Axios

The Israeli Security Cabinet on Sunday decided to legalize nine illegal outposts in the occupied West Bank and turn them into new settlements, according to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.

Why it matters: The decision — the first legalization of illegal outposts by the Israeli government since 2012 — was approved despite objections by the Biden administration. It is expected to create tensions between the U.S. and Israel.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog in a speech to the nation on Sunday laid out a proposal for solving the constitutional crisis around Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to weaken the Supreme Court and called on the government to suspend the legislation process and enter talks on judicial reforms that will garner broad consensus.

Why it matters: Netanyahu's judicial overhaul plan has prompted mass protests in Israel and concerns from the Biden administration about what it could mean for the U.S. ally's democracy.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) acknowledged it was "wild" the U.S. didn't know about the Chinese government's use of balloons "until a few months ago," during an interview on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday.

Catch up quick: Last week, the U.S. shot down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that had traversed the U.S. and is believed to have been capable of collecting communications.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) emphasized the importance of maintaining a "thorough and robust" line of communication between the U.S. and China in light of recent events during an interview on Fox News Channel's "Cavuto Live" on Saturday.

Catch up quick: Last week, the U.S. shot down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that had traversed the U.S. and is believed to have been capable of collecting communications.

The death toll from this week's massive earthquakes and aftershocks in Syria and Turkey surpassed 33,000 on Sunday, as hope for finding survivors trapped under toppled buildings began to fade.

The big picture: Freezing winter weather conditions and the sheer scale of the destruction have hampered rescue efforts for days after the 7.8-magnitude quake hit Monday.

The U.S. has blacklisted six entities in China that it says are linked to aerospace programs, including balloons, used by the military for intelligence.

The big picture: The move, which comes after the U.S. last week downed a Chinese balloon that's suspected of being used for surveillance, will likely only increase the tension between the two countries.

Five days after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Turkey and Syria, a UN liaison officer is warning that the two countries are nearing the end of the search and rescue window.

Driving the news: The possibility of finding survivors is decreasing as the hours pass, Belit Tasdemir of the AKUT Search and Rescue Association said in an interview with CNN on Saturday. His comments come as rescue workers persist in efforts to locate and safely extract people trapped amid the devastation.