Today is Tuesday, Feb. 17, the 48th day of 2026. There are 317 days left in the year. Today in history: On Feb. 17, 2013, Danica Patrick won the Daytona 500 pole, becoming the first woman to secure the top spot for any Sprint Cup race. Also on this date: In 1801, the U.S. House of Representatives broke an electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, electing Jefferson president; Burr became vice president.
A federal judge has dismissed the criminal cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, concluding that the prosecutor who brought the charges at President Donald Trump's urging was illegally appointed by the Justice Department. The rulings from U.S. District Cameron McGowan Currie amount to a stunning rebuke of the Trump administration's efforts to target Trump's political opponents as well as its legal maneuvering to hastily install a loyalist prosecutor willing to file the cases.
People in some U.S. states will be able to buy groceries with federally funded SNAP benefits Saturday while those in other states were still waiting for November food benefits that had been delayed by a protracted legal battle over the federal government shutdown. The Trump administration initially said last month that it would not fund Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for November because of the U.S. government shutdown.
"The court's interpretation of Rule 3.1(c) as including an unwritten 'how' requirement was arbitrary and improperly reads in a requirement that has no support in the plain language of the rule."
"Why would Arkansas pass an obviously unconstitutional law? Most likely because the state is part of a coordinated strategy among several states to inject Christian religious doctrine into public-school classrooms."
"Since the ruling, we are really encouraged. But we haven't heard anything from the NIH about our grants being reinstated, and we don't have a window into what that process looks like."
Even after Milwaukee County prosecutors filed identity theft and witness intimidation charges last week against the other man, Demetric D. Scott, a lifelong resident of Wisconsin, the Department of Homeland Security left online a news release accusing Mr. Morales Reyes of making the threats.
The ruling underscores systemic issues in workers' compensation, highlighting delays, denials, and economic stress faced by injured construction workers, particularly in high-risk environments.
"The Guidance states that it does not attempt to impose new legal obligations on employers with respect to any aspect of workplace harassment law, including gender identity discrimination..."
