“Supercharged by billions in dollars from Congress, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has hired thousands of new officers to carry out Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign in an effort it has likened to ‘wartime recruitment.’ In several states, Democratic lawmakers want applicants to think twice about taking part. Bills introduced in recent weeks in the legislatures of at least four Democratic-led states would impose long-term consequences on new ICE employees by rendering them ineligible for jobs in law enforcement, public education, and, in their most expansive form, the entire state civil service. None of the proposals has been signed into law, and potential legislation may face legal challenges.” (02/26/26)
“A French court on Thursday sentenced Iranian national Mahdieh Esfandiari to one year in prison for justifying terrorism. Esfandiari, 39, was arrested in France last year over comments she is accused of having made on social media, including on Palestinian militant group Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. She was sentenced to four years, of which three are suspended, the judge said, citing ‘the nature of the acts and their seriousness.’ … Some observers see Esfandiari as a potential bargaining chip in negotiations with Tehran for the release of French nationals Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, who have been held in Iran since May 2022.” (02/26/26)
“The FBI has fired additional agents who worked on an investigation into President Donald Trump, this time terminating employees who participated in the probe into the Republican’s hoarding of classified documents, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday. The firings are part of a broader personnel purge under the leadership of Director Kash Patel, a Trump appointee who, over the last year, has pushed out dozens of employees who either contributed to investigations of the president or who were perceived as not in alignment with the administration’s agenda. The Justice Department has engaged in similarly sweeping firings of prosecutors since Trump took office last year.” (02/26/26)
“Børge Brende resigned as president and CEO of the World Economic Forum (WEF) amid revelations regarding his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Brende wrote in a WEF release he decided to step down ‘after careful consideration’ from a role he has occupied since 2017. He did not mention the late convicted sex offender. … The WEF launched a probe into Brende earlier this month, after documents released by the Department of Justice revealed he attended multiple ‘business dinners’ with Epstein and exchanged emails and text messages with the sex offender, years after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to procuring a child for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute.” (02/26/26)
“Hungary has accused Ukraine of disrupting oil supplies it gets from Russia and has stationed troops at critical energy facilities across the country as Prime Minister Viktor Orban ramps up the rhetoric around energy and national security ahead of parliamentary elections in April. Orban on Wednesday accused Kyiv of imposing an ‘oil blockade’ on Hungary by delaying the reopening of the Druzhba pipeline which supplies it, and neighboring Slovakia, with Russian oil. Ukraine shut the pipeline a month ago, saying a Russian strike had damaged it, but Hungary’s leader accused Kyiv of deliberately keeping the pipeline closed for ‘political’ rather than ‘technical’ reasons.” (02/26/26)
“A rare outbreak of infant botulism that sickened dozens of babies who drank recalled ByHeart formula is over, with no new cases reported since mid-December, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. In all, 48 babies were sickened since 2023. That’s actually down from the previous case count, because three infants were ultimately diagnosed with other illnesses not tied to botulism, health officials said. All of the children who got sick were hospitalized. No deaths have been reported. It’s still unclear exactly how, when or where the organic, whole-milk powdered baby formula became contaminated with the type of bacteria that can cause serious illness, paralysis and death in children younger than 1, health officials added. Most of the cases had occurred since August, when officials at California’s Infant Botulism Treatment and Prevention program detected an alarming rise in reports of the illness in babies who consumed ByHeart formula.” (02/26/26)
“New York’s attorney general has sued video game developer Valve, claiming the ‘loot boxes’ found in Counter-Strike and other popular video game franchises illegally promote gambling. State Attorney General Letitia James said in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in New York state court that games such as Counter-Strike 2, Team Fortress 2 and Dota 2 illegally charge users for the chance to win rare items held in the virtual containers. In Counter-Strike, the process even resembles a slot machine, with an animated spinning wheel that eventually rests on a selected item, James’[s] office said.” (02/25/26)
“Columbia University said Thursday that federal immigration officials [abducted] a student after misrepresenting their purpose for entering a school building. Columbia said that early this morning federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) went into a residential building owned by the university and [abducted] a student. ‘Our understanding at this time is that the federal agents made misrepresentations to gain entry to the building to search for a ‘missing person.’ We are working to gather more details,’ said Claire Shipman, acting president of the university. … Shipman said that DHS officers need a judicial warrant or subpoena to enter nonpublic buildings, writing, ‘An administrative warrant is not sufficient.'” (02/26/26)
“Australia’s prime minister has apologised for calling a former Australian of the Year and sexual abuse survivor ‘difficult,’ saying it was only in reference to the hardships she has faced. During a one-word response game, Anthony Albanese used the adjective to describe Grace Tame, who was named the 2021 Australian of the Year for her advocacy for child sexual abuse survivors. Tame, 31, said the description was ‘misogynist’s code for a woman who won’t comply. History tends to call her ‘courageous.” It prompted Albanese to apologise ‘if there was any misinterpretation’ and that Tame ‘has had a very difficult life, but she deserves great credit for turning that into a benefit for others.’ But hours later, Tame dismissed Albanese’s apology …” (02/26/26)
“In a stunning twist, Netflix is declining to raise its bid for Warner Bros., positioning David Ellison’s Paramount as the winner in the battle for the fabled studio. Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters released a statement Thursday outlining their decision, namely that the deal is ‘no longer financially attractive’ and that it ‘was always a ‘nice to have’ at the right price, not a ‘must have’ at any price.’ … With Netflix out, Paramount’s latest bid is almost a sure thing to be accepted by the Warners board, which determined earlier Thursday that it was a ‘superior proposal’ to Netflix’s deal.” (02/26/26)
