Officials bristle at courts throttling Trump actions and Hamas postpones hostage exchange: Morning Rundown

Court rulings against parts of Donald Trump's agenda put White House officials on the defensive. Hamas says it will not release hostages this weekend after accusing Israel of not following the terms of the ceasefire agreement. And a bustling pizza shop in Philadelphia provides stability for formerly incarcerated people.

Here’s what to know today.

White House officials bristle at court rulings against Trump’s orders and actions

Worries that the U.S. could be headed toward a constitutional crisis are mounting as senior White House officials defend President Donald Trump’s agenda against a string of court orders. The remarks from officials, ranging from Vice President JD Vance to senior White House aide Stephen Miller, have sparked fears that the Trump administration may ignore judicial decisions.

A federal judge in Rhode Island ruled yesterday that the Trump administration failed to comply with his previous directive, which temporarily halted a sweeping funding freeze and ordered the government to “immediately restore frozen funding.” A coalition of 22 states has claimed that the government had not restored funding in several programs, causing chaos and confusion across the country. Also yesterday, a federal judge in Boston continued his pause of the Trump administration’s plan to offer mass buyouts to millions of federal workers.

Other legal setbacks for the Trump administration have thrown into question the president’s plans to remake the federal government, end birthright citizenship and rein in spending.

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Trump administration officials said they aren’t surprised at the courts’ decisions and that they anticipated the impediment. “We are careful in drafting the text of executive orders to make the possibility of court challenges being successful, but this is an occupational hazard,” a White House official familiar with Trump’s thinking said.

Vance wrote in a social media post over the weekend that “judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.” Miller, replying to a social media post from former Biden administration official Pete Buttigieg, implied a “lone unelected district judge” shouldn’t be able to “assume decision-making control” over the executive branch.

However, Laurence Tribe, a professor emeritus at Harvard Law school, said Vance’s arguments “are entirely without merit and sound to me like strong hints that the White House and its [Elon] Musk contingent are planning to ignore court rulings that they find inconvenient or that they see as hostile to their takeover agenda.” Alberto Gonzales, attorney general in George W. Bush’s administration, said, “The courts decide ultimately what is illegal or unconstitutional, not the vice president or president.”

So what happens if the Trump administration defies a judge’s decision? Impeachment seems unlikely. Maybe the president will resort to disparaging judges by name, as he has done in the past. An administration official said nothing is off the table. “You will just have to wait and see,” the person said.

Read the full story here.

More Trump administration and politics news:

• Republican Sen. Nancy Mace of South Carolina took to the House floor to accuse four men, including her ex-fiancé, of rape, sex trafficking and other sex crimes.

• Trump’s efforts to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau appear to be moving forward. Here’s what’s at stake for Americans.

• Members of Veterans@State, a group of military veterans employed by the State Department, said they are frustrated by Trump’s order ending DEI programs and policies — including their own group.

Hamas suspends hostage release

Hamas said it will postpone a handover of hostages this weekend “until further notice” after it accused Israel of not following the terms of a ceasefire agreement that paused a 15-month war in the Gaza Strip. Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades, accused Israel of delaying the return of displaced people to northern Gaza, not allowing aid to enter the enclave and shelling various areas of the strip. Israeli officials condemned Hamas’ announcement, with Defense Minister Israel Katz calling it “a complete violation of the ceasefire agreement.”

Hamas’ announcement may worsen the uncertainty surrounding the fragile ceasefire, as well as the next steps for the region as a whole. President Donald Trump said last night that if all the hostages are not returned by noon Saturday, Israel should “cancel” the ceasefire and that “all hell is going to break out.”

Meanwhile, Trump said in a taped interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier that Palestinians wouldn’t be permitted to return to the Gaza Strip as part of his plan for the U.S. to take ownership of the war-torn territory.

Scientists examine a potential new use for weight loss drugs

Can the active ingredient in weight loss drugs reduce alcohol addiction? In recent years, drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro have helped people lose weight, but scientists are now researching whether GLP-1 drugs, which use semaglutide or tirzepatide as active ingredients, could treat other disorders. Observational studies have shown a link between semaglutide prescriptions and a lower risk of alcohol use disorder, cannabis use disorder and opioid use disorder.

Among those researching the topic is W. Kyle Simmons, a professor of pharmacology and physiology whose team at Oklahoma State University is tracking how people with alcohol use disorder respond to semaglutide through changes in their brain and behavior. Using neuroimaging, they’re able to see how the medication may alter how participants’ brains respond to alcohol.

The experts said there’s an immense need for new treatments for alcohol use disorder, and they hope that if the drugs prove to be successful, they will help convince people that alcohol use disorder is a disease rather than a bad behavior or moral weakness.

Black History Month: This Philly pizza shop is nourishing its community

When Muhammad Abdul-Hadi opened Down North Pizza in Philadelphia, he hoped to reduce the recidivism rate in his area, “so we can shatter glass ceilings,” he said. For people like executive chef Michael Carter, Abdul-Hadi’s mission was crucial. Carter, who is formerly incarcerated, had been selling barbecue off of his front porch after he lost his restaurant job during the Covid pandemic. Eventually, it led him to Abdul-Hadi — and to his job as the executive chef at Down North.

Not only is the restaurant a place for Carter and other formerly incarcerated people to hold down a job; it’s also a beacon for the community, where kids in the neighborhood can snag a free lunch and “kick it” while waiting for the school bus. Now, Abdul-Hadi hopes to spread that mission further with a new book featuring 65 recipes and the story about the restaurant’s mission.

NBC BLK is sharing stories of passions and joy among Black communities across the country. Read more:

🤠 From weddings and family reunions to impromptu backyard hangs, line dancing is the decadeslong pastime putting a smile on people’s faces.

⛳ Many are finding joy in activities, such as golf, skydiving and scuba diving, that were once inaccessible because of systemic racism or because they weren’t culturally traditional pursuits in their communities.

✈️ Travel groups are celebrating Holi in India, skiing in Japan and visiting historic sites in Ghana and sharing their experiences online.

Read All About It

• One person has died and four others were injured after a plane belonging to Mötley Crüe frontman Vince Neil crashed into another plane on the ground while landing at Scottsdale Airport in Arizona. A lawyer for Neil said the singer was not on board.

• Elon Musk is leading a group of investors in offering to buy control of OpenAI for a reported $97.4 billion. CEO Sam Altman had a snarky reply to Musk’s offer.

• More than three years before a Louisiana woman was arrested last week in the death of a TV reporter in New Orleans to cover the Super Bowl, another man accused the woman of drugging him, robbing his savings and leaving him for dead.

• A dairy worker in Nevada was infected with a mutated strain of bird flu different from the virus that has caused the majority of human infections in the U.S., the CDC said.

• Sonya Massey’s family reached a $10 million settlement more than six months after she was shot and killed in her Illinois home by a deputy responding to her call about a possible prowler.

Staff Pick: What happens without pennies?

President Donald Trump has ordered the Treasury to stop making pennies, but don’t worry too much about the penny’s extinction, for now. The coin’s actual elimination is likely decades away because so many are still in circulation. And those who prefer to pay for things with a credit or debit card won’t likely notice a difference. Still, retailers could change how items are priced, and those at the bottom of the economic ladder will feel the penny pinch the most. Here’s why.

By the way, are we going to need a new phrase for "giving your two cents?" What about "a penny for your thoughts?" — Elizabeth Robinson, newsletter editor

NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified

For its New & Notable column, NBC Select editors looked at the best products launched so far this month, including the new Samsung Galaxy phone, Hoka shoes, a Dyson handheld vacuum and much more. Plus, a few tips on what to buy and what to skip during Presidents’ Day sales.

Sign up to The Selection newsletter for hands-on product reviews, expert shopping tips and a look at the best deals and sales each week.

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This article was originally published on NBCNews.com