⚠️ TSA Agents Required to Work Without Pay as Partial Democrat-Forced DHS Shutdown Begins
TSA officers at airports across the country must continue screening passengers and baggage without receiving paychecks after a partial government shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security took effect early on February 14, 2026, due to expired funding and congressional impasse. About 95% of TSA personnel qualify as essential under the agency’s contingency plan and are obligated to report for duty despite the lapse, raising concerns over potential morale issues, unscheduled absences, longer security lines, and travel disruptions if the standoff drags on—though immediate widespread flight cancellations appear unlikely since air traffic control remains funded. Industry groups and experts warn that prolonged unpaid work could lead to staffing shortages, echoing effects from last year’s 43-day shutdown, with Democrats tying funding approval to restrictions on immigration enforcement operations.
Sources: NewsMax, The New York Post
✈️ FAA Mandates Merit-Based Certification for Airline Pilot Hiring
The Federal Aviation Administration has issued a new mandatory Operations Specification (OpSpec A134) requiring all U.S. commercial airlines operating under 14 CFR Part 121 to formally certify that pilot hiring is conducted exclusively on merit, defined by factors like technical knowledge, cognitive skills, qualifications, and experience. Announced on February 13, 2026, by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, the directive addresses lingering allegations of race- or sex-based hiring practices tied to prior DEI initiatives, despite no evidence of unqualified pilots in service. Airlines must affirm that such non-merit considerations have ended, or risk federal investigation, as part of broader efforts under President Trump’s executive order to restore merit-based standards and prioritize aviation safety over demographic goals.
Sources: The Post Millennial, US Federal Aviation Administration
⚛️ Pentagon Launches Transport of Mobile Nuclear Reactor for Utah Testing
The Pentagon, in partnership with Valar Atomics and the Department of Energy, initiated transport of a next-generation mobile nuclear reactor on February 15, 2026. A C-17 aircraft moved the compact unit from March Air Reserve Base in California to Hill Air Force Base in Utah, with further transfer planned to the Utah San Rafael Energy Lab for testing and evaluation. This effort aligns with the Trump administration’s push for advanced nuclear capabilities to ensure reliable, grid-independent power at military installations, reducing vulnerabilities to disruptions from attacks, disasters, or cyber threats. The reactor supports broader goals of energy resilience and a nuclear renaissance, with aims for operational reactors on bases by 2028.
Sources: The Washington Times, The Defense Mirror
🌐 Hillary Clinton Admits Migration ‘Went Too Far’ at Munich Conference
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated during a panel at the Munich Security Conference that migration has “gone too far,” describing it as disruptive and destabilizing while calling for fixes that include secure borders without extreme harm to people. She emphasized the need for humane approaches, highlighted the importance of strong family structures as foundational to civilization, and noted a legitimate basis for debating migration issues.
Sources: Just The News, The Daily Mail
📰 Propaganda Newsroom Expands Partisan Local News Network to Nine More States Before Midterms
The left-leaning Courier Newsroom operation, founded by Democratic strategist Tara McGowan and funded heavily by Democratic dark-money groups and billionaires like George Soros and Reid Hoffman, is pushing into nine additional states to reach a total of 20 nationwide ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. This network runs state-specific websites that mimic independent local journalism but serve primarily as vehicles for Democratic messaging, having previously poured over $9 million into Facebook ads in 2024 to promote Kamala Harris and criticize Donald Trump in key battlegrounds. Critics, including former CNN figures who called it “pink slime” journalism and not a real newsroom, argue it exploits the decline in traditional local media to influence voters while avoiding donor disclosure rules, with one major backer funneling more than $13.5 million through tax-exempt channels. The expansion targets California, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, and Utah, as McGowan aims for eventual coverage in all 50 states despite ongoing accusations of disguised partisanship.
Sources: Reddit, The Washington Free Beacon
☪️ US Launches HUD Probe into Texas Muslim Community Development
The Department of Housing and Urban Development has opened a fair housing investigation into the East Plano Islamic Center’s proposed community project, now called The Meadow but previously known as EPIC City, over allegations of religious and national origin discrimination. HUD Secretary Scott Turner directed the probe after the Texas Workforce Commission filed a complaint detailing a pattern of discriminatory conduct, including marketing the development as an exclusive Muslim community, imposing financial obligations on buyers to fund a mosque and Islamic education centers, and using a two-tier lottery system that favored certain buyers. Texas Governor Greg Abbott endorsed the federal action, noting his prior state-level probes and stating the project would remain an empty field while emphasizing accountability under anti-discrimination laws.
Sources: The Epoch Times, US Dept of Housing & Urban Development
🕋 Mamdani-Backed Senate Hopeful Kawas Revives Old 9/11 Remarks Blaming U.S. Systems
A New York State Senate candidate endorsed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani has drawn fresh attention for her 2017 comments framing the 9/11 attacks as part of a longer pattern of American capitalism, racism, white supremacy, and Islamophobia used to colonize and exploit resources. Aber Kawas, a Palestinian-American activist and democratic socialist who recently shifted her run from Assembly to Senate District 12 after an incumbent’s retirement announcement, described 9/11 in a panel discussion as a “manifestation” of that historical trajectory and questioned the demand for apologies over the attacks while lacking reparations for genocides and slavery. The resurfaced remarks, calling the event a “terror attack that a couple people did,” have sparked criticism amid her campaign focus on affordability, community investment, and redirecting funds from overseas conflicts.
Sources: The Post Millennial, The New York Post
🚼 Planned Parenthood Expert Testifies Infants and Toddlers May Lack Consciousness and Pain Sensation
In a Missouri court case where Planned Parenthood challenges the state’s abortion restrictions following the Dobbs decision and the 2024 Reproductive Freedom Initiative, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist testifying as an expert for Planned Parenthood stated uncertainty about whether a one-year-old experiences pain, linking it to doubts about whether the child possesses consciousness, remarking that he does not know if a one-year-old experiences consciousness and that the onset of consciousness varies by individual. This testimony emerged in the context of broader arguments over abortion laws, viability definitions, and related medical claims during the trial.
Sources: Life News, The American Center for Law & Justice
💉 Oregon Democrats Block Bill to Restrict Needle Distribution Near Schools
Oregon Senate Bill 1573, which sought to prohibit syringe service programs from handing out needles and drug paraphernalia within 2,000 feet of schools or licensed childcare facilities, will not advance this legislative session. The bipartisan measure, supported by some Republicans and Democrats but opposed by Democratic leaders and public health groups, stalled primarily due to concerns over potential litigation under the Americans with Disabilities Act following a recent federal court settlement in Washington state that led to the repeal of a similar restriction and a substantial legal fee payment. Proponents argued the bill offered common-sense protection for children from discarded needles and visible drug activity, while opponents highlighted risks to harm reduction efforts that reduce disease transmission and connect users to treatment, noting that broad buffer zones could severely limit program access in urban areas.
Sources: Oregon Live, FOX12 Portland
🤡 Maryland Woman Reports TPUSA-Affiliated High School Event to Child Protective Services Over Safety Worries
A community member named Nancy spoke at a Calvert County Board of Education meeting on February 12, 2026, voicing concerns about a December 2025 event hosted by a student group affiliated with Turning Point USA at a local high school. She claimed the event, which limited access for non-volunteer adults and parents while requiring parental permission for student attendees, created issues with transparency, student safety, parental rights, and oversight, describing students as vulnerable to influence during developmental years and noting that she and board members, as mandated reporters, had filed a report with Child Protective Services based on the circumstances. The student group president, a 17-year-old, pushed back against online accusations of grooming or criminal involvement, clarifying that he leads the group with no felony charges and that restrictions followed prior online harassment.
Sources: FOX News, The Gateway Pundit
📢 Global Protests Demand Regime Change in Iran After Deadly Crackdown
Anti-regime demonstrators turned out in force across major cities worldwide on February 14, 2026, as part of a Global Day of Action called by exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi. Large crowds gathered in Munich (over 250,000), Toronto (around 350,000), Los Angeles, London, Tokyo, Melbourne, Athens, and elsewhere, chanting for regime change, waving pre-1979 Iranian flags, and pressing for international pressure on Tehran following a brutal government crackdown on domestic protests that left thousands dead since late 2025. Protesters voiced support for democracy and an end to the Islamic Republic’s rule, with Pahlavi urging faster action to back the Iranian people, while U.S. figures like President Trump described regime change as the best outcome amid ongoing tensions.
💀 RSF Atrocities in El Fasher Capture Highlighted by UN Report
A United Nations Human Rights Office report accuses Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of unleashing widespread atrocities during their October 2025 offensive to seize the besieged city of El Fasher in North Darfur, following an 18-month siege. The document, based on interviews with over 140 victims and witnesses in late 2025, documents more than 6,000 killings in the initial three days alone, with the total death toll likely much higher over the extended assault. The RSF and allied militias stand accused of mass killings, summary executions often targeting non-Arab civilians like the Zaghawa, sexual violence including rape, abductions for ransom, torture, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, pillage, attacks on civilians and medical facilities, use of starvation tactics, and conscription of children—acts deemed war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity by UN investigators. The report underscores how impunity continues to drive cycles of violence in Sudan’s ongoing conflict.
Sources: The Straits Times, Reuters
⚔️ Iran Fortifies Underground Nuclear Complex Near Natanz Amid Strike Concerns
New satellite imagery dated February 10, 2026, reveals Iran actively reinforcing tunnel entrances at a major underground facility beneath Kolang-Gaz La Mountain, also called Pickaxe Mountain, located near the Natanz nuclear site. Analysts from the Institute for Science and International Security report heavy equipment such as cranes, cement mixers, and dump trucks at work, with fresh concrete poured over one entrance extension and rock plus soil leveled over another portal for added hardening. A concrete-reinforced headworks structure has appeared recently to support further protective layers. This activity suggests Tehran aims to better shield the site against potential airstrikes, as the complex—deeper and under a taller mountain than the Fordow facility—remains a key asset following prior damage to other nuclear installations. Experts note the site is not yet operational but shows signs of interior preparations.
Sources: Yeshiva World News, Iran International
🚢 US Forces Board Sanctioned Oil Tanker Veronica III in Indian Ocean
U.S. military forces conducted a maritime interdiction and boarded the Panamanian-flagged oil tanker Veronica III without incident in the Indian Ocean, within the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command area, on February 15, 2026. The vessel, previously sanctioned and linked to illicit Venezuelan oil shipments, attempted to evade President Trump’s quarantine on sanctioned tankers originating from the Caribbean; officials tracked it across thousands of miles from the Caribbean Sea before closing in and boarding it to enforce the blockade aimed at curbing shadow fleet operations.
Sources: The Epoch Times, AP News
🌍 Spain Requests EU Help Relocating Migrants After Granting Mass Amnesty
Spain’s socialist government, fresh off approving a decree last month to regularize roughly 500,000 undocumented migrants with clean records who arrived before late 2025, has now asked the European Commission to redistribute new arrivals landing in the Canary Islands to other EU nations. Officials cite easing pressure on the islands from ongoing influxes, mostly from Africa, while conservatives point out the irony of creating a pull factor through the amnesty only to plead for Brussels to handle the consequences. The request ties into broader measures like transferring unaccompanied minors and avoiding overconcentration in outermost regions, even as the EU’s upcoming Migration Pact may soon mandate relocation or financial contributions from member states.