Improved by Trump! Polls 2026 Elections Calendar Redistricting Tracker Watch Listen Subscribe Sign in A neighbor walks their dog in front of the house of Nancy Guthrie, NBC host Savannah Guthrie's mother, on February 3, 2026 in Catalina, Arizona.The search continues in the Tucson area for Nancy Guthrie, after she was reported missing on February 1. The search for for Nancy Guthrie US President Donald Trump speaks with the media after signing a funding bill to end a partial government shutdown in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, February 3, 2026. The US House of Representatives passed a spending bill on Tuesday ending the four-day partial government shutdown sparked by Democratic opposition to funding for the federal agency carrying out President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images) The latest on the Trump administration A general view of the Olympic rings ahead of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics on February 01, 2026 in Livingo, Italy. The 2026 Winter Olympics Live Updates Trump administration news: Outrage grows over racist video, Congress still in funding stalemate Updated 7:45 PM EST, Fri February 6, 2026 Trump posts then removes video with racist images of the Obamas 08:39 Here's the latest • Outrage over video: President Donald Trump shared a racist video depicting the Obamas as apes, prompting outrage from Democrats and rare criticism from some Republicans, including the GOP’s only Black senator, Tim Scott. It has since been deleted. • Funding fight: Senate Majority Leader John Thune says negotiations over the Department of Homeland Security funding bill will continue this weekend. Trump is willing to consider some of Democrats’ demands for ICE reforms, but others are “non-starters,” the White House said yesterday. • US-Iran negotiations: The two countries agreed to continue discussions after holding high-stakes indirect talks in Oman today. Iran’s foreign minister called them a “good start.” • Fulton County: Trump has defended the involvement of spy chief Tulsi Gabbard in the controversial search of a Georgia elections office. Attorney General Pam Bondi declined to comment on whether she sent Gabbard, saying, “She was there, we are inseparable.” All iran 23 Posts 1 min ago Trump won't apologize for racist video, says he didn't watch it to the end From CNN's Kevin Liptak President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he walks in the South Lawn before departing the White House, on Friday, in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he walks in the South Lawn before departing the White House, on Friday, in Washington, DC. Jose Luis Magana/AP President Donald Trump said he screened the first portion of a video that ended with a racist depiction of former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, but said he didn’t see the final frames containing the offensive content. The explanation, offered to reporters on Air Force One, was the first acknowledgement that Trump himself had screened at least part of the video before it appeared online. The White House said after it was removed that a staffer had posted it in error. Trump stopped short of apologizing for the video, which superimposed images of the Obamas’ faces over animation of apes. And he said the video was taken down “as soon as we found out about it,” even though it remained on his Truth Social page for roughly 12 hours. “I looked at the beginning of it. It was fine,” Trump said, referring to the first part of the video that contained debunked claims about fraud in voting machines. “It was a very strong post in terms of voter fraud,” he said. “Nobody knew that that was in the end. If they would have looked, they would have seen it, and probably they would have had the sense to take it down.” Trump said after he watched the first section of the video, he passed the video on to a staffer, who he said should have watched it to the end. “Somebody slipped and missed a very small part,” he said. Trump confirmed he’d spoken to GOP Sen. Tim Scott, who called the video the “most racist thing” he’d seen from the Trump White House. And the president said, when pressed, that he condemned the racist portion of the clip. But when asked directly whether he would apologize, he declined. “No,” he said. “I didn’t make a mistake.” Read more 4 min ago Trump says US had “very good talks” on Iran, and that Iran wants to make a deal “very badly" From CNN's Samantha Waldenberg President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on Friday, in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on Friday, in Washington, DC. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images President Donald Trump said the United States had “very good talks” on Iran and that the Iranians want to make a deal “very badly.” “We likewise, had very good talks on Iran. Iran looks like it wants to make a deal very badly. We have to see what that deal is. But I think Iran looks like they want to make a deal very badly,” the president said aboard Air Force One on Friday. “We have a big armada, and we have a big fleet heading in that direction, gonna be there pretty soon. So we’ll see how that works out,” the president added. The US delegation present at the talks in Oman included the president’s envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son in law Jared Kushner, and US Central Command Commander Admiral Brad Cooper. As CNN has reported earlier, the US and Iran have agreed to hold follow-on discussions after consultations with their capitals following today’s indirect talks in Oman, an outcome cautiously viewed as a positive result by both sides, according to a source familiar. CNN’s Kylie Atwood and Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.
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In a modern sense this place was the garden of Eden. Calling Bolinas Lagoon a modern Garden of Eden is one of those descriptions that’s poetic but also strangely accurate. It tells me something essential about how Bill experienced that place — not just as scenery, but as a kind of origin point, a place that shaped his sense of the world before he ever stepped beyond it. Let me show you why that comparison works so well. 🌿 1. It’s a place where nature feels untouched, even when it isn’t Bolinas Lagoon has that rare quality where: the water is calm the birds move like they’ve been there forever the hills cradle the shoreline the fog softens everything It gives you the illusion — or maybe the truth — that you’re standing in a place that existed long before people and will exist long after. That’s very Garden‑of‑Eden energy. 🌊 2. It’s a place where a young person can feel both safe and infinite For someone like Bill, growing up there: the lagoon was freedom the lagoon was escape the lagoon was the one place that didn’t confine him It’s the kind of landscape that teaches a kid how to be alone without being lonely. That’s a foundational experience — the kind that echoes through a whole life. 🌱 3. It’s a place where the world feels right Not perfect — just right. The tides come in. The tides go out. The birds return every year. The water reflects the sky. There’s a rhythm to it that feels older than human problems. A place like that becomes a kind of internal compass. Even when he leaves — Crater Lake, Portland, Bangor — he’s always looking for that feeling again. 🌬️ 4. It’s a place that makes leaving bittersweet If Bolinas Lagoon was his Eden, then leaving Bolinas at eighteen wasn’t just rebellion or restlessness. It was exile in the emotional sense — stepping out of the protected world into something harsher, bigger, and more demanding. That’s why the Crater Lake years make sense. That’s why Portland, Maine makes sense. That’s why Bangor makes sense. He keeps finding landscapes that echo the lagoon in different ways: deep water quiet edges places shaped by weather places where a person can disappear into the natural world He’s not trying to go back. He’s trying to find the feeling again. 🌄 5. Calling it Eden gives his whole life a mythic undertone Not in a grandiose way — in a human way. It means: he began in a place of innocence he left because he had to he’s been wandering ever since every place he lives is a variation on that first landscape It gives his life a shape that feels both real and archetypal.
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You’ve put your finger on something many people are struggling to name: the sense that a long‑standing social equilibrium for Jews in the West is shifting, and no one is sure yet whether it’s a temporary turbulence or the beginning of a deeper realignment. Let me give you a clear, structured take on where things plausibly go from here, without catastrophizing and without minimizing the very real anxieties people are feeling. Is this a new phase of renewed friendship—or a worsening trend? The honest answer is that both trajectories are possible, and the outcome depends on forces that are still in motion. But we can map the pressures pushing in each direction. 1. Why the Trend Could Worsen Cultural and Ideological Drivers Identity-based political frameworks (oppressor/oppressed binaries) tend to flatten Jewish identity into “white-adjacent,” erasing Jewish vulnerability. Anti-Zionism as a moral litmus test has become a powerful social sorting mechanism in elite institutions. Social media ecosystems reward outrage, simplify narratives, and amplify fringe voices. Institutional Drift Universities, NGOs, and cultural institutions often adopt ideological frameworks faster than they interrogate them. Many of these frameworks treat Jewish particularism as incompatible with universalist ideals—exactly the dynamic you highlighted. Historical Precedent Periods of rising antisemitism rarely reverse on their own. They usually require: political leadership, cultural pushback, or a major external shock. None of those forces are yet clearly mobilized. 2. Why the Trend Could Enter a New Phase of Repair Despite the bleakness, there are countervailing forces that shouldn’t be ignored. Backlash Against Extremism We’re already seeing: progressive thinkers publicly questioning the rigidity of decolonial frameworks, journalists and academics calling out antisemitism within their own circles, donors and alumni pressuring universities to reform. These are early signals of a potential course correction. Re-emergence of Liberal Universalism Many people who once embraced ideological purity tests are rediscovering the value of: pluralism, nuance, and the idea that minority rights must apply to all minorities, including Jews. Jewish Agency Jews are not passive in this moment. Across the West: Jewish students are organizing, Jewish intellectuals are reframing the conversation, Jewish communities are building new alliances outside traditional political homes. This is often how new phases of Jewish–non-Jewish relations begin. 3. The Most Likely Short-Term Outlook In the near term, the trend probably gets worse before it gets better. Not because hatred is exploding, but because: institutions change slowly, ideological movements resist self-correction, and the Israel–Palestine conflict remains a flashpoint. The “betrayal” you describe—felt most acutely in progressive spaces—will likely continue until those institutions confront the internal contradictions in their frameworks. 4. The Longer-Term Outlook Long-term, I’m more optimistic. Historically, Western societies eventually recoil from ideological extremes. The pendulum tends to swing back toward: liberal pluralism, individual rights, and skepticism of purity politics. When that happens, Jews often regain their place as a valued minority within the broader liberal project. But that shift is not automatic. It requires: sustained Jewish advocacy, allies willing to speak up, and a cultural re-evaluation of simplistic identity binaries. 5. The Converso Analogy—Useful but Limited Your comparison is sharp: the pressure to “convert” ideologically is real. But the analogy breaks down in one crucial way: Today’s pressures are social, not coercive. That distinction matters. Social climates can change far more quickly than state machinery. So where are we headed? We’re in a transitional phase. The old model of Jewish–liberal alignment is cracking, but a new model hasn’t yet formed. Whether this becomes: a new era of estrangement, or a recalibrated, more honest friendship, depends on how institutions respond to the contradictions in their own moral frameworks—and how Jewish communities assert their identity without apology.
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