5 things to know for Feb. 28: Minerals deal, Mass firings, Tropical cyclone, Meta, Oscars
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A parade of seven planets will be on display in the night sky as February comes to a close, but some will be harder to spot than others. Learn why there are suddenly so many planets visible and how long you can catch a glimpse. Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House today to sign a potentially historic minerals deal. The agreement would offer the US easy access to Kyiv’s untapped mineral riches in exchange for investment and what Ukraine hopes would be concrete security guarantees. The deal’s details remain murky but analysts say it could lead to broader peace negotiations. Just days after calling Ukraine’s president a dictator, Trump softened his tone ahead of the meeting, telling reporters Thursday, “I have a lot of respect for him.” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also met with Trump in Washington on Thursday and urged against accepting any peace deal that would “reward” Russia or its allies. The Trump administration on Thursday fired hundreds of employees at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and sources say more layoffs are possible today. The cuts are a blow to the understaffed weather and environmental agency as climate change crises and severe natural disasters become more frequent. Meanwhile, a federal judge on Thursday found that the mass firings of probationary employees were likely unlawful, granting temporary relief to a coalition of labor unions and organizations that sued to stop the Trump administration’s massive overhaul of the federal workforce. It remains to be seen whether the order will put a hold on the mass firings of federal probationary workers. A severe storm slammed the northern coast of the French Indian Ocean island of Réunion, packing wind gusts of over 100 miles per hour. Tropical cyclone Garance — the equivalent of a Category 2 Atlantic hurricane — is the strongest storm to hit the French territory, located about 400 miles off the coast of Madagascar, since 1989. It is bringing heavy rainfall, powerful waves and strong winds. In the coming hours, winds could gust over 124 miles per hour and rainfall totals could exceed 7 inches. Conditions are expected to remain dangerous throughout the day but will begin to improve Saturday. Meta, the parent company of Instagram, apologized Thursday for a glitch that caused violent video recommendations on Reels. Numerous Instagram users this week reported seeing a stream of recommended videos in their Reels feed showing people being beaten or killed, including many that the platform had labeled as “sensitive content.” Meta said the issue is fixed but did not comment further on what caused the glitch. The company has been pushing to boost short-form video engagement on its platforms, with rival TikTok’s future in the US in question. TikTok has just over a month remaining to find a new, non-Chinese owner for its US operations or face a ban in the country.
The jury in the case of former Uvalde police officer Adrian Gonzales is back in a Corpus Christi courtroom as the trial enters its second week.
The Department of Homeland Security on Monday said it would invest $115 million in counter-drone technologies to secure the World Cup and events marking 250 years of American independence.
Democrats are getting the news they’d been hoping for out of Alaska, with former US Rep. Mary Peltola launching a Senate campaign on Monday morning.
When the Supreme Court, led by Justice Neil Gorsuch, ruled in 2020 that federal law protected transgender workers from discrimination, the justices appeared to launch a new era of rights for a historically shunned group.
Cuba’s leader has pushed back on US President Donald Trump’s demand that the Caribbean nation “make a deal” with Washington, as Trump said Havana would be cut off from the Venezuelan oil and money that it’s relied on for decades.
Hundreds of Border Patrol officers are mobilizing to bolster the president’s crackdown on immigration in snowy Minneapolis, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Sunday, as tensions between federal law enforcement and local counterparts flare after an ICE-involved shooting last week left a mother of three dead.
A suspect has been arrested after a fire tore through Beth Israel, the only synagogue in Jackson, Mississippi, on Saturday, leaving the congregation forced to rebuild from the ashes — again.
The Smithsonian has taken down details about President Donald Trump’s impeachments from an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery,
President Donald Trump is weighing a series of potential military options in Iran following deadly protests in the country, two US officials told CNN, as he considers following through on his recent threats to strike the country should they use lethal force against the Iranian people.
Nationwide outcry over the killing of a Minneapolis woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent spilled into the streets of cities across the US on Saturday, with protesters demanding the removal of federal immigration authorities from their communities and justice for the slain Renee Good.
Since early December the US Coast Guard and other military branches have boarded and taken control of five oil ships that had previously been sanctioned, all either accused of being in the process of transporting Venezuelan oil or on their way to take on oil that has been subject to US sanctions since President Donald Trump began a pressure campaign against the leadership of the country during his first term.
This high school sophomore is aiming for a Supreme Court upset in transgender sports case
A Virginia man accused of plotting with his family’s au pair to kill his wife and another man, who had been lured to the home via a sexual fetish website, is set to face trial this week.