The briefing for Wednesday, February 11.

The Trump administration plans to revoke the 2009 endangerment finding this week, according to a White House official speaking to the Associated Press. The EPA determination that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare has served as the legal basis for nearly all U.S. climate regulations under the Clean Air Act since the Obama era. The decision would affect emissions standards for vehicles, power plants, and other pollution sources.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has criticized his predecessors for being "willing to bankrupt the country" through climate regulations. He argued that the endangerment finding allowed Democrats to "regulate out of existence" segments of the economy through restrictions on vehicles, airplanes, and stationary sources. The EPA spokesperson called the Obama-era rule "one of the most damaging decisions in modern history" but did not specify when the revocation would occur.

Environmental groups promise immediate legal challenges, describing the move as the single biggest attack on federal climate efforts in U.S. history. The Environmental Defense Fund's Peter Zalzal said the EPA will be "encouraging more climate pollution, higher health insurance and fuel costs and thousands of avoidable premature deaths." Critics note the Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that greenhouse gases can be regulated under the Clean Air Act, setting up a likely court battle over the administration's authority to undo the finding.

The FDA issued a rare "refusal-to-file" letter to Moderna regarding its new mRNA flu vaccine, objecting to the design of the company's 40,000-person clinical trial. FDA vaccine director Dr. Vinay Prasad said the application doesn't contain an "adequate and well-controlled trial" because it didn't compare the new shot to "the best-available standard of care" in the United States. The letter cited 2024 feedback from FDA officials under the Biden administration that Moderna didn't follow, though the agency had agreed to let the study proceed as originally planned.

Moderna's trial compared its mRNA vaccine to a standard-dose flu shot and found it somewhat more effective in adults 50 and older. The company said the FDA "did not identify any safety or efficacy concerns" with the product and noted it has applied for approval in Europe, Canada, and Australia. CEO Stephane Bancel said the refusal "does not further our shared goal of enhancing America's leadership in developing innovative medicines."

The decision represents the latest sign of heightened vaccine scrutiny under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has criticized mRNA technology before and after taking office. In the last year, FDA officials under Kennedy have rolled back COVID-19 shot recommendations, added extra warnings to mRNA vaccines, and removed administration critics from advisory panels. Kennedy announced last year he would cancel more than $500 million in contracts for mRNA vaccine development. More than a dozen former FDA commissioners condemned an internal memo from Prasad that would end the decades-old streamlined method for updating annual flu vaccines.

Federal judges across the country report being overwhelmed by thousands of habeas corpus petitions from immigrants held under the Trump administration's mandatory detention policy. U.S. District Judge Clay Land in Columbus, Georgia, wrote on January 29 that the volume has created "an administrative judicial emergency" at Stewart Detention Center. In Minnesota, Chief Judge Patrick Schiltz said Trump officials made "no provision for dealing with the hundreds of habeas petitions" that were "sure to result," with more than 400 filed in January alone. Under Trump's policy, people with no criminal record who were previously eligible for bond hearings now face mandatory detention.

The Department of Homeland Security defended its approach, saying Friday it was "more than prepared to handle the legal caseload necessary to deliver President Trump's deportation agenda." DHS and the Justice Department criticized what they called "rogue judges," with DOJ saying "if rogue judges followed the law in adjudicating cases and respected the Government's obligation to properly prepare cases, there wouldn't be an 'overwhelming' habeas caseload." On Friday, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals backed the administration's mandatory detention policy in a 2-1 ruling, marking a major legal victory that countered numerous lower court decisions.

Congressional Democrats are threatening to let DHS funding expire Friday unless Republicans agree to new restrictions on ICE operations. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries rejected a White House counteroffer Tuesday, saying it "included neither details nor legislative text" addressing concerns about ICE conduct. Democrats demand judicial warrants for home entries, better officer identification, mask bans, new use-of-force standards, and an end to racial profiling. Republicans have resisted, with Senator Markwayne Mullin saying officers need masks to protect their families from threats.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets President Trump at the White House today, marking his sixth trip to the U.S. since Trump's return to office. Netanyahu plans to urge Trump to expand nuclear negotiations with Iran beyond uranium enrichment to include ballistic missiles and support for proxy groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. "I will present to the president our outlook regarding the principles of these negotiations," Netanyahu told reporters before departing Israel, adding that "any negotiations must include limiting ballistic missiles and ending support for the Iranian axis."

Trump expressed cautious optimism about reaching a deal with Iran, telling Fox Business Network Tuesday "I think they want to make a deal" and "they'd be foolish if they didn't." The president said "it's got to be a good deal. No nuclear weapons, no missiles." Trump confirmed he is considering sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East, saying "we have an armada that is heading there and another one might be going." The USS Abraham Lincoln was deployed last month after Trump threatened to strike Iran over its deadly crackdown on protests that killed thousands.

Iran has consistently rejected demands to end all uranium enrichment, saying it will only accept limits in exchange for sanctions relief. The Trump administration restarted talks with Iran last year through indirect negotiations in Oman, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying it could be possible "to come to a better deal than Obama." Experts say Netanyahu worries Trump might accept a narrow deal focused solely on enrichment. "One worry Israel and other allies have about the US under Trump is that he wants a deal more than he wants a particular outcome," said Georgetown professor Dan Byman.

A landmark trial examining social media's mental health effects on children began Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court with lawyers accusing Meta and YouTube of deliberately designing platforms to addict young users. Attorney Mark Lanier told jurors that Meta and Google "built machines designed to addict the brains of children, and they did it on purpose." The case centers on a 20-year-old identified as "K.G.M." who allegedly suffered mental health issues from social media addiction, having started using YouTube at age 6 and Instagram at age 9.

Lanier presented internal documents showing Meta's "Project Myst" study surveyed 1,000 teens and found children experiencing trauma and stress were particularly vulnerable to addiction, and that parental controls made little impact. He displayed internal Google documents comparing company products to casinos and Meta employee communications calling Instagram "like a drug" where they are "basically pushers." Lanier showed a 2015 email where Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg demanded "time spent increases by 12%" to meet business goals, and said YouTube intentionally targeted young children because it could "charge advertisers more."

Meta attorney Paul Schmidt countered that the case hinges on whether Instagram was a "substantial factor" in K.G.M.'s struggles, pointing to family turmoil including neglect, physical and verbal abuse, and bullying by parents. He noted records showing domestic violence in the family and K.G.M. seeing therapists from age three. Schmidt said he recognized the quotes about her home life were "tough" but necessary to consider "in a case that's about psychological distress." The six-week trial will feature testimony from Zuckerberg, Instagram head Adam Mosseri, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, and former Meta whistleblowers. The outcome could impact thousands of similar lawsuits and determine monetary damages that would affect cases nationwide.

An Associated Press review found at least 24 ICE employees and contractors have been charged with crimes since 2020, including physical and sexual abuse, corruption, and other abuses of authority. The documented wrongdoing includes an official who physically assaulted his girlfriend for years, another who repeatedly sexually abused a woman in custody, and a third charged with taking bribes to remove detention orders. The cases emerged as ICE announced last month it has more than doubled to 22,000 employees in less than one year following a $75 billion funding boost from Congress.

Experts warn the rapid expansion could accelerate such crimes, comparing it to Border Patrol's 2004-2011 doubling that led to corruption and abuse scandals. "Once a person is hired, brought on, goes through the training and they are not the right person, it is difficult to get rid of them and there will be a price to be paid later down the road by everyone," said Gil Kerlikowske, former CBP commissioner under Obama. David Bier of the Cato Institute said "with ICE, this is going to be a countrywide phenomenon as they pull in so many people who are attracted to this mission."

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said wrongdoing is not widespread and that ICE "takes allegations of misconduct by its employees extremely seriously." She noted most new hires worked for other law enforcement agencies and underwent thorough background vetting. However, a judge recently suggested ICE was developing a "troubling culture of lawlessness," and the Trump administration has weakened oversight while arguing agents have "absolute immunity" for on-duty actions. ICE acting director Todd Lyons and CBP head Rodney Scott testified Tuesday before the House Homeland Security Committee, defending their tactics after two protesters were shot and killed by federal officers in Minneapolis in January.