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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the last 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Israel’s military yesterday announced it had begun “the preliminary operations and the first stages” of its planned ground offensive on Gaza City, with IDF forces “holding the outskirts” of the city. According to local officials, Palestinians are fleeing parts of the city to escape the offensive. Separately, an Israeli military official said that Israeli troops yesterday clashed with more than 15 Hamas militants in the southern Khan Younis area, with the militants severely wounding one soldier and lightly wounding two others. Alexander Cornwell, Maayan Lubell, and Nidal Al-Mughrabi report for Reuters; Yolande Knell, David Gritten, and Gabriela Pomeroy report for BBC News.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
The U.S. State Department on Monday fired its top press officer for Israeli-Palestinian affairs, Shahed Ghoreishi, according to U.S. officials and documents seen by the Washington Post. According to a memo dated last week, State Department leadership instructed officials to “cut” a line that the United States does not “support forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza that Ghoreishi drafted. Far-right influencer Laura Loomer yesterday accused Ghoreishi of not being fully supportive of the administration’s policies in the Middle East. John Hudson reports; Matthew Lee reports for AP News.
Police officers yesterday arrested 18 people at worker-led protests calling for Microsoft to immediately cut its business ties with Israel at the company’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington, according to the Redmond Police Department. A police spokesperson said that 35 protesters “resisted and became aggressive” after Microsoft told police they were trespassing on company property. It was not clear how many of those arrested were Microsoft employees. Matt O’Brien and Michael Biesecker report for AP News.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Russia insists on being a part of any future security guarantees for Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters yesterday, adding that security guarantee discussions will be a “road to nowhere” unless Moscow is involved. Lavrov stated that any agreement on guarantees should be based on the Russian proposal presented during the failed March 2022 peace talks, which would grant Russia veto power over any actions by other security guarantors. Lavrov’s statements seemed to contradict the Trump administration’s insistence that Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to European and U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine during last week’s summit. Anton Troianovski reports for the New York Times; Yaroslav Trofimov and Georgi Kantchev report for the Wall Street Journal.
A major Russian overnight attack on western Ukraine killed at least one person, injured 15 others, and struck a “major American electronics manufacturer,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said today. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it was “very telling” that the U.S.-owned civilian enterprise came under attack. Samya Kullab reports for AP News.
Russia is pushing to capture as much land as possible along the Donetsk frontlines, stepping up its offensive actions in the north of Donetsk while continuing to push toward the region’s east, according to Ukraine’s top military commander, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, and the New York Times’ interviews with Ukrainian troops. Kim Barker and Michael Schwirtz report.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
The U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Elbridge Colby, has told defense chiefs from allied countries that the United States plans to play a minimal role in any Ukraine security guarantees, according to a European official and another source. U.S. and European officials say that the comments and another hastily arranged meeting of NATO leaders left allies increasingly concerned that Trump will rely on Europe to ensure a long-term peace in Ukraine. “There’s the dawning reality that … the U.S. is not fully committed to anything,” a NATO diplomat said. Paul McLeary, Jack Detsch, Jacopo Barigazzi, and Chris Lunday report for POLITICO.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
North Korea has built a heavily fortified, covert military base that could house its newest long-range ballistic missiles near the Chinese border, according to a new report from the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank. CSIS research suggests that the site, operational since 2014, remained undisclosed until recently. Timothy W. Martin reports for the Wall Street Journal.
Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro made plans to seek political asylum in Argentina last year, Brazil’s federal police announced yesterday, citing a draft asylum request it seized from Bolsonaro’s phone. The police said it was unclear whether the request was ever sent to Argentine authorities. Ana Ionova reports for the New York Times.
U.S. FOREIGN DEVELOPMENTS
The United States yesterday imposed new sanctions on two judges and two prosecutors of the International Criminal Court over their work to “investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute nationals of the United States or Israel,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. In his remarks, Rubio described the court as a “national security threat.” The ICC said it “deplores” the “flagrant attack” on its independence, while France expressed “dismay” that one of its judges was among those sanctioned. Cate Brown reports for the Washington Post; Yang Tian reports for BBC News.
U.S. troops yesterday killed a senior member of the Islamic State group during a raid in northern Syria, a U.S. official told Reuters. The IS member was seen as a candidate to be the group’s leader in Syria, the official added. It is the second known U.S. raid in northern Syria since former President Bashar al-Assad was ousted. Karam Al-Masri, Idrees Ali, and Suleiman Al-Khalidi report.
Azerbaijan is seeking closer national security and technology ties to the United States in the wake of its recent peace declaration with Armenia, Azerbaijani Ambassador to the U.S., Khazar Ibrahim, told Axios. Colin Demarest reports.
Trump yesterday described Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a “good man” and a “war hero,” pointing to Netanyahu’s decision to bombard Iran’s nuclear sites. Trump suggested that he considers himself to be a “war hero” as well. Matthew Mpoke Bigg reports for the New York Times.
FEDERALIZATION OF D.C. POLICING
The Trump administration plans to add “thousands more resources” to its Washington, D.C., crime crackdown, White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller said yesterday. Miller and the White House did not specify what those resources would be. Trump administration officials, including Vice President J.D. Vance, have also been noncommittal when asked if the White House plans to extend the federalization beyond 30 days. Separately, the former top official of the National Guard, Major Gen. Randy E. Manner, described the deployment of the Guard in Washington as “intimidation.” Shawn McCreesh reports for the New York Times; Destinee Adams and Michel Martin report for NPR.
Twenty Defense Department members affiliated with the Judge Advocate General Corps are set to begin working as federal prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the D.C. next week, according to the Office’s spokesperson. A source said the new prosecutors are expected to work on misdemeanor cases. Ryan J. Reilly reports for NBC News.
An armored National Guard vehicle early yesterday collided with a civilian car less than a mile from the U.S. Capitol, trapping a person inside the car, the D.C. fire department spokesman said. The person was transported to a hospital with minor injuries. Lindsay Whitehurst, Matt Brown, and Chris Megerian report for AP News.
TECH DEVELOPMENTS
Hackers associated with the Russian Federal Security Service’s cyber espionage units have been leveraging a vulnerability in older Cisco software to target thousands of U.S. devices in IT systems across critical infrastructure sectors, the FBI and Cisco warned yesterday. A.J. Vicens reports for Reuters.
The Trump administration’s staffing cuts and contract cancellations are impeding progress on the Pentagon’s Advancing Analytics (Advana) data platform, a tool key to the Defense Department’s AI plans that is widely used to accelerate functions from logistics to finance to readiness, current and former defense and military officials say. Patrick Tucker reports for DefenseOne.
The U.S. Navy’s development of autonomous drone vessels has recently encountered a series of setbacks, including software failures and human errors, according to sources. Reuters obtained videos of a crash of one of the vessels during a naval test last month. David Jeans reports.
Beijing is considering allowing the usage of yuan-backed stablecoins to boost wider adoption of its currency globally, according to a source. The move would constitute a major reversal of China’s stance towards digital assets. Reuters reports.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is pushing ICE to buy, own and operate its own fleet of deportation planes, sources tell NBC News. ICE has historically used charter planes to deport immigrants. Julia Ainsley reports.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
In a party-line 88-52 vote, the Texas State House yesterday passed a new election map, clearing the way for the state Senate and Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to approve the legislation. The new map would create five new congressional districts in time for midterm elections in areas where Trump won by double digits last year. Patrick Marley, Sabrina Rodriguez, Molly Hennessy-Fiske, and Maeve Reston report for the Washington Post.
A federal judge yesterday temporarily blocked a Texas state law that would have required the Ten Commandments to be visibly displayed in public school classrooms in 11 Texas districts. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he planned to appeal the ruling. Andrew Demillo reports for AP News.
Elon Musk will have to face a lawsuit by voters accusing him of running an illegal lottery during the 2024 election, a federal judge ruled yesterday. The judge found that the plaintiff in the proposed class action plausibly alleged that Musk and his America PAC defrauded her into providing personal identifying information as part of the giveaway. Jonathan Stempel reports for Reuters.
A jury yesterday found a U.S. Navy sailor guilty of selling sensitive information to a Chinese intelligence officer, conspiracy to commit espionage, and “unlawful export of, and conspiracy to export, technical data related to defense articles,” the Justice Department announced. Kaanita Iyer reports for CNN.
Mayor Eric Adams’ former top aide, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, is set to be indicted on new charges today, her lawyer said. Lewis-Martin, who resigned from her role as chief adviser to the mayor in December, was previously indicted on bribery charges. Several associates and supporters of Adams are expected to face corruption charges in the coming days, sources suggest. Jeff Coltin reports for POLITICO; William K. Rashbaum, Hurubie Meko, Dana Rubinstein, and Jonah E. Bromwich report for the New York Times.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard yesterday announced plans to cut her office staffing levels by nearly 50% and reduce its annual budget by $700 million. The plans would consolidate teams across the agency and eliminate the Foreign Malign Influence Center, which monitors foreign efforts to undermine U.S. elections, as well as the Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center. According to a fact sheet released by ODNI, Gabbard has already reduced the office’s size by 30% since assuming office in February. A former senior CIA intelligence executive and former NSA analyst told POLITICO they think the cuts could hurt coordination between U.S. intelligence agencies. Maggie Miller and Dana Nickel report; Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu reports for BBC News.
Paul, Weiss and Kirkland & Ellis law firms are working for free on a range of matters, including trade deals, for the Commerce Department, according to sources. Both firms have previously struck deals with the Trump administration in order to avoid punitive executive orders. Michael S. Schmidt, Matthew Goldstein, and Maggie Haberman report for the New York Times.
The resources of the U.S. Army’s Criminal Investigation Division (CID) are strained by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s unusually large personal security requirements, the Washington Post reports, citing documents and interviews with officials familiar with the operation. According to the sources, the CID had to pull agents from criminal investigations to safeguard the residences of Hegseth’s family and former spouses. The CID’s main responsibility is to investigate serious crimes within the Army. The chief Pentagon spokesperson said that all actions in relation to Hegseth’s security have been taken “in response to the threat environment and at the full recommendation” of the CID. Tara Copp, Alex Horton, and Dan Lamothe report; Ellen Mitchell reports for the Hill.
The Justice Department has subpoenaed hospitals seeking a wide range of sensitive information related to medical care for young transgender patients, according to a copy of a subpoena sent to a Philadelphia children’s hospital made public in a court filing this week. The document shows the DOJ demanded information that included patient data as well as encrypted communications and “every writing or record of whatever type” doctors have made dating back to January 2020. Sources say the subpoenas were sent to providers both in states that prohibit gender care for minors and those that allow it. Casey Parks and David Ovalle report for the Washington Post.
The federal government’s health insurance plans for federal employees will no longer cover hormone treatment or gender transition surgery from 2026 onwards, the Trump administration said in a letter to insurance carriers dated Aug. 15. According to the letter, counseling services for possible or diagnosed “gender dysphoria” would still be covered. Eileen Sullivan reports for the New York Times.
In a social media post, Trump yesterday demanded the resignation of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, citing unconfirmed allegations that she may have engaged in mortgage fraud. Trump’s demand came shortly after Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte said on social media that his office had investigated Cook and found that she appeared to have falsified bank documents. Tony Romm, Ben Casselman, and Colby Smith report for the New York Times.
Trump has purchased more than $100 million worth of bonds since taking office in January, according to Office of Government Ethics filings released late on Tuesday. A senior White House official said that the investments are managed by a third-party financial institution and neither Trump nor any member of his family have direct input into the investments. Alex Gangitano reports for the Hill.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
In a two-page order, a federal appeals court yesterday unanimously granted the Justice Department’s request for an emergency order allowing it to proceed with the termination of Temporary Protected Status for citizens of Nicaragua, Honduras, and Nepal while litigation on the action continues. A lower court judge previously ruled that the Trump administration’s directive to terminate the status was driven by racism. Josh Gerstein reports for POLITICO.
A federal judge yesterday rejected the Trump administration’s effort to unseal grand jury materials related to Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking charges, ruling that there is “clear precedent and sound purpose” in keeping grand jury records sealed and that the grand jury transcript “pales in comparison to the Epstein investigation information and materials” held by DOJ. Ella Lee reports for the Hill.
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