Signup to receive the Early Edition in your inbox here.
A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend peace talks in Istanbul today, with the Russian delegation headed by a mid-level presidential aide, the Kremlin has said. President Trump was also not listed as attending, and, as of mid-day Istanbul time, it was unclear whether Ukrainian and Russian delegations would meet at all, having arrived in different cities. A Ukrainian official said that Kyiv would decide whether to meet with the Russian officials only after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meet in the afternoon. Ian Aikman and Tom Bateman report for BBC News; Anton Troianovski. Marc Santora, and Andrew E. Kramer report for the New York Times.
Trump today said he “did not think it was possible for Putin to go [to talks in Turkey] if [Trump] was not there,” seemingly brushing off Putin’s apparent decision not to take part in the expected talks. Zeke Miller and Aamer Madhani report for AP News.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Iran is ready to commit to never making nuclear weapons, get rid of its highly-enriched stockpiles, and agree to enrich uranium only to levels needed for civilian use with international supervision in exchange for the immediate lifting of all U.S. sanctions, a top adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told NBC News yesterday. Richard Engel reports.
The United States is “getting close to a deal” with Iran, and Tehran has “sort of agreed” to its terms, Trump said yesterday. An Iranian source said that there were still gaps to bridge in the negotiations before an agreement was reached. Separately, the Treasury Department announced the United States yesterday issued sanctions targeting Iranian efforts to domestically produce ballistic missiles components. Nayera Abdallah, Parisa Hafezi, and Tala Ramadan report for Reuters; Reuters reports.
The White House lowered the tariffs on China in part because White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other aides warned Trump that his own voters are likely to be hurt by a near-total cessation of trade with China, sources say. According to a White House official, other factors also contributed to the decision to enter talks with Beijing. Jeff Stein, Natalie Allison, and David J. Lynch report for the Washington Post.
The National Security Council has ordered U.S. agencies and departments to suspend work with this year’s Group of 20 conference, set to be hosted by South Africa, sources say. Trump previously threatened to boycott the summit over claims that the South African government is taking the land of white South Africans under a new expropriation law. Jeff Stein and John Hudson report for the Washington Post.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is scheduled to meet Trump at the White House next week, the South African government announced yesterday. Trump this week alleged that “genocide” is being committed against white farmers in the African country, with the United States accepting 59 white South Africans as refugees this Monday. Gerald Imray and Darlene Superville report for AP News.
GLOBAL AFFAIRS
The U.S. sanctions on Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan are hindering the work of the International Criminal Court, with Khan losing access to his email and bank accounts, non-governmental organizations pausing cooperation with the court, and the ICC’s U.S. staff fearing arrest if they travel to the United States, according to interviews with current and former ICC officials, lawyers, and human rights advocates. Molly Quell reports for AP News.
The worst fighting in years in Libya’s capital of Tripoli that followed the killing of a major militia leader appeared to have calmed yesterday after the government announced a ceasefire, according to Tripoli residents. There was no immediate statement from the authorities on the number of casualties. Reuters reports.
The damage from India and Pakistan’s four-day military clash is far more contained than the countries claimed, with evidence of strikes precisely aimed at military targets, according to a review of satellite imagery carried out by the New York Times. The two countries also exchanged detained soldiers yesterday, in a sign that the truce between the nuclear-armed rivals is holding. Agnes Chang, Pablo Robles, and Mujib Mashal report; Suhasini Raj reports for the New York Times.
A Russian court yesterday sentenced the head of Russia’s only independent election watchdog to five years in a penal colony after finding the man guilty of working with an “undesirable organisation.” Mark Trevelyan reports for Reuters.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Israeli airstrikes killed at least 94 people across Gaza yesterday and into today, the territory’s Hamas-run civil defense’s agency spokesperson said. The majority of the casualties were reported in the southern city of Khan Younis, the spokesperson added. BBC News reports; Rushdi Abualouf reports for BBC News.
Israel is working on a series of sites in Gaza that could potentially serve as aid distribution centres under a controversial U.S.-Israeli plan, according to BBC News’ review of satellite imagery. Benedict Garman, Matt Murphy, Merlyn Thomas report.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
The U.S.-Israeli backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation yesterday said that it has reached agreements with Israel to begin operations in the enclave before the end of the month, and suggested that Israel had agreed to allow aid into Gaza as the foundation is setting up its operations. Natan Odenheimer, Ronen Bergman, and Ephrat Livni report for the New York Times.
SYRIA — U.S. RESPONSE
Trump yesterday said he urged Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa to normalise Syria’s relations with Israel. Separately, the Turkish foreign minister yesterday said the foreign ministers of Turkey, the United States and Syria will meet today to discuss details of Trump’s pledge to lift sanctions on Syria. Gram Slattery, Pesha Magid, and Andrew Mills report for Reuters; Reuters reports.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
A federal appeals court yesterday ruled that private individuals cannot bring Voting Rights Act lawsuits challenging election policies that allegedly discriminate based on race in several states, finding that the U.S. Attorney General is responsible for enforcing the VRA’s key provisions in the seven states covered by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Tierney Sneed reports for CNN.
A former member of the Michigan Army National Guard has been arrested after allegedly trying to conduct a mass shooting at a U.S. military base on behalf of the Islamic State, the DOJ said yesterday. Sean Lyngaas reports for CNN.
A number of attorneys representing clients who cannot afford legal representation in federal cases will have their pay frozen for more than two months because of budget shortfalls in this year’s congressional spending bill, court officials warn. Mark Berman reports for the Washington Post.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
Federal prosecutors in Texas have filed national security charges of unauthorized access to the newly-designated militarized zone along the southern U.S. border in New Mexico and western Texas against several hundred migrants, according to the federal public defender’s office in Las Cruces. The charges carry a potential sentence of 18 months in prison on top of a possible six month sentence for illegal entry. Morgan Lee reports for AP News.
The Trump administration yesterday announced it filed criminal smuggling charges against Kseniia Petrova, a Harvard scientist detained over failing to declare scientific samples she was carrying in her luggage. The government intends to deport Petrova back to Russia, a DOJ lawyer said. Petrova fled Russia in 2022 due to her history of political protest. Ellen Barry reports for the New York Times.
The Trump administration this week ordered FBI offices around the country to assign significantly more agents to immigration enforcement, a shift that will likely siphon resources away from counterterrorism, counterintelligence, and fraud investigations, FBI sources say. Ken Dilanian and Ryan J. Reilly report for NBC News.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
State Secretary Marco Rubio is expected to significantly scale down the size of the National Security Council and make major changes to its operations in his new role as a National Security Advisor, sources say. The new NSC would operate in a more top-down manner, with Trump directing the council on what actions to take, the sources add. Olympia Sonnier, Julie Tsirkin, Courtney Kube, and Carol E. Lee report for NBC News.
The White House is considering a two-year runway plan to codify DOGE cuts or launching a court fight over the President’s power to shut down spending as it runs out of options to get the cuts approved by Congress, according to a White House official. Sophia Cai reports for POLITICO.
The Homeland Security Department is planning to acquire a new Gulfstream V jet, an agency official confirmed yesterday. Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL) yesterday questioned the plan during a House Appropriations Committee hearing, contending the aircraft would be purchased for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s use with funds taken from the Coast Guard budget. Marianne LeVine and Dan Lamothe report for the Washington Post.
Ed Martin, the former interim U.S. Attorney for the D.C. and the incoming Director of the DOJ’s “Weaponization Working Group” yesterday revealed he was under investigation by D.C.’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel for alleged ethics violations. In a staff email seen by NBC News, Martin accused the office of “systemic abuse” and “weaponizing” its regulatory role. Ryan J. Reilly reports; Sarah N. Lynch reports for Reuters.
The DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel approved Attorney General Pam Bondi’s memo endorsing the legality of Trump accepting a luxury jet from the Qatari royal family, a DOJ official said yesterday. Bondi, who has lobbied on behalf of Qatar, also consulted with ethics officials to find out whether she should recuse herself, the official added. Hannah Rabinowitz reports for CNN.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
The Justice Department unconstitutionally retaliated against the American Bar Association by terminating five grants for its program supporting victims of domestic violence, a federal judge ruled yesterday, holding that the ABA “made a strong showing” that the DOJ terminated the grants in retaliation for ABA’s “engaging in protected speech.” Daniel Barnes reports for POLITICO.
A federal judge yesterday ordered the release of Badar Khan Suri, an Indian-born Georgetown researcher, who federal immigration authorities detained in March. The judge ruled that the government offered no evidence that Khan Suri posed a danger to the community that would justify his detention during deportation proceedings, and suggested that his arrest likely violated his free speech rights as well as his rights to freedom of association with his Palestinian-American wife. Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney report for POLITICO.
The Trump administration is temporarily prohibited from stripping Foreign Service employees of their collective bargaining rights after a federal judge yesterday granted a federal labor union’s request for a preliminary injunction blocking part of Trump’s March executive order. Michael Kunzelman reports for AP News.
Did you miss this? Stay up-to-date with our Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions
