February 12, 2025

MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional conflicts:

• Following a Hamas statement suggesting that the militant group would delay the release of hostages, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that fighting in Gaza would resume if additional hostages are not released by Saturday. [more]
• Following a meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah II at the White House Yesterday, U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated his belief that the U.S. should take over and redevelop Gaza following the removal of Palestinians from the territory. Abdullah later insisted that rebuilding Gaza without displacing Palestinians should be the priority going forward. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1084 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here is your update:

• Ukrainian officials say at least one person was killed, and four others were wounded, in a pre-dawn Russian missile strike today on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. [more]

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION | In various court actions related to Trump administration efforts:

• A federal judge yesterday left in place, pending further hearings, a ban that prevents Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing Treasury Department records containing sensitive personal data for millions of Americans. [more]
• The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a Trump administration request to reinstate its pause on federal funding of grants and loans. [more]
• The Trump administration yesterday filed an appeal seeking to overturn a Maryland federal judge’s ruling that blocked implementation of the president’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship for people whose parents are not legally in the country. [more]

U.S. ECONOMY | Bureau of Labor Statistics data released today indicates that consumer prices rose 0.5% in January, pushing the annualized U.S. inflation rate to 3% for the first time since June 2024. [more]

FEMA | Four Federal Emergency Management Agency employees were fired yesterday over payments made to reimburse New York City for hotel costs for migrants. Department of Homeland Security officials say the FEMA workers circumvented agency leadership to make the payments. [more]

U.S. TARIFFS | President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order as early as today that would require U.S. tariffs on imports to match the tariff rates charged by other countries. Reports suggest that the reciprocal tariffs plan could spark retaliatory measures by U.S. trading partners around the world. [more]

U.S. PRESS FREEDOM | The White House yesterday refused to admit an Associated Press reporter to an Oval Office event over the AP’s decision to continue referencing the “Gulf of Mexico,” which President Trump has ordered renamed to “Gulf of America.” [more]

CALIFORNIA | Insurance officials in California say a state plan that provides home insurance to people unable to obtain private insurance needs about $1 billion in additional funding to cover losses related to the recent Los Angeles-area wildfires. FAIR Plan insurance pool administrators say they are expecting approximately $4 billion in losses related to the wildfires. [more]

U.S. EGGS | As increasing outbreaks of bird flu require the culling of chicken flocks nationwide, egg prices and supplies continue to be affected, with reports noting that several major retailers, including Trader Joe's, Costco, Whole Foods, Kroger, and Walmart, are limiting egg purchases in many locations. [more]

U.S. IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT | The Associated Press cites a letter obtained by the news agency as showing that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has asked the Treasury Department to provide Internal Revenue Service agents to serve on immigration enforcement-related task forces targeting employers engaged in unlawful hiring practices, monitoring immigrants in the country illegally, and other tasks. [more]

U.S. AND RUSSIA | American history teacher Marc Fogel, who had been serving a 14-year prison sentence in Russia after being arrested for marijuana possession in 2021, was returned to the U.S. last night in what President Donald Trump characterized as an ‘exchange.' Reports cites Russian officials as saying that an unnamed Russian citizen was freed by the U.S. in exchange for Fogel's release. [more]

U.S. AND CANADA | Prime Minster Justin Trudeau appointed former Royal Canadian Mounted Police deputy commissioner Kevin Brosseau to be the country’s new fentanyl czar. The move comes amidst increasing U.S. pressure for Canada to prevent production, distribution, and cross-border trafficking of the synthetic opioid. [more]

CONGO | U.N. humanitarian aid officials say Rwanda-backed M23 rebels that control multiple cities in eastern Congo have forcibly closed settlement camps in the region, leading to the displacement of more than 110,000 people. [more]

BANGLADESH | As many as 1,400 people may have been killed in last summer’s student-led protests in Bangladesh against now-exiled former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, according to U.N. human rights officials. [more]

SOUTH KOREA | Investigations continue today into the stabbing death of a first-grade student in Daejeon, South Korea, who is believed to have been attacked by a teacher. Reports say the teacher recently returned to work following a period of health-related leave and cite the teacher as saying that she has been undergoing treatment for depression. [more]

AUSTRALIA | Amidst a recent surge in antisemitic threats and attacks, police in Australia’s New South Wales state say they are investigating an online video in which a pair of local nurses discussed killing Jewish patients. Officials at Sydney’s Bankstown Hospital say they have found no evidence of Jewish patients being hurt. [more]

PHILIPPINES | Prosecutors filed criminal complaints, including sedition, today against Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte related to her November threat to have President Ferdinand Marcos killed if she herself were to be fatally attacked. [more]

BASKETBALL | In a loss last night to the Memphis Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant became the eighth player in NBA history to have scored 30,000 career points. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1912, at the end of the Chinese Revolution, Pu Yi, the last emperor of China, abdicated, marking the end of the Qing Dynasty. [more history]