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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 — INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
The United Kingdom will recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel takes “substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza,” that include agreeing to a ceasefire, allowing the U.N. to restart aid supplies, and committing to a long-term sustainable peace that delivers a two-state solution, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced yesterday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the move as “reward[ing] Hamas’s monstrous terrorism,” a characterisation later rejected by a U.K. minister. Becky Morton reports for BBC News; Reuters reports.
In a declaration setting out a phased plan to end the Israel-Palestine conflict, a high-level U.N. conference yesterday urged Israel to commit to a Palestinian state and gave “unwavering support” to a two-state solution. The conference plan would have the Palestinian Authority governing all Palestinian territory, followed by a transitional administrative committee and a U.N. stabilization mission. Israel and the United States boycotted the conference. Edith M. Lederer and Farnoush Amiri report for AP News.
Malta will declare recognition of a Palestinian state during the September U.N. General Assembly, Prime Minister Robert Abela said yesterday. Reuters reports.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
President Trump yesterday said that the United States “sent money” to support Gaza aid efforts and thinks that Israel “can do a good job” of distributing aid, with new aid centres set up “very soon.” Israel “wants to preside over the food centers to make sure the distribution is proper,” Trump added. He did not clarify the details of the United States’ role in supplying aid to Gaza. Zolan Kanno-Youngs reports for the New York Times.
There is “no break between the prime minister of Israel and the president,” with their relationship “stronger than it’s ever been,” U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said yesterday. Huckabee also called European leaders’ decisions to recognise a Palestinian state “very foolish,” arguing they amount to support of Hamas leaders. Jacob Wendler reports for POLITICO.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
The death toll of Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza has exceeded 60,000, the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry said yesterday. Public health analysts, doctors, and conflict casualty monitors say the figure is likely to be a significant undercount. More than 130 Palestinians have died of hunger, most of them in recent weeks, the ministry added. Louisa Loveluck, Gerry Shih, Siham Shamalakh, and Miriam Berger report for the Washington Post.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
A Russian missile strike on a military training ground in Ukraine killed three service personnel and wounded 18 more, Ukrainian ground forces said late yesterday, without specifying the training ground’s location. Paul Kirby reports for BBC News.
Financial penalties “may or may not” affect Russia because Russian President Vladimir Putin “wants to, obviously, probably keep the war going,” Trump told reporters yesterday. Trump reiterated that the United States will “put on tariffs and the various things you put on.” Russia must agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine by Aug. 8 to avoid the measures, Trump added. Erica L. Green and Zolan Kanno-Youngs report for the New York Times; Nicole Markus reports for POLITICO.
GLOBAL AFFAIRS
Thailand’s military today accused Cambodian forces of breaching a ceasefire agreement at three separate locations along the disputed border. Cambodia rejected the allegations and called for observers. Reuters reports.
An Israeli settler on Monday killed a well-known Palestinian activist whose work was featured in the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land,” according to witnesses. An Israeli judge has since released the settler on house arrest. Aaron Boxerman reports for the New York Times.
Polish authorities have detained 32 people suspected of coordinating with Russia to engage in acts of sabotage, Polish news agency PAP quoted Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk as saying yesterday. Tusk did not indicate when the people were detained. AP News reports.
A Haitian gang on Monday released five UNICEF employees it had held captive for three weeks in an area controlled by armed groups in Port-au-Prince, the U.N. agency said. It did not specify whether any ransom was paid. Frances Robles reports for the New York Times.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Top officials from China and the United States yesterday agreed to continue discussions about extending a tariff deadline currently set for mid-August, as two days of negotiations in Stockholm failed to yield an agreement to avert a potentially destabilizing trade war. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the final decision about whether to extend the pause is up to Trump. Melissa Eddy and Alan Rappeport report for the New York Times.
A leaked whistleblower memo details the Trump administration’s termination of the U.S. Agency for International Development funding and extensive efforts of USAID employees to raise concerns within the agency about the administration’s actions. Public Citizen reports.
India could face 25% tariffs if it does not finalise a trade deal with the United States this week, Trump told reporters yesterday. Nikita Yadav reports for BBC News.
The United States will complete its review of the AUKUS defense pact this autumn, the office of Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby said today. Alasdair Pal reports for Reuters.
China is taking advantage of gaps in U.S. cyberdefenses, the former director of the National Security Agency and Cyber Command, Gen. Timothy Haugh, said in his first interview since he was fired. Beijing’s cyberprogram poses a particular challenge, Haugh added. Julian E. Barnes reports for the New York Times.
TECH DEVELOPMENTS
South Korea’s LG Energy Solution has signed a $4.3 billion deal to supply Tesla with lithium iron phosphate batteries, according to a source. LGES announced earlier today that it had signed a contract to supply the batteries over three years globally, without identifying the customer. Heekyong Yang and Hyunjoo Jin report for Reuters.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
In a 50-49 vote, the Senate yesterday confirmed Trump’s former personal lawyer and senior DOJ official Emil Bove to a lifetime federal appeals court judgeship, despite whistleblower complaints and concerns raised about Bove’s independence. All Senate Democrats and GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski (AK) and Susan Collins (ME) voted against Bove. Devlin Barrett reports for the New York Times.
The Senate yesterday also voted 51-47 to confirm Susan Monarez, the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to lead the agency permanently. Chris Cameron reports for the New York Times.
Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell has offered to testify before Congress on conditions that include the grant of immunity, according to a letter sent to the House Oversight Committee by her attorneys. They also wrote that Maxwell would “require the Committee’s questions in advance.” An Oversight Committee spokesperson has since rejected the idea of giving Maxwell immunity. Kaitlan Collins reports for CNN.
The Justice Department yesterday filed a request to dismiss pending criminal charges against Andrew Wiederhorn, the founder of Fatburger accused of wire fraud and other crimes related to the company, and an unrelated case against a deputy sheriff convicted of abusing his authority in assaulting a woman. White House officials previously fired the career prosecutor overseeing the Wiederhorn case after far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer attacked him on social media. Devlin Barrett reports for the New York Times.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
Harvard University will share thousands of I-9 employment eligibility verification forms with the federal government on the Homeland Security Department’s request, the school’s human resources office said yesterday. In a statement announcing the move, the school said it was surprised by the scale of the request, as “the government does not ordinarily ask an employer to disclose all of its employees’ Form I-9s.” Alan Blinder reports for the New York Times.
FEMA will require states to spend part of their federal terrorism prevention funds on carrying out the Trump administration’s immigration policy, according to a Homeland Security Department announcement. Courtney Rozen reports for Reuters.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
The Trump administration on Friday removed the National Security Administration’s General Counsel, April Doss, from her post, according to sources. Doss was offered a separate role at the Pentagon, though it is unclear if she intends to take it, the sources add. Days before the move, a conservative media outlet article criticizing Doss was amplified by far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer. Julian E. Barnes and Robert Draper report for the New York Times.
Senior DOJ officials are seeking to extend the terms of the interim federal prosecutors in Southern California and Nevada in an apparent bid to circumvent the stalled Senate confirmation process and the role of judges in filling those vacancies, according to the DOJ website. The DOJ and Trump previously used a similar maneuver while attempting to extend the service of Trump’s pick for U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, Alina Habba. Devlin Barrett and Danny Hakim report for the New York Times; Ry Rivard and Kyle Cheney report for POLITICO.
The Food and Drug Administration’s chief medical and science officer, Vinay Prasad, left the agency yesterday, sources say. The Health and Human Services Department confirmed Prasad’s departure, without explaining his reasons for leaving. Prasad had recently come under fire from some Republicans and conservative activists, including far-right activist Laura Loomer. Rachel Roubein and Lena H. Sun report for the Washington Post.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has introduced a requirement for nominees for four-star general positions to meet with Trump before their nominations are finalized, current and former officials say. The move is a departure from previous practice and has raised concerns about the possible politicization of the military’s top ranks. Greg Jaffe and Maggie Haberman report for the New York Times.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin yesterday said he is issuing draft plans to overturn the agency’s 2009 “endangerment finding” that greenhouse gases threaten human health and welfare. The finding is a key legal underpinning for the federal government’s ability to take action on climate change. Ben Geman reports for Axios.
The Justice Department yesterday announced it found UCLA to be in violation of federal civil rights law by “acting with deliberate indifference in creating a hostile educational environment for Jewish and Israeli students.” Sareen Habeshian reports for Axios.
The Trump administration yesterday temporarily halted, and later released all funding for science research issued by the National Institutes of Health, according to emails seen by the Washington Post and several officials. The halt stemmed from confusion over how to interpret a footnote in an Office of Management and Budget document, an email sent to NIH staff shows. Hannah Natanson, Dan Diamond, Carolyn Y. Johnson, and Jeff Stein report for the Washington Post.
Defense Secretary Hegseth has privately discussed running for the office of Tennessee governor next year, according to people who participated in the conversations. As the DOD bars civilian employees from running for political office, Hegseth would have to resign from his current position to do so. A Pentagon spokesperson said that “Hegseth’s focus remains solely on serving under President Trump.” Gordon Lubold, Courtney Kube, Bridget Bowman, and Julie Tsirkin report for NBC News.
A Pentagon spokesperson yesterday denounced the Defense Department’s internal review of whether Hegseth and his team followed DOD policy while using unclassified, commercial messaging applications for official business, describing the independent inquiry as “clearly a political witch hunt” the details of which were leaked to the media by “Biden administration holdovers.” Dan Lamothe reports for the Washington Post.
The Trump administration has frozen $108 million in federal funds for Duke University’s medical school and health care system, two administration officials say, days after accusing the school of violating federal antidiscrimination laws. Chris Cameron, Michael C. Bender, and Zolan Kanno-Youngs report for the New York Times.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
A group of organizations yesterday filed a complaint challenging the Trump administration’s executive order terminating the collective bargaining rights of many federal workers. The plaintiffs allege that the executive order violates the separation of powers, the First Amendment, the Fifth Amendment, and the Administrative Procedure Act.
The state of Washington yesterday filed a complaint challenging the administration’s termination of the Shelter and Services Program (SSP), arguing the termination of the grant program that allows states to provide essential services to noncitizen migrants violates the Spending Clause and the Administrative Procedure Act.
Did you miss this? Stay up-to-date with our Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions
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ICYMI: yesterday on Just Security
The Silver Shield Act: A Bill to Track Misuse of American Weapons
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