Trump's DOE Plan, Deportation Flights, Middle East Conflict, and More | CBS News 24/7

Dismantling the Department of Education

• 🏛️ President Trump is expected to sign an executive order initiating the dismantling of the Department of Education.
• 🏛️ This move aims to return educational power to the states, though congressional approval is necessary for full closure.
• ⚠️ The executive order's scope is unclear, but key programs like student loan assistance will remain in place for now.

Deportation Flights and Legal Battles

• ⚖️ A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to provide documents regarding controversial migrant deportation flights to El Salvador.
• ⚖️ The Justice Department may invoke the state secrets doctrine to withhold information.
• 🗣️ Plaintiffs, Venezuelan nationals, claim the deportations were chaotic and inhumane, with allegations of inhumane jail conditions.
• 🏛️ The case highlights a potential judicial power grab debate, with implications for future court orders.

Escalation in the Middle East

• 🚀 Hamas fired rockets targeting Tel Aviv in response to civilian massacres in Gaza.
• 💥 Israeli forces have resumed ground operations and escalated air strikes, vowing to continue until all hostages are released.
• 🚢 Houthi militants claimed to have fired a hypersonic missile at Israel and targeted a US aircraft carrier strike group.
• 🇺🇸 US Central Command continues operations after Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping.

Severe Weather Across the US

• ❄️ A powerful winter storm brought heavy snow and strong winds to the Midwest, causing multiple accidents.
• 🌪️ A possible tornado damaged an elementary school in Gary, Indiana, uprooting trees and causing structural damage.
• 💨 High winds toppled trees, damaging homes and businesses, with one tree uprooting and damaging a home's roof.
• 🌡️ The forecast shows a transition from severe weather to snow in some areas, with fire danger noted in New Mexico, Texas, and Florida due to dry conditions and wind.

Economic and Political Updates

• 🏠 Home sales saw a jump month-over-month but a slight decrease year-over-year, with a low supply of available houses.
• 📈 Mortgage rates have decreased, potentially stimulating the housing market, but rising costs of building materials pose a challenge.
• 📉 Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged consumer sentiment regarding high prices, while President Trump urged the Fed to cut interest rates.
• 🇺🇦 Ukraine's President Zelenskyy discussed a potential ceasefire with Russia, with technical teams working through details, but full agreement remains distant.
• 🏛️ A Greenpeace defamation lawsuit resulted in the environmental group being ordered to pay hundreds of millions in damages to an energy company, a ruling Greenpeace plans to appeal.

Other Notable Stories

• ✈️ A preliminary report on the Delta plane crash in Toronto indicated landing gear failure and wing detachment.
• ✈️ A new search for the missing Malaysian flight MH370 is set to begin in the Indian Ocean.
• ⚖️ A Georgetown University researcher was detained over claims of promoting Hamas propaganda and anti-semitism.
• 🏆 Finland remains the happiest nation in the world for the eighth consecutive year, while the United States ranked 24th in the World Happiness Report.