“US Democratic Senator Mark Kelly has said he will ‘seriously consider’ running for president in 2028 as he battles the Trump administration over a video in which he urged military personnel to refuse illegal orders. The Arizona senator, who was accused of ‘seditious behaviour’ by Donald Trump over the November clip, said he and his wife, Gabrielle Giffords, received ‘many’ death threats after the president’s comments. ‘We get them on a weekly basis now,’ he told BBC Newsnight. ‘We had to get security to protect us 24 hours a day.’ Asked if he was considering a White House run, the retired Navy captain said he was considering it ‘because we’re in some seriously challenging times.’ The 61-year-old, who is a former astronaut, noted he was very different from most senators.” (02/17/26)
“SpaceX and its AI subsidiary xAI are reportedly competing in a new Pentagon prize challenge focused on autonomous drone swarming technology, as per a report from Bloomberg News. The six-month competition was launched in January and is said to carry a $100 million award. Bloomberg reported that SpaceX and xAI are among a select group invited to participate in the Defense Department’s effort to develop advanced drone swarming capabilities. The goal is reportedly to create systems that can translate voice commands into digital instructions and manage fleets of autonomous drones.” (02/17/26)
“The Australian government will not repatriate from Syria a group of 34 women and children with alleged ties to the Islamic State group, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Tuesday. The women and children from 11 families were supposed to fly from the Syrian capital Damascus to Australia but Syrian authorities on Monday turned them back to Roj camp in northeast Syria because of procedural problems, officials said. Only two groups of Australians have been repatriated with government help from Syrian camps since the fall of the Islamic State group in 2019. Other Australians have also returned without government assistance. Albanese would not comment on a report that the latest women and children had Australian passports.” (02/17/26)
“Lawmakers and the White House offered no signs of compromise over the holiday weekend in their battle over oversight of federal immigration officers that has led to a pause in funding for the Department of Homeland Security. A partial government shutdown began Saturday after congressional Democrats and President Donald Trump ’s team failed to reach a deal on legislation to fund the department through September. Democrats are demanding changes to how immigration operations are conducted after the fatal shootings of U.S. citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal officers in Minneapolis last month. Unlike the record 43-day shutdown last fall, the closures are narrowly confined, affecting only agencies under the DHS umbrella, including the Transportation Security Administration, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.” (02/17/26)
“New Mexico lawmakers launched an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s former Zorro Ranch Tuesday over allegations the late convicted sex offender trafficked and sexually abused girls and women at the nearly 10,000-acre property outside Santa Fe. It’s ‘critical’ that the first full investigation into what happened at the ranch provides a platform to ‘uncover the truth’ about what happened there and for survivors to see justice, state Rep. Andrea Romero (D) tells Axios. … A goal of the committee will be to gather information that could be used in a court of law, according to Romero. Romero noted that the statute of limitations may have passed in some instances related to the case, but said state lawmakers were already looking at changing legislation in regards to this ‘to help survivors see justice.'” (02/17/26)
“North Carolina’s elections board came to an agreement with the Republican and Democratic parties on Monday to give 73,000 voters more time to update their voter registrations before they are removed from voter rolls. The settlement concludes an extended legal battle that rose after the Republican National Committee and North Carolina GOP sued state election officials in 2024, claiming that roughly 250,000 voters had been improperly registered. The voters in question did not provide the last four digits of their Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers or an attestation that they had neither on their registrations. Republicans had requested that the voters be removed from rolls and their votes in the 2024 elections be thrown out. The Democratic National Committee hailed the settlement as a win on Monday, accusing the GOP of voter suppression.” (02/17/26)
“Hotel magnate Thomas Pritzker will retire as the executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels after details of his affiliation with Jeffrey Epstein were revealed in documents related to the burgeoning investigation of ties between the notorious sex trafficker and the elite and powerful. Pritzker, in a prepared statement, said he deeply regrets his association with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, a long time associate of Epstein. … There are many emails between Pritzker and Epstein included in a cache of Epstein-related documents recently released by the U.S. Department of Justice, with several detailing attempts for dinner meet ups and invitations to various functions.” (02/17/26)
“An air of defiance marked Kosovo’s independence celebrations on Tuesday as thousands of people joined a march in support of former fighters who are facing trial at a Netherlands-based court for alleged war crimes during a 1998-1999 separatist war from Serbia. Protesters, many wrapped in red and black Albanian flags, braved cold and snowy weather in the capital, Pristina, to voice their opposition to the proceedings in The Hague against former president and rebel leader Hashim Thaci and three others accused of atrocities during and after the conflict that killed some 13,000 people. Earlier on Tuesday, Kosovo’s security forces paraded in Pristina as part of the independence ceremonies, and Parliament held a special session. The war started in 1998 when the rebel Kosovo Liberation Army launched its struggle for independence and Serbia responded with a brutal crackdown. The war ended after NATO bombed Serbia for 78 days in 1999, eventually forcing it to pull out its troops from the territory.” (02/17/26)
“Warner Bros. Discovery wants to hear Paramount’s ‘best and final proposal’ for the media company, and is opening a brief window for discussions about a bid, while also moving forward with its Netflix merger and urging shareholders to reject Paramount’s current hostile bid. … Last December, WBD agreed to sell most of the company, including the Warner Bros. movie studio and HBO, to Netflix. WBD’s cable channels, including CNN, are not part of the sale. The deal with Netflix doubled as a rejection of Paramount. But Paramount CEO David Ellison responded by going directly to shareholders with a $30-per-share offer for all of WBD, including CNN. That’s the offer WBD is officially opposing. On Tuesday morning, WBD said it will hold a special shareholder meeting on March 20 and will recommend voting to approve the Netflix deal, which values the studio and streaming assets at $27.75 per share.” (02/17/26)
“Shares in publicly traded crypto exchange Gemini (GEMI) have fallen more than 14% on Tuesday following word that the firm has decided to part ways with three of its executives following a recent announcement of mass layoffs across the company. Gemini Chief Financial Officer Dan Chen and Chief Legal Officer Tyler Meade will be replaced in the interim by Danijela Stojanovic and Kate Freedman, respectively. Marshall Beard, the firm’s chief operating officer, will also depart and leave the board, though his executive role will not be filled. Instead, Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss will assume his responsibilities.” (02/17/26)
