“People say that Putin’s out of his mind. Yes, maybe so. But at the same time, he’s being compelled by God. He went into the Ukraine but that wasn’t his goal. His goal was to move against Israel, ultimately.”
— Pat Robertson came out of retirement to declare that Russian President Vladimir Putin is following God’s plan by invading Ukraine, insisting this is part of an “End Times” battle. He elaborated that Ukraine was “a staging area” for a great Biblical army that will gather for Armageddon.
Two Alaska senators are starting a GOP mini-rally
To reverse Donald Trump’s nomenclature folly.
They are bucking the trend,
So we’ll see where it ends
When they try to change “Mount McKinley” back to “Denali.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared exasperated and sighed when a reporter asked President Trump about his plans to “take over” Gaza while meeting with the King of Jordan.
The Senate voted 52 to 48 to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) joined with all Democrats to oppose her conformation.
“I think this is the most serious constitutional crisis the country has faced, certainly since Watergate. The president is attempting to seize control of power, and for corrupt purposes.”
— Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) warned of an “assault on the Constitution” under President Donald Trump, ABC News reports.
The Economist: “Every working day the Treasury publishes a statement detailing withdrawals of cash from its primary deposit account, providing the best high-frequency indicator of government spending. Since Donald Trump took office a little more than three weeks ago, outlays have averaged $30bn a day. Compare that with the same period last year under Joe Biden: federal spending back then came to about $26bn a day. … Outflows from the Treasury have actually risen since January 28th, when Mr Musk first claimed his ‘Department of Government Efficiency’, or DOGE, was saving the federal government $1bn a day.”
A new Economist/YouGov Poll finds President Trump’s approval rating and personal popularity falling over the past two weeks. This week’s poll finds Americans are less likely to approve of Trump (46%) than to disapprove (48%), and less likely to view him favorably (46%) than unfavorably (52%).
A new Marquette University poll found that 71% of respondents opposed renaming the Gulf of Mexico with only 29% saying they were in favor of the change.
U.S. inflation rose to 3% in January, strengthening the case for the Federal Reserve to extend a pause on interest rate cuts, reported the New York Times. The Consumer Price Index jumped more than expected, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed on Wednesday, rising 0.5% from December in what was the fastest monthly increase since August 2023. Last month, the annual pace was 2.9%. “Core” C.P.I., which more closely reflects underlying inflation by removing volatile food and energy prices, also showed little improvement. It rose 0.4% from December or 3.3% on a year-over-year basis, both higher than economists expected. The monthly increase in core prices was the highest since April 2023.
“Almost $500 million in food aid is at risk of spoilage as it sits in ports, ships and warehouses after funding for the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, was paused by the Trump administration,” CBS News reports.