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A curated guide to major news and developments over the weekend. Here’s today’s news:
U.S. FOREIGN DEVELOPMENTS
President Trump is considering options for carrying out strikes against Venezuelan drug cartels, potentially by striking targets inside the country as part of a wider strategy to weaken President Nicolás Maduro, CNN reports, citing multiple sources. The United States’ strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat last week is also just the beginning of a larger effort to combat drug smuggling and potentially dislodge Maduro from power, the sources add. Zachary Cohen, Kylie Atwood, Kristen Holmes, and Alayna Treene report.
Several staffers, trade groups, law firms, and U.S. government agencies last July received emails from a person impersonating the House Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Chair, Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI), sources say. The emails were part of a cyber espionage campaign linked to China, deployed ahead of the Trump administration’s trade talks with Beijing, the sources add. It is unknown whether the campaign had successfully breached any of the targets. Beijing has disputed the hacking allegations. Joel Schectman reports for the Wall Street Journal.
Trump on Friday signed an executive order creating a “state sponsor of wrongful detention” designation, intended to “strengthen efforts to protect U.S. nationals from wrongful detention abroad.” State Secretary Marco Rubio said that actors designated under the new mechanism “may face severe penalties including economic sanctions, visa restrictions, foreign assistance restrictions, and travel restrictions for U.S. passport holders.” Jennifer Hansler reports for CNN.
Trump on Friday threatened to impose new tariffs on the EU after the European Commission announced it is imposing a €2.95 billion penalty on Google for violating anti-monopoly laws in the advertising technology market. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reports that discontent with the EU-U.S. trade framework is spreading among European politicians and industry leaders due to the Trump administration’s decision to expand its 50% metals tariffs to cover hundreds of additional products that contain steel and aluminum. Anthony Adragna reports for POLITICO; Bertrand Benoit and Kim Mackrael report.
The Treasury Department “would have to give a refund on about half the tariffs” it collected under the new tariffs regime if the Supreme Court finds that Trump had no power to impose them, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said yesterday, adding that such a scenario “would be terrible.” Alexandra Marquez reports for NBC News.
The United States will host next year’s Group of 20 summit at the Trump National Doral golf club, Trump announced on Friday, claiming that “everybody wants it there.” The plan is likely to raise “glaring ethical concerns that led him to drop a similar idea to host an economic summit at the property during his first term.” Erica L. Green and Chris Cameron report for the New York Times.
The Trump administration is considering New York City Mayor Eric Adams for an ambassadorship to Saudi Arabia in order to end his long-shot re-election campaign, according to sources. Dana Rubinstein, William K. Rashbaum, Nicholas Fandos, and Maggie Haberman report for the New York Times.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Russia struck a major government building in Kyiv for the first time yesterday, as it launched its largest aerial assault of the Ukraine war to date. The attack also struck several residential buildings. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that across Ukraine, the attack killed four people and injured 44 others, adding that the strikes “are a deliberate crime and an attempt to prolong the war.” Svitlana Vlasova, Victoria Butenko, Todd Symons, Nadeen Ebrahim, and Laura Sharman report for CNN; Sarah Rainsford, Rachel Hagan, and Jaroslav Lukiv report for BBC News.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
After Russia’s strike on one of Ukraine’s main government buildings, Trump yesterday said he was “not happy with the whole situation” and that he was prepared to move to the “second phase” of sanctions against Moscow. He did not elaborate further. Separately, the U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, said that Moscow appears to be escalating the war and that the weekend attack “was not a signal that Russia wants to diplomatically end this war.” Jonathan Josephs and Rachel Hagan report for BBC News; Samantha Waldenberg reports for CNN.
The United States is prepared to partner with European countries to impose sanctions on purchasers of Russian oil in a bid to “collapse” the Russian economy and bring Putin to the negotiating table, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said yesterday. Alexandra Marquez reports for NBC News.
By hosting the Russian leader in Alaska, Trump “gave Putin what he wanted,” Zelenskyy told ABC News in an interview aired yesterday. The Ukrainian president suggested that Putin “wants very much to meet with the president of the United States, to show everybody video and images that he is there” and that “it’s a pity” that he achieved this goal. Nicholas Kerr and Julia Cherner report.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Israel is failing to provide adequate food to Palestinian prisoners and must take steps to make their nutrition levels compatible with “a basic level of existence,” the Israeli Supreme Court ruled yesterday. In response to the ruling, Israel’s Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said that he would continue to enforce the “minimum conditions required by law” on “imprisoned terrorists.” Wyre Davies and Tabby Wilson report for BBC News.
The Israeli military on Friday and Saturday destroyed two high-rise blocks in Gaza City, according to social media footage and a video posted by Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz. The IDF claimed one of the towers was being used by Hamas, without offering evidence. It was not immediately clear whether there were any casualties. Rushdi Abualouf and Wyre Davies report for BBC News.
The topic of Israel’s annexation of the occupied West Bank has been abruptly removed from the official agenda of a high-level consultation among Netanyahu and several senior ministers last week, following the United Arab Emirates’ warning that such a move would be a “red line” and “foreclose on the idea of regional integration,” sources say. Gerry Shih and Lior Soroka report for the Washington Post.
Israel’s plan to force Gazans to flee to the territory’s north ahead of Israel’s offensive on Gaza City is raising tensions between Egypt and Israel, with Cairo concerned that Israel will try to push Palestinians into its territory, the New York Times reports. Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on Saturday described Israel’s actions as aiming “to push the residents out of their land,” stating that it would be “absurd to call this voluntary migration.” Aaron Boxerman reports.
There is a “narrow window” until the end of September to prevent famine from spreading further in Gaza, U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, said yesterday. Alexander Cornwell, Nidal Al-Mughrabi, and Michelle Nichols report for Reuters.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
A Gaza deal could come “very soon,” Trump asserted yesterday, telling reporters that “we’re working on a solution that may be very good” and “you’ll be hearing about it pretty soon.” Earlier in the day, Trump claimed that “the Israelis” have accepted “his terms” and “it is time for Hamas to accept as well.” Jeff Mason and Maayan Lubell report for Reuters.
The U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, last week sent a new ceasefire and hostage deal to Hamas through an Israeli peace activist, sources tell Axios. Barak Ravid reports.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba yesterday announced he is resigning, a day before an expected party vote on whether to hold an internal leadership vote that could have forced him out. Rachel Hagan reports for BBC News.
The French National Assembly is expected to hold a vote of confidence on the centrist Prime Minister François Bayrou’s unpopular austerity budget proposal later today. Bayrou’s budget is not expected to pass, with both the far-right National Rally party and a group of left and far-left parties stating they would oppose it. Roger Cohen, Liz Alderman, and Aurelien Breeden report for the New York Times.
Jihadist Boko Haram militants killed more than 60 people in a Friday night attack on a military base and a village in Nigeria’s north-eastern Borno State, according to local officials. Ruth Comerford reports for BBC News.
Two attackers killed at least six people and injured 15 in a shooting attack in Jerusalem early today, according to Israel’s emergency response service. The Israeli police said that a security officer and a civilian at the scene “neutralized” the attackers. The identity of the attackers was not made public at the time of writing. Dana Karni and Oren Liebermann report for CNN.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
The South Korean government yesterday announced it had agreed with the United States to send a charter plane and retrieve hundreds of workers detained in an ICE raid on a construction site of a Hyundai-LG EV battery plant in Georgia. South Korea’s foreign minister will also travel to the United States today to help secure the workers’ return. According to industry officials, those detained during the raid included dozens of LG workers on business trips with various visas or under a visa waiver program. Choe Sang-Hun reports for the New York Times; Jean Mackenzie reports for BBC News.
The Trump administration will send federal immigration agents to “most sanctuary cities across the country,” White House Border Czar Tom Homan told CNN yesterday, adding that the administration also plans to carry out further immigration enforcement raids at business sites after last week’s raid on a Hyundai facility in Georgia. Danya Gainor reports; Ted Hesson reports for Reuters.
Anyone in deportation proceedings who entered the United States with no legal authorization is not entitled to be considered for release on bond by an immigration judge, a Justice Department appeals panel declared on Friday. Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney report for POLITICO.
The Trump administration on Friday told Kilmar Abrego Garcia it is now seeking to deport him to Eswatini, according to an ICE email obtained by CBS News. Camilo Montoya-Galvez reports.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
The newest draft of the National Defense Strategy prioritizes the protection of the United States and the Western Hemisphere above countering adversaries such as Beijing and Moscow, sources say. The move would be a major shift from the recent administrations’ focus on the threat from China. Paul McLeary and Daniel Lippman report for POLITICO.
Many Pentagon officials are frustrated with Trump’s decision to rename the Defense Department to the Department of War, POLITICO reports. According to a defense industry consultant, the effort could involve a “rebrand of a mountain of contracting, marketing, business development materials.” Jack Detsch, Paul McLeary and Joe Gould report.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
The Los Angeles Police Department on Saturday ended its protection services for former Vice President Kamala Harris following internal criticism from a specialized unit and the police union, sources say. Orlando Mayorquín and Matt Stevens report for the New York Times.
National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard’s reductions at the Foreign Malign Influence Center are risking leaving U.S. elections vulnerable to interference and subversion from Beijing, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) and André Carson (D-IN) warned in a Friday letter. Julian E. Barnes reports for the New York Times.
TECH DEVELOPMENTS
Microsoft Azure cloud services in the United Arab Emirates and some Asian countries have been disrupted by damage to undersea cables in the Red Sea, the company said on Saturday. In its update, the tech giant did not specify what might have caused the damage to the undersea cables. Seher Asaf reports for BBC News.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
A federal judge on Friday barred the Trump administration from revoking the temporary legal status protections for Venezuelan and Haitian immigrants, finding the Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s move was “preordained without any [meaningful] analysis and review.” Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein report for POLITICO.
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ICYMI: yesterday on Just Security
Using Labels, Not Law, to Justify Lethal Force: Inside the Venezuelan Boat Strike
