In the first year of President Trump’s second term, more than 5,000 Justice Department employees resigned, retired or were dismissed, producing a rapid exodus that has reshaped the post‑government job market. Many former federal prosecutors and career lawyers left in 2025 and early 2026 and have been recruited by private law firms, nonprofit litigation groups … Read more
Lead FRISCO, Texas — On Wednesday, 34-year-old Christian Parker was formally introduced as the Dallas Cowboys’ defensive coordinator and presented a multi-faceted plan for the defense beginning in 2026. Speaking at the team facility, Parker emphasized a switch to a 3-4 base while keeping flexibility for 4-3 looks and 4-2-5 nickel packages. He identified two … Read more
Lead: On Day 1 of the second 2026 pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit, Formula 1’s 11 teams returned for the first of three remaining test days before the season opener in Melbourne. Teams combined reliability work with selective performance runs; some squads encountered technical interruptions while others logged long, trouble-free stints. Notable developments … Read more
Lead: The Estate of Paul G. Allen announced Wednesday it has begun a formal process to sell the Seattle Seahawks, consistent with Allen’s directive that his sports holdings eventually be liquidated and proceeds directed to philanthropy. The estate has retained investment bank Allen & Company and law firm Latham & Watkins to lead the effort, … Read more
Lead Students at Highland High School in Salt Lake City were potentially exposed to measles for more than a week after a student attended school while infectious on Feb. 6 and then each day from Feb. 9–13. The Salt Lake County Health Department says measles is “actively spreading” in the county as Utah records 300 … Read more
18 February 2026 — Former US president Donald Trump publicly criticised the United Kingdom’s agreement to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius while leasing back Diego Garcia, warning the move could weaken Western defences in the Indian Ocean. His comments followed the US Department of State’s formal approval of the arrangement and came … Read more
Feb. 18, 2026 — Republican-controlled legislatures in multiple states moved this week to curtail rights for transgender people, advancing measures that would affect driver’s licenses, restroom access, non-discrimination protections and medical treatment. Lawmakers in Kansas voted Wednesday to invalidate transgender residents’ changed gender markers on state driver’s licenses under a policy that began permitting such … Read more
The Oscar-winning indie studio Neon is in preliminary discussions to sell a meaningful equity stake to Department M, a production company founded in 2024 by Mike Larocca and Michael Schaefer. The talks, reported in 2026, are said to be backed by a consortium of private investors that originally financed Department M at its launch. If … Read more
Lead The Food and Drug Administration announced a policy shift that makes one rigorous clinical trial the agency’s default standard for approving new drugs and novel health products, a change disclosed in a New England Journal of Medicine commentary by FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary and deputy Dr. Vinay Prasad published Wednesday. The move is … Read more
Lead: On Feb. 18, 2026, environmental and public-health organizations filed the first major legal challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency after the agency rescinded its 2009 “endangerment finding” that linked greenhouse gases to harms to human health. The suit, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, targets the agency’s move to … Read more
President Donald Trump held a White House reception for Black History Month on Wednesday, less than two weeks after drawing bipartisan condemnation for posting a racist video on social media that depicted former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama as primates. The president deleted the post amid broad backlash but said he would not apologize … Read more
Lead On Feb. 18, 2026, U.S. national security officials briefed President Trump that military forces could be prepared to strike Iran as soon as Saturday, but the president had not made a final decision, according to officials familiar with the discussions. The White House described the deliberations as fluid as leaders weigh escalation risks, diplomatic … Read more
Lead: Janarious Mykel Wheeler, known professionally as Lil Poppa, was pronounced dead on Feb. 18, 2026, at 11:23 AM ET, the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office in Georgia told TMZ. The 25-year-old Jacksonville-based rapper had recently released new music and was signed to Yo Gotti’s Collective Music Group (CMG). No official cause of death has … Read more
Lead Melissa DeTora, a senior game designer and head of the Casual Play Design team, led the creation of the Turtle Power! Commander deck for Magic: The Gathering | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Working from the TMNT franchise and classic arcade-game nostalgia, the design team settled on a five-color identity and a +1/+1 counter-centered mechanical … Read more
Lead On February 18, 2026, the White House signaled uncertainty about the timeline for diplomacy with Iran even as U.S. forces and allied assets continue to mass in the Middle East. At the same time, funding for the Department of Homeland Security remains stalled, triggering operational limits at FEMA and a broader partial government shutdown. … Read more
