On This Day, Feb. 7: Communists give up monopoly of Soviet politics
In 1497, the Bonfire of the Vanities in Florence, Italy, took place when followers of Girolamo Savonarola burned thousands of books, art and cosmetics.
In 1940, British railroads were nationalized.
In 1964, the Beatles arrived in the United States for the first time and immediately set off a frantic wave of "Beatlemania."
In 1973, the U.S. Senate voted to set up a committee to investigate a break-in at the Democratic National Headquarters in Washington's Watergate complex.
In 1979, Josef Mengele, the so-called Nazi "Angel of Death" who conducted medical experiments on victims of the Holocaust, died. His death -- caused by a stroke while swimming in Brazil -- wasn't revealed until 1985.
In 1984, U.S. astronauts Bruce McCandless and Robert Stewart made the first untethered spacewalks. McCandless was the first to float freely in space, propelled by a nitrogen-powered "jetpack" after leaving the shuttle Challenger.
In 1990, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev issued a series of reforms and the Communist Party gave up its 70-year monopoly of political power in the Soviet Union.
In 1991, Jean-Bertrand Aristide was inaugurated as Haiti's first democratically elected president in 186 years.
In 1992, the European Union was created when the Maastricht Treaty was signed. The treaty officially went into force Nov. 1, 1993.
In 1995, the mastermind in the 1993 bombing of New York's World Trade Center, Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, was arrested in Pakistan. He was sentenced to life in prison in 1998.
In 1999, King Hussein of Jordan died of cancer at age 63. Hussein ruled Jordan for 46 years. Crown Prince Abdullah succeeded his father as king.
In 2009, the most deadly series of brushfires in Australian history claimed more than 200 lives, destroyed almost 2,000 homes and burned at least 1.1 million acres in Victoria state.
In 2021, Rep. Ron Wright of Texas died of COVID-19, becoming the first member of Congress to succumb to the disease.
In 2023, LeBron James surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA's all-time leading scorer. He had a game-high 38 points in the Los Angeles Lakers' loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder to reach a total 38,389 points. As of Feb. 6, 2025, he maintained the record at 41,557.
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Politico
11 hours ago
- Politico
The Senate map suddenly looks a lot better for Democrats. But still not a slam dunk.
There's no doubt that Republicans are still favored to hold onto the Senate after next year's midterms. Democrats need to flip four GOP-held seats while also holding onto states that President Donald Trump won like Michigan and Georgia. Everything would have to go perfectly for them to pull it off — and this is not an era when things have typically gone perfectly for Democrats. Still, Democrats are increasingly optimistic after former Sen. Sherrod Brown decided to run for his old seat and former Gov. Roy Cooper launched a bid in North Carolina. 'I'm not going to say we're taking back the Senate right now, but it looks more possible than it ever was,' said Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.). 'We're recruiting great candidates, and it looks like they're not really doing the same. The map is expanding week by week.' Earlier this year, many Democrats were pessimistic that Brown would run again — and without him, Ohio was considered hopelessly out of reach. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer doggedly pursued Brown anyway, repeatedly calling and meeting with him. Brown is expected to officially launch his campaign against Republican Sen. Jon Husted any day now. Brown, a frumpy populist who won three terms in the Senate even as Ohio grew increasingly redder, lost reelection by fewer than 4 percentage points last year. What makes Democrats nonetheless hopeful is that Brown kept the contest close even as Trump carried the state by 11 percentage points. With Trump in the White House but not on the ballot, they hope, next year's midterm elections will almost certainly be a better political moment for Democrats. 'Unless you believe we're headed into another negative environment for Democrats again, this is almost by definition a toss-up race,' said an Ohio Democratic strategist who was granted anonymity to speak frankly about a still-developing race. Schumer also worked to persuade Cooper, a popular former two-term governor, to run. Cooper broke fundraising records when he announced his Senate bid and is now leading Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley in early polls. Schumer's recruitment efforts are reflective of a larger strategy to stake his party's chances in several key states on well-established, older candidates, even as much of the Democratic base hungers for generational change. Along with Cooper, 68, and Brown, 72, Democrats are hoping to lure Maine Gov. Janet Mills, 77, into the race against Republican Sen. Susan Collins, 72. The Democrats' game plan doubles, in theory, as a way to avoid costly and divisive primaries. Cooper effectively boxed out most of the North Carolina field by keeping the door open to a run, and the sole other Democratic candidate, former Rep. Wiley Nickel, exited the race after Cooper launched his bid. Brown is also expected to clear the field in Ohio. Nickel told POLITICO his initial decision to run was about 'fighting for the best chance to flip North Carolina's Senate seat,' but with Cooper getting in, he said the former governor 'gives Democrats our best shot to flip this seat.' The success that Senate Democrats have had in luring battle-tested candidates into the arena stands in contrast to Republicans' efforts this cycle. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, widely seen as a strong potential contender to oust Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, decided against a run. Former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu similarly opted against a bid for the seat left open by the retirement of Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, even after winning Trump's support. Republicans have also lost an incumbent to retirement — and there could be more. North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis announced he was not running for reelection after Trump attacked him for voting against advancing his megabill. In Iowa, Sen. Joni Ernst has not formally announced she is seeking reelection, and the White House saw it necessary to encourage her to try for another term. Collins got her dream job as Senate Appropriations chair only to see her power undermined by Trump, and Democrats are praying she could be next, though she's said she intends to run again. Democrats are also hopeful that contentious GOP primaries could bolster their chances to hold Ossoff's seat in Georgia and turn Texas blue if MAGA darling Attorney General Ken Paxton ousts incumbent GOP Sen. John Cornyn as polling indicates he might. 'From nasty, expensive primaries to a string of embarrassing recruitment failures and a toxic agenda, Senate Republicans are falling apart at the seams,' said Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesperson Maeve Coyle. But Democrats have their own crowded primaries to contend with. An ambitious field of three well-funded Democrats in Michigan is threatening to divert resources from defeating Republican Mike Rogers, a former congressman who narrowly lost a Senate race to Elissa Slotkin last year. The GOP quickly consolidated behind Rogers rather than risk a contested primary. And Democrats are still hoping for other top recruits to enter races. In Maine, Schumer has yet to persuade Mills to get into the Senate race. Ditto for former Rep. Mary Peltola in Alaska, where she is also eyeing the gubernatorial contest after narrowly losing reelection to the House last year. There are other hurdles for Democrats. They lack a clear leader, are struggling to raise money, and remain unpopular with voters after their resounding defeat in last year's election. 'The idea that Democrats, saddled with historically low approval ratings, will win in red states with candidates like Brown and Peltola — who voters just rejected — is absurd,' said Joanna Rodriguez, a spokesperson for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. But optimistic Democrats know that a single strong candidate — perhaps a Cooper, Brown, Mills, Peltola — can singlehandedly reshape a race. And maybe if they can get a few more of them, their path to control starts to get a little clearer. Even without squinting so hard.
New York Post
13 hours ago
- New York Post
Printout identifying gift, menu at Trump-Putin summit left at hotel printer
WASHINGTON — An eight-page printout containing non-public information such as President Trump's gift for Vladimir Putin and their anticipated lunch menu was allegedly left at an Anchorage hotel printer hours before the high-profile Ukraine peace summit. The embarrassing snafu revealed little if any sensitive security information — as most scheduled items on the agenda for the summit on the military's Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson already were public information — but immediately became a media sensation after being reported by NPR. The formerly publicly funded news outlet reported that three guests at the four-star Hotel Captain Cook found the papers in a public printer. Advertisement 3 A US official mistakenly left planning documents for Friday's Anchorage peace talks in a public printer. REUTERS Two pages contained the menu for an ultimately aborted lunch, which was to include filet mignon with brandy peppercorn sauce and a salad with champaign vinaigrette, and a third included a seating chart with the two presidents centered around a board room-style table. Two additional pages contained the names, photos and participants of an anticipated expanded meeting between Russian and US officials — with aides instructed that the Russian leader's name is pronounced 'POO-tihn.' Advertisement It also revealed Trump intended to gift Putin was an American bald eagle desk statue, and listed three phone numbers of advance staffers who help set up the events. The White House had already published most of the scheduled events listed in the document, though much ultimately didn't happen or were abbreviated as Trump ditched his plan to seek an immediate cease-fire and instead returned to Washington optimist about brokering a full peace deal. 3 The documents contained few bombshells because most of the planned events were already announced in the daily White House schedule. REUTERS 3 Russian and US leaders ultimately left early as Trump phoned Europe to discuss a possible full peace deal rather than a cease-fire. POOL/AFP via Getty Images Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is due at the White House Monday to discuss Putin's request that he relinquish the remainder of Donetsk province in exchange for a robust international peacekeeping force including British and French troops to shield against further Russian aggression.
The Hill
13 hours ago
- The Hill
Summit puts Putin back on the global stage and Trump echoes a Kremlin position
In Alaska, President Vladimir Putin walked on a red carpet, shook hands and exchanged smiles with his American counterpart. Donald Trump ended the summit praising their relationship and calling Russia 'a big power … No. 2 in the world,' albeit admitting they didn't reach a deal on ending the war in Ukraine. By Saturday morning Moscow time, Trump appeared to have abandoned the idea of a ceasefire as a step toward peace — something he and Ukraine had pushed for months -– in favor of pursuing a full-fledged 'Peace Agreement' to end the war, echoing a long-held Kremlin position. The 'severe consequences' he threatened against Moscow for continuing hostilities were nowhere in sight. On Ukraine's battlefields, Russian troops slowly grinded on, with time on their side. The hastily arranged Alaska summit 'produced nothing for Mr. Trump and gave Mr. Putin most of what he was looking for,' said Laurie Bristow, a former British ambassador to Russia. The summit spectacle Putin's visit to Alaska was his first to the United States in 10 years and his first to a Western country since invading Ukraine in 2022 and plunging U.S.-Russia relations to the lowest point since the Cold War. Crippling sanctions followed, along with efforts to shun Russia on the global stage. The International Criminal Court in 2023 issued an arrest warrant for Putin on accusations of war crimes, casting a shadow on his foreign trips and contacts with other world leaders. Trump's return to the White House appeared to upend all that. He warmly greeted Putin, even clapping for him, on a red carpet as U.S. warplanes flew overhead as the world watched. The overflight was both 'a show of power' and a gesture of welcome from the U.S. president to the Kremlin leader, 'shown off to a friend,' said retired Col. Peer de Jong, a former aide to two French presidents and author of 'Putin, Lord of War.' Russian officials and media revelled in the images of the pomp-filled reception Putin received in Alaska, which pro-Kremlin tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda described as signalling 'utmost respect.' It called the meeting a 'huge diplomatic victory' for Putin, whose forces will have time to make more territorial gains. The reception contrasted starkly with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's March visit to the Oval Office, where Trump treated him like a 'representative of a rogue state,' said Roderich Kiesewetter, a member of the German parliament. Putin has 'broken out of international isolation,' returning to the world stage as one of two global leaders and 'wasn't in the least challenged' by Trump, who ignored the arrest warrant for Putin from the ICC, Bristow told The Associated Press. For Putin, 'mission accomplished' Putin 'came to the Alaska summit with the principal goal of stalling any pressure on Russia to end the war,' said Neil Melvin, director of international security at the London-based Royal United Services Institute. 'He will consider the summit outcome as mission accomplished.' In recent months, Trump has pressed for a ceasefire, something Ukraine and its allies supported and insisted was a prerequisite for any peace talks. The Kremlin has pushed back, however, arguing it's not interested in a temporary truce -– only in a long-term peace agreement. Moscow's official demands for peace so far have remained nonstarter for Kyiv: It wants Ukraine to cede four regions that Russia only partially occupies, along with the Crimean Peninsula, illegally annexed in 2014. Ukraine also must renounce its bid to join NATO and shrink its military, the Kremlin says. After Alaska, Trump appeared to echo the Kremlin's position on a ceasefire, posting on social media that after he spoke to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders, 'it was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up.' In a statement after the Trump call, the European leaders did not address whether a peace deal was preferable to a ceasefire. The summit took place a week after a deadline Trump gave the Kremlin to stop the war or face additional sanctions on its exports of oil in the form of secondary tariffs on countries buying it. Trump already imposed those tariffs on India, and if applied to others, Russian revenues 'would probably be impacted very badly and very quickly,' said Chris Weafer, CEO of Macro-Advisory Ltd. consultancy. In the days before Alaska, Trump also threatened unspecified 'very severe consequences' if Putin does not agree to stop the war. But whether those consequences will materialize remains unclear. Asked about that in a post-summit interview with Fox News Channel, Trump said he doesn't need 'to think about that right now,' and suggested he might revisit the idea in 'two weeks or three weeks or something.' More pressure on Ukraine In a statement after the summit, Putin claimed the two leaders had hammered out an 'understanding' on Ukraine and warned Europe not to 'torpedo the nascent progress.' But Trump said 'there's no deal until there's a deal.' In his Fox interview, Trump insisted the onus going forward might be on Zelenskyy 'to get it done,' but said there would also be some involvement from European nations. Zelenskyy will meet Trump at the White House on Monday. Both raised the possibility of a trilateral summit with Putin, but Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said it wasn't discussed in Alaska. The Kremlin has long maintained that Putin would only meet Zelenskyy in the final stages of peace talks. 'Trump now appears to be shifting responsibility towards Kyiv and Europe, while still keeping a role for himself,' Tatiana Stanovaya of the Carnegie Russia and Eurasia Center wrote on X. Fiona Hill, a senior adviser on Russia to Trump during his first administration, told AP that he has met his match because 'Putin is a much bigger bully.' Trump wants to be the negotiator of 'a big real estate deal between Russia and Ukraine,' she said, but in his mind he can 'apply real pressure' only to one side — Kyiv. Hill said she expects Trump to tell Zelenskyy that 'you're really going to have to make a deal' with Putin because Trump wants the conflict off his plate and is not prepared to put pressure on the Russian president. Far from the summit venue and its backdrop saying 'Pursuing Peace,' Russia continued to bombard Ukraine and make incremental advances on the over 600-mile (1,000-kilometer) front. Russia fired a ballistic missile and 85 drones overnight. Ukraine shot down or intercepted 61 drones, its air force said. Front-line areas of Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk and Chernihiv were attacked. Russia's Defense Ministry said it had taken control of the village of Kolodyazi in the Donetsk region, along with Vorone in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Ukraine did not comment on the claims. Russian forces are closing in on the strongholds of Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2022 but still only partially controls. 'Unless Mr. Putin is absolutely convinced that he cannot win militarily, the fighting is not going to stop,' said Bristow, the former ambassador. 'That's the big takeaway from the Anchorage summit.'
