News On Tap For Friday, February 13, 2026

The Halfascists Are Losing

Today’s “News On Tap” is full-bodied, and full of the flavor of halfascists losing. From Trump’s failing immigration war, where Democrats are going on offense, to Trump’’s failing economy, to the Trump/Epstein files, the orange man & his minions are getting their asses kicked. And their attack on the environment isn’t the win they think it is. There are more wins for Democrats in Election Land, and even more winning in our Olympic Recap section. Plus, Karen & Anita of Tru Blu Politics podcast are joining us tonight too. Read up, get informed, & we’ll see you tonight!

First Round - Trump's Failing Immigration War

Democrats Going On Offense

• DHS Headed For Third Shutdown In Trump’s Second Term After Senate Democrats Stand Firm On Demands For Changes To ICE

• Here’s How A Partial Govt. Shutdown Would Affect DHS Agencies & Personnel

• Strength In Numbers: New Polling Confirms Democrats Have All The Leverage In The Partial Govt. Shutdown Over ICE

• Greg Sargent: How Elected Democrats Can & Should Play Offense On Immigration

The Ugly Realities Of The ICE Monsters

• WSJ: Secretary Noem, With Close Adviser Corey Lewandowski, Facing Fire For Increased Chaos Inside DHS [Gift Link]

• The Five Wildest Revelations From New Bombshell WSJ Kristi Noem-Corey Lewandowski Exposé

• Horrific Conditions For Detainees Discovered At ICE Facility As Rep. Jamie Raskin Makes Unannounced Drop-In

• Kansas City Developers Halt Sale Of Warehouse For ICE Detention Center As Public Pressure Mounts

• ICE Is Strangling The Minneapolis Economy, Recreating The Effects Of The COVID Pandemic In Miniature

• Oligarchy In Action: ICE Boosts Income At Private Prison Company ‘GEO Group’ By 800 Percent

The ICE Monsters Are Losing

• Prosecutors Move To Dismiss Charges Against Men Accused Of Hitting ICE Officer With Broom And Shovel In Minnesota

• Top Trump DOJ Prosecutor Asks Judge To Drop Charges Against Immigrant Shot By ICE Agent, Admitting Evidence Is “Materially Inconsistent” With What ICE Officials Had Claimed

• Border Patrol Agent Who Attacked Marimar Martinez, Woman Shot Five Times By ICE In Chicago, Is Now Under Criminal Investigation

Second Round - Republicans Can't Govern

Trump’s War On The Environment

• Trump’s EPA Repeals Landmark Climate Finding In Gift To ‘Billionaire Polluters’

• Scientific Studies Prove Climate Change Is A Real Health Danger, While Trump’s EPA Is Rejecting Reality

• Jake Bittle: Trump Just Killed The EPA’s Ability To Fight Climate Change. That May Backfire Severely In The Courts - Even The Supreme Court.

• Analysis Confirms Enforcement Of Environmental Laws Against Polluters Now Nearly Non-Existent In U.S. Under Trump

Trumponomics Is Failing

• Consumer Prices Continued To Rise Slightly, 2.4% Annually In January, But Less Than Expected

• New Research From The New York Fed Confirms Americans Are Paying The Bill For Tariffs, Despite Trump’s Claims

• New Report Confirms Even Americans With Higher Incomes Are Starting To Fall Behind On Payments

• TACO Trump Now Planning To Roll Back Some Tariffs On Steel & Aluminum, After Finally Realizing His Tariffs Are Hurting The Economy

Third Round - The Trump/Epstein Files

The Battle In Congress

• Speaker Johnson Chides Trump DOJ For Tracking Lawmakers’ Searches Of Unredacted Epstein Files

• Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu Demands DOJ Interview FBI Caller Who Made Epstein Related Rape Allegation Against Donald Trump

• Ohio Republican Senator Jon Husted Took Donations From Epstein ‘Co-Conspirator’ Les Wexner, Then Voted To Block Trump/Epstein Files Release

Accountability Is Happening

• Goldman Sachs’ Top Lawyer Kathy Ruemmler To Resign After Emails Show Close Ties To Jeffrey Epstein

• Norway’s Former Prime Minister, Thorbjoern Jagland, Charged With Aggravated Corruption Over His Ties To Epstein

• Logistics Giant DP World Replaces Chairman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, After Being Named In Trump/Epstein Documents

Fourth Round - More News To Drink About

War Over Democracy

• Democratic Sen. Slotkin Pushes Acting ICE Director Lyons To Admit His Officers Have No Place at Polling Stations

• DHS Tech Tool Keeps Mistakenly Flagging Legitimate Voters as Noncitizens, Sparking Confusion for States

Election Land

• In Victory For Democrats, Virginia Supreme Court Says Redistricting Vote Can Go Forward

• Trump-Endorsed Republican Karrin Taylor Robson Drops Out Of Arizona Governor’s Race

• Democrats’ Chances Of Winning Arizona Governor Race Shoot Up As Republican Drops Out

• For First Time Ever, New Mexico Republicans Won’t Field A U.S. Senate Candidate - 1 Of 3 Major Statewide Races In NM That Republicans Are Forfeiting This Year

Foreign Affairs

• House & Senate Democrats, & Democratic Governors At Munich Security Summit To Urge Europe To Stand Up To Trump

• Trump Officials Confirm Second U.S. Aircraft Carrier Being Sent To Persian Gulf, As Iran Tensions Simmer

Miscellaneous But Important

• Pride Flag Reinstated At Stonewall By Democratic New York City Officials After It Was Removed By Trump Regime

• Judge Temporarily Blocks Hegseth From Punishing Senator Mark Kelly Over ‘Illegal Orders’ Video [Gift Link]

• Trump Pardons 5 Former NFL Players For Crimes Ranging From Perjury To Drug Trafficking

Fifth Round - Media, Entertainment, & More

Media Matters

• Instagram Chief Adam Mosseri Denies Social Media Can Be ‘Clinically Addictive’ In Landmark Social Media Case

• After AI Video Of Fake ‘Tom Cruise’ Fighting Fake ‘Brad Pitt’ Goes Viral, Motion Picture Association Denounces Massive Copyright Infringement By AI Program Seedance 2.0

Entertainment & More

• FBI Releases New Details, Increases Reward To $100,000 For Information Regarding Nancy Guthrie

• Lebron James Becomes Oldest Player To Have A Triple-Double In NBA History

• 2026 NBA All-Star Game Rosters Finalized For This Sunday’s Game, In New USA Vs. World Format

Olympic Recap

• U.S. Snowboarding Star Chloe Kim Takes Silver In Women’s Halfpipe

• In Search Of First Hockey Gold Since 1980’s ‘Miracle,’ U.S. Men Open Olympics With Win

• 54-Year-Old Personal Injury Lawyer From Minnesota - & U.S. Men’s Curling Team Member - Becomes Oldest U.S. Winter Olympian, Making History

• Slovak Fugitive Who Had Been On The Run For 16 Years Arrested When He Turns Up At Olympics To Support His National Hockey Team

• Madison Chock & Evan Bates Consider Appeal After Olympic Judging Controversy

• French Olympic Judge Who Cost Madison Chock And Evan Bates Gold Has A History Of Questionable Scores

Your Bar Regulars Tonight…

Our friends Karen from Chicago, & Anita From San Antonio, co-hosts of Tru Blu Politics (and now on Patreon too) are back in the bar tonight, to talk about all of this weeks’ crazy news. We’ll tackle Trump & his MAGAts losing on immigration, the economy, the Trump/Epstein files & more. Plus, we’ll talk a little about the Olympics, and some 2026 election talk. Grab a seat & a sip, & join us tonight!

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