Maxwell Stays Mum, Coffee For Dementia, & Most Welcoming Cities

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Adam Rogers
February 10, 2026

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Ghislaine Maxwell invoked the Fifth Amendment during a closed-door House Oversight Committee deposition Monday, refusing to answer questions about her crimes with Jeffrey Epstein or potential co-conspirators. Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence in a Texas federal prison and has a habeas corpus petition pending to overturn her conviction or reduce her sentence.
Her lawyer wrote in January that if she receives a pardon, she would be "willing and eager to testify openly and honestly, in public, before Congress." He has continued pressing for this arrangement in exchange for her testimony. President Trump did not rule out pardoning Maxwell when asked in July.
Chairman James Comer said he would not support clemency for Maxwell. The committee has five depositions scheduled in the coming weeks, including retail billionaire Leslie Wexner on February 18, Hillary Clinton on February 26, and Bill Clinton on February 27.

Drinking two to three cups of caffeinated coffee or one to two cups of tea daily lowers dementia risk, according to a study of nearly 132,000 adults published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The research followed participants for a median of 37 years, during which more than 11,000 developed dementia.
People who drank the most caffeinated coffee had an 18% lower dementia risk compared to those who drank the least. Those who drank the most tea had a 14% lower risk. The optimal intake was approximately 300 milligrams of caffeine daily. Benefits were strongest in people 75 and younger and held even for those with the APOE4 gene, a significant Alzheimer's risk factor.
Decaffeinated coffee showed no neuroprotective benefits. Researchers noted that decaffeination removes not just caffeine but also polyphenols and other compounds that may provide the protective effect.

Venezuela's attorney general requested the re-arrest of opposition figure Juan Pablo Guanipa on Monday, less than 12 hours after his release from eight months of detention. Opposition leader María Corina Machado said "heavily armed men in civilian clothes" arrived in four vehicles and "violently took him away" in Caracas. Authorities cited a violation of release conditions, though Guanipa's son said his father violated no conditions. His whereabouts remain unknown.
The development came as Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodríguez has faced mounting pressure to release hundreds detained for political activities. Rodríguez was sworn in after the US military seized President Nicolás Maduro and his wife from Caracas on January 3, landing them in New York to face federal drug trafficking charges.
At least 30 people were released Sunday, including several members of Machado's organization. The National Assembly is debating an amnesty bill that could free hundreds more.

Vice President JD Vance became the first sitting US leader to visit Armenia, offering nuclear energy deals and advanced technology while pushing peace negotiations with Azerbaijan. (More)

President Trump will meet only with Republicans at the annual White House governors meeting this month, ditching a bipartisan tradition despite hosting a separate dinner for both parties. (More)

The Justice Department dismissed its criminal case against Trump ally Steve Bannon, who was convicted in 2022 for refusing to testify to the January 6 committee. (More)

Iran sentenced Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi to seven more years in prison after she started a hunger strike in support of dissident protestors. (More)

Thailand's conservative Bhumjaithai Party won 193 seats in elections, the first time this century voters rejected populist parties in favor of stability and continuity. (More)

Cuba banned airline refueling on Monday as aviation fuel runs low after Trump threatened tariffs on any country that supplies the island with oil. (More)

US stock markets closed higher on Monday (S&P +0.47%, Nasdaq +0.90%, Dow +0.04%). Technology stocks rebounded to drive the broader market higher. (More)

Short seller CapitalWatch retracted false claims that AppLovin shareholder Hao Tang had criminal ties, sending the stock up 14% after weeks of legal pressure. (More)

Kroger hired Greg Foran, former Walmart US chief who revived its stores, as CEO. (More)

Serena Williams is eligible to return to tennis on February 22 after six months of drug testing, though she previously told fans "I'm NOT coming back" when speculation began. (More)

Warriors star Stephen Curry will skip the All-Star Game due to runner's knee that's kept him out four games. (More)

Baseball's spring training kicks off this week as pitchers and catchers report to camps in Arizona and Florida, with games starting February 20 across both states. (More)

The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at Brookhaven Lab completed its final run Friday after 25 years smashing atoms, making way for a new Electron-Ion Collider using its components. (More)

A study of 1.2 million Israeli infants found that vegan and vegetarian babies grow nearly identically to meat-eaters by age two, easing concerns about plant-based diets for early development. (More)

Lyft now allows teens as young as 13 to ride alone in 200 cities, catching up to Uber with features such as parental controls, driver background checks, and real-time tracking. (More)

Wolf ventures into LA County for the first time in 100 years.

See highlights from the 2026 Puppy Bowl.

Michelangelo sketch of a foot sells for $27 M.

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