The Hound | Feb. 9

Hi there,

It’s Monday. In NYC, nurses reached a deal to end strikes at two major hospital, though another is still facing a walkout. Internationally, Japan’s ruling conservative party won a landslide snap election called by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and in continued fallout of the Epstein files, more Labour Party officials in the UK are calling for Prime Minister Kier Starmer to step down. Meanwhile, fallout of the Washington Post layoffs continues in the US media.

Jeff Bezos’s sweeping layoffs at the Washington Post have hollowed out key reporting teams—foreign bureaus, local beats, and editorial capacity—just as the nation heads into critical election cycles. Cutting one-third of the newsroom diminishes the paper’s ability to cover the 2026 midterms, document corruption, follow emerging threats, and hold power to account. Fewer journalists also mean less capacity to investigate misinformation, track political influence, and hold both parties and officials accountable during a pivotal moment for American democracy.

🖊️ Add your name to call on Jeff Bezos to stop gutting the Washington Post’s newsroom and specifically preserve and expand reporting capacity for election coverage. A free press plays an essential role in elections, and weakening this institution threatens not just the Post’s legacy but the public’s right to know. Democracy deserves robust journalism, not retrenchment.

Read about this, and more, with today’s stories:

The Bloodbath at Washington Post Is All Jeff Bezos’s Fault (The Intercept)

The Children of Dilley (ProPublica)

Puerto Rico stops for 13 minutes to applaud history and bask in Bad Bunny's spotlight (PBS News)

“Absolute Hell”: Irish Man With a Valid Work Permit in ICE Detention (The New Republic)

How AI Surveillance Tech is Creeping From the Southern Border Into the Rest of the Country (The Marshall Project)

90% of student discrimination and harassment complaints were dismissed last year. Here’s why. (The 19th News)

NYC nurses reach a deal to end a strike at 2 major hospitals while walkout continues at another (AP News)

Inside Keir Starmer’s crisis speech to No 10 staff (The New Statesman)

Japan's Takaichi to pursue conservative agenda after election landslide (NPR)

Until next time,

Harry from The Hound

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