News from the Note…
A round up of the day’s news that might be of interest to you.
This is an OPEN THREAD, folks. Chat about any of the stories listed, share links to stories that caught your eye today, and generally have a good time discussing whatever you want.
JUST IN: ICE surge in Minnesota is over, border czar Homan says
— Axios (@axios.com) February 12, 2026 at 9:35 AM
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Expect a DHS shutdown. A failed Senate vote made it all but certain. Lawmakers are heading for the exits — and for some, international flights.
— Politico (@politico.com) February 12, 2026 at 2:55 PM
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JUST IN: Trump cannot end deportation protections for South Sudanese nationals, US judge rules reut.rs/4ag0GMe
— Reuters Legal (@legal.reuters.com) February 12, 2026 at 2:26 PM
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A Ukrainian skeleton athlete was barred from competing at the Winter Olympics just hours before his race after refusing to remove a helmet honoring compatriots killed in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost.com) February 12, 2026 at 9:00 AM
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Russia confirmed that it has blocked instant messaging app WhatsApp in the country, instead directing Russian citizens to use its state-backed Max app. It comes days after it emerged that Russian authorities were restricting access to Telegram: https://cnn.it/3ODFN4V
— CNN (@cnn.com) February 12, 2026 at 2:27 PM
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A top Democrat is calling for a watchdog investigation after photographs emerged suggesting that the DOJ has been tracking the search history of lawmakers who are reviewing the Epstein files.
— The Associated Press (@apnews.com) February 12, 2026 at 2:00 PM
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House Speaker Mike Johnson said the Justice Department's tracking of lawmakers' search history of the unredacted Epstein files was inappropriate, a rare rebuke from the Republican who is usually in lockstep with the administration: https://cnn.it/4kBBdQM
— CNN (@cnn.com) February 12, 2026 at 3:25 PM
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Newly released documents show the FBI's scramble to explain last year why it released a screen recording with a missing minute from the night Jeffrey Epstein died, instead of the original footage.
— CBS News (@cbsnews.com) February 11, 2026 at 10:45 PM
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BREAKING: A judge blocks the Pentagon from downgrading Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly’s military rank and pay.
— CBS News (@cbsnews.com) February 12, 2026 at 1:15 PM
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Nicolás Maduro is still the legitimate leader of Venezuela, the country's acting president said in an exclusive interview with NBC News.
— NBC News (@nbcnews.com) February 12, 2026 at 3:00 PM
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The number of Americans applying for jobless benefits — viewed as representative of U.S. layoffs — fell to 227,000 last week, remaining in its recent healthy range.
— The Associated Press (@apnews.com) February 12, 2026 at 8:45 AM
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Trump revokes EPA finding on greenhouse gas threat in huge blow to climate change regulations
— CNBC (@cnbc.com) February 12, 2026 at 1:54 PM
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Top NATO allies don’t think the U.S. helps deter enemies anymore, a new POLITICO poll found. Across countries polled, far more respondents described the U.S. as an unreliable ally than a reliable one, including 50% in Germany and 57% in Canada. Read the story: politi.co/4aM7EIU See the data👇
— Politico (@politico.com) February 12, 2026 at 9:00 AM
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