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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — AID SUPPLY CRISIS
Over 800 aid trucks are waiting to be collected by agencies in Gaza, Israel said today, adding that 70 trucks were unloaded at aid crossings yesterday and over 150 were collected by the U.N. and aid organizations on the Gazan side. A further 10 people have died from malnutrition, the Hamas-run health ministry said yesterday, with the U.N. humanitarian agency, OCHA, warning yesterday “that the hunger crisis in Gaza has never been so dire … All too often, civilians approaching U.N. trucks are shot at.” Israel accuses OCHA of bias, with the Israeli ambassador to the U.N. saying this week there was “clear evidence of Hamas affiliations within OCHA’s ranks.” BBC News reports.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Israel is reviewing a revised response from Hamas to a ceasefire and hostage release proposal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said today. Hamas confirmed it provided a new proposal after a previous version, submitted on Tuesday, was rejected by mediators without it even passing to Israel, sources say. Crispian Balmer and Nidal Al-Mugrhabi report for Reuters.
Last week’s strike on Gaza’s only Catholic church, which killed three people and injured nine others, was “due to an unintentional deviation of munitions,” the IDF said yesterday. Falling short of mentioning the fatalities, the IDF acknowledged the strike “caused damage to the [Church] structure” and “injured several Gazan civilians.” The deadly strike drew international condemnation, with Pope Leo XIV calling for an end to the “barbarity of war.” Chantal Da Silva reports for NBC News.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Russia and Ukraine yesterday discussed further prisoner swaps at brief talks in Istanbul for the first time since last month, but both sides remained distant on ceasefire terms and a meeting of their respective leaders. Ukraine closed the talks with a proposal to hold a “leaders’ summit” by the end of August with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and President Trump. Mert Ozkan and Emin Caliskan report for Reuters; Sarah Fortinsky reports for The Hill.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR — INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
An Indian company exported $1.4 million worth of a military-grade explosive compound to Russia in December, according to Indian customs data reviewed by Reuters, despite U.S. warnings of sanctions against entities supporting Russia’s war effort in Ukraine. Gram Satterly, Tom Balmforth, and Shivam Patel report.
GLOBAL AFFAIRS
The International Court of Justice yesterday issued a strongly worded unanimous opinion saying that states must act on and protect people from the “urgent and existential threat” of climate change.” Karen Zraick and Marlise Simons report for the New York Times.
Thailand has sealed its border with Cambodia and urged all its nationals there to leave after military clashes killed at least 12 people in a disputed border area. Cambodia has been accused of firing rockets into a Thai village and attacking a hospital, while Thailand launched air strikes on Cambodian military targets. Malaysia’s prime minister said he will talk with leaders of both countries before the end of the day, adding, “The least we can expect from them is to just stand down.” BBC News reports.
Iran will host a delegation from the U.N. atomic agency program in the next few weeks, a senior Iranian official said yesterday, marking the first sign from Tehran that it may resume talks with the international inspectors after withdrawing cooperation following the U.S.-Israeli strikes against its nuclear sites last month. Michael R. Gordon and Laurence Norman report for the Wall Street Journal.
In response to public backlash in Kyiv to a contentious bill that limits the independence of two anti-corruption agencies, Zelenskyy yesterday promised legislative safeguards and said he will present a new bill to parliament. Protests are continuing for a third day, in what marks the first major anti-government demonstrations since the Russia-Ukraine war began. Illia Novikov reports for AP News.
A summit between China and the EU began today in Beijing, with leaders expected to address a range of issues, including trade tensions and the war in Ukraine. Von der Leyen said the summit is an opportunity to “advance and rebalance” EU-China relations. Koh Ewe and Paul Kirby report for BBC News.
After nearly three years of negotiations, India and the U.K. will today sign a free trade agreement which they say will result in a multi-billion dollar boost in exports, the British government announced. Cherylann Mollan reports for BBC News.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Iran is open to resuming negotiations with the United States “the sooner the better,” but wants assurance that the talks are not being used as a pretext for further military action, Tehran’s nuclear negotiator Kazem Gharibabadi said yesterday. Dave Lawler reports for Axios.
An Ethiopian official has rejected Trump’s claim that the United States “largely” funded Ethiopia’s new mega dam on the River Nile, calling the claim “false” and insisting the dam was built “without any foreign aid.” Wedaeli Chibelushi and Kalkidan Yibeltal report for BBC News.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Signal messages about U.S. military strikes in Yemen derived from a classified email, sources told the Washington Post, adding that the Pentagon’s independent watchdog has received such evidence. The email containing the strike plans had been shared with over a dozen defense officials and was labeled “SECRET/NOFURN,” sources say. The “SECRET” designation indicated that its information was considered so sensitive that unauthorized release could jeopardize national security, while the “NOFORN” designation signified that the information was not to be shared with any foreign nationals, including U.S. allies. The revelation contradicts the Trump administration’s long-standing claims that no classified information was shared in the unclassified group chats. Dan Lamothe and John Hudson report.
A federal judge in Florida yesterday denied a request by the Trump administration to unseal grand jury transcripts from an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. In its request for the 2005 and 2007 transcripts, the Justice Department cited “special circumstances” that arose from “historical interest by the public.” Judge Robin L. Rosenberg wrote that the court’s “hands are tied,” referencing the government’s own acknowledgment in its filing that the law of the circuit forbids the district court from unsealing grand jury testimony, except under specified exceptions not presented in this case. Zach Montague and Seamus Hughes report for the New York Times.
Justice Department officials told Trump in May that his name appeared in the Epstein files multiple times, senior administration officials say. Attorney General Pam Bondi made the discovery after reviewing what she called a “truckload” of documents, with her deputy informing Trump at a White House meeting that the files contained what officials felt was unverified hearsay about many high-profile figures, including the president, sources say. A White House spokesperson called the report a “fake news story.” Sadie Gurman, Annie Linskey, Josh Dawsey, and Alex Leary report for the Wall Street Journal; Max Matza reports for BBC News.
The House Oversight subcommittee yesterday voted 8-2 to subpoena the Justice Department for files relating to the Epstein investigation. The House also issued a subpoena yesterday for Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted sex offender and girlfriend of Epstein. Stephen Groves and Matt Brown report for AP News.
Columbia University announced yesterday that it has agreed to pay $200 million to the federal government as part of a three-year settlement with the Trump administration, aimed at restoring federal research funding that had been revoked over efforts to address antisemitism on campus. The University will also pay $21 million to settle investigations brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Carolyn Thompson reports for AP News.
While the federal initiative to fight HIV in developing countries won a temporary reprieve last week when Congress approved the restoration of $400 million in funding, its future remains uncertain, with State Department officials reportedly drafting a plan to shut down the program in the coming years. Planning documents for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), obtained by The New York Times, outline a shift in strategy aimed at “transitioning” countries away from U.S. support, including some within just two years, and instead transforming the program into an effort to detect disease outbreaks and sell U.S. products. Stephanie Nolen reports.
The Trump administration violated the Impoundment Act when it withheld Congressionally allocated funds to Head Start, the federal preschool program for children from low-income families, the Government Accountability Office said yesterday. The finding marks the third time GAO has said the administration has unlawfully frozen funds. Laura Meckler reports for the Washington Post.
The House is set to vote on a Republican measure that would remove Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) from the House Homeland Security Committee. The vote follows McIver being indicted last month and pleading not guilty to three counts of interfering with ICE officers in May. Andrew Solender reports for Axios.
House Republicans are launching a new select subcommittee on the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. The effort, to be led by Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), had been stalled for several months over jurisdictional disagreements, but the White House since intervened. While the focus of the probe remained unclear, Loudermilk said yesterday that the panel would review security and intelligence failures and request information that was not disclosed by the Democratic-led Jan. 6th Committee. The House will vote on the resolution, introduced yesterday, when lawmakers return from their August recess. Hailey Fuchs reports for POLITICO.
TECH DEVELOPMENTS
Trump signed a trio of executive orders related to AI yesterday. The orders accompany the Trump administration’s “AI Action Plan,” which was also released yesterday, and focuses on cutting federal and state AI regulations while pushing the adoption of U.S. technology abroad and targeting what the White House calls “woke” AI. Julia Shapero reports for The Hill; Matt O’Brien, Ali Swenson, and Collin Binkley report for AP News.
The National Institute of Health and the National Nuclear Security Administration were among the victims in an international breach of Microsoft server software over the weekend, officials say. An NIH spokesperson said the incident, which has not previously been reported, is still being investigated to assess its scope and severity. Meanwhile, the compromise at the National Nuclear Security Administration did not impact any classified information, a source said. Ellen Nakashima, Joseph Menn, and Carolyn Y. Johnson report for the Washington Post.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
A federal judge in Tennessee yesterday ordered that Kilmar Abrego García be released from detention while awaiting criminal trial on human smuggling charges, while a Maryland federal judge also ordered García’s return to that state and for him to be placed under the same supervision that took place before his wrongful deportation in March. Ruling in Maryland, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis also barred ICE from immediately taking García into custody upon his release in Tennessee, and ordered that the Trump administration provide three business days’ notice if it intends to bring deportation proceedings against him. Steve Thompson reports for The Washington Post.
ICE has directed field officers to significantly expand the number of immigrants under round-the-clock surveillance via the use of GPS-enabled ankle monitors, according to a June 9 ICE memo reviewed by the Washington Post. The document orders staff to place the monitors on all people enrolled in the Alternatives to Detention program “whenever possible,” granting an exception only to pregnant women, who instead would be required to wear wrist-worn tracking devices. Douglas MacMillan and Silvia Foster-Frau report.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
One of the ten Americans released from a Venezuelan prison last week was convicted for the murder of three people in Spain in 2016, according to an official at the prosecutor’s office in Madrid and Venezuelan court documents reviewed by The New York Times. While Secretary of State Marco Rubio hailed the action as part of an effort to protect Americans unjustly held abroad, records show that Dahud Hanid Ortiz, a U.S.-Venezuelan national, was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2023 for the triple homicide. Ortiz also previously served 19 years in the U.S. Army, according to military documents. Julie Turkewitz, José Bautista, and Frances Robles report.
The Justice Department announced yesterday the creation of a task force to investigate Trump’s unproven claims that former President Obama and his aides orchestrated an inquiry into Trump’s 2016 campaign ties to Russia with the aim of undermining and destroying him. The move came hours after Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard intensified her criticism of Obama as she released a document that she claimed contradicted the U.S. intelligence community’s assessment that Russia had favored Trump in the 2016 election. Julian E. Barnes and Glenn Thrush report for the New York Times.
The White House yesterday denied Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s (D) request for $15.8 million in disaster relief funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The funding had been requested after severe floods swept through Western Maryland in May, with Moore saying he intends to appeal the decision. A FEMA official said the agency “determined that supplemental federal assistance under the Stafford Act is not warranted,” without elaborating. Katie Shepherd reports for the Washington Post.
The Trump administration will investigate Harvard University’s eligibility to sponsor certain visas, the State Department announced yesterday, without specifying any alleged violations. The University called the investigation into the Exchange Visitor Program, which allows foreigners into the United States temporarily, “yet another retaliatory step taken by the Administration in violation of Harvard’s First Amendment rights.” Kayla Epstein reports for BBC News.
The Education Department will investigate five universities that offer financial aid to students in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, the Trump administration announced yesterday, arguing that such scholarship programs violate civil rights laws banning discrimination based on national origin because they are available only to DACA recipients. Vimal Patel reports for the New York Times.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
A San Francisco-based federal appeals court yesterday dealt another blow to Trump’s executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship, ruling 2-1 that the policy is unconstitutional and affirming a lower court’s imposition of a nationwide injunction. The decision marks the first time that an appellate court has fully concluded a Trump order is unconstitutional, with the court also ruling that the order contradicts both an 1898 Supreme Court case and decades of Executive Branch practice. The Trump administration now has the option of asking the full 9th Circuit to review the case or even appealing the case straight to the Supreme Court. Devan Cole reports for CNN; Lindsay Whitehurst and Hallie Golden report for AP News.
The Supreme Court yesterday paved the way for Trump to remove Democratic members of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, greenlighting the administration to continue control of the federal bureaucracy and remove three of five members of the commission as litigation continues in the lower courts. The Court’s three liberal justices dissented, saying, “Once again, this Court uses its emergency docket to destroy the independence of an independent agency, as established by Congress … By allowing the President to remove Commissioners for no reason other than their party affiliation, the majority has negated Congress’s choice of agency bipartisanship and independence.” Ann E. Marimow and Justin Jouvenal report for the Washington Post.
A Trump-appointed federal judge yesterday delivered a setback to the White House’s effort to remove labor unions from several federal agencies. Judge Alan Albright of the Western District of Texas is one of several judges to rule against a March executive order on collective bargaining rights, holding that the Trump administration lacked the necessary legal standing to proceed with its case against the American Federation of Government Employees. “This Court is unable to identify a single instance in which a federal court has exercised jurisdiction over agencies seeking a pre-enforcement declaratory judgment approving their desired future course of conduct,” Albright wrote, adding that doing so would risk opening a “Pandora’s Box” which could result in the executive branch routinely going to court to approve executive orders. Nick Niedwiadek reports for POLITICO.
Did you miss this? Stay up-to-date with our Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions
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