The Headlines - Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas, and Showdown Looms Between White House and the Courts

Episode Date: February 11, 2025

Plus, a surprise blockbuster.  On Today’s Episode:White House Failed to Comply With Court Order, Judge Rules, by Mattathias SchwartzAdams May Get His Charges Dropped, but His Re-election Fight Remains, by Dana Rubinstein, Emma G. Fitzsimmons and Jeffery C. MaysHamas Postpones Release of More Hostages “Until Further Notice,” by Lara Jakes, Ronen Bergman, Adam Rasgon and Johnatan ReissTrump Says He May Cut Aid to Jordan and Egypt if They Don’t Take Gazans, by Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Shawn McCreeshNonstop Quakes Leave a Tourist Island Empty and Its Residents on Edge, by Niki KitsantonisWho Needs Hollywood? Chinese Animated Film Shatters Box Office Records, by Claire Fu and Daisuke WakabayashiTune in every weekday morning. To get our full audio journalism and storytelling experience, download the New York Times Audio app — available to Times news subscribers on iOS — and sign up for our weekly newsletter.Tell us what you think at: [e-mail]. 

From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today is Tuesday, February 11th. Here's what we're covering. The Trump administration and the courts have moved one step closer to a major showdown. On Monday, a federal judge said for the first time that the White House is defying a clear and unambiguous judicial order. The legal fight is over the billions of dollars in federal funding that the administration

froze last month so they could root out any programs they felt were in line with President Trump's ideology and agenda. The judge had ordered the administration to keep the money flowing, but they have not fully complied, and there are reports that they've frozen even more money since then. The judge said yesterday that there is no legitimate reason for the White House not to be following his orders. In a statement, though, a White House spokesman was openly defiant, claiming that, quote, "...every action of the Trump-Vance administration is completely lawful, and that any challenge against it

is nothing more than an attempt to undermine the will of the American people. The administration's refusal to release federal funds might not be the only court order they're ignoring. Yesterday, a federal workers group said the administration is still putting USAID employees on leave even after a judge told them to stop. If the White House continues to openly flout orders

from the courts, the government could be headed towards a high-stakes constitutional clash between the executive branch and the judicial branch. Meanwhile, a move by the Justice Department on Monday is raising questions about influence and fairness under the Trump administration. The department told federal prosecutors to drop their case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

Adams was charged last year with conspiracy, wire fraud, bribery, and soliciting illegal campaign contributions. He spent the last several months currying favor with President Trump, attending the inauguration and visiting him at Mar-a-Lago. The DOJ now says it wants the case against Adams dropped not because of the facts involved, but in part because the charges could interfere with Adams' job, including his ability to cooperate with Trump's immigration crackdown. In Gaza, the fragile ceasefire between Hamas and Israel is on edge. Hamas now says it's

postponing the release of any more hostages indefinitely. It was supposed to release more this weekend. The group has accused Israel of violating the agreement by delaying the return of displaced Palestinians, blocking the delivery of some humanitarian aid, and opening fire on civilians. This morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet with his security cabinet

about how to respond. But President Trump has already issued his own ultimatum to Hamas over the ceasefire deal. — Because that's Israel's decision, but as far as I'm concerned, if all of the hostages aren't returned by Saturday at 12 o'clock, I think it's an appropriate time, I would say cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out. Sitting at his desk in the Oval Office, Trump demanded Hamas not just follow through on this weekend's release,

but set free all of the remaining hostages. Saturday at 12 o'clock and after that it's going to be a different ballgame. Mr. President, when you say all hell is going to break loose, are you speaking about retaliation from the… You'll find out. And they'll find out, too. Hamas will find out what I mean. At the same time, Trump has doubled down on his brazen plan to relocate the entire population

of Gaza and redevelop the territory. I say we go in, we knock them all down, we just create something. No more Hamas, there's no Hamas there, there's nobody there. While Trump's aides have previously tried to downplay his relocation plan, saying Gazans would only be removed temporarily, Trump said in an interview on Fox News that they would not be allowed to return and that they'd be permanently resettled in Egypt and Jordan. Both countries have rejected that idea, which could violate international law. allowed to return and that they'd be permanently resettled in Egypt and Jordan.

Both countries have rejected that idea, which could violate international law. So when you hear the pushback from the Middle East, what do you think? I don't hear that much pushback. A lot of people thought it was a great idea. Really, a lot of people. And I'm not talking about big money for the... Yesterday, Trump said he would even consider withholding aid to Jordan and Egypt if they don't go along with his plan.

The funding threat puts the countries in a difficult position. Both receive extensive U.S. military aid, but neither one could absorb 2 million refugees without risking massive upheaval. The King of Jordan will be at the White House today, where he's likely to discuss the plan with President Trump. Sandorini is one of Greece's most popular islands and it's become a global tourist destination. But really the last couple of weeks have seen it literally empty out because people are bracing for what could be a large earthquake.

Nikki Kitsantonas covers Greece for the Times. She's been reporting on the near constant tremors that have been shaking Santorini since the end of January. The island has just over 15,000 year-round residents. 13,000 of them have evacuated. Responding to this sort of unprecedented residents, 13,000 of them have evacuated. Responding to this sort of unprecedented phenomenon, really, authorities have reacted by sending the army, emergency services, they've shut down schools, sandbanks have been set up at

coastal homes in the event of a tsunami, priests have been holding prayers to pray for the quakes to stop, and the residents that have ended up staying are sort of split into two camps. There are some who are just pretty philosophical and taking it pretty much in their stride and saying, you know, it'll pass. There are quakes in Greece all the time. And then there are the others

who are sleeping in their cars overnight, who are worried what might happen to their business in the longterm, people who have hotels there. And there's a general sense of unease, because these quakes are shaking the island every few minutes, sometimes every three or four minutes, sometimes every 15, every half an hour, depending on the day. You know, their nerves are in shreds.

Scientists are really sort of scratching their heads about this phenomenon, because it's, although there have been quake swarms in the past, they've never really continued with this sort of intensity before. Some believe that it might just continue possibly for weeks, even for months, and maybe gradually peter out. And then there are others who say they can't rule out that this series of quakes could potentially trigger a larger quake that could cause significant damage and could even wake

up the volcanoes in the area and lead to some sort of eruption. But yeah, at the moment, it's really an unknown. And finally, an animated movie about a charming, adorably ugly child who is the reincarnation of a demon has become the highest-grossing movie in China ever. Niu Jia Tu has had more than $1.2 billion in ticket sales in less than two weeks. It represents a huge shift for the film industry in China. Hollywood films used to dominate the box office there, but those no longer really break through. Instead, Chinese-made movies with patriotic messaging or cultural references are now the top performers. Noat 2 is based loosely on Chinese mythology

about a child who fights off monsters. It's got a Pixar-ish look, but the Communist Party and Chinese state-run media are hailing it as proof that the country can tell its own stories without relying on Western studios. Basically, they're saying China doesn't need Disney to make a Mulan anymore, with one newspaper saying that Nujah's success proves, quote, no one can narrate China's myths better than China itself. Those are the headlines today on The Daily. What Trump demolishing USAID could

mean for American power and influence overseas. That's next in the New York Times audio app, where you can listen wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow.