3 UM scientists were charged in worm smuggling scheme. Lawyers say China helped get the case dismissed

Michigan Public | By The Associated Press

Published February 26, 2026

China's government intervened and helped get charges dropped against three Chinese scientists at the University of Michigan who were accused of helping a colleague smuggle biological materials into the U.S., defense lawyers said.

The materials turned out to be mostly tiny, transparent worms — nothing dangerous — though U.S. officials last year hailed the arrests as a victory for national security. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the government must be vigilant when foreign nationals try to “advance a malicious agenda.”

Xu Bai and Fengfan Zhang were charged with conspiring to help another scientist who shipped packages to them from China before she arrived in 2025 for temporary lab research at the University of Michigan. A third man, Zhiyong Zhang, was charged with making false statements.

Bai, Fengfan Zhang and Zhiyong Zhang were in jail for more than three months while the case was pending in federal court in Detroit. A judge suddenly dismissed the charges on Feb. 5 at the Justice Department's request and the three traveled home to China.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Detroit said it would not comment on China's role or the government's retreat. An email seeking comment from the Chinese Consulate in Chicago was not immediately answered Wednesday.

“The dismissal came as a pleasant surprise," defense lawyer John Minock said. “We don’t know the details. What we were told was there was some kind of intervention by the Chinese Consulate in Chicago."

Another attorney, Ray Cassar, said he was working toward a misdemeanor plea deal to resolve the case against Fengfan Zhang when prosecutors simply dropped it.

“We get this phone call saying China is negotiating with the U.S. over these three students. Serious talks,” Cassar said. “These were kids studying for their Ph.D.s. The last thing you want to do is destroy their careers. … Was it the proper thing to do? Absolutely."

Defense attorney Mark Satawa said the Chinese Consulate “getting involved moved the needle.” He was planning to seek dismissal of the false statements charge, noting that Zhiyong Zhang, who spoke Mandarin, didn't have a translator when he was questioned by investigators.

Bai, Fengfan Zhang and Zhiyong Zhang were research scholars admitted to the U.S. to temporarily work at the University of Michigan.

Cassar said the worms had a limited lifespan. The packages, he added, were not properly labeled because Chengxuan Han, the woman who sent them, likely didn't want to have them held up by U.S. inspectors.

“There was no intention of doing anything nefarious,” Cassar said. “The worms have been consistently used for studying chemical reactions, light sensitivity.”

In September, Han pleaded no contest to smuggling and making false statements and was deported to China after three months in jail…

https://www.michiganpublic.org/criminal-justice-legal-system/2026-02-26/3-um-scientists-were-charged-in-worm-smuggling-scheme-lawyers-say-china-helped-get-the-case-dismissed

Suspect in Missouri deputy killings previously convicted for shooting at Kansas law enforcement

1:21

KCTV5 News

https://youtu.be/ti0V_jzNTFE

Greens plan to cut the defence budget, cull the Army and scrap the nuclear deterrent: Polanski's pro-drugs and porn party will protect Britain with a 'non-offensive defence strategy'

Illegal migrants would be given a free house and paid a wage with no requirement to work under the Green Party's immigration policy.

Zack Polanskiplans to let arrivals use the NHS for free the moment they enter Britain.

And they willbe allowed to work 'with no restrictions' under plans for 'a world without borders'.

Reform UK, the Conservatives and Labour all attacked the Greens 'fantasy' defence policies, branding them 'reckless and dangerously naive'.

Meanwhile Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer also took aim at the Greens over their stance on defence in the Commons, branding Mr Polanski's party 'weak on NATO and soft on Putin'.

Titled 'Peace, Security and Defence', the policy states: 'Green Party will develop a non-offensive defence strategy that will harmonise with our strategy to promote greater global peace and common security through dialogue, diplomacy and the building of trust.

'The defence budget will be progressively reapportioned to peace promotion and security priorities, to better combat the real and present threats we face as a result of the Climate and Ecological emergency.'

Under the heading 'terrorism', it adds: 'It should not be a crime simply to have sympathy with the aims of an organisation, though it should be a crime to aid and abet criminal acts or to deliberately fund such acts.'

Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge said the Greens have written a defence policy for 'a fantasy world' that would 'leave us vulnerable to our adversaries'.

'Polanski needs to realise that deterrence keeps the peace and strength prevents conflict,' he told the Mail. 'And saying it shouldn't be a crime to sympathise with terrorist aims is dangerously naïve.

'That blurs moral lines and undermines the social cohesion we depend on. We need strong Armed Forces, a credible nuclear deterrent and zero tolerance for extremism.'

Meanwhile Reform MP Danny Kruger said the Green plans would 'leave the United Kingdom weaker and more exposed' at a time of international instability.

He added: 'As for the Greens' concerning attitude towards Hamas and Al-Qaeda, these organisations are responsible for appalling acts of violence and any ambiguity toward them risks undermining public safety and national security.'

The internal documents state that, among a programme of reforms, the Greens would raise the minimum age of recruitment to the armed forces from 16 to '18 years or older'.

On Britain's nuclear deterrent, the policy states that the Greens 'reject a deterrence strategy'and suggests that under Mr Polanski the government would pursue policies that could damage the special relationship with the United States.

The policy adds that the Greens will: 'Immediately begin the process of dismantling our nuclear weapons, cancel the Trident programme and remove any foreign nuclear weapons from the UK, ban the export of nuclear weapons related material, [and] ban nuclear armed ships from UK territorial waters.’

The policy adds that the Greens will: 'Immediately begin the process of dismantling our nuclear weapons, cancel the Trident programme and remove any foreign nuclear weapons from the UK, ban the export of nuclear weapons related material, [and] ban nuclear armed ships from UK territorial waters.'(did Starmer start this group?)

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15592663/Green-Polanski-armed-forces-nuclear-non-offensive-defence.html?ico=authors_pagination_mobile

Cincinnati sues Sorsby over $1M exit fee after Texas Tech transfer

Cincinnati sued former quarterback Brendan Sorsby in federal court Wednesday, alleging he breached his NIL contract with the Bearcats when he refused to pay a $1 million exit fee after he transferred to Texas Tech.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, seeks $1 million in liquidated damages, which the school said Sorsby was contractually obligated to pay within 30 days of transferring.

the complaint, Cincinnati's attorneys said the quarterback's representative "advised that Sorsby refuses to pay the University anything."

Sorsby reportedly signed an NIL agreement with the Red Raiders that will pay him between $4 million and $6 million this season.

"In his lucrative NIL agreement with Cincinnati Athletics, Brendan Sorsby committed to stay and play for two seasons as a proud Bearcat representative," the university said in a statement Wednesday. "He also agreed that if he left the university before that time, he would pay the university a specific amount for the substantial harm that his breach would cause.

"Cincinnati Athletics intends to enforce that contractual commitment. As stewards of the university's resources, the Athletics Department has a duty to do so. We thank Brendan for his time at Cincinnati and wish him success in the future."

The lawsuit said that Sorsby signed an 18-month NIL contract with the Bearcats that covered the 2025 and 2026 seasons. It was set to expire on Dec. 15, 2026.

The university claims Sorsby notified the football team on Dec. 1 that he was done playing for the Bearcats and wouldn't compete in their postseason game against Navy in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl on Jan. 2.

Sorsby entered the transfer portal on Jan. 2 and almost immediately signed an NIL deal with the Red Raiders.

The lawsuit claims that Sorsby violated the terms of his NIL deal with Cincinnati when his image appeared on a large digital billboard in New York's Times Square announcing his commitment to Texas Tech.

Sorsby, a senior from Denton, Texas, was one of the top-rated quarterbacks in the transfer portal. After playing his first two seasons at Indiana, he started at Cincinnati the past two seasons.

In 2025, he completed 61.6% of his passes for 2,800 yards with 27 touchdowns and five interceptions. He also ran for 580 yards with nine scores, leading the Bearcats to a 7-5 record.

Cincinnati claims that although it paid Sorsby a substantial amount last season, "it did so with the express expectation that it would realize the majority of the benefits during the following season, 2026, after Sorsby's play developed and his brand grew."

"Despite the clear contractual obligation to do so, and despite his ability to pay, Sorsby still has not paid the University the $1 million in liquidated damages he agreed to pay," the lawsuit said. "Sorsby has benefited greatly by the NIL agreement he entered into with the University, along with the University's sustained efforts to promote him and help establish him as a top collegiate quarterback. Now, the University seeks to enforce its rights under that same agreement and to recover the amount Sorsby is contractually obligated to pay."

In a statement later Wednesday night, Sorsby's agent said the QB will fight the lawsuit, calling it "misguided."

"University of Cincinnati, through its revenue-share structure, paid him $875,800 for a season he fully completed and in that time, he generated millions in value for the program," Ron Slavin of Lift Management said. "Attempting to recover those funds now sends the wrong message to current and future student-athletes and risks damaging the long-term credibility of Cincinnati football. This is further disappointing given that Brendan parted ways with UC in what was a mutually agreeable manner.The money the university seeks to recover from him is nothing more than an unlawful penalty under Ohio law."..

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/48035774/cincinnati-sues-sorsby-1m-exit-fee-texas-tech-transfer

Washington Post Lost More Than $100 Million in 2025

The paper has bled money for years, leading to mass layoffs earlier this month

Corbin Bolies

Thu, February 26, 2026 at 10:53

KEK

The Washington Post lost more than $100 million last year, according to a Wall Street Journal report, a substantial shortfall that led the paper to lay off a third of the company earlier this month.

The Post’s leaders had been vocal about the financial challenges amid changing consumer habits, but have not shared precise numbers on losses.The Post reportedly lost $100 million in 2024, and $77 million in 2023. Earlier this month, a source told TheWrap that the Post lost up to $125 million in 2025.

The Post did not respond to an immediate request for comment.

Executive editor Matt Murray acknowledged during Semafor’s “Restoring Trust in Media” event on Wednesday that “journalism alone isn’t enough” to compete in a news market dominated by diversified offerings from outlets like the New York Times, which boasts subscriptions that include games, cooking recipes and more.i

“We’re fighting for the attention of the audiences,” Murray said. “We need corporate models that support the journalism.”

Murray also said that owner Jeff Bezos remained “committed to a long-term future for the Post” and wanted to see it as “relevant and lively in people’s lives.” He also defended the paper’s mass layoffs earlier this month, which saw more than 300 journalists lose their jobs and a broader retrenchment from local, sports and foreign coverage.

“There’s a bit of risk in it, but I think we made very smart choices,” Murray said on Wednesday. “Standing still would not have been an option. So what we’re aiming to do is get to break even.”

The Wall Street Journal reported how Murray and interim CEO Jeff D’Onofrio addressed staff during a town hall, where Murray acknowledged the “painfulness of the moment.”

The two shared that expenses had exceeded revenue between 2022 and 2025 due to hiring increases, while story counts had fallen by 42% since 2020. In light of the financial troubles, Murray said, the paper needed to adjust how it thought about approaching stories.

“We don’t want or need to do every story or jump on everything that happens,” Murray said, according to the Journal. “We’re not a paper of record; there’s no such thing anymore in today’s world.”

What the paper needed to be instead, Murray added, was “distinctive, urgent, must-read with every chance we have.”

D’Onofrio, who told staff earlier this month that he intended to “fight like hell for this institution” following the exit of CEO Will Lewis, said on Wednesday that he needed some grace as he built out a business plan.

“But I’m keen to get going on it,” he said, according to the Journal. “And we are going to go after it, and we’re going to go after it hard, because we owe it to this place to do that.”

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/washington-post-leaders-face-staff-155329574.html

A Secret Soviet Plan to Nuke America From the South Pole Was Working. Until UFO Hunters Looked Up.

2/24/26

The “UFO” sightings were actually test launches of the R-36 Orb, a secret nuclear space missile. Developed from the SS-9 Scarp intercontinental ballistic missile, the R-36 Orb was designed to rocket into low-Earth orbit and de-orbit over the United States. Launched in a southern direction, the weapon could pass over the South Pole and then come at the United States from the direction of Mexico, bypassing the network of early warning radars facing north.

The trip would be longer, but would catch the Americans by surprise, allowing the Soviets the chance to detonate a 2-3 megaton thermonuclear weapon wherever they might choose.

The R-36 was a so-called “first strike” weapon. The only logical reason to have such a weapon was to use it first in a nuclear war, as a surprise weapon meant to destroy American leadership and nuclear command and control systems. The problem? The R-36 was not accurate.

On average, half of R-36s launched in a war would land within three miles of their target. That’s not a deal breaker with a 5-megaton warhead, but it does rule out destroying enemy missile silos. Still, the R-36 would retain use when it came to wiping out the White House, Pentagon, U.S. nuclear bombers sitting on the tarmac, and other vital U.S. installations in a surprise attack.

SS-9 missile during parade. Wikipedia

The Soviet military conducted six tests of the R-36, each at the exact time of day when the missiles were illuminated but the recording cameras were in shadow. The illuminated crescent was caused by the weapon’s braking maneuver, in which the de-orbit engine fired up and spewed exhaust as the weapon turned 180 degrees. This created a clearly visible letter “C” in the early evening sky. This slowed the R-36 down so that it entered low earth orbit, and would be fired back up again later to begin the de-orbiting process.

Although the Soviets initially explained away the tests as launches of “scientific research satellites,” American intelligence eventually figured out what they were up to and called the USSR out on it. Within eight months of the first test, according to Oberg, the U.S. claimed the R-36 was a first-strike weapon that used an orbit/de-orbit scheme.

This would run afoul of the Outer Space Treaty, which was nearing completion and which would ban the placement of nuclear weapons in orbit. It would also run counter to U.N. Resolution 1884, passed in 1963, which called on the U.S. and U.S.S.R. not to place nuclear weapons in space.

The Soviet Union never came clean about the R-36. Eighteen of the weapons were based in silos near Tyuratam, and later banned by the SALT II arms control treaty. The weapons had long since been obsolete, foiled by the deployment of new, southward-facing American early warning radars and Soviet ballistic missile submarines that could launch an attack from that direction much more quickly.The UFOs, it turned out, were not so unidentified after all.

https://www.aol.com/articles/secret-soviet-plan-nuke-america-171900453.html

LOUISVILLE LYFT RAPIST: ICE Asks Kentucky Authorities to Not Release Criminal Illegal Alien Charged for Sexual Assaulting a Mother of Four Passenger

Release Date: February 25, 2026

Criminal illegal alien released by Biden locked the woman in his car, pulled a gun on her, and sodomized her

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today released the following statement announcing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged an arrest detainer for Yordan Basilio Diaz Vera, a criminal illegal alien who sexually assaulted his Lyft passenger he was driving in Louisville, Kentucky on February 4.

Earlier this month, ICE lodged the detainer for Diaz Vera—a criminal illegal alien from Cuba—following his arrest by local authorities on charges for sodomizing and kidnapping a mother of four in Louisville, Kentucky.

Local reports state this criminal illegal alien picked up the woman in a Lyft to transport her to a doctor’s appointment. After picking her up, Diaz Vera allegedly drove the woman to a parking lot, locked the doors and pulled a gun from the glove compartment. This predator climbed into the backseat and sodomized the woman. Diaz Vera is charged with sodomy, menacing, and kidnapping.

“Yordan Basilio Diaz Vera was released into our communities under the Biden administration before he went onto to brutally sodomize a mother of four at gunpoint in Louisville. This criminal illegal alien is a monster who has no right to be in our country and this crime was entirely preventable,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis. “We have lodged an arrest detainer requesting local authorities notify ICE law enforcement instead of RELEASING this predator from jail into Louisville neighborhoods. President Trump and Secretary Noem will not allow sexual predator illegal aliens to roam free in America.”

Diaz Vera illegally entered the U.S. in November 2022 under the Biden administration and was released into the country.

https://www.dhs.gov/news/2026/02/25/louisville-lyft-rapist-ice-asks-kentucky-authorities-not-release-criminal-illegal

DHS law enforcement is protecting American communities every day from another senseless tragedy like this taking place in another town, to another family. Victims of illegal alien crime may receive support from the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office by contacting 1-855-488-6423.

Nick Sortor

@nicksortor

==Uber and Lyft drivers keep CANCELLING @ScottPresler,

@BreannaMorello, and my ride requests when they figure out we’re inside DHS headquarters==.

Gee, I wonder why they’re avoiding this place 🤣

It couldn’t be because these companies have ILLEGALS driving for them, right?!

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4:25 PM · Feb 24, 2026

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https://x.com/nicksortor/status/2026408097762177070?s=20

Mike Johnson: Gonzales allegations will ‘play out’ in primary next week

The speaker has still not officially pulled his endorsement of the Texas Republican.

Meredith Lee Hill

MEREDITH LEE HILL

02/25/2026, 10:31AM ET

Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday he believes Rep. Tony Gonzales’ primary election, now six days away, will be a referendum on the serious sexual harassment allegations plaguing the Texas Republican.

“I’ve said to him publicly and privately, he’s got to address that directly and head on with his constituents,”Johnson told reporters. “There’s a primary there in less than a week, these things will play out.”

Gonzales has been accused of having an affair with a staffer and pressuring her for sexually explicit photos. That staffer later died by suicide.

While Johnson and fellow House GOP leaders have not pulled their endorsement of Gonzales, several rank-and-file Republicans have called for their colleague’s resignationand many are unsure Gonzales can prevail against his challenger at this point.

Gonzales told reporters Tuesday he was “not resigning” from Congress.

On Wednesday morning, Johnson again called the allegations against Gonzales “alarming and detestable” and deflected when asked by reporterswhy he had not yet come down harder on the lawmaker.

“How do you know I haven’t?”Johnson said.

He added, “I don’t usually go into detail on private conversations I’ve had with members, but I’ll tell you that what I’ve said publicly is these are very serious allegations.He’s denied much of it. We have to allow the due process here to play out, as always.”(“much of it” means he didn’t deny all of it!)

https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/02/25/congress/speaker-watching-gonzales-primary-00797668

(It is odd he was accused before the Primary next week, isn’t it?)

MAGA Kitty

@SaveUSAKitty

==Dan Bongino @dbongino asks Shawn Farash @Shawn_Farash

how he started doing his fantastic Trump impersonation. 😆😆==

FARASH: “I was actually selling DIRECT TV… in the 2016 Election cycle… and I would get customers… saying ‘If I switch, am I going to be able to keep Fox News?’ I knew at that point this is probably a Conservative. So I would just look them dead in the eye and say (in Trump voice) ‘Do I look like somebody who would make you watch the FAKE NEWS? We’re going to make sure you’ve got Fox News! It’s going to be great!’”

11:43 AM · Feb 24, 2026

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https://x.com/SaveUSAKitty/status/2026337081362915776?s=20

MP Materials selects Texas for rare earth magnet manufacturing site

PUBLISHED THU, FEB 26 20269:25 AM EST

thumbnail

Pippa Stevens

@PIPPASTEVENS13

WATCH LIVE

KEY POINTS

• MP Materials has chosen Northlake, Texas, for its new $1.25 billion rare earth magnet manufacturing campus.

• The facility, dubbed “10X,” will use rare earth raw materials that have been sourced and processed at MP Materials’ Mountain Pass mine in California. Mountain Pass is the only commercial-scale rare earths mine in the U.S.

• The Department of Defense took a stake in MP Materials in 2025 as the Trump administration looks to secure access to minerals critical for everything from defense and data centers to personal electronics.

MP Materials has chosen Northlake, Texas, for its new $1.25 billion rare earth magnet manufacturing campus, the company announced Thursday, amid a rush to shore up domestic supplies of metals critical for everything from data centers and defense to personal electronics.

The facility, dubbed “10X,”will use rare earth raw materials that have been sourced and processed at MP Materials’ Mountain Pass mine in California. Mountain Pass is the only commercial-scale rare earths mine in the U.S.

Once operational, 10X will produce about 7,000 metric tons of rare earth magnets annually, bringing the company’s total production to 10,000 metric tons per year.

The company has another magnet facility in Forth Worth, Texas, which started commercial production in 2025. Total capacity is about 3,000 tons per year, with customers including General Motors and Apple

China dominates critical minerals supply chains – including for rare earths, controlling more than 90% of processing, separation capacity, and magnet manufacturing.Last year the nation weaponized rare earths by curbing exports, shining a spotlight on chokepoints within the critical minerals supply chain.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/26/mp-materials-selects-texas-for-rare-earth-magnet-manufacturing-site.html

Russia says Cuba situation is escalating after deadly incident with U.S.-tagged speedboat

PUBLISHED THU, FEB 26, 2026

KEY POINTS

• Cuban forces were involved in a deadly incident with a U.S.-registered speedboat off the coast of the Caribbean island on Wednesday.

• “The humanitarian issues of Cuban citizens must be resolved, and no one should create obstacles,” said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

• The incident comes at a time of heightened tensions between Washington and Havana.

The Kremlin on Thursday said that the situation in fuel-starved Cuba is intensifying after a deadly incident with a U.S.-registered speedboat off the coast of the Caribbean island.

“We see that the situation around Cuba is escalating,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters, according to Russian state news outlet RIA Novosti.

“The most important thing is the humanitarian component. Of course, the humanitarian issues of Cuban citizens must be resolved, and no one should create obstacles,”Peskov said.

The comments come shortly after Cuba’s Interior Ministry said border guards killed four exiles and wounded six others onboard a Florida-tagged speedboat that entered its territorial waters.

The 10 passengers of the vessel were said to have opened fire on a Cuban patrol off the northern coast of the island.

The individuals, all of whom were Cuban nationals residing in the U.S., were armed and some had previous criminal records, Cuba’s Interior Ministry said. It added that assault rifles, handguns, improvised explosive devices and camouflage uniforms were among the items seized from the boat.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the incident as “highly unusual” and said the White House would “respond appropriately” once it had conducted an independent investigation.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/26/cuba-crisis-russia-boat-incident-florida-trump-oil.html

Citizen Free Press

@CitizenFreePres

Some sort of human steals a Turning Point sign in Pittsburgh.

https://x.com/CitizenFreePres/status/2027090464487129565?s=20

>>24311542.Picture of the human?

Acyn

@Acyn

Reporter: Would you ask Howard Lutnick to testify? Seems like he has information.

Comer: That’s very possible.

11:18 AM · Feb 26, 2026

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https://x.com/Acyn/status/2027055747360866502?s=20

WHO Ran A Hidden Bird Flu Pandemic Rehearsal. Now They’re Telling Us.

Officials waited months to disclose the simulation

NATALIE WINTERS

FEB 26, 2026

In September 2025, Indonesian officials ran a national pandemic simulation built around an avian influenza outbreak.

There were no headlines. No public debate. No parliamentary vote.

Months later, the World Health Organization is now advertising the drill.

The timing is not insignificant

As global health authorities push forward with expanded pandemic governance frameworks and International Health Regulation reforms, we’re learning that a full-spectrum bird flu rehearsal quietly took place under a standardized global template.

According to official materials:“WHO Indonesia provided technical assistance to adapt the global PRET exercise kit into a localized scenario simulating an avian influenza outbreak, from early alert through widespread transmission and recovery.”

Bird Flu as the Perfect Vehicle

Avian influenza is routinely described by public health officials as one of the most likely pandemic candidates. It jumps from animals to humans. It disrupts agriculture and trade. It justifies border screening and emergency coordination. It carries a high mortality narrative.

It is the ideal pathogen to test the machinery.

The Indonesia drill reportedly walked officials through:

• Animal outbreak detection

• Spillover into humans

• Sustained human-to-human transmission

• Activation of emergency operations centers

• International notification channels

• Clinical surge management

• Vaccine and countermeasure deployment

• Recovery phase governance

This was conducted under WHO’s Preparedness and Resilience for Emerging Threats framework — PRET — which promotes “whole-of-government” and “whole-of-society” emergency integration

In other words, the full state apparatus.

One Health: Expanding the Trigger

Central to PRET is the “One Health” model — merging human health, veterinary surveillance, environmental monitoring, and border systems into one escalation architecture.

==On paper, that sounds like coordination.

In practice, it broadens what qualifies as a crisis==.

When animal outbreaks and environmental indicators are fused into the same reporting structure as human disease surveillance, the threshold for triggering international emergency mechanisms expands dramatically.

Under the International Health Regulations, countries must notify WHO within 24 hours of assessing certain potential threats. Exercises like this smooth those pathways. They reduce friction. They normalize escalation.

Repeat the drill enough times and emergency activation becomes procedural.

Fast-Track Powers Become Muscle Memory

The simulation reportedly included coordination around medical countermeasures — vaccines, therapeutics, regulatory approvals.

That intersects directly with global initiatives like the 100 Days Mission championed by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, which aims to compress vaccine development timelines in the next pandemic.

Simulations test:

• Emergency Use Authorizations

• Accelerated regulatory approvals

• Procurement waivers

• Manufacturing coordination

Emergency authorities, once rehearsed, stop feeling extraordinary.

They become infrastructure.

The Shadow of Event 201

In October 2019 — just weeks before COVID-19 emerged —Event 201 convened political leaders, corporate executives, and public-health officials to rehearse a global coronavirus outbreak. The exercise was co-hosted byJohns Hopkins Center for Health Security, theWorld Economic Forum, and theBill & Melinda Gates Foundation— institutions that would later play visible roles in shaping pandemic response policy.

The scenario modeled overwhelmed health systems, economic disruption, vaccine acceleration, and coordinated information management. It did not predict COVID-19 specifically.But it demonstrated how tightly integrated public-private actors had already mapped out the governance playbook for a fast-moving pandemic — months before the real one arrived.

Interesting…

https://nataliegwinters.substack.com/p/who-ran-a-hidden-bird-flu-pandemic?triedRedirect=true

>>24311600.

Explains why the US left the W.H.O.

Wall Street Apes

@WallStreetApes

Democrat Rep Maxine Dexter says putting “White milk” in schools is “White supremacy”

“Ask the science-based regiments, not — whole milk white supremacy dog whistling”

She says RFK Jr wanting White Milk in schools is racist

This is the Democrat Party

10:28 AM · Feb 25, 2026

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373.6K

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Their goal is get all conservative whites out of America, but not the white slaves wanting to destroy America. I hope these white dems are going to be targeted also!

https://x.com/WallStreetApes/status/2026680786058096978?s=20

NYPD participates in Muslim prayer with Mamdani.

𝐃𝐔𝐓𝐂𝐇

@pr0ud_americans

NYC police officers participating in a Muslim prayer before a meal with Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

What are your thoughts on this?

See the video: 👇

8:01 AM · Feb 25, 2026

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45.6K

https://x.com/pr0ud_americans/status/2026643824794055034?s=20

>>24311675

This is fucking nuts, all the Police leaders did it because they don’t want to lose their jobs.Traitors of America

Trump tells committee chairs he backs controversial spy law extension. (Bullshit)

Congress faces an April 20 deadline to renew the Section 702 surveillance program.

By JORDAIN CARNEY and JOHN SAKELLARIADIS

02/25/2026, 1:27PM ETUPDATED: 02/25/2026, 2:36PM ET

President Donald Trump wants Congressto sidestep internal debates and extend a key surveillance program— and he has made the demand directly to key Hill Republicans.

At issue is the foreign spy program known as Section 702,which is set to lapse on April 20.Lawmakers inboth parties want to put new restrictions to prevent the intelligence community from searching program data for Americans without a warrant.

Trump has instead asked for a straight extension with no changes, according to Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Tom Cotton and three other senior lawmakerswho were granted anonymity to discuss the private request.

“President Trump has requested a simple, clean extension and I support the commander-in-chief on this vital national-security decision,” Cotton (R-Ark.) said in a statement.

Trump recently told Speaker Mike Johnson, House Intelligence Committee Chair Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) and Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan(R-Ohio)that he wanted a clean extension, according to a congressional aide familiar with the discussion. (No names, means no true!)

Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the top Democraton the House Intelligence Committee, saidCrawford told him this week Trump wants a straight extension.

“The chairman and avariety of other people have told me that the president is pushing [an] 18-month clean authorisation,”Himes said. (Gossipright after a fantastic “State of the Union@, I wonder who is involved?)

Spokespeople for the White House, Johnson, Crawford and Jordan didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump’s backing for a clean extension comes as topWhite House staffers have been privately lobbying for a clean extension of at least 18 months, including top domestic policy adviser Stephen Miller. Some intelligence community allies have privately floated going even longer — up to three years, according to one GOP lawmaker granted anonymity to discuss private discussions with the administration.

Even with Trump’s private edict, a clean extension faces an uncertain pathin the House, where a bipartisan coalition of privacy hawks have long demanded sweeping changes to the spy power. People familiar with the vote-counting effort don’t believe it can clear the two-thirds-majority bar for fast-track passage, and GOP lawmakers and senior aides are skeptical their party could unite behind a necessary procedural measure to put it on the floor.

Himes argued the administration had a “very good story” to tell about how changes made to Section 702 two years ago had curbed privacy concerns with the program.Still, he acknowledged that while Trump’s vote of confidence could help rally Republicans, it could scare off some Democrats.

“We now have a president who has shown disdain for the law, disdain for the Congress, andan awful lot of my Democrats are going to point that outand say, ‘Hey, I supported this when we actually had a president (yes they agreed under Bidan, both sides did!) who supported the law — tell me again why I should support it now,’” he said.

(Funny both sides approved it the last time under BidenAll the media too.)

https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/02/25/congress/trump-section-702-renewal-00798337

Republicans are freaking out over Texas Senate race

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is the man to beat ahead of Tuesday’s primary — and could put Senate Republicans’ majority at risk

By LIZ CRAMPTON, JORDAIN CARNEY, SAMUEL BENSON, ALEX GANGITANO and ADAM WREN (why do they need 5 contributing to this article?)

02/26/2026 04:45 AM EST

With just days until Texas’ primary, Republicans in Washington are growing more alarmed that their increasingly vicious intraparty contest could cost them a must-win Senate seat.

Sen. John Cornyn appears to be headed to an expensive and nasty 10-week runoff against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, with a strong chance that Paxton wins the nomination even after national Republicans spent months airing his dirty laundry all over the Texas airwaves in an effort to boost Cornyn.

“Honestly, if you look at the polling in a general election setting, I don’t think it’s outside the realm of possibility that the seat [flips], depending on who the Democrats nominate,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, when asked about the possibility that Republicans could lose the race if Cornyn, who he endorsed, is not the party’s nominee.

If Cornyn loses the primary, Senate Republicans worry they could be forced to spend hundreds of millions of dollarsthat could otherwise go toward key battleground races in expensive states like North Carolina, Georgia or Michigan, complicating their path toward holding Senate control.

Republicans have already spent nearly $100 million on TV advertising in the primary, which also includes Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas), according to data from AdImpact.And Cornyn launched new ads this week, with support from the National Republican Senatorial Committee, that hammer Paxton in ways that could hurt him in the general election too: highlighting his messy ongoing divorce and accusations of corruption and calling Paxton a “wife-cheater and fraud.”

But those attacks haven’t stopped Paxton, a MAGA hero more aligned with the party base who has been bolstered by positive polling and a wave of grassroots enthusiasm.

(https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/26/republicans-alarm-grows-about-holding-texas-senate-seat-00799856?ICID=ref_fark&utm_campaign=fark&utm_content=link&utm_medium=website&utm_source=fark

(Cornyn and Tillis needs to go! Did you notice Politico puts a sympathetic photo of Cornyn?)

Cuba says it killed heavily armed exiles who attacked from US-registered speedboat. 1/3

Rare clash off island’s coast took place amid US oil embargo and heightened tensions between two countries

Cuban forces killed four exiles and wounded six others who sailed into its waters onboard a Florida-registered speedboat and opened fire on a Cuban patrol, the country’s government said, at a time of heightened tensions with the US.

Cuba’s interior ministry said the group comprised anti-government Cubans, some of whom were previously wanted for plotting attacks. They came from the US dressed in camouflage and armed with assault rifles, handguns, homemade explosives, ballistic vests and telescopic sights, it said.

The wounded were evacuated and receiving medical attention, while a Cuban patrol commander was also wounded, the ministry said.

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, told reporters it was not a US operation and that no US government personnel were involved. The Cuban authorities made the US aware of the incident, but the US embassy in Havana would attempt to independently verify what happened, he said.

“We’re not going to base our conclusions on what they’ve [Cuba] told us, and I’m very, very confident that we will know the full story of what happened here,” Rubio told reporters while on a trip to the Caribbean nation of St Kitts and Nevis.

“As we gather more information, then we’ll be prepared to respond accordingly,” he said. “Suffice to say it is highly unusual to see shootouts in open sea like that.”

Florida’s attorney general said he had ordered an investigation into the incident. “The Cuban government cannot be trusted, and we will do everything in our power to hold these communists accountable,” said James Uthmeier.

Cuba said it had identified the six detainees from the boat, two of whom, Amijail Sánchez González and Leordan Enrique Cruz Gómez, it claimed were previously wanted in Cuba on suspicion of planning terrorist acts.

The other four were identified as Conrado Galindo Sariol, José Manuel Rodríguez Castello, Cristián Ernesto Acosta Guevara and Roberto Azcorra Consuegra.

In addition, Cuba said it detained another Cuban man in Cuban territory, Duniel Hernández Santos, who it claimed had come from the US to the island in order to receive the infiltrators.

One of the dead was identified as Michel Ortega Casanova. The other three dead had yet to be identified, Cuba said.

The confrontation happened in an area where gentle farmland gives way to the Florida Straits in bleached beaches under swaying palms.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/25/cuba-says-border-guards-killed-four-gunmen-on-us-registered-speedboat

>>24311831

2/3

The scattered keys offshore are highly militarised as it is a common spot for Cubans seeking to escape to the US to launch their rafts, and also for people smugglers to land in fast boats.

There were several incidents in 2022, at the height of Cuba’s migration crisis. In June of that year, off Bahía Honda to Havana’s west, Cuban officials said they returned fire against a trafficking boat, killing one. That October, survivors said their boat was rammed by the coast guard nearby. Seven migrants died, including a two-year-old girl, Elizabeth Meizoso.

It is almost exactly 30 years to the day since the Cuban air force killed four people when it shot down two small planes belonging to Brothers to the Rescue, a Cuban exile group who were dropping leaflets on Havana. They claimed they were helping people flee the island.

That event, in which Carlos Alejandre, 45, Armando Costa, 29, Mario De la Peña, 24, and Pablo Morales, 29, died, ended a thaw between the US and Cuba.

The US soon increased its sanctions on the island through the Helms Burton Act that allows US companies that had property confiscated during the 1959 revolution to sue foreign companies using those properties.

It is one of the stickiest issues between the countries now, and two such cases are now being heard by the US supreme court. There are also moves in the US to bring charges against the former Cuban president Raúl Castro for the Brothers to the Rescue killings, in the hope of creating a similar pretext for intervention used for the abduction of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela.

The shooting came as the Trump administration moderately eased its embargo on the delivery of oil from Venezuela to Cuba due to the growing energy and humanitarian crisis on the island that has been exacerbated by a US blockade.

The US Treasury Department on Wednesday said it would now allow American and some international companies to resell Venezuelan-origin oil and petroleum products in Cuba, opening a potential lifeline between Cuban households and private businesses that have been devastated by the cutoff of fuel imports from Venezuela.

The unusual guidance was made in “solidarity with the Cuban people” and was targeted at efforts to “improve living conditions and support independent economic activity”, the Treasury Department said.

Tensions have soared between Washington and Havana since the US launched an operation in January to capture Maduro, removing one of Cuba’s chief allies in the region.

Administration officials led by Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants and a hawkish opponent of the communist Cuban government, have called for additional US pressure on Havana at a time when the US is flexing its muscle throughout Latin America.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/25/cuba-says-border-guards-killed-four-gunmen-on-us-registered-speedboat

>>24311839

3/3

The US cut a major lifeline to Cuba after its operation to capture Maduro, taking control of the export of Caracas’s substantial oil production. Before the raid against Maduro, Venezuela was a key supplier of oil to Cuba. The US has also threatened to slap tariffs on other critical suppliers such as Mexico to halt deliveries of oil and fuel to Cuba.

The directives from the US Treasury and Commerce departments said that oil and petroleum products could be sold to businesses and private households but not to any government institutions, in effect relying on the Cuban government to respect the arrangement.

“This favourable licensing policy is directed towards transactions that support the Cuban people, including the Cuban private sector (eg, exports for commercial and humanitarian use in Cuba),” the guidance read, but banned transactions with “the Cuban military, intelligence services, or other government institutions”.

At present the Cuban government is believed to have issued 10 licences to private businesses to bring in fuel in so-called ISO tanks, which fit the standard container spaces on cargo ships. But this will not ease the crisis by much. To function well, Cuba is estimated to need 100,000 barrels a day.

The embargo has led to an acute energy crisis on the island. Much of the country is affected by blackouts which can last from 12 to 20 hours a day. Regional leaders have said that the blockade and resulting economic crisis could affect migration, security and economic stability elsewhere in the Caribbean.

Mexico’s foreign ministry announced on Wednesday that it had sent a second shipment of humanitarian aid on Tuesday, including beans and powdered milk. Canada for the first time also announced it would provide US $6.7m in food aid through the UN, rather than the Cuban government.

“This is Canadian foreign policy,” said the Canadian foreign affairs minister, Anita Anand. “We are focused on the humanitarian situation.”

Rubio was reassuring leaders at a meeting of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) on St Kitts and Nevis. The Jamaican prime minister and the outgoing Caricom chair, Andrew Holness, has said he supports “constructive dialogue between Cuba and the US aimed at de-escalation, reform and stability”.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/25/cuba-says-border-guards-killed-four-gunmen-on-us-registered-speedboat

26 Feb, 2026 17:38

Rubio reveals US condition for global nuclear arms deal

No agreement will be made without Beijing, the American secretary of state has said

Any future nuclear arms control agreement must include China alongside the US and Russia, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said. He stated that Washington will continue pressing for trilateral talks with Beijing and Moscow.

The New START treaty, the last remaining nuclear pact between Washington and Moscow, expired earlier this month.

“We think ultimately, in the 21st century, for there to be a true arms control agreement it has to involve China,”Rubio told reporters on Wednesday. “The president strongly believes that for any nuclear agreement in the 21st century to be legitimate, it has to involve these three countries.”

Rubio acknowledged that Beijing’s nuclear arsenal is far smaller than those of Russia and the US, but dismissed this as “irrelevant.” He argued that China “certainly has the capacity to catch up and are well on their way to doing so.”

When asked how Washington could compel Beijing to join, the secretary admitted that “we can't compel them,” adding that if China refuses “then we may not have a deal.”

The New START treaty expired on February 5. Moscow had proposed maintaining caps on warheads for another year if Washington reciprocated, but the initiative went unanswered, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

US Vice President J.D. Vance confirmed earlier this month that negotiations on an updated version are ongoing.“It’s going to change compared to where it was,” he stated. A senior State Department official, however, told reporters last week that no “gentlemen's agreement” is in place to adhere to the treaty in the meantime.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has since pledged to prioritize the development of Moscow’s nuclear triad,describing it as an “unconditional priority” that “guarantees Russia’s security and enables us to effectively ensure strategic deterrence.”

At the same time, the Kremlin has stressed it has no intention of being the first to escalate, provided the US takes the same approach.

Commenting to RT on the status of US talks with Russia and China on a potential New START follow-on treaty, China’s disarmament delegation in Geneva said the US, as a nuclear-weapon state with the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, should shoulder its “special and primary responsibility” for nuclear disarmament.

“This is the international consensus,” the delegation said, adding that there are currently no negotiations between Beijing and Washington.

https://www.rt.com/russia/633095-rubio-nuclear-deal-russia-china/

Typically, Republican – It Sounds Like John Thune is Using SAVE Act as Leverage to Reopen Govt

February 26, 2026 | Sundance | 9 Comments

Watch the short statement from John Thune about the current DHS govt shutdown overlaid against the base demand for the Senate to vote on the SAVE Act.

In typical Republican fashion, it sounds like Leader Thune is leveraging the process of voting on the SAVE act as a negotiating tool to reopen government. ie. If Democrats will give on the DHS funding (open govt), then in sounds like… in exchange, Thune will just throw the SAVE act on the floor without the talking filibuster. WATCH:

I hope I’m wrong, but this approach would be McConnell-esque. Meaning, typical.Thune is looking for a way to avoid the SAVE act presented as a talking filibuster.

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2026/02/26/typically-republican-it-sounds-like-john-thune-is-using-save-act-as-leverage-to-reopen-govt/

Nick Sortor

@nicksortor

🚨 BREAKING: John Thune says there are now discussions underway to ENFORCE the talking filibuster for the SAVE America Act

However, Thune is saying there are currently NOT 50 Republican Senators willing to go down that path — even though they’ve sponsored the bill

RIDICULOUS.

We need a COMPLETE OVERHAUL of the Senate Republican caucus. Spineless RINOs are allowing Democrats to railroad our country.

3:32 PM · Feb 25, 2026

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691.7K

https://x.com/nicksortor/status/2026757186349674701?s=20

>>24311943.Who didn’t know Thune was a serpent for left’s plans