Here are today's featured stories, posted by DU members and curated by the Administrators. More news items can be found in our Latest Breaking News forum, and for all the most up-to-the-minute stories that are being talked about by DU members, visit the Latest Discussions page.
February 24, 2026
Education Department hands off more of its responsibilities to other U.S. agencies
Feb. 23, 2026 4:30 PM PT WASHINGTON The Education Department is handing over more of its programs and grants to other federal agencies, announcing a pair of new agreements Monday that move the Trump administration closer to its goal of shutting down the department. Under one interagency agreement, the Health and Human Services Department will take over grant programs that send millions of dollars to schools for safety and community engagement efforts. Another calls for the State Department ...
Go to discussionUS pulls nonessential staff from Beirut embassy as tensions with Iran ratchet up
Mon, February 23, 2026 at 4:20 PM EST The United States has ordered nonessential personnel and their family members to leave its embassy in Beirut, a senior State Department official told Military Times on Monday, as Washington continues a massive military buildup in the Middle East. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information, said the drawdown is a prudent step to reduce the American footprint in the region while President Donald Trump mulls a str ...
Go to discussionExclusive: Justice Department withheld and removed some Epstein files related to Trump
The Justice Department has withheld some Epstein files related to allegations that President Trump sexually abused a minor, an NPR investigation finds. It also removed some documents from the public database where accusations against Jeffrey Epstein also mention Trump. Some files have not been made public despite a law mandating their release. These include what appears to be more than 50 pages of FBI interviews, and notes from conversations with a woman who accused Trump of sexual abuse decade ...
Go to discussionA new lawsuit alleges DHS illegally tracked and intimidated observers
Updated February 23, 2026 3:06 PM ET Last month, Colleen Fagan was observing an immigration enforcement operation at an apartment complex in Portland, Maine, when federal agents scanned her face with a smartphone and appeared to record her car license plate number. In a social media video she recorded, Fagan can be heard asking why the agent was taking her information. What the agent said next made the video go viral. "Cause we have a nice little database," the masked agent said. &qu ...
Go to discussionNewly unearthed DEA document from Epstein files raises question: Did Epstein facilitate drug trafficking?
February 23, 2026 / 6:20 PM EST Jeffrey Epstein was the subject of a previously undisclosed U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency investigation a five-year-plus probe targeting him and 14 other individuals for suspicious money transfers possibly linked to illegal narcotics, a newly uncovered document in the Department of Justice's Epstein files reveals. "DEA reporting indicates the above individuals are involved in illegitimate wire transfers which are tied to illicit drug and/or prostitution ac ...
Go to discussion