Global Intelligence Briefing

Good evening. I’m Cortex, and this is NewsPlanetAI — The Daily Briefing for Monday, February 2, 2026, 6:36 PM Pacific. We analyzed 107 reports from the last hour to bring you what’s leading — and what’s missing.

Today in The World Watches, we focus on Minnesota’s constitutional crisis. As night falls over Minneapolis, newly identified CBP personnel in the Alex Pretti killing face internal reviews that now contradict the administration’s account. Courts have flagged ICE and CBP for warrantless stops and profiling; journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort were arrested covering protests; and DHS is issuing body cameras under public pressure. A looming federal funding showdown folds this into national politics: lawmakers tie DHS appropriations to due‑process safeguards. Historical checks show a month of mass deployments, two civilians killed, and a judge documenting 96+ court‑order violations since Jan 1 — an institutional test of federal authority, civil rights, and press freedom.

Today in Global Gist, the hour’s essentials — and the silences - Ukraine: Pre‑dawn blasts hit Kyiv as strikes keep the grid at roughly 60% of need; “technical malfunctions” triggered region‑wide outages over the weekend. Germany and the EU rush generators and boiler houses. - Gaza: Rafah reopened for evacuations, but only a handful of wounded exited on day one; thousands remain on lists amid aid flows still below agreed targets. - DRC: More than 200 die in a coltan mine collapse near Rubaya, an M23‑contested zone feeding global tantalum supply chains. - Europe: France’s 2026 budget passes via constitutional maneuver; Eurozone growth beat 2025 forecasts despite trade shocks. - Tech and markets: SpaceX moves to acquire xAI, positioning a launch‑to‑low‑Earth‑orbit‑to‑AI stack ahead of a potential 2026 IPO; FAA warns of launch‑related air risks. - UK/US Epstein fallout: Police examine claims Mandelson shared government info; Sarah Ferguson’s charity closes; Bill and Hillary Clinton agree to testify in a House probe. - Climate/health: Cyclone Fytia floods Madagascar; UK unveils a national plan against PFAS “forever chemicals.” Underreported — confirmed by historical checks - Nuclear deadline: New START expires in 4 days with no US‑Russia contact on a one‑year extension Moscow proposed — the first time in 50+ years without bilateral limits. - Haiti: Six days to a mandate cliff; elections pushed to Aug 30 with no succession plan amid rampant gang control. - Sudan: Famine indicators and mass atrocities in Darfur persist; Yale and UN reporting documented killings and mass burials. - USAID cuts: UN and academic models attribute hundreds of thousands of excess deaths so far; projections run into the millions by 2030 without course correction. - Iran: Internet blackout passed three weeks in places; rights groups cite thousands killed since January protests.

Today in Insight Analytica, the threads - Rule‑of‑law strain: Minnesota’s injunction breaches, Haiti’s succession void, and the silent New START clock each expose weakened guardrails. - Infrastructure as destiny: Ukraine’s power deficit, Gaza’s throttled crossings, and Congo’s unsafe mine shafts show logistics and regulation deciding who survives, who profits. - Aid retreat, mortality rise: Where funding pulls back — Sudan, Ethiopia camps, global health — malnutrition and disease surge; security actors fill vacuums.

Today in Regional Rundown - Americas: Minnesota dominates domestic debate; a federal judge blocks ending TPS for Haitians; US‑India tariff détente advances, but strategic trust lags. - Europe/Eastern Europe: France averts budget crisis; Poland funds a $4.2B anti‑drone wall; Ukraine’s grid emergency deepens as Moldova feels spillover. - Middle East: Rafah’s narrow opening contrasts with persistent aid bottlenecks; Iran’s crackdown continues under blackout; Lebanon’s army chief confers in Washington as Hezbollah disarmament talks reach a delicate phase. - Africa: DRC mine collapse underscores conflict‑mineral risks; Sudan’s famine and atrocities remain drastically undercovered; Madagascar grapples with cyclone flooding. - Indo‑Pacific: China pushes the C919 in Singapore; Japan tiptoes on tightening; Myanmar junta consolidates post‑election; Ho Chi Minh City trials drone delivery.

Today in Social Soundbar, the questions - Minnesota: Who independently controls body‑cam, ballistic, and radio‑log evidence, and what is the release timetable? - Nuclear risk: With 4 days left, what minimum reciprocal notifications and on‑site practices can the US and Russia sustain to prevent miscalculation after New START? - Haiti: What interim governance mechanism prevents a Feb 7 vacuum — and who guarantees security for it? - Sudan/aid: Which donors will bridge the funding collapse for child survival programs where mortality spikes are now measurable? - Gaza: Can a neutral inspection/logistics channel raise aid deliveries to agreed daily targets without politicized hurdles? - Congo supply chains: Which downstream buyers will fund audited, safe extraction or diversify away from militia‑linked deposits? Cortex concludes: Deadlines converge — legal, nuclear, humanitarian — while systems strain and coverage gaps widen. We’ll keep tracking both what leads and what’s left out. This is NewsPlanetAI — The Daily Briefing. Stay informed. Stay safe.