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 My son has narrated the last book I wrote. Please consider listening to it and encouraging others to do so too. (Click on Book Cover) World & Nation More ICE Surges Possible as Minn. Drawdown Begins, Homan Says  Tom Homan, the White House border czar, said he is leaving open the possibility of federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement deployments in other sanctuary cities even as the administration winds down its enforcement surge in Minnesota. He told CBS' "Face the Nation" that sending agents elsewhere "depends on the situation" and argued that "we need to flood the zone in sanctuary cities with additional agents" if local conditions warrant it. Homan's remarks came as the Trump administration begins drawing down Operation Metro Surge in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area after more than two months of heightened federal enforcement, legal clashes, and sustained protests that intensified following the fatal shootings of two individuals, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, during confrontations with federal immigration officers. Trump Says He Will Be Involved Indirectly in Iran Talks  President Donald Trump said on Monday that he would be involved "indirectly" in talks between Iran and the U.S. over Tehran's nuclear program set to begin on Tuesday in Geneva, adding he believed Tehran wanted to make a deal. "I'll be involved in those talks, indirectly. And they'll be very important," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. Tensions are soaring ahead of the talks, with the U.S. deploying a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East.
Iran Fires Live Missiles Into Strait of Hormuz in Drill as New Round of Nuclear Talks Begins  The U.S. and Iran are holding their second round of talks about Iran's nuclear program Tuesday in Geneva as the United States ramps up its military presence in the Middle East and Iran holds large-scale maritime exercises. As the talks began, Iranian media announced that Iran had fired live missiles toward the Strait of Hormuz. Iran had announced a maritime military exercise on Monday in waterways that are crucial international trade routes through which 20% of the world's oil passes. The semi-official Tasnim news agency, which is close to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, said missiles launched inside Iran and along its coast had struck their targets in the Strait of Hormuz. Sheriff finally clears Nancy Guthrie’s family in kidnap case — but still doesn’t reveal a suspect  Nancy Guthrie’s family has been cleared of any suspicion in the search for the missing 84-year-old, according to police. “The Guthrie family – to include all siblings and spouses – has been cleared as possible suspects in this case,” Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said Monday. “The family has been nothing but cooperative and gracious and are victims in this case,” he added. “To suggest otherwise is not only wrong, it is cruel. The Guthrie family are victims plain and simple.” Nancy Guthrie’s family has been cleared of any suspicion in the search for the missing 84-year-old, according to police. That means Nancy’s kids — “Today” show host Savannah, her sister Annie and brother Camron — have been cleared of any wrongdoing. Trump says ‘this is a Democrat shutdown’ as he touts low inflation, falling murder rate  President Donald Trump on Monday blamed Democrats for the partial government shutdown, as Republicans and Democrats have yet to reach a deal on Department of Homeland Security funding, while he also touted what he deemed as wins for his administration on issues such as the economy and crime. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump boasted of “great financial numbers” such as low inflation and falling fuel prices. “Great financial numbers, you saw low inflation, very low inflation. Prices are down. Way down. Gasoline is less than $2 a gallon in many places, which nobody expected to see,” Trump said, although the national average for gas is closer to $3 and state averages in areas with the cheapest fuel still remain above $2. “But I did this going by the initial expression of drill, baby, drill. Prices are coming down very strongly. And as goes gasoline and oil and gas, so goes the rest of other products that are high … We inherited a mess, and we’ve brought our country back,” he continued. Steve Bannon Close to Epstein, Backed Trump Removal  Newly released Justice Department files shed fresh light on former Trump strategist Steve Bannon's private communications with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, revealing discussions about invoking the 25th Amendment to remove then-President Donald Trump and efforts by Bannon to advise Epstein as he faced renewed legal scrutiny. The documents, which include text messages and emails from late 2017 through Epstein's arrest in July 2019, show that Bannon — a prominent figure in the MAGA movement and former White House chief strategist — maintained a close and at times supportive relationship with Epstein long after Epstein's 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor. One of the most explosive exchanges occurred in a text conversation beginning on New Year's Eve 2018, shortly after Democrats regained control of the House of Representatives. According to the messages, Bannon lamented that the "WH," widely understood to mean the White House, had "zero plan to punch back" amid mounting political pressure. Elon Musk’s Starlink crackdown cripples attacks on Ukraine as Russian casualty rates soar  A move by Elon Musk’s SpaceX to shut down Russia’s illegal use of Starlink satellite internet has dealt Moscow a fresh battlefield setback as its casualty rates soar. On Feb. 1, SpaceX blocked unauthorized Starlink terminals in Ukraine after discovering them mounted on Russian weapons systems and drones obtained on the black market — a violation of Starlink’s terms of service, which ban the use of terminals in offensive operations. Now, only verified Ukrainian devices are allowed to connect to Starlink — effectively locking Russian users out. Russian, Ukrainian Officials in Geneva for US-Brokered Talks After Almost 4 Years of War  Delegations from Moscow and Kyiv were in Geneva on Tuesday for another round of U.S.-brokered peace talks, a week before the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbor. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his government's delegation was in Switzerland and Russian state news agency Tass said the Russian delegation had also arrived. Talks, to be held over two days, were expected to start later in the day. "Tough" discussions about the future of Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory are expected as President Donald Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, and son-in-law Jared Kushner, sit down with the delegations, according to a person familiar with the talks who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. That's because Russian officials are still insisting that Ukraine cede control of its eastern Donbas region.
Civil Rights Leader Rev. Jesse Jackson Dies at 84  The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, a protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and two-time presidential candidate who led the Civil Rights Movement for decades after the revered leader's assassination, died Tuesday. He was 84. His daughter, Santita Jackson, confirmed that her father died at home, surrounded by family. As a young organizer in Chicago, Jackson was called to meet with King at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis shortly before King was killed and he publicly positioned himself thereafter as King's successor. AOC’s ignorant slam of Marco Rubio’s Munich speech proves she’ll never be ready for prime time By Rich Lowry
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez did a star turn at the Munich Security Conference, and her appearances went about as well as you’d expect of a celebrity congresswoman who has spent about five minutes thinking about foreign policy. AOC is to strategic thinkers what Gayle King is to astronauts. She projects all the authority of an International Relations 101 student who didn’t realize that there was going to a pop quiz before spring break. She sounds as if she watched the 2024 Kamala Harris campaign and concluded that what sank the vice president was that the candidate’s policy answers were much too substantive and precise. There’s no way, judging by her performance in Germany, that AOC is going to let herself make the same mistake. From secretary of state to secretary of memes, Rubio wins over MAGA Rubio has earned his many jobs in the Trump administration because he’s been reliable and successful By Dan Gainor
The social media star of the Trump administration is naturally President Donald Trump. What’s surprising is the one who comes in second place — Secretary of State Marco Rubio. You can hardly visit an online platform without seeing our new secretary of memes, even more often than the memeworthy vice president. It will probably happen even more now that he is fresh off a major speech to the Munich Security Conference that Politico called part of "America’s charm offensive." Rubio has become such a social media celebrity that Trump bought into the fun. One Truth Social poster wrote that "Marco Rubio will be president of Cuba." Trump responded, "Sounds good to me!" That set in motion a regional freakout as Cuba’s communist government gets increasingly worried it will go the way of Venezuela. But the No. 1 way Rubio is making his mark is with what is known as the "Marco Rubio realizing" meme, where a picture of Rubio sitting on a couch is doctored with him wearing every costume imaginable as he takes on even more roles for the administration. His list of potential jobs is seemingly endless — president of Venezuela, the ayatollah of Iran, even the new food pyramid. Following Trump’s post about the Obamas, another poster had Rubio realizing he was taking over the president’s social media accounts. |
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