Category: News
After 88 Years, Gallup Discontinues Historic Presidential Approval Polling
After 88 Years, Gallup Discontinues Historic Presidential Approval Polling
The Gallup public opinion polling agency has announced that, beginning this year, it will stop publishing approval and favorability ratings for individual political figures in public office.
American Greatness reports that agency announced that it will no longer chart presidential approval ratings, saying in a statement that the move “reflects an evolution in how Gallup focuses its public research and thought leadership.”
The statement from Gallup explains that “Our commitment is to long-term, methodologically sound research on issues and conditions that shape people’s lives.”
“That work will continue through the Gallup Poll Social Series, the Gallup Quarterly Business Review, the World Poll, and our portfolio of U.S. and global research,” the statement continued.
According to Axios, for the better part of the past 8 decades, Gallup’s approval ratings have served as a kind of barometer of American public sentiment toward the White House.
A Gallup spokesperson told The Epoch Times on Feb. 11 that the change took effect at the beginning of this year, saying that tracking approval and favorability for specific politicians “no longer represents an area in which Gallup can contribute in the most unique way.”
“This is a strategic shift solely based on Gallup’s research goals and priorities, and is part of a broader, ongoing effort to align all of Gallup’s public work with its mission,” the spokesperson said.
“We look forward to continuing to offer independent research that adheres to the highest standards of social science.”
President Trump’s current 36% approval rating is not the lowest among U.S. presidents despite an 11% drop in approval since February 2025.
Sheer historical vandalism. WHY would Gallup voluntarily damage its reputation as the pollster of record by abandoning its 80-year series monitoring presidential approval? (At 36% approval, Trump isn’t even that low compared with GWBush, Carter, Nixon, Truman etc) pic.twitter.com/82LnKTIdp4
— Pippa Norris (@PippaN15) February 11, 2026
President Harry Truman went from an approval rating of 87% in June 1945 to a mere 22% rating in February of 1952.
George W. Bush scored the highest presidential job approval rating at 90% following the 9/11 attacks in 2001, but dropped to 25% by October 2008.
Axios reports that President John F. Kennedy had the highest average approval rating among U.S. presidents at 70%.
Gallup has expanded its polling business to surveys outside of politics to cover the public’s trust and happiness on issues like employee workplace engagement and the spread of AI.
While Gallup has stressed that discontinuing approval and favorability surveys is a strategic decision made independently, Bill Pan reports for The Epoch Times that the move comes as Trump threatened legal action over unfavorable polling that he denounced as fake.
In January, Trump said he would expand his existing defamation lawsuit against The New York Times after the newspaper, in partnership with Siena College, published a poll finding that just 34 percent of independent voters approved of his job performance about one year into his second term—a result he said did not reflect reality and was fabricated to damage him.
“The Times Siena Poll, which is always tremendously negative to me, especially just before the Election of 2024, where I won in a Landslide, will be added to my lawsuit against The Failing New York Times,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“Our lawyers have demanded that they keep all Records, and how they ‘computed’ these fake results—Not just the fact that it was heavily skewed toward Democrats. They will be held fully responsible for all of their Radical Left lies and wrongdoing!”
The New York Times dismissed the president’s criticism, saying in a statement that the paper’s polls “have been widely cited for their rigor.”
In response to a question from The Hill as to whether Gallup had received any feedback from the current administration before deciding to make the change, the polling agency responded, “this is a strategic shift solely based on Gallup’s research goals and priorities.”
Tyler Durden
Thu, 02/12/2026 – 13:20
Elgin on board to provide $1.7M in TIF money for historic building renovation
A historic downtown building fallen into disrepair is to be converted into apartments and commercial space with the help of a $1.7 million economic incentive package tentatively approved Wednesday by the Elgin City Council.
South Grove Holdings LLC plans to create four ground-level storefronts and six second-floor apartment units at 61-65 S. Grove Ave. in a project that’s to cost an estimated $5.1 million, City Manager Rick Kozal said.
The basement level will have a commercial kitchen, meeting room and storage space, and new electrical, mechanical and plumbing systems and a new elevator are to be installed, according to city documents.
City funds from the Central Area Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district will help with the transformation proposed by Kevin Echevarria, a downtown businessman who owns South Grove Holdings, Kozel said. The council will formally vote on the funding at its next meeting.
Adaptive reuse is one of the objectives behind the Central Area TIF, which has been tapped previously to help redevelop downtown buildings. Most recently, the council approved the use of TIF funds for the $4.3 million renovation of the McBride Building on Douglas Avenue, in which the top two floors are being converted into a 26-room boutique hotel.
Councilman Steve Thoren endorsed Echevarria’s plan, saying the use of TIF money for it is in line with other projects receiving similar funding.
“I think it’s at the point where either we’re gonna help him or the building is going to disappear,” Thoren said. “It’s a rather drastic option. But I want to thank you because it’s a great facade, and keeping the downtown’s integrity with a classic old structure is important to me, certainly to many.”
Councilwoman Tish Powell was also enthusiastic. “I’m really excited about this project. This is a big bite to take, as I’m sure you are always aware, but I really appreciate your continued investment in our downtown,” she said.
South Grove Holdings purchased the building for $1 million in September from Cuming Holdings, which spent $740,000 stabilizing the structure and bracing/preserving the facades after a second roof collapse in August 2025. The first occurred in July 2024 under previous ownership.
The building is cordoned off and has anchors to keep it stable, but the roof is visibly missing.
When asked by Councilwoman Diana Alfaro if the city’s Historical Design Committee would have a say in the project, Community Development Director Marc Mylott said it would not because it does not oversee downtown properties.
However, because South Grove Holdings is seeking federal and state historic preservation tax credits to help fund it, “there’s certainly a strong historic component that will be included in this project,” Mylott said.
Echevarria said his company is in the second phase of the tax credit application process.
The building dates back to 1885, with the portion fronting South Grove Avenue being done in an Italianate style. A one-story addition fronting Spring Street was built in 1929. Together, it has about 8,700 square feet.
In the late 1880s, the building was home to small retail businesses like a sewing shop and candy store, according to city documents. At one point it was used as the Singer Manufacturing Co., and later housed, among other things, a bakery, a shoe repair shop, a restaurant, a grocery store and the Elgin Camera Shop, which was one of the longest tenants.
The Rancho Vargas was located there from the late 1990s until its closure in 2010. While it’s been vacant since then, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2014, city documents said.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/12/elgin-downtown-building-renovation-tif-apartments/
What to know about Canada’s new bridge to Detroit that Trump hates
President Donald Trump says he intends to block a new bridge connecting the United States and Canada that aims to ease congestion at the busiest trade corridor between the two nations.
One person who would enthusiastically support Trump’s threat is a Detroit billionaire who owns an almost century-old bridge nearby and has long tried to scuttle the new crossing, which would connect Detroit to Windsor, Ontario.
The billionaire, Matthew Moroun, is a trucking industry scion in Detroit whose family for decades has mounted legal challenges to block or delay the project — one even reaching Canada’s Supreme Court — and aggressively lobbied governments on both sides of the border.
Now Trump has threatened to stop the bridge from opening, saying in a rambling social media post that he wants to punish Canada for exploiting the United States and for reviving its trade relationship with the Chinese government, among other perceived transgressions.
The crossing, called the Gordie Howe International Bridge, is expected to open sometime this year.
What does this mean for trade talks?
Prime Minister Mark Carney said he had a call with Trump on Tuesday morning and explained that Canada paid for the bridge, though it will share ownership with Michigan.
Canada is Michigan’s largest export market.
“This is a great example of cooperation between our countries,” Carney told reporters. “I look forward to it opening.”
Carney said that Trump asked Pete Hoekstra, who is the U.S. ambassador to Canada and is from Michigan, to “play a role in smoothing the conversation” about the bridge. (On Tuesday, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, repeated Trump’s insistence that the United States should own half of the bridge.)
The discussion turned to issues that Canada will raise during future negotiations over the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, according to Carney.
The three countries will review the trade agreement this year amid varying signals from the Trump administration about its commitment to its continuation. The current agreement has meant that most Canadian exports have been shielded from tariffs introduced by Trump.
Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, disputed one of Trump’s claims about the bridge — that no American steel was used to build it — saying in an interview that U.S. steel made up 25% of the construction.
Trump supported the project during his first term.
“All of a sudden, he’s changed his tune,” Ford said. “We have to get this open. If not, it’s going to hurt the American workers.”
Why did Canada build a second bridge?
The catalyst for the new bridge was the closing of the border after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The enormous, miles-long traffic jams of trucks along roads in Ontario underscored the vulnerability created by relying on a single bridge for commercial traffic at North America’s busiest land crossing.
There is a tunnel for vehicles linking Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, but tractor-trailers are too tall to fit.
The Ambassador Bridge, which opened in 1929, was also showing its age. Chunks of it regularly fell off, causing lane reductions on the bridge and street closings below in Windsor.
An expressway that runs across southern Ontario ends on the outskirts of Windsor, forcing trucks to make a slow journey to the bridge on a congested local road.
Investors and both governments floated several proposals, including a plan by the Moroun family to build a second crossing alongside the four-lane Ambassador Bridge.
Who is the Moroun family?
Manuel Moroun purchased the Ambassador Bridge in 1979 after building a fortune largely through the expansion of his father’s trucking company. Matthew Moroun, Moroun’s son, gradually took over as head of the family before Manuel Moroun’s death in 2020.
Manuel Moroun was known for being exceptionally litigious even with other members of his family. He also had a reputation for disregarding government and court orders.
The Moroun family bought properties on both sides of the border near its bridge and was known for leaving the buildings in those areas to decay, leading to disputes with both cities. The family did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A former railway station in Detroit that became a widely known symbol of the city’s decay was among the family’s holdings. It was sold to the Ford Motor Co. in 2018 and was restored.
Who paid for the new bridge?
After finding no interest among U.S. lawmakers, the Canadian government has entirely financed the bridge’s construction and even paid for the highway interchange on the American side. The United States paid for the bridge’s border inspection facility.
The project cost 6.4 billion Canadian dollars ($4.7 billion). The province of Ontario also completed a $1 billion highway expansion that opened a decade ago.
By alleviating traffic on streets in Windsor, the bridge, which has been built roughly six years behind schedule, will benefit both countries, said Dennis Darby, the CEO of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, an industry group.
“Fewer bottlenecks and fewer surprises mean more resilient, competitive supply chains,” Darby said in a statement.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
CPS board members accuse Mayor Brandon Johnson of ‘sabotage’ in CEO search
A group of six Chicago Public Schools board members blasted Mayor Brandon Johnson on Thursday, accusing City Hall of sabotaging a professional search for a new head of the school district.
The board members announced on Thursday that the contract between the Alma Advisory Group, the firm leading the search for a new CEO, was terminated.
“We are extremely disappointed that the mayor and his appointees on the Board have chosen to sabotage the process to find a permanent leader for CPS,” the statement read. “This blatant political interference is harmful to the entire District — to schools, staff, families, and most importantly, the students. Every problem becomes more difficult to solve when there is leadership instability.”
In the statement, the board members urged their colleagues to “retain Interim Superintendent/CEO Dr. Macquline King until a fully-elected board can restart the search in 2027.”
The termination is the latest setback in a long-suffering search for the next leader of the nation’s fourth-largest school district, and threatens to add further turmoil and uncertainty for families.
The 11-month national search came to the brink of finalist interviews with Mayor Brandon Johnson last fall, until the mayor and his allies “started running political interference,” board members said.
Thus the fate of the position that’s been filled on an interim basis since June and proven a lightning rod of controversy for the first-term mayor remains uncertain.
Alma Advisory Group was hired last spring after the school board terminated ex-CPS CEO Pedro Martinez’s contract without cause in December 2024. The firm was responsible for recruiting, screening and facilitating interviews with applicants.
In November, the superintendent search had been narrowed down to two out-of-state finalists, from New York City and Denver. After the candidates’ names were leaked to WBEZ/Sun-Times and Chalkbeat, the process effectively ground to a halt and one of them withdrew his name.
Johnson, at the time, told reporters the search was far from complete and encouraged others to apply. In the months since, Alma Advisory has gathered a shortlist of other final contenders, but the “progress has been stalled, and major decisions have been put on hold,” board members said.
“By making it impossible for a professional firm to see this through, Mayor Johnson and his appointed board members have shown that they are either unwilling, unable, or uninterested in finding a qualified CEO/Superintendent to lead CPS into the future,” the statement read.
The statement was signed by board members Carlos Rivas Jr., District 3B; Ellen Rosenfeld, District 4B; Jessica Biggs, District 6B; Angel Gutierrez, District 8A; Therese Boyle, District 9B; and Che “Rhymefest” Smith, District 10A.
The school board, currently a hybrid mix of elected and mayoral-appointed seats, is in charge of hiring for the high-profile role after decades of full mayoral control over CPS. Johnson retains some influence over the board before it transitions to a fully independent body in 2027, but he’s faced challenges with even allies in the board resisting pressure from his team to borrow money to cover district costs.
All those who signed the letter are elected members, representing newly drawn constituencies across the city — an extraordinary display of division within the newly empowered governing body. Board members have also signed non-disclosure agreements, previously shielding almost all of the process from public view.
Now, as Johnson approaches his three-year mark in office and all 21 school board seats are up for election in November, he and his handpicked board president, Sean Harden, find themselves without a clear path forward.
Harden and Johnson’s spokesperson, Cassio Mendoza, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In theory, the process could move forward with the finalists already identified. But without the guidance of an outside firm, it could continue to sputter.
The next superintendent will play an outsized role in shaping the district’s priorities, amid a period of declining enrollment, federal pressures and deep fiscal instability. The cash-strapped district is facing a projected $520 million deficit for the upcoming budget season.
After former-CEO Martinez refused to take out a short-term loan in 2024, all seven members of Johnson’s first handpicked school board opted to resign rather than be caught up in a war of wills between Johnson and Martinez. The mayor appointed a second school board that fired Martinez in December.
The lame-duck CEO stayed on for six months, until his contract ended, before the appointment of interim CEO Macqueline King. King also resisted pressure from the mayor and CTU to borrow, a decision that led to her not making the cut as a finalist for the permanent superintendent job.
Related Articles
In a flurry of walkouts, Chicago-area students continue protest of ICE: ‘This is what our world has come to’
‘Free the kids’: Why more Chicago families are turning to homeschooling
Patrick ‘PJ’ Henning, who led school bands throughout south suburbs, died at 77
Students in Aurora stage walkout on Monday, three charged, Aurora police say
Bremen High School’s Braves Closet offers help with discretion in a comforting space
In the statement, board members praised King for her “laudable work under impossible circumstances,” saying that the district should retain her until a fully elected board can weigh in next year.
“She is someone who understands CPS inside and out — as a student, a teacher, a principal, a policy leader, and now as Interim CEO/Superintendent,” the statement read.
Despite the “sad development,” the board members also thanked Alma Advisory for their “competency-based process that was rigorous, thoughtful and thorough.”
A former CTU organizer, Johnson vowed bold investments for Chicago’s disinvested neighborhood schools, but a perfect storm of budget shortfalls and pension obligations on both the city and CPS’s side complicates that goal. So does a political climate in Springfield wary of new taxes or more spending.
Though CPS’s beleaguered finances predate Johnson’s time, how education leaders should fix that problem has been one of the most politically radioactive debates during the freshman mayor’s term.
In May, Harden spearheaded an effort to appoint the mayor’s chief of staff, Cristina Pacione-Zayas, to serve in the role in the interim. But the effort ultimately failed to gain enough traction, in part because Pacione-Zayas lacked a superintendent endorsement — a new requirement for the role approved unanimously by the school board last year.
As of December, Pacione-Zayas was not in the process of obtaining a superintendent license, Johnson’s office confirmed.
The Chicago Transit Authority and the Chicago Housing Authority have also gone more than a year without permanent leaders, roles traditionally appointed by the mayor. It has been several mayoral administrations since all three posts were vacant simultaneously, raising internal and external concerns over the direction of the city’s most influential public agencies.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/12/cps-board-ceo-search/
Juez prohíbe temporalmente al Pentágono castigar a senador que pidió desoír órdenes ilegales
Por MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
WASHINGTON (AP) — Un juez federal le impidió temporalmente el jueves al Pentágono castigar al senador demócrata Mark Kelly, ex piloto de la Marina, por participar en un video en el que se instaba a las tropas a resistir órdenes ilegales.
El juez de distrito Richard Leon determinó que funcionarios del Pentágono violaron los derechos de Kelly a la libertad de expresión amparados por la Primera Enmienda y que “amenazaron las libertades constitucionales de millones de militares retirados”.
Kelly, quien representa a Arizona, demandó en un tribunal federal para impedir la censura que le impuso el 5 de enero el secretario de Defensa, Pete Hegseth.
Kelly y otros cinco legisladores demócratas aparecieron en un video en noviembre, en el que exhortaron a las tropas a defender la Constitución y a no acatar directrices militares ilegales de la administración Trump.
El presidente republicano Donald Trump acusó a los legisladores de sedición, “castigable con la MUERTE”, en una publicación en redes sociales días después.
Hegseth sostuvo que la censura a Kelly fue “un paso necesario del proceso” en procedimientos que podrían derivar en una degradación del rango retirado del senador, de capitán, y en una posterior reducción de su paga de jubilación.
El juez concluyó que la expresión de Kelly tiene derecho a plena protección de la Primera Enmienda. Leon escribió: “¡Pamplinas!”, en respuesta al argumento del gobierno de que Kelly intenta eximirse de las reglas de la justicia militar.
“En lugar de intentar reducir las libertades de la Primera Enmienda de los militares retirados, el secretario Hegseth y sus codemandados podrían reflexionar y estar agradecidos por la sabiduría y la experiencia que los militares retirados han aportado a las discusiones y el debate públicos sobre asuntos militares en nuestra Nación durante los últimos 250 años”, escribió Leon.
“Si es así”, añadió, “apreciarán más plenamente por qué los Padres Fundadores hicieron de la libertad de expresión la Primera Enmienda en la Carta de Derechos”.
El Pentágono no ha respondido a un correo electrónico en el que se solicitaban comentarios sobre el fallo del juez.
Kelly dijo en un video publicado después del fallo que el caso trataba de más que sólo él y que la administración “estaba enviando un mensaje a millones de veteranos retirados de que ellos también pueden ser censurados o degradados sólo por alzar la voz”.
Añadió que era poco probable que el fallo fuera el final: “Puede que esto aún no haya terminado, porque este presidente y esta administración no saben cómo admitir cuando están equivocados”.
El video de 90 segundos se publicó por primera vez en una cuenta de redes sociales perteneciente a la senadora Elissa Slotkin, de Michigan. Los representantes Jason Crow, de Colorado; Chris Deluzio, de Pensilvania; Maggie Goodlander, de Nueva Hampshire y Chrissy Houlahan, de Pensilvania, también aparecieron en el video. Todos los participantes son veteranos de las fuerzas armadas o de agencias de inteligencia.
El Pentágono comenzó a investigar a Kelly a finales de noviembre, citando una ley federal que permite llamar a militares retirados de nuevo al servicio activo por órdenes del secretario de Defensa para un posible consejo de guerra u otro castigo. Hegseth ha dicho que Kelly fue el único de los seis legisladores investigado porque es el único que se retiró formalmente del ejército y aún cae bajo la jurisdicción del Pentágono.
Los abogados de Kelly habían argumentado que la censura a Kelly —y los esfuerzos por reducir su grado de retiro y su paga— eran un ataque sin precedentes a los derechos de los veteranos a debatir públicamente asuntos de seguridad nacional.
“Los demandados pretenden atribuirse una autoridad absoluta e inapelable para imponer castigo militar a un veterano retirado y a un senador en funciones por participar en una expresión que a un designado político civil no le gusta. Esa postura es tan alarmante como sin precedentes”, escribieron.
Los abogados del gobierno dijeron que el caso “no trata sobre la independencia legislativa ni sobre la libertad de expresión en la sociedad civil”.
“En cambio, este caso involucra a un oficial militar retirado que busca usar su condición militar como espada y su cargo legislativo como escudo contra las consecuencias de sus acciones en asuntos de personal militar”, escribieron.
Hegseth, el Departamento de Defensa, el secretario de la Marina John Phelan y la Marina figuran como demandados en la demanda.
Leon fue nominado al cargo por el presidente republicano George W. Bush.
___________________________________
Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
Trump Warns Republicans Will ‘Suffer The Consequences’ If They Vote Against Tariffs
Trump Warns Republicans Will ‘Suffer The Consequences’ If They Vote Against Tariffs
Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times,
President Donald Trump on Feb. 12 warned Republican lawmakers they will face consequences if they vote against his tariff agenda, after a handful of GOP lawmakers sided with Democrats to pass a measure this week.
“Any Republican, in the House or the Senate, that votes against TARIFFS will seriously suffer the consequences come Election time, and that includes Primaries!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
The president said that the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 markets have reached new highs in the midst of the tariff policies that he imposed last year under an emergency 1977 provision.
“The mere mention of the word has Countries agreeing to our strongest wishes. TARIFFS have given us Economic and National Security, and no Republican should be responsible for destroying this privilege,” he added.
Trump wrote in a separate post on Truth Social that Canada has taken advantage of the United States on trade and border security. With the tariffs, Trump said that the United States can have an advantage over its northern neighbor.
Several House Republicans on Feb. 11 voted to overturn an executive order that imposed tariffs on Canada, siding with nearly every Democratic lawmaker in the lower congressional chamber to pass the measure. The resolution, introduced by Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), is now being considered by the Senate.
Last year, the Trump administration imposed tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China in a bid to curb the flow of illegal drugs, including fentanyl, into the United States. The vote in the House on Feb. 11 was the first time the congressional chamber has formally offered a vote on the policy.
Despite the House’s vote to pass the rebuke of the Canadian tariffs, it is unlikely to become law. It would take two-thirds majorities in both chambers to overcome an expected Trump veto, and most Republicans have been unwilling to oppose the Trump administration’s policies.
“Canada isn’t a threat, it’s our ally,” Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a House speech before the vote.
Trump warned last month on social media that he could impose more significant tariffs on Canada if the country makes a trade deal with China.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited Beijing last month to bolster trade ties with the Chinese communist regime.
Carney has said Canada has “no intention of doing that with China or any other nonmarket economy” and added that “what we have done with China is to rectify some issues that developed in the last couple of years.”
After his second term started in January 2025, Trump ordered 25 percent tariffs on imports from Canada. In August 2025, he signed an executive order increasing tariffs on Canadian goods to 35 percent for all products not covered by the U.S.–Mexico–Canada trade agreement.
The administration’s tariffs are also being considered by the Supreme Court, which is set to issue a ruling on the policy this year.
One of the House Republicans who voted against the measure, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), told The Epoch Times after the vote that the high court will ultimately assess whether the tariffs are lawful or not.
“I think that we have a say in some of these issues, like tariffs on imports. That’s Congress’s realm,” he said, adding that his Washington state district has many Canadian-owned businesses.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 02/12/2026 – 13:05
Another Pair Of Lululemon Leggings Fails The Squat Test
Another Pair Of Lululemon Leggings Fails The Squat Test
KeyBanc Capital Markets analysts, led by Ashley Owens, say Lululemon Athletica is back in the crosshairs on Reddit after another leggings line sparked see-through outrage on social media. The note follows last month’s “Get Low” backlash, when the brand was forced into damage-control mode after Redditors raged about similar issues.
Owens said a version of Lululemon’s leggings, the “scattered heart print,” was called out by some Redditors for being, as they described it, see-through when bending and squatting.
A top Redditor who goes by “persimmoncove” on the Lululemon subreddit said the scattered heart print did not pass the squat test.
Persimmoncove stated:
Sadly, the shorts and leggings are completely see-through in the squat test. I thought about it for a while and considered keeping the leggings and making sure to wear non-slip dark underwear with them, but after trying to convince myself it would work, I realized I wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about it. The shorts are more see-through than the leggings, so those earned an immediate spot in the return pile.
It’s really a shame because the print is so freaking cute and I really liked the fit. Fortunately, the bras don’t have any of the issues the bottoms do, so I’ll be keeping both of them.
This is a rare case where I wish they had just double-lined them.
Shares have fallen about 16% since the Get Low controversy broke out mid-last month.
Last month, amid the Get Low leggings debacle, founder Chip Wilson blasted the company’s board for transforming the athletic-apparel brand “from being a leader in the category to, honestly, a bit of a follower.”
Tyler Durden
Thu, 02/12/2026 – 12:45
https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/another-pair-lululemon-leggings-fails-squat-test
IEA Slashes Oil Demand Growth Forecast For 2026
IEA Slashes Oil Demand Growth Forecast For 2026
By Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice,
Global oil demand is expected to rise by 850,000 barrels per day this year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Thursday as it cut its growth estimate from 930,000 bpd expected last month.
All the 850,000 bpd growth this year is poised to come from developing economies, with China leading the additional demand, the agency said in its closely-watched Oil Market Report for February.
Petrochemical feedstock products are set to account for more than half of this year’s gains, compared with only a third in 2025 when transport fuels dominated growth, the IEA said.
The agency’s forecast is well below OPEC’s estimate of 1.4 million bpd oil demand growth this year from 2025, which the cartel reiterated in its own monthly report earlier this week. OPEC sees robust growth of 1.3 million bpd for 2027, too.
The IEA today confirmed its estimate that the oil market will be in a surplus in 2026, with supply set to rise by 2.4 million bpd in 2026, to 108.6 million bpd. Growth will be roughly evenly split between non-OPEC+ and OPEC+ producers, the agency said.
Last month, the IEA expected oil supply to rise by 2.5 million bpd this year, but it slightly revised down the estimate this month due to the winter storm in the United States and disruptions in other countries.
In January, global oil supply plunged by 1.2 million bpd to 106.6 million bpd, as severe winter weather disrupted North American operations, while outages and export constraints curtailed Kazakh, Russian, and Venezuelan flows.
But world oil supply is set to rebound in the coming months as output recovers from the plunge in January, when extreme winter weather forced the shut-in of more than 1 million bpd of output in North America, the IEA said. In addition, prolonged disruptions at Kazakhstan’s key export terminal since November were compounded by a power outage at the country’s largest oilfield, Tengiz, last month, temporarily tightening Atlantic Basin light crude markets, the agency noted.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 02/12/2026 – 12:30
https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/iea-slashes-oil-demand-growth-forecast-2026
Man charged with allegedly beating victim in fight outside downtown East Dundee bar
A Carpentersville man is facing felony aggravated battery charges after an argument inside a downtown East Dundee bar allegedly escalated into a physical fight outside in which one man was seriously injured, police said.
Alexander Hondros, 24, was arrested in connection with the Jan. 21 incident that took place sometime before 10 p.m. at Calendo’s Corner at 302 N. River St.
According to East Dundee police reports, the situation allegedly began when Hondros and another man got involved in a verbal altercation with a 52-year-old man and his 32-year-old girlfriend, resulting in all four being asked to leave the bar. The couple was injured when the fight became physical outside the business.
A bartender at Calendo’s told officers that the female victim had been arguing with someone on her phone prior to the fight and that the male victim, who appeared intoxicated, arrived a short time later and began yelling at her, the police report said.
According to the bartender’s account, Hondros and another man asked the woman is she was OK, prompting the male victim to tell them to stay out of it and provoking a verbal argument, police said. The bartender told all four people to leave, according to the report.
A witness seated outside in his car told police he saw the group leave the bar and observed Hondros walk up to the couple, punch the male victim in the face and knock him to the ground, the police report said. He then reportedly struck the woman before getting on top of the man and repeatedly punching him in the face, the police report said.
The 52-year-old man was treated at Advocate Sherman Hospital in Elgin for broken facial bones and swelling behind his left eye, the police report said.
Hondros left the scene before police arrived but was quickly located, the report said.
The second man kicked out of the bar with Hondros told police he tried to deescalate the situation and described the man who was beaten as being the initial aggressor in the situation, the report said.
After Hondros was arrested and taken to the police station, he was transported to Sherman Hospital to be treated for a laceration to the back of his head.
Video footage from a surveillance camera at The Depot confirmed the witness account of Hondros following the couple out of the bar, striking the male victim first and then continuing to hit him while he was on the ground, the police report said.
It also showed that the woman hit Hondros in defense of the male victim, which led to Hondros allegedly striking her, the rerport said.
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
Homan Says Minnesota Immigration “Surge Operation” Is Over
Homan Says Minnesota Immigration “Surge Operation” Is Over
White House border czar Tom Homan said on Thursday that the Trump administration has made significant progress in Minnesota and will therefore end the immigration enforcement surge in the state.
“I have proposed, and President Trump has concurred, that this surge operation conclude. A significant drawdown has already been underway this week and will continue into the next week,” Homan said during a presser, adding that the admin had achieved an “unprecedented level of coordination” with state law enforcement officials.
🚨 BREAKING: Tom Homan announces ICE has located 3,364 unaccompanied alien children in Minnesota so far that the Biden regime wasn’t even LOOKING for
Great job by ICE 👏
Biden and Mayorkas were complicit in the worst child traffcking operation in US history. pic.twitter.com/w99C2kSHTY
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) February 12, 2026
Homan’s announcement comes after acting ICE Director Todd Lyons announced on Tuesday that local police in Minneapolis are starting to arrest anti-ICE protesters.
For weeks, Minneapolis had been a flashpoint. Demonstrators swarmed federal agents. Officers were filmed, heckled, and in some cases assaulted while trying to carry out what Lyons described as “targeted, intelligence-driven enforcement operation[s].” Instead of focusing on apprehending criminal illegal aliens, agents were stuck navigating angry crowds, something they weren’t trained to do.
Either way, the left is chalking this up as another win – while shares of GEO tumble on empty jail cells and Pam Bondi smarts from yesterday’s self-inflicted wounds.
Here’s Bloomberg‘s spin:
The Trump administration is retreating from its immigration-enforcement blitz in Minnesota, pulling back after more than two months of operations that left two US citizens dead, spurred massive protests and torpedoed support for one of President Donald Trump’s signature policies.
The drawdown in forces, outlined Thursday by White House border czar Tom Homan, marks a major step to deescalate an operation that sparked congressional scrutiny of the administration’s tactics. Federal agents last month shot and killed Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis in incidents that were captured on video and drew national outrage.
Homan’s announcement comes one week after he announced that DHS would ‘draw down 700 people effective today’ in Minneapolis.
MASSIVE: Border Czar Tom Homan: “We currently have an unprecedented number of [Minnesota] counties communicating with us now and allowing ICE to take custody of illegal aliens before they hit the streets.” pic.twitter.com/AGGASjS0gd
— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) February 4, 2026
Much of the chaos in Minneapolis has stemmed from the sanctuary state not honoring ICE detainers. This forced the Trump administration to surge federal agents into the Democratic-run town to retrieve illegals. Then, far-left militant groups and nonprofits unleashed a well-coordinated pressure campaign (“Signal-Gate“), which only suggests to us that the Democrats’ plan all along was in hopes of spreading revolution nationwide ahead of spring.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 02/12/2026 – 11:59
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/homan-says-minnesota-immigration-surge-operation-over
