Bondi defends DOJ in heated Epstein hearing; NATO expands Arctic effort

Attorney General Pam Bondi faced a combative House hearing over the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein files. Lawmakers pressed her on redactions and indictments, and the exchanges turned personal.

Plus, police say an 18-year-old killed six people after opening fire at a secondary school in British Columbia. Now we’re learning what she did at home before the attack.

And NATO unveils a new unified Arctic command as Russia expands its military presence and China’s activity increases.

These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Thursday, February 12, 2026.

Download the SAN app today to stay up-to-date with Unbiased. Straight Facts™.

Point phone camera here

Bondi trades insults with lawmakers during heated Epstein files hearing

Attorney General Pam Bondi went to Capitol Hill for a fight on Wednesday, facing hours of pointed questions over the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. And a fight is exactly what she delivered.

What was supposed to be a hearing on oversight with the House Judiciary Committee quickly turned into a shouting match, with Democrats pressing her and Bondi firing back.

At one point, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., demanded to know how many alleged co-conspirators have been indicted.

Nadler: “How many of Epstein’s co-conspirators have you indicted? How many perpetrators are you even investigating?”

Bondi: “First, you showed a, I find it.”

Nadler: “How many have you indicted?”

Bondi: “Excuse me, I’m gonna answer the question.”

Nadler: “Answer my question.”

Bondi: “No, I’m going to answer the question the way I want to answer the question; your theatrics are ridiculous.” 

The tension escalated from there when Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., tried to reclaim time for Nadler, Bondi snapped, calling him a “washed-up loser.”

Bondi: “So he asked a four-minute question …”

Raskin: “Restore 45 seconds to Mr. Nadler please, Mr. Chairman. You can let her filibuster all day long, but not on our watch. Not on our time. No way. And I told you about that, Attorney General, before you started.”

Bondi: “You don’t tell me anything.”

Raskin: “Oh, I did tell you because we saw what you did in the Senate.”

Bondi: “You don’t tell me anything, you washed-up loser. You are not even a lawyer.” 

The heart of the hearing centered on Epstein survivors seated just behind Bondi in the room.

Bondi told them she was “deeply sorry” for the abuse they endured.

But when Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., asked her to apologize for the department’s failure to reach out to the, here’s what happened:

Jayapal: “This is not about anybody that came before you, it is about you taking responsibility for your Department of Justice and the harm that it has done to the survivors who are standing right behind you and are waiting for you to turn to them and apologize for what your Department of Justice has done.”

Chairman Jim Jordan: “Members get to ask the questions, the witness gets to answer in the way they want to answer.”

Bondi: “Because she doesn’t like the answer. So, um, didn’t she ask Merrick Garland this twice when he sat in my chair?”

Jayapal: “I am reclaiming my time.”

Bondi: “I will continue to answer… I’m not gonna get in the gutter for her theatrics.”

The exchanges didn’t stop there. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., pressed Bondi on whether President Donald Trump knew about ties between Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Epstein.

The confrontation quickly turned personal.

Balint: “Was the president aware of Secretary Lutnick’s ties to Epstein when he chose him to lead the Department of Commerce? Was he aware?”

Bondi: “Chris Malin was a border patrol agent that was shot, and she never mentioned– “

Balint: “Okay, so I’m going to conclude that the president, in fact, did know about his ties because he was the next-door neighbor.”

Bondi: “Shame on you. You’re from a tiny, beautiful state.”

Balint: “Oh, for goodness sakes. This is pathetic. This is pathetic, Mr. Chair. I am not asking trick questions here. The American people have a right to know the answers to this. These are senior officials in the Trump administration. This is not a game, secretary.”

Bondi: “I’m attorney general.”

Balint: “My apologies, I couldn’t tell.”

Even Republicans pressed Bondi.

Thomas Massie, R-Ky., a Trump critic, challenged the Justice Department over redactions involving alleged Epstein associates.

Massie: “Are you able to track who in your organization made this massive failure and released the victims’ names? Are you able to check who it was that obscured Les Wexner’s name as a co-conspirator in an FBI document?” 

Bondi: “Within 40 minutes, Wexner’s name was added back in.”

Massie: “Within 40 minutes of me catching you red-handed.”

Bondi: “Red-handed? There was one redaction out of over 4,700.”

Massie: “Where he’s listed as a co-conspirator.”

Bondi: “And we invited you in …This guy has Trump Derangement Syndrome. He needs to…you’re a failed politician. You need to get onto things that matter.”

Bondi repeatedly defended Trump, calling him the most transparent president in history and demanding Democrats apologize to him and questioning why her predecessor, Merrick Garland, was never called to testify about the Epstein files.

By the end of the five-hour hearing, the questions about the Epstein files remained, but the tone of the day was unmistakable.

Bondi did not come to concede ground; she came to counter-punch.

Canada school shooting suspect had prior mental health checks

We’re learning more about the suspect in Tuesday’s mass shooting at a Canadian school that left multiple people dead.

Authorities say the suspect was 18-year-old Jesse van Rootselaar, a trans woman.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police say she first killed her mother and 11-year-old stepbrother at the family’s home, then went to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School.

Police say six people were killed at the school and more than two dozen others were wounded.

Van Rootselaar later died from what authorities describe as a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

“The deceased victims from the school include an adult female educator, three female students, and two male students between the ages of 13 and 17,” Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald with the British Columbia Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.

Investigators say the suspect had a history of police visits to her home related to mental health concerns.

The motive remains unclear.

Police initially reported that seven people were killed at the school, but clarified Wednesday that one victim who had been airlifted to a medical center is still alive.

The investigation remains ongoing.

NATO launches ‘Arctic Sentry,’ coordinating Arctic operations under one command

NATO is reorganizing its Arctic footprint by launching a new command structure, Arctic Sentry.

The move follows weeks of strain inside the alliance after Trump threatened to annex Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte says Arctic Sentry will, for the first time, bring allied Arctic activities under a single command structure. It will allow the alliance to identify and close security gaps more effectively, as Russia expands its military footprint in the region and China increases its presence.

NATO officials stress Arctic Sentry isn’t a standalone military operation and will not involve permanent NATO-branded troop deployments.

Instead, it consolidates existing efforts into a single, coordinated framework.

“What is really new about it is that for the first time now we will bring everything we do in the Arctic together under one command, and by doing that, and we have seen the same in the Baltic region, we have seen the same when it comes to Eastern Sentry we will not only be able to leverage what we are doing much more effectively and having a bigger impact,” said NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

The United Kingdom said it will double its troop presence in Norway to 2,000 over the next three years. Some of those forces are expected to participate in Exercise Lion Protector, scheduled for September.

European allies say the new structure is intended to refocus NATO’s attention on regional security, particularly Russia’s war in Ukraine, and stabilize internal tensions following the Greenland dispute.

‘Dawson’s Creek’ star James Van Der Beek dies at 48 from colorectal cancer

Hollywood is mourning the loss of a familiar face: James Van Der Beek. The “Dawson’s Creek” star and lead of the film “Varsity Blues” died Wednesday at 48 after a battle with colorectal cancer. 

Van Der Beek rose to fame as Dawson Leery on “Dawson’s Creek,” which ran from 1998 to 2003, and later starred in several films and television projects.

His wife, Kimberly, announced his death on Instagram, writing, “He met his final days with courage, faith and grace.” The couple had six children.

In 2024, Van Der Beek revealed that he had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer. At the time, he told People magazine he was feeling strong and taking steps to fight the disease. In 2025, he said he was selling personal memorabilia from his career to help cover treatment costs.

Colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among adults under 50 in the United States.

• 

• 

• 

• 

Upon hearing of his death, tributes quickly followed.

His former “Dawson’s Creek” co-star Busy Phillips described him as “one in a billion” and expressed that he would be “forever missed.”

Team USA adds two more golds, climbs to 3rd in Milan-Cortina Games

Team USA is racking up medals one week into the Milan-Cortina Winter Games. On Wednesday, the U.S. won two additional gold medals, climbing to third place overall and tying for second in total gold medals with four.

Speedskater Jordan Stolz won the men’s one-thousand-meter race in Olympic-record time: 1 minute, 6.28 seconds. That’s not even his fastest time; Stolz holds the world record in the event at 1 minute, 5.37 seconds.

• 

• 

• 

On the slopes, skier Elizabeth Lemley won gold in women’s freestyle moguls with a score of 82.3. Teammate Jaelin Kauf earned silver — her second Olympic medal in that event.

The U.S. now leads all countries in silver medals, with six total.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Another silver medal came on Wednesday from Madison Chock and Evan Bates in the figure skating ice dance event. They trail France’s Guillaume Cizeron and Laurence Fournier Beaudry by just 0.46 points heading into the free skate.

And in men’s super-G, Ryan Cochran-Siegle added to the medal count, earning silver and matching his runner-up finish from the 2022 Beijing Games.

Start your day with fact-based news.

Learn more about our emails. Unsubscribe Anytime.

---

More from Straight Arrow News:

States scramble to cut SNAP error rates, or risk billions in penalties next year

Louisiana has become the latest state to try to lower its error rate for its Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. If the states are unable to do so, they will face significant financial penalties depending on how high their SNAP error rates are. Read the full story now>