Category: News
Musk: “Time To Go Back To Moon At Scale”
Musk: “Time To Go Back To Moon At Scale”
A little more than a day after The Wall Street Journal reported that Elon Musk had rejiggered SpaceX’s near-term space roadmap, pivoting from a Mars-first to now prioritizing the Moon, Musk has now effectively confirmed the reporting.
“Time to go back to the Moon at scale,” Musk wrote on X early Sunday morning.
Time to go back to the Moon at scale https://t.co/rFjaenmQZd
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 8, 2026
X user Autism Capital hilariously responded to Musk with “Back”…
“Back” pic.twitter.com/h1W3ilKx6k
— Autism Capital 🧩 (@AutismCapital) February 8, 2026
Late Friday evening, WSJ cited sources who said Musk had pushed back the planned late-year Mars mission, with SpaceX now targeting a Starship launch to the Moon in March 2027.
The space pivot comes after SpaceX acquired Musk’s AI company, xAI, last week, combining his rocket and satellite business with his artificial intelligence startup to accelerate plans for a fleet of low-Earth-orbit data centers.
The deal gives SpaceX a valuation of $1 trillion, and xAI a value of $250 billion. The combined company’s valuation of $1.25 trillion was announced to employees in a memo on Monday, with an IPO slated for later this year that could raise as much as $50 billion.
Even though Musk previously dismissed the moon as a “distraction” and argued for Mars first, it appears NASA may have nudged him, especially as Jeff Bezos’s rocket company, Blue Origin, has paused space tourism launches to focus on the moon.
Kardashev II civilization or bust.
Starship will get us to the Moon and Mars. pic.twitter.com/L9vhMOdDPK
— Tesla Owners Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV) February 7, 2026
In a memo earlier last week, Musk told employees that the pivot will pave the way for the U.S. to construct a permanent base on the moon.
“The capabilities we unlock by making space-based data centers a reality will fund and enable self-growing bases on the moon, an entire civilization on Mars, and ultimately expansion to the universe,” he said.
Musk expanded on the idea of space-based data centers last week in an eye-opening conversation with tech podcaster and researcher Dwarkesh Patel, saying: “In 36 months, the cheapest place to put AI will be space.”
“Solar cells are already very cheap. They’re farcically cheap. I think solar cells in China are around 25-30 cents per watt. It’s absurdly cheap. Now put it in space, and it’s five times cheaper. In fact, it’s not five times cheaper, it’s 10 times cheaper because you don’t need any batteries. So the moment your cost of access to space becomes low, by far the cheapest and most scalable way to generate tokens is space,” Musk told Patel.
All this upcoming launch activity and the return to the moon will certainly drive a new space investing theme once the SpaceX IPO debuts. We have outlined multiple ways to profit from the space industry buildout, from low Earth orbit to lunar operations and beyond (see here, here, and here).
Tyler Durden
Sun, 02/08/2026 – 11:05
EPA enforcement declines in Trump administration, reports say
Reports from separate environmental advocacy groups show that U.S. Environmental Protection Agency enforcement has decreased since President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025, and one former EPA official is worried about what comes next.
“I feel heartsick for the professional civil servants at the EPA who have dedicated their lives to the fundamental mission of the agency, which is to protect human health and the environment,” said Debra Shore, former regional administrator for EPA Region 5. “Not only have they been treated with willful cruelty by this administration, but they see that ability to fulfill the basic mission being dismissed, derided and eroded.”
On Monday, the Environmental Data and Governance Initiative released their “Making America Polluted Again” report, which was a deep dive into the EPA’s 2025 enforcement records. The report alleges that the 2025 track record “is the worst of any administration in the last 20 years.”
The Environmental Integrity Project, on Thursday, released a similar report titled “Declining Environmental Enforcement in Trump’s Second Term.” The report claims that environmental law enforcement “suffered a dramatic collapse” since Jan. 20, 2025, and civil lawsuits dropped to a historic low.
The EPA responded to the two reports in a Thursday morning statement.
“EPA has concluded more cases in the first year of the Trump administration than the Biden administration had in its last year,” the statement said. “We will be publishing those numbers soon. The Trump EPA remains committed to ensuring environmental laws are followed and keeping Americans safe as we carry out our core mission of providing clean air, land, and water for every American and protecting human health and the environment. Unlike the last administration, we are focused on achieving swift compliance and not just overzealous enforcement intended to cripple industry based on climate zealotry. One erroneous report from a left-wing group funded by dark money does not change the facts.”
Shore believes it’s off-base for EPA officials to politicize report findings, she said.
“They don’t want to own the fact that enforcement is down,” Shore said. “The number of civil judicial cases has reached a historic low. … That’s not a political measure, that’s a fact.”
Shore commends researchers who create reports that look into EPA actions and enforcement, she said. After looking at the Environmental Data and Governance Initiative’s report, Shore believes that the EPA gets a failing grade for its actions in 2025.
“They provide a lot of data to support the conclusion that the agency is failing to fulfill its mission and to deliver what the American people deserve and want, which is the protection of human health and the environment,” Shore said. “What undergirds this report is really that in the Department of Justice, its environmental enforcement section has been hollowed out and decimated.”
According to its website, the Environmental Data and Governance Initiative is an organization that analyzes environmental data and information, and it aims to make it more accessible.
Scout Blum, one of the “Making America Polluted Again” report authors, said researchers specifically looked at enforcement between Jan. 20 and Nov. 30, 2025. The report specifically looked at civil cases that the second Trump administration launched, finding that eight were initiated and about one-third of what the Biden administration initiated in 2024.
The first Trump administration engaged in less enforcement, according to the report, which was exacerbated by effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Blum said that made enforcement more difficult for the Biden administration.
Blum believes whoever follows the Trump administration will struggle to get enforcement back to previous levels.
“It’s not going to look like a good thing to want to work for the federal government if every administration has this shift that we’re seeing,” Blum said. “It’s going to be an immense mountain to climb to even begin to restore some of this because they’ve lost enormous amounts of brain power and experience.”
In addition to civil cases, the Environmental Data and Governance Initiative found that inspection activities “dropped across the board,” including for air pollution, waste, drinking water and toxic substances. According to the report, inspections for the Clean Water Act fell least dramatically, and inspections for the Toxic Substances Control Act, including for lead paint, dropped by more than one-third.
“We were using data from EPA’s own databases,” Blum said. “Part of why we wanted to do this is because we noticed some of the rhetoric from the Trump administration and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin had this enormous emphasis on returning the EPA to its original roots, making sure everyone has clean air, water and land.”
Looking forward to the remainder of Trump’s term, Blum doesn’t see anything that would stop the enforcement trend. She believes it might level out, Blum said, but she’s concerned about a lack of transparency going forward.
“Is the Trump administration not going to be keeping up with this data?” Blum said. “I don’t see them reversing course and all of a sudden starting to enforce this more.”
The Environmental Integrity Project found similar results in its report, which also looked at civil lawsuits filed against polluters. The organization found that filed lawsuits were 76% lower than in Biden’s first year in office.
Lawsuit settlements also declined, according to the Environmental Integrity Project, finding that 40 were settled in 2025. During former President Barack Obama’s second term, 186 lawsuits were settled, 115 were settled in Trump’s first term, and 112 were settled during Biden’s administration, according to the report.
The report claims it’s too early for a comprehensive evaluation of the Trump administration’s efforts, but the EPA is “moving sharply in the wrong direction.”
Jen Duggan, executive director of the Environmental Integrity Project, said she expects civil judicial prosecutions will continue to decline through the remainder of the Trump administration.
“What that means is that we’re going to see more communities that are living near these big sources of pollution … continue to be exposed to illegal pollution that’s going to threaten their health,” Duggan said.
Courtney Bernhardt, director of research, said she believes that the EPA will continue to decline in its enforcement and will roll back other rules already in place.
“The decline in numbers that we’re pointing out is an indicator, but you have to view it within kind of a broader context of their end goal,” Bernhardt said. “They’ve changed the focus of the (EPA), which is supposed to be focused on protecting human health and the environment. The administrator and the Trump administration said they want to focus on making industry more competitive, which is a totally different focus, and that’s not what the EPA was designed to do.”
Drake Maye y los Patriots se enfrentan a Sam Darnold y los Seahawks en el Super Bowl 60
Por ROB MAADDI
SANTA CLARA, California, EE.UU. (AP) — Estamos cerca de coronar un nuevo campeón del Super Bowl.
Después de dos semanas de expectación y anticipación, los Patriots de Nueva Inglaterra y Seahawks de Seattle se enfrentarán este domingo en el Super Bowl 60 en el Levi’s Stadium.
¿Capturarán Drake Maye y los Patriots (17-3) su séptimo Trofeo Lombardi? ¿O Sam Darnold y los Seahawks (16-3) ganarán su segundo?
El enfrentamiento presenta dos defensas férreas, dos ofensivas equilibradas y dos mariscales de campo que han tomado rutas muy diferentes para llegar aquí.
Liderados por el tackle defensivo Leonard Williams, el apoyador Ernest Jones, el esquinero Devon Witherspoon y el novato Nick Emmanwori, los Seahawks permitieron la menor cantidad de puntos en la NFL y tienen jugadores destacados en cada nivel.
Los Patriots extendieron su récord avanzando a su 12mo Super Bowl gracias a que su defensa ha sido dominante durante los playoffs, permitiendo solo 8,7 puntos por juego.
Darnold cuenta con el receptor All-Pro Jaxon Smith-Njigba, el veterano Cooper Kupp y el corredor Kenneth Walker.
Los corredores TreVeyon Henderson y Rhamondre Stevenson y el receptor Stefon Diggs brindan a Maye mucho apoyo en la ofensiva de New England.
Maye, de 23 años, será el segundo mariscal de campo más joven en iniciar un Super Bowl. Aspira a convertirse en el más joven en ganarlo.
Los Patriots ganaron seis anillos con el entrenador Bill Belichick y Tom Brady. Mike Vrabel, entrenador del año de la NFL según AP, fue parte de tres de esos equipos, busca su primer anillo como entrenador en jefe.
El entrenador de los Seahawks, Mike Macdonald, está solo en su segunda temporada y la primera con Darnold, quien está en su quinto equipo en ocho años en la NFL. La selección número tres en general de 2018 finalmente ha encontrado un hogar después de deambular por la liga.
El juego del domingo será una reedición del Super Bowl del 2015. Brady y los Patriots ganaron ese, 28-24, después de que el pase de Russell Wilson desde la primera yarda yarda en el último minuto fuera interceptado por Malcolm Butler.
Según BetMGM Sportsbook, los Patriots son desfavorecidos por cuatro 1/2 puntos contra Seattle.
___
Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
Paul Thomas Anderson gana en los Premios del Sindicado de Directores por “One Battle After Another”
Por JAKE COYLE
NUEVA YORK (AP) — Paul Thomas Anderson ganó el premio principal en la 78ª edición de los Premios del Sindicato de Directores, lo que pone al cineasta de “One Battle After Another” (“Una batalla tras otra”) en camino de potencialmente ganar su primer Oscar.
Los Premios DGA, celebrados el sábado por la noche en el Beverly Hilton en Beverly Hills, California, son uno de los indicadores más confiables de los Premios de la Academia. En los últimos diez años, nueve ganadores del DGA han ganado el premio al mejor director en los Oscar. En la historia de casi ocho décadas del sindicato, solo en ocho ocasiones el sindicato no ha predicho al ganador del Oscar.
El premio se suma a una virtual barrida en la temporada de premios para “One Battle After Another”, que ha ganado con grupos de críticos, los Premios Gotham y los Globos de Oro. Se considera la favorita para mejor película en los Oscar del 15 de marzo. La votación de la Academia comienza el 26 de febrero.
Los otros nominados fueron Ryan Coogler de “Sinners” (“Pecadores”), Guillermo Del Toro “Frankenstein”, Josh Safdie de “Marty Supreme” (““Marty Supremo”) y Chloé Zhao de “Hamnet”.
Anderson, como ha hecho a menudo durante la temporada de premios, en su breve discurso rindió homenaje al fallecido asistente de dirección Adam Somner, quien murió en 2024. “Obviamente”, dijo, “estamos aquí arriba, menos uno”.
Los premios, presentados por Kumail Nanjiani, fueron los primeros bajo el liderazgo del nuevo presidente del Sindicato de Directores de América, Christopher Nolan. Comenzó la ceremonia reconociendo “tiempos muy difíciles” para los cineastas.
“En 2024, el empleo en nuestro sindicato disminuyó alrededor del 40%, y eso fue seguido por otra disminución en el 25”, dijo Nolan. “La cantidad de dinero que la gente gasta en nuestro trabajo, en entretenimiento, es muy, muy estable. Las audiencias están interesads en nosotros, tenemos que asegurarnos de poder devolver esa inversión”.
Otros ganadores el sábado incluyeron al cineasta de “The Plague” Charlie Polinger como director debutante; al director del documental de Frontline de PBS y The Associated Press “2000 Meters to Andriivka” Mstyslav Chernov por mejor dirección de documental; y a los directores de “The Studio” Seth Rogen y Evan Goldberg por serie de comedia.
Nearly 2,000 Truckers Deemed Unfit Are Removed From American Roads
Nearly 2,000 Truckers Deemed Unfit Are Removed From American Roads
Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
Almost 2,000 truckers deemed to be unqualified to drive on U.S. roads have been removed, with several arrested and many vehicles put out of service, the Department of Transportation (DOT) said in a Feb. 6 statement.
The action came as part of the first wave of Operation SafeDRIVE, a “high-visibility, multi-state enforcement and education effort focused on reducing dangerous driving behaviors, ensuring drivers are properly qualified, and addressing unsafe drivers and vehicles on the nation’s roadways,” the department said.
Inspectors from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration teamed up with law enforcement partners in 26 states and the District of Columbia in the three-day effort, Jan. 13 to 15, carrying out “targeted enforcement actions along major freight corridors and other high-risk locations.”
The operation resulted in 8,215 inspections, with 56 truckers being arrested for driving under the influence and illegally being present in the United States, DOT said. A total of 1,231 vehicles were put out of service.
Out of the 2,000 truckers, 704 were removed from service, including nearly 500 for violating English proficiency standards. The removal of these 500 truckers follows the Trump administration’s implementation of English language proficiency requirements for truck drivers.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March designating English as the official language of the United States. In April, he signed another executive order that instructed Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy to remove commercial truck drivers failing English proficiency tests.
Proficiency in English should be a “non-negotiable safety requirement for professional drivers,” Trump wrote in the order. “They should be able to read and understand traffic signs, communicate with traffic safety, border patrol, agricultural checkpoints, and cargo weight-limit station officers.”
Derek D. Barrs, administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, said the recent operation was about safety of the trucking sector. When drivers ignore rules or operate without having proper qualifications, they put lives at risk, he said.
Duffy said Operation SafeDRIVE “shows what happens when we work together with our law enforcement partners to pull unqualified drivers and vehicles off American roads.”
“We need a whole-of-government approach to ensure the Trump administration’s strong standards of safety are in place to protect American families and reduce road accidents.”
Crackdown on Unqualified Truckers
The crackdown on unqualified truck drivers comes amid incidents of illegal immigrants being involved in truck-related accidents.
In August, an illegal immigrant truck driver was accused of causing a crash that killed three people in Florida. In September, another illegal immigrant was arrested after a truck he drove caused an accident that resulted in a 5-year-old girl suffering critical injuries.
This month, Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested an illegal immigrant from Kyrgyzstan after his truck hit a van in a head-on collision that killed four people in Indiana. He had obtained a commercial driver’s license in Pennsylvania, the Department of Homeland Security said in a Feb. 5 statement.
The Trump administration’s actions against unqualified drivers in the trucking industry has faced legal challenges.
In December, the state of California sued the administration after DOT decided to withhold $33 million in federal funding over the state allegedly failing to comply with the English proficiency requirement for truckers.
California argued in the lawsuit that it does enforce English-language rules for commercial drivers, accusing the DOT action of being “arbitrary and capricious, an abuse of discretion, and contrary to law; imperils the safety of all persons driving in California; and threatens to wreak significant economic damage.”
In June, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration launched a nationwide review that discovered widespread noncompliance regarding the issuing of commercial driver’s licenses across several states, especially California, Colorado, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, and Washington.
In September, Duffy announced emergency action to restrict the eligibility of foreign-domiciled drivers to obtain these licenses.
“Licenses to operate a massive, 80,000-pound truck are being issued to dangerous foreign drivers—oftentimes illegally,” Duffy said.
More recently, DOT announced on Jan. 8 that a review of North Carolina’s nondomiciled commercial driver’s licenses by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration found that 54 percent were issued illegally. Duffy called this a dangerous situation.
“I’m calling on state leadership to immediately remove these dangerous drivers from our roads and clean up their system,” he said.
Tyler Durden
Sun, 02/08/2026 – 10:30
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/nearly-2000-truckers-deemed-unfit-are-removed-american-roads
‘We will pay,’ Savannah Guthrie says in desperate video plea to potential kidnappers of her mother
TUCSON, Ariz. — Savannah Guthrie told the potential kidnappers of her mother Nancy Guthrie on Saturday that the family is prepared to pay for her safe return, as the frantic search for the 84-year-old Arizona resident has entered a seventh day.
“We received your message, and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her,” she said in a video posted on social media, flanked by her siblings. “This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.”
The “Today” show host was referencing a message that was sent to the Tucson-based television station KOLD on Friday afternoon, according to Kevin Smith, a spokesperson for the FBI office in Phoenix.
KOLD said it received an email related to the Guthrie case on social media that day but declined to share specific details about its contents as the FBI conducted its review.
The station was one of multiple press outlets that received alleged ransom letters during the week. At least one letter made monetary demands and established Thursday evening and the following Monday evening as deadlines.
In a news conference Thursday, law enforcement officials declined to affirm that the letters were credible but said all tips were being investigated seriously. They also said one letter referenced Nancy Guthrie’s Apple watch and a specific feature of her property.
The video released Saturday was the third this week that pleaded with potential kidnappers.
No suspects identified
Investigators think Nancy Guthrie was taken against her will from her home just outside Tucson last weekend. DNA tests showed blood on Guthrie’s front porch was a match to her, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has said. Authorities have not identified any suspects or ruled anyone out.
The sheriff said Friday that he was frustrated that a camera at Nancy Guthrie’s home was not able to capture images of anyone the day she went missing.
Investigators have found that the home’s doorbell camera was disconnected early Sunday and that software data recorded movement at the home minutes later. But Nancy Guthrie did not have an active subscription, so none of the images were able to be recovered.
“It is concerning, it’s actually almost disappointing, because you’ve got your hopes up,” Nanos told The Associated Press in an interview. “OK, they got an image. ‘Well, we do, but we don’t.’”
President Donald Trump, speaking on Air Force One on Friday, said the investigation was going “very well.”
“We have some clues that I think are very strong,” Trump said, while en route to his Florida estate. “We have some things that may be coming out reasonably soon.”
Investigators return to scene
They were back in Nancy Guthrie’s neighborhood on Friday.
The sheriff’s department posted on social media to say access was restricted to the road in front of the home to give investigators space. Journalists staked out there were directed to move.
The Catalina Foothills Association, a neighborhood group, told residents in a letter that authorities were resuming searches in the area immediately.
“I know we all stand together in our collective disbelief and sadness and greatly appreciate your willingness to speak with law enforcement, share camera images and allow searches of your properties,” the association president said in the letter.
The sheriff said Thursday that investigators have not given up on trying to retrieve camera recordings.
“I wish technology was as easy as we believe it is, that here’s a picture, here’s your bad guy. But it’s not,” Nanos told the AP. “There are pieces of information that come to us from these tech groups that say ‘this is what we have and we can’t get anymore.’”
The sheriff also said he had no new information about the note to the TV station or other purported ransom letters sent to some media outlets, saying the FBI is handling that side of the investigation.
Meanwhile concern about Nancy Guthrie’s health condition has grown, because authorities say she needs vital daily medicine. She is said to have a pacemaker and have dealt with high blood pressure and heart issues, according to sheriff’s dispatcher audio on broadcastify.com.
“Her conditions, I would imagine, are worsening day by day,” Nanos said. “She requires medication. And I have no way of knowing whether they’re getting that medication to her.”
The kidnapping has captured the attention of Americans, including Trump, who said he was directing federal authorities to help investigate.
Weber reported from Los Angeles
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/08/nancy-guthrie-missing-savannah-guthrie-video/
Ledecka pierde y no podrá convertirse en la primera snowboarder con 3 oros olímpicos consecutivos
Por EDDIE PELLS
LIVIGNO, Italia (AP) — Ester Ledecka ya no podrá convertirse en la primera snowboarder en ganar medallas de oro en tres Juegos Olímpicos consecutivos después de que sorpresivamente fue eliminada el domingo.
La checa perdió su carrera de cuartos de final en el eslalon gigante paralelo por 0,06 segundos ante la austriaca Sabine Payer.
La competidora de 30 años era una gran favorita para el oro pues no había perdido una carrera de la Copa del Mundo en casi dos años y no se había perdido un podio en cinco.
Ledecka hizo historia en 2018 cuando se convirtió en la primera atleta en ganar tanto una carrera de snowboard como una en esquís en los mismos Juegos Olímpicos. Su victoria en el super-G de esquí alpino fue considerada una sorpresa, pero la mayoría de los que siguen el deporte esperaban que dominara en su evento “mejor”, el PGS, y lo hizo.
Defendió el título de snowboard en China hace cuatro años.
Este año, esperaba obtener victorias tanto en el descenso femenino de esquí alpino como en el PGS, pero estaban programados para el mismo día. Eligió el snowboard y terminó sin ninguno de los títulos —su derrota llegó un par de horas después de la caída de Lindsey Vonn en la pista de descenso.
Ledecka todavía tiene programado competir en el super-G de esquí el jueves.
Ha competido casi exclusivamente en esquís en la preparación para los Juegos Olímpicos esta temporada —nueve carreras de esquí alpino, que le valieron un podio, en comparación con solo un evento de snowboard, que ganó.
La mujer que la venció, Payer, tiene dos victorias esta temporada y estaba empatada en la cima de la última lista de puntos de snowboard de la Federación Internacional de Esquí. En los cuartos de final contra Ledecka, Payer salió con una ventaja temprana, trazó líneas ajustadas entre las puertas y nunca fue superada.
La derrota de Ledecka le da a la austriaca Anna Gasser la oportunidad de convertirse en la primera snowboarder en ganar tres títulos olímpicos consecutivos. Gasser compite en la clasificación de big air más tarde. También intentando el triplete está Chloe Kim. Su competencia de halfpipe comienza el miércoles.
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Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
San Fran’s Tenderloin District Stores Double As “Secret Casinos” And “Sleazy Drug Dens”
San Fran’s Tenderloin District Stores Double As “Secret Casinos” And “Sleazy Drug Dens”
San Francisco officials say they have shut down or taken legal action against nine convenience stores in the Tenderloin after uncovering illegal gambling rooms, drug operations, and fencing schemes, according to the NY Post. City Attorney David Chiu said the shops had become centers of “drug-driven lawlessness” and helped sell stolen goods to shady customers.
“These convenience stores were magnets for drug activity, and, in some cases, the stores were selling illegal drugs themselves,” Chiu said, adding that his office has targeted the businesses over the past 18 months. In one case, police searching a smoke shop found five gambling machines, more than $17,000 in cash, gun magazines, and cannabis products.
The Post writes that another raid in 2025 revealed nearly 51 grams of meth hidden under a shelf, hundreds of glass pipes, electronic gambling machines, thousands of dollars in cash, and stolen merchandise. Officials say such discoveries highlight how some neighborhood shops had turned into underground casinos and drug hubs.
The crackdown is linked to a nighttime safety ordinance passed in July 2024. The pilot program restricts certain stores in high-crime areas from operating between midnight and 5 a.m. Businesses that break the rule can be fined up to $1,000 or face lawsuits. City leaders now want to extend the program and expand it to other troubled neighborhoods.
Supervisor Matt Dorsey said the policy gives residents a “cooling-off period” that discourages illegal behavior. Police Chief Derrick Lew also welcomed the effort, saying officers will remain “relentless” in targeting illegal drug markets.
Several other stores were forced out after landlords were alerted to unlawful activity, according to the city attorney’s office. Officials argue that closing these problem locations is a key step toward improving safety in one of San Francisco’s most troubled districts.
Tyler Durden
Sun, 02/08/2026 – 09:55
Renuncia el jefe de gabinete británico por nombramiento de embajador en EEUU vinculado a Epstein
Por SYLVIA HUI
LONDRES (AP) — El jefe de gabinete del primer ministro británico, Keir Starmer, renunció el domingo debido al escándalo en torno al nombramiento de Peter Mandelson como embajador del Reino Unido en Estados Unidos, a pesar de sus vínculos con Jeffrey Epstein, el financista estadounidense sentenciado por abuso sexual de menores.
Morgan McSweeney expresó que asumió la responsabilidad por haber aconsejado a Starmer nombrar a Mandelson, de 72 años, para el puesto diplomático más importante de Gran Bretaña en 2024.
“La decisión de nombrar a Peter Mandelson fue equivocada. Ha dañado a nuestro partido, a nuestro país y la confianza en la política misma”, dijo McSweeney en un comunicado. “Cuando se me preguntó, aconsejé al Primer Ministro hacer ese nombramiento y asumo toda la responsabilidad por ese consejo”.
Starmer enfrenta una tormenta política y preguntas sobre su juicio después de que documentos recién publicados, parte de un enorme conjunto de archivos de Epstein hechos públicos en Estados Unidos, sugirieron que Mandelson envió a Epstein información delicada para los mercados cuando era secretario de negocios del gobierno del Reino Unido durante la crisis financiera de 2008.
El gobierno de Starmer ha prometido publicar sus propios correos electrónicos y otra documentación relacionada con el nombramiento de Mandelson, que supuestamente mostrarán que él engañó a las autoridades.
Mandelson, exministro del gabinete, embajador y veterano estadista del gobernante Partido Laborista, no ha sido arrestado ni acusado.
El primer ministro se disculpó esta semana por “haber creído las mentiras” de Mandelson. Dijo que “ninguno de nosotros conocía la profundidad de la oscuridad” de la relación entre Epstein y Mandelson cuando este fue evaluado para el puesto de diplomático.
Pero varios legisladores ya están pidiendo la dimisión de Starmer.
“Keir Starmer tiene que asumir la responsabilidad de sus propias decisiones terribles”, dijo Kemi Badenoch, líder del Partido Conservador de la oposición.
Oficiales de la Policía Metropolitana registraron la casa de Mandelson en Londres y otra propiedad vinculada a él el viernes. La policía dijo que la investigación es compleja y requerirá “una cantidad significativa de recolección y análisis de evidencia adicional.”
La investigación policial del Reino Unido se centra en una posible mala conducta en el cargo público, y Mandelson no está acusado de ningún delito sexual.
Starmer destituyó a Mandelson en septiembre de su puesto de embajador debido a revelaciones anteriores sobre sus vínculos con Epstein. Pero los críticos dicen que los correos electrónicos publicados recientemente por el Departamento de Justicia de Estados Unidos han planteado serias preocupaciones sobre el criterio de Starmer para nombrar a Mandelson desde el principio.
Las nuevas revelaciones incluyen documentos que sugieren que Mandelson compartió información gubernamental sensible con Epstein tras la crisis financiera global de 2008. También incluyen registros de pagos por un total de 75.000 dólares en 2003 y 2004 de Epstein a cuentas vinculadas a Mandelson o a su marido Reinaldo Avila da Silva.
Antes de este escándalo, Mandelson tuvo que dimitir dos veces de altos cargos gubernamentales debido a escándalos relacionados con el dinero o la ética.
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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
Breezy Johnson wins Olympic gold in women’s downhill on day marred by US teammate Lindsey Vonn’s crash
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — American ski racer Breezy Johnson won the Olympic downhill Sunday with a hard-charging run on a day marred by teammate Lindsey Vonn’s crash that saw her being taken off the mountain in a helicopter.
Johnson was the sixth racer and found speed with a risk-taking trip along the iconic Olympia delle Tofana course on a sunny day in Cortina. She was in the leader’s box when Vonn, the No. 13 racer, cut a corner too close and was spun around before crashing. The race was put on hold for more than 20 minutes.
The 30-year-old Johnson joins Vonn, 41, as the only American women to win the Olympic downhill. Johnson finished in 1 minute, 36.10 seconds to hold off Emma Aicher of Germany by just .04 seconds, securing the first medal for the United States of these Winter Games in the process. Italy’s Sofia Goggia, the 2018 Olympic downhill winner and 2022 silver medalist, finished with the bronze.
The tears began welling in the eyes of Johnson as racer after racer couldn’t top her time. Johnson wiped them away with her mitten.
“I had a good feeling about today. I sort of still can’t believe it yet,” Johnson said. “I don’t know when it will sink in.”
It’s been a tumultuous road to the top for Johnson, who sat out the 2022 Beijing Olympics with a knee injury. She was given a 14-month ban that expired in December 2024 for missing three anti-doping exams and violating “whereabouts” rules. She returned to win the world championship last February.
Now, she’s an Olympic downhill gold medalist. Teammate Jacqueline Wiles finished just .27 seconds away from a medal in a tie for fourth place.
Breezy Johnson in action during the women’s downhill on Feb. 8, 2026. in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. (Photo by Christophe Pallot/Agence Zoom/Getty Images)
“I think that this was the best run Breezy’s ever skied,” teammate Bella Wright said. “I’ve seen her ski ever since I was 8 years old.”
Vonn’s crash put a somber mood over the event. Vonn, who won the downhill at the 2010 Vancouver Games, was a gold-medal favorite before her crash in Switzerland last week when she suffered a ruptured ACL for her latest major knee injury.
She returned to elite ski racing last season after nearly six years and after receiving a partial titanium knee replacement in her right knee.
“I hope it’s not as bad as it looked,” Johnson said. “Sometimes, because you love this course so much, when you crash on it and hurts you like that, it hurts that much worse. My heart just goes out to her.”
Cande Moreno of Andorra had her left knee buckle while landing on a jump. Like Vonn, she was taken off the course by helicopter and the race was again put on hold.
Both downhill golds this weekend were won by the reigning world champions after Franjo von Allmen of Switzerland won the men’s race on Saturday. Both races also featured up-and-coming silver medalists (Aicher, Giovanni Franzoni of Italy) and Italian veterans in bronze position (Goggia, Dominik Paris).
With her bronze medal, Goggia now has an Olympic downhill medal of every color.
“So-so with my performance, but in the overall I got a medal again,” Goggia said. “It’s a privilege.”
Graham contributed from Bormio, Italy.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/08/breezy-johnson-wins-olympic-gold/
