“A federal judge ruled Monday that the Department of Homeland Security likely broke the law when it barred members of Congress from visiting immigrant detention facilities without a week’s notice. U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb found that in crafting and enforcing the one-week-notice policy, the department relied on funds that Congress specifically forbade from being used to deny lawmakers access to those facilities. The ruling applies to 13 Democratic members of Congress who have joined a lawsuit filed last year, challenging limits on their ability to visit locations where Immigration and Customs Enforcement detains people facing deportation proceedings.” (02/02/26)
“Although a federal judge declined to issue a preliminary injunction requested by Minnesota and the Twin Cities, the plaintiffs should still prevail on their claims that the federal government’s actions there are unconstitutional.” (02/02/26)
Source: Orange County Register
by Fabian Naranjo Gonzalez
“The brutal killing of Alex Pretti is just the latest reminder of the reality that has been setting in across the nation: we are living through dark times in America, a regression after centuries and decades of progress; and if we continue down this path, the light from Lady Liberty’s torch will almost certainly be extinguished. How did we get here? Since our nation’s founding, every subsequent generation of Americans has fought to make our country, and the world, a better, more inclusive place. And for a long time, we got it right. … Unfortunately, the care-free, inclusive attitude that was born during the 1960’s counter-culture revolution and extended well into the 90’s feel good era of ‘anything goes’ has been co-opted and repurposed by modern day demagogues by creating space for hatred and ideas that past generations gave their very lives to defeat.” (02/02/26)
“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)
“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)
“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)
“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)
“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)
