More than a year after U.S. President Donald Trump casually joked about absorbing Canada and repeatedly threatened debilitating tariffs on its goods, many Canadians are convinced their former pals to the south have lost the plot. New results from The POLITICO Poll suggest a lasting chill has settled over the world's former bosom buddies. Americans are rosy as ever about their northern neighbors, but Canadians don't share the love. Their message to America: It's not us, it's you. A large plurality of Canadians (43 percent) see the U.S. as "mostly a threat" to global stability. Another 34 percent say Americans are "sometimes a force for stability, sometimes a threat."
A state legislator's former chief of staff faces charges of child sexual exploitation and child sex trafficking. Federal agents arrested Craig Scott Valdez, 36, early Friday in Juneau, according to court documents. Valdez is an Anchorage resident listed as having served as Republican Wasilla state Sen. George Rauscher's chief of staff since November. Valdez was terminated Friday hours after the charges were made public, according to a press secretary for the state Senate minority caucus, of which Rauscher is a member. Valdez was also elected as chair of the Anchorage Young Republicans in January 2025 and became the group's state committee chair last month, according to social media posts. A grand jury on Tuesday indicted Valdez on charges of sex trafficking a minor, sexual exploitation of a minor " for both allegedly producing and receiving child sexual abuse material " and coercion and enticement of a minor.
Lynch, who often makes controversial remarks about his bandmate in the press, continued, "I always say Don has the same exact personality traits and character as [Donald] Trump, except Trump's a better singer." Read more
That's because this document shows the FBI conducted not just one, but four, interviews with Trump's accuser. And, as I reported Wednesday, while the government gave all four of those interviews to Maxwell's legal team ahead of her trial, the government gave only one of those four interviews to us in the Epstein files." Read more
On 15 March 2025, federal agents shot and killed American citizen Ruben Ray Martinez (23) in South Padre Island, Texas, months before Renee Good and Alex Pretti were executed by ICE agents in Minneapolis.
ICE Using IDF Training and Technology on Americans
At least ten people have been killed in IDF air strikes on eastern Lebanon. Despite a deal between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah following 13 months of war, Israel has carried out near-daily strikes on Lebanon. The IDF also killed two Palestinians with drone strikes in the Gaza Strip and Israeli Settlers murdered American citizen Nasrallah Abu Siyam (19) in the West Bank.
Israel: Main Source of Instability in the Middle East
A federal grand jury indicted USAF SSG Richard Stefon Ramroop (35) and his spouse Manuel George Madrid (32), charging them with defrauding US Department of War of millions of dollars and using the illicit proceeds to curate and maintain a luxurious lifestyle.
$1.1m Estate
Security experts have long warned that the wives of Islamic State fighters were effectively raising the next generation of militants at the sprawling Al-Hol facility. Security at the camp fell apart in recent weeks after Syria's government routed the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which had guarded Al-Hol for years, raising concerns about the release of people who might have become radicalized during the years held behind the razor wire. The size of a small city, the camp in Syria's eastern desert at one point held more than 70,000 people after U.S.-backed forces destroyed what remained of Islamic State's self-proclaimed caliphate in Syria in 2019. At the end of 2025, more than 23,000 people were there, according to a report this week from the Pentagon's Inspector General. Read more
FCC Chair Brendan Carr wants broadcasters to air "patriotic, pro-America content" to support the White House's plans to celebrate the nation's 250th anniversary.
The people loudly departing the biggest AI companies aren't necessarily looking for fatter paychecks or more stock options; they're worried that AI businesses are putting profits over sanity and safety.
Let's be honest with each other for a minute and look at the landscape of American politics in this, the year of our Lord 2026. We aren't just fighting over marginal tax rates or parts per billion of carbon in the atmosphere, or whether we should build a bridge to nowhere anymore.
In January 2026, the U.S. government approved the potential sale of American-made missiles to Denmark to strengthen its defensive capabilities in and around Greenland. On its face, the transaction looked routine: a NATO ally purchasing weapons through the Foreign Military Sales program to improve readiness and interoperability.
Job cuts at the IRS's tech arm have gone faster and farther than expected, with 40 percent of IT staff and four-fifths of tech leaders gone, the agency's CIO revealed yesterday.
The Los Angeles Fire Department attempted to shield Mayor Karen Bass and other top brass from "reputational harm" caused by the city's handling of the devastating Palisades Fire that burned 23,448 acres and killed 12 people, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday. The department tried to shape news media coverage with a plan formulated ahead of the release of the high-profile After Action Fire Report on the Palisades Fire, including efforts to "minimize tough Q&A" by asking to hold closed-door briefings with the Fire Commission and City Council, according to The Times, which obtained a 13-page city document through a California Public Records Act request. Read more
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced the latest effort Friday to ensure that drivers understand English well enough to read road signs and communicate with law enforcement officers. Florida already started administering its tests in English.
because so little of their life feels tangible'
By Michael Liedtke and The Associated Press February 20, 2026, 12:02 PM ET
