Beltway Insider: Trump, Iran, Epstein Fallout, Royal Arrest, Avalanche, Israel/West Bank, Jesse Jackson
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- Category: Haute This Issue
- Published on Saturday, 21 February 2026 16:46
- Written by Janet Walker
President Trump has ordered a buildup of military in the Middle East to convey to Iran his intent and ability to launch airstrikes should the Iranian regime fail to present a counter proposal that resolves the nuclear issue.
The President's job approval rating, according to the Pew Research Center featured in The New York Times for the period ending February 21, 2026, of those polled who approve of his effectiveness as President increased by two percentage point to 37% and those who disapprove of his effectiveness as president decrease two percentage point to 61%. A slight 3% of the population polled have no opinion. Ratings are calculated weekly.
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Trump Readies an Iranian Response
President Trump may only be saber-rattling, but his intent has been clarified by his direct message to the Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, stating two weeks is sufficient time to respond with a counterproposal that will satisfy all parties.
"The tensions between the longtime adversaries have ramped up as the Trump administration pushes for concessions from Iran and has built up the largest U.S. military presence in the Middle East in decades, with more warships and aircraft on the way. Both countries have signaled that they are prepared for war if talks on Tehran's nuclear program fizzle out," reported PBS.org.
This confrontation between the United States and Iran does not mark the first time in history that the United States has dealt with Iran on their nuclear capabilities. The tensions in the Middle East over the continued development of the nuclear program coupled with Iran's sworn blood oath against Israel has been on the U.S. radar since the 2015 negotiated treaty by the Secretary of State John Kerry.
As Secretary of State, John Kerry was the lead U.S. negotiator for the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal (JCPOA), which restricted Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. Kerry argued the agreement made the world safer by lengthening Iran's nuclear "breakout" time to over a year. Later, he engaged in "shadow diplomacy" to preserve the deal after the U.S. withdrawal in 2018.
In 2018, under President Trump's first term, he announced that the United States would withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal. The 2015 agreement, which aimed to curb Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, was branded by Trump as a "horrible, one-sided deal" that did not serve U.S. national security interests
Now, less than a decade later, the United States and Iran are again at the precipice of war over the production of nuclear weapons.
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Epstein Fall Out Continues
The fall out over the Jeffrey Epstein files continues as, to date, 25 individuals have been forced to resign elite positions in commerce, government, academia, and entertainment as their association with Jeffrey Epstein, and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, have become known.
President Trump, whose name appears more than 38,000 times within the released documents, far more than any other individuals has continued to protest his innocence, and he quite possibly, of the sexual assault and rape allegations many of the others have faced, he may be as Epstein stated in a released email, "Trump was the only dog that wouldn't bark."
And while the leader of the free world should have a level of decorum, and be above reproach, Trump is what was elected. The people knew and understood who they were electing.
Epstein Files Hit Europe Royals, Heads of State, Hard
"Across Europe, rebuke has been swift; tabloids are full of prominent resignations and criminal investigations in the United Kingdom, France, Norway, Sweden and Slovakia. In the United States, the Trump administration has largely deflected calls for accountability, defending both President Donald Trump from allegations of wrongdoing and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick from calls to resign due to his ties to the deceased financier. Both men have denied any wrongdoing," reported MSNow.org.
The release of the Epstein files have proved money attracts money and Jeffrey Epstein was a master at finding the Achilles heel of his targets and drilling down, until he was able to extract information about the sexual proclivities of each. Once the conversation would move to sexual exploits, he would continue to move the boundaries, and like Wall Street in the 1990s, the land of excess, private jets, hedonism, never-ending parties, champagne, freely flaunting criminality under Manhattan's special privileges law and the world was his, and the few were invited to be apart of it, for a fee, went freely.
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Former Duke of York, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, Arrested
This week also saw the arrest of the former Duke of York, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, on allegations of suspicion of misconduct in relations to his ties with Epstein.
With each release of the Epstein files, Mountbatten-Windsor continues to appear, in both pictures and emails. While he has not been charged with sexual assault or rape, and as Virginia Giuffre, his main accuser is dead, unless he had repeated his actions with other victims it is doubtful that he will face those charges.
However, as the public discovered this week, misconduct in office, in the UK, carries a lifetime prison sentence. And if the allegations are proven, and the law runs its course, the possibility of Mountbatten-Windsor will spend the remaining years of his life behind bars.
King Charles II, who stripped his younger brother of all titles, privileges, and honors afforded the former Prince, also forced him to move out of his royal estate. The arrest was at Sandringham. Mountbatten-Windsor spent 11 hours in custody.
Setting the example that actions have consequences, for every member of the Royal Family, legislative has been considered to remove Mountbatten-Windsor, who is currently 9th in the line of succession, from the possibility of becoming King.
LA 28 Olympics Chairman Casey Wasserman Forced to Sell Marketing Agency
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has called on LA 28 Olympic Chairman Casey Wasserman to resign his position as the head of the Los Angeles 28 Olympic Committee as the fallout over sexually suggestive emails with Ghislaine Maxwell have surfaced in the latest batch of documents.
Wasserman, who admitted he had become a distraction, agreed to sell his eponymous sports and music marketing agency, but not resign his position at the chairman of the LA28 Olympic Committee.
"The executive committee of the LA28 board said on Wednesday that while it "takes allegations of misconduct seriously," Mr. Wasserman would continue to lead LA28. Its decision came after it conducted a review of his past interactions with Mr. Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime companion of Mr. Epstein," reported The New York Times.
The State of New Mexico Reopens Epstein Investigation
New Mexico State officials have reopened the investigation in Jeffrey Epstein Zorro Ranch, after closing the initial investigation in 2019, responding to a request from New York State officials to terminate the inquiry.
"Attorney General Raúl Torrez's office said Thursday that the decision was made after reviewing information recently released by the U.S. Justice Department. Although New Mexico's initial case was closed in 2019 at the request of federal prosecutors in New York, state prosecutors say now that "revelations outlined in the previously sealed FBI files warrant further examination," reported The Washington Post.
While no concrete information has surfaced that Jeffrey Epstein used his New Mexico ranch for the procuring of underage girls for sex trafficking, recent revelations have created the possibility that he may have also used the New Mexico property for illegal means.
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California Avalanche Kills Eight
A freak avalanche in the high Sierra Nevada mountains of California, near Lake Tahoe, killed eight backcountry skiers including six women and two men, all members of the same ski club.
The avalanche, one of the deadliest in recent California history, followed a heavy snow storm which preceding an unusually warm winter. Much like backcountry spring skiing, where the intensity of the sun brings spring melt and a softening of the snow, in the Sierra mountains the winter had been warm with very little packed snow, in some places even peaks of brown could be seen.
"This one-two-punch – a devastating snow drought that produced a thin layer of ice followed by heavy and rapid snow accumulation – "fits the pattern of major avalanche events we have seen in this part of California in the past", said climate scientist Daniel Swain. Swain has long warned of the compounding threats posed by these extremes, and how the climate crisis will fuel more damaging swings between extremes," reported The Guardian.
The skiers, originally reported as all men, were in fact six women, from Marin County, California, all experienced skiers with avalanche protection gear. The trailhead the women chose to ski, also played a role in the deaths, as it is know to have a greater propensity for avalanches.
Of the original 15 members of the ski trip, eleven skiers and four guides, only six are known to have survived.
Israel Continues West Bank Annexation
While Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip has ended, the determination of the Israeli government under the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to continue his war against the Palestinian people through annexation of the West Bank.
Labeled "Creeping Annexation," Netanyahu is slowly confiscating hectare's of land from Palestinian communities and forcing the inhabitants to provide proof of ownership, according to Israeli standards. Similar to the literacy tests imposed during the Jim Crow era in the south, Palestinians will never have the proper documents or acceptable proof. The idea of Israeli proof of ownership is to guarantee the land reverts to Israel.
"After that decision, the White House issued a statement reiterating Trump's opposition to annexation, and the president emphasized his position in an interview with Axios. "I am against annexation," Trump said, adding: "We have enough things to think about now. We don't need to be dealing with the West Bank," reported The Washington Post.
As President Trump has explained he is against annexation, the Palestinian are attempting to explain creeping annexation, or slowly acquiring the land, one hectare at a time, is still annexation.
Prime Minister Netanyahu, who has undertaken the position to remove and uproot all Palestinian people from Israel, is determined to return Israel to the pre-1948 boundaries, leaving no land for Palestine.
As Israel have faced little resistance since the beginning of the retaliation for the October 7, 2023 attack, Netanyahu continues to use the military to defend the newly acquired lands. His actions have resulted in widespread condemnation from the European Union, the United Nations, and Arab Emirates. Even as Israel remains the only nation in the region that actively fights against terrorism, the actions within the borders of his nation have begun to erode global support.
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Coronavirus Total
At the order of the President of the United States, the U.S. no longer recognizes the value of The World Health Organization. The CDC has recommended every person from age six months, including senior citizens should receive at least one shot of an updated COVID-19 vaccine, annually. The death toll from Covid-19 has dramatically decreased, as has transmission of the virus. Even as confirmed new cases continue each week, fewer are dying from each new variants.
For the 14 days ending February 21, 2026, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases reported by the World Health Organization increased by 27,112 to 779,115,637. The total worldwide death toll increased by 1,329 to 7,110,996 deaths. The United States has stopped providing Covid data to the World Health Organization. (Data updated February 1, 2026, from the World Health Organization).
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Jesse Jackson, Civil Rights Pioneer, Dies
The Reverend Jesse Jackson, a pioneer in the Civil Rights movement and one time presidential candidate, died this week. He was 85.
In modern history, the Reverend Jesse Jackson was often seen as the successor to the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. On the balcony in Memphis, Tennessee when the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King was shot and killed, Jackson, urged calm in the face of exploding violence in the streets.
He remained dedicated to the non-violent movement throughout his lifetime, and as a gifted orator, he would use this gift as a benediction of sorts, to relate to all members of society their importance, no matter their station or circumstance, Jackson would present his "I am somebody," message. His message of self-help and "I am somebody continue resonate.
A two-time presidential candidate Jackson supported with the nearly elected Barack Obama in Chicago. A photograph of him crying was taken and later he was asked about his reaction.
According to The Washington Post, "He explained the next day to NPR: "Well, on the one hand, I saw President Barack Obama standing there looking so majestic, and I knew the people in the villages of Kenya and Haiti and mansions and palaces in Europe and China were all watching this young African American male assume the leadership to take our nation out of a pit to a higher place. And then, I thought about who was not there: Medgar Evers, the late husband of sister Myrlie. There's Schwerner, Goodman and Chaney, two Jews and a Black killed in Philadelphia, Mississippi. And Jimmie Lee Jackson. So, the martyrs and the murdered whose blood made last night possible. I could not help but think this was their night. And if I had one wish, if Medgar or if Dr. King could have just been there for a second in time, it would have made my heart rejoice. And so, it was kind of the dual thought of his ascendance in leadership and the price that was paid to get him there."
Of all the messages that the Reverend Jesse Jackson lived in his lifetime, not allowing circumstance to define you, is one that all peoples can absorb and allow to become part of their soul, as they strive for betterment. No matter the today, there is a tomorrow.
Jackson is survived by his wife and six children.
For more information on President Donald Trump: Whitehouse.gov.
Sources: Various © Articles covered by Copyright protection.
Janet Walker is the publisher, founder, and sole owner of Haute-Lifestyle.com. A graduate of New York University, she has been covering international news through the Beltway Insider, a weekly review of the nation's top stories, for more than a decade. A general beat writer/reporter and entertainment/film critic, she is also an accomplished news/investigative news/crime reporter and submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration "Cops Conspire to Deep Six Sex Assaults" in the Breaking News Category and was persuaded to withdraw the submission. Ms. Walker has completed five award-winning screenplays "The Six Sides of Truth," "The Assassins of Fifth Avenue," "The Wednesday Killer," "The Manhattan Project," and the sci-fi thriller "Project 13: The Last Day." She has also published "Unholy Alliances: A True Crime Story," a non-fiction narrative, "Days, Times, Seasons, and Events: A Collection of Poetry & Prose," and "Songs of Freedom: A Collection of Biblical Teachings," which can be purchased here. She is a member of the Authors Guild, the Los Angeles Press Club, the National Writers Union, and a member of the International Federation of Journalists.
