memeorandum: Stephen Colbert says network lawyers pulled James Talarico interview over FCC equal time fears (Meg Kinnard/Associated Press)

11:55 AM ET, February 17, 2026

Top Items:

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: New York Magazine, Mediaite, Daily Mail, Breitbart, Forbes, Newsbusters, The Wrap, The Independent, Townhall, Raw Story and Mashable

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.

Meg Kinnard / Associated Press:

Stephen Colbert says network lawyers pulled James Talarico interview over FCC equal time fears — Late-night host Stephen Colbert said his interview with Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico was pulled from Monday night's broadcast over network fears it would violate regulatory guidance …

Discussion: The Nation, Meidas+, Politico, Scripps News, Plain Dealer, Mediaite, MS NOW, LateNighter and Just Jared

The Bulwark: American Principles in the Age of MAGA Nihilism

Tom Tapp / Deadline:
Stephen Colbert Defies CBS, Says Network Banned Him From Interviewing James Talarico On ‘The Late Show’

Discussion: Mediaite, The Verge, 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: The Hill, Axios, The Texas Tribune, Straight Arrow News, Washington Times, Variety and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

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: Associated Press, Straight Arrow News, Punchbowl News, Election Law Blog and Axios

Edward Walsh / Washington Post:

Jesse Jackson, a leading voice for civil rights, 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 to gain significant traction …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Chicago Sun Times, The Guardian, Rolling Stone, CBS News, France 24, Althouse and FOX 32 Chicago

Char Adams / NBC News:

Rev. Jesse Jackson, a civil rights icon, dies at 84 — “Our father was a servant leader — not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world,” the Jackson family said in a statement Tuesday. — ADD NBC NEWS TO GOOGLE

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

Discussion: NPR, Chicago Sun Times, Advocate, New York Daily News, Chicago Tribune, Washington Examiner, The Guardian and The Independent

Politico:
Jesse Jackson dies at 84

Discussion: The Hill, ABC News, abc7NY, Breitbart, UPI, Al Jazeera, Raw Story, France 24, RADAR, FOX 32 Chicago, The Guardian, GB News, The Daily Signal, New York Post and Fox News

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

Discussion: Reuters, Washington Examiner, CNBC, The Guardian, Vanity Fair, KVIA-TV, Chicago Tribune, Townhall, The Independent, RNS, Axios, Al Jazeera, The European Conservative and Tampa Free Press

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

Discussion: New York Times, Daily Mail and CBS News

New York Times:
Jesse Jackson: A Life in Pictures

Discussion: Chicago Tribune

Kevin Robillard / HuffPost:
Jesse Jackson, Civil Rights Leader Who Helped Launch Progressive Movement, Dead At 84

Discussion: The Hill, TheJournal.ie, NBC News, LateNighter, The Guardian, Forbes, Los Angeles Times, WNYW-TV and Just Jared

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

New York Times:
Bernice King and Al Sharpton are among the leaders paying tribute.

Discussion: Joe.My.God. and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Politico:

DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin to leave Trump administration … McLaughlin publicly supported the Trump administration's controversial tactics at some of the most tense moments amid its immigration enforcement operations in Chicago and Minneapolis, frequently sparring with social media detractors.

Discussion: The Independent, NewsNation and NewsMax.com

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, Mediaite, Raw Story and Joe.My.God.

Travis Gettys / Raw Story:
New details emerge about in-flight blow-up between Corey Lewandowski and pilot

Discussion: The Daily Beast

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

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: Zeteo, MS NOW, The Hill, Washington Times, New York Times, CBS News, 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

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

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: Raw Story, The Parnas Perspective, Breitbart 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.

Discussion: NewsMax.com

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.”

Discussion: Joe.My.God.

Peter Baker / New York Times:

Obama Took On Recession, Health Care and Iraq. What He Didn't See Coming Was Trump. — A new set of oral history interviews documents how Barack Obama and his advisers missed the shifting mood of the country that would ultimately replace him with a successor they considered a “con man,” “clown” and “laughingstock.”

Discussion: The Hill

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.

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, Mediaite, MS NOW and Joe.My.God.

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: The Hill, France 24, RedState, TheJournal.ie, NewsMax.com, Wonkette, Newsweek, The Independent and Mediaite

David Dayen / American Prospect:

The Quintessential Epstein Files Email — On June 5, 2015, Kathy Ruemmler, then a corporate lawyer for Latham & Watkins but just one year removed from her stint as White House counsel for Barack Obama, emailed her good friend Jeffrey Epstein. Ruemmler, who was once under consideration …

Stephanie Koithan / San Antonio Current:

Two-month-old baby ‘choking on his own vomit’ while detained in Dilley — A 2-month-old baby detained at Dilley's South Texas Family Residential Center has fallen ill and has been described as “choking on his own vomit,” according to Univision reporter Lidia Terrazas.

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 …