From CNN, I'm Fez Jameel with the 5 things you need to know for Wednesday, February 21st. Former President Donald Trump has finally spoken out about the death of late Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny by comparing Navalny to himself. Navalny is a very sad situation and he's very brave. It's happening in our country too.
We are turning into a communist country in many ways. And if you look at it, I'm the leading candidate. I get in debt. I've never heard of being indicted before.
He made the comments at a Foxtown Hall last night after days of criticism over his refusal to condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin over Navalny's death. The opposition figure died in a Russian penal colony in circumstances that haven't been properly explained, and his family says they still haven't been allowed to see his body. Trump still didn't criticize Putin or the Kremlin in his latest comments last night, and instead used Navalny's death to feed his claims that he's being politically persecuted. The Kremlin says the investigation into Navalny's death has not been completed and has denied any involvement in his death.
A CNN investigation shows Israeli forces fired on a food convoy in Gaza earlier this month, despite agreeing on its route with the UN. And the Israeli military ultimately blocked the convoy from progressing to the northern part of the territory, where Palestinians are on the verge of famine. I asked CNN's Katie Paul Glaze to tell us more about the investigation. Hey Fez, so we got exclusive access to an exchange between the UN and the Israeli military that showed this convoy's route was agreed in advance, and yet despite this, it was still hit.
And our visual analysis showed the convoy had been hit on the left-hand side, the side facing the sea. And satellite imagery showed IDF missile boats in the water, so we had some potential perpetrators too. And with much of Gaza facing famine, the experts told us hitting a truck like this carrying vital food could be considered a potential war crime. Israel's military has not responded to CNN's repeated requests for comment on the strike, but said earlier this month it was looking into the incident.
Prosecutors say the ex-FBI informant, accused of lying about President Biden and his son Hunter, has high-level ties with Russian intelligence. Alexander Smurdov, who is charged with lying about the Biden family's dealings in Ukraine, says that's where he got his information from. A new court filing shows the ex-informant told investigators Russian intelligence officials were, quote, involved in passing a story about Hunter Biden. Smurdov is behind allegations that then-Vice President Biden and his son Hunter were being offered bribes of $5 million each to help the Ukrainian energy company Burisma, claims Republicans have highlighted in their efforts to impeach Biden.
Smurdov's been charged with lying to the FBI and creating false records. The United Auto Workers say thousands of its union members could go on strike at Ford's most profitable truck plant in Kentucky if local contract issues are not resolved. CNN's Vanessa Yurkavich tell us more. Hi, fans.
A local union representing the Kentucky truck plant, Ford Motor Company's largest facility, says while the national agreement was ratified last year, core issues like health and safety in the plant and minimum in-plant nursing staff levels have not been resolved at the local level. During the height of the UAW strike last year, the walkout at Kentucky truck was one of the biggest hits to Ford. The company said in a statement, quote, negotiations continue and we look forward to reaching an agreement. Coming up, Bitcoin is back with a trillion-dollar bang.
Bitcoin has staged a $1 trillion comeback. The value of the world's most popular cryptocurrency has more than tripled to $52,000 since November 2022. That was a year marked by the implosion of crypto exchange FTX, which sent ripples through the market. And investors have been returning to Bitcoin droves in recent weeks, which according to CoinMarketCap has pushed its total market value above $1 trillion for the first time since its heyday back in 2021.
That's all for now. Our next episode drops at noon Eastern. We'll be right back. We'll be right back.
We will be right back. We'll be right back.