February 3

French prosecutors raid X offices and summon Elon Musk over child abuse images and deepfakes

French prosecutors raided X's Paris offices on February 3, 2026, as part of an investigation opened in January 2025 over algorithm manipulation complaints. The probe expanded to include Grok AI's generation of Holocaust denials and sexual deepfakes, including child abuse images. Prosecutors summoned Elon Musk and former CEO Linda Yaccarino to testify on April 20. Musk called the raid a "political attack." The EU fined X $140 million in December 2025 under the Digital Services Act for its deceptive blue check system.

Congress extends Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act through September 2026

President Trump signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act on February 3, 2026, which extended the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 through September 30, 2026. The original law, which created a voluntary framework for private companies to share cyber threat intelligence with federal agencies and each other with liability protection, had expired on September 30, 2025 after its ten-year sunset. Congress enacted a short-term extension through January 30, 2026 before including the longer extension in the omnibus funding package. The extension did not amend any substantive provisions of the law.

House votes to advance January-February appropriations bill ending 4-day partial government shutdown

On February 3, 2026, the House of Representatives votes to advance the appropriations bill that the Senate had passed on January 31. President Trump signs the funding bill hours later, ending the 4-day partial shutdown that had affected about half of federal departments. The shutdown lasted from January 31 to February 3, 2026. The resolution funds most agencies through September 2026 while extending Department of Homeland Security funding for two weeks, setting up another potential funding lapse as negotiations over DHS reform continue.

House ends first DHS shutdown lapse with 10-day extension through February 13

The House votes 217-214 to approve a spending package ending a partial government shutdown and funding most agencies through Sept. 30. DHS receives only a 10-day extension through Feb. 13, triggering new negotiations over immigration enforcement reforms. (NPR, Feb. 3, 2026)

Bannon calls for ICE agents to surround polling places in November

Former White House strategist Steve Bannon calls for ICE agents to \"surround\" polling places during the November 2026 midterms on his War Room podcast, citing debunked claims of illegal immigrant voting. Bannon states: \"You're damn right we're gonna have ICE surround the polls come November. We're not gonna sit here and allow you to steal the country again.\" DHS denies the claim and states it would be illegal.

Judge holds hearing on shutting down Epstein files site after victim privacy failures

A federal judge in New York held a hearing on February 3, 2026, on a motion by attorneys for more than 200 alleged Epstein victims to shut down the DOJ's Epstein Files website, launched January 30 with over 3 million pages of documents. Lawyers identified thousands of redaction failures, including minor victims named up to 20 times in a single document. The DOJ removed several thousand documents and attributed failures to human and technical error; at least one victim received death threats after banking information appeared unredacted.

House passes 217-214 spending package, ending 4-day partial shutdown

The House voted 217-214 to pass a bipartisan government funding package on February 3, 2026, ending a four-day partial shutdown that began when DHS appropriations lapsed. Twenty-one Republicans voted against the package and 21 Democrats crossed party lines to support it. The deal included five full-year appropriations bills covering Defense, Labor-HHS, Education, Transportation, and HUD, plus a short-term continuing resolution funding DHS only through February 13. President Trump signed the legislation the same day.

New York AG launches legal observation project to monitor ICE enforcement

New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the Legal Observation Project on February 3, deploying trained Office of the Attorney General staff wearing purple safety vests to document ICE enforcement operations across New York State. The observers had no power to intervene but recorded information to inform future litigation. James also opened a public portal for New Yorkers to submit videos and photographs of ICE operations, building an evidence base for potential constitutional challenges.

Federal court blocks Trump attempt to end Haiti TPS for 350,000 Haitians

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes issued an injunction on February 3 blocking the Trump administration from terminating Temporary Protected Status for approximately 350,000 Haitian nationals, one day before the termination was set to take effect. Reyes found DHS Secretary Kristi Noem's decision was "arbitrary and capricious" under the Administrative Procedure Act and determined it was "in part" motivated by racial animus, citing disparaging remarks about Haiti made by Trump and Noem. The case was later accepted by the Supreme Court for expedited review.

Congress rejects Trump 55% NSF cut, limits science funding reduction to 3.4%

Trump signed the FY2026 appropriations bill on February 3, 2026, ending a four-day partial government shutdown. The final bill rejected the proposed 55% cut to the National Science Foundation, instead reducing NSF funding by 3.4% from its $9.06 billion baseline. Congress also protected NASA science and Department of Energy basic research, with bipartisan support from members who warned that deep cuts would cede technological leadership to China.

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi assassinated by gunmen in Zintan, Libya

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi and a candidate in the country's upcoming April 2026 presidential election, was shot and killed by four masked gunmen at his private residence in Zintan at approximately 2:30 a.m. on February 3, 2026. The attackers disabled security cameras before the assault and fled the scene. No group claimed responsibility, and Libyan authorities opened an investigation; he was buried in Bani Walid on February 6 alongside his brother Khamis.

Pentagon removes 1,500 active-duty troops from Minnesota standby

The Pentagon quietly stood down more than 1,500 active-duty soldiers who had been placed on prepare-to-deploy orders for potential use in Minnesota, where protests erupted after ICE killed Minneapolis resident Renée Good. Two battalions from the Alaska-based 11th Airborne Division had been on standby since late January under authority the administration cited as preparation for possible Insurrection Act deployment. The stand-down came as political pressure mounted against militarizing the immigration enforcement response.

Marine F-35C downs Iranian Shahed drone near USS Abraham Lincoln

A Marine Corps F-35C operating from USS Abraham Lincoln shot down an Iranian Shahed-139 attack drone in the Persian Gulf on February 3, 2026, after the drone aggressively approached the carrier despite US de-escalation attempts. The same day, Iranian Revolutionary Guard Navy boats attempted to seize the US-flagged tanker MT Stena Imperative in the Strait of Hormuz; USS McFaul intervened and escorted the vessel to safety. No US casualties or equipment damage occurred.

ICE memo expands warrantless arrest authority using likelihood of escape

A leaked internal ICE memo directed deportation officers to use a broadened interpretation of the statutory "likelihood of escape" standard to authorize warrantless arrests, defining a person as likely to escape if they are unlikely to remain at the location where they were encountered — eliminating the prior requirement of a demonstrated flight risk from court proceedings. Advocacy groups immediately challenged the memo, and a federal judge in Oregon issued a ruling finding the new standard "inconsistent" with existing immigration law.

Trump hosts Colombia's Petro at White House after months of threats and insults

President Trump welcomed Colombian President Gustavo Petro to the White House on February 3, 2026 — the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders — following months of the most volatile bilateral tensions in the Western Hemisphere. The January 2026 standoff began when Petro refused US military deportation flights, prompting Trump to threaten tariffs and sanctions before Petro capitulated. The two-hour meeting ended with Trump declaring it "a great honor" and gifting Petro a red MAGA hat; discussions focused on drug trafficking and counternarcotics cooperation.

Red and blue states diverge sharply on immigration enforcement cooperation

As Operation Metro Surge intensified national attention on immigration enforcement, red and blue states moved sharply in opposite directions on cooperation with federal authorities. By February 2026, 39 states had agencies participating in 287(g) programs allowing local police to act as ICE deputies, while blue states including New York, Illinois, and Massachusetts expanded sanctuary protections and introduced legislation banning local cooperation with ICE. The divergence created a patchwork of enforcement intensity that directly shaped where federal operations concentrated.

Watchdog warns IRS faces severe readiness gaps for 2026 tax season after DOGE cuts

A government watchdog issued warnings in early February that the IRS faced significant challenges for the 2026 tax filing season after DOGE-directed cuts eliminated approximately 27% of the agency's workforce over the prior year. The recently passed FY2026 appropriations bill imposed a 12% cut to IRS base funding, the largest in history. With roughly 1,500 HR and IT workers reassigned to process returns — and their training not completing until after April 15 — agency insiders warned of backlogs and data security risks.

French prosecutors raid X Paris offices and summon Musk over child abuse images and deepfakes

Paris prosecutors from the cybercrime unit OFMIN raided X's Paris offices on February 3, 2026, as part of an investigation opened in January 2025 into alleged complicity in distributing child sexual abuse material, sexually explicit deepfakes, and Holocaust denial content. Prosecutors summoned Elon Musk and former X CEO Linda Yaccarino for voluntary interviews on April 20 and called X employees as witnesses. The investigation expanded after X's AI chatbot Grok generated deepfake and Holocaust denial content. X called the raid "law enforcement theater."

Spain announces under-16 social media ban with mandatory age verification

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced on February 3, 2026, that the government would introduce legislation banning social media access for children under 16 and requiring platforms to implement mandatory age verification. The bill would hold social media executives criminally accountable for algorithm manipulation targeting minors. As of the announcement the legislation required passage through Congress and Senate, with a likely timeline of late 2026 to 2027. Spain became the first EU member state to formally introduce such a ban, following Australia's December 2025 law.

Measles outbreak strikes Texas ICE detention center housing 400 children

ICE confirmed a measles outbreak at the Dilley family detention facility in south Texas, where approximately 1,200 people including more than 400 children were held, halting all movement and imposing a quarantine. The outbreak emerged as part of a broader national measles resurgence, with 588 confirmed U.S. cases reported by late January 2026, most concentrated around the West Texas Detention Facility in Hudspeth County. ICE suspended attorney visits and outside access to affected facilities, raising due process concerns.

DHS reverses Super Bowl ICE enforcement threat after NFL and sheriff refuse

ICE announced no immigration enforcement operations would occur at Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, California, reversing earlier statements by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and adviser Corey Lewandowski that agents would be "all over" the game. Santa Clara County Sheriff Bob Jonsen declared his department would not support ICE operations around the event, and the NFL confirmed no ICE enforcement was planned. The reversal came in the charged political atmosphere following the Minneapolis killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti.

DHS issues hundreds of subpoenas to unmask anonymous anti-ICE accounts

The Department of Homeland Security issued hundreds of administrative subpoenas to Google, Meta, Reddit, and Discord demanding the real identities behind anonymous social media accounts that tracked or criticized ICE operations. Unlike judicial warrants, administrative subpoenas required no prior court approval. The Electronic Frontier Foundation called the subpoenas unconstitutional under McIntyre v. Ohio Election Commission (1995), and the ACLU's intervention in one case caused DHS to withdraw that subpoena entirely. Google, Meta, and Reddit complied in at least some cases.

Senate Commerce Committee advances the National Programmable Cloud Laboratories Network Act

The Senate Commerce Committee advanced the National Programmable Cloud Laboratories Network Act on February 13, 2026, sending it to the Senate floor with bipartisan support from Senators Ted Budd (R-NC) and John Fetterman (D-PA). The bill directs the National Science Foundation to create a network of six remotely accessible programmable cloud laboratory nodes for academic researchers and small businesses, reducing infrastructure barriers for institutions without large endowments. The legislation aligned with the Trump administration's AI Action Plan.

Children's Minnesota pauses gender care after HHS Medicaid funding threat

Children's Minnesota announced February 3, 2026, that it would pause prescribing puberty blockers and hormones for patients under 18, effective February 27, citing federal threats to its Medicare and Medicaid certification. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. published proposed rules in December 2025 that would strip certification from hospitals providing gender-affirming care to minors, threatening all services at Minnesota's only comprehensive pediatric hospital. Medicaid covered 48% of 2023 admissions. A 21-state lawsuit led by Attorney General Keith Ellison was pending in federal court.

David A. Ross resigns School of Visual Arts chair role after Epstein file release

David A. Ross resigned as chair at the School of Visual Arts after the Epstein file release drew attention to past communications. The resignation was part of a broader wave of institutional fallout for prominent people whose relationships with Epstein became newly visible.