If you’re running an online business, it helps to own a memorable domain. That’s why a wealthy tech exec just paid $70 million to buy the hottest word you can own: AI.com.
The deal was brokered by Larry Fischer of getyourdomain.com, according to the Financial Times, and is the most expensive domain purchase in history, eclipsing the previous record – $49.7 million for CarInsurance.com.
The buyer was Kris Marszalek, CEO of Crypto.com. While the figure is eye-watering, it is considerably less than the $100 million Fisher was bandying around in 2025. According to the Financial Times, Fischer said: “With assets like AI.com, there are no substitutes. When one becomes available, the opportunity may never present itself again.”
While the final figure is not the nine-figure sum mooted last year, it is not to be sniffed at.
Marszalek told the FT that he hoped AI.com could offer similar features to OpenClaw – ideally without the associated security nightmares of the vibe-coded agent farm.
He added that there were “good business reasons” for coughing up so much for AI.com. “There is a big desire for us to own this touchpoint, otherwise you get commoditized. I thought it was quite interesting that one person can own two domains that stand for such important categories.”
Marszalek is doubtless expecting lightning to strike twice, given the impressive growth of Crypto.com in an already crowded market. According to the company’s website, it has more than 150 million users globally. As the AI bubble continues to inflate, the $70 million paid for AI.com could end up looking like a canny investment. Or it could be the final note in the symphony of hubris that accompanies both crypto and AI.
Marszalek’s purchase coincides with growing investor jitters over the amounts being poured into a technology that has yet to justify the funds lavished on it. Then again, Marszalek told the FT he was taking a long-term view of “10 to 20 years.”
The purchase price was reportedly paid entirely in cryptocurrency. It would probably be best not to check the Bitcoin prices for a bit. ®
After doing no and no, Pakistan finally joined hands with India. t20 match Has agreed to play, with this the suspense of whether the match will take place or not, which had been going on for weeks, also ended. Before agreeing on the T20 World Cup match against India, Pakistan Cricket Board chief Naqvi tried to create a new controversy by raising the name of Pakistan Field Marshal Asim Munir. Munir, barking loudly, said that he is not afraid of threats from India and ICC.
According to Hindustan Times report, PCB Chief and Pakistan Home Minister Naqvi was seen dragging the military leadership into the conversation during a press conference. Experts consider his stance as an attempt to turn the cricket dispute into a civil-military dispute. Speaking at the press conference, Naqvi said that Pakistan is determined and is not afraid of pressure.
“Neither am I afraid of threats from India and the ICC, nor is the Pakistan government afraid, and as far as Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir is concerned, you already know about him, he is never afraid,” Naqvi said with a snoring tone.
U-turn taken regarding IND vs PAK match Earlier, from Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif to Naqvi, they were talking about boycotting the match against India. On February 1, the Pakistani government posted on its PCB Chief Mohsin Naqvi had informed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif about the hours-long conversation with the ICC panel, after which the Pakistan PM gave the ‘green signal’ regarding the match.
When will the India-Pakistan T20 match take place? In the T20 World Cup 2026, the teams of India and Pakistan will face each other on 15 February. This match will be played at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo in Sri Lanka, the match will start at 7 pm. Both the teams are part of Group A. Where India had defeated USA by 29 runs in the first match. At the same time, Pakistan won by 3 wickets in a thrilling match against Netherlands on 7 February.
The US military says one person survived the strike on the vessel and that the coastguard has been notified.
Published On 10 Feb 202610 Feb 2026
Share
The United States military has attacked a boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two people, and notifying the US coastguard that one person survived the strike.
The US Southern Command, which oversees military operations in Latin America and the Caribbean, said the “lethal kinetic strike” was carried out on Monday against a vessel, which it alleged was involved in drug trafficking without providing any evidence.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
“Two narco-terrorists were killed and one survived the strike. Following the engagement, US SOUTHCOM immediately notified U.S. Coast Guard to activate the Search and Rescue system for the survivor,” the military said.
Last week, the US claimed responsibility for killing two people in an earlier attack in the eastern Pacific, bringing to three the number of attacks Washington has ordered on vessels since its forces abducted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro during a bloody nighttime raid on the capital, Caracas, in early January.
According to monitors and tallies kept by media organisations, the US has now carried out some 37 attacks against 39 vessels in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean Ocean, killing at least 130 people, including the latest killings on Monday.
SOUTHCOM did not provide details on the medical condition of the survivor from Monday’s attack, nor the chances of the person’s rescue by the US coastguard and the likelihood of their survival.
The US appears undeterred in carrying out its deadly operations in international waters off Latin America, despite legal scholars, rights workers and regional leaders accusing the US of extrajudicial killing by acting as the judge, jury and executioner in cases of people suspected of drug trafficking.
Officials in the administration of US President Donald Trump have already come under scrutiny for reports that the first such attack, which took place in September 2025, included a follow-up strike that killed survivors who were clinging to the wreckage of a boat.
SOUTHCOM released a 10-second video of the air strike on Monday. In the video, a small, motorised boat can be seen in the military’s crosshairs before it is hit, triggering an explosion seconds later.
Some of the boat’s structure appears to remain intact after the explosion, although the vessel slows down.
A federal appeals court in San Francisco granted a stay allowing the government to proceed with terminating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for immigrants from Nepal, Honduras and Nicaragua.
The reliably liberal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order freezing a lower court ruling that would have vacated Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem’s decision to end the protections.
The court found the government was likely to succeed on the grounds that the DHS decision was not “arbitrary or capricious,” suggesting that the decision-making process was rational.
“The government is likely to prevail in its argument that the Secretary’s decision-making process in terminating TPS for Honduras, Nicaragua, and Nepal was not arbitrary and capricious,” court documents said.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at a press conference in New York City, Jan. 8, 2026. (David ‘Dee’ Delgado/Reuters)
Last year, Noem sought to terminate refugee status for the three long-protected countries, arguing that under TPS, the government must check if the initial reasons for their protection still apply.
Nepal, Honduras, and Nicaragua all originally received TPS protections due to specific environmental disasters. Nepal was designated in 2015 following a massive earthquake, while Honduras and Nicaragua received protections in 1999 after Hurricane Mitch.
Noem’s chief spokeswoman, Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, previously noted last August that TPS protections were always intended to be temporary.
Monday’s court ruling may further clear the path for Trump’s immigration policy.(Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo)
Attorney General Pam Bondi praised the decision, saying it would allow the Trump administration to continue its immigration policies and deport certain immigrants.
“This is a crucial legal win from @TheJusticeDeptattorneys that helps clear the way for President Trump’s continued deportations,” she said.
“As the court found, ‘the government is likely to prevail in its argument’ that ending Temporary Protected Status for some immigrants is sound and lawful policy. We are proud to represent the Trump Administration in court every day.”
Noem’s ruling was previously challenged by the National TPS Alliance, who argued it was “arbitrary and capricious” and violated the Administrative Procedure Act.
On December 31, 2025, a San Francisco district court judge sided with the plaintiffs and canceled Secretary Noem’s termination order.
Attorney General Pam Bondi celebrated the ruling Monday in a post on social media, saying it will clear the way for President Trump’s continued deportations(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel assigned to the case included Judges Hawkins, Callahan and Miller. Judge Hawkins was appointed by Bill Clinton, Judge Callahan by George W. Bush and Judge Miller by President Donald Trump.
While Judges Callahan and Miller appear to have authored the main analysis, Judge Hawkins wrote a separate concurring opinion. He agreed with the result based on recent Supreme Court guidance, but said he would not rule on the plaintiffs’ claims at this early stage.
Mexican authorities say they are working to identify five other bodies after 10 workers were kidnapped last month.
Published On 10 Feb 202610 Feb 2026
Share
Five of 10 employees who were abducted from a Canadian-run mine in Mexico last month have been confirmed as dead, authorities said.
Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office said on Monday that authorities have identified five bodies found at a property in El Verde, a rural locality in the state of Sinaloa, and are working to identify the remains of five other people.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
“It is important to note that prosecutorial authorities have remained in contact with the victims’ relatives,” the office said in a statement.
“In the cases where the bodies have already been identified, they will be transferred to the states of Zacatecas in two cases, as well as to Chihuahua, Sonora, and Guerrero,” it added.
Authorities, who last week arrested four people in connection with the case, will continue gathering evidence to ensure the killings “do not go unpunished”, the office said without providing information on a possible motive.
Vizsla Silver, the operator of the Panuco gold and silver mine located near Mazatlan, Sinaloa, said earlier on Monday that it had been informed by a number of families that their loved ones had been found dead.
“We are devastated by this outcome and the tragic loss of life. Our deepest condolences are with our colleagues’ families, friends and co-workers, and the entire community of Concordia,” Michael Konnert, president and CEO of Vizsla Silver, said in a statement.
“Our focus remains on the safe recovery of those who remain missing and on supporting all affected families and our people during this incredibly difficult time,” Konnert said.
Vizsla Silver, based in Vancouver, reported on January 28 that 10 of its workers had been taken from its project site and that it had informed authorities.
Sinaloa has been rocked by escalating gang violence linked to a rivalry between factions affiliated with two cofounders of the Sinaloa Cartel, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, both of whom are in custody in the United States.
The western state in Mexico saw more than 1,680 homicides in 2025, making it the most violent year in more than a decade, according to a tally by the Mexican newspaper Milenio.
Gold fell after two days of gains, as investors took profits in a choppy market that’s still trying to find a floor following a historic rout.
Bullion dropped as much as 1.4% in early trading, dipping briefly below $5,000 an ounce, before paring some losses. The metal has declined about 10% since hitting its all-time peak on Jan. 29, but is still firmly higher this year.
Precious metals plummeted at the end of January, when a record-setting surge fueled by speculative trading caused markets to overheat. However, many of the factors that had underpinned a multiyear rally – heightened geopolitical risks, elevated central-bank buying and investor flight from sovereign bonds and currencies – remain in play.
Many banks and asset managers, including Deutsche Bank AG and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., have backed bullion to recover due to these long-term demand drivers. Underscoring resilient official demand, the Chinese central bank extended its gold buying to a 15th month in January.
Looking ahead, economic data due later this week will offer clues on Federal Reserve policy after President Donald Trump nominated Kevin Warsh to become the next head of the US central bank. The January jobs report due Wednesday is expected to show signs of the labor market stabilizing, and inflation data is scheduled for Friday.
Spot gold declined 0.5% to $5,032.53 an ounce as of 8:00 am in Singapore. Silver fell 1.8% to $81.92. Platinum and palladium also traded lower. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, a gauge of the US currency, rose 0.1% after ending the previous session down 0.6%.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
Today’s Gold and Silver Rate: On Tuesday, after two sessions of rise, gold and silver prices declined. Gold became cheaper by Rs 960 to Rs 1.57 lakh per 10 grams. Whereas the price of silver fell by Rs 2640 to Rs 2.61 lakh per kg.
Precious metals came under pressure as the US dollar recovered from its lowest level in more than a week. Investors are awaiting key US employment and inflation data to be released this week for clues on the direction of interest rates.
Price of gold and silver in international market
Spot gold fell 1% to $5,016.56 an ounce. Earlier, gold had risen 2% in the previous session due to weakness in the dollar. On January 29, gold had touched a record high of $ 5,594.82 an ounce. At the same time, US gold futures for April delivery fell 0.8% to $ 5,041.60 an ounce. A sharp decline was also seen in the prices of silver. Spot silver fell 2.5% to $81.31 an ounce, after rising nearly 7% in the previous session. On January 29, silver reached an all-time high of $ 121.64 an ounce.
Price of gold and silver in bullion market
In the bullion market on Monday, the price of silver jumped by 6.66 percent to Rs 2.72 lakh per kg. Similarly, the price of gold of 99.9 percent purity also increased by Rs 1,300 and reached the level of Rs 1.58 lakh per 10 grams.
Rise in gold and silver on MCX
Gold and silver prices were seen strong in the domestic market on Monday. On MCX, MCX Gold for April futures closed at Rs 1,58,394 per 10 grams, up by Rs 2,943 or 1.89%. At the same time, MCX Silver for March futures rose by Rs 12,853 or 5.14% and closed at Rs 2,62,745 per kg.
Half of parents say their children have never spoken to them about harmful online content, polling suggests – with around a quarter unaware of what they are seeing on their smartphones.
The research by YouGov – which surveyed 1,030 parents of children aged eight to 14 – was commissioned by the government, as it consults on whether a social media ban for under-16s should be introduced.
It has introduced a “You Won’t Know Until You Ask” campaign aimed at encouraging parents to talk to their children about what they see online, and providing age-appropriate advice. The government said the vast majority of 11-year-olds in the UK now own a smartphone.
The guidance has been developed with expert organisations including the NSPCC, Parent Zone and Internet Matters, and will be available online from today.
Monterosa
This content is provided by Monterosa, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Monterosa cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Monterosa cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Monterosa cookies for this session only.
In a separate survey by the UK Safer Internet Centre and Nominet to mark Safer Internet Day, more than half of teenagers aged 13 to 17 (60%) say they are worried about AI being used to make inappropriate pictures of them.
More than one in 10 (12%) said they have already seen people their age using AI to create sexual pictures and videos of other people.
It follows the UK’s information watchdog launching an investigation into reports that Elon Musk’s AI chatbot, Grok, has been used to generate sexual imagery of children.
The Molly Rose Foundation, a self-harm and suicide prevention charity, has called on tech firms to be regulated like banks to protect children online.
It presented its proposals in parliament last night, at an event addressed by Technology Secretary Liz Kendall.
The charity is calling for new laws which would “end harmful and addictive design, enforce risk-based age ratings and make safety and wellbeing ‘the price of admission’ for tech firms in the UK”.
It is calling for immediate action to “fix and strengthen” the Online Safety Act and tackle the growing risks on social media, gaming sites, messaging apps and “high-risk” AI chatbots.
Mr Russell, who chairs the foundation, said: “We need a bold new reset of online safety laws that can decisively reverse years of quick fixes and put an end to addictive design and aggressive algorithms once and for all.”
“The government should have the courage to act on the evidence and stand up for children by delivering the tough and wide-reaching regulation that they promised in opposition but are yet to deliver,” he added.
A source close to the Guthrie family is pushing back on reports about how Nancy Guthrie was discovered missing on Sunday, Feb. 1, saying key details of the timeline have been reported incorrectly.
Early reporting indicated that Nancy Guthrie had been scheduled to attend an in-person church service in Tucson that morning and was reported missing after she failed to show up. According to the family source, that account is not accurate.
The source told Fox News that for years — dating back to the COVID pandemic — Nancy and a small group of close friends had a standing Sunday routine that did not involve attending church in person. Instead, the group would gather at one another’s homes to watch a New York–based church service via livestream.
The service was broadcast live from a New York church attended by Savannah Guthrie, the longtime “TODAY” show co-anchor and Nancy Guthrie’s daughter.
An undated photo of Nancy Guthrie and Savannah Guthrie provided by NBC.(Courtesy of NBC)
On Sunday, Feb. 1, Nancy was expected to be at a friend’s home to watch the livestream, as she had done every week. When she failed to arrive, members of the friend group became concerned.
According to the source, one of the friends contacted Annie — Nancy’s daughter and Savannah Guthrie’s sister — to report that Nancy had not shown up and could not be located.
The source emphasized that Nancy was never scheduled to attend a Tucson church service that day, contrary to some reports, and said the misunderstanding has led to confusion about the circumstances surrounding when she was first reported missing.
A Pima County Sheriff Department vehicle is parked out front of Nancy Guthrie’s home on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026 in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
As the search intensified, Savannah Guthrie made an emotional public plea for help, describing the situation as an “hour of desperation” as authorities investigated an alleged ransom note tied to her mother’s disappearance.
Savannah urged anyone with information to come forward as investigators worked against a looming deadline outlined in the note, which authorities have not publicly authenticated.
The final deadline outlined in the alleged ransom note passed Monday night without any proof of life or resolution.
FBI agents canvass homes near Nancy Guthrie’s home in Tucson, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. Guthrie was last seen on Saturday night as an investigation into her disappearance continues.(Kat Ramirez for Fox News Digital)
At the same time, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said it was pursuing what it described as “new leads” in the case, but confirmed investigators have not identified any suspects, persons of interest or vehicles connected to Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance.
“The investigation into Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance remains active and ongoing,” a spokesperson for the Pima County Sheriff’s Department confirmed Monday evening.
“We understand the significant public interest in this case; however, investigators need time and space to do their work. If and when relevant information becomes available, it will be shared,” the spokesperson added.
The department said there are no press briefings scheduled at this time, but noted a press conference would be called if a significant development occurs.
Sheriff’s officials also confirmed an active law enforcement presence will continue at the Guthrie residences through the night and into Tuesday as part of the ongoing investigation, including expanded search efforts and follow-up on new leads.
“To preserve the integrity of this criminal investigation, details of that process are not being released at this time,” authorities said.
Officials emphasized the scale of the public response so far.
“Thousands of calls have been received across multiple tip lines, and investigators continue to review them,” the spokesperson said.
Anyone who believes they have information that may assist investigators is asked to contact 1-800-CALL-FBI, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department non-emergency line at 520-351-4900, or 88-CRIME.
Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.
Stepheny Price is a Writer at Fox News with a focus on West Coast and Midwest news, missing persons, national and international crime stories, homicide cases, and border security.
In 2017, Trump endorsed US-Canada bridge he now rails against
US-Canada relations were further shaken on Monday by a 299-word diatribe from Donald Trump, in which he threatened to block the opening of a multibillion-dollar binational bridge, connecting Windsor and Detroit, which the president claimed his predecessor, Barack Obama had “stupidly” approved.
What Trump failed to explain to loyal readers of his social media platform is that he himself had publicly endorsed the bridge project in 2017, before construction began, in public comments and a joint statement issued by him and the then prime minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau.
“No two countries share deeper or broader relations than Canada and the United States,” the joint statement issued on 13 February 2017 read.
“Given our shared focus on infrastructure investments, we will encourage opportunities for companies in both countries to create jobs through those investments. In particular, we look forward to the expeditious completion of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, which will serve as a vital economic link between our two countries,” Trump and Trudeau said after their first meeting that day.
“Prime Minister, I pledge to work with you in pursuit of our many shared interests,” Trump said that day. “America is deeply fortunate to have a neighbor like Canada. We have before us the opportunity to build even more bridges, and bridges of cooperation and bridges of commerce.”
In his post on Monday, Trump told Americans they should be outraged that “Canada is building a massive bridge between Ontario and Michigan. They own both the Canada and the United States side.”
In fact, Canada’s public broadcaster CBC reported in 2017, “the Canadian government agreed to pay for all construction costs, including $250m for the inspection plaza on the American side of the river, with a plan to recoup the costs through tolls” due to the importance of trade between the two nations.
At the time, almost one quarter of all goods moving between the two countries passed over the existing, privately owned Ambassador bridge or a tunnel connecting Detroit and Windsor.
Key events
Closing summary
This is the end of our live coverage of the second Trump administration for the day, but we will be back on Tuesday. Here are the latest developments:
Donald Trump threatened to block a new bridge connecting the US and Canada he supported in 2017 and made the bizarre false claim that increased trade between Canada and China would include a total ban on Canadians playing ice hockey.
The Miami Herald reported that one partially redacted Epstein files document includes an account of a 2006 phone call in which Trump told the Palm Beach police chief that “everyone has known” Jeffrey Epstein was abusing girls and Ghislaine Maxwell ‘“is evil”. Trump now says he had no idea Epstein was abusing girls and wishes Maxwell well.
An immigration judge rejected the Trump administration’s efforts to deport Tufts University doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk, who was arrested last year as part of a crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus activists, her lawyers said in a statement.
The US military’s Southern Command, which oversees operations in Latin America and the Caribbean, announced it carried out another deadly strike on Monday, killing two suspected drug smugglers in the eastern Pacific.
A federal judge in California issued a preliminary injunction that blocks part of a new state law that bans federal law enforcement officers from covering their faces.
Former Palm Beach police chief told FBI Trump called Ghislaine Maxwell ‘evil’ in 2006
As the Miami Herald’s Julie Brown first reported on Monday, Michael Reiter, the former Palm Beach police chief, told the FBI in 2019 that he got a call from Donald Trump in 2006 denouncing Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell after criminal sex charges were first made public.
Reiter confirmed to the Herald reporter that a partially redacted document in the Epstein files posted online by the justice department was an account of a 2019 FBI interview with him in which he described the call from Trump.
“Thank goodness you’re stopping him, everyone has known he’s been doing this,” Trump told Reiter, according to the FBI summary of an interview with the former police chief conducted in October 2019.
When Epstein was arrested in July 2019, Trump was asked by reporters if he had ben aware that the friend he socialized with for most of two decades had been molesting girls. “No, I had no idea,” Trump said then.
In 2020, when Maxwell was arrested, Trump was asked at a news conference if he expected her “to turn in powerful men”.
“I don’t know. I haven’t really been following it too much. I just wish her well, frankly,” Trump replied.
“I’ve met her numerous times over the years, especially since I lived in Palm Beach, and I guess they lived in Palm Beach,” he continued, referring to someone he socialized with for years. “But I wish her well, whatever it is.”
Reiter also told FBI agents that Trump had called Maxwell Epstein’s “operative”, and recalled Trump telling him “she is evil and to focus on her”, according to the FBI report.
Trump also told Reiter in 2006 that “he was around Epstein once when teenagers were present and Trump ‘got the hell out of there’”, according to the FBI interview summary.
Canadian chamber of commerce notes Trump was actually for the bridge before he was against it
Candace Laing, the Canadian chamber of commerce’s president, points out that Donald Trump supported the construction of the Windsor-Detroit bridge in 2017, before calling it an outrage and threatening to block its opening on Monday.
In a statement Laing says:
Whether this proves real or simply threatened to keep uncertainty high – blocking or barricading bridges is a self-defeating move. Through decades of collaboration, Canada and the United States built things together, created jobs together and compete globally together.
The Trump administration was right in 2017 in its joint statement that endorsed the bridge as a priority project, calling it a “vital economic link between our two countries”. Modern border infrastructure strengthens shared economic security. The path forward isn’t deconstructing established trade corridors, it’s actually building bridges.”
Immigration judge rejects Trump administration’s effort to deport Tufts student Rümeysa Öztürk over op-ed critical of Israel
An immigration judge has rejected the Trump administration’s efforts to deport Tufts University doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk, who was arrested last year as part of a crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus activists, her lawyers said in a statement on Monday.
Öztürk’s lawyers at the American Civil Liberties Union submitted a document in federal court on Monday announcing that removal proceedings against her have been terminated by an immigration judge.
The document said that an immigration judge concluded on 29 January that the Department of Homeland Security had not met its burden of proving she was removable and terminated the proceedings against her, her lawyers informed a court in New York.
Her immigration lawyer, Mahsa Khanbabai, told Reuters, the decision was issued by immigration judge Roopal Patel in Boston.
“Today, I breathe a sigh of relief knowing that despite the justice system’s flaws, my case may give hope to those who have also been wronged by the U.S. government,” Öztürk said in a statement. “Though the pain that I and thousands of other women wrongfully imprisoned by ICE have faced cannot be undone, it is heartening to know that some justice can prevail after all. I grieve for the many human beings who do not get to see the mistreatment they have faced brought into the light. When we openly talk about the many injustices around us, including the treatment of immigrants and others who have been targeted and thrown in for-profit ICE prisons, as well as what is happening in Gaza, true justice will prevail.”
On 22 January, a federal judge in Massachusetts ruled that the government’s policy of arresting and detaining scholars like Öztürk violated the first amendment, and documents released as part of the case confirmed that the state department had targeted her solely on the basis of a 2024 opinion article she co-authored in a student newspaper calling for Tufts to divest from companies with direct or indirect ties to Israel over of credible accusations of “deliberate starvation and indiscriminate slaughter of Palestinian civilians and plausible genocide”.
In 2017, Trump endorsed US-Canada bridge he now rails against
US-Canada relations were further shaken on Monday by a 299-word diatribe from Donald Trump, in which he threatened to block the opening of a multibillion-dollar binational bridge, connecting Windsor and Detroit, which the president claimed his predecessor, Barack Obama had “stupidly” approved.
What Trump failed to explain to loyal readers of his social media platform is that he himself had publicly endorsed the bridge project in 2017, before construction began, in public comments and a joint statement issued by him and the then prime minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau.
“No two countries share deeper or broader relations than Canada and the United States,” the joint statement issued on 13 February 2017 read.
“Given our shared focus on infrastructure investments, we will encourage opportunities for companies in both countries to create jobs through those investments. In particular, we look forward to the expeditious completion of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, which will serve as a vital economic link between our two countries,” Trump and Trudeau said after their first meeting that day.
“Prime Minister, I pledge to work with you in pursuit of our many shared interests,” Trump said that day. “America is deeply fortunate to have a neighbor like Canada. We have before us the opportunity to build even more bridges, and bridges of cooperation and bridges of commerce.”
In his post on Monday, Trump told Americans they should be outraged that “Canada is building a massive bridge between Ontario and Michigan. They own both the Canada and the United States side.”
In fact, Canada’s public broadcaster CBC reported in 2017, “the Canadian government agreed to pay for all construction costs, including $250m for the inspection plaza on the American side of the river, with a plan to recoup the costs through tolls” due to the importance of trade between the two nations.
At the time, almost one quarter of all goods moving between the two countries passed over the existing, privately owned Ambassador bridge or a tunnel connecting Detroit and Windsor.
Pentagon announces new deadly strike on suspected drug smugglers killed two, with one survivor
The US military’s Southern Command, which oversees operations in Latin America and the Caribbean, announced it carried out another deadly strike on Monday, killing two suspected drug smugglers in the eastern Pacific.
The statement said that the latest in what legal experts have called a series of extrajudicial killings by the Pentagon was carried out “at the direction of” the Florida-based combat unit’s new commander, Gen Francis L Donovan, who was sworn in at a Pentagon ceremony last Thursday. Donovan takes over after a US navy admiral, Alvin Holsey, chose to retire over reported disagreements over the boat-strike policy.
The announcement, which was accompanied by video of the attack, was carried out on a boat “transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific”, the Pentagon said. The US coast guard was called to search for a lone survivor of the attack, the statement said.
The new killings bring the death toll to at least 130 in 38 strikes, according to Pentagon statements tallied by the Intercept.
Federal judge blocks California from enforcing ban on federal immigration agents wearing masks
A federal judge in California issued a preliminary injunction on Monday that blocks part of a new state law that bans federal law enforcement officers from covering their faces.
The senior district court judge, Christina Snyder, who was appointed by Bill Clinton, ruled that the ban on masks in California’s No Secret Police Act could not be enforced, but did allow the part of the law that requires federal officers to display ID to the public to be enforced.
California became the first state to ban most law enforcement officers from wearing facial coverings when the act was signed into law in September by the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom. The state acted after high-profile raids last summer by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in Los Angeles and other parts of California.
The Trump administration filed a lawsuit in November challenging the laws, arguing that they would threaten the safety of officers who are facing harassment, doxing, and violence and that they violated the constitution because the state is directly regulating the federal government.
Snyder said she issued the initial ruling because the mask ban as it was enacted did not also apply to state law enforcement authorities, discriminating against the federal government.
The ruling left open the possibility to future legislation banning federal agents from wearing masks if it applied to all law enforcement agencies, with Snyder writing “the Court finds that federal officers can perform their federal functions without wearing masks”. Her ruling will go into effect 19 February.
Charlie Kirk group endorses Texas attorney general over sitting Republican senator
Turning Point Action, the political organization of the late far-right activist Charlie Kirk, has endorsed Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general, in the Republican primary for US Senate, over the sitting Republican senator, John Cornyn.
Paxton, who was impeached by the Republican-majority of the Texas House in 2023 over allegations of corruption, said that he was “honored” by the endorsement. “The movement that Charlie Kirk built has inspired millions, and I’m proud to be standing alongside Turning Point Action in carrying on the fight to save this country and defend our freedoms,” Paxton wrote on social media.
Some Republican donors in Texas are reportedly concerned that the far-right Paxton would be at risk of losing to the Democratic nominee, likely to be either Jasmine Crockett, the congresswoman, or James Talarico, a state representative.
Recent polling from the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs shows Paxton and Crockett leading the primary races, ahead of their more centrist rivals.
Trump threatens to block US-Canada bridge and claims China will ‘terminate ALL Ice Hockey being played in Canada’
As Democrats prepare to force a vote in the US House this week on Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada, the president posted a lengthy diatribe on his social media platform in which he threatened to block a bridge connecting the US and Canada and made a bizarre false claim that increased trade between Canada and China would include a ban on Canadians playing ice hockey.
Trump began his latest screed against the US’s second-largest trading partner by claiming that “everyone knows, the Country of Canada has treated the United States very unfairly for decades”.
The president also threatened to block the scheduled opening of the Gordie Howe international bridge, connecting Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan, built by a binational partnership that got approval during the Obama administration but began construction in 2018, when Trump was president.
“I will not allow this bridge to open until the United States is fully compensated for everything we have given them, and also, importantly, Canada treats the United States with the Fairness and Respect that we deserve”, Trump wrote on Monday, using his idiosyncratic capitalization.
The cause of Trump’s rage at Canada appears to be a closer trading relationship with China negotiated by the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, after Trump raised tariffs on Canadian imports. “China… will eat Canada alive”, Trump wrote.
To illustrate his point, Trump then added a particularly wild claim with no factual basis at all: “The first thing China will do is terminate ALL Ice Hockey being played in Canada, and permanently eliminate The Stanley Cup.”
Trump’s bizarre claim that China would force Canada to give up its national pastime as part of a trade deal stunned many observers when they saw it in black and white on Monday, but Canadians have heard it before.
“Canada’s not doing well, they’re doing very poorly,” Trump said last month at the opening of his wife’s documentary about herself, in comments broadcast by Canada’s CTV. “You can’t look at China as the answer,” Trump added. “The first thing they’re going to do is say ‘You’re not allowed to play ice hockey anymore’”.
In subsequent comments to reporters on Air Force One on 31 January, Trump said: “We don’t want China to take over Canada, and if they make the deal that he’s looking to make, China will take over Canada. And the first thing they’re going to do: end ice hockey.”
Raskin says Epstein’s claim that he was never asked to leave Mar-a-Lago by Trump was redacted by justice department
After privately viewing unredacted files from the federal investigations of Jeffrey Epstein, the late child sex offender, Jamie Raskin, the senior Democrat on the House judiciary committee, accused the justice department, which blacked out the names of potential co-conspirators in the public release, of a cover up.
“I think that the Department of Justice has been in a cover-up mode for many months and has been trying to sweep the entire thing under the rug,” Raskin told Chad Pergram of Fox News and other reporters. “There’s no way you run a billion-dollar international child sex trafficking ring with just two people committing crimes.”
After Raskin described seeing a redaction of an email in which Epstein had claimed that it was not true that he had ever been asked by Donald Trump to leave his Mar-a-Lago club, as Trump claimed last year, the Fox News correspondent asked him: “What did you see specific to President Trump or President Clinton, and were there specific redactions to them?”
Raskin replied: “Well I just gave you an example of one redaction related to President Trump; I did not see any redactions related to President Clinton.”
“We want all of the information to come out,” Raskin added. “And the only redactions should be the names of the victims and the identifying information. Unfortunately, they violated that precept by releasing the names of a lot of victims, which is either spectacular incompetence and sloppiness on their part or, as a lot of the survivors believe, a deliberate threat to other survivors who are thinking about coming forward, that they need to be careful because they can be exposed and have their personal information dragged through the mud as well.”
Members of Congress to review un-redacted Epstein documents
Later today, Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, the Democrat and Republican who led the congressional push to release files from the federal investigations into Jeffrey Epstein will address the press after their private viewing of copies of the files without redactions.
In an episode of the Shawn Ryan Show podcast released on Monday, the California congressman told the former navy Seal: “There are obviously people who need to be prosecuted and investigated. They haven’t released the names of the co-conspirators still.”
“Every single person who is in those files who says, ‘I went to Epstein’s island’… or ‘I went to Epstein’s home and I know that there were young girls there’… any one of those people need to be investigated, they need to be hauled in front of Congress and they need to be held accountable,” Khanna told the conservative podcaster.
Here’s a recap of the day so far
Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime companion and accomplice, invoked her fifth amendment rights while appearing at a virtual deposition before the House oversight committee today. Her lawyer, David Oscar Marcus, later said that if the American public “truly want to hear the unfiltered truth about what happened” his client would be prepared to “speak fully and honestly” if Donald Trump grants her clemency.
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle decried Maxwell’s refusal to answer questions. James Comer, the Republican chair of the oversight committee, called her appearance “very disappointing”. Meanwhile, ranking member Robert Garcia said that Maxwell’s silence appeared to be part of a “cover-up” by the White House.“Who is she protecting? And we need to know why she’s been given special treatment at a low security prison by the Trump Administration,” Garcia said.
James Comer also did not rule out deposing commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, when speaking to reporters today. Lutnick is facing mounting calls from lawmakers to resign for his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, including a planned visit to the disgraced financier on his private island in 2012 – four years after Epstein was sentenced to 13 months in jail for soliciting a minor for prostitution.
Congress is facing a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) if doesn’t pass a full year funding bill by Friday. Lawmakers passed a stopgap funding bill to keep the department running until 13 February, while Democrats negotiate with GOP colleagues and the White House over further guardrails for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Oversight chair doesn’t rule out deposing commerce secretary
James Comer, chair of the House oversight committee, did not rule out deposing commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, when speaking to reporters today.
Lutnick is facing mounting calls from lawmakers to resign for his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, including a planned visit to the disgraced financier on his private island in 2012 – four years after Epstein was sentenced to 13 months in jail for soliciting a minor for prostitution.
Howard Lutnick looks on as President Donald Trump announces the creation of a critical minerals reserve during an event in the Oval Office at the White House, 2 February 2026. Photograph: ABACA/Shutterstock
On Monday, Comer noted that his committee is focused on the five upcoming depositions as part of their ongoing investigation into the handling of Epstein’s crimes. These include former president Bill Clinton and secretary of state Hillary Clinton. “We don’t want to do anything to jeopardize the five that we have on the book. So we’ll see what happens here, and we’ll move forward,” Comer added.
Lutnick said last year in a podcast interview that he had no relationship with Epstein after 2005. But email exchanges in the latest trove of documents released by the justice department show that the pair did exchange several emails and correspondence in the years following – often through assistants and intermediaries.
Ghislaine Maxwell prepared to speak ‘unfiltered truth’ about Epstein if Trump grants clemency, lawyer says
Earlier, we reported that Ghislaine Maxwell invoked her fifth amendment rights while appearing at a virtual deposition before the House oversight committee. Her lawyer, David Oscar Marcus, later said that if the American public “truly want to hear the unfiltered truth about what happened” his client would be prepared to “speak fully and honestly” if Donald Trump grants her clemency.
“Some may not like what they hear, but the truth matters,” Marcus added. “For example, both President Trump and President Clinton are innocent of any wrongdoing. Ms Maxwell alone can explain why, and the public is entitled to that explanation.”
After Maxwell refused to answer questions today, James Comer, the oversight committee’s Republican chair, said that it was “very disappointing”.
“We had many questions to ask about the crimes she and Epstein committed, as well as questions about potential co-conspirators. We sincerely want to get to the truth to the American people, and justice for the survivors,” Comer added.
