“Peru’s Congress late Wednesday elected legislator José María Balcázar as the country’s eighth president in a decade, replacing another interim leader who was ousted the previous day over corruption allegations just four months into his term. Balcázar, an 83-year-old former judge representing the leftist Perú Libre party, defeated three other candidates with a majority of the 130-member legislature. The revolving-door presidency in Peru reflects a political crisis fueled by a lack of legislative majorities for leaders. Lawmakers have frequently used a broad interpretation of a constitutional article regarding ‘permanent moral incapacity’ to remove sitting presidents.” (02/19/26)
“Bill Gates will not deliver his keynote address at the India AI Impact Summit in Delhi, his philanthropic organisation said hours before the Microsoft co-founder was due to speak. The Gates Foundation said the decision was made after ‘careful consideration’ and ‘to ensure the focus remains on the [summit’s] key priorities’, but did not elaborate. Gates’s withdrawal comes amid a controversy over his ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after he was named in new files released by the US Department of Justice in January. Gates’s spokesperson has called the claims in the files ‘absolutely absurd and completely false’, and the billionaire has said he regretted spending time with Epstein. Gates has not been accused of wrongdoing by any of Epstein’s victims and the appearance of his name in the files does not imply criminal activity of any kind.” (02/19/26)
“The Washington Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Thursday that Amazon.com must face lawsuits brought by families with relatives who took their own lives by consuming sodium nitrite they bought on the online retailer’s platform. It rejected a lower court’s ruling that the families could not pursue negligence claims under a Washington state product liability law, because suicide was a superseding cause of their relatives’ deaths. … They said the Seattle-based retailer has known of the link between sodium nitrite and suicide for years yet continued to sell the product without restrictions.” [editor’s note: The people who killed themselves had every right to do so. They were not their relatives’ property – TLK] (02/19/26)
“For the first time during Operation Metro Surge, a federal judge has imposed stiff consequences on a government attorney for ICE’s violation of a court order related to the release of a detained immigrant. Judge Laura Provinzino found Special Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Isihara in civil contempt during a Wednesday afternoon hearing. Judge Provinzino issued a civil contempt order against Isihara in a habeas case, ordering daily fines of $500. She said her goal is to ensure the government complies with her orders regarding a detained Mexican immigrant from Big Lake, Minnesota. … Isihara blamed a massive caseload and ‘not enough staff’ in the U.S. Attorney’s office to handle all the civil litigation connected to Operation Metro Surge.” (02/18/26)
“President Donald Trump announced Thursday at the inaugural Board of Peace meeting that nine members have agreed to pledge a combined $7 billion toward a Gaza relief package, while five countries have agreed to deploy troops to take part in an international stabilization force to the war-battered Palestinian territory. But $7 billion is only a fraction of the estimated $70 billion needed to rebuild Gaza, where a shaky ceasefire deal looms over Trump’s ambitions for his board to rival the United Nations in solving world conflicts. Trump also announced the U.S. was pledging $10 billion for the Board of Peace but didn’t specify what the money will be used for. Instead, the president is turning his focus to domestic issues: In an hour, he’ll arrive in Georgia for a trip designed to help boost Republicans’ political standing heading into the midterms.” (02/19/26)
“The Commission of Fine Arts has unanimously approved plans for President Donald Trump’s almost 90,000-square-foot White House ballroom plans, the first hurdle in starting the building project. The commission, whose members were all appointed by Trump, including his executive assistant, Chamberlain Harris, 26. The original architect of the ballroom recused himself from the vote. Trump fired all the previous members in October. But now, the project must win approval from the National Capital Planning Commission, which could vote on March 5.” (02/19/26)
“Israeli forces, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups have both committed serious violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza and carried out atrocity crimes, a U.N. report published on Thursday said. Intensified Israeli attacks and the forcible transfer of Palestinians appeared aimed at a permanent demographic shift in Gaza ‘raising concerns over ethnic cleansing,’ the report by the U.N. human rights office said. The holding and mistreatment of hostages by the Hamas Islamist militant group may amount to war crimes, it said.” (02/19/26)
“Former New York City Police Department (NYPD) Chief John Chell blasted New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for walking back the planned hiring of 5,000 more police officers amid a city budget shortfall of billions of dollars, calling it a ‘recipe for disaster.’ Mamdani’s predecessor, Mayor Eric Adams, proposed at the end of his term that the city hire 5,000 more NYPD officers. Upon entering office, Mamdani moved to cancel all orders signed by Adams after his Sept. 26, 2024, indictment, including the proposed NYPD personnel increase. Under Adams'[s] plan, the NYPD would gradually hire more officers over the coming years, ultimately allowing the NYPD to deploy around 40,000 officers to the streets, while Mamdani’s plan caps the number closer to its current level of around 35,000.” (02/19/26)
“Meta is shutting down the standalone Messenger website, according to a company help page. The website will disappear in April, though web users will still be able to send and receive messages within Facebook. … This comes just a few months after Meta shut down Messenger’s standalone desktop apps. At that time, Meta directed existing users to Facebook to continue using the service and not the dedicated Messenger website.” (02/19/26)
“The Republican National Committee is suing to halt a Democratic-backed referendum on redrawing the commonwealth’s congressional map, as both parties wage a mid-decade redistricting fight ahead of November’s midterm elections. The RNC filed its lawsuit Wednesday, after GOP-led Texas began a Trump-urged push last summer to redraw its map to add more Republican seats, kicking off tit-for-tat moves across the country in a fight that could decide control of Congress. The lawsuit seeks emergency injunctive relief to block an April 21 referendum on a proposed amendment to the commonwealth’s Constitution to allow mid-decade redistricting, arguing the legislation Virginia’s General Assembly approved to put the question before voters is invalid and goes against the state’s Constitution.” (02/19/26)
