The briefing for Saturday, February 7.

The New START treaty expired Thursday, leaving no caps on U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals for the first time in more than half a century. The Kremlin said Friday that Russian and U.S. negotiators discussed the issue during talks in Abu Dhabi and agreed on the need to quickly launch new arms control negotiations. The treaty had restricted each side to no more than 1,550 nuclear warheads on no more than 700 deployed missiles and bombers.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had offered to extend the treaty's limits for another year if Washington followed suit, but President Trump rebuffed the proposal. Trump argues he wants China included in any new pact, which Beijing has rejected. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated that 'an arms control arrangement that does not account for China's buildup will undoubtedly leave the United States and our allies less safe.' The U.S. also accused China of conducting covert nuclear explosive tests, allegations Beijing denied.

New START, signed in 2010, was the last remaining agreement in a long series of nuclear arms control pacts between Washington and Moscow dating back to SALT I in 1972. While Putin suspended Russia's participation in 2023 citing NATO's stated goal of defeating Russia in Ukraine, the Kremlin pledged to respect the treaty's weapons caps. The treaty's expiration fuels fears of an unconstrained nuclear arms race between the world's two largest atomic arsenals.

President Trump signed an executive order Friday threatening to impose tariffs on countries that continue to trade with Iran, using 25% as an example rate. The order applies to goods imported into the U.S. from any nation that 'directly or indirectly purchases, imports, or otherwise acquires any goods or services from Iran.' The move comes amid ongoing talks between senior U.S. and Iranian officials in Oman, the first such discussions since last June.

The talks in Oman were led by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff along with Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. Speaking aboard Air Force One, Trump called Friday's discussions 'very good' and said Iran 'looks like it wants to make a deal very badly,' adding that 'if they don't make a deal, the consequences are very steep.' Both sides indicated willingness to continue negotiations, with another meeting planned for early next week.

The discussions occur against a backdrop of significant tensions. The U.S. has built up substantial military presence in the region following Iran's violent repression of nationwide anti-government protests last month, which human rights groups say killed thousands. Trump has threatened to strike Iran if it refuses to reach a deal on its nuclear programme, while Iran insists its nuclear activities are entirely peaceful and has vowed to respond forcefully to any attack.

A federal judge ordered the Trump administration Friday to restore funding to a new rail tunnel between New York and New Jersey, ruling just as construction was set to shut down on the massive infrastructure project. U.S. District Judge Jeannette A. Vargas approved a temporary restraining order barring the administration from withholding the $16 billion in federal support while the states' lawsuit proceeds. The judge wrote that 'Plaintiffs would suffer irreparable harm in the absence of an injunction' and that 'the public interest would be harmed by a delay in a critical infrastructure project.'

The Trump administration had halted funding months ago, citing the then-government shutdown and concerns about diversity, equity and inclusion spending. The Gateway Development Commission had warned that work would stop Friday afternoon, resulting in the immediate loss of about 1,000 jobs and thousands more in the future. The new tunnel is meant to ease strain on an existing 110-year-old tunnel connecting New York and New Jersey for Amtrak and commuter trains, where delays can ripple up and down the East Coast.

The funding suspension was seen as a way to pressure Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York. Speaking on Air Force One, Trump claimed Schumer had suggested renaming Penn Station to Trump Station in exchange for restoring funding. Schumer responded on social media calling it an 'absolute lie' and stating that Trump 'can restart it with the snap of his fingers.' New York Attorney General Letitia James called the ruling 'a critical victory for workers and commuters.'

Newly obtained emails directly contradict Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s repeated Senate testimony that his 2019 trip to Samoa had 'nothing to do with vaccines.' Documents obtained by The Guardian and The Associated Press through an open records lawsuit show contemporaneous accounts from U.S. Embassy and United Nations staffers suggesting Kennedy's concerns about vaccine safety motivated the visit. The trip came before a devastating measles outbreak that killed 83 people, mostly children under age 5.

During two days of Senate confirmation hearings, Kennedy was asked multiple times about the trip and consistently stated his 'purpose in going down there had nothing to do with vaccines.' The emails, many heavily redacted, provide an inside look at how the trip came about and include a U.S. Embassy employee helping Kennedy's team connect with Samoan officials. Samoan officials later said Kennedy's visit bolstered anti-vaccine activists' credibility ahead of the outbreak.

Senator Ron Wyden, who questioned Kennedy during confirmation hearings, said 'Kennedy's anti-vaccine agenda is directly responsible for the deaths of innocent children' and that 'lying to Congress about his role in the deadly measles outbreak in Samoa only underscores the danger he now poses to families across America.' A spokesman for Senate Finance Committee Democrats noted that making false statements to Congress is a crime. The revelations come as measles outbreaks erupt across the U.S., with more than 875 infections reported in South Carolina alone.

The European Union accused TikTok Friday of breaching the bloc's Digital Services Act with 'addictive design' features including autoplay and infinite scroll. EU regulators said their two-year investigation found TikTok hasn't adequately assessed how features could harm the physical and mental health of users, including children and 'vulnerable adults.' The European Commission said TikTok should change the 'basic design' of its service or face fines up to 6% of total global annual revenue, estimated in the tens of billions.

Commission spokesman Thomas Regnier said TikTok's features 'lead to the compulsive use of the app, especially for our kids, and this poses major risks to their mental health and wellbeing.' The commission cited data showing 7% of children aged 12 to 15 spend four to five hours daily on TikTok, and it's 'by far' the platform most used after midnight by children aged 13 to 18. TikTok denied the accusations, calling the findings 'categorically false and entirely meritless.'

The Commission wants TikTok to disable infinite scroll, implement effective screen time breaks including at night, and change its highly personalized recommender system. Social media expert Matt Navarra called it a 'seismic shift' in regulation, noting 'it's no longer about just toxic content, it's about toxic design.' The preliminary findings come as multiple countries including Australia, Spain, France, and Denmark move to restrict social media access for children, while TikTok recently settled a landmark addiction lawsuit in the U.S.

The Pentagon announced Friday it is cutting all ties with Harvard University, ending military training, fellowships and certificate programs starting with the 2026-27 academic year. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Harvard 'no longer meets the needs of the War Department or the military services,' stating that 'too many of our officers came back looking too much like Harvard — heads full of globalist and radical ideologies that do not improve our fighting ranks.'

The decision marks the latest escalation in the Trump administration's prolonged standoff with Harvard. The White House has cut billions in Harvard's federal research funding and attempted to block foreign student enrollment after the campus rebuffed government demands last April. Trump demanded $1 billion from Harvard this week as part of any deal to restore federal funding, twice his previous demand. Harvard has sued the administration in two separate lawsuits, with a federal judge siding with the university in both cases.

Hegseth, who earned a master's degree from Harvard but symbolically returned his diploma in 2022, said similar programs at other Ivy League universities will be evaluated in coming weeks. Personnel currently attending Harvard classes will be allowed to finish their courses. The White House says it's punishing Harvard for tolerating anti-Jewish bias on campus, while Harvard argues it faces illegal retaliation for failing to adopt the administration's ideological views.