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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the last 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS — GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
On the first day of shutdown, the Trump administration yesterday froze $26 billion for states led by Democrats. The targeted programs include $18 billion for transit projects in New York and $8 billion for climate-related projects in 16 U.S. states including California and New York. The administration has also suspended all news broadcasts from Voice of America and furloughed all of its journalists yesterday. David Morgan, Bo Erickson, Nolan D. McCaskill, and Richard Cowan report for Reuters; Matthew Haag reports for the New York Times; Ismail Shakil and Caitlin Webber report for Reuters. Minho Kim reports for the New York Times.
The United States could lose $15 billion of its GDP each week the shutdown extends, the White House Council of Economic Advisers warned in a memo seen by POLITICO. The memo warned that a month-long shutdown could lead to an additional 43,000 people being unemployed. The council’s estimate does not include the 1.9 million federal employees who are furloughed or working without pay. Megan Messerly reports.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
The Defense Department plans to impose strict NDAs and random polygraph ‘lie detector’ testing for employees in its headquarters, according to two sources and documents obtained by the Washington Post. The documents do not identify a limit on who would be subjected to these measures. A Pentagon spokesperson declined to answer questions on the directives but told the Post that their reporting was “untrue and irresponsible.” Alex Horton, Tara Copp, and Ellen Nakashima report.
The Justice Department yesterday fired Michael Ben’Ary, chief national security prosecutor in the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, after a social media post falsely tied him to the case of FBI Director James Comey, two sources said. The post from a pro-Trump activist said, “One can only assume he was a big part of the internal resistance to the Comey indictment.” Ben’Ary was not involved in the Comey case, one of the sources told CNN. Evan Perez and Katelyn Polantz report.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced yesterday that he has ended a training and intelligence sharing partnership with the Anti-Defamation League. Patel accused the organization of spying on conservative groups. “James Comey wrote ‘love letters’ to the ADL and embedded FBI agents with them,” Patel wrote on social media. “That era is OVER. This FBI won’t partner with political fronts masquerading as watchdogs.” Aaron Pellish reports for POLITICO.
The Trump administration yesterday sent a 10-point memo to U.S. colleges setting out a wide range of terms, including banning the use of race or sex in hiring and admissions; freezing tuition fees for five years and capping international enrollment at 15%. A letter addressed to the universities said those that agree to sign on will receive benefits, including substantial federal grants. Natalie Andrews and Douglas Belkin report for the Wall Street Journal.
The White House yesterday fired a large share of the council members advising the National Endowment for the Humanities. According to a list on the agency’s website, only the four members appointed by Trump were retained. Janay Kingsberry, Kelsey Ables, and Travis M. Andrews report for the Washington Post.
Trump has nominated Travis Hill, the current acting chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., to lead the banking regulator on a long-term basis, according to a source. If confirmed by the Senate, Hill is expected to maintain a lighter enforcement stance and allow greater involvement of banks in crypto-related services. Pete Schroeder and Arasu Kannagi Basil report for Reuters.
Director of the U.S. Office Management and Budget Russ Vought yesterday released $5 million to the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee. Senate Appropriations Committee Chair, Sen. Susan Collins (R- ME) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) earlier this week sent a letter to Vought criticizing the decision to withhold the funds. Hailey Fuchs reports for POLITICO.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
ICE has bought access to a surveillance tool that is updated with billions of pieces of location data from millions of mobile phones every day, according to ICE documents reviewed by 404 Media. The documents show that ICE is planning to use location data remotely harvested from people’s phones. ICE previously stated that it had stopped this practice. Joseph Cox reports.
A U.S. immigration judge yesterday rejected Kilmar Abrego García’s request to reopen his deportation case, dismissing Abrego’s argument that he faced “imminent removal to Uganda.” The judge found “insufficient evidence” to show the Trump administration would deport Abrego to Uganda, according to a copy of the decision seen by the Washington Post. Maria Sacchetti reports.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Trump issued an executive order earlier this week to guarantee Qatar’s “security and territorial integrity” if the country were to come under attack. The order states that any attack on Qatar would be treated as “a threat to the peace and security of the United States.” Adam Rasgon reports for the New York Times.
The White House yesterday said it “reject[s] there was inhumane treatment of illegal immigrants in the United States under this administration,” pushing back against Pope Leo XIV’s suggestion earlier this week that people who support the “inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States” may not be “pro-life.” Irie Sentner reports for POLITICO.
The Trump administration is planning to block federal funding to organizations that work abroad on issues connected to gender identity and diversity, according to a U.S. official and non-profit groups. The Global Health Council and MSI Reproductive Choices said the policy is expected to apply to all non-military foreign funding to U.S. and foreign entities, including U.N. organizations. The White House has not formally announced this new policy. Carmen Paun and Nahal Toosi report for POLITICO.
The HOPE/HELP trade program, allowing duty-free textile imports from Haiti to the United States, expired yesterday. The expiration of this trade program is expected to deepen poverty and bolster gang recruitment in Haiti, U.S. lawmakers and Haitian businesses said. Kejal Vyas reports for the Wall Street Journal.
TECH DEVELOPMENTS
Meta said yesterday that it will use people’s conversations with AI chatbots in order to personalise advertising and content across its platforms. The move is a “natural progression of our personalisation efforts,” Meta’s privacy and data policy manager Christy Harris said. Cristina Criddle reports for the Financial Times.
GLOBAL AFFAIRS
An Israeli drone strike yesterday killed one person and injured five others in southern Lebanon. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said that Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed more than 100 civilians in 10 months. There have been no reports of killings in Israel from projectiles fired from Lebanon since the ceasefire last year. Bassem Mroue reports for AP News.
The Rohingya Muslim minority in the Rakhine state in Myanmar are facing an “alarming” hunger crisis due to a “deadly combination of conflict, blockades and funding cuts,” according to the U.N. World Food Programme. Five Rohingya people told Reuters they had been surviving on leaves, roots and grass in Rakhine before escaping to Bangladesh. The United States and the United Kingdom announced on Tuesday that they would provide $96 million to refugee camps in Bangladesh housing over a million Rohingya people. Ruma Paul, Poppy McPherson and Devjyot Ghoshal report.
German authorities earlier this week arrested three individuals suspected of being Hamas members. The three men are suspected of having procured firearms and ammunition to be used in attacks on Israeli and Jewish institutions in Germany. Hamas denied any connection to the men. Alys Davies reports for BBC News.
Internet access was restored across parts of Afghanistan yesterday following a two-day blackout. “I still don’t have the reason for the internet cutoff,” a spokesperson for the Afghan ministry of communications said yesterday evening. By Elian Peltier, Safiullah Padshah, and Francesca Regalado report for the New York Times.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Israeli forces are “tightening the siege” around Gaza City, and will consider any Palestinians who do not evacuate from the city “terrorists and supporters of terror,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said yesterday. Hospitals in the city reported that Israeli fire killed 45 people in Gaza City yesterday, while the International Committee of the Red Cross medical charity said it had been forced to suspend its operations in the area. David Gritten reports for BBC News.
According to Arab mediators, Hamas has indicated that it is open to accepting Trump’s peace plan for Gaza but asked for more time to review its conditions. Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey have urged Hamas to respond positively to the plan or risk the loss of diplomatic support from them, while Hamas has expressed reservations about some of the terms of the plan, the mediators said. Discussions over those concerns were ongoing late yesterday, the mediators added. Summer Said reports for the Wall Street Journal.
Israeli forces today intercepted a Gaza’bound flotilla of vessels carrying humanitarian aid, detaining dozens of activists. Israel said that the boats were “approaching an active combat zone and violating a lawful naval blockade,” while the Global Sumud Flotilla said that the interception was “unlawful” and that one of the vessels was “deliberately rammed at sea.” Ruth Comerford reports for BBC News.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
The creation of the new U.S. plan for a Gaza ceasefire was prompted by Israel’s failed attempt to assassinate Hamas leaders in Qatar, with U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Trump aide Jared Kushner deciding to use the widespread condemnation of Israel as an opportunity to end the war, sources say. According to a U.S. official, “the failed Doha attack changed the regional dynamics.” Barak Ravid and Marc Caputo report for Axios.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR — U.S. INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
EU leaders yesterday backed plans to strengthen Europe’s defences against Russian drones at a summit in Copenhagen. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said Europe’s eastern flank would be a priority but that the “drone wall” should be a shield for the entire continent. EU leaders did not agree on the proposed €140 billion (approximately $164 billion) loan to Ukraine based on frozen Russian assets. Belgium refused to lift its opposition while France and Luxembourg raised concerns over the legal implications of the proposal. Andrew Gray, Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Ingrid Melander report for Reuters; Henry Foy reports for the Financial Times.
Trump recently signed off on a plan allowing the Pentagon and U.S. intelligence agencies to assist Ukraine with intelligence for long-range missile strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, according to U.S. officials. The officials said that the Trump administration is asking NATO to provide similar support. Bojan Pancevski, Alexander Ward, and Lara Seligman report for the Wall Street Journal.
French authorities yesterday detained crew members of a Western-sanctioned tanker carrying Russian crude oil known to be part of Russia’s “shadow fleet.” The tanker had passed by Denmark at the time of the drone incursions last week, arousing the suspicion of investigators, a French official said. French President Emmanuel Macron said he would not comment on whether the boat was involved in the drone operations. Matthew Dalton reports for the Wall Street Journal.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been running on emergency power for over a week, with the situation at the plant now critical, according to Ukrainian government officials and energy watchdogs. The outage is the longest since the war began, and the facility is currently running off emergency diesel generators. “It is clearly not a sustainable situation in terms of nuclear safety,” Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Grossi said in a statement. “Neither side would benefit from a nuclear accident.” Lizzy Johnson and Kostiantyn Khudov report for the Washington Post.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
The Supreme Court yesterday refused to allow Trump to immediately remove Gov. Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve Board. In a brief order, the court did not provide the reasons for its refusal, indicating only that the administration’s application for a stay of a lower court decision preserving Cook’s status is deferred pending oral argument in January 2026. Ann E. Marimow and Colby Smith report for the New York Times; Josh Gerstein reports for POLITICO.
A federal judge yesterday granted an order temporarily restraining the federal government from withdrawing $34 million in funding to protect New York’s transportation system from terrorist attacks. The judge ruled that the state of New York is “quite likely” to prove its allegation that the money was being improperly diverted because the Trump administration wanted to “punish” the state for “exercising its responsibilities in a way that does not satisfy the administration in what it calls the largest deportation mission in history.” Michael R. Sisak and Larry Neumeister report for AP News.
Some migrants held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington, have the right to request to be released on bond, a federal judge ruled yesterday. The new Trump administration policy denying bond hearings for detained migrants violates the Immigration and Nationality Act, the judge said. Martha Bellisle reports for AP News.
The Attorneys General from a number of states led by Democrats yesterday filed a joint lawsuit challenging the Justice Department’s attempt to impose new restrictions on the states’ ability to use federal grant funding to provide legal services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault if the victims entered the United States unlawfully. The lawsuit has been filed by AGs from New York, Colorado, Illinois, Rhode Island, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. Shayna Jacobs reports for the Washington Post; Nate Raymond reports for Reuters.
A U.S. citizen, who was detained twice by ICE agents, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday in federal court challenging ICE raids on workplaces with large immigrant workforces. The class-action suit demands an end to “unconstitutional and illegal immigration enforcement tactics.” Tim Sullivan reports for AP News.
The Freedom of the Press Foundation and 404 Media last week filed a lawsuit seeking a court order forcing the Homeland Security Department and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to hand over a copy of the agreement under which the Centers are sharing the personal data of Medicaid patients with ICE. The agencies previously failed to respond to the Freedom of Information requests asking for the disclosure of the agreement, Joseph Cox reported for 404 Media.
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