February 27, 2026

Transgender youths are targeted in Scouting America changes pushed by the Pentagon

Scouting America will alter several policies at the urging of the Pentagon, including one targeting transgender youths, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday as he pushes a campaign against military support for diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

Some of the changes mirror what the organization suggested to the Pentagon in January, including discontinuing its Citizenship in Society merit badge, introducing a Military Service merit badge and waiving registration fees for the children of military personnel.

Under Hegseth, the Pentagon has taken aim at the military’s partnership with Scouting America, decrying its historic rebrand in 2024 from the Boy Scouts of America and other changes in recent years that he sees as part of “woke culture” efforts that he wants to root out.

Hegseth said in a video posted on X that Scouting America will require its members to use their “biological sex at birth and not gender identity.” He said applications will list only options for male and female and the one checked must match the applicant’s birth certificate. The group would clarify that youths of opposite genders assigned at birth cannot share bathrooms, tents or other similar spaces, he said.

Hegseth said the Pentagon will “vigorously review” the changes Scouting America has made in six months and cease its support of the organization if it fails to comply.

https://apnews.com/article/scouting-america-pentagon-military-boy-scouts-14a5fc1521fcd1e51103638f6f504214

When did the Scouts become an arm of the Pentagon and become Shitler Youth? Did I miss something? I thought they were an arm of the Mormon Church.....

February 26, 2026

A children's hospital is renamed for Dolly Parton and hopes to transform pediatric care in Tennessee

Dolly Parton’s name might inspire full-throated sing-a-longs to her working woman’s anthem “9 to 5,” or evoke memories of thrilling days spent at her Dollywood theme park.

Now, the Grammy-winning country music superstar is lending her name to a new cause: advancing pediatric health care in her home state. The East Tennessee Children’s Hospital announced Thursday that it will now be known as Dolly Parton Children’s Hospital.

“Ever since I’ve been in a position to do my part, to help others, I have tried to do just that. Especially when children and families need it most,” Parton said in a video announcement. “I’ve always believed that every child deserves a fair chance to grow up healthy, hopeful and surrounded with love.”

The impact of Parton’s philanthropy is already felt across Tennessee and beyond. Her Imagination Library initiative reports to send 3 million free books every month to children whose parents request them. She donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University’s Medical Center for research that helped produce Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine. And her charitable foundation provides numerous college scholarships and offers disaster relief.

Dolly Parton Children’s Hospital did not share how much Parton donated as part of the naming announcement. But Matt Schaefer, its president and CEO, said her support would ensure “every child who walks through our doors receives the treatment they deserve.

https://apnews.com/article/dolly-parton-childrens-hospital-philanthropy-4bceb89b8e6fd4f22bdf96f1861d504d

She is a true saint. One of my kids and one of my grandkids has been hospitalized there, and I worked there briefly before realizing that peds nursing was not my jam.

February 25, 2026

New York City police investigating after officers were hit with snowballs during a snowball fight

New York City police are investigating after officers were pelted with snowballs while responding to a massive snowball fight at Washington Square Park in Manhattan.

A video of the fracas shows two uniformed officers pacing a walkway in the park Monday as snowballs fly at them from all directions, hitting the officers and covering them in snow.

The officers, growing visibly frustrated, shoved at least two people to the ground as snowballs continued to whizz by. At one point, a person runs up behind an officer and mushes some snow onto his head. One of the officers can be seen rubbing his eye toward the end of the video.

In a statement Tuesday, the New York Police Department said multiple uniformed officers were struck in the face with snowballs and were “removed by EMS in stable condition” to a nearby hospital, but did not disclose additional information on their injuries.

Jessica Tisch, the city’s police commissioner, called the behavior “disgraceful” and “criminal” and said the department is investigating. Police have released images of two people the department is searching for in connection with the incident, asking for the public’s help to identify them.

https://apnews.com/article/snowball-fight-nyc-police-f10453245ed0b9eeda41f66b5ce2e928

Why do they care so much about a SNOWBALL FIGHT, FFS? And why make such a BFD about it? Why get the cops involved in the first place? I don't see any reports of anyone else ending up in the hospital!

February 24, 2026

Chicago's newest snowplow name 'Abolish ICE,' Mayor Brandon Johnson says

Chicago’s newest name for a snowplow will be “Abolish ICE,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said Monday.

Johnson announced the name as the winner of a citywide contest. He had earlier given it a “full and complete” endorsement.

Other winning names include Stephen Coldbert, Pope Frío XIV, The Blizzard of Oz, Svencoolie and Caleb Chilliams.

But the dig at President Donald Trump’s ramped-up deportation efforts became the runaway favorite as the contest progressed. The name was submitted 9,200 times, making up around 70% of all submitted names, according to Block Club Chicago.

Johnson credited Chicagoans for “their unmatched creativity, sense of humor and civic pride,” in the statement. The contest saw record-breaking participation with over 39,000 voters, he said.

Posts on Johnson’s social media announcing the naming contest in December show dozens of internet users responding to recommend the name. The mayor touted the idea days later while speaking with the Rev. Al Sharpton Jr. on MS NOW.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/23/chicago-snow-plow-abolish-ice-mayor-brandon-johnson/

I love it! Thanks for today's smile, Chicago!

February 24, 2026

Russian soldiers tell BBC they saw fellow troops executed on commanders' orders

Four Russian soldiers have exposed the horror and brutality of conditions on their side of the front lines in Ukraine, with two men telling the BBC they saw soldiers being executed on the spot for refusing orders.

One man told a documentary team he saw a soldier executed on the order of his commander, who was made a "Hero of Russia" in 2024.

"I see it - just two metres, three metres... click, clack, bang," he said.

Another soldier, from a different unit, says he saw his commander shoot four men himself.

"I knew them," he says of the soldiers executed. "I remember one of them screaming 'Don't shoot, I'll do anything!'"

One of them also says he saw 20 bodies of fellow soldiers lying in a pit after being "zeroed" by comrades. The term "zero" is Russian military slang for executing your own.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz7gw3l395ro

Nothing says Russian like executing your own troops in the middle of a war!

February 23, 2026

Who is Sasha Riley?

I have heard the name in connection with the Epstein Files but I can't really find out anything. I know he is/was a young man who made some kind of explosive allegations that I seem to have missed. Who is he and what are the allegations?

February 22, 2026

Worst of the worst? Most US immigrants targeted for deportation in 2025 had no criminal charges, documents reveal

Within days of Donald Trump’s inauguration, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) trotted out a phrase that his surrogates would come to use over and over again: “the worst of the worst.”

The term has become a shorthand justification for the administration’s unprecedented overhaul of immigration enforcement – a relentless campaign the administration claims is focused on arresting and deporting violent criminals.

However, a review of records obtained by the Guardian and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed against DHS, raises questions about those claims.

The findings come from little-known documents known as I-213 forms. DHS uses these forms in court to prove that a person is in the country illegally. The documents are filed when a person first encounters ICE, and DHS begins the deportation process, which is often when they are arrested. The documents contain biographical details about the person, including their criminal history, as well as any information that DHS feels is relevant to the immigration court case.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/22/us-immigration-trump-administration

And this should surprise anyone exactly HOW?

February 22, 2026

I study violence. There's a term for this kind of ICE withdrawal playing out in Minnesota.

By Nicole Bedera

When Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) sent some 3,000 agents to Minneapolis, the agency gave the effort a military-style name: Operation Metro Surge.

The name has turned out to be a rhetorical sleight of hand.

The word “surge” implies a sudden and powerful movement that just as quickly subsides, and the Trump administration has lately acted as though it’s already over, announcing that it’s moving hundreds of agents from the state, demoting Border Patrol “commander-at-large” Gregory Bovino and formally ending the operation.

But very little has actually changed in Minnesota.

Within hours of Homan’s declaration, local officials took to social media to share details about abductions that were still taking place. They were no more humane or any safer than the others. Minnesotans also noticed that an unspecified number of ICE agents will remain in the state, including border czar Tom Homan himself. Homan also indicated that ICE may replicate the tactics used in Minnesota in future large-scale operations.

As a sociologist who studies violence, I recognize the method the Trump administration is using. It’s called “symbolic compliance,” and it refers to an institution that responds to a backlash against its illegal behavior by pretending to take action without making any substantive changes, like a bully caught by the playground monitor who apologizes but doesn’t give back your lunch money.

https://www.ms.now/opinion/minneapolis-ice-metro-surge-trump-dhs

It's sleight of hand, y'all And it's only going to get worse---if we allow it.

February 20, 2026

Police search former Prince Andrew's home a day after his arrest

Police searched the former home of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor again on Friday, a day after he was arrested and held in custody for nearly 11 hours on suspicion of misconduct in public office related to his friendship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Following one of the most tumultuous days in the modern history of Britain’s royal family, the former Prince Andrew is back at his new residence on the Sandringham estate, King Charles III ‘s private retreat, which is around 115 miles (185 kilometers) north of London.

Police have concluded their search at Wood Farm, where Mountbatten-Windsor is living while waiting for his new home nearby, Marsh Farm, to be ready.

They are still searching Royal Lodge, his 30-room former home in the parkland near Windsor Castle, just west of the capital, where the king’s younger brother had lived for decades until his eviction earlier this month. Unmarked vans, believed to be police vehicles, have been entering the grounds throughout Friday morning.

https://apnews.com/article/andrew-mountbatten-windsor-arrest-king-charles-61ea3c437680b8341e623e4d9efa47b8

Be interesting to know what, if anything, they find.

February 19, 2026

Chinese American Olympian Gave The Perfect Response To Reporter's 'Ridiculous' Question About Her Medals

Chinese American freestyle skier Eileen Gu laughed at a reporter’s question Monday when asked if winning silver medals was disappointing, calling his perspective “ridiculous.”

“I’m the most decorated female free skier in history! I think that’s an answer in and of itself,” Gu said at a press conference.

The 22-year-old American-born skier has received right-wing backlash for representing China at the Olympics, with conservatives calling her a traitor.

She defended her decision, saying, “The U.S. already has the representation” and “I like building my own pond,” Newsweek reports.

The athlete previously won two gold medals and a silver medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics. This year in Milan-Cortina, she has added two more silver medals and begins competition in a third event, the women’s freeski halfpipe, on Thursday.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/eileen-gu-silver-medals-ridiculous-olympics_n_69974c6de4b0c988997b7ed9?origin=home-whats-happening-unit

Geez, leave the kid alone! Silver is nothing to be ashamed of!