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Top Dems in Congress list ICE constraints they want in funding bill

(Nebraska Examiner) The top two Democrats in Congress on Wednesday outlined their proposal for restrictions on immigration enforcement, including body cameras and a ban on masks, though they had no details to share about when actual negotiations would begin. Lawmakers from both political parties have less than two weeks to find a solution before the stopgap law funding the Department of Homeland Security expires Feb. 13, which could force all of its components, including the Coast Guard and Federal Emergency Management Agency, into a shutdown.

lostincalifornia

Supreme Court Allow New California Voting Map For Midterms

(Bloomberg News) The US Supreme Court cleared California to use its new congressional map that favors Democrats during this year's midterm election, giving the party a pathway to neutralize anticipated Republican gains in the House due to new districts in Texas. The justices on Wednesday denied a request from the California Republican party and the US Department of Justice to prevent the state from using its new voter-approved map on the grounds that it was racially gerrymandered and therefore illegal.

BumRushDaShow

Republicans fear Trump backlash could cost them Senate control

(The Hill) Senate Republicans are concerned that a public backlash to President Trump’s handling of the economy and his aggressive deportation policies could give rise to a Democratic wave that not only sweeps away the House Republican majority, but also threatens their own three-seat majority. The latest alarm bell rang over the weekend when Democratic candidate Taylor Rehmet won a state Senate seat in North Texas that President Trump won by 17 points in 2024, a stunning upset that GOP senators say should serve as a “wake-up call” heading into November.

BumRushDaShow

Elon Musk will have to sit for a deposition over what he did at DOGE, judge rules

(Business Insider) Elon Musk will have to sit for a deposition for lawyers to examine his role in dismantling USAID, a Maryland judge ruled. In an eight-page order released on Tuesday, US District Judge Theodore Chuang rejected a request from Musk and officials linked to the Department of Government Efficiency to forgo a deposition. It ordered him, along with former acting USAID director Peter Marocco and Department of State official Jeremy Lewin, to be deposed. Musk's legal team had tried to use the "apex doctrine" to avoid the deposition, a rule that allows high-ranking government officials to avoid depositions in some situations.

KS Toronado

Thursday's Condensed News Cartoons

Miles Archer

Trump Gives Chilling Answer About Whether He’ll Accept Election Results

(Daily Beast) Donald Trump said he will only accept the GOP losing control of Congress in this November’s midterms if he considers the elections to have been “honest.” Speaking to NBC’s Tom Llamas, the 79-year-old president was pressed on whether he would trust the midterm results after his suggestion that Republicans should “nationalize” election races across the country.

Miles Archer

ICE agents mocked autistic woman for asking for wheelchair after dragging her out of car

(Raw Story) A woman who was recently released from custody by immigration agents described the horrifying way she was treated by President Donald Trump's immigration agents during a stop last month - one she said exacerbated disabilities - and the terrible conditions inside the Minneapolis-area ICE facility. Aliyah Rahman, an autistic South Minneapolis resident with a traumatic brain injury who needs a wheelchair for mobility, told lawmakers during a Congressional forum on Tuesday that she was stopped by ICE agents while on her way to a doctor's appointment.

RandySF

Spanberger ends ICE agreement involving Virginia State Police and corrections officers

(Virginia Mercury) Gov. Abigail Spanberger has formally ended an agreement with the U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement that had allowed Virginia State Police troopers and Virginia Department of Corrections officers to assist ICE. The agreement — which stems from Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration — had effectively placed state law enforcement under federal control and supervision to conduct civil immigration enforcement. Ending the agreements was a campaign promise of Spanberger’s last year when she said tasking state and local law enforcement to help with federal law enforcement was a “misuse of those resources.”

Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin

Bitcoin sinks after Treasury Secretary Bessent says US government can't tell banks to bail out crypto

(Yahoo Finance) Bitcoin (BTC-USD) fell 2% on Wednesday to around $73,000 per token after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested the US government would not bail out the cryptocurrency. In a heated back-and-forth during a House Financial Services Committee hearing, Bessent was asked if the US Treasury had the authority to buy bitcoin or other cryptos. "I do not have the authority to do that, and as chair of FSOC, I do not have that authority," Bessent stated.

BumRushDaShow

'Can you shut him up?' House Democrats clash with Bessent in fiery hearing

(ABC News) House Democrats clashed with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday during a fiery hearing on Capitol Hill that devolved into shouting matches and throwing sharp elbows. "Can you shut him up?" Rep. Maxine Waters of California, the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, at one point asked Chairman Rep. French Hill of Arkansas as Bessent repeatedly spoke over her question and ignored her repeated "reclaiming my time" declarations.

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Intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard's office obtained and tested voting machines in Puerto Rico

33 min ago - Updated Feb 5, 2026, 11:01 AM ET PUBLISHED Feb 4, 2026, 11:33 PM ET The Office of the Director of National Intelligence obtained voting machines from Puerto Rico and probed them for security vulnerabilities, the office said in a statement to CNN Wedn ... (CNN Politics)

'Let's stop the games': Hillary Clinton calls for testimony in Epstein probe to be public

1 hr ago - Posted 10:03 AM, Feb 05, 2026 and last updated 26 minutes ago Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton fired off some strong-worded social media posts on Thursday, calling for her testimony before the House Oversight Committee to be public. The form ... (Scripps News)

Russia warns of response to any US weapons deployment in Greenland

1 hr ago - Feb. 4, 2026 Updated Feb. 5, 2026, 8:36 a.m. ET A senior Russian official said Moscow is ready to respond with military measures if the United States follows through on its plan to deploy its Golden Dome missile defense program to Greenland. Sergei R ... (USA Today)

DOJ Looks to Automatically Dismiss Immigration Appeals as Trump Pushes Mass Deportations

1 hr ago - Immigration DOJ Looks to Automatically Dismiss Immigration Appeals as Trump Pushes Mass Deportations A new entry to the Federal Register is meant to speed the rate of decisions at the Board of Immigration Appeals. By Jose Pagliery February 5, 2026 12 ... (NOTUS)

Democrats criticize cost of National Guard deployment in D.C. and its results in new report

2 hrs ago - Feb. 5, 2026, 5:00 AM EST WASHINGTON — The Trump administration's deployment of the National Guard to the nation's capital has cost taxpayers more than $330 million and delivered little in the way of measurable results, according to a new report ... (NBC News)

"Needs to get the hell out": House Dems fume at Schumer

2 hrs ago - House Democrats found themselves in the familiar position this week of seething at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) for negotiating a deal with Republicans to keep the government funded. While his caucus remains behind him, Schumer is b ... (Axios)

The College Board Is Banning Students From Using Smart Glasses During the SATs

2 hrs ago - It’s not just theoretical. The prospect of students using smart glasses to cheat on tests is apparently so real that the College Board, which administers the SATs, just banned students from using smart glasses starting in the spring. Here’s ... (Gizmodo)

Trump Says It's His Right to Use DOJ as His Personal Law Firm

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Crypto crash accelerates as investors flee risky assets

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Jesse Jackson Jr. pitches redemption in bid for old House seat years after campaign fraud conviction

3 hrs ago - Updated 12:05 AM EST, February 5, 2026 COUNTRY CLUB HILLS, Ill. (AP) — As Jesse Jackson Jr. campaigns for his old U.S. House seat at Chicago-area churches, banquet halls and on Black radio shows, he often takes a moment to address the obvious ma ... (AP)

Epstein files show Swiss bank CEO de Rothschild kept up years‑long personal contact with financier

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U.S. Job Openings Fall To 6.5 Million -- Fewest Since 2020...

4 hrs ago - The Labor Department reported Tuesday that vacancies fell to 6.5 million in December — from 6.9 million in November and the fewest since September 2020. ... (Huffington Post)

New Trump Anti-Fraud Task Force to Target California, CBS Reports

5 hrs ago - WASHINGTON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - U.S. ‌President Donald Trump ‌is creating a new anti-fraud task force for California led by ‍U.S. Vice President JD Vance, CBS News reported on ⁠Wednesday, citing multiple ... (USNews)

Ruben Gallego Introduces Bill For $20 Minimum Wage

5 hrs ago - Feb 5, 2026, 05:00 AM EST | Updated an hour ago WASHINGTON – A Democratic senator introduced a bill Thursday to raise the federal minimum wage to $20 per hour by 2029, setting a new benchmark for progressives hoping to hike the wage floor. Sen. ... (Huff Post)

The last US-Russia nuclear pact expires, prompting fears of a new arms race

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Emergency crews evacuate patients and battle blaze at Pennsylvania hospital

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Georgia Republican Barry Loudermilk won't seek reelection to US House

7 hrs ago - February 4, 2026 / 10:31 PM EST / AP Georgia Republican U.S. House member Barry Loudermilk, who has been active in efforts to discredit Democratic-led investigations into the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, announced Wednesday that he won't seek reelecti ... (CBS News/AP)

15 FBI officials have been harassed since their IDs were stolen during Minnesota ICE protest, feds say

7 hrs ago - Wednesday 04 February 2026 19:38 EST As many as 15 FBI officials have faced threats and intimidation after two government vehicles were vandalized and documents were stolen during a protest against federal immigration officials in Minneapolis. On J ... (The Independent)

05 Feb Challenger Report: January Job Cuts Surge; Lowest January Hiring on Record

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Republicans fear Trump backlash could cost them Senate control

8 hrs ago - 02/05/26 6:00 AM ET Senate Republicans are concerned that a public backlash to President Trump’s handling of the economy and his aggressive deportation policies could give rise to a Democratic wave that not only sweeps away the House Republican ... (The Hill)