Trump News for Friday, February 13, 2026

WATCH: CA Gov. Gavin Newsom calls Pres. Trump “temporary” in message to world leaders

ABC News, Abcnews.com

California Gov. Gavin Newsom called on world leaders attending the Munich Security Conference in Germany to think about a future without President Trump.

ICE Is Gearing Up to Build “Mega” Jails

Edith Olmsted, The New Republic

Immigration and Customs Enforcement is planning to spend tens of billions of dollars on mega-prisons where the agency can disappear thousands of people. In a memo shared with New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte, ICE outlined its $38.3 billion plan to launch a…

Trump says US will send second aircraft carrier to Middle East ‘very soon’

Al Jazeera Staff, Al Jazeera English

Trump says he believes negotiations with Iran will be 'successful' as he confirms USS Gerald R Ford deployment.

US Department of Homeland Security to go into shutdown due to funding lapse

Al Jazeera Staff, Al Jazeera English

Impasse comes as Trump's Democratic rivals demand reforms to immigration operations after deadly shootings in Minnesota.

Court orders Trump administration to facilitate deported student’s return

Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera English

Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, 19, was deported after attempting to visit her family for Thanksgiving, despite a court order.

DHS says immigration agents appear to have lied about shooting in Minnesota

Sergio Martínez-Beltrán, NPR

Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis was shot in the leg during the incident. Another Venezuelan man was also accused of attacking an immigration officer.

Alex Pretti Died Defending an EMT. ICE Wouldn’t Let Her Treat Him.

Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling, The New Republic

ICU nurse Alex Pretti was shot and killed by a swarm of ICE agents in Minneapolis moments after he assisted a couple of women. One of them, according to new reports, was also a health care professional—who was denied the chance to help Pretti in his final mom…

Paramount Names Rene Augustine, Former Trump White House And DOJ Attorney, To Top Global Public Policy Role

Ted Johnson, Deadline

Rene Augustine, who served in the White House and Justice Department during President Donald Trump’s first term, has been named senior vice president of global public policy at Paramount. Augustine will report to Makan Delrahim, chief legal officer for Paramo…

Cops Criticize Flock Safety After It’s Caught Handing Out Access To Federal Agencies

Tim Cushing, Techdirt

A California police department is none too happy that its license plate reader records were accessed by federal employees it never gave explicit permission to peruse. And, once again, it’s Flock Safety shrugging itself into another PR black eye. Mountain View…

The World Is on Fire and Meta Sees an Opportunity to Add Facial Recognition to Smart Glasses

Kyle Barr, Gizmodo.com

Meta reportedly hopes a 'dynamic political environment' will let them get away with a new surveillance network.

Trump Is Suing His Own Government

Will Gottsegen, The Atlantic

The president is seeking billions in taxpayer dollars from his own IRS. Whether he can do this is perhaps less important than whether he should.

Trump orders second aircraft carrier to Middle East

Al Jazeera English

US President Donald Trump says a second aircraft carrier strike group will deploy to the Middle East.

A shaky start for ‘His Eminence and Hizzoner’ in NYC

Brigid Bergin, Gothamist

Archbishop Ronald Hicks, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and Mayor Mamdani at the "State of the NYPD" banquet. Mamdani and Hicks met at the gala. Is Mamdani’s snub a sign of the declining influence of the church? [ more › ]

Trump says planning to ‘make visit’ to Venezuela following Maduro abduction

Joseph Stepansky, Al Jazeera English

Trump did not give a timeline for trip, which would make him the first US president to visit the country since 1997.

Social Security Workers Are Being Told to Hand Over Appointment Details to ICE

Zoë Schiffer, Vittoria Elliott, Leah Feiger, Wired

The recent request goes against decades of precedent, and puts noncitizens at further risk of immigration enforcement actions.

Trump Dodges When Asked About Land Strikes: “Don’t Worry About It”

Malcolm Ferguson, The New Republic

After kidnapping Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, threatening to cut off aid to Colombia, and calling for U.S. troops in Mexico all within the last few months, President Trump’s message to people concerned with further escalation is simply “don’t worry ab…

ICE says 2 officers may have lied under oath about shooting migrant in Minnesota

Armando Garcia, Abcnews.com

The top federal prosecutor in Minnesota is asking a judge to dismiss charges against two men accused by the Trump administration of allegedly attacking an ICE agent.

Billionaire Sultan Resigns as CEO of DP World Amid Epstein Files Scandal

TMZ Staff, TMZ

Billionaire Emirati businessman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem has resigned from the top spot of major logistics company DP World ... after his links to Jeffrey Epstein put the business in jeopardy. The multinational company -- owned by the government of…

Senators Urge Top Regulator to Stay Out of Prediction Market Lawsuits

Kate Knibbs, Wired

As prediction market platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi battle regulators in court, Senate Democrats are urging the CFTC to avoid weighing in, escalating a broader fight over the burgeoning industry.

Virginia court allows Democrats' redistricting vote in their plan to counter to Trump

Jahd Khalil, NPR

The ruling allows an April election where voters can let the legislature draw a new congressional map. It could help Democrats win more House seats. Republicans might still fight it in court.

Trump administration deportations cost taxpayers ‘upward of $40M': Report

Emily Chang, Abcnews.com

The Trump administration’s deportations through Jan. 2026 are estimated to have cost “upward of $40 million,” according to a report by Senate Democrats.

Leakers Helped Destroy the Deportation Case Against Tufts Student

Seth Stern, The Intercept

The disclosures revealed the case was built entirely on an op-ed Rümeysa Öztürk co-wrote, a chilling attack on free speech. The post Leakers Helped Destroy the Deportation Case Against Tufts Student appeared first on The Intercept.

Russia and Ukraine to hold more talks in Geneva next week

Al Jazeera Staff, Al Jazeera English

Trump has given both sides until June to reach deal, but future of Donbas industrial heartland remains a sticking point.

Ruben Gallego Wants You to Get Paid More for Working on Holidays

Monica Potts, The New Republic

This past Christmas, Yuliia Moshkova had to hurry to open presents with her family before her work shift started at 8 a.m. She works from her home in Louisiana as a Russian-to-English interpreter for LanguageLine Solutions, a call-in translation service that …

Donald Trump Says “Progress Has Been Made” In Nancy Guthrie Case After FBI Involvement

Ted Johnson, Deadline

Donald Trump told reporters on Friday that he believes that “progress has been made” in the Nancy Guthrie case after the FBI got involved. The case is being led by the Pima County Sheriff, which has jurisdiction over the Tucson area neighborhood where Guthrie…

MAGA’s Always Bogus “Antitrust Movement” Comes To A Screeching Halt With Firing Of Gail Slater

Karl Bode, Techdirt

The Trump administration has fired one of the few remaining members of the administration that had even a passing interest in antitrust enforcement. DOJ antitrust boss Gail Slater has been fired from the administration after having repeated contentious run in…

Trump’s Top Troll Embarrasses President on World Stage

Annabella Rosciglione, Daily Beast

California Gov. Gavin Newsom once again trolled President Donald Trump in front of world leaders. Newsom is back in Europe just one month after he traveled...

Cuban official decries ‘massive punishment’ by US oil blockade

Al Jazeera Staff, Al Jazeera English

Diplomat Carlos de Cossio says US fuel embargo harms Cuba's medical services, food production and standard of living.

Trump pardons 5 former NFL players ranging from perjury to drug trafficking

Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera English

Ex-NFL players Joe Klecko, Nate Newton, Jamal Lewis, Travis Henry and the late Billy Cannon are all granted clemency.

Trump's Genesis Mission gets its first set of 26 sure-to-succeed objectives

Brandon Vigliarolo, Theregister.com

DoE bets AI can speed fusion, unlock decades of nuclear data, and probe fundamental physics The Trump administration has outlined the first 26 goals for its project to inject AI into the government's scientific research, and everything from securing critical …

Meta-backed Scale AI is taking the Department of Defense to court. Some docs are expected to be classified.

Meghan Morris,Shubhangi Goel, Business Insider

The nature of the dispute with the Department of Defense, including what Scale AI is seeking, is unclear.

Judge Accuses DOJ Of Telling Court To “Pound Sand,” In Case Over Venezuelans Sent To Salvadoran Concentration Camp

Mike Masnick, Techdirt

Judge Boasberg got his vindication in the frivolous “complaint” the DOJ filed against him, and now he’s calling out the DOJ’s bullshit in the long-running case that caused them to file the complaint against him in the first place: the JGG v. Trump case regard…

DHS to shut down, but ICE won’t stop

Jelinda Montes, Salon

Congress cleared out for their week-long recess early — running out the clock on a DHS shutdown

Analysis-Trump EPA ends emissions limits for US automakers; state rules, lawsuits could follow

By Valerie Volcovici, Yahoo Entertainment

By Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's repeal of the foundation for federal climate regulation will immediately free...

Stephen A. Smith Tells CBS News He Is Not Ruling Out 2028 Presidential Run: “I’d Love To Be On The Debate Stages Against Some Of These Individuals”

Ted Johnson, Deadline

Sports analyst Stephen A. Smith continues to tease a potential presidential run, telling CBS Sunday Morning that while he has “no desire” to be a politician or run for office, he’s not ruling it out. In an interview with CBS News’ Robert Costa, Smith said, “S…

Another major airline cancels all flights to the U.S.

Veronika Bondarenko, TheStreet

Amid President Donald Trump's repeated targeting of the country with threats and insults, Canadian travel to the U.S. has remained at record low levels. This...

Student-loan forgiveness emails are going out to a new batch of borrowers

Ayelet Sheffey, Business Insider

Trump's Department of Education emailed a group of student-loan borrowers who reached their payment threshold under income-driven repayment plans.

Emirati billionaire resigns as CEO of logistics firm following Epstein revelations

James Hill, Sasha Pezenik, Abcnews.com

Emirati billionaire Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem has resigned as CEO of logistics giant DP World following the disclosure of his communications with Jeffrey Epstein.

The Sickening Image That Will Haunt Pam Bondi the Rest of Her Life

Michael Tomasky, The New Republic

During and right after Pam Bondi’s House testimony Wednesday, I flipped on Fox News and Newsmax to see how they were covering it. I was expecting to see a celebration of how the attorney general really put those America-hating libs in their place. To my surpr…

Buddhist monks vs. Trump’s fake “Board of Peace”

Troy Farah, Salon

Over the last year, we've seen America's "forever war" come home. But wandering monks remind us peace is possible

TACO Trump Plots Humiliating Retreat as His Approval Rating Plummets

Yahoo Entertainment

Kristi Noem Totally Humiliated Herself Over a Blanket. Yes, Really.

Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling, The New Republic

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is under fire for pink-slipping a Coast Guard pilot and then rehiring them moments later, over a blanket. Noem and her expired-special-employee chief adviser (and rumored beau) Corey Lewandowski are no strangers to a to…

Trump CDC Plans to Cut $600 Million in HIV, STI Funding ... Only to Blue States

Jim Vorel, Jezebel

The cut CDC funds for HIV and STD prevention will punish every Trump voter who is unlucky enough to happen to live in a blue state.

US and Europe must ‘repair and revive transatlantic ties’: Germany’s Merz

Al Jazeera Staff, Al Jazeera English

German leader seeks to set tone of unity at Munich Security Council, as top US diplomat says 'new era in geopolitics'.

Throwing Tantrums over a Blanket and a Badge

Jacob Weindling, Jezebel

The inside scoop on Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski, the toddlers running DHS.

ICE is Shutting Pregnant Girls in a Facility With Inadequate Care, in an Abortion-Banned State

Danielle Han, Jezebel

“These girls are experiencing high-risk pregnancies and are some of the most medically vulnerable people in detention,” Zain Lakhani, the director of migrant rights and justice at the Women’s Refugee Commission, told Jezebel.

Jasmine Crockett Swears Off Corporate Cash — But Transferred Thousands From Her House Campaign

Akela Lacy, The Intercept

A Democrat running for Senate in Texas has a complicated history with corporate America and the crypto industry. The post Jasmine Crockett Swears Off Corporate Cash — But Transferred Thousands From Her House Campaign appeared first on The Intercept.

New Epstein Email Reveals His Ties to Even More Trump Officials

Malcolm Ferguson, The New Republic

Disgraced sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein said he had “new administration people” visiting his Little Saint James Island in 2016—just a month before President Trump’s first inauguration. In a December 2016 email to Bill Gates, Epstein told him, “come to visit…

Trump’s Washington has become unrecognizable

Brian Karem, Salon

The nation's capital and America's democracy have become shells of their former selves

CBS Staffers Jump Ship Ahead Of More Layoffs From Another Pointless Media Merger

Karl Bode, Techdirt

U.S. media mergers always follow the same trajectory. Pre-merger, executives promise all manner of amazing synergies and deal benefits. Post-merger, not only do those benefits generally never arrive, the debt from the acquisition spree usually results in sign…

I'm A College Professor In Trump's America. I Never Expected To Be Doing The Things I'm Now Doing.

Melanie Robinson, HuffPost

"The classroom is heavy with rumor and ominous unease."

How a year of RFK, Jr., has changed American science

Dan Vergano, Scientific American

After a year of RFK, Jr., heading the Department of Health and Human Services, the “Make America Healthy Again” movement has upended science and medicine

Merz, Macron to address Munich Security Conference amid disputes with US

Mariamne Everett, Al Jazeera English

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will also address the conference.

Google is stifling anti-ICE speech in the workplace

Brian Merchant, Bloodinthemachine.com

The search giant has made it harder and riskier to protest its policies. Workers are still fighting back. Plus: A community takes down a data center, QuitGPT, and the 5 worst Super Bowl AI ads.

Could lab monkeys soon become a thing of the past?

Marina Bolotnikova, Vox

The Trump administration’s scientific agenda has been widely characterized — rightly so — as a war on scientific progress. But, hear me out here: There is more to the story.  This administration’s science policy is being shaped not solely by anti-science ideo…

Cardi B Shut Up DHS Real Fast

Claire Guinan, Jezebel

After DHS’s social media morons tried to call out Cardi B for criticizing ICE, she brought up the Epstein files. It’s been crickets ever since.

Trump Administration Spent More than $1 Million Per Person to Deport Immigrants to Rwanda

Jim Vorel, Jezebel

In some deportations to "third countries," the U.S. then paid to return the same immigrant to their home country only weeks later.

LGBTQ+ Athletes Are Front and Center at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games

Paolo Armelli, Wired

Nearly 50 out LGBTQ+ Olympians are participating in events throughout the Winter Games—even as their rights to speak and compete are under attack.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff's ICE joke was delivered at a difficult time for his company

Dan DeFrancesco, Business Insider

Marc Benioff's ICE-related quip at a Salesforce event has angered his employees at a time the company is already dealing with tension over its future.

Minnesota immigration crackdown will end, border czar says. And, DHS funding to expire

Suzanne Nuyen, NPR

Border czar Tom Homan announced that the Trump administration will end the immigration crackdown in Minnesota. And, DHS funding is set to expire after lawmakers failed to advance a spending bill.

Fox News AI Newsletter: Trump activates 'tech force'

Fox News

The Fox News AI Newsletter covers the latest artificial intelligence technology advancements, including the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

10 Friday the 13th Reads

Barry Ritholtz, Ritholtz.com

My end-of-week morning paraskevidekatriaphobia WFH reads: • The Big Money in Today’s Economy Is Going to Capital, Not Labor: Soaring profits and stocks funnel more of GDP toward companies, their top employees and shareholders. AI will intensify this trend. (W…

House passes elections overhaul bill that could make it harder for married women to vote

Marissa Martinez, Salon

The SAVE America Act could make it difficult for people who have changed their names to vote

Trump calls Connecticut 'an extremely corrupt voting place' on Fox News, takes swipe at Blumenthal

Jordan Nathaniel Fenster, Ctinsider.com

In Connecticut, if a voter doesn't have an accepted form of identification, they can sign an affidavit attesting to their identity.

Attorney for Epstein Survivors Warns That Justice Is Impossible With Bondi as AG

The Intercept Briefing, The Intercept

The Trump Justice Department is protecting the powerful at the expense of Epstein’s victims, says an attorney representing nine of his accusers. The post Attorney for Epstein Survivors Warns That Justice Is Impossible With Bondi as AG  appeared first on The …

Trump Wins Another Fake Award—but He Actually Deserves This One

Heather Souvaine Horn, The New Republic

Last month, Energy Secretary Chris Wright convened the National Coal Council for the first time since the organization was disbanded under President Biden. He extolled the administration’s work forcing aging coal plants to stay open, and hinted at further han…

What's next after House rebukes Trump's tariffs on Canada?

Max Zahn, Abcnews.com

The anti-tariff House vote will likely prove symbolic, since the measure faces challenging odds in the Senate and a potential veto from Trump, analysts said.

Ukraine is feeding intel to Patriot interceptor makers as Russia mixes up its missile attacks, lawmaker says

jepstein@businessinsider.com (Jake Epstein), Business Insider

Patriot interceptors, made by the American company Lockheed Martin, are Ukraine's top defense against Russian ballistic missile attacks.

Inside the outrage over Marc Benioff's ICE jokes at a pivotal time for Salesforce

astewart@insider.com (Ashley Stewart), Business Insider

CEO Marc Benioff's ICE jokes at a Salesforce event stirred employee backlash, adding to company challenges like stock decline.

Russia faces Ukraine casualties, broken communications and total oil ban

John T Psaropoulos, Al Jazeera English

Russia unleashes deadly air assaults on civilians as Ukraine's Zelenskyy promises new front-line tactics.

Exclusive-India's Reliance wins US licence for Venezuelan oil, sources say

By Nidhi Verma and Jarrett Renshaw, Yahoo Entertainment

By Nidhi Verma and Jarrett Renshaw NEW DELHI/WASHINGTON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - The United States has issued a general licence to India's Reliance Industries Ltd...

‘Yellow Letters’ Director İlker Çatak on Political Repression of Artists: ‘You Have It in the U.S. Too. Look at What Happened to Jimmy Kimmel!’

nvivarelli, Variety

İlker Çatak, who was born in Berlin to Turkish parents, is back at the Berlinale with “Yellow Letters,” which unlike his last film — the Oscar-nominated Germany-set “The Teachers’ Lounge” — takes place entirely amid political repression in Turkey, even though…

US says it caused dollar shortage to trigger Iran protests: What that means

Yashraj Sharma, Al Jazeera English

US official admits engineering dollar shortage to strangle rial, which culminated in the deadliest crackdown in Iran.

USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier headed from Caribbean to Middle East: Officials

Luis Martinez, Abcnews.com

The USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group is expected to leave the Caribbean and head towards the Middle East in the coming days, according to three U.S. officials.

Judge dismisses deportation case against father of 3 US Marines: Lawyer

Armando Garcia, Abcnews.com

Narciso Barranco's forcible arrest was captured on video.

Kathy Griffin Considers Herself “Uncanceled” After Trump Severed Head Photo: “Ahead Of My Time”

Glenn Garner, Deadline

Nearly nine years later, Kathy Griffin is moving on with her career after a bloody anti-Trump protest photo went too far for many. The 2x Emmy-winning comedian said that although “people still define me by” the 2017 photo of Griffin holding a fake severed hea…

US lawmakers step up pressure on Taiwan parliament to approve defence spending

Reuters, Yahoo Entertainment

TAIPEI, Feb 13 (Reuters) - A bipartisan group of 37 U.S. lawmakers have written to senior Taiwanese politicians expressing concern about parliament stalling ...

Carrie Prejean Boller Is Not Going Quietly

Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic

The former beauty queen, dismissed from Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission, says that it’s “anti-Christian” to accuse her of anti-Semitism.

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,450

Lyndal Rowlands, Al Jazeera English

These are the key developments from day 1,450 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Trump is the ‘elephant in the room’ as the African Union holds new summit

Joseph Stepansky, Al Jazeera English

Trump's policies on tariffs, foreign aid and immigration have outsized impact as African Union leaders seek 'balance'.

US judge blocks Trump administration from punishing Senator Mark Kelly

Al Jazeera Staff, Al Jazeera English

Judge Richard J Leon, a Republican appointee, has rejected the government's case as 'anemic' and 'horsefeathers'.

“This is unprecedented”: Bondi’s conduct in hearing draws ire of lawmakers and legal scholars

Garrett Owen, Salon

Bondi may have lied under oath and had documents detailing the search history of lawmakers

Bipartisan opposition over inflammatory comments likely to sink Trump State Dept. nominee

Jennifer Hansler, Christian Sierra, CNN, CNN

Jeremy Carl, the Trump administration’s pick for a top State Department position, is unlikely to get the job after a bipartisan group of senators grilled him...

Trump Attacked Immigrant Food Aid in Minnesota. Locals Fought Back.

Ryan Devereaux, The Intercept

With locals working to prevent neighbors from going hungry, fear and uncertainty remain as Trump’s historic occupation dies down. The post Trump Attacked Immigrant Food Aid in Minnesota. Locals Fought Back. appeared first on The Intercept.

Cardi B Fires Back At Donald Trump’s DHS After Calling Out ICE At ‘Little Miss Drama’ Tour: “Why Y’all Don’t Wanna Talk About The Epstein Files?”

Armando Tinoco, Deadline

Cardi B is feuding with Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on social media after she took a dig at ICE during her first concert from the Little Miss Drama Tour. The “Bodak Yellow” rapper launched her new tour in Palm Desert, California, and …

Trump revokes US scientific finding behind climate change regulations

Al Jazeera Staff, Al Jazeera English

Trump administration rescinds 'endangerment finding' that serves as the legal bases to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

DHS shutdown all but certain as lawmakers leave Washington with no deal

Allison Pecorin, Abcnews.com

The Department of Homeland Security is all but certain to run out of funding at the end of the day Friday as lawmakers leave Capitol Hill with no solution in sight.