Odds and Ends — 26 February 2026

Cryptocurrency, Investing, Money, Economy, Business, AI, and Debt:

https://twitter.com/davidsirota/status/2026722930416341109
- davidsirota

Another sign of the weak commercial real estate sector: Target pays $110M to end lease in downtown Minneapolis’ City Center

MetaMask Crypto Debit Mastercard Launches Across United States

Flash Fiction:

”I enjoy most aspects of youth sports but I don’t like seeing folks abusing the referee.”

“That’s part of the game. Kids are going to complain about what they see as bad calls. Meh, life goes on.”

”I’m not talking about kids. It’s the parents. It’s always the parents. I’ve seen refs spit on. Punched. And it’s not just the dads. I saw a mom scream at and kick a ref. What are they teaching their kids?”

Written for this prompt.

Coronavirus and Public Health:

COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy may cut risk of preeclampsia

Politics:

Big Hearing in Nashville Today

Since we’re a number of ICE murders and false imprisonments down the line at this point, remember that the Justice Department conceded that Abrego Garcia had been erroneously included among those sent last spring to the bespoke dungeon facility in El Salvador. He was brought back to the U.S. only after he was hit with a new indictment. His lawyers have argued to the judge in the case that the charges should be dismissed because this is a case of vindictive prosecution. Normally this is an extremely high bar for the defense to clear. But in this case, the judge replied by saying that he’s inclined to think that the defense is right. Today’s hearing was scheduled to give the government the opportunity to prove that the defense and (mostly) the judge are wrong.

Massive Shift in Texas Leaves CNN Data Guru ‘Mind Blown’

https://twitter.com/jonfavs/status/2026526610959352123
- jonfavs

Surgeon General Nominee Sidesteps Questions

https://twitter.com/anneapplebaum/status/2026655431720870031
- anneapplebaum

Cuba says group shot on US-registered speedboat planned 'armed infiltration'

———— Minnesota Under Siege ————

‘This is misery for us:’ New home construction stalls after immigration crackdown in Minnesota

———— The Epstein Coverup ————

https://twitter.com/peterjukes/status/2026250540695355603
- peterjukes

He Was Epstein's Associate; He Was Ready to Talk — And Now He’s Dead

He Considered Cooperation in 2016. Years Later, He Died in a Paris Cell. What Happened in Between?

https://twitter.com/GregTSargent/status/2026707959716118589
- GregTSargent

https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/2026703982043758755
- kylegriffin1

———— Autocracy R Us ————

https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/2026714683659497711
- kyledcheney

https://twitter.com/davetroy/status/2026804083097538606
- davetroy

https://twitter.com/LongTimeHistory/status/2026811081478352924
- LongTimeHistory

https://twitter.com/TheMaineWonk/status/2026677677491474715
- TheMaineWonk

———— Putin&Krasnov vs. Ukraine ————

Putin’s Top Officials Laugh About How Dumb Trump Is

Vladimir Putin’s top aides are snickering behind Donald Trump’s back because they think the Russian tyrant is playing the MAGA leader like a fiddle.
British spies have repeatedly shared with their U.S. counterparts intercepted calls and texts between ranking Kremlin officials ridden with laughter at what they perceive as Trump’s willingness to take Putin at his word on his invasion of Ukraine.
Said one UK security official to The Spectator: “We have continually shown them intelligence that shows the Russians are lying. The Russians are privately mocking Trump over his naivety about Putin’s intentions. Putin doesn’t want to end the war.”