Top Items:
Stephen Fowler / NPR:
Justice Department withheld and removed some Epstein files related to Trump — The Justice Department has withheld some Epstein files related to allegations that President Trump sexually abused a minor, an NPR investigation finds. It also removed some documents from the public database …
G. Elliott Morris / Strength In Numbers:
Ahead of State of the Union, Trump's approval falls to new low of 37% — This article reports results from the February 2026 Strength In Numbers/Verasight poll. You can read our previous poll releases here. Subscribers to Strength In Numbers have access to additional tracking visuals and a full archive of crosstabs here.
Discussion:
Newsweek, Mock Paper Scissors, USA Today and Associated Press
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New Republic:
Trump Angered by Fresh Slide in Polls as Even Fox Admits He's Tanking — A new CNN poll finds Donald Trump's approval at an abysmal 36 percent. And a Washington Post survey finds him absolutely tanking on just about all major issues. But to Trump, this cannot be real: He just issued an angry …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and NPR
Jason Lange / Reuters:
Most Americans say Trump is growing erratic with age, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds — Six in ten Americans including a significant slice of Republicans think President Donald Trump has become erratic as he ages, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. — The six-day poll concluded on Monday …
Edward Luce / Financial Times:
Donald Trump's state of mind is a global risk — A cabinet of sycophants makes an already erratic US president a greater threat — US psychiatrists have been discouraged from commenting on the mental health of public figures since the so-called Goldwater rule in the 1970s.
Lauren Gambino / Press Association:
Just 32% of Americans say Trump has right priorities, new poll finds, ahead of State of the Union speech - live
Just 32% of Americans say Trump has right priorities, new poll finds, ahead of State of the Union speech - live
Discussion:
Washington Post, MS NOW, The Hill, Newsweek, Joe.My.God. and CNN
New York Times:
Fresh Off a Supreme Court Loss, Trump Could Face New Challenges on Tariffs — Critics are questioning the legality of the provision President Trump has used to replace his previous slate of tariffs, raising the prospect of yet another legal battle. — Since the Supreme Court last week struck …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Breitbart and Council on Foreign Relations
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Ana Swanson / New York Times:
Trump's Tariff Goes Into Effect at 10 Percent, Not the 15 Threatened — The change surprised executives and foreign leaders, who had been expecting the 15 percent rate the president announced on Saturday. — A new tariff on most global imports went into effect in the United States …
Discussion:
Reuters, Washington Examiner, MS NOW, The Hill, News Talk 105.9 and Raw Story
Judd Legum / Popular Information:
Trump's new tariffs are just as illegal as his old tariffs
Discussion:
New York Times, American Prospect, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Al Jazeera, Modern Diplomacy, Reason and CBS News
Dan Pfeiffer / The Message Box:
Trump Stole Your Money. He Won't Give It Back.
Trump Stole Your Money. He Won't Give It Back.
Discussion:
Associated Press and WTOP News
Matthew A. Winkler / Bloomberg:
The State of the Union for Small Business Is Dismal — Donald Trump's State of the Union is unlike any of the President's preceding him because America isn't working the way it used to. — Small businesses, which have fewer than 500 employees and account for almost half of private sector payrolls …
Discussion:
Scripps News, MS NOW, NewsMax.com, WTTG-TV, Washington Examiner, CNBC, Pew Research Center and The Hill
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Melissa Goldin / Associated Press:
FACT FOCUS: A look at Trump's false and misleading claims ahead of the State of the Union
Discussion:
The Fucking News and The Guardian
Associated Press:
5 questions heading into Trump's State of the Union address
5 questions heading into Trump's State of the Union address
Discussion:
Axios, The Hill, USA Today, The Daily Signal, The Nation, WCNC-TV, Courthouse News Service, Associated Press, Fox News, Los Angeles Times, CBS News, NBC News, Scripps News, NPR, Bloomberg, The Guardian, Washington Examiner, MS NOW, New York Times, Bangor Daily News, Reason, Al Jazeera, ABC News, Straight Arrow News and Council on Foreign Relations
Joseph Cox / 404 Media:
This App Warns You if Someone Is Wearing Smart Glasses Nearby — A new hobbyist developed app warns if people nearby may be wearing smart glasses, such as Meta's Ray-Ban glasses, which stalkers and harassers have repeatedly used to film people without their knowledge or consent.
Paul Waldman / Public Notice:
Trump is about to start a war he hasn't bothered to explain — PN is supported by paid subscribers. Become one ⬇️ — 🫵 Subscribe to PN 🫵 — When asked last week what his message was to the people of Iran, President Trump seemed puzzled …
Discussion:
Foreign Affairs, Al Jazeera, CNN, ABC News, Raw Story, USA Today and Washington Post
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Amanda Kaufman / The Boston Globe:
Plans for proposed ICE facility in Merrimack, N.H., won't move forward, governor says — The Trump administration has scrapped plans to convert a warehouse in Merrimack, N.H., into an immigration detention facility, Governor Kelly Ayotte announced on Tuesday.
Discussion:
New Hampshire Public Radio and New Hampshire Bulletin
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Gregory Svirnovskiy / Politico:
Trump administration scraps planned ICE facility in New Hampshire, Ayotte says
Trump administration scraps planned ICE facility in New Hampshire, Ayotte says
Discussion:
Reuters, The Hill, NOTUS, Boston.com, WBUR, Raw Story, New Hampshire Bulletin and Straight Arrow News
Holly Ellyatt / CNBC:
U.S. has breached trade deal and Europe is ready to retaliate, top trade lawmaker tells CNBC … The U.S. has breached the terms of its trade deal with the European Union and the bloc is ready to retaliate if necessary, a top EU trade lawmaker told CNBC. — “We wanted to have really stability and predictability.
Discussion:
New York Times, Joe.My.God., The Daily Wire, Bloomberg, Washington Times and BBC
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Wall Street Journal:
Trump Administration Considers Action Requiring Banks to Collect Citizenship Information — Potential executive order would enlist banks in the Trump administration's illegal immigration crackdown — The Trump administration is weighing a possible executive order or other action …
Discussion:
NewsMax.com
Washington Post:
Meddling with private business need not spiral after Trump — Susan Rice wants Democrats to go after companies that supposedly played nice with the president. — Interfering with the free market by jawboning private businesses to advance his personal and political interests …
RELATED:
Margaret Sullivan / American Crisis:
What a mission-driven press must do in this time of crisis
What a mission-driven press must do in this time of crisis
Discussion:
New York Times
Tripp Mickle / New York Times:
The Looming Taiwan Chip Disaster That Silicon Valley Has Long Ignored … Federal officials have for years tried to wean Silicon Valley from its dependence on Taiwan, an island democracy roughly the size of Maryland that makes 90 percent of the world's high-end computer chips.
Discussion:
Tom's Hardware, AppleInsider, NewsMax.com and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »
Axios:
Exclusive: Hegseth gives Anthropic until Friday to back down on AI safeguards — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei until Friday evening to give the military unfettered access to its AI model or face harsh penalties, Axios has learned.
Discussion:
The Hill, The Verge, Bloomberg, Associated Press, Mercury News, Reuters, New York Post and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »
Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:
Alex Pretti, Renee Good, and Flight 93 — We'll talk about the State of the Union address in tomorrow's newsletter. Tonight, Tim and the gang will be live starting at 8:50 p.m. EST on Substack and YouTube to preview the speech, suffer through it with you, and give reactions after it wraps.
Matt Friedman / Politico:
Trump administration sues New Jersey over executive order banning ICE from some state property … Sherrill, who took office last month, has also encouraged residents to monitor Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity — something noted in the Department of Justice's lawsuit …
Discussion:
HotAir, Associated Press, Washington Examiner, NOTUS, NewsMax.com and Washington Times
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Jill Lawless / Associated Press:
Former UK ambassador Mandelson released on bail after arrest in Epstein probe — Police in Britain said Peter Mandelson, the former U.K. ambassador to the United States, has been released on bail after he was arrested in a misconduct probe stemming from his ties to the late Jeffrey Epstein.
Discussion:
The Hill, The Guardian, Associated Press, Reuters, France 24, USA Today, CNN, Breitbart, Fox News, Al Jazeera, New York Times, Washington Examiner, UPI, Forbes, WTOP News, Modern Diplomacy, TheJournal.ie, Time, Axios, CNBC, New York Post, Bloomberg, Ace of Spades HQ, BBC, The Spectator, Straight Arrow News, Courthouse News Service, New York Sun, The Hollywood Reporter, The Daily Caller, RedState, Business Insider, CBS News, Newsweek, NPR, MS NOW, FOX 26 Houston, Los Angeles Times, The i Paper, Semafor, The Gateway Pundit and The Preamble
Washington Post:
GOP lawmaker quietly questioned ‘disturbing’ East Wing demolition — Rep. Michael Turner, co-chair of the congressional Historic Preservation Caucus, wrote to a top White House aide about his “substantial concerns” as party leaders publicly backed Trump's decision.
Apoorva Mandavilli / New York Times:
15 States Sue H.H.S. Over Revisions to Vaccine Schedule — Federal health officials have pared back the number of shots recommended for children. The states, led by Democrats, say the changes were not based on science. — Aiming to reverse recent changes to federal vaccine recommendations …
Mike Blanchfield / Politico:
After Trump threats, Canadian military recruits surge … Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberal government is pouring tens of billions of dollars into its military following President Donald Trump's economic attacks and threats to annex Canada as “the 51st state,” as well as his complaints …
Associated Press:
US women's gold medal-winning team declines invitation from Trump to attend State of Union address — The U.S. women's hockey gold medal-winning team has politely declined an invitation from President Donald Trump to attend his State of the Union address on Tuesday.
Discussion:
USA Today, The Hill, WCNC-TV, Blaze Media, Washington Post, Newsweek, The Athletic, Breitbart, Raw Story, Fox News, BizPac Review, Straight Arrow News, The Wrap, Al Jazeera, One America News Network, Daily Mail, CNN, Mock Paper Scissors, Boston.com, Chicago Tribune, New York Daily News, CBS News, Scripps News, The Independent, NewsMax.com, Washington Examiner and New York Post
Brian Beutler / Off Message:
Why The State Of The Union Boycotters Have It Right — And what they can teach the rest of the party about winning friends and influencing people. — Don't look now, but Democrats are divided again—this time over whether to dignify Donald Trump's State of the Union address with their attendance.
Discussion:
The Daily Signal, Palm Beach Post and El País
Meredith Lee Hill / Politico:
Tony Gonzales says he will not resign — GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales told reporters Tuesday he will not step down from his seat amid allegations he had an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide. “I am not going to resign,” the Texas lawmaker said. Speaker Mike Johnson said earlier Tuesday he planned to meet with Gonzales.
Dolly Busby / Daily Mail:
Liberals at war with each other (and BBC) over the Tourette's sufferer who yelled N-word at black stars — The evening was just beginning, the atmosphere was warming up, the guests had all been seated without any major hiccups - and everyone was looking forward to a night celebrating the stars of British film and the wider industry.
Discussion:
TheJournal.ie, The Daily Sceptic, The Guardian, New York Daily News, The Wrap, Mercury News, TMZ.com, BBC, NBC News, Blaze Media, Vanity Fair, The Daily Caller, NPR, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Page Six, Fox News, spiked, Reuters, NewsMax.com, Rolling Stone, Town & Country, Mediaite, Al Jazeera, HuffPost and Breitbart, more at Mediagazer »
Ella Lee / The Hill:
Supreme Court shields Postal Service from lawsuits over intentionally undelivered mail — The Supreme Court on Monday said that the U.S. Postal Service may not be sued for intentionally failing to deliver the mail, ruling against a Black landlord who claims her carriers racially discriminated against her.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Associated Press, Fox News, MS NOW, NewsMax.com, Newsweek and Courthouse News Service
Bruce Gil / Gizmodo:
AI Added ‘Basically Zero’ to US Economic Growth Last Year, Goldman Sachs Says — Imported chips and hardware mean the AI investments are translating into US GDP growth. — Meta, Amazon, Google, OpenAI, and other tech companies spent billions last year investing in AI.
Discussion:
Tom's Hardware, Fortune and Washington Post
Meridith McGraw / Wall Street Journal:
Trump to Sell the Economy During State of the Union Address — The president is expected to argue that the country is ‘strong, prosperous and respected’ as it enters its 250th year — WASHINGTON—President Trump will use his State of the Union address to sell the public on the economy …
Discussion:
The Hill, New York Post, HotAir, The Free Press, Reason, The.Ink and Press Watch
Washington Post:
Ex-ICE instructor testifies that agency slashed officer training, lied to Congress — A former instructor for Immigration and Customs Enforcement told congressional Democrats the agency has cut “vital classes” from mandatory training for recruits. — A former instructor for U.S. Immigration …
Discussion:
The Hill, CBS News, New York Times, Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, The Independent, NewsMax.com, Raw Story, NOTUS, Breitbart, Blaze Media, Straight Arrow News and MS NOW

