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Donald J. Trump White House 2nd Term Page 18
ICE and Homeland Security have become the most well-funded enforcement agency in U.S. history, and they are using those funds to become a surveillance state larger than anything we’ve ever seen. ICE is using next generation technology like location tracking, facial recognition and artificial intelligence to create a database of not just of immigrants, but to monitor activists and anyone they deem to be an agitator.
Story by Jack Brook,Jim Mustian and Michael Biesecker

Intensive care nurses had immediate doubts about claims made by federal immigration officers when they arrived at a Minneapolis hospital with a Mexican immigrant who had broken bones in his face and skull.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents initially stated Alberto Castañeda Mondragón had tried to flee while handcuffed and “purposefully ran headfirst into a brick wall,” according to court documents filed by a lawyer seeking his release.

But staff members at Hennepin County Medical Center determined that could not possibly account for the fractures and bleeding throughout the 31-year-old's brain, according to three nurses familiar with the case.

“It was laughable, if there was something to laugh about,” said one of the nurses, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss patient care. “There was no way this person ran headfirst into a wall.”

The explanation from ICE is an example of recent run-ins between immigration officers and health care workers that have contributed to mounting friction at Minneapolis hospitals.

Workers at the Hennepin County facility say ICE officers have restrained patients in defiance of hospital rules and stayed at their sides for days. The agents have also lingered around the campus and pressed people for proof of citizenship.
Story by David McAfee

FBI Director Kash Patel's own words came back to haunt him this weekend in the wake of a new release of files on deceased child abuser Jeffrey Epstein.

After the DOJ released millions more Epstein files ahead of the weekend, political analysts and observers began circulating an earlier Patel quote that they see as contradictory to the facts.
Story by Jack Revell

A Minnesota police chief has been forced to intervene to stop the illegal abduction of a woman from her car by ICE goons.

Dramatic dashcam footage shows the moment three unidentified, masked men swerved to cut off a female driver alone in her car, forcing her to stop. The men then jumped out of their unmarked, unlit vehicle and immediately drew their weapons, while yelling at her to get out of the car.

The officers do not read the woman her Miranda rights, nor do they identify themselves, as they drag her from the car, pin her down, and handcuff her.

The woman, who does not wish to be identified, shared the footage with MPR News, and told reporters that she was left with multiple cuts and bruises following the incident.

Later, her husband arrived on the scene and informed the federal agents that they were acting illegally.
Story by Alexander Willis

Constitutional lawyer and writer David French issued a bleak warning Sunday over what he argued were clear signs of President Donald Trump’s plan to “unlawfully influence” the upcoming 2026 midterm elections.

“A president who doesn’t care about the law, who commands an obedient Congress and is supported by a radicalized base of tens of millions of people who believe his lies, represents a threat to the next election,” French wrote in an op-ed published Sunday in The New York Times. “I fear that millions of citizens are still too complacent. They aren’t aware of the peril we face.”

French cited historical precedent for his concern, pointing to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot that was fueled in part by Trump’s repeated false claims that the 2020 election was “rigged.” More troubling still, French argued, were more recent developments that he described as clear indications Trump is attempting to “engineer the outcomes he seeks” in the upcoming election.

For instance, the FBI’s recent raid on a Georgia election center has raised alarms given the involvement of Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s director of national intelligence.
During a White House press briefing in December, press secretary Karoline Leavitt was grilled by a reporter over Trump's decision to pardon a notorious fraudster. A reporter stated, "He defrauded $1.6 billion."
During a roundtable discussion at the White House several months ago in October, Donald Trump came up with the bald-faced lie that the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021 were caused by "infiltrators" from Antifa. If that was the case, then why did he pardon them?
Story by Coral Murphy Marcos

Recently demoted border patrol official Gregory Bovino, who served as the face of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in several US cities, was compared to a Confederate general in an email sent to him by a colleague in 2018, according to multiple reports.

A border patrol agent who was later promoted to a senior role in New Orleans sent the email in question as well as a number of Confederacy-related images after Bovino canceled a job listing and installed that same agent – a white officer – in the listed role by bypassing the agency’s standard career-advancement process.

The move led to discrimination lawsuits by two border patrol agents, alleging Bovino’s efforts to manipulate the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) hiring process to obstruct the promotion of qualified Black and Latino applicants.

During the hiring process, an email exchange between Bovino and the man he eventually promoted, Christopher Bullock, included a picture of Confederate Gen William Mahone, of Virginia, with the words “Chief Bovino” written at the top.

Bovino reportedly replied, “Oh jeez, DELETE!!!!!” – but did not rebuke Bullock for sending the email.

Below, two other pictures were attached. The first showed civil war re-enactors dressed in Confederate uniforms assembled around a Confederate flag with the caption “NLL all hands meeting”, referring to the border patrol’s New Orleans sector, which stretches from Louisiana’s best-known city to the Florida panhandle.
Story by James Powel, USA TODAY

Liam Conejo Ramos, the 5-year-old boy who became one of the symbols of the Trump administration's immigration raids in Minnesota, has been released from a Texas detention facility, where he was held for over a week with his father.

“Liam is now home. With his hat and his backpack. Thank you to everyone who demanded freedom for Liam,” Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, said on X.

Ramos and his father, asylum seeker Adrian Conejo Arias, were taken by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents while in their driveway after the boy came home from school on Jan. 20. Agents at the time refused an offer made by another adult living in the home to take the child.

Instead, the agents led the boy to his front door and ordered him to knock, "essentially using a 5-year-old as bait," according to a news release from Columbia Heights Public Schools.
5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and father return to Minnesota from ICE facility in Texas
By JACK DURA

Five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, who were detained by immigration officers in Minnesota and held at an ICE facility in Texas, have been released following a judge’s order. They have returned to Minnesota, according to Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro.

The boy and his dad, Adrian Conejo Arias, who is originally from Ecuador, were detained in a Minneapolis suburb on Jan. 20. They were taken to a detention facility in Dilley, Texas.

Katherine Schneider, a spokesperson for the Democratic congressman, confirmed the two had arrived home. She said Castro picked them up from Dilley on Saturday night and escorted them home on Sunday to Minnesota.

In a statement, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not target or arrest Liam Conejo Ramos, and that his mother refused to take him after his father’s apprehension. His father told officers he wanted Liam to be with him, she said.
How Trump Appears in the Epstein Files
The New York Times found more than 5,300 files with references to Mr. Trump and related terms. They include salacious and unverified claims, as well as documents that had already been made public.
By Steve EderMichael C. Bender and David Enrich

The Justice Department looked into sexual misconduct allegations against President Trump in connection with the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein but did not find credible information to merit further investigation, Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, said on Sunday.

Mr. Blanche’s comments, which he made on CNN’s “State of the Union,” came less than 48 hours after the Trump administration released about three million pages of documents collected by the Justice Department as part of its yearslong investigation into Mr. Epstein, who died in 2019.

The controversy over Mr. Epstein has dogged Mr. Trump for the past year. After Mr. Trump’s allies vowed on the 2024 campaign trail to release the Epstein files, his administration rapidly backtracked. Mr. Trump’s resistance to releasing the government’s files fueled speculation that they contained damaging information about him or his allies.

The files are peppered with references to Mr. Trump, who had been a close friend of Mr. Epstein’s until the early 2000s. While Mr. Trump has repeatedly downplayed the relationship, the two men bonded over their pursuit of young women. Mr. Trump has denied any wrongdoing in connection to Mr. Epstein.
Witnesses said agents deployed tear gas, pepper balls and rubber bullets.
By Associated Press

The mayor of Portland, Oregon, demanded U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement leave his city after federal agents launched tear gas at a crowd of demonstrators — including young children — outside an ICE facility during a weekend protest that he and others characterized as peaceful.

Witnesses said agents deployed tear gas, pepper balls and rubber bullets as thousands of marchers arrived at the South Waterfront facility on Saturday. Erin Hoover Barnett, a former OregonLive reporter who joined the protest, said she was about 100 yards (91 meters) from the building when “what looked like two guys with rocket launchers” started dousing the crowd with gas.

“To be among parents frantically trying to tend to little children in strollers, people using motorized carts trying to navigate as the rest of us staggered in retreat, unsure of how to get to safety, was terrifying,” Barnett wrote in an email to OregonLive.

Portland Mayor Keith Wilson said the daytime demonstration was peaceful, “where the vast majority of those present violated no laws, made no threat and posed no danger” to federal agents.

“To those who continue to work for ICE: Resign. To those who control this facility: Leave,” Wilson wrote in a statement Saturday night. “Through your use of violence and the trampling of the Constitution, you have lost all legitimacy and replaced it with shame.”
When Donald Trump most recently ran for president, he made scores of promises to the American people — but he’s only kept one.
BuzzFeed

In 2024, political pundits and operatives saw affordability as the key issue of the presidential campaign. Trump certainly played it up: On the campaign trail, he pledged that he would bring down inflation and make groceries cheaper again, and when he won, observers credited that strategy for his victory.

One year into his second term, his approval numbers are in the tank, and inflation persists.

But that’s because the president’s real campaign promise wasn’t about the economy. Instead, it was all about racism.

He spouted dehumanizing lies about immigrants, dabbled in eugenics and pledged to conduct mass deportations. “When I win on November 5, the migrant invasion ends, and the restoration of our country begins,” Trump said at a rally in October 2024.

When he got back to the White House, he immediately began delivering on both the explicit promises and the tacit implications.

In the last year, Trump has deported immigrants without so much as a trial, defunded government programs dedicated to diversity and inclusion, and deployed thousands of federal agents to blue cities to wreak havoc on people of color and their allies.  

“This is the government weaponizing the social and political views of the president,” William Roberts, the senior vice president for rights and justice at the Center for American Progress, a think tank that promotes liberal policies, told HuffPost.

“It’s not just ‘Donald Trump is a racist,’” Roberts said. “It’s Trump’s government engaging in policy-making to harm certain people.”
Story by Robert Davis

A political analyst sounded the alarm on Sunday after reports that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard attended an FBI raid of a Georgia elections office last week.

Last Thursday, President Donald Trump's FBI raided the Fulton County voting offices in search of evidence that Trump won the 2020 general election. Trump has repeatedly claimed he won Georgia in 2020, despite several federal judges throwing out his team's lawsuits contesting the results. Trump also called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and demanded that he find more than 11,000 votes for Trump to win.
Story by Adeola Adeosun

A United States citizen was detained at gunpoint by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents in St. Peter, Minnesota, on Thursday after she recorded federal immigration enforcement operations from her vehicle. The woman, who asked MPR News not to be identified for safety reasons, was tracking and filming agents’ movements when three vehicles began pursuing her.

Video shared with MPR News shows agents boxing in her SUV before three officers exit with drawn weapons, screaming, “Get out of the car!” repeatedly. When the woman refused and asked observers on speaker phone to call 911, agents opened her unlocked door, dragged her from the vehicle, and forced her to the ground, leaving her with cuts, scrapes and bruises.

A DHS spokesperson told Newsweek on Saturday that officers were conducting a targeted operation to arrest “a serial criminal illegal alien” when “an agitator began stalking and obstructing law enforcement.” The spokesperson said the woman drove recklessly, ran stop signs, nearly collided with multiple vehicles, and drove at officers “in an attempt to ram their vehicle,” adding that “obstructing law enforcement is a felony and a federal crime.”

St. Peter Police Chief Matt Grochow reportedly intervened to prevent the woman from being transported to the federal detention facility near Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, according to MPR News. However, the city of St. Peter issued a statement Saturday denying the chief intervened, saying he merely “ensured the resident was safely transported home” after federal authorities dropped her off at the police department.

Newsweek reached out to the St. Peter Police Department via email on Saturday for comment.

Why It Matters
The incident marks what’s believed to be the first time a local Minnesota police department has become involved in federal immigration enforcement since the surge of ICE and CBP agents to the state began two months ago.

The video comes amid heightened tensions over federal agents’ tactics following recent fatal shootings of civilians during immigration and border control operations, including Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis earlier this month.

The conflicting narratives—with DHS describing the woman as driving recklessly while her video shows her calmly refusing commands—highlight broader tensions between federal enforcement and community oversight as immigration operations intensify across the country.
Story by Evan Williams

Washington DC - President Donald Trump said on Saturday that China is "welcome" to invest in Venezuela's oil industry as the country looks to revive its economy in the wake of President Nicolás Maduro's abduction.

"China is welcome to come in and would make a great deal on oil. We welcome China," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, noting that Venezuela's Interim President Delcy Rodriguez on Friday agreed to an energy deal with India.

"India is coming in, and they're going to be buying Venezuelan oil as opposed to buying it from Iran, so we've already made that deal, the concept of the deal, but China is welcome to come in and buy oil," Trump said.
China eyes reshaping global order as US influence wanes
Yuchen Li in Taipei
As Washington pulls back from international institutions, Beijing is stepping up its diplomatic outreach while pursuing leadership roles in selected areas.

In January, the same month the United States announced its withdrawal from 66 multilateral organizations, China hosted leaders from Canada, Finland and Britain.

"The international order is under great strain," Chinese leader Xi Jinping told British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, calling for efforts to "build an equal and orderly multipolar world," as the two met in Beijing on January 29.

The message is not new in China's diplomatic rhetoric, but it has grown more pronounced amid US disengagement from multilateral institutions.

The US is notably abandoning many initiatives focusing on climate change, labor and migration — areas President Donald Trump has characterized as "woke" initiatives "contrary to the interests" of the country.

At the same time, China remains a member of most of these multilateral organizations and gaining broader global recognition.

A recent international survey found that respondents across 21 countries, including 10 from the European Union, expect China's global influence to grow over the next decade, according to the European Council on Foreign Relations.

"The power gap [between China and the US] was much clearer in the past… but now it's getting closer and closer," said Claus Soong, an analyst at the Berlin-based Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS).

"The US is still the most powerful nation in the world, but China is catching up very quickly," he told DW.
Far-right influencer publicly questions Trump after new Epstein documents surface
Story by Tushar Auddy

In the wake of the latest saga concerning the Epstein files, President Donald Trump has come into the crosshairs of Nick Fuentes, a far-right influencer. He called out Trump and his administration for gatekeeping information, despite 3.5 million pages worth of information being shared at the end of January 2026.

On Feb. 1, 2026, Fuentes publicly lambasted Trump and his Department of Justice (DOJ) for delaying the release of the Epstein files. He tweeted on X, urging American citizens to “never forget” how they have delayed the release of the files for a year, claiming that they “DO NOT EXIST.”

Fuentes said that the DOJ had been lying and decided to release these files only after the president was forced to sign the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The act compelled them to release the files within 30 days, but they failed to do so. However, the DOJ has now released the final wave of files, fulfilling its legal obligation to make all available files public.
Emails reveal new theory about whom Jeffrey Epstein was really working for
Story by Anthony Blair

Thousands of cryptic messages tying Jeffrey Epstein to Vladimir Putin have been discovered in the latest release of files related to the late pedophile financier — raising a new theory about whom he was really working for.

Emails showing unnamed sources discussing meetings between Epstein and the Russian president are prompting questions about whether the disgraced Wall Street figure may have trafficked girls from Russia in a state-backed effort to run the world’s “largest honeytrap” to ensnare the rich and the powerful.

Putin is named almost 1,000 times in the latest tranche of documents released Friday, while there are almost 10,000 references to Moscow.

People close to the Russian tyrant say he maintained his links to Epstein even after the financier’s 2008 conviction for engaging a child in prostitution.

Other newly released documents pointed to Epstein’s alleged strong influence in Russia, with the perv sending one in November 2010 asking an unnamed recipient if they needed a Russian visa.

In another email, dated Sept. 11, 2011, an anonymous messenger discusses plans for an “appointment with Putin” on Epstein’s next trip to Russia.

“Spoke with Igor. He said last time you were in Palm Beach, you told him you had an appointment with Putin on Sept 16 and that he could go ahead and book his ticket to Russia to arrive a few days before you,” the newly released email reads.

In May 2013, Epstein wrote that he wanted to help Putin and Russia “reinvent the financial system,” in an email to Council of Europe secretary general Thorbjorn Jagland.

That same month, in an email to former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Epstein claimed Putin had tried to set up a meeting with him, which he had turned down.
Story by Sarah K. Burris

In 2022, President Donald Trump sued the Pulitzer Prize Board members, but that is now coming back to haunt him.

Law&Crime reported Monday that the board members' legal counsel is subpoenaing the full, unredacted copy of former special counsel Robert Mueller's report to verify claims Trump made were "defamatory."

Trump has filed several demands for depositions from board members in Okeechobee County, Florida, but the defendantsformally sought the report as well as "all documents and communications exchanged between" Trump and Mueller's team.

The request "includes but is not limited to […] any negotiation" with Mueller about Trump's records or his "answers to written questions," the 2016 hack of the DNC by Russians, and the WikiLeaks dump that followed, information on the Trump Tower Moscow project, Trump Jr.'s 2016 Trump Tower meeting, and more, quoted Law&Crime.

According to Trump, the Pulitzer board is responsible for reports by the New York Times and the Washington Post, which won awards for their 2017 coverage of the Russia scandal that the president still disputes. Trump continues to demand that the paper's prizes be rescinded, even nine years later.
Police body cam video reveals how FBI 'screwed up' raid on Fulton County elections center
Story by Sarah K. Burris

Body camera video of the FBI raid on the Fulton County Election Hub and Operation Center reveals rampant confusion around a search warrant.

The video that was posted by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution begins with an officer asking local officials if anyone saw a search warrant and the responses were "no."

The exclusive report from the AJC cites county attorney Soo Jo telling officials who raised questions about the warrant that the situation was "screwed up" and "we'll fight all that later."

“Right now, we are complying. Let them do their thing,” Jo said.

The raid, which unfolded on January 28, sought voting information about the 2020 election, which President Donald Trump lost.

"County officials have said they were not given advance notice and that the warrant remains sealed," reported AJC. Yet when officials began demanding a warrant, one was produced.

"The FBI has confirmed the search but has not publicly detailed the scope of the investigation. As more details emerge, questions remain about what triggered the raid and what it could mean moving forward," AJC said.

The video shows the officer whipping out a pad and pen to write down the names of "everybody who was out here."
ICE agents fear they're not being paid hiring bonuses
Story by Alexander Willis

While the Trump administration has promised high salaries and generous bonuses for federal immigration agent recruits, a wave of apparent new agents have taken to social media to complain about getting stiffed on everything from bonuses to health insurance, the International Business Times UK reported.

“Been here for about 2 months, still waiting for my health insurance… is anyone having that issue as well?” reads a post on the social media platform Reddit on an unofficial forum for deportation officers, reviewed by the Business Times.

“Mannnnn Monday is 4 weeks since I started and I haven’t been paid yet,” reads another post reviewed by the Business Times.

To help facilitate its mass deportations, the Trump administration has rushed to add 10,000 new immigration agents during its first year, promising generous benefits, pay and hiring bonuses for new recruits. The administration was successful in its hiring blitz, taking on more than 12,000 agents in a year and receiving more than 220,000 applications.
Trump appointee threatens to arrest "law-abiding" gun owners
Story by Anna Commander

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Ferris Pirro, an appointee of President Donald Trump, threatened to arrest law-abiding gun owners, as violent crime in the nation’s capital has decreased.

Newsweek reached out to the National Rifle Association (NRA) via email on Monday night for comment.

Why It Matters
Pirro’s stance highlights a divide over how far to push gun restrictions in the nation’s capital, where local law requires registration of firearms and limits certain semiautomatic rifles, even as the Trump administration has simultaneously challenged D.C.’s gun regulations.

Pirro’s statement also comes after the fatal shooting of 37-year-olds Alex Pretti and Renee Good by immigration agents last month. Videos of the incident show Pretti had a gun—which he was legally allowed to carry and an officer removed from the scene of the clash—according to the Associated Press (AP).

What To Know
“You bring a gun into this district, count on going to jail, and hope you get the gun back.” Pirro said on Fox News Monday in part, adding, “I don’t care if you have a license in another district and I don’t care if you’re a law-abiding gun owner somewhere else.”

D.C. law requires firearm owners to register their weapons with local police and bars residents from registering certain semiautomatic rifles, effectively preventing civilian ownership of those models in the district, Axios reports.
JD Vance’s attack on family of 5‑year‑old ICE detainee raises eyebrows
JD Vance is facing criticism after attacking the family of a 5‑year‑old boy who was detained by ICE.
'You deported him to Korea': Kristi Noem gets caught committing perjury as deported veteran stares her down during House hearing
During a House Homeland Security Committee hearing several weeks ago in December, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem stated under oath that she has not deported any veterans. Congressman Seth Magaziner (D-RI) promptly exposed her lies by inviting a deported combat veteran to the hearing via Zoom. Sae Joon Park is a U.S. Army veteran who was recently deported to South Korea.
Story by Amy Goodman, Democracy Now

We speak with Mother Jones voting rights correspondent Ari Berman about the shocking FBI raid on an elections hub in Fulton County, Georgia. Federal agents were seeking records related to the 2020 presidential election, which President Donald Trump continues to falsely claim he won despite his loss to Joe Biden that year. During his efforts to overturn the election results, Trump pressured local officials to “find” him an additional 11,780 votes. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was on the scene Friday despite having no domestic law enforcement authority. The raid comes amid an ongoing federal probe into the 2020 election.

“The fact that they seized 700 boxes of ballots was incredibly disturbing and sets a chilling precedent for how Trump might try to interfere in the 2026 election,” says Berman, who ties the raid in Georgia to the administration’s pressure on Minnesota to hand over voter rolls. “This is now a multifront, concerted effort to try to interfere in the midterm elections.”

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

We end today’s show with the FBI raid of an election office in Georgia’s Fulton County last week seeking computers and ballots related to the 2020 election. The raid came as President Trump continues to falsely claim his defeat in the 2020 election was a result of widespread voting fraud.

For more, we go to Ari Berman, voting rights correspondent for Mother Jones magazine, his most recent piece headlined “From Minnesota to Georgia, Trump’s Plans to Interfere in the Midterms Are Becoming More Dangerous.”
Story by J.D. Wolf

Bulk sales of the new documentary Melania: Twenty Days to History are being promoted through emails from the National Faith Advisory Board (NFAB), a faith coalition led by Paula White-Cain, who also served as a senior advisor in the White House Faith Office. The film had a $7 million opening weekend.

The message encourages supporters to purchase group tickets and private theater buyouts, directing them to a custom sales portal which offers private screenings for groups of more than 30 people. Recipients are encouraged to watch the movie to "support our first lady," because "supporting this film is about standing up for grace over the noise, dignity over distortion, and for the truth.”
Story by Alex Griffing

President Donald Trump sparked a wave of anger and criticism on Monday when he told Dan Bongino that “Republicans oughta nationalize” voting and the federal government should take over running elections in “at least 15 places.”

“These people were brought to our country to vote, and they vote illegally,” Trump said, repeating a baseless claim he regularly makes about illegal immigration and voting.

“And it’s amazing the Republicans aren’t tougher on it. The Republicans should say, ‘We want to take over, we should take over the voting in at least 15 places.’” Trump was primarily talking about Minnesota, and he claimed he “won the state three times, but got no credit for it.” The last GOP presidential candidate to win Minnesota was Richard Nixon in 1972.
Jeffrey Epstein introduced Melania to Donald Trump, new bombshell FBI files claim
Story by Olivia Salamone

Newly released FBI documents allege that Jeffrey Epstein played matchmaker for Donald and Melania Trump.

The explosive claim directly contradicts the couple's long-told origin story.

Matchmaker
According to the 11-page, heavily redacted record, a former Epstein assistant — who worked for him from 2005 to 2006 — told federal authorities that Epstein "introduced MELANIA TRUMP to DONALD TRUMP," in files seen by The Daily Beast.

The woman gave her statement under immunity in July 2019, just days after Epstein was arrested on child s-- trafficking charges.

The woman's statement, part of a "proffer agreement," was made to both FBI agents and federal prosecutors. The record details her year-long employment under Epstein and her experiences as a sexual abuse victim, including a disturbing incident in Paris where Epstein allegedly "took a "vibrating thing" and "rubbed it on her."
Newsom slams Noem in brutal response to reports of massive fraud in South Dakota
Story by Evan Williams

Sacramento, California - California Governor Gavin Newsom slammed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in a brutal social media post, which referenced reports of massive fraud in South Dakota.

"Just catching up on all the fraud in Kristi Noem's South Dakota," Newsom's press office wrote alongside a screenshot of a news article.

"Did we all miss the fraud in Kristi Noem's South Dakota?" he wrote alongside an article about two state employees indicted on fraud charges.

"Significant fraud in Kristi Noem's South Dakota," he captioned another.

The latter post referenced a particular case in South Dakota that saw Rapid City businessman Kent Duane Anderson indicted on wire fraud and money laundering as part of a $71 million scheme.
US attorney’s gun crackdown comments trigger right-wing revolt
Story by David Badash

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro is under fire over her anti-gun remarks, becoming the latest Trump administration official caught in a firearms backlash. Her threat to jail anyone who brings a gun into Washington, D.C., has set off a revolt across the political spectrum, spearheaded by right-wing gun groups and GOP lawmakers.

“You bring a gun into the District, you mark my words, you’re going to jail,” Pirro said on Fox News Monday afternoon. “I don’t care if you have a license in another district, and I don’t care if you’re a law-abiding gun owner somewhere else. You bring a gun into this District, count on going to jail, and hope you get the gun back, and that makes all the difference.”

The New York Times reported that Pirro’s remarks “could deepen a growing rift between gun owners and the Trump administration.”

U.S. Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) slammed Pirro, warning her, “Come and Take It.”

“I bring a gun into the district every week,” he wrote to Pirro. “I have a license in Florida and DC to carry. And I will continue to carry to protect myself and others.”

U.S. Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) declared, “This is not how this works,” and urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to “have a quick conversation” with Pirro for a “course correction here.”
Homeland Security is trying to force tech companies to hand over data about Trump critics
Story by Zack Whittaker

The Department of Homeland Security has been quietly demanding tech companies turn over user information about critics of the Trump administration, according to reports.

In several cases over recent months, Homeland Security has relied on the use of administrative subpoenas to seek identifiable information about individuals who run anonymous Instagram accounts, which share posts about ICE immigration raids in their local neighborhoods. These subpoenas have also been used to demand information about people who have criticized Trump officials or protested government policies.

Unlike judicial subpoenas, which are authorized by a judge after seeing enough evidence of a crime to authorize a search or seizure of someone’s things, administrative subpoenas are issued by federal agencies, allowing investigators to seek a wealth of information about individuals from tech and phone companies without a judge’s oversight.

While administrative subpoenas cannot be used to obtain the contents of a person’s emails, online searches, or location data, they can demand information specifically about the user, such as at what time a user logs in, from where, using which devices, and revealing the email addresses and other identifiable information about who opened an online account. But because administrative subpoenas are not backed by a judge’s authority or a court’s order, it’s largely up to a company whether or not to give over any data to the requesting government agency.
The Trump team can’t get its story straight on the president, Gabbard and Fulton County
Story by Analysis by Aaron Blake, CNN

The Trump administration last week launched an extraordinary new gambit in President Donald Trump’s yearslong effort to sow doubts about the 2020 election: a controversial search of an elections office in Fulton County, Georgia.

But even as it’s undertaken this historic step, it’s struggled mightily to get its story straight.

Gabbard
The director of national intelligence’s role is the most surprising — and confusing.

A DNI’s job is generally to oversee the agencies in the US intelligence community and to coordinate their efforts. It is not a law enforcement role.

But there was Gabbard on Wednesday near Atlanta, pictured on the scene after FBI agents executed a search warrant. There’s a photo of her standing in a truck loaded with boxes.

And ever since then, the administration has given conflicting accounts about how involved she is.

Asked by CNN on Thursday what Gabbard was doing at an election center in Georgia, Trump said, “She’s working very hard on trying to keep the election safe.”
Federal agent took 'trophy' photo of woman he shot: victim
Story by Adam Lynch

The New Republic reports a federal agent likely used his cellphone to nab a “trophy” photo of Chicago resident and U.S. citizen Marimar Martinez after Border Patrol agents shot her five times in Chicago.

Martinez, who said the memory haunts her to this day, testified before Congress Tuesday about how she was shot while monitoring agent’s activities from her car in Chicago and warning her neighbors.

The New Republic reports the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) initially claimed that when the officers exited their vehicle, Martinez tried to run them over, "forcing the officers to fire defensively." President Donald Trump’s DOJ charged her with felony assault of a federal officer — despite her being the one ending up in the hospital.

But it was as she was leaving the hospital that agents renewed her horror at the Trump administration. After three hours of treatment, doctors discharged Martinez into the custody of the FBI, who she says treated her like a hunting prize.
All the latest celebrities named in millions of new Epstein files released
Story by Himani Ediriweera

The final Epstein files just dropped – naming billionaires, Hollywood elites, and powerful political figures. And among the disturbing records is one chilling message from Epstein to the film producer who gave Tom Cruise his big break: “She is a little freaked by the age but go slow.”

The U.S. Department of Justice has released its final batch of Jeffrey Epstein-related documents – a staggering 3.5 million pages that pulls back the curtain on years of previously undisclosed interactions between Epstein and dozens of public figures, including Elon Musk, Bill Gates and Melania Trump.

Brett Ratner and Epstein’s Townhouse
Hollywood director Brett Ratner appears in a series of photographs taken at Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse, seated alongside Epstein, Jean-Luc Brunel, and several redacted women, who – in one image – appear to be sitting on their laps. Brunel, a former modeling agent, died in custody in 2022 while facing sex trafficking charges.

Ratner, whose credits include Rush Hour and X-Men: The Last Stand, directed the newly released Melania documentary. He previously told The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that he “didn’t know Epstein and had never met him.” However, the photos suggest at least one in-person meeting at Epstein’s home.

Elon Musk and the ‘Lolita Express’
References to Elon Musk appear frequently in the latest documents. Multiple email exchanges show Epstein attempting to coordinate travel with Musk, including a proposed holiday visit to Epstein’s private island between 2013 and 2014.

Additional messages mention meetings at SpaceX headquarters and casual social invitations.
Gun rights groups rebuke Trump DOJ official for threat to firearm owners
Story by Joshua Rhett Miller

Gun rights proponents quickly blasted threats by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro to jail anyone who enters the nation’s capital with a firearm, insisting she’s publicly targeting “law-abiding” Americans.

Pirro, the chief federal prosecutor in the District of Columbia, rankled conservative members of Congress and gun rights advocates during an appearance on Fox News Monday as she vowed to arrest gun owners in Washington even if they were licensed in other jurisdictions.

“You bring a gun into the district — you mark my words, you’re going to jail,” Pirro said. “I don’t care if you have a license in another district, and I don’t care if you’re a law-abiding gun owner somewhere else. You bring a gun into this district, count on going to jail and hope you get the gun back. And that makes all the difference.”

Pirro, 74, later clarified her comments early Tuesday, declaring herself to be a supporter of the Second Amendment.

“Washington, D.C. law requires handguns be licensed in the District with the Metropolitan Police Department to be carried into our community,” Pirro wrote on X. “We are focused on individuals who are unlawfully carrying guns and will continue building on that momentum to keep our communities safe.”

Pirro, a longtime ally of President Trump and former Fox News host, also posted a video Tuesday, urging fellow gun owners to “put your safety back on” as she responded to the criticism.
Immigration agents draw guns, arrest activists following them in Minneapolis
Story by Ryan Murphy, Sarah Raza and Steve Karnowski

Immigration officers with guns drawn arrested activists who were trailing their vehicles on Tuesday in Minneapolis, a sign that tensions have not eased since the departure last week of a high-profile commander.

At least one person who had an anti-ICE message on their clothing was handcuffed while face down on the ground. An Associated Press photographer witnessed the arrests.

Federal agents in the Twin Cities lately have been conducting more targeted immigration arrests at homes and neighborhoods, rather than staging in parking lots. The convoys have been harder to find and less aggressive. Alerts in activist group chats have been more about sightings than immigration-related detainments.

Several cars followed officers through south Minneapolis after there were reports of them knocking at homes. Officers stopped their vehicles and ordered activists out of a car at gunpoint. Agents told reporters at the scene to stay back and threatened to use pepper spray.

There was no immediate response to a request for comment from the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

A federal judge last month put limits on how officers treat motorists who are following them but not obstructing their operations. Safely following agents “at an appropriate distance does not, by itself, create reasonable suspicion to justify a vehicle stop,” the judge said. An appeals court, however, set the order aside.
DOJ weaponization goon caught leaking secrets in cases against Trump’s enemies
Story by Ewan Palmer

A Department of Justice review found that one of Donald Trump’s favored attorneys improperly mishandled grand jury materials related to investigations into the president’s political foes, according to a report.

Ed Martin, who has been working inside the Trump Justice Department for nine months after failing to secure Senate confirmation as U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., allegedly shared materials connected to a disputed mortgage fraud case involving Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff.

Martin initially denied sharing secret grand jury materials with an unauthorized person, but his alleged misconduct was uncovered through emails surfaced during a probe led by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s office, CNN reported.

An unnamed source told the network that an additional allegation against Martin was also identified during the review, giving Blanche further grounds to push him out of the department.

Over the past several months, Martin worked at the Justice Department advancing Trump’s agenda, including serving as a pardon attorney and as head of the Weaponization Working Group. The group was set up by Trump’s attorney general to review officials who were involved in investigations against him.
Newly unmasked evidence shows who put Trump in the White House | Opinion
Opinion by Thom Hartmann

The British newspaper Daily Mail is out with a deeply researched investigative report, the result of a long collaboration between columnists Glen Owen and Dan Hodges, along with Mark Hookham (Assistant Editor Investigations), and Daisy Graham-Brown (Investigative Reporter).

It’s shocking in its detail and its implication that Vladimir Putin has basically owned Donald Trump for years, even before Trump ran for president in 2016.

They note of last week’s partial (about 50 percent) Epstein document release:

“The files include 1,056 documents naming Russian President Vladimir Putin and 9,629 referring to Moscow. [Jeffrey] Epstein even seems to have secured audiences with Putin after his 2008 conviction for procuring a child for prostitution.”

Essentially, they’re arguing that Epstein was running an operation on behalf of the KGB/Putin that lured wealthy and powerful men to Epstein’s New York and Palm Beach mansions and his island where they were surreptitiously filmed having sex with underage girls.

That material was then presumably passed along to Putin, who used it for leverage when he needed it:

“Intelligence sources believe Epstein was running ‘the world’s largest honeytrap operation’ on behalf of the KGB when he procured women for his network of associates.”

In return for giving Putin videos of wealthy, famous men in criminally compromising positions, Putin reportedly arranged for massive amounts of corrupt Russian money to be handed to Epstein to launder in the US.

Such money typically comes from illicit drug and oil deals, outright theft, sanctions evasions, and Russian organized crime oligarchs (including Putin and his associates) and is frequently laundered in this country using real estate. It’s the Mafia’s favorite, too.
Expert Trump hired to prove voter fraud says every single claim was 'false'
Carl Gibson

President Donald Trump has called on the federal government to "nationalize the voting" across the United States, baselessly claiming that major cities in swing states are conducting fraudulent elections. But one expert who Trump once hired to find proof of voter fraud says it's almost nonexistent.

In a Wednesday interview on CNN, data specialist Ken Block said Trump's rationale to have the federal government assume control of elections didn't hold water. He also said the Trump administration's recent raid of an election facility in Fulton County, Georgia harkened back to his prior work with the Trump 2020 campaign.

"The Trump campaign in 2020 hired me to look for evidence of voter fraud. And they asked me to review about 20 different claims of voter fraud that came into the campaign from everywhere around the world," Block said. "Apparently, every one of the 20 claims they asked me to evaluate, I was able to show that they were false. And we did find small amounts of voter fraud, but never did we find enough voter fraud to have been able to change the outcome of any of the swing state elections in 2020."
Republican billionaire mulls running for office to fight back against Trump
Story by Sarah K. Burris

Republican billionaire donor Ken Griffin is disgusted by watching Donald Trump's administration make billions for the president while trying to put their thumb on corporate America.

Speaking during a conference hosted by the Wall Street Journal, Griffin said that Trump's behavior "calls into question, is the public interest being served?”

The Guardian reported on Wednesday that Griffin, the CEO of Citadel, said that Trump's policy decisions have been “very, very enriching” for his friends working in the administration. While other administration officials are making money from the president's decisions, Griffin singled out his eldest adult sons, Don Jr. and Eric. The two men have been using their crypto-friendly father to score lucrative business deals while also promising that there is a "huge wall" between them and the presidency.

In his first year, Trump used the power of the federal government to target corporations that it said embraced diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies. His tariff policies have also created problems for specific sectors of corporate America. Trump then had the U.S. Department of Commerce take a 9.9 percent stake in Intel in late 2025. He also purchased a 5 percent stake in Lithium Americas for the government.
New Orleans police slam 'misleading' Trump officials as ICE detains cop at his home
Story by Falyn Stempler

The New Orleans Police Department denied accusations that it "knowingly violated the law" by "ignoring ICE detainers and protecting illegal aliens" after one of its recruits was detained by ICE last week.

Larry Temah, a 46-year-old New Orleans police recruit from Cameroon, was arrested by federal immigration authorities on Jan. 28, according to NOLA News. Trump officials accused him of being in the country illegally after his permanent visa was denied in 2022 after legally entering the country on a visitor visa in 2015, the Department of Homeland Security wrote in a statement Tuesday. Feb. 3.

Federal officials also allege he failed to appear three times for immigration court hearings, which led an immigration judge to call for his removal in absentia. Temah is also accused of lacking a valid work authorization and illegally possessing a firearm.
ICE agent’s vile texts exposed after shooting US citizen
Story by Lesley Abravanel

Vile text messages from federal agents involved in the shooting of an American citizen were read out loud during a congressional hearing Tuesday, February 3, at which victims of President Donald Trump’s deadly immigration enforcement agents spoke out.

One agent bragged about shooting a woman in Chicago, texting after firing “five rounds” into her body and boasting, “s*** happens.”

The shocking messages were read at a congressional hearing, in which the brothers of murdered Minneapolis mother Renee Good also recounted the death of their sister by an ICE officer last month.

‘I fired five rounds and she had seven holes’
Federal agents shot U.S. citizen Marimar Martinez five times in the Chicago suburb of Brighton Park on October 4, 2025, and tried to blame her for the shooting.

Agents claimed Martinez chased them and rammed her car into one of their vehicles, but as Border Patrol’s story changed, their case against her fell apart.

As Martinez testified on Capitol Hill on Tuesday about the use of force by Department of Human Services officers, Congressional Oversight Ranking Member Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) read out a series of text messages sent by the Border Patrol agent who shot her.

One text featured a link to an article about the shooting, in which he wrote: “I fired 5 rounds and she had 7 holes. Put that in your book boys.”
Warnings issued on nationalizing elections, ICE at polls — "Huge danger"
Story by Andrew Stanton

President Donald Trump is facing a wave of backlash over his remarks that Republicans should “nationalize” elections.

When reached by Newsweek, a White House spokesperson pointed to Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt saying that Trump was referring to the SAVE Act.

“The president believes in the United States competition,” she said. “However, he believes there has obviously been a lot of fraud and irregularities that have taken place in American elections, and voter ID is a highly popular and commonsense policy that the president wants to pursue.”

Why It Matters
Trump said in an interview with former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino that he would like Republicans to “take over” and “nationalize” voting amid unfounded concerns about electoral fraud. Trump and his allies have repeatedly claimed widespread fraud in the 2020 election in which he lost to Joe Biden, but there has been no evidence of widespread fraud.

His comments come ahead of the November 2026 midterm elections. Polls give Democrats an advantage to retake control of the House and show them with a path to regain control the Senate, despite a challenging map. Historically, the party of the White House loses seats in the midterms. Legal experts have said the president does not have authority to nationalize elections.
Steve Bannon calls for Trump to deploy ICE and military troops to polling sites
The Trump ally was one of few GOP voices to support the president’s push to nationalize voting.
By Jacob Wendler

MAGA commentator Steve Bannon voiced support for Donald Trump’s push to nationalize elections, calling on the president to deploy ICE officials and military troops to polling sites.

Trump said in a Monday podcast interview that “the Republicans ought to nationalize the voting,” despite the fact that the Constitution grants states explicit jurisdiction over election administration. His call sparked outrage from Democrats and largely fell on deaf ears in the GOP — but Bannon, a conservative firebrand who has been a prominent voice in election conspiracy theories, was forceful in his support for the idea.

The former White House strategist called for the Trump administration to send Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to polling sites to prevent noncitizens from voting, citing a debunked conspiracy theory about widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election.

“We’re going to have ICE surround the polls come November. We’re not going to sit here and allow you to steal the country again,” Bannon said Tuesday on his podcast. “And you can whine and cry and throw your toys out of the pram all you want, but we will never again allow an election to be stolen.”

The conservative influencer reiterated his response a day later, calling for Trump to go even further and send U.S. Army troops to voting locations. Federal law prohibits the president from deploying military troops “at any place where a general or special election is held,” and it is a crime in several states to carry a firearm at or near a polling place.
Poll shows majority of Americans don’t trust Trump to support free and fair elections
Sandra Miller

New polling reveals that most Americans doubt President Donald Trump’s commitment to free and fair elections, with just 43% believing he supports democratic processes and 56% saying he does not. CNN analyst Harry Enten noted independents are even more skeptical, with only a third trusting Trump on election integrity. The findings come after Trump suggested Republicans should nationalize elections in 15 states and amid his ongoing legal battles over the 2020 election, reinforcing widespread voter mistrust in his dedication to democracy.
Story by Atlanta Black Star News

Tennessee Democratic state Rep. Justin Jones is being widely praised after delivering a blistering on-air rebuttal to Fox News host Sean Hannity, cutting through the network’s familiar immigrant crime rhetoric by turning it back on one of Hannity’s most protected figures: Donald Trump.

The segment quickly grew tense from the start. As Hannity began scrolling through a list of violent crimes he attributed to immigrants in Tennessee, Jones cut in. “You don’t even have to go through the theatrics of scrolling a list,” he said adamantly. “I’m glad you’re bringing up a list, because if you want to talk about rapists and criminals, maybe you would stop hanging out with perverts and pedophiles in the White House, Sean.”

Hannity ignored the interruption, talking over Jones as he ticked off offenses including homicide, rape, and sexual assault. But Jones wasn’t done. Leaning forward, he asked the question that immediately shifted the tone of the conversation: “Are you going through Trump’s charges?”

As Hannity repeatedly tried to deflect, the interaction escalated. Speaking directly to Fox’s millions of viewers, Jones said, “He wants you to be afraid. He does not care about crime. He hangs out with pedophiles in Mar-a-Lago. He wants you to be fearful, to control you, because he wants to distract you from the real enemy — the corporate CEOs, who are screwing you over.”

Visibly flustered, Hannity shot back, mocking Jones. “You feel better about yourself now? Now that you’ve gotten your little talking points out?”

Jones held his ground and composure, lifting a photo of ICE agents. “This is what looks like the KKK,” he said. Hannity shot back: “What do you know about the KKK?”

“I come from Tennessee, where the KKK was founded,” Jones replied steadily. “They ran my grandparents out of the state.”

He pressed the issue further, comparing masked ICE agents to the Klan, underscoring the historical context of violence and intimidation. Hannity tried to downplay the comparison, insisting ICE agents are not nearly as violent, but Jones maintained the focus on systemic harm and the broader message of fear being used to control public perception.
Layoffs under Trump rocket to worst January levels since Great Recession
Story by Harry Thompson

Despite President Trump’s claims about a miraculous economy, planned layoffs reached their highest level for January since the Great Recession.

New data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas released on Thursday revealed that last month saw more job-cut announcements than in any January since 2009.

The outplacement firm said that the 108,435 announcements made were up 205 percent compared to December 2025. That’s also 118 percent higher than January 2025.

Breaking down the 17-year high, the firm’s workplace expert Andy Challenger said, “Generally, we see a high number of job cuts in the first quarter, but this is a high total for January.” He added, “It means most of these plans were set at the end of 2025, signaling employers are less-than-optimistic about the outlook for 2026.”

Key industries led the month’s layoffs, with the transport sector accounting for 31,243 planned cuts, largely due to UPS’s announcement to remove 30,000 people from its payroll.

Meanwhile, Reuters reports that the majority of the 22,291 planned job cuts in the technology industry were credited to Amazon, which plans to axe 16,000 roles.
ICE suffers triple legal blow within hours
Story by Billal Rahman

Federal judges in Oregon, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania scolded the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics, citing warrantless arrests, mass detention efforts, and what one jurist called needless spending and strain on the courts.

The rulings issued on Wednesday signal growing judicial resistance to the government’s efforts to broaden the scope of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations across the country.

Oregon
In Oregon, U.S. District Judge Mustafa T. Kasubhai, who was appointed by then President Joe Biden in 2024, issued a sweeping preliminary injunction blocking federal immigration officers from making warrantless civil immigration arrests unless they first conduct an individualized assessment that a person is likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained, according to court filings.

The order, issued Tuesday in a case brought by two immigrants, found “ample evidence” that federal agents had engaged in a pattern and practice of ignoring statutory limits on their arrest authority. Judge Kasubhai said that ICE officers in the state routinely made warrantless arrests without the case-by-case determination required by federal law.

“Ample evidence in this case demonstrates a pattern and practice in Oregon that amounts to final agency action of executing warrantless arrests without individualized determinations of flight risk,” Judge Kasubhai wrote.

The ruling directly rebuked the government’s stance that broad enforcement circumstances could justify bypassing warrants. Federal law, Judge Kasubhai emphasized, allows warrantless immigration arrests only when officers have probable cause to believe that a specific individual is likely to flee before a warrant can be secured, not based on generalized assumptions or operational convenience.
Military veteran deported to Jamaica after 50 years in US
Story by Billal Rahman

A U.S. Army veteran who had lived in the United States for more than five decades was deported to Jamaica on Tuesday, according to his family.

Godfrey Wade, a Jamaican-born lawful permanent resident and military veteran, was taken into custody last year by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and ultimately removed, despite appeals from his family and advocates.

Christian Wade, his daughter, told Newsweek that her father informed the family he would begin the “outtake process” at 10:30 p.m. Central time on Wednesday and believed he was already on a flight to Jamaica.

“Unfortunately, my dad will be arriving in Jamaica today,” Christian Wade told Newsweek in an exclusive statement.

Newsweek has contacted ICE and its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, for comment.
Trump finalizes rule making it easier to fire 50,000 federal workers
Story by Rebecca Beitsch

The Trump administration on Thursday finalized a rule that gives it the power to more easily fire an estimated 50,000 federal workers who focus on policy, striking many civil service safeguards while also gutting their whistleblower protections.

The rule, dubbed Schedule Policy Career or P/C, converts a wide swath of federal workers into a status similar to that of political appointees who can be fired at will.

Federal worker unions have staunchly opposed the switch, casting it as a way for President Trump to politicize a workforce tapped for its expertise to neutrally carry out their role across administrations.

The administration has been clear that the goal of the rule is to more easily fire workers they argue are hindering Trump policies — a nod to the president’s claims of a “Deep State” within the federal government trying to undermine him.
Majority of Americans say Trump’s tariffs hurt economy, poll shows
Story by Ireland Owens

Most Americans think tariffs harm the nation’s economy, according to a new survey out Thursday.

The newly released Marist poll found that 56% of Americans think imposing tariffs or fees on imported goods from other countries is harmful to the U.S. economy. Meanwhile, 31% of respondents said tariffs help the economy and 12% said the taxes do not make much of a difference either way, according to the survey.

Moreover, 87% of Democrats and 63% of independents said tariffs hurt the American economy, compared to 20% of Republicans, the poll shows. About two in three Republicans, 66%, think that tariffs bolster the U.S. economy, per the survey.
Story by Alex Henderson

For generations, conservatives and libertarians attacked liberals and progressives for failing to respect states' rights, arguing that it was grossly unfair to make Alabama and Mississippi residents live by Massachusetts standards. The states' rights argument was often used by Republicans to criticize the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade ruling of 1973; abortion laws, opponents of the decision argued, needed to be determined on a state-by-state basis instead of having a national standard.

In an article published on February 5, journalist Ross Rosenfeld cites a range of ways in which the second Trump Administration, he says, is showing a total disdain for states' rights.

"Beyond the immediate concern that Trump intends to interfere in upcoming national elections," Rosenfeld explains, "his comments and actions are a stark departure from previous Republican positions on states' rights. Just a decade ago, when Trump first sought the presidency, the Republican Party platform included complaints against the Obama Administration for 'bullying of state and local governments'…. And Trump himself stated, in 2016, that 'many, many things actually should be states' rights.' He said he was willing to leave issues involving transgender Americans and abortion to the states, and promised to 'make states the laboratories of democracy once again.'"
Story by Matt Naham

As inquiring minds want to know if the current iteration of the DOJ would consider prosecuting one of its own for the possible unauthorized leaking of grand jury information, the man at the center of the latest controversy is posting through it.

Early Thursday, Ed Martin shared an all-smiles photo on X of himself with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche — the No. 2 DOJ official under U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi — and with his oft-used caption, "Good morning, America. How are ya'?"

Martin presents a cheery disposition amid an apparently tumultuous time for the onetime U.S. attorney nominee and current U.S. Pardon Attorney: Over the last few days, he was reported to have been sidelined in January from his DOJ "Weaponization Working Group" czar role, which he used to pursue President Donald Trump's perceived enemies.
Story by Ewan Palmer

The top federal prosecutor in Minnesota has warned that his office is struggling to handle a surge of immigration cases stemming from President Donald Trump’s mass deportation push.

U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen, who was nominated by Trump and confirmed by the Senate in October 2025, wrote in filings to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals that his team has been forced to shift its “already limited resources” in order to handle the lawsuits filed by immigrants arrested and detained by ICE over the past few weeks.

This complaint was backed by multiple Department of Justice attorneys, who said the “sheer number” of immigration cases in January alone is “imposing a crushing burden” on federal prosecutors. “This has, in turn, compelled U.S. Attorney’s Offices to shift resources away from other critical priorities, including criminal matters,” they wrote.
ABC News' Will Steakin reports on the latest headlines involving the U.S. government's publication of documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Story by Damon Root

"Imagine if we had to go through the process of getting a judicial warrant."

Those are the complaining words of Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R–La.), who was voicing his support for the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which now claims that its agents have the right to forcibly enter private homes without first obtaining a warrant signed by a judge. According to ICE, its agents may forcibly enter homes in certain immigration enforcement contexts based merely on a so-called "administrative warrant," which is not actually a warrant at all, but is rather just a piece of paper signed by someone in the executive branch.

To fully appreciate the inherent lawlessness of the Johnson view, simply replace the phrase "getting a judicial warrant" with any constitutional requirement that you like in the above-quoted statement. For example:

・"Imagine if we had to go through the process of guaranteeing freedom of speech."

・"Imagine if we had to go through the process of respecting the right to keep and bear arms."

・"Imagine if we had to go through the process of paying just compensation when private property is taken for a public use."

You get the idea.

When a government mouthpiece complains that it would be too difficult to follow the commands of the Constitution in a given context, that's a dead giveaway that the government is already violating (or planning to violate) the commands of the Constitution in that context.
ICE agents turn on leadership as internal complaints spill online: Report
Story by BIN

As Immigration and Customs Enforcement faces mounting public backlash over aggressive raids and deadly encounters, unrest is also growing inside the agency itself.

According to reporting by WIRED, users on an online forum with more than 5,000 members, claiming to be current and former ICE and Customs and Border Protection officers, have been openly criticizing leadership, working conditions, and the pace of enforcement.

The forum, which has existed for more than a decade, serves as an unofficial space for deportation officers and retirees to discuss the job. While employment is not verified, many posts reference internal procedures and deployments consistent with agency operations, WIRED reports.
Senate Dems expose Trump's new 'fraud'
Story by Julia Conley, Common Dreams

Led by Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, four Democratic senators on Wednesday outlined plans to reduce the costs of prescription drugs after President Donald Trump claimed he would do so—only to allow Big Pharma companies to delay negotiating lower prices and secure “zero commitments” from top executives on making lifesaving medications more affordable for millions of Americans.

“There is no greater fraud than Donald J. Trump when it comes to lower drug prices,” Wyden (D-Ore.) said. “Our doors are wide open to anybody who wants to take the bold next step forward on lowering drug costs for Americans.”

Along with a “flash report” on Trump’s “broken promises” regarding his pledge to bring drug prices down “to levels nobody ever thought was possible,” Wyden sent a Dear Colleague letter to Democratic senators regarding his committee’s plans to follow through with lowering costs.

“Finance Committee minority staff will dedicate substantial time and effort this year to developing the next generation of healthcare solutions that lower costs for American families,” Wyden wrote. “These solutions will rein in Big Pharma’s outrageous price increases, lower costs for consumers, guarantee predictability for patients, and reduce wasteful government spending that pads the profits of big corporations. Alongside the co-signers of this letter, I invite you to be a part of this bold vision.”
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