Trump claims victory on affordability as public anxieties persist  —  Advisers had been encouraging the president to sound more empathetic toward struggling Americans.  But as some bright spots emerge, the messaging has shifted.  —  The White House is declaring victory on turning around the economy …

U.S. Deports Nine Migrants in Secret, Ignoring Legal Protections  —  Most had court orders protecting them from removal to their home countries, so they were sent to detention in Cameroon.  —  In a secret deportation arrangement, the Trump administration flew nine people …

This Is What Destroying the Vaccine Market Looks Like  —  THE VACCINE MAKER MODERNA decided this past week to tell the world about bad news it had received from the federal government.  —  A potentially groundbreaking vaccine for seasonal flu that the Massachusetts-based company had developed …

Trump's Relentless Self-Promotion Fosters an American Cult of Personality  —  President Trump has engaged in a spree of self-aggrandizement unlike any of his predecessors, fostering a mythologized superhuman persona and making himself the inescapable force at home and around the world.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Munich Security Conference  —  SECRETARY RUBIO: Thank you very much.  We gather here today as members of a historic alliance, an alliance that saved and changed the world.  When this conference began in 1963, it was in a nation - actually, it was on a continent - that was divided against itself.

Massie says he's lost confidence in Pam Bondi after congressional hearing … During the hearing, Bondi repeatedly refused to answer questions about the Justice Department's release of millions of documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, instead resorting to ad hominem attacks on lawmakers who challenged her.

‘Stunning’: Jeanine Pirro's Failure to Indict Democrats Is a Big Deal … The administration's use of the Justice Department to intimidate President Donald Trump's political opponents and stifle dissent reached a remarkable new low last week, when federal prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's Office …

Republican State Legislators Rush to Limit Their Own Regulators  —  South Carolina's state legislature is one of 17, mainly in heavily Republican states, that is moving to handcuff state agencies at a moment of tectonic changes in energy, technology and finance.

What They Wanted From Jeffrey Epstein  —  Ro Khanna's congressional career has been an ongoing attempt to reconcile what others might see as irreconcilable.  He represents a swath of Silicon Valley that includes the headquarters of Nvidia and Intel.  He won his seat in 2016 with endorsements …

Eight years of Jeffrey Epstein coverage  —  The Miami Herald's original series, videos, timeline and more  —  I'm seeing that a lot of people around the world are digging into the Epstein Files and finally seeing what I've been seeing over the past eight years.

“I never want to see a child ever run away from our own government ever again” … Part of my theory of change is to share the words white men need to hear, spoken by white men.  This is because creating defections is crucial to stopping authoritarianism and democratic backsliding.

Ring Ends Deal to Link Neighborhood Cameras After Super Bowl Ad Backlash  —  A commercial about a lost dog being reunited with his family ignited concerns that a “Search Party” feature posed privacy risks.  Ring parted ways with the tech company Flock Safety.

Who Is Paying the Trump Tariffs?  —  A wonkish guide for the confused  —  WARNING: TODAY'S POST WILL BE EVEN WONKIER THAN USUAL  —  Until recently the question of who pays tariffs wasn't controversial among economists.  The overwhelming consensus was that under normal circumstances tariffs …

The backlash against Trump is showing up in hard data, not just polls  —  New data on protest activity shows organized anti-Trump actions are 4x the size they were in the president's first term.  Your weekly political data roundup for February 15, 2026.

In First Public Comments Since Trump's Racist Video, Obama Laments Lost Decorum  —  In a podcast interview, former President Barack Obama did not directly address the video posted by Mr. Trump but denounced a “clown show” on social media.  —  Former President Barack Obama this weekend indirectly addressed …