Today’s edition of quick hits.
* At the CDC: “U.S. public health officials have been told to stop working with the World Health Organization, effective immediately. A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official, John Nkengasong, sent a memo to senior leaders at the agency on Sunday night telling them that all agency staff who work with the WHO must immediately stop their collaborations and ‘await further guidance.’”
* In the Middle East: “Hamas has told Israel that eight of 26 Israeli hostages set to be released as part of the first phase of the ceasefire are dead, a Middle Eastern official briefed on the matter told NBC News on Monday. It is believed to be the first time that the militant group has said exactly how many hostages are dead or alive. Later, a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said these numbers matched information gleaned by Israeli intelligence.”
* I just can’t think of a defense for this: “President Donald Trump’s foreign aid pause has forced a suspension of flights for more than 40,000 Afghans approved for special U.S. visas and at risk of Taliban retribution, a leading advocate and a U.S. official said on Saturday.”
* When talking about Belarus, it’s probably best to put “election” in scare quotes: “Longtime Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko won a ‘sham’ presidential election on Sunday with 87.6 percent of vote, according to an official exit poll, marking his seventh term as leader of the Eastern European country. Four opposition candidates appeared on the ballot — but all were loyal to Lukashenko, who has led Belarus for more than 30 years.”
* If this is correct, the odds of detaining non-criminals are high: “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have been directed by Trump officials to aggressively ramp up the number of people they arrest, from a few hundred per day to at least 1,200 to 1,500, because the president has been disappointed with the results of his mass deportation campaign so far, according to four people with knowledge of the briefings.”
* In Seoul: “South Korea’s prosecutors indicted impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on Sunday on charges of leading an insurrection with his short-lived imposition of martial law on Dec. 3, the main opposition party said.”
* A case I’ll be watching: “In a sign that the barrier between church and state could be further weakened, the Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a bid by Oklahoma officials to approve the nation’s first publicly funded religious charter school.”
* Why did Paul Krugman leave The New York Times? Now we know.
* A story about the platform formally known as Twitter, noted without comment: “In a January email to staff, Musk pointed to the company’s growing influence and power, but said the finances remain problematic. ‘Our user growth is stagnant, revenue is unimpressive, and we’re barely breaking even,’ he said in the email, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.”
See you tomorrow.
