“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)
“Federal health officials on Monday laid out a proposal to spur development of customized treatments for patients with hard-to-treat diseases, including for rare genetic conditions that the pharmaceutical industry has long considered unprofitable. The preliminary Food and Drug Administration guidelines, if implemented, would create a new pathway for bespoke therapies that have only been tested in a handful of patients due to the challenges of conducting larger studies. The FDA announcement specifically mentions gene editing, although agency officials said the new approach could also be used by other drugs and therapies. It’s a shift long sought by patients, advocates and researchers focused on rare diseases, which often do not fit within the pharmaceutical industry’s business model or the FDA’s traditional drug-approval system.” (02/23/26)
“President Trump on Sunday threatened Netflix, suggesting it would ‘pay the consequences’ if it didn’t ‘immediately’ fire Susan Rice, who served as ambassador to the United Nations under the Obama administration. The comments come weeks after the president said he decided he shouldn’t be involved in the deal to sell Warner Bros. Discovery and that ‘The Justice Department will handle it.’ The president’s words shouldn’t have bearing over the approval of Netflix’s merger agreement with WBD, but they can still influence WBD’s sale process. … On Monday, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos told the BBC, ‘This is a business deal. It’s not a political deal.'” (02/23/26)
“The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to revive the National Rifle Association’s lawsuit accusing a former New York state official of coercing banks and insurers to avoid doing business with the gun rights group. The justices in 2024 had reinstated the group’s lawsuit accusing Maria Vullo, the former superintendent of New York’s Department of Financial Services, of violating its free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment. But they declined to do so a second time after a lower court again dismissed the lawsuit. … The case returned to the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled last year that Vullo was immune from the NRA’s claims because the law addressing her conduct was unclear at the time. This prompted the NRA’s second appeal to the justices.” (02/23/26)
“Israeli [squatters] vandalized a mosque in the Israeli-occupied West Bank early Monday, spray-painting offensive phrases and setting a fire, according to the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Religious Affairs. Worshippers arriving for the day’s first prayers found the damage and a smoldering fire that spewed black smoke across the entrance of the Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq Mosque in the town of Tell, near Nablus, and stained the ornate doorway. … The Israeli military and police said they responded to the incident and were searching for suspects. The military said it ‘strongly condemns’ harm done to religious institutions. Palestinians and rights groups say Israeli authorities routinely fail to prosecute [squatters] or hold them accountable for violence.” (02/23/26)
“The French government has summoned the U.S. ambassador to Paris, Charles Kushner, to protest the State Department’s criticism of a deadly attack this month on a right-wing activist in Lyon. The beating death of the activist, Quentin Deranque, 23, caused tensions to spike between the far left and the far right in France. It also reverberated internationally, with the Trump administration and the right-wing prime minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, both raising concerns — and rankling French officials in the process. … The French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, confirmed the decision to summon Mr. Kushner on Sunday. He told a French broadcaster that his government rejected efforts to exploit the killing for political purposes and that the United States should not interfere in an internal French matter.” (02/23/26)
“The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear an attempt by energy companies to throw out a lawsuit filed in Colorado seeking to hold them accountable for the costs of climate change. The court’s ultimate ruling in the case will have national implications, likely determining whether similar lawsuits filed by cities and municipalities across the country seeking billions of dollars in damages can move forward. Exxon Mobil and Suncor Energy are appealing a May 2025 Colorado Supreme Court ruling that said the lawsuit brought by the City of Boulder and Boulder County could move forward in state court.” (02/23/26)
“A three-judge panel declined to block Utah’s new congressional map on Monday, ruling that Republicans’ challenge to the court-ordered district lines was unlikely to succeed and that it was too close to the election to change the map. The map puts most of Salt Lake City into one district, making it likely Democrats will pick up a House seat. The Republican plaintiffs had argued that the state judge violated the U.S. Constitution in implementing the current map. They had sought a preliminary injunction, which would have blocked the map from being used before this year’s midterm elections, when control of the House is at stake.” (02/23/26)
