Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services by the Senate.

Happening in the World: Hamas says it will release Israeli hostages starting Saturday after previously saying it would delay the release of hostages over alleged Israeli ceasefire violations. The spat threatened to derail a ceasefire that ended over a year of fighting. (WAPO)

Happening in the US: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic, was confirmed by the US Senate to be the next Secretary of Health and Human Services. Kennedy will now lead the Department, which oversees, among others, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (NYT)

Happening in NYC: The top federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York and five officials at the public integrity unit quit after the Justice Department ordered the charges against Mayor Eric Adams to be dropped. The resignations were in protest of the Trump administration’s attempt to force the dismissal of the charges against Adams. (NYT)

Happening in our Community: On February 14, Columbia University will host a screening of Bye Bye Tiberias, a deeply personal documentary by French-Palestinian-Algerian filmmaker Lina Soualem, in the East Gallery of Buell Hall. The film follows Soualem and her mother, acclaimed actress Hiam Abbass, as they revisit their Palestinian village, exploring themes of exile, identity, and the resilience of four generations of women in their family. The trailer can be found here, and you can register here.

RFK Jr via Wikimedia Commons