U.S. Military Conducts Airstrikes in Syria, While Political Developments Unfold
WASHINGTON - The U.S. military launched a series of airstrikes against Islamic State group targets in Syria, while simultaneously, Secretary of State Marco Rubio withdrew from a high-level meeting on Ukraine, and five European nations accused the Kremlin of poisoning Alexei Navalny. These events occurred on Saturday, February 14, 2026, according to reports from multiple news sources.
The U.S. strikes in Syria were in retaliation for a December ambush that killed two U.S. soldiers and one American civilian interpreter. U.S. Central Command reported that American aircraft conducted 10 strikes against more than 30 IS targets between February 3 and Thursday, hitting weapons storage facilities and other infrastructure, as reported by NPR Politics.
Meanwhile, in Europe, five nations accused the Kremlin of poisoning Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. According to the Associated Press, these nations stated Navalny was poisoned with a rare and lethal toxin found in the skin of poison dart frogs.
Adding to the day's developments, Secretary of State Marco Rubio pulled out of a high-level meeting on Ukraine. NPR's Scott Simon spoke to Fiona Hill, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution's Center on the United States and Europe, about the Trump administration's strategy to end Russia's war with Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at the Munich Security Conference that the U.S. is seeking concessions.
In other news, the U.S. is facing significant economic challenges. According to Fortune, the Congressional Budget Office projects that publicly held debt is currently at $31 trillion and is about 100% of GDP. By fiscal year 2030, debt is expected to exceed the record set after World War II, then surge to 120% by 2036. Annual debt interest costs are expected to more than double from today's levels to $2.1 trillion by 2036.
In public health, Jim O'Neill, the U.S. deputy health secretary, who oversaw a department with a budget of over a trillion dollars, was planning to increase human healthspan through longevity-focused research supported by ARPA-H, a federal agency dedicated to biomedical research, according to MIT Technology Review. However, following publication of the story, Politico reported that O'Neill would be leaving his current roles within the Department of Health and Human Services.
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