Donald Trump’s government condemned the planet today by eliminating the climate change endangerment finding that has been global scientific consensus for decades.
They also told a Senate committee after watching a video in slow motion that Alex Pretti was “fighting back nonstop” when federal agents shot him while he was pinned to the ground. In Minneapolis, prosecutors quietly asked a judge to dismiss the charges against a man other agents shot 10 days before Pretti was killed. They had no evidence to support the arrest of the second of three people they shot in 17 terrifying January days. Border czar Tom Homan said today they would leave Minnesota, but thousands remain jailed and a federal judge had to order ICE to let detainees contact their lawyers.
As Orwell wrote in 1984, “The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” Call or write your state attorney general and demand they challenge the EPA revocation in court. Multiple AGs are already preparing to sue. Make sure yours is one of them.
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Trump administration sends all pregnant unaccompanied children to a single Texas shelter flagged as medically inadequate, where abortion is virtually banned, over its own officials' objections.
Today’s GovBrief News
Pentagon sends the Navy's largest aircraft carrier to join 10 warships already in the Middle East as the U.S. prepares for a potential strike on Iran over its nuclear program.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
February 12, 2026
FDA's top vaccine regulator single-handedly rejected Moderna's flu shot application over a trial design the agency had previously approved, overruling career scientists who wrote a formal objection.
Source: Ars Technica
February 12, 2026
Columbia protest detainee Leqaa Kordia says she was chained to a hospital bed for 72 hours after a seizure, nearly a year into detention without criminal charges.
Source: The New York Times [gift link]
February 12, 2026
EPA revokes the 2009 scientific finding that greenhouse gases endanger public health, eliminating the legal foundation for all federal climate regulation.
Source: The Associated Press
February 12, 2026
FTC chairman tells Apple its news app may violate federal law by not featuring enough Fox News and Breitbart, citing research from a group whose founder Trump appointed as ambassador.
Source: Ars Technica
February 12, 2026
Defense Secretary Hegseth skips NATO's defense ministers meeting in Brussels, sending the Pentagon's third-ranking official as the U.S. prepares to hand over major NATO command posts to Europeans.
Source: The Hill
February 12, 2026
Federal judge rules Defense Secretary Hegseth violated the First Amendment by censuring Senator Mark Kelly over a video telling troops they can refuse illegal orders.
Source: Fox 10 Phoenix
February 12, 2026
U.S. military hands its strategic al-Tanf base in Syria to Damascus, removing a key barrier to Iranian weapons shipments and signaling a broader troop withdrawal.
Source: Reuters
February 12, 2026
FBI used warrantless "assessment" authority to gather intelligence on over 1,000 journalists, religious organizations, and politicians between 2018 and 2024, watchdog report finds.
Source: Government Executive
February 12, 2026
Intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard blocked a whistleblower complaint from Congress for eight months that centered on an intercepted conversation referencing Jared Kushner and Iran.
Source: Newsweek
February 12, 2026
The Justice Department's antitrust chief resigns after less than a year, as Trump has personally inserted himself into major merger decisions including Netflix's acquisition of Warner Bros.
Source: UPI
February 12, 2026
Federal judge blocks $600 million in public health funding cuts targeting four Democratic states, finding the grants were likely rescinded to retaliate against immigration enforcement opposition.
Source: Reuters
February 12, 2026
Federal judge orders ICE to stop blocking thousands of Minnesota detainees from contacting attorneys, calling the agency's claim it provided access "threadbare" and unsupported by evidence.
Source: USA Today
February 12, 2026
Federal judge orders the government to fly deported Venezuelans back to the U.S. for court hearings, ruling the 137 men were denied due process before being sent to an El Salvador prison.
Source: The Washington Post [gift link]
February 12, 2026
Trump pardons five former NFL players convicted of crimes including drug trafficking, cocaine conspiracy, counterfeiting, and perjury, without explaining why.
Source: The Associated Press
February 12, 2026
Border czar Tom Homan announces the end of Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota, claiming credit for "unprecedented coordination" from the same local officials who said ICE never contacted them.
Source: KARE Minneapolis
February 12, 2026
Customs and Border Protection chief tells senators Alex Pretti was "fighting back nonstop" after watching video showing the unarmed nurse standing with his hands up before agents shot him.
Source: UPI
February 12, 2026
Federal prosecutor moves to dismiss charges against the Venezuelan man an ICE agent shot in Minneapolis, saying newly discovered evidence contradicts the government's own complaint and testimony.
Source: KARE Minneapolis
February 12, 2026
Senate leaves for recess after failing to fund DHS, with ICE and Border Patrol unaffected because last year's reconciliation bill already gave them billions.
Source: CBS News
February 12, 2026
Speaker Johnson calls DOJ's tracking of lawmakers' Epstein file searches an "oversight," declining to confront the agency as bipartisan members call it spying.
Source: The Hill
February 12, 2026
Trump's nominee for a top State Department post loses Republican support after senators confront him over "Great Replacement" posts, Holocaust minimization, and comments he continued making after being nominated.
Source: CNN
February 12, 2026
U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro sues her hometown of Rye, New York, and Con Edison for $250,000 after tripping over a wooden block in the street.
Source: Newsweek
February 12, 2026
Hundreds gather as New York officials re-raise the pride flag at Stonewall National Monument two days after the Trump administration ordered it removed.
Source: Fox New York
February 12, 2026