The focus in Turkey is shifting from rescue operations to reconstruction in the aftermath of last week’s catastrophic earthquake, as authorities carry out damage assessments in the worst-affected areas. More than 41,000 people have died across southern Turkey and northwestern Syria.
A woman in her 40s was rescued in Turkey on Wednesday after surviving 222 hours in the rubble, Turkish broadcaster TRT World reported. But hopes of finding more survivors continue to fade. The health needs of survivors in Turkey and Syria are vast, officials from the World Health Organization said Wednesday.

A US military jet shot down an unidentified airborne object over Canada’s Yukon Territory today — as President Biden’s administration continued to remain mum about the mysterious intruder brought down in Alaska the previous day, the NY Post.

Former President Donald Trump has delivered his “real State of the Union” in a counterpoint to President Joe Biden’s Tuesday night address, releasing a video in which he laments a nation facing “crisis, calamity, and disaster” but also vows to “reverse” it all.
Trump excoriated Biden on myriad issues: the border, drug trafficking, crime, inflation, energy, liberal indoctrination and others that are “leading us to the brink of World War III.”
“And, on top of all of that, he’s the most corrupt president in American history, and it’s not even close,” Trump said in his two-minute response, which aired on Newsmax. “But the good news is we’re going to reverse every single crisis, calamity and disaster that Joe Biden has created.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has declared a state of emergency for three months in 10 of Turkey’s 81 provinces after Monday’s catastrophic 4 a.m. earthquake. The death toll rose Tuesday evening to 5,434 in Turkey and 1,832 in Syria after the 7.8 quake, the deadliest to hit Turkey in over 20 years. The initial quake was followed by deadly aftershocks of up to 7.5 magnitude, and icy weather has impeded search and rescue efforts. Almost 6,000 buildings were razed.

Former President Trump and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie sparred online today after Christie predicted that Trump couldn’t beat President Biden if they run against each other in the 2024 presidential election, The Hill reports.
Christie, who endorsed Trump in 2016 after dropping his own campaign for the presidency but has since become a vocal Trump critic, made the 2024 forecast Sunday on ABC News, where he is now a contributor.

Ilhan Omar was kicked off the Foreign Affairs Committee —and AOC lost it.

Democratic Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) had a melt down on the House floor on Thursday after a vote kicked Ilhan Omar off the Foreign Affairs Committee for past racist comments.
AOC challenged the GOP narrative that it was being “consistent” with past practices.
“Consistency? There is nothing consistent with the Republican Party’s continued attack, except for the racism and incitement of violence against women of color in this body,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “This is about targeting women of color in the United States of America.”
Watch the clip above.

Always know the person’s name before you start the song.

According to a report from The New York Post, President Biden went down in flames while tyring to sing “Happy Birthday” to 49-year-old Arndrea Waters King, daughter-in-law of Martin Luther King Jr., during an event organized by Al Sharpton’s National Action Network and co-chaired by Martin Luther King III.

From The New York Post:

The Biden administration again renewed the Covid-19 public health emergency, a provision that gives the administration authorities to respond to the pandemic as cases are again on the rise, CNN reports.
US Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra renewed the declaration on its expiration date – an expected step because officials have said they will provide 60 days’ notice if they do not plan to renew the emergency, and had not done so.