Japan's Takaichi Wins Landslide in Snap Election, Exit Polls Show

Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has secured a decisive victory in the recent snap election, winning at least 310 of the 465 lower house seats, according to exit polls.

Small Business Administration says billions of dollars in fraud was found in California

The Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the suspension of over 111,000 California borrowers suspected of fraud, amounting to $8.6 billion in loans from the COVID-19 pandemic. SBA administrator Kelly Loeffler stated that the fraud occurred due to individuals collecting money under the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans. Loeffler accused the Biden Administration of tolerating the corruption, while California's Democratic Attorney General denied the allegations as baseless.

Cassidy Presses NYC Mayor on Antisemitism Policies, Seeks Answers by Feb. 19

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., has demanded answers from New York City’s mayor regarding the reported rescission of executive orders adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism and barring boycotts of Israel. In a letter, Cassidy asked the mayor to respond by Feb. 19 to questions about how the policy changes would affect protections for Jewish students in city schools. He inquired how revoking the IHRA definition and lifting restrictions related to the BDS movement would protect Jewish students, whether the administration plans to adopt a new definition of antisemitism, and what specific measures will be taken to combat antisemitism in schools and on campuses.

FCC opening probe into 'The View' after appearance by Talarico

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has launched an investigation into ABC's 'The View' following the appearance of Texas state Rep. James Talarico. The FCC aims to enforce the 'statutory equal opportunities requirement' under the Communications Act of 1934, which mandates equal airtime for legally filed candidates. The probe questions the show's classification as 'bona fide' news, potentially requiring ABC to offer equal airtime to Republican candidates and Democrat Ahmad Hassan. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr supports the investigation, while Commissioner Anna Gomez criticizes it as government intimidation.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement calls on California to honor ICE arrest detainers for over 33,000 illegal immigrants

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) urges California to honor ICE arrest detainers for over 33,000 criminal illegal aliens, citing the release of 4,561 individuals involved in serious crimes, including 31 homicides, 574 burglaries, 661 assaults, and 234 sexual offenses.

Solo Leveling Officially Confirms 2026 Comeback

Solo Leveling fans can look forward to the release of Solo Leveling: Karma in the second half of 2026, an original game that expands on the source material. This game, developed by Netmarble, will cover the 'The 27-Year War of Monarchs' arc and will be the first opportunity for fans to jump ahead of the official story.

koboldcpp-1.107.2

Vulkan (Older PC) in the oldpc builds. This provides GPU support via Vulkan without any CPU intrinsics (no AVX2, no AVX). This replaces the removed CLBlast options. Breaking Changes: Pipeline parallel is enabled by default now in CLI. Disable it in the launcher or with --nopipe

SwarmUI - 0.9.8

It's been 6 months and almost 600 commits since 0.9.7... a lot has happened, here's just the most interesting things: Major Updates Flux.2 support! https://github.com/mcmonkeyprojects/SwarmUI/blob/master/docs/Model%20Support.md#flux-2 Including Flux.2-Dev and Flux.2-Klein 4B a

Report claims Nvidia will not be releasing any new RTX gaming GPUs in 2026, RTX 60 series likely debuting in 2028

According to a report from The Information, Nvidia will not release any new RTX gaming GPUs in 2026. The RTX 60 series is also delayed beyond 2027, likely debuting in 2028. The memory chip shortage is causing issues for the RTX 60 series, which was supposed to begin mass production at the end of 2027. The RTX 50 Super refresh, which was rumored to include a major spec bump in GDDR7 memory capacity and higher power limits, is also delayed. Many expected Nvidia to announce the RTX 50 Series super refresh at CES 2026, but the company announced it would not announce any new GPUs at the event.

Huggingface - Community Evals: Because we're done trusting black-box leaderboards over the community

This blog post explains how Hugging Face is democratizing artificial intelligence evaluation by decentralizing and making evaluation results more transparent. Benchmark datasets on Hugging Face can now host leaderboards, and models can store their own evaluation scores. The community can submit results via PR, and verified badges prove that the results can be reproduced. This initiative aims to expose existing scores and make the Hub an active place to build and share reproducible benchmarks.

Louisiana AG Liz Murrill to sue over abortion pill doctors

Louisiana’s Attorney General Liz Murrill is preparing to sue California and New York in federal court to force the extradition of doctors who face criminal charges for mailing abortion pills to Louisiana. California and New York have refused to extradite the doctors, citing their state’s abortion shield laws. Legal scholars expect the conflict over abortion regulation to end up in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.

White House touts crime drop, border clampdown

This news article from The Siasat Daily reports on the White House's announcement of a significant drop in crime rates and enhanced border security under President Donald Trump's administration. The White House cites a study by the Council on Criminal Justice, which shows the murder rate in America's largest cities dropped to its lowest level since at least 1900, attributing this to border enforcement, increased arrests, and deportations. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt highlighted the FBI's efforts, including doubling violent crime arrests, disrupting 1,800 gangs, and arresting 1,700 child predators. Local data from Washington and Memphis also show significant reductions in homicides and other crimes. Leavitt emphasized the importance of deporting criminal migrants for public safety and noted that no illegal aliens were released into the country over the past nine months.

Google Research announces Sequential Attention: Making AI models leaner and faster without sacrificing accuracy

Anthropic unveils latest AI model as OpenAI rivalry intensifies

Anthropic, founded by former OpenAI staffers, has released its latest AI model, escalating its challenge to industry giants like OpenAI and Google. The new model, Claude Opus 4.6, is designed for complex workplace tasks and prioritizes data security and predictability. Anthropic's approach contrasts with OpenAI's, as it remains ad-free and relies on enterprise deals and subscriptions for revenue.

Reddit looks to AI search as its next big opportunity

Reddit is exploring the potential of its AI-powered search engine as a significant opportunity for revenue growth. During its Q4 earnings call, Reddit highlighted the potential of generative AI search to handle complex queries and provide multiple perspectives. The company reported a 30% increase in weekly active search users and a 1,400% increase in weekly active users for its AI-powered Reddit Answers feature. Reddit is also modernizing its AI answers interface and considering how to position itself as a source of answers beyond just a social site.

Taiwan's TSMC tells Japan PM of plan to produce advanced chips in Kumamoto

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) has informed Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi of its plan to mass-produce advanced 3-nanometer semiconductor chips in Kumamoto Prefecture, marking the first such production in Japan. The Japanese government, viewing domestic chip output as vital for economic security, has welcomed the initiative and pledged support. TSMC's second plant in Kumamoto, currently under construction, will utilize the cutting-edge 3-nanometer technology, which is crucial for AI and smartphone products, and is expected to contribute significantly to local economic growth and Japan's AI business.

The FDA Just Made Two Big Updates to Its Food Dye Policy

The FDA has updated its food dye policy to allow products with FDA-approved natural dyes to be labeled as containing 'no artificial colors.' Two new natural food dyes, beetroot red and spirulina extract, have been approved. While natural dyes do not necessarily mean 'inherently safer,' limiting ultra-processed food intake is key to reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease and other health effects.

Minnesota activist Kyle Wagner arrested and charged with threatening ICE agents

Minnesota activist Kyle Wagner was arrested and charged with threatening ICE agents, according to the Justice Department. Prosecutors allege that Wagner shared social media posts encouraging followers to attack federal immigration officers, calling them 'gestapo' and 'murderers'. Wagner is accused of promoting violence against ICE officers and publishing the personal information of an ICE supporter. The arrest comes amid protests in Minnesota over increased immigration enforcement efforts.

NYC high school student arrested for emails threatening to 'kill all the Jews'

This news article reports on the arrest of a 17-year-old student from Renaissance Charter School in Queens for sending antisemitic emails to over 300 students. The student has been charged with making a terroristic threat and aggravated harassment as a hate crime. The article also mentions Natan Sharansky's visit to a Modern Orthodox Jewish day school in the Bronx and other local political and cultural events.

UPDATE: Fourth person dies after head-on crash involving semi

Four people were killed in a head-on crash involving a semi in Indiana on Tuesday. The crash occurred when a semi failed to stop for another semi that slowed down, causing it to move into the opposite lane and hit a full-size van.

Fulton County asks federal judge to return 2020 election records seized by FBI

Fulton County officials have filed an emergency motion in federal court to regain control of 2020 election records seized by the FBI, citing potential nationwide implications for elections. County leaders emphasize the importance of the Constitution and the need to prevent federal interference in local elections.

Assaults on prison staff have increased in Michigan. Union asks state for change

A union representing Michigan corrections officers reports an increase in violent assaults against prison staff, attributing the rise to the state's insufficient maximum-security prison space. The union claims that dangerous inmates are often housed in lower-security settings, leading to a surge in violence and threats to staff. In 2024, there were 71 assaults on employees at the four Michigan prisons housing the state’s highest-security inmates, up from 44 in 2023. The union argues that the lack of segregation and proper housing contributes to a more dangerous environment for frontline officers.

Polls Deliver Clear Verdict: Americans Back Trump’s Deportation Agenda, Reject Anti-ICE Politics

Two new polls suggest that Americans broadly support the Trump administration’s deportation agenda, with 61% in favor of deporting illegal aliens, though support varies depending on the circumstances. A Harvard-Harris poll indicates that Americans support deportations if they target those who have committed significant crimes, with 73% approving. However, if deportations are perceived as random, support drops to 44%. Americans also disapprove of resistance to ICE’s mission, with two-thirds supporting cooperation from state and local officials.

Activists plan to install 1,000 street blockades across Minneapolis

This article from the Washington Examiner reports on activists in Minneapolis who have set up 1,000 street blockades to prevent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers from passing through certain areas. The blockades, which are being organized by groups such as Minnesota ICE Watch, Defend the 612, and Minneapolis Spring, are causing disruptions and raising questions about their legality. The activists have been using various materials to construct the blockades, and some have been accused of impersonating law enforcement. The city of Minneapolis has been attempting to remove the blockades for public safety reasons, but the activists have continued to rebuild them.

Plastic surgeons group calls for delaying gender-affirming surgery until age 19

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) has recommended against gender transition surgeries for youths, suggesting a wait until at least 19 years old. This recommendation, based on evolving understanding and ethical considerations, contrasts with other major medical associations that support gender-affirming care. The ASPS emphasized the need for a precautionary approach due to the poorly understood natural course of pediatric gender dysphoria and the irreversible nature of these surgeries.

4claw — what your clankers are really thinking

Council of Europe Assembly Calls for Ban on Gender, Sexual Orientation ‘Conversion Practices’

The Council of Europe Assembly has voted to call on its member states to ban gender and sexual orientation 'conversion practices' and integrate such bans into wider anti-discrimination frameworks. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) urged member states to adopt legislation prohibiting these practices. The approved resolution states that these practices are harmful and should be banned to protect individuals from discrimination.

Trump vows not to help blue cities with riots, instructs ICE and Border Patrol to protect federal property

President Donald Trump announced that the federal government will not assist in protests in Democratic-led cities unless requested, and instructed ICE and Border Patrol to protect federal property forcefully.

Kathy Griffin tells fans to find out which neighbors are 'MAGA' and organize ICE resistance

Comedian Kathy Griffin is urging her followers to identify 'MAGA' neighbors and organize community resistance against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations, citing recent incidents of violence and death threats against ICE officers.