Friday 02.14.25

Happy Valentine's Day, readers! The lovely roses that many of you will give or receive today have likely traveled thousands of miles to make it to the US — from farms in South America, through customs, distribution centers and, eventually, to your home. See how your sweet, fragrant bouquets made the incredible journey to you and your loved ones. Here's what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and on With Your Day.
 

By Alexandra Banner

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Trump's Cabinet

The Senate is moving ahead with more of President Donald Trump's Cabinet picks, setting up key votes next week. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed Thursday to serve as the nation's Health and Human Services secretary, despite his controversial views on vaccines and public health policy. Kennedy has vowed not to get rid of any vaccines but says more research is needed. Those closest to Trump have long believed that successfully pushing the president's nominees through the confirmation process would be a crucial early test of his strength on Capitol Hill. The Senate is expected to hold votes next week on Trump's picks for FBI director, small business administrator and secretary of commerce.

Ukraine

Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today at the high-level Munich Security Conference in Germany. Hours before the expected meeting, Zelensky said a Russian drone had struck the destroyed nuclear power plant at Chernobyl, underscoring the crisis on the ground. Emergency services said that the radiation levels remain normal. Vance on Thursday also warned that the US could send troops to Ukraine and hit Russia with further sanctions if President Vladimir Putin doesn't negotiate a peace deal in good faith.

TikTok

Apple and Google have restored TikTok to their US app stores. This comes after President Trump signed an executive action last month delaying the enactment of a US ban on the wildly popular social media platform. TikTok shut down for roughly 14 hours in January but attributed its quick return to promises made by Trump to keep the app working. But its 175 million users still ran into at least one problem: TikTok was, as of that January weekend, unavailable on Apple and Google Play stores. Apple previously said it removed TikTok from the app store because of the ban, though the app remained available for customers who already downloaded it.

Hostage release

The fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas appears to be back on track after Hamas said it will release Israeli hostages this weekend as initially planned. Hamas had postponed the release of more hostages, accusing Israel of violating the truce. In response, Israel warned it would return to fighting. But after talks with key mediators Egypt and Qatar, Hamas said that the releases — which will see Palestinian prisoners exchanged in return — will go ahead. So far, 16 out of 33 Israeli hostages scheduled for release in the current phase of the agreement have been freed by Hamas, and 656 Palestinian prisoners from a list of nearly 2,000 have been released by Israel.

Mudslides

As Southern California recovers from last month's devastating wildfires, heavy rains Thursday resulted in pockets of flooding, blocked roadways and mud piling up around recent burn scars. In Altadena, which was impacted by the Eaton fire, some vehicles were mired in thick mud as crews scrambled to dig them out. In Malibu, a Los Angeles Fire Department member sustained minor injuries after his vehicle was swept into the ocean by a large debris flow. The storm system has largely moved out of metro Los Angeles, prompting officials to lift flood warnings, but concerns linger over the potential for more mudslides and rockslides, which can occur long after rainfall has ended.

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1 million

That's around how many coolers Igloo is recalling due to a hazard that has caused a handful of fingertip injuries, including some amputations.

(US Consumer Product Safety Commission/AP)

These firings are not about poor performance – there is no evidence these employees were anything but dedicated public servants.

— The American Federation of Government Employees, issuing a statement after thousands of probationary employees were fired Thursday as the Trump administration directed federal agencies to carry out widespread layoffs. 

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