International News Briefs for Tuesday, February 3, 2026
HAVANA TIMES – We bring you some of the top international news stories compiled by Democracy Now on Tuesday, February 3, 2026.
Fulton County to Sue Over FBI Ballot Seizures as Trump Says GOP Should “Nationalize” Elections
Feb 03, 2026
President Trump said Monday the Republican Party should “nationalize” voting in the United States, as he continued to make false claims about alleged illegal voting and his 2020 defeat by Joe Biden. Trump’s remarks came in an interview with Dan Bongino, who recently resigned his post as FBI deputy director to return to his right-wing podcast.
President Donald Trump: “The Republicans should say we want to take over. We should take over the voting, the voting in at least — many — 15 places. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting.”
Under the Constitution, U.S. elections are governed by states and administered by county and municipal officials in thousands of precincts.
Trump’s remarks came as officials in Fulton County, Georgia, promised legal action after Trump’s FBI last week seized truckloads of ballots and documents from the 2020 election. County Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr. said attorneys would ask a federal judge for an order mandating the return of property that was unlawfully seized or retained.
Marvin Arrington Jr.: “We’ve had three recounts. We had an independent audit by the state, by the Republican-led state election board, and no less than 10 lawsuits by former candidate Trump, President Trump, that were all dismissed.”
Tulsi Gabbard Arranges Call Between Trump and FBI Agents Who Seized Ballots from Atlanta
Feb 03, 2026
On Monday, The New York Times reported U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard met with agents from the FBI’s field office in Atlanta overseeing the election inquiry and that Gabbard used her cellphone to call President Trump, who spoke to the agents on speakerphone, praising and thanking them for their work. Former Justice Department official David Laufman told the Times, “It is extremely dangerous to our democracy and a shocking abandonment of years of sound policy for the president to be directly involved in the conduct of domestic criminal investigations, especially one that seeks to redress his personal grievances and to make the director of national intelligence an instrument of his political will.”
Measles Cases Confirmed at Texas ICE Jail Housing Hundreds of Children
Feb 03, 2026
Texas officials have confirmed that two immigrants confined at the ICE jail in Dilley are infected with measles, risking an outbreak at the facility, where about 1,200 people, including over 400 children, are being held. Dr. Lee Rogers of University of Texas Health San Antonio warned in a letter to state health officials that the outbreak at the Dilley ICE jail will become an epidemic unless it’s addressed immediately. He added, “Viruses are not political. They do not care about one’s immigration status. Measles will spread if we allow uncertainty and delay to substitute for reasoned public health action.”
Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security is reportedly using a repurposed $55 billion Navy contract to convert warehouses into jails, while planning sprawling tent cities in remote areas to expand U.S. capacity for mass detention. Pablo Manríquez, the author of the immigration news site Migrant Insider, calls it “a nationwide ‘ghost network’ of concentration camps.” It comes as a federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration’s attempts to limit lawmakers from making unannounced visits to ICE jails. Last month, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem issued a notice requiring lawmakers to provide a warning a week in advance of any visit to an ICE jail. According to DHS, 73,000 people are being held in ICE custody, the most in the agency’s history.
Pentagon Quietly Takes Active-Duty Troops Off Standby to Deploy to Minnesota
Feb 03, 2026
In Minnesota, the Hennepin County medical examiner has ruled the death of 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti a homicide, due to multiple gunshot wounds. The finding came as ProPublica named the two federal agents who killed Pretti in a hail of 10 bullets on January 24: Jesus “Jesse” Ochoa and Raymundo Gutierrez, both of South Texas. Later in the broadcast, we’ll speak with the investigative reporter at ProPublica, J. David McSwane, who broke the story.
On Monday, The New York Times reported more than 1,500 active-duty troops who’d been on standby to deploy to Minnesota were quietly taken off heightened alert over the weekend. Trump had threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act as a response to protests in the Twin Cities region.
Meanwhile, The Minneapolis Star Tribune is reporting another eight federal prosecutors have left or announced their intentions to leave the Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s Office, bringing the total number who’ve left their posts this year to 14 — an unprecedented number.
On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security said federal officers deployed to Minnesota will start wearing body cameras. In response, Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar wrote, “Abolish ICE. There’s no reforming it. There’s no compromise. There’s only one way to rein in ICE’s terror campaign. Abolish it.”
Federal Court Blocks Trump Administration Bid to End Protected Status for Haitian Immigrants
Feb 03, 2026
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s effort to end temporary protected status, or TPS, for more than 350,000 Haitian immigrants living in the United States. In her ruling, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes wrote, “Kristi Noem has a First Amendment right to call immigrants killers, leeches, entitlement junkies, and any other inapt name she wants. Secretary Noem, however, is constrained to apply faithfully the facts to the law in implementing the TPS program. The record to-date shows she has yet to do that.” The Department of Homeland Security plans to appeal the ruling.
Israeli Strikes on Gaza Kill 4 Palestinians, Including 30-Month-Old Child
Feb 03, 2026
Israeli airstrikes killed at least four Palestinians in Gaza on Monday. Palestinians gathered at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis to mourn a 30-month-old boy Eyad al-Rabaya, who was killed by Israeli fire. This is Omar al-Rabaya, the boy’s relative.
Omar al-Rabaya: “Gunboats fired out toward the regional park. An explosion took place in a tent. I came looking and found a child without a head inside the tent.”
Meanwhile, Israeli forces detonated and destroyed the Morag Water Station in Rafah Monday, a facility that supplied water to roughly one-third of the city’s residents before the war. Its destruction came as Israel said it will ban Doctors Without Borders, or MSF, from operating in Gaza, after the charity refused to provide Israeli authorities a list of its Palestinian staff. MSF currently provides at least 20% of hospital beds in Gaza.
U.S. Firm Seeks 300% Profits from Monopoly Over Gaza Trucking and Logistics
Feb 03, 2026
The Guardian reports that a U.S. disaster response firm, Gothams LLC, is looking to secure a deal with White House officials that would guarantee a seven-year monopoly over a new trucking and logistics plan for President Trump’s so-called Board of Peace in Gaza. The plan would guarantee Gothams LLC 300% profits and charge for the use of its warehousing and distribution system. The firm has also supported operations at the notorious South Florida ICE jail, dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”
Biden Admin Officials Killed Memo Warning Israeli Attacks Turned Gaza into “Apocalyptic Wasteland”
Feb 03, 2026
USAID staffers in early 2024 drafted a warning to senior officials in the Biden administration that Israel’s attacks had turned northern Gaza into an “Apocalyptic Wasteland.” The internal memo laid out harrowing accounts by U.N. observers who described seeing a human femur and other bones in the streets, dead bodies abandoned in cars, and “catastrophic human needs, particularly for food and safe drinking water.” Reuters reports that the U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew and his deputy blocked the memo from disseminating within the U.S. government because they believed it wasn’t balanced.
Trump Envoy Plans Talks in Istanbul with Iranian Officials Over Nuclear Program
Feb 03, 2026
U.S. and Iranian officials are expected to meet in Istanbul on Friday to discuss Iran’s nuclear program and ease tensions in the region. Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s Middle East envoy, and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, are set to meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Senior officials from Turkey, Qatar and Egypt are also expected to attend the talks. President Trump has repeatedly threatened to bomb Iran in recent weeks after assembling what he called a “massive armada” of U.S. naval forces within striking distance of Iran.
Russian Drones and Missiles Strike Ukraine’s Cities and Infrastructure Ahead of Peace Talks
Feb 03, 2026
Russia fired hundreds of drones and missiles overnight in attacks on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and cities including Kharkiv and Sumy. At least four people were wounded in Kyiv when Russian missiles slammed into apartment blocks and a building housing a kindergarten. Elsewhere, Russian strikes targeted energy infrastructure, despite winter temperatures dipping to below zero degrees Fahrenheit. Russia’s attacks came as Ukrainian and Russian officials prepare to meet with U.S. officials in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday for talks on a deal to end Russia’s war on Ukraine, which is approaching its fourth anniversary.
Right-Wing Populist Laura Fernández Elected President of Costa Rica
Feb 03, 2026
In Costa Rica, right-wing populist Laura Fernández has won the presidency after preliminary results in Sunday’s election gave her a commanding lead over her rivals. Fernández is the 39-year-old hand-picked successor of incumbent President Rodrigo Chaves. She campaigned as a tough-on-crime candidate favoring harsher criminal sentencing and mandatory prison labor for convicts. She’s proposed a massive new prison in Costa Rica modeled on CECOT, the so-called Terrorism Confinement Center built by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele.
Bill and Hillary Clinton Agree to Testify in House Investigation of Epstein
Feb 03, 2026
Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have agreed to testify in the House Oversight Committee’s investigation into the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Their reversal came just days before the House was expected to vote to hold the Clintons in criminal contempt of Congress. Meanwhile, there are growing calls to impeach Attorney General Pam Bondi, after the Justice Department published dozens of unredacted nude photos of possible victims in the Epstein files. Democratic Congressmember Yassamin Ansari blasted the DOJ, saying, “This is an indefensible and horrifying disregard for the victims by Trump’s Justice Department. They are still withholding the full Epstein Files, and rich and powerful men continue to evade accountability for their heinous crimes. Attorney General Pam Bondi should be impeached.”
Paris Prosecutor Raids French Offices of Social Media Platform X
Feb 03, 2026
In France, the Paris prosecutor’s cybercrime unit carried out a raid today at the French offices of the social media platform X. The prosecutor said the investigation initially focused on the possible abuse of algorithms but has now widened to probe X’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok generating sexualized deepfakes. The European Commission has also been investigating X over Grok’s ability to allow users to digitally produce images of women and children undressed. A report by The New York Times and the Center for Countering Digital Hate found that in just nine days in December, Grok managed to create and then share at least 1.8 million sexualized images of women. X announced last month that it was blocking Grok from generating sexualized images of people on its platforms in certain locations.
Civil Liberties Groups Sue NYPD for Targeting Black and Latino Drivers
Feb 03, 2026
Civil liberties groups have sued the New York Police Department for systematically targeting tens of thousands of Black and Latino drivers with unconstitutional vehicle searches that have been compared to “stop-and-frisk on wheels.” The New York Civil Liberties Union and the Bronx Defenders brought the lawsuit after data showed that of the nearly 75,000 vehicles searched by police over the past four years, 84% had Black or Latino drivers, while fewer than 4% had white drivers. Juval Scott is executive director of the Bronx Defenders.
Juval Scott: “Whether or not the vehicle searches work is not the question. The Constitution doesn’t allow the NYPD to violate people’s rights ever — not sometimes, not when it’s convenient, not even when they find contraband or weapons. The Constitution is here to protect us all, and that includes Black and Brown men.”