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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the weekend. Here’s today’s news:
GLOBAL AFFAIRS
Australia’s centre-left Labor party is set to dramatically increase its majority after Australian voters rejected the country’s conservative Liberal-National opposition in the Saturday election. The result will make Prime Minister Anthony Albanese the first Australian leader to win back-to-back elections in over 20 years. Tiffanie Turnbull reports for BBC News.
Hard-right eurosceptic George Simion yesterday won the first round of Romania’s presidential election re-run, securing 41% of the votes. The runner-up candidate, Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan, trails Simion by 20% ahead of a May 18 runoff. Luiza Ilie and Elizaveta Gladun report for Reuters.
Singapore’s People’s Action Party, which has ruled the city-state since 1959, improved its vote share in the country’s Saturday election, seen as a test of the party’s popularity following a near record-low showing in 2020. Sui-Lee Wee reports for the New York Times.
The Rapid Support Forces paramilitary has struck a military airport in Port Sudan, the group’s first attack to reach the de facto capital of Sudan’s military-led government, a Sudanese army spokesperson said yesterday. No casualties were reported. Jessica Rawnsley reports for BBC News.
A bombing attack on a hospital and market in South Sudan killed at least seven people and destroyed the hospital’s medical supplies, a Médecins Sans Frontières spokesperson said. The spokesperson added that local witnesses had said the attack was carried out by “government forces helicopters.” Will Ross and Natasha Booty report for BBC News.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Israeli Cabinet ministers today approved a new plan to capture the entire Gaza Strip and remain in the territory for an unspecified amount of time, according to two Israeli officials. The plan would also seek to prevent Hamas militants from distributing humanitarian aid and entail powerful strikes against Hamas targets, the officials added. Tia Goldenberg and Sam Mednick report for AP News.
Israel will mobilize thousands of reserve soldiers to support an expanded campaign in Gaza, the Israeli military announced on Saturday. Aaron Boxerman and Natan Odenheimer report for the New York Times.
The effect of Israel’s blockade of humanitarian aid into Gaza has become “catastrophic,” doctors in the territory say, with food, water, and medicine shortages prompting a surge of preventable illnesses, deaths, and hunger. Separately, Hamas on Friday announced it has executed six Palestinians and shot 13 others in the legs for alleged looting in Gaza. Erika Solomon and Rawan Sheikh Ahmad report for the New York Times; Ibrahim Dahman, Eyad Kourdi, Abeer Salman, Oren Liebermann, and Tareq Al Hilou report for CNN.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
The United States, Israel, and representatives of a new international foundation are close to reaching an agreement on how to resume the supply of aid to Gaza without it being controlled by Hamas, Israeli and U.S. sources say, with a formal announcement possible “in the coming days.” Under the agreement, a private U.S. company would be in charge of the logistical delivery and of providing security, a source added. Barak Ravid reports for Axios; Dana Karni, Jennifer Hansler, and Oren Liebermann report for CNN.
Israel’s new plan for assuming control over and restricting the distribution of aid in Gaza has been rejected by the U.N. and dozens of international aid organizations, who said it would run counter to humanitarian principles, is logistically unworkable, and could endanger Palestinian civilians and staffers, sources say. Claire Parker, Karen DeYoung, Gerry Shih, and Cate Brown report for the Washington Post.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will travel to Israel ahead of President Trump’s Middle East trip, according to Israeli sources. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
HOUTHI DEVELOPMENTS
Yemen’s Houthi rebels late yesterday announced they would impose a “comprehensive” aerial blockade on Israel by targeting its airports in response to Israel’s actions in Gaza and claimed responsibility for a missile strike that briefly shut down Tel Aviv’s main international airport yesterday. Responding to the incident, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed further attacks against the Houthis and Iran. Tamar Michaelis and Oren Liebermann report for CNN; Reuters reports.
A U.S. airstrike on a Houthi-run compound used as a migrant detention center and potentially for military purposes appears to have killed at least 38 people and injured at least 32 last Monday, according to images of the aftermath reviewed by the Washington Post. The Post’s analysis notes its figure is “almost certainly” an undercount. Houthi rebels alleged that at least 68 people were killed in the attack. Alex Horton, Imogen Piper, Cate Brown, and Evan Hill report.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy yesterday said that a ceasefire with Russia was possible “at any moment” and called for more pressure on Moscow to put such a measure in place. Earlier on the weekend, Zelenskyy stated Ukraine would not adhere to a three-day ceasefire proposed by Russia, saying that such a short truce would not help in negotiations and that Ukraine’s offer of a 30-day truce remains on the table. Reuters reports; Andrew E. Kramer reports for the New York Times.
Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday said that Russia had sufficient strength and resources to take the war in Ukraine “to its logical conclusion” and achieve Moscow’s aims, but he hopes that nuclear weapons “would not be required.” Ukraine’s Ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, said that the remarks indicate Putin “is a threat” to “anyone who believes that nations should live peacefully.” Reuters reports; Lauren Irwin reports for the Hill.
Ukraine on Saturday claimed it had downed two Russian jet fighters using sea drones equipped with modified U.S.-made missiles, in what Kyiv said was the first such attack in the history of warfare. Russia’s military has not commented on the claim. Matthew Luxmoore reports for the Wall Street Journal.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
The United States will refurbish a Patriot air-defense system that was based in Israel and send it to Ukraine, and Kyiv’s Western allies are discussing the logistics of Germany or Greece transferring another system, according to current and former U.S. officials. A former White House official said the former Biden administration had secured the transfer agreement with Israel last September. Kim Barker, Helene Cooper, Lara Jakes, and Eric Schmitt report for the New York Times.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Several federal prosecutors, including the chief of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section, have resigned over a plea deal offered by the new U.S. attorney in Los Angeles to a sheriff’s deputy found guilty of using excessive force, sources say. Brittny Mejia, James Queally, and Keri Blakinger report for the Los Angeles Times.
Any move to revoke Harvard University’s tax-exempt status would be “highly illegal” and “destructive,” the school’s President Alan Garber told the Wall Street Journal after Trump on Friday repeated his threats to “take away” the school’s exemption. Douglas Belkin, Richard Rubin, and Gareth Vipers report.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Trump yesterday announced plans to implement a 100% tariff on movies made in other countries that are imported to the United States, claiming that the move is a response to the “national security threat” posed by “a concerted effort by other [n]ations” to “devastate” Hollywood. Nnamdi Egwuonwu reports for NBC News.
Trump yesterday accused Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum of being afraid of Mexico’s powerful cartels after Sheinbaum on Saturday confirmed she has rejected Trump’s suggestions to allow U.S. troops to operate inside Mexico. Aamer Madhani reports for AP News.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday condemned the decision of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency to classify the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as a right-wing extremist organization, describing AfD as a “centrist” party and the agency’s move as a “tyranny in disguise.” Katherine Long reports for POLITICO.
Trump is expected to hold a summit with leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council states during his May visit to Saudi Arabia, according to U.S. and Arab officials. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday said he would travel to meet with Trump tomorrow to discuss a variety of U.S. tariffs on Canadian imports, in what Carney said he expects to be a “complex negotiation.” Ian Austen reports for the New York Times.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
Trump yesterday said he has directed his administration to rebuild and reopen Alcatraz, a former California prison-turned-tourist attraction. Alcatraz housed prisoners before it was closed as a prison in 1963 when the government decided its continued operation was not cost-effective. Rebecca Falconer reports for Axios.
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division will investigate voter fraud and focus on ensuring elections are not marred by “suspicion,” according to a recent mission statement memo seen by AP News. The unit’s activities previously focused on ensuring compliance with voting rights laws. Nicholas Riccardi reports.
The Trump administration has scrapped more than $800 million worth of research into the health of LGBTQ+ people, a group that comprises nearly 10% of U.S. adults, according to the New York Times’ analysis of federal data. Benjamin Mueller reports.
The National Endowment for the Arts on Friday began withdrawing and cancelling grant offers to numerous arts organizations around the country, hours after Trump proposed eliminating the agency in his next budget. Michael Paulson reports for the New York Times.
At least 15,000 U.S. Agriculture Department (USDA) employees have taken the Trump administration’s offers to resign, amounting to 15% of USDA’s total staff numbers, according to a readout of a congressional briefing shared with POLITICO. Marcia Brown reports.
The head of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, Harmeet K. Dhillon, on Saturday said she was investigating a new policy in Minnesota’s Hennepin County to determine whether it illegally considers race as a factor in plea deals. Hennepin County’s attorney’s office last week issued a memo telling prosecutors to be aware of racial or age considerations in plea negotiations and sentencing. Devlin Barrett reports for the New York Times.
The Trump administration and Maine have reached an agreement to restore federal funding for school children after the federal government threatened to freeze it over the state’s policies on transgender athletes, Maine’s attorney general said Friday. Tim Balk reports for the New York Times.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
Trump’s executive order targeting the law firm Perkins Coie was unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled on Friday. In a final ruling directing the Trump administration not to enforce the order’s terms, Judge Beryl Howell opined that the directive amounted to unlawful coercion and imperiled lawyers’ ability to freely practice law. Zach Montague reports for the New York Times.
A divided federal appellate court on Saturday issued a stay of a lower court decision that had ordered the government to reinstate staffers working for the Voice of America news outlet, finding that the lower court likely did not have jurisdiction to order the employees back to work. Prior to the ruling, the DOJ indicated the agency would begin a “phased return” to the office and resume programming next week, with the plans for the outlet now unclear. Katherine Long and Ben Johansen report for POLITICO.
Radio Free Asia is laying off most of its staff and shutting down some of its broadcasts, the news outlet’s CEO Bay Fang said, saying the RFA’s funds are running low amid a court battle with the Trump administration over congressionally allocated funding. Brian Stelter reports for CNN.
The Justice Department on Friday sued Colorado and Denver for allegedly interfering with federal efforts to enforce immigration laws, in the Trump administration’s latest attempt to target “sanctuary” policies adopted by some cities. Thomas Peipert reports for AP News.
The Trump administration on Friday asked the Supreme Court to pause a lower court’s order restricting DOGE from accessing sensitive Social Security Administration data, arguing that the judicial order excessively stymied Trump’s executive authority. Gary Grumbach and Nnamdi Egwuonwu report for NBC News.
The Trump administration has reached a financial settlement “in principle” with the family of Ashley Babbitt, a woman who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and was shot and killed by a Capitol Police officer guarding the House chamber, DOJ attorneys confirmed in court on Friday. Kyle Cheney reports for POLITICO.
The CIA has fired the Director of its Center for Global Health Services, Terry Adirim, after she was targeted by far-right activists seeking to oust her from the government, according to a lawsuit Adirim’s lawyers filed on Friday. Julian E. Barnes reports for the New York Times.
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