The United States, once the envy of the world, is now a nation in profound decline. For the sake of our children and future generations, we must reverse that decline and change, in very fundamental ways, the direction of our country. How do we reverse America’s decline? In times of great crisis, the American people came together and chose democracy over authoritarianism, justice over greed, solidarity over division. That is how we reverse America’s decline, renew our democracy, and build a future worthy of our children and generations yet to come.

All listed events, and more, can be viewed online on The OBSERVER’s community events calendar at SacObserver.com. Be sure to submit your events two weeks in advance to have the chance to be featured on the list.

Bad Bunny is expected to perform the Super Bowl half-time show on Sunday entirely in Spanish – which has inspired fans to quickly learn the language. There has been a frenzy online of people posting about Bad Bunny lyrics, including Puerto Ricans explaining slang used by the singer and non-Spanish speakers documenting their journey to learn Spanish. It just feels good.”Miller said he has got messages from people who watch his videos with their parents since he started posting about the process of learning Spanish. View image in fullscreen Niklaus Miller has been learning Bad Bunny lyrics since the singer’s SNL appearance. For Thomas, Bad Bunny’s music offered the perfect opportunity to take on the challenge of learning a new language.

"Our expert elicitation reveals a fundamental disconnect: Climate scientists understand that beyond 2°C, we're not dealing with manageable economic adjustments," said Jesse Abrams, lead author and senior impact fellow at Exeter's Green Futures Solutions, in a statement. "The climate scientists we surveyed were unambiguous," he explained. "Current economic models systematically underestimate climate damages because they can't capture what matters most—the cascading failures, threshold effects, and compounding shocks that define climate risk in a warmer world and could undermine the very foundations of economic growth." Abrams told the Guardian that some current economic models "are saying we'll have a 10% GDP loss at between 3°C and 4°C, but the physical climate scientists are saying the economy and society will cease to function as we know it. Your periodic reminder that the economic models that suggest climate change will knock a couple of percent of future GDP - models that are used widely by governments, investors, and businesses - are almost certainly complete garbage.

Commenting on reports that the Government plans to cut climate finance for the developing world [1], Gareth Redmond-King, Head of International Programme at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) said: "If true, the government's own recent national security assessment [2] would suggest such a move risks being an act of self-harm for the UK. We import two fifths of our food from overseas, much grown in countries being hit hardest by extremes of heat and flood. The UK’s climate finance helps farmers in these countries to adapt their farming to maintain both their livelihoods and our food security. And with China potentially offering forms of climate finance to poorer nations which need it, the longer term risk is to the UK’s relative power and influence around the world." Defra: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nature-security-assessment-on-global-biodiversity-loss-ecosystem-collapse-and-national-securityFor more information or for interview requests:George Smeeton, Head of Communications, ECIU, Tel: 07894 571 153, email: george.smeeton@eciu.net

For Starmer, a leader who has already developed a reputation for weakness in public office, this is a grievous blow. The one-time president of Harvard University stepped back from public commitments last year saying he was “deeply ashamed” after emails with Epstein showed him making sexist remarks and asking for romantic advice. Otherwise, the gossipy fallout between the tech bros, and between Bill and Melinda Gates, has attracted the most interest. Norway’s crown princess, Mette-Marit, has come under scrutiny after documents showed years of contact with Epstein. She said in a statement issued by the royal palace: “I showed poor judgment and I deeply regret having had any contact with Epstein.

In any other season, Antoine Semenyo would not have been allowed to feature for Manchester City in the semi-final of Fizzy Cup due to being “cup-tied” after playing for Bournemouth in their August defeat to Brentford. Having seen his team clearly benefit from this revolutionary tweak of Fizzy Cup rule 6.4.2, you’d expect Pep Guardiola to be delighted, eh? Specifically the one that states a player can only represent two clubs in Fizzy Cup if he joins the second one before a ball has been kicked in the semi-final. I don’t understand the reason why he cannot play in the final in March, when I have been here for a long time. Max Rushden, Barry Glendenning, Sam Dalling and Dan Bardell discuss the Fizzy Cup semi-finals and look ahead to Liverpool v Manchester City.

Labour should halt public contracts with the US tech company Palantir, opposition politicians have said, amid growing concern at the lack of government transparency over dealings with the company and Peter Mandelson. A spokesperson for Palantir said its “software is helping to deliver better public services in the UK. The government has previously blocked several attempts to use freedom of information laws to investigate Mandelson’s appointment and Palantir’s contracts. The MoD said a release could compromise the defence of the UK and prejudice the MoD’s ability to secure value for money from contractors. Wrigley said: “The lack of transparency in the deals with Palantir is concerning.

Both Vance and Rubio are expected to attend Friday night’s opening ceremony at the San Siro. Olympic officials have quietly expressed hope the ceremony will unfold without political demonstrations directed at American athletes or officials. View image in fullscreen Secretary of state Marco Rubio and vice-president JD Vance met with US athletes on Thursday. Ticket-holders showed little response when Vance and Rubio slipped into the stands midway through the first period. Usha Vance wore a white fleece featuring the Stars and Stripes across the back alongside the Olympic rings.

Following the fatal shootings of American citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis last month, Democrats have refused to support long-term funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) unless Republicans agree to reforms on the tactics of federal agents carrying out Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. “The American people rightfully expect their elected representatives to take action to rein in ICE and ensure no more lives are lost,” the Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, and his House counterpart, Hakeem Jeffries, wrote on Wednesday night in a letter issuing 10 formal demands to GOP leadership in order to avert a 13 February lapse in funding for the department, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the US Border Patrol. Republicans, who control both chambers, have already ruled out many of the ideas Democrats have outlined, but Democrats are expected to put forward legislation to codify their proposals. The full list of Democrats’ demands is as follows:

“I don’t know why I’m attracted to somebody – I don’t know,” he tells Bannon. Do you think you’re the devil himself?” Taken aback by the line of questioning, Epstein replies: “I don’t know. Epstein views cashflow as the “blood” of the financial system; if liquidity dries up, the system “dies” regardless of other metrics. Socrates could think.”Then, in a peculiar exchange, Bannon asks: “Jesus of Nazareth was the same way, right? Bannon: I’m peeling this onion back a layer at a time.

“In the end, you don’t feel disturbed – you feel blank.” There are still some nights, she says, when the dreams return. “That’s when you know the job has done something to you.”Researchers say this emotional numbing – followed by delayed psychological fallout – is a defining feature of content moderation work. “In terms of risk,” she says, “content moderation belongs in the category of dangerous work, comparable to any lethal industry.”Studies indicate content moderation triggers lasting cognitive and emotional strain, often resulting in behavioural changes such as heightened vigilance. She uses a secondhand laptop to do content moderation work. About 80% of data-annotation and content moderation workers are drawn from rural, semi-rural ormarginalised backgrounds.

I first used Excel at university in Cork while studying maths and physics. It soon rebranded as the Microsoft Excel world championship. It’s a niche thing in some ways but, then again, Excel is used by hundreds of millions of people around the world. View image in fullscreen Diarmuid walking down the ‘hype tunnel’ at the Excel World Championship. But when I saw the instructions for the final case – using Excel to fold a virtual sheet of origami – it felt like something I could do.

The Trump administration is seeking to finalize its overhaul of the federal government’s civil service system through a rule issued this week by the office of personnel management (OPM) to strip job protections from 50,000 civil service employees. Under the rule, the president would have the authority to fire and hire an estimated 50,000 career federal employees. On Trump’s first day in office on 20 January 2025, he issued an executive order to reclassify thousands of federal employees as political appointees. The largest union representing federal workers called the rule “a direct assault on a professional, nonpartisan, merit-based civil service”. Stripping civil service protections has also been a central plank of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 blueprint.

Alpine skiing: Bay Area athletes at the 2026 Winter OlympicsThis year’s U.S. Alpine Ski Team is chock full of Bay Area and Lake Tahoe-area athletes, including San Francisco native Nina O’Brien, who’s returning to ski racing after breaking her leg at the last Games in 2022 and then again in 2023. Freestyle skiing: Bay Area athletes at the 2026 Winter OlympicsOn the freestyle skiing side, Stanford is sending two athletes to the Games this year, including Zoe Atkin, who came ninth in Beijing and won this year’s X Games. Cross-country skiing: Bay Area athletes at the 2026 Winter OlympicsYet another Stanford athlete, Sammy Smith, qualified for the Olympics — just two months after her soccer season as a starting defender for the Cardinal ended. Ice hockey: Bay Area athletes at the 2026 Winter OlympicsA handful of players on the San José Sharks made their respective countries’ teams. Paralympic Winter Olympic Games events will start on March 6.