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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR — U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits Berlin today to join German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for discussions with European and U.S. officials ahead of the Trump-Putin summit later this week in Alaska. Zelenskyy will then meet with Trump virtually. The European leaders are expected to stress that any discussion for ending the war in Ukraine must begin with a full ceasefire. Lorne Cook reports for AP News; Jim Tankersley reports for the New York Times.
Ahead of talks with President Trump on Friday, Putin spoke with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un yesterday, where both leaders “reaffirmed their commitment to the further development of friendship relations, good-neighborliness and cooperation,” the Kremlin said in a statement. Stuart Lau reports for BBC News.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Russia has reportedly made swift battlefield advances after breaking through a segment of Ukraine’s defensive line near the city of Pokrovsk, a longtime stronghold. Zelenskyy said on Monday that the Russians are “redeploying their troops and forces in ways that suggest preparations for new offensive operations.” Constant Méheut reports for the New York Times.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has signaled that ceasefire efforts in Gaza are now centered on a comprehensive deal that would see all remaining hostages released at once rather than in stages. Mediators Egypt and Qatar are said to be working on a new framework proposing the release of all hostages in one go in exchange for a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces, Arab officials say. The news comes as a Hamas delegation arrived in Egypt yesterday for talks with officials over ways to stop the war and deliver aid, a Hamas official said. Natalie Melzer reports for AP News; Nidal Al-Mughrabi reports for Reuters.
Gaza City has come under intense air attack, the Hamas-run civil defense agency said today, as Israeli forces prepare to launch an operation to occupy the city. Graeme Baker reports for BBC News.
The Israeli military said it struck an armed group posing as aid workers using a vehicle marked with the World Central Kitchen logo. The strike took place last week and killed “five armed terrorists,” according to an IDF statement released yesterday. Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said it contacted WCK, which confirmed the vehicle was not connected to their operations. Oren Liebermann reports for CNN.
Israel is in talks with South Sudan over the possibility of resettling Palestinians from Gaza to the East Africa nation as part of a broader Israeli effort to enable large-scale emigration from the enclave, sources say. The stage of the talks remain unclear, but if carried out, “the plans would amount to transferring people from one war-ravaged land at risk of famine to another, and raise human rights concerns,” Sam Mednick reports for AP News.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has cautioned Israel that its armed forces could be included in an upcoming U.N. report on sexual violence, according to the spokesperson for Israel’s mission to the U.N. “I am putting Israeli armed and security forces on notice for potential listing in the next reporting cycle, due to significant concerns of patterns of certain forms of sexual violence that have been consistently documented by the United Nations,” Guterres wrote in the letter to Israel’s ambassador, who dismissed it as “baseless accusations.” Lauren Izso and Nadeen Ebrahim report for CNN; Edith M. Lederer reports.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
In a joint statement yesterday, foreign ministers from 27 countries urged Israel to grant immediate permanent access for the U.N. and other humanitarian groups to deliver a “flood of aid into Gaza,” warning that swift action is needed to stop and reverse a “famine … unfolding before our eyes.” The statement from countries including the UK and Canada also urged Israel to end the use of deadly force at aid distribution sites. Abbie Cheeseman and Siham Shamalakh report for the Washington Post.
Netanyahu has “lost the plot” and Israel’s planned occupation of Gaza City is “utterly unacceptable,” New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said today. The comments come as Luxon’s conservative coalition government weighs whether to follow fellow Five Eyes allies — Australia, Britain, and Canada — in taking steps to recognize a Palestinian state. Helen Regan reports for CNN.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
France, Germany, and the UK yesterday told the U.N. they are willing to reinstate sanctions on Iran if it does not return to negotiations over its nuclear programme. “We have made it clear that if Iran is not willing to reach a diplomatic solution before the end of August 2025, or does not seize the opportunity of an extension, E3 is prepared to trigger the snapback mechanism,” the foreign ministers wrote in the letter. Demetri Sevastopulo, Amy Mackinnon, and Andrew England report for the Financial Times.
Kim Jeon Hee, the wife of South Korea’s jailed former president Yoon Suk Yeol, was arrested yesterday on charges including stock manipulation and bribery. Hee denied all charges during a court hearing yesterday, but a detention warrant was issued over concerns she may destroy evidence. Kelly Ng reports for BBC News.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
The State Department yesterday released its annual human rights report for nearly 200 nations but omitted language on ongoing abuses in Trump-allied countries that appeared in previous editions. The report, covering 2024, had been delayed for months while political appointees directed officials to remove or soften language, resulting in a shorter less-detailed report compared to last year. Sections on El Salvador, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Israel — all close partners of the Trump administration — were notably reduced or removed. The report also referred to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as the “Russia-Ukraine war,” while criticism of foreign governments over their treatment of LGBTQI rights, which appeared in prior editions of the report, also appeared to be largely removed. Edward Wong reports for the New York Times; Daphne Psaledakis and Humeyra Pamuk report for Reuters.
U.S. federal prosecutors have filed criminal charges against Haitian gang leader Jimmy Cherizier, known as “Barbecue,” who heads an alliance controlling much of Port-au-Prince. The indictment accuses Cherizier and U.S. citizen Bazile Richardson of soliciting funds from the Haitian diaspora community in the United States to pay gang members and purchase firearms in violation of U.S. sanctions. Max Matza and Will Grant report for BBC News.
Under pressure by Trump, Mexico has sent 26 people accused of being cartel operatives to the United States, Mexican officials announced yesterday. The transfer is the second this year by Mexican officials and follows Trump last week ordering the Pentagon to begin using military force against certain Latin American drug cartels. Jack Nicas, Maria Abi-Habib, Paulina Villegas, and Alan Feuer report for the New York Times.
China’s military tracked and “drove away” a U.S. destroyer that sailed near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, its military said today. The operation was the first reported U.S. military activity inside the shoal’s waters in at least six years, with the U.S. Navy stating the destroyer was asserting “navigational rights and freedoms” consistent with international law. Reuters reports.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Texas Democratic lawmakers are holding a private meeting to discuss their next steps as they consider how long to remain out of state in an effort to block a new congressional map, sources close to the caucus told CNN. Their discussions come as Texas Republicans signal plans to end the current special session on Friday and immediately call a new one to keep advancing the map, which could give them as many as five additional House seats. Arlette Saenz and Steve Contorno report.
Investigators have found evidence suggesting Russia may be at least partly behind a recent hack of the computer system that manages federal court documents, including highly sensitive records that could expose sources and people charged with national security crimes, sources say. It remains unclear which entity carried out the years-in-the-making cyberattack, whether Russian intelligence was involved, or if other countries played a role. Adam Goldman, Glenn Thrush, and Mattathias Schwartz report for the New York Times; John Sakellariadis reports for POLITICO.
Trump’s nominee to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics, E.J. Antoni, has suggested suspending monthly jobs reports, a move that could temporarily deprive business and policymakers of decades-long labor market and economic data. Lauren Kaori Gurley reports for the Washington Post.
The Department of Veterans Affairs’ independent watchdog warned yesterday that its health system is grappling with a worsening staffing crisis affecting both clinical and nonclinical roles at all 139 medical centers. The problem has deepened as the department shed tens of thousands of employees while hiring fewer medical professionals, the report said, adding that reports of severe shortages in specific positions rose 50% compared with the previous fiscal year. Meryl Kornfield reports for the Washington Post.
Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida (R) yesterday named State Senator Jay Collins as lieutenant governor, elevating a trusted ally amid Republican jostling over his likely successor. DeSantis, who is term-limited, said his wife is considering a gubernatorial run next year. If she opts out, Collins could become the governor’s preferred candidate in the Republican primary. Patricia Mazzei reports for the New York Times.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
The National Guard began to appear in Washington D.C. yesterday, a day after Trump also placed the nation’s capital’s police department “under direct federal control.” Criticizing the deployment of 800 Guard members and 500 federal agents to fight what Trump calls “out of control” crime, Mayor Muriel Bowser has called the decision an “authoritarian push” and an “intrusion on our autonomy.” Maureen Chowdhury, Adita Sangal, and Tori B. Powell report for CNN; the New York Times reports.
The Trump administration is weighing plans that would create a “Domestic Civil Disturbance Quick Reaction Force,” composed of National Guard troops tasked with being ready around-the-clock to be deployed into U.S. cities facing protests or unrest, according to Pentagon documents reviewed by the Washington Post. The proposal calls for 600 troops, stationed across military bases in Alabama and Arizona, to be on constant standby so they can be deployed in as little as one hour. Alex Horton and David Ovalle report.
The Justice Department yesterday found that George Washington University was “deliberately indifferent to antisemitic discrimination” on its campus, marking the latest Trump administration claim regarding a college’s handling of discrimination against Jewish students and faculty. In a letter to the University’s president, the administration has provided a deadline of August 22 to say whether it was open to a voluntary resolution or instead face “enforcement” measures. Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff reports for the Washington Post.
The White House plans a comprehensive review of Smithsonian museums, their exhibits, materials, and operations, ahead of America’s 250th anniversary to ensure alignment with Trump’s interpretation of U.S. history. In a letter to Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch, three White House officials said, “This initiative aims to ensure alignment with the president’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.” Meredith McGraw and Jasmine Li report for the Wall Street Journal.
Trump is considering suing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said yesterday. The legal escalation comes as the Federal Reserve continues to resist his demands to cut interest rates, with Trump previously threatening to fire Powell over the issue. Removing Powell would be legally complex, as Senate-confirmed Fed board members can only be fired “for cause.” Elisabeth Buchwald reports for CNN.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
A federal judge in California has ordered the National Science Foundation to restore millions in grants to UCLA, ruling yesterday that the agency had attempted to bypass a June order requiring the funds be reinstated. In a sharply worded order, Judge Rita F. Lin wrote, “N.S.F. claims that it could simply turn around the day after the preliminary injunction” and freeze “funding on every grant that had been ordered reinstated, so long as that action was labeled as a ‘suspension’ rather than a ‘termination … This is not a reasonable interpretation.” Zach Montague reports for the New York Times.
In a 2-1 decision yesterday, a federal appeals court ruled that the administration’s U.S. DOGE Service can access sensitive data from federal agencies, dismissing privacy concerns. The plaintiffs, including labor unions and government benefit recipients, sought to block DOGE officials from accessing personal data from the Treasury, Office of Personnel Management, and the Education Department, arguing such action violated federal privacy law. Trump-nominated Judge Julius N. Richardson wrote that federal privacy law “does not prohibit sharing information with those whose jobs give them good reason to access it.” Mark Berman reports for the Washington Post.
A federal judge yesterday said he would block the Trump administration from using a New York City federal building to detain immigrants facing deportation unless it reduces the number of detainees and improves conditions, including providing sleeping mats and hygiene supplies. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan issued the temporary restraining order following a hearing in which a government attorney acknowledged that ICE detainees at the Manhattan facility lacked access to sleeping mats, in-person legal visits, medication, and more than two meals per day. Camilo Montoya-Galvez and Katie Houlis report for CBS News.
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
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