FBI concluded Jeffrey Epstein wasn’t running a sex trafficking ring for powerful men, files show

“No videos or photos showed Epstein victims being sexually abused, none showed any males with any of the nude females, and none contained evidence implicating anyone other than Epstein and Maxwell, then-Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey wrote in an email for FBI officials last year.

Had they existed, the government “would have pursued any leads they generated,” Comey wrote. “We did not, however, locate any such videos.”

Investigators who scoured Epstein’s bank records found payments to more than 25 women who appeared to be models — but no evidence that he was engaged in prostituting women to other men, prosecutors wrote.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/fbi-concluded-jeffrey-epstein-wasn-153019688.html

Taiwan is buying HIMARS to have mobile long range artillery to strike an invading Chinese beachhead, ships, and Chinese naval facilities across the strait in China.

Taiwan is buying HIMARS to have mobile long range artillery to strike an invading Chinese beachhead, ships, and Chinese naval facilities across the strait in China.

The US is stretched between Iran and Taiwan, partly because of navy resources used to quarantine Venezuela.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GWJHp_yHo8

Yes, It’s Fascism

A year ago, Rauch said Trump is not a Fascist, he’s a patrimonialist. Patrimonialist governments don’t follow the rule of law and bend the rules to enrich and empower the leader. They are not ideological. Later, Rauch concluded that Trump was doing too many things associated with Fascism, so decided he is best labeled as a Fascist.

He doesn’t think Fascists will fully take over the US like they did in Germany, so that should limit the extremes, but nevertheless, the actions of the administration fit Fascism. The government isn’t fully Fascist yet, but it has a Fascist leader.

There’s no one true definition of Fascism.

Trump’s demolition of norms about civility is a classic Fascist action.

Trump glorifies violence in his rhetoric. When agents of the state hurt or kill US citizens, he and his supporters make fun of the injured and killed, and lie about them and what happened. His communications revel in the extrajudicial killings of suspected drug smugglers.

Rauch discusses 16 more Fascist actions in his article.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Zq9Zh8DjZo

NIH looks to turn primate research center into a sanctuary

“The move is the latest in a series of initiatives by the Trump administration to try to reduce animal testing. Last year, NIH announced it would devote $87 million to a project to develop a standardized alternative to animal testing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans to shutter its primate labs, and the Food and Drug Administration published a roadmap for reducing animal testing.

The push to end animal research testing is backed by animal-rights activists close to the administration, like far-right political activist Laura Loomer and President Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump.

But some researchers worry that moving away from animal testing too quickly could mean stalled progress on treatments that could cure disease and save lives.”

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/04/nih-is-looking-to-turn-a-primate-research-center-into-a-sanctuary-00765449?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQKNjYyODU2ODM3OQABHtmpUB8EJPlkMCciUTndgn-hTTjDJMChO8dDk6kVY3iL0ZlrLoZWDG10Qa_r_aem__R3f1gQTzMH2w9MX5Edsng

Trump’s Greenland Gambit Has Broken Brains Across Washington

“Washington already has tremendous access to Greenland under past agreements with Denmark; U.S. troops already operate in Greenland and Washington can send more. Trump’s demand that Denmark grant the territory to the U.S. is a body blow to U.S. relations with its European allies. It also hurts NATO, a military alliance that includes the U.S. and Denmark — and which would defend Greenland should an adversarial power threaten it.”

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2026/01/21/mag-toosi-greenland-00740006