February 26, 2026 (02/26/2026)

Patrick says that earlier today, this timely news item got a "breaking news" red banner headline. ~~~

~~~ Carolyn Johnson of the Washington Post: “When Neanderthals and our species had babies together, the prehistoric pairings tended to follow a distinct pattern: Neanderthal dads and moms who were Homo sapiens — the same as modern humans. [Some genetic scientists have attributed the findings to] 'mate preference' as a plausible reason for the genetic patterns, a scientific term that could encompass a wide range of scenarios, from sexual coercion or violence to peaceful voluntary couplings.” ~~~ 

     ~~~ Marie: Coming soon, my new self-help book, Neanderthals I Have Dated, a True Story. Subhead: An Older Woman Advises,“Don't Make the Same Mistakes I Did.” For a deep discount at Amazon, enter Discount Code "goodgrief." And soon to be available at remainders tables in bookstores nationwide.

How Trump Will Steal the 2028 Elections. Isaac Arnsdorf of the Washington Post: “Pro-Trump activists who say they are in coordination with the White House are circulating a 17-page draft executive order that claims China interfered in the 2020 election as a basis to declare a national emergency that would unlock extraordinary presidential power over voting.... Donald Trump has repeatedly previewed a plan to mandate voter ID and ban mail ballots in November’s midterm elections, and the activists expect their draft will figure into Trump’s promised executive order on the issue. The White House declined to elaborate on Trump’s plans.... Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is leading a review of election security that officials said focuses on foreign influence. A 2021 intelligence review concluded that China considered efforts to influence the election but did not go through with them.” The link is a gift link. 

Zach Montague of the New York Times: “A federal judge on Thursday declined to halt construction of the ballroom ... [Donald] Trump plans to build over the demolished East Wing of the White House, concluding that the lawsuit, as filed, focused on the wrong questions about the president’s authority. The ruling, for now, cleared the way for work to continue on a planned addition that preservationists fear would overshadow much of the historical campus. It came in spite of concerns raised in a federal lawsuit that Mr. Trump had rushed the approval process, funding construction using donations from companies with business before the federal government. Judge Richard J. Leon of the Federal District Court in Washington nonetheless invited the organization that filed the lawsuit to amend its arguments and focus more squarely on the president’s power under the law to make sweeping changes to the building using private funds. If it did so, he wrote that he would consider that argument 'expeditiously.' 'Unless and until plaintiff amends its existing complaint, he wrote, 'the court cannot address the merits of the novel and weighty issues raised.'”

Maya Kaufman of Politico: “In her prepared opening statement to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Thursday, Hillary Clinton suggested the panel’s monthslong Jeffrey Epstein investigation is 'partisan political theater' — not a quest for truth, transparency or accountability.... Clinton is testifying Thursday behind closed doors in Chappaqua, New York, but Oversight Republicans told reporters they plan to release a video of the proceedings as soon as it is approved. Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, will testify Friday under the same circumstances.... Representative Suhas Subramanyam, Democrat of Virginia, said the first hour of the deposition before the interruption had been an embarrassment to Republicans, turning up nothing of significance.” ~~~

     ~~~ Here is Clinton's four-page opening statement, which she posted on X. ~~~

     ~~~ Annie Karni of the New York Times: “Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton briefly halted her closed-door testimony before the House Oversight Committee on Thursday afternoon after learning that a Republican attendee had leaked an image from inside the deposition, prompting an eruption in the room as her lawyers vociferously objected. Representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado shared a photograph of Mrs. Clinton answering questions, which was posted on social media by Benny Johnson, a right-wing podcaster. Mrs. Clinton’s attorneys immediately asked to pause the proceedings, noting that the former secretary of state had been denied her request for a public hearing. The deposition resumed about 30 minutes later. He said that Republicans had grilled her about Mr. Epstein’s involvement in raising money for the Clinton Global Initiative. But Mrs. Clinton was a senator during the years when her husband, former President Bill Clinton, was starting his foundation. And she told the committee she had not been involved.”

Ripped from the Headlines of the ICElandia News:  

(a) Help in High Places. Sharon Otterman of the New York Times: “Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents entered a residential building owned by Columbia University early Thursday morning and detained an undergraduate student.... Claire Shipman, the university’s acting president, said in [a] letter that the immigration officers appeared to gain access by saying that they were searching for a 'missing person.' A state assemblyman said that he had been told by university officials that the federal agents presented themselves as Police Department officers to convince a building superintendent to let them in.... Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he had brought up the student’s detention during a meeting with ... [Donald] Trump in Washington on Thursday. Just after 3 p.m., Mr. Mamdani said on social media that [Mr.] Trump had informed him that the student would 'be released imminently.' The student, Elmina Aghayeva, posted on Instagram at about 3:45 p.m. that she had been released. 'The university is relieved and thrilled that our student, Ellie, has been released from detainment,' Columbia posted on social media shortly afterward.”

(b) David Waldstein of the New York Times: “A car chase involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents ended in a crash in Newark on Wednesday morning, the city’s mayor said, leaving several people, including three children, injured. ICE agents were trying to apprehend a man driving a van when the crash happened, the mayor, Ras Baraka, said. The man fled, and during the chase his van hit two other vehicles, including one containing a 12-year-old and two 15-year-olds, who the mayor said were siblings. The children were taken to a nearby hospital, and Mr. Baraka told reporters at an event in Newark on Wednesday night that the children were 'doing OK.' The episode occurred amid growing criticism that ICE tactics are too aggressive and have had fatal consequences....”

(c) Alex Woodward of the Independent: “A federal judge reprimanded Donald Trump’s administration for claiming that an immigrant seeking his release from custody was convicted for marijuana possession in 2009 — when he was 4 years old.... Government lawyers ... submitted [a] document [they said 'indicated' the immigrant possessed marijuana in 2009] in court filings 'despite the differences in birthdate, birthplace, parents’ names, and immigration status,' West Virginia District Judge Irene Berger noted in her order to release him on Tuesday.” Thanks to RAS for the lead. They really don't know what they're doing.

(d) Then There's This Collaboration with the IRS. Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: “A federal judge has found that the Internal Revenue Service violated federal law 'approximately 42,695 times' when it shared confidential taxpayer addresses with immigration enforcement officials last summer. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly issued the ruling Thursday as part of ongoing litigation over a data-sharing arrangement between the IRS and the Department of Homeland Security. Federal law requires that before the IRS hands over a taxpayer’s address, a requesting agency must first provide the IRS with the name and address of the person it’s looking for. The requirement exists to ensure that the government can access confidential tax records only for individuals it has already specifically identified. The ruling finds that DHS did not follow this law.... The case is now before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, where the government is appealing Kollar-Kotelly’s November order that blocked the data-sharing arrangement.”

Jack Healy of the New York Times: “Mayor Mike Johnston of Denver will sign an executive order on Thursday that aims to shield his liberal city from the kind of chaotic immigration crackdown that upended Minneapolis this winter. His order bans federal immigration agents from city property in their operations and mandates that Denver law enforcement protect peaceful protesters at the scenes of immigration operations.... The order says that Denver’s police officers must intervene if they see immigration agents committing life-threatening abuses, an apparent reference to the two Americans fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis. It also says Denver will criminally investigate complaints against immigration authorities, despite the defiance of the federal government to such investigations in other cities.” 

Marie: I wonder how many Trump droolers Trump pays to drool. ~~~

~~~ Marcie Jones of Wonkette: “Wired reports that ... Garrett J. Wade ... makes $74,500 working in the White House as a rapid response staffer. As such, he runs the X account Johnny MAGA, which has the most pathetic Trump-fawning you ever could read, that somehow 300,000 accounts follow. Not only that, but multiple 'media outlets, including Mother Jones, TownHall, and the New York Post, have all linked out to posts on the Johnny MAGA account seemingly as organic reflections of public sentiment.' Curiously, Wade’s name and face don’t appear in many places other than on the White House payroll.... Strangely..., there is no one by that name on the official White House staff pages, Facebook, or LinkedIn, or your usual social medias. Aren’t most people who work in the White House usually proud about it? And are we sure he isn’t just taking down dictation from Stephen Miller or Corey Lewandowski?” 

~~~~~~~~~~ 

⭐David Frum of the Atlantic: “States of the Union are rituals intended to demonstrate the unity of the nation.... The ritual depends for its meaning, however, on certain standards of behavior.... The speech last night was empty and uselessly garrulous. Its length was its first declaration of disrespect for those obliged to sit through it. Trump’s name-calling of his predecessor and of the members of Congress in the chamber, his demands that legislators rise at his command, his strategic deployment of systematic untruth in service of those demands to rise and clap — put together, he misused the State of the Union ritual in ways so radical as to call the ritual itself into question.... The president is present in Congress as a guest.... Next January, the next speaker could do everyone a favor with a letter that begins: 'Dear Mr. President, the time has come for your State of the Union message. Please send it in writing.... This is the method that was good enough for Rutherford B. Hayes, and, Mr. Trump, it is more than good enough for you.'” Thank you to akaWendy for this gift link. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Frum is right, although I would not send an impolite letter. I would simply not invite Trump; send no letter at all. If Trump demanded an invitation, I would send him a letter inviting him to send his advice in writing. At that point, I would explain -- politely -- that Trump abused his invitation the previous year by using the high-profile venue to repeatedly insult his hosts and make false statements to the American people. I might advise him that if he submitted a satisfactory, respectful report in writing, he might be invited to deliver that report in person, but that straying from his written message would result in the Sergeant-at-Arms evicting him from the Capitol. (And if it came to that last bit, I would follow through.) 

Democracy Now: Anchor Amy Goodman spoke with “Aliya Rahman, who attended Tuesday’s State of the Union address as a guest of Congressmember Ilhan Omar. Rahman was removed from the chamber Tuesday and spent several hours in jail following what she describes as an aggressive arrest by Capitol Police — all for silently challenging Trump during the speech. 'There are only two things you can do at the State of the Union, and they are sit down and stand up,' says Rahman. 'I was arrested for standing up.' Rahman, a U.S. citizen, was violently dragged out of her car and detained by federal immigration officers last month and later released without charge.” ~~~

~~~ Chris Cameron & Michael Gold of the New York Times: “Representative Ilhan Omar on Wednesday condemned the arrest of a guest [-- Aliya Rahman --] she brought to the State of the Union, saying that being charged with a crime for standing up in the gallery during the president’s address 'sends a chilling message about the state of our democracy.'... Ms. Rahman, 43, Ms. Omar and the U.S. Capitol Police said in separate statements that Ms. Rahman had been charged with unlawful conduct by disrupting Congress.... Ms. Rahman — who is disabled and has autism, according to a written statement she provided to Congress earlier this month — told Democracy Now in an interview that the arrest aggravated injuries that she had sustained when federal agents dragged her from her vehicle last month while she was headed to an appointment for a traumatic brain injury.” 

Tommy Christopher of Mediaite: “Olympic gold medal winner and Seattle Torrent forward Hilary Knight drew cheers at a press conference with her response to ... Donald Trump’s remarks in a call to the men’s team. Trump ... offended many ... as he extended [an] invitation [to the SOTU event].... 'And we have to, I must tell you, we’re gonna have to bring the woman’s team,' Trump said, adding that if he didn’t, 'I do believe I would probably be impeached.'... In response to a reporter's questions, Knight said, 'I just thought the joke was distasteful and unfortunate. And I think, you know, just the way women are represented, it’s a great teaching point to really shine light on how women should be championed for their amazing feats.… But what [it] is is shifting the focus and shifting the narrative of this amazing accomplishment that we all did together. And granted the men’s and the women’s team did it together and that is super special. It’s never been done in our program’s history. It’s something we’re extremely proud about....'”

After trashing Trump's stunts during the SOTU show and Republicans' reactions to them, Heather Cox Richardson writes, "... the response to the State of the Union — which is usually deadly — was a breath of fresh air. Delivered by Virginia governor Abigail Spanberger, the response was short and clean, and in a refreshing change from Trump’s constant focus on himself, it centered the American people." ~~~

     ~~~ You can watch Spanberger's response to Trump's SOTU address here. 

Freedom of the Press? In This Fascist Regime? Of Course Not. Minho Kim of the New York Times: “The Trump administration is seeking to limit the safeguards protecting the editorial freedom of federally funded news groups that broadcast overseas, raising concerns that it could undermine an independent source of news in parts of the world with few of them. Two of the organizations that ... [Donald] Trump tried but failed to shutter, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Middle East Broadcasting Networks, earlier this month received a draft funding agreement that could give Mr. Trump’s political appointees more control over their operations. The administration could have the power to veto their new hires for editors in chief, chief executives and members of their boards, and could unilaterally shut down parts of their news operations with a two-week notice, according to a draft of the proposal....”

Mike Baker & Michael Gold of the New York Times have at long last picked up the story of all the missing key Epstein file documents that recount reports and interviews of a woman who told the FBI that Donald Trump abused her sexually & physically when she was a child. The Times report explains very well how the reporters know the DOJ has withheld these documents. Update: the link has been changed to one that appears to be a gift link. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The excuses the DOJ gives for withholding the files are not getting any more convincing. This is a cover-up. It took some sleuthing and cross-checking to find the story among the 3 million documents released, and the DOJ must have counted on no one catching it. But independent journalist Roger Sollenberger did put together some of the pieces ten days ago, and other journalists have built on his discovery. And because the cover-up breaks a specific law, it's a criminal cover-up, IMO. ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Comes Now DOJ Statement No. 3. Eric Tucker of the AP: “The Justice Department said Wednesday that it was looking into whether it had improperly withheld documents from the Jeffrey Epstein files after several news organizations reported that some records involving uncorroborated accusations made by a woman against ... Donald Trump were not among those released to the public.” 

Yesterday, I reviewed unredacted evidence logs at the Department of Justice.... The DOJ appears to have illegally withheld FBI interviews with this survivor who accused President Trump of heinous crimes. Oversight Democrats will open a parallel investigation into this.... Covering up direct evidence of a potential assault by the President of the United States is the most serious possible crime in this White House cover up. -- Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), in a statement (also linked yesterday)  

Sudiksha Kochi & Rebecca Beitsch of the Hill: “Reps. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) and Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) are calling on the Justice Department to appoint a special counsel to investigate Attorney General Pam Bondi, accusing her of perjuring herself when asked about evidence relating to ... [Donald] Trump in the Epstein files. The demand — made in a letter to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche — comes after a heated exchange between Lieu and Bondi earlier this month in which he accused her of lying under oath during a House Judiciary Committee hearing.” ~~~

~~~ Marie: Good luck with that. As Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) pointed out on MS NOW last night, Blanche himself is deeply implicated in the Trump/Epstein files cover-up. The way Roger Sollenberger discovered that roughly 50 pages of documents related to Trump were missing was by tracking serial numbers of documents that were sent to Ghislaine Maxwell's defense team. That would explain why Todd hightailed it down to Florida to find out what Ghislaine would reveal about Trump; he knew she had access to FBI documents accusing Trump of sexually and physically abusing a minor.

Alex Woodward of the Independent: “Jeffrey Epstein filled a hidden storage unit with computers, pornographic magazines, VHS tapes and DVDs of teenagers and training manuals for 'sex slaves,' among other items, according to an inventory of the locker obtained by The Telegraph. The convicted sex offender retained several storage units for over 16 years, and allegedly hired private detectives to move items from his Florida property in an apparent attempt to evade law enforcement before a police raid in 2005.... The materials ... also include letters, 29 address books and a three-page list of local masseuses, according to The Telegraph.... The 'hidden' storage locker also contained nude photographs of people believed to be of Epstein’s victims, a 2005 calendar, greeting cards, laboratory results, and an 8mm video cassette tape containing footage of someone in the shower and a woman in lingerie, The Telegraph reported.” 

 

Amelia Nierenberg of the New York Times: “Borge Brende, the chief executive and president of the World Economic Forum, said on Thursday that he would resign, after an independent investigation by the group into his ties to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. His resignation came less than a month after the release of the latest batch of files related to Mr. Epstein appeared to show that Mr. Brende, a former foreign minister of Norway, had stayed in contact with the disgraced American financier long after Mr. Epstein had been convicted of soliciting a minor for prostitution. The forum, best known as the organizer of an annual summit for world leaders in Davos, Switzerland, said in a statement that the independent review had not found 'additional concerns beyond what has been previously disclosed.' Mr. Brende said that after 'careful consideration,' he wanted the forum to continue its work 'without distractions.'”

Gregory Svirnovskiy of Politico: “Larry Summers, the embattled former Treasury secretary and Harvard president, is leaving his teaching post at the higher education institution at the end of the academic year, as the fallout over his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein continues to spill into public view.... Summers took a step back from his teaching duties late last year — and also left his job as director of Harvard’s Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government — amid a review into his ties to the late convicted sex offender.” Update: a more extensive New York Times report is here. The Harvard Crimson story, which broke the news, is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This isn't so much about having a criminal friend, Larry, as it is about disrespecting the young woman you are tasked with teaching. Teachers with your misogynistic views are what has led to this situation: ~~~

     ~~~ Anonymous, in a Guardian op-ed: “I am a 15-year-old girl. Let me show you the vile misogyny that confronts me on social media every day[.]... I actively try to avoid online misogyny, but I am met with it incessantly whenever I open my mainstream social media apps.... [For instance, a] few days ago I saw an Instagram reel of a young woman talking about how she had been raped six years ago, struggled with thoughts of suicide afterwards, but managed to rebuild her life again. Among the comments – the majority of which were from men – were things like 'Well at least you had some', 'No way, she’s unrapeable', 'Hope you didn’t talk this much when it happened', 'Bro could have picked a better option.'” Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)

Joe Sommerlad of the Independent: “Bill Gates has apologized to staff at his charitable foundation over his past friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, also admitting to two extramarital affairs..., according to The Wall Street Journal, citing an audio recording of the latest biannual Gates Foundation town hall.... Gates ... said the women pictured with him in the files were Epstein’s assistants, whom the billionaire had asked to pose with him.... During the town hall, the billionaire also admitted to two affairs. 'I did have affairs, one with a Russian bridge player who met me at bridge events, and one with a Russian nuclear physicist who I met through business activities,' he said.” (Also linked yesterday.)

Sonia Rao of the New York Times: “Bob Kerrey, the former U.S. senator from Nebraska, has resigned from the board of a clean energy start-up in the state after documents released by the Department of Justice indicated that Mr. Kerrey and Jeffrey Epstein had met and corresponded over email more than a decade ago. Mr. Kerrey ... [said] that he resigned from the company, Monolith, because he was concerned the revelations would 'make it difficult for them to succeed.'... The correspondence occurred several years after Mr. Epstein, the financier who died by suicide in 2019 while facing sex-trafficking charges, had pleaded guilty in 2008 to charges of solicitation of prostitution with a minor.”

There Is Something Not Right About These People. ~~~

~~~ Trump Urged to Use U.S. Troops as Bait. Dasha Burns & Nahal Toosi of Politico: “Senior advisers to ... Donald Trump would prefer Israel strike Iran before the United States launches an assault on the country, according to two people familiar with ongoing discussions. These Trump administration officials are privately arguing that an Israeli attack would trigger Iran to retaliate, helping muster support from American voters for a U.S. strike.... 'There’s thinking in and around the administration that the politics are a lot better if the Israelis go first and alone and the Iranians retaliate against us, and give us more reason to take action,' said one of the people familiar with discussions.” ~~~

     ~~~ Got that? It would be better for Trump if Iran struck out troops. So that's the plan. ~~~ 

~~~ BUT We're Low on Protective Interceptors. Jack Detsch & Joe Gould of Politico: “Pentagon officials and Hill lawmakers are increasingly warning that prolonged Iran strikes could stress U.S. military stockpiles to the brink and make the country more vulnerable. Gen. Dan Caine, the Joint Chiefs of Staff chair, has raised concerns about the military’s shortage of air defense interceptors since January, according to a person familiar with the conversations. But the fears have magnified in recent weeks as the Pentagon amassed the largest military buildup in the Middle East since the Iraq War.... The defense industry has struggled for years to produce critical air defense interceptors that protect against incoming missiles.... Interviews with six current and former U.S. officials and members of Congress underscored widespread worries that sustained Iranian responses could deplete those waning U.S. air defenses and leave tens of thousands of American troops in the region unprotected against Tehran’s missile salvos.”

Karen DeYoung & Noah Robertson of the Washington Post: “The third round of nuclear talks between the United States and Iran has begun in Geneva, as much of the world holds its breath to see if the massive military force ... Donald Trump has assembled in the Middle East is a threat designed to bring the Iranians to heel or a promise to attack if negotiations don’t immediately produce a deal to his liking. 'I don’t think a final decision has been made yet,' said Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Virginia), one of a small group of senior congressional leaders briefed on the president’s plans just hours before Trump delivered the annual State of the Union speech Tuesday evening before a joint session of lawmakers.”

Samantha Schmidt of the Washington Post: “Cuban forces killed four people on an American speedboat after it opened fire on Cuban border agents Wednesday morning, the country’s Interior Ministry said. As the Florida-registered vessel came within a nautical mile of Cuba’s northern coast, the country’s border guard troops approached and asked for identification, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. The speedboat crew opened fire on the Cuban troops, injuring the vessel’s commander, the ministry said. Cuban forces returned fire. Four people on the speedboat were killed and six wounded, the ministry said. The wounded were evacuated to receive medical attention.” Politico's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Michael Kunzelman of the AP: “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is appealing a judge’s order that blocks him from punishing Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, a former Navy pilot, for participating in a video that called on troops to resist unlawful orders, according to a court filing on Tuesday. Justice Department officials filed a notice that they wil[l] ask a panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to review the Feb. 12 ruling by U.S. District Judge Richard Leon.” (Also linked yesterday.)

Andrew Ackerman, et al., of the Washington Post: “A top Trump Treasury official is leaving his post after privately raising objections to White House-backed plans to crack down on alleged fraud within the Somali immigrant community in Minnesota.... John Hurley, a donor to ... Donald Trump who is serving as the undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, began telling associates in recent weeks that he was leaving his post. Hurley had recently conveyed his concerns to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent about a project to enhance federal monitoring of international payments from the Minneapolis area.... His departure underscores how some Trump allies in the federal government are uneasy with the extent of White House directives to deploy law enforcement tools against Minneapolis’s Somali community.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Here's what I don't get: how could someone who objects to overtly racist policies have contributed to Trump in the first place when Trump has been overtly racist all his adult life? 

Patel Fires Agents for Doing Their Jobs. Glenn Thrush, et al., of the New York Times: “About 10 F.B.I. employees, some veteran agents, were dismissed this week for their work on the investigation into ... [Donald] Trump’s retention of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, his residence in Florida.... The firings are part of a rolling barrage of retribution aimed at those who worked on the two federal prosecutions of Mr. Trump after his first term in office. They came hours after Kash Patel, the F.B.I. director, told Reuters that as part of the documents inquiry, the bureau had subpoenaed phone metadata for himself and Susie Wiles, currently the White House chief of staff.... 'It is outrageous and deeply alarming that the previous F.B.I. leadership secretly subpoenaed my own phone records,' he said in his statement to Reuters.... The F.B.I. Agents Association, a professional group representing bureau employees, denounced the dismissals in a statement, describing them as an unlawful termination that 'violates the due process rights of those who risk their lives to protect our country.'”

Shawn Hubler, et al., of the New York Times: “F.B.I. agents raided the headquarters of the Los Angeles Unified School District and the home of its superintendent on Wednesday in an apparently widening investigation into a $6 million deal between the nation’s second-largest school system and a failed artificial intelligence start-up. Federal officials said that the agency had executed a series of search warrants at the school district and at the home of the superintendent, Alberto Carvalho, but that the accompanying affidavits had been sealed by the court.... A related F.B.I. search at a home in Florida appeared to link the Los Angeles raids to AllHere, a tech start-up that had secured a contract with the school district for an A.I. chatbot before the company filed for bankruptcy in 2024. The founder of AllHere was later charged with fraud.” An AP report is here.

⭐Mattathias Schwartz of the New York Times: “A federal judge in Boston on Wednesday found that the Trump administration’s policy of summarily deporting immigrants to so-called third countries — nations other than their countries of origin — is unlawful. In an 81-page ruling, Judge Brian E. Murphy of the Federal District Court for the District of Massachusetts wrote that the government must first try to deport detained immigrants to their home countries — or to countries designated by an immigration judge when the immigrants were ordered removed from the country. After that process, immigration detainees must be given 'meaningful notice' before being deported to another country, to allow them the opportunity to raise any fears they have that they might be persecuted or tortured there. Judge Murphy, who was appointed to the bench by President Joseph R. Biden Jr., paused his own order for 15 days, which gives the government time to seek an appeal. 

“Still, the ruling amounts to a sweeping repudiation of one of the administration’s most aggressive deportation policies, one in which immigrants are flown to distant places to which they have no ties, including Eswatini, Rwanda and Ghana. Deportations to third countries have been a high-profile component of the administration’s broader effort to depict migrants as 'barbaric' criminals who should be dealt with harshly — and to persuade migrants to self-deport and leave the country voluntarily.” (Also linked yesterday.)

Robert Klemko of the Washington Post: “A grand jury on Wednesday declined to indict a federal immigration agent who killed a man accused of striking an agent with his car in Texas last March, a shooting death not disclosed by Department of Homeland Security for nearly a year. Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz released a statement shared with local media saying that a grand jury had declined to charge anyone in the case. A DHS spokeswoman said the a grand jury had 'unanimously found no criminality.' The involvement of a federal agent in the death of Ruben Ray Martinez, 23, was only revealed this month, when American Oversight — a nonprofit watchdog group — published federal documents obtained via public records request. Martinez is the third U.S. citizen known to have been fatally shot by DHS personnel since ... Donald Trump launched an aggressive immigration crackdown in January.”

Brad Reed of Common Dreams: “A report produced by the office of Sen. Adam Schiff reveals that federal immigration enforcement agencies amassed a gigantic weapons stockpile during the first year of ... Donald Trump’s second term. In total, the report released by Schiff (D-Calif.) finds that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) committed to spending over $144 million on weapons and ammunition over the last year, a massive increase over these agencies’ spending on weapons in years past.... The report documents how both agencies have combined to spend tens of millions of dollars purchasing lethal weapons, including 'AR-style rifles, pistols, and large quantities of accessories, such as optical sights for firearms and suppressors'; so-called 'less-lethal' weapons including 'TASERs, pepper sprays, tear gas canisters, and canister launchers'; and assorted kinds of ammunition.... Schiff’s report concludes with a warning about the US Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) 'growing plans to build a heavily-armed domestic police force.'...” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Sen. Schiff's report is here. MB: What I'm seeing is a heavily-armed, pro-Trump paramilitary force that will be a very souped-up version of the ragtag J-6 insurrection gang (although it seems probable that some of the J-6 crowd have joined ICE or the CBP) who failed in Trump's first attempt at a coup. (Also linked yesterday.) 

There Is Something Not Right About These People. ~~~ 

~~~ Stupid or Intentionally Cruel? Sara Braun of the Guardian: “A nearly blind Burmese refugee who was abandoned by border patrol agents has been found dead in Buffalo, New York.... Nurul Amin Shah Alam, 56, had been missing since 19 February, when he was dropped off by border patrol following his release from Erie county holding center, according to the Investigative Post. A city hall spokesperson, Ian Ott, told the Investigative Post that homicide detectives are 'investigating the circumstances and timeframe of events leading up to his death....' Shah Alam had been in the Erie county holding center for the past year, after being arrested by Buffalo police in 2025.... The arrest stemmed from an incident in which Shah Alam got lost while on a walk and ended up on the porch of a woman’s home. He had been using a curtain rod as a walking stick, according to his attorney. The woman called the police, and when Shah Alam did not follow police commands to drop his curtain rod, they tasered and beat him, his attorney said. He was released on bail, and then transferred to border patrol custody. Border patrol agents then dropped him off at a Tim Hortons [restaurant] about five miles from his home. Neither his attorney nor his family were [was!] notified of his release.”

Matt Viser & Dan Diamond of the Washington Post: “Vice President JD Vance announced Wednesday that the Trump administration would withhold $259 million in Medicaid payments for Minnesota, escalating its fight with the state as the White House seeks to elevate health care fraud as an election-year issue.... Vance said the decision could presage similar crackdowns in other states, 25including California, as part of a 'war on fraud' that ...  Donald Trump announced Tuesday in his State of the Union address.” The AP story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Gosh, and here I was sure that the very first fraudster JayDee would single out was our Fraudster-in-Chief Sir Donald of Trump, the King of Scamsalot. ~~~

     ~~~ AND, as Akhilleus points out in today's Comments, if Trump & JayDee care so much about healthcare fraud, how come Trump pardoned this guy last year? “... Lawrence Duran, who was convicted in 2011 for defrauding Medicare and money laundering, among other charges. Duran, who owned a mental health care company with seven locations across Florida, and his girlfriend received $87 million from the scheme. As the Miami Herald points out, this was, at the time, the largest therapy-related Medicare fraud scheme in history, with hundreds of thousands of false claims. Duran was sentenced to 50 years in prison, and he and other collaborators were ordered to pay $87 million in restitution. Trump commuted Duran’s sentence, and wrote in his clemency order that Duran would be subject to 'no further fines [or] restitution' related to his case.”

Reed Abelson of the New York Times: “The Trump administration’s proposed new rules for Obamacare plans next year would shift more health care costs to Americans, with much higher deductibles that could lead to greater medical bills. Under the proposal, people who rely on the Affordable Care Act for their health insurance coverage could choose plans with much lower monthly premiums. But that could leave them exposed to medical expenses totaling thousands of dollars more than A.C.A. plans do now before their insurance would kick in.... [The] new proposal [promoted by Dr. Mehmet Oz] would allow one kind of health plan to raise the annual deductible to more than $15,000 for an individual and $31,000 for a family; those are much higher than current Obamacare plans. The individual deductible would be eight times the average for someone with job-based insurance. Many policy experts expressed doubt that the administration’s proposal would reduce the high cost of health care.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This is all part of and consistent with the GOP's general "Screw the Little People" plan. 

Donald McNeil, a former NYT health reporter, in a Washington Post op-ed: “Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is waging a multifront war on vaccines, and confidence in them is waning. His main victims, of course, are kids — more than 3,000 measles cases have been reported since he took office, about 75 percent of them in children. But he is also threatening us older Americans. We may be fairly measles-proof, but we are still susceptible to many infections. By propping up our fading immune systems, study after study has found, vaccines can make our declining years longer and happier.”

Ali Swenson of the AP: “Wellness influencer, author and entrepreneur Dr. Casey Means on Wednesday ... faced tough questions from senators about topics that have become divisive in recent years, such as vaccines and hormonal birth control, as well as about her qualifications and potential conflicts. The Stanford-educated physician’s disillusionment with traditional medicine drove her to a career in which she has promoted various products, at times without disclosing how she could benefit financially. She has no government experience, and her license to practice as a physician is not currently active.” (Also linked yesterday.) 

In case you thought CBS News could right itself after getting off to a very rocky start "under new management," we are here to tell you that you were far too optimistic: ~~~ 

~~~ Annals of “Journalism,” Ctd. Jennifer Bahney of Mediaite: “CBS News’s Tony Dokoupil raved about ... Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday night, calling it 'extraordinary.'” Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)

~~~~~~~~~~ 

Texas Congressional Race. Meredith Hill of Politico: “Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday he believes Rep. Tony Gonzales’ primary election, now six days away, will be a referendum on the serious sexual harassment allegations plaguing the Texas Republican. 'I’ve said to him publicly and privately, he’s got to address that directly and head on with his constituents,' Johnson told reporters. 'There’s a primary there in less than a week, these things will play out.'... While Johnson and fellow House GOP leaders have not pulled their endorsement of Gonzales, several rank-and-file Republicans have called for their colleague’s resignation and many are unsure Gonzales can prevail against his challenger at this point.”