Greetings! Happy Valentine’s Day to those celebrating.

Let’s get into today’s top stories.

🇷🇺 Navalny death tied to poison dart frog toxin. Five European governments say Alexei Navalny was poisoned with epibatidine. Britain, France, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands say European labs found it in his body. Epibatidine is a neurotoxin associated with poison dart frogs in South America. Officials said it is not found in Russia and was likely lab-made. They said it can act like a nerve agent, tightening breath and slowing the heart. The joint statement argued Russia had the means, motive, and opportunity to administer it. Navalny built his fame as an opposition leader and anti-corruption campaigner. He previously survived a 2020 nerve-agent attack before returning to Russia. He died on February 16th, 2024, in a penal colony after falling ill. His widow, Yulia Navalnaya, called the findings proof and blamed Vladimir Putin.

🇩🇪 Rubio calms allies in Munich, while Trump’s stance stays firm. Marco Rubio used the Munich Security Conference to steady European nerves. The American secretary of state praised allies, then repeated President Donald Trump’s hard asks. He said the partnership is real, citing fights from Kapyong to Kandahar. Still, the room remembered last month’s tariff threats tied to Greenland. Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned the dispute is not over. Rubio also pressed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to spend more on defense. European Union (EU) leaders called his tone warmer than recent rhetoric. That mattered after Vice President JD Vance’s 2025 lecture on European values. Rubio promised America wants prosperity with allies, not a solo act. The applause was polite, but the subtext was transactional.

🧩 Zizians cases sprawl across 3 states after agent’s killing. Seven alleged members of the Zizians are fighting criminal cases in three states. Authorities describe the group as cultlike and link it to six deaths. In Maryland, Jack “Ziz” LaSota, Michelle Zajko, and Daniel Blank sat through hearings in Cumberland. They face trespass counts, multiple gun allegations, and drug charges. Prosecutors say the drugs include Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) possession and intent to deliver. Jury selection was set for this week, but the Maryland trial slipped to June. In Vermont, Teresa Youngblut is accused of shooting Border Patrol Agent David Maland during a traffic stop. Another agent wounded Youngblut and killed her companion, Felix Bauckholt, officials said. The Vermont shooting unfolded hours after President Donald Trump began a second term. Across courtrooms, the shared theme is delay; families are running out of patience.

🛂 Passport processing halts at some nonprofit libraries nationwide. The United States Department of State ordered nonprofit libraries to stop processing passport applications. Cease-and-desist notices began in late fall and took effect February 13th. The dispute centers on the Passport Acceptance Facility program and who may handle fees. The department says the Passport Act of 1920 bars nongovernmental groups from collecting and retaining charges. At Otis Library in Norwich, director Cathleen Special said a once-busy room went silent. Young adult librarian Emily Gardiner said patrons now leave with forms but no stamp. The State Department argues the impact is limited because 99% of Americans live within 20 miles of another site. Librarians counter 20 miles can be a wall for seniors and rural families. Representatives Madeleine Dean and John Joyce proposed a fix for Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) libraries. Until Congress acts, the easiest place to start a trip just lost its fastest line.

🎭 Olympics chair Casey Wasserman moves to sell talent agency. The disgraced entertainment mogul says he has started selling his talent agency, Wasserman. He also chairs the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games organizing committee (LA28). The move follows release of 2003 emails between Wasserman and Ghislaine Maxwell. Maxwell was later convicted of helping financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse girls. Wasserman said his contact was limited, and he regrets the messages. A staff memo said Mike Watts will run the agency during the sale. LA28’s board and an outside law firm reviewed his interactions and kept him as chair. They said the relationship did not go beyond what was already public. The agency has already lost clients, including singer Chappell Roan. In Los Angeles, scandal is a currency, and silence is rarely free.

🏅 Epstein files show Nobel glamour used to bait elite invites. New Department of Justice files show Jeffrey Epstein dangling Nobel proximity as bait. He repeatedly touted ties to Thorbjørn Jagland, a former Norwegian Nobel Committee chair. Jagland led the committee from 2009 to 2015 and also headed the Council of Europe. The files mention him hundreds of times across millions of released documents. Norway’s economic-crime unit Økokrim has now charged Jagland with aggravated corruption. Investigators said they are probing gifts, travel, and loans connected to his role. Epstein invited elites like Richard Branson, Larry Summers, and Steve Bannon to meet Jagland. He also emailed Microsoft ($MSFT) co-founder Bill Gates about Jagland’s re-election. The documents show no clear Nobel lobbying, just the sheen of access. The moral writes itself, prestige is a currency and predators love cashing it.

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That’s all for today!

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