Category: News
Epstein’s Island And The Gateway To The Psychology Of Evil
Epstein’s Island And The Gateway To The Psychology Of Evil
Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.us,
Conspiracy theorists are almost always right. We have been proved right time and time again and we will continue to be right about many things that the corporate media used to call “fringe.” For those out there who are like me; people who have been trying to warn the public about these threats for 20 years or more, I just want to say: We have won a resounding victory. We brought the dark secrets of the elites into the mainstream and there’s nothing that can stop this train now.
However, the fight is far from over and don’t expect anyone to give you any awards or even recognition. It’s the nature of our work, and frankly, the best thing that can happen in the long run is that researchers and analysts like us eventually become obsolete. In the meantime, the infowar to save civilization continues.
One issue I have spearheaded in my career (along with a handful of other liberty writers) is delving into the psychology and ideology of the globalists. I find their existence to be fascinating. Revolting to be sure, but also fascinating.
The theory which I have held for two decades is that the globalists are first and foremost an occult network of organized psychopaths. Meaning, they seek out people with psychopathic traits (latent or otherwise) in order to recruit and grow their numbers. The common assumption in the general public is that psychopaths are supposed to operate in isolation; that they do not work together because they are too self absorbed to organize.
History shows us that this is simply not so.
From the Mafia, to violent drug cartels, to religious cults, to authoritarian governments, we have seen psychopaths congregate together and cooperate in the worst moments of our timeline.
They do it for mutual gain, but I believe there is an agenda that goes well beyond that.
It’s a far reaching conspiracy which the recent release of the Epstein Files seems to support.
To be clear, I think the information presented so far in the files barely scratches the surface of the evil we are dealing with. I also think it’s important to point out that people being “named” in the Epstein Files is meaningless without context.
Some public figures like Donald Trump or Elon Musk are “named” as interacting with Epstein but there is zero evidence that they participated in anything nefarious (Epstein approached ANYONE with power or influence and tried to recruit them). Furthermore, anonymous FBI tips from random weirdos do not make a criminal case. Others are named in the files and the context suggests that they have done some pretty disgusting things.
The files represent enough evidence to justify a massive international investigation, they do not represent proof of crimes that would hold up in a court of law (at least, not so far).
We may actually never see indictments of any Epstein Island regulars. As I noted in my article “Governmental Self-Preservation: Why We’ll Never See The Real Epstein List”, published last year, I do think there are many people in the Trump Administration that want to see the Epstein case lead to arrests. However, I also predicted that the revelations within the files could trigger even darker discoveries that might cause total collapse.
The people handling this info are faced with a conundrum: Pursue the light of truth, dump it all on the internet and risk full blown societal chaos, or, drip feed info to the public and try to keep the system from imploding. Forget about aliens from outer space – The disclosure of concrete proof that a luciferian cult of baby eating bankers, CEOs, politicians and bureaucrats controls the planet is the real Black Swan event.
One cannot have a meaningful discussion about the nature of power in modern civilization (post-industrial revolution) without accepting the cold hard reality that most of the key events in our recent history have been manipulated by a hidden consortium of elites. We also can’t have any legitimate debate about how to solve the problem without accepting the fact that “evil” is an undeniable constant.
It’s the common denominator, the key to the equation.
Evil is a tangible and autonomous entity that the wields influence over human society, often using people with inherent weaknesses of the soul as vessels for achieving its machinations. Yes, that sounds rather biblical, but I would argue that our religious ancestors might have had a much better grasp on the nature of evil than we do today given our futurist propensity to deny anything we can’t immediately explain with science.
The Epstein Files suggests an evil that’s beyond reckoning for many people who have never been exposed to research on globalism, and even those who have been exposed might find themselves shocked by the discoveries.
To summarize, Jeffery Epstein was not the top of the pyramid. He was also not some self serving flim-flam man selling sex and depravity just to gain access to the halls of power. Rather, Epstein was a middle-man, a drug dealer selling dopamine experiences as a reward for members of the cabal (while collecting blackmail materials). But the cabal is far bigger than what we see in the Epstein files and it supersedes any one nation or government.
There are strange mentions of “cloning”, baby farming for black market sales, and the creation of a “superior race” in the files. In other words, the interests of Epstein and his associates went well beyond sexual fetishes.
Some of the Epstein emails openly discuss sexual abuse and torture of victims brought to the island. The victimization of teens is less protected and easier to prove. Then, there’s the creepier elements of the files. Coded language is rampant within the Epstein emails, using food as symbols for clearly illicit contraband.
From the Pizzagate information (the John Podesta emails) released by Wikileaks in 2016, we can see that food code words are common for the globalists and seem to be tied to the abuse of young children. Pizza symbolism has been common within pedophilia networks for many years leading up to the exposure of Pizzagate, and it’s also common within the pages of the Epstein Files (the word “pizza” is used as code at least 900 times in the emails).
The use of “beef jerky” in the Epstein emails (also mentioned hundreds of times) is specifically disconcerting, including talk of keeping the “jerky on ice”, a strange obsession with jerky portion weights, lab testing of “jerky” to prevent sickness, etc. Whatever they are talking about, it’s not beef jerky. You have to ask yourself, what kind of edible product would be so criminal that it has to be hidden behind elaborate code-speak?
The obvious conclusion would be that “jerky” is code for human meat. Some might argue that there’s no benefits to eating human meat so why would the elites do it? These critics are operating from a logical perspective and not an occultist perspective. One cannot separate Epstein Island from occultism and still understand what happened there.
For the elites who link themselves back to the pagan practices of ancient Babylonian times, from the era of Molech worshipers (Bohemian Grove) and beyond, the ritual of cannibalism is integral to their religion. They believe that human sacrifice gives them power and this is a common thread within most pagan systems including satanism.
Luciferianism/satanism is an integral element of globalism. The evidence of its practice within globalist circles is immense and cannot be ignored. Some skeptics would denote a separation between “satanism” and “luciferianism”, but for all intents and purposes they are intertwined belief systems.
Satanists are occupied with the pursuit of pleasure at the expense of morality, while luciferians are occupied with the pursuit of power and godhood at the expense of morality. For adherents of both practices, their motto is “Do What Thou Wilt.”
As I outlined in my article “Luciferianism: A Secular Look At A Destructive Globalist Belief System”, published in 2019, global elitists derive their spiritual ecstasy from the worship of the material and the corruption of the pure. They seek to deconstruct creation and human nature, to prove that all people are as depraved as they are and that morality is an artificial limitation on power and pleasure.
Their system is rife with psychopathic indicators and I assert that luciferienism is a religion designed specifically to affirm the destructive tendencies of psychopaths and narcopaths. But what are these tendencies?
Psychopaths lack any sense of empathy and function only as parasites who feed on the rest of humanity. This is actually one of the reasons I’m fascinated by them. Not because they are particularly interesting as individuals, but because their existence seems to be a dangerous anomaly. They are less than 1% of the total human population but they cause the vast majority of human tragedies.
The average person has the capacity for evil, there’s no doubt.
People can be driven to all kinds of horrors depending on their circumstances.
But, the majority of us have a mechanism called “conscience” which stops us from committing evil most of the time. It also causes us to feel guilt when we know we have acted in a destructive manner.
If the majority of the population did not have a universal experience of conscience and morality, we would have gone extinct as a species thousands of years ago.
Globalists (psychopaths) do not have this mechanism. In fact, they view conscience as a hindrance, a trait of the weak and the easily victimized. They are a predatory class of human. I would even suggest that they are not human at all, but a mutation or a cancerous intrusion.
When psychopaths achieve overt material wealth they then have easy access to the resources they need to satisfy their impulses at will. At this stage in the evolution of a psychopath they have a tendency to become bored. They begin to chase increasing depravity and darkness in search of a greater dopamine fix. The more degenerate and taboo the activity, the more exciting it is.
But these are nothing but individual motivations and personal addictions. What are the ambitions and drives of the organized cabal?
Part of the allure of occultism is the glee some people feel when they believe they are “superior” to their common man. Occult groups sell their members on the notion that they will be set apart as “elite” when they join with the keepers of secrets.
When we read the numerous emails tied to Epstein as well as his island and his ranch in New Mexico, the people who correspond with him seem childish and giddy. They snicker like adolescent brats when they engage in codes and riddles. They’re committing atrocities beyond the comprehension of the average man, and they feel joy because they’re basking in the “cloak and dagger” of it all.
I think this might be a hard thing to reconcile for many people in the conspiracy field, but the cabal is not made up of darkly brilliant minds imposing cold and calculating will. Rather, it is mostly made up of egomaniacal narcissists giggling like retards as they revel in their delusions of grandeur. If you saw how these people behave behind the scenes, you would probably feel embarrassed for them and feel like an idiot for imagining them to be cunning or untouchable masterminds.
Without their money and the collective protection of their coven, they are tiny people without merit living a meaningless existence. That said, make no mistake – It’s the putrid sociopathy of their childishness that makes them exceedingly dangerous. To be infantile while rejoicing in the blood of innocence requires a diabolical and demonic mind.
From my research Epstein’s Island might have been tame in comparison to some of the other meeting places of the elites. His island was not the end destination but a gateway for initiates. I believe the island was a test, a venue where evil is concentrated and people with apprehensions are filtered away.
The worst of the worst likely moved on to even more vile nesting grounds hidden in plain site around the world. The reason the Epstein Files matter is because they open the door to a wider investigation of the globalist networks and their horrific playgrounds.
I suggest that we need to bring back the concept of “witch hunters”; people who are able to think like occultists while using modern investigative methods in order to track down these networks and erase them from the Earth. If government officials refuse to do this, then vigilantism is inevitable.
Unfortunately, it’s no mistake that globalist NGOs have flooded the west with third world migrants and mobilized armies of far left insurgents in the past few years. After the pandemic they know that the public is reaching information saturation and that their agenda is coming to light. They will seek to overthrow conservative movements, exploit useful idiots to destroy their enemies and cause general mayhem in order to sabotage any organized resistance.
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Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ZeroHedge.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 02/11/2026 – 16:20
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/epsteins-island-and-gateway-psychology-evil
Peso cubano toca su mínimo, expertos dicen que refleja el impacto del cerco energético de EEUU
Por ANDREA RODRÍGUEZ
LA HABANA (AP) — El peso cubano se depreció el miércoles hasta alcanzar su mínimo histórico respecto del dólar en el mercado de cambios informal, lo que según expertos es efecto del ataque de Estados Unidos a Venezuela y la amenaza de sanciones de Donald Trump a los países que vendan petróleo a la isla.
El dólar cotizó a 500 pesos cubanos por unidad desde los 438 pesos cubanos el 3 de enero, cuando fue capturado el despuesto presidente venezolano Nicolás Maduro. Durante dos décadas el país sudamericano le vendió petróleo a la isla a precios preferenciales, un suministro ahora interrumpido.
“No es una buena noticia”, dijo a The Associated Press Ricardo Torres, economista cubano de la Universidad Americana de Washington. “Muchas cosas se venden directamente ya en dólares” pese a que “la mayoría de los cubanos no tienen ingresos estables en dólares”.
El salario promedio en la isla es de 7.000 pesos cubanos —unos 14 dólares en el mercado informal— y un cartón de huevos se consigue por 3.000 pesos cubanos. Desde hace décadas los cubanos reciben una cartilla de abastecimiento con alimentos como arroz, frijoles, carne, sal, azúcar, aceite y artículos de aseo. Y muchos miles subsisten gracias a las remesas que reciben de sus familiares emigrados.
La última medida de Trump ha golpeado a la isla, cuya economía se contrajo un 15% en los últimos seis años debido al impacto de la paralización por la pandemia de COVID-19 y el endurecimiento de las sanciones estadounidenses.
Cuba produce sólo el 40% del crudo necesario para su economía. Además de Venezuela, Rusia y México eran sus proveedores habituales.
A su vez, la isla debe importar muchos de los alimentos básicos de su dieta y los ingresos por la venta de servicios y turismo se han visto seriamente afectados en el último lustro.
La falta de combustible ya es notoria, con limitaciones en el transporte público, lo que se suma a los recurrentes apagones y la escasez de alimentos y medicinas.
El mercado cambiario cubano, fuertemente controlado por el Estado, tiene otras tasas: de 24 pesos cubanos por dólar para algunas empresas estatales y de 120 para otras, hasta una tasa “flotante” impuesta en diciembre para tratar de atraer divisas al sistema bancario. Esta última, que publica diariamente el Banco Central, estaba el miércoles en 455 pesos cubanos por dólar.
“Hay muy pocas formas de escaparte” de la depreciación de la moneda, dijo el economista Torres.
Pavel Vidal, profesor e investigador de la Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Cali, en Colombia, agregó que la moneda isleña llegó el miércoles al “límite psicológico” de 500 pesos cubanos por dólar, “una barrera que aún en las condiciones complicadas en las cuales venía la economía cubana, el mercado había respetado”.
Ambos economistas anticiparon que la depreciación del peso cubano se traducirá en inflación y consideraron que el gobierno tiene poco margen de acción.
“Ahora todo depende de las negociaciones internacionales de este complicado ajedrez político. Con Estados Unidos, China, Rusia, México o los otros apoyos que puedan venir, en principio, para evitar una crisis humanitaria”, dijo Vidal.
Esta semana Cuba informó a pilotos y compañías aéreas internacionales que se quedará sin combustible para abastecer a los aviones, aunque los aeropuertos permanecen operativos. Algunas aerolíneas informaron que repostarán en otras plazas, mientras Air Canada suspendió sus rutas a la isla. Canadá es uno de los principales emisores de turismo a Cuba, por lo que se prevé un impacto para el sector en los próximos meses.
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Siga a Andrea Rodríguez en X: https://x.com/ARodriguezAP
Franjo von Allmen atrapa su 3er oro y la NHL regresa oficialmente a los Juegos Olímpicos
Por JAMES ELLINGWORTH
MILÁN (AP) — El suizo Franjo von Allmen se proyecta como la gran revelación de los Juegos Olímpicos de Milán-Cortina tras atrapar su tercera medalla de oro. Jordan Stolz tiene un oro y apunta a tres más. Mientras que Chloe Kim y un grupo de estrellas de la NHL apenas están comenzando.
Von Allmen se consagró el miércoles en el super-G en Bormio para convertirse en el tercer hombre con tres oros en esquí alpino en una misma edición de los Juegos de Invierno. La última vez ocurrió en 1968.
Sin embargo, eso no es una prioridad para Von Allmen, quien manifestó que simplemente se mantiene en el momento. En cuanto a la historia, añadió que “quizá en unos años sea importante para mí”.
Von Allmen ganó el descenso el sábado y, junto con Tanguy Nef, se llevó el combinado por equipos el lunes.
El primero de cuatro posibles
Jordan Stolz ganó el primero de lo que podrían ser cuatro oros en estos Juegos Olímpicos de Invierno, en los 1.000 metros de patinaje de velocidad masculino.
Además, el joven de 21 años estableció un récord olímpico, pero tuvo que esperar más de lo habitual para que se confirmara su victoria después de que le dieron a otro patinador una repetición después de ser golpeado durante su carrera.
Cuando el neerlandés Joep Wennermars no logró superar a Stolz, llegó el momento de que el estadounidense diera una demorada vuelta olímpica.
Las estrellas de la NHL regresan al hielo olímpico
El disco se puso en juego en el hockey masculino el miércoles, marcando el regreso de los jugadores de la NHL a los Juegos por primera vez desde 2014.
Comenzó con un nuevo espectáculo de Juraj Slafkovsky.
El delantero eslovaco que deslumbró en los Juegos Olímpicos de 2022 como MVP del torneo con 17 años regresó como estrella de la NHL con los Canadiens de Montreal y retomó donde se quedó hace cuatro años.
Slafkovsky terminó con dos goles, incluido el que abrió el torneo, y una asistencia para que Eslovaquia sorprendiera con una victoria 4-1 sobre Finlandia, el campeón olímpico de 2022.
La NHL optó por no darle permiso a sus atletas para los Juegos Olímpicos de Pyeongchang 2018, y los problemas de calendario relacionados con la pandemia llevaron a la liga a saltarse los Juegos de Beijing 2022.
Kim arranca a toda velocidad
El camino de Chloe Kim hacia el triplete de títulos inició de forma prometedora en la ronda de clasificación del halfpipe a pesar de que llevaba un soporte en el hombro.
Después de que una lesión en el hombro interrumpiera su preparación para los Juegos, Kim atribuyó a su memoria muscular y a un hombro “muy bien portado” que le permitió avanzar a la final del jueves.
En otras pruebas en las montañas, Elizabeth Lemley y Jaelin Kauf ganaron oro y plata para Estados Unidos en baches de esquí estilo libre femenino. La anfitriona Italia sumó su tercer oro cuando Andrea Voetter y Marion Oberhofer ganaron sorpresivamente una nueva prueba: luge doble femenino.
El noruego Jens Luraas Oftebro superó a sus rivales y avanzó abriéndose paso entre nieve profunda y pastosa para ganar el oro en la prueba de colina normal del combinado nórdico. Y en el biatlón individual femenino de 15 kilómetros, Julia Simon se convirtió en la primera francesa en ganar el oro y su compañera Lou Jeanmonnot se llevó la plata.
Equipo de Canadá, “destrozado” tras un tiroteo
El equipo canadiense en los Juegos Olímpicos de Invierno emitió un comunicado en el que afirma estar “destrozado” tras despertar con la noticia de un tiroteo escolar mortal en Tumbler Ridge, Columbia Británica.
“Nuestros pensamientos están con las familias que han perdido a seres queridos, con quienes están heridos y con toda la comunidad de Tumbler Ridge”, señaló el comunicado.
El enfrentamiento entre el atleta ucraniano Vladyslav Heraskevych y el Comité Olímpico Internacional continúa después de que decidiera entrenar con un casco decorado con retratos de ucranianos muertos en ataques rusos, muchos de ellos atletas. El COI dice que no permitirá el casco en competencia.
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Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
Aurora to do environmental study ahead of demolishing Central Garage
Aurora is moving forward with an environmental study looking at the site of its Central Garage, which it is planning to one day tear down.
On Tuesday, City Council approved a contract for a third party to do a “comprehensive site investigation” of the property at 720 N. Broadway, which used to house various Public Works divisions including street maintenance, downtown maintenance as well as fleet and equipment services. Earlier studies found some contamination, which prompted the comprehensive investigation, city officials have said.
Aurora recently consolidated multiple buildings’ worth of fleet operations into a single building: the new Public Works facility at 2185 Liberty St. which opened last year and recently won an award from the Fox Valley branch of the American Public Works Association.
Jason Bauer, Aurora’s director of Public Works, said at Tuesday’s City Council meeting that the project was “very exciting” since his department for the last 40 or more years was in “hand-me-down” buildings that weren’t designed for these types of things and were in bad shape.
The new facility has been “a long time coming,” he said, as people who started 30 years ago were told from day one that a new building was right around the corner.
The department’s previous three buildings — Central Garage along with one for the Electrical Department and one for the Water and Sewer Department — needed about $5.3 million in repairs, officials have said.
About $4.2 million of those repairs were needed at the Central Garage, and so it was said at the time that the building would be torn down. The nearly 8-acre site, which runs along the Fox River and nearby bike trails, was considered a prime development location.
Now the city is working towards fully decommissioning and demolishing the Central Garage to get that property ready to market for future development, Capital Projects Manager Ian Wade told the Aurora City Council’s Infrastructure and Technology Committee on Jan. 26. City officials have said that there are no firm plans for the site yet.
A phase one review of the site has already taken place, and initial phase two investigations found contaminates in samples taken at the site.
But Wade said at the committee meeting last month that these results don’t mean that there are “alarms going off” — the findings were to be expected from a site that had been used for fueling and similar things.
Now that the contract has been approved by the Aurora City Council, Fehr Graham of Rockford will do a comprehensive site investigation of the Central Garage at a cost of around $135,000.
Aurora also previously had an asbestos and lead paint survey done in 2025, according to a city staff report about the project, and so contracts for work to remove asbestos from the building may come forward for City Council approval later this year.
rsmith@chicagotribune.com
Hearing on injuntion against work at Hobart data center site postponed
Lake Superior Court Judge Bruce Parent set a new date to hear an injunction filed by a group of Hobart residents to halt early aspects of an Amazon data center.
Parent, who noted the packed hearing room filled with Hobart residents, said there wasn’t adequate time at Wednesday’s one-hour allotted session for both sides to make their presentations on the case.
“Sorry to disappoint you all,” Parent said.
The new hearing was set for 9 a.m. on March 9 in Lake Superior Court.
The four residents, including Angelita Soriano, Albina Venegas-Roman, Barbara Koteles and Joseph Conn, filed the motion for preliminary injunction on Feb. 5, citing violations of local law and due process.
The four residents in their lawsuit are seeking to stop earthmoving activities related to the proposed Hobart Data Center campus at 61st Avenue and Arizona Street.
“The legal fight is now on,” Conn said after the hearing, adding, “I’m glad this judge is giving it adequate time and his attention.”
Soriano said while she was disappointed the judge didn’t make a ruling, she’s glad he is paying attention in his courtroom.
Parent, at the beginning of the hearing, said it was “a rare occasion” when his courtroom is filled.
“He (the judge) sees that the courtroom was filled and even though he didn’t hear the case, he recognized the full courtroom and that the community has our back,” Soriano said.
The motion filed by the four Hobart residents asks the court to void a fill permit approved by the Hobart Plan Commission on Nov. 6 and to prohibit Hobart Owner, LLC, from conducting any grading or earthmoving on the property located southeast of 61st Avenue and Arizona Street.
The petition, filed against Hobart Devco and now known as Hobart Owner, was for a fill permit for an 168-parcel located south of 61st Avenue and Arizona Street intersection, court documents state.
A majority of the plan commission on Nov. 6 voted “yes,” approving a request by petitioner Todd Leeth for a permit at an 168-acre parcel located south of the 61st Avenue and Arizona Street intersection.
According to the court filing, the plan commission on Nov. 6 approved the fill permit without a legally required site plan, drainage plan or a complete fill permit application, which are actions residents argue directly violate Hobart’s municipal code.
The lawsuit challenges the city of Hobart’s Plan Commission decision to convert a site plan review application into a fill permit during a public meeting, despite the application lacking basic information required under city ordinance. Residents allege that approving earthwork without a site plan prevents meaningful public review and undermines environmental and infrastructure protections, court documents state.
The filing also notes that Indiana courts apply a heightened standard when government actions are plainly unlawful, allowing injunctive relief to protect the public interest even before final judgment.
The plaintiffs are represented by attorney David E. Dearing of Dearing Law Firm.
Dearing said that although he was disappointed the judge wasn’t able to go forward with the hearing, he understood the judge’s scheduling issues.
Tim Ochs, an attorney for Hobart Owner, LLC, said, “We look forward to continuing the process in the court.”
Other attorneys at the hearing included Hobart City attorney Heather McCarthy; David Westland, an attorney representing the city of Hobart; Drew Miroff, an attorney with Hobart Owner, LLC; and Greg Neibarger, an attorney representing Amazon.
The four Hobart residents, Soriano, Venegas-Roman, Koteles and Conn, in early December filed the first lawsuit seeking to vacate multiple actions by Hobart city officials that have “prepared” the way for the possible construction of an Amazon data center on more than a square mile of farmland within city limits.
The plaintiffs allege the two municipal bodies, the Hobart City Council and the Hobart Plan Commission, violated their “due process rights under the constitution of the United States and the State of Indiana.
Soriano, during the Hobart City Council meeting on Jan. 21, announced that she and three other homeowners had filed a second lawsuit against city officials regarding action taken by city officials on Jan. 7, which included approval of the $47 million contribution.
Hobart Mayor Josh Huddlestun has called the $47 million upfront cash payment Hobart received late last month “record-breaking.”
“Hobart secured the largest publicly known upfront cash payment ever for a private development on private land in the country. The developer (Amazon) will pay $47 million in community enhancement payments. These dollars are not part of the levy and not part of any TIF (Tax Increment Finance) district. They (funds) go straight to the city and can be used to serve the whole community,” Huddlestun said previously.
Deborah Laverty is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
House amends immigration bill extending to local, state police
An Indiana immigration bill allowing local and state police to enforce federal immigration laws and for those officers to cooperate with ICE was amended Tuesday
Senate Bill 76, authored by State Sen. Liz Brown, states that the enforcement of federal immigration laws may be carried out by federal, state or local law enforcement. Under the bill, the department of correction will provide training to all sheriffs-elect on how to cooperate with the United States immigration and Customs Enforcement.
When the bill was heard on second reading by the House Tuesday, state representatives proposed 25 amendments to the bill. Six amendments passed and the remaining 19 amendments failed.
The bill was amended in the House Judiciary committee last week by State Rep. J.D. Prescott, R-Union City, to more closely align with the bill he proposed last year known as the FAIRNESS Act: Fostering and Advancing Immigration Reforms Necessary to Ensure Safety and Security. Attorney General Todd Rokita criticized Brown, R-Ft. Wayne, after the 2025 session for not advancing the FAIRNESS Act when it reached a Senate committee she chaired.
The bill allows the attorney general to sue a government agency, school or jail that doesn’t comply with federal immigration officials with a penalty of $10,000 for each violation. The amendment also states that a government body can’t be sued for complying with the bill.
If someone is detained under an immigration detainer request, the bill states that the governmental body should give the judge authority to either grant or deny the person’s release on bail as well as record in their file, comply with and inform the detainee of the immigration detainer request.
The bill prohibits an employer from recklessly or intentionally hiring or employing an undocumented immigrant and allows the Attorney General to sue employers who hire undocumented immigrants and report the person to the United States Department of Homeland Security.
Further, the bill requires the legislature to receive a report with data with the number of Hoosiers who aren’t citizens and are enrolled in or receiving benefits through the Indiana Residential Care Assistance Program, public assistance and welfare programs, family assistance services, Medicaid and Community Mental Health Services.
If a law enforcement officer, government body or educational institution is suedm the attorney general shall defend the party, the bill states. It also removes mens rea standard — or criminal intent — when it comes to governmental or educational institutions for violating the citizenship and immigration status information and enforcement of federal laws.
The bill allows the governor to withhold state grants or funding to a city that doesn’t comply with the law.
Prescott proposed an amendment to state that if an employer provides evidence of “reasonable diligence” to check an employee’s work eligibility then the employer hasn’t broken the law. The employer section was further amended to state that an employer should engage in “diligence to confirm work eligibility” of an employee.
The bill was amended to state that the legislature would like to receive the amount of money the state spent on undocumented immigrants receiving state benefits. Undocumented immigrants are already ineligible for most benefit programs. The only non-citizens who may qualify are lawful permanent residents, or Green card holders; asylees; and other legal residents under temporary protected status, according to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.
The bill was further amended to state law enforcement actions can’t violate federal or state laws.
The bill was amended to allow someone subjected to an immigration detainer request to challenge the immigration detainer request proving he or she was misidentified or that he or she has citizenship. Finally, the bill was amended to include Miami Correctional Facility Reporting requirements.
State Rep. Earl Harris, D-East Chicago, filed an amendment to remove a provision that would have penalized employers for having undocumented workers on their payroll.
“The employer provisions risk Indiana’s fiscal stability and long-term economic growth as a heavy manufacturing and agricultural state,” Harris said. “We need more robust discussion and vetting from our state’s biggest employers before we blow up the state’s industries.”
Prescott said the employer portions of the bill were examined by the Chamber of Commerce and Manufacturers Association to protect employers who follow proper hiring procedures but also hold employers accountable who are knowingly hiring undocumented immigrants.
The voice vote of the amendment was challenged as a division of the house and a vote count totaled 41-55. The amendment failed.
State Rep. Maureen Bauer, D-South Bend, proposed an amendment to ensure an agriculture employer wouldn’t be in violation of the law if an employee is in the process of applying for or transitioning to a federally authorized agricultural work visa. The amendment failed.
Bauer proposed another amendment based on a moment that occurred when the bill was being discussed in the House Judiciary committee. In committee, Ryan Neuhaus, formerly of the Heritage Foundation, said he supports the bill because immigration leads to the mixing of populations.
When Bauer asked him if that’s a bad thing, Neuhaus said of course.
Bauer proposed an amendment to state that a government body shouldn’t take action to prohibit, deny, restrict or interfere with the right to marry based on race, color, ethnicity or national origin.
“Members, you deserve the opportunity to do here what was not done in committee. To denounce those beliefs clearly and publicly,” Bauer said. “Those words are not abstract. They echo ideas this country has rejected before.”
The amendment was ruled out of order.
State Rep. Ed DeLaney, D-Indianapolis, filed four amendments to ensure university and school police don’t have to enforce immigration laws. One of the amendments included hospital police officers. All four amendments failed.
DeLaney offered an amendment to state that if the Attorney General determines that probable cause exists that a governmental body or school has violated the law and notifies the governor, the governor should appoint an outside counsel to investigate the matter.
Rokita shouldn’t be “put in another messy situation,” DeLaney said.
“Talk about a conflict,” DeLaney said. “The poor man has enough ethical problems already without our passing a bill that imposes one on him. So help him out, will ya? Take him off of this responsibility. He can’t fulfill it legitimately.”
The amendment failed.
The bill moves forward for final consideration by the House.
‘Harold and Maude’ star Bud Cort dies at 77
Bud Cort, who personified the role of Harold in the 1971 Hal Ashby classic “Harold and Maude,” died Wednesday in Connecticut after a long illness. He was 77.
His longtime friend Dorian Hannaway reported his death.
Cort also starred in Robert Altman’s “Brewster McCloud” and had roles in numerous other films and TV shows.
In “Harold and Maude,” which became a beloved and enduring cult classic despite a rocky start at the box office, Cort played a 20-year old man obsessed by thoughts of suicide whose life changes when he meets Maude, a 79-year-old Holocaust survivor played by Ruth Gordon.
Born Walter Edward Cox in Rye, N.Y., he changed his name to avoid confusion with character actor Wally Cox. He went to school in New Rochelle, N.Y. and enjoyed going to Broadway shows.
“I was only fourteen when I met Bud at the backstage door at my sister’s play,” Roslyn Kind recalled in a statement. “He was majoring in art at the time in high school. We became close friends who shared our interest in entertainment. When I got married, Bud and our songwriter friend, Bruce Roberts, wrote a special song that was performed at the ceremony. His unique spirit will always be with me.”
Cort moved to Los Angeles to work in film, and was cast by Altman in a small part in “MASH.” Altman then selected his to star in the quirky “Brewster McCloud” about a young man who yearns to fly, with Sally Kellerman as a guardian angel.
“We were in the line for lunch when I spotted him,” she later recalled. “Although I didn’t know who he was, I said ‘Oh, boy. We’re going to be best friends.’”
His chemistry with Gordon while auditioning for the part of Harold convinced Ashby and writer Colin Higgins to cast him in “Harold and Maude,” which has endured as a repertory screening favorite for more than 50 years. He was nominated for a BAFTA award as most promising newcomer and for a Golden Globe for best actor in a musical or comedy.
“A young man obsessed with death falls in love with an old woman obsessed with life. She dies and teaches the kid how to live,” Cameron Crowe described it for AFI in 2011. “And it’s done with music [by Cat Stevens] that scratches at your soul. . . . that movie holds up — to this minute.”
His other roles included films “She Dances Alone,” “Electric Dreams” and “The Life Aquatic,” as well as “Heat,” “Dogma,” “Coyote Ugly” and “Pollock.”
He also voiced the character Toyman in “Superman: The Animated Series,” “Static Shock” and “Justic League Unlimited.” He co-wrote, starred in and directed the 1991 film “Ted and Venus.”
In 1979, Cort narrowly survived a devastating car accident, which necessitated numerous surgeries and affected his career.
He is survived by his brother Joseph Cox and his sister-in-law Vickie and their daughters, Meave, Brytnn, and Jesse of Rye, N.Y.; his sister Kerry Cox of Larchmont, N.Y.; his sister and brother-in-law, Tracy Cox Berkman and Edward Berkman, and their sons, Daniel and Peter. He is also survived by his sister, Shelly Cox Dufour and brother-in-law Robert Dufour, and nieces Madeline and Lucie.
A memorial will be held at a future date in Los Angeles.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/11/bud-cort-harold-and-maude/
Chicago police workforce study calls for hundreds of cops, civilians to be hired
A long-awaited analysis of the Chicago Police Department’s staffing and deployment calls for the hiring of hundreds more officers while urging scores of other positions be shifted to civilians.
Citing “real and uneven staffing pressures,” the study and model developed by California-based Matrix Consulting Group found that “while overall staffing levels may appear stable, workload analysis shows significant variation by geography, unit, and function, resulting in inconsistent service levels, constrained proactive time, and limited supervisory capacity in high-demand areas.”
Allyson Clark Henson, executive director of CPD’s Office of Constitutional Policing & Reform, told the Tribune that the study recommended CPD shift about 600 positions from sworn officers to civilians, while hiring an additional 270 officers and creating 90 new sergeant positions.
Clark Henson noted, too, that the Matrix model can serve as the department’s North Star for years to come.
“The results of this (study) provide for us a foundational analytical framework that’s going to be able to guide a multi-year initiative that’s replicable, it’s data-driven and it allows us to evaluate staffing,” Henson said. “This isn’t a static report. This is something that will allow us to evaluate staffing needs as conditions change on an ongoing basis.”
CPD released an executive summary of the report Wednesday, and the full report is expected to be published in the coming weeks.
CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling said he was not surprised by the study’s takeaways, but praised its comprehensiveness.
“There are a lot of suggestions in here that I expected, like (hiring) more police officers (and) more supervisors. That was the expectation,” Snelling told the Tribune. “But as we go through and we see the final product, it’ll shed a little more light on what we’re doing right now, so I’m very optimistic about what we’re seeing.”
The study is the first of its kind since 2021. That analysis, conducted by the University of Chicago Crime Lab, found deployment levels decline during the weekend overnight time periods when shootings are most common.
However, a year later, former police Superintendent David Brown called the study lacking. He announced plans to seek his own officer deployment evaluation — plans that never came together before he left his post in March 2023.
Matrix found CPD places sworn officers into administrative and supportive roles at a far greater rate than other comparable police departments, and reassigning those officers to street work — where their training and skills would be of most use — would have widespread benefits.
“Civilianization is not a workforce reduction strategy; rather, it is a redeployment strategy intended to ensure sworn officers are assigned where police authority and training are most needed,” the study’s summary reads.
City employment data show that of CPD’s 12,200 employees, about 11,500 are sworn police officers.
The prospect of reassigning hundreds of officers and sergeants — all of whom are represented by collective bargaining units — will require CPD leaders to carefully assess each position considered for change.
“CPD recognizes that civilianization recommendations cannot be implemented wholesale,” the study summary reads. “Each recommendation must be evaluated through the lenses of collective bargaining obligations, historical role classifications, operational risk, and budget feasibility. As a result, CPD is undertaking a structured validation process … to determine which civilianization recommendations can be advanced in the near term and which require longer-range planning or modification.”
John Catanzara, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7, which represents rank-and-file CPD officers and detectives, didn’t respond to a request for comment.
In January, during a status hearing in the city’s federal consent decree, CPD officials said increased civilian hiring efforts were already underway. By the end of 2026, they said, the police department hopes to hire 25 civilian investigators to be assigned to the Bureau of Internal Affairs.
The study — mandated by the consent decree — has remained an elusive target for the Police Department. Snelling previously blamed “red tape” for the repeated delays in producing it.
“The answer that many workforce allocation studies say — they usually say — is, ‘You need more police,’” Tim Daly, director of Gun Violence Prevention & Justice Reform Program at the Joyce Foundation, one of the study’s funders, told the Chicago Police Board in November 2024.
“And that’s where I think it could lead to some tough decisions.”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/11/chicago-police-study/
FDA Refuses To Review Moderna’s Application For Experimental Flu Shot
FDA Refuses To Review Moderna’s Application For Experimental Flu Shot
Authored by Troy Myers via The Epoch Times,
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is refusing to review Moderna’s experimental flu shot, the company announced Tuesday.
Already submitted and accepted for review in the European Union, Canada, and Australia, the experimental shot’s application being denied by the FDA is another sign of President Donald Trump’s administration’s impact on U.S. pharmaceutical companies.
FDA Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) Director Vinayak Prasad signed the refusal to review letter, objecting to Moderna’s study design and its lack of an “adequate and well-controlled” study.
Moderna’s CEO refuted to Prasad’s assessment.
“It should not be controversial to conduct a comprehensive review of a flu vaccine submission that uses an FDA-approved vaccine as a comparator in a study that was discussed and agreed on with CBER prior to starting,” Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in the news release.
According to the pharmaceutical company, the FDA did not identify any specific safety or efficacy concerns with the experimental flu shot, called mRNA-1010.
Health and Human Services (HHS), under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., announced its plan in August 2025 to begin winding down mRNA vaccine development, including the cancellation and de-scoping of contracts and solicitations. The decision came after a review of mRNA-related investments started during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu. We’re shifting that funding toward safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate,” Kennedy said in the news release.
The HHS secretary added that his agency will be investing in better solutions.
In the latest setback with Moderna’s experimental mRNA shot, the company called the move by the FDA “inconsistent” with prior feedback it has received from the agency.
In April 2024, Moderna submitted its phase three study to the FDA’s CBER for review. The agency sent written guidance back, which did not raise any objections about the phase three trial, Moderna said.
Following the completion of the experimental shot’s phase three efficacy trial in August 2025, Moderna held another meeting with the FDA agency for feedback. The Moderna news release said that at no time during the meeting or in written feedback did CBER hint that it would refuse to review the shot’s application.
“This decision by CBER, which did not identify any safety or efficacy concerns with our product, does not further our shared goal of enhancing America’s leadership in developing innovative medicines,” Bancel said.
With mRNA-1010’s acceptance for review in the European Union, Canada, and Australia, Moderna said it plans to file more submissions in additional countries this year.
Meanwhile, the drug company has requested a meeting with the FDA agency to understand the path forward.
“We look forward to engaging with CBER to understand the path forward as quickly as possible so that America’s seniors, and those with underlying conditions, continue to have access to American-made innovations,” the CEO said.
The refusal to review Moderna’s experimental flu vaccine comes as the Trump administration is making sweeping changes to the U.S. health complex, like inverting the food pyramid, narrowing the childhood vaccine schedule, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention admitting vaccines may cause autism, and more.
RFK Jr. helped launch the Make America Healthy Again movement, which is advocating for healthier diets, safer farming practices, more awareness of store-bought foods laden with chemicals, and trying to identify the root causes of chronic disease.
The FDA refusing to review Moderna’s experimental flu shot becomes the latest setback for big pharmaceutical companies under the Trump administration.
The pharmaceutical company said it does not expect impacts to its 2026 financial guidance and forecasts the earliest approvals for its experimental flu shot to begin late 2026 or early 2027.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 02/11/2026 – 15:45
https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/fda-refuses-review-modernas-application-experimental-flu-shot
Waukegan school board members praise students’ walkout, march: ‘They are speaking up for all of us’
Hours after more than 500 students walked out of both campuses of Waukegan High School on Friday, marching to Veterans Plaza to protest the immigration enforcement policies of President Donald Trump’s administration, social media was abuzz with criticism, praise and inaccuracies.
Comments ranged from “keep walking back to the countries your parents came from,” to “this country has a great future with these kids standing up for our Constitution and fellow citizens,” to criticism of a large cross carried by the students with an image of Trump nailed to it.
On Wednesday, the Lake County News-Sun’s Facebook page had more than 900 comments and 80 shares on the newspaper’s story published online Saturday. Some social media commenters suggested that school officials organized the walkout.
Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 Board of Education President Michael Rodriguez said Tuesday he was asked to resign by a member of the public for his alleged role in organizing the event. He said the students did it themselves, and he is proud of them.
Rodriguez said neither the board, the administration nor any teachers or staff, had anything to do with the walkout and march. It was organized and led by students, he said, providing the community with a “lesson in civics.”
“These children have done something which I am proud of; very proud of,” he said. “I think we all owe them a debt of gratitude. They are not just speaking up for themselves; they are speaking up for all of us who feel helpless to do anything.”
More than 500 Waukegan High School students approach Veterans Plaza after walking out of school at the end of seventh period to protest federal government immigration enforcement tactics on Friday in Waukegan. (Steve Sadin/For the Lake County News-Sun)
Rodriguez and four other board members praised the student demonstrators during a Board of Education Meeting on Tuesday at the Education Service Center in Waukegan, in attempting to correct misconceptions expressed on social media and elsewhere.
Board members made it clear during the meeting that the walkout was a student-organized demonstration.
Nick Alatzakis, the district’s communications director, said after the meeting the district received numerous phone calls, emails and social media postings criticizing the walkout and the school’s participation. He did not have a precise number.
Alatzakis said there were “a good number of” communications about the cross with Trump’s image on it, but more were about the walkout itself, both for and against. Based on the district’s technology system, school personnel had an idea where the communications originated.
“A lot of the communications did not mention it specifically,” he said. “A lot of the critical calls were not from Waukegan. Locally, the calls and social media were different. They were more supportive of our students.”
Though there was criticism of the cross with Trump’s image affixed to it, the Rev. Julie Congrares, a Waukegan pastor active in the immigrant community, said in an interview Tuesday morning, it was not sacrilegious.
“The cross is a symbol of the Crucifixion of Jesus,” Contreras said. “This is a piece of art with the artist’s message. It’s his interpretation. His cross represents justice, not the Crucifixion.”
Students who left school early without a note from their parents — the walkout started after seventh period at around 1:30 p.m. — will be marked down for an unexcused absence. Alatzakis said any discipline will be treated that way. The severity will depend on the individual student’s overall attendance record.
On Friday, Alatzakis said there were 1,300 fewer students in school for the eighth period than there were during the third period that morning. Waukegan police estimated around 500 people were at Veterans Plaza. There is no precise reason for the differential.
Rodriguez said part of the reason he believes the students organized a protest is that nothing is being done to ease the pain many of their families are feeling as the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies continue. Families are living in fear, he said.
“They don’t want to just sit back and wait for the adults to do something they don’t see as being done,” Rodriguez said. “They’re taking matters into their own hands. These are children, technically, but these are young adults. There are the young men and women who are going to be our doctors, our lawyers, teachers, our superintendents.”
Board member Rick Riddle said the students gave everyone a lesson in democracy. When elected leaders do things with which individuals disagree, taking action to communicate a message is appropriate, he said.
“I want to say something about democracy,” Riddle said. “We have leadership in our school from our young people who felt the need to get involved. We are going to be turning over power to you in a few years. Democracy is not always going to be there unless you fight for it.”
Board member Carolina Fabian said adults in the community need to “verify your sources before posting and reposting falsehoods.” Though teachers, administrators and board members were not involved with the walkout, there was learning involved.
“Learning comes in various forms,” Fabian said. “This moment created an opportunity for student leaders to learn and emerge and work with city officials. It gave them the opportunity to work with their peers to demonstrate civics in action.”
Board member Christine Lensiong said crises of her parents’ generation — the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy — and the impact she had learning of the 9/11 attack on the United States while in school brought the country together. Today’s issues do the opposite. Students needed to act, she said.
“Two of our high school students led the charge and organized this walkout in two days,” Lensing said. “(Protests) need to be organized, peaceful, purposeful and, of course, safe. It’s not an opportunity to get out of class. It is a protected right under our Constitution.”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/11/waukegan-school-board-student-walkout/
