Voices, The Peoples News
February 24, 2026
Published by Jedi Selman Since March 2000 to Inform and Educate
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This daily Voices, The Peoples News is posted through the blog function of www.MPEN-Ohio.net
# Border / Immigration / ICE / Migrants / Gangs
Drugs, drones, and bombs: Mexico’s most powerful cartel at the center of violent rampage. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel’s reprisal against Mexican authorities for the killing of its leader highlights the threat of the powerful group armed with military weapons and billions in wealth.
https://justthenews.com/government/security/drugs-bombs-and-drones-mexicos-most-powerful-cartel-center-violent-rampage
Police overtime, riot agent cleanups: The price tag of having DHS operations in a city. Targeted operations around Portland and Minneapolis cost the two cities at least $6 million in total.
https://san.com/cc/police-overtime-riot-agent-cleanups-the-price-tag-of-having-dhs-operations-in-a-city/
‘Deficient and broken’: Trump’s ICE hit with damning allegations from whistleblower. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was rocked Monday as a former agency lawyer blasted the Trump administration for gutting critical training programs while rushing to hire thousands of new officers.
https://www.rawstory.com/trump-ice-raids-2675300259/
Trump’s latest deportation tactic: targeting immigrants with minor family court cases. Should a dad be deported for leaving his toddlers alone at home for a half hour 15 years ago? The Trump administration says yes in a pending court case with sweeping implications for both the immigration and child welfare systems.
https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-immigration-deportation-family-court-sotero-mendoza-rivera
ICE agents smash truck windows and detain new dad despite work permit in front of newborn. Juan Martin Espindola Ramirez was detained by federal officers in a terrifying confrontation in Nashville, Tennessee, after they allegedly broke the windows of his truck when he produced documents proving he was a legal resident with a U-Visa and work permit
https://www.irishstar.com/news/us-news/ice-agents-dad-newborn-permit-36766507
# Economy / Finance / Trade / Banking / Taxes / IRS / Cryptocurrencies
Trump’s newest tariffs could cost U.S. families $600 or more. Consumers and U.S. businesses will continue to pay the bulk of President Donald Trump’s tariffs under an untested federal law likely to spark new legal challenges.
https://www.thecentersquare.com/national/article_944efbed-269a-4a7d-a3d4-bd6d9605b7c5.html
Waiting for your tariff refund check? Fugeddaboutit! The Supreme Court just declared most of Trump’s tariffs to be unconstitutional. But consumers probably won’t be getting any money back
https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2026-02-24/waiting-for-your-tariff-refund-check-fugeddaboutit
Scott Bessent says Americans won’t see the $175 billion funds raised via illegal US tariffs, Here’s why: Several economists and analysts have said that some $175 billion is now locked up in litigation for refunds, and Bessent admitted that the funds are unlikely to ever come to the light for consumers.
https://www.livemint.com/economy/scott-bessent-says-americans-wont-see-the-175-billion-funds-raised-via-illegal-us-tariffs-heres-why-11771918348318.html
Whistleblowers find $1.7B in payments to Iran from crypto firm whose CEO Trump pardoned
https://www.rawstory.com/trump-binance/
As Working People Struggle, Trump Wants to Give $500 Billion More to the Pentagon. The Pentagon has failed eight straight audits, and is the only major federal agency to not pass an independent audit.
https://truthout.org/articles/as-working-people-struggle-trump-wants-to-give-the-pentagon-500-billion-extra/
# Education / Schools / Children / Youth
Trump administration considers selling some student debts to private sector. The Trump administration confirmed Monday that it is considering selling portions of the nearly $1.7 trillion federal student loan portfolio to private sector companies. The discussions have taken place among senior Education Department and Treasury Department officials.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/07/trump-administration-selling-federal-student-loan-portfolio-00595456?utm_campaign=10-10-2025&utm_medium=website&utm_source=PSJD-Digest
# Environment / Climate / Infrastructure / EPA / BLM / Public Lands
Trump administration to remove decades-old protections from Interior Alaska land. A pending Department of the Interior order is set to cede 2.1 million BLM-managed acres near the Dalton Highway to state control and possible mining, road building and other development
https://alaskabeacon.com/2026/02/23/trump-administration-to-remove-decades-old-protections-from-interior-alaska-land/
# FEMA / USAID / Peace Corps
Dems question plan to recruit more Peace Corps volunteers with fewer agency personnel, puzzling Democratic lawmakers. Twenty-one members of Congress urged the Peace Corps to pause workforce layoffs and restructuring until officials can show that the agency will still be able to fulfill required activities and protect volunteers who are serving internationally.
https://www.govexec.com/management/2026/02/trump-administration-wants-recruit-more-peace-corps-volunteers-fewer-agency-personnel-puzzling-democratic-lawmakers/411607/
A federal judge has ruled that Elon Musk must sit for a deposition in ongoing litigation over the dismantling of USAID. U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang concluded that Musk and two former colleagues likely possess first-hand information essential to the case and that the defendants failed to identify any lower-level officials who could provide the same testimony.
https://knewz.com/us-district-judge-rules-against-elon-musk-over-usaid-shutdown/
# Food / Farming / Agriculture / SNAP [Food Stamps] / FDA / USDA
Millions of acres of foreign-owned American farmland sit idle across the country. As of Dec. 31, 2023, approximately 45.8 million acres – slightly larger than Washington state – of American soil belongs to foreign entities.
https://www.thecentersquare.com/national/article_1d92d9ee-dfa3-4a63-9ee9-c0e7af07ebe2.html
# General News / Epstein / Maxwell
Epstein hid secret files in storage units across US. Paedophile paid private detectives to remove equipment from his home in apparent attempt to thwart investigators, Telegraph can reveal
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/02/22/jeffrey-epstein-secret-files-storage-units-united-states/
The Famous Names in the Latest Release of Epstein Files. The Justice Department has posted millions of records, including emails with Elon Musk, Howard Lutnick, Steve Tisch and Bill Gates
https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/what-we-know-so-far-about-the-latest-release-of-epstein-files-260dafba?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=AWEtsqe0TBhNBscL_dC4DDqYAwa2b1XTyXfdRtzSMwDadUPUWZBtZUMIFwELfnIkYbY%3D&gaa_ts=699daac7&gaa_sig=yTn2fypm55k5Hm-4J-nt9c1siiD8nimgHCCoBpc0o6s6dP0zcVHejFNHe9cFo-4TSaL-QZDnsAqyCI1zzatlcw%3D%3D
Six men named in US Congress: Why is so much redacted in the Epstein files? US congressman reveals names of six men whose names were redacted in the Epstein files, including a US billionaire and well-connected Dubai CEO.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/11/six-men-named-in-us-congress-why-is-so-much-redacted-in-the-epstein-files
Judge Says Jack Smith’s Final Report on Trump Can Never Be Released. Cannon has drawn scrutiny for rulings that favor Trump and cut against longstanding practice and precedent.
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/23/judge-cannon-jack-smith-classifed-docs-report-00792748
Revealed: FBI told NYPD to ‘stand down’ probe into Jeffrey Epstein. The directive applied to NYPD’s Special Victims Unit — the group specially trained and equipped to handle sex crimes and child abuse cases.
https://www.justsecurity.org/132230/fbi-stand-down-directive-epstein-timeline/
Secret Hidden Epstein Photos Heap More Pressure on Bondi. “Search warrants reviewed by The Telegraph suggest U.S. authorities never raided the lockers, raising the possibility that they may contain unseen evidence relating to Epstein and his associates,” the newspaper writes.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/secret-hidden-epstein-photos-heap-164122792.html
Top Diplomat Arrested After Epstein Claims Trigger Police Searches
https://www.thedailybeast.com/top-diplomat-arrested-after-epstein-claims-trigger-police-searches/
Epstein’s brother tells Don Lemon a murder cover-up could lead to the White House: ‘I wouldn’t be surprised’
https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/epstein-bro-drops-bomb-when-don-lemon-straight-up-asks-if-trump-had-your-brother-murdered/
The ‘Epstein files’ might take everybody else down, but Trump walks simply because he has never used email.
https://michaelwolffnyc.substack.com/p/epstein-files-trump-walks-free
The White House is shrugging at Lutnick’s Epstein ties. His foes are too. It’s the latest example of how little weight association with Epstein carries for high-profile figures in the Trump administration.
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/10/main-wh-lutnick-00774844
The Epstein files Howard Lutnick doesn’t want you to see: New Details From Epstein Files Reveal Lutnick Had Years-Long Business Tie With Sex Offender. The commerce secretary apparently still hasn’t come clean on his connection with Epstein.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/02/jeffrey-epstein-files-howard-lutnick-email-cantor-fitzgerald/
Howard Lutnick Exposed for Even More Lies About His Epstein Ties. The commerce secretary said he cut off contact in 2005. Emails in the Epstein files show otherwise.
https://newrepublic.com/post/206917/howard-lutnick-lies-epstein-ties-business
Who Has Resigned Over Revelations in the Epstein Files? The more than 3 million pages made public by the department late last month include mentions and photos of prominent people across the worlds of politics, business, academia, art, and entertainment.
https://time.com/7380275/epstein-files-resignations/
# Gov / Politics
Trump Floats Deporting Americans ‘That Don’t Work’ To Other Countries. President Trump says his administration is actively exploring a proposal to detain US citizens and send them to prisons in El Salvador
https://www.npr.org/2025/04/16/nx-s1-5366178/trump-deport-jail-u-s-citizens-homegrowns-el-salvador
“I’m Allowed to Destroy the Country, but I Can’t Charge Them a Little Fee?!” — President Trump Baffled Over Supreme Court Ruling — “I Can Do Anything I Want — Their Decision Is Incorrect, But It Doesn’t Matter Because We Have Very Powerful Alternatives”
https://www.newsbreakapp.com/n/1938OeLt?s=a3&share_destination_id=MjUxNTI2Njg4LTE3NzE5MDI5NDYwMzI=&pd=0H1Na41Y&hl=en_US
Trump, Democrats to make their case at State of the Union. President says ‘we have so much to talk about’ as polls show decline in Americans’ support for handling of key issues
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/24/trump-state-of-the-union-address
Lauren Boebert Demands Fellow House Republican Resign Amid Growing Scandal. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) called on her fellow House Republican, Tony Gonzales (R-TX), to resign immediately after text messages were revealed detailing his affair with a staffer who later committed suicide
https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/disgusting-and-inexcusable-nancy-mace-calls-for-fellow-house-republican-to-resign-amid-affair-scandal/
Senator Demands Kristi Noem Impeachment After ICE Agent Kills Ruben Ray Martinez. Paperwork finally surfaced, and now the political heat is catching up for Noem
https://www.inquisitr.com/senator-demands-kristi-noem-impeachment-after-ice-agent-kills-ruben-ray-martinez
All face coverings including burqas and hoods will be banned under Reform to boost safety, Zia Yusuf suggests
https://www.the-sun.com/news/15987863/face-coverings-reform-boost-safety-integration/
Trump and his MAGA allies are trying to rig Congress before your next vote. This is how it’s happening—and how we fight back. If this administration has made one thing clear, it’s that there’s no limit to how far they’ll go to seize more power.
https://indivisible.org/campaigns/redistricting-coup-underway/
Blue States Ready to Fight Trump Election Attacks
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/11/08/blue-states-democrats-trump-resistance-00188493
‘He Will Try Anything’: Democratic AGs Preparing for Trump to Send Military to Polls, Seize Ballots. Trump may try to push “oddball, ludicrous, unconstitutional theories” to keep the GOP in power, one Democratic attorney general said.
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/23/democratic-attorneys-general-trump-election-meddling-midterms-00792192
# Gov / Politics / Global
UN Leaders Warn Rule of Law Being Replaced by ‘Rule of Force’: “We are living in a world where mass suffering is excused away… where humans are used as bargaining chips… where international law is treated as a mere inconvenience,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/human-rights-and-un
France to summon U.S. ambassador Kushner for comments on beating death. “Violent radical leftism is on the rise and its role in Quentin Deranque’s death demonstrates the threat it poses to public safety. We will continue to monitor the situation and expect to see the perpetrators of violence brought to justice,” the U.S. embassy in France and the State Department Bureau of Counter-Terrorism said
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/02/23/france-summon-charles-kushner-beating-death/1671771856410/
France moves to bar US Ambassador Charles Kushner from direct government access. Kushner was summoned to a meeting with French officials over a statement about a right-wing activist’s death, but failed to attend.
https://www.inquirer.com/news/nation-world/france-charles-kushner-ambassador-bar-government-access-missed-meeting-20260223.html
China has issued a pointed warning to the U.S., urging Washington to immediately engage with Russia on stabilizing their nuclear arsenals. The appeal was delivered by Lin Jian, in an official statement shared on the ministry’s social media channels. Jian described the treaty’s lapse as “truly regrettable” and emphasized that its expiration has triggered “widespread concern” about the future of global nuclear arms control.
https://knewz.com/china-issues-warning-to-us-after-nuclear-weapons-expires/
# Law / Law Enforcement / Prisons / FBI / CIA / ATF / DEA
Former CIA Director Urges ‘Clear-Eyed’ View, Says Bombing Iran ‘Will Not Bring About A Regime Change’: Former CIA Director David Petraeus warned Sunday that even a major US strike on Iran would be unlikely to topple its rulers, casting doubt on the idea that military action ordered by President Donald Trump could force regime change in Tehran.
https://www.benzinga.com/news/politics/26/02/50790445/former-cia-director-urges-clear-eyed-view-says-bombing-iran-will-not-bring-about-a-regime-change
A Growing Epidemic in America; What the FBI Is Investigating in Criminal Probe of 2020 Election. Federal laws may have been broken during the 2020 election according to the affidavit supporting the court-approved raid. Yet the breadth of the materials seized shows the FBI may be able to check the integrity of the ballots more broadly, uncovering further issues or putting speculation to bed.
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/what-fbi-investigating-criminal-probe-2020-election
# Legal / DOJ / ICJ / International Criminal Court [ICC] / Supreme Court
Judge grants Trump request to permanently block release of Jack Smith report. The Trump-appointed judge said the release of the report would present a ‘manifest injustice’ to Trump
https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/jack-smith-trump-classified-documents-case-report-judge-b2925824.html
Trump fires judge-picked US attorney as top DOJ official warns courts to stay in their lane. The Justice Department announced Friday the firing of a second court-appointed U.S. attorney in as many weeks, revealing the swift removal of another prosecutor selected by federal judges to lead a district.
https://www.aol.com/articles/trump-fires-judge-picked-us-164210726.html
# LGBTQ / Transgender
Queer and Trans Activists Have Been at the Heart of Anti-ICE Work in Minneapolis. Walsh’s virulently bigoted insult is symbolic of the way the right has combined its scapegoating of both immigrants and LGBTQ+ people in service of a white supremacist patriarchal vision demonizing anyone who isn’t a straight white cisgender man.
https://truthout.org/articles/queer-and-trans-activists-have-been-at-the-heart-of-anti-ice-work-in-minneapolis/
# Media / Press / Mail / Radio / TV
FedEx Seeks Tariff Refund With Lawsuit Against US. Global transportation company FedEx filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of International Trade seeking a refund for President Donald Trump’s emergency tariffs, one of the highest profile moves to recover funds since the U.S. Supreme Court last week deemed the tariffs illegal.
https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2026/02/24/859361.htm
# Medicare / Medicaid / Disability Benefits / Health and Human Services [HHS]
Republican “Big Beautiful Bill” Would Cut $880 Billion From Medicaid — 15.9 Million People Could Lose Health Coverage: Congressional Republicans’ Proposals To Slash Medicaid Could Cost Tens of Thousands of Lives. Medicaid cuts would result in widespread coverage losses, which could lead to 15,400 deaths due to work reporting requirements or roughly 34,200 deaths from reduced federal funding each year
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/congressional-republicans-proposals-to-slash-medicaid-could-cost-tens-of-thousands-of-lives/
In less than a year, Trump erased 12 years of solvency for the trust fund that pays for Medicare Part A. The Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund is now slated to be entirely exhausted by 2040, even though the balance generally increases through 2031, as spending will begin to outstrip income in the following year.
https://fortune.com/2026/02/23/how-trump-wiped-out-12-years-of-medicare-funding-cbo-one-big-beautiful-bill/
# Medical / Science / Research / Nursing / Biologicals / Pharmaceutical
Outrage After Young Mother Says Neglect Forced Her to Deliver Her Baby Alone in Hospital Bathroom
https://shinemycrown.com/outrage-after-young-mother-says-neglect-forced-her-to-deliver-her-baby-alone-in-hospital-bathroom/
Tennessee Republicans propose bill that would allow the death penalty for women who have an abortion.
House Bill 570 allows for death penalty to be imposed on women who have abortions, as well as charging women ‘involved in the homicide of her own unborn child’
https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/tennessee-death-penalty-abortion-b2925988.html
# Military / Department of Defense [DOD]
US begins pulling staff from Beirut embassy amid Iran attack buildup. Reuters reported that 32 embassy staff and family members flew out of Beirut airport, while an embassy source put the total at 50 people evacuated.
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2026/02/24/zdvm-f24.html
It really looks like we’re about to bomb Iran again. Don’t expect a war to end as quickly this time. Two Aircraft Carriers, 40,000 Troops, and Hundreds of Fighter Jets: The U.S. Military Buildup Around Iran Is the Largest Since the 2003 Iraq Invasion
https://www.vox.com/politics/479819/trump-iran-war-questions-buildup
# Other Interestimg Stuff / Archaeology
Scientists Find Mysterious Blue Fire in Yellowstone. The feature, surrounded by ejected debris, is not a fire but a new hydrothermal spring created by a series of mild underground steam explosions, which sent silica-rich, hot water to the surface, according to U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
https://interestingengineering.com/science/strange-thermal-pool-forms-at-yellowstone
# Planetary / Solar Activity
Antarctica’s Gravity Hole Growing Stronger, Scientists Find. “Imagine doing a CT scan of the whole Earth…” The effects of gravity are particularly weak beneath the icy continent when accounting for our planet’s rotation, the result of slow rock movements deep beneath the ice.
https://futurism.com/future-society/antarctica-gravity-hole-stronger
# Social Services / Programs / Social Security
Some Social Security Deposits Are Being Flagged for ‘Verification’ in 2026 due to intensified anti-fraud measures, including mandatory multi-factor authentication (MFA) and stricter identity-proofing for account changes
https://www.newsbreak.com/news/4506250926120-some-social-security-deposits-are-being-flagged-for-verification-in-2026?noAds=1&_f=app_share&s=a3&share_destination_id=MjUxNTI2Njg4LTE3NzE5MDM3MDc1MjM%3D
# Veterans / VA
DOGE fires 2,400 VA staffers and plans to cut 80,000 more, one in five workers who serve 9 million veterans. The VA lost more than 40,000 employees in fiscal 2025, the first year in the department’s history with a net loss of workers.
https://local.newsbreak.com/oca-359268580/4508181605083-doge-fires-2-400-va-staffers-and-plans-to-cut-80-000-more-one-in-five-workers-who-serve-9-million-veterans
DOGE is Cutting Veteran Benefits to the Bone. DOGE directed the VA to cancel over 800 contracts that support everything from chemotherapy treatment to records digitization.
https://www.democrats.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/doge-is-cutting-veteran-benefits-to-the-bone
# Water / Lakes / Oceans / Rivers
US officials dumped thousands of barrels of toxic waste into the ocean, and now they are leaking. A deep-sea survey scanned about 58 square miles of the San Pedro Basin. Robot submarines crisscrossed the bottom with sound and cameras, turning rough guesses into a tight map of debris. Across that patch, analysts logged over 74,000 debris targets, including about 27,000 barrel-shaped objects scattered off Los Angeles.
https://www.earth.com/news/us-officials-dumped-thousands-of-barrels-of-toxic-waste-into-the-ocean-and-now-they-are-leaking/
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