DSU police officer receives First Responder Award on Martin Luther King Jr. Day

USA TODAY
New bird flu variant found in dairy cattle. Can H5N1 be transmitted to humans?
A bird flu variant linked to the death of a Louisiana resident has now been found in cattle in Nevada.
Associated Press
Chris Swanson, prominent sheriff and Democrat, announces run for Michigan governor
Chris Swanson, the high-profile sheriff of Michigan's Genesee County, is launching a Democratic bid to become the battleground state's next governor. First elected sheriff of Michigan’s fifth-largest county in 2020, Swanson’s gubernatorial bid — announced Thursday in an interview with The Associated Press — marks his full leap into politics after gaining national attention for marching with protesters in 2020 and speaking at the Democratic National Convention last August.
NBC News
All Quiksilver, Billabong and Volcom stores to close in U.S.
All Quiksilver, Billabong and Volcom stores will close in the U.S. after their operator filed for bankruptcy.
USA TODAY
Trump administration sues Illinois, Chicago for obstructing ICE efforts
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said the state will meet the federal government in court to dispute the claims.
Associated Press
DOGE was tasked with stopping Treasury payments to USAID, AP sources say
Officials working with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency sought access to the U.S. Department of Treasury payment system to stop money from flowing to the U.S. Agency for International Development, according to two people familiar with the matter. DOGE’s efforts to stop USAID payments undermine assurances that the department gave to federal lawmakers in a Tuesday letter that it sought only to review the integrity of the payments and had “read-only access” to the system as part of an audit process. The actions by DOGE, a Trump administration effort to find ways to reduce the federal workforce, cut programs and slash federal regulations, have raised concerns among civil servants, Democratic lawmakers and others that Musk's team is withholding funds appropriated by Congress to suit the president's political agenda.
Associated Press
Trump's Justice Department ends Biden-era task force aimed at seizing assets of Russian oligarchs
The Trump administration's Justice Department has disbanded a Biden-era program aimed at seizing the assets of Russian oligarchs as a means to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. The move to disband Task Force KleptoCapture is one of several moves undertaken by the Justice Department under the new leadership of Attorney General Pam Bondi that presage a different approach toward Russia and national security issues. The department also ended the Foreign Influence Task Force, which was established in the first Trump administration to police influence campaigns staged by Russia and other nations aimed at sowing discord, undermining democracy and spreading disinformation.
AFP
Global stocks mostly climb as trade fears ease
Global stocks mostly rose Thursday on easing trade tensions, with London and Frankfurt hitting record highs ahead of key US employment data.Frankfurt stocks touched a fresh record high after official data showing German industrial orders rebounded more than expected in December.
AFP
Judge pauses Musk plan for mass cull of US govt workers
A judge on Thursday paused a scheme masterminded by billionaire Elon Musk to slash the size of the US government by encouraging federal workers to quit through a mass buyout.The federal judge in Massachusetts ordered a temporary injunction on the plan's deadline -- midnight Thursday -- given by Musk for the country's more than two million government employees.
Reuters
Republicans say nearing deal on Trump's tax cuts, but not there yet
Congressional Republicans emerged from a five-hour meeting with President Donald Trump on Thursday without having reached an deal on how to extend his sweeping tax cuts, though senior lawmakers said they believed they were close to agreement. Republicans, who hold narrow majorities in the House of Representatives and Senate, have spent weeks trying to agree on a plan to cover the cost of extending the tax cuts -- which nonpartisan analysts say could add another $4 trillion to the U.S.'s existing $36 trillion in debt over the next decade. "We’re really grateful for the president for leaning in and doing what he does best, and that is put a steady hand at the wheel and get everybody working," Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters at the Capitol.
AFP
US ends criminal enforcement of foreign influence law
The US Justice Department is scaling back policing of foreign interests operating in the United States, ending criminal enforcement of a law used to snare bad actors seeking to influence politics and elections, including two allies of President Donald Trump.Bondi -- who previously registered herself under FARA for work she did with Qatar -- said she was limiting criminal enforcement of the law to "alleged conduct similar to more traditional espionage by foreign government actors."
Reuters
Exclusive-Trump's Paris AI summit delegation won't include AI Safety Institute staff, sources say
(Reuters) -The U.S. delegation to a major artificial intelligence summit in Paris next week will not include technical staff from the country's AI Safety Institute, two people close to Washington's plans for the event and a third source briefed on the matter told Reuters. Vice President JD Vance is leading the U.S. contingent to France, which is gathering around 100 countries to focus on AI's potential on February 10 and 11. U.S. attendees will include members of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy: Principal Deputy Director Lynne Parker and Senior Policy Advisor for Artificial Intelligence Sriram Krishnan, an OSTP spokesperson said.
Associated Press
Judge rules Georgia railroad can seize land as landowners vow to fight
A judge has ruled that a Georgia railroad can buy land against the will of property owners to build a track, rebuffing a challenge that a libertarian group hoped could make it harder to use eminent domain to take property. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Craig Schwall Sr. ruled Tuesday that the Sandersville Railroad could condemn a 200-foot (60-meter) wide strip of property running 4.5 miles (7.3 kilometers) to build a rail line serving a rock quarry and other users. Landowners fighting the railroad had appealed a Georgia Public Service Commission ruling allowing the land taking.
Reuters
Judge orders overnight pause on potential naming of January 6 FBI agents
A U.S. judge on Thursday ordered a brief pause on any public release of the identifies of FBI employees who worked on probes into the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Donald Trump supporters following a legal challenge by a group of FBI agents. U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb in Washington said the order would last until a court hearing resumes on Friday morning. "If this information were released, I think there's no question it would put a number of FBI agents at significant and immediate danger," Cobb said.
AFP
Rubio renews US hard line with Venezuela plane seizure
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday supervised the seizure of a second aircraft belonging to Venezuela's leftist government in less than a year, showing a hard line despite nascent diplomacy.In September, the United States, under then-president Joe Biden, announced the seizure of a first Venezuelan government airplane in the Dominican Republic that had been used to transport Maduro on international trips.
Associated Press
12 states to sue over DOGE access to government payment systems containing personal data
Democratic attorneys general in several states vowed Thursday to file a lawsuit to stop Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency's from accessing federal payment systems containing Americans' sensitive personal information. A dozen attorneys general, including New York's Letitia James, said in a statement that they were taking action “in defense of our Constitution, our right to privacy, and the essential funding that individuals and communities nationwide are counting on." “As the richest man in the world, Elon Musk is not used to being told ‘no,’ but in our country, no one is above the law," the statement said.
NBC News
Minnesota lawmakers reach power-sharing agreement, ending weekslong stalemate
Minnesota lawmakers settled on a bipartisan power-sharing agreement in the state House, ending a weekslong political stalemate in the narrowly divided chamber.
AFP
India deportation flight likely cost US more than $1 mn
The Trump administration has begun using military aircraft to underscore its determination to deport undocumented migrants. The flight is believed to be the first use of a military aircraft to deport people to India.
AFP
Amazon profits double, but cautious outlook disappoints
E-commerce giant Amazon reported Thursday its fourth-quarter net income nearly doubled to $20 billion, driven by strong holiday sales, but its outlook for the coming quarter came in less than hoped for by analysts.But looking ahead, Amazon expects first-quarter 2025 net sales between $151.0 billion and $155.5 billion, representing growth of five to nine percent, which was less than predicted by analysts.
Associated Press
As Trump pushes the limits of presidential power, the courts push back
A familiar pattern has emerged since President Donald Trump returned to the White House less than three weeks ago: He makes a brash proposal, his opponents file a lawsuit and a federal judge puts the plan on hold. It's happened with Trump's attempts to freeze certain federal funding, undermine birthright citizenship and push out government workers. Now the question is whether the court rulings are a mere speed bump or an insurmountable roadblock for the Republican president, who is determined to expand the limits of his power — sometimes by simply ignoring the laws.
Associated Press
Here's how Rubio's first trip abroad as top US diplomat got overshadowed by foreign policy at home
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio may have hoped to spend his first trip abroad focused exclusively on issues close to his heart: immigration, counternarcotics and curbing Chinese influence in the Western Hemisphere. Instead, the five-nation tour to Central America — a destination he deliberately chose for his maiden voyage as President Donald Trump’s top diplomat — was overshadowed by a massive Washington-centered upheaval in U.S. foreign policy. Just two weeks into his new job, the Miami-born former Florida senator did stay true to his original intent in meetings with the leaders of Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic.

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