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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the last 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
MINNESOTA
The Trump administration yesterday announced that it is ending the deployment of immigration agents in Minnesota. Border Czar Tom Homan yesterday called the operation a success, saying that “as a result of our efforts here, Minnesota is now less of a sanctuary state for criminals.” Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) said yesterday that he is “cautiously optimistic” following Homan’s announcement, adding that there has been no change in state policy on immigration enforcement as a result of the crackdown. “They left us with deep damage, generational trauma,” Walz said. Ernesto Londono, Mitch Smith, and Pooja Saholtra report for the New York Times.
A federal prosecutor in Minnesota acknowledged yesterday that officials had provided incorrect information about a shooting by an immigration agent last month. The prosecutor asked a judge to dismiss the charges against Julio C. Sosa-Celis, who was wounded in that shooting, and another man accused of attacking the agent, according to a court filing. Mitch Smith reports for the New York Times.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison yesterday told senators during a Senate Homeland Committee hearing that federal law enforcement agencies are still blocking state and local authorities from participating in the investigations into the shooting of two U.S. citizens by immigration agents in Minneapolis. Eric Bazail-Eimil reports for POLITICO.
IRAN
The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and its escort ships will be sent to the Middle East from the Caribbean and are not expected to return until late April or early May, according to four U.S. officials. The Ford will join the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group in the Persian Gulf. John Ismay and Eric Schmitt report for the New York Times.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
President Trump will announce a multi-billion-dollar reconstruction plan for Gaza and provide details on plans for a U.N.-authorized stabilization force in Gaza at the first formal meeting of his “Board of Peace” next week, two senior U.S. officials said yesterday. Delegations from at least 20 countries are expected to attend the meeting in Washington. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Israel has joined the board. Steve Holland reports for Reuters.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said yesterday that several countries have announced hundreds of millions of dollars for the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List initiative to supply Ukraine with U.S. weapons. Rutte thanked the United Kingdom, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Lithuania and said he expected more pledges soon. Reuters reports.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Bangladesh’s opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) won a landslide parliamentary election today, gaining at least 212 of 299 seats, according to the Election Commission. Ruma Paul, Krishna N. Das, and Tora Agarwala report for Reuters.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to propose a multinational defence initiative that could oversee joint weapons procurement and drive down the costs of rearmament at the Munich Security Conference this weekend, according to UK government officials. Starmer has also expressed interest in reopening talks about the UK joining Security Action for Europe, an EU rearmament scheme. Sam Fleming and Lucy Fisher report for the Financial Times.
The UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo announced yesterday that it will send reconnaissance flights to Uvira as part of preparations to help monitor a ceasefire between the government and the Alliance Fleuve Congo/M23 rebel group. Reuters reports.
The High Court of England and Wales has ruled that the British government’s ban of Palestine Action under terrorism legislation is unlawful, but the group will remain proscribed for now. Dominic Casciani reports for BBC News.
Two Israelis have been charged with using classified military information to place bets on how future events will unfold, the Israeli Ministry of Defense, Shin Bet, and the Israeli police said yesterday. A civilian and a reservist face charges including bribery and obstruction of justice. Israeli state media reported that the bets were placed last June ahead of Israel’s war with Iran and that the winnings were roughly $150,000. AP News reports.
TECH DEVELOPMENTS
The U.N. General Assembly yesterday voted to approve a 40-member global scientific panel on the impacts and risks of AI. The 193-member assembly voted 117-2, with the United States and Paraguay voting no. Edith M. Lederer reports for AP News.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
The CIA yesterday released a video in Mandarin to recruit spies in China. The video shows an officer walking through a military installation musing about power struggles at the top of the armed forces. “What the leaders are truly protecting is only their own selfish interests,” the narrator states. “Their power is built on countless lies. But now, these walls of lies are crumbling, leaving us only to clean up the mess.” The video concludes with the officer opening a laptop while parked in an isolated spot and calling up a page that says “Contact the CIA.” Austin Ramzy reports for the Wall Street Journal.
U.S. Central Command announced yesterday that U.S troops had completed an “orderly departure” from the al-Tanf garrison in southeastern Syria on Wednesday. Some of the troops are expected to be repositioned at a Jordanian military base, according to a senior U.S. official. Another official said that around 1,000 U.S. troops remain in Syria. According to Central Command, U.S. forces attacked “more than 100 targets” and captured or killed more than 50 Islamic State fighters in the past two months. John Ismay reports for the New York Times.
Bipartisan congressional pressure helped push Mexico’s legislature to approve a joint military exercise between the U.S. and Mexican militaries, according to two sources. Mexican lawmakers had been refusing to approve the exercise after the U.S. operation to capture former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3. The joint training exercise with 19 U.S. marines and the Mexican Navy will now go ahead, running from Feb. 15 to April 16. Eric Bazail-Eimil reports for POLITICO.
Trump yesterday criticized Israeli President Isaac Herzog for not giving Netanyahu a pardon. “You have a president who refuses to give him a pardon. He should be ashamed of himself. The president’s got the power to give pardons. He doesn’t want to do it, because I guess he loses his power. I think the people of Israel should really shame him. He is disgraceful for not giving it,” Trump told reporters. In a statement, Herzog’s office said Netanyahu’s pardon request was being reviewed by the Justice Ministry according to proper procedure. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
The Trump administration has paused proposed bans on China Telecom’s U.S. operations and restrictions on sales of Chinese equipment for U.S. data centers ahead of a meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in April, sources said. The U.S. has also put on hold proposed bans on domestic sales of routers made by TP-Link and the U.S. internet business of China Unicom and China Mobile along with another measure that would bar sales of Chinese electric trucks and buses in the U.S., four sources said. Alexandra Alper reports for Reuters.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
All National Guard troops sent by the Trump administration to support immigration enforcement operations in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland, Ore., have left, according to U.S. military officials. U.S. Northern Command said that the departures occurred throughout January, fulfilling the Pentagon’s plan late last year to withdraw Guard troops. Chris Hippensteel reports for the New York Times.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
House Speaker Mike Johnson yesterday cancelled the official delegation of dozens of House members to the Munich Security Conference today, amid a funding battle that is expected to shut down the Homeland Security Department. A senior House Republican leadership aide said that it is standard operating procedure to call off congressional travel during a government shutdown. Megan Mineiro reports for the New York Times.
Goldman Sachs Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler resigned yesterday following the release of documents as part of the Epstein files showing emails spanning several years from Ruemmler to “uncle Jeffrey.” Ruemmler said, “I made the determination that the media attention on me, relating to my prior work as a defence attorney, was becoming a distraction.” Rebecca Falconer reports for Axios.
Members of Congress yesterday criticized the Justice Department over allegations that it was tracking what lawmakers were searching for when reviewing the unredacted versions of the Epstein files this week. A letter from the DOJ to lawmakers obtained by NBC News said that it “will keep a log of the dates and times of all members’ reviews.” A Reuters photo showed Attorney General Pam Bondi at a congressional hearing on Wednesday holding a document labeled “Jayapal Pramila Search History.” The document listed Epstein files that the Democratic representative had searched. Megan Lebowitz, Kyle Stewart, and Daisy Conant report.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s whistleblower complaint is related to a conversation intercepted last year in which two foreign nationals discussed Jared Kushner, according to U.S. officials. Senior officials said the claims about Kushner in the call were false, but declined to offer more specifics. Other officials said that if the claims were verified, it would be significant. Dustin Volz, Josh Dawsey, and C. Ryan Barber report for the Wall Street Journal.
Trump yesterday announced that the administration has repealed the 2009 “endangerment finding,” which concluded that six greenhouse gases pose a threat to public health and welfare. The finding provided the legal underpinning for federal greenhouse gas regulation. The Environmental Protection Agency called the move the “single largest deregulatory action in U.S. history.” Lisa Friedman reports for the New York Times.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
A federal judge yesterday temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s plan to cut $600 million in public health funds to four Democratic-led states. The judge said that the plaintiff states had provided enough evidence that the cuts were “based on arbitrary, capricious or unconstitutional rationales,” to halt the cuts while legal arguments continue in the case. Chris Cameron reports for the New York Times.
A federal judge yesterday temporarily blocked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth from punishing Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) for participating in a video that warned active-duty service members not to follow illegal orders. “Rather than trying to shrink the First Amendment liberties of retired service members, Secretary Hegseth and his fellow Defendants might reflect and be grateful for the wisdom and expertise that retired service members have brought to public discussions and debate on military matters in our Nation over the past 250 years,” he wrote. Megan Mineiro and Zach Montague report for the New York Times.
A federal judge yesterday ruled that the Trump administration must facilitate the return to the United States of 137 alleged Venezuelan gang members who were unlawfully deported last March after Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act. The judge emphasized that any deportees who choose to return will be taken into custody upon arrival. Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney report for POLITICO.
A federal judge yesterday ruled that the Trump administration has been violating the rights of people detained by ICE in Minnesota, holding them in an over-crowded facility without access to attorneys. The judge said it appeared the administration had surged law enforcement in the Twin Cities without accounting for “the constitutional rights of its civil detainees” held by ICE. The judge ordered the administration to improve the conditions in the Bishop Henry Whipple federal building and provide routine and unmonitored phone access to detainees. Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein report for POLITICO.
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