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Wes Moore warns Noem 'federal occupation' of new ICE compound now under state investigation
This affects the entire country.

Maryland Democratic Gov. Wes Moore warned Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Friday that her agency’s recent purchase of a warehouse-like building in Williamsport will be scrutinized by the Old Line State’s legal arm.
Moore, running for reelection this year, added his voice to the chorus of state Democrats expressing outrage over DHS’ reported plans to use the space to house illegal immigrants, as Maryland has been front-and-center in the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda with the saga of illegal immigrant Kilmar Abrego-Garcia.
Moore described DHS’ status at the property, sandwiched between the city of Hagerstown and the Potomac River on the West Virginia border, as a "federal occupation" of a space that was originally zoned as a commercial site.
The governor said the agency’s use of the area presents a "significant loss of economic opportunity" for Washington County and the state at large.
MINNESOTA SUES TRUMP ADMIN OVER SWEEPING IMMIGRATION RAIDS IN TWIN CITIES
As the site stands near the confluence of Interstates 70 and 81, Moore said it uses up precious space in an area key to the 4,000-job "manufacturing, logistics and distribution" sector across the region.
Moore said Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, a fellow Democrat, will be reviewing the purchase to "ensure full compliance with all applicable state and federal laws."
"I have grave concerns about any holding facility that denies basic human needs and dignity," he said.
NOEM DEPLOYS TO BOTH BORDERS, SAYS ICE WON'T BE DETERRED BY SANCTUARY OFFICIALS WHO 'WANT TO CREATE CONFLICT'
"I am directing state agency heads to assess all available actions to protect the community’s infrastructure, public safety, health, and long-term economic stability—including review of permitting requirements; water and sewer demands; hazardous waste disposal; and the availability of emergency medical services, among other considerations."
He added that Annapolis still seeks to work with the Trump administration on areas they can find common ground such as economic opportunity, crime and infrastructure, and noted that Maryland has a long history of being a federal partner, housing the headquarters of NASA-Goddard, USDA, NSA, NIH, as well as installations like Fort George Meade and Andrews Air Force Base.
"We urge the administration to move past unilateral actions and join us in a transparent and collaborative effort to enhance the safety and well-being of Marylanders."
Moore also criticized Noem’s refusal to grant FEMA funds for Maryland Panhandle communities ravaged by 2025 flooding from …

First lady announces 2026 White House Easter Egg Roll 
Is this competence or optics?

First lady Melania Trump announced the details for the 148th White House Easter Egg Roll, which will take place on April 6 on the South Lawn of the White House.

Tickets to the White House Easter Egg Roll can be requested through an online lottery that opens on Thursday, Feb. 26, and closes on Wednesday, March 4. The lottery is free, and winners will be notified by email no later than March 10. 

“Families with children 13 years old and younger are invited to join the President, First Lady, White House staff, and their families for a day of festivities,” the press release said. 

The White House tradition dates back to 1878 under President Rutherford B. Hayes, but firsthand accounts suggest that informal festivities for the holiday began with egg-rolling parties under President Abraham Lincoln, according to the White House website. 

This year’s festivities will honor 250 years since America’s founding by incorporating “patriotic themes” throughout the event, according to the press release. 

“The President and First Lady look forward to continuing this entertaining tradition and making it a truly memorable experience for all,” the release said. 

President Dwight D. Eisenhower reinstated the traditional festivity in 1953 after years of it not occurring due to White House renovations, periods of war, and food conservation. 

In addition to participating in the egg roll, the White House will also select volunteers through an online application. The deadline to apply is Friday, Feb. 27. 

First ladies typically plan the egg roll, with each woman designing the event to her “own tastes” and “interests,” according to the White House website. 

First lady Lou Hoover had part of the South Lawn roped off for folks dancing, while first lady Pat Nixon introduced the traditional egg roll races. 

MELANIA TRUMP DENIES PROMOTING DOCUMENTARY AT EVENT WITH RELEASED OCT. 7 HOSTAGES

In 1981, first lady Nancy Reagan instituted the tradition of giving attendees a custom wooden Easter egg as a “keepsake” for guests who donned the signatures of the president and first lady. 

More information about the commemorative egg roll will be available soon on the lottery’s website, according to the press release.

Nigeria’s first lady says US strikes were a ‘blessing,' welcomes collaboration with Trump
This affects the entire country.

Nigeria and some U.S. lawmakers have not always seen eye to eye on terrorism and the violence affecting Christian communities in Africa’s largest nation. This week, First Lady Oluremi Tinubu arrived in Washington to clear the air. 
America’s Christmas Day strike on Islamist militants in northwest Nigeria was a "blessing," Tinubu said, signaling that her husband’s government welcomes further U.S. involvement as it confronts insurgents and criminal gangs.
"The intervention of the U.S. was quite a welcome development," Tinubu told Fox News Digital during a week-long visit to Washington, D.C. 
"Nigeria is looking forward to collaboration" with the U.S. onc security issues. "We are expecting that there will be more."
ANOTHER CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY AT RISK IN AFRICA AS EXTREMISTS AND WAR TAKE THEIR TOLL
The fight against Islamist militants — whose attacks have included the kidnapping and killing of Christians and the desecration of churches — has become a focal point in U.S. political debate, drawing attention from President Donald Trump and some of his most vocal supporters.
Trump designated Nigeria a "country of particular concern" over violations of religious freedom. Tinubu and her husband, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, have pushed back on that characterization, arguing that the violence plaguing the country is real and severe, but not limited to any one faith.
Gunmen believed to be Islamic extremists killed at least 162 people in Nigeria’s Kwara state earlier this year, torching homes and looting shops in Muslim-majority villages where residents were targeted for refusing extremist ideology — an attack that underscored how the violence now cuts across regions and religious lines.
TRUMP TARGETS ISIS IN NIGERIA AMID WARNINGS SAHEL REGION IS BECOMING ‘EPICENTER OF TERRORISM’
"Terrorist groups hide in the forest, and also bandits and other people are kidnapping for ransom," Tinubu said.
"We are concerned about our people’s safety," she added, pointing to steps taken by the Nigerian government, including a nationwide security emergency, plans to recruit 50,000 new police officers and the redeployment of more than 11,000 officers from VIP protection duties to conflict-prone areas.
Despite the negative attention, the U.S.’s focus on Christian killings kicked off conversations between Nigeria and the U.S., according to Tinubu.
"We have that attention. We have the conversation going. And we are expecting that there will be more. You know, it's going to yield better fruit for us, and both for us and also America."
During her Washington visit, Tinubu met with senior …

Can Trump stay focused on the economy?
What's the endgame here?

President Donald Trump is highly skilled at marketing and branding, but his freewheeling style doesn’t always lend itself well to message discipline.

That is going to pose a challenge ahead of the midterm elections as Trump tries to bolster public perceptions of the economy and reassure voters he and congressional Republicans are doing everything they can to improve it.

On Friday, the headlines were instead dominated by a since-removed video Trump posted depicting former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, as monkeys. The White House initially defended the posting, but then conceded it was a staffer’s error and took it down.

Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) promptly blasted the video as “the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House,” raising questions about what ranked second. Scott is the only black Republican senator and chairman of the Senate GOP’s campaign arm, tasked with defending the party’s upper chamber majority this year.

After the post was removed, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) mocked Trump for not writing his own social media posts, alluding to the autopen controversies under former President Joe Biden. Newsom is a likely candidate for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination. 

On Thursday, Trump gave a long speech at the National Prayer Breakfast. It was at times funny and irreverent. It likely played well with most of the audience in the room. It also seemed barely tailored to an audience of religious conservatives and rehearsed a set of long-standing Trump grievances, complete with calling Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) a “moron.” The Trump-friendly social conservative Eric Metaxas wrote, and then deleted, a post incredulously asking if anyone had advised Trump that this was the National Prayer Breakfast and offering to help.

“Having been there advising and hearing others advise, I can tell you that yes, his team advises,” former senior legal adviser to the Trump 2020 campaign and outspoken Christian conservative Jenna Ellis wrote on X. “He does not listen.”

But Trump does speak, including about the issues of inflation and affordability that will dominate the midterm elections. Trump delivered a prime-time speech about the economy from the White House before Christmas in what was billed as a pivot toward an economic campaign. Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and other officials embarked on an affordability tour.

It isn’t breaking through. The two episodes mentioned earlier illustrate why. Trump’s speeches are all over the place …

Can someone share what Trump actually posted (not the source of the 2 second clip)?
People are fed up—do they even notice?

I'm just trying to find what he actually posted since it was deleted. I don't care much for the outrage. I just want to make up my own mind about it but can't because only the 2 seconds from the video are being shared. I'm familiar with the original source.

‘It’s pissing people off’: Centrist Democrats are livid with AIPAC after primary fiasco
This is performative politics again.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee uncorked $2 million to try to sink a mainstream Democrat in a multi-candidate special House election primary in New Jersey — and it’s infuriating mainstream Democrats and some of the pro-Israel’s lobby’s supporters.

“It’s pissing people off,” said Steve Schale, a longtime Democratic strategist and former Obama campaign adviser, who described it as “maddening.”

The organization spent heavily through its super PAC, Unite Democracy Project, to attack former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-N.J.), a pro-Israel moderate who would not support unconditional aid to Israel. In doing so, it provided an opening to Analilia Mejia, a progressive organizer backed by Bernie Sanders who has said Israel committed genocide in Gaza.

Malinowski, who has not conceded the race, now trails Mejia by around 500 votes, with some outstanding votes left to be counted for the affluent, suburban seat.

AIPAC’s interventions in the New Jersey special election for Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s House seat was the first test of the group’s muscle ahead of the 2026 primary season, when they are expected to spend millions on Democratic primaries across the country. AIPAC’s super PAC is expected to weigh in on House primaries, starting in Illinois’ April primaries. Democratic candidates and strategists are also bracing for them to potentially wade into contentious Senate primaries in Michigan and Minnesota.

And their first foray of 2026 backfired spectacularly.

Matt Bennett, the co-founder of the center-left think tank Third Way, called their efforts “one of the greatest own-goals in American political history,” and warned that “It hurt everybody in the moderate movement” as they head into a competitive primary season.

Even steadfast allies are frustrated. Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), a longtime AIPAC supporter, said its moves in the New Jersey primary, held Thursday, “raised eyebrows this morning.”

“There’s a chance that it’s not going to be a New Dem that’s in that seat,” Schneider said, referring to the New Democrat Coalition, the centrist caucus he leads in the House. “As we do the analysis, a lot of factors play into that, but certainly any group spending against a candidate that would’ve been a New Dem and instead electing a far-left candidate … Come on, guys, this is not what we were hoping for here.”

Former Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.), another AIPAC supporter who led House Democrats’ campaign efforts in 2012 and 2014, said he “wasn’t privy to AIPAC’s strategy and I certainly wouldn’t have advised it,” but “they are not the first group to make a bet that didn’t pan out on election day.”

Malinowski said AIPAC’s attacks on him sent a clear message to “other mainstream Democrats.”

“They are now demanding 100 percent fealty,” …

Second federal judge blocks IRS from sharing addresses with ICE
Every delay has consequences.

A federal judge dealt the Trump administration a blow on Thursday by blocking the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from providing residential addresses to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani — who was nominated by former President Barack Obama — argued that the sharing of data could violate a section of the Tax Act of 1976, which includes privacy protections for taxpayers. The judge's order blocks ICE and the IRS from sharing data while also prohibiting the use of data that had already been transferred pending a court review.
"Defendants DHS, Secretary Noem, ICE, Acting Director Lyons, and their agents, are enjoined from inspecting, viewing, using, copying, distributing, relying on, or otherwise acting upon any return information that had been obtained from or disclosed by the IRS Defendants pursuant to the information sharing arrangements, including the information received August 7, 2025," Talwani's order reads.
ICE RE-ARRESTS TWO VENEZUELAN MEN AFTER FEDERAL JUDGE'S RELEASE ORDER
In addition to concerns about taxpayers' privacy, Talwani addressed the chilling effect this could have on tax filings by immigrants, as well as the possibility that people could be wrongfully arrested due to mistaken identity. She said that the plaintiffs had "demonstrated that a significant portion of immigrant communities not only share common last names... but also live in shared homes or in the same apartment complexes," adding to concerns about mistaken identities.
FEDERAL JUDGE’S ‘UNHINGED’ ORDER IN MIGRANT CASE IGNITES REPUBLICAN FURY, IMPEACHMENT DEMAND
The plaintiffs in the case were four community groups: Community Economic Development Center of Southeastern Massachusetts (CEDC), National Parents Union (NPU), National Korean American Service and Education Consortium (NAKASEC) and UndocuBlack Network, Inc. (UBN).
The order states that on April 7, 2025, the IRS and ICE established a Memorandum of Understanding to share taxpayer data, supporting a federal crackdown on illegal immigration. ICE subsequently issued three data requests, including an initial June 5 query for 7.6 million individuals, a June 24 request for 7.3 million records and a final June 27 submission for 1.2 million people. While the IRS rejected the first two for legal deficiencies, it approved the third and ultimately transferred over 47,000 addresses to ICE in August 2025. However, now that information is being frozen and cannot be used.
"We disagree with this activist judge’s ruling. Under President Trump’s leadership, the government is finally doing what it …

María Corina Machado and Brian Tyler Cohen | The Conversation
Every delay has consequences.

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Mark Amodei announces retirement from House after 15 years of service
Are they actually going to vote on something real?

Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV) on Friday announced that he is retiring from the House at the end of his current term, making him the 51st member of Congress not to seek reelection to the lower chamber in 2027.

“Serving the people of Nevada has been the honor of my lifetime. Nobody is prouder of our Nevada Congressional District than me. Thank you for the honor. Every achievement worth doing began with listening to Nevadans and fighting for our values,” Amodei said in a statement.

The 67-year-old Nevada congressman has served eight terms in the House and was first elected in a 2011 special election. He has won his incumbent seat each subsequent year in the face of several GOP primary challenges. He said he is retiring at the end of his term to “pass the torch” to another leader for Nevadans.

“I came to Congress to solve problems and to make sure our State and Nation have strong voice in the federal policy and oversight processes. I look forward to finishing my term. After 15 years of service, I believe it is the right time for Nevada and myself to pass the torch,” Amodei said.

Amodei serves on the House Appropriations Committee and is the chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee. He recently made headlines in January in the wake of the Minneapolis killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti for saying that there needs “to be a pivot in the whole operation” in Minnesota enforcement.

Amodei’s Nevada’s 2nd Congressional District covers the entire northern part of the state, including Reno and Carson City. In the 2024 election, Amodei won handily with 55% of the vote. The next closest candidate was independent Greg Kidd with 36.1% of the vote. In the presidential election, President Donald Trump took 55.79% of the vote, and former Vice President Kamala Harris received 41.87%. The Cook Political Report rating for the district’s 2026 congressional race is “solid Republican.”

Amodei is the latest member of the current House to announce that he will not be returning to the lower chamber in 2027, bringing the number of resignations and announced retirements among the 119th Congress to 51.

HERE’S WHERE HOUSE AND SENATE RETIREMENTS STAND IN 2026

The congressional party breakdown currently sits at 218 Republicans and 214 Democrats, with three vacant seats. A primary election for one of these vacant seats, Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s (D-NJ), is currently playing out in New Jersey and is too close to call.

Amodei’s retirement will shake up the midterm election in Nevada’s …

Projection
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Steve Brodner is an award-winning graphic artist/journalist and the winner of the 2024 Herb Block Prize for editorial cartooning.

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