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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
Famine is occurring in Gaza City, and is projected to expand across the territory without a ceasefire and restrictions on aid entry being lifted, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said today. The assessment, issued by the world’s leading authority on food crises, is the first time the IPC has confirmed a famine in Gaza. According to the IPC, approximately a quarter of the population in Gaza is facing “catastrophic” levels of hunger, and conditions in North Gaza Governorate are estimated to be as severe as in Gaza City or worse, despite limited data. Israel’s foreign affairs ministry rejected the IPC’s report, accusing it of publishing a “fabricated” report “based on Hamas lies laundered through organizations with vested interests.” Sam Mednick and Wafaa Shurafa report for AP News; BBC News reports.
The critically low supplies of fortified milk and special nutritious pastes are exacerbating food shortages in Gaza and pushing greater numbers of children into starvation, three hunger experts and aid workers from six agencies told Reuters. Dawoud Abu Alkas, Olivia Le Poidevin, and Nidal Al-Mughrabi report.
Gaza City could “turn into Rafah and Beit Hanoun” unless Hamas agrees to Israel’s conditions for ending the war, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on social media today. The two areas were reduced to ruins following Israel’s military operations earlier during the war. Separately, Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital said that at least 17 Palestinians were killed today amid Israel’s escalating activity in the city. Wafaa Shurafa and Sam Metz report for AP News; James Gregory reports for BBC News.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday said that he had ordered negotiations for the release of all hostages and an end to the war in Gaza “on terms acceptable to Israel,” and that the Israeli military still intends to advance plans to take control of Gaza City. Netanyahu did not specify to whom he gave the order or what proposal is being discussed. Tal Shalev and Mitchell McCluskey report for CNN.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
As of Friday morning, 28 countries, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Japan, signed a statement urging Israel to “allow immediate independent foreign media access and afford protection for journalists operating in Gaza.” The text of the statement was released by the intergovernmental Media Freedom Coalition group. Tom Bateman reports for BBC News.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR — U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
U.S. and European military chiefs yesterday developed options for providing security guarantees to Ukraine and presented them for “appropriate consideration” to their national security advisers, the Pentagon said in a statement. A source said that the final details of the proposals are yet to be worked out, with European countries set to provide “the lion’s share” of any forces and Washington still “determining the scope of its role.” Idrees Ali and Jonathan Landay report for Reuters.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday told European counterparts that the United States would participate in post-war security guarantees for Ukraine, though he did not provide a detailed vision of the guarantees to which the U.S. government might commit, according to a European diplomat. Kylie Atwood, Haley Britzky, Zachary Cohen, and Isabelle Khurshudyan report for CNN.
U.S. National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard on July 20 directed the U.S. intelligence community not to share information about the Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations with the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, according to multiple U.S. intelligence officials. The alliance comprises the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. According to the sources, Gabbard’s directive prohibits all foreign dissemination of analysis and information related to the negotiations, and extends to limiting the distribution of material to foreign agencies that created or originated the intelligence. The memo does not appear to limit the sharing of information not related to the talks or not gathered by the U.S. intelligence community. James LaPorta reports for CBS News.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un yesterday said his “heart aches” for soldiers killed while fighting for Russia in its war against Ukraine, a rare admission of Pyongyang’s involvement and losses in the war. North Korea’s top military officers have also returned from Russia, according to photographs published yesterday in Pyongyang’s KCNA state-run media. An analyst from the Stimson Center, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, said that the officers’ return signals Russia’s confidence that it can hold the Kursk region by itself. Jessie Yeung and Gawon Bae report for CNN; Dasl Yoon reports for the Wall Street Journal.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Iran’s foreign minister will hold a conference call with his French, German, and British counterparts in order to avoid the reimposition of U.N. sanctions related to Tehran’s nuclear program, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency said today. According to IRNA, the EU’s chief diplomat will also join the call. Jon Gambrell reports for AP News.
A drone attack on a U.N. convoy carrying humanitarian aid to Sudan’s famine-hit North Darfur region destroyed all the vehicles on Wednesday, a U.N. spokesperson said yesterday, adding that it was not clear who was responsible for the attack. Edith M. Lederer reports for AP News.
Italian police have arrested a Ukrainian national suspected of coordinating the 2022 bombings of two gas pipelines linking Russia and Germany, Germany’s justice minister announced yesterday. Christopher F. Schuetze reports for the New York Times.
U.S. FOREIGN DEVELOPMENTS
The Trump administration has asked Israel to reduce “non-urgent” military action in Lebanon in order to give Beirut more space and credibility to disarm Hezbollah, sources say. The administration has also asked Israel to reduce its air strikes for a few weeks and consider withdrawing from one of its outposts on Lebanese land to show willingness to cooperate. “The Israelis didn’t say no and they are willing to give it a chance,” one of the sources suggested. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
The United States and the European Union yesterday published the details of the trade agreement they concluded last month. The two parties’ joint statement suggests that Washington will maintain its 27.5% tariffs on European vehicles until the bloc takes steps to lower its levies on a range of U.S. industrial and agricultural products. Tony Romm and Jeanna Smialek report for the New York Times.
The Trump administration has initiated an investigation into foreign wind turbines that could result in the imposition of tariffs on their imports to the United States, according to a federal filing released yesterday. Analysts at Capstone, a strategic consulting firm, say the investigation could be an “an attempt to further hamper wind build-out.” Ana Swanson reports for the New York Times.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
The FBI has conducted a court-authorized search at the home of Trump’s former National Security Adviser John Bolton as part of a national security investigation, a source said. CNN reports that it has observed FBI personnel near Bolton’s home, and that Bolton told its reporters he was unaware of the activity and is looking into it further. Evan Perez, Michael Callahan, and Kylie Atwood report.
A New York appeals court yesterday tossed the roughly $500 million civil fraud penalty against Trump, with the majority of the court ruling that the lower court’s disgorgement order “is an excessive fine that violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution.” The court, however, upheld Trump’s liability for fraud. New York Attorney General Letitia James plans to appeal the ruling. Kara Scannell, Lauren del Valle, and Jeremy Herb report for CNN.
California state Democrats yesterday passed three redistricting bills, the state’s answer to Texas Republicans’ redistricting effort. The bills ask California voters to replace the state’s current congressional maps with ones aimed at netting Democrats five House seats. The issue will now be decided in a November 4 special election. Arit John, Eric Bradner, Arlette Saenz, and Ethan Cohen report for CNN.
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), the House Oversight Committee’s top Democrat, has sent an inquiry letter to the Homeland Security Department seeking information about Corey Lewandowski’s work for the government, following media reports that Lewandowski may be working past the legal restriction on special government employees’ tenure. Brittany Gibson reports for Axios.
FEDERALIZATION OF D.C. POLICING
Trump yesterday said he would expand the D.C. law enforcement and National Guard deployment to other jurisdictions, stating that “we’re re going to make [Washington] safe, and we’re going to then go on to other places, but we’re going to stay here for a while.” Trump did not specify what those places might be. Kristen Holmes, Samantha Waldenberg, Adam Cancryn report for CNN.
TECH DEVELOPMENTS
The Trump administration is considering reallocating at least $2 billion from the CHIPS Act semiconductor research and chip factory construction to fund critical minerals projects, sources say. The move would boost Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s influence over the strategic sector as the United States seeks to reduce its dependence on China, the sources add. Ernest Scheyder and Jarrett Renshaw report for Reuters.
Nvidia is in “dialogue” with the U.S. government about a potential new “B30A” AI semiconductor designed for China, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said today. Elaine Kurtenbach reports for AP News.
Billionaire Elon Musk and social media firm X have reached a tentative settlement with former X employees fired as part of Musk’s cost-cutting measures, according to a Wednesday court filing. Osmond Chia reports for BBC News.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
The Trump administration is preparing to lower the recruitment standards for FBI agents under a plan pushed by FBI Director Kash Patel and his deputy, Dan Bongino, sources say. According to the sources, under the new recruitment strategy, new classes of FBI recruits will receive less training and no longer be required to have a college degree. Current and former agents say the plan appears to be a part of Patel’s larger effort to steer the agency’s focus away from tracking national security threats to fighting street crime. Devlin Barrett and Adam Goldman report for the New York Times.
The FBI Agents Association wants lawmakers to “be aware” that FBI Director Kash Patel “is making personnel decisions without providing the due process protections” despite testifying that he would “honor the internal review process of the FBI” during his confirmation hearings, the Association’s president, Natalie Bara, wrote to Republican and Democratic leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary committees. According to Bara’s letter, the former FBI Acting Director Brian Driscoll, Washington Field Office Assistant Director Steven Jensen, and several other special agents were not accused of misconduct or given an opportunity to defend themselves before their employment was terminated. Holmes Lybrand reports for CNN.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s spending review rules are holding up hundreds of projects that officials deem critical to protecting national security and advancing Trump’s immigration agenda, internal documents seen by the New York Times suggest. In June, Noem introduced a rule requiring her to personally approve spending over $100,000; the documents suggest that as of July 30, at least 530 spending requests were awaiting her approval, with at least 1,500 other requests awaiting preliminary review before being sent to her desk. A DHS spokesperson said that as of Monday, Noem “did not have a single contract on her desk awaiting signature.” Maxine Joselow, Alexandra Berzon, and Eli Murray report.
Joe Francescon will be the next deputy director of the National Security Agency, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed in a statement yesterday. Francescon previously served in a number of roles at the Pentagon and the White House during the first Trump administration. Prior to Gabbard and Hegseth’s confirmation, far-right activist Laura Loomer said that Francescon’s name had been sent to the Presidential Personnel Office for approval. John Sakellariadis and Maggie Miller report for POLITICO.
The Health and Human Services Department yesterday revoked more than $12 million in grants for California’s pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections prevention program, claiming it had found “multiple examples of gender ideology content” in the program. Anumita Kaur reports for the Washington Post.
The HHS has also permanently fired 600 employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a union representing the workers said. Many of the staff were already on paid administrative leave. The union said the firings exacerbated the trauma experienced by CDC staff in connection with the recent shooting at CDC headquarters. Madeline Halpert reports for BBC News.
The Office of Management and Budget has apportioned only $2.9 billion of $6 billion allocated by Congress for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) for the current fiscal year, according to PEPFAR staffers and budget documents. Stephanie Nolen reports for the New York Times.
In an unsigned article, the White House yesterday listed exhibitions and materials mentioning race, slavery, transgender identity, and immigration at seven Smithsonian museums, increasing the pressure on the institution following Trump’s criticism alleging it is too focused on divisive and negative aspects of U.S. history. Janay Kingsberry, Sophia Nguyen, and Maura Judkis report for the Washington Post.
More than 750 Health and Human Services Department employees on Wednesday alleged that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “dangerous and deceitful statements and actions have contributed to the harassment and violence experienced by CDC staff” in a letter to Kennedy and members of Congress. The letter, which points to the August 8 attack on the CDC’s headquarters, also argues that Kennedy is “complicit” in “dismantling America’s public health infrastructure and endangering the nation’s health by repeatedly spreading inaccurate health information.” Maya Goldman reports for Axios.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court yesterday allowed the Trump administration, for now, to halt almost $800 million in National Institute for Health grants for the study of health issues in minority, gay, and transgender communities. The court’s majority ruled that the grantees should have sought to have the funding reinstated in a different court, and lifted a lower court order directing the NIH to restore the grants while litigation over the funding termination proceeds. Chief Justice John Roberts and the court’s liberals dissented from the majority opinion. Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the majority. Josh Gerstein reports for POLITICO; Justin Jouvenal and Derek Hawkins report for the Washington Post; John Fritze reports for CNN.
Trump’s former personal attorney Alina Habba is “not lawfully holding the office of United States Attorney,” a federal judge ruled yesterday, stating that she has been holding the post without legal authority since July. The judge wrote that Habba must be disqualified from participating in the cases handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for New Jersey as the office’s leader, and her actions in New Jersey for the past seven weeks “may be declared void.” The Trump administration last month tried to use a loophole to keep Habba in place as the top N.J. federal prosecutor after district judges refused to admit her into the post. Ry Rivard and Matt Friedman report for POLITICO.
A federal judge yesterday ordered Florida to clear out parts of the “Alligator Alcatraz” immigrant detention facility within the next 60 days and forbade officials from moving any more migrants there, ruling that the state failed to carry out a mandatory environmental impact assessment. Florida has appealed the ruling. Lori Rozsa reports for the Washington Post; Kimberly Leonard, Kyle Cheney, and Josh Gerstein report for POLITICO.
The State Department unlawfully withheld visas from seven dozen people selected for entry to the United States under the so-called “diversity visas” program while implementing Trump’s June travel ban, a federal judge ruled yesterday. The judge found that the individuals won the visa lottery in May 2024, a year before Trump’s imposition of the ban. The ruling could have broader implications for the approximately 29,000 others in a similar situation. Zach Montague reports for the New York Times.
Mario Guevara, an Atlanta-based reporter detained by ICE while reporting on a June “No Kings Day” rally, has sued Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi for his immediate release, the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia said yesterday. Guevara, who is a Salvadoran national, contends he is the only journalist in the country currently jailed as a result of reporting. Gregory Svirnovskiy reports for POLITICO.
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