News Briefing Tuesday PM
An ongoing investigation into whether the robots can replace us.
Yesterday’s experimental AI-assisted newsletter drew mostly negative reactions in the comments. Some of that is fair—it was way too long. But there’s a deeper issue: once something is labeled AI, it immediately changes how people experience it.
I’m not immune to that reaction. If I loved a new song and then learned it had been created with AI, I’d stop listening to it. The question that interests me is whether that instinct holds a few years from now—or whether it fades the way earlier anxieties about new creative tools eventually did.
The cleanest version of this experiment would be to say nothing about AI and see how the work landed on its own. I ruled that out. Not disclosing AI assistance would be a breach of trust. That said, I also haven’t specified what level of AI assistance I’m using, and I’m curious what readers think are the most AI-like elements and the most human-like elements.
It may also help to be clearer about the test product. This is a briefing-style newsletter for smart, time-constrained news consumers. It rests on a few core principles: no false balance, seriousness about democratic institutions, signal over noise, no sane-washing, and a tight focus on the radically disruptive effects of Trump’s actions. Please keep that frame in mind as read—and try, as best you can, to set aside the dreaded AI label.
As this project develops, I think the lessons I’ll be describing will be genuinely interesting—especially the unexpected dynamics that emerge when ChatGPT and Claude start arguing with each other over who should be in charge.
—Ryan
Tuesday Afternoon Briefing — February 10, 2026
A 10-minute read on a Tuesday when the Epstein files entered their accountability phase with bipartisan calls for the Commerce Secretary’s resignation, the EPA prepares the most sweeping climate rollback in American history, and the DHS shutdown deadline looms.
📁 The Epstein Accountability Cascade
The Epstein story is no longer about what’s in the documents. It’s about who will pay consequences — and who won’t.
Trump knew. A newly released FBI interview with former Palm Beach police chief Michael Reiter reveals that Trump called him in 2006 saying “everyone has known” about Epstein’s conduct and called Maxwell “evil” — directly contradicting his 2019 public denials of knowledge. Separately, Epstein’s lawyers described Trump as saying Epstein “had never been asked to leave” Mar-a-Lago, contradicting Trump’s repeated claim of kicking him out. NYT
Hidden cameras. A 2014 email shows Epstein directed his pilot to buy hidden motion-activated cameras; the pilot replied he was “installing them into Kleenex boxes now.” This contradicts the FBI’s claim that no cameras were found in bedrooms — and is the strongest evidence yet for the blackmail theory that has haunted these files. NYT
Lutnick testified — under oath. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed the island visit during Tuesday’s Senate testimony: he and his family had lunch with Epstein on his private island in 2012 while on a boat vacation. Bipartisan calls to resign are escalating. CNBC Bloomberg
Bannon’s operational ties. CNN reports Epstein was a strategic partner coaching Bannon’s global populist movement, discussing crypto funding, and texting on the day of his arrest. Epstein also pushed a Slovakian diplomat for a NATO post — the same diplomat who resigned last month after the file release. CNN
The university admissions machine. Epstein weaponized elite admissions at Columbia and NYU, paying $631K in tuition for a girlfriend and having a Nobel laureate lobby for a Rothschild daughter’s admission. Bard College president Leon Botstein thanked Epstein for donations even after his conviction. NYT
The redactions puzzle. Lawmakers who spent Monday reviewing unredacted versions of the DOJ’s Epstein files emerged more alarmed, not less. Rep. Jamie Raskin said he saw “a whole bunch” of redactions that “seemed very suspicious and baffling.” Rep. Jared Moskowitz said he’d seen “lots of names, lots of co-conspirators, and they’re trafficking girls all across the world.” The DOJ had pledged to limit redactions to victim identities and active investigations — but members found abuser names hidden while victims’ identities were visible. The department has not yet delivered the legally required privileged log explaining its choices. CNN, the Guardian
AG Pam Bondi faces the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. The lawmakers who viewed these files will be asking pointed questions about whether the DOJ is honoring the Epstein Files Transparency Act — or quietly protecting powerful people, including Trump allies. CNN
REACTION: Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), who previously deferred to colleagues on Epstein, said Monday she now supports full release after seeing evidence of a potentially nine-year-old victim: “Now I see what the big deal is.” Mediaite
Maxwell’s gambit. Ghislaine Maxwell invoked the Fifth Amendment before the House Oversight Committee — then, through her attorney, offered to testify clearing both Trump and Clinton in exchange for presidential clemency.
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) responded with a dark prediction: Maxwell would end up “getting shot in the back of the head” if released. CNN Mediaite
Wasserman fallout widens. Chappell Roan severed ties with the Wasserman talent agency after emails between CEO Casey Wasserman and Maxwell surfaced. Pressure is growing on him to leave the LA28 Olympics organizing committee. NYT Mediaite
The UK dimension: Starmer losing his grip. British PM Keir Starmer is losing his third top official amid the fallout from appointing Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador despite known Epstein ties. Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has called for Starmer’s resignation, the most senior party figure to do so. Gilts — UK government bonds — advanced as the risk of a sudden ouster faded, but sterling remains weak. NYT WSJ
The Dubai connection. Bloomberg reports that DP World chairman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem exchanged emails with Epstein for more than a decade after his 2008 conviction — sharing explicit sexual references and discussing visits to the island. His name was listed as the beneficial owner of a shell company that purchased Epstein’s second island. Quebec’s second-largest pension fund (C$496B) has halted all future capital deployment with DP World. Bloomberg
Don’t Forget: The Clintons are scheduled for closed-door filmed depositions — Hillary on Feb 26, Bill on Feb 27 — after initially defying their House Oversight subpoenas and facing a bipartisan contempt vote (nine Democrats voted to hold Bill Clinton in contempt). Bill Clinton called the format a “kangaroo court.” Meanwhile, Reps. Massie and Khanna found six names still redacted despite the DOJ’s “full transparency” pledge, including at least one “prominent” person and a senior foreign government official.
“Now I see what the big deal is.” — Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), after learning of a potentially nine-year-old victim in the Epstein files
🚔 The Courts vs. ICE
The DHS funding deadline is Friday. Every branch of government is being tested.
Judges are threatening contempt — routinely. In more than two dozen Minnesota immigration cases CNN reviewed, federal judges appointed by both parties have used terms like “contempt” and “noncompliance” to force the government to obey court orders. “This is clearly not tenable,” Judge Laura Provinzino told a government attorney. “I can’t continue to have [federal prosecutors] violating really important orders.” Georgetown Law professor David Cole told CNN: “It’s very rare for federal government officials to face contempt sanctions in court. And yet, it’s become almost routine under this administration.” CNN
What’s changed: two weeks ago, the story was individual cases and chaotic enforcement. Now contempt threats are documented across dozens of cases — a systemic breakdown in the federal government’s compliance with court orders. Watch for whether any judge actually holds an agency official in contempt.
The administration’s claims are unraveling in court. The NYT reports that Trump administration assertions about shootings by federal agents — including claims of self-defense — are falling apart under judicial scrutiny. In case after case, the factual record presented to judges contradicts the initial government narrative. NYT
Democrats’ guardrails have “no teeth.” Democrats released 10 proposed “guardrails” to rein in ICE — ending roving patrols, barring enforcement near sensitive locations, requiring judicial warrants. But civil rights advocates and former ICE officials say the proposals lack enforcement mechanisms. Key senators say they won’t support a short-term spending bill, preferring to maintain pressure through the Friday deadline. NYT
What the data shows: CBS data shows less than 14% of ICE arrests involved people with violent criminal charges.
California mask ruling — split decision. A federal judge struck down California’s ban on face masks for federal agents, ruling it was unconstitutionally discriminatory because it exempted state officers. But the judge upheld the companion law requiring agents to display identification — which has become the bigger flashpoint. NYT
“This is clearly not tenable. I can’t continue to have [federal prosecutors] violating really important orders.” — Judge Laura Provinzino
🌡️🔬☢️ America Continues to Abandon Its Institutional Commitments
Six stories. One pattern. In a single week, the Trump administration has moved to dismantle several key pillars of American governance, both big and small — scientific regulation, legal accountability, intelligence oversight, military-academic partnerships, public health protection, and nuclear arms control.
1. The Endangerment Finding
The EPA is expected this week to rescind its 2009 scientific finding that greenhouse gases endanger public health — the legal foundation for vehicle emissions standards, EPA rules, power plant regulations, and much of federal climate policy. The WSJ calls it “the most far-reaching rollback of US climate policy to date.” The administration will also direct the Pentagon to buy electricity from coal plants. Environmental groups are expected to challenge in court. Axios
Meanwhile, record Arctic sea temperatures were reported in January — with temperatures up to 15°C above average near Greenland. Financial Times
2. No Limits on Nuclear Arsenals for the First Time in 50 Years
For the first time in 50 years, no limits exist on the world’s nuclear arsenals. The US and Russia allowed New START — their last nuclear arms control treaty — to expire with no replacement. The consequences are already materializing:
The US is considering deploying more nuclear weapons and may restart underground testing for the first time since 1992
Russia unveiled the Poseidon: an underwater drone designed to cross an ocean and detonate a thermonuclear warhead, triggering a radioactive tsunami
China tested hypersonic missiles with zigzag flight paths and is rapidly expanding its arsenal
Turkey warns it could be “dragged into” a nuclear arms race over Iran
Poland’s PM and a Swedish newspaper have both raised the prospect of European nuclear arsenals
The NYT’s assessment: “The End of Arms Control.” NYT
3. Bondi and Pirro Abandon the Bannon Conviction
The Trump DOJ is seeking to dismiss Steve Bannon’s conviction for defying a January 6 committee subpoena — a conviction Bannon already served four months for. The solicitor general urged the Supreme Court to send the case back for dismissal, characterizing the prosecution as “weaponization” by the prior administration. Jeanine Pirro, not career prosecutors, signed the motion. Washington Post NYT
The message to future witnesses: you can defy a congressional subpoena and the Department of Justice will eventually abandon the case if your party returns to power. The timing is especially striking: the Trump DOJ is erasing Bannon’s contempt conviction while the House Oversight Committee voted with bipartisan support to recommend holding both Clintons in contempt for initially defying their Epstein subpoenas — nine Democrats joined Republicans against Bill Clinton. The full House floor vote was postponed after the Clintons agreed to testify, and remains stalled as leverage.
4. Gabbard’s Expanding Role in Election Fraud Theories
DNI Tulsi Gabbard personally oversaw an FBI raid on a Fulton County, Georgia, warehouse storing 2020 election ballots — at Trump’s direction. She also ordered the seizure of voting machines from Puerto Rico. Separately, her office warned an attorney against sharing a classified complaint about her handling of intelligence material directly with Congress. The norm violation here is stark: the Director of National Intelligence exists to coordinate foreign intelligence, not to participate in domestic law enforcement actions targeting election infrastructure. Her presence weaponizes the national security apparatus against the democratic process itself. NYT ABC News
5. RFK Jr. is Dismantling the Vaccine Safety Net
HHS Secretary RFK Jr. appears intent on dismantling the $4 billion National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program — the system that protects both families harmed by vaccines and the pharmaceutical companies that make them. He has removed half the advisory panel and could pack it with allies who endorse the debunked autism-vaccine link. Bloomberg estimates that one year of acute autism cases routed through the program could require $30 billion in payouts — effectively bankrupting it. Bloomberg.com
The AMA, alarmed by CDC turmoil, is now creating a parallel system to independently review vaccine safety — an extraordinary step reflecting how far institutional trust has eroded, and how quickly alternative institutions are rushing in to fill the void left by a government retreating from its own public health mission. WaPo
The consequences are already visible. American scientists are moving to Vienna to escape NIH/NSF layoffs and rescinded federal grants — a new institution called Aithyra is actively recruiting them. the Guardian
6. Hegseth Severs Harvard Ties
The Defense Department cut all ties with Harvard University — ending decades of military-academic partnership that included ROTC programs, research contracts, and recruitment pipelines. WaPo
🌍 Trump’s Foreign Policy Squeeze
The administration’s pressure campaigns are creating cascading consequences abroad — from airlines grounding flights to allies exploring nuclear weapons.
Cuba runs out of jet fuel. Cuba told airlines it cannot supply jet fuel from Tuesday through March 11 as Trump’s squeeze on Venezuelan and Mexican oil supplies takes effect. Air Canada, WestJet, and Air Transat have all suspended flights. Cuba has received no oil for a month. About 3,000 Canadian tourists need to be evacuated on empty planes. Financial Times Bloomberg.com
Indonesia commits troops to Gaza. Indonesia is preparing to send 5,000-8,000 soldiers as part of Trump’s planned “international stabilization force” in Gaza — the first country to publicly commit troops, driven by President Prabowo’s ambitions to raise Indonesia’s global profile. Morocco is expected to follow. But traditional US allies — Saudi Arabia and Jordan — have declined to send troops under any circumstances. FT
The Pacific drug war’s body count. The 38th US military strike on suspected drug trafficking boats since September killed two more people, bringing the campaign’s death toll to 130. Legal specialists have repeatedly said the strikes constitute illegal extrajudicial killings. No formal legal framework has been presented for the operations. NYT
Netanyahu heads to Washington. The Israeli PM is departing Tuesday for a closed-door meeting with Trump — pushing for limits on Iran’s missiles and proxies. Israeli officials are concerned a potential US-Iran deal could sideline Israel’s interests. Meanwhile, Israel’s security cabinet approved far-reaching new powers in the West Bank, including easing land purchases by Israelis from Palestinians. Finance Minister Smotrich said the moves would “bury the idea of a Palestinian state.” WSJ Financial Times
📉 American Malaise
Record pessimism. Gallup reports that only 59% of Americans rate their future positively — the lowest in nearly two decades of measurement. Fewer than half (48%) are now “thriving.” Hispanic adults saw the steepest decline. Democrats are in a particularly dark mood, but even Republicans are significantly gloomier than during Trump’s first term. WaPo ABC News
Flat retail sales. US retail sales were flat in December at $735 billion, missing expectations for 0.4% growth. The January jobs report — delayed by last week’s government shutdown — arrives Wednesday. WSJ
Small business confidence slipping. The NFIB optimism index fell to 99.3 in January. Seven of ten components declined. The uncertainty measure spiked 7 points. Bloomberg.com
Congress is emptying out. 60 members of Congress have decided not to run for re-election — the most this century. More Republicans than Democrats are leaving the House. NBC News
But the malaise means opportunity for Democrats. The DCCC added five more Republican-held seats to its target list, bringing the total to 44 — including four districts Trump won by double digits. MS NOW
“While ratings of current life are eroding, it’s that optimism for the future that has eroded almost twice as much.” — Dan Witters, Gallup
🤖 AI Reckoning — Human Costs and Market Fallout
OpenAI retires its most beloved model — after suicides and psychotic breaks. OpenAI is pulling its 4o model on February 13. While many users loved it for emotional connections, the model has been linked to psychotic delusions and suicide cases. A California judge has consolidated 13 lawsuits involving ChatGPT users who killed themselves or suffered mental breaks. WSJ
The SaaSpocalypse deepens. Anthropic’s new Claude plugins triggered $611 billion in market value losses across 164 software and financial stocks. Private credit funds lending to software companies are under particular pressure — Blue Owl Technology Finance shares fell 11%. About one-fifth of BDC loans are exposed to software companies, with nearly half maturing after 2030. JPMorgan and Wedbush say the sell-off is “extremely overblown” — but the damage is done. (For the uninitiated, SaaS stands for “Software as a Service.”) Financial Times Financial Times Financial Times
Landmark social media trial begins. Opening statements in LA against Meta (Instagram) and Google (YouTube) allege the platforms deliberately addict children. Plaintiffs presented internal documents including “Project Myst” and Google documents comparing their products to casinos. TikTok and Snap settled rather than face trial. Under growing pressure, the biggest social networks agreed to undergo independent assessments of teen safety protections. AP News Washington Post
“There are thousands of people who are just screaming, ‘I’m alive today because of this model.’ Getting rid of it is evil.” — Brandon Estrella, ChatGPT user
💡 Worth Knowing
🏛️ Trump wants a 250-foot arch. The president is pushing a 250-foot “Independence Arch” across the Potomac from the Lincoln Memorial — bigger than the Arc de Triomphe, topped by a 60-foot gilt Lady Liberty. Preservationists warn it would block historic views and could pose aviation hazards near Reagan National. CNN
🇻🇪 US seizes eighth Venezuelan oil tanker. Forces chased and seized the Aquila II in the Indian Ocean after a monthlong pursuit from the Caribbean. WSJ
🇬🇧 Starmer economic irony. Bloomberg notes that Starmer is “helming an economic revival he may not get to enjoy.” UK retail sales grew 2.7% YoY and gilts — UK government bonds — are rallying, but the PM may not survive to benefit politically. Bloomberg
🇯🇵 Takaichi’s supermajority reshapes Asia. Japan’s new PM won a landslide that opens the door to constitutional reform. Defense stocks surging. Nomura expects $64 billion in foreign buying. China responded with unusually dangerous air encounters near Taiwan — firing flares at Taiwanese F-16s. Bloomberg Financial Times
🍋 Palate Cleanse
🤖 A Stanford experiment paired 5,000 singles — and took over campus. Date Drop, a matchmaking algorithm, has spread to 10 colleges and raised $2.1M in VC funding. WSJ
🏀 A cartwheeling robot sent Hyundai shares up 5.7%. Boston Dynamics released video of the Atlas humanoid doing backflips and cartwheels. Planned for Hyundai factory deployment in 2028. Bloomberg
🏒 These hockey players in their 80s are still on the ice. “I never quit,” says one octogenarian who’s been playing for decades. WaPo
Sources for this briefing include reporting from the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Bloomberg, Reuters, Associated Press, Financial Times, CNN, CNBC, CBS News, NBC News, ABC News, Politico, the Guardian, Axios, Mediaite, and MS Now. All links verified as of publication.
This is an experiment. Let me know what you think!
Not bad. I feel like this is a quick, helpful way to get an overview of what's going on. Too bad the news is so depressing these days though.
I kind of liked it. It was concise and helpful for someone already familiar with the issues who is looking for a quick review of the news, but without the depth. The graphics were not helpful as the text was too small and a lot of info packed into a small frame.