- Friday February 20th, 2026
- "It Is Not A Question of Who Is Right Or Wrong But What Is Right Or Wrong That Counts."
- --Geoff Metcalf
- Providing an on line Triage of the news since 1998
My son has narrated the last book I wrote.
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World & Nation
Supreme Court Rules 6 to 3 to Strike Down Trump Tariffs
The Supreme
Court ruled Friday that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act
(IEEPA) does not authorize a president to impose sweeping tariffs,
delivering a major rebuke to President Donald Trump's use of emergency
powers to reshape U.S. trade policy.
In a
consolidated decision in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump and Trump v.
V.O.S. Selections, Inc., the Court held that Congress did not grant the
President authority under the 1977 emergency statute to levy tariffs of
"unlimited amount, duration, and scope."
The ruling
affirms a lower court judgment striking down the tariffs and vacates a
separate district court decision for lack of jurisdiction.
Trump Blames Dem's DHS Shutdown for GDP Hit, Demands Rate Cuts
President
Donald Trump on Friday insisted that the Democrats' ongoing shutdown of
the Department of Homeland Security is modeled after last year's wider
government shutdown, which "Cost the U.S.A. at least two points GDP."
He also launched an attack against Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and demanded immediate interest rate cuts.
"The Democrat
Shutdown cost the U.S.A. at least two points in GDP," Trump posted on
his Truth Social page. "That's why they are doing it, in mini form,
again. No Shutdowns! Also, LOWER INTEREST RATES. 'Two Late' Powell is
the WORST!!! President DJT."
Trump's
comments that last year's shutdown reduced gross domestic product are
supported by reports released during the peak of last year's standoff,
when the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) published a report
estimating that an eight-week shutdown would reduce annualized real GDP
growth in the fourth quarter of 2025 by 2 percentage points.
Epstein Estate Agrees to $35M Class Action Settlement
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, according to a court filing on Thursday.
Boies Schiller
Flexner, a law firm representing Epstein victims, announced the
settlement in a brief filed in federal court in Manhattan.
The deal, if
approved by a judge, would bring an end to a 2024 lawsuit filed against
Epstein's former personal lawyer Darren Indyke and former accountant
Richard Kahn, who are co-executors of Epstein's estate.
Police Search Mountbatten-Windsor's Former Home Day After His Arrest
Police
continued on Friday to search the former home of Andrew
Mountbatten-Windsor, a day after he was arrested and held in custody
for the best part of 11 hours on suspicion of misconduct in public
office linked to his friendship with the late convicted sex offender
Jeffrey Epstein.
Following one
of the most tumultuous days in the modern history of Britain's royal
family, the former Prince Andrew is back at his new residence on the
Sandringham estate, King Charles III's private retreat, which is around
115 miles (185 kilometers) north of London.
Police have
concluded their search at Wood Farm, where Mountbatten-Windsor is
living while waiting for his new home nearby, Marsh Farm, to be ready.
Trump Blasts Leak of FBI Tool to Track Guthrie Pacemaker
President
Donald Trump faulted investigators Thursday for publicly discussing the
use of an FBI device intended to detect Bluetooth signals from missing
Arizona woman Nancy Guthrie's pacemaker, as authorities said they were
sifting through thousands of tips and pursuing technical leads in a
case now in its 19th day.
Trump made comments about the Bluetooth disclosure to reporters aboard Air Force One.
"I didn't like when they talked about going after the pacemaker before they even started going after it," he said.
The FBI says
Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of NBC "Today" co-anchor Savannah
Guthrie, was last seen at her residence in Tucson's Catalina Foothills
neighborhood on the evening of Jan. 31 and is considered a vulnerable
adult who has difficulty walking, has a pacemaker, and needs daily
medication for a heart condition.
Columbia ‘punishing’ graduating class for anti-Israel protests by moving ceremony, students claim: ‘So evil’
This year’s tassel is causing a hassle.
Columbia
University is “punishing” its graduating class for years of
controversial pro-Palestinian and anti-ICE protests on campus by moving
this year’s commencement ceremony off campus, from its iconic rotunda
more than eight miles north to its pedestrian football field, students
claimed.
The Ivy
League’s graduating class is desperately trying to reverse the decision
to host the ceremony at the Robert K. Kraft Field at the Baker
Athletics Complex in Inwood — a move the class of 2026 has slammed as
“evil.”
Legendary director Steven Spielberg is latest billionaire to flee California in another blow to state
Steven Spielberg, phone home!
The legendary
“E.T.” director and California resident has moved to Manhattan amid a
billionaire exodus from the Golden State — as voters eye a
controversial wealth tax.
But the move, first reported by the LA Times, allegedly had nothing to do with the 2026 Billionaire Tax Act.
Press did not
answer queries about Spielberg’s stance on the proposed tax, which
would slap a one-time 5% tax on individual fortunes exceeding $1
billion.
The tax, if approved by voters in November, would apply retroactively to the beginning of this year.
DHS says 8% of Nicaragua's entire population illegally entered US under Biden
DHS reveals Cuba, Haiti and Honduras also saw massive percentages of their populations cross border
The Department
of Homeland Security revealed large percentages of foreign countries
whose total national populations illegally entered the U.S., noting the
majority of crossings occurred between February 2021 to January 2025.
The countries
in which most nationals live in the U.S. are Nicaragua, Cuba, Haiti and
Honduras, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection
(CBP).
"During the
Biden era – 8% of the ENTIRE population of Nicaragua illegally entered
the US," DHS posted to X. "This is in ADDITION TO 7% of Cuba, 6% of
Haiti, and 5% of Honduras."
The total
number of illegal migrants from the various countries is in the
multimillions, and DHS blasted the Biden administration for allegedly
turning "America into a dumping ground for criminals from the third
world."
FBI DIRECTOR KASH PATEL: We have made America safer in just one year
We have rebuilt and remade the FBI into an organization designed to better serve the American people
By Kash Patel
On February 20, 2025, I had the honor of being confirmed as the ninth director of the FBI.
In that time,
much has happened. Under President Donald Trump’s leadership, the FBI
and our partners at the state, local and federal level have helped
deliver one of the safest periods America has seen in decades.
When I sat
before the Senate for my confirmation, I promised to refocus the FBI on
its core mission: crush violent crime and defend the homeland,
strengthen transparency and rebuild public trust. One year in, my team
and I have worked every day to turn those words into action. We
delivered historic results.
From 2024 to
2025, the FBI saw a 197% increase in arrests, from 34,000 to 67,000. We
disrupted 1,800 gangs and criminal enterprises, a 210% increase. Agents
seized more than 2,100 kilos of deadly fentanyl — enough to kill 150
million Americans — up 31%. That mission also extended overseas, where
my trip to Beijing resulted in a historic agreement to shut off the
flow of fentanyl precursor chemicals at the source, directly targeting
the supply chains poisoning American communities. Arrests tied to
Nihilistic Violent Extremism, including offenders who prey on children,
rose 490%. More than 6,200 child victims were located, up 22%.
Espionage arrests increased 35%. We captured six of the FBI’s Ten Most
Wanted fugitives in one year — two more than the entirety of the prior
administration — a group collectively on the run for more than 50
years, including Ryan Wedding. Nationwide, the murder rate fell by a
record 20%, a level not seen in a century.
Bernie Sanders, traveling salesman of bad ideas
By CA Post Editorial Board
When Bernie Sanders has a bad policy to sell, he comes to California.
In 2017, the
socialist firebrand, fresh from his defeat in the Democratic
presidential primary the year before, rallied nurses for “Medicare for
All” at a large demonstration in San Francisco.
Never mind that
Sanders’ home state of Vermont abandoned its own version of “Medicare
for All.” In 2011, when Vermont launched its single-payer system,
called “Green Mountain Care,” it had strong political support from the
state’s elected officials, including Sanders.
What it didn’t
have was money — or public support for the massive tax increases that
would have been necessary to fund socialized medicine, even in a small
state like Vermont.
