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Almanac for Feb. 16, 2026

Monday, Feb. 16, is the 47th day of 2026. There will be 318 days left in the year. This day in history: In 1959, Fidel Castro was sworn in as premier of Cuba, six weeks after dictator Fulgencio Batista was overthrown and fled the country into exile. Castro's rise to power marked the start of Cuba's transformation into a communist nation. Also on this date: In 1862, the Civil War Battle of Fort Donelson in Tennessee ended with the surrender of about 12,000 Confederate soldiers; Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's victory earned him the moniker "Unconditional Surrender Grant." In 1923, the ...

Is there nothing we can do to stop fraud?

Americans want to help people in need, but when government does that, about 500 billion taxpayer dollars get stolen. It's how the system is designed, says the United Council on Welfare Fraud's Andrew McClenahan in this new video. "You're measuring success by the amount of money you put ...

Judge blocks Pentagon from punishing Kelly over video

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge agreed Thursday to block the Pentagon from punishing Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, a former Navy pilot, for participating in a video that called on troops to resist unlawful orders. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled that Pentagon officials not only ...

Almanac for Feb. 13, 2026

Today is Friday, Feb. 13, the 44th day of 2026. There are 321 days left in the year. Today in history: In 1945, Allied forces in World War II began a three-day bombing raid on Dresden, Germany, killing as many as 25,000 people and triggering a firestorm that swept through the city center. Also on this date: In 1935, a jury in Flemington, New Jersey, found Bruno Richard Hauptmann guilty of first-degree murder in the kidnap-slaying of Charles A. Lindbergh Jr., the 20-month-old son of Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh. (Hauptmann was executed the following year.) In 1965, during the ...

Virginia’s clownish redistricting scheme

Virginia is the new Illinois. The practice of drawing partisan districts is named after Elbridge Gerry, the 19th-century Massachusetts governor. Even he might blush at the extreme gerrymander that Democrats in the commonwealth are pushing. They want to go from a congressional delegation ...

Homeland Security officials voice concerns about shutdown

WASHINGTON (AP) — A disruption in reimbursements to states for disaster relief costs. Delays in cybersecurity response and training. And missed paychecks for the agents who screen passengers and bags at the nation's airports, which could lead to unscheduled absences and longer wait times for ...