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5 things to know for Feb. 19: Ukraine war talks, Delta plane crash, Immigration, Tariffs, Measles outbreak
CNN
CNN’s 5 Things AM brings you the news you need to know every morning.
Food recalls seem to be making headlines more than ever, with many involving familiar brands and household staples like eggs and produce. A new report reveals there were about 300 food recalls in the US last year, associated with nearly 1,400 illnesses. Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day. The US and Russia will appoint high-level teams to negotiate the end of the war in Ukraine and are working to reestablish diplomatic channels, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday at the end of talks that excluded Kyiv. The meeting marked the first time top US and Russian officials had met face-to-face since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said he would not accept any deal made in Ukraine’s absence. Trump also announced he will “probably” meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin before the end of the month. Investigators are working to determine what caused a Delta Air Lines flight from Minneapolis to crash and roll over on the runway at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday. Dramatic new video shows the jet’s rear landing gear buckling and the right wing shearing away in a fireball after making a hard landing. Aviation experts tell CNN that advancements in aircraft design and seat safety prevented the crash from being much worse. While the incident has renewed some fears about flying, analysts say it’s important to remember that commercial air travel in the US has been safer than ever before. There have been fewer fatalities on scheduled commercial airliners over the last 15 years than in any other 15-year stretch. The Trump administration is cutting off legal services for unaccompanied migrant children — the latest in a series of actions stripping key resources from immigrants in the US. The Department of the Interior sent the order to a nonprofit group that has been helping thousands of children who cross the southern border without their parents. Also this week, President Trump’s border czar Tom Homan touted what he said is a record low number of border encounters: “229 total encounters at the Southwest border — 229 — compare that to 11,000 per day under [President] Biden,” Homan said in a Fox News interview. “229 encounters in a 24-hour period, that is a record,” he added. President Trump said that he plans to impose tariffs of around 25% on auto imports as well as semiconductors and pharmaceuticals shipped to the US as early as April. The steep new tariffs could have far-reaching effects, extending beyond the specific industries where taxes are levied. Consumers are expected to feel most of the burden of the new import taxes on automobiles as prices of cars could jump by thousands of dollars. As for the pharmaceutical industry, the US purchased more than $176 billion of drugs and related goods in 2023, according to US trade data, making it the largest importer of pharmaceutical products that year. Experts say European, Indian and Chinese firms could be the hardest hit.
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Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth could soon move to fire more than half a dozen generals and flag officers, according to two sources familiar with the matter, part of an effort to purge the department of senior leaders perceived as either too political or too close to former Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
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In speeches, interviews, exchanges with reporters and posts on social media, the president filled his public statements not only with exaggerations but outright fabrications. As he did during his first presidency, Trump made false claims with a frequency and variety unmatched by any other elected official in Washington.