Day: February 2, 2026

As federal agents carry out the massive “Operation Metro Surge” in Minnesota, tensions continue between the Department of Homeland Security and local leaders over the scale and tactics of immigration enforcement. In New York, Governor Kathy Hochul is pushing the ‘Local Cops, Local Crimes’ Act to rework how local law enforcement cooperates with federal immigration authorities, a move critics argue compromises public safety. Republican Representative for New York’s 11th District, Nicole Malliotakis, joins the Rundown to discuss these enforcement shifts as well as the current legal battle over her own district.
As political tensions continue to rise, some experts warn the constant outrage and fixation may be taking a real toll on Americans’ mental health. With divisions deepening over immigration enforcement, protests, and heated rhetoric from both sides, the question becomes whether the country can step back from the brink of permanent political anxiety. Psychotherapist and author of the upcoming book Therapy Nation, Jonathan Alpert, joins the Rundown to explain why he says politics is occupying too much space in our lives—and how to begin letting it go. Plus, commentary by New York Post and FOX News
columnist, Karol Markowicz.
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On the surface, the announcement in late January 2026 seemed like a dry piece of bureaucratic housekeeping: the European Union, Azerbaijan, and the EBRD had signed off on a feasibility study for a railway linking Azerbaijan’s mainland to its isolated exclave of Nakhchivan. But in the corridors of power in Brussels and Baku, the project is being spoken of in far more epic terms. It is the latest move in a high-stakes geopolitical chess game intended to pivot the center of gravity for global trade away from traditional northern routes. This isn’t just about track and ballast; it is a direct response to a world of “permacrisis.

A total of $2.62 million in investment was attracted by 22 startups in 2025, according to Farid Osmanov, Chairman of the Board of the Innovation and Digital Development Agency (IRIA).