President Trump has imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court over its war crimes investigations against Israel. The executive order issued Thursday accuses the ICC of engaging in “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel.” It also says the ICC abused its power when it issued “baseless” arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over war crimes and crimes against humanity, reiterating “the ICC has no jurisdiction over the United States or Israel.”

Trump’s action coincided with Netanyahu’s visit to Capitol Hill Thursday, where he met with leaders of both parties. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said he was caught off guard by Trump’s proposal and was awaiting details, but nonetheless praised it.

Speaker Mike Johnson: “Look, there will be more details forthcoming on that, of course. The initial announcement yesterday, I think, was greeted with — by surprise by many, but cheered by, I think, people all around the world. Why? Because that area is so dangerous, and he’s taking bold, decisive action to try to ensure the peace of that region.”

Human rights groups and multiple world leaders have condemned the United States for welcoming Netanyahu and refusing to serve the ICC arrest warrant against him. Reed Brody is a veteran war crimes prosecutor.

Reed Brody: “Well, of course, this decision was expected, but nevertheless it really threatens to undermine international accountability for the worst crimes and deprive victims all across the globe of justice. This executive order puts the United States on the side of war criminals at the expense of victims of grave crimes seeking justice.”

Netanyahu gifted Trump a golden pager during their meeting at the White House, referencing Israel’s deadly booby-trap attacks on Lebanon in September which killed dozens of people and injured thousands more.

President Trump is doubling down on his proposal for the United States to seize Gaza, saying the besieged territory would be “turned over” to the U.S. by Israel after it concludes its war. Trump made the remarks on Truth Social, writing, “The Palestinians … would have already been resettled in far safer and more beautiful communities, with new and modern homes, in the region. They would actually have a chance to be happy, safe, and free. No soldiers by the U.S. would be needed!” The Wall Street Journal reported Pentagon officials have received no formal request to draft a plan for U.S. troop deployment to Gaza. Meanwhile, even some Republicans have come out in opposition, including Senator Lindsey Graham, who said other Senate Republicans opposed sending U.S. troops to Gaza.

Residents of Gaza compared Trump’s plan to the 1948 Nakba and the violent displacement of Palestinians from their land over the past several decades.

Tamer Labad: “I believe that this plan is destined to fail. Why? Because since the occupation of Palestine in 1948, this project has been proposed by occupiers and nations that support occupation regarding the issue of displacing the population of the Gaza Strip, but failed due to the steadfastness of our people in the face of this decision. Of course, the occupation will also fail in this war of extermination that began on October 7, 2023.”

Israel continues to violate the ceasefire agreement, as Israeli soldiers shot dead two Palestinians, including a child, in southern Gaza Wednesday.

The Senate has voted 53 to 47, along party lines, to confirm Russell Vought as head of the Office of Management and Budget. Vought is an architect of Project 2025, a radical playbook to seize executive power and to radically reshape federal agencies. Last year, Vought told undercover reporters his plans for mass deportations, restricting abortion, gutting independent government bureaucracies and using the military against racial justice protesters. Vought also said he would work to paint federal workers as “villains” and “put them in trauma” in order to drastically reduce the size of the federal civilian workforce. This is Democratic Senator Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland, who represents over 150,000 federal workers.

Sen. Angela Alsobrooks: “They are public servants in the truest sense of the word, who are not guided by party, not moved by vicious news cycles, but they are driven instead by mission, a mission to serve this country to the very best of their ability under any president of any party. And in just 17 days, this president has put all of their livelihoods on the line. How shameless. How reckless. How callous. How depraved.”

On Thursday, a federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s “deferred resignation” program offering eight months’ pay and salary to any government worker replying to a mass email sent out by Elon Musk’s DOGE operation. The judge will revisit the case on Monday.

The Wall Street Journal reports 25-year-old DOGE staff member Marko Elez, who gained access to the Treasury Department’s central payments system, resigned Thursday after he was linked to a deleted social media account that advocated racism and eugenics, writing among other things, “Normalize Indian hate.”

In another apparent breach of sensitive data, CNN reports Energy Secretary Chris Wright granted a 23-year-old former SpaceX intern and DOGE staffer access to the Energy Department’s IT system. On his social media site X, Elon Musk has threatened reprisals, including for journalists, after Wired magazine named six of his young associates at DOGE, who are all between the ages of 19 and 24.

Meanwhile, the White House is preparing an executive order to cut thousands of jobs at the Department of Health and Human Services, including positions at the CDC and FDA. This comes as several dairy herds in Nevada have just tested positive for a new variant of the H5N1 bird flu virus, raising fresh concerns of a spillover into human populations and a new pandemic.

More than a thousand people gathered for a protest outside the Treasury Department in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday denouncing what they called a breach of secure information by Elon Musk and his associates. The protest came as the Trump administration said it would close the Environmental Protection Agency’s environmental justice office and place 168 employees on leave. Lawmakers including Arizona Congressmember Yassamin Ansari were denied access as they tried to enter the EPA’s headquarters Thursday.

Rep. Yassamin Ansari: “In Phoenix last year, we saw 143 days above 100-degree temperatures. Hundreds of people die on our streets every summer as a result of extreme heat. We also have some of the worst air pollution in the country that we’re working to combat. And these attacks on the Environmental Protection Agency cannot stand.”

In more Trump Cabinet news, the Senate voted 55 to 44 on Wednesday to confirm Scott Turner as Department of Housing and Urban Development secretary, despite concerns that his FBI background check had not been completed. Turner is a former developer and NFL player, who’s expected to slash the department’s multibillion-dollar budget and overhaul affordable housing vouchers, as well as programs for unhoused people. Turner is the only African American member of Trump’s Cabinet.

Trump has nominated retired Brigadier General Anthony J. Tata — known for his history of Islamophobic and other racist remarks — to a senior Pentagon post charged with overseeing deployments. Tata once called President Obama a “terrorist leader.”

This comes as the Trump administration on Tuesday evicted former Coast Guard Commandant Linda Fagan from her home with three hours of notice — without enough time to even gather her personal belongings. Fagan is a four-star admiral and the first woman to lead a branch of the military. She was removed from her post on Trump’s second day in office. Homeland Security Department officials cited Fagan’s “excessive focus” on diversity, equity and inclusion policies.

The Education Department has announced investigations against two universities and a high school sports league for allowing transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports. The agency, which Trump has vowed to dismantle, will be probing the University of Pennsylvania and San Jose State University, claiming the institutions have violated civil rights laws over their policies supporting trans athletes in college teams.

Meanwhile, trans rights activists are condemning the National Collegiate Athletic Association after its board voted to ban trans women from sports — caving to Trump’s executive order, which directs federal agencies to withhold funding for schools that do not comply.

The World Meteorological Organization reports January 2025 was the warmest since records began, reaching 1.75 degrees Celsius above the preindustrial level. The January data was a “surprise” to many scientists, coming despite La Niña conditions that tend to cool the globe. On Sunday, temperatures at the North Pole soared above the freezing point of ice, reaching 36 degrees Fahrenheit above normal for the date.

This week, staffers with Elon Musk’s DOGE operation entered the headquarters of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to access IT systems. They’re also reviewing the agency’s diversity, equity and inclusion practices. NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service has ordered its scientists to stop all contact with foreign colleagues and contacts, including on international treaties and seafood catch limits. Meanwhile, President Trump has nominated Neil Jacobs to reprise his role as acting administrator of NOAA. An investigation found Jacobs violated NOAA’s code of ethics in 2019 after defending Trump’s false claim that Hurricane Dorian would hit Alabama — the so-called Sharpiegate scandal.

The California Public Utilities Commission has received video and data evidence strongly suggesting that high-voltage transmission lines operated by the electric power company Southern California Edison were responsible for igniting the Eaton fire, which killed 17 people last month as it swept through the historically Black neighborhood of Altadena, destroying 9,400 homes, schools, businesses and other structures.

On Thursday, mourners gathered at First AME Church of Pasadena for a memorial service honoring fire victims. Community members and civil rights leaders are demanding the same federal resources for recovery that L.A.'s most affluent neighborhoods are receiving. They're also warning against shortchanging by insurance companies. Joining the call is Zaire Calvin, who became separated from his sister Evelyn McClendon on January 9 as he evacuated the fire with his baby and elderly mother. He returned to find his sister’s remains in the rubble of her home.

Zaire Calvin: “We want to be made whole. Black people always end up last. I’m just going to say it now: We always end up last. Can we just be first in line in this?”

This week, the insurance giant State Farm has asked California regulators to approve a rate hike that would see the average homeowner pay 22% more for their premiums. In 2023, State Farm said it would no longer accept new applications for property insurance in California. Last year, it cut 72,000 home and apartment policies across the state, citing inflation and “catastrophe exposure.”

In India, lawmakers held a protest outside the Parliament Thursday, outraged by reports that some 100 Indian immigrants were kept in shackles during a 40-hour U.S. deportation flight back to India, including during bathroom breaks. This comes days before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to meet Trump at the White House.