Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
BlueWaveNeverEnd
BlueWaveNeverEnd's Journal
BlueWaveNeverEnd's Journal
February 16, 2026
Bar owner stands up to nypd shakedown
https://www.reddit.com/r/BlackPeopleofReddit/comments/1r62edk/a_bar_owner_in_coney_island_claims_officers_tried/
February 16, 2026
Columbia Punishes 2 Who Helped Epstein’s Girlfriend Enter Dental College
Columbia University has punished two people affiliated with its dental college after documents released by the Justice Department revealed that they had bypassed the normal process to help Jeffrey Epstein’s girlfriend gain admission.
_________
The documents shed light on communications between Mr. Epstein and College of Dental Medicine representatives that Columbia officials knew about as of 2019, the university said in a statement on Friday.
As a result, Columbia said it was cutting all ties to Dr. Magnani and stripping Dr. Moss-Salentijn of her administrative duties at the dental college, where she remains a tenured faculty member. Several other people implicated in the episode had already ended their affiliations with the school, the statement said.
------
The university also said it had identified $210,000 in donations from “entities related to” Mr. Epstein, and would be donating that amount, split between two New York nonprofit organizations that support survivors of sexual abuse and human trafficking.
“In short,” the university said, “a student was admitted to the dental school through an irregular process, coinciding with fund-raising solicitations by former academic and alumni leadership of the school.”
Although not named in the statement, the student in question was Karyna Shuliak, the last person Mr. Epstein spoke to by phone before his death by suicide in a Manhattan prison cell in 2019 while facing federal sex-trafficking charges. He paid for Ms. Shuliak’s dental school tuition and other courses. In his will, he left her $100 million.
Xx
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/nyregion/columbia-epstein-dental-shuliak.htmlColumbia Punishes 2 Who Helped Epstein’s Girlfriend Enter Dental College
Columbia University has punished two people affiliated with its dental college after documents released by the Justice Department revealed that they had bypassed the normal process to help Jeffrey Epstein’s girlfriend gain admission.
_________
The documents shed light on communications between Mr. Epstein and College of Dental Medicine representatives that Columbia officials knew about as of 2019, the university said in a statement on Friday.
As a result, Columbia said it was cutting all ties to Dr. Magnani and stripping Dr. Moss-Salentijn of her administrative duties at the dental college, where she remains a tenured faculty member. Several other people implicated in the episode had already ended their affiliations with the school, the statement said.
------
The university also said it had identified $210,000 in donations from “entities related to” Mr. Epstein, and would be donating that amount, split between two New York nonprofit organizations that support survivors of sexual abuse and human trafficking.
“In short,” the university said, “a student was admitted to the dental school through an irregular process, coinciding with fund-raising solicitations by former academic and alumni leadership of the school.”
Although not named in the statement, the student in question was Karyna Shuliak, the last person Mr. Epstein spoke to by phone before his death by suicide in a Manhattan prison cell in 2019 while facing federal sex-trafficking charges. He paid for Ms. Shuliak’s dental school tuition and other courses. In his will, he left her $100 million.
February 16, 2026
Four months after it opened with promises of stable, high-paying factory jobs, a $5.8 billion Ford-backed battery plant in Kentucky is sitting idle - and 1,600 workers are out of work.
Ford and South Korean battery manufacturer SK On opened the sprawling 1,500-acre site in Glendale in summer 2025, and it was hailed as a game changer for the region.
By December, that optimism had evaporated when the companies ended their joint venture at the site. Soon after, Ford said it would idle the facility for roughly 18 months while shifting production toward energy storage systems instead of car batteries.
Ford says the slowdown in EV demand - blamed in part with changes in federal policy under President Donald Trump - upended the company’s original plans.
Kentucky’s Democratic governor Andy Beshear blamed the President.
'Those are 1,600 Kentuckians that lost their jobs solely because of Donald Trump pushing that big, ugly bill, eliminating the credits that had people interested and excited to buy EVs,' Beshear told the New York Times.
'I bet many, if not most, of them voted for him, and he basically fired them.'
Fury as Trump's policies 'force' giant car factory in Kentucky to shut at cost of 1,600 jobs
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/yourmoney/article-15554329/Fury-Trumps-policies-force-giant-car-factory-shut-cost-1-600-jobs.htmlFour months after it opened with promises of stable, high-paying factory jobs, a $5.8 billion Ford-backed battery plant in Kentucky is sitting idle - and 1,600 workers are out of work.
Ford and South Korean battery manufacturer SK On opened the sprawling 1,500-acre site in Glendale in summer 2025, and it was hailed as a game changer for the region.
By December, that optimism had evaporated when the companies ended their joint venture at the site. Soon after, Ford said it would idle the facility for roughly 18 months while shifting production toward energy storage systems instead of car batteries.
Ford says the slowdown in EV demand - blamed in part with changes in federal policy under President Donald Trump - upended the company’s original plans.
Kentucky’s Democratic governor Andy Beshear blamed the President.
'Those are 1,600 Kentuckians that lost their jobs solely because of Donald Trump pushing that big, ugly bill, eliminating the credits that had people interested and excited to buy EVs,' Beshear told the New York Times.
'I bet many, if not most, of them voted for him, and he basically fired them.'
February 15, 2026
A pregnant woman who was not seeking an abortion, was denied health care for her heart condition .. she died
A pregnant woman who was not seeking an abortion, was denied health care for her heart condition because she was pregnant and doctors did not want to risk harming the pregnancy. She died as a result. Her name was Ciji Graham and Pro Publica journalist Lizzie Presser reported on her story. “I think one of the things that's really disturbing in her medical records is that neither of the cardiologists that Graham saw spoke to her about her pregnancy and the risks of continuing it without getting the heart care that she needed,” she said.
“And that silence around pregnancy, and its risks, that's being normalized by these [abortion] bans is deeply, deeply concerning.” Georgetown law professor Michele Goodwin emphasizes that this is one of many tragedies that have taken place as a result of abortion bans.
“We have these reproductive health care deserts throughout the United States, and we see the kind of suffering that's being reported, and then so much more that doesn't end up getting reported, that just simply gets lost in the mix of things,” she said. “And that's the real tragedy.”
February 15, 2026
Biggest kiss ass in the Trump Admin?
“President Trump is going to go down in history as the most successful and consequential president in our lifetime,” Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, said in the statement. “He built the most powerful political and cultural movement ever. His successes on behalf of the American people will be imprinted upon the fabric of America and will be felt by every other White House that comes after him.”
February 15, 2026
Trump’s Relentless Self-Promotion Fosters an American Cult of Personality
President Trump has engaged in a spree of self-aggrandizement unlike any of his predecessors, fostering a mythologized superhuman persona and making himself the inescapable force at home and around the world.
The racist online video that President Trump recently shared and then deleted generated a bipartisan furor because of its portrayal of Barack and Michelle Obama as apes. What was little remarked on was how it presented Mr. Trump himself — as the “King of the Jungle.”
After a year back in the White House, Mr. Trump’s efforts to promote himself as the singularly dominant figure in the world have become so commonplace that they no longer seem surprising. He regularly depicts himself in a heroic, almost godly fashion, as a king, as a Superman, as a Jedi knight, as a military hero, even as a pope in a white cassock.
____
His White House is pressuring the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery to display portraits of Mr. Trump by his supporters. A group of cryptocurrency investors has shelled out $300,000 to forge a 15-foot-tall gold-covered bronze statue of Mr. Trump called “Don Colossus” to be installed at his golf complex in Doral, Fla.
His administration is considering designating a new class of battleships in Mr. Trump’s name. His allies are pressuring foreign leaders to endorse his bid for the Nobel Peace Prize and threatening consequences for resisting. Some supporters in Congress have even proposed adding his face to Mount Rushmore, an effort that, for the moment, has gained little traction.
This spree of self-aggrandizement goes beyond mere vanity, although Mr. Trump suffers from no particular shortage in that department. “I really have a big ego,” he noted at the National Prayer Breakfast this month, an assessment that drew no disagreement. What Mr. Trump is actually doing, though, is making himself the inescapable force in American life.
Trump's Relentless Self-Promotion Fosters an American Cult of Personality
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/15/us/politics/trumps-american-cult-of-personality.html?unlocked_article_code=1.MVA.hv0X.1c1bfLqb7FYP&smid=url-shareTrump’s Relentless Self-Promotion Fosters an American Cult of Personality
President Trump has engaged in a spree of self-aggrandizement unlike any of his predecessors, fostering a mythologized superhuman persona and making himself the inescapable force at home and around the world.
The racist online video that President Trump recently shared and then deleted generated a bipartisan furor because of its portrayal of Barack and Michelle Obama as apes. What was little remarked on was how it presented Mr. Trump himself — as the “King of the Jungle.”
After a year back in the White House, Mr. Trump’s efforts to promote himself as the singularly dominant figure in the world have become so commonplace that they no longer seem surprising. He regularly depicts himself in a heroic, almost godly fashion, as a king, as a Superman, as a Jedi knight, as a military hero, even as a pope in a white cassock.
____
His White House is pressuring the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery to display portraits of Mr. Trump by his supporters. A group of cryptocurrency investors has shelled out $300,000 to forge a 15-foot-tall gold-covered bronze statue of Mr. Trump called “Don Colossus” to be installed at his golf complex in Doral, Fla.
His administration is considering designating a new class of battleships in Mr. Trump’s name. His allies are pressuring foreign leaders to endorse his bid for the Nobel Peace Prize and threatening consequences for resisting. Some supporters in Congress have even proposed adding his face to Mount Rushmore, an effort that, for the moment, has gained little traction.
This spree of self-aggrandizement goes beyond mere vanity, although Mr. Trump suffers from no particular shortage in that department. “I really have a big ego,” he noted at the National Prayer Breakfast this month, an assessment that drew no disagreement. What Mr. Trump is actually doing, though, is making himself the inescapable force in American life.
February 15, 2026
South African refugees face challenges with U.S. system (1600 have been resettled here)
South African refugees face challenges with U.S. system
February 15, 2026
Tony Dokoupil is reportedly unsure of his next steps as ratings for his CBS program have declined further over the past week.
----
The declining ratings are said to have sparked conversations about Tony Dokoupil possibly leaving, while reports have also claimed that the editorial direction is to blame for the show's ratings issues.
Earlier reports in January indicated that the program's viewership was already declining, and that downward trend appears to have continued into February.
According to Rob Shuter's #ShuterScoop, ratings for the broadcast have dropped by another 400,000 viewers in just one week.
While this week-to-week decline alone already points to a negative trajectory, the broader picture appears even more concerning, as overall viewership is down by approximately 600,000 when compared with this same time last year.
Due to the situation, Dokoupil, who was reportedly previously tense about the downward trend, has now begun to panic over the worsening situation.
Tony Dokoupil 'Starting To Panic' As Ratings Dip Further After Longtime CBS Viewers Allegedly Checked Out
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/tv/articles/tony-dokoupil-starting-panic-ratings-233013765.htmlTony Dokoupil is reportedly unsure of his next steps as ratings for his CBS program have declined further over the past week.
----
The declining ratings are said to have sparked conversations about Tony Dokoupil possibly leaving, while reports have also claimed that the editorial direction is to blame for the show's ratings issues.
Earlier reports in January indicated that the program's viewership was already declining, and that downward trend appears to have continued into February.
According to Rob Shuter's #ShuterScoop, ratings for the broadcast have dropped by another 400,000 viewers in just one week.
While this week-to-week decline alone already points to a negative trajectory, the broader picture appears even more concerning, as overall viewership is down by approximately 600,000 when compared with this same time last year.
Due to the situation, Dokoupil, who was reportedly previously tense about the downward trend, has now begun to panic over the worsening situation.
February 15, 2026
Florida A&M University student Aaliyah Steward, who is in her last year at the school’s College of Law, said the school required her to censor promotional material that the Black Law Students Association was using to advertise its Black History Month activities. Notably, Steward said, “We couldn’t use the word ‘Black’ in Black History Month. We need to abbreviate it.”
Steward also said the university objected to other terms, including “affirmative action” and “women.”
The university did not deny Steward’s claim, saying in a statement, “Florida A&M University has consistently been in full compliance with Senate Bill 266 and Board of Governors’ Regulation 9.016.” The university stated, “We support and have implemented the policy direction established by the Governor, the Legislature, and the Board of Governors as it relates to DEI, and consistent with related federal court rulings.”
FAMU Student Says School Required 'Black' To Be Removed From Black History Month Flyers
https://blavity.com/famu-student-says-school-said-black-removed-bhm-flyersFlorida A&M University student Aaliyah Steward, who is in her last year at the school’s College of Law, said the school required her to censor promotional material that the Black Law Students Association was using to advertise its Black History Month activities. Notably, Steward said, “We couldn’t use the word ‘Black’ in Black History Month. We need to abbreviate it.”
Steward also said the university objected to other terms, including “affirmative action” and “women.”
The university did not deny Steward’s claim, saying in a statement, “Florida A&M University has consistently been in full compliance with Senate Bill 266 and Board of Governors’ Regulation 9.016.” The university stated, “We support and have implemented the policy direction established by the Governor, the Legislature, and the Board of Governors as it relates to DEI, and consistent with related federal court rulings.”
February 15, 2026
Most had court orders protecting them from removal to their home countries, so they were sent to detention in Cameroon.
In a secret deportation arrangement, the Trump administration flew nine people, nearly all of whom had been granted U.S. court protections from being sent back to their home countries, to the African nation of Cameroon in January.
None of them are from Cameroon, according to government documents obtained by The New York Times and lawyers for the deportees, and the United States has not made any public deal with Cameroon to accept deportees who hail from other nations.
Several of the men and women deported — whose cases have not been previously reported — told The Times they did not know they were being sent to Cameroon until they were handcuffed and chained on a Department of Homeland Security flight leaving Alexandria, La., on Jan. 14.
Cameroon’s Ministry of External Affairs declined to comment when reached by phone, and the State Department said it would not comment on its “diplomatic communications with other governments” when asked about the terms of an agreement.
They highlight the extraordinary secrecy that surrounds President Trump’s global deportation effort.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/14/world/africa/us-secret-deportation-cameroon.html?unlocked_article_code=1.MVA.KztB.sYFPUwLNbyAl&smid=url-share
U.S. Deports Nine Migrants in Secret, Ignoring Legal Protections
Most had court orders protecting them from removal to their home countries, so they were sent to detention in Cameroon.
In a secret deportation arrangement, the Trump administration flew nine people, nearly all of whom had been granted U.S. court protections from being sent back to their home countries, to the African nation of Cameroon in January.
None of them are from Cameroon, according to government documents obtained by The New York Times and lawyers for the deportees, and the United States has not made any public deal with Cameroon to accept deportees who hail from other nations.
Several of the men and women deported — whose cases have not been previously reported — told The Times they did not know they were being sent to Cameroon until they were handcuffed and chained on a Department of Homeland Security flight leaving Alexandria, La., on Jan. 14.
Cameroon’s Ministry of External Affairs declined to comment when reached by phone, and the State Department said it would not comment on its “diplomatic communications with other governments” when asked about the terms of an agreement.
They highlight the extraordinary secrecy that surrounds President Trump’s global deportation effort.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/14/world/africa/us-secret-deportation-cameroon.html?unlocked_article_code=1.MVA.KztB.sYFPUwLNbyAl&smid=url-share
Profile Information
Gender: Do not displayMember since: Wed Nov 16, 2022, 01:52 PM
Number of posts: 13,557