Climactic launches hybrid fund to get startups through the ‘valley of death’

The new project, called Material Scale, will initially focus on climate tech startups in the apparel industry.

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Judge Orders Trump To Return Slavery Exhibit To Philadelphia Museum

A federal judge has ordered President Donald Trump's administration to return an exhibit on slavery to Philadelphia's Independence National Historical Park.

In a 40-page ruling on Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Cynthia Rufe compared the Interior Department and Secretary Doug Burgum to George Orwell's "Ministry of Truth."

"As if the Ministry of Truth in George Orwell's 1984 now existed, with its motto 'Ignorance is Strength,' this Court is now asked to determine whether the federal government has the power it claims—to dissemble and disassemble historical truths when it has some domain over historical facts. It does not," Rufe wrote. "The President's House is a component of Independence National Historical Park that commemorates the site of the first official presidential residence and the people who lived there, including people enslaved by President George Washington."

"On January 22, 2026, the National Park Service ('NPS') removed panels, displays, and video exhibits that referenced slavery and information about the individuals enslaved at the President's House," she noted before granting a preliminary injunction. "There can be no prejudice to Defendants' restoration of the status quo as of January 21, 2026, which requires that Defendants reinstall all panels, displays, and video exhibits that were previously in place."

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GOP Headquarters In Altoona Vandalized With 'PEDOPHILE PROTECTORS'

It's hard to disagree with Eau Claire County chair Fred Kappus here. We shouldn't be defacing private property just because one party wants to protect pedophiles. The left should always be polite and respect people who protect pedophiles. And if Republicans want to keep as their slogan "PEDOPHILE PROTECTORS," then so be it. We should respect their choice.

Source: WISN

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. —The Republican Party of Eau Claire County headquarters was vandalized the weekend of Feb. 14, according to chairman Fred Kappus.

The words "pedophile protectors" were written in paint across the front of the building, along with it being egged.

"We don't need this to occur," Kappus said. "We have a lot of differences between the left and right. However, we should keep them civil."

Kappus said the RPECC is offering a $1,000 reward for information.

The Republican Party of Eau Claire County headquarters in Altoona, Wisconsin, was vandalized between Friday evening and Saturday morning.

Windows were spray-painted with “pedophile protectors,” and about a dozen eggs were thrown at the building. — WEAU pic.twitter.com/BFbBd9My0D

— NewsWire (@NewsWire_US) February 15, 2026

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'Clutching Pearls': Noem Doubles Down On Her 'Right People' Comment

Oh, how absolutely unsurprising – Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is utterly baffled that anyone could take issue with her totally innocent musings about making sure "the right people" are voting for "the right leaders." She's graciously dismissed all the fuss as just good old common sense, because clearly that's all it was. Excuse me, I need to get a bucket so I can throw up.

When CNN's Jake Tapper dared to bring up her remarks to border czar Tom Homan on "State of the Union," Noem took to Xitter to express her deep sympathy for critics who must be so tired from their exhausting hobby of "manufacturing outrage" over her perfectly reasonable, not-at-all-concerning statements about who should get to participate in democracy.

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Have money, will travel: a16z’s hunt for the next European unicorn

According to a16z, it has eyes around the world in order to spot companies as early as local funds might.

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'Clown Show': Obama Responds To Trump's Racist Ape Video—And Nails It

Donald Trump was deeply remorseful about unleashing a racist video depicting former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama as apes during Black History Month. Just kidding! When reporters confronted him, Trump insisted he "didn't make a mistake," while his team conveniently blamed a nameless staffer—who, naturally, faced zero consequences. Plot twist: Trump is the staffer.

Political commentator Brian Tyler Cohen sat down with Obama for a 47-minute interview that dropped on Saturday, where he asked the former president to weigh in on the video and other examples of "cruelty" coming from Trump and his crew.

"Well, first of all, I think it’s important to recognize that the majority of the American people find this behavior deeply troubling," Obama said. "It is true that it gets attention. It’s true that it’s a distraction. But as I’m traveling around the country, as you’re traveling around the country, you meet people, they still believe in decency, courtesy, kindness."

"There’s this sort of clown show that’s happening in social media and on television, and what is true is that there doesn’t seem to be any shame about this among people who used to feel like you had to have some sort of decorum and a sense of propriety and respect for the office, right?" he continued. "That’s been lost."

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White House Calls ICE Murders Of Two Citizens A Successful Minnesota Operation

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed the highly controversial and violent ICE raids in Minneapolis was a resounding success, ignoring the murders of Renée Good and Alex Pretti by rogue mask-wearing agents.

When Tom Homan basically ended the operation in Minneapolis, MAGAts like Steve Bannon were furious because it meant surrender to the cult.

It was an admission that Stephen Miller's white nationalist goon squad went too far.

The truth can never be expressed if it is a negative for Demented Donald, so Trump's AI press bot joined Fox and Friends to deliver the MAGA propaganda report.

EARHARDT: So, Democrats, they were celebrating when Tom Homan announced that he was going to pull down the immigration operations in Minnesota. So what does this mean for immigration enforcement? I know a lot of people have been taken out that are here illegally, but there are thousands more.

How many was it, Brian? 13?

BRIAN: Yeah, 1,600.

EARHARDT: 1,600. 1,600 more that are still there, according to Tom Homan.

LEAVITT: The Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota has been a resounding success.

It has resulted in the detention and deportation of more than 4,000 illegal alien criminals. Let me repeat, 4,000 illegal alien criminals just from Minnesota alone.

And while the surge is coming to an end, immigration enforcement in Minnesota absolutely will not.

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In a changed VC landscape, this exec is doubling down on overlooked founders

As much of Silicon Valley chases mega-rounds and buzzy AI deals, Stacy Brown-Philpot is running Cherryrock Capital like a throwback to venture capital's earlier days

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‘Clueless’ -inspired app Alta partners with brand Public School to start integrating styling tools into websites

This week, Alta unveiled its first integration collaboration, teaming up with Public School, a storied New York City brand.

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CNBC's Steve Liesman Drills GOP Rep Over 'National Embarrassment' Of ICE Camps

CNBC host Steve Liesman rebuked Rep. Jason Smith for not taking responsibility over deplorable conditions in ICE detention centers, describing them as an embarrassment for the administration.

Congressman Smith joined Squawk Box to discuss the state of affairs on Trump's tariffs, reorganizing ICE, and the murders of Good and Pretti.

The mood got dark for Smith when Liesman began systematically attacking the DHS over its behavior in Minnesota and the immigration detention centers overall.

Liesman asked if the Border Patrol and ICE need to be reformed, which lead to some heated exchanges.

LIESMAN: There aren't two people dead as a result of problems in government that need to be reformed. I mean, in Minnesota, right?

I mean, there are people in the streets that are protesting the actions by this agency, and there isn't concern about what they might do with elections and picking up people off the streets in schools, right?

I mean, that's a different story. Are you not in favor of reform for ICE specifically?

Rep. Smith, as usual, refused to comment on an ongoing investigation and then blamed President Biden for having porous borders. Kernen let him spew his bullshit about the security of the border under Trump.

Then when asked about the detention centers, Smith did the both-sides jig and Liesman would not have it.

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Sex toys maker Tenga says hacker stole customer information

The Japanese sex toy maker said a hacker broke into an employee's inbox and stole customer names, email addresses, and correspondence, including order details and customer service inquiries.

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'Whiskey' Pete Hegseth Smacked Down In Kelly’s ‘Illegal Orders’ Case

It’s another big, public fail for Donald Trump’s efforts to punish Democratic members of Congress for reminding U.S. servicemembers, in a video, they are obligated to follow the law and to disobey any illegal orders. Felonious Trump was so triggered by their remarks, he raged that it was “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”

So far, it’s not punishable at all. Which is how it should be.

On Tuesday, Trump lackey Jeanine Pirro suffered a humiliating 0-6 loss trying to punish the six Democrats who spoke out in the video. She was unable to pass the very low bar of getting a grand jury to indict a single one of them.

On Thursday, federal judge Richard J. Leon temporarily blocked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s efforts to retaliate against Sen. Mark Kelly, a retired Naval officer, for participating in the video. Kelly had sued Hegseth and the Department of Defense for trying to discipline him and reduce his retirement rank and pension.

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Fed Background Investigator Busted In Sex Sting

Bloomington, Minnesota, Police Chief Booker Hodges was discussing the results of a sex sting operation his department conducted, and one of the people they caught was more noteworthy than average:

Police in Bloomington, MN just announced that one of the guys they arrested in an underage sex trafficking sting was a **background checker for ICE agents.**

He had a high security clearance in the Trump administration... and he was caught trying to abuse children. Sickening.

— Minnesota House DFL (@mnhousedfl.bsky.social) 2026-02-10T20:53:32.740Z

This is the most disturbing arrest that we've had here. He is a backgrounder for ICE, Homeland Security, and federal agencies. So when you're getting your security clearance, this is one of the guys that does your backgrounds, which is kind of scary.

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Automattic planned to target 10 competitors with royalty fees, WP Engine claims in new filing

WP Engine claims Automattic was going to target more hosting companies with royalty fees.

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Activist investor Ancora publicly opposes the WBD-Netflix deal

An investment group is trying to sway Netflix shareholders to reject the WBD deal in favor of Paramount.

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'Staggering Incompetence': Raskin Tears Into Pam Bondi Right In Her Stupid Face

On Wednesday morning, Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin tore into Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was scheduled to appear before the House Judiciary Committee to discuss Department of Justice oversight. This testimony comes several weeks following the Trump administration's release of its last batch of documents concerning Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender.

Raskin isn't playing around, after all, when he searched Donald J. Trump's name in the unredacted Epstein files the previous day, the president's name came up "more than a million times." Bondi has been shielding the president from the biggest cover-up in American history.

'You're not showing a lot of interest in the victims, Madam Attorney General, whether it's Epstein's human trafficking ring or the homicidal governmental violence against citizens in Minneapolis," Raskin said. "As Attorney General, you're siding with the perpetrators, and you're ignoring the victims."

"That will be your legacy unless you act quickly to change course," he continued. "You're running a massive Epstein cover-up right out of the Department of Justice."

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Tom Homan Warned Trump To Keep Border Operations Targeted

During an interview for an upcoming book last year, Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, said Trump's approach to immigration should be a targeted enforcement operation, which would be the only way to keep the faith of the American people on his side.

NBC News reports that Homan made these comments for the upcoming book, “Undue Process: The Inside Story of Trump’s Mass Deportation Program.”

“I think the vast majority of the American people think criminal illegal aliens need to leave. And if we stick to that prioritization, I think we keep the faith of the American people. “I think the vast majority of the American people think criminal illegal aliens need to leave. And if we stick to that prioritization, I think we keep the faith of the American people,” Homan said.

This is a far cry from reality.

Shadow president Stephen Miller's thirst for mass deportations has turned this country upside down, while ICE agents wearing masks have performed controversial abductions, murders, and caused massive chaos. These violent actions have destroyed any notion that the American public could be behind Trump and his deportation plans. The latest polls reflect the horror Americans feel about ICE's operations.

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Facebook adds new AI features, animated profile photos, and backgrounds for text posts

Facebook's new AI features let users animate their profile pics, restyle their Stories and Memories, and add backgrounds to text posts.

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Lidar-maker Ouster buys vision company StereoLabs as sensor consolidation continues

Ouster is paying $35 million along with 1.8 million shares.

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Ghislane Maxwell Gives James Comer The Middle Finger

Jeffrey Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell invoked her Fifth Amendment right to refuse to answer all questions put to her by the House Oversight Committee during a virtual deposition earlier today.

Chairman James Comer, who spent the entirety of his chairmanship investigating Hunter Biden and Joe Biden over nonsense, told the press the convicted sex offender refused to answer even one question unless she received clemency from Donald Trump.

Wrong way Comer claimed he wants to get to the truth about Epstein, but the American public knows that's a lie.

COMER: As expected, Elaine Maxwell took the fifth and refused to answer any questions.

This is obviously 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 of the American people and justice for the survivors.

If Comer wanted to get to the truth, he would have released all the Epstein files and removed most redactions, but alas, he did not.

Rep. Comer is still champing at the bit to question Hillary and Bill Clinton, but the US public wants to see Trump answer questions under oath since his name appeared in the Epstein Files thousands of times.

Why isn't Trump scheduled to testify? Right, Comer said, Trump commented enough to the press about Epstein, so there is no need.

Maxwell's refusal to name names makes Deputy AG Todd Blanche look even worse than he did before.

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Crypto.com places $70M bet on AI.com domain ahead of Super Bowl

The purchase rewrites the domain record books -- not that the crypto industry has ever been accused of restraint when it comes to spending.

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Okay, I’m slightly less mad about that ‘Magnificent Ambersons’ AI project

But this is still a bad idea.

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'Oh, Come On': CNN Anchor Ain't Buying RFK Jr. Vaccine BS Oz Is Shoveling

Dr. Mehmet Oz's nonsense that Robert F. Kennedy is supposedly "at the very front of" vaccine advocacy was too much for the usually passive Dana Bash to stomach.

Here's Oz trying to pretend that Kennedy isn't a raging lunatic antivaxxer when asked about the recent measles outbreaks we've seen across the country on this Sunday's State of the Union on CNN:

BASH: Speaking of transparency, I do want to, before I let you go, ask you about a record surge in measles in the United States. South Carolina, for example, is currently reporting 800 cases.

It's the worst outbreak since measles was declared eradicated more than three decades ago. Is this a consequence of the administration undermining support or advocacy for measles and other vaccines?

OZ: I don't believe so.

We have advocated for measles vaccines all along. Secretary Kennedy has been on the very front of this.

BASH: Oh, come on.

OZ: No, he's -- when the first outbreak happened in Texas, he said, get your vaccines for measles, because that's an example of an ailment that you should get vaccinated against.

What happened with the core schedule that was released in the beginning of last month was to say, listen, we look at what happened in Europe. In Europe, if you give people 80 different vaccine doses to take, people start...

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Trump’s Prescription Drug Site Is Just Another Trump Con

If Donald Trump and his Republican puppets really think his TrumpRx site is any antidote to the skyrocketing health insurance premiums or grocery prices they have caused, they should be in for a rude awakening.

The site, which I will not link to, operates as a portal for consumers to purchase their drugs elsewhere. But as The New Republic pointed out, all the drugs offered on the site are from brand-name manufacturers, making them more expensive than generic options. Almost all are covered through insurance, for those still able to get it. The website even advises those lucky individuals to check their insurance co-pays first.

The New York Times said people without insurance could benefit. But they may well be better off not bothering with it. The Times cites Pfizer’s drug Azulfidine, for autoimmune conditions, as an example. It’s listed on the cite for $100. But the site doesn’t mention that the drug has gone generic and that a search on GoodRx turned up options for under $40.

Also, going directly to several of the drugmakers' websites can get you the same prices as featured on TrumpRx, The Times noted. The whole thing “adds to the complexity of a system that can make it extraordinarily difficult for people to compare prices and figure out where to find the least expensive drug,” The Times said.

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NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo joins Kalshi as an investor

Antetokounmpo is the first NBA player to directly invest in Kalshi.

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Fox Takes All Day To Finally Try To Whitewash Trump's Racist Obama Post

Fox tried to ignore Trump's racist post on "truth social" depicting the Obama's as apes, and only after it sparked outrage from some Republicans, did their best to try to whitewash it.

As Mediaite reported, there was no mention of what happened on either Fox News or Fox Business Network until the segment above on Special Report with Bret Baier aired at 6pm eastern time.

Here's the pitiful exchange between host Bret Baier and correspondent Peter Doocy, where they unquestioningly reported that it was a staffer and not Trump who posted the video, while bemoaning that the White House was forced to go "off message" about the Dow and their desire to push Trump's new scam prescription drug portal, TrumpRx.

BAIER: President Trump is congratulating the nation on the big Wall Street numbers. Meanwhile, the White House is engaged in damage control tonight over a posting on the president's social media account that many people are calling racist.

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Prince Andrew advisor pitched Jeffrey Epstein on investing in EV startups like Lucid Motors

The mysterious businessman pitched Jeffrey Epstein on numerous mobility startups in an era when the sector was white hot, according to TechCrunch's review of hundreds of documents released by the Department of Justice.

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Maybe AI agents can be lawyers after all

This week's release of Opus 4.6 shook up the Agentic leaderboards

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Trump Confronted Over Awful Poll Numbers On The Economy

During a Wednesday interview with NBC Nightly News host Tom Llamas, serial liar Donald J. Trump insisted he was seeing positive polling numbers on the economy. Llamas challenged this claim, pointing out that Trump's economic approval ratings were actually unfavorable.

Once caught in the lie he has repeatedly been spewing, Trump then modified his position, arguing instead that his economic polling ought to be strong.

"And I'm getting, starting to get great polls on the economy, which I think is-, Trump falsely said.

"The polls on the economy aren't, they're not great," Llamas shot back.

"They should be great," Trump said. "They should be."

"So why aren't they?" Llamas asked.

"I don't know," Trump replied.

I'm not sure whether MAGA's eyes, which roll around like dice in their heads, are waking up to this or not, but when Trump's Agriculture Secretary, Brooke Rollins, appeared on NewsNation Now with Connell McShane to suggest that the economy isn't so bad. After all, you can get for a "cost around $3 a meal, a piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli, a corn tortilla, and one other thing," and you're set!

It's no wonder that Trump's approval rating on the economy is in the shitter, and his job numbers are garbage.

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Elizabeth Warren Eviscerates Scott Bessent: 'I Don't Know If You Can't Hear Me?'

Sen. Elizabeth Warren refused to let Trump Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent lie about the state of the US economy and pounded him into the ground with the efficiency of a nail gun in plywood as he tried to do so.

The Senator from Massachusetts started her questioning by asking Bessent if he believed Trump when he claimed the affordability crisis was a hoax, a scam, and a con job.

"Is affordability a hoax, a scam, or a con job?"

Bessent tried to gaslight the senator by rewriting Trump's meaning and claiming the media should blame President Biden for Trump's economic problems.

That is a lie since Trump continually claims the US economy is the best in our history, and that's why he called "affordability" concerns a hoax.

When Warren called out Trump's lies about grocery prices going down, Bessent, like an idiot, claimed some items have dropped in price.

WARREN: Last week, President Trump said, quote, we have the groceries going down. Did grocery prices drop in 2025?

BESSENT: Numerous prices have.

WARREN: Did grocery prices drop in 2025?

Numerous grocery prices have gone down.

WARREN: I'm sorry. I don't know if you can't hear me. Did grocery prices drop in 2025?

Sen. Warren then went over statistics issued by the Trump administration.

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One of Europe’s largest universities knocked offline for days after cyberattack

An alleged ransomware attack has taken down the systems of the Sapienza University of Rome.

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Grandpa Trump Goes Off The Rails At National Prayer Breakfast

The National Prayer Breakfast is supposed to be nonpartisan, and indeed not an event to use as a battering ram against your perceived enemies. Faith wasn't much of a topic for Trump, as he spoke of his ego, admitting that he had to win the 2020 election "for my own ego. I would've had a bad ego for the rest of my life. Now I really have a big ego." Of course, Trump's speech was littered with an abundance of lies, but he's right about his massive ego.

Trump, a diapered old man who wears lifts in his shoes to be taller, said that now "We have a military where they all look like Tom Cruise."

Of course, he insisted, "We brought back the word 'Christmas." Sure thing, buddy, but children can only have 2 dolls and a few pencils. The Christmas meal can consist of a piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli, a tortilla, and one other thing, according to Trump's Agriculture Secretary, Brooke Rollins.

Trump gave House Speaker Mike Johnson a Christian shoutout, saying, "He'll say to me sometimes at lunch, 'Sir, may we pray?' I'll say, 'Excuse me? We're having lunch."

Oh boy. Trump attempted to introduce the president of the Congo, but forgot his name.

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Meet Gizmo: A TikTok for interactive, vibe-coded mini apps

Gizmo's app is like a TikTok for vibe-coded mini apps... and it's a lot of fun.

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Amazon to begin testing AI tools for film and TV production next month

Amazon MGM Studios will reportedly begin a closed beta program in March to test its AI tools to help with film and TV production.

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A16z just raised $1.7B for AI infrastructure. Here’s where it’s going.

Andreessen Horowitz just raised a whopping ⁠new $15 billion in funding⁠. And a $1.7 billion chunk of that is going to its ⁠infrastructure team⁠, the one responsible for some of its biggest, most prominent AI investments including Black Forrest Labs, Cursor, OpenAI, ⁠ElevenLabs⁠, Ideogram, ⁠Fal⁠ and dozens of others.   A16z ⁠general partner with the infra team Jennifer Li⁠ (who oversees such investments as ElevenLabs – just valued at $11 billion); Ideagram and Fal, has a clear thesis on where the team is looking […]

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2026 plans: What’s next for Startup Battlefield 200

See what to expect for Startup Battlefield 200 in 2026, the ultimate startup pitch competition on the global stage at TechCrunch Disrupt. Join the mailing list to be the first to know when applications drop.

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White House Shamed In Court For Using Deep Fake To Smear Church Protester

A court filing called out the White House for creating a deep fake with artificial intelligence to smear Minnesota church protester Nekima Levy-Armstrong.

In a filing over the weekend, attorneys for Levy-Armstrong called on the government to drop pre-trial release conditions.

According to the document, Levy-Armstrong's co-defendants from the recent church protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) did not face the same burdensome pre-trial conditions.

"There is no rational basis for treating Ms. Levy-Armstrong differently from her co-defendants," the attorneys insisted. "She has no prior substantive criminal record, she has lived in Minnesota for 23 years, she has a husband and children in Minnesota, and operates two businesses."

"Ms. Levy-Armstrong regularly travels in connection with her business and community activism, and should not be required to seek permission from probation or the Court for trips to other states or other countries," the motion continued. "There is no basis for concern that she will not return to Minnesota as required."

The document also alleged that Levy-Armstrong's husband was being deprived of his Second Amendment rights because she was ordered not to have a gun in her home.

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Two Stanford students launch $2M startup accelerator for students nationwide

Two Stanford students announced Monday that they have raised $2 million for an accelerator program called Breakthrough Ventures, which seeks to fund the businesses of college students and recent graduates nationwide.

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Donald Trump Hate-Watched The Grammys, And He Wants To Sue

Donald Trump hate-watched the Grammys, and quickly took his angry fingers to Truth Social to threaten to sue its host, comedian Trevor Noah, over a joke about the president and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Noah said, “That is a Grammy that every artist wants almost as much as Trump wants Greenland, which makes sense because Epstein’s island is gone, he needs a new one to hang out with Bill Clinton.”

Trump was filled with rage.

"The Grammy Awards are the WORST, virtually unwatchable!" Trump insisted. "CBS is lucky not to have this garbage litter their airwaves any longer."

"The host, Trevor Noah, whoever he may be, is almost as bad as Jimmy Kimmel at the Low Ratings Academy Awards," he continued. "Noah said, INCORRECTLY about me, that Donald Trump and Bill Clinton spent time on Epstein Island. WRONG!!!"

"I can’t speak for Bill, but I have never been to Epstein Island, nor anywhere close, and until tonight’s false and defamatory statement, have never been accused of being there, not even by the Fake News Media," he wrote. "Noah, a total loser, better get his facts straight, and get them straight fast."

"It looks like I’ll be sending my lawyers to sue this poor, pathetic, talentless, dope of an M.C., and suing him for plenty$," he added. "Ask Little George Slopadopolus, and others, how that all worked out. Also ask CBS! Get ready Noah, I’m going to have some fun with you! President DJT"

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What Snowflake’s deal with OpenAI tells us about the enterprise AI race

Snowflake is the latest enterprise to sign multi-year deals with multiple AI companies in what could be a sign to come of a future trend.

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QAnon Sure Has Been Quiet Lately. Could This Be Why?

The latest batch of the Epstein Files is interesting, in a nauseating way. The people of the United States have been gaslit for so long, but now finally the truth is making an appearance. As it happens, the QAnon conspiracy ideology that claimed, without evidence, that the Democratic party was controlled by a cabal of global elites headed up by Hillary Clinton who engage in pedophilia, child sex-trafficking, ritual cannibalism of children, and worship Satan, isn't true. Who knew?

QAnon has been quiet even since batches of the Epstein Files were released, showing Donald J. Trump was mentioned thousands of times in notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein's documents. The bizarre movement began when someone known only as Q posted a series of conspiracy theories on the internet forum 4chan, which was founded by Christopher Poole, who went by the online handle "moot."

Well, Poole got a shoutout in the Epstein Files.

(click through for the veiled pizza references)

Guys, I mean for crying out loud, there are multiple mentions of *Pizza-related* logistics in the Epstein files.

The real Pizzagate? pic.twitter.com/YIlnfNMg5G

— Joshua Reed Eakle 🗽 (@JoshEakle) February 1, 2026

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Amazon’s ‘Melania’ documentary makes $7M on opening weekend

While the documentary is exceeding box office expectations, it's unlikely to make a profit in theaters.

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Files Dump: Howard Lutnick Visited Jeffrey Epstein’s Island

The release of some more of the Epstein Files today produced some wild tidbits of interactions with notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Included in the latest file dump are complaints made with the FBI containing wild allegations against Donald J. Trump. Those complaints are uncorroborated tips; however, one name has been confirmed: Trump's billionaire commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick.

According to the Files, Lutnick planned a trip to Jeffrey Epstein’s private island in 2012, years after he claimed to have severed ties with Epstein.

The New York Times reports:

In December 2012, the records show, Mr. Lutnick sent an email to Mr. Epstein saying that he had a group of people — including his wife and children and another family — who were visiting the Caribbean. He asked where Mr. Epstein was located and whether they could visit for a meal.

Mr. Epstein replied through an assistant to give more information about the location of Little St. James, his private island off the coast of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. They eventually settled on plans for a lunch gathering.

Prominent people who were close to Mr. Epstein have been scrutinized in recent years for their visits to Little St. James, but Mr. Lutnick’s planned visit had not been previously disclosed. Reached by phone on Friday, Mr. Lutnick said he could not comment about the island visit because he had not seen the latest Epstein documents.

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SpaceX seeks federal approval to launch 1 million solar-powered satellite data centers

SpaceX's filing claims these satellites will be “a first step towards becoming a Kardashev II-level civilization — one that can harness the Sun’s full power."

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Blue Origin pauses space tourism flights to focus on the moon

The company is trying to take advantage of President Donald Trump's desire to return astronauts to the lunar surface by the end of his term.

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Uber is literally in the driver’s seat when it comes to AV bets

Self-driving truck startup Waabi’s billion-dollar fundraise isn’t just about trucks.   The deal, for $750 million up front plus another $250 million from Uber tied to deployment milestones, marks a major expansion into robotaxis for the company founded by former Uber AI chief Raquel Urtasun. It also feels like another chip from Uber on the autonomous vehicle roulette table. With more […]

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Satya Nadella insists people are using Microsoft’s Copilot AI a lot

With Microsoft spending many billions on data centers, and rumors that no one is using its AI, CEO Satya Nadella shared some usage numbers.

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Apple buys Israeli startup Q.ai as the AI race heats up

Q.ai is an Israeli startup specializing in imaging and machine learning, particularly technologies that enable devices to interpret whispered speech and enhance audio in noisy environments.

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ICE Barbie Throws Stephen Miller And Trump Under The Bus

Axios is reporting that sources said DHS Sec. Kristi Noem is tired of being "hung out to dry" and said, "Everything I've done, I've done at the direction of the president and Stephen."

Wow. Buckle up.

Noem has been getting pilloried from all sides of the political aisle for defending ICE agents, apparently without watching any of the multitude of videos that were readily available and stated unequivocally Alex Pretti acted violently, with the intent of killing law enforcement and wanted to harm federal agents.

Stephen Miller said Pretti was an assassin who tried to murder federal agents. .

Border Patrol lunatic Gregory Bovino echoed much the same on his television appearances and was quickly made the scapegoat by Donald Trump.

Why would a DHS Secretary rely on second and third hand information before going to the press to make wildly inacurate and harmful statements.

If Sec. Noem had any respect for her job she would have checked and verified the events beforehand. She has an entire staff at her disposal.

In the Trump administration her only job is to do what he demands and go on TV to level accusations against Democrats and protestors.

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AI data labeler Handshake buys Cleanlab, an acquisition target of multiple others

The deal is structured as an acquihire of nine key Cleanlab's researchers.

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Anthropic reportedly upped its latest raise to $20B

Anthropic looks to raise $20 billion at more than $300 billion valuation, according to reports.

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Amazon agrees to pay consumers $309M in returns policy settlement

The lawsuit, filed in 2023, alleged that Amazon caused "substantial unjustified monetary losses” for consumers who returned an item but were still charged for it.

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TikTok joins Snap to settle social media addiction lawsuit

Jury selection begins Tuesday as this case moves closer to trial.

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Prominent Lawyer Drops Out Of Race For MN GOP Gov Nomination

Until today, Chris Madel was a leading GOP candidate for the Republican nomination as Minnesota's next governor.

In a video statement posted Monday morning announcing the end of his campaign, Madel said he supported the goal of Operation Metro Surge to deport “the worst of the worst,” but that the mission had expanded too far past its stated focus on “true public safety threats.” He said he personally had heard from local law-enforcement officers of Hispanic and Asian descent who had been pulled over by ICE.

“United States citizens, particularly those of color, live in fear. United States citizens are carrying papers to prove their citizenship,” he said. “That’s wrong.”

He's not being completely altruistic. He said he also saw that ICE had, in his words, made it impossible for a Republican to run in Minnesota.

pretty wild statement re: Republican Chris Madel drop from race for MN governor:

"Saying he cannot support the national GOP's 'stated retribution on citizens of our state, nor can I count myself a member of a party that would do so."

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Fox News Host More Upset With 'F-Word' Than With Murdered US Citizen

The second hour of Fox News' The BIG Weekend Show on Saturday, just hours after the shooting, did their best to exalt all ICE agents while whining about the protestors after Alex Pretti was accosted by a group of ICE agents, thrown to the ground, and then shot dead multiple times while facing the ground.

Host Johnny Joey Jones threw the coverage to reporter Steve Harrington to describe the scene and then another co-host jumped in.

HOST: And so to, you know, say that they're business owners and employees, that they were scared to go to work because they don't want to be arrested, blah, blah, blah.

Fox News considered the occupation of ICE in Minnesota, assaults, and murder that has frightened business owners as a ho-hum blah, blah, blah event.

To add salt to the wound the idiot behind the microphone becomes more aggitatted that protestors shouted the "F-word" at ICE agents instead of exuding any form of empathy for the murdered 37-year-old Alex Pretti.

HOST: But what are you seeing in terms of the businesses having to respond to, I don't know, massive crowds of people screaming the F word at law enforcement and agents?

ICE agents are armed to the teeth, but the Fox host is furious they were being cursed at after viciously killing another Minnesotan.

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VA Nurse Murdered By Federal Agents In Minneapolis

The news started to spread on social media this morning of another ICE shooting in Minneapolis. Someone sitting in a donut shop across the street recorded the entire thing:

BREAKING: ICE just shot and killed someone again in Minneapolis

— Molly Ploofkins (@mollyploofkins.bsky.social) 2026-01-24T15:59:17.032Z

UPDATE: Cell phone video from another witness, synced with the other.

https://bsky.app/profile/dominicervolina.com/post/3md6wetpavk2q

UPDATE: Minneapolis police chief Brian O'Hara identified the victim as Alex Pretti, a 51-year-old white male with a license to carry, and no previous record with police beyond traffic tickets.

He is a U.S. Citizen.

I assumed this CYA bullshit would happen, because that's what LEOs do. Listen closely: Most of the shots happened after the victim appeared to be already dead.

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Tech CEOs boast and bicker about AI at Davos

There were times at this week’s meeting of the World Economic Forum when Davos seemed transformed into a high-powered tech conference.

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GOPer Pretends TACO Trump Is Master Deal Maker After Greenland Cave

Republican Indiana Sen. Jim Banks and Fox "not news" host John Roberts beclown themselves pretending that TACO boy is some master negotiator after he caved on his threats to Greenland.

What a freaking embarrassment these people are. Here's the back and forth during Banks' appearance on this Friday's America Reports, pretending Trump didn't shit the bed in front of the world at Davos, and lying to their audience about the fact that Trump basically got nothing following all of his invasion and tariff threats.

ROBERTS: Let's bring in Republican Indiana Senator Jim Banks, who says Greenland could be the key to President Trump's Golden Dome program, a project he says will be built largely in his home state.

Senator, good to have you with us. So we're hearing that there's a framework of a deal. We don't know what it will entail. We've been hearing whispers of maybe U.S. sovereignty over certain small areas in Greenland. What do you know? How do you think this might work?

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The Rippling/Deel corporate spying scandal may have taken another wild turn

The Department of Justice may be conducting a criminal investigation. This is arguably the biggest drama between two HR startups ever.

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How did Davos turn into a tech conference?

The World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos felt different this year, and not just because Meta and Salesforce took over storefronts on the main promenade. AI dominated the conversation in a way that overshadowed traditional topics like climate change and global poverty, and the CEOs weren’t holding back. There was public criticism of trade policy, warnings about AI […]

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Trump Claims He's A Dictator

Addressing leaders at the World Economic Forum, Donald Trump veered off into La-la land when he proclaimed himself dictator.

Trump rambled about Larry, and then he bragged about getting great reviews on his speech -- (Karoline Leavitt must have told him how much she loved it.) -- and was surprised because people usually call him a horrible dictator.

Demented Donald then boasted that the world needs a dictator sometimes.

TRUMP: I mean, the people here, I guess because of Larry, the people that came to this event, it's really incredible. I wasn't sure how it was gonna turn out. We had somebody, as you know, that ran it for many, many years, and I'm not sure what happened there, but I figured, well, that's all right.

They had a hell of a run in Davos. Then I heard Larry was taking it over, more or less, and he called me.

He said, would you do me a favor? Would you be there? And we've had some great business dealings together, and he's a great, he's one of you, he's one of the greats, and it was an honor.

We had a good speech. We got great reviews. I can't believe it. We got good reviews on that speech.

Usually they say, he's a horrible dictator-type person. I'm a dictator, but sometimes you need a dictator, but they didn't say that in this case, and no, it's common sense.

It's all based on common sense.

It's not conservative or liberal or anything else.

It's mostly, I'd say, 95% common sense, and that's what we have.

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Winter Storm Fern So Bad Ted Cruz Left Texas Again

Don't know if you've heard, but there's a massive storm coming that will cripple huge swaths of our country. Prepare now for possible power outages. And of course, this will cause a backup of airports all over the country. Via the Associated Press:

ATLANTA (AP) — With many Americans still recovering from multiple blasts of snow and unrelenting freezing temperatures in the nation’s northern tier, a new storm is set to emerge this weekend that could coat roads, trees and power lines with devastating ice across a wide expanse of the South.

The storm arriving late this week and into the weekend is shaping up to be a “widespread potentially catastrophic event from Texas to the Carolinas,” said Ryan Maue, a former chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“I don’t know how people are going to deal with it,” he said.

Forecasters on Tuesday warned that the ice could weigh down trees and power lines, triggering widespread outages.

“If you get a half of an inch of ice — or heaven forbid an inch of ice — that could be catastrophic,” said Keith Avery, CEO of the Newberry Electric Cooperative in South Carolina.

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Google Will Make You Use Their AI, Whether You Like It Or Not

If you use Gmail, you have probably encountered Gemini, their intrusive new AI "assistant." It "assists" you in the same way a used car salesman "assists" you in choosing a car. If you thought Microsoft Word's Clippy was bad, you will really, really hate Gemini.

For instance: A friend who's moving emailed me her new address, and I searched her name and address in Gmail's search bar.

Up pops a scary summary of what we talked about in the email thread. And then I saw this today in The Lever:

Right now, Google’s revenue stream comes from advertising via its search monopoly. Search queries are cheap, and the ads Google sells are pricey due to its market power, so it’s a very profitable business.

Gemini, by contrast, is expensive to operate and generates no revenue. Even if Google were able to shift all of its search advertising revenue to Gemini, it would be moving from an extremely high-margin business to a lower-margin one. So what’s actually going on?

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Ethernovia raises $90M as investors rush to fund ‘physical AI’

The automotive-focused company is looking to expand its Ethernet-based processors to fields like robotics.

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Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says tariffs are starting to drive up product prices

Jassy said on Tuesday that while Amazon is trying to keep prices low, price hikes may be unavoidable in some cases.

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Former Greenland MP Explains Why They Cannot Be Bought By Trump

As succinct an explanation as you're likely to hear anywhere. American values are not Greenland's values.

Source: Haberler

During their march from the city center to the U.S. Consulate, Greenlanders carried banners, waved their flags, and chanted slogans like "Greenland is not for sale," responding to Trump's increasing threats to take over the territory.

Meanwhile, Tillie Martinussen, a former member of the Greenland Parliament, speaking to a television channel, expressed hope that the Trump administration would 'abandon this crazy idea.' Martinussen stated that despite their claims of wanting to make Greenland better for them than the Danes, they are now being openly threatened.

The Greenlandic politician noted that in their country, the ownership of land belongs to everyone and that private ownership is not allowed, referring to Trump's plan to pay island residents $100,000 per person to support joining the U.S., saying, "Even if you offer $100,000 per person, we will not give up free healthcare, free education, and being a part of Europe."

Finally, Martinussen stated that Trump knows nothing about the people of Greenland, referencing American popular culture, saying, "We don't value money, Kardashian lips, or artificial breasts much."

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ICE Forces Showering Citizen Outside Into Freezing Weather In His Underwear: Report

Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers reportedly grabbed a U.S. citizen while he was showering and forced him outside into the freezing cold in just his underwear.

In a Sunday Facebook post, Louansee Moua claimed that ICE broke down the door of her brother-in-law Saly's Minneapolis apartment.

The officers "trashed the place, handcuffed him, and put a gun to his daughter-in-law's head. They did not allow him to put on proper clothing and forced him outside in freezing weather," Moua claimed, adding that her brother-in-law is a naturalized U.S. citizen.

Photos captured by Reuters showed officers breaking down the door before bringing Saly outside in his underwear.

"ICE drove him around for nearly an hour, questioned him, and fingerprinted him. Only after all of that did they realize he had no criminal history and no reason to be detained. They then dropped him back off at his apartment like nothing happened," she stated. "No family should experience this. No child should witness this. And no U.S. citizen should be treated this way."

Videos show Saly being marched down the street without being given clothes.

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Bessent: 'Avoiding An Emergency' Justifies Trump Greenland Tariffs On Allies

The Abbott and Constello famous routine:

Costello: That's what I'm askin' you! Who's on first?
Abbott: Now wait a minute. Don't…don't change the players
Costello: I'm not changin' nobody! I asked you a simple question. What's the guys' name on first base?
Abbott: What's the guy's name on second base
Costello: I'm not askin' you who's on second!
Abbott: Who's on first
Costello: I don't know
Abbott: He's on third.

Trump Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent imitated an Abbott and Costello routine on Meet The Press when he was asked what the national emergency was for Trump to impose new tariffs against nations opposed to his attempt to take-over Greenland.

Trump has claimed emergency and national security powers on trade deficits to justify his yo-yo tariffs. Yet, he imposed a new round of tariffs against US allies because they refuse to play along with his takeover of Greenland.

This is thuggery, pure and simple.

WELKER: Broadly speaking about the tariff portion of this the president as you well know has justified his authority to impose previous tariffs without going to Congress by declaring national emergencies. It's an issue before the Supreme Court right now.

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What Is Trump Admin Hiding In Ghislaine Maxwell Prison Records?

It’s the other Epstein files cover up. The Trump administration looks just as desperate to cover up this one as it does to cover up the bulk of the Epstein files.

As I have previously written, Jeffrey Epstein’s convicted sex-trafficking accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, was inexplicably transferred to her cushy digs in Bryan, Texas soon after she told Todd Blanche, Donald Trump’s former personal attorney who is now second in command at the DOJ, just what he wanted to hear: that she never saw President P***y Grabber do anything untoward with Epstein, Trump's former bestie.

Even more suspicious: Maxwell seems to be getting special treatment now, too. One inmate was transferred out for publicly criticizing the sex trafficker. Prison staff as well as inmates were reportedly warned not to speak about her. Plus, sex offenders are supposed to be kept out of Maxwell’s Club Fed. But she got a waiver.

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'Don't Say His Name!': Noem Freaks Out When Jonathan Ross's Name Is Mentioned

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was interviewed by Kristen Welker on Meet the Press, and of course, it was littered with lies to protect ICE agent Jonathan Ross, whom many refer to as a "fucking bitch," for shooting soccer mom Renee Good in the face three times.

"Well, you know that it is in dispute about weaponizing a car versus driving forward, but I'll put that aside," Welker said. "Well, let me talk to you about the officer, Jonathan Ross."

"Don't say his name," Noem said. "I mean, for heaven's sakes, we shouldn't have people continue to dox law enforcement when they have an 8,000 % increase in death threats against them."

"His life, he got attacked with a car that was trying to take his life, and then people have attacked him and his family, and they are in jeopardy, and we have law enforcement officers every day who are getting death threats and getting attacked at their hotels," she insisted.

Ladies, when a guy defends someone who shot a woman three times in the face, that's a huge red flag. And guys, when an admitted puppy killer lies to protect that same man, it's time to get the fuck out of there. We all saw the different videos, and none of them clear JONATHAN ROSS'S name.

Next, Trump enablers will be defending ICE's tear-gassing of a six-month-old baby. Oh, wait, they did.

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Megyn Kelly: People Protest ICE Because They’re Too Ugly To Have Sex

I’m old enough to remember when Megyn Kelly decided to make a big splash by confronting Donald Trump over his misogynistic comments. During a 2015 presidential debate, she suggested that his temperament was not suited for the presidency because he had called women, “fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals.” She also noted that his “Twitter account has several disparaging comments about women’s looks.”

Not only has Kelly since embraced Trump, or at least has relaunched her career doing so, she has now adopted the misogyny as her own.

Media Matters caught Kelly smearing women (and men) on her SiriusXM show for standing up for Constitutional principles. The repulsive misogynist Adam Carolla was there to help.

“I don’t think any of these people are having sex,” Kelly declared about the protesters. Her “evidence?” Their looks.

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Steve Bannon’s Racist Manifesto Is Everything You Thought

Pardoned Felon Steve Bannon let loose his racist, white Christian nationalist vision of America when he demanded Demented Donald institute the Insurrection Act in Minnesota so the military can police US citizens.

As usual, Trump's actions cause chaos and now murder in Minnesota, so he uses his own fuck-ups to make things worse and pretend he's Kim Jung Un.

The hard core MAGA base has waned badly and all the polling shows how much they hate his actions.

BANNON: What they don't understand and they're going crazy, but what they don't understand is that Trump's core base, the hardest core of MAGA, the people that have been with him from the beginning and had his back the darkest days of 2021.

This is not even close, the opposition here the anti-American um anti-American republic have to understand.

We demand mass deportation it's not the onesies, twosies you're seeing in Minnesota. You haven't seen anything yet.

We're the biggest advocate of invoking the Insurrection act and going in and cleaning out the mess.

President Trump and Stephen Miller and at home they're trying to be very targeted and very precise on the criminal element. The criminal element is just the the low-hanging fruit let's say and what you see in Minnesota is an act of they hate America. they hate American citizens. Dare I say they hate white people.

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Taiwan to invest $250B in US semiconductor manufacturing

The U.S. struck a trade deal with Taiwan as the country looks to help boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing.

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'Russian Teletubbies' March Into Battle

Who knows, it might work. Or they might catch a strong wind and blow away, like Mary Poppins.

Source: The Sun

THIS is the bizarre moment freezing Russian troops try out their new Kremlin-issued kit to protect them from the bitter winter weather – tiny pop-up tents.

Frontline footage from occupied Ukraine shows at least half a dozen Putin’s soldiers in flimsy green privacy tents on the side of an ice-covered dirt road in -14°C temperatures.

Inside, the men can be seen shivering as their so-called shelter is battered left and right by the freezing Eastern European gales.

One of them is heard complaining about how it take a “f***ing long time to put it on” adding: “When you’re putting it on the wind f***ing lifts it up, and when the wind is strong it’s f***ing very hard to walk in it.”

The man added that if the wind is strong, the tent starts “flapping around a lot,” making it difficult to move around and walk.

American military correspondent David Axe sees some method in their madness.

Yes, some Russian troops were caught on video wearing portable toilet covers, presumably as a form of thermal camouflage.

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AI video startup, Higgsfield, founded by ex-Snap exec, lands $1.3B valuation

Higgsfield says its on a $200 million annual revenue run rate. So it opened its previous Series A round back up and sold another $80 million in shares.

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Digg launches its new Reddit rival to the public

Digg, a reboot of an earlier social news site, is now relaunching as a Reddit competitor focused on communities.

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Joe Rogan Turns On ICE: 'Are We Really Going To Be The Gestapo?'

On the Joe Rogan Experience with guest Sen. Rand Paul, the eponymous host said he understands both sides (yeah) of the immigration argument, but the killing of Renee Good, "looked horrific to me," while bashing ICE for snatching people off the street like the Gestapo.

ICE has no authority over US citizens watching and filming them.

ROGAN: And then I can also see the point of view of the people who say, yeah, but you don't want militarized people in the streets just roaming around, snatching people up, many of which turn out to actually be U.S. citizens that just don't have their papers on them.

Are we really going to be the Gestapo?

Where's your papers?

Is that what we've come to?

So it's more complicated than I think people want to admit.

No matter how the Trump administration tries to spin the death of Renee Good, it's not working.

Here is a perfect example of Trump's Gestapo in action.

ICE arrested a 55-year-old U.S. citizen in Minneapolis for acting as an observer. She stayed on a public sidewalk, did not interfere, was tackled, handcuffed, put in an unmarked vehicle, and held for hours while family tried to find her.pic.twitter.com/8gkCLzWz5I

— WarMonitor (@TheWarMonitor) January 13, 2026

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Doctors think AI has a place in healthcare – but maybe not as a chatbot

OpenAI and Anthropic have each launched healthcare-focused products over the last week.

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Billionaire Gives $10k To Murderous ICE Agent

There is no bottom with the monied class. Ackman, who Forbes says is worth $9.4 billion, just gave $10,000 (or approximately 0.0001075% of his net worth) to a murderer.

Source: NY Post

Billionaire Bill Ackman left a hefty $10,000 donation on a GoFundMe for the ICE agent who fatally shot Renee Nicole Good — and said he had intended to similarly support the slain mother’s respective fund, but apparently missed his chance.

A donation on the page set up for Jonathan Ross — who federal officials said was the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who fired fatal “defensive shots” at the anti-ICE protester and mom of three — boasts a top donation from a man named William Ackman.

After hours of online speculation, Ackman, 59, confessed to leaving the cash.

“I am big believer in our legal principal [sic] that one is innocent until proven guilty. To that end, I supported the @gofundme for Jonathan Ross and intended to similarly support the gofundme for Renee Good’s family (her gofundme was closed by the time I attempted to provide support),” Ackman wrote on X.

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Amazon says 97% of its devices can support Alexa+

Amazon is counting on its Alexa footprint to help it gain traction in the consumer AI race.

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Spheres Of Influence

Good morning, happy second week of January! I'd say that it can't be worse than the first week, but I feel like that's inviting some kind of disaster or more murders from our current "administration."

Yesterday I attended a funeral for a friend and a protest for someone I wish I could have called friend. The protest made me feel better. I stood out on a freeway overpass with my upside-down flag in 20 MPH Santa Ana winds and listened to the honks from trucks and cars on the freeway and the overpass and somehow felt better about things, even though there was one guy yelling at me to go back to where I came from, as if I could crawl back into my mother's womb or something.

Then the Packers lost and the Rams won, and all I know is that I would really like the Super Bowl to be more interesting this year than it's been in the past.

This coming week we're going to hear more bullshit about Venezuela and the Senate is probably going to bury the subsidy bill the House passed. Or maybe some Senators will decide they need to break from Trump before it's too late. A girl can dream, can't she?

What's your weekend been like? Anything catching your eye this morning?

-Karoli

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Trump's Hold On The Male Youth Vote Is Crumbling Fast

President Donald Trump’s grip on young men is slipping—and fast.

Once a natural draw for this crucial voting bloc that helped fuel his 2024 victory, the president is now facing growing distrust and frustration, according to a new poll from the Speaking with American Men project shared with Puck.

The survey paints a damning picture: Trump’s favorability among young men has fallen to 46%, down from 56% last spring. Among all young people, it dips to a dismal 36%.

Pollster John Della Volpe, who surveyed 4,211 people ages 16 to 29 from Oct. 28 to Nov. 6 last year, traces much of the slide to economic disappointment—trade shocks, tariffs, and rising costs that failed to ease the financial strain young Americans were counting on him to address.

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Hannity Gets Owned When He Tried To Own The Libs At Minneapolis Protest

Sean Hannity thought he'd own the libs during a protest, but the opposite happened. Hannity was giving a Fox News reporter at the scene some questions to ask protesters in Minneapolis, and, well, it didn't go as well for right-wing talking points when they spoke to an individual in the crowd.

"Let me ask you, have you spoken to any people, or can you speak to anybody that's marching right now and ask them what it is that they're marching about?" Hannity asked.

"Yeah. Excuse me," he says to a protester. "What are you here marching for?"

"Yeah, absolutely. Sorry," the young man said. "My ears are ringing a lot. So I don't know if I'll hear perfectly, but yeah, I'm just here because I think it's absolutely disgusting what ICE is doing here."

"I think it's absolutely important that they're kidnapping people," he continued. "I'm disgusted that they murdered an innocent human being. And yeah, the entire thing just absolutely abhors me. This has to stop immediately."

"And I'm glad that there's so many people out here trying to stop this because it's just important," he said.

Hannity fed another question to the reporter for the protester, asking, "If he has a concern that the woman was driving her car at an officer."

The protestor was asked, "Did you have any concern that it looked like this woman may have been driving her vehicle at the officer?"

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Ghoul Greg Gutfeld Calls ICE Shooting 'Set Up' By The Left

Fox's Greg Gutfeld spewed some vile nonsense on this Friday's The Five trying to justify the shooting of Minneapolis woman Renee Good. Apparently this is just some grand plan by the left who would have preferred that it was a Black woman who was killed.

GUTFELD: We are all falling for the game. Could you... everybody's like, this is so confusing. I don't like it. It's so chaotic. That was the point! The whole point! Nothing's going to be clear when you create deliberate chaos.

So we have to sit here. We are actually doing exactly what they want. None of it matters. What happens to that moment is not what we should be talking about, in my view. Again, let the investigations proceed. All this criminal analysis is a waste of your breath.

You know, I use that term, AWFULs, in humor, the affluent white female liberal. Well, that comedy turned to tragedy because it was egged on by people who only use these women as props. They put them out front because visually, it's a great statement when they get touched by a police officer. They do this in all protests.

You shouldn't be mad at ICE. You should be outraged at those who foment these moments with the purpose of leading to chaos and death. All these videos contain white liberal women. Why isn't anybody talking about this?

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Indonesia blocks Grok over non-consensual, sexualized deepfakes

Indonesian officials said Saturday that they are temporarily blocking access to xAI’s chatbot Grok.

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Daily Mail Investigative Report: ICE Hiring People Who Can Barely Read

Stephen Miller's Big Plan to hire 10,000 new deportation officers by year's end has become a national embarrassment - with not much vetting and incompetents lured by signing bonuses of up to $50,000. Via The Daily Mail:

An exhaustive Daily Mail investigation last month exposed how Immigration and Customs Enforcement has lowered standards so dramatically that the new cohort now included recent high school graduates and applicants who can 'barely read or write' as well as those who lack basic physical fitness and even have pending criminal charges.

Most of the new hires in the $30 billion initiative are retired law enforcement who are receiving virtual training and being repurposed for desk duty.

Meanwhile, total novices are being fast-tracked into the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Georgia, where instructors have been left astounded at the levels of incompetence.

'We have people failing open-book tests and we have folks that can barely read or write English,' one Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official told the Daily Mail.

'We even had a 469-lb man sent to the academy whose own doctor certified him not at all fit for any physical activity.'

Insiders say the vetting process has been so rushed that officials didn't even wait for drug test results to come back before hiring recruits and flying them off to Georgia, only to discover afterward that tests came back positive.

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Texas Republican Yells At Cloud

It was only a matter of time before something happened after the Trump administration launched what officials described as the largest federal immigration enforcement operation ever, deploying as many as 2,000 federal agents and officers to the Minneapolis area. Democratic cities are under attack from the president.

And now, following the murder of Renee Nicole Good on Wednesday by an ICE agent, the Trump administration is deploying more than 100 U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents and officers to Minnesota from operations in Chicago and New Orleans, The New York Times reports.

But according to Texas Rep. Roger Williams, we're all supposed to just take it, even after watching Good's murder unfold in video clips. Federal agents shot and injured two people in Portland, Oregon, too. The problem with that incident is that we've been lied to about Good's killing, so the administration's defense needs to be scrutinized, and also, why the fuck are ICE agents armed?

Still, Williams is blaming demonstrators. Apparently, the First Amendment upsets him.

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How the Sleepbuds maker, Ozlo, is building a platform for sleep data

Ozlo Sleepbuds are going to have a big year, with new products, AI features, and more.

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Go-to-market strategies for an AI era

In the season finale of Build Mode, Isabelle Johannessen sits down with Paul Irving, partner and COO of GTMfund, to discuss go-to-market strategies for the AI era. Paul shares specific, actionable advice on how early-stage startups can win even when facing well-funded competitors who iterate at lightning speed. He also explains why distribution has become the final remaining moat when technical advantages disappear in months […]

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Where VCs think AI startups can win, even with OpenAI in the game

Vanessa Larco, partner at Premise and former partner at NEA, thinks 2026 will finally be the year of consumer AI.  Larco, who’s been investing in consumer and prosumer for years, thinks we’re about to see a shift in how consumers spend time online, with AI powering “concierge-like” services. The question is, will legacy consumer products […]

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Can Democrats Undo Trump Like Mamdani Is Undoing Adams?

In one of his first acts as New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani has revoked several highly controversial executive orders signed by his predecessor, Eric Adams. Among them were a pair of orders that attacked critics of Israel and others that enabled ICE deportations and promoted cryptocurrencies.

They were part of a slate of nine orders Mamdani revoked on Thursday, all of which were issued by the former mayor after he was hit with corruption charges by the Department of Justice under former President Joe Biden on September 26, 2024—charges that the Trump administration later dropped as part of an apparent deal for Adams to cooperate with its mass deportation efforts.

Mamdani told the New York Daily News that the orders Adams signed after this date went "against the interests of working-class people and what they need from their mayor."

Two of Adams' revoked orders required the city to adopt a stance of unwavering support for Israel as it faced mounting criticism over its genocidal war in Gaza.

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