memeorandum: CBS News is convulsing as Larry Ellison tries to please Trump (Margaret Sullivan/The Guardian)

10:40 PM ET, February 21, 2026

Top Items:

Trump Says He Will Raise Global Tariff to 15 Percent — The move signaled anew that the president would press ahead with his trade war despite the legal setback from the Supreme Court. — President Trump announced Saturday that he would raise his new, global tariff to 15 percent …

Discussion: National Review, Raw Story, Persuasion, Mother Jones, OutsideTheBeltway and Congressman Hakeem Jeffries

Ben Johansen / Politico:

Trump hikes ‘temporary’ global tariff rate to 15 percent, maximizing authority in wake of Supreme Court blow … It comes less than 24 hours after he invoked Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows the president to impose tariffs up to 15 percent to address a “large and serious balance …

Edward Helmore / The Guardian:

US businesses clamor for refunds after supreme court strikes down Trump's tariffs — Refunds were not addressed by supreme court ruling, and they'll likely play out in lower courts over extended period — Top associations of American businesses are demanding to be repaid …

Discussion: Joe.My.God., Bloomberg, The Hill, New York Times, Washington Examiner, NC Newsline, The Colorado Sun and MS NOW

Steve Kopack / NBC News:

Trump raises global tariff to 15% shortly after implementing reworked 10% levy — Most of Trump's tariffs were struck down by the Supreme Court on Friday in a 6-3 decision. — President Donald Trump on Saturday said that he was hiking his newly announced global tariff to 15%, less than a day after announcing a 10% worldwide duty.

Ilya Somin / The Atlantic:

How the Supreme Court Spared America — The ruling against Trump's tariffs is a major victory for the constitutional separation of powers, rule of law, and millions of American consumers and businesses. — In a 6-3 decision yesterday, the Supreme Court rightly ruled that …

Discussion: Reason, Lawyers, Guns & Money, MS NOW, USA Today, Reuters, Election Law Blog, The Daily Wire, NewsMax.com, Bloomberg, New Jersey Business News, 19FortyFive, Fox News, New York Sun, CalMatters, City Journal and New York Post

Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
Today, in a 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court found that President Donald J. Trump's …

Discussion: Global News, Reason, Salon, The i Paper, Axios, The Hill, The Atlantic, Bangor Daily News, JURISTnews, El País, Mediaite, HotAir, New Jersey 101.5, Fox News, Talking Points Memo, GB News and WNYW-TV

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
The Fix Is In: Lutnick Family Could Make Killing On Tariff Demise

Discussion: WTTG-TV, Los Angeles Times, 77 WABC, The Parnas Perspective, Raw Story, Semafor, Joe.My.God., Lawyers, Guns & Money and New Republic

Andrew Chung / Reuters:
With tariffs ruling, Supreme Court reasserts its power to check Trump

Financial Times:
Corporate America demands refunds after Donald Trump's tariffs are struck down

Wall Street Journal:
Trump Increases Global Tariff to 15%

Discussion: Associated Press, The Guardian, The Independent, Tampa Free Press, The Hill, The Japan Times, archive.ph, GV Wire, The National Pulse and NPR

Lawrence Hurley / NBC News:
In tariff case, Supreme Court justices bicker over treating Trump and Biden differently

Discussion: The Dispatch, Talking Points Memo, Roll Call, Reason, KVIA-TV, HuffPost, Courthouse News Service, Above the Law, E&E News, Mother Jones, Reuters and Alternet.org

Sam Levin / The Guardian:

DoJ cases against protesters keep collapsing as officers' lies are exposed in court — String of embarrassing defeats for prosecutors as experts condemn DoJ effort to cast people as ‘violent perpetrators’ — Department of Justice prosecutors across the US have suffered a string …

Discussion: The Parnas Perspective and Alternet.org

Rob Copeland / New York Times:

JPMorgan Admits It Shut Trump's Accounts After Jan. 6 Capitol Attack — Nation's largest bank, in response to a lawsuit filed by the president, confirmed his longstanding complaint about “debanking.” — For years, President Trump has complained that his personal and business bank accounts …

Discussion: Breitbart and The Post Millennial

Ken Sweet / Associated Press:

JPMorgan concedes it closed Trump's accounts after Jan. 6 attack — JPMorgan Chase acknowledged for the first time that it closed the bank accounts of President Donald Trump and several of his businesses in the political and legal aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021 attacks on the U.S. Capitol …

Discussion: Newsweek, GV Wire, Forbes, Originally Reported … and RedState

Sasha Rogelberg / Fortune:

The U.S. spent $30 billion to ditch textbooks for laptops and tablets: The result is the first generation less cognitively capable than their parents — In 2002, Maine became the first state to implement a statewide laptop program to some grade levels. Then-Governor Angus King saw the program …

Bucks County Courier Times:

Quakertown parents, groups demand release of students in police clash — Civil rights organizations and parents are calling for an investigation into the violent clash between Quakertown police and high school students Friday during an ICE protest, and they want the arrested teens immediately released …

Discussion: PennLive

Rebecca Schneid / Time:

Pope Leo Will Spend July 4 Visiting Island Known For Migrant Crossings … The decision also comes just days after Pope Leo declined an invitation to join Trump's Board of Peace, a U.S.-led initiative launched by the president with the ostensible aim of rebuilding Gaza and solving other conflicts.

Discussion: Frontpage Mag

ABC News:

Over 40 million Americans on alert for winter storm conditions over the weekend — New York City is under a blizzard warning for the first time since March 2017. — A child plays in the snow in front of Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan skyline in the Brooklyn Borough of New York City, U.S., February 16, 2026.

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Post, Breitbart, Fortune, NewsMax.com, Tampa Free Press, CBS News, Washington Examiner, Staten Island Advance, Forbes, New York Post, Joe.My.God., New Jersey Online, WNYW-TV, New Jersey 101.5 and Boston.com

Carl Hulse / New York Times:

Senate G.O.P. Faces Pressure to Force ‘Talking Filibuster’ for Voter I.D. Bill — Some reluctant Republicans say an old-school filibuster showdown with Democrats could paralyze the Senate with no guarantee of success. But President Trump and their own colleagues are spoiling for the fight.

FEMA.gov:

President Donald J. Trump Approves Emergency Declaration for the District of Columbia — WASHINGTON — FEMA announced today that federal disaster assistance is available to the District of Columbia to supplement response efforts due to emergency conditions resulting from a sewer line collapse from Jan. 19, 2026, and continuing.

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Post, Mercury News, NewsMax.com, Washington Times, Straight Arrow News and Fox News

Phil Helsel / NBC News:

U.S. military says it struck another alleged drug boat in eastern Pacific, killing 3 — U.S. Southern Command alleged that the boat was “engaged in narco-trafficking operations.” — Listen to this article with a free account — The U.S. military said that it struck an alleged drug trafficking boat …

Discussion: New York Post and Reuters

Eric Schmitt / New York Times:
U.S. Kills 3 in Latest Boat Strike

Discussion: Washington Times, Associated Press, NewsMax.com, The Gateway Pundit, The Hill and KVIA-TV

Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:

Special Saturday Triad: What I Saw at the Battle of Minneapolis — 1. War — I understand that spending three days on the ground in Minneapolis is not real perspective. But it brought home something that may not be obvious from afar: Minnesota, especially the Twin Cities, has been …

Washington Post:

Trump aides struggle with how to spend $500 billion more on military — The White House budget chief was among those who internally objected to the defense secretary's plan to increase military spending by roughly 50 percent, sources say. — Trump administration officials have struggled …

Discussion: Mock Paper Scissors, The Daily Caller, Raw Story and Alternet.org

Sam Kim / Bloomberg:

Trump Threatens Netflix With ‘Consequences’ Over Rice Board Seat — Donald Trump called on Netflix to fire board member Susan Rice or “pay the consequences,” after she said that Democrats would take action against corporations that “take a knee” to the president.

Discussion: The Hill, Raw Story, The Post Millennial, The Wrap, Deadline, Mediaite, Variety and Breitbart, more at Mediagazer »

NBC News:

CIA retracts and revises reports for ‘bias’ after review by Trump-appointed board — CIA Director John Ratcliffe said the changes would affect 19 reports from the last decade and highlighted three from the Biden and Obama administrations. — CIA Director John Ratcliffe said Friday …

Discussion: RedState, The Federalist, CIA, Fox News, KVIA-TV and New York Post

Paul Kane / Washington Post:

Congress could get a healthy pay raise, courtesy of the courts — A group of former members and veteran lawmakers have advanced an unusual lawsuit that could lead to larger salaries. — For more than 15 years, members of Congress have blocked themselves from receiving an automatic cost …

Discussion: NTU

Gregory S. Schneider / Washington Post:

Spanberger signs bill that could help Democrats gain four House seats — Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) has signed legislation that includes congressional redistricting maps that could favor Democrats 10-1 if voters pass a referendum. — RICHMOND — Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger …

Discussion: Blue Virginia, Washington Examiner and Bangor Daily News

Associated Press:

ICE is quietly buying warehouses for detention centers and leaving local officials out of the loop — In a Texas town at the edge of the Rio Grande and a tall metal border wall, rumors swirled that federal immigration officials wanted to purchase three hulking warehouses to transform into a detention center.

Discussion: The Independent, Bloomberg and New Jersey Online