US/World News
003:00 ICE/DHS
5-year-old Liam Ramos’s family granted continuance at asylum hearing (KARE)
The 5-year old and his father were returned to Minnesota last Sunday after a judge ordered them released.
DHS filed a motion to expedite deportation proceedings Wednesday.
Friday, another judge granted a continuance, postponing the case to a later date.
House passes government funding package to end partial shutdown. Now the real fight begins. (MSNOW)
Tuesday, the House ended a short government shutdown by passing a package of funding bills, funding the government until October.
Vote Count: 196R & 21D YES - 193D % 21R NO
Spartz bucks GOP, votes against deal (IndyStar)
For the right reasons?
DHS only funded until the end of this coming week.
Democrats limited demands include: an end to roving raids; no arrests w/o judicial warrants; no more masks & mandatory body cameras
Body cameras being immediately issued to ICE agents in Minneapolis (CBC)
Monday, DHS Sec. Kristi Noem announced all agens in MN will be issued body cameras.
They didn’t have them before?
Biden had ordered all federal LEO’s wear cameras in ‘22. Trump rescinded that order.
Homan announces drawdown by 700 agents in Minnesota (MPR)
Wednesday, “border czar” Tom Homan said the number of federal agents would be reduced from 3000 to 2300 - there are normally about 150 in MN.
Gov. Walz and AG Ellison both called it “a step in the right direction.”
Community advocates called it a “political stunt” and an empty PR strategy.
Immigration agents draw guns, arrest activists following them in Minneapolis (AP)
The day before, agents drew their weapons and arrested activists who had been following their vehicles.
Local school leaders who have spoken out against ICE have been stalked by feds.
Hundreds of Agents Left Minnesota, but Residents Are Seeing Little Change (NYT)
ICE sightings remained high in activist chats.
Feds raided a Minneapolis apartment building with more than a dozen agents.
Wednesday, agents were circling an elementary school and posted nearby at dismissal.
0:11:00 Also in the “Little Change” Department: Trump is a Corrupt, Racist Narcissist
‘Spy Sheikh’ Bought Secret Stake in Trump Company (WSJ)
An Abu Dhabi royal purchased just less than half of the World Liberty Financial crypto firm four days before the president’s second inauguration, funneling nearly $200M to the Trump family.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan - the UAE president’s brother - had been pushing the US for access to advanced AI chips during the Biden administration, but was largely stymied over his own firm’s connections to Huawei.
Tahnoon met multiple times with Trump, Steve Witkoff, and others in the first months of the new administration and - in May - was granted access to 500K advanced AI chips a year.
Kennedy Center to close for 2 years for renovations in July (PBS)
Trump announced last Sunday he will move to close the Kennedy Center for two years of renovation beginning in July.
This follows a series of cancellations by a range of performers in response to Trump announcing plans to add his own name to the building.
Officials Pressed Schumer to Help Name Penn Station and Dulles Airport for Trump (NYT)
Administration officials have told Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer they would release billions of dollars in infrastructure funding for New York if he agreed to help rename the city’s famed Penn Station and Washington’s Dulles International Airport after President Trump.
The administration began withholding funds for the $16B Gateway project - a new twin-track rail tunnel under the Hudson River meant to replace the deteriorating 100+ year old tunnels at the heart of the Northeast Corridor rail route, the country’s busiest - in October, citing DEI concerns.
The project, which employs about 1000 workers, halted Friday after suing the federal government this week over $205M in payments. Washington was expected to foot about three quarters of the bill.
Trump won’t apologize for sharing since-deleted racist video depicting Obamas as apes on Truth Social (CNN)
Trump shared the video as part of another late-night posting spree on his Truth Social platform.
The Obamas briefly appear near the end of the minute-long video with their faces superimposed on the bodies of apes.
It remained online for about 12 hours, with officials from both sides of the aisle calling for its removal.
Trump refused to apologize and blamed a staffer for the post, which was eventually deleted.
The majority of the video consisted of false claims about the 2020 election.
Attack on Voting
0:19:00 Gabbard’s and Last Week’s Atlanta Raid
DNI Gabbard put Trump on the phone with FBI agents who searched Fulton County elections office (CNN)
Sources report that Gabbard personally put Trump on the phone the next day with some of the FBI agents who conducted the search.
Gabbard claims her presence at the raid was “requested by the president.”
Trump passed the buck to AG Pam Bondi, saying she insisted that Tulsi attend the search. (Axios)
Trump also insinuated “international cheating” in an interview with NBC.
Tulsi Gabbard running solo 2020 election inquiry separate from FBI investigation (Guardian)
The parallel investigation has been focused on potential vulnerabilities in voting machines and potential foreign interference, mirroring a bizarre conspiracy involving Venezuela that Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell perpetuated in 2020. (Wired)
US spy chief’s office investigated voting machines in Puerto Rico (Reuters)
Last spring, a team from Gabbard’s office accessed voting machines in Puerto Rico investigating the same conspiracy, finding no clear evidence of such.
Classified Whistleblower Complaint About Tulsi Gabbard Stalls Within Her Agency (WSJ)
One intelligence official has alleged wrongdoing by Gabbard, the disclosure of which could cause “grave damage to national security.”
The complaint was filed last May with the inspector general for the intelligence community and - though the IG is required to assess the credibility and share their findings with lawmakers within three weeks - Gabbard is accused of stonewalling its transmission by failing to provide security guidance on how to safely do so.
Finally, only after it was reported in WSJ, did a small circle from the “Gang of Eight” get to read a heavily-redacted version of the complaint on a “read and return” basis. (WSJ)
What do you do if the DNI themselves are accused of subverting national security?
0:26:30 Trump Threatens Federal Election Takeover
Trump says Republicans should ‘nationalize’ elections (Politico)
Monday, Trump said “The Republicans should say, ‘We want to take over. We should take over the voting in at least 15 places.’ The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting,” during an interview with podcaster-turned Deputy FBI Director-turned podcaster Dan Bongino.
This mirrors a social media post from last August in which Trump said “the States are merely an ‘agent’ for the Federal Government in counting and tabulating the votes.”
Thune throws cold water on Trump’s call to ‘nationalize’ U.S. elections (PBS)
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) pointed to the Constitutional requirement that states conduct their own elections and said “I’m a big believer in decentralizing and distributing power.”
Bannon calls for Trump to deploy ICE and military troops to polling sites (Politico)
Former White House strategist and propagandist Steve Bannon called for ICE agents and the military to “surround the polls” in November on his War Room podcast Tuesday.
Trump said last month he “should have” used the National Guard to seize voting machines after the 2020 election, which he had an executive order drafted to do.
FBI Summons State Election Officials to Secretive Meeting After Trump Threat to ‘Nationalize’ Midterms (Common Dreams)
State election officials nationwide earlier this week received an email calling on them to attend a February 25 briefing with FBI, DOJ, and DHS on preparations for the midterms.
The email was signed by Kellie Hardiman, who identified herself as an “FBI Election Executive,” a position that does not exist.
Both statewide election administrators and former DOJ officials say they’ve never heard of such a conference call.
Redistricting bill sails through Maryland House, faces troubled waters in the Senate (Maryland Matters)
Monday, Maryland’s House passed a gerrymandered 8-0 map.
The bill is expected to die in the Senate, where leadership opposes redistricting, for fear of it backfiring.
Virginia Democrats propose potential 10–1 congressional map for 2026 midterms (VPM)
Voters would need to approve a constitutional amendment in a special election - currently a bipartisan commission draws the state’s maps.
The legislature has passed a bill to put the question to voters, though Governor Abigail Spanberger has yet to sign it.
The redistricting question is also being argued in the courts.
0:35:30 Epstein Files
NYT finds 38,000 Donald Trump-related references after DOJ says claims lack credibility (Mint)
Late last week, the DOJ released some 3M pages of documents related to the late, convicted pedophile and sex trafficker.
The NYT found more than 38K to Donald Trump in that tranche of files which, according to LadBible is more than twice as many times as the name “Harry” appears in the entire series of Harry Potter books.
That’s what you call a main character.
Deputy AG Todd Blanche says the review is over and there will be no further investigation.
Democrats vow to fight ‘full-blown cover-up’ after release of Epstein files (Guardian)
Contrary to a law passed in November which called for the release of all relevant Epstein materials, only half of the 6M pages of documents have been released - and with more than 10K redactions.
Said redactions seem incomplete or haphazard - with the names of potential co-conspirators blacked out while information identifying survivors was publicly available, at least until lawyers representing more than 200 victims filed suit in federal court.
Maryland Rep Jamie Raskin said, “we are witnessing a full-blown cover-up,” while Epstein Files Transparency Act co-author Ro Khanna called this “one of the largest scandals [...] in our country’s history.
Justice Department will allow lawmakers to see unredacted versions of released Epstein files (AP)
Beginning Monday, members of Congress - without their staffers - will be able to review the unredacted files on computers at the DOJ, where they may take notes but not make copies.
Okay, but this is still only half the files.
Who were the other men in the Epstein files? This is the FBI’s own list (Miami Herald)
While there is no known “client list” kept by Epstein, the FBI last year did compile a summary of allegations against 11 men including Trump, movie producer Harvey Weinstein, former Prince Andrew, attorney Alan Dershowitz, private equity investor Leon Black, Victoria’s Secret founder Les Wexner, current Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and former President Bill Clinton.
Many of the claims are not corroborated and were called into the FBI tip line or relayed secondhand.
At least two of the men were listed as having been referred to prosecutors, though they were never charged.
The existence of this internal list contradicts sworn testimony FBI Director Kash Patel gave to Congress last year when he said Epstein only trafficked victims to himself.
Clinton makes case for public hearing in House Epstein probe (ABC)
House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-KY) subpoenaed both Bill and Hillary Clinton to testify before his committee, to which they have agreed after being threatened with contempt for previously failing to appear.
Bill Clinton Friday night, after his wife did so earlier this week, called for the hearings to be held publicly - they are scheduled to be held behind closed doors, though Comer says that video and transcripts will be made public.
In their entirety, or selectively?
0:46:00 It’s the Oligarchs, Stupid
Bill Gates, Elon Musk among big names in Epstein files. Here’s what the latest documents show. (CBS)
Two emails Epstein sent to himself contain allegations that Microsoft founder Bill Gates - once the richest man in the world - contracted a STD from “Russian girls” and sought to slip his then wife Melinda antibiotics surreptitiously.
Elon had previously denied spending significant time with Epstein, though the files show a thirsty Musk planning to visit Epstein’s island in 2012 and asking when the “wildest” parties would be held.
Epstein’s Russia connections, explained (Kyiv Independent)
Polish PM Donald Tusk suggested Epstein may have been working with Russian intelligence.
This last batch of files shows Epstein cultivating relationships with Russian officials, seeking a meeting with Putin, and being suspected of acting as a “wealth manager” for the Russian autocrat (and former Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe).
Epstein pitched the Russians on a way to “leapfrog” the West by reinventing the global financial system based on cryptocurrency.
The files also show Epstein with an unusual number of highly-placed Russians in his inner circle and dealings with aluminum oligarch Oleg Deripaska via former UK Ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson.
Epstein Revelations Have Toppled Top Figures in Europe While US Fallout Is More Muted (USNWR)
We already mentioned Andrew Montbatten-Windsor having been stripped of his royal title.
Mandelson was fired and could go to prison, with UK PM Keir Starmer’s leadership in question over appointing him.
Swedish and Slovakian officials have also been forced to resign. A slew of Norwegians, including former PM Thorbjorn Jagland
French police raid X offices and summon Musk (MSNOW)
Tuesday, police raided the Paris offices of Elon Musk’s X platform and summoned Musk for questioning as part of a cybercrime investigation.
xAI and its Grok chatbot have come under fire for producing sexually-explicit deepfakes, including of minors. X has also come up against French antisemitism laws for spreading disinformation about the Holocaust.
The UK also opened an investigation into Musk’s companies this week.
Jeff Bezos Is Killing the Washington Post (Paul Waldman)
On Wednesday, WaPo employees were told on a Zoom call that the paper’s staff would be cut by one third, with the sports desk, climate desk, and book section shuttered entirely while the DC metro and international desks would be reduced significantly. At least one reporter was laid off in the middle of a warzone.
Bezos bought the Post for $250M in 2013, generally kept a hands-off approach, and was regarded as having saved the paper, which is losing money hand over fist.
But if making money was the concern, why did Bezos pay $75 to acquire and market the terrible Melania documentary (directed by another Epstein files cast member, Brett Ratner).
Bezos reportedly personally spiked the paper’s planned endorsement of Kamala Harris in 2024, leading to 300K subscription cancellations.
Last February, the Amazon CEO also announced a new, rightward direction for the opinion section, resulting in another 75K cancellations.
International News Links
What Barak-Epstein audio says about Israeli controlling demographics (Al Jazeera)
Gaza struggles for clean water, Hamas says ceasefire ‘meaningless’ (Al Jazeera)
US fighter jet shoots down Iranian drone approaching US aircraft carrier (ABC)
Zelensky signals US wants Russia-Ukraine to agree to peace deal by June (The Hill)
Indiana News
1:00:30 The Crossroads
Epstein files contain emails from two researchers at IU’s Kinsey Institute (IPM)
Current Kinsey head Justin Garcia sent a single email to Epstein in 2012 while reaching out to agencies and foundations for funding - Kinsey was a known supporter of scientific research. Garcia says he only learned of Epstein’s criminal history later.
Another Kinsey researcher, anthropologist Helen Fisher met with Epstein at least three times, including a dinner with Woody Allen and a lunch with former Obama White House counsel Kathy Ruemmler and, potentially, former Israeli Prime Minister Edud Barak. Fisher’s was a courtesy appointment at Kinsey, meaning she was not a salaried IU employee. She passed away in 2024.
Inevitably, Indiana Republicans will use this to further attack the controversial sex research institute.
Indiana to partner with Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA to expand presence in schools (IndyStar)
Erika Kirk said Indiana would join list of red states that have partnerships with Turning Point - the Chrisitian nationalist grooming organization - during a Fox News interview Wednesday.
Indiana has 38 collegiate and 64 high school chapters already.
State promotion of the organization would certainly run into First Amendment concerns. Student are already allowed to start chapters; schools would not be mandated to create new ones, and are already prohibited from discriminating against student clubs based on viewpoint.
TPUSA and their high school arm, Club America, have had a hard time obtaining faculty sponsors and overcoming student disapproval.
High Schoolers Protest ICE
Indianapolis (IndyStar)
Michiana (WNDU)
Fort Wayne (WANE)
Lafayette (WLFI)
Kentuckiana (WHAS)
NWI (NWI Times)
Indiana lawmakers condemn, praise student ICE walkouts (WTHR)
High school students across the state this week participated in widespread walkouts protesting ICE activity. Many face suspension.
Lieutenant Governor Micah Beckwith went to the former Twitter to complain about the protests, while Congressman Andre Carson touted the students’ right to engage in political dissent.
US toddler home from Haiti; but it took an Indiana congressman’s help (IndyStar)
Rood Morette, a Haitian-born US citizen, took his three year-old son to Haiti in December to procure paperwork from the US embassy there. The pair remained stuck in the capital, Port-au-Prince, for nearly two weeks as violence in the city blocked their route, closed the embassy, and kept pushing their appointment back.
The IndyStar profile details how Rep. Carson’s office helped the family navigate the situation.
1:10:00 Candidate Filing Deadline
The Tiny Signature That Could Rattle Indiana’s Ballot (Indy Politics)
A mistake by Secretary of State Diego Morales caused some 300+ candidates who filed to run directly with his office to scramble to rectify a technical defect with their paperwork.
There were questions as to whether employees in the Secretary’s office were properly authorized to administer the oath.
Jennifer-Ruth Green drops bid to challenge US Rep. Mrvan (ICC)
That’s not why Green won’t be running again this year in the 1st Congressional District.
She blames Statehouse Republicans for failing to pass gerrymandered maps during December’s special session of the legislature.
So, if you can’t rig the map for me, it’s too difficult.
Indiana House Republican caucus kicks out legislator who’s leaving GOP (WLKY)
Last week, GOP rep Ed Clere announced he is not seeking reelection and will instead run for mayor of New Albany next year - as an independent - citing the party’s far-right turn under Trump.
His House Republican colleagues responded by expelling him from the caucus Monday.
Surprise US House candidate filing joins GOP Indiana Senate battles as key primaries (ICC)
Back to Carson, he picked up a prominent primary challenger in the form of two-time statewide candidate Destiny Wells, who filed just before the deadline.
Five GOP Senators who voted against redistricting also find themselves with primary challengers.
Wells also posted on Facebook Thursday that Indiana Democrats will be fielding a candidate in all 25 State Senate seats up for election this year.
Democrats are also running in 90+ State House races this year, up significantly from recent cycles.
1:30:00 IGA Legislative Update
Revamped Indiana immigration crackdown clears committee (ICC)
The bill by Liz Brown (R-Fort Wayne) would mandate cities, schools, universities, and employers “cooperate” with federal immigration enforcement.
It threatens heavy fines for any violations.
Brown had come under fire from her own right flank for not being hardline enough on immigration.
Indiana House pushes major boards consolidation, lawsuit limits to Senate (ICC)
HB 1003 seeks to shrink the size of government by eliminating or restructuring dozens of state boards and passed 67-29 with only Clere joining the Democrats in opposition.
The bill would repeal, merge, or restructure more than five dozen boards commissions, committees and councils, as well as make changes to building codes and professional licensure.
Controversially, the Fire Prevention and Building Safety Commission and Natural Resources Commission would be eliminated while four cultural commissions would be merged.
HB 1417 seeks to limit “abusive” and “excessive” lawsuits but is described by opponents as favoring insurance companies and large corporations
Five Republicans voted against this bill along with all Democrats.
Ten Commandments bill is dead at Indiana legislature’s halfway point (IndyStar)
HB 1086 originally sought to mandate all classrooms in the state display the commandments, but had been watered down to allow - not require - the document to be posted.
Social media, marijuana, luxury cars: These Indiana bills died halfway through session (IndyStar)
SB 199 would have banned social media accounts for kids under 12 and required parental consent for teen accounts.
HB 1199 would have added firing squad as an option for inmates sentenced to death.
HB 1298 would have reclassified marijuana under state code and HB 1191 would have decriminalized possession.
HB 1182 and 1183 sought to criminalize the creation and possession of deepfake pornographic images.
HB 1022 sought to remove the position of lieutenant governor as an office selected by party delegates and allow gubernatorial candidates to choose their own running mate.
HB 1066 was intended to force state officials to purchase base-model vehicles with state funds in response to LG Beckwith and SoS Morales splurging on luxury vehicles.
SB 267 posed as a bill to regulate lobbying but was seen as way to label certain groups as “paid protesters.”
HB 1087 would have allowed Hoosier Lottery to sell online tickets.
SB 244 sought to relocate a casino license to Marion County.
SB 183 sought, for the third time, to allow religious chaplains to act as counselors in public schools.
Controversial agriculture development bill is ‘on the verge of dead’ (WSBT)
HB 1333 passed the house, but is expected to wither in the Senate.
It would have made the construction of large industrial projects like data centers on certain agricultural land easier, potentially limiting local input.
1:38:30 Also in the Circle City
Hundreds of residents press Martindale-Brightwood data center developer (WTHR)
Residents packed Fredrick Douglass Community Center on Monday to voice opposition to a proposed data center in the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood on the old Sherman Drive-In Theater site, which has been abandoned for more than 40 years.
Developer Metrobloks promise a closed-loop, low-noise development, but residents remained skeptical.
City-County Councilor Ron Gibson has been an outspoken supporter of the project, which will have a hearing before the Metropolitan Development Commission this coming week.
Pike Township residents win data center fight — for now (MirrorIndy)
Meanwhile a project expecting to have a hearing with the commission on the same date withdrew their petition.
American Tower had sought to build a data center in a forested area in Pike Township, on the city’s north side.
Tanya Terry sworn in as IMPD’s first female police chief (WTHR)
Terry is a 27-year IMPD vet and Indianapolis native.
As deputy chief of operations, Terry has relied on data to reduce violent crime - which has fallen significantly since 2022.
Her priorities include officer wellness, and building community trust through transparency, accountability, and communication.
1:46:00 Healthcare
Johnson Memorial Health to close maternity unit (Daily Journal)
The Franklin-based hospital announced Friday they are closing their Maternity Care Center and phasing out obstetrics services, blaming difficult finances.
The drawdown will occur over several months, eliminating four dozen jobs.
Indiana hospitals could lose over $1B combined over the next 3-5 years, primarily due to reduced Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement resulting from 2025’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
Indiana sees 4th highest drop in Obamacare enrollees after subsidies expire (IndyStar)
OBBA also ended pandemic-era premium subsidies for ACA plans, resulting in nearly 60K Hoosiers declining to sign up.
About one million less people signed up for Obamacare plans across the 30 states which rely on the federal exchange.
Only NC, OH, and WV saw a greater drop than Indiana’s 16%.
Plan prices have doubled or even more for many consumers.
1:54:30 Finally This Week
Lee Hamilton, former congressman from Indiana, dies at age 94 (IndyStar)
Hamilton, 94, served in the US House from 1965-99 and was noted for working across the aisle and his long friendships with Republicans like Senator Richard Lugar. The IU School of Global and International Studies is named after the pair.
In the House, Hamilton was a relatively early critic of the Vietnam War and became widely known while investigating the Reagan administration during the Iran-Contra affair, later serving as vice chair of the 9/11 Commission after his retirement.
He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama in 2015 and his passing drew kind remembrances from Indiana electeds from across the spectrum.
