Contempt kills.
Two carrier strike groups surround Iran tonight and the State Department is evacuating personnel from Lebanon. Earlier today, U.S. forces killed three more people in a Caribbean boat attack. That’s at least 150 dead across 44 attacks since September.
The only witness to DHS’ killing of U.S. citizen Ruben Ray Martinez in Texas is dead. That witness died in a car accident days after drafting a sworn statement that contradicted everything DHS said. The story seems like a Hollywood plot, but so did the idea of troops in cities and federal agents shooting protesters.
Call your representatives now. Demand they stop Trump from starting another war. He already attacked Venezuela this year and holds its president in a New York jail while bombing Syria regularly. For a self-proclaimed peace advocate, Donald Trump is awfully contemptuous of death.
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France summons U.S. Ambassador Charles Kushner after the State Department called the beating death of a French far-right activist evidence that "violent radical leftism" is a public safety threat.
Today’s GovBrief News
U.S. women's hockey team declines Trump's State of the Union invitation, one day after he told the men's team he'd "be impeached" if he didn't invite them.
Source: NBC News
February 23, 2026
France bars U.S. Ambassador Charles Kushner from direct access to government ministers after he skips formal summons over State Department comments calling a French activist's death "terrorism."
Source: France 24
February 23, 2026
State Department orders nonessential diplomats out of Lebanon as Trump builds largest U.S. military presence in the Middle East in decades and threatens strikes on Iran.
Source: The Associated Press
February 23, 2026
CDC deputy director Ralph Abraham abruptly departs after two months, the latest in a string of leadership exits that has left the agency without a permanent director.
Source: CNN
February 23, 2026
U.S. Forest Service stops issuing firefighter pants containing PFAS "forever chemicals" after ProPublica revealed the agency knew about the contamination for years and stayed silent.
Source: ProPublica
February 23, 2026
British police arrest former UK Ambassador to the U.S. Lord Mandelson on suspicion of passing market-sensitive government information to Jeffrey Epstein while serving as a cabinet minister.
Source: BBC
February 23, 2026
FedEx becomes first major company to sue for refund of Trump's tariffs after Supreme Court ruled them illegal, joining Costco and others with pending claims.
Source: CNBC
February 23, 2026
Pentagon reverses support for aviation safety bill requiring military tracking signals, 13 months after a collision between an Army Black Hawk and a regional jet killed 67 people.
Source: Reuters
February 23, 2026
U.S. military kills three more people in Caribbean boat strike, bringing total to at least 150 dead across 44 strikes since September with no evidence released.
Source: Deutsche Welle
February 23, 2026
Federal judges reject Republican effort to restore a congressional map that split Salt Lake County four ways after voters created an independent redistricting commission.
Source: KSTU Salt Lake City
February 23, 2026
Judge Cannon blocks public release of Jack Smith's classified documents report, citing her own 2024 ruling that his appointment was unconstitutional.
Source: UPI
February 23, 2026
Trump settles copyright lawsuit with Isaac Hayes estate over unauthorized use of "Hold On, I'm Coming" at least 133 times at campaign rallies.
Source: Deadline
February 23, 2026
Trump-appointed judge holds administration in civil contempt after ICE transferred a detainee to Texas in defiance of a court order, then released him without his belongings.
Source: Newsweek
February 23, 2026
Border Patrol agent shoots person near Canadian border in New Hampshire after the individual allegedly fired at the agent, FBI investigating.
Source: The New Hampshire Union Leader
February 23, 2026
Only witness to federal agent's fatal shooting of U.S. citizen Ruben Ray Martinez in Texas dies in car accident days after his sworn statement contradicted DHS account.
Source: The Associated Press
February 23, 2026
Education Department transfers school shooting emergency grants and community schools oversight to HHS as McMahon continues dismantling the agency only Congress can legally close.
Source: Chalkbeat
February 23, 2026
FEMA warns its national emergency functions are "significantly constrained" during shutdown days before State of the Union, with continuity staff furloughed and disaster work frozen.
Source: The Washington Post
February 23, 2026
Bipartisan calls grow for Rep. Tony Gonzales to resign over affair with congressional staffer who later died by suicide, as explicit text messages surface.
Source: The Hill
February 23, 2026
Maryland attorney general sues to block ICE from converting a $102 million warehouse into a 1,500 person detention facility in a town of 2,000 without environmental review or public input.
Source: WUSA Washington
February 23, 2026