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Supreme Court strikes down Trump tariffs, rebuking president's signature economic policy

(CNBC) The Supreme Court on Friday struck down a huge chunk of President Donald Trump’s far-reaching tariff agenda, in a major rebuke of the president’s key economic policy. The law that undergirds those import duties “does not authorize the President to impose tariffs,” the majority ruled six to three in a decision Trump had been awaiting.

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Fourth-quarter U.S. GDP up just 1.4%, badly missing estimate

(CNBC) Economic growth cooled near the end of 2025 while inflation held firm, according to data released Friday that could complicate the Federal Reserve’s interest rate path. Gross domestic produce rose at an annualized rate of just 1.4%, according to Commerce Department numbers adjusted for seasonality and inflation. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for a 2.5% gain. At the same time, inflation held firm in December, according to the gauge most closely watched by Fed officials.

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FBI Director Kash Patel takes agency jet to Italy, plans to attend Olympic hockey games

(CBS News) FBI Director Kash Patel, whose use of a government jet has frequently come under scrutiny, flew on a Justice Department plane Thursday to Italy with plans to attend the Olympic hockey medal rounds, according to public data and sources familiar with the matter. Public flight data reviewed by CBS News showed the FBI director took off on a government plane Thursday morning for an Air Force base in Italy, after a brief flight from Manassas, Virginia, to Joint Base Andrews, in Maryland Wednesday. Sources also confirmed to CBS News that Patel was en route to Milan, where he is planning to watch the Men's USA Olympic hockey team compete in the medal rounds.

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Kristi Noem Wants A Swanky $70 Million Jet For Deportations -- And She Might Get It

(Huff Post) Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem is apparently too bougie for budget economy. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is seeking approval from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget to purchase a luxury jet for $70 million, two Department of Homeland Security officials told NBC News in a report published Thursday. According to the report, DHS recently leased the Boeing 737 Max 8 and now wants to buy the aircraft that comes with a bedroom with a queen-size bed, showers, a kitchen, four flat-screen TVs and a bar.

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Democrats say citizenship question could derail census test and deter immigrants from participating

(The Independent) U.S. Census Bureau plans to use a questionnaire with a citizenship question as part of its practice test for the 2030 census could jeopardize the once-a-decade head count and scare away immigrants from participating, congressional Democrats warned Thursday. Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform urged the Census Bureau to drop plans to use the American Community Survey form, which includes the citizenship question, and instead use a traditional census questionnaire that omits it.

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Navarro: Democratic president may use 'selective' FCC enforcement against talk radio

(The Hill) TV host Ana Navarro warned there could be repercussions for Republican radio programs after controversy surrounding a CBS interview with a Democratic candidate from Texas. During a Wednesday evening panel of CNN’s “NewsNight,” Navarro, the co-host of “The View,” called the FCC’s rule “outdated” and accused the administration of “selective” application. “Well, you know what? There may be a president in the next term who decides that he wants to, or she wants to, apply it to talk radio, and let’s see how Republicans like that,” Navarro said.

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Epstein revelations spur calls to scrape Lutnick's name from college library

12h Haverford College students and alumni are calling on the school to remove Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's name from its library after revelations about Lutnick's ties to the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Why it matters: It follows reports that Lutnick — a 1983 Haverford graduate and the suburban Philadelphia school's largest single donor — communicated with Epstein years after Epstein had been convicted of procuring a child for prostitution. Lutnick said in a 2025 podcast inter ...

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New York Democrats urge Supreme Court to stay out of redistricting case

Posted February 19, 2026 at 5:05pm Democratic New York officials and voters urged the Supreme Court in court filings Thursday not to intervene in a state court order requiring a new district for the Staten Island-based seat currently held by Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis. The filings came in response to emergency appeals from Malliotakis and state officials last week, seeking to put the redistricting effort on hold. Malliotakis and other Republicans argued that the court ruling came too ...

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US pays about $160 million of the nearly $4 billion it owes the United Nations

Updated 3:36 PM EST, February 19, 2026 UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States has paid about $160 million of the nearly $4 billion it owes the United Nations, the U.N. said Thursday, and President Donald Trump promised more money to the financially strapped world organization. The Trump administration’s payment last week is earmarked for the U.N.’s regular operating budget, U.N. spokesman Stéphane Dujarric told The Associated Press. The U.N. has said the United States owes $2.196 billion to ...

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Khanna, Massie plan to force war powers vote on Iran

02/19/26 9:53 AM ET Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) plan to move next week to force a vote on a resolution to require authorization from Congress before President Trump can use military force against Iran. “Trump officials say there’s a 90% chance of strikes on Iran. He can’t without Congress,” Khanna said Wednesday in a post on the social platform X. “@RepThomasMassie & I have a War Powers Resolution to debate & vote on war before putting U.S. troops in harm’s way. I wi ...

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California bill would block immigration agents near polling sites

41 min ago - 02/20/2026 12:51 AM EST SACRAMENTO, California — Two California lawmakers introduced legislation late Thursday that would ban federal immigration enforcement outside polling places, the latest maneuver in the state’s ongoing battles with th ... (Politico)

Supreme Court strikes down Trump tariffs, rebuking president's signature economic policy

1 hr ago - Published Fri, Feb 20 2026 10:03 AM EST Updated 12 Min Ago The Supreme Court on Friday struck down a huge chunk of President Donald Trump's far-reaching tariff agenda, in a major rebuke of the president's key economic policy. The law that undergirds ... (CNBC)

DHS Admits Its Website Featuring 'Worst Of The Worst' Arrests Is Full Of Mistakes

1 hr ago - Feb 19th, 2026, 9:57 pm The Department of Homeland Security admitted that the agency’s website dedicated to arrests of “the worst of the worst” was full of incorrect information, changing the site after receiving questions from CNN. ... (MEDIAite)

In a historic vote, Tennessee Volkswagen workers get their first union contract

2 hrs ago - Updated February 19, 2026 9:35 PM ET Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tennessee voted to ratify their first union contract Thursday, securing pay bumps, job protections and a rare win for the United Auto Workers union in the South. It's been a lon ... (NPR)

Trump EPA to weaken rule limiting harmful mercury, air toxics from coal plants

2 hrs ago - The Trump administration announced on Friday it will roll back air regulations for power plants limiting mercury and hazardous air toxics at an event in Kentucky, a move it says will boost baseload energy but that public health groups say will harm p ... (Reuters)

Trump issues order declaring glyphosate national defense priority

2 hrs ago - Feb. 19, 2026, 9:12 p.m. ET President Donald Trump issued an executive order this week prioritizing U.S. production of glyphosate, saying the herbicide is critical to the nation’s security. Trump’s executive order, issued late Wednesday, F ... (USA Today)

Fourth-quarter U.S. GDP up just 1.4%, badly missing estimate; inflation firms at 3%

3 hrs ago - Published Fri, Feb 20 2026 8:31 AM EST Updated 15 Min Ago U.S. growth slowed more than expected near the end of 2025 as the government shutdown impacted spending and investment, while a key inflation metric showed high prices are still a factor for t ... (CBS News)

House chairs upset at Speaker Johnson's deal over upcoming air safety vote

3 hrs ago - 12h Leaders of two House committees are privately angry over Speaker Mike Johnson’s deal to hold a House vote on a Senate bill that seeks to respond to the nation’s worst aviation disaster in more than two decades. Johnson and House GOP lea ... (msn/Politico)

Epstein eyed record label investment to access women, files suggest

3 hrs ago - Jeffrey Epstein considered investing in music company EMI after his associate David Stern appeared to suggest it potentially offered access to women, recently released emails suggest. Stern told the convicted sex offender that the music industry was ... (BBC)

Trump considering initial limited strike against Iran, source says

3 hrs ago - February 19, 2026, 8:57 PM President Donald Trump on Thursday was considering a range of options for military strikes against Iran, including a possible limited strike aimed at enhancing the United States' negotiating position, a person familiar with ... (ABC News)

Bard hires top law firm to investigate links between college president and Epstein

4 hrs ago - Thu 19 Feb 2026 18.52 EST Last modified on Thu 19 Feb 2026 20.20 EST Bard College’s board of trustees has retained the outside law firm of WilmerHale to conduct an independent investigation into communications between Jeffrey Epstein and the col ... (The Guardian)

CFA Members Picket in Solidarity with Teamsters Members on Strike

4 hrs ago - February 19, 2026 Thousands of union members from Teamsters Local 2010, CFA, CSU Employees Union (CSUEU), Academic Professional of California (APC), UAW Local 4123, as well as community members rallied across the rainy state to picket at all 22 CSU c ... (California Faculty Association)

Hogan says Maryland police will 'ignore' new law prohibiting them from working with ICE

5 hrs ago - Thu, February 19, 2026 at 6:44 PM EST Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) on Thursday said local police will “ignore” a new law signed by Gov. Wes Moore (D) that prevents them from working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). &# ... (Aol/The Hill)

Navarro: Democratic president may use 'selective' FCC enforcement against talk radio

5 hrs ago - 02/19/26 6:24 PM ET TV host Ana Navarro warned there could be repercussions for Republican radio programs after controversy surrounding a CBS interview with a Democratic candidate from Texas. Stephen Colbert accused the network of blocking “The ... (The Hill)

Democrats say citizenship question could derail census test and deter immigrants from participating

5 hrs ago - Thursday 19 February 2026 17:53 EST U.S. Census Bureau plans to use a questionnaire with a citizenship question as part of its practice test for the 2030 census could jeopardize the once-a-decade head count and scare away immigrants from participatin ... (The Independent)

Epstein estate agrees to $35 million settlement in victim class action

5 hrs ago - Jeffrey Epstein’s estate has agreed to pay as much as $35 million to resolve a class action lawsuit that accused two of the disgraced financier’s advisers of aiding and abetting his sex trafficking of young women and teenage girls, accordin ... (NBC/Reuters)

FBI Director Kash Patel takes agency jet to Italy, plans to attend Olympic hockey games, sources say

6 hrs ago - Updated on: February 19, 2026 / 5:19 PM EST / CBS News FBI Director Kash Patel, whose use of a government jet has frequently come under scrutiny, flew on a Justice Department plane Thursday to Italy with plans to attend the Olympic hockey medal round ... (CBS News)

New York Democrats urge Supreme Court to stay out of redistricting case

6 hrs ago - Posted February 19, 2026 at 5:05pm Democratic New York officials and voters urged the Supreme Court in court filings Thursday not to intervene in a state court order requiring a new district for the Staten Island-based seat currently held by Republic ... (Roll Call)

Kristi Noem Wants A Swanky $70 Million Jet For Deportations -- And She Might Get It

7 hrs ago - Feb 19, 2026, 04:38 PM EST Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem is apparently too bougie for budget economy. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is seeking approval from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget to purchase a luxur ... (Huff Post)

Epstein Built Ties to U.S. Customs Officers, Prompting Criminal Investigation

7 hrs ago - Feb. 19, 2026 Updated 4:32 p.m. ET One of Jeffrey Epstein's greatest skills was building and exploiting connections with those who had the power to help or hinder him. In the U.S. Virgin Islands, that included the federal Customs and Border Protectio ... (New York Times)