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.

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)

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)

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).

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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 |

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