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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments in the last 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
U.S. FOREIGN DEVELOPMENTS
President Trump is expected to unilaterally reinterpret the 1987 Missile Technology Control Regime treaty in order to sell advanced military drones abroad, according to a U.S. official and other sources. Under the plan, the United States will designate drones as aircraft, rather than missile systems, the U.S. official said, adding that the effort is the first part of a planned “major review” of the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program. Mike Stone reports for Reuters.
The United States will continue to unilaterally “blow up” foreign drug traffickers if needed, but also hopes to do so in collaboration with “friendly governments” that will help the U.S. forces “find these people and blow them up,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said yesterday. Separately, Venezuela’s Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello described the recent U.S. strike on an alleged drug smuggling vessel as an “extrajudicial killing.” Ione Wells reports for BBC News; John Hudson and Tara Copp report for the Washington Post.
Rubio also announced that the United States has designated two Ecuadorian gangs, Los Lobos and Los Choneros, as foreign terrorist organizations. According to Rubio, the designation brings “all sorts of options” for Washington to work with Ecuador to crack down on the groups. Matthew Lee, Regina Garcia Cano, and Jacquelyn Martin report for AP News.
Two Venezuelan military aircraft yesterday flew near a U.S. Navy vessel in international waters in a “highly provocative move” that was “designed to interfere with our counter narco-terror operations,” the U.S. Defense Department said in a social media statement. Rashard Rose reports for CNN.
The United States has violated the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by being responsible for an Afghan man’s two-year-long arbitrary detention in Abu Dhabi, a U.N. Human Rights Council Working Group found in an opinion published this week. The man, a former police force colonel who had worked with U.S. forces, was evacuated to the United Arab Emirates during the hurried U.S. exit from Afghanistan in 2021. The Group held the United States and United Arab Emirates jointly responsible for breaching the Covenant. Emma Farge reports for Reuters.
The Trump administration is preparing to start renegotiating the 2020 United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Sources familiar with the administration’s thinking say the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is scheduled to begin public consultations on the free trade agreement within the next month. Gavin Bade, Santiago Pérez, and Vipal Monga report for the Wall Street Journal.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
Trump is expected to nominate Lt. Gen. William Hartman to lead the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command, sources say. Hartman has been the acting leader of both agencies since Trump fired Gen. Timothy Haugh from the role in April. Daniel Lippman and Maggie Miller report for POLITICO.
Trump is also set to sign an executive order changing the Department of Defense’s name to the Department of War later today, a senior administration official confirmed. A separate source suggested that the White House is exploring ways to implement the name change without an act of Congress. Paul McLeary, Jack Detsch, Connor O’Brien, and Joe Gould report for POLITICO.
In a pair of whistleblower complaints, two prominent scientists on Wednesday said that they had been removed from National Institutes of Health leadership positions after objecting to the Trump administration’s policies, including efforts to undermine vaccines, evade court orders, withhold research money, and politicize the grant-making process, according to the New York Times. Benjamin Mueller reports.
Trump yesterday expressed support for Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, telling leading tech CEOs gathered for dinner at the White House that Kennedy “got some little different ideas” and “we want to listen to all those things.” Ben Johansen reports for POLITICO.
The Justice Department has opened a criminal mortgage fraud investigation into Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, U.S. officials say. Brian Schwartz, C. Ryan Barber, and Will Parker report for the Wall Street Journal.
DOJ officials have discussed ways to block transgender individuals from buying guns by leveraging laws that restrict mentally ill people from owning arms in the wake of last week’s Minneapolis shooting, sources say. However, the Justice Department has since assured at least one influential gun rights advocate that it would not be moving forward with the plan, a source adds. Zusha Elinson and C. Ryan Barber report for the Wall Street Journal.
FBI agents seized computers, phones, and a range of documents during their search of the home and office of former national security adviser John Bolton, according to court papers unsealed yesterday. Some of the folders seized by the FBI were labeled “Trump I-IV” and “statements and reflections to allied strikes,” the records suggest. Jeremy Roebuck reports for the Washington Post.
Trump’s pick for the vacant seat on the Federal Reserve’s Board, Stephen Miran, yesterday told the Senate Banking Committee he plans to take an unpaid leave of absence from his position as the chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisors while serving out the Fed Governor’s term, which expires Jan. 31, 2026. Yun Li reports for CNBC.
Trump is in preliminary stages of exploring ways to take federal control of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in New York City, two White House officials suggest. Tyler Pager and Graham Bowley report for the New York Times.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Any Western troops in Ukraine would be legitimate targets for Moscow to attack, especially if they appeared now, Russian President Vladimir Putin said today, adding that he does not “see any sense in their presence” in Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday announced that 26 countries had formally committed to providing post-war security guarantees to Ukraine, including through the deployment of troops “by land, sea or air” as part of an international peacekeeping force. Vladimir Soldatkin reports for Reuters; Paul Kirby reports for BBC News.
Sweden’s Transport Agency yesterday issued a statement accusing Russia of being responsible for a significant rise in instances of GPS signal jamming over the Baltic Sea, with the disruption of aviation and shipping communications now being an almost daily occurrence. Aoife Walsh reports for BBC News.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
Trump yesterday told European leaders they are “funding the war” by purchasing Russian oil and must cut Russia off and put economic pressure on China to do the same, according to a White House official. In a press conference after the call, Macron said that if Putin continues to reject peace talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the EU would impose more sanctions in coordination with the United States. Barak Ravid and Dave Lawler report for Axios.
The Trump administration will not request money to extend security assistance programmes that train and equip armies of Eastern European states bordering Russia, sources say. The spending for the Defense Department programmes is regulated by section 333 of the U.S. Code, and must be approved by Congress. Senate aides estimate that the program currently has a worldwide budget of more than $1bn. The Trump administration has not requested money that would extend the measure beyond the end of September 2026. Amy Mackinnon, Steff Chávez, Abigail Hauslohner, Demetri Sevastopulo, and Henry Foy report for the Financial Times.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Hamas late on Wednesday expressed readiness for concluding a comprehensive deal to end the Gaza war and release all hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, after Trump called on the militant group to release all living hostages remaining in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the statement as “spin” and “nothing new.” Adam Rasgon reports for the New York Times.
The death toll of the Israel-Hamas war has passed 64,000 dead, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said yesterday. Separately, an Israeli military spokesperson said yesterday that the Israeli military now controls 40% of Gaza City amid an intensifying offensive. According to local hospitals, Israeli strikes killed 53 people, mostly women and children, overnight into and on Thursday. Wafaa Shurafa, Kareem Chehayeb, and Julia Frankel report for AP News; Steven Scheer and Nidal Al-Mughrabi report for Reuters.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
The U.S. State Department yesterday announced it is imposing new sanctions on Al Haq, the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, three non-governmental organizations that in 2023 asked the International Criminal Court to investigate Israel’s actions in Gaza. Jacob Wendler reports for POLITICO.
The United States “told all these countries … if you guys do this [Palestine] recognition stuff it’s all fake, it’s not even real, if you do it you’re going to create problems,” State Secretary Marco Rubio said yesterday. Reuters reports.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
The Lebanese government is running out of time to disarm Hezbollah before risking losing U.S. and Gulf Arab financial support, or a renewed Israeli military campaign, the Trump administration said yesterday. Michael Crowley reports for the New York Times.
The Thai parliament today elected Anutin Charnvirakul as the country’s new prime minister, handing a defeat to the ruling party candidate Chaikasem Nitisiri. Panarat Thepgumpanat and Chayut Setboonsarng report for Reuters.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Charles McGonigal, a former senior FBI official, “intentionally” compromised a major criminal investigation by tipping off the executives of a Chinese company of their arrests, according to a report released by the FBI Inspector General’s Office yesterday. The new report adds damaging new detail to accusations against McGonigal, who in 2023 pleaded guilty to crimes, including secretly working for a Russian oligarch, and is presently serving a six-year sentence. Tom Winter reports for NBC News; Devlin Barrett reports for the New York Times.
A State Department employee yesterday was sentenced to 48 months in prison for conspiring to collect and transmit national defense information to people who he believed were working with the Chinese government, according to a DOJ press release.
Elias Rodriguez, accused of killing two Israeli embassy employees in Washington, D.C., earlier this year, yesterday pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. Holmes Lybrand reports for CNN.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is planning to train several hundred armed law enforcement agents to investigate immigration application fraud and arrest those involved, the Wall Street Journal reports. According to the agency’s new director, Joe Edlow, the formation of such a team is necessary because ICE does not have the capacity to pursue all cases of immigration fraud. Until now, USCIS was explicitly kept separate from immigration enforcement. Michelle Hackman reports.
The Defense Department has approved the Naval Station Great Lakes base to be used as a staging ground for the Homeland Security Department’s immigration enforcement operations, according to two defense officials. Dan Lamothe and Tara Copp report for the Washington Post.
The United States and Ecuador are working out the final details of a “safe third country” agreement that would allow the United States to send asylum seekers to Ecuador, a senior State Department official said yesterday. Kylie Atwood reports for CNN.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
A federal appeals court yesterday issued a stay to a lower court’s order to end operations indefinitely at the ”Alligator Alcaraz” immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades, ruling that it was in the public interest for the facility to continue its operations while proceedings are pending. Mike Schneider reports for AP News.
A different federal appeals court yesterday issued a temporary stay on a district judge’s order imposing restrictions on the activities of National Guard troops deployed in Los Angeles, pending a detailed hearing on the issue. The appeals court’s order in effect maintains the status quo, as the lower court judge delayed the entry of his order into force to give the administration time to appeal. Mark Berman reports for the Washington Post.
A joint venture between Danish renewable energy giant Orsted and Revolution Wind LLC yesterday filed a lawsuit arguing the Trump administration’s move to halt a nearly finished wind farm off Rhode Island was unlawful and “issued in bad faith.” The Rhode Island and Connecticut Attorneys General indicated they would also file a challenge against the decision. Brad Plumer and Karen Zraick report for the New York Times.
In an emergency filing, the Trump administration yesterday asked the Supreme Court to allow him to fire the Federal Trade Commission’s Rebecca Slaughter. The dispute will likely lead the Supreme Court to consider the vitality of a 1935 ruling that affirmed the constitutionality of a Congress decision to limit the president’s power to dismiss FTC members to cases of “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.” Josh Gerstein reports for POLITICO.
The Trump administration yesterday filed a lawsuit against Boston, arguing the city’s “sanctuary” policies that limit police cooperation with immigration enforcement officials are unlawful. Jacob Wendler reports for POLITICO.
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