The president called the halftime show «one of the worst ever»

The US is trying to take control of all energy supply routes around the globe, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said Read Full Article at RT.com

South Africa will withdraw its troops from the UN peacekeeping mission in DR Congo as part of a defense resource realignment Read Full Article at RT.com

The UK has given Moscow every reason to view it as party to the Ukraine conflict, Russian Ambassador to London Andrey Kelin has said Read Full Article at RT.com

Ukraine’s forced mobilization has become an “open manhunt,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has said    Read Full Article at RT.com

In 2025, China announced the elimination of tariffs on all imports for 53 African nations Read Full Article at RT.com

Vladimir Alekseev, a senior GRU officer, has been shot outside his residence in Moscow, officials have said Read Full Article at RT.com

A strike on a suspected drug boat in the eastern Pacific has killed two people, the US Southern Command has said Read Full Article at RT.com

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has accused the previous government of undermining national defense with Ukraine aid Read Full Article at RT.com

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned the US blockade of Cuba, calling the situation on the island “extremely concerning” Read Full Article at RT.com

Norway is investigating former Prime Minister Thorbjorn Jagland’s history with the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein Read Full Article at RT.com

African sovereignty still seems to be perceived as a threat by Paris Read Full Article at RT.com

Prime Minister Narendra Modi says leading global economies are eager to partner with India Read Full Article at RT.com

Vladimir Alekseev, a senior GRU officer, has been shot outside his residence in Moscow, officials have said Read Full Article at RT.com

Democratic Tennessee state Rep. Justin Jones spoke on the Statehouse floor Thursday, delivering what he called a "public service announcement for the Republican side of the aisle.”  Jones suggested that conservatives who are concerned about the much-anticipated Super Bowl halftime performance by Grammy-winning recording artist Bad Bunny should instead worry about Turning Point’s alternative halftime performer, Kid Rock. “I know some folks can be a little bit triggered by an artist named Bad Bunny, but I want to just make an announcement that, before you rage-tweet, Bad Bunny is from Puerto Rico, and Puerto Rico is a part of America,” Jones said. x View this post on Instagram A post shared by Justin Jones (@brotherjones_) “Secondly, I know some of you are gonna be watching the bootleg, Temu version of the halftime show that Turning Point and MAGA’s doing with a man named Kid Rock,” Jones continued. “He has lyrics about liking underage girls, which is called ‘pedophilia.’ And I think we should be a little uncomfortable by that. I know that's very common right now in the White House, but I think that we should not support people who have lyrics about liking underage girls.” At least Jones and other young members of Tennessee’s conservative-controlled legislature give us hope for the future.

Marco Rubio is out of a job. Well, one of them at least. You may have forgotten that, along with being secretary of State, Rubio was also serving as the acting U.S. archivist, which is easy to overlook given that he has, at various times, held eleventy different jobs. But his time as an archivist has come to an end, because his days were literally numbered, as acting positions expire by law after 300 days. This might look like the administration is actually trying to comply with the requirements of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, in stark contrast to the shenanigans it is attempting with U.S. attorneys, but this is more malicious compliance than anything else. Related | Ben there, done that: Trump's latest unqualified hire is a familiar face You see, Trump doesn’t really want anyone heading the National Archives, so it’s no skin off his back to honor the 300-day limit. After taking office, he quickly and arbitrarily fired the actual archivist, Colleen Shogan. Shogun was inevitably going to be in Trump’s crosshairs because Trump remains furious that the National Archives and Records Administration tried to tell him he couldn’t just steal classified documents and stash them in his tacky Mar-a-Lago bathroom. This image, contained in the indictment against  Trump, shows boxes of records stored in a bathroom and shower in the Lake Room at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. Putting Rubio in the gig was just a way for Trump to thumb his nose at the whole enterprise. Trump hasn’t nominated anyone to be the archivist, nor is there a deputy archivist. If there were a deputy, that person would likely be a career employee and would automatically become acting archivist upon a vacancy, but we can’t have that. We might end up with some pencil-necked geek who thinks it’s actually important to follow the laws and preserve records.  So instead, Rubio “delegated” his authority to a senior adviser, James Byron, on his way out the door. It is in no way clear that this is legal under the FVRA, but it isn’t like the administration cares. Fun fact: Byron is on leave from the Richard Nixon Foundation, where he basically works to rehabilitate Nixon’s image, a thing that he is so passionate about that he has worked there since taking an internship in 2007, when he was 14. Since then, he’s worked his way up the ladder, becoming CEO in 2022 at 29 years old.  So yes, if you’re doing the math, NARA is now run by a Nixon freak who has only ever had one job. Moreover, his work is on the foundation side, not the library side, so he has literally no relevant experience in managing records. Well, guess he doesn’t really need it in an administration that is making no effort to preserve records.  Head of Office of Management and Budget and Acting Director for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Russ Vought Besides no longer pretending to run NARA, Rubio is also no longer the acting head of the United States Agency for International Development, and not just because Trump is shuttering the agency. He was replaced with Russ Vought back in August so Vought could “oversee the closeout.” Vought also has some side hustles. Besides being the head of the Office of Management and Budget, he’s also the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which he is working tirelessly to shut down as well. Never fear, though. Rubio is still the national security adviser. Rubio and Vought aren’t the only administration officials doubling and tripling up on jobs. Scott Bessent is both the Treasury secretary and the acting IRS commissioner, because why not. Frank Bisignano, the head of the Social Security Administration, is also “chief executive officer” of the IRS, which was not a thing until Trump made it up. Oh, and remember when Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy was running NASA for a bit? Good times. All of this doesn’t just show that Trump wants his cronies in jobs without putting them through a confirmation process. It also shows his deep disregard for the actual work of government, turning major positions into afterthoughts. This is no way to run a government. 

A cartoon by Pedro Molina. Related | Kennedy Center crumbles under Trump

A daily roundup of the best stories and cartoons by Daily Kos staff and contributors to keep you in the know. 23 years ago: Colin Powell lied to launch a bogus war To think it used to be truly inappropriate to base political actions on lies. Bezos guts the Washington Post—just like Trump wanted We’re witnessing the death of mainstream media institutions. Republicans love Trump's ICE agenda—unless it's in their state The GOP is the party of NIMBY. Cartoon: Peachy fraud Something sure smells in the state of Georgia. ‘I don’t know’: Trump plays dumb on abysmal approval rating When in doubt, make it up. Trump dedicates National Prayer Breakfast to his favorite god—himself When Trump goes off the teleprompter, you truly never know what he’ll say. Trump’s latest US attorney pick is another real winner She’s been practicing law for three years. What could go wrong? Click here to see more cartoons.

A new survey released on Thursday proves what many had long suspected: X, the social media network owned by far-right billionaire Elon Musk, is trapped in an ideological bubble far removed from the rest of the world. The poll from The Argument, which was fielded between Jan. 26-27, found that among an array of news platforms, it was only among X users that President Donald Trump has a net-positive approval rating. Fifty-four percent of X users either strongly or somewhat approve of Trump, with 45% disapproving. That stands in strong contrast to his level of support among all registered voters: 42% approve, 57% disapprove. Trump is also viewed negatively by the audiences on several other major online platforms. For instance, Trump has a 46% approval rating among Facebook users, 39% among Instagram users, 35% with TikTok users, and an anemic 29% among Reddit users.  x Datawrapper Content Perhaps even more damning than the level of Trump support on X is how positively Immigration and Customs Enforcement is seen by users of the service. The Argument’s data shows that ICE was backed by 45% of X users, while the agency was at 35% among voters at large. The data verifies the effect of drastic changes made at X following Musk’s 2022 purchase of the company, previously known as Twitter. Musk manipulated many of the rules governing hateful and bigoted content, and he restored previously suspended accounts for figures like Trump and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. The result was a significant increase in posts supporting racism, misogyny, religious discrimination, and misinformation—in other words, the perfect venue for Trump, who has supported those values during his time as a public figure. Pop singer Sabrina Carpenter, shown last September. The Trump administration has been feeding this bigoted audience the hateful content it craves. In one widely reported episode, singer Sabrina Carpenter called out ICE for using her song “Juno” over footage of agents handcuffing and tackling immigrants in an X post. “this video is evil and disgusting. Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda,” Carpenter wrote. Similarly, the White House and the Department of Homeland Security have used official X accounts to promote language and terminology associated with the white supremacist movement. At the same time that X has been operating as a pro-Trump/bigot feedback loop, the site has also reportedly been used in concert with the Musk-owned chatbot Grok to create and disseminate nonconsensual sexual imagery, including images of underage children. Governments around the world have condemned the practice, and official action has been taken in France, leading to a recent police raid. But the Trump administration and their Republican allies in Congress have not said much about it. After all, why would they do anything to anger the man who created their echo chamber and funds so much of their campaigns?

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President Donald Trump ordered federal law enforcement to assist in the ongoing search

Trump dangled a lawsuit against Grammys host Trevor Noah and called the awards «virtually unwatchable»

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