February 17, 2026

Good morning.

1. DHS partially shut down after Congress failed to reach a new funding deal amid a dispute over immigration enforcement oversight. Most DHS employees are considered essential and will continue working (without pay). ICE and CBP will continue largely unabated, aided by “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” funding (Hill: nwppr.co/264z).

2. The US and Iran held indirect talks in Geneva over Iran’s nuclear program, amid ongoing tensions. Iran announced the temporary closure of the Strait of Hormuz for live fire military drills, while the US deployed the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier to the area (AP: nwppr.co/264y).

3. Warner Bros. Discovery said it will reopen talks with Paramount after Netflix granted a seven-day waiver (CNBC: nwppr.co/264x).

4. The Rev. Jesse Jackson died today at 84. He was a central civil rights leader for decades (AP: nwppr.co/264w).

5. ICE and the DOJ opened a criminal probe into whether two ICE officers lied under oath about the January shooting of a Venezuelan man in Minneapolis (AP: nwppr.co/264v).

6. Five European nations said lab analyses showed Alexei Navalny was likely poisoned, and said “Russia had the means, motive and opportunity to administer this poison to him” (CBS: nwppr.co/264u).

7. 2026 Olympics: Norway’s Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo won a record ninth gold medal. Brazil’s Lucas Pinheiro Braathen won South America’s first Winter Olympics medal. Here’s more (ESPN: nwppr.co/264t).

8. The Lunar New Year is today. This is the “Year of the Fire Horse” (BBC: nwppr.co/264s).

–Editors