5 things to know for Feb. 19: Ukraine war talks, Delta plane crash, Immigration, Tariffs, Measles outbreak
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Food recalls seem to be making headlines more than ever, with many involving familiar brands and household staples like eggs and produce. A new report reveals there were about 300 food recalls in the US last year, associated with nearly 1,400 illnesses. Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day. The US and Russia will appoint high-level teams to negotiate the end of the war in Ukraine and are working to reestablish diplomatic channels, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday at the end of talks that excluded Kyiv. The meeting marked the first time top US and Russian officials had met face-to-face since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said he would not accept any deal made in Ukraine’s absence. Trump also announced he will “probably” meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin before the end of the month. Investigators are working to determine what caused a Delta Air Lines flight from Minneapolis to crash and roll over on the runway at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday. Dramatic new video shows the jet’s rear landing gear buckling and the right wing shearing away in a fireball after making a hard landing. Aviation experts tell CNN that advancements in aircraft design and seat safety prevented the crash from being much worse. While the incident has renewed some fears about flying, analysts say it’s important to remember that commercial air travel in the US has been safer than ever before. There have been fewer fatalities on scheduled commercial airliners over the last 15 years than in any other 15-year stretch. The Trump administration is cutting off legal services for unaccompanied migrant children — the latest in a series of actions stripping key resources from immigrants in the US. The Department of the Interior sent the order to a nonprofit group that has been helping thousands of children who cross the southern border without their parents. Also this week, President Trump’s border czar Tom Homan touted what he said is a record low number of border encounters: “229 total encounters at the Southwest border — 229 — compare that to 11,000 per day under [President] Biden,” Homan said in a Fox News interview. “229 encounters in a 24-hour period, that is a record,” he added. President Trump said that he plans to impose tariffs of around 25% on auto imports as well as semiconductors and pharmaceuticals shipped to the US as early as April. The steep new tariffs could have far-reaching effects, extending beyond the specific industries where taxes are levied. Consumers are expected to feel most of the burden of the new import taxes on automobiles as prices of cars could jump by thousands of dollars. As for the pharmaceutical industry, the US purchased more than $176 billion of drugs and related goods in 2023, according to US trade data, making it the largest importer of pharmaceutical products that year. Experts say European, Indian and Chinese firms could be the hardest hit.
Following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro during a US military operation in Venezuela, the command of the South American country has fallen into the hands of a woman: Executive Vice President Delcy Rodríguez.
The detailed timeline and the revelation that a CIA team has been operating inside Venezuela for so long sheds new light on the administration’s pressure campaign on Maduro for the past several months.
Embattled Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan, who was convicted of obstruction last month for helping an immigrant evade federal officers, has sent her resignation letter to the governor.
More than two decades ago, on January 24, 2004, I landed in Baghdad as a legal adviser, assigned an office in what was then known as the Green Zone. It was raining and cold, and my duffle bag was thrown into a puddle off the C-130 aircraft that had just done a corkscrew dive to reach the runway without risk of ground fire. Young American soldiers greeted me as we piled into a vehicle, sped out of the airport complex and then along a road called the “Highway of Death” due to car bombs and snipers.
CNN’s David Culver sees massive crowds building up in Doral, Florida, outside of Miami, a place where there are a lot of Venezuelans celebrating President Nicolas Maduro’s capture Saturday.
On November 2, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles told Vanity Fair that land strikes in Venezuela would require the approval of Congress. She said that if Trump “were to authorize some activity on land, then it’s war, then (we’d need) Congress.”
A federal judge in Kentucky has dismissed Louisville’s proposed settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over police reforms after the department withdrew its support of the plan earlier this year.
In the days since the Trump administration announced it would freeze federal child care payments to Minnesota amid an alleged fraud investigation, fear and confusion have spread almost as fast as the viral video that launched the scandal.
President Donald Trump wants to tamp down on public debates about his health.
A US appeals court ruled on Friday that California’s ban on openly carrying firearms in most parts of the state was unconstitutional.
A CNN team witnessed several explosions on Saturday night in Caracas, and reported that some areas of the city were without electricity. Follow for live updates.
Thousands of people gathered for a New Year’s Eve celebration in Seattle this week, anticipating the annual fireworks show at one of the city’s most iconic landmarks, when a man stopped on a lawn and opened his coat to reveal a loaded shotgun, police said, alarming witnesses and an officer nearby.
The US Coast Guard announced Friday night it has suspended its search for people in the water after US strikes on alleged drug boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean earlier this week.