News...Glenn Beck: Judges must stop legislating from the benchA Texas judge turned a narrow habeas inquiry into a political tirade, denouncing immigration policy instead of ruling on whether the detention was lawful — a blatant example of a judge abandoning restraint and trying to make policy from the bench.
Appeals court clears Trump to dismantle DEI contracting schemes blocked by Biden-appointed judgeA unanimous 4th Circuit panel vacated a lower-court injunction and restored Trump’s authority to terminate federal grants and contracts tied to DEI programs, ruling the challengers had no standing and were unlikely to prevail against the administration’s policy shift away from “equity”-based funding.
Portland Police shoot, kill armed suspect who posed as a Secret Service agent, had shell casings threatening President TrumpThe subject allegedly opened fire on Portland Police officers during the execution of a warrant, resulting in the exchange of gunfire, according to a press release.
Corporate retreat from DEI disclosures exposes how shallow the commitment always wasHRC says Fortune 500 participation in its Corporate Equality Index collapsed 65% in a year as companies stopped publicly bragging about DEI to avoid losing federal contracts, even while their internal policies remained in place and millions still work under firms with perfect HRC compliance scores.
The U.S. said a Marine could not adopt an Afghan girl. Records show officials helped him get herThousands of pages of once-secret court documents show how federal officials and a Virginia court helped an American Marine adopt an Afghan war orphan, in defiance of the U.S. government’s official policy to unite the child with her family.
Savannah Guthrie tells mother's possible kidnapper 'we will pay' in new video“We received your message and we understand,” Savannah Guthrie said, seated alongside her brother, Camron, and sister, Annie. “We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace.”
Nancy Guthrie ransom demand amount revealed by local TV station“Multiple ransom notes have been sent out to the media, including one that was sent to us,” JJ McKinney from Tucson ABC affiliate KGUN9 reported. “In the letter, the potential kidnappers demanded that the Guthries pay them $6 million before this Monday.”
Democrats look to impose per-mile tax on California driversCalifornia lawmakers are now scrambling to replace collapsing gas-tax revenue with a per-mile charge, confirming what everyone warned years ago — the supposed cost savings of EVs were never real and were always going to be wiped out the moment the state needed its money back.
Democrats look to impose massive new sin tax on sugary drinks in WashingtonHouse Democrats proposed a sugar tax that would impose another 3-cent charge per fluid ounce of applicable beverages, amounting to a 72-cent tax on a 24-ounce coffee.
Super Bowl...Millions tune in for TPUSA All-American halftime show during Super BowlThe TPUSA All-American Halftime Show outperformed all expectations, with an incredible 6.1 million people tuning in to watch on the YouTube livestream, another 1 million watching on Charlie Kirk’s YouTube, and “monster” numbers on other partner sites.
Bad Bunny delivers just 1 line in English during Super Bowl LX halftime showThe rest of the English-speaking was left to singer Lady Gaga who also made an appearance along with Ricky Martin.
A forgettable half-time show at a forgettable Super BowlIt was an odd show, completely removed from the stadium audience by foliage and sets. The gender-bending Bad Bunny, and LGBT fixtures Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin, had a more subtle subversive message than was expected, and so the show failed to either entertain or incense. It was a bland Disney jungle cruise of a show.
No, that wasn't Liam Conejo Ramos in Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime showBad Bunny’s Super Bowl moment sparked claims that the child onstage was Liam Conejo Ramos — the 5-year-old whose ICE detention went viral — but the boy was just some child actor.
Ex-NFL sideline reporter doing ‘something I’ve never done before’ instead of watching Bad Bunny at Super Bowl“During halftime tonight, I’m going to do something I’ve never done before: fold laundry,” Michele Tafoya wrote on X.
F-22s pulled from Super Bowl flyover after reassignment for operational missionsIt's noteworthy because the plane was used against Iran last year in Operation Midnight Hammer.
Patriots rookie Kyle Williams helps catch Super Bowl 'streaker'Since when do streakers wear pants?
This year's Super Bowl ads are telling you the AI bubble is about to burstDuring Super Bowl on Jan. 30, 2000, 14 of the 61 ads were for internet startups. Perhaps they should have heeded the advice offered by E-Trade's "Waste of Money" ad that year, which featured a dancing monkey and ended with the on-screen punchline: "Well, we just wasted $2,000,000. What are you doing with your money?"
Flashback: Revisiting the ads from 2000’s ‘dot-com Super Bowl’Compared to just two ads for websites in 1999, in 2000 nearly 20 percent of the 61 ads were purchased by dot-coms as we hit the peak of the dot-com bubble. The average 30-second ad cost $2.2-million. (Note the lack of eventual winners — there's no Amazon, no Google, no Apple.)
Video: (Not) 'Trump' calls out Bad BunnyThe top-shelf Trump impersonator Shawn Farash gives us Trump talking about Bad Bunny — and other famous bunnies.
Video: Minnesota Vikings halftime show from the 1970sThis quick, 14-second clip was going viral as the type of half-time show real sports fans would like to see return.
Politics...Mitch McConnell might try to 'McCain' the SAVE Act to spite TrumpMcConnell has slow-walked the SAVE Act for nearly 300 days despite broad GOP backing, with aides claiming his hostility toward Trump is driving the stall and leaving the election-integrity bill bottled up in his committee.
Top Dems scramble to explain why they’re on the wrong side of voter ID"This is another way to simply try to suppress the vote," pencil-neck Adam Schiff insisted.
Fetterman breaks with Democrats, backs ID requirement for voting"As a Democrat, I do not believe it's radical or extreme to require ID to vote."
Flashback 2021: Fetterman calls voter ID requirements 'insidious and unnecessary'"It's simply voter suppression because they don't want people voting that they believe aren't going to ultimately elect them."
Democrat senator requires photo ID to enter campaign event while opposing voter ID for electionsGeorgia Senator Jon Ossoff has drawn criticism from political rivals by telling people attending one of his campaign events they must present a government-issued photo ID, even as he has positioned himself against similar requirements for voters in federal elections.
Texas just got a preview of how Democrats take overA Democrat won a Fort Worth–area Senate seat that Trump carried by 17 points, not because the district turned blue overnight, but because Democrats ran a bland so-called 'moderate' while Republicans drifted into culture-war messaging instead of addressing costs, housing, and public safety.
Democrat Chasity Verret Martinez wins Louisiana state House special seat in district Trump wonLouisiana Democrat Chasity Verret Martinez defeated her Republican opponent by double digits in the special election Saturday night for a state House seat in a district President Trump won by 13 points in 2024.
Los Angeles’s lurch towards extreme left becomes more likely after socialist enters mayoral raceSocialist councilmember Nithya Raman jumped into the mayoral contest at the last minute, challenging Karen Bass as the city wrestles with worsening homelessness and voter frustration, setting up a race where the leading alternatives all push Los Angeles even further left.
Economy...The typical U.S. worker has $955 saved for retirement, report findsFor workers who do have retirement savings, the median balance stands at $40,000, the group found — a far cry from the roughly $1.5 million that Americans say they need to retire comfortably.
Layoffs jumped in January as companies pull back on hiringEmployers announced 108,435 job cuts in January, the highest tally for that month since 2009.
More companies are pointing to AI as they lay off employeesAlthough economists have generally downplayed the impact to date of generative AI on the broader U.S. workforce, that may offer little comfort to the employees who suddenly find themselves out of work as companies tout their adoption of such tools.
Immigration...After demanding ICE adopt body cams, Dems worry they'll become mass surveillance toolsDemocrat leadership sent a letter to Republican leadership requesting new guardrails on the use of body cams after demanding body cams.
Checkpoints and street-corner sentries: In Minneapolis, ICE-hating anarchists are an occupying forceMinneapolis is a city seemingly closed off from the rest of the country, whose people are ripping it apart at the seams, and whose out-of-state agitators are providing them with the tools to do it faster, and with zeal.
World...United States to pay United Nations billionsAmbassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz said the payment comes with strings attached. The U.S. owes roughly $2.19B to the U.N.’s regular budget, and an additional $2.4B in unpaid peacekeeping assessments. Trump signed a spending bill Feb. 3 that includes $3.1B for U.S. dues to the U.N. and other international organizations.
Rubio’s rise from ‘Little Marco’ to Trump’s foreign-policy powerhouse reshapes America’s role abroadA look inside Marco Rubio’s inner circle shows how the secretary of state evolved from Florida upstart to one of the most influential figures in Trump’s administration.
China...Patel says Biden-era FBI ‘buried’ truth about CCP’s ties to biolab on U.S. soilFBI boss raises concerns Biden-era bureau may have 'buried' truth about Chinese Communist Party ties to dangerous biolabs on U.S. soil, cites 40% increase in Chinese espionage arrests.
Bessent says China ‘lived up to’ trade deal with Trump, predicts ‘very strong economic growth’ in 2026The White House announced a sweeping deal with China on trade and the general relationship between Washington and Beijing in November, in which the Asian behemoth agreed to purchase more American products, among other concessions.
Europe...Morgan McSweeney quits as Starmer faces fury over Epstein-linked ambassador pickStarmer’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney abruptly resigned after admitting he advised the PM to appoint Peter Mandelson as U.S. ambassador despite Mandelson’s well-known ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
Middle East...
Iranians plead with Trump not to negotiate with the Islamic RepublicHundreds of messages sent to Iran International from Iranians inside the country urge Trump not to negotiate with the Islamic Republic, warning that talks would legitimize repression and betray protesters killed by security forces.
Iran sentences Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi to 7 more years in prisonAnd what was the new “crime” that earned her that punishment while already behind bars? She began a hunger strike.
Iran arrests prominent reformist politicians, cites links to U.S., IsraelAuthorities accuse detainees of trying to disrupt Iran’s ‘political social order’ at a time of ‘military threats’ from the U.S. and Israel.
U.S. soldiers who served near Gaza adopt abandoned dogsThree adult dogs and seven puppies found abandoned near the Gaza border will be flown to the U.S. for adoption by American soldiers who served in the area during the Gaza war. The soldiers discovered the animals and decided they couldn’t leave them behind.
Asia...Japan’s ‘Iron Lady’ Takaich cements grip with landslide win at snap electionLandslide victory allows Japan’s first female leader to push through tax cuts and boost military budget to counter China while Trump hails her ‘Peace Through Strength agenda’.
Entertainment...Brad Arnold, 3 Doors Down singer who played Trump’s inauguration, dies at 47His band announced he died "after his courageous battle with cancer."
Media...FCC opens probe into ABC’s ‘The View’ after James Talarico interview: ReportsReuters reported Saturday that, per a source, the FCC began an investigation on whether “The View” broke rules for equal time when it comes to interviewing political candidates.
Environment...Trump signs proclamation to 'unleash commercial fishing in the Atlantic,' ending Obama-era rulesThe area affected is the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, a federally protected marine zone east of Cape Cod that was originally created under former President Barack Obama to safeguard underwater ecosystems.
Education...Pentagon terminates academic partnerships with HarvardThe Department of War announced Friday it is cutting ties with Harvard University over concerns participants return with “heads full of globalist and radical ideologies that do not improve our fighting ranks.”
Stanford student reveals insidious ‘disability’ trend sweeping nation’s elite schools“One of the most prestigious universities in the U.S. offers perks to those who say they have ADHD, night terrors, even gluten intolerance. You’d be stupid not to game the system,” writes Elsa Johnson, an undergraduate at Stanford University, for The Times.
Record-setting rush as parents flood Texas’ new school choice programTexas has created another new national record, this time for the most students applying to a new school choice program on the first day it launched.
Colleges with low-earning grads could lose access to student loansSome college programs whose graduates earn less than workers with only a high school diploma could lose access to federal student loans under the Republicans' "big, beautiful bill" act, a change that could impact about 40,000 U.S. college students.
Health...AMA's medical education infused with political ideology, Do No Harm saysDo No Harm says AMA’s continuing-education courses are saturated with ideological buzzwords and activist content, with Dr. Kurt Miceli warning that the volume of DEI material dwarfs core medical topics and risks undermining scientific rigor in CME programs.
AI...MIT: Moltbook was peak AI theaterMoltbook looks less like a window onto the future and more like a mirror held up to our own obsessions with AI today.
Olympics...WSJ: Team USA, Vance booed in frosty reception at Italy’s Winter OlympicsWith the U.S. vice president in attendance, local fans at the Milan Cortina Opening Ceremony made their frustration with America heard on Friday.
-- Related video: Was Team USA and Vance booed? At least in this video it doesn't really sound like it.
Trump fires back after Olympians say they have ‘mixed emotions’ representing AmericaSeveral Team USA athletes say patriotism now comes with political caveats, raising questions about what representing the U.S. is supposed to mean.
