Early Edition: February 12, 2026

A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the last 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:

IRAN

“There was nothing definitive reached other than I insisted that negotiations with Iran continue to see whether or not a Deal can be consummated,” President Trump said yesterday on social media following his 3-hour meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In a statement, Netanyahu said he had “emphasized Israel’s security needs in the context of the negotiations” with Iran without providing any specifics. Aaron Boxerman reports for the New York Times; Barak Ravid reports for Axios. 

The Pentagon has told a second aircraft carrier strike group to prepare to deploy to the Middle East as the United States prepares for a potential attack on Iran, according to three U.S. officials. One official said the Pentagon was readying to deploy in two weeks from the U.S. East Coast. However, the officials cautioned that Trump has not yet given an official order to deploy the second carrier. Lara Seligman, Shelby Holliday, and Marcus Weisgerber report for the Wall Street Journal. 

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told the Financial Times that both the United States and Iran appeared ready to compromise to secure a nuclear deal, warning, however, that broadening the talks to cover Tehran’s ballistic missile program would risk “nothing but another war.” Fidan also said that Washington had signalled a willingness to be flexible on uranium enrichment in Iran. Andrew England and John Paul Rathbone report.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said today that the death toll from a crackdown over Iran’s nationwide protests last month has reached at least 7,002 people killed. Iran’s government offered its only death toll on Jan. 21, saying 3,117 people were killed. Jon Gambrell reports for AP News. 

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR 

A U.S. security firm, UG Solutions, that deployed armed veterans to guard Gaza aid sites as part of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation last year is now in talks with Trump’s “Board of Peace” about its next role in Gaza, the company said yesterday, adding “until the Board of Peace clarifies what its priorities are for security, UG Solutions is planning internally for a range of possibilities.” UG Solutions faced criticism from the U.N. over the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians trying to reach aid sites in areas where the Israeli military was deployed and opened fire. Pesha Magid and Rami Ayyub report for Reuters.  

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

Nearly 300,000 people were left without electricity and water supply in Ukraine’s southern city of Odesa after a Russian attack overnight, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said today. Reuters reports. 

OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, Interior Minister Anas Hasan Khattab, and Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani were the targets of five foiled assassination attempts last year, according to a U.N. report released yesterday. The report said al-Sharaa was targeted once in northern Aleppo and once in southern Daraa by a group called Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah, which was assessed to be a front for the Islamic State group. Edith M. Lederer reports for AP News.  

Most of the 15 Afghan migrants who were killed off the Greek Island of Chios last week when their dinghy collided with a coast guard vessel died of head injuries, not from drowning, autopsy results seen by Reuters show. A criminal investigation has been opened into the Feb. 3 collision. The coast guard said the migrant boat ignored its warning to stop, adding that the dinghy abruptly changed course and hit the patrol vessel. Testimonies from five survivors contradict this account. Yannis Souliotis reports. 

TECH DEVELOPMENTS

Anthropic’s latest models display some vulnerability to being used in “heinous crimes,” including the development of chemical weapons, the company said in a new sabotage report released on Tuesday. Researchers noted that in certain test environments, Claude Opus 4.6 appears “more willing to manipulate or deceive other participants, compared to prior models.” Madison Mills and Ashley Gold report for Axios. 

Anthropic is putting $20 million into a super PAC to support federal candidates who favor stronger AI regulations, directly challenging super PACs backed by OpenAI’s leaders and investors. Theodore Schleifer reports for the New York Times. 

U.S. CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC OPERATIONS 

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said yesterday that he wanted Venezuela’s government to go much further in opening its economy to foreign energy companies, after he arrived in Caracas for a three-day visit. Wright met with Venezuelan Interim President Delcy Rodríguez yesterday and is set to travel with her today to see oil producing operations firsthand. Simon Romero reports for the New York Times. 

Top Senate Democrats introduced legislation yesterday calling on the White House to submit independent accounting of the proceeds from Venezuelan oil, arguing that the offshore arrangement is unregulated and susceptible to corruption. “The American people deserve to know what’s happening with the money received from these Venezuelan oil payments and where — and to whom — they are going,” Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said yesterday. Carl Hulse and Robert Jimison report for the New York Times.  

U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is leading a U.S. delegation to the Munich Security Conference this week. U.S. officials said that Rubio plans to take a less contentious but philosophically similar approach to Vice President JD Vance’s speech last year when he accused Europe of imperiling Western Civilization. Officials also said that Rubio intends to focus on areas of cooperation, including in the Middle East, Ukraine, and China during his address on Saturday. The State Department offered no details about Rubio’s Munich trip, adding only that he will also visit Slovakia and Hungary in the coming days. Matthew Lee reports for AP News. 

The State Department has started paying Afghans to “self-deport” as it attempts to close former U.S. Army base camp As Sayliyah (CAS) in Qatar by the end of March, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs S. Paul Kapur told lawmakers yesterday. Kapur said he believed around 150 people had already accepted the payments. More than 1,100 people have been held at CAS since at least early last year when Trump halted resettlement for Afghans who feared retribution from the Taliban for their links to the U.S. military. Simon Lewis reports for Reuters.  

U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS

ICE grew by 36 percent last year, while the overall federal work force shrank by 10 percent, the New York Times found. Within ICE, deportation officers and other general enforcement roles grew by 69 percent. Agencies that run other parts of the immigration system contracted: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services shrank by 11 percent and the Executive Office for Immigration Review, which adjudicates immigration cases, lost about 20 percent of its staff. Andrea Fuller, Albert Sun, and Eileen Sullivan report.

Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino praised the federal agent who shot Marimar Martinez in Chicago during an immigration crackdown last year, according to evidence released yesterday. The evidence also included an agent’s hand-drawn diagram of the scene used to allege how Martinez “boxed in” federal agents, which her attorney said included vehicles that “don’t exist.” Martinez’s attorneys are pursuing a complaint against the Homeland Security Department for lying about Martinez after the shooting, including labelling her a “domestic terrorist” and accusing her of having a history of “doxxing federal agents.” Sophia Tareen reports for AP News.  

U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS  

The House yesterday voted 219-211 to rescind tariffs imposed on Canada last year, with six Republicans joining nearly all Democrats in backing the resolution. Despite succeeding in the House, the measure is likely to be vetoed by Trump. Robert Jimison reports for the New York Times.  

The House also voted 218-213 to approve the SAVE America Act, with one Democrat joining Republicans to back the measure. The action would require proof of U.S. citizenship in the November midterm elections. David Morgan reports for Reuters. 

Attorney General Pam Bondi testified yesterday in a four-hour hearing before the House Judiciary Committee, fielding questions on pending investigations into Trump’s adversaries, immigration enforcement, and documents released as part of the most recent tranche of Epstein files. Bondi refused to apologize to survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse who were sitting in the room and instead demanded that Democrats apologize to Trump. Glenn Thrush reports for the New York Times.

Senators yesterday emerged from a briefing from FAA administrator Bryan Bedford demanding more information on what led to the airspace closure in El Paso. The Trump administration’s official line, from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, is that the closure happened after the FAA and Defense Department “acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion.” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said yesterday, “the details of what exactly occurred over El Paso are unclear,” adding “which is why I’m requesting a classified briefing to get further details.” Hans Nichols reports for Axios.  

The abrupt closure of El Paso’s airspace on Tuesday was caused by Customs and Border Protection officials deploying an anti-drone laser on loan from the Pentagon without giving aviation officials enough time to assess the risks to commercial aircraft, according to several sources. Sources said that CBP officials thought they were firing on a cartel drone, but it turned out to be a party balloon. Having announced a 10 day closure of the airspace, the Federal Aviation Administration lifted the pause yesterday at the direction of the White House. Two sources said that the FAA had previously warned the Pentagon that if they were not given sufficient time and information to carry out risk assessments, they would shut down the airspace. Karoun Demirjian, Eric Schmitt, Kate Kelly, Hamed Aleaziz, and Luke Broadwater report for the New York Times. 

Gov. Kevin Stitt (R-OK) told Democratic governors yesterday that Trump would now invite them to an annual gathering of the nation’s governors at the White House on Friday. In a social media post, Trump denied ever seeking to bar all Democrats from attending the event. Trump did, however, confirm that he had personally blocked Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD) and Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO) from a separate black-tie dinner that would take place after the meeting because he felt they were “not worthy of being there.” Chris Cameron and Tyler Pager report for the New York Times.  

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS 

Trump was awarded the “Undisputed Champion of Beautiful Clean Coal” trophy during an event at the White House yesterday celebrating Trump’s signing of an executive order directing the Pentagon to procure electricity from coal-fired power plants.  Rebecca Falconer reports for Axios.

Military leaders from 34 countries in the Western Hemisphere gathered in Washington yesterday to discuss a wide range of security issues, Pentagon officials said. The meeting was convened by Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who led discussions on the Trump administration’s new national security strategy and prioritization of the Western Hemisphere. Eric Schmitt and John Ismay report for the New York Times.

The Homeland Security Department has hired a social media manager for a key communications job, despite posts he made on Labor Department media accounts that raised internal alarms about possible white-nationalist messaging. While DHS has not publicly confirmed Peyton Rollins’ new position as digital communication director, he is listed on the Homeland Security staff directory, reviewed by New York Times. Evan Gorelick reports.

Federal judges in upstate New York yesterday appointed Donald T. Kinsella as a new U.S. attorney. Hours later, Kinsella said he received an email from a White House official telling him he had been removed from the post. “Judges don’t pick U.S. Attorneys, @POTUS does,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a social media post. “See Article II of our Constitution. You are fired, Donald Kinsella.” The judges had appointed Kinsella after the Trump administration’s nominee, John A. Sarcone III, was found to be serving unlawfully. Jonah E. Bromwich reports for the New York Times.  

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION

A federal judge yesterday blocked the Trump administration from transferring 20 former death row inmates to a notorious maximum security prison in Colorado, finding that Trump and Bondi had dictated the decision before the men had a chance to contest it. Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein report for POLITICO.