Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas, and Nonstop Quakes on Greek Island
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What legal challenges is the Trump administration facing?
From The New York Times, it's The Headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Tuesday, February 11th. Here's what we're covering. The Trump administration and the courts have moved one step closer to a major showdown. On Monday, a federal judge said for the first time that the White House is defying a clear and unambiguous judicial order. The legal fight is over the billions of dollars in federal funding that the administration froze last month so they could root out any programs they felt weren't in line with President Trump's ideology and agenda. The judge had ordered the administration to keep the money flowing, but they have not fully complied, and there are reports that they've frozen even more money since then.
The judge said yesterday that there is no legitimate reason for the White House not to be following his orders. In a statement, though, a White House spokesman was openly defiant, claiming that, quote, every action of the Trump-Vance administration is completely lawful and that any challenge against it is nothing more than an attempt to undermine the will of the American people. The administration's refusal to release federal funds might not be the only court order they're ignoring. Yesterday, a federal workers' group said the administration is still putting USAID employees on leave, even after a judge told them to stop. If the White House continues to openly flout orders from the courts, the government could be headed towards a high-stakes constitutional clash between the executive branch and the judicial branch. Meanwhile, a move by the Justice Department on Monday is raising questions about influence and fairness under the Trump administration.
The department told federal prosecutors to drop their case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Adams was charged last year with conspiracy, wire fraud, bribery, and soliciting illegal campaign contributions. He spent the last several months currying favor with President Trump, attending the inauguration and visiting him at Mar-a-Lago.
Why is Mayor Eric Adams' case being dropped?
The DOJ now says it wants the case against Adams dropped not because of the facts involved, but in part because the charges could interfere with Adams' job, including his ability to cooperate with Trump's immigration crackdown. In Gaza, the fragile ceasefire between Hamas and Israel is on edge. Hamas now says it's postponing the release of any more hostages indefinitely.
What is the status of the Hamas-Israel ceasefire?
It was supposed to release more this weekend. The group has accused Israel of violating the agreement by delaying the return of displaced Palestinians, blocking the delivery of some humanitarian aid, and opening fire on civilians. This morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet with his security cabinet about how to respond. But President Trump has already issued his own ultimatum to Hamas over the ceasefire deal.
What ultimatum did Trump give to Hamas?
As far as I'm concerned, if all of the hostages aren't returned by Saturday at 12 o'clock, I think it's an appropriate time. I would say cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out.
Sitting at his desk in the Oval Office, Trump said he was speaking for himself, not Israel. But he demanded that Hamas go above and beyond the original deal and release all of the remaining hostages this weekend.
Saturday at 12 o'clock. And after that, it's going to be a different ballgame.
Mr. President, when you say all hell is going to break loose, are you speaking about retaliation from Israel?
You'll find out. And they'll find out, too. Hamas will find out what I mean.
At the same time, Trump has doubled down on his brazen plan to relocate the entire population of Gaza and redevelop the territory.
I say we go in, we knock them all down, we just create something. No more Hamas. There's no Hamas there. There's nobody there.
While Trump's aides have previously tried to downplay his relocation plan, saying Gazans would only be removed temporarily, Trump said in an interview on Fox News that they would not be allowed to return and that they'd be permanently resettled in Egypt and Jordan. Both countries have rejected that idea, which could violate international law.
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