The Seattle Seahawks, Super Bowl Winners, Go Up for Sale

Summary

WSJ What’s News – PM Edition (Feb 18, 2026)

Episode Theme:
This episode provides a fast-paced roundup of key business and geopolitical stories, focusing on shocking leadership investments in health care, a high-profile social media lawsuit, movement on Moderna’s flu shot, a simmering arms deal with Taiwan, the U.S. withdrawal from Syria, and—headline of the day—the Seattle Seahawks’ impending record-breaking sale after their Super Bowl win.

---

Main Stories and Discussion Highlights

---

1. Zuckerberg Testifies in Social Media Addiction Lawsuit

• [00:32–01:04]
• Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified at a pivotal trial in Los Angeles. Meta (formerly Facebook) and Google face one of over 3,000 lawsuits accusing them of making social media addictive for teens.
  • Key points:
    • Plaintiffs claim platforms actively seek teen attention, leading to addiction.
    • Zuckerberg defended Meta’s practices, stating:
      • “Meta's growth targets reflect an aim to give users something useful, not addict them, and that the company doesn't try to attract children as users.” (Alex Osila, 01:00)
• Tone: Defensive—Zuckerberg distances company goals from addiction accusations.

---

2. FDA Reconsiders Moderna’s mRNA-Based Flu Vaccine

• [01:04–04:09]
• Guest: Peter Loftus (WSJ)
• Discussion:
  • The FDA reverses its earlier decision and will now review Moderna’s new flu shot.
  • Moderna’s vaccine is based on mRNA (the same technology as its COVID-19 vaccine).
  • Why the reversal?
    • The original Moderna trial didn’t compare favorably to the high-dose flu vaccine, recommended for seniors.
    • Moderna adjusted its approach after meeting FDA officials, proposing to seek conditional approval for those over 65 and pledging further studies.
  • Implications:
    • Moderna faces a steep revenue decline as demand for COVID shots dries up; a flu vaccine approval could offset those losses.
  • Notable quote:
    • “The promise of mRNA technology is that things can be modified more quickly and be closer to the most recently circulating strain.” (Peter Loftus, 02:19)
    • “Now they're back on track and if the FDA does approve it, theoretically they would have a supply available for this upcoming flu season.” (Peter Loftus, 03:51)

---

3. New Acting Director at the CDC

• [04:10–04:57]
• Jay Bhattacharya is named acting director of the CDC by the Trump administration.
  • Background:
    • Economist and medical doctor.
    • Critic of school closures and masking.
    • Ally of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s health movement.
  • The CDC has lacked a Senate-confirmed leader since August.

---

4. Private Healthcare Investments by UnitedHealth Chair

• [05:30–08:52]
• Guest: Mark Mermont (WSJ Senior Editor)
• Investigative scoop:
  • Stephen Hemsley, UnitedHealth’s leader, privately invested in healthcare startups via Cloverfields Capital (founded 2019).
  • Some companies were UnitedHealth partners or competitors.
    • Investments included autism therapy, vaccine administrators, and employer health platforms.
    • Details were unannounced, and shareholders were not told.
  • Possible conflict of interest?
    • Per UnitedHealth: Hemsley “abides by all of its disclosure and conflict of interest policies.”
    • Common industry practice is board oversight and public disclosure—in this case, Hemsley’s actions were quieter.
    • Not until returning as CEO in 2025 did Hemsley transfer these holdings to a trust and recuse himself from relevant discussions.
  • Notable quote:
    • “What we found is that there's this completely different side of Cloverfields which was really doing this venture capital investing in the healthcare industry on the quiet.” (Mark Mermont, 06:06)
    • “Ethics specialists we talked to said that … the same conflicts of interest existed in the years when he was chairman of the board … and there were no such trust arrangements at that point.” (Mark Mermont, 08:29)

---

5. Fed Minutes & Market Reaction

• [09:00]
  • Fed notes show little interest in near-term rate cuts.
  • Tech stocks rose following the news; NASDAQ closed up 0.8%.

---

6. U.S. Arms Deal to Taiwan in Limbo

• [09:00–11:00]
• Reporter: Alex Leary (WSJ White House Reporter)
• Key Details:
  • A major new U.S. arms package for Taiwan is uncertain, with internal debate in the Trump administration about how it might impact President Trump’s upcoming visit to Beijing.
  • China exerts pressure; arms sales figured prominently in a recent call between Trump and Xi Jinping.
  • Notable quote:
    • “The uncertain nature of this next arms deal shows that President Trump is weighing carefully how much to push Beijing and his relationship with Xi Jinping over longtime support for Taiwan.” (Alex Leary, 09:38)
  • Trump is attempting a diplomatic balancing act to maintain trade stability and U.S. support for Taiwan and allies.

---

7. U.S. Ending Military Presence in Syria

• [11:00–11:38]
  • The U.S. will withdraw its last 1,000 troops from Syria over the next two months, ending a decade-long operation.
  • Triggered by the near-collapse of Kurdish-led forces and increased Syrian government control.

---

8. Seattle Seahawks—Super Bowl Champs Up for Sale

• [11:38–12:35]
• Fresh off a Super Bowl victory, the Seattle Seahawks are now officially for sale.
• The team, held in trust after Paul Allen’s death, has operated under an unusual ownership arrangement that the NFL has now moved to resolve.
• Key points:
  • Sale expected to fetch a record-breaking price, possibly more than $6 billion.
  • Marks the end of an era and a major event in sports and business.
• Memorable moment:
  • “This isn't any old victory parade. It's the Seahawks being cheered in Seattle last week after winning the Super Bowl. And now these champions are officially available to the highest bidder.” (Alex Osila, 11:38)

---

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “Meta's growth targets reflect an aim to give users something useful, not addict them, and that the company doesn't try to attract children as users.” — Alex Osila, [01:00]
• “The promise of mRNA technology is that things can be modified more quickly and be closer to the most recently circulating strain.” — Peter Loftus, [02:19]
• “What we found is that there's this completely different side of Cloverfields which was really doing this venture capital investing in the healthcare industry on the quiet.” — Mark Mermont, [06:06]
• “The uncertain nature of this next arms deal shows that President Trump is weighing carefully how much to push Beijing and his relationship with Xi Jinping over longtime support for Taiwan.” — Alex Leary, [09:38]
• “This isn't any old victory parade. It's the Seahawks being cheered in Seattle last week after winning the Super Bowl. And now these champions are officially available to the highest bidder.” — Alex Osila, [11:38]

---

Episode Flow & Tone

• The episode maintains an authoritative, informative newsroom style, quickly cycling through headline stories with direct quotes from experts and reporting staff.
• Major global and business trends are covered with contextual insights for investors, policy watchers, and those tracking tech regulation, pharmaceutical innovation, U.S. foreign policy, and sports business.

---

For those who haven’t listened:
This episode delivers a rapid-fire briefing on pivotal stories shaping business and world affairs—Zuckerberg on the legal hot seat, Moderna’s regulatory revival, high-level intrigue at UnitedHealth, U.S.-China-Taiwan tension, America’s military retreat from Syria, and the unprecedented sale of an NFL champion franchise. Each story is explored concisely with expert insight and direct reporting.

Transcript

[Vanguard Announcer]

Voices are powerful things. At Vanguard, investors are also owners and their voices are heard. And now with investor choice, they have an even greater voice when investing. It's just another reason millions of investors have turned to Vanguard for 50 years. 50 million investors, 50 million voices Vanguard. Vanguard is owned by its funds, which are owned by Vanguard's fund shareholder clients. To learn more, visit vanguard.com, all investing is subject to risk. Vanguard Marketing Corporation Distributor figure as of January 2025.

[Alex Osila]

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies at a landmark social media trial. Plus, the leader of UnitedHealth privately invested millions of dollars in companies, including firms that compete with UnitedHealth.

[Mark Mermont]

His investment company, which is called Cloverfields Capital, has this public facing side. They invest in publicly traded stocks. What we found is that there's this completely different side of Cloverfields which was really doing this venture capital investing and the health care industry on the quiet.

[Alex Osila]

And who wants to buy a Super bowl champion team? It's Wednesday, February 18th. I'm Alex Osila for the Wall Street Journal. This is the PM edition of what's news, the top headlines and business stories that move the world today. Metta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the stand today in Los Angeles. Metta, along with Google, are the defendants in a lawsuit and it's the first of 3,000 cases against them, saying the companies should be held liable for making social media addictive for teens. Zuckerberg faced questions about his company's efforts to get more of its users time and attention. In his testimony, Zuckerberg said Meta's growth targets reflect an aim to give users something useful, not addict them, and that the company doesn't try to attract children as users. The Food and Drug Administration said it would review Moderna's application to sell a new seasonal flu shot. It's a reversal from earlier this month when the FDA surprised the company saying it wouldn't review Moderna's flu shot application. I'm joined now by Peter Loftus, who covers the pharmaceutical industry for the Journal. Peter, what's different about Moderna's proposed flu shot versus the standard dose flu shot?

[Peter Loftus]

It's based on this messenger RNA technology and that's the same technology Moderna used to make the COVID 19 shots. The promise of MRNA technology is that things can be modified more quickly and be closer to the most recently circulating strain.

[Alex Osila]

So why did the FDA reverse course here and now say that they will look at Moderna's application?

[Peter Loftus]

So the FDA said that the main study that tested Moderna's flu vaccine wasn't an adequate or well controlled trial. Moderna tested its vaccine against a standard dose flu vaccine and they did show that it had advantages. However, in the US people over 65 are recommended to get a high dose vaccine. This original trial did not compare it to the high dose vaccine. So Moderna had a meeting with the FDA and they proposed changing their approach to address some of the concerns. And one of them was that they would seek a conditional approval of its use in people's 65 and older and do another study that compares their vaccine against the high dose vaccine.

[Alex Osila]

So of course the FDA reviewing Moderna's application doesn't necessarily mean approving it. But what does this mean for Moderna?

[Peter Loftus]

The demand for COVID 19 vaccines has really plummeted and so they're not making as much money on their initial product. They would like to have new products. They initially it looked like there was gonna be this big delay in getting another product out. Now they're back on track and if the FDA does approve it, theoretically they would have a supply available for this upcoming flu season.

[Alex Osila]

That was Wall Street Journal reporter Peter Loftus. Thanks, Peter.

[Peter Loftus]

Thanks for having me.

[Alex Osila]

Moderna shares rose about 6% today. In other health news, the Journal has learned that the Trump administration named a new acting director of the cdc. It's Jay Bhattacharya, who has been leading the National Institutes of Health. The CDC hasn't had a Senate confirmed leader since August. Bhattacharya, an economist and medical doctor, gained prominence during the COVID pandemic. He was a critic of school closures and masking and he's been a steady ally of Robert F. Kennedy Jr's Make America Healthy Again movement. Coming up, why a weapons deal between the US And Taiwan is up in the air. Plus what minutes from the most recent Fed meeting show about the prospect of an interest rate. Cut those stories and more after the break.

[Vanguard Announcer]

Voices are powerful things at Vanguard. Investors are also owners and their voices are heard. And now with investor choice, they have an even greater voice when investing. It's just another reason millions of investors have turned to Vanguard for 50 years. 50 million investors, 50 million voices. Vanguard Vanguard is owned by its funds, which are owned by Vanguard's fund shareholder clients. To learn more, visit vanguard.com all investing is subject to risk. Vanguard Marketing Corporation Distributor figure as of January 2025.

[Alex Osila]

Stephen Hemsley, the leader of the health conglomerate UnitedHealth Group, has for years made private investments in healthcare startups. That includes firms that do business with or compete against UnitedHealth. While he served as board chairman, the Investments were part of an investment firm that Hemsley founded in 2019 and still owns. They weren't announced by the healthcare companies that he was investing in, and UnitedHealth never told its shareholders about them. UnitedHealth says Hemsley abides by all of its disclosure and conflict of interest policies. For more on the investments, I'm joined now by WSJ Senior editor Mark Mermont. Mark, what are some of the kinds of companies that Hemsley's firm was investing in?

[Mark Mermont]

His investment company, which is called Cloverfields Capital, has this public facing side that they disclose and FCC filings that they are an investment firm and they invest in publicly traded stocks like Otis Worldwide or Alphabet, which is the parent company of Google. What we found is that there's this completely different side of Cloverfields which was really doing this venture capital investing in the healthcare industry. On the quiet one of them was a company that provided autism therapy services. Another one was a vaccine administration firm that UnitedHealth paid for its services. Another one was a company that provides a digital health space for employers to connect employees to potential healthcare options. And that company actually competes with a similar offering from UnitedHealth.

[Alex Osila]

Hemsley founded Cloverfields in 2019 when he was the chair of UnitedHealth's board. And board members of large public companies do sometimes hold investments in other companies in the same industries. So is there a conflict of interest here?

[Mark Mermont]

A lot of board members of publicly traded companies that invest in small startups or other companies in that industry, these sorts of situations can be managed, typically through the close board oversight. Board members typically disclose every investment before they make such an investment and get approval for them. Oftentimes, companies voluntarily disclose what is going on so that the public at least knows about it. One of UnitedHealthcare's big rivals, a company called Humana, its chairman of the board has been a longtime private equity executive and they disclose his company invests in healthcare. And if you go to the private equity firm's website, you can see which investments they've made. What has Hemsley said he hasn't said anything about it. UnitedHealth said Hemsley abides by all of its policies. They admitted that he had made these healthcare investments, said in most cases that he owned less than 5% of these companies and that he put them into an independent trust that was managed outside of his control when he became CEO again in May of 2025, and that he recused himself from any discussions or internal corporate decisions around his personal health care investments. Ethics specialists we talked to said that that improves the situation but they also suggested that the same conflicts of interest existed in the years when he was chairman of the board of UnitedHealth and doing these investments. And there were no such trust arrangements at that point.

[Alex Osila]

That was WSJ senior editor Mark Mermont. Thanks, Mark.

[Mark Mermont]

Glad to be here.

[Alex Osila]

The minutes from the most recent Federal Reserve meeting were published today after their customary three week lag. And they show that the Fed doesn't have much appetite for lowering interest rates anytime soon. In US Markets, tech stocks are shining again. The NASDAQ led the gains in the major indexes closing up 0.8%. We're exclusively reporting that a major US arms deal for Taiwan is in limbo. Some people in the Trump administration are worried that a new weapons sale would derail President Trump's visit to Beijing set for April. White House reporter Alex Leary says China has waged a pressure campaign on the arms sale.

[Alex Leary]

The uncertain nature of this next arms deal shows that President Trump is weighing carefully how much to push Beijing and his relationship with Xi Jinping over longtime support for Taiwan. Certainly he's contemplating President Xi's pressure not to make it go through. President Trump and Xi Jinping had a phone call on February 4th. And according to the Chinese side, arms sales to Taiwan were a major topic of discussion. We know that Beijing was angered over the December sale of weapons to Taiwan, some $11 billion, a huge package. They were angered over that. And future sales which are being contemplated by the US Is not sitting well with Xi Jinping who wants to squeeze off Taiwan and its support from us.

[Alex Osila]

Alex says President Trump is trying to pull off a balancing act.

[Alex Leary]

He's not saying that China isn't a threat. And yet Trump wants to deal with China. He wants to preserve a trade truce and build on that with China. And that's going to be a major topic in their summit in, in Beijing in April. So that's, that's kind of his top priority here. Certainly a bipartisan group in Congress wants him to be even harder on China and especially to support Taiwan. And he's also causing some friction with some of US Allies that want to see the US Lead the charge against China.

[Alex Osila]

In another exclusive, we're reporting that the U.S. is withdrawing all of its roughly 1,000 troops from Syria, ending a decade long military operation in the country. The military would finish its withdrawal over the next two months. The Trump administration has decided that a US Military presence in Syria is no longer necessary. Two US Officials said that was due to the near collapse of Kurdish led forces that were the main US Partner there against Islamic State. One senior official said the Syrian government was taking the lead on counterterrorism operations. A spokesperson for U.S. central Command declined to comment. And finally, This isn't any old victory parade. It's the Seahawks being cheered in Seattle last week after winning the Super Bowl. And now these champions are officially available to the highest bidder. The team was supposed to be sold off after the death of its owner, Microsoft co founder Paul Allen, in 2018. Since then, it's been in a trust overseen by his sister, an unusual ownership structure that's out of compliance with NFL rules. Under pressure from the NFL, the team's sale is now finally underway and a record breaking sale price of more than 6 million billion could be in store. And that's what's news for this Wednesday afternoon. Additional sound today from Reuters. Today's show is produced by Pierre Bienname, Anthony Bancy and Alexis Moore with supervising producer Tali Arbel. I'm Alex Osola for the Wall Street Journal. We'll be back with a new show tomorrow morning. Thanks for listening.

[Vanguard Announcer]

Voices are powerful things at Vanguard. Investors are also owners and their voices are heard. And now with investor choice, they have an even greater voice when investing. It's just another reason millions of investors have turned to Vanguard for 50 years. 50 million investors, 50 million voices. Vanguard Vanguard is owned by its funds, which are owned by Vanguard's fund shareholder clients. To learn more, visit vanguard.com, all investing is subject to risk. Vanguard Marketing Corporation Distributor figure as of January 2020 25.