The ACTUAL NEWS: Monday, February 10th 2025 Recap

Feb 10

"Today in History" and the Latest National and Global News

TODAY IN HISTORY

1763: The Treaty of Paris was signed, ending the Seven Years' War and resolving territorial conflicts between France and Britain, including the French and Indian War in North America.

1846: The British defeated the Sikhs in the Battle of Sobraon, marking the decisive engagement of the First Sikh War in northwestern India.

1962: U.S. airman Francis Gary Powers, captured after his U-2 plane was downed by the Soviet Union in 1960, was exchanged for Soviet informant Rudolf Abel.

1990: The spacecraft Galileo flew past Venus on its journey to Jupiter.

1996: World chess champion Garry Kasparov began a six-round match against IBM’s chess-playing computer Deep Blue, claiming a 4–2 victory (Deep Blue won a rematch the following year).

QUICK ACTUAL NEWS

NATIONAL

A U.S. judge on Monday ordered the Trump administration to fully comply with a previous ruling that lifted its broad freeze on federal spending. This came after a group of Democratic state attorneys general reported last week that some funds remained frozen.

President Donald Trump’s attempt to limit automatic birthright citizenship as part of his immigration crackdown suffered another blow on Monday, as a third federal judge ruled to block the measure.

On Monday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order encouraging the U.S. government and consumers to purchase plastic drinking straws. "We're going back to plastic straws," Trump told reporters at the White House while signing the order.

A U.S. judge on Monday temporarily blocked President Trump’s administration from making sharp cuts to federal grant funding for universities, medical centers, and other research institutions, following a lawsuit filed by Democratic attorneys general from 22 states.

A coalition of U.S. refugee advocates filed a lawsuit on Monday challenging President Donald Trump’s indefinite suspension of the U.S. resettlement program, arguing that refugees and their families face irreparable harm if the policy remains in effect.

On Sunday, President Donald Trump announced that he would impose new 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the U.S., adding to existing metals duties in a major escalation of his trade policy.

A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s political appointees and Elon Musk’s government efficiency team from accessing government systems used to process trillions of dollars in payments, citing a risk of improper disclosure of sensitive information.

On Friday, a federal judge declined to block Elon Musk’s team from accessing U.S. Department of Labor systems.

President Trump said on Sunday that the United States "may have less debt than previously thought", suggesting that fraud related to debt payments could be to blame. He made the comments to reporters aboard Air Force One while en route to the Super Bowl in New Orleans.

The Washington headquarters of the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will be closed the week of February 10-14, according to an internal email, adding to the confusion for the agency's staff following the involvement of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.

Over the weekend, the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was rapidly defanged, suspending all activities, facing upcoming funding cuts, and temporarily closing its headquarters, removing a layer of oversight over consumer-facing financial companies.

Experts say the Trump administration’s dismantling of the U.S. consumer protection watchdog could have broad implications for consumers with credit cards, mortgages, and bank accounts, leaving Americans with less recourse if they feel mistreated by financial institutions.

The Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives said on Sunday that he would continue pushing for a "one big bill" strategy to pass President Trump's tax-cut agenda and fund border and military priorities, despite a limited $340 billion budget plan released by Senate Republicans on Friday.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is collaborating with Elon Musk to improve department efficiency, as Musk and his aides work to overhaul the U.S. government, she told CNN.

Trump stated that he expects Elon Musk to uncover “hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud and abuse at the Pentagon” during an audit led by the billionaire.

The U.S. military announced on Monday that it will no longer allow transgender individuals to join the military and will cease performing or facilitating gender transition procedures for service members, according to a memo from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

The Missile Defense Agency is moving quickly to gather ideas for President Trump’s proposed “Iron Dome for America” and hopes to make progress on some concepts within the next two years.

A known “blind spot” in F-16 engines, which prevented maintainers from seeing a damaged vane inside an aircraft at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico, led to engine failure and a crash in April 2024 that destroyed a $21 million fighter, according to a new Air Force report.

The Department of Defense’s acquisition office is reviewing whether the Space Development Agency’s “organizational performance and acquisition approach” is meeting the needs of warfighters and whether the agency should maintain its independent status within the Space Force, sources tell Breaking Defense.

The Senate Budget Committee released a budget blueprint that, if passed by Congress, could allocate an additional $150 billion for defense. The funding would focus on military readiness, expanding the Navy, strengthening the shipbuilding industrial base, creating an integrated air and missile defense system—part of the Trump administration’s “Iron Dome for America” initiative—and investing in the nuclear enterprise.

The Trump administration announced a $7 billion arms sale to Israel, including munitions and missiles, shortly after Congress blocked an initial deal. The State Department approved $6.75 billion in munitions, guidance kits, fuzes, and support, including 2,166 GBU-39/B small-diameter bombs, and an additional $660 million worth of Hellfire missiles.

Air Force crew members and security forces involved in deportation flights are not wearing name tapes or unit patches, raising concerns over transparency as the service conceals details about its involvement in the border mission.

U.S. Senate Democrats, responding to President Trump’s sweeping actions targeting federal agencies, launched an online portal on Monday for whistleblowers. The portal allows civil service employees and other public servants to report wrongdoing, abuses of power, and threats to public safety.

Elon Musk is leading a bid to buy OpenAI for $97.4 billion, escalating a yearslong dispute with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and complicating the company’s plans to alter its nonprofit status.

President Donald Trump planned on Monday to issue a pardon for former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, according to a source familiar with the plan. Blagojevich, a Democrat, was removed from office in 2009 after being accused of trying to sell or trade the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama after his 2008 presidential victory.

Nevada confirmed its first human case of bird flu on Monday in a farm worker exposed to infected dairy cattle, the Central Nevada Health District reported. This follows a report last week about a second strain of the virus found in cows in the state.

President Donald Trump's executive orders have begun to disrupt patient care in the United States, with some healthcare providers unable to access essential federal funding, according to interviews with a dozen healthcare providers and policy advocates.

GLOBAL

Brazil and Mexico, two of the top steel exporters to the U.S., will wait to see if U.S. President Donald Trump announces tariffs on steel and aluminum imports before responding, officials from both countries said on Monday.
Britain has not yet seen the details of President Donald Trump's proposed steel and aluminum tariffs and will continue to engage with the Trump administration as needed, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday. The European Commission also issued a similar statement while warning that the implementation of the proposed tariffs would negatively affect U.S. citizens.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is set to meet with U.S. Vice President JD Vance in Paris on Tuesday during an AI summit, a spokesperson for the Commission confirmed on Monday.
Pro-Russian Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico congratulated Elon Musk for his efforts to dismantle the U.S. aid agency, claiming its funds were used to "deform the political system" in Slovakia.
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) announced on Monday that it would suspend humanitarian work in nearly 20 countries worldwide following the freeze on U.S. foreign aid implemented by President Donald Trump when he took office on January 20.
Some U.S.-funded media outlets reporting on Cuba are seeking alternative funding sources while the Trump administration pursues a plan to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), leaving their future uncertain.
The Roman Catholic Church's worldwide charity arm sharply criticized President Donald Trump's cuts to U.S. foreign aid on Monday, stating that the planned end of funding for USAID will have a "catastrophic" impact on developing nations.
The party of South Africa's former President Jacob Zuma filed a treason complaint on Monday against AfriForum, a group advocating for the white Afrikaner minority, after President Trump criticized the country's new law aimed at redistributing "white-owned land".
U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal to rehouse white South Africans as refugees fleeing persecution may not generate the response he expects, as even right-wing white lobby groups prefer to "tackle the injustices" of Black majority rule within their own country.
India’s high tariffs, which block imports, were highlighted by U.S. President Donald Trump's top economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, on Monday, adding that India’s prime minister has much to discuss with Trump when the two leaders meet soon.
Three Israeli hostages were freed by Hamas on Saturday, and in exchange, Israel released nearly 200 Palestinian prisoners as part of the latest ceasefire exchanges.
Israel's military withdrew from a corridor dividing Gaza, leaving the enclave’s north in compliance with the ceasefire agreement with Hamas. Yet, Hamas has postponed the release of hostages planned for next Saturday citing the ceasefire agreement violations by Israel.
Canadian Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre stated on Monday that he would cut foreign aid in order to "build a base in the Arctic and boost regional security," adding that these improvements would be funded by dramatically reducing foreign aid, much of which, he claims, goes to "dictators, terrorists, and global bureaucracies".
President Donald Trump stated that Palestinians would not have the right of return to Gaza under his proposed plan for the redevelopment of the region, according to excerpts from a Fox News interview.
Wall Street share futures fell, and the dollar rose broadly on Monday after President Trump repeated warnings of imminent tariffs, including on steel and aluminum, a move that could drive inflation and limit the scope for rate cuts.
Kosovo’s ruling Vetevendosje party is expected to come first in a parliamentary election held on Sunday, but will need to negotiate a coalition with other parties to form a government, according to exit polls and party vote counts.
Japan's Nippon Steel declined to comment on President Donald Trump's statement on Sunday that no one can hold a majority stake in U.S. Steel.
The Trump administration's freeze on foreign funding is beginning to affect international efforts to hold Russia accountable for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, according to eight sources and a Ukrainian document seen by Reuters, halting dozens of jobs and tens of millions of dollars in aid.
Russia’s envoy to the UN, Nebenzya, told RIA NEWS that Russia is open to talks with the United States on Ukraine, but only on equal terms that take into account Russian interests. He is awaiting appropriate signals from the American side.
Russia warned on Monday that the outlook for extending the last remaining pillar of nuclear arms control between Moscow and Washington, the world’s two largest nuclear powers, appears deadlocked.
U.S. President Donald Trump's plan for a quick settlement in Ukraine must not only stop the war but also ensure that Russia can no longer pose a threat of further aggression, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview on Sunday. Zelenskyy is scheduled to meet with Vice President Vance later this week in Paris.
President Trump said on Sunday he is committed to buying and owning Gaza, though he could allow sections of the war-ravaged land to be rebuilt by other Middle Eastern states. Israeli President Isaac
Herzog added that Trump is expected to meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and possibly Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, although no dates have been set for the talks.
On Sunday, President Trump expressed frustration with the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal after seeing footage of Palestinian militants releasing Israeli hostages over the weekend, comparing their appearance to Holocaust survivors.
A group representing U.S. veterans, service members, and others is warning the Trump administration about the severe impacts on U.S. security unless it exempts tens of thousands of Afghans—many at risk of
Taliban retribution—from the president’s foreign aid and refugee freeze, which has stranded them worldwide.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro requested the resignation of several government cabinet members on Sunday, posting on social media that "changes in the cabinet" are necessary to ensure greater compliance with the program mandated by the people.
Leaders of far-right parties in the European Parliament's third-largest voting bloc, Patriots for Europe, praised Donald Trump's return to power at a gathering in Madrid on Saturday, held under the slogan "Make Europe Great Again."
Thousands of opponents of Iran's authorities rallied in Paris on Saturday, joined by Ukrainians, to call for the downfall of the government in Tehran, hopeful that President Donald Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign could lead to change in the country.
Taiwan has sent officials to Washington to discuss possible tariffs by President Donald Trump and has made preparations should they be imposed, Economy Minister Kuo Jyh-huei said on Saturday.
American-funded aid efforts to tackle diseases such as malaria, prevent newborn deaths, and treat severe malnutrition should resume, according to a memo from the U.S. government reviewed by Reuters.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un criticized trilateral military cooperation among the U.S., Japan, and South Korea for raising tensions in the region and vowed countermeasures, including the further development of nuclear forces.
On February 7, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pledged to demonstrate to China that the U.S. will continue supporting its allies in the Indo-Pacific region but emphasized that the U.S. does not seek unnecessary conflict with Beijing. Hegseth made his remarks after an Air Force official asked him if the Defense Department would be more assertive in the "gray zone"—short of war—to deter China and Russia.

CARTOON OF THE DAY

PHOTO(S) OF THE DAY

Leaders of far-right parties in the European Parliament's third-largest voting bloc, Patriots for Europe, praised Donald Trump's return to power at a gathering in Madrid on Saturday held under the slogan "Make Europe Great Again". (Reuters)

Edward Coristine, the 19-year-old employee of Elon Musk’s DOGE, known online as “Big Balls,” has been appointed senior adviser at the State Department, The Washington Post reports.

"Some U.S. officials expressed alarm about Coristine’s new perch at the bureau, which serves as the IT department for Washington’s diplomatic apparatus.

All of the department’s IT and data management functions were centralized at the bureau during an overhaul before President Donald Trump returned to office, making it a treasure trove of information.

“This is dangerous,” said one of the U.S. officials, noting Coristine’s age and a report by Bloomberg that he was fired for leaking a data security firm’s information to a competitor."

TWEETS OF THE DAY

VIDEO QUICK NEWS

President Trump signed a proclamation declaring February 9 a “Gulf Of America Day” while flying over it.

Noem: “You can’t trust the government.”

Bash: “You are the government.”

French President Macron listed the issues President Trump is facing at the moment underlining that imposing tariffs on Europe shouldn’t be his first concern.

An Ontario commercial aired during the Super Bowl, highlighting contributions to the US.

Trump on Gaza: "Meanwhile, I would own this".

FOX to Trump: "Do you view VP Vance as your successor?"

Trump: "No."

Did Elon Musk's son X reveal the core strategy? Watch this.

Trump's Plan for Ukraine: Ceasefire, Sovereignty Concerns, and Financial Motives

U.S. President Donald Trump's national security adviser announced on Sunday that top U.S. administration officials will meet with European counterparts this week to discuss strategies for ending the ongoing war in Ukraine, nearly three years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion. However, the Kremlin has not confirmed any such discussions or agreement.

Trump's national security adviser, Waltz, elaborated on the administration's approach during an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press, saying, “We need to recoup those costs and that is going to be a partnership with the Ukrainians in terms of their natural resources and their oil and gas and also buying ours. Those conversations are going to happen this week. And I think an underlying principle here is that the Europeans have to own this conflict going forward. President Trump is going to end it. And then in terms of security guarantees, that is squarely going to be with the Europeans.”

It seems that President Trump’s concept of "ending" the war could mean pushing for a ceasefire at the expense of Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, and defense. This position places the responsibility for future security on European nations, an outcome that clearly contradicts the Budapest Memorandum. The 1994 agreement had guaranteed Ukraine's security in exchange for its denuclearization, an arrangement that would be undermined by any shift in security responsibility to the European Union.

In what could further raise concerns, reports suggest that the Trump administration is allegedly pushing for measures that could embolden Russia, including the suggestion of holding presidential elections in Ukraine where pro-Russian parties would be allowed to run. Additionally, there are claims that the administration might permit the Russian Orthodox Church, an extension of Russian state interests, to operate within Ukraine. These actions would solidify Russian control over occupied territories and provide Moscow with a foothold for further expansion of the war.

Waltz also highlighted that one of the key objectives of these upcoming talks is to discuss the potential for "clawing back" some of the financial assistance the United States has provided to Ukraine. According to additional reports from Saudi Arabia, lifting sanctions on Russia and returning frozen Russian assets would play a central role in this strategy, although the EU and the Biden administration had initially allocated the profits from these assets for the post-war rebuilding of Ukraine.

However, there’s a notable absence of "direct investment" in Ukraine by the U.S. The majority of funds allocated by Congress have been used to purchase older U.S. military equipment, a move that allowed the U.S. to replenish its own reserves while giving Ukraine military support.

Therefore, the strategy of monetizing Ukrainian assets for additional gains, labeled as a 'return on the funds invested,' while ignoring and violating the Budapest Memorandum and leaving Europe to face future threats from Russia, would result in an unimaginably devastating outcome for Ukraine. Its citizens, who have believed in America's promise to stand by them 'until the very end,' would be left compromised, to say the least.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Inflation and Earnings Data: Investors will be watching closely when the January Consumer Price Index (CPI) is released on Wednesday to see if inflation fears are justified. A University of Michigan survey shows respondents expect a 4.3% inflation rate a year from now. Reuters predicts a 0.3% increase in CPI month-over-month.
Union Efforts at Amazon in North Carolina: Over 4,000 workers in North Carolina, the least unionized state in the U.S., began a six-day vote today to form a union, potentially making it the second Amazon facility to unionize after a New York center in 2022. The Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment (CAUSE) group is advocating for wage increases to $30 per hour, up from the current starting rate of $18.50 per hour at the Garner facility.
Meta’s Layoffs Begin: Meta employees in the U.S. have learned their fate today through an email detailing their severance packages. CEO Mark Zuckerberg previously announced the company would be letting go of low performers, affecting an estimated 3,600 workers. Despite this, Meta's market cap stands at $1.8 trillion, and its shares are up 19% this year.
T-Mobile’s Satellite Messaging Service: T-Mobile has launched its Starlink-powered direct-to-cell satellite messaging service, available for free during a trial period. Initially limited to text messaging, the company plans to add app and multimedia support by summer. After the free trial ends in July, T-Mobile users will pay $15 per month, while Verizon and AT&T customers can access the service for $20 per month.
Philadelphia Eagles’ Victory: The Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive line dominated, helping the team secure a 40-22 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. Quarterback Jalen Hurts was named the game’s Most Valuable Player after a standout performance.

That's all from me for now. Thank you for reading.

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