Axios

U.S. immigration courts are on pace to decide record numbers of deportation cases — and order the most removals in five years — under President Biden's push to fast-track asylum decisions.

Why it matters: The increases in the first two months of fiscal 2025, if they continue, will help reduce a backlog of 3.7 million immigration cases that could take four years to resolve.

This year's epic, relentless news cycles were driven by months of near-unprecedented political violence and uncertainty — plus the Olympics, according to Axios' annual analysis of Google Trends data.

Why it matters: Even in a wild election year, America's short attention span for news led to dramatic ups and downs in search trends as the media pivoted from one major story to the next.

Hackers connected to China's government successfully breached several Treasury Department workstations and accessed unclassified documents, according to a letter to Congress on Monday.

Why it matters: The U.S. government is already scrambling to respond to an ongoing China-backed hack of American telecom networks that targeted several high-profile officials.

The U.S. is sending Ukraine $5.9 billion in military aid and budget support, the Biden administration announced on Monday.

Why it matters: It's part of President Biden's pledge for a "surge" in aid for Kyiv before he's succeeded by President-elect Trump, who's criticized the U.S. givingUkraine military assistance.

A South Korean court approved an arrest warrant for impeached President Yoon Suk-Yeol on Tuesday morning local time, Yonhap News Agency first reported.

Why it matters: The warrant related to Yoon's brief martial law declaration this month that sparked widespread protests and shocked allies would mark the first time one has been issued for an incumbent president in South Korea, per local media.

The U.S. expressed concern to the new foreign minister of the transitional administration in Syria, Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, about reports of violent attacks by militant groups around the country in recent days, U.S. officials said.

The big picture: The Assad regime's fall after five decades in power and 13 years of civil war left behind many armed groups, and many more grievances. The U.S. is concerned that violent reprisals by militants affiliated with the victorious rebels — targeting minority groups or members of the ousted regime — will undermine efforts to stabilize the country.

Big questions loom over yesterday's crash that killed all but two of the 181 people aboard a South Korean jetliner.

The big picture: Video shows the Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 suffering an apparent bird strike, then attempting a belly landing before skidding down the runway into an antenna atop a small hill and exploding.

The fatal beating of a Black man by white corrections officers at an upstate New York prison that was caught on body cam video has sparked anger, investigations and planned protests.

The big picture: New York State Attorney General Letitia James on Friday released body cam footage showing correction officers attacking, punching and choking inmate Robert Brooks as he lies in a semi-conscious state.

Panama's President José Raúl Mulino remembered former President Jimmy Carter, who died on Sunday at age 100, for his "crucial" role in ensuring the Panama Canal was returned to Panamanian control.

The big picture: Carter signed treaties with Panama's leader in 1977 for the U.S. to gradually cede control of one of the world's most significant pieces of infrastructure — a move that came into effect on Dec. 31, 1999.

Authorities in Kazakhstan are investigating the cause of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash in the country, which killed 38 people and injured 29 others on Christmas Day.

The big picture: Flight J2-8243 was diverted while en route from Baku, Azerbaijan's capital, to Grozny in southern Russia.

Azerbaijan has demanded that Russia admit its guilt over a Christmas Day plane crash that killed 38 people, the country's President Ilham Aliyev said on Sunday.

The big picture: Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to Aliyev for the Azerbaijan Airlines crash occurring in Russian airspace, but a Kremlin statement made clear he wasn't accepting responsibility for the incident.