Tuesday 02.25.25

The notoriously disastrous Fyre Festival is getting a sequel after a scrapped reboot attempt in 2023. The music festival will be held on a Mexican island this summer and promises "world-class accommodations." But some are wary of buying tickets since the first Bahamas getaway turned out to be a total debacle plagued by mass chaos. Here's what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and on With Your Day.
 

By Alexandra Banner

Tents for detained migrants at the US Naval Station Guantanamo Bay on February 21. (US Navy/AFN Guantanamo Bay Public Affairs/Reuters)

Immigration

The Trump administration is halting its plan to house up to 30,000 undocumented migrants in tents at the military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. A US official said the tents don't meet detention standards because they lack air conditioning or electricity. There also haven't been enough migrants coming to Guantanamo to justify building more tents, officials said. Last week, more than 170 migrants at the naval base were flown to Venezuela, nearly emptying Guantanamo. Since then, 17 migrants have been brought to the detention facility portion of the base — while roughly 1,000 US service members are on site supporting the mission.

Federal job cuts

Federal workers spent Monday trying to figure out how – or even whether – to respond to Elon Musk’s weekend email blast telling them to explain their work last week or risk losing their jobs. First, President Donald Trump called Musk's email plan a "pretty ingenious idea" and vowed to support his brazen efforts to purge the federal government workforce. The president added that employees who don't answer are "semi-fired or fired." As federal agencies scrambled to issue guidance to their workers, the Office of Personnel Management later contradicted Trump, saying responses were voluntary. Musk later doubled down, saying in a statement that failing to respond to a second inquiry would result in termination.

US-Russia relations

The US joined Russia on Monday to vote against a UN General Assembly resolution condemning Russia's war against Ukraine in a stunning shift from years of US policy. The vote saw the US at odds with its longtime European allies and instead aligned with the aggressor in the war on the third anniversary of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin also said Monday that his country is open to economic cooperation with the US, including on energy and mining rare earth minerals. The comments follow discussions between the US and Ukraine, in which President Trump has demanded access to nearly half of Ukraine's mineral resources in exchange for military aid.

Egg surcharge

A growing number of US restaurants are responding to the nationwide egg shortage by adding a temporary surcharge to their egg-based meals at some locations. Denny's, the popular diner chain, said its price decisions are now being made "market-by-market and restaurant-by-restaurant." Earlier this month, Waffle House, another storied diner chain, introduced a temporary 50-cent surcharge per egg. Major retailers, including Costco and Trader Joe's, have had to take action as well by imposing limits on how many eggs one customer can buy. According to the USDA, the avian flu has killed more than 140 million egg-laying birds in the country since 2022. At least 18.9 million birds have been culled in the past 30 days alone.

Crypto hack

North Korean hackers have stolen $1.5 billion in cryptocurrency in a single heist, making it the largest crypto hack on record, security experts told CNN. The hack hit Bybit, which describes itself as the world's second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, with over 40 million users. North Korea's formidable hacking corps is an essential source of revenue for the nuclear-armed, sanctions-battered dictatorship, according to US and South Korean officials. Experts say this incident is an early test of how the Trump administration will address the steep challenge of trying to prevent North Korea from funding its nuclear and missile programs through hacking.

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Lester Holt is stepping down as anchor of 'NBC Nightly News'
Lester Holt, the trusted face of "NBC Nightly News" for the past decade, is stepping down from the newscast.

Starbucks is eliminating these drinks
The coffee chain is laying off workers and cutting some complex and unpopular drinks in an effort to turn around lagging sales.

Fabrics retailer Joann to go out of business
Sorry, more not-sew-good news … Fabrics and crafts retailer Joann is going out of business and shuttering all its stores.

Sony World Photography Awards 2025: The year's best images unveiled
Spanning categories including landscape, still life, and the environment, the annual competition's professional awards will see one finalist named Photographer of the Year.

Hello, Claude
Artificial intelligence startup Anthropic said its new Claude 3.7 Sonnet model can display its step-by-step reasoning process, among other updates. Learn more about the tool's "extended thinking mode."

in memoriam

Grammy-winning soul singer Roberta Flack died Monday following a series of health challenges, including a 2022 diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. She was 88. Flack was best known for her celebrated interpretations of romantic ballads like "Killing Me Softly With His Song," as well as her professional collaborations and social activism.

Roberta Flack in 1975. (Ann Limongello/Disney General Entertainment Content/Getty Images)

38

That's how many people in 21 states have been infected with listeria linked to frozen supplemental shakes, with the majority needing to be hospitalized, the FDA said Monday. Of the 38 people, 12 have died.

We would be honored to visit the White House ... and we look forward to receiving the invitation.

— A source with the Philadelphia Eagles, telling CNN that the NFL team would be "honored" to visit the White House in celebration of their Super Bowl LIX win. This comes after rumors swept social media that the team had declined the traditional visit.

Players and coaches celebrate during the Philadelphia Eagles' Super Bowl 59 parade on February 14. (Matt Slocum/AP)

The shocking science behind staticky hair
Whether your hair is standing up or you feel a shock when you touch your pet, CNN's Meg Tirrell explains the science behind these little jolts of connection and offers a few remedies.