9PM ET 02/20/2026 Newscast

Summary

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Fox News Hourly Update – 9PM ET 02/20/2026 Newscast

Host: Lisa Licera (and FOX News reporting team)
Date: February 21, 2026

Episode Overview

This Fox News Hourly Update brings the latest headlines from domestic politics and policy—especially President Trump’s new tariff response following a Supreme Court ruling—to major weather alerts, international legal news, tech security breaches, U.S. public opinion during a severe winter, and a NASA lunar mission update.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trump’s Response to Supreme Court Tariff Ruling

• President Trump reacted swiftly after the Supreme Court struck down his “Liberation Day” tariffs, announcing immediate action:
  • Quote: “I will sign an order to impose a 10% global tariff under section 122. Over and above are normal tariffs already being charged?”
    (Capitus Advertiser, 00:14)
  • The order was signed the same day (Lisa Licera, 00:23), with exemptions for “passenger vehicles, certain light trucks and certain aerospace products.”
• Political Reactions:
  • California Governor Gavin Newsom called for the administration to issue tariff refund checks with interest to Americans.
  • New York Governor Kathy Hochul welcomed the high court’s decision:
    • Quote: “We support this decision and hope that we can continue to find ways to work together to drive down costs, not do the opposite as we saw tariffs do in our state.”
      (Weather Reporter, 00:43)
  • House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries criticized Trump:
    • Quote: “…a crushing defeat for a wannabe king.”
      (Lisa Licera, 00:52)

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2. Northeast Bomb Cyclone Alert

• Major storm alert issued: A bomb cyclone is set to bring record snowfall and strong winds to the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.
  • “The storm will hit every major city along the i95 corridor. Areas like Boston, Cape Cod, down to New York, Long Island and the New Jersey shore are likely to get 12 to 18 inches of snow, with Philadelphia possibly getting up to a foot... blizzard conditions.”
    (Weather Reporter, 01:07–01:33)

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3. Judicial & Legislative News

• U.S. military action: Reports of a strike on a suspected drug boat in the Eastern Pacific, resulting in three deaths (Lisa Licera, 01:33).
• Louisiana’s Ten Commandments Law:
  • New developments as a federal appeals court allows a law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in public classrooms to take effect, overturning a previous 2024 court block (Lisa Licera, 01:33).

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4. Tech Espionage—Google Trade Secrets Leak

• Silicon Valley engineers accused of transferring sensitive trade secrets to Iran:
  • “The Justice Department says sisters Samane Ansaroor Gandali and Samani’s husband, Mohammad Kosravi, took sensitive information from Google and another tech company, including trade secrets, and provided them to unauthorized third parties, including including to Iran.”
    (Jessica Rosenthal / Ainsley Earhart, 02:44)
  • Details on how the accused tried to cover their tracks: searching on “how to delete information,” taking manual pictures, and storing data in preparation to fly to Iran in December 2023.
  • “In 2023, Samane’s Google Access was revoked, but she signed an affidavit at the time saying she didn’t share any proprietary information.”
    (Jessica Rosenthal, 02:44–03:28)

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5. British Royals Legal Update

• Prince Andrew (Andrew Mountbatten Windsor) update:
  • “British police have searched the former home… a day after the former prince was arrested on suspicion of misconduct while in public office... held in custody for about 12 hours.”
    (Lisa Licera, 03:28)

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6. American Experience: Extreme Winter and Climate Change Sentiment

• Polling insights into winter hardship:
  • “About 7 in 10 Americans say their home energy bills have been higher this year because of extreme cold... Four in 10... experienced a work or school cancellation... Three in 10 have had a travel delay.”
    (News Poll Reporter / Podcast Host, 03:43)
  • “80% of adults overall say they’ve been personally affected by at least one form of extreme weather in the past five years, with extreme cold the most common. Two thirds... blame climate change.”
    (03:43–04:13)

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7. NASA Lunar Mission Update

• Successful fueling test means NASA plans to send astronauts to orbit the moon next month:
  • “The first targeted Launch date is March 6th.”
    (Lisa Licera, 04:13)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• “A crushing defeat for a wannabe king.”
  – Hakeem Jeffries (00:52)
• “We support this decision and hope that we can continue to find ways to work together to drive down costs, not do the opposite as we saw tariffs do in our state.”
  – Weather Reporter on Gov. Hochul’s behalf (00:43)
• “The Justice Department says sisters... took sensitive information from Google and another tech company, including trade secrets, and provided them to unauthorized third parties, including including to Iran.”
  – Jessica Rosenthal / Ainsley Earhart (02:44)
• “80% of adults overall say they’ve been personally affected by at least one form of extreme weather in the past five years...”
  – News Poll Reporter (04:13)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

| Segment | Time | |---------------------------------------------|--------| | Trump’s Tariffs and Political Reactions | 00:02–00:52 | | Bomb Cyclone Forecast | 01:07–01:33 | | U.S. Military Action & Ten Commandments Law | 01:33–01:59 | | Silicon Valley Trade Secrets Case | 02:37–03:28 | | Prince Andrew Legal Update | 03:28 | | National Winter & Climate Change Sentiment | 03:43–04:13 | | NASA Lunar Mission Announcement | 04:13–04:34 |

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Summary prepared for listeners to quickly absorb the episode’s critical news stories and public sentiment, in the Fox News reporting style.

Transcript

[Lisa Licera]

He has alternatives. I'm Lisa Licera, Fox News. President Trump taking action after his so called Liberation Day tariffs were struck down by the Supreme Court. He made this announcement earlier today.

[Capitus Advertiser]

I will sign an order to impose a 10% global tariff under section 122. Over and above are normal tariffs already being charged?

[Lisa Licera]

That order has now been signed. Some of the items exempted include passenger vehicles, certain light trucks and certain aerospace products. California Governor Gavin Newsom calling on the Trump administration to immediately issue refund checks with interest to the American families and businesses after the Supreme Court ruling. Meanwhile, New York Governor Kathy Hochul was praised for the high court's ruling.

[Weather Reporter]

We support this decision and hope that we can continue to find ways to work together to drive down costs, not do the opposite as we saw tariffs do in our state.

[Lisa Licera]

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries called the Supreme Court ruling a crushing defeat for a wannabe king. Less than a month after the last one, another bomb cyclone set to slam the Northeast and Min Atlantic with what forecasters say could be the highest snowfall in years.

[Weather Reporter]

An updated forecast shows the storm will hit every major city along the i95 corridor. Areas like Boston, Cape Cod, down to New York, Long island and the New Jersey shore are likely to get 12 to 18 inches of snow, with Philadelphia possibly getting up to a foot. And it's not just heavy snow. The storm's likely to bring powerful 50 to 60 mile per hour winds, which could lead to blizzard conditions.

[Lisa Licera]

Fox's Carmen Roberts. The U.S. military says it struck a suspected drug boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing three men. A federal appeals court has cleared the way for a Louisiana law requiring poster side displays of the Ten Commandments in public classrooms to take effect, lifting a block put in place by a lower court in 2024. America's listening to Fox News.

[Capitus Advertiser]

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[Lisa Licera]

Engineers in Silicon Valley accused of stealing trade secrets from Google and other tech companies and handing them over to Iran.

[Jessica Rosenthal / Ainsley Earhart]

The Justice Department says sisters Samane Ansaroor Gandali and Samani's husband, Mohammad Kosravi, took sensitive information from Google and another tech company, including trade secrets, and provided them to unauthorized third parties, including including to Iran. The sisters are alleged to have transferred hundreds of files. In 2023, Samane's Google Access was revoked, but she signed an affidavit at the time saying she didn't share any proprietary information with anyone outside the company. Prosecutors say she and Kosravi searched for how to delete information stored on their devices. But then before they flew to Iran In December of 2023, investigators say she took manual pictures of the data to keep some of the images on her cell phone. Jessica Rosenthal, Fox News British police have

[Lisa Licera]

searched the former home of Andrew Mountbatten Windsor a day after the former prince was arrested on suspicion of misconduct while in public office. Andrew is back in his new home after being held in custody for about 12 hours. Americans complaining about winter weather have a

[News Poll Reporter / Podcast Host]

lot of company about 7 in 10Americans say their home energy bills have been higher this year because of extreme cold. Four in 10 in this AP north poll say they've experienced a work or school cancellation because of winter storms or extreme cold. Three in 10 have had a travel delay or cancellation. The numbers, of course, differ by region, with the Midwest reporting the most winter complaints and the west reporting the least. 80% of adults overall say they've been personally affected by at least one form of extreme weather in the past five years, with extreme cold the most common. Two thirds of those people, at least in part, blame climate change.

[Lisa Licera]

Fox's Chris Foster NASA says it's planning to send astronauts into orbit to the moon next month after the latest rocket fueling test was successful. The first targeted Launch date is March 6th. I'm Lisa Lucera and this is Fox News News.

[Jessica Rosenthal / Ainsley Earhart]

This is Ainsley Earhart. Thank you for joining me for the 52 episode podcast series the Life of

[News Poll Reporter / Podcast Host]

Jesus, a listening experience that will provide hope, comfort and understanding of the greatest story ever told. Listen and follow [e-mail] or wherever you listen to podcasts.