Greetings! Happy National Guitar Day to those celebrating.

Let’s get into today’s top stories.

By the time AI news hits CNBC, CNN, Fox, and even social media, the info is already too late. What feels “new” to most people has usually been in motion for weeks — sometimes months — quietly shaping products, markets, and decisions behind the scenes.

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🇲🇽 Cartels turn drones into border couriers and battlefield eyes. Mexican criminal groups are flying cheap quadcopters for scouting, smuggling, and intimidation. Near Ciudad Juárez, drones skim rooftops and the Rio Grande for quick drops. United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) logged more than 27K drone detections within 500 meters of the southern border in the last six months of 2024. Agents say many craft are modified to carry narcotics in small, repeatable loads. In Mexico, rivals also use drones as airborne spotters in turf fights. Officials describe an adaptation race where every jammer invites a workaround. The flights can also snarl civilian air traffic when pilots report sightings. Border leaders say the threat is less Hollywood, more volume and persistence. The sky is now another lane of organized crime.

🇰🇭 Cambodia’s scam-compound exodus is outrunning the safety net. Raids and escapes are pushing thousands out of fortified sites tied to online fraud. Survivors say they were lured by jobs, then trapped and forced to run scams. A shelter in Cambodia says it turned away more than 300 people in a week when beds ran out. Staff say it can house about 150 at a time, so the overflow sleeps wherever it fits. The program relied on $1.4M from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) via partner Winrock International. Workers say that support evaporated after American foreign assistance was suspended and USAID was dismantled in early 2025. Officials still urge victims to report traffickers, even as translators and counselors vanish. Charities warn the compounds adapt faster than law enforcement, and recruiters keep hunting abroad. When rescue depends on budgets, freedom arrives with a price tag.

🚫 FAA closes El Paso airspace due to Mexican cartel drones. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) restricted flights over El Paso on January 31st after repeated drone sightings near the border. The notice said the closure could last 10 days, with reopening expected February 9th. The airspace reopened early on February 6th at 5 p.m., officials said. El Paso International Airport reported seven arrivals and seven departures canceled, with 12 flights diverted. Sources say the American Department of Defense (DOD) authorized United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to deploy an anti-drone laser. The system aims to disable drones, not blow them up. FAA records warned “thousands” of drones may be in use and some pose a “very serious” threat to aviation. Officials say cartel crews use drones as scouts and couriers, and pilots keep spotting them. In border cities, even the sky needs crowd control.

⚖️ Pam Bondi takes heat as Epstein files stay a political bonfire. Attorney General Pam Bondi spent about five hours before the House Judiciary Committee as Democrats demanded specifics. The hearing fixated on why promised document releases tied to Jeffrey Epstein have stayed partial and chaotic. Bondi parried questions about what is still sealed, what is redacted, and who decided. She argued the issue persists because President Trump has referenced it, so the public expects answers. Democrats accused the Justice Department of fanning expectations, then hiding behind process. Bondi said some online postings were pulled because they included information about victims. Republicans defended her and aimed questions back at past administrations and prosecutors. The clash left few new facts, but hardened incentives on both sides. In Washington, secrecy is a tool, and spectacle is the instruction manual.

📱 Instagram chief says clinical addiction is not the right label. Adam Mosseri, Instagram’s head, testified in Los Angeles in a landmark trial over youth harm. Families accuse social media companies of engineering compulsive use in children. Mosseri said he does not believe people can become clinically addicted to social media. He distinguished heavy use from a medical diagnosis, and warned against sloppy language in policy, which critics countered comprises pedantry and semantics. Plaintiffs pointed to infinite feeds, push alerts, and feedback loops that reward attention. Lawyers argued platforms keep users engaged even when the costs are foreseeable. Mosseri acknowledged tradeoffs, but said companies also build tools meant to limit exposure. The jury is being asked to decide whether the product is entertainment or an exploit. For tech executives, the witness stand is the new product review page.

🎬 James Van Der Beek, “Dawson’s Creek” star, dies at 48. James Van Der Beek became famous as Dawson Leery, then spent years parodying his own heartthrob era. His family said he died Wednesday morning and asked for privacy. Van Der Beek disclosed in 2024 that he was being treated for colorectal cancer. He later appeared by video at a “Dawson’s Creek” reunion charity event after illness kept him away. Friends and fans remembered a performer who could be earnest, then instantly in on the joke. He also acted in films including “Varsity Blues,” and kept working steadily beyond teen TV. Tributes praised his humor and his openness about health and fatherhood. His death lands as a reminder that nostalgia is not a shield against biology. The screen keeps rolling, but a familiar face is gone.

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That’s all for today!

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