New St. Cloud City Hall prepares for grand opening, tours on March 12

Reuters
Rubio to visit Middle East after Trump proposal for US to take over Gaza
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit Israel and Arab states in mid-February, a State Department official said, making his first to the Middle East after a widely condemned proposal by President Donald Trump to displace Palestinians in Gaza. Rubio will travel to the Munich Security Conference and to Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia from February 13-18, the senior State Department official said late on Thursday.
Reuters
Philippines' Vice President Duterte prepared for impeachment, father welcome to join defence team
Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte said on Friday she had been preparing since last year for impeachment and would welcome on her defence team her firebrand father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, if interested to join. Sara Duterte said she had not read the complaint against her endorsed by majority of lower house members but her lawyers were gearing up for a trial in the Senate. The Senate's president has said that could take place in June.
NBC News
U.S. lawmakers move to ban China's DeepSeek from government devices
A bipartisan congressional bill is being introduced to ban China's DeepSeek artificial intelligence software from government devices.
NBC News
Senate Republicans confirm Project 2025 co-author Russell Vought as White House budget director
The Senate voted along party lines Thursday to confirm Russell Vought as the next head of the Office of Management and Budget despite fierce pushback from Democrats.
NBC News
USAID to be reduced to about 290 foreign service officers and civil servants
The U.S. Agency of International Development is expected to be reduced to about 290 workers from the more than 5,000 foreign service officers, civil servants and personal service contractors it currently employs, according to two sources familiar with the plans.
AFP
Taiwan says detects six Chinese balloons near island
Taiwan detected six Chinese balloons off the island, the defence ministry said Friday, as Beijing maintains military pressure to push its claim of sovereignty. Along with the balloons, nine Chinese military aircraft, six warships and two official ships were detected near Taiwan over the same period.
CNN
FBI gives Trump Justice Department names of employees who worked on January 6 cases, ending standoff
The FBI has provided the Justice Department with names of employees who worked on January 6-related cases after a new demand from the acting deputy attorney general, capping a weeklong back-and-forth between bureau leadership – who had sought to protect agent and staff identities – and the department.
USA TODAY
Black church vandalized by Proud Boys hopes to use attention for social justice
'We intend to take that evil and use it for good,’ says pastor of Metropolitan AME Church, which was awarded trademark of group that vandalized it.
AFP
Trump sanctions ICC for 'illegitimate' Israel, US probes
US President Donald Trump slapped sanctions on the International Criminal Court Thursday for "illegitimate and baseless" investigations targeting America and its ally Israel, the White House said.Trump's order said the tribunal had engaged in "llegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel," referring to ICC probes into alleged war crimes by US service members in Afghanistan and Israeli troops in Gaza.
CNN
Judge pauses deadline for federal workers to accept Trump’s resignation offer
A federal judge paused Thursday’s deadline for federal employees to accept the Trump administration’s deferred resignation offer while more proceedings on the program’s legality play out.
NBC News
Trump's freeze stalls federal firefighter hiring
The Trump administration’s federal hiring freeze has stopped the onboarding of thousands of seasonal federal firefighters as the next fire season approaches.
NBC News
Casey DeSantis considers running for Florida governor amid push from top donors
Casey DeSantis, the wife of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, has long been rumored as a potential 2026 candidate, but the prospect is inching closer to reality.
AFP
Japan PM to tread carefully in Trump talks
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will cautiously try to convince Donald Trump to treat Tokyo better than other allies Friday when he becomes the second foreign leader to meet the US president since his return to power.A Japanese foreign ministry official said in Tokyo that "we hope the leaders will be able to build a relationship of personal trust."
AFP
'Lottery ticket': Crypto investors brace for bumpy ride under Trump
Nick was enjoying his Saturday off work in Pennsylvania when he received an unexpected and alarming message: cryptocurrencies, buoyed since Donald Trump's November 5 election win, were in freefall. The value of Bitcoin, by far the most important crypto which has broken record after record and gained around 50 percent since Trump's election, dropped six percent at the height of the crash.
USA TODAY
Oregon jury finds trucker guilty of manslaughter in crash that killed 7 farmworkers
The Oregon jury unanimously found Lincoln Smith, 54, of California, guilty of manslaughter, but not guilty of driving under the influence.
Associated Press
A Russian spy ship caught fire off Syria's coast, officials say. Here's audio of its broadcasts
The broadcast, according to military officials, came from a Russian spy ship, the Kildin, as the vessel packed with intelligence-gathering equipment drifted temporarily out of control off the Syrian coast on Jan. 23, with flames and black fumes rising from its smokestack. The Associated Press obtained audio of the broadcast, as well as video and photos showing the blaze, that three military officials said were gathered by a ship from a NATO nation operating nearby. The officials, also from a NATO country, spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss the fire and radio transmission that Russian authorities haven't publicly reported.
NBC News
Health clinics face cuts, closures as Trump's funding fight ripples outside of Washington
In West Virginia, a nonprofit mental health program for teenage girls is turning to a private donor to help cover its expenses.
Reuters
Army helicopter tracking turned off at time of Washington crash, NYT says
The Army helicopter that collided with a passenger jet last week in Washington had its tracking technology turned off at the time of the crash, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz told the New York Times. The technology allows air traffic controllers to better track the movement of an aircraft. Republican Senator Cruz is a member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, which received a closed-door briefing on the crash with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.
NBC News
Some migrants arrested in Trump’s immigration crackdown have been released back into U.S.
Some people caught in Trump administration immigration operations have already been released back into the United States on a monitoring program.
AFP
Most Asian markets rise ahead of key US jobs data
Most Asian equities advanced Friday as investors head into the weekend awaiting the release of US jobs data, while traders kept a nervous eye on Washington as the Trump administration presses ahead with a hardball trade agenda.Still, for now investors were enjoying the relative calm as analysts say the White House's moves have so far been less strident than initially feared.

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