February 7, 2026

Lutnick lied to the public about Epstein.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has said he had "limited interactions" with Jeffrey Epstein, but documents show they were in business together as recently as 2014.

Lutnick and Epstein each signed on behalf of limited liability companies that agreed on Dec. 28, 2012, to acquire stakes in a now-shuttered advertising technology company called Adfin, documents released among the so-called Epstein files show.

Epstein and Lutnick's signatures appear on neighboring pages in the contract, with Epstein signing for his Southern Trust Company, Inc. and Lutnick for a limited liability company called CVAFH I. The documents list nine shareholders in total.

Lutnick, the former chairman of the financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald who at one point lived next door to Epstein, told the New York Post in October that he and his wife Allison had cut ties with Epstein in 2005, deciding after taking a tour of Epstein's New York townhouse, "I will never be in the room with that disgusting person ever again."






https://www.cbsnews.com/news/howard-lutnick-jeffrey-epstein-in-business-together/

February 7, 2026

These maps show how Latino voters helped Democrats flip a reliably red Texas Senate seat

Democrat Taylor Rehmet’s recent upset victory over a MAGA star to represent a reliably red Texas Senate district was, at least in part, due to a significant leftward shift by Latino voters. These maps help illustrate the point.

Precincts in Senate District 9 with a majority of Hispanic residents swung on average 34 percentage points toward Rehmet compared to the margin garnered by the Democratic nominee in 2022, when the seat was last on the ballot.

Across the entire district, VoteHub estimated that Rehmet captured about 79% of the Hispanic vote, a 26-point improvement on the 53% that went for Democrat Kamala Harris in 2024 — the biggest shift of any racial group in the district.

The upshot was a decisive 14-point win for Rehmet, an Air Force veteran and union leader, over GOP activist Leigh Wambsganss in last weekend’s special election runoff.






https://www.texastribune.org/2026/02/06/texas-senate-district-9-taylor-rehmet-latino-voters-swing-democrats/

February 7, 2026

Thanks for the hearts, everyone.

You're outpouring of support means more than you know.

February 7, 2026

Kotek lobbies NBA commissioner to keep Trail Blazers in Portland as team and county at odds over arena funding

As state lawmakers wait on a bill that would help fund Moda Center renovations, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek spoke with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver last week as part of her full-court press to ensure the Trail Blazers do not relocate from Portland under new ownership.

Kotek’s calendar shows a conversation with Silver on the afternoon of Jan. 30 that a spokesperson for the governor said lasted about 15 minutes and was scheduled at Kotek’s request.

“That was an opportunity for her to reinforce her support for a deal to keep the Blazers in Portland for the long term directly to the commissioner,” said the spokesperson, Elisabeth Shepard.

The call came amid a tense moment for the future of the Trail Blazers. The franchise has worked with the state, city of Portland and Multnomah County to orchestrate a complicated multi-governmental funding package that would generate roughly $600 million toward renovations that are seen as critical to keeping the Trail Blazers in Portland.



https://www.oregonlive.com/sports/2026/02/kotek-lobbies-nba-commissioner-to-keep-trail-blazers-in-portland-as-team-and-county-at-odds-over-arena-funding.html?utm_campaign=theoregonian_sf&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

February 7, 2026

Federal judge rules DOJ can 'no longer' be trusted in voter roll crusade

A federal judge in Oregon issued a sweeping rebuke of the Justice Department’s nationwide push to seize state voter rolls, ruling that the department can no longer be presumed to be acting in good faith and warning that its conduct threatens voters and states’ rights.

And the judge cited a recent letter sent by Attorney General Pam Bondi linking the voter roll crusade to the deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minnesota as one reason to doubt the department’s truthfulness.

In a sharply worded opinion released Thursday, U.S. District Judge Mustafa T. Kasubhai concluded that the department’s public statements and actions stripped it of the trust courts typically afford federal law enforcement agencies.

Kasubhai had already announced from the bench — on two separate occasions — that the DOJ’s lawsuit seeking Oregon’s unredacted voter registration data would be dismissed.



https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/federal-judge-rules-doj-can-no-longer-be-trusted-in-voter-roll-crusade/

February 6, 2026

Virginia Special Elections are February 10: Voter Guide

VIRGINIA, USA — Two special elections are happening on February 10 in Northern Virginia.

One is to fill the Virginia Senate seat in District 39, which represents Alexandria City and parts of Arlington and Fairfax Counties. Adam Ebin, who has represented the district since 2012, resigned to take a job as senior advisor at Virginia's Cannabis Control Authority under the new Governor Abigail Spanberger administration.

The other special election is for the House of Delegates seat in District 5, which includes parts of Alexandria City. Delegate Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, the current office holder, is running for the state Senate race in District 39.



https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/politics/elections/virginia-special-elections-february-10/65-f51ae1ef-a03e-4059-9d8d-ac43763ff743

February 6, 2026

Jenks Public Schools bond election seeks $20.3M for district projects

JENKS, Okla. -Jenks Public Schools voters are set to decide a $20.3 million bond package in a special election scheduled for Feb. 10, 2026. The proposal includes two separate bond issues that district leaders say are aimed at maintaining existing facilities while preparing for future needs.

The bond package would fund a wide range of districtwide needs, including equipment purchases, facilities management repairs, printing improvements, safety upgrades, technology, textbooks and media equipment, and student transportation.

Major projects outlined in the proposal include an expansion and renovation of Frank Herald Fieldhouse, Phase IV expansion and renovation of the Freshman Academy, air conditioning retrofits for school buses, and improvements to district tennis facilities.

Superintendent Dr. Stacey Butterfield said the bond continues a long-standing partnership between the district and Jenks voters.



https://www.newson6.com/tulsa-oklahoma-education/jenks-school-bond-20-million

February 6, 2026

CO-04: Boebert's top Dem challengers set fundraising, spending pace heading into election year

As multiple candidates across Colorado have demonstrated in recent years, challenging US Rep. Lauren Boebert could be the most lucrative campaign fundraising pitch yet discovered in the state.

For the umpteenth time, Democrats hoping to unseat the Republican congresswoman have buried the state’s other U.S. House candidates’ fundraising totals for the most recent quarter — and finished with many times as much money in the bank as Boebert, who is seeking a fourth term this year.

The latest installment in the familiar tale comes with a couple of wrinkles, however. This time, two Democrats vying to run against Boebert powered to the front of the state’s congressional fundraising pack, and both reported unusually heavy spending to get there.

Boebert, the senior Republican member of the state’s congressional delegation — and unquestionably the biggest national celebrity among Colorado’s current crop of politicians — moved from the Western Slope to the Eastern Plains two years ago, from the seat she nearly lost in 2022 into the deep red 4th Congressional District, which she won by almost a dozen points in 2024.


https://www.coloradopolitics.com/2026/02/06/boeberts-top-dem-challengers-set-fundraising-spending-pace-heading-into-election-year-trail-mix/

February 6, 2026

CA-40: Esther Kim-Varet (D)Calls Opponent's (D) Racist Attacks "Disqualifying Hypocrisy"

February 2, 2026 — COTO DE CAZA, CA — Esther Kim-Varet, the frontrunner Democratic candidate to flip California’s 40th Congressional district, today condemned opposing Democrat Lisa Ramirez (a resident of the Santa Ana gated community Rocking Horse Ridge, in the 47th District) for paying notorious Orange County social media troll, Briana Walker of Mission Viejo, $1,500 to attack the credibility of Kim-Varet and her family with baseless racist slander. These posts, which as of this release are still published on Walker’s X account “@inminivanhell”, do not disclose that Walker was hired by Ramirez.

Ramirez had one week prior published a video moralizing that “voters are tired of politics as usual that too often means negative attacks” and calling on her opponents in the race to refrain from “shaming and name calling.”

According to a newly filed FEC disclosure, the Lisa Ramirez campaign committee paid Walker $1,500 for “communications consulting.” Walker is a notorious Orange County social media personality who has previously been hired as an “astroturfing” antagonist by other OC candidates, and who repeatedly attacked the prevailing Democratic candidate (defeated by Rep. Young Kim) in CA-40’s 2024 general election. Walker also courted controversy during the 2024 cycle by insisting (while on the payroll of his Democratic opponent’s campaign) that then-State Senator Dave Min shouldn’t take credit for banning gun shows at the OC Fairgrounds, despite the fact that Min (who like Kim-Varet is Korean-American) had authored the legislation. Ramirez (whose own X account has 230 followers) sought to surreptitiously utilize the reach of Walker’s 15,000 X followers in order to boost her local reputation and undermine Kim-Varet’s credibility.

Last Monday, Walker posted a screenshot and comment defaming Esther Kim-Varet as insensitive to the LGBTQ community for posing with the Chick-Fil-A mascot at a 5K charity walk. However, Walker’s absurd claims were entirely baseless as the screenshot she posted as evidence is from the account of an entirely different and unrelated Esther Kim. Despite her paid mandate to harass and discredit Esther Kim-Varet, Walker apparently could not differentiate the photos of another Korean-American woman.




https://theliberaloc.com/2026/02/04/ca-40-candidate-esther-kim-varet-calls-opponents-use-of-campaign-funds-to-commission-slanderous-racist-attacks-disqualifying-hypocrisy/

February 6, 2026

Controversial SF judge to face last-minute challenger in June election

A former state attorney, now in private practice, is running to unseat a controversial judge on the San Francisco Superior Court.

Anthony Tartaglio, 39, a workers rights attorney who spent five years as a deputy attorney general, filed paperwork Tuesday morning to challenge Judge Michelle Tong, a frequent target of complaints from the San Francisco district attorney’s office and advocates for tough-on-crime judicial rulings.



https://sfstandard.com/2026/02/03/judge-race-tong-tartaglio/