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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
SYRIA — U.S. RESPONSE
President Trump today met for the first time with Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara, after announcing that the United States would lift its sanctions on Syria yesterday. Trump said he came to the decision to enact the landmark policy shift after speaking with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, and that the United States wants to see the new Syrian government succeed in stabilizing the country and keeping peace. Ben Hubbard, Jonathan Swan, and Erika Solomon report for the New York Times; BBC News reports.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Trump today told a meeting of Gulf Cooperation Council leaders he urgently wants to “make a deal” to wind down Iran’s nuclear program and could ease economic sanctions on the country but that Tehran must end its support of proxy groups in the region as a condition of an agreement being made. Zeke Miller, Jon Gambrell, and Aamer Madhani report for AP News; Eli Stokols reports for POLITICO.
Iran has proposed the creation of a joint nuclear-enrichment venture involving regional Arab countries and U.S. investments as an alternative to the U.S. demand for Tehran to dismantle its nuclear program to the U.S. Special Envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, Iranian officials say. Witkoff’s spokesperson yesterday denied that the proposal had come up during last weekend’s talks. Farnaz Fassihi reports for the New York Times.
Saudi Arabia will invest $600 billion in the United States, including through a nearly $142 billion defense sales deal, Trump announced yesterday after signing several bilateral agreements with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a state visit. Kevin Breuninger and Natasha Turak report for CNBC.
The State Department yesterday designated Cuba as having “not fully cooperat[ed]” with U.S. counterterrorism efforts in 2024, reversing the Biden administration’s decision to remove the designation last year. Brendan O’Brien and Dave Sherwood report for Reuters.
The United States will cut “de minimis” tariffs on low-value shipments from China to as low as 30%, according to an executive order Trump signed yesterday and industry experts. Farah Master, Casey Hall, and Lisa Baertlein report for Reuters.
GLOBAL AFFAIRS
German prosecutors today announced the arrest of three men suspected of planning to mail packages laden with explosives in a Russian-sponsored act of sabotage. If confirmed, the plot would indicate the Kremlin has continued to design and conduct attacks on Western countries since Trump assumed office. Bertrand Benoit reports for the Wall Street Journal.
The Kremlin yesterday rejected the ruling of the U.N. International Civil Aviation Organization finding Russia responsible for the downing of the MH17 Malaysian airliner over Ukraine in 2014, stating that Moscow does not accept “any biased conclusions.” Reuters reports.
Senior European and Iranian diplomats on Friday will hold talks in Istanbul on the now-moribund 2015 nuclear deal, European and Iranian diplomatic sources said yesterday. Both sides are seeking to position themselves ahead of the next round of the U.S.-Iranian negotiations. John Irish and Parisa Hafezi report for Reuters.
Germany yesterday announced that it has banned a far-right group that refuses to recognize the German state and attempted to set up parallel institutions. Four leaders of the group were arrested, the German interior minister said. Christopher F. Schuetze reports for the New York Times.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Some Israeli military officials monitoring humanitarian conditions in Gaza have privately concluded Palestinians in the enclave face widespread starvation unless aid deliveries are restored within weeks, according to Israeli defense sources. The officers warned their commanders that immediate steps were needed to prevent starvation, the sources added. Israel’s government has to date maintained that its aid blockade did not pose a major threat to civilians in Gaza. Natan Odenheimer and Ronen Bergman report for the New York Times.
An Israeli bombardment of the European Hospital in Khan Younis killed 28 people and injured dozens yesterday, a Hamas-run civil defense agency spokesperson said. The Israeli military said it conducted a “precise strike” on a Hamas “command and control center” it claimed was beneath the hospital. The strike targeted Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar, the group’s de facto leader, a senior Israeli official added. Rushdi Abualouf and Ruth Comerford report for BBC News; Oren Liebermann, Jeremy Diamond, Dana Karni, Abeer Salman, and Ibrahim Dahman report for CNN.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator yesterday told the Security Council that the U.S.-Israeli aid distribution plan for Gaza is a “fig leaf for further violence and displacement” of the enclave’s population, describing the proposal as a “cynical sideshow” and a “deliberate distraction.” Michelle Nichols reports for Reuters.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Russia and Ukraine are poised to attend their first high-level direct talks since 2022 this week, with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg expected to travel to Istanbul for the negotiations. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would travel to Ankara to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and is ready to head to Istanbul if Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the talks. Mary Ilyushina reports for the Washington Post.
HOUTHI DEVELOPMENTS
U.S. intelligence started picking up indications that Houthi rebels were looking for an exit from a confrontation with the United States days before the ceasefire was announced, U.S. officials say. Iran played an important role in encouraging the group to negotiate, two sources added. Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, Humeyra Pamuk, and Erin Banco report for Reuters.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Federal prosecutors in Southern California yesterday filed narco-terrorism charges against two leaders of the Sinaloa drug cartel, the first time operatives of the Sinaloa cartel were charged with terrorism crimes since the Trump administration designated the group as a foreign terrorist organization. Alan Feuer reports for the New York Times.
Control over the Library of Congress remains with its top career official, Robert R. Newlen, Congressional lawmakers said yesterday, in an apparent push back against Trump’s designation of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as acting Librarian. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said he “made it clear there needs to be a consultation” around the staffing changes at the Library, as Sen. Alex Padilla (CA), the top Democrat on the Rules Committee, said he met with Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to discuss a bipartisan response to the administration’s move. Paul Kane and Meryl Kornfield report for the Washington Post.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) yesterday became the most prominent Republican to express discomfort with Trump’s plans to accept a luxury jet from the Qatari royal family, telling reporters there are “lots of issues” associated with the offer. Separately, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said the jet “probably sends the wrong signal to people” and that he hopes Trump rejects it. Eric Bazail-Eimil and Robbie Grammer report for POLITICO.
The Office of Congressional Conduct, the House ethics watchdog which vets misconduct allegations against lawmakers before relaying them to the House Ethics Committee, will soon be able to begin its operations after the House clerk yesterday announced the long-awaited appointment of its board members. Hailey Fuchs reports for POLITICO.
The Senate yesterday voted 74-25 to confirm Troy Meink as the next Air Force Secretary. Andrew Jeong reports for the Washington Post.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has fired the acting head of the National Intelligence Council, Mike Collins, as well as his deputy, Maria Langan-Riekhof, and returned the council to its quarters within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in a bid to “end the weaponization and politicization of the intelligence community,” an ODNI spokesperson said. Rebecca Beitsch and Filip Timotija report for the Hill.
The Trump administration has directed about 2,000 federal agents from the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the U.S. Marshals Service to help the Homeland Security Department find and arrest undocumented migrants, sources familiar with the directive say. The move would be a notable shift in FBI’s involvement in immigration enforcement. Devlin Barrett, Adam Goldman, and Hamed Aleaziz report for the New York Times.
On his last day as interim U.S. Attorney for the D.C., Ed Martin yesterday said he would review the pardons issued by President Joe Biden and the actions of prosecutors in the Jan. 6 2021 riot cases in his new role as pardon attorney and head of the DOJ’s “Weaponization Working Group.” Martin also announced he plans to “name and shame” individuals the group determines it is unable to charge with crimes, a significant departure from Justice Department protocols. Tom Jackman and Keith L. Alexander report for the Washington Post; Ryan J. Reilly reports for NBC News.
The Trump administration yesterday canceled an additional $450 million in grants for Harvard University, accusing the school of not resolving the “pervasive race discrimination and antisemitic harassment” government officials alleged “plagues” the university. Michael C. Bender and Alan Blinder report for the New York Times.
DOGE is no longer claiming credit for terminating dozens of federal contracts the New York Times identified as having been reinstated, removing $122 million of the savings it claimed to have achieved from its online “Wall of Receipts.” David A. Fahrenthold and Jeremy Singer-Vine report.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
A federal judge yesterday for the first time upheld Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act 1798 to deport Venezuelans deferring to the president’s declaring that the Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang is mounting an “incursion” into the United States at the direction of the Maduro government. However, the judge also found that the Trump administration failed to afford those deported under the Act’s authority due process, ruling that the government must allow individuals subject to the act 21 days to file lawsuits challenging their removal. Kyle Cheney reports for POLITICO.
A federal grand jury yesterday indicted a Wisconsin judge accused of helping an undocumented immigrant evade federal agents. The charges are concealing a person from arrest and obstruction of proceedings. Judge Hannah C. Dugan’s lawyers said that she asserts her innocence and intends to fight the charges. Mitch Smith and Dan Simmons report for the New York Times.
A coalition of 20 Democratic Attorneys General yesterday filed two lawsuits challenging the Trump administration’s threats to withhold billions of dollars in federal funding from states that do not follow the government’s immigration enforcement policies. Rebecca Falconer reports for Axios.
Did you miss this? Stay up-to-date with our Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions
