Friday, February 13, 2026

​ February 13, 2026 Good morning, Welcome to the news for independent thinkers ​ Leading the News . . . ​ Trump sends USS Gerald R. Ford to Middle East as Iran tensions simmer . . . The United States is deploying the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world's largest aircraft carrier, to the Middle East, reinforcing another carrier already stationed there as President Donald Trump turns up pressure on Iran over its nuclear program. Talk of renewed negotiations fizzled as Tehran shuffled envoys through Oman and Qatar. Fasten your seatbelts. We are not deploying this massive armada and these vast numbers of deadly weapons to the region in order to not use them. Read More: Associated Press​ Politics MAHA Could Hold the Key to Winning Midterms . . . Citing pollster Tony Fabrizio, MAHA Action president Tony Lyons argues the GOP can win big in the midterms only if candidates fully embrace MAHA's agenda, or risk watching that fragile new coalition slip away. Read more: The Daily Signal​ ​ Candidates need not worry, though. They only have to "embrace" MAHA food, not eat it. ​ ​RFK Jr. says he 'used to snort cocaine off of toilet seats'​ ​ Okay, come on, give him a break, I mean, who doesn't do that? ​ Border Patrol bust nets 23 in El Centro smuggling ring . . . Let's take a moment here to note the brave work being done by Border Patrol and ICE. These are dangerous missions even when officers aren't being harassed by whistle-blowing lunatics putting their bodies and cars between law enforcement and criminals. Border Patrol agents in California arrested 23 people in a human smuggling sweep in the El Centro Sector, including four suspected smugglers and 19 Mexican nationals. Agents flagged a vehicle on Jan. 31 and traced the operation to an apartment complex about 100 miles east of San Diego. Seven tried to run. Authorities seized six vehicles tied to the scheme. Read more: Daily Signal​ ​ ​Josh Hawley Calls For Indictment of Minnesota AG Keith Ellison over Alleged Ties to Somali Fraudsters​ ​ Whistleblower complaint on Tulsi Gabbard tied to intercepted Kushner talk . . . A highly classified whistleblower complaint against Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard centers on an intercepted conversation last spring between two foreign nationals discussing Jared Kushner, according to U.S. officials. Wall Street Journal​ ​ ​CNN host Kaitlan Collins reveals Karoline Leavitt defended her press access in Saudi Arabia​ Culture Teachers union proposes training, rewarding students for 'community self-defense' against ICE . . . Documents obtained by Defending Education show United Teachers of Los Angeles eyeing school district funds and mandatory training channels to organize resistance to ICE. Notes under "discipline/student safety" propose "engaging students in community self-defense," while a flyer instructs supporters to log agents' numbers, locations, and clothing. Once again, teachers unions zip to the front line of leftist activism. Pity the teachers themselves, a reasonable portion of whom must be conservatives. Just the News​ ​ ​Miss North Florida Kayleigh Bush Says She was Stripped of Title After Refusing to Accept Transgenderism​ ​ Because, like, it's a beauty contest for women. National Security Trump Reverse ICE Surge in Minneapolis . . . The Trump administration is pulling the plug on its high-profile ICE surge in Minneapolis, with border czar Tom Homan confirming that 3,000 federal agents deployed under Operation Metro Surge will soon head home. After months of stepped-up enforcement in the Twin Cities, Homan said the drawdown is already underway. This may be a tactical retreat, not the end of aggressive efforts to round up illegal aliens. But it's a strong signal that violent resistance works. and it's a disincentive toward future strong action. There must have been a way to tone this down without rolling up the white flag. Read More: Daily Signal ​ ​ ​Meet the Convicted Murderers and Child Rapists Walking Free After Release by Democrat Former NC Gov. Cooper ​ ​ DHS on brink of prolonged shutdown after Senate Democrats block funding over ICE . . . The Senate failed to move a House-passed Homeland Security funding bill, setting the stage for a partial shutdown that could halt operations at the department overseeing ICE. The 52-47 vote, short of the 60 needed, fell largely along party lines, with Sen. John Fetterman the lone Democrat in favor. Washington Examiner​ ​ ​House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan working on sanctuary city crackdown legislation​ ​ 'Trading blood for steel': Army's new combat philosophy puts autonomous robots on front lines . . . The U.S. Army is accelerating a high-stakes push to pair soldiers with autonomous drones, aiming to send smart, replaceable machines into the deadliest missions first. Chief Technology Officer Alex Miller says priorities include obstacle-clearing robots, battlefield resupply under fire, and drone-led medical evacuations. While this seems radical, it's the latest in a millennia-old progression of war fighting from the days of hand to hand combat, when battles were short and sometimes ended with who got tired first. Washington Times​ Money Goldman Sachs lawyer Kathryn Ruemmler quits after 'Uncle Jeffrey' Epstein fallout . . . Goldman Sachs' top lawyer, Kathryn Ruemmler, will step down by June 30 after newly released Epstein files revealed she once referred to the disgraced financier as "Uncle Jeffrey." She was very close to CEO David Solomon, which helped her retain her position despite years of association with a man she had to know was evil, specifically toward women. It's the latest revelation of how the inhabitants of elite society protected each other. Washington Examiner​ You should also know Trump pardons five former NFL players . . . White House pardon czar Alice Mary Johnson announced the pardons in a post on social media. Joe Klecko, Nate Newton, Jamal Lewis, Travis Henry and the late Billy Cannon were granted clemency. Fox News​ ​ Um, why? ​ A fugitive on the run for years is arrested when he turns up at the Olympics to watch hockey . . . A 44-year-old Slovak fugitive who slipped through the cracks for 16 years was finally nabbed after surfacing in Milan for the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Carabinieri swiftly moved in, hauling him to San Vittore prison to serve an 11-month sentence—missing Slovakia's 4-1 win over Finland at Santagiulia Arena. Associated Press​ Guilty Pleasures Potomac wastewater spill appears to be largest in US history . . . A sewer line collapse along the Clara Barton Parkway has unleashed what may be one of the largest wastewater spills in U.S. history, with DC Water estimating roughly 243 million gallons of sewage pouring into the Potomac River since Jan. 19. The Hill​ ​ Well, at least Congress now isn't the only place in Washington that's full of shit. ​ Have a nice weekend! ​ Help CTTN reach more people by forwarding it to your family and friends. Click below to write your message and share the signup link by email. ​ Or, you can share it on social media. ​​​​ Got this from a friend? Subscribe here and get Cut to the News sent to your Inbox every morning. ​ Follow us ​​​​ 2302 Gallows Road #625, Dunn Loring, VA 22027 Unsubscribe · Preferences​ ​