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3:10 PM ET, February 18, 2026

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Paul Krugman:
Billionaires Gone Wild  —  Understanding the oligarchs' power grab and the dire threat to American democracy  —  A few stories about centibillionaires — men whose net worth exceeds $100 billion — and their role in our society:  —  · In 2022 Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, purchased Twitter.
Discussion: Mock Paper Scissors
RELATED:
Carol Ryan / Wall Street Journal:
Billionaires' Low Taxes Are Becoming a Problem for the Economy  —  Tax avoidance by the superwealthy is an economic issue as well as a political one  —  California's plan to hit its richest residents with a one-off wealth tax is a long shot, and its design has problems.
Discussion: The Guardian
David Bauder / Associated Press:
Late-night host Stephen Colbert isn't backing down from public dispute with CBS bosses  —  Stephen Colbert isn't backing down in an extraordinary public dispute with his bosses at CBS over what he can air on his late-night talk show.  —  On “The Late Show” Tuesday, Colbert said he was surprised …
RELATED:
Christian Paz / Vox:
The FCC (probably) didn't censor Stephen Colbert  —  For the 12 of us who woke up Tuesday morning wondering what we had missed on Monday's late-night shows, CBS greeted us with a concerning development.  —  Overnight, Stephen Colbert had laid into his network, dedicating time at the top …
Greg Sargent / New Republic:
Angry Trump Humiliated as Effort to Prosecute Dems Backfires Again  —  Let's start with some good news: Donald Trump's efforts to jail his Democratic enemies have thus far mostly been marked by ham-fisted, buffoonish failure.  The targeting of people like Senator Adam Schiff …
Discussion: Above the Law and Raw Story
RELATED:
New York Times:
A Case Against 6 Democrats Lacked Urgency. Then Came a Swift Bid for an Indictment.
Discussion: Mediaite
Annie Karni / New York Times:
Democrats Plan to Counter Trump's Speech to Congress With Rally  —  The House Democratic leader has asked rank-and-file members to sit quietly at the speech or skip it altogether, wary of creating a distraction.  —  Democrats knew in real time last year that they had bungled their response …
RELATED:
Hafiz Rashid / New Republic:
Pope Rejects Trump's “Board of Peace” Invite  —  The Vatican will not be joining Donald Trump's “Board of Peace,” announcing Tuesday that it was turning down a January invitation from the White House.  —  “For us, there are ... some critical issues that should be resolved,” …
RELATED:
Lizzy Lawrence / STAT:
STAT+: FDA reverses course, agrees to review Moderna's flu vaccine  —  WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration reversed course and told Moderna it would review its application for a new flu vaccine, the company announced Wednesday.  —  The agency told Moderna earlier this month …
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Keri Blakinger / ProPublica:
Amid Mass ICE Arrests, Trump Pardon Recipient Juan Orlando Hernández Given Special Treatment  —  After the former Honduran president was pardoned, ICE dropped its detainer on him, and he was whisked away to a luxury hotel in New York City.  —  Copy HTML
Janna Brancolini / The Daily Beast:
Manic Trump, 79, Unleashes Deranged Conspiracy Posting Rampage  —  SPIRALING  —  The president seems to be panicking about Republicans' chances in the midterms.  —  President Donald Trump has unleashed a bombardment of debunked election conspiracy theories as he pressures Senate Republicans …
RELATED:
Barak Ravid / Axios:
Trump moves closer to a major war with Iran  —  The Trump administration is closer to a major war in the Middle East than most Americans realize.  It could begin very soon. … - The sources noted it would likely be a joint U.S.-Israeli campaign that's much broader in scope …
Russell Contreras / Axios:
Where Christian nationalism is most dominant in the U.S.  —  Christian nationalism is now deeply entrenched inside today's Republican Party, according to a sweeping 50-state survey. … - The divide reflects a broader clash over whether America's future is pluralistic or rooted in a singular religious-national identity.
RELATED:
Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:   Trump's White House website welcomes visitors with a pop-up that reads: “WELCOME TO THE GOLDEN AGE!” …
Nature:
The political effects of X's feed algorithm  — Germain Gauthier orcid.org/0009-0000-4262-7483 1 na1, - Roland Hodler orcid.org/0000-0001-8402-8243 2 na1, - Philine Widmer 3 na1 & - - Ekaterina Zhuravskaya orcid.org/0000-0002-3496-2086 3,4 na1 Show authors  —  Abstract
Discussion: Gizmodo
Sam Levine / The Guardian:
Judge declares mistrial in Texas ‘antifa’ protest case over attorney's T-shirt  —  Lawyer for defendants accused of terrorism at ICE protest decried by Trump appointee over shirt's potential for ‘bias’  —  A federal judge in Texas declared a mistrial on Tuesday after a defense lawyer wore …
Discussion: Joe.My.God., Raw Story and Fox News
RELATED:
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
The ‘Most Massive Attack On Free Speech’ Is Happening Right Now, And The Twitter Files Crew Is Mighty Quiet  —  For the last five years, we had to endure an endless, breathless parade of hyperbole regarding the so-called “censorship industrial complex.”  We were told, repeatedly and at high volume …
Stephanie Koithan / San Antonio Current:
Report: Staff at Dilley raiding cells to confiscate kids' letters and drawings detailing conditions inside  —  Staff at Dilley's South Texas Family Residential Center have begun raiding cells at the immigrant detention facility to confiscate letters from children detailing the conditions inside …
Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Judges decry treatment of nursing and pregnant detainees in ICE custody … That crystallized over the weekend in Massachusetts, when Djeniffer Benvinda Semedo, a Cape Verdean national who is six months pregnant, was rushed to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center for emergency care.
RELATED:
Max Rego / The Hill:
Texas comptroller candidate who bought Epstein ranch plans to turn it into a Christian retreat  —  Former Texas state Sen. Don Huffines (R), the owner of a New Mexico ranch previously owned by Jeffrey Epstein, said this week he plans on turning the property into a Christian retreat.
Dareh Gregorian / NBC News:
Billionaire Les Wexner tells lawmakers that he was ‘conned’ by Jeffrey Epstein and did ‘nothing wrong’  —  The 88-year-old former Victoria's Secret CEO denied he was Epstein's “co-conspirator,” and said he “was duped by a world-class con man.”  —  Listen to this article with a free account
Chris Marquette / Politico:
Trump administration releases remaining Gateway funds — and then some … Over the course of three installments the Trump administration paid Gateway a total of $235 million.  That includes the $205 million the federal government was in arrears to Gateway, along with another $30 million stemming …
Arthur Delaney / HuffPost:
GOP Lawmaker Reportedly Had Affair With Aide Who Died By Self-Immolation  —  Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) accused his primary opponent of using the story to smear his aide's memory.  —  WASHINGTON — A Republican lawmaker's apparent affair with an aide who later died by suicide has roiled a close primary election in Texas.
Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
N.I.H. Director Will Temporarily Run C.D.C. in Leadership Shake-Up  —  Dr. Jay Bhattacharya will serve as acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention until President Trump appoints a permanent director.  —  The director of the National Institutes of Health …
Rick Hasen / Election Law Blog:
National Review: “The SAVE Act's Virtuous Goals Are Not Worth the Cost”  —  National Review:  —  Republicans in Congress, supported vocally by the Trump administration, are pushing for passage of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE Act.  It now appears to have majority support in the Senate after passing the House.
Discussion: National Review
Chris Marquette / Politico:
DOT wants to block transit money to states that aid migrants … The proposal would ensure that “systems that receive Federal funds are not using them to circumvent or break Federal immigration law,” the text reads.  It would cover all federal programs the Federal Transit Administration administers …
Discussion: NewsMax.com
New York Times:
Meta Begins $65 Million Election Push to Advance A.I. Agenda  —  Meta's biggest election investment aims to prevent state legislation that it fears could inhibit artificial intelligence development.  Its spending starts this week in Texas and Illinois.  —  Meta is preparing to spend $65 million …
Camille Mumford / Emerson Polling:
California 2026 Poll: Hilton, Swalwell, Bianco Lead Nonpartisan Primary for Governor  —  Home Polls California 2026 Poll: Hilton, Swalwell, Bianco Lead Nonpartisan Primary for Governor  —  A new Emerson College Polling/Inside California Politics survey of the primary for Governor finds …
Nicole Charky-Chami / Raw Story:
JetBlue under fire for pro-Trump message: ‘Last time I choose your airline’  —  A passenger flying from Los Angeles to Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday was shocked to hear a JetBlue employee thanking President Donald Trump during a special President's Day in-flight message on the plane.
Megan O'Matz / ProPublica:
Chlorine Dioxide, Raw Camel Milk: The FDA No Longer Warns Against These and Other Ineffective Autism Treatments  —  The warning on the government website was stark.  Some products and remedies claiming to treat or cure autism are being marketed deceptively and can be harmful.
Discussion: Joe.My.God.
Ashifa Kassam / The Guardian:
Credit cards cancelled, Google accounts closed: ICC judges on life under Trump sanctions  —  Kimberly Prost and Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza vow US reprisals will not affect work of international criminal court  —  When the Canadian Kimberly Prost learned Donald Trump's administration …
Discussion: Euronews and The Register
 
 
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 More Items: 
New Republic:
Minneapolis Mayor's Emotional Message to Trump: You Failed to Break Us
Discussion: Raw Story
Jason Lange / Reuters:
Americans believe Epstein files show the powerful get a pass, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds
Discussion: Fox News, The Hill and PoliticusUSA
Kyle Cheney / Politico:
DOJ acknowledges violating dozens of recent court orders in New Jersey
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
The Uncanny Artifice of George Washington
Michael Linhorst / New Republic:
The Mom-and-Pop Contractors Helping ICE Rapidly Expand
 Earlier Items: 
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
We're All Minnesotans Now  —  How committed is the Trump administration to erasing the history of slavery?
Joe Miller / Financial Times:
Donald Trump's AI push fuels revolt in Maga heartlands
Odette Yousef / NPR:
Extremist rhetoric is often found in government messaging. Who's the target?
Punchbowl News:
2/18/26☀️ AM: … Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson has held out on redistricting …
Richard Chumney / Stars & Stripes:
Deadly DC crash involving a US Army helicopter caused by ‘systemic failures,’ NTSB says
Discussion: New York Times and KVIA-TV
Eric Levitz / Vox:
Why voters hate Trump's (pretty decent) economy
Discussion: Breitbart and archive.ph
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Jack Dunn / Variety:
Stephen Colbert says CBS released its statement “without ever talking to me” and talk shows have long been exempt from “equal time” rules

Cameron Adams / The Daily Beast:
Sources: CNN restricted staff from using its platforms for self-promotion, after Jake Tapper pushing his Joe Biden book turned into a “rolling infomercial”

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Audible launches an “immersion reading” feature that lets readers switch between ebook and audiobook versions of a title in their Audible and Kindle libraries

 
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