb. 26, 2025.

Elon Musk speaks during the first Cabinet meeting hosted by President Donald Trump at the White House on Feb. 26, 2025.

REUTERS/Brian Snyder
Alex Kliment
By Alex KlimentFebruary 27, 2025
Alex Kliment
Alex wears a few different caps and tips them all regularly. He writes for the GZERO Daily, works as a field correspondent for GZERO's nationally syndicated TV show GZERO WORLD WITH IAN BREMMER, and writes/directs/voices GZERO's award-winning puppet satire show PUPPET REGIME. Prior to joining GZERO, Alex worked as an analyst covering Russia and broader Emerging Markets for Eurasia Group. He has also written for the Financial Times from Washington, DC, and Sao Paulo Brazil. In his spare time, he makes short films and composes scores for long ones. He studied history and Slavic literature at Columbia and has a Master's from Johns Hopkins SAIS. He's a native New Yorker, a long-suffering Mets fan, and owns too many bicycles.
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320,000: More than 320,000 people have so far signed an online petition demanding that DOGE czar Elon Musk be stripped of his Canadian citizenship on the grounds that he is “part of a foreign government that is attempting to erase Canadian sovereignty.” Musk’s boss, Donald Trump, has repeatedly threatened to make Canada “the 51st state.” Unfortunately for the petitioners, Musk has Canadian citizenship legally – through his mother, who was born in Saskatchewan – meaning it’s virtually impossible to revoke it.

95 and 124: Measles is on the move in Canada and the US. So far this year in Canada, there have been 97 cases of the disease, which is particularly dangerous to young children, compared to 147 cases all of last year. The latest outbreak has been traced to cases in New Brunswick last fall. Meanwhile, in West Texas, a measles outbreak has sickened at least 124 people and killed a child. California, Georgia, New Jersey, New York City, Rhode Island, and New Mexico have also seen measles cases in recent weeks. Experts say that slower uptake of measles vaccines may be contributing to the outbreaks.

5 million: Want to be a US citizen? Well, if you’ve got $5 million burning a hole in your pocket, you’re in luck! Donald Trump is now planning to sell “gold cards” for that amount, which grant foreigners the right to live and work in the US and provide them with a swift path to citizenship.

44: After about a month in office, Donald Trump’s approval rating is 44%, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. His disapproval rating is at 50%. For comparison, Trump’s approval rating is about the same as it was at this point in Trump’s first term, but about 10 points lower than the analogous rating for Joe Biden.
measlescitizenshiptrumpelon musk

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Indra Brown of Australia during the women's skiing halfpipe final at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games on Feb. 22, 2026.

Indra Brown of Australia during the women's skiing halfpipe final at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Livigno Snow Park, Livigno, Italy, on Feb. 22, 2026.

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​A French navy boat intercepts and redirects a suspected Russian oil tanker in the Gulf of Fos-sur-Mer, near Martigues, France, on January 25, 2026.

A French navy boat surrounds the GRINCH oil tanker, intercepted by France in the Alboran Sea on suspicion of operating under a false flag and belonging to Russia's shadow fleet that enables Russia to export oil despite sanctions, and diverted to the port of Marseille-Fos, in the Gulf of Fos-sur-Mer, near Martigues, France, on January 25, 2026.

REUTERS/Manon Cruz
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​Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema reacts during the announcement of provisional results of the 2025 Gabonese presidential election by the Ministry of the Interior, at the headquaters of the Rassemblement des Batisseurs (RdB), in Libreville, Gabon, April 13, 2025.

Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema reacts during the announcement of provisional results of the 2025 Gabonese presidential election by the Ministry of the Interior, at the headquaters of the Rassemblement des Batisseurs (RdB), in Libreville, Gabon, April 13, 2025.

REUTERS/Luc Gnago
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​A man throws trash on a street in downtown Havana, Cuba, February 16, 2026.

A man throws trash on a street in downtown Havana, Cuba, February 16, 2026.

REUTERS/Norlys Perez
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