Not certain if news worthy or not (re. Trump's executive orders and US government contractors)

Just got a message from CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) about how all contractors and employees are to cease using anything related to gender in our files, documents, contracts, etc in order to defend against 'gender ideology'. Only the use of 'He', 'She', and 'Sex' are allowed. We must remove any terms related to 'gender ideology' such as: Gender, Transgender, Inclusivity, and Nonbinary.

This is part of Trump's Executive Order 14168. Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government (Defending Women). Also in this document is a mention that CMS won't be sending a national message about their compliance with this executive order.

But vibes!

Homelessness increased 18% in 2024, affecting over 770,000 people. Child homelessness also increased 33%, with nearly 150,000 kids living without a home.

China announces retaliatory tariffs on the United States, including export controls on certain rare earth minerals used for the aerospace, advanced technology and solar energy industries.

• Telegram

The Syrian army penetrates into Lebanon and extends control over three villages inside Lebanon in search of soldiers kidnapped by Iranian militias

Looks like the HTS gov is having a border war with lebanon

kaplya get off the lathe

FT

Donald Trump wants Ukrainian rare earths deal in return for US military support US proposal appears to align with President Zelenskyy’s strategy to keep Washington onside

President Donald Trump on Monday said he wanted a deal granting the US access to Ukraine’s rare earths resources in exchange for continued military and economic aid to Kyiv as it struggles to halt Russia’s invasion. The proposal appears to align with a strategy Ukraine has been developing to deepen ties with the Trump administration by allowing the US access to critical minerals used in high-tech industries. Speaking at the White House, Trump reiterated complaints that Washington had provided more support to Ukraine than its European allies. “We’re looking to do a deal where they’re going to secure what we’re giving them with their rare earth and other things,” he said of Ukraine. Trump suggested Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government was open to it. “We’re putting in hundreds of billions of dollars,” said Trump. “They have great rare earth. And I want security of the rare earth, and they’re willing to do it.” A person close to Zelenskyy told the Financial Times that Trump’s remarks “seem to align with the ‘victory plan’ presented to him in the fall”. The person said Ukraine had offered Trump “special terms” for co-operation on key resources, stressing the need to protect them from Russia and Iran. “Of course, we are ready to work with America,” the person added. Zelenskyy presented an outline of the plan to Trump in New York last September during the US election campaign. It includes the sharing of critical natural resources with western partners, replacing US troops in Europe with Ukrainian forces and offering Trump investment screening powers to block Chinese business interests in Ukraine. Kyiv holds vast reserves of titanium, iron ore and coal, as well as about 500,000 tonnes of untapped lithium, collectively estimated to be worth tens of trillions of dollars. Some of these resources are at risk of being lost to Russia’s advancing forces in Ukraine’s east, or have already fallen under Russian occupation. “Control over mineral resources has become a part of the war,” said Mustafa Nayyem, the former head of Ukraine’s state agency for restoration and infrastructure development. The country is not only fighting for its territory, he added, “but also for the right to manage its strategic wealth, which could be a crucial factor in its recovery”. Trump has vowed to bring a swift end to Russia’s war against Ukraine. He previously said his administration had held “very serious” talks with Russia over the war. “We made a lot of progress on Russia, Ukraine,” Trump said on Monday. “We’ll see what happens. We’re going to stop that ridiculous war.” While supportive of Trump’s enthusiasm to bring the three-year war to an end, the American leader’s suggestion that he had formulated part of a plan with Russia without Ukraine has irked leaders in Kyiv. Speaking to the Associated Press on Saturday, Zelenskyy said his team had engaged with Trump’s advisers and expected in-person meetings soon. “They may have their own relations, but talking about Ukraine without us — it is dangerous for everyone,” Zelenskyy said.

No one told me Gaddaffi's son was making a comeback in libyan politics

return of the king

lol all that Canadian defiance and “we will never retreat!!!” was just piss in the wind, just as everybody already knew

there was a mass shooting in Sweden by some white guy, apparently Syrian refugees were among those killed, 'no motive' yet though

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy9l2424wrgo

Trump to speak with China's Xi after hiking tariffs, White House says

The call will be Trump and Xi's first known talks since Trump took office on Jan. 20. They previously spoke before Trump's inauguration.

"It'll happen in the next couple of days," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said of the latest call.

…

"China hopefully is going to stop sending us fentanyl, and if they're not, the tariffs are going to go substantially higher," said Trump. "China will be dealt with," he added.

China, which has long called tariffs counterproductive, offered relatively muted criticism of the tariffs and signaled an openness to talks.

The country's government appeared poised to seek a deal with Trump that could delay or stop tariffs, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The U.S. dollar hit a record high against the Chinese yuan traded offshore and was hovering near those levels on Monday.

Here comes the main show. The others are just side shows, sorry.

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3297249/american-prisoners-could-soon-be-bound-el-salvadors-jails

Trump proposes sending US prisoners to El Salvador

Reports from Panama of arrests and home raids against student leader participants of the anti-Marco Rubio protests held in the Panamanian capital.

Even the liberal media have been reporting protests against the US in Panama, something very rare given that Panama is one of the US's closest allies in Latin America. Picture of Rubio in Nazi Uniform Burning.

So are the liberals going to take up arms against the trump dictatorship or not? Today seems like a good day to do just that, if you wait they get stronger and

who am i fucking kidding.

The United States claims Panama has complied with Trump's wishes, and that American vessels are passing through the Panama canal without paying tolls, but Panama denies, and says nothing has changed

• Telegram

???

Made the horrible mistake of looking into a r/Europe post about how the Brazilian goverment banned X and froze Elon Musk's assets in Brazil, and Elon had to back down, and how Europe could learn from that. Besides the people explaining the situation better and some people thinking it's ok, since Elon broke the law in Brazil.

There are a lot of Americans and America Bootlickers saying stuff like: Lula is a communist dictator, He's Putler friend so he's evil, Freedom of speech, and other weird shit. How the fuck is Lula a dictator when he was elected after being released from jail, holy shit, these people literally cannot comprehend that the US law isn't valid in other countries and that other countries simply do not have absolute freedom of speech, racism and xenophobia are literal crimes in Brazil.

Tariff on Mexico has been suspended for one month, after meeting with Sheinbaum lmao

https://bsky.app/profile/moreperfectunion.bsky.social/post/3lhbuwdiujc2h

The US is so fucked. Here are 7 posts I made in c/news in just the last ~30 minutes.

• A Trump megadonor wants the Supreme Court to overturn the landmark 1964 decision in New York Times v. Sullivan which protects the media's ability to aggressively cover public officials.

• Trump has plans for “imminent mass layoffs” for up to as many as 200,000 employees hired within the last two years.

• Republicans planning ‘deep cuts’ to Medicaid [See body text]

• Senate Republicans' opaque budget resolution points in troubling direction. It hides how hides how the $342 billion spending increase (mass deportations etc) would be paid for.

• Hospitals could be Congress’ next target as GOP looks to extend Trump’s tax cuts

• Trump Tax Cuts Would Cost Between 5 and 11 Trillion Dollars

• Senate GOP Proposes $350 Billion for Mass Deportations

What the heck is going on with planes

joe biden, the actor?

Indoor vs. Outdoor cat debate just intensified

C.D.C. Posts, Then Deletes, Data on Bird Flu Spread Between Cats and People

The data, which appeared fleetingly online on Wednesday, confirmed transmission in two households. Scientists called on the agency to release the full report.

Outdoor cats are bringing bird flu into housholds

United States President Donald Trump assures that Israel will hand over Gaza to the U.S. at the end of the conflict. He says that the Palestinian people will be relocated to "safer and more beautiful" places.

• Telesur English

Been an (adult) school shooting in Örebro, Sweden with somewhere around 10 people confirmed dead so far. The perpetrator is believed to be among the dead and to have acted on his own.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/swedish-police-respond-threat-deadly-violence-school-2025-02-04/

With the country now two-and-a-half weeks into President Donald Trump’s second term, an average of national polls shows him with an approval rating just under 50%.

The polling average at FiveThirtyEight.com shows the president with a 48.8% approval rating

Honestly the funniest thing is how much Americans are loving the unraveling of their own country

https://t.me/Middle_East_Spectator/15421

https://t.me/AMK_Mapping/6886

Israel has reportedly resumed bombing and pushing into Syria while the "government" forces (HTS) are busy attacking... Lebanon... for some reason.

How exactly is the US Attorney's Office threatening to prosecute social media users for "doxxing" DOGE employees, and pressuring them to ban/tempban part of the platform, not news? If that's not news, why is the TikTok ban news?

Lula criticizes Trump and says Gaza should be governed by Palestinians.

Brazilian president condemns US proposal, reaffirms support for the creation of a Palestinian state and denounces forced displacement as a violation of human rights.

“The US participated in encouraging everything Israel did in the Gaza Strip. So it doesn't make sense to meet with the president of Israel and say: 'we're going to occupy Gaza, we're going to recover Gaza, we're going to live in Gaza. And where are the Palestinians going to go, where are they going to live? What is their country?” said Lula in an interview with radio stations in Minas Gerais.

Lula also said that the destruction in Gaza amounts to genocide, holding the United States directly responsible for financing the Israeli offensive.

“What happened in Gaza was a genocide, and I honestly don't know if the United States, which is part of all this, would be the country to try to take care of Gaza,” he said.

“It's the Palestinians who have to take care of Gaza. What they need is reparations for everything that was destroyed, so that they can rebuild their homes, hospitals, schools, and live in dignity with respect.”

“The US has been sold as the symbol of world democracy, it has set itself up as the judge of the planet. A fable of money is spent on weapons every day. You can't suddenly change now from the country that sold the idea of peace to the country that sells the idea of provocation, of disagreement,” he said.

Lula's speech reinforces his position of confrontation with Trump on human rights issues. The Brazilian president had already criticized the Republican in the past for his policy of mass deportation of Brazilian immigrants.

• Original Article in Portuguese

Lula also said something like the US or Elon Musk, should stop trying to interfer with Venezuela or Brazil but I couldn't find a good transcript of this interview.

Stream in Argentina Turns Blood-red:
https://www.geologyin.com/2025/02/stream-in-argentina-turns-blood-red.html

The Sarandí Stream in Avellaneda, a suburb of Buenos Aires, recently turned a vivid red, shocking residents and prompting swift action from environmental authorities. Witnesses described the water as resembling "a river of blood," with a strong, unpleasant odor lingering in the air.

Preliminary investigations by Buenos Aires' Ministry of the Environment suggest the discoloration may be linked to an organic dye spill. The Sarandí Stream flows through an industrial zone housing tanneries, textile factories, and chemical plants—facilities previously implicated in environmental contamination. Residents have long complained about pollution in the stream, noting past discolorations in shades of yellow, blue, green, pink, and purple, often accompanied by oily films and acidic odors.

In February 4, 1992, Commander Hugo Chávez led a civic-military rebellion against the neoliberal government of President Carlos Andrés Pérez in Venezuela. The rebellion, despite its failure, marked the beginning of a new era of profound socio-political changes in the Latin American country- the Bolivarian Revolution. Chávez was allowed to speak on national TV on the night of February 4, during which he accepted responsibility for the rebellion and addressed his fellow rebels to assure them that they had only failed “for now".

Do we think Trump is serious about ethnically cleansing more of the Strip and moving the Gazans out to Egypt or Jordan? I am worried about that coming to pass.

Children play on a water slide during UNRWA Summer Fun Weeks.
Thanks to a donation from the Government of Finland, over 150,000 children in Gaza are participating in Summer Fun Weeks 2013, a two-week summer programme organised by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The programme features activities designed to encourage creativity and a psychosocial well-being like football, kite flying, drawing, and traditional games.

©UN Photo/Shareef Sarhan, 2013-06-21

With the start of February, China is now the president of the Security Council.