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The Short List

Thu Feb 26 2026

Phaedra Trethan | National Correspondent

@wordsbyphaedra

👋🏼 Hello! I'm Phaedra Trethan, and yes, I am tired of winter. 🥶

In Thursday's news:

•	Both USA hockey teams won gold in Milan. Why is one of them drawing criticism? 🏒 🫠
•	Texas. California. Florida. Virginia. Redistricting fights in these states and others could have a big impact on the upcoming midterms.
•	Sex and spies! Now that we have your attention, some U.S. officials are warning that new adversaries might be employing old Cold War tactics to gain access to our intelligence.

But first: Spotify released its list of the 100 Greatest Pop Songs in the Streaming Era. Is yours on the list? 🎵 🎧 🎶

USA men's hockey on thin ice with fans

After winning the gold medal in Milan, the U.S. men's hockey team is feeling a cold shoulder from female fans (and a lot of male ones, too) after their reaction to a joke by President Donald Trump at the expense of the women's team — which has won three gold medals since 1998, including this year — and the men's attendance at his State of the Union address.

•	What Trump said about the women's hockey team.
•	One member of the men's team said they "should have reacted differently" to the situation.
•	"Stop laughing": Female athletes, including Team USA Captain Hilary Knight and soccer stars Abby Wambach and Megan Rapinoe, have a message for men who belittle them. 🛑
•	Rapper Flavor Flav is all in for the women's hockey team. ⏰

Olympics Ice Hockey Women Finals Gold Medal Game

Kendall Coyne (26) of the United States and Hilary Knight (21) of the United States celebrate after winning the gold medal in women's ice hockey after defeating Canada during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena.

Amber Searls, Imagn Images

Redistricting rumbles

President Trump urged leaders in Republican states to draw new election maps that would give the GOP an edge in the 2026 midterms. But Democrats in blue-leaning states followed suit, setting off a nationwide redistricting fight in a sharply divided country. Where it's playing out, and what it might mean in November and beyond.

•	Your vote: What is the SAVE Act and why do Democrats oppose it?

Texas Sen. Jose Menendez and fellow Democratic lawmakers hold a news conference in Boston on Aug. 6, 2025, after leaving their state to deny Republicans the quorum needed to redraw the state's congressional districts.

Lauren Owens Lambert/Reuters

Real quick

•	Construction on a ballroom at the East Wing of the White House can continue for now, a judge ruled. 🚜
•	A federal judge ruled third-country deportations are unlawful. *What's next*.
•	Four people were killed and six injured in a strike on a U.S.-registered speedboat in Cuban waters.
•	IDs, including driver's licenses and birth certificates, are now invalid for hundreds of Kansas residents as a new state law takes effect banning the changes of sex markers on documents to align with gender identity and reversing previous changes.

Sex and (national) secrets 🤫

It's an old pulp fiction trope: A spy uses sex appeal to seduce someone in a position of power to learn vital information. Even though "sexpionage" is relatively rare, difficult to quantify and seldom becomes public, it does exist, security experts say. So who's engaging in this form of spying, and what motivates them more: ideology or money?

•	Watch: Recruiting spies from the Chinese military. 👀
•	The Excerpt: The hidden world of espionage and intimacy.

Hillary Clinton testifies in Epstein case

Hillary Clinton, former First Lady, U.S. Senator and Secretary of State, testified Thursday before a House committee about her and her husband Bill Clinton's association with convicted late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein . Clinton called it a "fishing expedition" and questioned why the Justice Department didn't do more to investigate Epstein and his alleged sex trafficking ring before. "What is being held back? Who is being protected? And why the cover-up?" she asked. Kentucky Republican Rep. James Comer, who leads the inquiry, said lawmakers "have a lot of questions," and that "no one is accusing, at this moment, the Clintons of wrongdoing." What to know.

•	Photos: The scene at the courthouse. 📸
•	Watch: Lawmakers discuss Hillary Clinton's deposition.
•	Epstein reportedly hid computers and other assets in storage units in the Palm Beach, Florida area.

Rep. James Comer, R-Kentucky, speaks to the media on the day of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appearance for a deposition in the House Oversight Committee investigation of late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center in Chappaqua, New York, on Feb. 26, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone.

Hussein Al Waaile, REUTERS

A break from the news

•	I love this story about how it's never to late to learn ... and how strangers can help. You will, too. 📚
•	These TV shows are coming to an end soon. Which ones will you miss? 📺
•	Fans are asking their hair stylists to give them this Olympian's look. (Hint: It's not Dorothy Hamill.) ⛸️

Phaedra Trethan is a national correspondent at USA TODAY. She'd love to hear from readers about The Short List, story ideas from across the nation and your Spotify faves. Email her at ptrethan@usatoday.com.