memeorandum: Hegseth forces ouster of senior Army spokesman in latest internal clash (Dan Lamothe/Washington Post)

10:40 AM ET, February 17, 2026

Top Items:

Peter Applebome / New York Times:

Jesse Jackson, Charismatic Champion of Civil Rights, Dies at 84 — An impassioned orator, he was a moral and political force, forming a “rainbow coalition” of poor and working-class people and seeking the presidency. His mission, he said, was “to transform the mind of America.”

Discussion: Straight Arrow News and Punchbowl News

Politico:

Jesse Jackson dies at 84 — With help from Eli Okun, Ali Bianco, Irie Sentner and Makayla Gray — BREAKING THIS MORNING: “Jesse Jackson, Civil Rights Leader Who Sought the Presidency, Dies at 84,” by NYT's Peter Applebome: “The Rev. Jesse Jackson, whose impassioned oratory and populist vision …

Discussion: New York Times, The Hill, ABC News, abc7NY, The Daily Signal, Breitbart, UPI, Los Angeles Times, Al Jazeera, France 24, RADAR, Raw Story, FOX 32 Chicago, The Guardian, RNS, GB News, New York Post, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Fox News

Edward Walsh / Washington Post:

Jesse Jackson, a leading African American voice on global stage, dies at 84 … The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a charismatic preacher who became the leading voice of Black American aspirations in the years after the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and was the first African American …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Chicago Sun Times, Rolling Stone, France 24 and Althouse

Char Adams / NBC News:
Rev. Jesse Jackson, a civil rights icon, dies at 84

CNN:
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, pioneering civil rights activist and racial ‘pathfinder,’ dies at 84

Discussion: CNBC, Axios, KVIA-TV, Chicago Tribune, Townhall, The Guardian, Deadline, The Independent, FOX 32 Chicago, The Daily Wire, The European Conservative and Tampa Free Press

Zayn Shah / HuffPost:
Jesse Jackson Dead, WB Discovery Gives Paramount A Week To Negotiate Better Deal: Live Updates

Discussion: New York Times, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Politico and Washington Examiner

Zoe Christen Jones / CBS News:
Jesse Jackson, civil rights leader who ran for president, dies at age 84

Discussion: NPR, Advocate, New York Daily News, Chicago Tribune, Washington Examiner, Block Club Chicago and The Independent

Karen Tumulty / Washington Post:
I covered Jesse Jackson's 1988 campaign. The racism he faced was undisguised.

Discussion: New York Times and CBS News

New York Times:
Jesse Jackson: A Life in Pictures

Discussion: Chicago Tribune

Trish Bendix / New York Times:

Colbert Doesn't Give an FCC About Calling Out CBS — “And because my network clearly doesn't want us to talk about this, let's talk about this,” Stephen Colbert said after CBS canceled a Texas congressman's appearance on Monday's “Late Show.” … ‘FCC You’

Discussion: The Hill, Axios, Politico, Scripps News, Mediaite, The Wrap, Forbes, MS NOW, The Independent, Townhall, Variety, LateNighter, Raw Story, Mashable and Just Jared

Matt Webb Mitovich / LateNighter:

Colbert Says CBS Pulled Guest Amid FCC Scrutiny, Posts Interview on YouTube Instead — FCC chair Brendan Carr's threatened revisiting of the Equal Time rule has come to fruition, forcing CBS' The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to not air an interview with Democratic politician James Talarico.

Discussion: The Bulwark

Tom Tapp / Deadline:

Stephen Colbert Defies CBS, Says Network Banned Him From Interviewing James Talarico On ‘The Late Show’ — At the top of his show tonight, Stephen Colbert introduced the Late Show band, announced guest Jennifer Garner and then asked the audience, “You know who is not one of my guests tonight?”

Discussion: Mediaite, The Wrap and Crooks and Liars

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Stephen Colbert Says CBS Blocked Him From Interviewing Senate Hopeful Over FCC Equal Time Fears

Discussion: Straight Arrow News, more at Mediagazer »

Oliver Darcy / Status:

Cooper's Final Minutes … On Monday evening, as the media class wrapped up its three-day Presidents' Day weekend, a bombshell development sent shockwaves across the industry. Anderson Cooper, Lachlan Cartwright reported, had declined to sign a new agreement with CBS News …

Noah Berlatsky / Public Notice:

Trump somehow got worse on public health after covid — PN is supported by paid subscribers. Become one ⬇️ — 🧠 Subscribe to PN 🧠 — In the Trump administration's latest assault on public health, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s crankified FDA refused …

Paul Krugman: How the Kakistocracy Became a Quackistocracy

Rebecca Robbins / New York Times:
Vaccine Makers Curtail Research and Cut Jobs

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Jessica Yellin / News Not Noise:

Let Them Fly First Class: Kristi Noem's DHS Luxury Jet Scandal — For daily news updates and analysis, be sure to follow us on Instagram. If you are able to support independent journalism, please make a tax-deductible donation to News Not Noise here. — Today, we lead with something sure …

Discussion: Wonkette

Sophia Tareen / Associated Press:

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, who led the Civil Rights Movement for decades after King, has died at 84 — The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, a protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and two-time presidential candidate who led the Civil Rights Movement for decades after the revered leader's assassination, has died.

Discussion: Washington Times, The Hill, Zeteo, Joe.My.God., MS NOW, CBS News, New York Times, WJBK-TV and KVIA-TV

Sharon Cohen / Associated Press:
AP Was There: A profile of Jesse Jackson as he prepared his 1984 campaign for the presidency

Discussion: Insider NJ, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and CBS News

NBC News:

Noem's use of Coast Guard resources strains her relationship with the military branch, sources say — Some early decisions by the Homeland security secretary, including to divert Coast Guard resources from a search-and-rescue mission to the deportation of migrants, set the tone early.

Discussion: The Intercept, The Independent, Raw Story and Joe.My.God.

Eric Bazail-Eimil / Politico:

ICE officials knew use of force was rising well before Minneapolis shootings … Days before, Vitello was informed that the use of force in the first two weeks of March alone had quadrupled compared with the same timeframe the year before, per another email.

Discussion: The Parnas Perspective, Joe.My.God. and Breitbart

Judd Legum / Popular Information:

Major corporations bankroll political ad featuring white supremacist slogan — Congressman Andy Barr (R-KY), who is running to replace Mitch McConnell in the United States Senate, released his first television ad earlier this month. In the ad, Barr speaks directly to the camera and declares, “It's not a sin to be white.”

Dan Lamothe / Washington Post:

Hegseth forces ouster of senior Army spokesman in latest internal clash — It marks the defense secretary's latest move to force out an officer who worked for retired Gen. Mark A. Milley, a target of President Donald Trump's. — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has forced the ouster …

Discussion: New York Times, Fox News, Daily Mail, NewsMax.com, MS NOW and Joe.My.God.

Tony Romm / New York Times:

Trump Sought Vast Budget Cuts. Congress Granted Few. … Shortly after returning to office, President Trump embarked on an aggressive campaign to pare back the core functions of the federal government, unveiling a budget that proposed some of the steepest spending reductions in U.S. history.

Mike Allen / Axios:

How Trump saved TikTok: Backstory of a 2-year campaign — President Trump had just won reelection and was basking in the parade of congratulatory pilgrimages to Mar-a-Lago. On this day in November 2024, an old friend and a first-time visitor were meeting privately with Trump.

Jessica Parker / BBC:

Hillary Clinton accuses Trump administration of Epstein files ‘cover-up’ in BBC interview — Hillary Clinton has accused President Donald Trump's administration of a “cover-up” over its handling of files related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. — “Get the files out.

Discussion: NewsMax.com, France 24, The Independent, Wonkette, Newsweek and Mediaite

Stephanie Koithan / San Antonio Current:

Two-month-old baby ‘choking on his own vomit’ while detained in Dilley — ‘His life is in danger,’ U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro said about newborn Juan Nicolás. The child fell ill after spending almost a month — or half his life — in a San Antonio-area family detention facility.

Reuters:

New Mexico approves comprehensive probe of Epstein's Zorro Ranch — New Mexico lawmakers on Monday passed legislation to launch what they said was the first full investigation into what happened at Zorro Ranch, where the late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is accused of trafficking and sexually assaulting girls and women.

Discussion: Axios, The Guardian, Daily Mail, Joe.My.God., TMZ.com, Al Jazeera, Lawyers, Guns & Money and The Independent

Will Sommer / The Bulwark:

Steve Bannon Is in Trouble—and It Has Nothing to Do With Epstein — PERPETUAL TRUMPWORLD FIGURE Steve Bannon is taking a lot of heat this month as newly released Jeffrey Epstein files show he maintained close ties with the notorious sex trafficker, even after many of Epstein's worst crimes were exposed.

Discussion: Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, Joe.My.God., The Wrap and New York Times

Ben Kamisar / NBC News:

Republican congressman's anti-Muslim remark prompts calls for his resignation — Rep. Randy Fine's post on X drew fire from Democrats and a major Islamic civil rights group. — Listen to this article with a free account — Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., prompted calls for his resignation …

Gregory S. Schneider / Washington Post:

Judge orders slavery exhibit to be restored after Trump administration removal — On Presidents' Day, a federal judge says Trump can't remove displays about slavery from a George Washington-related site in Philadelphia. — A federal judge in Pennsylvania on Monday ordered the Trump administration …

Rebecca Davis O'Brien / New York Times:

Tom Pritzker, Citing Epstein Connection, Steps Down as Hyatt's Executive Chairman — The member of a prominent and wealthy family, Mr. Pritzker was in regular contact with the financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. — Thomas J. Pritzker, a billionaire heir to the Hyatt Hotels fortune …

Discussion: Associated Press, Breitbart, Al Jazeera, The Independent, The Gateway Pundit, Chicago Tribune, The Hill, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, Joe.My.God., Washington Examiner, KVIA-TV, Bloomberg and Mediaite

AnnaMaria Andriotis / Wall Street Journal:

Goldman Sachs Plans to Scrap DEI Criteria for Its Board — Race, sexual orientation and other DEI factors will no longer be taken into account when the board's governance committee identifies new potential directors — Last year, Goldman Sachs dropped a commitment to support board diversity for clients it was taking public.

Discussion: Telegraph, HotAir, The Daily Caller, Fox Business and NewsMax.com