NYTIMES (Sasha Cohen, Kelly Corrigan, Esau McCaulley, Stephen Stromberg and Derek Arthur) - ‘Skin Orgasms for Everyone’: Highlights of the Winter Olympics So Far
Three writers and an Olympic medalist on the grit and grace of the winter games.
NYTIMES (The Editorial Board) - California Needs to Count Votes Faster
The slow counting of votes is a classic example of the perfect being the enemy of the good.
AXIOS (Dave Lawler) - Pentagon-Anthropic battle pushes other AI labs into major dilemma
As the Pentagon and Anthropic wage an ugly and potentially costly battle, three other leading AI labs are also negotiating with the department — and deliberating internally — about the terms under which they'll let the military use their models. Why it matters: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wants to integrate AI into everything the military does more quickly and effectively than adversaries like China. He's insisting AI firms give unrestricted access to their models with no questions asked — and showing he's willing to play hardball to force their hands. Driving the news: The Pentagon is threatening to sever its contract with Anthropic and declare the company a "supply chain risk" because it's unwilling to lift certain…
AXIOS (Alex Isenstadt) - GOP angst over voter turnout builds as losses pile up
Republicans are getting crushed in scores of state and local races, raising deep concerns about a deflated base refusing to show up to vote even in the most pro-Trump areas. Why it matters: The numbers are startling. In race after race, Democrats are outpacing their 2024 performance by double digits, a clear sign of a yawning enthusiasm gap. By the numbers: Democrats have outperformed former Vice President Harris' 2024 numbers by an average of 10.5 percentage points in the 20 state legislative districts that've held special elections this year. - Democratic candidates outperformed Harris by even more — an average of 13.9 points — in the 67 state House and Senate races last year, according to The Downballot, a site that tracks…
AXIOS (Zachary Basu) - Europe answers Trump's call on Ukraine
Data: Kiel Institute ; Note: Converted from euros to USD using the exchange rate as of Feb. 13, 2026; Kavya Beheraj/Axios Four years after Russia's invasion , Europe has quietly replaced the United States as the engine of Ukraine's survival. Why it matters: President Trump and his allies have long insisted that Europe — not Washington — should shoulder the cost of the continent's largest land war since World War II. - In 2025, European governments and institutions answered that call — surging military aid by 67% and financial and humanitarian support by 59%, according to the Kiel Institute's Ukraine Support Tracker . - Over the same period, U.S. aid effectively ground to a halt — with Trump forcing NATO allies to buy American…
AMERICANGREATNESS (Liz Sheld) - Morning Greatness: Trump Meets With Top Iran Advisers as War Threat Grows
Good Thursday morning. Here is what’s on President Trump’s agenda today: 9:00 AM THE PRESIDENT participates in the Board of Peace Event 1:50 PM THE […] Source
NPR (Michel Martin) - Morning news brief
President Trump's Board of Peace to meet for the first time, latest round of talks to end war in Ukraine conclude with little progress, Meta CEO defends the platform in social media addiction trial.
NPR (Autumn Barnes) - An unsung hero stepped in to help a newly widowed mom in a moment of need
Barbara Alvarez lost her husband in 2017, just before their daughter went off to college. Her unsung hero helped her find the strength to be a single mother to her child at a key moment in their lives.
NPR (Bill Chappell) - How a recent shift in DNA sleuthing might help investigators in the Nancy Guthrie case
DNA science has helped solve criminal cases for decades. But increasingly, investigative genetic genealogy — which was first used for cold cases — is helping to solve active cases as well.
NPR (Rafael Nam) - How do Olympians like Eileen Gu earn $23 million? Here are all the ways
Most Olympians never win big money — or big fame. So how are athletes such as Eileen Gu or Chloe Kim able to earn millions of dollars? Here are some of the ways.