The U.S. lifted a few of the sanctions imposed on Iran’s nuclear program on Friday. The Biden administration is hopeful that the sanction waiver entices Iran to return to its 2015 nuclear agreement. A group of U.S. negotiators will head back to Vienna in what could be the last attempt made by the Biden administration to reach a consensus with Iran. More: - Former President Donald Trump had reimposed sanctions in 2018 after Iran was found violating the terms of its 2015 nuclear deal.
- President Joe Biden had pledged a return to the earlier nuclear deal, which was finalized by then-President Barack Obama.
- The current waivers, approved on Friday, have granted an exemption to foreign nations and companies from U.S. penalties for their work in Iran’s civil nuclear sector.
- Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has called the current sanction waivers insufficient.
- Iran has demanded a full sanction waiver before it complies with the terms set under the 2015 deal.
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 U.S. Air Force Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules transport aircraft arrives in Poland The first U.S. military group arrived at Rzeszow military base in Poland on Saturday. The Biden administration has sent reinforcements to support its NATO allies in case Russia invades Ukraine. More: - The troops deployed belong to the 82nd Airborne Division of the United States Army.
- Temporary accommodation is being built in the neighboring town of Jasionka.
- President Joe Biden committed to defending NATO members Poland and Romania from a potential spillover from the Ukraine crisis.
- Biden committed to deploying 3,000 troops to the nations.
- 1,700 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division are expected to arrive in Poland in the coming days.
- 1,000 Stryker squadron members, currently in Germany, will be diverted to Romania.
- The plan is an added commitment over the Pentagon's standing orders to divert 8,500 troops to Europe if required.
- NATO will discuss further reinforcement deployment at its next meeting, scheduled for mid-February.
- Russia has maintained its silence over invading Ukraine, although 100,000 Russian troops have gathered along Ukraine's borders.
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 Travis Reinking Waffle House shooter Travis Reinking was found guilty on four counts of first-degree murder after the jury rejected his insanity defense. The jury found him guilty on 16 verdicts. Reinking opened fire at a Nashville Waffle House restaurant in April 2018, killing four people and injuring two more. More: - The jury will review the possibility of parole on Saturday.
- Reinking's lawyers presented evidence showing he had schizophrenia and was delusional for years.
- He had contacted law enforcement on several prior occasions.
- Illinois state police had revoked his firearms license.
- That only meant he had to turn his guns over to a licensed individual. He gave them to his father, who returned them.
- Prior to the attack, the perpetrator supposedly heard voices telling him to attack three people at the Waffle House after the police took away a BMW he had stolen from a dealership.
- He outlined his plans to drive to Colorado, smoke marijuana, hike in the mountains, and "repossess" cars in his journal a few days before the attack.
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Good news: The Ecuadorian court ruled in favor of Indigenous communities by granting them rights to deny oil, mining, and other extractive projects that impact their lands. The lawsuit was brought on by the A'i Kofán community of Sinangoe and led by Amazon Frontlines, a legal representation nonprofit group. More: - The ruling states that "under no circumstances can a project be carried out that generates excessive sacrifices to the collective rights of communities and nature." The government can bypass the regulation under exceptional circumstances only.
- Ecuador's President, Guillermo Lasso, had hoped to double oil production and mining in the next few years, but the verdict has thwarted his plans.
- Since 2020, the Ecuadorian Amazon has been contaminated by two major oil leaks, the most recent of which occurred just last week.
- Oscar Soria, a campaign director at human rights group Avaaz, commended the court's ruling, which will grant consent rights to Indigenous groups.
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The French Interior Ministry announced Saturday that it had set up a new body called the Forum of Islam, which will work to remove Islamic extremism from France. The body will help keep its Muslim citizens safe by reducing the influence of foreign bodies and establishing secularistic and pro-peace practices. More: - The body is composed of imams, influential figures, and women.
- 25% of its members are expected to be women.
- Islam is the second-most practiced religion in France, with 5 million adherents, accounting for 5% of the population.
- The French government decided to form the body after claims of many French residents joining Syrian jihadists in recent years, their troops' ongoing battle with extremists in Africa, and many extremists led attacks in France.
- The new body will supersede the existing French Council of Muslim Faith, established in 2003 by then-Interior Minister and former President Nicolas Sarkozy.
- The existing body, which served as an intermediary between the government and religious leaders, will be dissolved this month.
- Critics say the new council is President Emmanuel Macron's attempt to lure right-wing votes to his centrist party in April's election.
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 Excavator digging a ditch near the well Efforts to pull out a 5-year-old child trapped in a Moroccan well are still underway as rescue teams have been struggling to get to him due to unstable soil. The buy, named Rayan, has been stuck in the well for four days after falling down a 32-meter (105-foot) well in his home village of Ighran. Some have raised concerns that it might be too late. More: - The teams were digging a parallel ditch with bulldozers as the hole was too narrow for rescuers to reach safely.
- They commenced excavation of a horizontal tunnel on Friday.
- There is a danger of soil collapsing around the boy, making the team's work difficult and slowing the pace of excavation.
- Rayan's condition is being monitored by a camera, and the rescue teams have been sending oxygen and water to the boy.
- However, the head of the rescue team, Abdelhadi Temrani, is unsure of the child's condition at the moment.
- A medical team and a helicopter – to transport him to the nearest hospital – are on standby to attend to the boy.
- However, it is currently unclear how he fell in the well.
- As of 10:30 EST, Rescuers were barely 1 meter (3 feet) away from the kid.
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- Tens of thousands of people across the country, from the deep south to New England, woke up without power due to a major winter storm. Up to 17 inches of snow and ice blanketed New York, Vermont, Indiana, and Maine.
- The National Wastewater Surveillance System, established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has started monitoring wastewater to determine the prevalence of COVID-19 and identify dominant strains across communities. Monitoring data for 37 states have been added to the tracker.
- Bryan Alexis Cifuentes-Rossell was arrested Friday on suspicion of assaulting Daniel Luna, a 49ers fan, after the NFC championship game between the 49ers and host Los Angeles Rams. Luna has been put into a medically induced coma after he hit his head on the ground.
- Southwest Airlines announced it will resume serving alcohol on its flights, commencing mid-February for flights longer than 176 miles, much to the dismay of the union representing the airline's flight attendants. The TWU Local 556 president argued that the decision "has the great potential to increase customer noncompliance and misconduct issues."
- Fahad Shah, the editor of The Kashmir Walla, was arrested for "uploading anti-national content" by the Kashmir police.
- The U.S. women's hockey team beat their Russian counterparts 5-0 at the Winter Olympic Games preliminary round.
- Europe's main security and rights watchdog, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), recommended sending 18 long-term observers and 200 short-term observers, in addition to the core team, to observe Hungary's parliamentary elections set to take place in early April. The team will analyze voter registration, vote-buying and intimidation, campaign finances, and election media coverage.
- Your money matters. Let's make more of it. Stocks are great, but there are many more options now. That's why we've been reading the Alts newsletter.*
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Picture of the day 
Ponder over the amazing astronomical objects in our universe! Here is an image of the Variable star R Aquarii, an interacting binary star system about 710 light-years away, captured by NASA. Tap here to see a detailed explanation of the galactic object.
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 |  | Karan Chafekar is a Management Consultant, Business enthusiast, and Licensed Pilot. | | | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
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