A cartoon by Clay Jones. Related | Shady new ad campaign paints ICE thugs as ‘friends and neighbors’

A daily roundup of the best stories and cartoons by Daily Kos staff and contributors to keep you in the know. Shady new ad campaign paints ICE thugs as ‘friends and neighbors’ This will totally change the public’s mind about ICE’s handiwork. Democrats' blowout victory in special election spells doom for GOP The win isn’t just significant for how much Democrats won by, but for how it happened in the first place. Kennedy Center crumbles under Trump Trump’s strategy seems to be if at first you don’t succeed, try construction instead. Cartoon: Dibs There seems to be a real party division on this one. Republican claims he’s always been ‘warning’ Trump about ICE Why don’t we roll the tape to find out … What the hell is Tulsi Gabbard’s job anyway? Do you think she even knows? Click here to see more cartoons.

Republican megadonor Elon Musk spent the weekend trying to change the narrative about his interactions with accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein after emails surfaced showing Musk arranging to attend a party at Epstein’s notorious private island. The emails, which were sent between 2012 and 2014, were released Friday by the Department of Justice, and they show Musk discussing attending a party hosted by Epstein, who was by then a convicted sex offender. In one email, Epstein referenced making arrangements for Musk to travel to the island with actor Talulah Riley, Musk’s partner at the time. Musk then asked Epstein which nights would have the “wildest party.” Documents that were included in the U.S. Department of Justice release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. In another, Musk laments an apparent scheduling conflict preventing him from visiting Epstein. Musk wrote that he was “very disappointed” and “really looking forward to finally spending some time together with just fun as the agenda.” He concluded the email, writing, “Hopefully we can schedule another time in the near future.” Many of the women allegedly abused by Epstein and his associates have said the island in question, Little St. James, was used as a hub for where they were trafficked and assaulted. After the emails were released, Musk went into damage-control mode. He argued on his social media account that the released emails were “performative” and “nothing but a distraction.” As reports emerged on the details of his exchanges, he complained, “Legacy media lies relentlessly.” Musk argued that “nobody” had pushed for the release of the Epstein files as much as he did, and he said legacy media and “far-left propagandists” would “make counter-accusations against me” and that he would be “smeared relentlessly.” Musk also used his X account, which has over 230 million followers, to amplify posts from supporters echoing his attacks on the press and pushing his narrative that he had done nothing wrong. The chummy back-and-forth between Musk and Epstein runs contrary to Musk’s previous claims that he had summarily rejected an invitation to the island. Related | Trump's incompetent DOJ makes a mess of latest Epstein files drop The documents are also notable because of Musk’s deep involvement in Republican politics. He was a major donor to President Donald Trump’s 2024 election campaign and has donated millions meant to help Republicans preserve their control over Congress this year. Additionally, Musk’s company SpaceX is a major contractor doing business with the federal government. Musk’s emails with a suspected sex trafficker are also being released while his company xAI is under probe from multiple foreign governments for providing a service, the chatbot Grok, that has been used to generate nonconsensual sexual images. Grok was also used to produce sexual photos of children. Despite those revelations, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is moving forward with plans to integrate Grok in sensitive defensive systems. The emails show that Trump is not the only figure in the right-wing establishment now dogged by a relationship with Epstein.

German cities have been left paralyzed by a massive public transport workers’ strike amid freezing temperatures Read Full Article at RT.com

Israel has reopened the Rafah crossing as thousands of sick and wounded Palestinians wait to exit for urgent medical care Read Full Article at RT.com

Mediation by Russia reportedly coincides with eased US military pressure, giving diplomacy a chance to resume with Iran Read Full Article at RT.com

Vladimir Zelensky’s senior ally Vitaly Kim said ordinary Ukrainians would choose a ceasefire over territory Read Full Article at RT.com

Here’s how mysticism and witchcraft fueled Ukraine’s war mindset Read Full Article at RT.com

MAGA folks are revisiting their beloved argument that conservative women have more children because they’re hotter.  “Conservative women are just factually more attractive than liberal women. It’s why more conservatives than liberals are having babies,” Katie Miller, the wife of White House chief of staff for policy  Stephen Miller, said via X Wednesday.  Her claims were paired with an equally strange Fox News segment between Jesse Watters and Kid Rock in which the former dad rock singer shared his sexist epiphany on live television. xConservative women are just factually more attractive than liberal women. It’s why more conservatives than liberals are having babies. https://t.co/gfpzhsmEtu— Katie Miller (@KatieMiller) January 21, 2026 “We have this low birth rate in America,” Rock began. “It just hit me right now, because who is going to sleep with these ugly-ass, broke, crazy, [Trump Deranged Syndrome], liberal women? You look at these rallies, it’s like a bunch of women that no guy wants to sleep with and a bunch of dudes that want to sleep with each other.” There are so many problems with Rock’s argument. And it’s a lot to assume any of these hypothetical women would be interested in sleeping with Rock as opposed to, say, someone like Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert. The thing is, studies suggest that conservative women are indeed having more children than liberals. However, it probably has nothing to do with how badly men want to sleep with them. Per the Institute for Family Studies:  In the 2020s, just 40% of liberal women between ages 25 and 35 report being parents, down from 51% in the 2010s. By comparison, conservative women in this age range saw no statistically significant change: in the 2020s, 71% report being parents. This means there is a 31-percentage point gap between young conservative women and their liberal peers today. And it also probably doesn’t have to do with the allegedly radical, leftist, blue-haired women with armpit hair that Watters and the majority of MAGA seem to use as a bogeyman for women’s rights.  While MAGA points to women’s looks as the reason for plummeting birth rates among more left-leaning families, they’re ignoring the policies in place that are keeping women (who want children) from taking that step.  Conservatives are diving toward an ideology that promotes godliness and duty to provide offspring over the practicality of raising children in today’s world altogether. And that concern is what has many liberal families holding off.  Related | Why 'The Great Feminization' is a great big conservative con Things like extreme costs for day care or childcare when parents go to work have come into the public conversation. Despite the desire, in some households, for one parent to be the breadwinner, affordability in Trump’s America makes that reality out of reach for many. Many mothers were able to join the workforce again when working from home was more accessible, but that has steadily declined as they’ve been forced back into the office. Once a pregnant person does give birth, however, there is the fear of exorbitant hospital bills and Trump doesn’t care if that medical debt goes on people’s credit reports.  The only thing that the Trump administration seems to be actively tackling is the incentive, or means, of making babies itself.  With the overturn of Roe v. Wade, abortion has become less accessible—and continues to become less so. On the bright side, should you have a child before 2028, Trump will start a $1,000 savings account for them.  While women on the left are looking at the logistics, MAGA women seem to be pushing the message of faith that, somehow, it will all work out for them.  However, no amount of hair extensions and lip filler will make better policies for mothers.

Former D.C. Metropolitan Police officer Michael Fanone—who was seriously injured while defending the Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack—told Republican Rep. Troy Nehls, “Go fuck yourself” during Thursday’s House committee hearing featuring former special counsel Jack Smith. Fanone, a vocal critic of MAGA efforts to rewrite the history of Jan. 6 and deflect blame from Donald Trump, was in attendance when Nehls had the audacity to claim that the Capitol Police’s leadership was to blame for the attempted coup after the president held a rally and ordered his followers to march to the Capitol and stop the certification of electoral votes. “The fault does not lie with Donald Trump,” Nehls whined. Fanone responded by coughing loudly while unmistakably directing his message to the stolen valor-wielding, cowardly Nehls. x x YouTube Video A groveling Trump simp, the Texas representative faced an ethics investigation before he abruptly dropped his reelection bid at the last moment—leaving virtually no time for anyone other than his twin brother, Trever, to file to run for Nehls’ House seat. Rep. Jim Jordan, who is also the worst wrestling coach ever, attempted to restore order to the proceedings—but the truth had already landed. Related | 'Stolen valor': GOP blasts one of their own for military pin he didn't earn

A cartoon by Clay Jones. Related | Trump repeatedly confuses Greenland for Iceland

A daily roundup of the best stories and cartoons by Daily Kos staff and contributors to keep you in the know. ICE goons to America: We don’t need no stinkin’ warrants The lawlessness continues unabated. Democrat shreds GOP's Trump worship: 'We took an oath' Too bad Republicans’ fealty is devoted to the crooked president. ‘I won’t be complicit’: Newsom stands against Trump’s bullying The California governor refuses to bend the knee. Cartoon: NRA goes MIA Where have all the gun nuts gone? Vance: So what if ICE kills a mom or abducts some kids? Apparently, these deadly “mistakes” are just “the nature of law enforcement.” Trump’s FCC goon demands talk shows give Republicans equal time This regime is so salty about late-night jokes. GOP loses another battle in gerrymandering war it started We love to see it. Click here to see more cartoons.

Congratulations, Republicans: Your mentally incapacitated president—who’s running the country without guardrails, constraints, or adult supervision—is burning through nearly a century of international goodwill, with consequences that will echo for decades. “You cannot put the genie back into the bottle. Things might get better and more calm a few months down the road, and Trump, he can’t be reelected, and the next president might be somewhat different,” Anders Schelde, chief investment officer of a Danish pension fund, said while announcing his exit from U.S. markets. “But what comes then in five, six, 10 years? I think there’s a strong realization across Europe that we need to be able to stand on our own feet.”  A crowd protests against President Donald Trump in front of the U.S. consulate in Nuuk, Greenland on Jan. 17. The fund he manages, AkademikerPension, is only about $100 million—a rounding error in global finance. But that’s not the point.  What matters is what he’s saying and what he represents: a growing belief among global investors and governments that the United States is no longer a reliable anchor for the world economy. For decades after World War II, the United States sat at the center of a global system for which it largely paid and designed—and it paid off enormously. The United States underwrote global security through alliances like NATO, stabilized trade through institutions like the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, and enforced rules that made markets predictable and conflicts less likely to spiral out of control. In return, the dollar became the world’s reserve currency, and U.S. companies enjoyed preferential access to global markets. Foreign capital flowed in not just because of returns but because the United States was seen as stable, serious, and governed by adults. President Donald Trump has lit all of that on fire. Related | ‘F-ck off’: Danish leader has had it with Trump’s Greenland nonsense And once the world adjusts—and allies build parallel systems that don’t rely on the United States—that advantage won’t simply snap back when Trump is gone.  The genie cannot go back in the bottle. During his first term, much of the world treated Trump as a fluke—a mistake we would quickly correct. Now the world understands the deeper problem: No matter how sane or responsible the next president might be, the United States is always just one deranged electorate away from putting another madman in charge. The world handed the United States enormous power because it trusted we would use it responsibly. Thanks to Trump and the Republicans who enabled him, that trust is gone.

A federal judge previously said Bovino's tactics «intended to cause protesters harm»

Usha Vance, Karoline Leavitt and Katie Miller's pregnancies do not signal a return to the 1950s

The child and his father were reportedly transported to a facility in Texas

Seven Dems joined nearly all Republicans to support ICE funding

The president said the former special counsel lied before Congress and should be prosecuted

Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot has denied that his country is a participant of the Trump-chaired ‘Board of Peace’ Read Full Article at RT.com

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has proposed using the EU’s defense spending surge to militarize the Arctic Read Full Article at RT.com

US President Donald Trump has floated the idea of using NATO troops to guard America’s southern border Read Full Article at RT.com

Guinea-Bissau’s interim government has announced new presidential and legislative elections, following last year’s coup Read Full Article at RT.com

How West Jerusalem balances tough rhetoric, diplomacy, and the risk of regional war Read Full Article at RT.com

The «Spartacus» franchise continues to challenge whose stories get told

Former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg was interviewed on Friday at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin. When asked by The Atlantic’s Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg whether he believed Vice President JD Vance to be a “fascist,” Buttigieg replied with a withering critique. x x YouTube Video Buttigieg: If it's convenient for him to be a fascist, he'll be a fascist. Maybe later on, he'll go back to being a Silicon Valley Democrat. He'll be whatever he needs to be. Right? I mean, this is a guy who went from Donald Trump is Hitler—that’s what he said—to I have seen the error of my ways. He’ll be something new later on, maybe. Related | It sure seems like JD Vance doesn't give a sh-t about his family