ECM World Watch: national and global news
February 16, 2026 (San Diego) -- As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to a variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:
U.S.
Energy and environment
- Trump Administration Erases the Government’s Power to Fight Climate Change (New York Times)
- Less than 14% of those arrested by ICE in Trump's 1st year back in office had violent criminal records, document shows (CBS 8)
- The Trump Administration exempts new nuclear reactors from environmental review (NPR)
- The Trump administration has secretly rewritten nuclear safety rules(NPR)
Immigration and ICE
- Six Prosecutors Quit Over Push to Investigate ICE Shooting Victim’s Widow (New York Times)
- Judge Restricts Immigration Agents’ Actions Toward Minnesota Protesters (New York Times)
- 'Huge news!' Expert cheers as judge shuts down Trump's scheme to arrest thousands (Raw Story)
- Immigrant whose skull was broken during ICE arrest says beating was unprovoked (NPR)
- Minnesota shooting of Venezuelan man is the latest where video evidence contradicts ICE accounts (AP)
Epstein files
Abuse of power
- President’s Pardon Power To Be Curbed Under New Proposal (Newsweek)
- Grand jury refuses to indict Democratic lawmakers in connection with illegal military orders video (AP)
WORLD
- Rubio's speech to European allies takes softer tone but sticks to Trump's firm stance (AP)
- Poland to probe possible links between Epstein and Russia, PM Tusk says (Reuters)
- U.K. police investigating Peter Mandelson over Jeffrey Epstein email leak claims (NPR)
- US shoots down Iranian drone that 'aggressively' approached an aircraft carrier, military says (AP)
- Mexico state steps up health screening in schools as measles cases grow nationwide (AP)
- 5 European nations say Navalny was poisoned by the Kremlin (NPR)
For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.
U.S.
Energy and environment
Trump Administration Erases the Government’s Power to Fight Climate Change (New York Times)
President Trump on Thursday announced he was erasing the scientific finding that climate change endangers human health and the environment, ending the federal government’s legal authority to control the pollution that is dangerously heating the planet.
Less than 14% of nearly 400,000 immigrants arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in President Trump's first year back in the White House had charges or convictions for violent criminal offenses, according to an internal Department of Homeland Security document obtained by CBS News.
The Trump Administration exempts new nuclear reactors from environmental review (NPR)
The Department of Energy announced the change Monday in a notice in the Federal Register. It said the department would begin excluding advanced nuclear reactors from major requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The act calls on federal agencies to consider the environment when undertaking new projects and programs. The law also requires extensive reporting on how proposed programs might impact local ecosystems. That documentation, known as an Environmental Impact Statement, and a second lesser type of analysis, known as an Environmental Assessment, provide an opportunity for the public to review and comment on potential projects in their community.
The Trump administration has secretly rewritten nuclear safety rules(NPR)
The Trump administration has overhauled a set of nuclear safety directives and shared them with the companies it is charged with regulating, without making the new rules available to the public, according to documents obtained exclusively by NPR…. The orders slash hundreds of pages of requirements for security at the reactors. They also loosen protections for groundwater and the environment and eliminate at least one key safety role. The new orders cut back on requirements for keeping records, and they raise the amount of radiation a worker can be exposed to before an official accident investigation is triggered.
Immigration and ICE actions
Six Prosecutors Quit Over Push to Investigate ICE Shooting Victim’s Widow (New York Times)
Joseph H. Thompson, a career federal prosecutor who was the acting U.S. attorney for Minnesota last year, was among those who resigned as the Justice Department sought to examine the woman’s supposed ties to activist groups.
Judge Restricts Immigration Agents’ Actions Toward Minnesota Protesters (New York Times)
A federal judge ordered agents not to retaliate against people “engaging in peaceful and unobstructive protest activity” in the state and not to stop drivers who are not “forcibly obstructing” officers.
'Huge news!' Expert cheers as judge shuts down Trump's scheme to arrest thousands (Raw Story)
President Donald Trump's mass immigrant arrest scheme suffered a huge setback on Wednesday, as a federal judge in Minnesota ordered a halt to any arrest and detention of lawful refugees not accused of committing crimes.
Immigrant whose skull was broken during ICE arrest says beating was unprovoked (NPR)
The officers told nurses Castañeda Mondragón "purposefully ran headfirst into a brick wall," an account his caregivers immediately doubted. A CT scan showed fractures to the front, back and both sides of his skull — injuries a doctor told AP were inconsistent with a fall. "There was never a wall," Castañeda Mondragón said in Spanish, recalling ICE officers striking him with the same metal rod used to break the windows of the vehicle he was in.
Minnesota shooting of Venezuelan man is the latest where video evidence contradicts ICE accounts (AP)
Friday into two immigration officers who appeared to have made untruthful statements under oath about a shooting in Minneapolis last month. / It is among at least five shootings in which initial descriptions by the immigration officials were later contradicted by video evidence.
Epstein files
Epstein accusers say Pam Bondi turned her back 'on survivors everywhere' *USA Today)
... Three women who say they are survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's alleged sex trafficking slammed Attorney General Pam Bondi over the Justice Department's release of its Epstein files, days after she defended her actions during an explosive congressional hearing... During the hearing, the three women were seated directly behind Bondi, among others who say they were victims of sexual abuse and trafficking by Epstein. The attorney general refused to turn around and acknowledge the group when asked to do so. At another point, the group of nearly a dozen all raised their hands when asked by a member of Congress whether they were waiting to be contacted by the Justice Department to speak about their allegations against Epstein.
Abuse of power
President’s Pardon Power To Be Curbed Under New Proposal (Newsweek)
A group of Democrats are seeking to curb the president's pardoning powers by amending the U.S. Constitution. Posting on X, California Democrat Mike Levin issued a statement about a constitutional amendment he is co-sponsoring "to reform the pardon power" by banning self-pardons, barring pardons for family members, senior officials and campaign staff and blocking pardons "used to protect the president's personal or financial interests."
Grand jury refuses to indict Democratic lawmakers in connection with illegal military orders video (AP)
A grand jury in Washington refused Tuesday to indict Democratic lawmakers in connection with a video in which they urged U.S. military members to resist “illegal orders,” according to a person familiar with the matter. The Justice Department opened an investigation into the video featuring Democratic Sens. Mark Kelly and Elissa Slotkin and four other Democratic lawmakers urging U.S. service members to follow established military protocols and reject orders they believe to be unlawful. All the lawmakers previously served in the military or at intelligence agencies.
WORLD
Rubio's speech to European allies takes softer tone but sticks to Trump's firm stance (AP)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered a reassuring message to America’s allies on Saturday, striking a less aggressive but still firm tone about the administration’s intent to reshape the trans-Atlantic alliance and push its priorities after more than a year of President Donald Trump’s often-hostile rhetoric toward traditional allies. Reminding his audience at the annual Munich Security Conference about America’s centuries-long roots in Europe, Rubio said the United States would remain forever tied to the continent even as it pushes for changes in the relationship and the international institutions that have been the bulwark of the post-World War II world order.
Poland to probe possible links between Epstein and Russia, PM Tusk says (Reuters)
Poland will launch an investigation into possible links between the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Russian intelligence, as well as any impact on Poland, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday…. "More and more leads, more and more information, and more and more commentary in the global press all relate to the suspicion that this unprecedented paedophilia scandal was co-organised by Russian intelligence services," Tusk said….."This can only mean that they also possess compromising materials against many leaders still active today."
U.K. police investigating Peter Mandelson over Jeffrey Epstein email leak claims (NPR)
Peter Mandelson was forwarding sensitive government emails to Epstein, not just sensitive U.K. government emails. He was leaking U.K. and U.S. government secrets, essentially, to Wall Street. / Police are investigating whether that was criminal
US shoots down Iranian drone that 'aggressively' approached an aircraft carrier, military says (AP)
A U.S. Navy fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone that was approaching the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, U.S. Central Command said Tuesday, threatening to ramp up tensions as the Trump administration warns of possible military action to get Iran to the negotiating table.
Mexico state steps up health screening in schools as measles cases grow nationwide (AP)
Mexico’s most populous state said Monday it was stepping up health screening at schools and recommended the use of face masks for students and staff as the country confronts a growing measles outbreak. The decision by Mexico state followed similar measures announced last week in the western state of Jalisco, site of the country’s largest outbreak, where masks are now required in the schools of its capital Guadalajara, Mexico’s second-largest city.
5 European nations say Navalny was poisoned by the Kremlin (NPR)
The foreign ministries of the U.K., France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands said analysis of samples from Navalny, who died two years ago, "have conclusively confirmed the presence of epibatidine." It is a toxin found in poison dart frogs …The countries said in a joint statement that "Russia had the means, motive and opportunity to administer this poison." They said they were reporting Russia to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for a breach of the Chemical Weapons Convention….. Navalny, who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests as President Vladimir Putin's fiercest foe, died in the Arctic penal colony in February 2024. He was serving a 19-year sentence that he believed to be politically motivated.