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White House fires court-appointed US attorney on day he is sworn in
Same show, different day.

President Donald Trump's administration fired a U.S. attorney the same day he was sworn in for the role by a federal court this week.
A board of judges for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York tapped Donald T. Kinsella to serve as U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York, according to a court announcement that said Kinsella was sworn in on Wednesday. But Kinsella was then booted from the post on Wednesday. 
Deputy U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche was blunt about the firing in a Wednesday post on X.
TRUMP RELIGIOUS LIBERTY COMMISSION BOOTS MEMBER AFTER CONTENTIOUS ANTISEMITISM HEARING
"Judges don’t pick U.S. Attorneys, @POTUS does. See Article II of our Constitution. You are fired, Donald Kinsella," Blanche wrote.
In a Thursday statement, the court noted, "Yesterday the United States District Court appointed a United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York, a position that was vacant." 
"The Court exercised its authority under 28 U.S.C. § 546(d), which empowers the district court to ‘appoint a United States Attorney to serve until the vacancy is filled.’ The United States Constitution expressly provides for this grant of authority in Article II, Section 2, Clause 2, which states in part: ‘the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment’ of officials such as United States Attorneys ‘in the Courts of Law.’ By the end of the day, Deputy Director of Presidential Personnel, Morgan DeWitt Snow notified Mr. Kinsella that he was removed as the judicially-appointed United States Attorney, without explanation," the statement noted.
"The Court thanks Donald T. Kinsella for his willingness to return to public service so that this vacancy could be filled with a qualified, experienced former prosecutor, and for his years of distinguished work on behalf of the citizens of the Northern District of New York," the statement added.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on Friday.
FEDERAL JUDGE ORDERS DEPORTED VENEZUELANS TO BE RETURNED TO US
Kinsella was tapped to succeed John Sarcone III after a judge declared in January that he was serving in the role of acting U.S. attorney illegally, according to NBC News. 
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The outlet said U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield ruled that the Department of Justice took improper action to keep Sarcone in the role past the 120-day limit for U.S. attorneys who the Senate has not confirmed. He demoted himself to first assistant attorney while awaiting an appeal of the judge's decision, the outlet added.

Government to shut down at midnight after Dems, White House fail to strike DHS deal
Same show, different day.

With little time and no deal in sight to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), a partial government shutdown by midnight is all but guaranteed.
The battle to prevent the third government shutdown under President Donald Trump in less than six months was lost in the Senate on Thursday. Now, with Congress scattered across the U.S. and several senators headed abroad, there’s no chance that a shutdown will be averted.
Senate Republicans were unable to smash through Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Democrats’ unified front to pass a full-year DHS funding bill, nor were they able to do yet another short-term, two-week extension.
DHS SHUTDOWN EXPLAINED: WHO WORKS WITHOUT PAY, WHAT HAPPENS TO AIRPORTS AND DISASTER RESPONSE
"The idea of not even allowing us to have an extended amount of time to negotiate this suggests to me, at least, that there isn't a high level of interest in actually solving this issue," Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said.
The final fight on the floor Thursday wasn’t with every lawmaker present, but between Sens. Katie Britt, R-Ala., and Chris Murphy, D-Conn., over giving lawmakers a little more time to keep the agency open while negotiations continue.
Senate Democrats argued that Republicans offered their legislative proposal in the dead of night, giving little time to actually move toward a compromise.
DEMS DIG IN, GUARANTEE SHUTDOWN WITH BLOCK OF DHS FUNDING
"We had plenty of time to get a deal in the last two weeks," Murphy said. "And the lack of seriousness from the White House and from Republicans not getting language until last night has put us in the position we are in today."
And with the expected shutdown, Democrats’ main targets — Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) — won’t see their cash flow dry up because of billions injected into the agency by Trump's "big, beautiful bill."
Instead, agencies like TSA, FEMA, the Coast Guard, and several others will suffer the brunt of the shutdown.
"There is no way that you can't say we're working in good faith. We want to continue this conversation," Britt said on the Senate floor. "But yet you're penalizing a TSA agent. A TSA agent is going to go without a paycheck. Why? So that you can posture politically? I'm over it."
DHS FUNDING BILL FAILS AFTER SCHUMER REJECTS TRUMP’S ICE REFORM OFFER
"Everybody on that side of the aisle knows that ICE and CBP will continue to be funded," she continued. "They're going to continue to enforce the law just as they should. Who's going to pay the price?"
The final …

Arizona sheriff denies report he blocked key Nancy Guthrie evidence from FBI
This looks less like justice and more like strategy.

The Arizona sheriff leading the local investigation into Nancy Guthrie’s mysterious disappearance contradicted claims he withheld key evidence in the case from the FBI. 

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said that contrary to reports, the FBI “agreed” with him that the evidence should be sent to a Florida lab for DNA analysis, instead of handing it over to the federal agency’s crime lab. The reports suggested the FBI disagreed with the decision to send gloves and other evidence to the private lab, but Nanos said after having a conversation on the best path forward, the agency was on board with the move. The claims that the sheriff’s office is thwarting the investigation in a power struggle are “not even close to the truth,” he told KVOA. 

“Actually, the FBI just wanted to send the one or two they found by the crime scene, closest to it – mile, mile and a half. … I said, ‘No, why do that? Let’s just send them all to where all the DNA exist, all the profiles and the markers exist.’ They agreed, makes sense.” Nanos said.

The sheriff’s statement follows several reports earlier on Thursday that accused him of hogging evidence, citing unnamed law enforcement sources. The claims could have potentially deadly consequences if true, since investigators have repeatedly warned that time is of the essence in the case, as Nancy Guthrie, 84, relies on daily medication for survival. 

Investigators have been struggling to find substantive leads to aid their search for Nancy Guthrie, the elderly mother of Today co-host Savannah Guthrie, who mysteriously vanished from her Arizona home over twelve days ago. Earlier this week, authorities briefly detained a delivery driver suspected of going by Nancy Guthrie’s home, but later released him without pressing charges. The recovery of doorbell camera footage appearing to show a masked suspect prowling on the woman’s doorstep on the night she disappeared, and a pair of gloves that the individual was possibly wearing, have been viewed as some of the only key developments in the case thus far. 

Two deadlines contained in ransom notes sent to media outlets have now passed. Authorities are still seeking to authenticate the notes, as another note was previously deemed a forgery from an “impostor” seeking ransom money. 

FBI DOUBLES REWARD IN SEARCH FOR NANCY GUTHRIE AS NEW SUSPECT DETAILS RELEASED

This week, the FBI upped the reward for information that could lead to Guthrie’s recovery to $100,000. And it released new information to …

As Trump touts tariff windfall, battleground states shoulder billions in costs
Why resist verification?

Some of the most hotly contested states in this year’s elections are also footing the nation’s steepest tariff bills, according to an analysis of U.S. Census trade data.
That convergence creates a new economic pressure point at a time when affordability dominates the national midterm debate and the cost of everyday goods remains a top voter concern. Candidates in both parties are campaigning on promises to rein in the cost of groceries, housing and other everyday goods.
All 435 House seats and 33 Senate seats are on the ballot this year, putting Republicans’ slim majorities at risk. Democrats need four seats to reclaim the Senate, while Republicans can afford to lose just two in the House.
US TARIFF REVENUE UP 300% UNDER TRUMP AS SUPREME COURT BATTLE LOOMS
Tariffs factor directly into those costs.
Tariffs are taxes the federal government places on imported goods. While American importers pay those duties at the border, economists say businesses often pass the added costs along, raising prices as the expense moves through supply chains.
California and Texas — the nation’s two largest state economies — top the list in tariff totals at $38 billion and $21 billion, driven by the volume of imports flowing through major ports and industrial supply chains. 
Among the states with the most consequential Senate races are Georgia and Michigan, both of which carry sizable tariff burdens, underscoring how deeply their economies are intertwined with international trade.
Other states bearing the brunt of hefty tariff bills include Illinois ($9.6 billion), Ohio ($6.5 billion), Pennsylvania ($6.3 billion), North Carolina ($5 billion), South Carolina ($5.2 billion) and Kentucky ($4 billion).
Even as states shoulder billions in tariff costs, collections nationwide have climbed 300% since President Donald Trump's return to office, significantly boosting federal revenue.
January collections hit $30.4 billion, a 275% jump from a year earlier, pushing fiscal-year revenue to $124 billion, more than triple last year’s pace.
TRUMP CALLS TARIFF WINDFALL 'SO BEAUTIFUL TO SEE' AS CASH SAILS IN
The surge in revenue has become a cornerstone of Trump’s economic agenda, with the administration arguing tariffs can fund domestic priorities, chip away at the nation’s $38 trillion debt and finance a proposed $2,000 dividend check for Americans. Trump has promoted the policy as a strategy to revive domestic industry and extract concessions from foreign trading partners.
But the policy faces a pivotal test at the Supreme Court, which has yet to rule on whether the tariffs fall within Trump’s …

How Two University Freshman Are Tracking ICE Enforcement Actions Across the Country
Every delay has consequences.

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How Two University Freshman Are Tracking ICE Enforcement Actions Across the Country

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StudentNation

/ February 13, 2026

How Two University Freshman Are Tracking ICE Enforcement Actions Across the Country

With ICE Map, Rice University students Jack Vu and Abby Manuel hope to help communities understand where immigration enforcement activity is happening and how it unfolds in real time.

Arman Amin

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Left: Rice University students Jack Vu and Abby Manuel. Right: A screenshot of ICE Map.

(Jack Vu and Abby Manuel)

This story was produced for StudentNation, a program of the Nation Fund for Independent Journalism, which is dedicated to highlighting the best of student journalism. For more StudentNation, check out our archive or learn more about the program here. StudentNation is made possible through generous funding from The Puffin Foundation. If you’re a student and you have an article idea, please send pitches and questions to [email protected].

Since President Trump’s second inauguration last year, federal immigration enforcement by ICE agents has expanded dramatically. Agents have been deployed in major cities with sweeping crackdowns. Controversial and violent methods of targeting and detainment have been deployed that have drawn broad scrutiny and widespread protests, particularly since the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. 

Amid this escalating tension, two Rice University freshmen, Jack Vu and Abby Manuel, developed an online platform, called ICE Map, which tracks local reporting about ICE enforcement actions and consolidates verified incidents. The project aims to help users better understand where immigration enforcement activity is happening and how it unfolds in real time. 

Vu and Manuel’s map has drawn greater attention in recent months, including amplification by prominent activists such as Greta Thunberg, who shared the project on Instagram. The students have also presented their work at the 2025 New(s) Knowledge Symposium at MIT. 

We spoke with Vu and Manuel about how they developed this project, what kind of reception they have received, and where they see it going from here. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity. 

Arman Amin: What inspired you to develop this project?

Jack Vu: We’re both from Houston. I had this volunteer project with immigrants at an apartment complex in East Houston. We would go out there every week and we would play games and read books, do hopscotch, and we would teach them American football. In April of 2025, they stopped showing up one Saturday, and we were like, “what is going on?”

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March 2026 Issue

Someone with the program goes …

Jordan Vows Crackdown Bill on Sanctuary Cities, States
This isn't complicated—it's willpower.

House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said his committee could clear legislation in the next two weeks to crack down on sanctuary jurisdictions.  

In an interview with Just the News, Jordan said sanctuary jurisdictions include 11 states, 18 major cities and three counties, as well as the District of Columbia.

He said this represents about one-third of the nation’s population.  

“We’re looking at passing a bill to deal with this sanctuary jurisdiction issue,” Jordan said.

“We think we’re going to have a markup in two weeks in our committee to address this. That may be, well, you know, there’s various ways to look at it.” 

A sanctuary jurisdiction declares that it will not cooperate with federal immigration law enforcement, and in some cases places restrictions on federal immigration authorities’ capacity to conduct enforcement in public spaces.  

Jordan brought this up amid the chaos in the Twin Cities region.

Jordan wasn’t specific on how the legislation would work, but said it would involve a requirement that state and local law enforcement contact federal law enforcement when they encounter criminal illegal aliens.  

He said the sanctuary jurisdictions make it difficult for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to apprehend illegal aliens when they are released from state and local detention centers. 

“They got a guy in their jail. ICE knows it’s an illegal migrant who’s also been charged with some other crime; they get a notice saying it’s a detainer notice saying, ‘Hey, if you’re going to let this guy out, just give us a heads-up. Give us 48 hours. We’ll come and arrest him there at the jail,’” Jordan said.  

“Instead, they release him to the streets. That’s a problem there,” Jordan continued. “We should work at some way in our federal law that you can’t do that. You have to work with federal law enforcement, when you have that scenario.” 

The post Jordan Vows Crackdown Bill on Sanctuary Cities, States appeared first on The Daily Signal.

The Antidemocratic Zealots Presiding Over Trump’s Makeover of US History
What's the administration thinking here?

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The Antidemocratic Zealots Presiding Over Trump’s Makeover of US History

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Politics

/ February 13, 2026

The Antidemocratic Zealots Presiding Over Trump’s Makeover of US History

The administration’s sketchily funded Freedom 250 project, which will oversee the celebration of America’s semiquincentennial, is a pageant of right-wing extremism.

Toni Aguilar Rosenthal

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A Freedom 250 insignia, alongside other tchotchkes signifying Trump clan dominance, at the US delegation headquarters during last month’s World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland

(Theresa Münch/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Over the past year, Donald Trump has been fixated with remaking much of the country’s key institutions in his own image. He has renamed the Kennedy Center after himself, put his own likeness on the National Parks pass, and threatened federal funding for Penn Station and Dulles Airport in order to obtain naming rights for them so they, too, can become extensions of the Trump brand. This is all to say nothing of his concerted efforts to hijack universities, media companies, and assorted businesses to serve the MAGA agenda.

Yet even this rolling offensive doesn’t seem to satisfy the president’s insatiable ego. Trump is now embarking on a crusade to MAGAfy the American past, via a hostile takeover of the federal government’s commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

For a decade, the federal entity in charge of organizing the anniversary has been the US Semiquincentennial Commission, a bipartisan organization commissioned by Congress. In 2019, the government launched as the official nonprofit partner of the Commission, to help plan events, competitions, and other programs for the semiquincentennial. But the Trump White House has sidelined America250 in the run-up to the anniversary celebration; instead, it’s set up a new organization called Freedom 250, to plaster MAGA-sanctioned messaging throughout the festivities.

Freedom 250 is a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Park Foundation (NPF), itself a nonprofit that Congress set up to promote the activities of the National Parks Service. But on Trump’s watch, the NPF is turning into yet another institution peddling MAGA talking points for mass consumption.

Normally, the NPF backs improvements on park lands, such as habitat restoration and trail renovation. But Trump has remade the NPF into a de facto PR operation for the White House’s political projects.

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This makeover has mostly been the handiwork of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who serves as ex-officio director of the NPF board. Burgum swiftly set about …

JD Vance: A Prisoner of the Caucasus
Every delay has consequences.

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JD Vance: A Prisoner of the Caucasus

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February 13, 2026

JD Vance: A Prisoner of the Caucasus

The vice president’s trip adds fuel to regional fires.

Pietro A. Shakarian

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Vice President JD Vance and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan hold signed copies of Joint Statement on the Completion of Negotiations on an Agreement for Peaceful Nuclear Cooperation between the United States of America and the Republic of Armenia in Yerevan, Armenia, on February 9, 2026.(Kevin Lamarque-Pool / Getty Images)

If there is one characteristic that defines the erratic and incoherent “Donroe Doctrine” of President Trump, then it must be the principle that “might makes right” in international politics. The Trump administration has little need for international law. It is willfully and blatantly disregarded and, indeed, discarded. Instead, from Greenland to Gaza, from Venezuela to Iran, the “law of the jungle” reigns supreme.

The essence of the “Donroe Doctrine” can be observed in the administration’s approach to both war and peace. An example of the latter is what occurred earlier this week when Vice President JD Vance flew to the Caucasus in a bid to bolster American influence and pressure on Iran’s northern frontier, at a time when tension between Washington and Tehran has never been higher. Amid profound domestic crises in the US, it would seem prudent to avoid dragging America into such far-flung adventurism, in a part of the world that is virtually unknown to most Americans. Yet there was Vance, stoking tensions with a large regional power—Iran—and a massive atomic superpower—Russia—all while quietly sanctioning democratic decline and ethnic cleansing in the post-Soviet Caucasus.

Vance’s Caucasian itinerary consisted of two of the three South Caucasus states—Armenia and Azerbaijan. Georgia, once the favorite of American neocons, was conspicuously avoided. In 2008, its president, Mikheil Saakashvili, had bungled his way into a confrontation with Russia at the behest of the Bush administration. Facing a bear-like reaction from Moscow, Tbilisi was left in the lurch by Washington. While Georgia has since learned from this painful episode, Armenia’s Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev have decided to try their luck at the “Saakashvili” approach, with ample encouragement from President Trump. It is at their own peril that they ignore the clear warnings from Russia and Iran against any American presence on their borders.

Vance arrived first in Armenia, flying into Yerevan from Milan on a rainy Monday afternoon. A major part of his visit was to reinforce American commitment to the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP). Hailed by the …

Keir Starmer’s Failure Is Nearly Complete
We're watching the same failure loop.

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Keir Starmer’s Failure Is Nearly Complete

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World

/ February 13, 2026

Keir Starmer’s Failure Is Nearly Complete

The wildly unpopular UK prime minister is likely doomed in the wake of an Epstein-related scandal entirely of his own making. He deserves every bit of the hell he’s in.

Evan Robins

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Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards-on-Sea, England, on February 5, 2026.
(Peter Nicholls / Pool / AFP via Getty Images)

In 1964, Marxist historian Tom Nairn identified corrupt, half-hearted, mediocre leadership as one of the defining features of the British Labour Party. “It is doubtful, indeed,” he wrote, “if any other working-class movement has produced as many ‘traitors’—or at least as many unashamed, magnificently naked traitors—as has Labourism.”

Sixty-two years have passed since Nairn’s assessment. But he easily could have been referring to the current UK prime minister, Keir Starmer. Starmer is engulfed in a cataclysmic scandal entirely of his own making, involving the close ties between Peter Mandelson, a longtime Labour power broker and Starmer’s handpicked former ambassador to the United States, and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. And, in the manner of a desperate traitor on the verge of banishment, Starmer has sought to save himself by playing the part of an aggrieved faithful, insisting that Mandelson had lied to him about the depth of his relationship with Epstein.

“[Peter] Mandelson betrayed our country, our Parliament and my party,” he declared last week. “If I knew then what I know now, he would never have been anywhere near government.”

When first announcing Mandelson’s appointment to the prized diplomatic post, Starmer piled on the superlatives. “Peter will bring unrivalled experience to the role and take our partnership from strength to strength,” he crowed. This was despite the very publicly known fact that Mandelson had been a close friend, confidant, and co-conspirator of Epstein, including after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for child sex offenses.

Starmer’s decision to ignore these ties has now brought his already historically unpopular government to the edge of oblivion. He was first forced to fire Mandelson last fall, after the Justice Department released files showing Mandelson had privately decried Epstein’s conviction. Then, last week, a new cache of Epstein files provided confirmation that Mandelson had been with Epstein in the presence of young women; that he received $75,000 in financial gifts from Epstein; that Mandelson coordinated with Epstein to lobby against post-financial crisis banking regulation; and that he leaked market-sensitive, confidential government information to his …