Supreme Court roundly rejects Trump’s tariffs

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2026-02-21 13:03

Weekend Briefing

From Reuters Daily Briefing

By Robert MacMillan, Reuters.com Weekend Editor

Welcome to the Weekend Briefing. Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech should prove interesting as he faces the Supreme Court justices he denounced as disloyal. The U.S. is prising Venezuela and Cuba apart bit by bit. City Memo takes us to Jakarta, and British restaurateur Asma Khan explains seasonality in cooking and why the customer is not always right – especially when they’re seeking jet-lagged okra.

Supreme Court roundly rejects Trump’s tariffs

REUTERS/Ken Cedeno

6-3: The decision brushed aside Trump’s use of a law meant for national emergencies to force through his tariff plans. Trump lashed out at the justices, calling two of his own picks an embarrassment to their families. He also imposed a new 10% levy and is looking for other paths to impose new tariffs. The decision reasserts the court’s role in the balance of power and checks Trump’s largely uninhibited rule in Washington.
Effects: Stocks rose on the court’s ruling, which could force the U.S. to refund more than $175 billion in tariff collections. How will companies get their refunds? What does it mean for the global economy? Little immediate relief.

U.S. makes list of Iranian leaders it could target

Advanced stage: The U.S. even may pursue regime change in Tehran, two U.S. officials say. The military options are the latest signs that Washington is readying for serious conflict even as Iran prepares a counterproposal in its nuclear talks with the U.S.
Russia and Ukraine: Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Axios Trump was exerting undue pressure on him in trying to end the war with Russia. Ukraine accused former energy minister German Galushchenko of laundering kickbacks and stashing money offshore after he was detained while trying to leave the country. Read more on the Ukrainians who long to return to their homes, and listen to our On Assignment podcast where our journalists talk about daily life amid bombardments and the freezing cold.

Andrew’s arrest drags the House of Windsor into royal crisis

Shell shock: The arrest of the former Prince Andrew on suspicion of misconduct in public office and the public humiliation over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein will leave Charles, Prince William and their courtiers wondering if worse is to come or just reinforces the public’s negative view of the king’s younger brother. The Epstein files released by the Justice Dept. also have left Andrew’s ex-wife Sarah Ferguson exposed and with no hope of public redemption.
Related: Charles Schwab wired more than $27 million on behalf of Epstein to a realtor in Morocco as he tried to buy a palace days before his 2019 arrest. Morgan Stanley opened accounts for Epstein trusts as late as the same year. Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem’s correspondence with Epstein proved to be his undoing at Dubai port giant DP World. Billionaire Les Wexner, founder of the company that owned Victoria’s Secret and employer of Epstein as his money manager, denied knowledge of his crimes.

Microsoft, ICE and surveillance

Technology: Microsoft said it doesn’t think that ICE is using its technology for mass surveillance of civilians in the United States. It also said it provided cloud-based technology to ICE after the Guardian reported that the agency deepened its reliance on Microsoft’s cloud-based technology as it increased arrests and deportations.
Weapons: Eric Trump is investing in a $1.5 billion merger between Israeli drone maker XTEND and a Florida-based construction-engineering company. A Scotiabank subsidiary dissolved its stake in Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems after protesters criticized the investment.

ASOS founder dies after fall from high-rise balcony

Thailand: Quentin Griffiths, 58, fell from the 17th floor of an apartment building in the resort city of Pattaya. Police said the fashion retailer’s founder died on Feb. 9, and that initial investigations suggested suicide.
Business: The EU is investigating Shein over illegal products and its potentially addictive design. Recall that France urged the union to probe the online retailer for selling child-like sex dolls and banned weapons. Investors are putting pressure on Nestlé and Danone to reveal the impact of their infant-formula recalls. Danone is delivering, but it’s probably not what they want to hear. And dessert is on Bain Capital’s menu as well as Nestlé’s.

Before I forget…

Australia will not help Australians in a Syrian camp holding families of suspected Islamic State militants return home. The so-called IS brides face prosecution if they come back.
A tourist bus driving across the frozen surface of Lake Baikal in Siberia plunged into the water when the ice broke. Seven Chinese tourists and the driver died.
Four Chagossians landed on the Île du Coin this week to try to complicate Britain’s deal to transfer its Chagos Archipelago region to Mauritius.
Guinea-Bissau halted a vaccine study funded by the Trump administration that seeks links into the Hepatitis B vaccine and autism, a claim promoted by RFK Jr. but contradicted by scientific evidence.
‘MAHA’ activists say Trump’s order to boost glyphosate production may cost him their support in the congressional midterms. Some Democrats running for Congress are leaning on scripture to boost their appeal.
Hackers targeted an Angolan journalist with Predator spyware, gaining full access to the contents of his phone, Amnesty International said.
Nine people escaped custody in Malawi after they were caught smuggling charcoal in a hearse as part of a fake funeral procession.

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