Congress Passes Spending Bill but Leaves
ICE Out in the Cold — for Now
Posted By: Mercedes44, 2/3/2026 7:09:22 PM
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the modified spending package on Tuesday, which the Senate had handed them on Friday. The move ended the government shutdown that kicked in on Saturday, which most people weren't even aware of. More than that, it marks the first time that Congress has managed to do its job and pass a plan for the upcoming fiscal year without being in a major state of stopgap crisis.The only catch is that the spending bill funds almost the entirety of the U.S. government — except for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
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Mercedes44"
Melinda Gates reacted to the release of Jeffrey Epstein’s emails involving her ex-husband Bill Gates, including horrific allegations Epstein made such that Bill was attempting to dose her with antibiotics to fight an STD without her knowledge, by saying Bill and other Epstein associates “need to answer to those things.”
I think we’re having a reckoning as a society,” Melinda Gates told NPR’s Wild Card podcast host Rachel Martin on Tuesday. “No girl should ever be put in the situation that they were put in by Epstein and whatever was going on with all of the various people around him.”
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is onto something. And the right people are terrified.
As my colleague Bob Hoge reported, after Gabbard appeared on the scene at the operation to secure the multi-year crime scene that is the Fulton County, Georgia, Election Hub and Operation Center (see FBI Raids Fulton County Election Hub Days After Trump Vows Prosecutions for 2020 Election - Here We Go – RedState and 700 Boxes of Ballots Seized After FBI Executes Fulton County Warrant, Dems Try to Develop ‘Legal Plan’ – RedState), she was the subject of thinly sourced, scurrilous "leak" —
President Donald Trump’s Small Business Administration (SBA) is stopping the issuance of small business loans to foreign nationals, requiring that a business be 100 percent owned by a U.S. citizen or U.S. national to receive such a loan. This week, the SBA published a memo requiring that, beginning next month, applicants for the agency’s primary small business loan be American citizens or American nationals.
“… effective March 1, 2026, SBA hereby revises Standard Operating Procedure 50 10 8 Lender and Development Company Loan Programs guidance related to businesses owned by non-U.S. citizens,” the memo states:
So far, we have not heard any statements from Delhi on this issue,” Peskov told reporters on Tuesday. We respect bilateral U.S.-Indian relations, but we attach no less importance to the development of an advanced strategic partnership between Russia and India,” he said.
“This is the most important thing for us, and we intend to further develop our bilateral relations with Delhi,” he said, signaling that Russia would not lash out at India for whatever agreement it has made with the United States.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Tuesday that “we’re only seeing public statements” about the U.S.-India agreement, and “we’ll see how the situation develops.”
The U.S. shot down an Iranian drone targeting the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, and a U.S.-flagged ship evaded an attempt by armed Iranian gunboats to force it to stop, as tensions escalated Tuesday in the Persian Gulf.
The Lincoln was sailing about 500 miles from Iran’s southern coast when an Iranian Shahed-139 drone “unnecessarily maneuvered toward the ship” and continued flying toward the carrier even after U.S. forces took steps to de-escalate, spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins said, without specifying the steps.
An F-35C fighter from the Lincoln then destroyed the drone, which caused no damage, Hawkins said.
Migrants flowing across the southern border during the Biden administration have become a trickle under President Donald Trump, according to a new analysis of federal data.
Border Patrol had 237,538 encounters with migrants at the border during the 2025 fiscal year, according to a Pew Research report.
The federal fiscal year begins Oct. 1, which means that roughly four months of the Biden administration are included in the 2025 data.
The data showed a massive drop from full years when former President Joe Biden was in the White House.
The Left’s Revolutionary Confusion
2 replies
French Finance Minister Jacques] Necker, you remember, asked the people to come and help him against the aristocracy. The people came fast enough at his bidding, but, somehow or other, they would not go away when they had done their work. I hope Lord Grey will not see himself or his friends in the woeful case of the conjuror, who, with infinite zeal and pains, called up the devils to do something for him. They came at the word, thronging about him, grinning, and howling, and dancing, and whisking their long tails in diabolic glee;
This article was originally published at The Empowerment Alliance and is re-published here with permission.
One of the most annoying things about climate doomsayers is the certainty with which they make their dire predictions, while simultaneously making excuses for all their past prognostications that failed to materialize. Let’s revisit a few.
In the early to mid-1970s, several magazine articles and a number of scientists predicted that cooling trends could usher in a new “mini-ice age” beginning within a few short years. Didn’t happen. In fact, new crystal balls went from cold to hot.A June 1989 Associated Press story quoted “a senior U.N. environmental official”
This new age will be one of relentless improvement,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani promised last November as voters handed him the keys to the city. But that was before the temperatures truly dropped.In his inaugural address, the incoming mayor said, in one particularly tortured passage, “For too long, those fluent in the good grammar of civility have deployed decorum to mask agendas of cruelty.” Together, he added, New Yorkers are “warmed against the January chill by the resurgent flame of hope.” Through communalism, “we will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism.”
Democrat Rep. Jerrold Nadler (NY) on Tuesday said Americans would be justified in shooting masked ICE agents.
“What is really the major problem in this country today is the fascism in our streets,” Nadler said during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday.
“The attacks on American citizens by masked hoodlums. If you were attacked by a masked person, you might think you were being kidnapped,” Nadler said.
“You’d be justified in shooting the person to protect yourself,” Nadler added.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the modified spending package on Tuesday, which the Senate had handed them on Friday. The move ended the government shutdown that kicked in on Saturday, which most people weren't even aware of. More than that, it marks the first time that Congress has managed to do its job and pass a plan for the upcoming fiscal year without being in a major state of stopgap crisis.The only catch is that the spending bill funds almost the entirety of the U.S. government — except for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
'A Great Victory for the American People':
Trump Signs Consolidated Appropriations
Act Into Law 2 replies
Trump Signs Consolidated Appropriations
Act Into Law 2 replies
As RedState reported, the House, on Tuesday afternoon, voted 217 to 214 to agree to the Senate amendments on the spending package and reopen the federal government. This, in turn, sent the Consolidated Appropriations Act to the desk of President Trump, who signed the bill in the Oval Office later on Tuesday afternoon, surrounded by GOP congressional leaders.As he signed the measure, President Trump delivered remarks, praising the legislation.Trump not only highlighted the benefits of the measure itself, but also lauded the reopening of the government.
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Democrat Rep. Jerrold Nadler (NY) on Tuesday said Americans would be justified in shooting masked ICE agents.
“What is really the major problem in this country today is the fascism in our streets,” Nadler said during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday.
“The attacks on American citizens by masked hoodlums. If you were attacked by a masked person, you might think you were being kidnapped,” Nadler said.
“You’d be justified in shooting the person to protect yourself,” Nadler added.
Washington — Bill and Hillary Clinton agreed to testify in the House Oversight Committee's investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, ahead of expected votes in the House later this week on holding the pair in contempt of Congress.
In an email to the committee on Monday, the Clintons' legal team said the former president and former secretary of state "accept the terms of your letter and will appear for depositions on mutually agreeable dates." [snip] Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, who chairs the oversight panel, said[snip]"The Clintons' counsel has said they agree to terms, but those terms lack clarity yet again and they have provided no dates for their depositions.
An unsettling scene unfolded on Minneapolis streets over the weekend as anti-ICE activists turned public roadways into impromptu checkpoints and blockades -- while Minneapolis police at one point looked on and walked away. Social media videos show agitators blocking streets with furniture and stopping cars in Minneapolis -- even apparently cross-referencing plates against a database of ICE vehicles before letting drivers through. (snip) When Minneapolis police officers approached and urged [a] group to move [an] obstruction "for fire trucks and ambulances," the protesters didn't budge (snip) and officers eventually left (snip.)
Tempers flare between Dem Rep. Maxine
Waters and Scott Bessent over inflation:
‘Can you shut up?’ 23 replies
Waters and Scott Bessent over inflation:
‘Can you shut up?’ 23 replies
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) lashed out at Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent — telling him at one point to “shut up” — after a tense exchange over inflation. Waters suggested that President Trump’s tariffs were inflationary and immigration enforcement was tanking housing affordability during a House Financial Services Committee hearing about the state of the US economy. “Will you be the voice of reason in the administration and urge Trump to stop waging a war on American consumers?” the California Democrat pleaded. “Yes or no?" “You seem confused as to the definition of inflation,” Bessent began before Waters interrupted him to re-ask the question.
The Washington Post is announcing mass layoffs Wednesday morning, dealing another big blow to a storied media company and a newsroom that has reached a breaking point. Executive Director Matt Murray and human resources chief Wayne Connell sent an email to staffers Wednesday morning instructing employees to "stay home today" but attend an 8:30 a.m. ET meeting via Zoom during which the Washington Post's leadership will announce "significant changes across the company." Those actions include shutting down almost the entire Sports section, closing the Books section and cancelling the daily Post Reports podcast, sources at the newspaper said.
Bicycle mob attack driver after collision,
fracture his ribs and back, and destroy
his car 19 replies
fracture his ribs and back, and destroy
his car 19 replies
The Bay Area is experiencing mobs of bicycle riders stopping to attack and seriously injure drivers who provoke their wrath, while riding around in large groups that the cyclists call “ride outs.” ABC7News (KGO Television) reports:
A Santa Clara driver suffered fractures to his ribs and back after a mob of bicyclists brutally assaulted him following an accident involving one of them.
This is the latest in a string of violent incidents involving large groups of bicyclists, popularly known as “ride outs”, a rapidly growing trend where large, often informal groups of cyclists -- from dozens to thousands -- gather to ride through city streets.
Jim Crow is back, you guys! Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer invoked Jim Crow regarding the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which requires proof of citizenship to register to vote. Schumer whined:I have said it before and I’ll say it again, the SAVE Act would impose Jim Crow-type laws to the entire country and is dead on arrival in the Senate,” Schumer said in a statement on Monday. “If House Republicans add the SAVE Act to the bipartisan appropriations package it will lead to another prolonged Trump government shutdown.
A Minnesota Democratic Party official is urging people on social media to "act neutral" to get seated on a jury and vote to acquit a woman accused of biting off a federal agent's finger tip. Nick Kruse is former vice president of the Minnesota Young DFL and current at-large director of Stonewall DFL. In a Jan. 26 post on X, Kruse wrote that "no one should be going to prison for defending our city against ICE," and encouraged followers to spread information about "jury nullification."
‘Defensive player of the year: ICE.’
Billboard sparks outrage in S.F. ahead
of Super Bowl 17 replies
Billboard sparks outrage in S.F. ahead
of Super Bowl 17 replies
A pro-ICE billboard appeared in a heavily trafficked part of San Francisco this week ahead of the Super Bowl, prompting an outcry from immigrant rights advocates in the city.
The digital billboard, at Mason and Jefferson streets near Fisherman’s Wharf, displayed images of what appeared to be Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and messages that say “Cheering because the home team finally started investing in defense,” “Defensive player of the year: ICE,” and “They can’t win without defense. Neither can America.” American Sovereignty, a conservative group, said that it had placed the sign.
Epstein Victim: Bill Barr, Leon Black
“Present” While Jay-Z and Harvey Weinstein
Abused Her 16 replies
“Present” While Jay-Z and Harvey Weinstein
Abused Her 16 replies
Newly unsealed files from the Department of Justice have thrust several high-profile figures back into the spotlight of Jeffrey Epstein’s sordid world. A redacted FBI intake form from July 2019 details harrowing accusations from a woman who says she was repeatedly abducted, drugged, and sexually assaulted in settings tied to the convicted sex offender. Among those named in her account: rapper Jay-Z (Shawn Carter), disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, billionaire financier Leon Black, and former Attorney General William Barr.
(snip). The victim described being snatched from her home in 1996 by an unknown person, only to wake up in what she believed was Epstein’s Florida mansion.
Drastic cuts forced on the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) by President Donald Trump withdrawing U.S. taxpayer dollars from the globalist behemoth are hitting hard, the organization’s chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus lamented.
Ghebreyesus told the agency’s annual executive board meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, that 2025 was “undeniably one of the most difficult years in our organisation’s history”, with many donors tightening their belts, AFP reports.
[snip]
Trump confirmed the U.S. was exiting the agency on the first day of his return to office in January, 2025, having criticised the organisation for being too “China-centric” during the coronavirus pandemic.
Melinda Gates reacted to the release of Jeffrey Epstein’s emails involving her ex-husband Bill Gates, including horrific allegations Epstein made such that Bill was attempting to dose her with antibiotics to fight an STD without her knowledge, by saying Bill and other Epstein associates “need to answer to those things.”
I think we’re having a reckoning as a society,” Melinda Gates told NPR’s Wild Card podcast host Rachel Martin on Tuesday. “No girl should ever be put in the situation that they were put in by Epstein and whatever was going on with all of the various people around him.”