The briefing for Tuesday, February 10.

Russian state revenues from oil and gas taxes fell to just $5.1 billion in January, down from $14.5 billion a year earlier—the lowest level since the COVID-19 pandemic. The dramatic drop stems from new U.S. sanctions on Russia's two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, combined with an EU ban on refined Russian fuel and Trump administration tariff pressure on India to halt crude purchases.

The sanctions represent a step beyond previous measures like the G-7's $60 per barrel price cap. Russia had circumvented that cap by building a 'shadow fleet' of aging tankers, but Western allies have now sanctioned 640 individual vessels. Russian oil shipments to India have declined from 2 million barrels per day in October to 1.3 million in December, though data firm Kpler says India is unlikely to fully disengage from cheap Russian energy in the near term.

The revenue collapse is forcing President Vladimir Putin to borrow domestically and raise taxes to maintain state finances. These measures only deepen strains in a war economy already plagued by slowing growth and stubborn inflation. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday proposed a complete ban on shipping services for Russian oil, arguing that sanctions provide leverage to push Moscow toward halting the war in Ukraine.

U.S. forces boarded a sanctioned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean on Monday after tracking the vessel from the Caribbean as part of what Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called an oil quarantine targeting Venezuela. The Aquila II, a Panamanian-flagged tanker under U.S. sanctions for shipping illicit Russian oil, was one of at least 16 tankers that fled the Venezuelan coast after U.S. forces ousted then-President Nicolás Maduro in early January.

According to ship tracking data, the Aquila II spent much of the last year with its radio transponder turned off, a practice known as 'running dark' commonly used by smugglers. The Pentagon said the tanker was 'operating in defiance of President Trump's established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean.' Unlike previous seizures, the ship has not been formally placed under U.S. control but is being held while officials decide its fate.

Separately, U.S. Southern Command announced another deadly strike Monday on a vessel accused of drug trafficking in the eastern Pacific, killing two people while one survived. The attack raises the death toll from the Trump administration's strikes on alleged drug boats to 130 people. Hegseth told shipyard workers in Maine that his guidance to military commanders was clear: 'None of those are getting away. I don't care if we got to go around the globe to get them; we're going to get them.'

Two landmark trials began Monday testing whether Meta and YouTube can be held liable for deliberately addicting children to their platforms. In Los Angeles Superior Court, attorney Mark Lanier told jurors that Meta and Google 'built machines designed to addict the brains of children, and they did it on purpose,' presenting internal documents and emails as evidence. A separate trial in New Mexico accuses Meta of failing to protect children from sexual exploitation online.

At the heart of the Los Angeles case is a 20-year-old identified as 'KGM,' who claims social media use from age 6 on YouTube and age 9 on Instagram exacerbated depression and suicidal thoughts through deliberate design choices. Lanier cited a Meta study called 'Project Myst' showing the company knew children who experienced trauma were particularly vulnerable to addiction, and that parental supervision made little impact. He also highlighted internal Google documents likening company products to a casino.

Meta attorney Paul Schmidt countered that KGM's struggles stemmed from family turmoil including neglect and abuse, not the company's negligence. The outcome of these bellwether trials could determine how thousands of similar lawsuits play out and profoundly affect the companies' businesses. Testimony is expected from Mark Zuckerberg, Instagram head Adam Mosseri, and YouTube CEO Neal Mohan over the six-to-eight-week trial. The cases aim to sidestep Section 230 protections by arguing companies made deliberate design choices to maximize youth engagement and drive advertising revenue.

Ali Larijani, Iran's Supreme National Security Council secretary, traveled to Oman on Tuesday carrying what's likely Iran's response to last week's indirect nuclear talks with the United States. Larijani is scheduled to meet with Oman's foreign minister and Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, who are mediating between Tehran and Washington as the U.S. positions military assets in the region and considers potential strikes on Iranian facilities.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi signaled Sunday that Iran would maintain its position on uranium enrichment rights, a major sticking point with President Trump. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is traveling to Washington this week to push Trump for a broader deal that includes limiting Iran's ballistic missiles and cutting ties to militant groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, not just restricting the nuclear program.

The U.S. has moved the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, ships, and warplanes to the Middle East to pressure Iran into an agreement. U.S. forces have already shot down a drone near the Lincoln and aided a U.S.-flagged ship that Iranian forces tried to stop in the Strait of Hormuz. The Transportation Department issued a new warning Monday to American vessels to remain as far as possible from Iranian territorial waters in the strait, through which a fifth of all traded oil passes.

Democratic leaders called a White House counterproposal on Immigration and Customs Enforcement restrictions 'incomplete and insufficient' late Monday as the Department of Homeland Security faces a funding deadline this Friday. Senate leader Chuck Schumer and House leader Hakeem Jeffries said the proposal 'included neither details nor legislative text' and fails to address 'concerns Americans have about ICE's lawless conduct.'

The standoff follows two fatal shootings by federal agents in Minneapolis last month. Democrats are demanding judicial warrants for immigration arrests, better officer identification, new use-of-force standards, and a ban on racial profiling. They also want officers to remove masks, show identification, and stop tracking protesters with body cameras. Senate Majority Leader John Thune had expressed optimism earlier Monday about 'forward progress' in negotiations.

Congress separated DHS funding from a larger spending bill that became law last week after Trump agreed to Democratic demands. The extension runs only through February 13, creating a narrow window for agreement. Republicans have balked at Democratic requests and some want to add proof-of-citizenship requirements for voter registration. Many Democrats say they won't vote for any Homeland Security funding until enforcement is scaled back following the shootings of ICU nurse Alex Pretti on January 24 and Renee Good on January 7.

A record snow drought is hitting most of the American West, with snow cover at just 155,000 square miles—roughly California-sized—compared to a normal 460,000 square miles this time of year. At least 67 Western weather stations recorded their warmest December through early February on record, while Oregon, Colorado, and Utah report their lowest statewide snowpack since records began in the early 1980s.

The lack of snow threatens future water supplies since mountain snowpack that slowly melts provides steady water flow to rivers for agriculture, cities, and hydropower. The dry conditions also raise wildfire risk, as snow disappearing earlier than average leaves ground exposed to warmer weather that dries soils and vegetation quicker. Salt Lake City International Airport has gone 327 days without one inch of snow, the longest stretch since 1890-91.

Scientists say the crisis is mostly due to unusually warm temperatures connected to climate change, with more than 8,500 daily high temperature records broken or tied in the West since December 1. Much precipitation that would normally fall as snow is instead falling as rain and running off quickly. The Upper Colorado River Basin sits at the heart of the drought, raising concerns about water availability later in the year. 'This pattern that we're in is so darned persistent,' said Mark Serreze, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center who has been in Colorado almost 40 years. 'I have not seen a winter like this before.'