There is something that goes on in American culture that is highly irritating to me. If you notice everyone celebrating something that is politically Left-leaning in nature, people tell you that you’re crazy for pointing it out or being upset about it. I’m not particularly upset by halftime shows at the Super Bowl, because in the grand scheme of life, who cares? It is not a big deal. But the reason that some people are concerned or upset today about this year’s halftime show is because of what happened at the end of the performance. I am not a Bad Bunny fan. I don’t know whether he’s a good bunny, a bad bunny, or the worst bunny. I have no gradation, no scale upon which to judge the badness of his bunnyness. I do not know his music. I didn’t understand a word he was saying. As a person who does not traffic or listen to his music, I had no idea what he was saying during the halftime show. I will admit that it felt to me like being in a car crash, and there was a person walking toward me, telling me that I needed to get out my insurance card in a language I did not understand. The Pros The show was beautifully produced. The couple getting married and mid-show, the kids falling asleep on the chairs was very, very charming. I have no problem with a lot of Spanish being in the show, because that’s what a lot of people in the United States speak; that’s totally cool. A lot of people in the United States speak a lot of second languages. I remember a few years ago Shakira and J. Lo did the halftime show, and I believe they did a song in Spanish. There are tens of millions of Latino Americans who contribute in unbelievable ways to our common project as Americans. The Cons First: No English at all, so people who don’t speak Spanish couldn’t understand what was going on. He could have been saying anything, and I would have had no idea what he was saying. Second: To pretend that Bad Bunny is an apolitical figure is silly. Bad Bunny is not an apolitical figure. He has never pretended to be an apolitical figure. When he showed himself on the Grammys and gave a Grammy to a little kid who looked precisely like an ICE detainee, don’t tell me that wasn’t on purpose. Of course it was. But the major problem for me came at the very end of the halftime show. Bad Bunny walked through and announced every single country in the Western Hemisphere, starting geographically with Argentina and finishing with Canada. As he did, a bunch of people followed him carrying flags from various other countries that were not the United States. Here is the problem: One of the truly amazing virtues of America is that you can both assimilate to the values of the United States and still keep the flavor of your old culture. One of the great things about America over the course of the last couple of hundred years is that many cultures merged into the gigantic stream that is the United States, which is why every American has eaten Mexican food, Italian food, and Chinese food. And that’s wonderful. That’s great. The fact that you have weddings where you have people dancing salsa, and you have weddings where you have people dancing the hora, is wonderful. I don’t think a whole lot of Americans object to that. The salient question is this: Are you showing gratitude for America being unique? That’s why people focused on that part of the show. Where was Bad Bunny’s gratitude? There have been other shows where he’s refused to stand up for the national anthem. He is rich and famous because of the United States. He is living in splendor because of the United States. He’s one of the greatest recipients of American largesse ever. If you’re born in Puerto Rico, you’re American. If you’re born in America, that is the greatest privilege that you can receive. So, it is my opinion that you should show some gratitude for America being unique. It seems to me that American flags should have been all over the place in the middle of this demonstration. This is something the political Left does that is totally wrong. It’s astonishing to me. The political Left has the opportunity to grab the upper hand culturally with a lot of people and simultaneously celebrate the country. He could have done this entire show almost identically, with American flags everywhere, saying America means that you can have salsa dancing at your wedding, but that’s what’s amazing about America. You can do all that and still be an American who loves football and still be an American. Football is a uniquely American sport. You can still be an American who is doing all the American things, and you can also enjoy these cultural variants. This United Nations routine was not a celebration of America or a celebration of cultures that coexist peacefully in America. His attempt to say we are all Americans by making some sort of pedantic geographic point that the Americas encompass the continents of North America and South America was silly. No one sees it that way. When people say American, they believe that you are talking about the United States — as they should. Football is an American event. It is not the world’s biggest event. It is America’s biggest event. Not many people in Japan watch the Super Bowl. This was not the World Cup. This performance at the World Cup or the Olympics would have made perfect sense because those are international events with a bunch of different countries. What I am concerned about is the innate argument that is being made, that the greatness of America somehow must be subsumed under the rubric of “All countries are awesome, and America is somehow equivalent in some way to other countries.” We are not. America is exceptional. It’s unique. And ignoring that message is un-American.

A new poll shows that Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) could be Texas’ Democratic Senate nominee, as all eyes have been on the messy primaries in the Lone Star State ahead of the March 3 Election Day. The University of Houston poll of 550 likely voters showed Crockett up by eight points over state Rep. James Talarico, with 47% compared with his 39%. “Congresswoman Crockett is in the best position to reassemble a winning Texas democratic coalition in November. That coalition requires exciting the base to turn out, while bringing working people, Latinos, and young voters back into the fold. The poll demonstrates that independents and disillusioned Republicans favor Crockett as opposed to the other candidates,” her campaign said in a press release on Monday regarding the survey conducted from Jan. 20-31. Other polls have shown Crockett leading, but some, like a recent Emerson College survey, have shown Talarico ahead by as much as nine percentage points. The race turned ugly after former Democratic Senate candidate Rep. Colin Allred strongly criticized Talarico over an allegation that the state representative referred to the former congressman as a “mediocre Black man,” according to the Texas Tribune. The National Republican Campaign Committee said that Crockett’s lead in the poll is a sign that the Democratic Party is moving further to the Left, even in the traditionally conservative Lone Star State. “Today’s Democrat Party is getting more progressive and extreme by the second, but one thing remains true: Jasmine Crockett’s radical anti-Trump agenda is wrong for Texas,” NRSC Regional Press Secretary Samantha Cantrell said in a statement to The Daily Wire. The group is backing incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the competitive Republican primary. On the Republican side, President Donald Trump has yet to make an endorsement in the race, and it’s unclear if he will with less than a month to go. Cornyn is up against Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt for the seat, and the same University of Houston poll showed Paxton leading with 38%, compared with 31% for the incumbent senator and 17% for Hunt. Hunt’s campaign spokesperson, James Kyrkanides, said in a statement that the poll is an “interesting snapshot” into the general electorate. In head-to-head matchups, each of the Republican candidates would defeat either Crockett or Talarico by a thin margin. Paxton would defeat either Democrat by two points, Cornyn would beat Crockett by two and Talarico by one, and Hunt would beat Crockett by three and Talarico by four. Kyrkanides said other polls have indicated that the “campaign has surged into second place” and that “John Cornyn’s campaign has collapsed.” Texas primaries require a candidate to break 50% of the vote to become the nominee. “While the primary results in the [university] poll are being debated, one fact is undeniable: Among general election voters, Wesley Hunt once again outperforms both John Cornyn and Ken Paxton,” the statement continued. “This has been consistent since the day Hunt entered the race in October. The data keeps saying the same thing. Anyone making ‘electability’ arguments while excluding Wesley Hunt isn’t serious about winning. They’re serious about protecting the status quo. Texas voters are moving on.” Paxton said that the poll, which also indicates he would defeat Cornyn in a runoff, is a good sign that he will be the Republican nominee. “Ensuring that low-propensity America First voters are motivated to show up in November is critical to Republicans’ success in 2026, and John Cornyn is the single worst person in Texas to accomplish that. Luckily, he won’t be on the ballot because Texans are ready to fire him this spring. In 2022, I faced tens of millions in negative attacks and then proceeded to overwhelmingly defeat my primary opponents and win the general by nearly ten points. I’m ready and in a strong position to do the same in 2026.” As for Cornyn, he’s pulled no punches against his opponents on both sides of the aisle, as he came out with an ad on Sunday taking aim at both Democrats, and recently saying that he is the “only electable Republican in this primary, a proven conservative with real experience and results who votes with President Trump more than 99% of the time.” The Cook Political Report currently ranks the general election race as “Likely Republican.”

Karl Rove is warning Republicans that even Texas—long treated like safe ground—could slip in 2026 if Latino support keeps sliding. Rove’s Texas Warning Puts the Senate Map Back in Play Karl Rove used a recent appearance on Fox News’ Journal Editorial Report to argue the 2026 midterms could turn on a basic problem: Republicans cannot assume Texas will hold if key voters drift away. Rove framed the state as central to keeping GOP control of the House and Senate, describing Texas as a “real mess” if current trends persist and Democratic incumbents remain difficult to dislodge. Rove’s message is not that Republicans suddenly become the minority in Texas overnight. His warning is narrower and more tactical: small shifts in turnout and persuasion in competitive districts can break a majority. When the Senate margin is tight, a single seat can decide the chamber, and Texas is no longer immune from the national push-and-pull of voter moods, issue salience, and candidate quality. Latino Support Softens in Districts Trump Barely Carried Rove highlighted South Texas districts where Trump’s 2024 margins were thin, including a corridor running from Corpus Christi to Brownsville that Trump reportedly carried by about a point. He also cited Rep. Henry Cuellar’s district, where Trump’s 2024 performance was described as a mid-single-digit win. Those numbers matter because a modest swing—driven by economic dissatisfaction, immigration messaging, or local dynamics—can flip a House seat even without a major statewide shift. The same coverage cites post-2024 polling that paints a rougher picture for Republicans with Hispanic voters. An Economist/YouGov snapshot put Trump’s approval among Hispanic respondents at 36%, with roughly 70% disapproval. Another poll discussion referenced public unease over immigration enforcement, underscoring how quickly the political ground can move when headlines focus on enforcement actions and controversies. The research does not provide a full poll crosstab, but the toplines align with Rove’s caution. Gerrymandering Isn’t a Substitute for Durable Coalitions Rove’s argument also doubles as a critique of overreliance on mapmaking. Texas Republicans benefited from redistricting advantages after the 2021 redraws, and the research notes the GOP’s long history of pushing aggressive redistricting strategies. Rove’s point, as summarized in the reporting, is that even favorable lines have limits when a party’s support in a target community declines. A shrinking coalition eventually overwhelms structural advantages, especially in fast-changing regions. For conservative voters frustrated by years of Washington overspending, inflation pressure, and the political gamesmanship that often replaces governance, the Texas conversation offers a practical takeaway: elections are won with persuasion and turnout, not just clever district boundaries. If voters believe the economy is not improving fast enough, or that the immigration debate is chaotic, they can punish incumbents regardless of which party drew the lines. The Cuellar Pardon Created New Complications in a Must-Win Area The reporting also centers on a political subplot Republicans expected to help them: President Trump’s December 2025 pardon of Rep. Henry Cuellar and his wife on bribery-related charges. According to the research summary, the pardon was followed by expectations—at least among some Republicans—that Cuellar might switch parties. Cuellar did not. That refusal matters because it kept an entrenched Democrat in place in a district Republicans viewed as increasingly reachable. Trump then moved to back Cuellar’s Republican opponent, signaling that the GOP still wants the seat. Rove’s caution, however, is that “unlikely” races remain unlikely if voter sentiment shifts the wrong way, and if incumbency advantages hold. The research does not provide fresh district polling, so the strongest available support for the warning comes from the broader Hispanic approval numbers and Rove’s on-air assessment of softness in precisely the areas Republicans need to improve. A Special Election Shock Signals Vulnerability—But Not Destiny Adding to the concern, the research cites a recent Texas state senate special election in which Democrat Taylor Rehmet won by 14 points in a district described as Trump +17. That result does not automatically translate to a general midterm environment, but it does reinforce Rove’s warning that local races can break expectations when one side is better organized, better messaged, or simply more motivated. Trump publicly downplayed the contest as a local matter. Karl Rove Warns GOP It Has to Worry About Losing the Senate in Midterms — And 'Real Mess' in Texas https://t.co/8yhg0OpvKy — Mediaite (@Mediaite) February 9, 2026 The broader midterm lesson is straightforward: Republicans cannot bank Senate control on yesterday’s coalition, and Democrats cannot bank it on Republican complacency. Rove’s warning is rooted in measurable indicators—narrow 2024 margins in South Texas districts and polling that shows steep Hispanic disapproval. If GOP leaders respond by tightening local outreach and focusing on kitchen-table concerns, Texas remains winnable; if not, the “real mess” becomes a national problem. Sources: Karl Rove Warns GOP It Has to Worry About Losing the Senate in Midterms — And ‘Real Mess’ in Texas Republican Guru Karl Rove Warns Biggest Red State Is Turning on Trump The Midterms Are Democrats’ to Lose

Men’s figure skating phenom, Ilia Malinin, nicknamed the “Quad God,” pulled off an incredible win for Team USA at Milano Cortina. He secured a gold medal with a move banned for decades. Ilia performed a backflip during the short program on February 7. This was the first time since 1998 that anyone attempted the flip. “It was fun,” Ilia Malinin said after his outrageous performance. “I mean, come on, the audience just roared, and they were just out of control. Really, that just helped me feel the gratitude of the Olympic stage.” According to USA Today, American skater Terry Kubicka performed the move during the 1976 Games in Innsbruck, Austria. The following year, the International Skating Union banned it, deeming the flip too dangerous. View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Olympic Games (@olympics) Ilia Malinin Appeared to Have No Fear Ilia Malinin faltered a bit on Saturday, so when it came to his performance on Sunday, he had a different attitude. “Just going in today, I was just so grateful to be a part of this team and knowing that they all were going to support me throughout this program, no matter what, really gave the confidence to really just calm down and really just get into that flow state,” he told NBC Sports. “Without them, I don’t think I would’ve been able to accomplish this.” Fans adore Ilia Malinin and his courage. “I love Ilia’s music choice because it sounds so victorious and triumphant at the climax. Very fitting for a program as intense as his and the incredible athletic performance that goes into it,” a fan wrote. “I can’t believe he made up the failed jump sequence. INCREDIBLE!!!!! The nerve should be out now. Believe in yourself Ilia!!! Awesome way to fight for it,” another person shared. “Congrats TEAM USA!” “Back-to-back competition. Whole team counting on him. Top-level difficulty. We need to give more credit to Iliia. It’s his first Olympics, and he carried so much pressure. He doesn’t deserve any of those malice against him out there,” a comment reads. This story’s featured image is by Jamie Squire/Getty Images.

'We don't need an ICE or America hater'

There are mere hours left on the alleged deadline