Matt Gagnon discusses JD Vance’s criticisms of European political restrictions and his support for far-right political parties in Germany, particularly the Alternative for Germany. Matt highlights Vance’s argument that restricting political activity and speech can be counterproductive. He contrasts post-WWII Germany’s ban on anything associated with Nazism with the current political landscape, noting the decline of guilt-driven restrictions and the rise of populist, far-right movements. He also touches on the sensitivity around nationalism and patriotism in Germany, exemplified by the country’s new flag and cautious approach to displaying national symbols.
Days of downpours have begun in Hawaii. The Southwest will soon bake with day after day of record 100-degree-plus (38 Celsius-plus) heat. Two storms will dump snow by the foot over northern Great Lakes states. And the dreaded polar vortex will again invade the Midwest and East with soul-crushing Arctic chill. This forecast of extremes comes as weather whiplash has already hit much of the East.
An inflation gauge closely monitored by the Federal Reserve moved higher in January in the latest sign that prices were persistently elevated even before the Iran war caused spikes in oil and gas costs.
A man with a rifle who crashed into a large Michigan synagogue in what federal officials are saying was an attack had lost four family members in an Israeli airstrike in his native Lebanon last week, an official said Friday.
House lawmakers were digging into Jeffrey Epstein's sprawling financial portfolio on Wednesday as a committee deposed his former accountant and tried to understand his connections to some of the world's wealthiest men.
