A 27-year-old man accused of a separate crime was arrested Thursday in relation to the mob that surrounded NYPD police officers and pelted them with snowballs earlier this week. Gusmane Coulibaly was detained by NYPD officers after the department released images of four people, including Coulibaly, wanted after two officers were injured when a mob of people hurled snowballs at them at Washington Square Park on Monday. The NYPD said that Coulibaly was arrested earlier this month for “attempted robbery in the transit system.” This morning, the NYPD arrested Gusmane Coulibaly, 27 years old, for assaulting our officers earlier this week in Washington Square Park. Mr. Coulibaly was previously arrested less than three weeks ago for an attempted robbery in the transit system. pic.twitter.com/IHO2zTC4tr — NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) February 26, 2026 The three other suspects wanted by New York police remain at large, the New York Post reported. It remains unclear what charges Coulibaly faces. New York City’s democratic socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani put himself at odds with other city and state officials, including Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch and New York Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul, when he told reporters he disagreed with calls for arrests following the snowball attack. The mayor urged people to treat the city’s law enforcement with respect, but added that the videos he saw of the incident only showed a snowball fight that “got out of hand.” “Look, I’ve seen the videos of this snowball fight. I think that it was a snowball fight,” he said, later adding, “I can just tell you from the video I saw it looked like kids at a snowball fight.” Mamdani’s office doubled down on the mayor’s stance on Thursday, with Mamdani spokeswoman Dora Pekec telling The Daily Wire, “As the mayor has said, police officers deserve to be treated with respect. The videos he saw showed a snowball fight that got out of hand. He does not believe this situation rises to the level of criminal charges.” The incident took place after a massive storm dumped around two feet of snow on New York City and brought much of the Big Apple to a standstill on Monday. One video of the incident shows officers attempting to walk through the crowd as people slung snowballs at them and ran up behind them to dump large chunks of snow and ice on their heads. Some people in the crowd stood in front of the officers as they tried to walk through the park, and the officers threw at least two people to the ground. Another video showed a group of police officers fleeing the scene as the crowd continued to hurl snowballs at them. Two officers were treated at the hospital for lacerations on their faces. Tisch called the mob’s actions “disgraceful” and “criminal,” while Hochul said it is “never acceptable to throw anything at a police officer.” The NYPD Police Benevolent Association celebrated the arrest of Coulibaly on Thursday and blasted Mayor Mamdani, writing on social media, “A 27-year-old is not a ‘kid,’ @NYCMayor.” “This individual is an adult with a recent attempted robbery arrest, and your message was that it’s OK for him to assault police officers for doing their job,” the police union added. “This arrest sends a different message. We’re grateful to all who have worked so hard on this case. There is more work to be done…”

Confucius once said, “he who chases two rabbits, catches neither.” Perhaps San Francisco native Eileen Gu should have thought about that before skiing for China in the Olympics. Despite fawning coverage and glowing praise from the Western press, Gu has drawn sharp rebuke from Americans for snubbing her nation. But she isn’t catching much love from the Chinese public, either. Her Chinese critics have nicknamed her “Gu Ai Qian,” a pointed play on her given Chinese name “Gu Ai Ling,” which literally translates to “Gu Loves Money.” This insult highlights the widespread perception that Gu is an opportunist, ditching her native country to maximize personal profit in a system that, paradoxically, rewards her with state funds and endorsement riches unattainable for most Chinese citizens. A Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau budget that was eventually scrubbed from the internet revealed China paid Gu and another athlete a combined $6.6 million ahead of the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics, with nearly $14 million paid over three years. On top of this government funding, she has also amassed enormous wealth through global luxury brand endorsements, earning around $23 million in 2025 from sponsorships with companies like Red Bull, Porsche, and Louis Vuitton, as well as Chinese firms such as Anta and TCL, making her one of the world’s highest-paid female athletes. Ever since the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, speculation has raged over Eileen Gu’s actual citizenship status, with many wondering if she quietly holds dual citizenship with China. Gu has remained notoriously evasive whenever the topic comes up, dodging direct questions and leaving the public guessing. This ambiguity has fueled resentment in China, where dual citizenship is strictly prohibited. Without any evidence that Gu has renounced her American citizenship, Chinese commentators bemoan her special treatment as a privileged foreign-born elite, bending rules that ordinary citizens could never get away with. Chinese netizens have begun deploying the popular skincare mantra “Morning C, Evening A” — a reminder to use vitamin C products in the morning and vitamin A in the evening — to mock Gu’s dual loyalty. During the day, Gu competes under the Chinese flag, cheering for the motherland and reaping the rewards, only to revert to her American self off the slopes, enjoying the personal freedom and luxury brands of the West. Other Chinese critics have openly called Gu unpatriotic — accusations which she responded to on the Chinese social media platform Douyin. “In the past five years, I’ve represented China in 41 international competitions and have won 39 medals for China,” Gu says to the camera. “I have also introduced three chief coaches and donated freestyle skis to the national team, and continually advocated for China and women on the global stage. What have you done for the country?” This fiery post notwithstanding, Gu has made several attempts to thread the needle on her identity, telling several media outlets that she’s American when she’s in the United States and Chinese when she’s in China. Her biculturalism and dual nationality might well be forgiven by Americans if U.S.-China tensions weren’t so heightened at the moment. If an American athlete had defected to represent the Soviet Winter Olympic team in the 1980s, she would have been branded as a traitor, universally despised by the public, and excoriated by the media. The same accusations of dual loyalty leveled against Eileen Gu from the American side might have carried far less sting, and perhaps even been tempered with understanding, had she ever openly acknowledged and expressed genuine gratitude for the freedoms, opportunities and nurturing environment that both she and her mother, Yan Gu, enjoyed after Yan fled China decades ago to forge a new life in the United States. It was precisely those American liberties and opportunities, including access to elite education and world-class training facilities, that laid the foundation for Eileen’s extraordinary career and global success. A simple, heartfelt recognition of that debt could have softened the narrative of betrayal for many Americans. Instead, she feels quite free to lob criticisms at her home country while remaining notably silent on China’s human rights record. When pressed on the documented repression and cultural erasure of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang by the Chinese Communist Party, Gu shrugged it off, saying, “I don’t think it’s my business.” Of course, all of this actually endears her to the Western media elite and global consumer brands, who view Gu as the living embodiment of the Davos mindset — a borderless, fluid world citizen who transcends outdated notions of national loyalty. In this cosmopolitan worldview, sovereign allegiance is a parochial relic of a bygone era, unfit for the enlightened global class that prizes transnational flexibility and seamless access to markets above all else. Gu’s ability to navigate and profit handsomely from both the American system that granted her mother refuge and the CCP’s vast, state-directed economy makes her the perfect poster child for this ideology. The message from glossy profiles, luxury campaigns, and elite commentary is unmistakable: true modern virtue lies not in unwavering loyalty and love of country, but in mastering the art of being everywhere and nowhere at once — especially when that strategy aligns with the interests of authoritarian capital and multinational corporations eager to court the Chinese market. In their eyes, Gu isn’t betraying anything; she’s simply ahead of the curve, a gleaming symbol of the post-national future they champion. Perhaps Gu has unwittingly manifested her long-stated dream of serving as a bridge between China and the United States. On the ground in both countries, populist sentiment has coalesced in strikingly parallel ways: ordinary Americans decry her as an opportunistic turncoat who exploits American freedoms while cashing in on Beijing’s largesse, while Chinese citizens mock and brand her dual loyalties. Both Americans and Chinese are rejecting the notion that one can glide seamlessly between superpowers, reaping rewards from each without genuine allegiance or sacrifice. In the end, it comes back to Confucius: If you want to catch a rabbit, you have to pick one to chase. Melissa Chen is the managing director of Strategy Risks, a business intelligence firm dedicated to assessing and mitigating China-related risks for corporations, NGOs, and governments. The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

The federal government’s presence in Minnesota may be winding down, but leftist activists are mobilizing to the Twin Cities for a week of harassing Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, calling for the abolition of prisons, and eating at Mexican restaurants.  Documents reviewed by The Daily Wire show the detailed coordination and planning that goes into a week of anti-law enforcement protests collectively called “Bring the Heat! Melt the ICE!.” From February 25 to March 1, anti-ICE organizers are demonstrating at the state capitol, at hotels where federal agents are staying, and hosting training sessions at local churches.  “For months now, the Twin Cities have been at the forefront of a struggle against ICE in this country,” a welcome packet for the week of protest, originally obtained by Defending Education, said. “The stakes have been high, and many strategic and tactical innovations quickly developed here. Such experiments have been promising, but there’s a long journey ahead of us on the road to abolishing ICE, and we’re just getting started.” The activists demand the removal of ICE from Minnesota, the release of “our abducted neighbors,” and closure of “detention camps,” a statewide eviction moratorium, the dropping of charges against protesters who harassed or assaulted ICE officers, amnesty for illegal immigrants, and the abolishment of ICE, the Department of Homeland Security, and prisons.  The protest comes after border czar Tom Homan announced a massive drawdown of federal officers in Minnesota. Homan said he had reached a deal with local officials to get more cooperation for ICE officers seeking to arrest illegal aliens.  One of the activities being planned for the week is protesting at hotels where ICE agents are staying.  “Grab some friends, noisemakers, and head to a hotel that houses ICE on this list,” a calendar of planned actions says. “There is no big public noise demo—these are autonomous and decentralized. Please go to the training or check out this guide if you need support hosting one with your affinity group.” Defending Education. Defending Education also obtained a spreadsheet showing hotels that were options for protests, which are being organized by the Sunrise Movement. Defending Education. Multiple anti-ICE protests are also planned at the state capitol building on Thursday and Friday, including a student walkout and sit-in organized by “Twin Cities student organizers,” according to the calendar.  In the welcome packet, protesters are not instructed to obey the law, but just not document an illegal activity they engage in or witness.  “In the event that somebody around you is engaging in illegal activity, do not take photos or videos of that, unless it is to record an interaction with law enforcement,” organizers said. “Don’t write in incriminating ways about illegal activity you observe or participate in.” Defending Education. Activists showing up for the week of action will also have the opportunity to join “school patrols” to drive around looking for ICE agents.  “In Minneapolis, ICE incidents occurred at or within two blocks of public schools every single day for 6 weeks straight. We responded by running about 3000 patrol shifts per week, and that doesn’t even include private schools, charter schools or day cares,” the calendar says.  The calendar and welcome documents reveal the scope of planning and professional coordination that go into these large-scale protests and the participation of churches and local teachers.  For example, a Thursday training hosted by Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church is on creating “sanctuary schools.” The training was hosted by activist group Take Action MN. According to the group, they have a presence at “hundreds” of school districts.  “Sanctuary school teams are a combination of educators and caregivers who do daily protective presence and rapid response around schools, coordinate mutual aid (rides, food relief, rent relief, legal support) and organize together for longer term demands like returning Sanctuary status to schools and abolishing ICE,” the calendar says. “Come learn from caregivers and organizers about how we started these teams and have grown them at hundreds of schools in districts across the state.” The Minnesota Federation of Educators is set to host a training at the First Universalist Church focused on organizing “our schools to be bases of the working class.” Erika Sanzi, the senior director of communications at Defending Education, told The Daily Wire that educators’ involvement in these protests reveals how leftist ideology has infiltrated the education system.  “It’s high time that people come to terms with the fact that the call is coming from inside the house. Groups of radicals and revolutionaries that have always agitated on the fringe are now becoming embedded in the K-12 ecosystem by way of teachers’ unions, student unions and even teacher training programs,” she said.   “The sooner the public accepts that these protests and walkouts are highly coordinated by outside actors, the sooner we can put a stop to it or at least drastically reduce it in our public schools,” she added.  Other groups participating in the protests include Spring House Ministries, the Red Pine Revolutionary Collective, Twin Cities Democratic Socialists of America, and Indigenous Roots.  Activists will get free food from the group Seeds of Peace. Many will stay in other people’s homes for the week of protest.  “Eat First. Then Smash the State,” the welcome packet said, noting that Muslims participating in Ramadan will be given priority for dinner meals.  Organizers led by the Twin Cities Democratic Socialists of America are fundraising on Democrat platform ActBlue for food, training, and lodging.  Other tips from organizers include asking other people their pronouns, using Signal to communicate, and supporting a variety of Mexican restaurants located in St. Paul and Minneapolis. They also warn participants about “right-wing” influencers becoming embedded in their communication systems.  “We also know that Minneapolis’s rapid response systems have already been infiltrated by right-wing influencers and government agents,” the welcome packet said.  Activists are also encouraged to make pilgrimages to the location where convicted felon George Floyd died during an encounter with police, as well as the spot where Renée Nicole Good was shot after attempting to hit an ICE agent with her car. “As resistance grows, so does our collective grief about those we have loved and lost in the struggle for liberation,” the welcome packet reads. “We ask that if you choose to visit these sites, please do so with respect and reverence.”

President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani will have their second in-person meeting Thursday afternoon in Washington, D.C. Both the president and the mayor kept the Oval Office encounter under wraps until Thursday afternoon—though The New York Times reports that people familiar with the matter said the two would discuss strategies to increase housing supply in New York City, an issue that has become a defining challenge for Mamdani’s administration. It remains unclear whether a formal agenda has been finalized. Mamdani and several of his top advisers reportedly traveled to Washington on Thursday morning. Unlike his previous visit to the White House in November, this trip was not publicly announced in advance. The mayor posted a selfie from his flight to Washington in November, drawing attention to the high-profile meeting. Media outlets were aware of the November meeting days in advance, but as with Thursday’s meeting, few details about the agenda were released beforehand. When Mamdani landed at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in November, he was swarmed by the press before departing for the White House. Their first meeting surprised political observers from both parties. Despite significant policy differences, Trump and Mamdani appeared cordial, even allowing portions of the session to be open to the press. The two exchanged light-hearted remarks, with a memorable moment occurring when Mamdani was asked by a reporter if he still thought President Trump was a fascist. Trump responded: “Just say yes; it’s easier than explaining.” On Tuesday, Trump brought up Mamdani during his State of the Union address, noting he was a “nice guy,” while adding that he disagrees with what he called the mayor’s “bad policy.” The timing of Thursday’s closed-door meeting underscores the growing urgency of housing affordability in New York. Last week, Mamdani proposed raising property taxes by 9.5% to balance the city’s budget. The mayor has made tenant protections and expanded housing construction central pillars of his administration. Later Thursday evening, the mayor is scheduled to kick off his “Rental Rip-off” series, a public forum designed to give renters across the city an opportunity to share concerns about rising rents, landlord practices, and housing conditions. City officials say testimony gathered during the series will help shape future legislative proposals.

Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) has introduced legislation that would impose a tax on income earned by American athletes who compete in international sporting events on behalf of foreign governments. The proposal, titled the “Officially Limiting Yearly Money Procured by Individuals Concerning Sportsmanship Act,” or OLYMPICS Act, would apply to athletes who represent what the law defines as “foreign entities of concern.” Those countries include China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. Although the legislation would not apply retroactively, Ogles cited freestyle skier Eileen Gu as the inspiration for the proposal, OutKick reported. Gu, an American-born athlete, won a gold medal and two silver medals while competing for China at the recent Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy. Her decision to represent China drew criticism in the United States. She also represented the communist government at the 2022 Beijing Games. Gu was raised in the United States by her mother, who immigrated from China. “Any American who works with a foreign adversary has not only betrayed our country, but must be stripped of all benefits from doing so. That is why I am ensuring that the IRS takes every dollar earned by athletes like Eileen Gu,” Ogles told the outlet. He added that the bill would impose an excise tax on athletes who compete internationally for “a foreign country of concern.” “Being American is a privilege, and anyone who openly mocks that privilege on the world stage must be punished,” the congressman continued. China awards prize money to Olympic medalists, but it’s unclear how much they earn, according to CNBC. Vice President JD Vance said last week on Fox News that “someone who grew up in the United States of America, who benefited from our education system, from the freedoms and liberties that makes this country a great place, I would hope they want to compete with the United States of America.”

A University of Notre Dame professor, with a long public record of supporting abortion, has stepped down from a senior leadership role at the Catholic university following weeks of pressure from students, faculty, and Catholic leaders nationwide. Susan Ostermann, an associate professor in Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs, will no longer assume the role of director of the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies, according to a February 26 email from Keough Dean Mary Gallagher. Ostermann had been slated to take the position on July 1. Gallagher said Ostermann “decided not to move forward” with the appointment and thanked her for her “willingness to serve.” Ostermann will remain on the faculty in her prior role as associate professor. The decision follows widespread backlash after Notre Dame announced Ostermann’s appointment in January. Critics pointed to her extensive public advocacy for abortion, including multiple articles in which she described restrictions on abortion as “violence” and rejected the claim that abortion ends human life. The controversy quickly escalated beyond campus. Two faculty members resigned from their roles at the Liu Institute in protest, and students organized prayer events and demonstrations calling on the university to uphold its Catholic identity. Notre Dame describes itself as an institution where “Catholic character” informs all it does, a claim critics said was incompatible with elevating an outspoken abortion advocate to a leadership role. The news of Ostermann’s withdrawal from the leadership role was met with positive reactions from pro-life advocates, though some said it did not go far enough. Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, called the move “a good start,” but argued that Ostermann’s continued presence on the faculty remains incompatible with Notre Dame’s Catholic mission. “It’s clear from her aggressively pro-abortion body of work, including her association with the Population Council, that she needs to be terminated,” Hawkins said in a statement obtained by The Daily Wire. “The premier Catholic school in America should not allow professors to blatantly oppose central teachings on the value of all human life, including babies in the womb. Her elevation was extremely troubling, but stepping down is not enough. She needs to go.” Pressure intensified earlier this month when Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, whose diocese includes Notre Dame, issued a public statement condemning the appointment. Rhoades said he had “strong opposition” to the decision and warned it was “causing scandal to the faithful of our diocese and beyond.” Ostermann’s “extensive public advocacy of abortion” and her “disparaging and inflammatory remarks about those who uphold the dignity of human life from the moment of conception to natural death,” Rhoades said, directly conflicted with a core principle of Notre Dame’s mission. Catholic lay-leaders framed Ostermann’s withdrawal as a necessary step to preserve the university’s identity and credibility. Mary FioRito, a senior fellow at The Catholic Association, said the decision was a “win for consistency, clarity, and common sense” at the University of Notre Dame. “As an explicitly Catholic university, Notre Dame owes its students and faculty truth in advertising,” FioRito said in a statement obtained by The Daily Wire, arguing that “Ostermann’s public advocacy of legal abortion would have overshadowed the good work of the Liu Center and significantly hampered its ability to form students.” FioRito also credited alumni, students, faculty, and staff who raised concerns through prayer and public advocacy, as well as Bishop Rhoades and other bishops who issued statements opposing the appointment. I want to express my strong support for the statement that Bishop Kevin Rhoades made this morning concerning a controversial appointment at the University of Notre Dame. Please read his communication in full, for he makes the case more completely and eloquently than I could.… — Bishop Robert Barron (@BishopBarron) February 11, 2026 On Tuesday, Rhoades joined students, faculty, and staff at the university’s Marian grotto for a public rosary “for the cause of life.” In a statement included with Gallagher’s email, Ostermann said her acceptance of the directorship was motivated solely by a desire to serve the institute’s faculty and students. She added that the ongoing controversy risked overshadowing the institute’s work and said there was “work to do at Notre Dame to build a community where a variety of voices can flourish.” The Catholic Church teaches that human life is sacred from conception to natural death and that direct abortion is a grave moral evil. In recent remarks honoring Mother Teresa, Pope Leo XIV described abortion as “the greatest destroyer of peace.” Church teaching on Catholic higher education is laid out in St. John Paul II’s apostolic constitution Ex Corde Ecclesiae, which calls on Catholic universities to safeguard their identity while exercising academic freedom within the bounds of faith and reason. Student organizers say demonstrations and prayer events will continue, framing Ostermann’s withdrawal not as an endpoint, but as evidence that sustained, faithful pressure can produce results.

'Americans won't see justice'

'Relocate its corporate headquarters to North Dallas'

'Completely outrageous'