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CNN’s Less-Than-Energetic Epstein Revelation, and ABC Declares Trump Killed the Planet in One Day

Brad Slager
Brad Slager  |  Feb 13, 2026
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News Avoidance Syndrome – CNN

  • That is burying the lede with an excavator.

With the latest tranche of Epstein files documents, there has been a notable lack of energy from the press about the contents. This is largely due to the revelation that the FBI spoke with local law enforcement in West Palm who confirmed that Donald Trump came to them with reports on Epstein decades back. Another contested document with redactions involved a victim’s lawyer affirming that Trump was helping them in their cases against Epstein.

These deliver what you would call “conflicting evidence.”

In another instance, a named individual has come to light. Kathy Ruemmler is a prominent lawyer, from a prominent law firm, and after her connections to Epstein were made known, she has been dropped from Goldman Sachs. CNN, in reporting on this development, also provided another detail about Ruemmler…eventually.

Deep in the piece and absent from the headlines, it is eventually stated that Ruemmler was the chief White House counsel for President Barack Obama.

Gilded Reframe – ABC NEWS

  • One day, positive economic reports will be considered good news…we think.

It has been a tough few weeks for the press on the economic front. Good for citizens, but bad for the press. The last jobs report was better than predicted, the stock market keeps setting records, and now inflation results have failed to meet expectations. 

The rate has dropped once again, and as ABC News sees this positive data, it reacts in the only way it knows how, by attempting to spin something negative out of the numbers.

DNC PR Firm – PUBLIC BROADCASTING SERVICE

  • Well, they feel bad, so the good news does not count.

As we just mentioned, the employment report came in with over 100,000 jobs created, but this is not good news, either. Experts and pundits at PBS were scrambling to explain that the number that was far better than anybody expected is actually bad. 

The main takeaway is that while these positive economic returns keep coming in, people still feel like it is a bad economy, and that is what we need to focus on.

Artisanally-Crafted Narratives – ABC NEWS

  • He just passed the policy, but somehow he is already killing the planet.

Upon hearing that President Trump is rolling back automobile emissions restrictions, David Muir and Mary Bruce leaped to the cameras to inform us how Trump is killing the planet.

That was fast.

The hysteria continued into the daybreak hours, as Good Morning America also weighed in with the melodramatics.

Glossary Over Things – NBC NEWS

  • Why won’t these Hispanics use the term we created for them?!

NBC News sees a Pew Research poll and is baffled by the results. After years of insistence and badgering of those who refuse to adjust their vocabulary, it turns out the overwhelming majority of Hispanics are not adopting the politically-correct identifier of “Latinx.”

Not only is a minuscule amount of their people using the label, but about half of all Hispanics have not even heard of it.

It remains the case that most people ascribing this “Latinx”  term are probably liberal white women or the media. 

Demo-lition Project – VANITY FAIR

  • Maybe a word-of-mouth campaign will jump-start things.

For a couple of weeks now, Gabe Sherman has been on a media blitz, promoting his book release on the Murdoch family, “Bonfire of the Murdochs.”

That desperate title choice to spur sales did not work, nor did his frequent guest appearances across the media spectrum. Sales figures from Bookscan show that barely 1,000 copies were moved, and it is performing worse than Olivia Nuzzi’s ridiculed release. On the sales list, Sherman was trailing behind “Comfy Buddies: a Creepy Sweet Coloring Book.”

Possibly a result of the dying off of the industry, or that those opposing the Murdochs and Fox News have already turned away from them. Or the fact that nothing really newsworthy has been revealed by the title.