The Daily Brief - Feb. 19, 2026
The latest on Prince Andrew’s arrest, ICE buying warehouses, Trump’s Board of Peace meeting, and more
These are today’s top stories, delivered straight to your inbox. Read below to catch up on all the news you might’ve missed.
Prince Andrew Arrested
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former prince who was stripped of his title over his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and allegations he had sex with teenage girls, has been arrested in the United Kingdom.
He was taken into custody early Thursday for potential misconduct while in public office. He has since been released. He’s being investigated for suspicions he shared confidential information with Jeffrey Epstein while working as a British trade envoy. The allegations are connected to emails discovered in the recent Epstein file release.
The former prince has long been associated with Jeffrey Epstein. Victim Virginia Giuffre said she was trafficked to him as a teenager, and in a memoir published after her death, she described Mountbatten-Windsor as “friendly enough, but still entitled — as if he believed having sex with me was his birthright.” She said they had sex multiple times. Mountbatten-Windsor has denied the sexual assault allegations.
King Charles III issued a statement saying he supports the investigation and will cooperate fully. “What now follows is the full, fair and proper process by which this issue is investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities… Let me state clearly: the law must take its course,” he said.
This marks the first arrest of a member of the British royal family in modern times.
Iran War
The Trump administration appears to be preparing for an extended military assault on Iran, with a massive strike force assembling in the Middle East. The arsenal includes two aircraft carrier groups — the USS Abraham Lincoln, already in the region, and the USS Gerald R. Ford, currently en route from the Caribbean — along with numerous destroyers, advanced fighter jets, and other combat aircraft.
When asked about his plans, Trump was noncommittal today, saying “Maybe we’re going to make a deal. Maybe not,” and suggesting the situation would become clearer in 7-10 days.
Diplomatic talks between US and Iranian officials have stalled. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the two sides made “a little bit of progress” but remain “very far apart.” A European diplomat familiar with the talks said Iran is unwilling to budge from its core positions, including its right to enrich uranium for its nuclear program.
Former officials warn that while the US and its ally Israel have an overwhelming military advantage, Iran could inflict serious damage through ballistic missiles, terror attacks, and disruption to global oil markets. Regional diplomats have grown deeply concerned that an extended conflict could draw additional countries into war.
Anti-DEI Policies Dropped
Shortly after taking office in early 2025, the Trump administration sent a letter to public schools and universities across the country warning that diversity, equity, and inclusion programs could violate federal civil rights law. Schools and colleges that didn’t drop their DEI policies and contracts risked losing federal funding. In New Hampshire, the state education department told districts to review their contracts and flag any potential problems.
Teachers unions and civil liberties groups pushed back, arguing the directive was unconstitutional. The ACLU and National Education Association sued in federal court in New Hampshire in March 2025. A judge sided with them early on, temporarily blocking the government from taking action against New Hampshire schools. Judge Landya McCafferty found the directive too vague, writing that DEI “is broad” as a concept and that “it is no surprise that several courts — including this one — have struck down similar laws as void for vagueness.” A separate federal court in Washington, DC. reached a similar conclusion in another lawsuit.
After losing in multiple courts, the US Department of Education has chosen not to fight further, and is abandoning its anti-DEI policies. It reached an agreement with the plaintiffs that the directive would not be enforced or relied upon in any way, and a judge formally closed the case this week.
Christian Nationalist Preacher at Pentagon
A man who believes men should dictate how everyone in their family votes was invited by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to preach at the Pentagon this week.
Doug Wilson is the Christian Nationalist pastor at Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho, and co-founded Hegseth’s religious denomination. Beyond pushing for “household voting,” he has written a pamphlet espousing the idea that “Christians who owned slaves in the South were on firm scriptural ground,” and said in an interview that “I am a friend to pedophiles because Christ was a friend to sinners.”
Check out Sharon’s thoughts on the whole thing here.
And if you want to read more on Doug Wilson, and Pete Hegseth’s connection to him and his beliefs, you can read our widely shared article on that here.
ICE Buying Warehouses
In recent months, the Department of Homeland Security has started scouting and purchasing industrial warehouses in locations throughout the country, with the intention of converting them into detention centers. According to local property records and DHS documents, at least eight warehouses have been purchased in states including Texas, Maryland, and Michigan. There are also proposed sites in Utah, Tennessee, New Jersey, and several other states.
Last year’s Big Beautiful Bill provided DHS with $45 billion to build out detention capacity. Just two of the warehouses alone cost $172 million. A DHS official told the New York Times that the added facilities would help prevent overcrowding. ICE has claimed the warehouses will be retrofitted to provide food and medical services in accordance with detention standards.
Local officials and residents in the areas near the warehouses have pushed back against DHS expanding immigrant detention in their communities. At town hall meetings, people have expressed concern about the conditions renovated warehouses would provide for immigrants, some of whom might be held for up to 60 days. Others raised fears about the impact on local business and infrastructure, and the possibility of being subjected to heightened immigration enforcement like what’s happened in Minneapolis.
While some local governments have tried to stop the warehouse purchases, several have found that they’re limited in their options because of federal exemptions from land use and zoning regulations.
Board of Peace Meeting
President Trump hosted the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace today in Washington. The board, Trump’s initiative for overseeing the Israel-Gaza ceasefire and rebuilding Gaza, was established in 2025 when the United Nations Security Council voted to adopt Trump’s peace plan for Gaza, which included the creation of a group to supervise rebuilding. At today’s meeting, the president announced that nine members of the board had pledged $7 billion for a Gaza relief package, and five nations agreed to deploy troops to help stabilize the region. The US has separately pledged $10 billion.
In his opening remarks, Trump said that the board would “strengthen up the United Nations,” and “almost be looking over the United Nations and making sure it runs properly.”
Earlier this year, Trump sent out dozens of invitations for nations to join the Board, and said that they could pay $1 billion to become permanent members rather than serving the standard three-year term. He later disinvited Canada after the country’s prime minister, Mark Carney, raised concerns about the board and asserted Canada’s independence from the US at the World Economic Forum in January. Russia was invited to join, and is currently working out the terms of its potential involvement.
So far, countries that have joined include Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Hungary, Indonesia, Pakistan and Qatar. None of the US’s NATO allies have officially joined, but several — including the UK, Norway, and Italy — sent observers to the meeting.
There is no Palestinian representative on the Board of Peace.
FCC Investigating The View
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said on Fox News last night that the FCC is investigating ABC’s The View for violating the “equal time” rule that requires broadcast TV networks and radio stations to give equal time to political candidates. There are exceptions for “bona fide” news programs and interviews.
Carr said Disney (which owns ABC) and The View have “not established that that program is in fact bona fide news, and we’ve started enforcement proceedings taking a look at that. Again, we are going to hold broadcasters accountable. The days that these legacy media broadcasters get to decide what we can say, what we can think, who we can vote for, are over.”
A lawyer who spoke to CNN said that enforcement actions are “minimal, in terms of real jeopardy,” and that if found in violation, Disney would likely have to pay a fine.
The FCC says beyond a monetary fine, the FCC can issue “admonishments, Notices of Violation (NOVs), [and] cease and desist orders,” but would only revoke a broadcast license in “extreme cases.”