February 18, 2025

MIDDLE EAST | Update from regional conflicts:

• Today marks the deadline for Israeli forces to withdraw from Lebanon under the terms of the cease-fire agreement between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group. Israel has indicated it intends to temporarily maintain forces, however, at five strategic border locations in southern Lebanon as a security measure for nearby Israeli communities. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1090 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and other senior officials are meeting today in Saudi Arabia for discussions on improving ties and opening negotiations for an end to the war in Ukraine. Neither Ukrainian nor European representatives are taking part in the talks and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his country will not accept any outcomes from talks that don’t involve Kyiv. [more]
• Speaking to reporters in Moscow today, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that, as part of a potential peace plan, it would not be enough for NATO to just deny membership to Ukraine, but the alliance must disavow any plans to allow Kyiv to join at any future date. [more]

NEW YORK | Gov. Kathy Hochul is reportedly considering removing New York City Mayor Eric Adams from office, as allowed by law, amidst ongoing fallout from corruption charges against Adams and the U.S. Justice Department’s move to drop those charges. Hochul’s consideration follows the resignation of multiple Justice Department prosecutors and four top Adams deputies over the corruption case. [more]

U.S. BIRD FLU | Health authorities in Wyoming have confirmed the state’s first human case of Type A H5N1 influenza, or bird flu, which occurred in an older woman who is thought to have had direct contact with a backyard flock of chickens that were infected with the virus. [more]

U.S. INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE | Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is reportedly seeking access to sensitive taxpayer data in the Internal Revenue Service’s Integrated Data Retrieval System, which contains information on U.S. citizens’ tax history, bank accounts, and other personal data. [more]

U.S. GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT | U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan is expected to rule as early as today on a lawsuit filed by authorities in 14 states that seeks to block the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing sensitive data and firing employees at multiple federal agencies. [more]

U.S. SOCIAL SECURITY | Acting Social Security Administration Commissioner Michelle King resigned from her position this week after denying Department of Government Efficiency requests to access Social Security recipient information. [more]

U.S. AND EUROPE | Amidst ongoing international tensions, European competition chief Teresa Ribera suggested yesterday that U.S. President Donald Trump has upended the "trustful relationship" between the United States and Europe. [more]

CANADA | At least 18 passengers were hospitalized yesterday after a Delta Air Lines regional jet flipped onto its roof while landing at Toronto’s Pearson Airport. Reports say the incident – North America’s fourth major aviation incident in the past three weeks – occurred during a period of gusting winds and snowy weather. [more]

PHILIPPINES AND CHINA | Philippine authorities reported a dangerous in-air incident today in which a Chinese navy helicopter flew within about 10 feet of a Philippine patrol plane in the disputed Scarborough Shoal region of the South China Sea. [more]

SUDAN | Reports cite local authorities as saying more than 200 people have been killed over the past three days in attacks on villages in southern Sudan’s White Nile state by the country’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. [more]

ARGENTINA | A judge was appointed yesterday in Argentina to investigate fraud allegations against President Javier Milei related to his brief promotion of a cryptocurrency that saw its value collapse within hours of being launched last week. [more]

BRAZIL | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, recorded its highest temperature in more than 10 years yesterday, with a high of 44 degrees Celsius (111 Fahrenheit), prompting city officials to issue heat warnings and open hydration and cooling stations. [more]

VATICAN CITY | Pope Francis, 88, remains hospitalized today for a fifth straight day. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni says medical tests indicate the pontiff is suffering from a polymicrobial respiratory tract infection. [more]

AIRLINE INDUSTRY | Southwest Airlines has announced the planned elimination of 1,750 corporate overhead and leadership jobs, representing about 15% of the company’s corporate workforce. Reports note that the layoffs are Southwest’s first such move in its 53-year history. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1930, using a 13-inch telescope at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, Clyde W. Tombaugh, a 24-year-old American with no formal training in astronomy, discovered the dwarf planet Pluto. [more history]