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MIDDLE EAST | Update from regional tensions:

• While not announcing major breakthroughs, participants in yesterday's indirect U.S.-Iran nuclear talks in Geneva have characterized negotiations as having made "significant progress." Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, who mediated the Geneva talks, said lower-level technical discussions involving Iran's nuclear program are expected to take place in Vienna next week. [more]

U.S. IMMIGRATION | In a filing yesterday, Chief Judge Patrick Schiltz, the top federal judge for Minnesota, warned federal prosecutors in the state and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials that they risk criminal contempt charges if they do not comply with court orders. Schiltz cited more than 100 order violations in dozens of cases related to the ICE enforcement surge in Minnesota as part of his filing, and said, “The Court is not aware of another occasion in the history of the United States in which a federal court has had to threaten contempt — again and again and again — to force the United States government to comply with court orders.” [more]

U.S. INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE | U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, citing a declaration filed earlier this month by Internal Revenue Service officials, said yesterday that the IRS has illegally disclosed confidential taxpayer information to the Department of Homeland Security more than 42,000 times as part of the IRS' agreement to share information on migrants with Immigration and Customs Enforcement for use in enforcement efforts. Kollar-Kotelly noted that the data sharing violated IRS Code 6103, one of the strictest confidentiality statutes in federal law. [more]

U.S. MILITARY | In the second such incident in two weeks, the U.S. military confirms that it used a laser system yesterday to shoot down a "seemingly threatening unmanned aerial system" flying along the U.S.-Mexico border near El Paso, Texas, that was later determined to be a U.S. Customs and Border Protection drone. Unlike the previous incident, commercial flights in the area were not impacted by yesterday's incident, though airspace in a small area around the military's Ft. Hancock was temporarily restricted. [more]

U.S. MORTGAGES | Mortgage firm Freddie Mac said yesterday that the average U.S. 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 5.98% this week – the first drop below 6% since 2022. [more]

U.S. PRICES | The Labor Department's Producer Price Index – a key measure of inflation from the viewpoint of the producer rather than the consumer – rose a higher-than-expected 0.5% in January from the previous month and 2.9% from the year-ago period. [full report] [more]

U.S. EMPLOYMENT | According to Labor Department employment data released yesterday, U.S. employers showed gross job losses of 321,000 in the second quarter of 2025, with job losses having exceeded job gains in 9 out of 13 industry sectors. [full report] [more]

OREGON | A state jury this week ordered Oregon-based electric power company PacificCorp to pay $305 million in damages to 16 victims of wildfires in 2020 that were linked to downed power lines operated by the company. Reports note that more than 1,000 additional people have related cases against PacificCorp scheduled for 2026 and 2027 as part of a class-action lawsuit. [more]

U.S. AND MEXICO | The U.S. State Department said yesterday that it is offering rewards of $5 million each for information leading to the arrest or conviction of brothers Rene and Alfonso Garcia – two alleged leaders of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel in the state of Baja California. [more]

U.S. AND SOUTH AFRICA | Reuters cites what it says is a previously unreported document from the U.S. State Department dated January 27 as showing the Trump administration intends to process 4,500 refugee applications from white South Africans per month this year – a level that, if implemented, would far exceed President Donald Trump's stated goal of admitting only 7,500 total refugees from around the world in 2026. [more]

U.S. AND CONGO | The United States and the Democratic Republic of Congo announced a $1.2 billion health partnership yesterday under which the U.S. will provide up to $900 million over five years to the Central African country to help fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, maternal and child mortality, and other infectious diseases and the Congo will increase its domestic health funding by $300 million over the same period. [more]

AFGHANISTAN AND PAKISTAN | Following a series of escalating border clashes and other violence this week, Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif said today that his country is now in a state of "open war" with Afghanistan. Reports note that Afghanistan launched a new cross-border attack on Pakistan late yesterday and that Pakistan responded with airstrikes in Kabul and two other Afghan provinces early today. [more]

E.U. AND SOUTH AMERICA | Uruguay and Argentina ratified the E.U.-Mercosur free trade deal yesterday, after which European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she would begin to "provisionally implement" the agreement despite it not yet having been approved by the European Parliament. The trade agreement among the E.U.'s 27 nations and four Mercosur members – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay – will create one of the world's largest free trade zones. [more]

SWEDEN AND RUSSIA | Swedish military officials say their forces intercepted a suspected Russian drone yesterday in the Öresund, the strait that divides Sweden from Denmark. Authorities note that the incident took place as the French nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is in the region for scheduled NATO exercises. [more]

VENEZUELA | The commission overseeing Venezuela's new amnesty law said this week that more than 3,200 people have been released from government custody since the law took effect on February 20. Reports note that those released from prison or other restrictions such as house arrest include 91 people who had been detained for political reasons. [more]

CHINA | Ahead of next week's National People's Congress, China's legislature dismissed 19 of its members yesterday, including nine who serve as military officers. Reports note that no reason was given for the dismissals, but that such moves are often linked to corruption investigations and also seen as a means to ensure loyalty to the government. [more]

FINTECH | Citing advances in artificial intelligence and a related need for fewer employees, payment services provider Block, the parent company of online payment platforms such as Square and Cash App, announced yesterday that it is laying off more than 4,000 of its 10,000-plus employees. [more]

MEDIA INDUSTRY | Netflix yesterday withdrew its offer to buy Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming business after Skydance-owned Paramount raised its bid for Warner Bros. to $31 per share. Industry analysts note that any potential merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. poses antitrust concerns and questions about media consolidation in areas such as news and political coverage by Paramount's CBS News and Warner Bros.' CNN. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1933, Germany’s parliament building, the Reichstag, was gutted by fire. Chancellor Adolf Hitler, blaming communist agitators, used the fire to justify suspending civil liberties – a move widely seen as a key event in the establishment of a Nazi-controlled state. [more history]