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MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional tensions:

• Nuclear-related talks with Iran and the status of Gaza are expected to be among the main topics of discussion when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, today. [more]
• In a speech today marking the 47th anniversary of his country's Islamic revolution, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran is ready to have its nuclear enrichment program inspected and insisted that Iran is not pursuing the construction of nuclear weapons. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1,446 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here is your update:

• Reports say Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has begun planning for presidential elections and a referendum on any peace deal with Russia amidst U.S. pressure to hold both votes by May 15 or risk losing proposed U.S. security guarantees. Additional reports say Zelenskyy could announce the initiatives as early as February 24 – the fourth anniversary of the Russian invasion. [more]

U.S. AIR TRAVEL RESTRICTION | Citing "special security reasons" but providing no additional details, the Federal Aviation Administration announced early today that airspace around El Paso International Airport in Texas would be closed for 10 days, grounding all flights to and from the airport. Shortly after 9am ET, the FAA said it has now lifted the airspace closure and that flights can now resume. Reports say the Pentagon declined to answer and referred questions to the FAA when asked if the now-lifted flight ban was related to U.S. military operations. [more]

MINNESOTA | Governor Tim Walz said yesterday that, based on his recent conversations with Trump administration officials, he expects the ongoing immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota, which he characterized as an "occupation" and "retribution campaign," to end in "days, not weeks and months." [more]

U.S. GOVERNORS | Oklahoma Republican Governor Kevin Stitt, chair of the National Governors Association, said yesterday that a White House visit will no longer be part of the NGA's official program during its upcoming annual meeting in Washington, DC, after President Donald Trump indicated he would exclude Democratic governors from the event. [more]

U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION | The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to issue a final rule tomorrow rescinding a key government endangerment determination in 2009 that found carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare and which is the legal underpinning of many climate regulations for vehicles, power plants, and other pollution sources under the Clean Air Act. [more]

U.S. TARIFFS | The House of Representatives yesterday rejected, with a vote of 214-217, a bid by Republican House leadership to block legislative challenges to President Donald Trump's wide-ranging tariff actions and policies. [more]

U.S. MILITARY | Reports say a federal grand jury refused yesterday to indict six Democratic lawmakers on Justice Department charges related to a video the lawmakers – all of whom served previously in the military or at intelligence agencies – posted online last year in which they urged military service members to follow established military protocols and reject unlawful orders. [more]

U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT | Attorney General Pam Bondi is scheduled to appear before the House Judiciary Committee today and is expected to face questioning regarding her department's handling and release of files related to investigations into late financier and convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. [more]

U.S. VOTER DATA | In the latest in a series of similar rulings, a federal judge yesterday dismissed a lawsuit from the Department of Justice that sought to obtain unredacted voter registration lists and other voter records from the state of Michigan, saying the laws cited by the Justice Department to justify the demand "do not allow the United States to obtain the records at issue." Similar lawsuits have also been dismissed in Oregon, California, and Georgia. [more]

U.S. ECONOMY | Commerce Department data released yesterday shows that retail sales in December in the U.S., which were projected to show an increase of about 0.4%, were virtually unchanged from the previous month. [full report] [more]

MORE U.S. ECONOMY | Labor Department data released today shows that the U.S. economy added a stronger-than-expected 130,000 jobs in January and that the national unemployment rate fell slightly to 4.3%. [full report] [more]

CALIFORNIA | Amidst an ongoing teachers' strike over pay, benefits, and special needs resources, the 120 schools of San Francisco, California's Unified School District are closed today for a third straight day, leaving some 50,000 students without classroom instruction. [more]

U.S. AND NIGERIA | Nigerian officials said yesterday that the 200 U.S. troops expected to arrive in the African country in the coming weeks will not take part in combat operations, but will, instead, focus on technical training and advisory work at several locations. The U.S. deployment follows a declaration last year by President Donald Trump that said Nigeria was a "Country of Particular Concern" due to the persecution of Christians by Islamist militants.   [more]

CANADA | Authorities say at least nine people were killed, and more than 25 others were injured, yesterday in apparently related shooting incidents at a high school and nearby home in Tumbler Ridge, British Colombia, Canada. Police say the female suspect in the shooting, whose name has not yet been released, was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted injury. [more]

SOUTH SUDAN Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, warned yesterday that violence in South Sudan is escalating sharply due to ongoing political tensions and that the African nation is on a "dangerous precipice." [more]

GREECE AND TURKEY | Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is in Turkey today for talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as part of ongoing efforts to ease tensions between the two countries over issues such as maritime boundaries, the status of Cyprus, and drilling rights in the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean seas. [more]

CHILE AND ARGENTINA | According to a new report from World Weather Attribution, recent and ongoing wildfires affecting large regions of Chile and Argentina were 200% and 150% more likely, respectively, to occur due to human-caused climate change. [press release] [full report] [more]

MADAGASCAR | Authorities on the Indian Ocean island nation of Madagascar say at least nine people have died following the landfall of Tropical Cyclone Gezani late last night in the country's key port city of Toamasina. Flood and landslide warnings have been issued for many regions as the storm moves across the island today. [more]

EUROPEAN EPSTEIN INVESTIGATIONS | The Council of Europe – the main intergovernmental human rights and rule of law organization in Europe – says it has agreed to suspend the diplomatic immunity of its former secretary general, Thorbjoern Jagland, amidst a Norwegian investigation of Jagland on suspicion of aggravated corruption linked to information in newly released files on late financier and convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. [more]

AIR TRAVEL | Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates recorded a record 95.2 million passengers having transited through the transportation hub in 2025, maintaining its position as the world's busiest airport. [more]

OLYMPICS | As of publication time, Norway leads the overall medal count at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympic Games with 13, followed by Italy, the United States, Japan, and Switzerland. [medal tracker] [competition schedule] [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 2011, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stepped down after nearly 30 years in power following mass demonstrations that were part of the pro-democracy uprisings known as the Arab Spring. [more history]