The US Navy is preparing to dispatch the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to the Middle East following the Caribbean deployment, the @nytimes reports. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/u...

US Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr. brags he wasn't "scared" of getting COVID during shutdown because he's snorted cocaine off a toilet seat. ca.news.yahoo.com/rfk-jr-brags...

As Chile announces it will send humanitarian aid to Cuba, President Gabriel Boric calls the US blockade "criminal" and a human rights violation, stressing that "despite differences with Cuba, nothing justifies the harm being done to children and innocent citizens."

Chile: "Gustavo Gatica lost his sight in 2019's nationwide unrest but, with a far-right president about to be sworn in, the man who shot the rubber bullets has gloated over his acquittal," @jwbartlett92.bsky.social reports. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...

A Reuters photographer captured this image of a page from Pam Bondi's "burn book," which she used to counter any questions from Democratic lawmakers during an unhinged hearing today. It looks like the DOJ monitored members of Congress’s searches of the unredacted Epstein files. Just wow.

"Victims of Jeffrey Epstein watched as Attorney General Pam Bondi told lawmakers they should focus on the stock market during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday." ca.news.yahoo.com/attorney-gen...

President Trump praises "clean, beautiful coal" at a White House event, where he is supposed to receive an award from the industry lobbying group Washington Coal Club.

"The Pentagon has told a second aircraft carrier strike group to prepare to deploy to the Middle East as the U.S. military readies for a potential attack on Iran, according to three U.S. officials." www.wsj.com/politics/nat...

U.S. Energy Secretary Wright arrived in Caracas, Venezuela "to further President Trump's historic energy deal."

Protesters in downtown Washington, D.C. are rallying against Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, who is now meeting Trump for the seventh time since the US President took office. Netanyahu is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The Federal Aviation Administration halted all flights to and from El Paso International Airport in Texas for 10 days, citing unspecified "special security reasons."

Astronomers celebrate cancellation of $10bn Chile project that threatened clearest skies in the world. They had warned that proximity of INNA facility to telescopes would have irreparably damaged observation. @jwbartlett92.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...

"This is not something I've discussed with the president recently because, frankly, it's not a priority," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says when asked if President Trump will rule out a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell.

When your plane seat neighbor was a bush at Bad Bunny's #SuperBowlLX  halftime show.

Lo único más poderoso que el odio, es el amor. The Only Thing More Powerful Than Hate is Love. Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny at the #SuperBowlLX  halftime show in Santa Clara, California.

B-1 Lancers, F-15C Eagles, Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets and F-35C Joint Strike fighters performed a flyover at #SuperBowlLX in Santa Clara, California.

Anticipation is building in San Francisco ahead of the #SuperBowl. With Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny headlining the halftime show, the focus won't be solely on US football this year. amp.dw.com/en/us-super-...

"As U.S. Olympians walked into the stadium (....), choruses of cheers rang out across the crowd of spectators, until U.S. Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Second Lady Usha Vance, were shown on the stadium's Jumbotron." www.usatoday.com/story/sports...

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz signaled Berlin would be willing to increase arms exports to countries like Qatar and Saudi Arabia as "reliable cooperation partners." Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed at the behest of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the CIA assessed.

President Trump prompts fury after posting a racist video that included a depiction of Barack and Michelle Obama as monkeys. www.theguardian.com/us-news/live...

Rally in front of the Washington Post building in downtown DC after a third of all workers across all departments were laid off, with leadership scaling back foreign news coverage and shutting down some sections of the paper.

A mural portraying President Donald Trump wearing an ICE police uniform and holding Olympic rings is seen near an ATM shelter at Bastioni di Porta Volta in Milan, ahead of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. The artwork is by artist aleXsandro Palombo REUTERS/Daniele Mascolo

Negar ser ultraderechista para luego reunirse en su primer viaje a Europa como presidente electo con Abascal, Orbán y Meloni. Well...

Colombian President Gustavo Petro addresses a meeting of the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States.

WaPo laid off one of the journalists who won a 2022 Pulitzer Prize for reporting on the January 6th attack on the Capitol.

"Today's layoffs at the Washington Post are a devastating setback for the scores of individual journalists affected and for the journalism profession," the National Press Club says in a new statement.

🚨 DW colleague Álvaro Algarra has been detained by Venezuelan police in Caracas, Press Workers Union SNTP reports. "The officers, dressed in blue, took the journalist from his home, and his family is currently unaware of his whereabouts," they write.

Democracy dies in broad daylight.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority honors Rosa Parks on her birthday, Feb. 4, by placing signs on trains and buses, "reserving a single seat in recognition of Parks' refusal to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, city bus and subsequent arrest in 1955."

Human Rights Watch researchers resign after report on Palestinian right of return blocked www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...

US President Trump's second term "has been marked from the start by blatant disregard for human rights and egregious violations," with "significant steps backward" on immigration, health, environment, labor, disability, gender, criminal justice and freedom of speech, @hrw says.

„Das Menschenrechtssystem steckt in einer existenziellen Krise“ Es ist ein Novum: Im Menschenrechtsbericht wird erstmals genau auf die USA geschaut. Das System der Menschenrechte werde „zerrieben“, @phfrisch.bsky.social im Deutschlandfunk👇 www.deutschlandfunk.de/interview-mi...

"German authorities undermined freedom of expression, assembly, and association, particularly targeting Palestine solidarity protests," Human Rights Watch highlights in its just-released World Report 2026.

Following months of trading insults and threats, the White House meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Gustavo Petro seemed to go far better than many expected.

A US F-35 fighter jet shot down an Iranian Shahed-139 drone that approached the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, Reuters' @idreesali114 reports.

The first pictures of today's Trump-Petro meeting at the White House have just been released by the Colombian Presidential Office.

"The Republic of Chile, the Federative Republic of Brazil, and the United Mexican States have presented the nomination of Ms. Michelle Bachelet Jeria as candidate for the position of Secretary-General," UN General Assembly President Baerbock and Security Council President Kariuki tell member states.

A rightwing Brazilian influencer who claimed Donald Trump's immigration crackdown targeted only "crooks" has been arrested by ICE agents in New Jersey. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

With the support of Brazil and Mexico, Chile now officially nominated Michelle Bachelet Jeria, former Chilean President and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, for Secretary-General of the United Nations.

"ICE out. We're not savage, we're not animals, we're not aliens, we are humans and we are Americans", Bad Bunny says as he accepts Best Música Urbana Album for DtMF. "The only thing that is more powerful than hate is love. So, please, we need to be different." #GRAMMYs

The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. will close for two years for renovations starting in July, President Trump says. The announcement follows a wave of cancellations since Trump ousted the previous leadership and added his name to the building.

Ice hockey on Constitution Gardens Pond in Washington, D.C. this morning.

Chile needs to "import good ideas and proposals" to combat organized crime, drug trafficking and terrorism, President-elect Kast said as he toured El Salvador's CECOT mega-prison. The facility is accused of systematic torture and life-threateningly cruel conditions.

"Arresting journalists for their reporting is a clear example of an authoritarian practice," @amnestyusa says following the arrests of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort.

"Do the leg thing," Canadian Prime Minister Carney asked Heated Rivalry star Hudson Williams on the Prime Time 2026 red carpet in Ottawa.

The Trump administration eased some sanctions on the Venezuelan oil industry as it seeks to expand production there. www.reuters.com/business/ene...

The Federal Aviation Administration canceled four NOTAMs in the Caribbean to facilitate regular air travel to Venezuela.

Next week's The New Yorker cover

Ecuador issues a note of protest after an ICE agent tried to enter its consulate in Minneapolis. He was turned away by staff.

Wired: Meta has started blocking links to ICE List on Facebook, Instagram and Threads. www.wired.com/story/meta-i...