“The US military has boarded a second oil tanker in the Indian Ocean, after tracking it from the Caribbean Sea where it was suspected of helping Venezuela avoid US sanctions. The boarding of the Panamanian-flagged Veronica III is the second such US interception in the Indian Ocean in the past week. It comes amid a US crackdown on sanctioned oil exports from Venezuela. … At least seven oil tankers have been [stolen by US-based pirates] since last year, as the Trump administration moves to control the supply of Venezuelan oil.” (02/15/26)
“Bitcoin developers have taken another step towards addressing the risk posed by future quantum computers, merging BIP 360 into the Bitcoin Improvement Proposals GitHub repository as the long-running debate over the timeline intensifies. Bitcoin developers have taken another step towards addressing the risk posed by future quantum computers, merging BIP 360 into the Bitcoin Improvement Proposals GitHub repository as the long-running debate over the timeline intensifies. … The debate around how best to address a future quantum threat stems from Shor’s algorithm, which could derive private keys from public keys if run on a sufficiently powerful, fault-tolerant quantum computer.” (02/15/26)
“A Ukrainian drone strike ignited fires at one of Russia’s Black Sea ports, officials said Sunday, ahead of fresh talks aimed at ending the nearly 4-year-old war. Two people were wounded in the attack on the port of Taman in the Krasnodar region, which damaged an oil storage tank, warehouse and terminals, according to regional Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev. Meanwhile, falling debris from Russian drones damaged civilian and transport infrastructure in Ukraine’s Odesa region, officials said, causing disruption to the power and water supply. Ukraine’s long-range drone strikes on Russian energy sites aim to deprive Moscow of the oil export revenue it needs to pursue its full-scale invasion.” (02/15/26)
“At least nine Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes in the northern and southern Gaza Strip on Sunday, Palestinian civil defence and health officials said, in what Israel’s military called a response to Hamas ceasefire violations. Medics said an Israeli airstrike on a tent encampment housing displaced families killed at least four people, while health officials said another strike killed five in Khan Younis in the south.” (02/15/26)
“The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is shut down after Congress failed to fund the agency before the midnight deadline. The partial shutdown is due to deadlock over federal immigration operations, but it also means TSA agents at airports across the U.S. are expected to screen passengers and bags without pay. About 95% of TSA workers are deemed essential personnel and required to keep working.” [editor’s note: They’re not required to do anything. They can give up the thug life and go get real jobs any time they want to – TLK] (02/14/26)
“As early voting began for the state primaries, North Carolina college students found themselves walking more than a mile to cast their ballots after the Republican-controlled State Board of Elections closed polling places on their campuses. The board, which shifted to a 3-2 GOP majority, voted last month to close a polling site at Western Carolina University and to reject the creation of polling sites at two other colleges: the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNC Greensboro), and the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NC A&T), the largest historically [b]lack college in the nation. Each of these schools had polling places available on campus during the 2024 election. The decision, which came just weeks before early voting was scheduled to begin, left many of the 40,000 students who attend these schools more than a mile away from the nearest polling place.” (02/14/26)
“Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died in prison in Russia after being poisoned with a deadly toxin found in the skin of Ecuadorian dart frogs, the UK and other allies have [claimed]. The ‘barbaric’ act — using a neurotoxin that is classed as a chemical weapon — could only have been carried out by Vladimir Putin’s government, they said on Saturday. … Russian authorities have previously claimed the dissident’s death was not suspicious but had been caused as a result of ‘combined diseases,’ including an irregular heartbeat.” (02/14/26)
“A now-halted plan to run a hepatitis B vaccine trial involving thousands of newborns in Guinea-Bissau has been criticised by the World Health Organization as ‘unethical.’ The US-funded study had sought to give one set of babies the vaccine at birth, while another would have had the shot delayed until six weeks of age. The WHO said it had ‘significant concerns’ about the plan, and described the birth-dose vaccine as ‘an effective and essential public health intervention, with a proven record.’ The US health department, headed by Robert F Kennedy Jr, who has questioned the effects of vaccines, had sought to use the trial to answer questions about the jab’s broader health effects. The WHO said on Friday that its concerns regarded the study’s scientific justification, ethical safeguards and consistency with established standards for research involving humans.” (02/14/26)
“Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed a bill Friday that aims to police the use of bathrooms and other private spaces in government buildings. It would also revoke driver’s licenses that reflect transgender Kansans’ identities. Kelly used her veto message to denounce SB 244 as ‘poorly drafted legislation’ that would have ‘numerous and significant consequences’ beyond limiting trans people’s ability to ‘use the appropriate bathroom.’ ‘Under this bill: if your grandfather is in a nursing home in a shared room, as a granddaughter, you would not be able to visit him,’ Kelly said. ‘If your wife is in a shared hospital room, as a husband, you would not be able to visit her,’ she continued, adding that college dorm rooms and government-owned sports facilities would also fall under the bill.” (02/14/26)
“Senate Republicans gained a key ally in their quest to enshrine voter ID into law, but the lawmaker’s support comes with a condition. A trio of lawmakers, led by Sen. Mike Lee [R-UT] have undertaken a campaign to convince their colleagues to support the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, working social media and closed-door meetings to secure the votes. The campaign has proven successful, with the cohort gaining a crucial vote from Sen. Susan Collins [R-ME], who announced that she would back the SAVE America Act, which recently passed the House. … Collins noted that she did not support the previous version of the bill, known simply as the SAVE Act, because it ‘would have required people to prove their citizenship every single time they cast a ballot.'” (02/14/26)
