Worth Knowing, Probably Not Quite Threadworthy 2/5

[SVPete]

LA officials want nothing to do with 2028 Olympics chair after Epstein link

https://www.sfgate.com/la/article/la-officials-2028-olympics-chair-21333624.php

Multiple Los Angeles officials have called on 2028 LA Olympics committee chair Casey Wasserman to resign after his flirtatious emails with convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell became public.

Wasserman, 51, is the founder of a global sports marketing and talent agency that rapidly expanded thanks to a flurry of key competitor acquisitions. He’s also been a key figure in LA’s plans for the 2028 Olympics, both from the initial attempts to bring the sporting event to the city and as chairman of the committee once the games were officially coming to Southern California.

But Wasserman was back in the news this week for an entirely different reason. The U.S. Department of Justice released a new batch of Jeffrey Epstein files that not only included personal communications from the convicted sex offender but also included communication between Wasserman and Maxwell. The two went back and forth with racy emails, in which Epstein’s former girlfriend wrote about giving Wasserman a massage and he asked her, “So what do I have to do to see you in a tight leather outfit?”

Maxwell is in the Ewwwww--Butter-Face range, IMO.

[SVPete]

Four defendants, including 2 Venezuelans, allegedly used 115 stolen identities in massive food stamp fraud

https://www.foxnews.com/us/four-defendants-including-2-venezuelans-used-115-stolen-identities-massive-food-stamp-fraud

Four people, including two Venezuelan citizens, used 115 stolen identities in a $1 million food stamps and pandemic unemployment fraud scheme, the Justice Department said Tuesday.

Federal prosecutors said the suspects stole the identities from people all across the country, including six children, to obtain supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) benefits in Massachusetts and Rhode Island and pandemic unemployment benefits from Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Washington and Nevada.

The defendants were identified as Joel Vicioso Fernandez, 42, and Raul Fernandez Vicioso, 37, both of Fitchburg, Massachusetts; and Roman Vequiz Fernandez, 32, and Coralba Albarracin Siniva, 24, both Venezuelan nationals living in Leominster, Massachusetts.
...
The suspects also provided images of counterfeit passports and passport cards, with metadata that indicated the images were taken inside or within the immediate vicinity of El Primo Restaurant — a restaurant operated by Raul Fernandez Vicioso in Leominster, Massachusetts, federal prosecutors said.

The SNAP benefits were used to make bulk purchases of food items, including multiple-pound packages of chicken, beef and pork, at various local wholesalers and food markets to stock El Primo Restaurant, authorities said.

It's almost as if social programs are about spreading $$$$ rather than helping people with actual needs.

[SVPete]

Nike investigated for alleged discrimination against White workers

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2026/02/04/nike-dei-investigation-white-workers/88511519007/

The federal agency that fights workplace bias is investigating Nike over its treatment of White employees, making good on the Trump administration pledge to crack down on diversity, equity and inclusion policies and make shielding White men from discrimination a priority.

The investigation is one of the first announced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which put out a call seeking discrimination complaints from White men in December.

The EEOC said Wednesday, Feb. 4 it filed an action in federal court in Missouri to compel Nike to produce information related to allegations that the company discriminated against White workers as part of its DEI program and the targets it set to increase the number of underrepresented workers in its ranks and leadership.

I ceased using Nike back when they fellated Kaepernick. Hoka (except for "responsive" cushioning models) and New Balance "Fresh Foam" series are my preferences.

[SVPete]

'For What?': Daily Mail Reporter Pressures JD Vance to Apologize to the Family of Alex Pretti, Fails

https://twitchy.com/brettt/2026/02/04/daily-mail-reporter-pressures-vice-president-jd-vance-to-apologize-to-the-family-of-alex-pretti-n2424680

As we've reported, they've already started with the "JD Vance is worse than Trump" rhetoric, and the vice president was in hot water with the pro-illegal alien crowd when he reposted on X a post from Stephen Miller describing Pretti, who was shot and killed by Border Patrol agents, as an assassin. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tried to turn the tables by saying that Vance believed that "American people should be assassinated in the street." Video from a previous incident shows that Pretti was far from a peaceful protester, and he was found with a (legally owned) gun.

A dweeb reporter from The Daily Mail interviewed Vance and seemed insistent on securing a promise from Vance that he would apologize to Pretti's family for suggesting he was an assassin. Vance's response was classic.

Note that this video was posted by FactPost, which previously operated under the handle Kamala HQ and is the official rapid-response account of the Democratic Party.
...
We don't see "For what?" becoming as famous as "I really don't care, Margaret," but it's worthy. The way this administration deals with the press is fantastic. MSNBC shamed President Joe Biden into apologizing for calling Laken Riley's murderer an "illegal." You won't see that happening with this administration.

MSM reporters just don't get that Trump Administration push back and give better than they get.

[SVPete]

Trump calls Savannah Guthrie as search for her missing mom intensifies

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-calls-savannah-guthrie-search-her-missing-mom-intensifies

President Donald Trump called NBC "Today" co-host Savannah Guthrie on Wednesday as the search for her missing mother intensifies, Fox News Digital learned.

A White House official confirmed to Fox News Digital on Wednesday afternoon that Trump called and spoke with Guthrie. The official did not provide additional details on the call.
...
The president had offered additional federal support amid the search for the elderly woman on Tuesday, adding that he would call Savannah Guthrie.

Live: Trump ‘deploying all resources’ in search for Savannah Guthrie’s mother

https://www.newsnationnow.com/missing/savannah-guthrie-nancy-search-kash-patel-fbi/

(NewsNation) — President Donald Trump said he has directed “all federal law enforcement” to help with the investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie.

“We are deploying all resources to get her mother home safely,” Trump wrote on social media. “The prayers of our Nation are with her and her family.”

NBC and Guthrie have been sliming Trump for years. This is what Trump did/does when Guthrie's family is in crisis.

[SSG Snuggle Bunny]

Trump calls Savannah Guthrie as search for her missing mom intensifies

Somewhere out there, a lefty screeches, "He's only doing this to cover the fact he had her disappeared to intimidate Savannah!"

[SVPete]

Somewhere out there, a lefty screeches, "He's only doing this to cover the fact he had her disappeared to intimidate Savannah!"

kt or AvPro would certainly go there. Maybe maxrandb or the crazy from SF.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Bombshell Report Links Rashida Tlaib to Terrorist Groups

A nonpartisan watchdog group just dropped a bombshell report on Rashida Tlaib. The Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy’s briefing has laid out her deep ties to terror-linked radicals, and believes it’s a clear national security red flag for Congress.

"The conduct of Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, including her rhetoric, affiliations, campaign infrastructure, and ideological alignment with certain individuals and organizations, raises serious concerns about potential risks to the ethical and institutional integrity of the United States government," the report explains.

The report details a "recurring pattern" of behavior that it says suggests an ideological affinity for radical movements, ranging from participation in conferences featuring convicted terrorists to significant campaign payments made to activists linked to Hamas and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-aligned networks.

The briefing covers Tlaib’s financial history and says her campaign apparatus poured large sums of cash to anti-Israel activists, including almost $600,000 between 2020 and 2025 to Unbought Power, a consulting firm headed by Rasha Mubarak.

Mubarak has faced scrutiny for her past affiliations with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2009 Holy Land Foundation terror-financing trial, and the Alliance for Global Justice (AFGJ), which has been investigated for ties to the PFLP-linked group Samidoun.

Tlaib, according to the briefing, has shared the stage with a variety of questionable figures highlighted by a conference alongside Wisam Rafeedie, a convicted PFLP operative, who defended the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack as "resistance."

cchttps://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2026/02/05/bombshell-report-links-rashida-tlaib-to-terrorist-groups-n4949166

[SVPete]

Like Omar, hers is an ultra-safe district, so unless she is convicted of some felony, she's in office for as long as she cares to be.