Saturday, February 21, 2026

The News Roundup – Domestic and International (The 1A) 2026-02-20

Domestic

The Department of Homeland Security issued a memo this week advising federal agents they should detain refugees and migrants who have not yet obtained a green card for an indefinite period of time for rescreening. This puts many people admitted to the U.S. during the Biden administration at risk.

Across the U.S., the mayors of major cities like Chicago and Los Angeles are taking steps to limit ICE’s ability to operate within their limits, vowing to prosecute agents who violate local laws.

And representatives for Meta and Google, including Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, went to court this week over social media addiction.
Interview: 

International 

The Board of Peace met for the first time this week in Washington, with big pledges, but not a lot of details.

President Donald Trump says the world will find out “over the next, probably, 10 days” whether the US will reach a deal with Iran or take military action. In recent days, the U.S. has surged military forces to the region while progress was reported at talks between American and Iranian negotiators in Geneva, Switzerland.

Also this week, England’s former prince Andrew was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office in connection to his time spent with Jeffrey Epstein.
Interview: 



U2 - American Obituary (Lyric Video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3ziTSYyook

 

A bar, kitchen and flat-screen TVs: the $70m jet DHS is eyeing for deportations

The department is reportedly considering buying a Boeing plane for deportation flights and for use by Trump officials…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/20/luxury-jet-dhs-deportation-flights-trump-officials


 

Random things you should know about the SAVE Act. #law #politics #saveact

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/CpDNBEZIEfQ

 

Trump loses faithful as protests mark Ash Wednesday

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/lALhL_kDEF4

 

 

What Did You Do to Marco? | Paula Poundstone

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_Bbq5mxf-s8

 

 

James Talarico Gives JD Vance a Bible Lesson | The Ezra Klein Show

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/NfYl-JXVPKE

 

Large Trump banner hung at justice department headquarters

'Make America Safe Again' banner put up in striking symbol of president's control over top US law-enforcement agency…


 

Supreme Court rules Trump's tariffs illegal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4PmR-bPMFk

 

Trump defends tariffs in pre-midterms appearance in battleground Georgia

Visit was ostensibly to promote economy, but US president focused on repeated, unverified claims of voter fraud…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/19/trump-tariffs-georgia


 

New Mexico to reopen inquiry into Epstein’s ranch amid pressure campaign

The New Mexico department of justice's announcement came less than two weeks after the Guardian reported that federal agents did not appear to have ever searched Zorro Ranch...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/20/new-mexico-epstein-zorro-ranch-investigation


 

“Our version of the truth” is not how medicine works. #medicine #science...

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/N1_sMfAiL5U

 

US envoy Mike Huckabee says it would be ‘fine’ if Israel took all Middle East land

Rightwing Trump ally tells Tucker Carlson Israel has biblical right to land from 'wadi of Egypt to the great river'…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/20/mike-huckabee-israel-middle-east-tucker-carlson


 

Trump’s economy decelerated as shutdown, consumer spending drag on growth - POLITICO

In a separate release, Commerce reported that prices grew at an annual rate of 3 percent in December, excluding food and energy costs. That's a full percentage point above the Federal Reserve's inflation target. 

 Friday's double whammy of economic releases ends a string of positive employment and inflation reports that Trump and top White House officials had cited as proof of his agenda's success…

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/20/trumps-economy-decelerated-as-shutdown-consumer-spending-drag-on-growth-00790640 


 

Trump attacks Supreme Court justices after he is handed a major tariff loss - POLITICO

The president excoriated the court hours after its decision to strike down his tariffs...

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/20/donald-trump-tariff-supreme-court-reaction-00791245 


 

What happens to billions in tariff money already paid? Supreme Court leaves refunds unsettled. - POLITICO

The justices did not address the issue in their majority opinion striking down some of President Donald Trump's tariffs Friday, likely leaving it up to lower courts to resolve.

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/20/tariff-refunds-supreme-court-00791244  


Trump launches new 10 percent global tariff after Supreme Court ruling - POLITICO

The tariff, issued under a different authority than the one the Supreme Court just struck down, can last for 150 days...

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/20/donald-trump-10-percent-global-tariff-00791317


 

  

How to watch Trump's 2026 State of the Union | PBS News

President Donald Trump will deliver his State of the Union address on Tuesday, Feb. 24. Watch our coverage live, starting at 6 p.m. EST, in the video player on this page.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/how-to-watch-trumps-2026-state-of-the-union 

 

MAHA unleashes on White House after Trump backs pesticide - POLITICO

"Trump's executive order is nothing more than an attempt to protect one of the biggest producers of a toxic pesticide from legal liabilities," said Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) in a statement. "The message from this Administration is clear: chemical company profits are more important than your health."…

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/20/maha-unleashes-on-white-house-after-trump-backs-pesticide-00790187 


 

History Minute (100): A literacy test to vote

As mentioned earlier, Jim Crow laws in various states required that Black people pass a specially created literacy test in order to vote. This test was waived for White people, or they had a separate simpler one.

See here an example of a literacy test used in 1960 in the state of Louisiana: https://www.treeoflogic.com/literacy_test.htm

And here’s what Alabama used in 1965: https://secure.splcenter.org/page/67431/survey/1?locale=en-US

How well did you do on the tests?

Friday, February 20, 2026

Top U.S. & World Headlines — February 20, 2026

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buV634bp0OQ

 

Now boarding: Florida Legislature approves renaming Palm Beach airport after Trump - POLITICO

The proposal will now arrive on Gov. Ron DeSantis' desk, as the Legislature works out how much it wants to spend on a massive rebranding at the airport mere minutes away from Mar-a-Lago...

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/19/florida-palm-beach-trump-airport-rename-00789311 


 

EmblemHealth Agrees to $2.5 Million Settlement for Failing to Fix Mental Health Provider Directory Errors — ProPublica

"Health insurers cannot mislead consumers with inaccurate provider directories while families are left without care," Letitia James, the state's attorney general, said in a statement...

https://www.propublica.org/article/emblem-health-ghost-network-settlement-mental-health 


 

HUD moves to end assistance for families with mixed immigration status - POLITICO

HUD proposed a similar rule during President Donald Trump's first term, and faced significant opposition from low-income housing and immigration advocates who warned about vulnerable families being separated or evicted. The Biden administration withdrew that proposal. 

Housing advocates have been raising alarm about the potential impacts of the administration returning to this policy since September, when ProPublica published a leaked rule draft aimed at limiting assistance for mixed-status families. Those advocates are preparing to push back against the now-public proposed rule...

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/19/hud-moves-to-end-assistance-for-families-with-mixed-immigration-status-00788871 


 

Northwest Detention Center DENIED my right to conduct oversight

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/P59KkPHJxcM

 

Jesus’ 7 Most Troubling Teachings

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsQk5JS43j8

 

‘Pay for your own power’: Shapiro digs in on data center energy costs - POLITICO

"Pay for your own power, so it's not saddling local businesses or homeowners with higher costs," Shapiro said in an interview with POLITICO earlier this month from a union hall in Philadelphia…https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/19/shapiro-tests-democrats-data-center-strategy-00767682 


Federal judge orders Trump admin to restore slavery exhibit by Friday - POLITICO

A federal judge has given the Trump administration until Friday to reinstate a slavery exhibit torn down from a Philadelphia national park as part of the administration's effort to elevate "uplifting" narratives of U.S. history. 

Following her blistering rebuke of the National Park Service for censoring historic content earlier this week, Senior Judge Cynthia Rufe of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on Wednesday said the exhibits at Independence National Historical Park must be put back by the end of the week...

 https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/19/federal-judge-orders-trump-admin-to-restore-slavery-exhibit-by-friday-00788894


 

MAGA proves every day they don't mean the words that fall out of their faces

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naeVXz6EILQ

 

New Shroud of Turin research?!?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcPkhtCoPG8

 

Pete Hegseth HOLDS CHRISTIAN NATIONALIST CHURCH SERVICES at Pentagon w/extremest pastor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90azeBTyUfQ

 

In feud with Wes Moore, Trump slings feces - POLITICO

Now as Trump feuds with Moore, the nation's only Black governor, less than two weeks after excluding him from a White House dinner for the National Governor's Association, the image of millions of gallons of raw sewage flowing into the nation's capital offered another level of political punch altogether. The situation comes as Moore is pushing to redraw Maryland's congressional lines to counter Trump's red-state redistricting...

 https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/19/trump-fixates-on-sewage-a-favored-talking-point-in-fight-with-wes-moore-00786490


Look how much Canadians hate the United States now - POLITICO

In survey question after survey question, Canadians say the U.S. no longer reflects their values, is more likely to provoke conflict than to prevent it and, as a result, is pushing Canada to consider closer ties with other global powers — including overtures to China that would have seemed unthinkable only a couple of years ago...

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/19/5-charts-show-just-how-badly-the-us-has-torpedoed-its-relationship-with-canada-00787084 


 

BREAKING: Georgia State Election Board hires private investigator, subpoenas

The Georgia State Election Board has hired a private investigator and subpoenaed Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger weeks after the FBI raided a state election hub for 2020 ballots. This comes as President Trump heads to Georgia during early voting in a special election race. MS NOW Senior White House Vaughn Hillyard has the latest updates.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WNc6h3wsfk

 

After former Prince Andrew’s arrest due to Epstein connections, members of Congress call for more - POLITICO

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who drew President Donald Trump's ire amid his successful push to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act in Congress last year, urged federal officials to follow the example of their British counterparts. 

 "Prince Andrew was just arrested," he wrote on X on Thursday. "This was the metric I established for success of the Epstein Files Transparency Act that [Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.)] and I got passed. Now we need JUSTICE in the United States. It's time for [Attorney General Pam Bondi] and [FBI Director Kash Patel] to act!"

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/19/prince-andrew-arrest-congress-oversight-00788793 


 

Report: Incarcerated Michigan women miss meals and medicine because of a lack of wheelchairs and attendants

Disability Rights Michigan (DRM) found that women incarcerated in Michigan who required an attendant to help push their wheelchairs missed, on average, about half of their meals and a majority of doses for prescription medication for seizures, diabetes, and high blood pressure...

https://www.michiganpublic.org/social-justice/2026-02-19/report-incarcerated-michigan-women-miss-meals-and-medicine-because-of-a-lack-of-wheelchairs-and-attendants 


 

Trump officials plan to build 5,000-person military base in Gaza, files show

The site is envisioned as a military operating base for a future International Stabilization Force (ISF), planned as a multinational military force composed of pledged troops. The ISF is part of the newly created Board of Peace which is meant to govern Gaza. The Board of Peace is chaired by Donald Trump and led in part by his son-in-law Jared Kushner…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/19/trump-gaza-military-plan


 

How Epstein and Maxwell used an elite Midwest arts school to prey on girls

What emerges is a portrait of Interlochen as an institution that celebrated openness, but that in accepting Epstein's financial support became unwittingly associated with his crimes...

https://www.npr.org/2026/02/19/nx-s1-5707290/epstein-files-victims-interlochen-ghislaine-maxwell 


 

‘We’re no longer attracting top talent’: the brain drain killing American science

As Trump slashes science funding, young researchers flee abroad. Without solid innovation, the US could cease to have the largest biomedical ecosystem in the world…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/19/trump-science-funding-cuts


 

Rep. Dingell says rising energy costs for Michiganders driven by Trump administration policies

"For too many Americans, the basic promise of this country has been that if you work hard, you can get ahead," the Democratic congresswoman said. "And instead, they're feeling further and further behind. Inflation's been crushing families. The cost of everyday goods are skyrocketing. Groceries, utility bills, housing, daycare, and healthcare have become unaffordable and people are making trade-offs." 

Dingell said the expiration of ACA tax credits and cuts to Medicaid has led to skyrocketing health insurance costs. "I've got a couple in my district, 60-year-old couple, both working, they make $85,000 a year, and their annual premiums jumped by $18,000," Dingell said...

https://www.michiganpublic.org/politics-government/2026-02-18/rep-dingell-says-rising-energy-costs-for-michiganders-driven-by-trump-administration-policies 


 

We don’t know what Jesus actually said #maklelan3144

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/FTueHeyUaDA

 

Using Content Links To Get Around In Your Documents

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YD06Uvgt1o

 

History Minute (099): Who or What is Jim Crow?

Thirty-five states passed a variety of Jim Crow laws — enforcing segregation and discrimination— between the 1870s and 1960. Some of them remained in effect through 1970. These states were mainly in the South, but also included Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. (Michigan had no Jim Crow laws.)

Many Jim Crow laws focused on segregating Blacks from Whites in schools, restaurants, rail cars, libraries, public parks, recreation centers, playgrounds, and businesses — such that they never would come into contact with one another. Others prohibited marriages or intimate relationships between White people and any non-White.

Here are some examples from a variety of states, showing the extremes states went to:
  • Restaurants must provide separate rooms and separate entrances.
  • Public facilities must provide separate bathrooms and drinking fountains, clearly marked for White or Black patrons.
  • Separate schools must be established. Schools for Blacks must be at least a mile away from schools for Whites. If there are not enough Black students to provide a separate school, local officials were left to figure out some solution.
  • Marriage between Whites and non-Whites (i.e., Black, Indian, Asian, etc.) were prohibited, and any that existed were declared void. 
  • Courtships of mixed races were punishable by heavy fines and jail time. Any person born to a mixed race couple was prohibited from marrying anyone. Blacks and Whites cannot live in the same home. Distribution of any printed matter in support of mixed race relationships was punishable by fine and jail time.
  • Building permits for non-Whites in any area primarily inhabited by Whites was prohibited. A home or property that was “covenanted” could never be sold to non-Whites.
  • Black medical students (physicians, nurses) could not take classes at public hospitals.
  • Universities and colleges could only accept Black students if the state’s own college for Black students had no comparable course and the school’s governing board approved. 
  • Voting: 
    • Literacy tests: In some cases required only of Blacks; in other cases separate easier tests given to Whites than those for Blacks.
    • One state law declared that no Chinese native would ever be allowed to vote. The races of all candidates were to be printed on the ballots.
    • Voters must pay a tax at the polls to be allowed to cast a ballot. $1.75 was paid by a Black voter in 1945, equal to over $36 today — money that poor people could ill afford to pay.
Read more:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Jim_Crow_law_examples_by_state














Thursday, February 19, 2026

Top U.S. & World Headlines — February 19, 2026

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0zmJFi0oaw

 

Ranked Last | Paula Poundstone

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/18tmm3RDkfY

 

The Amish Secret to Keeping Pests Out of Your Garden Forever

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tj0XL10JZaU

 

Radio Free Asia resumes broadcasts to China after Trump cuts forced near closure

CEO said services have restarted after termination of grants led to criticism that US was ceding ground to China…

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/18/radio-free-asia-china-broadcasts


 

Epstein files suggest acts that may amount to crimes against humanity, say UN experts

The experts said crimes outlined in documents released by the US justice department were committed against a backdrop of supremacist beliefs, racism, corruption and extreme misogyny. The crimes, they said, showed a commodification and dehumanisation of women and girls.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/18/epstein-files-crimes-against-humanity-un-experts 



F.D.A. Reverses Decision and Agrees to Review Moderna’s mRNA Flu Vaccine...

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Yxv1peSWVws

 

Are you a woman who votes? Not in this election, according to Trump and the GOP

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5gdN94_Axg

 

Ex-Honduran President Hernández Given Special Treatment After Trump Pardon — ProPublica

But when it comes to former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was tried and convicted in the U.S. in 2024 and sentenced to 45 years in prison for taking bribes and allowing traffickers to export more than 400 tons of cocaine to the U.S., Trump has taken a decidedly softer tone...

 https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-ice-pardon-juan-orlando-hernandez-honduras-prison-special-treatment 


Trump INSTANTLY BLOCKED by Federal Judge in SCATHING ORDER

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2Flj5T5jOz0

 

Now Trumpists Are Menacing Economists

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzZdxmSmBaM

 

DOT wants to block transit money to states that aid migrants - POLITICO

The administration hopes to insert the draft language in the upcoming highway bill reauthorization…https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/18/dot-wants-to-block-transit-money-to-states-that-aid-migrants-00775657


  

 

China’s dancing robots: how worried should we be?

"Unlike AI models or industrial equipment, humanoid robots are highly visible examples of China's technological leadership that general audiences can see on their phones or televisions," he said. 

Pointing to intensifying competition in the tech space between China and the US, Chan added: "While China and the US are neck-and-neck on AI, humanoid robots are an area where China can claim to be ahead of the US, particularly in terms of scaling up production."…

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/18/china-dancing-humanoid-robots-festival-show


 

Hassett says Fed staff should be 'disciplined' for reporting the US pays tariff costs - POLITICO

In a post on the NY Fed's Liberty Street Economics blog, the researchers said 90 percent of the economic burden of Trump's tariff regime has fallen on domestic buyers. 

Other reputable sources have produced similar findings, including Harvard Business School; Yale's Budget Lab; the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German think tank; and the Congressional Budget Office…

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/18/hassett-says-fed-staff-should-be-disciplined-for-reporting-the-u-s-pays-tariff-costs-00786562 


 

Rep. James Talarico On Confronting Christian Nationalism, And Strange Days in the Texas legislature

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiTJ7Pz_59A

 

Judges decry treatment of nursing and pregnant detainees in ICE custody - POLITICO

A Myanmar refugee, with a nursing five-month-old at home, whisked abruptly to Texas by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A Massachusetts woman in her third trimester, held under ICE's guard at a hospital after experiencing medical distress in ICE detention. An Indian national who is three months pregnant and whose weight dropped to 90 pounds while in an ICE facility. 

Federal judges are sounding alarms about the Trump administration's treatment of pregnant and nursing detainees in ICE custody — and the administration has given the courts conflicting, unclear answers about whether it is following its own policies that sharply restrict those detentions…

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/18/pregnant-nursing-ice-detainees-00784683 


 

RFK Jr.’s FDA No Longer Warns Against Ineffective, Potentially Dangerous Autism Treatments — ProPublica

The warning on the government website was stark. Some products and remedies claiming to treat or cure autism are being marketed deceptively and can be harmful. Among them: chelating agents, hyperbaric oxygen therapies, chlorine dioxide and raw camel milk. 

Now that advisory is gone...

https://www.propublica.org/article/rfk-jr-fda-removes-autism-treatments-warning 


 

Sanders and Newsom clash over proposed tax on California's billionaires | PBS News

Newsom has long opposed state-level wealth taxes, believing such levies would be disadvantageous for the world's fourth-largest economy. At a time when California is strapped for cash and he is considering a 2028 presidential run, he is trying to block the proposal before it reaches the ballot. 

Analysts say an exodus of billionaires could mean a loss of hundreds of millions of tax dollars for the nation's most populous state. But supporters say the funding is needed to offset federal cuts that could leave many Californians without vital services...

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/sanders-and-newsom-clash-over-proposed-tax-on-californias-billionaires 


 

DHS is deporting a Republican mayor. And he still doesn’t get it.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2aeldeXDHEM

 

History Minute (098): Plessy v. Ferguson establishes "separate but equal"

In 1892, Louisiana enacted the “Separate Car Act” — a law that required rail services to provide separate cars for Black people and White People. At least one railroad thought this was a needless expense for them, and they supported a “Committee of Citizens” that wanted the Act repealed. The Committee of Citizens identified a man who was 1/8 Black, named Plessy, and had him sit in the car designated for White people. He refused to move to the Black car, and was arrested.


At trial, Plessy’s attorneys argued that Judge Ferguson should dismiss the charges because the Act was unconstitutional under the 13th and 14th Amendments. Ferguson did not do so.


When the case made it to the United States Supreme Court, the justices ruled 7 to 1 against Plessy, reasoning that the Amendments called for equal legal treatment regardless of race, but that they did not require the elimination of distinctions based upon color. They also disagreed with Plessy’s lawyers that the Louisiana law implied Blacks were inferior.


This ruling established the practice of “separate but equal” — which prevailed for fifty years — and legitimized Jim Crow laws enforcing racial segregation in the South.


Only one justice dissented — John Harlan. He found that the law should not create a caste system, and that upholding the law would perpetuate discrimination. 


Read More:


 













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