2/12

• The death toll of the Kahramanmaras earthquake increased to over 33,000 (see 2/10).
• The U.S. military shot down an unidentified object over Lake Huron, which is the fourth downed object in just over a week (see 2/11).

2/13

• China’s Foreign Ministry stated that the United States has sent at least 10 unsanctioned balloons into Chinese airspace since 2022.
• President Biden fired J. Brett Blanton, the architect of the Capitol, after he allegedly misused government resources and wasted taxpayer dollars.
• 3 people were killed and 5 were wounded following a shooting at Michigan State University. 

2/14

• As the death toll of the Kahramanmaras earthquake passed 40,000, 9 people were recovered under the rubble in Turkey (see 2/12).
• The U.S. military said that it recovered technology from the suspected Chinese spy balloon, including key sensors used for intelligence gathering (see 2/2).
• The Ohio Department of Natural Resources reported that the chemical spill that resulted from the East Palestine train derailment had killed approximately 3,500 small fish across 7 ½ miles of streams (see 2/6).
• Nicola Sturgeon announced she is resigning as Scotland’s first minister.
• Sen. Dianne Feinstein stated that she will not run for reelection in 2024.

2/15

• Nikki Haley announced her 2024 presidential election bid.
• Payton Gendron, the gunman in the Buffalo mass shooting, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
• Lamar Johnson was released from prison after serving 27 years for a crime he was wrongfully accused of committing.
• The Department of Justice ended to sex trafficking investigation into Matt Gaetz (see 9/18).

2/16

• 1 person was killed and 3 were wounded in a shooting at an El Paso shopping mall.
• 2 patrol deputies were suspended in connection with the murder of Tyre Nichols (see 1/30).
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael S. Regan pledged to hold the train company Norfolk Southern accountable for its role in the Ohio train derailment (see 2/14).
• Officer Alexander Tyler from Shreveport, Louisiana was arrested on a charge of negligent homicide in the murder earlier this month of an unarmed Black man, Alonzo Bagley.
• An Arizona appeals court rejected Republican Kari Lake’s challenge of her loss for Arizona governor (see 12/24).

2/17

• Federal prosecutors charged Jaime Tran with 2 hate crimes following the shooting of 2 Jewish men in Los Angeles.
• 5 former Memphis police officers involved in the murder of Tyre Nichols pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct, and official oppression (see 1/10).
• Senior ISIS leader Hamza al-Homsi died and 4 American service members and a working dog were wounded following a U.S. helicopter raid in northeast Syria.
• 6 people were killed following shootings at three different locations in Arkabutla, Mississippi.

2/18

• U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, for the first time since the discovery of a Chinese spy balloon (see 2/2).