đ¨ Democrats: No Funding for DHS Without Noemâs Ouster
Democrats in Congress are digging in their heels, declaring they wonât back any funding measure for the Department of Homeland Security unless Secretary Kristi Noem is removed from her post. With stopgap funding set to expire this Friday, several House and Senate Democrats insist Noem has turned the agency lawless and unaccountable through alleged incompetence, repeated misstatements, and mishandling of immigration enforcementâparticularly spotlighting issues from the Minneapolis incident and ICE practices. A joint letter from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer demands ten specific guardrails on enforcement, along with Noemâs departure as a good-faith gesture from the Trump administration. An impeachment resolution against her, citing obstruction of Congress, violations of public trust via warrantless actions and violence, and self-dealing with taxpayer funds, has garnered support from a large majority of House Democrats. While a few moderates suggest reforms matter more than personnel changes, most Democrats show little flexibility, leaving the ball in the GOPâs court amid threats of another standoff.
Sources: The Washington Times, The New York Post
𪪠Democrats Dismiss Minority Support for Voter ID Requirements
Congressional Democrats continue to oppose a Republican-backed bill requiring photo ID at the polls and proof of citizenship for voter registration, labeling it a scheme to suppress minority votes, even as recent polling shows strong backing for such measures among Black and Hispanic Americans. A Pew Research Center survey from last year found 76% of Black voters and 82% of Hispanic voters favor requiring government-issued photo identification to vote, with overall support crossing party lines at 71% among Democrats themselves. Lawmakers like Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez compared the proposals to Jim Crow-era tactics or poll taxes, arguing they would disenfranchise eligible voters through barriers like document access or name changes, while proponents insist the changes would prevent fraud and boost election integrity. Democrats appeared uneasy when questioned about the disconnect between their stance and the polling data.
Sources: CBS News12 West Palm Beach, The Washington Times
âď¸ Gabbard-Led DNI Office Obtains Puerto Rico Voting Machines for Security Review
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, under Tulsi Gabbard, obtained electronic voting machines and related data from Puerto Rico last spring in a voluntary handover facilitated by federal authorities including the U.S. attorney there, FBI, and Homeland Security Investigations. This occurred as part of an examination into publicly reported claims of discrepancies and systemic anomalies in the islandâs electronic voting systems, with the ODNI citing extremely concerning cybersecurity issues like embedded cellular modems that could pose risks to U.S. elections more broadly, though no evidence of foreign interference such as from Venezuela was found. The move has drawn criticism from Democrats who question the DNIâs role in domestic election matters absent a clear foreign nexus, especially amid ongoing scrutiny of 2020 election probes.
Sources: The Washington Examiner, Reuters
đđź Trump Administration Rejects Return of Deported Babson College Student
The Trump administration has declined a federal judgeâs suggestion to issue a student visa or otherwise facilitate the return of Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, a 20-year-old Honduran national and Babson College freshman, who was deported to Honduras last November in what the government admitted was an inadvertent violation of a court order. Lopez Belloza, brought to the U.S. as a child during her motherâs asylum pursuit, was detained at a Boston airport while heading to Texas for Thanksgiving; a Massachusetts judge had issued a temporary block on her removal, but an ICE oversight led to her deportation anyway. In a February 6, 2026, court filing, the Justice Department called the visa idea unfeasible due to her inadmissibility under a longstanding final removal order, and ICE refused to bring her back, arguing her deportation aligned with statute despite the error. Her attorney vows to keep fighting the case.
Sources: The Detroit News, The Boston Globe
đď¸ NYC Sanitation Struggles Pile Up as Snow and Trash Linger After Winter Storm
New York City continues to grapple with significant delays in snow removal and trash collection more than a week after Winter Storm Fern dumped heavy snow, leading to persistent mounds of frozen snow, uncollected garbage bags reaching heights of several feet in neighborhoods, including around Gracie Mansion, rat infestations, blocked sidewalks, and disrupted emergency access. Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who recently took office and promised to replace rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism, has defended the Department of Sanitationâs efforts, noting crews are working extended shifts and are roughly 24 hours behind on pickups due to the stormâs impact and ongoing cold, while critics highlight contrasts like the clear conditions at the mayorâs residence amid broader citywide mess and point to these issues as early signs of mismanagement under his leadership.
Sources: The Gateway Pundit, The New York Post
đ Senator Ossoff Requires Photo ID for Campaign Rally While Opposing It for Federal Voters
Georgia Democrat Sen. Jon Ossoff insisted on government-issued photo ID from attendees at his Atlanta campaign rally held on Saturday, with entry confirmation emails stating that matching ID would be verified against the RSVP list for security reasons. This comes even as Ossoff has opposed federal voter ID measures like the SAVE Act, which he previously called a partisan effort to disenfranchise voters, highlighting the sort of everyday double standard that leaves folks scratching their heads about elite rules versus public ones.
Sources: The Post Millennial, FOX News
đ˘ Los Angeles Councilmember Nithya Raman Launches Surprise Mayoral Challenge Against Karen Bass
Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman, a progressive backed by the Democratic Socialists of America and once an ally of Mayor Karen Bass, announced her candidacy for mayor on Saturday, February 7, 2026, mere hours before the filing deadline for the June primary. Raman expressed deep respect for Bass, describing her as an icon and noting past alignment on priorities, but argued that Los Angeles has reached a breaking point on basics like affordability, housing, and city functions, requiring major changes to avoid further decline. The move upends what had seemed a clearer path for Bassâs reelection bid amid her own challenges, and places Raman in a crowded field that includes the incumbent and other lesser-known contenders.
Sources: The New York Post, The Post Millennial
âˇď¸ Team USA Skiers Express Mixed Feelings on Representing America Amid Policy Disagreements
Some Team USA freestyle skiers at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan have publicly shared conflicted sentiments about wearing the U.S. flag, citing discomfort with certain domestic policies like immigration enforcement actions by ICE. Hunter Hess described âmixed emotionsâ and emphasized representing personal supporters rather than endorsing all national developments, while Chris Lillis expressed feeling âheartbrokenâ over events tied to protests and rights concerns yet affirmed pride in the country overall and a desire to project respect and love.
Sources: Legal Insurrection,
đłď¸ Schiff Calls Photo ID Requirement Voter Suppression Despite Broad Support
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) appeared on ABCâs âThis Weekâ on February 8, 2026, where he rejected the idea of requiring photo ID to vote as a compromise on election integrity measures. He described it as a method to disenfranchise citizens who lack specific forms of identification, such as Real ID or driverâs licenses, even if eligible to vote, and labeled it another attempt to suppress turnout. This stance came amid discussion of the Republican-backed SAVE Act, which requires proof of citizenship for federal voter registration, and followed a Pew poll showing 83% overall support for photo ID requirements, including 71% among Democrats. Schiff framed such policies as part of broader efforts to discourage voting while undermining election confidence.
Sources: The Washington Examiner, ABC News
đ¸ Teachers Union Leaders Splurge on Luxury Resorts Amid Teacher Hardship Claims
Leaders from the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association shelled out hundreds of thousands in union dues during 2025 on stays at upscale spots like Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort, Hilton golf resorts in Palm Springs, casino hotels in Las Vegas, and other high-end properties in Miami, Chesapeake Bay, Detroit, and Arizona. These trips, often vaguely labeled as âprofessional developmentâ or âstaff education,â included non-itemized transactions at places like Mandalay Bay, with the NEA dropping over $6,500 in Hawaii alone and the AFT spending nearly $13,000 at a Palm Springs golf resort. This occurred while the unions publicly griped that Trump administration policies were squeezing teachers financially, highlighting a disconnect between leadership perks and rank-and-file realities.
Sources: The Washington Examiner, NewsMax
đž Takaichiâs Conservative Bloc Secures Landslide Victory in Japanâs Lower House Election
Exit polls and early counts from Japanâs February 8, 2026, snap lower house election show Prime Minister Sanae Takaichiâs Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) winning a comfortable single-party majority, with projections of up to 328 seats out of 465, while the full ruling coalition including the Japan Innovation Party could reach as high as 366 seats for a two-thirds supermajority. This outcome, following Takaichiâs rise as Japanâs first female premier in late 2025, hands her a strong mandate to advance tax cuts, bolster military capabilities amid regional tensions, and pursue other conservative priorities after the LDP had previously lost its majority in prior votes.
Sources: The Epoch Times, BBC News
⥠Russia Launches Massive Assault on Ukraineâs Energy Grid, Zelenskiy Reports
Russia hammered Ukraineâs battered energy infrastructure with more than 400 drones and around 40 missiles overnight into February 7, 2026, zeroing in on power generation plants, distribution substations, and key transmission lines in western regions like Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk, including strikes on the Burshtynska and Dobrotvirska thermal power plants. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described the barrage as a clear choice of escalation over diplomacy amid freezing winter conditions, while Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal noted requests for emergency power imports from Poland and nationwide emergency outages to manage the fallout on an already strained grid suffering cumulative wartime damage.
Sources: The Straits Times, Deutsche Welle
𧧠Chinese Congress Sidesteps Action on Purged Top Generals Amid Xiâs Military Shake-Up
The National Peopleâs Congress Standing Committee recently revoked the deputy credentials of three figures tied to Chinaâs defense-industrial sector but pointedly avoided doing the same for two high-ranking military officersâZhang Youxia and Liu Zhenliâdespite their public investigation announcements in late January for serious violations of discipline and law. This unusual omission during a special session has insiders scratching their heads, suggesting possible hitches in Xi Jinpingâs otherwise relentless drive to purge and tighten his hold over the Peopleâs Liberation Army, where even longtime allies have not been spared in the name of rooting out corruption and ensuring ironclad loyalty. The rubber-stamp bodyâs failure to act in lockstep on such a sensitive personnel issue hints at lingering friction or incomplete consensus at the top levels of the CCP hierarchy, leaving questions about just how unassailable Xiâs command of the military truly is right now.
Sources: The Epoch Times, NBC News
â ď¸ US Air Force Surges Dozens of C-17 Transports to Middle East Amid Regional Tensions
Open-source flight tracking data reveals a substantial U.S. Air Force airlift operation involving dozens of C-17 Globemaster III aircraft moving into Middle East bases since mid-January 2026, with some reports aggregating over 100 movements or en-route flights in a multi-week surge that includes supporting C-5M transports and aligns with broader reinforcements like F-15 fighters and tankers. While claims of exactly 112 C-17s circulating on social media and certain outlets draw comparisons to Desert Storm-scale logistics, verified counts from defense outlets point to at least 41 C-17s and one C-5M confirmed in late January over an eight-day span, plus ongoing activity into early February, as part of contingency positioning amid strained U.S.-Iran relations.
Sources: ZeroHedge, Military Watch Magazine
đ
Saboteurs Disrupt Italian Railways on Opening Day of 2026 Winter Olympics
Suspected saboteurs carried out three coordinated attacks on northern Italyâs rail infrastructure near Bologna on the first full day of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, setting a track switch cabin on fire, severing electrical cables, and planting a rudimentary explosive device near the tracks. These incidents caused delays of up to two and a half hours for high-speed, intercity, and regional trains, affecting thousands of travelers but not interfering with athletesâ movements to venues. Italyâs Transport Ministry described the acts as âserious sabotageâ of unprecedented gravity, drawing parallels to similar disruptions during the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, while officials launched investigations that have not ruled out terrorism links. No group has claimed responsibility, and rail services largely returned to normal by the afternoon amid ongoing protests against the Gamesâ environmental and infrastructural impacts.
Sources: The Daily Mail, The New York Post