Start your week smart: Pope Francis, Pentagon purge, Federal firings, Hospital shooting, Gaza hostage release

By Andrew Torgan, CNN

(CNN) — Keep a sturdy umbrella handy because it’s raining rockets! From the Caribbean to Europe, chunks of debris from private space launches falling back to Earth are becoming more common. And as the rise in the number of rockets taking off on any given week has increased, so too has the likelihood that space junk could find its way back to populated areas.

Here’s what else you need to know to Start Your Week Smart.

The weekend that was

• Pope Francis received high flows of oxygen after suffering a respiratory crisis but had a peaceful night in hospital, the Vatican said earlier today. The 88-year-old pontiff remains in “critical” condition and developed an “asthmatic respiratory crisis” on Saturday, the Vatican said.
• In an unprecedented purge of the military’s senior leadership Friday night, President Donald Trump fired the top US general just moments before his defense secretary fired the US Navy’s chief and the Air Force’s vice chief. Trump announced he was dismissing Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Charles Q. Brown and replacing him with Air Force Lt. Gen. John Dan “Razin” Caine — an extraordinary move since Caine is retired and is not a four-star general.
• In President Trump and Elon Musk’s latest move targeting the federal workforce, employees began receiving emails Saturday afternoon asking them to explain what work they did last week, as Musk announced that “failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.” But several national security agencies, including the FBI, and multiple other federal departments advised staffers not to respond to the email immediately, suggesting that the broader executive branch was not informed of nor prepared for the demand.
• A police officer was killed and five other people were wounded when a man took medical staff hostage and opened fire at a York, Pennsylvania, hospital on Saturday morning, officials said. The 49-year-old gunman was also killed.
• Israel has delayed an expected release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees in exchange for returned Israeli hostages “until further notice,” the Palestinian Prisoners Society said earlier today. Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office confirmed the postponement, demanding guarantees that future hostage releases will take place without “humiliating ceremonies.” Hamas released six Israeli hostages from Gaza on Saturday in two public ceremonies and one private transfer, the final return of live hostages in this first phase of a ceasefire deal that began last month.

The week ahead

Monday
February 24 marks three years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine — an uninterrupted onslaught that’s killed tens of thousands and displaced about 10 million people. The invasion has also laid waste to Ukrainian cities and drawn allegations of war crimes by Moscow’s forces, which are entrenched in parts of eastern and southern Ukraine. The grim anniversary comes as President Donald Trump has upended America’s stance on the conflict this month with a sweeping pivot toward Moscow and labeled Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a “dictator.” Meanwhile, US and Russian officials began talks in Saudi Arabia last week to end the war — talks that did not include representatives from Kyiv.

Also on Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron is set to meet with Trump at the White House. Macron’s visit comes a week after European leaders convened an emergency summit in Paris following word that they would be left out of the US-Russia peace talks.

Tuesday
A federal judge in Seattle will consider a motion for a preliminary injunction to put on hold President Trump’s executive order suspending the federal refugee resettlement program and funding for resettlement agencies. Major aid agencies sued over the order in US District Court in Seattle earlier this month.

Wednesday
President Trump will hold his first official Cabinet meeting at the White House.

Thursday
On the heels of President Macron’s White House visit, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to meet with President Trump. Starmer said last week he was “ready and willing” to put British troops on the ground in Ukraine, stating that helping to guarantee Ukraine’s security would also strengthen the security of the UK and Europe.

Friday
The party’s over for Party City. The nation’s largest party supply chain, which filed for bankruptcy a little over a week before New Year’s Eve, will close its doors for good.

On a happier note, Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil — the famous festival held every year before Lent — gets underway.

Listen in

One Thing: Immigrants on edge
In this episode of the “One Thing” podcast, CNN’s David Rind speaks to community leaders about what they are doing to protect undocumented immigrants amid President Trump’s mass deportation operation. Listen here.

Photos of the week

Check out more images from the week that was, curated by CNN Photos.

What’s happening in entertainment

TV and streaming
If you loved watching reruns of “Suits” on Netflix — starring, among others, then Dutchess-to-be Meghan Markle — we’ve got good news for you. “Suits LA” premieres tonight at 9 p.m. ET on NBC and streaming the next day on Peacock.

Alec Baldwin and his wife Hilaria speak candidly about their family’s struggle through the aftermath of the fatal 2021 “Rust” shooting in the first episode of “The Baldwins,” their new reality series airing tonight at 10 p.m. ET on TLC. (TLC, like CNN, is part of Warner Bros. Discovery.)

And the 31st annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will be streamed live at 8 p.m. ET on Netflix tonight with Kristen Bell as host. “Wicked” and “Shōgun” led among the nominees with five nods each.

In theaters
Hitting the multiplex beginning Friday is “Riff Raff,” featuring an all-star cast that includes Bill Murray, Pete Davidson, Jennifer Coolidge and Gabrielle Union, as well as the deep-sea thriller “Last Breath,” starring Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu and Finn Cole.

What’s happening in sports

At a glance …
Major League Baseball’s Spring Training is in full swing this weekend with teams taking the field today for Grapefruit and Cactus League games in Florida and Arizona respectively. Here are 5 things to watch as baseball returns.

And if you are going through football withdrawal just weeks after the Super Bowl, fear not: the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine begins this week and live coverage starts Thursday.

For more of your favorite sports, head on over to CNN Sports as well as Bleacher Report, which — like CNN — is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.

Quiz time!

Looking for a challenge to start your week? Take CNN’s weekly news quiz to see how much you remember from the week that was! So far, 51% of fellow quiz fans have gotten eight or more questions right. How will you fare?

Play me off …

‘Roar’
Saturday is March 1, and you know what they say about March … it comes in like a lion. (Click here to view)

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