“The company that runs Eddie Bauer stores in the U.S. and Canada filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and began liquidation sales. Mall retailers have been challenged for years amid waning foot traffic and digital competition. Eddie Bauer LLC said early Monday in a court filing that it had already begun going-out-of-business sales at its approximately 175 remaining stores. The company said it had lined up a restructuring agreement with secured lenders in conjunction with its bankruptcy filing. It will pursue a sale that could result in halting the liquidation sales and keeping stores open.” (02/09/26)
“Tanzania’s opposition leader charged with treason appeared in court for the first time in months on Monday, but the hearing was adjourned yet again after he opposed the prosecution’s plan to have secret witnesses appear in a special enclosed cell. Opposition leader Tundu Lissu has been in prison for 10 months after he was arrested following an opposition rally in which he called for constitutional and electoral law reforms before last year’s disputed election. Lissu, who is representing himself in the case, said the punishment for treason is death and that secret witnesses in enclosed cells pose a huge risk and are likely to result in an unjust outcome for the case.” (02/09/26)
“The Trump administration is seeking to overturn former Trump aide Steve Bannon’s contempt of Congress conviction. In filings to the district court and Supreme Court, the Justice Department said the government has determined ‘that dismissal of this criminal case is in the interests of justice.’ The filings did not elaborate further. Bannon defied a congressional subpoena demanding he testify about the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021. President Donald Trump has criticized the prosecution of Bannon and others as political, including the approximately 1,600 people he pardoned for charges related to the attack. A dismissal of Bannon’s case would avoid the need for Trump to pardon him, too. At the end of his first term as president, Trump pardoned Bannon as he was awaiting trial in Manhattan for a different case: fraud charges tied to a border wall fundraising effort.” (02/09/26)
“An anarchist group claimed responsibility on Monday for sabotaging rail infrastructure in northern Italy on Saturday and disrupting train traffic on the first full day of the Winter Olympic Games. Police reported three separate episodes at different locations early on Saturday which caused delays of up to 2-1/2 hours for high-speed and regional services, particularly around the city of Bologna. No one was injured and no trains were damaged. In a statement circulated online, an anarchist group said a progressive crackdown on demonstrations by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had made confrontation on the streets ‘ineffective’ and meant they had to find other forms of protest.” (02/09/26)
“Air Canada says it is suspending service to Cuba effective Monday as the Caribbean island’s major airport warns it will run out of jet fuel. Over the following days, the airline will fly empty planes to pick up approximately 3,000 customers already in Cuba and return them home, Air Canada said Monday in a statement. … In an official notice called a NOTAM posted to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) website Sunday, Havana’s José Martí International Airport warns ‘Jet A1 fuel not available’ as of Tuesday, with the warning running until March 11.” (02/09/26)
“The Trump administration plans to appeal a temporary court order that blocks the federal government from withholding funds for a $16 billion rail tunnel under the Hudson River. The Gateway Development Commission is building the new tunnel but had to stop construction late Friday because it’s exhausted all of its funding sources. The Trump administration has been in a standstill with Gateway since October, when it halted funding for the tunnel over a new rule that prohibits contracting requirements based on race or sex. New York and New Jersey sued the administration on Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan after Gateway filed its own suit late Monday in an effort to unlock more than $205 million of federal funds in the Court of Federal Claims.” (02/09/26)
“A former top rival of grocery giant Kroger has been named the company’s next chief executive officer. Greg Foran — former CEO of Walmart’s U.S. division — will now lead Kroger following an ‘extensive’ year-long search for ‘an innovative retail leader with a strong track record,’ the company announced Monday. Kroger is America’s biggest grocer by sales, behind only Walmart, and has been looking for a new leader since March 2025 when former CEO Rodney McMullen was ousted over an undisclosed ethics violation.” (02/09/26)
“Novo Nordisk on Monday said it is suing online telehealth provider Hims & Hers for mass marketing cheaper, unapproved copies of the drugmaker’s new Wegovy obesity pill and injections in the U.S. Novo is asking the court to permanently ban Hims from selling compounded versions of its drugs that infringe on the company’s patents and is seeking to recover damages [sic]. … The move escalates the feud between Novo and Hims, which said on Saturday it will stop offering its new copycat obesity pill after facing scrutiny from federal regulators and legal threats from the Danish drugmaker. Hims had planned to offer the oral drug for as little as $49 for the first month, roughly $100 less than Novo’s approved Wegovy pill.” (02/09/26)
“The EU could take ‘interim measures’ against WhatsApp as it investigates AI providers’ access to the app. On Monday, the EU’s regulatory arm announced its ‘preliminary view’ that Meta, WhatsApp’s parent company, violated antitrust laws by blocking third-party AI assistants from operating on WhatsApp. The European Commission’s is concerned that Meta’s actions will limit competitors from entering the AI assistant market. ‘We must protect effective competition in this vibrant field, which means we cannot allow dominant tech companies to illegally leverage their dominance to give themselves an unfair advantage,’ Teresa Ribera, executive vice-president for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition said in a statement.” (02/09/26)
“Uganda’s Information Minister Chris Baryomunsi condemned a military raid on opposition leader Bobi Wine’s home last month, telling Reuters that the popstar-turned-politician had not committed any crime and was free to return there. Wine has been in hiding for weeks after fleeing his home in the capital, Kampala, hours before he was announced the runner-up to President Yoweri Museveni in the January 15 presidential election. On January 24, Wine said his wife had been taken to hospital after soldiers invaded their residence, alleging that they partially undressed and choked her. Uganda’s military chief, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is also Museveni’s son, denied soldiers assaulted Wine’s wife, but later said on X that they had ‘captured and then released’ her. Baryomunsi, who is also a spokesperson for the government, said the authorities would investigate the incident.” (02/09/26)
