#ourCOG Daily Brief [February 16, 2026]

Good evening, and welcome to #ourCOG Daily Brief for February 16, 2026.

In U.S. news today, a debate is heating up in Washington regarding Cuba, focusing on whether the goal is regime change or a strategic deal, potentially aiming to curb China’s presence on the island amidst deteriorating conditions. The U.S. military also successfully boarded another sanctioned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean, having tracked its illicit oil connection to Venezuela all the way from the Caribbean Sea. On the diplomatic front, Secretary of State Marco Rubio struck a notably softer tone with European allies while maintaining a firm stance on the Trump administration’s intent to reshape trans-Atlantic alliances. Domestically, a concerning development comes from an ICE official, who stated that officers appear to have lied regarding an immigrant shooting, adding to a pattern of contradicted initial accounts in federal immigration incidents. And finally, on a lighter note, community-run ski hills are making the sport accessible by offering low or no-cost opportunities for families, with some even serving as training grounds for future Olympians like Mikaela Shiffrin. No specific world news updates were provided for this brief.

Moving on to our video updates, we recently featured titles including “Speak the blessing,” “Mentoring Moments | EP 21: Short Prayers, Big Impact,” and “Clean But Mean! | Perry Stone.”

From our FaithNews RSS feed, we saw headlines including “Church Planting Intensive Set for March 11-13,” “Church Files Emergency Appeal to Resume Worship,” “The Bible Recap’ Hits Top 100 on Apple Podcasts,” and “Multi Million Dollar Gift Launches New Era for SMCH.”

Turning to prophecy news, President Trump is calling for Hamas to disarm immediately ahead of a peace council meeting set for Thursday to discuss the future of the Gaza Strip. We also heard from First Lady Melania Trump, sharing a nostalgia-filled message about the role love letters play in America’s military community. Furthermore, recent analysis suggests that the necessary alliances for the Ezekiel War are not just forming, but are already in place, with the world rapidly moving toward the fulfillment of Ezekiel 38-39. And Israel has officially joined the US-backed Board of Peace as a founding member, although Prime Minister Netanyahu will not attend its inaugural meeting.

Finally, in Jewish history, looking back to February 17th, we recall several significant events. In 1411, Musa Celebi became Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, which proved beneficial for the small Jewish community of Manisa, allowing it to grow in size and wealth. Moving to 1525, Rabbi Isaac Eizik Margoliot, author of Seder Gitten ve-Halizah, passed away. In 1537, Pope Paul III issued a call for a general council to deal with the Reformation; notably, this was the same pontiff who issued the bull “Licet Judaei” speaking against the blood libel. And in 1609, Ferdinando I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, a renowned figure who enacted an edict of tolerance for Jews and invited Jewish merchants to settle in Livorno and Pisa, passed away at the age of fifty-nine.