“Fintech startup Stripe is now valued at $159 billion after a secondary stock sale for employees and shareholders, the company announced Tuesday. The valuation shows blistering growth from a year ago, when it was valued at $91.5 billion. Stripe’s valuation nearly tripled to $95 billion in 2021. Thrive Capital, Coatue Management, a16z, and others are participating in the tender offer and Stripe will also repurchase shares, the company said in a release. Current and former employees are eligible to sell shares.” (02/24/26)
“Federal prosecutors in Washington have dropped their case against six Democratic lawmakers who released a video urging military servicemembers to refuse illegal orders. The decision – confirmed by the BBC’s media partner CBS News – follows US Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office failing to secure a grand jury indictment against the six military and intelligence veterans. The justice department could still pursue the case in a different district, but there were no signs on Tuesday that it intended to do so. Pirro’s office had no comment. After the Democrats released the video, President Donald Trump called the lawmakers ‘traitors’ and suggested the video was an offence ‘punishable by death.’ He later said he was not threatening death for the six.” (02/24/26)
“France has banned United States Ambassador Charles Kushner from meeting French government ministers, after he failed to attend a meeting at the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs in Paris to explain comments made by the Trump administration following the recent killing of a French far-right activist. The French Foreign Ministry announced the decision on Monday, as diplomatic relations between Paris and Washington continue to deteriorate amid several disagreements, including on trade tariffs, the war in Ukraine and the role of Europe in countering Russia. … Foreign Minister Barrot summoned Kushner after the US embassy in Paris reposted on Sunday comments by the Trump administration in Washington about the death of far-right activist Quentin Deranque, 23, who was beaten to death in a fight with alleged far-left activists, in an incident that shocked France.” (02/24/26)
“The former CEO of a San Francisco homeless services charity will be arraigned Tuesday on nine felony charges after prosecutors said she stole more than $1.2 million in public funds meant to keep people off the streets. Gwendolyn Westbrook, 71, raided the accounts of the United Council for Human Services while she had ‘near-exclusive financial control’ over the nonprofit serving homeless and low-income people, according to a statement Monday from the district attorney’s office. ‘Prosecutors allege that between 2019 and 2023, Ms. Westbrook engaged in unauthorized self-payments, improper cash withdrawals, and fraudulent reimbursement practices that diverted public funds for personal use,’ the statement said. She faces charges including misappropriation of public funds, grand theft and filing false California tax returns. Her arraignment was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.” (02/24/26)
“Texas health officials failed to follow state law when they licensed Camp Mystic without making sure it had an evacuation plan, parents of nine children and counselors who died in the July 4 flood allege in a new federal lawsuit. Camp Mystic’s emergency instructions directed kids to stay in their cabins during floods, even though Texas rules require youth camps to have evacuation plans for disasters, the lawsuit states. … The families of nine Hill Country flooding victims filed the lawsuit in federal court on Monday, seeking damages and ‘all other relief that is equitable.’ They are suing six DSHS officials, including Commissioner Jennifer Shuford, several others who oversee the youth camp program and the agency’s Camp Mystic inspector.” (02/23/26)
“U.S. equities tumbled on Monday as investors grappled with persistent fears around artificial intelligence disruptions to various industries and President Donald Trump’s decision to raise his global tariffs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 821.91 points, or 1.66%, to close at 48,804.06, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 1.13% and ended at 22,627.27. The S&P 500 shed 1.04% and closed at 6,837.75, putting it into the red once again for 2026.” (02/23/26)
“Israel has designated five Palestinian media outlets as ‘terrorist’ entities, alleging the platforms have links to Hamas in the latest targeting of the press. Defence Minister Israel Katz signed a military order on Monday targeting Al-Asima News, Quds Plus, Alquds Albawsala, Maraj and Maydan Alquds, alleging they are behind ‘incitement’ in the occupied territories, without providing evidence to back their claims. These outlets were focused mainly on coverage of occupied East Jerusalem, where Israel is continuing to expand settlements and impose restrictions on Muslim worshippers during the holy month of Ramadan.” (02/23/26)
“The U.S. struck another alleged drug trafficking boat in the Caribbean, [murdering] three people, the military announced Monday afternoon. More than 40 such strikes have been carried out in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific since September, [murdering] at least 137 people, according to statements from the Defense Department tracked by NBC News. The targeted boat on Monday was ‘transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,’ U.S. Southern Command said in a post on X, adding that no U.S. forces were harmed. It did not provide evidence that the boat or people on board were involved in drug trafficking.” (02/23/26)
“The European Parliament froze ratification of the EU’s trade deal with the United States on Monday amid concerns that President Donald Trump’s latest tariff broadside breaches the terms of the transatlantic accord struck last summer. Senior trade lawmakers pulled the emergency brake after the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday struck down the main tariffs on which the deal, reached at Trump’s Turnberry Scottish golf resort last July, had been based. Trump said on Saturday he would impose a global tariff of 15 percent under a new legal authority — triggering alarm across the bloc.” (02/23/26)
“The state of Maryland is suing to stop the Department of Homeland Security from turning a warehouse into an [immigrant abductee concentration camp]. DHS paid more than $100 million for a commercial warehouse near the town of Williamsport, Maryland, in January as part of a nationwide effort by the Trump administration to dramatically expand its [concentration camp] capacity. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could potentially use as many as two dozen such sites across the country as ‘mega centers’ for [caging abducted] immigrants. … Maryland is asking a federal judge to vacate the purchase of the warehouse and declare the agencies’ actions unlawful.” (02/23/26)
