PBS News Hour full episode, Feb. 10, 2026

Congressman Ro Khanna (D-CA) asserts that Donald Trump's FBI 'scrubbed' survivor statements regarding rich and powerful men from the Jeffrey Epstein files before they were sent to the Justice Department. Khanna reviewed unredacted files and publicly named six individuals he believes were listed as co-conspirators whose identities were improperly shielded.

Rep. Ro Khanna stated, 'Donald Trump's FBI scraped these documents in March, and the thing that they took out were survivors' statements to FBI agents about rich and powerful men who raped them or committed heinous acts.' He added, 'The names that I read were listed as co-conspirators on documents.'

Khanna is convinced there is enough evidence for the Justice Department to bring charges or open new investigations, particularly for anyone who visited Epstein's island. He specifically cited Howard Lutnick, the Secretary of Commerce, alleging Lutnick lied about business relationships with Epstein post-conviction and visited the island, calling for his resignation.

Rep. Ro Khanna stated, 'Anyone who's in the Epstein files saying that they planned to or were going to or did visit Epstein's island needs to be investigated under oath.' He later added, 'You look at Howard Lutnick, who is the secretary of commerce, and it's evident now that he lied... And he is allegedly in all the files having business relationships with Epstein after he's a convicted pedophile.'

Heads of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) defended their officers before Congress, citing 'unprecedented level of aggressive interference and intimidation' and skyrocketing threats against personnel. However, Democrats accused the agencies of 'lawlessness' and unconstitutional actions, highlighting incidents like pepper-spraying a family in a moving vehicle and the fatal shootings of U.S. citizens.

CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott stated, 'Our officers and agents are increasingly facing an unprecedented level of aggressive interference and intimidation.' Rep. Seth Magaziner questioned, 'Is it proper procedure to aim pepper spray into the window of a moving vehicle?' to which Scott replied, 'No, it's not.' Rep. Bennie Thompson asserted, 'The Department of Homeland Security has the blood of American citizens on its hand.'

Jackie Merlos, who had temporary legal status (U visa pending) and no criminal history, was detained along with her four U.S. citizen children for 14 days by CBP and ICE. Her lawyer, Sarah Kahn, explicitly stated that there are no laws permitting DHS to detain United States citizens, calling the action illegal.

Sarah Kahn, Merlos's attorney, stated, 'No, there are no laws that permit DHS to detain United States citizens.' Jackie Merlos recounted, 'They kidnapped us for 14 days. No one knew anything about us.'

An FBI raid on a Fulton County, Georgia, elections office, which seized over 700 boxes of ballots, was driven by an investigation into alleged 'deficiencies' in the 2020 election, including claims of missing scanned images, multiple ballot scans, and vote count discrepancies. The investigation originated from a referral by Kurt Olsen, a Trump-appointed director of election security and integrity known for denying 2020 election results and having been sanctioned for false statements in a related case.

Liz Landers reported, 'This 22-page affidavit... gives us a glimpse into what the federal government's argument is here about why they conducted this raid... based on belief that there's probable cause that there is violation of the retention and preservation of election records in Fulton County.' She added, 'The FBI says that this investigation originated with a referral that was sent by Kurt Olsen, who is a Trump-appointed director of election security and integrity now.'

During indirect talks in Oman, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei confirmed a 'short shake-hand' between Iran's foreign minister and American envoy. Baghaei stated that Iran is willing to discuss the 'level of enrichment' and 'stockpile' of uranium, emphasizing their right to peaceful nuclear energy while dismissing Israeli claims of Iran producing nuclear weapons as a 'big lie.'

Esmaeil Baghaei stated, 'There was a short shake-hand between Iran foreign minister and American envoy.' He added, 'As far as nuclear issue is concerned, enrichment being part of that, we have shown flexibility. We have said that we would be ready to talk about the level of enrichment.'

Acclaimed mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves retired after four decades, noting the lack of guidance on how to gracefully exit the opera world. She recounted facing prejudice as a Black woman, including a director at the Vienna Staatsoper telling her she wouldn't be 'believable' in 99% of roles. Graves plans to dedicate her time to her foundation, mentoring new singers (especially at HBCUs), and advocating for the restoration of the National Negro Opera House.

Denyce Graves stated, 'There's not a lot of guidance for that [how to leave opera].' She also recalled, 'I had the director at the Vienna Staatsoper... said to me: 'There's no way that I would hire you for like 99 percent of the roles here, because you just would not be believable.''