Today in History: February 20, John Glenn becomes first American to orbit Earth

Today is Friday, Feb. 20, the 51st day of 2026. There are 314 days left in the year. On Feb. 20, 1962, astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth, circling the globe three times aboard Project Mercury’s Friendship 7 spacecraft in a flight lasting 4 hours and 55 minutes before splashing down safely in the Atlantic Ocean.

Wall Street calm after Supreme Court strikes down Trump's tariffs

NEW YORK (AP) - Wall Street kept calm after the Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs, and stocks ticked higher. The S&P 500 added 0.7% Friday following discouraging reports showing slowing growth for the U.S. economy and faster inflation. The Dow Jones added 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.9%.

Many Trump administration people back false 2020 election claims

President Donald Trump has long spread conspiracy theories about voting designed to explain away his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. Now that he’s president again, Trump has stocked his administration with those who have promoted his falsehoods and in some cases helped him try to overturn his loss.

After Supreme Court tariff decision, the hard part is issuing refunds

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court on Friday struck down President Donald Trump’s biggest and boldest tariffs. But the justices left a $133 billion question unanswered: What’s going to happen to the money the government has already collected in import taxes now declared unlawful?

Trump warns he's considering limited strikes on Iran

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump warned on Friday that limited strikes against Iran are possible even as the country’s top diplomat said Tehran expects to have a proposed deal ready in the next few days following nuclear talks with the United States.

US ambassador causes uproar by claiming Israel has a right to much of the Middle East

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) – Arab and Muslim nations on Saturday sharply condemned comments by the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who said Israel has a right to much of the Middle East. Huckabee made the comments in an interview with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson that aired Friday. Carlson said that according to the Bible, Israel had a right to that land.

Trump's made tariffs central to his presidency. Chaos may come next

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump paid a price for going it alone on tariffs – with the Supreme Court on Friday delivering a rare rebuke by ruling he lacked the power to declare an economic emergency and launch sweeping new taxes on imports.

Editorials from The Washington Post, New York Times, The Guardian and others

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

US economic growth weaker than thought in fourth quarter

WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. economic growth slowed in the final three months of last year, dragged down by the six-week shutdown of the federal government and a pullback in consumer spending. The nation’s gross domestic product – the total output of goods and services – increased at a 1.4% annual rate in the fourth quarter.