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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
SYRIA
Israel launched airstrikes at Syria’s capital city of Damascus yesterday, killing three people, damaging a compound housing the defense ministry, and hitting an area near the presidential palace, according to Syrian authorities and the Israeli military. Shortly after the strikes, Damascus said that a new ceasefire agreement with the Druze forces was reached, a claim confirmed by some and contradicted by other prominent Druze figures. According to the Syrian state news agency, SANA, the Syrian government forces had also begun withdrawing from the Druze-majority region of Sweida. Euan Ward and Aaron Boxerman report for the New York Times; Eyad Kourdi, Catherine Nicholls, Eugenia Yosef, Mostafa Salem, and Mohammed Tawfeeq report for CNN.
In a televised address early today, Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa accused Israel of trying to destabilize and sow division in Syria and said that it is his “priority” to protect Syria’s Druze citizens. Eyad Kourdi, Catherine Nicholls, Eugenia Yosef, Mostafa Salem, and Mohammed Tawfeeq report for CNN; David Gritten reports for BBC News.
The United States has worked with all parties involved in the clashes in Syria and “agreed on specific steps that will bring this troubling and horrifying situation to an end tonight,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said yesterday. Euan Ward and Aaron Boxerman report for the New York Times.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
A Russian overnight attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure injured at least 15 people across four cities yesterday, officials said. Illia Novikov report for AP News.
The European Union yesterday failed for the second time to approve a new package of sanctions against Russia as Slovakia continued to seek concessions over gas supplies, according to diplomatic sources. Kate Abnett and Jason Hovet report for Reuters.
President Trump should not wait 50 days to impose secondary sanctions on Russia, Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže argued yesterday, pointing to Russia’s continuing attacks on Ukraine. Felicia Schwartz reports for POLITICO.
GLOBAL AFFAIRS
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz are expected to sign an Anglo-German treaty on defense, energy, economic cooperation, and migration today, officials from both countries say. The treaty is likely to include a pledge by both countries to regard a threat against one as a threat against the other, the officials add. Mark Landler and Jim Tankersley report for the New York Times.
Israel’s Shas party yesterday became the second ultra-Orthodox party to announce it was quitting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government over disagreements on the draft exemptions bill. Shas’ departure leaves Netanyahu with a minority in the Knesset. Tia Goldenberg reports for AP News.
Clashes between the Bangladeshi security forces and supporters of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left at least four people dead and scores injured yesterday, according to a hospital official and local media. Julhas Alam reports for AP News.
International Criminal Court judges yesterday rejected Israel’s request to withdraw arrest warrants against Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and to suspend the wider investigation into alleged atrocity crimes in the Palestinian Territories. Reuters reports.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
In a 51-48 vote, the Senate early today approved Trump’s $9 billion rescission package, which would claw back foreign assistance and public media funding. Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski (AK) and Susan Collins (ME) joined Democrats in voting against the bill. The House is expected to vote on the amended measure later today, with the Senate’s changes including the removal of a $400 million cut to the global AIDS fighting program and insertion of language vowing that certain food assistance programs, as well as food aid, maternal health, malaria, and tuberculosis initiatives would not be impacted. Jordain Carney and Katherine Tully-McManus report for POLITICO.
More than 900 former Justice Department attorneys have signed a letter expressing “deep concern” about the judicial nomination of the Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General and Trump’s former criminal defense lawyer, Emil Bove. Citing Bove’s role as a “leader” in an “assault” on “constitutional principles and institutional guardrails” and “senseless attacks” on DOJ career employees, the letter urges the Senate Judiciary Committee to “rigorously examine” Bove’s actions before voting on the nomination. Tim Balk reports for the New York Times.
TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTS
Some Trump administration officials are holding up efforts to finalize a deal for the United Arab Emirates to buy Nvidia’s AI chips due to concerns that China could access cutting-edge U.S. technology, sources say. The delay might not be resolved unless the UAE agrees to different terms to address the U.S. officials’ national security concerns, the sources add. Amrith Ramkumar and Eliot Brown report for the Wall Street Journal.
The U.S. House of Representatives late yesterday voted 217-212 to advance a trio of cryptocurrency bills and a defense spending measure after a group of GOP hard-liners dropped their opposition to the effort. Jasper Goodman and Meredith Lee Hill report for POLITICO.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Trump yesterday said he intends to send a single letter telling more than 150 countries that are “not big” and “don’t do that much business” what their tariff rate would be, adding that the rate will be “the same for everyone, for that group.” Doug Palmer reports for POLITICO.
In an unusual and unprecedented move, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee yesterday attended a hearing in Netanyahu’s corruption trial at a Tel Aviv district court. Trump has previously pressed for a halt in the trial, which he described as a “witch hunt.” Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
The acting State Department Under Secretary for Foreign Assistance, Humanitarian Affairs, and Religious Freedom and USAID Deputy Administrator, Jeremy Lewin, took weeks to sign off on a deal to transfer 622 metric tons of emergency food rations nearing expiry to the World Food Programme for distribution, according to memos reviewed by Reuters and sources. A further 496 metric tons of rations worth $793,000 are set to be incinerated after they expired this month, the documents show. Ammu Kannampilly, Jonathan Landay, and Jessica Donati report.
The Malaysian government is facing mounting calls to reject a self-styled “alpha male” influencer, Nick Adams, as the next U.S. Ambassador to the country, with Muslim groups and ruling bloc allies raising concerns about Adams’ views on Islam and support for Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Rozanna Latiff and Danial Azhar report for Reuters.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
Eswatini yesterday announced that it would repatriate the five migrants who had been deported there by the United States. Homeland Security Department Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin previously said that the migrants’ home countries had refused to accept them. John Eligon and Hamed Aleaziz report for the New York Times.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
The U.S. Navy is considering eliminating up to five high-level admiral positions key to the construction of ships and fighter planes as part of a larger Pentagon effort to cut down the number of admirals and generals in the ranks, sources say. Commenting on the plans, a former defense official said that if Navy Secretary John Phelan goes ahead with the plan, “he would be decapitating the organizations responsible for executing shipbuilding effectively.” Paul McLeary and Jack Detsch report for POLITICO.
Maurene Comey, an Assistant U.S. Attorney who prosecuted Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, was fired from her job in the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office yesterday, sources say. Comey, who is the former FBI Director James Comey’s daughter, was given no explanation for her firing, and the decision to fire her was likely made by someone at the Justice Department’s headquarters, another source added. Erica Orden reports for POLITICO.
Trump showed approximately a dozen House Republicans a draft of a letter firing the Federal Reserve Chair, Jerome Powell, and asked them whether he should send it during a Tuesday meeting on the crypto bill, sources say. Trump has since stated he was “highly unlikely” to fire Powell. The Wall Street Journal’s Editorial Board yesterday called on Trump not to not fire Powell, stating that “the President has to live with his choices.” Maggie Haberman and Colby Smith report for the New York Times; Seung Min Kim reports for AP News.
The Justice Department has asked at least nine states for copies of their voter rolls as part of a multi-pronged Trump administration effort to gather data on voters and inspect voting equipment, state officials say. Two DOJ lawyers have also asked states to share information about voters to implement Trump’s elections executive order, and a consultant who says he is working with the White House has asked Colorado county clerks whether they would allow the federal government or a third party to physically examine their election equipment, officials add. Patrick Marley and Yvonne Wingett Sanchez report for the Washington Post.
National Institutes of Health Principal Deputy Director Matthew Memoli overrode NIH career scientists’ assessment of what gain-of-function studies to halt under Trump’s executive order on “dangerous” research, according to internal emails seen by the Washington Post and interviews with career staffers. In a draft July 3 memo obtained by Science, Memoli told the White House that “erring on the side of caution,” the NIH has “identified 40 projects that may meet the definition” of “dangerous” research. Hannah Natanson, Carolyn Y. Johnson, and Joel Achenbach report; Jon Cohen and Jocelyn Kaiser report.
The Trump administration has delayed and may cancel approximately $140 million in grants to fund fentanyl overdose response efforts, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention staff members say. The funding disruption appears to be caused by bureaucratic confusion involving DOGE and the Office of Management and Budget, both of which are scrutinizing the grants, the staffers added. Brian Mann reports for NPR.
Solar and wind energy projects on federal land under the Interior Department’s control must now get Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s personal sign-off, potentially slowing down approvals and construction, according to a Wednesday internal memo reviewed by POLITICO. Josh Siegel and Zack Colman report.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will allow some complaints filed by transgender workers to move forward, departing from earlier guidance that indefinitely stalled all such cases, according to an email seen by AP News. Claire Savage reports.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
A group of 20 Democratic Attorneys General yesterday filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s termination of a multibillion-dollar Federal Emergency Management Agency program that helped states protect against potential disaster damage. Thomas Frank reports for POLITICO.
A coalition of legal groups representing immigrants yesterday filed a class action lawsuit alleging the Trump administration’s campaign to arrest people at immigration courthouses is unlawful and violates due process protections. Luis Ferré-Sadurní reports for the New York Times.
A federal judge yesterday delayed his ruling on whether Kilmar Abrego García should be released from criminal detention, indicating he intends to issue an order on the matter next week. Jeremy Roebuck and Maria Sacchetti report for the Washington Post.
Did you miss this? Stay up-to-date with our Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions
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