Early Edition: October 8, 2025

FEDERALIZATION OF DOMESTIC POLICING

200 National Guard troops from Texas arrived in Illinois yesterday and are expected to be deployed today alongside 300 troops from the Illinois National Guard in the Chicago area, according to a U.S. military official. The official said that the troops would be providing support to ICE agents and would not assume law enforcement duties themselves. U.S. Northern Command said the troops will be tasked with protecting federal workers and property and might temporarily detain individuals deemed an imminent safety threat. Anna Griffin, Mitch Smith, Robert Chiarito, Eric Schmitt, and Billy Witz report for the New York Times; Victoria Albert, John McCormick; and Mariah Timms report for the Wall Street Journal.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS

Hundreds of thousands of furloughed federal workers may not be eligible for back pay after the government shutdown ends, according to a draft memo that has circulated at the White House and White House officials. The memo indicates that only workers deemed essential may be automatically entitled to pay once the government reopens; those who have been furloughed may require explicit approval from Congress. When asked if workers might lose pay, Trump said yesterday it “depends,” there were “some people that really don’t deserve to be taken care of, and we’ll take care of them in a different way.” Tony Romm reports for the New York Times.

FBI Director Kash Patel said yesterday that the agency has shut down CR-15, a group tasked with investigating public corruption, and fired several agents. CR-15 has been dismantled due to allegedly “track[ing] the communications of GOP senators” during an investigation into efforts by Trump to overturn the 2020 election and “weaponiz[ing] law enforcement against the American people,” Patel said on social media. Julianna Bragg reports for Axios.

The Trump administration has had to push back plans to provide billions of dollars in economic aid to farmers because of the government shutdown, according to four sources. Some of the sources expect that Trump could still announce next steps despite the shutdown, as on Monday he said he would “do some farm stuff this week.” Grace Yarrow reports for POLITICO.

“The Trump White House will not allow impoverished mothers and their babies to go hungry because of the Democrats’ political games,” the White House posted yesterday on social media. The Trump administration has said it will use millions of dollars in tariff revenue to maintain a nutrition program for low-income mothers during the government shutdown. It is unclear how much money the White House will spend, what process it would follow, or whether the move would be legal. Marcia Brown reports for POLITICO.

Federal prosecutors investigating former FBI Director James Comey determined that using the testimony of one of their central witnesses, Daniel Richman, would result in “likely insurmountable problems” for the prosecution and could prevent them establishing their case before a jury, sources told ABC News. Prosecutors allege that Comey authorized Richman to leak information to the press. In his testimony, Richman reportedly told investigators Comey never authorized him to provide information to a reporter anonymously ahead of the 2016 election and instructed him to not engage with the media on at least two occasions. Katherine Faulders, Alexander Mallin, and Peter Charalambous report.

U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS

The Justice Department yesterday appointed retired Marine Corps colonel Darn K. Margolin as the new head of the Executive Office for Immigration Review, a role which oversees the entire immigration court system. Margolin previously served as a military lawyer in the Marine Corps and as a commanding officer of Quantico’s Security Battalion before he was removed from his post after negligently discharging a personal firearm. Chris Cameron reports for the New York Times.

ICE plans to increase surveillance by hiring dozens of contractors in Vermont to scan social media platforms to target people for deportation, according to federal contracting records. Draft plans published last week show that contractors could be asked to collect information on locations tagged in posts and information on targeted people’s “associates.” The records say that work on the plans could begin in May 2026. Shaun Robinson reports for AP News.

U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS

Attorney General Pam Bondi yesterday declined to comment on how she concluded that the military strikes in the Caribbean are legal when testifying in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Bondi also declined to discuss any conversations she might have had with the White House concerning the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey. CBS reports.

The Supreme Court appeared inclined to strike down a law in Colorado banning conversion therapy used to change a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity during oral arguments in the case yesterday. The court’s conservative judges and one liberal judge seemed to view the case as primarily about free speech rather than regulation of health professionals. Josh Gerstein reports for POLITICO.

The Pentagon will select a defense company as soon as this week to design and build the Navy’s multi-billion dollar stealth fighter, according to a U.S. official and two others sources. Mike Stone reports for Reuters.

U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS

U.S. aid cuts have left thousands of people throughout Myanmar without food, families in Myanmar told AP News. “I lost my son because of the funding cuts,” Mohammed Taher said, adding that food rations for his family had stopped arriving at their internment camp in April. Kristen Gelineau reports.

Trump said yesterday that trade talks with Canada are “more complicated than maybe any other agreement,” but that Canada would “walk away very happy,” as he met with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House. Carney said, “we’re going to get the right deal.” The details of their discussions remain vague. BBC News reports.

The Pentagon’s senior official for the Indo-Pacific region nominee, John Noh,  said yesterday that he believes Taiwan should spend up to 10% of its GDP on defense, signalling his support for Trump’s position.Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said in August that their goal was for the defense budget to hit 5% by 2030. Reuters reports.

TECH DEVELOPMENTS

Foreign adversaries are using AI tools, such as ChatGPT, to assist in influence operations and to power hacking plots, according to a report released by OpenAI yesterday. The report states that OpenAI has already banned several accounts linked to Russian and Chinese state campaigns that were using multiple AI tools to improve their operations. OpenAI says the report provides “a rare snapshot into the broader world of authoritarian abuses of AI.” Sam Sabin reports for Axios; Sean Lyngaas and Jim Sciutto report for CNN.

Williams & Connolly, a prominent U.S. law firm, told its clients in recent days that Chinese hackers infiltrated some of its computer systems, according to two sources. One of the sources said that the FBI Washington field office is investigating the hack and other similar ones. Michael S. Schmidt reports for the New York Times.

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR

Babies in overcrowded hospitals in southern Gaza are forced to share oxygen masks as Israel has refused four mission requests to transfer incubators from an evacuated hospital in the North, a UNICEF spokesperson told Reuters yesterday. “In one of the paediatric rooms, there were three babies and three mums on a single bed, one source of oxygen,” the spokesperson said. Emma Farge reports.

U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will join the Gaza peace plan talks in Egypt today. U.S. and Israeli officials said the negotiations in Egypt yesterday were of a technical nature and focussed on mapping out the remaining gaps. A deal has never been closer, the officials suggested.. Sources said that Wikoff and Kushner briefed Trump yesterday on the current progress of the negotiations as described to them by Qatari and Egyptian mediators. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.

Senior Hamas leader Khalil Al-Hayya told Egypt’s Qahera TV yesterday that Hamas was ready to reach a deal but needed a “guarantee” that the war would end and would never be repeated. A source close to the talks said that yesterday’s negotiations had ended more positively than those on Monday, adding that today would be a decisive indicator given the presence of senior U.S. mediators and the Qatari prime minister. Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Maayan Lubell report for Reuters.

Hamas said today that it has exchanged a list of the names of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners to be released under a swap deal. Tala Ramadan, Jana Choukeir and Nidal Al-Mughrabi report for Reuters.

The Israeli military today intercepted the nine boats of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition & Thousand Madleens to Gaza which aimed to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza and detained 145 activists.  Melanie Lidman and Renata Brito report for AP News.

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg yesterday alleged that she and other detainees of the Global Sumud Flotilla were subjected to torture when held in an Israeli prison last week. Thunberg said that she and others were “kidnapped and tortured” by the Israeli military. She declined to provide further details. Reuters reports.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni yesterday said that she and two of her ministers have been reported to the International Criminal Court for alleged complicity in genocide in connection with Israel’s war on Gaza. Meloni did not elaborate on who had brought the case against her. Angelo Amante reports for Reuters.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy yesterday said that Russia is using oil tankers for intelligence gathering and sabotage operations. Zelenskyy said he received the information in a briefing from Ukraine’s intelligence chief. “Recent cases of drones being launched from tankers are one such example,” Zelenskyy said. Reuters reports.

OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS

France’s outgoing Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu today said that a budget deal could potentially be reached by the end of the year, a move that would reduce the prospects of a snap election. Lecornu said he is set to finish his talks with various parties and report back to President Emmanuel Macron on whether he has found a way to end the French political stalemate. Inti Landauro and Makini Brice report for Reuters.

Myanmar’s army on Monday dropped two bombs on a crowd of anti-government protesters participating in a Buddhist festival, killing at least 24 people and wounding 47 others, according to a spokesperson for the government-in-exile. The attack occurred in the Sagaing region, a key battleground in the ongoing civil war. Koh Ewe and BBC Burmese report for BBC News.

Costa Rica ’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal on Tuesday asked the country’s National Assembly to strip President Rodrigo Chaves of his immunity in order for Chaves to face charges over allegedly repeatedly violating a  prohibition on public officials participating in or referencing issues related to the upcoming elections. AP News reports.

The Pakistani Taliban yesterday claimed responsibility for Islamist militants’ attack on a Pakistani military convoy near the Afghan border that killed nine soldiers and two officers according to Pakistani security officials. Reuters reports.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION

A federal judge yesterday blocked changes that the Trump administration made to a federal teen-pregnancy prevention program requiring recipients of federal grants to ensure their programs did not include content deemed to promote “radical indoctrination” or “gender ideology.” The judge said that the policy was “motivated solely by political concerns, devoid of any considered process or analysis.” Geoff Mulvihill reports for AP News.

A group of Chicago press associations, journalists, nonprofit organizations and unions filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Monday alleging that federal agents used “extreme brutality” at local protests to “intimidate and silence” civilians and the press. Faith Wardwell reports for POLITICO.