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A
Have you apologized to President Trump, all of you who participated in those impeachment hearings against Donald Trump, you all should be apologizing. You sit here and you attack the president and I am not going to have it. I'm not going to put up with it.
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Attorney General Pam Bondi went on the offensive in testimony on Capitol Hill. That's where we're starting the seven from the Washington Post, I'm Hannah Jewell. It's Thursday, February 12th. Let's get you caught up with today's seven stories. Pam Bondi combatively defended her leadership at the Justice Department to House lawmakers yesterday. She has faced sharp criticism that she botched the release of the Epstein files and has wielded the nation's most powerful law enforcement agency to heed President Donald Trump's calls to prosecute his political foes. In heated exchanges, Bondi lobbed brash insults when Democratic lawmakers questioned her decisions.
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You can let her filibuster all day long, but not on our watch, not on our time. No way. And I told you about that attorney general before you started.
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You don't tell me.
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Oh, I did tell you because we saw what you did in the Senate.
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Not even a lawyer.
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Committee will be in order. That was her exchange with the House Judiciary Committee's top Democrat, Representative Jamie Raskin. Bondi frequently attempted to shift attention to her department's efforts to reduce violent crime. The committee's Republicans largely praised Bondi for the work of her first year in office. But Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican and frequent Trump critic, asked her why more men with ties to Jeffrey Epstein weren't under investigation. Bondi accused him of having Trump derangement syndrome. Foreign. A communication breakdown between the Pentagon and the FAA led to a flight stoppage in El Paso. That's number two. Yesterday, I told you about a breaking news story that the FAA had ordered a 10 day restriction on flights around El Paso for unspecified security reasons. Well, it didn't last long. The order was lifted after a few hours. And we're getting a clearer picture of what caused the extraordinary directive. Officials told the Post that a laser based counter drone weapon was temporarily transferred to and used by Department of Homeland Security personnel. Defense and FAA officials were going to meet on February 20th to discuss safety issues around the weapons deployment. But the Pentagon and DHS wanted to move forward quickly, prompting the flight restrictions. Officials said the system was launched by Customs and Border Protection personnel at something innocuous, probably a Mylar balloon. That's one of those shiny metal coated ones you often see at parties that hold helium for longer. The Trump administration, meanwhile, said that Mexican cartel drones had breached US Airspace and that the military took action to disable them. Number three the House voted to roll back President Trump's tariffs on Canada.
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On this vote, the yeas are 219 and the nays are 211. The joint resolution is passed without objection. The motion to reconsider is laid on the table.
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Last night, six Republicans joined with Democrats in in voting to end Trump's stepped up tariffs on Canada. It was a rare rebuke of the president and the first of what could be several congressional challenges to his trade policies. The measure is largely symbolic. It is not likely to overturn the tariffs because Trump could veto it if it clears the Senate. But the action showcases the long standing frustration some congressional Republicans have with Trump's controversial trade policies. And it's the latest evidence of the difficulties House Speaker Mike Johnson is having managing his razor thin Republican majority. Number four is a Post Exclusive the IRS shared confidential tax data with immigration enforcement officials Federal law mandates strict protections of the identities of taxpayers, including the sharing of data within the federal government. Undocumented immigrants have for years paid taxes with assurances that doing so would not result in them being targeted by immigration enforcement. But the Post reported yesterday that the IRS improperly shared confidential tax information of thousands of individuals with immigration enforcement officials. Officials said the erroneous disclosure was only recently discovered. The IRS is working with officials from the Treasury Department, Justice Department and Homeland Security on the administration's response. Number five actor James Van Der Beek died at 48. The teen drama Dawson's Creek vaulted Van Der Beek to stardom in the 1990s. He played the clean cut, floppy haired title character Dawson Leary, a sensitive, romantic 15 year old with dreams of becoming a filmmaker. See, I believe that all the mysteries of the universe, all the answers to life's questions, can be found in a Spielberg film. After that role, Van Der Beek kept up a busy screen career. He went on to play a high school quarterback in Varsity Blues and more recently starred in Don't Trust the Bee in apartment 23. Van der Beek revealed in 2024 that he had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer. His family announced his death on his Instagram account yesterday. A Ukrainian athlete was barred from the Winter Olympics because of his helmet. That's number six. This controversy has cast a shadow over the opening days of the Games in Italy. Vladislav Heraskevich, a skeleton athlete, wanted to wear a helmet honoring Ukrainian athletes who had been killed in Russia's invasion this morning. He was barred from competing just hours before his race after he refused to remove the helmet. The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation ruled that the helmet he intended to wear violated the Olympic Charter and the International Olympic Committee's guidelines on athlete expression. The IOC has been wrestling with the matter for several days, the Olympic governing body said. Under long standing Olympic rules, athletes are prohibited from making political demonstrations on the field of play or during medal ceremonies. Number seven is some promising news Two researchers say they've found found the Secret to Happiness Sonja Lyubomirsky and Harry Reiss are a happiness researcher and relationship expert, respectively. They teamed up to find an answer to the eternal question, what makes us happy? Their answer is simple and maybe unsurprising. It's not money or success, though. That's fun too. It's feeling loved by others. The researchers say love is actually essential for the survival of our species. Humans require a long period of care to survive infancy and later in life. Loneliness can lead to poor mental health and even early death. We don't want that. If you're feeling a little lonely right now, though, don't panic how you respond to it matters. Lyubomirsky and Reiss say that the first step to getting more love in your life is to be more loving to others. If you lift somebody else up, they will lift you up too, and that is the key to happiness. Alright, you're all caught up. You can increase your happiness by showing us a little love today. Leave us a glowing rating or review wherever you're listening. We will love you right back for it, though we can't claim whether it will help you fend off an early death. Thanks for listening and supporting the show. I'm Hannah Jewell. Meet you back here tomorrow.
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When it comes to the big questions, who you ask matters, from breaking news to politics that impact your life to advice you can trust. Get answers you don't have to question with Ask the Post AI Trained exclusively on post journalism with clear sourcing. And if we don't know the answer, we'll tell you. Ask the post AI. Find it on washingtonpost.com or in the app.