Source: New York Times
“Jeannine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, on Monday threatened jail time for anyone who enters the capital with a gun. In remarks on Fox News that could deepen a growing rift between gun owners and the Trump administration, Ms. Pirro declared that if anyone brings ‘a gun into the District, you mark my words, you’re going to jail. I don’t care if you have a license in another district and I don’t care if you’re a law-abiding law owner somewhere else.’ Her remarks prompted swift pushback from the Republican Party’s pro-Second Amendment wing, which was thrown into a cycle of confusion and frustration over comments from President Trump and some in his administration after Alex Pretti, a licensed gun owner, was [murdered] by federal immigration agents last month during a protest in Minneapolis.” (02/02/26)
https://archive.is/FOHcx
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Jack Hunter
“On January 24, protester and legal gun owner Alex Pretti was shot and killed by United States Customs and Border Protection agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota, making national news. … Many conservatives, both influencers and politicians, rushed to justify the agents’ actions, with a particular emphasis on the reported politics and past behavior of Pretti. The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh even went so far as to say that Pretti ‘got what was coming to him.’ Aren’t conservatives traditionally in favor of free speech, and perhaps even more so, gun rights? Some were. But so many weren’t that it was left to libertarians to actually defend the First and Second Amendments and to note that Americans shouldn’t be murdered by the state for exercising them and their deaths justified by lying politicians.” (02/02/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/in-the-killing-of-alex-pretti-only-libertarians-get-it
Source: Reason
“Democrats Are Flipping Trump Districts in Texas?!” (02/02/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/02/02/democrats-are-flipping-trump-districts-in-texas/
Source: Fox News
“House Republican leaders plan to vote Tuesday to pass a government funding package approved by the Senate, three days after a shutdown began. Funding lapsed Saturday amid divisions in Congress over changes to the Department of Homeland Security after agents [murdered] two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., pushed the vote back by one day after, he said, Democrats conveyed to him that they won’t provide enough votes to skip the procedural hurdles. … The bill, which passed the Senate 71-29, would complete funding for the government to the tune of more than $1 trillion — except DHS, which will carry on with a two-week stopgap bill as Democrats demand guardrails on immigration enforcement operations.” (02/02/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/house-tuesday-vote-end-government-shutdown-reopen-trump-rcna256782
Source: The Daily Economy
by Alexander W Salter
“Donald Trump wants lower interest rates. He has said so openly and has pressured the Federal Reserve accordingly. The political logic seems obvious: easier money boosts asset prices, juices consumer spending, and appears to support headline growth. With midterms approaching, that sugar high is tempting. But it’s also a mistake — economically, politically, and strategically. Lower rates at this point in the cycle would almost certainly reignite inflation. And except in the very short run, they would not make capital more affordable in real terms. Instead, they would worsen the affordability crisis (which voters are already upset about) and undermine the GOP’s reputation as the party of economic responsibility.” (02/02/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/will-republicans-fall-for-inflationary-populism/
Source: ABC News
“President Donald Trump’s cryptocurrency firm, World Liberty Financial, sold a $500 million stake to a member of the Emirati royal family shortly before his inauguration last January, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, sparking concerns over a potential conflict of interest. According to the Journal, which reviewed undisclosed corporate documents, a firm associated with Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, an Abu Dhabi royal who operates an enormous state investment fund, purchased a 49% stake in World Liberty, which is co-owned by Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and his family, just four days before the Trump administration swept into office. Months later, the Trump administration agreed to supply the UAE with highly coveted American-made AI chips despite the prior administration’s concern that they may fall into the hands of the Chinese.” (02/02/26)
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/white-house-faces-questions-uae-royals-investment-trump/story?id=129774262
Source: Eunomia
by Daniel Larison
“The U.S. should not be in the business of regime change. Our regime change policies tend to fail and produce even worse outcomes, but those aren’t the only reasons not to do it. We shouldn’t have these policies in the first place. … There is no ‘right’ way to pursue regime change because the interference and coercion required make the attempt inherently illegitimate.” (02/02/26)
https://daniellarison.substack.com/p/there-is-no-right-way-to-pursue-regime
Source: Bloomberg
“A Trump administration policy suspending green cards over concerns of reliance on public benefits is unlawful, a new lawsuit argues. The freeze on immigrant visas for 75 countries violates the Administrative Procedure Act and Immigration and Nationality Act as well as equal protections under the Constitution, according to the complaint filed in the Southern District of New York. ‘This administration is trying to shut down lawful immigration from nearly half the countries in the world without legal authority or justification,’ said Anna Gallagher, executive director of Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc., the lead plaintiff in the suit.” (02/02/26)
https://archive.is/EDmds
Source: CounterPunch
by Dean Baker
“You have to give Donald Trump some credit. He was making plenty of money selling pardons, ripping off Venezuela’s oil, and selling seats on his ‘Board of Peace,’ but all of these required something resembling work. … Trump’s latest grift is far simpler. He just sues the government and then orders Attorney General Pam Bondi to give him the money. He already did this several months back when he filed a $230 million suit because the government tried to prosecute him for the crimes he committed. … now Trump has decided he needs more money, so he’s demanding more than 40 times as much, suing the Internal Revenue Service for $10 billion for releasing information from his tax returns. One of the ironies of this story is that the leak took place in Trump’s first term, so ostensibly, as president, he is responsible for the harm for which he is suing the government.” (02/02/26)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/02/02/trump-lawsuits-the-most-efficient-grift-ever/
Source: Associated Press
“A small number of medical evacuees from Gaza entered Egypt on Monday as the Rafah border crossing reopened, marking a key step in the Israel-Hamas ceasefire but a mostly symbolic one. Few people will be allowed to travel in either direction and no goods will pass through. About 20,000 Palestinian children and adults needing medical care hope to leave the devastated territory via the crossing, according to Gaza health officials. Thousands of other Palestinians outside the territory hope to enter and return home. The crossing had been closed since Israeli troops seized it in May 2024. The number of travelers is expected to increase over time if the system is successful. Israel has said it and Egypt will vet people for exit and entry.” (02/02/26)
https://apnews.com/article/rafah-gaza-israel-palestinians-egypt-crossing-b78d6a15790148a697634cd303c3b5a9
