February 7, 2025

MIDDLE EAST | Update on regional issues:

• In a statement aimed at clarifying his suggestion earlier this week that the U.S. should “own” and redevelop Gaza, U.S. President Donald Trump said yesterday that no U.S. troops would be needed to carry out the plan, as Israel would hand over Gaza to the United States after fighting was over and the enclave's population had been resettled elsewhere. [more]

U.S. RELIGION | President Donald Trump signed an executive order yesterday accusing the Biden administration of “an egregious pattern of targeting peaceful Christians, while ignoring violent, anti-Christian offenses” and directing a new task force to investigate and prosecute the “anti-Christian weaponization of government.” [full executive order] [more]

U.S. UNEMPLOYMENT | Labor Department data released yesterday shows that a higher-than-expected 219,000 Americans filed initial claims for unemployment benefits in the week ended February 1 – up 11,000 from the previous week. [more]

U.S. FOREIGN AID | According to a plan presented yesterday, the Trump administration plans to cut worldwide staffing of the U.S. Agency for International Development from more than 10,000 to fewer than 300. Federal worker associations filed a lawsuit yesterday seeking to stop what they say is the effective shutdown of the agency. [more]

U.S. COLLEGIATE SPORTS | A day after President Donald Trump signed a related executive order, the NCAA, the governing body for collegiate sports in the United States, announced a ban yesterday on transgender women competing in women's sports, effective immediately. [more]

U.S. FEDERAL WORKFORCE | A federal judge issued a temporary injunction yesterday blocking the Trump administration’s program that offered federal workers up to eight months of pay to voluntarily resign. The ruling came just hours before an administration deadline for workers to agree to the program, and the judge ordered the deadline extended at least through Monday when a court hearing on the matter is scheduled. [more]

U.S. FEDERAL PAYMENT SYSTEMS | Thirteen state attorneys general announced plans yesterday to file a lawsuit seeking to block Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing federal payment systems containing Americans’ sensitive personal information. Also yesterday, a federal judge ordered that Musk associates have “read only” access to Treasury Department data. [more]

ALASKA | Public safety officials in Alaska say the search continues this morning for a Bering Air aircraft carrying 10 people that went missing yesterday while on a flight from Unalakleet to Nome. [more]

INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT | U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court over its investigations of Israeli leadership and operations in Gaza and accusing the court of “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel.” Reports note that neither the U.S. nor Israel are a member of or officially recognizes the Court. [more]

G20 | U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced in a social media post this week that he will not attend the upcoming G20 summit of the world’s leading economies in November, saying host country South Africa is using the G20 to “promote “solidarity, equality, & sustainability.” In other words: DEI and climate change,” and contending that his job is to “advance America’s national interests, not waste taxpayer money or coddle anti-Americanism.” [more]

HUNGARY | Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced today that his government will take legal steps to shut down non-governmental organizations and media outlets operating in Hungary that receive funding from the United States and other international sources. Orban also praised U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development, claiming that the agency had funded organizations that sought to topple his government. [more]

GREECE | A state of emergency on the island of Santorini was declared by the Greek government yesterday amidst a series of hundreds of undersea earthquakes near the resort destination that have raised concerns over a potential major earthquake. [more]

SWEDEN | The Swedish government has announced plans to pursue legislation tightening gun laws following this week’s shooting incident at an adult education center in Orebro in which 11 people, including the gunman, were killed. [more]

AFGHANISTAN | In a move condemned as a furthering of the Taliban’s exclusion of women from public life, Afghanistan’s only nationwide women’s radio station was raided, and its operations suspended, this week by officers of the Taliban’s information and culture ministry. [more]

FOOTBALL AWARDS | Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen was named the NFL’s most valuable player last night, narrowly beating out the Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson. Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell was named the coach of the year, and Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Arik Armstead was selected as the Walter Payton Man of the Year. [full list of NFL honorees] [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1964, the musical British Invasion began when the Beatles arrived in New York City. Two nights later, as Beatlemania stormed America, the group’s performance on The Ed Sullivan Show was watched by 73 million viewers. [more history]