Authored by Jenna McCarthy via Jenna’s Side,

Many, many years ago—we’re talking decades—I got into a fight with a boy I’d been dating for (thankfully) not very long. I can’t even recall what the argument was about, but I’ll never forget his very last words to me:

“God, you’re so stupid.”

“There are plenty of insults you could fling at me that would be accurate,” I informed him by way of a breakup. “Hot-headed, demanding, defensive, defiant, opinionated, unfiltered, gets hangry if not fed every four hours—let me help you out—but make no mistake, stupid isn’t one of them.”

I think of that moment every once in a while, for instance when I hear celebrities, Facebook “friends,” or the coven of professional scolds over at The View whining about the “fascist dictator” in the White House. And not because my reaction is “God, you’re so stupid”—although it one hundred percent is—but because they’re obviously just reaching for the nastiest insult in the bag and hoping it sticks. It’s basically the “your mom is so ugly, she made an onion cry” of political attacks.

Trump is arguably bombastic. He is egomaniacal. He can be rude and misogynistic and childish. He fires off 3 A.M. Twitter tantrums like a drunk raccoon, insults world leaders to their faces, and was busted bragging about grabbing women by the… lady parts. If he were your uncle, no one would blame you for not inviting him to your wedding.

But a dictator he is not.

Let me prove it: In America, the worst thing that happens when you stream a boy band is that Spotify recommends more boy bands. Do you know what happens in North Korea? If you’re lucky, you’re sent to a labor camp. If you’re not so lucky, you could face the death penalty. That is not hyperbole.

According to a new Amnesty International report, North Koreans—including children—are being publicly executed for watching South Korean dramas or listening to music by groups like BTS. (Rich families can sometimes bribe officials to escape elimination, so apparently corruption is universal—although the price tag is often too high for many.) Thanks to Kim Jong Un’s 2020 Law on Rejecting Reactionary Thought and Culture, consequences for consuming or distributing unapproved entertainment range from five to fifteen years of forced labor and a public shaming to being brutally unalived in front of an audience as a gruesome cautionary tale.

But please, Joy Behar, tell me again how you’re living under a fascist regime.

North Korean escapees describe being lined up and marched to public executions as part of their “ideological education,” designed expressly to terrorize citizens into compliance. Tens of thousands of people dragged to a field to watch someone die for enjoying an unapproved TV show. Meanwhile, over here, “ideological education” means attending a corporate DEI seminar with lukewarm coffee, sitting through a required HR video about tone in the workplace, or getting lectured by a celebrity who listened to one podcast and now identifies as a constitutional scholar.

You poor, tortured souls. Please reward yourselves with a matcha latte; your activism must be exhausting.

Here’s a little reality check: if your fascist dictator allows you to tweet “FASCIST DICTATOR!!!” in all caps directly from your couch while wearing pajama pants you bought from the TikTok shop, you are not, in fact, living under a fascist dictator. If your most humiliating public moment is the time you accidentally replied-all to an office-wide email and called your boss an insufferable twatwaffle, you are not a victim of political oppression. And if the most hazardous consequence of your entertainment consumption is Hulu finding out you’re logged into your ex’s account and booting you off the platform, you do not live in an authoritarian state. You live in America, where the biggest threats to your freedoms are TSA confiscating your tweezers or Trader Joe’s discontinuing your favorite spicy peanut salad dressing.

“This country is an authoritarian hellscape,” the liberal left loves to lament. I know, it feels cool to say. It’s dramatic. It gets likes and comments and retweets. But if your alleged authoritarian hellscape permits you to organize protests against it, pen songs decrying it, record podcasts objecting to it, and sell merch mocking it, then maybe “authoritarian hellscape” isn’t the right term. Maybe it’s more like “stable, open society with Wi-Fi and too many microphones.” (Also, if it’s so dystopian, feel free to expatriate yourself. No, really. Flights leave hourly.)

These are the same Defenders of Democracy™, I’ll remind the class, who cheered when the unvaccinated were barred from restaurants, fired from their jobs, and banished from polite society altogether. The same hall-monitor brigade that applauded mask mandates, school closures, travel bans, curfews, capacity limits, and the glorious era of “Show Me Your Papers” vaccine passports. And now they want to style themselves as freedom fighters living under an iron-fisted despot? Please. These people didn’t just tolerate tyranny—they demanded it. They celebrated it. They literally couldn’t get enough of it.

When Barack Obama was droning American citizens overseas without trial, the left went mute. When Bill Clinton endorsed the assault on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, no celebrity declared we were living under a dictatorship. When Joe Biden tried to impose sweeping vaccine mandates through OSHA and attempted a massive student-loan bribery “forgiveness” plan via emergency powers—both slapped down as unconstitutional—the same people now screaming “authoritarian takeover!” were too busy knitting vagina beanies to notice. Funny how the outrage only kicks in when authoritarianism strolls in wearing a red hat.

So when the likes of Cher and Jim Carrey and John Legend and Bette Midler and George Clooney and Kathy Griffin and Bruce Springsteen use their public platforms to call out Trump’s fascist takeover of America, their claims collapse under their own weight. Because real authoritarianism doesn’t let you complain about authoritarianism. That’s sort of the whole point.

A dictatorship, for the record, is somewhere people cannot complain. Where they cannot consume outside media. Where the government can kill you for pressing play on the wrong USB drive. Where state power and fear control every aspect of life—not where a disliked political figure exercises lawful constitutional authority and triggers a tantrum.

And it’s not just North Korea. Zooming out even slightly reveals an entire planet of governments behaving in ways that make America’s “fascism” discourse look like a middle-school slam contest. (“Your mom’s so dumb, she studied for her Covid test!”). In China, people are disappeared for practicing the wrong religion, posting the wrong sentence, or attending the wrong protest; an entire ethnic minority has been shoved into “re-education” camps large enough to be visible from space. In Iran, teenagers are executed for chanting slogans, women are beaten for a strand of visible hair, and the government turns off the internet whenever it gets even a faint whiff of protest. In Russia, critics are jailed, poisoned, or randomly “fall out of windows.” In Afghanistan, girls are banned from school and public executions are a weekly event. These are governments that don’t merely dislike dissent—they annihilate it.

We, on the other hand, live in a country where we can march in the streets chanting “No Kings!” and not a single king will try to stop us.

Seeing the internet teeming with rants about America being one executive order away from total collapse feels like watching a Babylon Bee meme come to life. Because when people are free to say what they think, vocally dislike who they please, and watch anything they want without fear of a firing squad and somehow label that fascism, they’re not oppressed—they’re just spelling freedom wrong.

The next time a celebrity relaunches their “We are literally living under Mussolini” monologue while sipping an $8 iced coffee and documenting themselves flipping off their president, feel free to drop a reminder in the comments that there are places where people are dying because they downloaded the TV show those same celebrities binge-watched on their way to the Save Democracy Brunch.

In last night’s ZeroHedge immigration debate, Simon Hankinson of the Heritage Foundation and David Bier of the Cato Institute offered sharply different policy prescriptions on the border, ICE, and H1B visas.

A proponent of net subzero immigration, Hankinson emphasized national cohesion and first-world culture while warning against treating people as interchangeable labor inputs. Bier, by contrast, defended the increasingly unpopular position of loosening immigration restrictions to allow a freer flow of individuals across the border. 

To Bier, who penned the above NYT op-ed late in Biden’s term, immigration is a question of individual liberty and voluntary association. Taking the pure libertarian perspective, he believes the government ought not have a role in job protectionism nor prohibiting an individual’s movement.

Below were the key exchanges for those short on time and listen to the full think tank v. think tank debate here:

“Humans are not just labor units”

Hankinson rejected the idea that immigration can be evaluated purely through economic efficiency or aggregate fiscal outcomes, arguing that such an approach strips the concept of nationhood of any substantive meaning. 

As he put it, “humans are not just work units…. If we don’t care if it’s, you know, Gustav or Jerry or Carlos or Charlie or Mohammed or Melvin, it’s just how many widgets can you make in a day? How many cars can you make in a week?” and instead emphasized that immigrants ought to “know the language, the culture, the history, if you love the country, if you fight for it, if you’d send your kids to fight for it, or if you’d volunteer for the fire department.”

“If none of that matters, if we’re just labor units, then we should have unlimited immigration and there should be a free market.”

pic.twitter.com/Yg0FwAsQAP

— ZeroHedge Debates (@zerohedgeDebate) February 6, 2026

Immigrants are not assaulting the Constitution; government is

Bier pointed the finger inwards, at the U.S. government, as the greatest threat to the liberties of Americans.

Referencing the high-profile visa revocations for anti-Israel opinions, Bier said, “It’s not immigrants who are arresting people for writing op-eds in student newspapers.” Bier went on to say immigrants are not behind the assault on the Bill of Rights:

“The repudiation of the First Amendment, with the Second Amendment’s under assault by this administration, the Fourth Amendment, the Fifth Amendment—you go down the list,” Bier said. In his view, “this administration is the most hostile to constitutional democracy in my lifetime,” and “it has nothing to do with immigrants.”

pic.twitter.com/eitydfdgWA

— ZeroHedge Debates (@zerohedgeDebate) February 6, 2026

Watch the full debate below (or on YouTube) or listen on Spotify.

https://t.co/nQbAlgfyqj

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) February 5, 2026

HGP Intelligent Energy is partnering with the Shaw Group to deploy U.S. Navy submarine and aircraft carrier nuclear reactors at the DOE’s Paducah, Kentucky facility.

Back in December, we covered their initial proposal to the U.S. government to utilize reactors from the Navy in an effort to find the quickest means of deploying new nuclear energy to support AI demand for government efforts like Project Genesis.

The U.S. Navy has operated the most successful nuclear program in history with over 7,500 reactor years of safe operation. It is abundantly clear that if there is a way to bring their technology and operational success to other efforts and venues, these possibilities should be pursued.

Shaw will be utilizing its previous experience with nuclear projects, including their involvement at Vogtle Units 3 and 4, to advance HGP’s CoreHeld Project through engineering, procurement, and fabrication services. Shaw’s potential scope of work includes “balance-of-plant module fabrication, piping systems, structural components, pressure vessels, and related nuclear-grade equipment.”

The Paducah, Kentucky, site has been a hotspot of nuclear fuel chain activity over the past couple years. Formerly the site of the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, the last commercial-scale, American uranium enrichment facility that closed in 2013, is being utilized by multiple companies. 

General Matter, led by Founders Fund’s Scott Nolan, is developing one of the newest uranium enrichment facilities in Paducah after being awarded $900 million from the DOE in an effort to increase domestic production capacity. Global Laser Enrichment (GLE) is also working on uranium enrichment, but with a next-generation laser technology that hopes to provide lower-cost enrichment and a smaller footprint. GLE additionally looks to re-enrich some of the byproduct of previous enrichment processes with enough material stored on-site in Kentucky for GLE to become one of the largest uranium producers in the world. 

With naval nuclear reactors now potentially being deployed at Paducah, it creates the perfect recipe for Kentucky to participate in the recently announced Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses program. This program aims to create mega-campuses and partnerships between state and federal governments to house the entire nuclear lifecycle within a single fence line. Considering the only uranium conversion facility in the United States is located just across the river from Paducah and owned by Solstice Materials, Kentucky appears to be taking shape as one of the leading candidates for the first campus. 

Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times,

The White House said on Feb. 5 that President Donald Trump has not discussed any “formal plans” to deploy U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at polling locations during November’s midterm elections, while declining to guarantee that federal agents would not be present near voting sites.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt made the remarks during a press briefing in response to a question referencing a comment from former Trump adviser Steve Bannon.

A reporter asked Leavitt for comment on Bannon’s recent remark that ICE agents would “surround the polls come November,” and whether the president was considering such action. Bannon made the remarks during an episode of his “War Room” podcast released Feb. 3.

“That’s not something I’ve ever heard the president consider. No,” Leavitt replied.

Pressed on whether she can “guarantee to the American public” that ICE will not have any presence near polling locations in the November mid-term election, the press secretary declined to offer such blanket assurances.

“I can’t guarantee that an ICE agent won’t be around a polling location in November. I mean, that’s frankly a very silly hypothetical question,” Leavitt said. “But what I can tell you is I haven’t heard the president discuss any formal plans to put ICE outside of polling locations. It’s a disingenuous question.”

Earlier this week, Trump suggested that Republicans should assert greater control over elections in areas the president has claimed are affected by fraud.

Speaking on Feb. 2, Trump said Republicans should “nationalize” and “take over” voting in at least 15 unspecified locations, repeating claims that U.S. elections suffer from widespread illegal voting.

Trump has long argued that noncitizens vote illegally in U.S. elections.

A 2014 academic study found evidence of noncitizen participation—“less than fifteen percent, but significantly greater than zero” in the 2008 presidential election and “more than three percent” in 2010. By contrast, a research review by the Brennan Center for Justice found that verified cases are “vanishingly rare.”

Voting booths are set up at a polling place in Newtown, Pa., on April 23, 2024. Matt Rourke/AP Photo

Federal law prohibits the president from deploying military troops at locations holding general or special elections “unless such force be necessary to repel armed enemies of the United States,” according to 18 U.S. Code § 592, and bars any sort of interference in elections by armed forces. ICE agents are civilian law-enforcement officers and are not covered by the same prohibitions that apply to the armed forces, although other laws still limit intimidation or interference at polling places.

Lawmakers from the Democratic Party and some voting-rights groups have said that any visible presence of federal immigration enforcement near polling locations—especially in communities of color—could intimidate lawful voters and deter turnout.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), for instance, said in November 2025 that any deployment of federal immigration agents in or around polling places on Election Day would amount to “illegal voter intimidation” and an attempt to “suppress voting.”

Trump administration officials have rejected such characterizations, saying federal involvement is aimed at protecting election integrity rather than suppressing turnout.

“Interference in U.S. elections is a threat to our republic and a national security threat,” National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard said in a recent letter to Congress.

She said the administration is committed to ensuring that “neither foreign nor domestic powers undermine the American people’s right to determine who our elected leaders are.”

Democrats in Virginia have advanced legislation that would bar federal immigration enforcement activity near polling places.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said he is not in favor of federalizing elections and that he believes Trump’s remarks were limited to expressing support for the SAVE Act.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) noted that administering elections has historically been the responsibility of the states.

The SAVE Act, which Trump and congressional Republicans have cited as a priority, would impose nationwide requirements for voter identification and proof of citizenship, steps supporters describe as critical election-integrity safeguards.

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

Unchecked immigration policies have opened the floodgates for criminal networks to bleed taxpayers dry, while Democrat governors like Gavin Newsom turn a blind eye to the exploitation of vulnerable Americans.

The Trump administration is finally shining a light on the rampant fraud infesting America’s healthcare system, where foreign criminal elements exploit lax oversight to siphon billions from Medicare and Medicaid. 

Dr. Mehmet Oz, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), has been on the front lines exposing these schemes that harm seniors and drain resources meant for real patients. 

The clip Gavin Newsom doesn’t want you to see!

Seniors and caretakers, please be careful! People, posing as salespeople, are targeting older Americans to trick them into signing up for Hospice without their knowledge. If they get you to sign, you will forfeit regular Medicare… pic.twitter.com/lafYH4ANvY

— DrOzCMS (@DrOzCMS) January 30, 2026

Recent reports reveal the backlash from officials, with Newsom filing a civil rights complaint against Dr. Oz, accusing him of baseless and racially charged claims that could deter participation in legitimate programs.

Gavin Newsom will do literally anything to avoid talking about the rampant Medicare fraud in his state. The problem isn’t isolated to California, though as far as our team can tell, it is the worst.

Every working American pays into Medicare, and I will not stand idly by while… https://t.co/2wxIBOkTzu

— DrOzCMS (@DrOzCMS) January 30, 2026

But as Oz’s investigations show, the real scandal is the unchecked abuse that’s ballooned under years of ‘progressive’ mismanagement.

In a stunning revelation, Dr. Oz highlighted the explosive growth in Minnesota’s autism care expenditures, pointing to potential fraud in a state long criticized for its loose immigration and welfare policies.

WOW 🚨 Dr Oz reveals Minnesota only spent $3 million dollars on Autism care in 2018, by 2024 that spending SKYROCKETED TO $400 MILLION

That’s a 13,233.33% in increase in spending in only 6 years

Minnesota Democrats need to go to prison pic.twitter.com/8Es7XUlcHU

— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) February 6, 2026

Oz details how Minnesota spent just $3 million on autism care in 2018, only to see that figure balloon to $400 million by 2024—a staggering 13,233.33% increase in just six years.

The surge raises red flags about welfare abuse, especially in areas with high Somali populations, where similar fraud patterns have emerged in childcare and food programs—classic examples of how globalist policies prioritize outsiders over American families.

Dr. Oz isn’t stopping at one state; he’s calling out the systematic exploitation that’s now infecting Nevada, courtesy of California’s overflow of criminal enterprises.

In a post on X, Oz declared, “Systematic hospice fraud in LA is spreading to Las Vegas. Seniors are harmed. Taxpayers are robbed. We are cracking down.”

Systematic hospice fraud in LA is spreading to Las Vegas. Seniors are harmed. Taxpayers are robbed. We are cracking down. pic.twitter.com/Og9EVSv7iV

— DrOzCMS (@DrOzCMS) February 5, 2026

This expansion underscores the dangers of sanctuary state policies that shield illegal operations, allowing fraudsters to hop borders and continue bilking the system while real hospice needs go unmet.

Fitness expert Jillian Michaels amplified Oz’s message, stressing the urgent need for safeguards against the loopholes letting criminals run rampant in Democrat strongholds.

Dr. Oz exposes alleged fraud in California’s hospice industry and its impact on patients. He highlights how loopholes and mismanagement allow exploitation to continue unchecked. @DrOz urges reforms to safeguard vulnerable individuals and restore trust in the system.#DrOz… pic.twitter.com/jyIPRlQzJU

— Jillian Michaels (@JillianMichaels) February 3, 2026

The heart of the scandal lies in Los Angeles, where Oz uncovered a web of fake hospices operated by foreign mafia groups, exploiting America’s generosity to the tune of billions.

🇺🇸Dr. Oz exposes $3.5 Billion Hospice Fraud Ring in Los Angeles Tied to Russian-Armenian Mafia

On the ground in Van Nuys, Los Angeles: in a single four-block radius, there are 42 hospices, many with Cyrillic signage, boarded up windows, and no visible patients or staff… pic.twitter.com/G6gEHX0XXm

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) January 28, 2026

As Mario Nawfal’s X post above notes, “On the ground in Van Nuys, Los Angeles: in a single four-block radius, there are 42 hospices, many with Cyrillic signage, boarded up windows, and no visible patients or staff. Fraudsters set up fake hospice addresses, bill Medicare for ‘services’ never provided to patients who often don’t exist or aren’t terminal. One operation stole $16 million; the ringleader served just two years. Estimated $3.5 billion in hospice and home care fraud in Los Angeles alone.”

Dr. Oz explained the mechanics of this taxpayer heist, directly challenging Governor Newsom to step up instead of shielding the status quo.

🚨 NEW: Dr. Oz Explains How the Hospice Fraud Scheme Works in California

“The home health care business is being decimated … because so much money is getting sucked to Los Angeles … Gov. Newsom, do your job … You know this is a real problem. People are dying. Act that way.” pic.twitter.com/KWjXMcGfzo

— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) February 2, 2026

Oz stated, “The home health care business is being decimated … because so much money is getting sucked to Los Angeles … Gov. Newsom, do your job … You know this is a real problem. People are dying. Act that way.”

Under Democrat governance, these schemes flourish through ghost patients and sham companies, diverting billions while the deep state looks the other way—until the Trump team forces accountability. By rooting out these mafia-driven scams, the administration is reclaiming billions for genuine care.

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

Homebuilder stocks are tumbling after Bloomberg reported that Trump administration officials are exploring opening an antitrust investigation into US homebuilders as the White House focuses on tackling the country’s housing affordability crisis.

The Department of Justice could open the probe in the coming weeks Bloomberg reported, quoting people familiar with the discussions. It adds that so far no decision has been made and the administration may abandon the effort without launching an investigation.

One potential focus is on how information is shared through an industry trade group called Leading Builders of America, according to the people. Officials have grown concerned that the trade group – whose members include Lennar and DR Horton – could be used to restrict housing supply or coordinate pricing.

The administration’s interest in homebuilders comes during a period where the cost of buying a home is at its most expensive in decades, with the Covid-era housing boom and subsequent interest rate hikes weighing heavily on buyers. It’s also a precarious time for the builders themselves, with the inventory of unsold homes hovering at high levels.

President Donald Trump put the industry on alert in October, when he used a social media post to compare big homebuilders to OPEC, a cartel which control the oil market.

“It wasn’t right for them to do that but, in a different form, is being done again — This time by the Big Homebuilders of our Nation,” Trump wrote. “They’re my friends, and they’re very important to the SUCCESS of our Country, but now, they can get Financing, and they have to start building Homes.”

Builders have been seeking ways to work with the White House to improve housing affordability. One option being discussed is a massive program — dubbed “Trump Homes” — that would seek to add as many as 1 million units of new supply, Bloomberg previously reported.

Ironically, just a few days ago, we reported that the White House is working with some of the the same homebuilders (Lennar and Taylor Morrison) which Trump is now supposedly going after criminally, as the president is working on a massive rent-to-own program to build up to 1 million “Trump Homes” in a boost to affordability. As part of the program, and which would sell entry-level homes to Americans as part of a pathway-to-ownership program funded by private investors. The drawback of this program, we said, is that such a program would be complicated to implement, and may not gain enough support to move forward as it would require substantial capital commitment from the homebuilders. 

Well, what better way to convince homebuilders it’s in their best interest to participate in the program than to threaten them with criminal charges on something totally separate…

Ukraine’s military is claiming it can already see the impact of Elon Musk and SpaceX’s decision to thwart Starlink access to Russian troops.

Russian military bloggers began confirming the Starlink cutoff earlier this week. For example the NY Times notes, “A Russian blogger writing anonymously under the name Military Informant in the Telegram messaging app said that both the Starlink connections on Russian drones and Starlink satellite internet communications for troops at the front had been disrupted.”

This may force the Russian side to more broadly rely on older technologies, and could greatly reduce reliance on small drone warfare – which has been a staple in this war.

On Friday, Politico has cited Ukrainian officials who say they notice a difference in Russia’s operations along the front lines, however, such assertions are very far from being verified:

Two days after Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched Starlink verification and blocked unverified terminals in Ukraine, the pace of Russia’s offensive appears to be slowing, a Ukrainian military official told POLITICO.

“Currently, such a trend is indeed observed. But it will be necessary to monitor further whether it will continue, whether there will be other factors,” said the official, granted anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

“However, at some places, Ukrainian military Starlinks which have not been registered yet have also been disconnected. But the registration process is ongoing,” the official added.

Starlink took action at Ukraine’s request, after for many months Russian units were observed ferrying Starlink terminals to the battlefield, which in addition to providing basic reliable comms reportedly made drones less prone to jamming and more accurate.

Some reports are prematurely going so far as to call this a “catastrophe” for Russian forces. While SpaceX has not sold Starlink terminals in Russia due to long-running US sanctions, they are easily available on the black market and via neighboring regional countries.

But blocking access for the Russian side has not been so simple. Any largescale geofencing could cut off much of Ukraine itself, and so currently inside Ukraine only formally registered terminals are working. Ukraine’s defense ministry has been calling on troops to immediately register their terminals under the country’s DELTA battlespace management system, while all non-registered terminals will not function.

Musk has had a mixed track record and nuanced position on Ukraine. While early on he rushed Starlink assistance to the war-battered country, he has also at times directly clashed with President Zelensky, warning about uncontrollable escalation and NATO turning it into a proxy war aimed at destabilizing Moscow.

Looks like the steps we took to stop the unauthorized use of Starlink by Russia have worked. Let us know if more needs to be done.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 1, 2026

But he’s increasingly weighed deep into geopolitical flashpoints where Washington has a role or interest, also for example recently proclaiming free Starlink access for anti-government protesters in Iran.

If Starlink is used by Ukraine to target Russian territory and its population, will Musk take action to limit Kiev’s use of the technology as well?

Many mysteries still surround the 2012 attack on the American consulate and nearby CIA outpost in Benghazi, Libya which led to the deaths of four Americans, including US Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens.

On Friday, the Trump administration heralded a major break in one of the worst terror attacks on a US diplomatic compound in history.  Attorney General Pam Bondi announced in a press conference the arrest of a culprit allegedly behind the attack. Zubayar al-Bakoush has already been extradited to the United States, landing at Andrews Air Forces base, and is facing murder, arson and terrorism related charges.

“The FBI has arrested one of the key participants behind the Benghazi attack. Zubayar al-Bakoush landed at Andrews Air Force Base at 3 a.m. this morning. He is in our custody,” Bondi said at a news conference.

She disclosed that the CIA and FBI coordinated to apprehend the suspected terrorist. No details of how he was nabbed have been offered, other than he was apprehended “overseas.”

“Zubayr Al-Bakoush will now face American justice on American soil. We will prosecute this alleged terrorist to the fullest extent of the law,” Bondi said

The US says it is committed to hunting down others behind the large-scale attack, known as America’s other 9/11, given it occurred September 11, 2012. Three others – Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods, and Glen Doherty – were killed trying to defend against the assault. 

“Let me be very clear — there are more of them out there,” US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said alongside Pondi and the FBI’s Patel. “Time will not stop us from going after these predators, no matter how long it takes, in order to fulfill our obligation to those families who suffered horrific pain at the hands of these violent terrorists.” 

The truth about Libya is that some of the Islamist ‘rebels’ the US funded to overthrow Gaddafi later bit the hand that fed them. These for a time were “America’s jihadists”…

Seems Dbaiba did what he do best (Again),Unlike almarimi ,it’s worth considering how the war‑hardened groups that left Benghazi will view Dbaiba going forward.
Image for Zubayr Al-Bakoush in US custody post his “disappearance” in Tripoli late Nov 2025.#Libya https://t.co/W9r7y1UIy0 pic.twitter.com/7vI12FJytK

— Mohamed Tailamun|محمد طيلمون (@MTailamun) February 6, 2026

This is actually the second arrest connected o the Benghazi attack, after back in 2020 Libyan national Mustafa al-Imam was sentenced to more than 19 years in prison for his crimes.

National security officials have long identified that Al-Qaeda-aligned Salafi Jihadist militia group Ansar al-Sharia was behind it.

In the wake of the disaster, several Congressional investigations and hearings saw Republicans clash with then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ahead of her 2016 presidential run as a Democrat.

However, the bipartisan political outrage was always somewhat of a limited hangout, concealing some of the deeper disturbing aspects to the Benghazi attack. For example, the US government and CIA at the time of the attack were engaged in a covert gun-running operation out of Libya, to support anti-Assad jihadists in Syria, declassified intelligence records show.

* * *

Friday’s full announcement…

By Teeuwe Mevissen of Rabobank

Not even a month ago, today’s author of the Global Daily walked through the main hall of the Musée d’Orsay, admiring its remarkable collection. Among the many sculptures, one large painting by Thomas Couture inevitably draws the eye: Romans in Their Decadence.

At first glance, it appears to depict Roman citizens engaged in an orgy, but a closer look reveals far more. Beyond the opulence on display, one sees a figure desecrating a statue resembling a former emperor or deity. Only three figures – the contemplative man on the far left and two men observing with evident disdain on the right – seem detached from the excess around them.

When the painting debuted at the Paris Salon, the exhibition catalogue included a quote from Juvenal:“Nunc patimur longae pacis mala; savior armis luxuria incubuit, victumque ulciscitur orbem.” – “Now do we suffer the evils of prolonged peace; luxury, more ruthless than the sword, broods over us and avenges a conquered world.”

A portrait of Rome in decline. And today, some argue, a portrait of Europe.

Political and economic commentators increasingly draw parallels between today’s Europe and the late Roman Empire. Those who subscribe to the decline narrative point to data showing that Europe’s share of global GDP has fallen from 25% in 1990 to roughly 14% today. Others highlight the innovation gap, demographic headwinds, and the erosion of industrial competitiveness. While these trends worry many, a Wall Street Journal report yesterday added a more urgent dimension: a recent wargame underscored Europe’s vulnerability to a potential Russian attack.

The Dutch Defence Minister noted that “Russia will be able to move large amounts of troops within one year” and that Moscow is already expanding its assets along NATO borders. This alone underscores the perceived urgency amongst European leaders to accelerate efforts to rebuild and modernize its military capabilities – and suggests that Europe’s geopolitical weight has indeed diminished.

Whether Europe is truly in decline remains subject to debate, but equity markets certainly are. And, in fact, particularly US markets this time – with the S&P500 now down 0.7% year-to-date but the European Stoxx 600 index still up 2.8%. Investor sentiment has deteriorated sharply. While the selloff had moderated at the time of writing, US tech stocks experienced steep declines, with Amazon losing 11% in extended trading. Bitcoin also continued its slide, touching lows not seen since October 2024 and barely holding above $60,000. Oil prices remain somewhat elevated, with traders watching closely to see whether the US will take action against Iran in the coming days.

In another Wall Street Journal article, China’s leadership appears to have concluded that the deterioration in U- China trade relations is irreversible and likely to lead to a messy decoupling. This raises important questions about how such a shift might affect China’s broader trade surplus. Here, we argue that China is likely to maintain significant trade surpluses for the foreseeable future. One important reason is that 2025 has demonstrated that it is not so easy to decouple from China; another is that countries like Canada and the UK reconsider their trade relationship with China because of ongoing trade tension with the US.

Turning to central banks: the ECB left rates unchanged yesterday, keeping the deposit rate at 2% for the fifth consecutive meeting. No forward guidance was provided, and the Governing Council judged that risks remain broadly balanced. The ECB struck a generally constructive tone, citing low unemployment, strong private sector balance sheets, and ongoing investment in defence and infrastructure.
However, it also warned of persistent geopolitical risks and uncertainties around global trade policy. Until the data clearly point in a particular direction, the ECB is likely to remain on hold. As expected, questions arose about the recent EUR/USD rally, which briefly pushed the pair to 1.2044 eight days ago , yet President Lagarde remained calm despite acknowledging that a stronger euro could contribute to lower inflation. A full summary of the meeting can be found here.

At the Bank of England, the meeting was more eventful. Rates were held at 3.75%, but the split vote – 5 in favour of holding, 4 pushing for a cut – was unexpectedly narrow, with Governor Bailey casting the deciding vote. This increases the likelihood of a March cut, a view we have held for some time. New guidance that “judgements around further policy easing will become a closer call” triggered a repricing in markets, with the probability of a March cut rising from 20% before the announcement to around 60% at the time of writing. Full coverage of the meeting is available here.

A top Russian military intelligence general has been shot in a Moscow apartment building on Friday, but has reportedly survived the attack and was transported to a local hospital. But his wounds are reportedly severe.

The attack by an unknown gunman has all the hallmarks of an assassination attempt in connection to the Ukraine war, especially given the victim is a high level Russian intelligence official. Vladimir Alekseyev is the deputy head of Moscow’s GRU military intelligence, and has long been sanctioned in the West for his alleged role in cyberattacks and allegations that he was behind the alleged 2018 Novichok nerve agent attack in Britain.

Lt. Gen. Alekseyev was shot several times by an “unidentified individual” before that person fled the scene. The highly decorated general, who has also heavily involved in Russia’s Syria campaign of the last decade, has been first deputy head of Russia’s military intelligence since 2011.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov soon after accused Ukraine of being behind the “terrorist act” and alleged it is trying “disrupt the negotiation process” toward forging peace. According to further details:

According to the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, the attack took place on the 24th floor of a building on Volokolamskoye Highway.

Petrenko said that the unknown assailant shot the general several times and then fled the scene. As a result of the shooting, Alekseyev was wounded and hospitalized.

Based on the scant information presented by Russia’s Investigative Committee, it seems the assassin was easily able to gain access to the building, and that the top general’s apartment was broken into.

Ukraine has remained silent on the shooting of Gen. Alekseyev – despite Kiev having in the past claimed responsibility for some other attacks. For example, to review another couple of recent assassinations of top generals:

• In December, Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, head of the Operational Training Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces’ General Staff, was killed when a car bomb detonated.
• In April, another senior officer, Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik—deputy head of the General Staff’s main operational department—was assassinated by an explosive device planted in his vehicle outside his apartment building just beyond Moscow.

Meanwhile an Azov commander is vowing that “retribution will find everyone”…

Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseyev, First Deputy Chief of the GRU of the Russian General Staff, who was shot in Moscow this morning, was the senior Russian representative at the negotiations in Mariupol in May 2022, during the withdrawal of the Mariupol garrison from Azovstal.… pic.twitter.com/WjgcG73INh

— Denys Prokopenko (@D_Redis) February 6, 2026

These covert hits has unnerved Russia’s command ranks, given they take place deep inside Russia, and even in high-secured neighborhoods which residents might otherwise think are same or immune from the events of the Ukraine war.

As for Alekseyev, it’s possible he could succumb to the gunshot wounds, as Russian media has indicated he remains in critical condition in an intensive care wing.