Top Items:
John Hanna / Associated Press:
Democrat Taylor Rehmet wins a reliably Republican Texas state Senate seat, stunning GOP — Democrat Taylor Rehmet won a special election for the Texas state Senate on Saturday, flipping a reliably Republican district that President Donald Trump won by 17 points in 2024.
Discussion:
Fox News, The Hill, CNN, CBS News, Raw Story, The Independent, MS NOW and Lone Star Left
RELATED:
J. David Goodman / New York Times:
Democratic Upset in Deep Red Texas District Rattles Republicans — A Democrat won a state legislative special election in a district that President Trump carried by 17 percentage points, unnerving Republicans in Texas and beyond. — In an upset that rattled Republicans in Texas and beyond …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Washington Examiner, NewsMax.com, The Texas Tribune and Fox News
David Nir / The Downballot:
Texas Democrats score landslide upset in race Trump badly wanted to win — Texas Democrats scored a massive upset—in a landslide, no less—when Air Force veteran and union leader Taylor Rehmet flipped a deep-red seat in the state Senate on Saturday night, winning a closely watched special election …
Discussion:
Raw Story, KERA News, The Hill and Washington Examiner
G. Elliott Morris / Strength In Numbers:
Blue wave watch: Democrat flips Trump +17 Texas Senate seat in 32-point swing
Blue wave watch: Democrat flips Trump +17 Texas Senate seat in 32-point swing
Discussion:
Good Politics/Bad Politics and Political Wire
Madison Fernandez / Politico:
Immigration takes center stage in New Jersey special election … The attacks come as voters across the country — especially Democrats — express concern about ICE's tactics and federal agents killing two U.S. citizens amid protests against the administration's immigration efforts.
RELATED:
Elora Mukherjee / New York Times:
Liam Ramos Is Just One of Hundreds of Children at This Detention Center. Release Them All. — The arrest and detention of Liam Conejo Ramos, the Minnesota 5-year-old in a blue bunny hat and a Spider-Man backpack, has drawn the attention — and the ire — of the nation.
Discussion:
Washington Post and WAGA-TV
RELATED:
Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Judge orders release of 5-year-old detained by ICE in Minnesota
Discussion:
Townhall
Wall Street Journal:
‘Spy Sheikh’ Bought Secret Stake in Trump Company — $500 million investment for 49% of World Liberty came months before U.A.E. won access to tightly guarded American AI chips — Four days before Donald Trump's inauguration last year, lieutenants to an Abu Dhabi royal secretly signed …
Discussion:
Raw Story, more at Techmeme »
Nicholas Confessore / New York Times:
They Said They Weren't Close to Epstein. New Documents Show Otherwise. — Materials released by the Justice Department revealed that leading business and political figures had enduring relationships with the disgraced financier. — They said they didn't really know Jeffrey Epstein that well.
Discussion:
HuffPost, Lawyers, Guns & Money, NBC News, Wall Street Journal, Fortune and Electrek
RELATED:
Philip Marcelo / Associated Press:
From Elon Musk to the former Prince Andrew, a who's who of powerful men are named in Epstein files
Annie Gowen / Washington Post:
Thousands of new ICE watchers hit the streets after two killings — Minnesotans outraged by the killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti have signed up in large numbers to monitor and protest ICE with other activists. — MINNEAPOLIS — Jordan's parents didn't want her to become an ICE watcher.
Discussion:
The Guardian
RELATED:
Lulu Garcia-Navarro / New York Times:
‘A Terrifying Line Is Being Crossed’: Mayor Jacob Frey on the Turmoil in Minneapolis
‘A Terrifying Line Is Being Crossed’: Mayor Jacob Frey on the Turmoil in Minneapolis
Discussion:
The Guardian, Reuters, Al Jazeera, Truthout and Raw Story
Amanda Chu / Politico:
RFK Jr. is now a wellness guru for Republicans in Washington … Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has turned GOP policy orthodoxy on its head with his attacks on food and pharma. — He's also turning Republicans into advocates of eating more vegetables, drinking raw milk and eschewing pharmaceuticals.
Vox:
Trump is trying to shape a new world order. Here's what it looks like. — It's no secret that President Donald Trump has global aspirations — despite his promises of focusing on “America First.” The past few weeks have seen US action in Venezuela; threats to Greenland, Europe, and Iran …
Discussion:
RealClearPolitics
Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
January 31, 2026 — White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller posted on social media this morning: — “Plenty of countries in history have experimented with importing a foreign labor class. The West is the first and only civilization to import a foreign labor class …
Stacy Robinson / The Epoch Times:
Jury Finds Doctors Liable for Malpractice in Gender Surgery Lawsuit — A jury awarded $2 million in damages to a 22-year-woman who underwent breast removal surgery as a teenager. … WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.—A jury on Jan. 30 found a psychologist and surgeon liable for malpractice after they supported …
Discussion:
HotAir, Blaze Media, New York Post, Daily Caller News Foundation, The Post Millennial and twitchy.com
RELATED:
Wesley J. Smith / National Review:
‘Detransitioner’ Wins $2 Million Medical-Malpractice Lawsuit
‘Detransitioner’ Wins $2 Million Medical-Malpractice Lawsuit
Discussion:
Tane Harre, JONATHAN TURLEY and Townhall
Meg Anderson / NPR:
Minnesota citizens detained by ICE are left rattled, even weeks later — It's a video many saw on social media soon after it happened: Officers with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, dragging a woman out of her car and forcing her to the ground. — The woman in the video is Aliya Rahman …
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Jokes About Suing Warsh if He Doesn't Lower Interest Rates — President later says he didn't extract any concessions from the Fed nominee — President Trump joked during a speech Saturday night that he would sue Kevin Warsh, his nominee to chair the Federal Reserve, if he didn't lower interest rates.
Discussion:
New York Times, Drezner's World, Al Jazeera, NewsNation and The Atlantic
Nathan Heller / New Yorker:
Gavin Newsom Is Playing the Long Game — California's governor has been touted as the Democrats' best shot in 2028. But first he'll need to convince voters that he's not just a slick establishment politician. — At a union hall in San Diego last November, Gavin Newsom—the tall …
KPTV-TV:
Labor unions rally, march to Portland ICE facility in protest — PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - Labor unions from across the Portland area gathered at Elizabeth Caruthers Park in Portland on Saturday afternoon, and marched to the Portland ICE facility to protest the ongoing immigration enforcement actions by the federal government.
Discussion:
OPB
Associated Press:
ICE claim that a man shattered his skull running into wall triggers tension at a Minnesota hospital — Intensive care nurses immediately doubted the word of federal immigration officers when they arrived at a Minneapolis hospital with a Mexican immigrant who had broken bones in his face and skull.
RELATED:

