February 5, 2026
Funding and Expiration
Good morning, everyone!
Welcome to our new readers. It is an honor to have you. Here, each day, I seek to provide you with the single most comprehensive snapshot of the world, both its past and present.
Today, we will look at U.S. government funding negotiations, the expiration of the last remaining nuclear arms pact between the U.S. and Russia, and a series of historical entries.
Let’s get to it.
United States
-The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a spending package to fund federal agencies after a three-day partial government shutdown. President Donald Trump signed the legislation in the Oval Office shortly thereafter.
The vote came after Trump struck a deal with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to only fund the Department of Homeland Security, which houses the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), through February 13 while they negotiate on reforms to the agency. Other agencies are funded through September.
In a press conference on Tuesday, House Democratic leaders laid out their demands for a deal to fund the department.
View the full press event here:
Separately, Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries sent a letter to Republican leadership yesterday outlining their negotiating demands.
Among the demands are requiring a ban on immigration officers entering private property without a judicial warrant, mandating more intensive training, and removing officers from the field if they are subject to a pending investigation related to their conduct.
-Tom Homan, charged with leading the administration’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, announced yesterday that 700 federal law enforcement officers would be withdrawn from the Twin Cities “effective immediately.”
The partial withdrawal, which constitutes about a 25% reduction to the roughly 2,000 agents deployed to the state, comes after widespread protests over two deaths of local residents caused by ICE officers.
Following the announcement, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said the news was a “step in the right direction” while calling for a quicker withdrawal of the officers and independent “state-led investigations” into the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
In an interview with NBC’s Tom Llamas yesterday, Trump said that he had ordered the drawdown and that the standoff in the state had taught him to take “a little bit of a softer touch.”
View an excerpt of the interview here:
View the full interview here.
-Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker is objecting to plans by the administration to build a new ICE detention facility in his state.
-The Supreme Court cleared the way for California to use a new congressional map that advantages Democrats in this year’s midterm elections.
Meanwhile, Virginia’s Supreme Court will decide whether a map drawn by the state’s Democratic legislature can proceed.
In Maryland, the state House of Delegates approved a new map that would eliminate a Republican-leaning district but is likely to face challenges in the State Senate.
In Utah, Republicans filed a lawsuit to block a new House map that could give Democrats a shot at winning a seat.
In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis said last month that he intends to call a special session of the legislature in April for Republican lawmakers to redraw the state’s map.
-Senate Majority Leader John Thune said that he opposed “federalizing” elections after Trump called on Congress to “take over” voting procedures in 15 states to prevent fraud in this year’s midterm elections.
Separately, when asked about Republican-backed legislation that would require proof of citizenship and identification to register to vote, Schumer said the legislation was “nothing more than Jim Crow 2.0.”
-Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent appeared before the House Financial Services Committee yesterday.
View the full hearing here:
Democratic Congressman Gregory Meeks and Bessent got in a tense exchange, with Meeks yelling, “Stop covering for the president.” The time marker for that exchange is at 47:35.
-Georgia Congressman Barry Loudermilk announced yesterday that he would not seek reelection this year, becoming the 29th House Republican to announce their retirement this election cycle.
-Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell has been hospitalized with “flu-like symptoms.”
-The Washington Post announced widespread layoffs yesterday.
-On this day in 1937, President Franklin Roosevelt announced a plan to add six new justices to the Supreme Court amid frustration over its opposition to his New Deal agenda.
In 1993, President Bill Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) into law, providing eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for family and medical reasons.
In 2003, Secretary of State Colin Powell addressed the United Nations General Assembly to make the case for the looming U.S. invasion of Iraq, alleging the country was developing weapons of mass destruction.
Powell later said he regretted giving the presentation.
In 2020, the Senate voted to acquit Trump on two impeachment articles related to his phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Utah Senator Mitt Romney was the lone Republican member of the body to vote to convict on the first article, making him the first senator in U.S. history to vote to convict a president of their own party.
Other Links:
Judge limits feds’ use of weapons against anti-ICE protesters in Portland - Politico
Government attorney who told judge in ICE case, ‘This job sucks,’ removed from detail - NBC
Trump lashes out at reporter over Epstein, declares it’s time for the country to move on - AP
Clintons to sit for depositions in House panel’s Epstein inquiry later this month, Comer says - ABC
Trump says ‘it bothers me that somebody is going after Bill Clinton’ - The Hill
Trump and Vance differ in their responses to latest Epstein files - Axios
The Government Published Dozens of Nude Photos in the Epstein Files - The New York Times
Congress Receives Redacted Version of Whistleblower Complaint Against Gabbard - The Wall Street Journal
Gabbard says Trump asked her to attend FBI raid at Georgia elections hub - Axios
Trump spoke to Savannah Guthrie as search for her mother continues - NBC
Ryan Routh sentenced to life in prison for attempted assassination of Trump in 2024 at Florida golf course - CNN
Africa
-The U.S. has deployed a contingent of soldiers to Nigeria, according to the head of U.S. Africa Command.
The acknowledgment comes after President Trump ordered strikes on Islamic State targets inside the country on Christmas Day as he accused the West African government of failing to protect Christians.
Nigeria denies the accusation.
The country’s northwest area has been rocked by a 17-year Islamist insurgency.
-Eswatini’s high court dismissed a case challenging the government’s deal with the United States to accept third-country deportees.
-Trump signed a law extending a preferential trade program for African countries.
The program, first enacted in 2000, expired in September.
-Consumer inflation in Ghana slowed on an annual basis for a 13th consecutive month in January.
The slowdown comes after prices reached a record rate of 54.1% in December 2022.
Other Links:
The US and UN launch a humanitarian fund with $700 million for war-ravaged Sudan - AP
Leader of South Africa’s second biggest political party says he will step down - AP
DR Congo strikes new minerals deal with US - Semafor
Death toll in attack by gunmen in Nigeria rises to at least 160 - Africa News
Son of Moammar Gadhafi, Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, killed in Libya - Africa News
Americas and the Caribbean
-President Trump hosted Colombian President Gustavo Petro in the Oval Office on Tuesday after months of tensions between Washington and Bogotá. Both leaders described the meeting as productive.
Following the U.S. operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro last month, Trump suggested he could take military action against Colombia to curtail drug trafficking there, calling Petro a “sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States.”
In September, Washington revoked Petro’s visa after he gave a pro-Palestinian speech while in New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly. In his remarks, he called on U.S. soldiers to defy Trump’s orders.
Petro traveled to Washington, D.C., on Monday using a special visa.
-The United States and Argentina inked a critical minerals agreement yesterday.
-Pope Leo will likely visit Peru in November.
-On this day in 1917, Mexico adopted its current governing constitution following the Mexican Revolution.
Other Links:
Venezuela tells China oil prices won’t be set by the U.S., seeks to reassure investment after Maduro capture - CNBC
US says it has returned to Venezuela all $500 million of initial oil sale - Reuters
Nearly two dozen more prisoners freed in Venezuela, legal rights group says - Reuters
China warns Panama of ‘heavy prices’ to pay after CK Hutchison contract quashed - Reuters
Mexico agrees to make more predictable water deliveries to the US - AP
Asia/Indo-Pacific
-President Trump said he had spoken to Chinese leader Xi Jinping by phone yesterday, describing the call as “excellent.”
Characterizing the relationship between Washington and Beijing as an “extremely good one,” Trump said he looked forward to his planned trip to the country slated for April. The visit will be the first since Xi hosted him in Beijing in 2017 during his first term.
On the same day, Xi spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone, with a Russian government aide saying Putin had accepted an invitation to visit China in the first half of this year.
Just before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Xi hosted Putin in Beijing, where the two autocratic leaders declared a “no-limits” partnership.
China has since supplied Russia with critical economic and diplomatic support to Moscow as the war enters its fifth year.
-The United States announced plans to establish a critical minerals trading bloc to counter China.
-Myanmar’s ruling junta plans to establish a new body to oversee the country’s military and its civilian administration, a move likely to strengthen paramount leader Min Aung Hlaing’s grip on the Southeast Asian country.
-A sixth round of trade negotiations between the United States and Vietnam began this week in Washington.
Other Links:
An internal document shows the Vietnamese military preparing for a possible American war - AP
Hong Kong firm begins arbitration proceedings over ruling against its Panama Canal port contract - AP
Pakistan sends helicopters, drones to end desert standoff; 58 dead - Reuters
Philippines House panel finds bid to impeach Marcos lacks substance - Reuters
A Harry Potter villain is now an unlikely new-year mascot in China - CNN
Europe
-The New Start Treaty, the last remaining nuclear arms reduction pact between the United States and Russia, expired today, with Moscow saying that Washington had not responded to its proposal for a one-year extension.
The pact, signed in 2010 by President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev—a close ally of Vladimir Putin—placed limits on the countries’ strategic nuclear weapons.
Shortly after taking office in 2021, President Joe Biden extended the pact by five years.
When asked about the looming expiration last month, President Trump said “if it expires, it expires” and has called on China to be included in a new round of nuclear talks. Moscow rejects that demand, instead insisting that Britain and France be included in talks to reduce their nuclear stockpiles.
-French authorities raided the offices of X, Elon Musk’s social media platform, on Tuesday, amid an investigation into the company’s AI chatbot Grok’s generation of sexualized images of women and children.
-The Spanish government will ban social media usage for children under 16 years old, joining Australia, France, and Denmark.
Other Links:
EU countries seal deal on €90bn loan for Ukraine funded by joint debt - Euronews
Russian spy spacecraft have intercepted Europe’s key satellites, officials believe - Financial Times
UK will release files about Mandelson’s ambassador appointment as anger mounts over Epstein - AP
Andrew, ex-prince linked to Epstein, moves out of royal residence - The Washington Post
France dumps Zoom and Teams as Europe seeks digital autonomy from the US - AP
UK, US agree Chagos air base is of strategic importance after Trump criticism of deal - Reuters
Middle East
-President Trump said yesterday that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “should be very worried” as Washington ramps up its pressure campaign on Tehran to agree to a nuclear agreement.
The comment comes just ahead of renewed negotiations between the two countries set to be held in Oman on Friday.
In recent weeks, Trump has deployed what he has called an “armada” of warships to the Middle East as part of the pressure campaign.
-Israeli strikes killed at least 24 Palestinians yesterday. The Israeli military said the attacks across the coastal enclave were in response to Palestinian militants opening fire on Israeli troops.
The development comes just days after Israel reopened Gaza’s Rafah border crossing with Egypt and four months into a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
-The U.S. military carried out five strikes against Islamic State targets in Syria on Wednesday, according to U.S. Central Command.
The military action comes as Washington considers whether to withdraw the remainder of its 900 troops stationed in the country.
-On a visit to Riyadh yesterday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that he sought closer relations between their two countries.
-Former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said that he would welcome a move to replace his candidacy to lead a new government amid a political deadlock following parliamentary elections last year.
Maliki, who was nominated to serve as premier by a powerful alliance of Shiite political parties in parliament, served as head of government for most of the U.S.-led war in Iraq.
Last month, President Trump said Washington would no longer aid Baghdad if Maliki were approved for the post.
Other Links:
Melania Trump meets with freed American-Israeli hostage whose story she features in her new film - AP
Women returning to Gaza say Israeli troops bound and interrogated them after Rafah crossing - AP
Syrian security deploy in key Kurdish city under US-backed deal - Reuters
Chevron to Explore Oil and Gas Work in Syria - The New York Times
Gulf stocks rise on firmer oil, earnings; Dubai hits new record high - Reuters
That’s all for today. See you tomorrow to close out the week.
And it goes on.
It’s such a tangle. How you have the patience to figure it out I don’t know but I’m glad you do.