Top Items:
Reuters:
Trump Iranian missile claim unsupported by U.S. intelligence, say sources — U.S. President Donald Trump's claim that Iran will soon have a missile that can hit the United States is not backed by U.S. intelligence reports, and appears to be exaggerated, according to three sources familiar with the reports …
Discussion:
19FortyFive, Daily Mail, MeidasTouch News and Breitbart
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Natalie Allison / Washington Post:
Vance: ‘No chance’ U.S. will be in drawn-out war in Middle East
Discussion:
Straight Arrow News, CNBC, New York Times, The National Pulse, ABC News, The Wrap, NewsMax.com, Fox News, The Independent, New York Post, MS NOW, The Hill, The Forward, Mediaite and Jewish Insider
Erin Reed / Erin In The Morning:
SecDef Hegseth Announces Trans Scouts In Scouting America Will Be Outed, Segregated — The policy is the latest in a trend of organizations capitulating to Trump over transgender people. … Nine years ago, the Boy Scouts of America announced that it would begin accepting transgender youth into the program.
Discussion:
The Independent, Washington Post, Washington Examiner and New York Sun
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Natalie Neysa Alund / USA Today:
Scouting America to end DEI efforts in deal with Pentagon — Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Feb. 26 announced the Pentagon will conditionally continue to provide support to Scouting America following the youth organization's “commitment to pull all diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives from its program.”
Discussion:
Scouting Newsroom, CBS News, HotAir, RedState, Althouse, The Post Millennial and WTOP News
New York Times:
U.S. Says Staff Can Leave Israel, Urging Speed, as Possible Iran Strike Looms — In an email to embassy workers Friday morning, Ambassador Mike Huckabee warned them that if they wanted to leave Israel, they “should do so TODAY.” — With the threat of a U.S. strike on Iran looming …
Discussion:
HotAir, New York Post, The Washington Free Beacon, Mediaite, UPI, RedState, France 24, New York Sun, Agence France-Presse, Truthout, Axios, MeidasTouch News, Balloon Juice, KVIA-TV, New Republic, Washington Times, Forbes, The Daily Caller, The Forward, Joe.My.God., Washington Examiner, Fox News, IJR, NewsMax.com and NewsNation
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U.S. Embassy Jerusalem:
Travel Advisory Update: Authorized Departure of Non-Emergency U.S. Government Personnel and Family Members of Personnel from U.S. Mission Israel. — Updated to reflect the authorized departure of non-emergency U.S. government personnel and family members of U.S. government personnel to leave Israel.
Discussion:
Politico, The Daily Wire, The Hill, CBS News, Bloomberg, Raw Story, The Post Millennial, France 24 and Middle East Monitor
New York Times:
For CNN, a Change in Ownership Means a Suddenly Uncertain Future — Paramount's apparent victory over Netflix in securing Warner Bros. Discovery has led to concerns within the CNN newsroom. — Once again, CNN is facing an uncertain fate. — Netflix's stunning surrender on Thursday …
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David Dayen / American Prospect:
States Can Block the Paramount-Warner Deal
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Deadline, Media Matters for America, NBC News, Common Dreams, The Hollywood Reporter, The Bulwark, AOL, The Wrap, Variety and NPR, more at Mediagazer »
Oliver Darcy / Status:
CNN Braces for Ellison's Control
CNN Braces for Ellison's Control
Discussion:
CNN, The Guardian, The Wrap, NPR, Fox News, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, Mediaite, Agence France-Presse, RedState and KVIA-TV, more at Mediagazer »
New York Times:
Netflix Backs Out of Bid for Warner Bros., Paving Way for an Ellison Takeover
Netflix Backs Out of Bid for Warner Bros., Paving Way for an Ellison Takeover
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Techdirt, Bloomberg, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, About Netflix, New Republic, Poynter, Variety, No More Mister Nice Blog, Ars Technica, New York Sun, Rolling Stone, Deadline, New York Post, MacRumors, NewsMax.com, Semafor, The National Pulse, TechCrunch, Mediaite, Raw Story, Lawyers, Guns & Money, World of Reel, Adweek, Joe.My.God., The Post Millennial, UPI, The Verge and 9to5Mac, more at Mediagazer »
Joshua Keating / Vox:
A new poll shows just how quickly Israel has lost America's sympathy — For the first time, a Gallup survey found more Americans sympathize with Palestinians than Israelis in the long-running Middle East conflict, a watershed moment in relations between the US and one of its closest — but most controversial — allies.
Discussion:
Al Jazeera, Algemeiner.com and New York Times
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Linley Sanders / Associated Press:
Americans' sympathies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have shifted dramatically, new poll shows — American sympathies in the Middle East have shifted dramatically toward the Palestinians, according to new Gallup polling, after decades of overwhelming support for the Israelis.
Discussion:
Gallup
Avery Lotz / Axios:
America's slipping sympathy for Israel
G. Elliott Morris / Strength In Numbers:
New poll: Democrats' real problem isn't being too liberal — it's being seen as too weak — This article is the last in a four-part series presenting findings from the latest Strength In Numbers/Verasight poll, conducted February 18-20 among 1,566 U.S. adults. The margin of error is +/- 2.5 percentage points.
Discussion:
Off Message
Punchbowl News:
Senate Dems ramp up pressure for tariff refunds … Two dozen Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), are sending a letter today to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent demanding that tariff refunds begin immediately. — The Supreme Court struck …
Discussion:
Raw Story
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E.J. Dionne Jr / New York Times:
Why Trump's Fearmongering Is Falling Flat With Voters
Why Trump's Fearmongering Is Falling Flat With Voters
Discussion:
Washington Examiner
Sarah Davis / The Hill:
Moore demands Trump tariff reimbursements for Maryland consumers, businesses
Moore demands Trump tariff reimbursements for Maryland consumers, businesses
Discussion:
Fargo | KFGO
Associated Press:
Lawmakers say US military used laser to take down Border Protection drone — The U.S. military used a laser Thursday to shoot down a Customs and Border Protection drone, according to members of Congress, and the Federal Aviation Administration responded by closing more airspace near El Paso, Texas.
Discussion:
Task & Purpose, CBS News, Reuters, Axios, KVIA-TV, NewsNation, Associated Press, Al Jazeera, Raw Story, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Straight Arrow News, Newsweek, UPI, VINnews, FOX 10 Phoenix, Bloomberg, Washington Examiner, Roll Call, Mediaite, The Japan Times, Lawyers, Guns & Money, WEB OF EVIL and Just An Earth-Bound Misfit, I
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Mike Hixenbaugh / NBC News:
911 calls capture kids burning with fever, struggling to breathe at ICE detention center — EMS crews were called to the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas at least 11 times since September for children in medical distress, records show. — ADD NBC NEWS TO GOOGLE
Discussion:
The Parnas Perspective, The Independent and ICE, more at Techmeme »
Sara Braun / The Guardian:
Kansas revokes driver's licenses from trans residents in latest assault on rights — Law demanding IDs match ‘sex at birth’ also includes bathroom ban provision for trans people in public buildings — Transgender Kansas residents have begun receiving letters from the state's department …
Discussion:
Kansas City Star, The Status Kuo, American Greatness, Slate, Erin In The Morning, Washington Times, The Bulwark, UPI, Fox News, NewsMax.com, New Republic, Reuters, Truthout and Joe.My.God.
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Hailey Fuchs / Politico:
Democrats say they have the votes to subpoena Lutnick in Epstein probe — Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee have the votes to force Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to testify before their panel about his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein …
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Emily Brooks / The Hill:
‘I did nothing wrong’: Bill Clinton denies knowledge of Epstein abuse in deposition
‘I did nothing wrong’: Bill Clinton denies knowledge of Epstein abuse in deposition
Discussion:
Associated Press, NBC News, Washington Examiner, New York Times, Scripps News, New York Post, Axios, CNBC, The Guardian, MS NOW, Washington Post, Metro.co.uk, Daily Mail, Washington Times, New York Sun, KUSA-TV, twitchy.com, The Daily Wire, Newsweek, The Post Millennial, Reason, Bloomberg, CBS News, Fox News, NewsNation, Forbes, WLT Report, FOX 26 Houston, Politico, FOX 10 Phoenix, The Independent, UPI, Al Jazeera and TheJournal.ie
ACLU:
New ACLU Report Reveals How the Trump Administration is Using Local Police to Build a National Deportation-Policing Force Through the 287(g) Program — Report Finds At Least 77.2 Million People Live in Counties Where Local Law Enforcement Participates in the Program
Discussion:
Charleston City Paper
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Ashley Splawinski / Can We Still Govern?:
A Federalism Bottleneck? — Across America, officials in small government offices are reviewing …
A Federalism Bottleneck? — Across America, officials in small government offices are reviewing …
Discussion:
BizPac Review
Josh Halliday / The Guardian:
Green party wins Gorton and Denton byelection, pushing Labour to third place — Hannah Spencer elected as party's first MP in northern England as vote share for Keir Starmer's party plummets — The Green party has pulled off a landmark victory in the Gorton and Denton byelection …
Discussion:
HuffPost, Byline Times, The American Conservative, PinkNews, LabourList, spiked, Metro.co.uk, Zeteo, Politico, UPI and Breitbart
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Christine Wang / Axios:
Trump Media & Technology Group in talks to spin off Truth Social — Trump Media & Technology Group said Friday it is in talks to spin off Truth Social into a new publicly traded company. … - TMTG businesses including Truth Social would merge with a blank-check company called Texas Ventures Acquisition III Corp.
Discussion:
CBS News and Forbes, more at Mediagazer »
Kyle Cheney / Politico:
‘ICE will comply’: Top Minnesota judge threatens criminal contempt for continued defiance … “The Court is not aware of another occasion in the history of the United States in which a federal court has had to threaten contempt — again and again and again — to force the United States government …
Geoff Kelly / Investigative Post:
Timeline: Burmese refugee's arrest to death — Police body camera footage of confrontation between police and Nurul Amin Shah Alam in February of last year. — Buffalo police last year Tasered, beat and arrested the Burmese refugee who was found dead Tuesday in downtown …
Washington Post:
Republicans are boosting Jasmine Crockett ahead of critical Senate primary — In today's edition ... The effort to remake elections ... We feature many of your reflections on the U.S. men's hockey team ... but first ... Republicans in Texas, and nationwide, are looking to boost Rep. Jasmine Crockett …
Discussion:
NBC News, The Hill, Newsweek, Strength In Numbers, Washington Examiner and The Downballot
New York Times:
Elon Musk's Secret Web of Companies in Texas — The megabillionaire was tied to about 90 companies in the state, which he uses for everything from paying nannies to buying land to supporting Donald Trump's re-election, according to a Times examination. — In 2020, Elon Musk announced …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Punchbowl News:
Crenshaw has Texas primary problems … House GOP leaders are growing increasingly concerned about Crenshaw's fate next Tuesday as he faces a strong challenge from state Rep. Steve Toth. … That's a clear sign that the incumbent's allies see the challenger as a serious threat, even though Toth has spent very little money himself.
Discussion:
New York Times, CNN, Joe.My.God., Raw Story, Washington Examiner, Congressman Dan Crenshaw and Mediaite
Caitlin Owens / Axios:
Trump-MAHA split complicates midterm agenda — The Trump administration's 2026 health care agenda is shaping up to look pretty different from last year's — and that's not going over very well with some of the “Make America Healthy Again” faithful. … - But there's still plenty …
Discussion:
CNBC, Bloomberg, The Independent and Washington Post
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
Same Brutal ICE. Now Stealthier. — What approach should Donald Trump take to rigging this year's midterms? A coalition of hardcore MAGA activists has a few ideas. The Washington Post reports that activists “who say they are in coordination with the White House” are circulating …
Discussion:
Anthropic, Washington Post, New York Times and The Independent, more at Techmeme »

