News of the Week for February 7th, 2026
- Abortion
- Gun Rights
- Hide the Decline
- Socialized Medicine
- War & Terror
- National News
- Economy & Taxes
- International News
- Opinion
Abortion
Court Cases & Legislation
Attorney General’s Office asks Wyoming Supreme Court to rehear abortion case
The Wyoming Attorney General’s Office wants the Wyoming Supreme Court to reconsider its recent ruling on abortion, arguing that justices made “numerous mistakes or errors of law” and failed to consider that “an unborn baby has a fundamental right to life” under the Wyoming Constitution.
Gun Rights
Second Amendment Roundup: Four Points on the Wolford Argument
Comments by Akhil and Vikram Amar in Scotusblog.com are off base.
The Administration and the Second Amendment: Damage Control
Gun rights are not Donald Trump’s main issue. Like Ronald Reagan before him, Trump has had his slip-ups with gun rights supporters; his stance on “bump stocks” in his first administration, attempting to mollify moderates squeamish about a series of grisly mass shootings, lost him some of the juice he’d gotten with gun owners. . And like Reagan, Trump only spends so much political capital on the issue.
The Second Amendment Role Reversal
So strong has been the pull of reflexive partisanship in the wake of the killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday that the Republicans and the Democrats seem briefly to have swapped sides on the desirability and the scope of the Second Amendment.
Supreme Court to Decide Firearms Ban for Marijuana Users
NRA Amicus Brief Argues that Ban Fails Bruen Test
State Appellate Judge on the Second Amendment and Felons
From Alaska Court of Appeals Judge Timothy Terrell’s concurrence Wednesday in Ivyories v. State
‘WTF’: Pro-gun groups warn vulnerable GOP seats on the line after Pretti response
Second Amendment advocates are warning that Republicans shouldn’t count on them to show up in November, after President Donald Trump insisted that demonstrator Alex Pretti “should not have been carrying a gun.”
The Second Amendment at Protests and Demonstrations
There’s been some debate recently about whether laws banning carrying weapons at political protests and demonstrations (either by the protests and demonstrators or others) are consistent with the Second Amendment. I thought I’d pass along what federal appellate judges have said about this recently.
Hide the Decline
Environment &“Green Energy”
Polar bears on Norwegian islands fatter and healthier despite ice loss
Scientists expected the opposite, but polar bears in the Norwegian Arctic archipelago of Svalbard have become fatter and healthier since the early 1990s, all while sea ice has steadily declined due to climate change.
Socialized Medicine
Government in Healthcare
French Senate Rejects Assisted Suicide
So, the hastened death pushers would rather not pass a law that has the potential to dramatically improve access to pain control if hastened death is excluded. That tells me everything I need to know about the movement’s priorities.
War & Terror
Trump Warns Iran Anew: ‘The Next Attack Will Be Far Worse’
President Trump reminds the world that the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier group is heading toward Iran and “it is, ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfill its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary.” Of course, this is more than two weeks after Trump told the Iranian people, via Truth Social, “Help is on its way”; in the meantime, the regime in Tehran has continued its brutal and deadly crackdown with impunity. In other important news, do not attack Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar. In other, other important news, do not trust Venezuelan acting President Delcy Rodríguez.
Nearly 2 million Russian and Ukrainian troops killed or injured in bloody war
The number of Russian and Ukrainian soldiers killed, wounded or missing during the war will reach 2 million by the spring, according to a study published Tuesday.
The Russian Advance on Some Fronts in Ukraine Is Literally ‘Slower Than a Snail’
The phrase “past performance is not indicative of future results” — a mandatory disclaimer in investment advertising required by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission – is a good fact to keep in mind when contemplating what the future has held. Just because something has occurred a certain way for a long while does not guarantee that the trend will continue.
Mark Carney Should Look Down Under
Something that may explain heightened Australian concern was the presence of the Chinese naval task force in the country’s vicinity (although in international waters) last year.
A Robot Thermopylae – in Ukraine
That war, the martial variant of necessity, is a mother of invention is not exactly news. Compare the arsenals of 1914 with those of 1918, or those of 1939 with those of 1945.
National
At 88, D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton Will Not Run for Reelection
Back in October, I pointed out that a D.C. police report saying that 88-year-old Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton has “early stages of dementia” was the latest sign of a disturbing gerontocracy in our government. Norton’s staff contended the “reporting officer was unqualified to make” that assessment; and of course, Norton was not made available for interviews to dispel the claim that she suffered from dementia.
Lab–grown LIFE takes a major step forward – as scientists use AI to create a virus never seen before
Lab–grown life has taken a major leap forward as scientists use AI to create a new virus that has never been seen before.
Protesters lay siege to Minnesota hotel in chaotic scenes amid unrest in wake of Alex Pretti shooting
Protesters stormed a Minnesota hotel where they suspected ICE agents had been staying amid unrest following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti.
UCLA to host ‘Feminist and Queer Ecologies’ conference linking climate issues to gender ideology
One California university is preparing to spotlight gender ideology and left-wing activism through an upcoming ecology conference. The keynote speaker, Cutcha Risling Baldy, argues that climate change should be understood through ‘Indigenous ecofeminist’ frameworks.
Trump Sends Tom Homan to Minneapolis
Dispatching Homan to the scene is, it appears, an attempt to dial down tension and reset the mission.
Agents detain and send 2-year-old girl and her father to Texas despite court order to release toddler
Attorneys for the family say they were asylum-seekers who were pulled over without a warrant. The girl has since been reunited with her mother.
Greg Bovino Loses His Job
The Border Patrol chief has been ousted from his role as “commander at large,” and will return to El Centro.
Third Circuit Rejects Rehearing on Alina Habba’s Disqualification as New Jersey U.S. Attorney
Last month, we discussed a unanimous ruling by a three-judge Third Circuit panel, rejecting the government’s appeal of a lower court decision that Alina Habba lacked the statutory qualification to serve as either interim or acting U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey (DNJ). The judges on the panel included two appointed by President George W. Bush and one by President Obama.
Nevada Republican who negotiated bill that funds ICE says operation needs to ‘pivot’
Rep. Mark Amodei criticized Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s response after Border Patrol killed Alex Pretti over the weekend.
Texas professor censored over Plato curriculum speaks out
The College Fix’s Abigail Nichols talks to Texas A&M Professor Martin Peterson to discuss the university’s decision to prohibit him from teaching Plato’s philosophy on gender.
White biologist sues Cornell, alleging illegal race-based hiring
An evolutionary biologist filed a lawsuit against Cornell University this week that alleges the Ivy League school used unlawful race-based hiring practices and intentionally discriminated against qualified candidates by refusing to consider White people.
Nervous Allies and Fox News: How Trump Realized He Had a Big Problem in Minneapolis
President Trump often blusters his way through a crisis, refusing to back down. Minneapolis tested the limits of that strategy.
Tazewell judge blocks Virginia Democrats’ mid-decade redistricting plan over Special Session violations
A Tazewell County judge has blocked Virginia Democrats’ redistricting amendment, ruling that the General Assembly violated 2024 Special Session procedures. This prevents mid-decade congressional redistricting amendments from going before voters.
FBI agents search election hub in Fulton County, Georgia
Agents were seen entering the Fulton County Election Hub and Operation Center
Vance remembers to forget
January 27 was International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Multiple BBC presenters covered the day with no reference to the Jews and subsequently apologized for the — what’s the word? — omission. It wasn’t an oversight.
Sen. Collins says Homeland Security ended enhanced ICE operation in Maine
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said early Thursday that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has ended its enhanced immigration operation in the state of Maine.
Dems Opposing Gender Ideology Sue Illinois Over Law Banning Use of ‘Democrat’ Without Approval
Illinois Democratic official orders gender ideology critics to ask his party for permission to use the term “Democrats,” prompting a lawsuit.
Harvard-backed program drops ‘students of color’ requirement after legal complaint
The Union Scholars summer scholarship program, supported by Harvard, revised its eligibility criteria to remove the ‘students of color’ requirement following a legal complaint from the Equal Protection Project, although critics argue it was insufficient and late.
“Merely Correctly Advising … Daughter of Her Constitutional Rights Did Not Constitute … [Criminal O]bstruction … of a Governmental Function”
From today’s decision in Keeton v. State, written by Arkansas Court of Appeals Judge Cindy Grace Thyer, joined by Judges Brandon Harrison and Casey Tucker
Federal Agents Arrest Don Lemon Over Minnesota Church Protest
Three others were also arrested on charges that they had violated federal law during the church protest this month, reviving a case that was rejected last week by a magistrate judge.
“Equality” Won’t Win Like This
A new book takes the worst excesses of DEI to task—limply.
Don Lemon’s Arrest
As various outlets are reporting, Don Lemon, the former CNN newscaster and host, was arrested Thursday night at the Grammy awards in Los Angeles. The arrest — though not the manner of it — appeared inevitable when a magistrate judge refused to issue an arrest warrant for him in connection with the storming of Cities Church in Minneapolis.
TFAS Announces Lord Daniel Hannan as the America 250 Visiting Fellow
The Fund for American Studies (TFAS) is pleased to announce that Lord Daniel Hannan will serve as the organization’s America 250 Visiting Fellow in 2026. As the America 250 Visiting Fellow, Lord Hannan will speak to audiences on behalf of TFAS across the U.S. throughout 2026, including the TFAS 2026 Regional Conferences, to provide his unique perspective on the importance of the American Founding and how we as a nation teach the American Experiment, in commemoration of the nation’s semiquincentennial. Lord Hannan will also speak on college campuses and to other young audiences throughout the U.S.
Crews continue to extinguish hot spots at El Monte recycling plant fire
Thick black smoke billowed from a South El Monte recycling plant as Los Angeles County Fire Department crews attempted to control the flames consuming the large building complex on Wednesday afternoon.
Jury Finds Doctors Liable for Malpractice in Gender Surgery Lawsuit
A jury awards $2 million in damages to a 22-year-woman who underwent breast removal surgery as a teenager.
Short Circuit: An inexhaustive weekly compendium of rulings from the federal courts of appeal
Modest markups, shotgun pleadings, and the Kansas Two-Step.
JD Vance in texts with far-right figure: Profane and off-the-cuff
Private messages show Trump’s running mate entertaining conspiracy theories and scorning the late Sheldon Adelson.
No, Fulton County Early 2020 Votes Aren’t Likely To Be Decertified
A recent state election board hearing spawned misinformed social media speculation.
Anti-ICE protesters disrupted worship in a Minnesota church. Here’s why the First Amendment doesn’t protect their actions.
Recent events in Minnesota — where anti-ICE protesters interrupted a service at Cities Church in St. Paul, targeted pastor David Easterwood (who is apparently also an ICE official), then defended the disruption as an exercise of First Amendment rights — reflect a growing confusion about what the Constitution does and does not protect. Similar incidents have occurred in recent years, affecting churches, synagogues, and other religious services across the country. Whatever one thinks of the protesters’ underlying cause, the constitutional question here is not a close one.
Tulsi Gabbard’s appearance at Fulton County FBI raid raises questions
Lawmakers called for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to explain the presence of the country’s top spy agency official at a domestic law enforcement action in Georgia.
Democrat Taylor Rehmet flips a Texas state Senate seat Trump won by 17 points
Democrats notched another victory Saturday in special elections during President Donald Trump’s second term, flipping a seat in the Texas Senate that Trump won by 17 points in 2024.
Gen Z’s hottest club: The local dive bar
Clara Greenstein, a 28-year-old who lives in Queens, New York, can be found several nights a week at her local bar, The Seneca. The spot serves good burgers and drinks for a good price, but the main draw is a pool table. Greenstein entered a tournament about two years ago, and now she’s inherited the role of running it. “I get a free hamburger every week and get to basically have office hours for all my friends,” she tells me. On a night when she’s got nothing to do, she’ll pop in after work and end up “just sitting at the bar like it’s 1995” after her tech job, rather than bingeing shows or doom scrolling. “I’ve never gone there and not seen a familiar face.”
Ammon Bundy Is All Alone
The anti-government militia leader can’t make sense of his allies’ support for ICE violence.
Economy & Taxes
Brisk Sales at Goodwill Suggest Wary Shoppers in an Uncertain Economy
Consumers are still spending, but they’re looking for ways to stretch their dollars as far as possible.
Another day another high: Gold surges past $5,100 as investors seek shelter from global risks
Gold climbed to a fresh all-time high above $5,100 an ounce on Monday. Gold’s rally reflects mounting flashpoints from Greenland and Venezuela to the Middle East, reinforcing its role as a hedge amid structurally higher geopolitical risk.
Americans’ confidence in the U.S. economy falls sharply in January to lowest level since 2014
U.S. consumer confidence declined sharply in January, hitting the lowest level since 2014 as Americans grow increasingly concerned about their financial prospects.
Trade balance soared 94% in November and was higher than a year ago, despite tariff efforts
The U.S. deficit with its global trading partners nearly doubled in November as the shortfall with the European Union swelled. Following a month where the trade deficit hit its lowest level since early 2009, it shot up to $56.8 billion, an increase of 94.6% from October.
Thomas Sowell on School Choice and the Price Our Children Pay for Bad Ideas
Thomas Sowell delivers a sweeping critique of American education, affirmative action, and modern universities, drawing on his own life story — from Harlem classrooms to Ivy League institutions — decades of research, and hard data. Sowell argues that ideology has replaced knowledge and that well-intentioned policies often harm the very people they are meant to help. He explores intersecting issues of race, charter schools, universities, AI, and the future of American institutions — with his usual clarity, candor, and unmistakable intellectual force.
Aluminum Amok
Aluminum has been on a tear lately. That matters. After steel, aluminum is the most widely used metal, with countless applications, from planes to soda cans to electrification.
Soaring Industrial Shares Face Headwinds From Trump Trade Policy
Earnings reports from some of the largest US manufacturers and transportation companies this week drove home how President Donald Trump’s policies on trade and energy are putting a squeeze on the sector’s profits.
Trump’s pro-coal directives could raise energy prices by billions
Requiring aging plants to operate after their scheduled closures hurts consumers, who pay the price.
First Independence Bank, Detroit, Michigan, Assumes All Deposits of Metropolitan Capital Bank & Trust, Chicago, Illinois
Metropolitan Capital Bank & Trust was closed today by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. The FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with First Independence Bank to assume substantially all deposits of Metropolitan Capital Bank & Trust.
International
Federal government to introduce grocery rebate: sources
Prime Minister Mark Carney to announce GST credit top-up, other affordability measures on Monday
Braverman accuses Tories of betrayal as she defects to Reform
Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman has accused the Conservatives of “betrayal” as she became the latest MP from the party to defect to Reform UK.
Sarah Mullally confirmed as archbishop of Canterbury, first woman to lead the Church of England
Sarah Mullally walked into St. Paul’s Cathedral on Wednesday morning as the bishop of London. When she walked out in the afternoon as bells rang out, she was the spiritual leader of millions of Anglicans around the world.
Nipah virus fears trigger airport checks across Asia after India confirms two cases
Two cases of the deadly Nipah virus in India have prompted authorities in Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia to step up airport screening in an effort to prevent the infection from spreading.
China’s Demographic Bomb Is Already Detonating
This colors so many global trends for the years to come. Can the world really concentrate more industrial production in a country shrinking this rapidly? How will the global economy grow if China is acting as such a powerful population sink and drain? How does this now somewhat-acknowledged reality change the calculations among China’s leadership about its window of opportunity to become the major global power?
The 15 minute city is back
Surprise! The Blob wants to track your car, limit your travel, get more of your money (but only so they can fix the weather!)
New triple-drug treatment stops pancreatic cancer in its tracks, a mouse study finds
By targeting three key growth pathways at once, researchers eliminated pancreatic tumors in multiple mouse models and prevented the cancer from returning, a promising step toward overcoming treatment resistance.
Opinion
“Embedding AI in the Curriculum”
The Martin Center speaks to UNC’s new vice-provost for artificial intelligence.
Kristi Noem, Growing Liability for the Trump Administration
If the Trump administration wants the public to support its immigration enforcement actions in Minneapolis and elsewhere, it needs to speak honestly about events like the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has repeatedly demonstrated that she is incapable of doing that, and is proving a consistent liability to a top priority of the administration. Meanwhile, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz explicitly compares U.S. federal agents to Nazis. Read on.
Life
The March for Life concluded on Friday, and on Sunday, federal agents took a life in Minneapolis.
The Trouble with Writing About Chaos Government
One of the frustrations of the second Trump term, as a writer, is quite how opaque the facts frequently are on so many fronts. This is a professional annoyance, but it’s more than just my own grievance: it’s also bad for democratic debate. And while some of this is the result of issue environments outside of the current administration’s control, it’s also a predictable side effect of executive-driven governance that is all about the use of power and leverage rather than the deployment of reason or principle or the defense of law.
ICE’s Ice Problem
Ice may be the single greatest nonhuman factor in the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. In fact, after watching both recordings, I’d go as far as to say we would have an ICE agent in the ICU or dead in the case of Good, were it not for her tires spinning for traction, rather than grabbing, while her vehicle was squarely aimed at the officer who would ultimately shoot her.
The Root of Trump’s Immigration-Enforcement Image Problem
The administration can’t seem to distinguish between law enforcement and national security.
America’s most vital resource? It’s not oil, land or minerals.
The country’s durable advantage is the ability to generate ideas.
How to Help the Iranian People
Our David Bahnsen will keep you covered on the administration’s swing to the hard left on economic policy; and our Andrew Stuttaford is closely watching the Justice Department’s decision to serve the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas, and the defiant response from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. Andrew warns, “The problem with attacking the Fed’s independence (or even to be perceived as attacking the Fed’s independence) is that it increases investors’ concern about the degree to which the value of the money they lend the U.S. (through buying treasuries) will be eaten away by inflation.”
Fire Kristi Noem into the Sun
At a minimum, the DHS secretary should immediately become the least visible member of this administration.
Looking For Solidarity in the Wrong Place
Like many criticisms of liberalism on the right, Reno’s version of liberalism is a strawman.
Why the Second Alex Pretti Video Matters — and Doesn’t
There’s a second video of Alex Pretti getting himself into an altercation with federal agents. This one is from January 13, eleven days before Pretti was killed. It has been verified by the BBC. It shows Pretti spitting at, and then kicking the tail light out of, a federally owned SUV. Under 18 U.S.C. § 1361, that’s a misdemeanor if the damage is under $1,000, and a felony if the damage exceeds $1,000. Under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), it is a felony if the perpetrator was armed at the time — which Pretti appeared to be.
Mike Pence: Minneapolis Is a Warning
Americans deserve to have safe streets, our laws enforced, and our constitutional rights respected. All have been violated in Minneapolis by leaders of both parties.
Hubris Is Undoing Trump’s Second Term
Trump has overestimated what he could achieve and underestimated the voters, allies, and legal grounding needed to make his accomplishments last.
The Cabinet Appointees Who Are Failing President Trump
On the menu today: A growing consensus finds Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem is the reason the administration’s immigration policies are perceived as harsh and poorly enforced. The Wall Street Journal reports that director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is investigating the 2020 presidential election. And while our secretary of labor might be a lot of fun at parties, the use of taxpayer funds is concerning. Say, anyone else feel like President Trump might be well-served by a cabinet shakeup?
Yes, President Trump Could Use a Cabinet Shake-Up — and a Few More Ambassadors
It has long since been proven that Trump’s boast that he hires only the best people is absolute nonsense, as Trump himself often finds himself raging that his former cabinet officials and staffers were incompetent and disloyal.
The Other Side of the Coin
Judge Patrick Schiltz, the highly respected Chief Judge of the Federal District Court of Minnesota, is demanding that Immigration and Customs Enforcement Chief Todd Lyons show up in court and answer questions about the deportation policies of the Trump Administration. He is threatening to hold Lyons in contempt.
The Cost of Half Measures in Iran and Venezuela
American military strikes on Iran last summer made eminent sense. They did not topple the Iranian regime, or seek to do so, but neither were they a purely symbolic or punitive use of military force. The goal was to seriously degrade, if not eliminate, Iran’s nuclear program, which of course is a nuclear-weapons program. So far as we can tell, they were a significant success in that regard, and at a comparatively modest cost. The result has been to weaken the strategic position in the region of Iran’s regime, a deeply ideological government implacably hostile to, and actively at war with, the United States for 47 years and allied in a new axis with its enemies.
The Problem with Trump’s Fraud-Prosecutor Plan
The credibility of federal law enforcement depends on its not being politicized.
