Important Takeaways:
- Israel’s security cabinet fully supports President Donald Trump’s demand that the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas release all of its hostages by noon on Saturday or that “all hell is going to break out,” an Israeli official told Fox News.
- The declaration comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his security cabinet Tuesday after Hamas announced it would delay the next release of Israeli hostages.
- “The decision I passed in the Cabinet unanimously is this: If Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon – the ceasefire will end, and the IDF will resume intense combat until Hamas is decisively defeated,” Netanyahu said in a statement after the meeting.
- “In light of Hamas’ announcement of its decision to violate the agreement and not release our hostages, I instructed the IDF last night to amass forces inside and around the Gaza Strip. This operation is currently underway and will be completed as soon as possible,” Netanyahu added.
- “We also welcomed the President’s revolutionary vision for the future of Gaza,” Netanyahu said.
- The sides have carried out five swaps since the ceasefire went into effect last month, freeing 21 hostages and more than 730 Palestinian prisoners. The next exchange, scheduled for next Saturday, calls for three more Israeli hostages to be freed in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
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Important Takeaways:
- The first of this week’s back-to-back-to-back winter storms is bringing snow, ice and rain to a 1,500 mile stretch of the eastern US Tuesday morning.
- Another winter storm will hit some of the same areas in quick succession and dump the most substantial snow of the season over Chicago. The third storm is the most serious flood threat Southern California has faced since January’s devastating wildfires.
- Each is another link in a chain of disruptive storms unbroken since the start of February.
- Snow will pile up: It’s snowing over parts of the Tennessee Valley and Appalachians Tuesday morning, where 1 to 3 inches have already fallen. There’s more to come into Wednesday morning as the storm tracks east. Washington, DC, could get up to 6 inches of snow Tuesday which could snarl travel during the afternoon commute.
- State of emergency and school closures: Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin declared a state of emergency, and the Virginia Department of Transportation urged residents to “stay off the roads once the storm arrives.” Several schools in the state are closed. Schools in the DC area and Maryland also announced early dismissals and closures, citing anticipated disruptions, along with similar impacts at schools in Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio and Indiana.
- Power outages and treacherous travel likely: Significant amounts of ice – more than 0.25 inches – are possible through Wednesday in parts of West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina. “Ice accumulations could make many roads treacherous and impassable,” the National Weather Service warned Tuesday. “The weight of ice on tree limbs and power lines could produce numerous outages.”
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Important Takeaways:
- Leaders in Europe and Canada have said they will not let Donald Trump’s plans to hit their steel and aluminum exports with tariffs go unchallenged.
- Trump said he was “simplifying” the rules and the measures would boost domestic production.
- “This is a big deal, the beginning of making America rich again,” Trump said, signing the proclamation, which said the measures would come into force on 12 March.
- “Our nation requires steel and aluminum to be made in America, not in foreign lands,” he added.
- The US is the world’s largest importer of steel, counting Canada, Brazil and Mexico as its top three suppliers.
- Canada alone accounted for more than 50% of aluminum imported into the US last year.
- The tariffs will raise the cost of bringing the metals into the US, sparking concern among businesses in the US that rely on the imports and many world leaders because it will make it more expensive for companies to sell their products in the world’s largest economy.
- Trump officials said the latest moves were aimed at stopping countries such as China and Russia from avoiding tariffs by routing low-cost products through other countries.
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Important Takeaways:
- Hamas has said it will not release the next batch of Israeli hostages this weekend as planned, citing alleged Israeli violations of the fragile ceasefire, a development that could derail an already fragile three-week-old truce agreement.
- “If they’re not here, all hell is going to break out,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday night. He added of the ceasefire: “Cancel it, and all bets are off.”
- Trump said the final decision would be up to Israel, saying: “I’m speaking for myself. Israel can override it.”
- When asked if the US would join in a response to Hamas if hostages weren’t freed, Trump said: “Hamas will find out what I mean.”
- The president also said he might withhold aid to Jordan and Egypt if those countries did not take refugees from Gaza.
- Another 16, including eight bodies, are due to be released as part of the first six-week phase of the ceasefire. In total there are 76 captives still held in the strip.
- The Hamas spokesperson Abu Obeida cited alleged Israeli violations of the ceasefire deal, including delaying the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza, blocking the arrival of aid and attacking civilians. He said there would be no more hostage releases until Israel “complies and compensates for the past weeks”.
- Israel denies the Hamas allegations.
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Important Takeaways:
- In her memo from last Friday, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said she would like to use the IRS investigators to track down the financial dealings of human-traffickers who bring in illegals to take American jobs, according to the Wall Street Journal.
- This is not the first time DHS has reached out to other agencies and asked them to assign help to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for deportation duties. In a previous memo, the Department of Justice, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms was also tasked with giving a helping hand to ICE.
- The IRS agents Noem requested have full police powers, carry firearms, have the power to arrest and detain people, and are a separate division from regular IRS enforcement officers and revenue agents.
- The directive enabled the DOJ to assign federal law enforcement agencies to assist ICE in its removal operations and Homeland Security Investigations special agents in carrying out President Trump’s promise to initiate the largest deportation effort in history.
- The DOJ then gave the U.S. Marshals Service, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Federal Bureau of Prisons the authority to investigate and apprehend illegal aliens.
- “Mobilizing these law enforcement officials will help fulfill President Trump’s promise to the American people to carry out mass deportations,” the spokesperson continued. “For decades, efforts to find and apprehend illegal aliens have not been given proper resources. This is a major step in fixing that problem.”
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Important Takeaways:
- Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has issued a decree on Monday revoking the system of payments to families of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails or to families of Palestinians who were killed or wounded during attacks against Israelis.
- The system — referred to as “pay for slay” by the first Trump administration and the Israeli government — was a major point of friction between the U.S. and the Palestinian Authority.
- The U.S. and Israel have argued for years that the system incentivized attacks on Israelis, and repeatedly demanded that the Palestinian Authority revoke it.
- But the Israeli Foreign Ministry issued a statement Monday denying that the payments would actually end: “This is a new fraudulent trick by the Palestinian Authority, which intends to continue making payments to terrorists and their families through other payment channels.”
- Palestinian officials told Axios they hope Abbas’ decision will improve relations with the Trump administration and with Congress and lead to the resumption of U.S. financial aid to the Palestinian Authority.
- According to a copy of the decree, all families that benefited from the previous system are subject to “the same standards applied without discrimination to all families benefiting from protection and social welfare programs” in the Palestinian Authority.
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Important Takeaways:
- The Department of Homeland Security told Fox News that “four employees are being fired today for circumventing leadership and unilaterally making the egregious payment for hotels for migrants in New York City.”
- The firings come after Elon Musk wrote on X Monday that “The DOGE team just discovered that FEMA sent $59M LAST WEEK to luxury hotels in New York City to house illegal migrants.”
- “Firings include FEMA’s Chief Financial Officer, two program analysts and a grant specialist,” the DHS also said. “Under President Trump and Secretary Noem’s leadership, DHS will not sit idly and allow deep state activists to undermine the will and safety of the American people.”
- Musk said in his message that the “money is meant for American disaster relief and instead is being spent on high end hotels for illegals!” and that “A clawback demand will be made today to recoup those funds.”
- During former President Joe Biden’s term, FEMA faced backlash after it was reported that while they lacked the necessary funds needed to help Hurricane Helene victims, they were dishing out money that ended up being used to aid illegal immigrants.
- A New York City Hall spokesperson confirmed to Fox News that the city had received funds “through the past week” that were allocated by the Biden administration for the purpose of housing and supporting illegal immigrants.
- Of the $59.3 million, $19 million was for direct hotel costs, while the balance funded other services such as food and security. According to NY City Hall, the funds were not part of a disaster relief grant.
- Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., told “FOX & Friends” on Tuesday that the firings were “long overdue.” “These funds have been misappropriated going back to the Biden administration and New York City – a sanctuary city – has been wasting billions of dollars of taxpayer money to provide free housing, clothing, food, education and healthcare to illegal immigrants, including criminal aliens that are here illegally,” he added.
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Important Takeaways:
- Police are investigating a brazen theft at a West Seattle cafe where thieves made off with hundreds of eggs and other breakfast foods in the early hours of Wednesday.
- According to police, two men were seen entering a refrigerated shed at the restaurant and removing boxes containing approximately 540 eggs, valued at about $387, along with bacon, ground beef, blueberries, and liquid egg products.
- The suspects were then seen loading the stolen items into a van before fleeing the scene.
- The egg theft comes at a time when egg prices have flown to record highs due to the ongoing bird flu outbreak, with some carton prices tripling in just a month.
- The total value of the stolen goods is estimated to be around $780.
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Important Takeaways:
- A fast-moving storm traveling through the Northeast with a ‘dangerous’ combination of snow and sleet has forced hundreds of flights to be canceled as thousands go without power.
- The wild weather kicked off Saturday evening across portions of the Upper Great Lakes and intensified as it moved east – covering major cities including Boston and New York in white.
- More than 3,300 flights to, from or within the US were delayed and at least 300 were canceled on Saturday, according to Flight Aware.
- About 68 million people from the Midwest to the Northeast are under severe winter weather warnings, CNN reported.
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