Early Edition: November 4, 2025

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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 – CEASEFIRE

The United States yesterday sent a draft resolution to several U.N. Security Council members for the establishment of an international security force (ISF) in Gaza until the end of 2027, according to a copy seen by Axios. A U.S. official said that the draft resolution will be the basis for negotiations over the coming days, with a goal to vote in the coming weeks and deploy troops to Gaza by January. The ISF would be an “enforcement force and not a peacekeeping force,” the official added, and would work with the Board of Peace tasked with governing Gaza through the transition period. The draft resolution says the force will be empowered to “use all necessary measures to carry out its mandate consistent with international law, including international humanitarian law.” Barak Ravid reports.

Israeli troops yesterday killed three Palestinians in Gaza near the city of Rafah, according to local health authorities. The Israeli military said in a statement that forces struck  “terrorists” who crossed the yellow line and advanced toward Israeli troops. Nidal al-Mughrabi reports for Reuters.

Israel yesterday handed over the bodies of 45 Palestinians to Gaza, following the return of the remains of three hostages to Israel on Sunday. Wafaa Shurafa and Julia Frankel report for AP News.

U.S. CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC OPERATIONS 

The Trump administration has started planning a new mission to send U.S. troops and CIA officers into Mexico to target drug cartels, according to two current U.S. officials and two former U.S. officials. U.S. troops in Mexico would use drone strikes to hit drug labs and cartel members, according to the sources. The U.S. troops would operate under the authority of the U.S. intelligence community. Discussions about the scope of the mission are ongoing, and deployment to Mexico is not imminent. Courtney Kube, Dan De Luce, and Gordon Lubold report for NBC News.

In recent days, President Donald Trump has told his staff to carry out more briefings with Congress on the administration’s strikes against alleged drug vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific, two sources told Axios. “I keep getting calls about this from congressmen,” Trump said in a recent meeting with U.S. officials. Marc Caputo and Stef W. Knight report.

SUDANESE CIVIL WAR

The Integrated Food Security Phase Network (IPC) said that as of September 2025 famine has spread to two more areas of Sudan, adding there was “reasonable evidence” to classify El Fasher in Darfur and Kadugli in South Kordofan in the most catastrophic stage of hunger, in a report published yesterday. The IPC said that an estimated 45% of the Sudanese population is facing high levels of acute food insecurity. William Wallis reports for the Financial Times.

International Criminal Court prosecutors said yesterday that they are collecting evidence of alleged mass killings and rapes after the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces paramilitary seized El Fasher last week. Stephanie van den Berg reports for Reuters.

The United States is working with the Sudanese army and RSF to bring about a humanitarian truce in Sudan and could have an announcement soon, U.S. adviser for African affairs Massad Boulos told AP News. The U.S.-led plan would start with a three-month truce, followed by a nine-month political process, he said. Molly Quell and Fay Abuelgasim report.

OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said yesterday that Iraq can bring all weapons under state control only after the U.S.-led anti-Islamic State coalition withdraws, as some Iraqi factions view it as an occupying force. Timour Azhari and Ahmed Rasheed report for Reuters.

Peruvian Foreign Minister Hugo de Zela yesterday announced that “the Peruvian government has decided to sever diplomatic relations with Mexico today” after Mexico granted asylum to former Peruvian Prime Minister Betssy Chávez. Mexico’s foreign affairs ministry said it “rejected Peru’s unilateral decision as excessive and disproportionate.” Yang Tian reports for BBC News.

Israeli police arrested former top military prosecutor Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi on suspicion of “serious criminal offences” after she admitted to leaking a video showing Israeli soldiers assaulting a Palestinian detainee on Friday. Anat Peled reports for the Wall Street Journal.

TECH DEVELOPMENTS

Microsoft said yesterday that it will ship more than 60,000 Nvidia chips, including the most advanced AI chips known as Blackwell, to the United Arab Emirates for use in data centers. The announcement appears to contradict Trump’s comment on Sunday that Blackwell chips would not be exported outside of the United States. AP News reports.

Trump decided against discussing the export of Nvidia’s Blackwell chips to China during his meeting last week with Xi Jinping on the advice of top officials, according to U.S. officials. The sources said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Trump that Blackwell sales would threaten national security, as it would boost China’s AI data-center capabilities and backfire on the United States. Lingling Wei, Amrith Ramkumar, and Robbie Whelan report for the Wall Street Journal.

U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is set to visit Trump at the White House on November 18, a White House official said yesterday. Regarding a possible U.S.-Saudi defense agreement, a U.S. official told Reuters that “there are discussions about signing something when the crown prince comes, but details are in flux.” Steve Holland reports.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said yesterday that the goal of the U.S.-South Korea alliance is protecting against nuclear-armed North Korea, but “there’s no doubt that flexibility for regional contingency is something we would take a look at.” Hegseth did not provide further details on Trump’s announcement last week that the United States will support Seoul’s plans to build nuclear-powered submarines. Joyce Lee reports for Reuters.

U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS 

Federal prosecutors yesterday disclosed evidence as part of a 48-page filing in the criminal case against former FBI director James Comey, claiming that Comey used a confidant, Daniel C. Richman, to provide information to reporters. The filing does not tie these assertions to the allegations in the indictment against Comey. Alan Feuer and Charlie Savage report for the New York Times.

The Justice Department yesterday defended Lindsey Halligan’s continued oversight of the cases against Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, saying in court filings that “whatever her title, Ms. Halligan is still an ‘attorney for the government’ authorized to conduct grand jury proceedings and sign indictments.” The filings argue that even if her appointment as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia is invalid, she now has an additional title of ‘special attorney.’ Jeremy Roebuck reports for the Washington Post

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation has opened an investigation into an incident in Durango into the possible use of illegal force against a protester by an immigration enforcement agent last week at the request of Police Chief Brice Current. To date, no local prosecutors are known to have filed criminal charges against immigration agents for their treatment of protesters. Jack Healy reports for the New York Times.

The Defense Department has credentialed Laura Loomer, a conservative political activist, to cover the Pentagon, according to a source. Loomer’s addition to the Pentagon’s press corps comes as the department overhauled its media policies last month. Scott Nover and Drew Harwell report for the Washington Post.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS

The FBI yesterday fired four agents who worked on former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team investigating Trump, though some of the terminations were later reversed, five sources told Reuters. It is unclear what prompted the sudden reversals by the FBI. Sarah N. Lynch and Andrew Goudsward report.

The White House has removed Joe Allen, the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s acting inspector general, from his role, according to four sources. FHFA Director Bill Pulte has spearheaded public criminal referrals against Letitia James and Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook, among others, for alleged mortgage fraud. Two sources said that Allen’s termination notice came after he made efforts to provide constitutionally required information about James’ case to prosecutors. His removal came as he was preparing a letter to notify Congress that the FHFA was not cooperating with the inspector general’s office, three sources said. Sarah N. Lynch, Chris Prentice, and Marisa Taylor report for Reuters.

The Department of Agriculture said yesterday that it would use $4.65 billion in a USDA contingency fund to restore food assistance under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The court filing said it would allow some benefits to go to “current allotments” for participants in SNAP, but that no funds would be available for those who were approved for the program this month. “USDA’s understanding is that the system changes States must implement … will take anywhere from a few weeks to up to several months,” the filing said. Irie Sentner, Ben Johansen, and Sophia CIA report for POLITICO; Melissa Quinn and Stefan Becket report for CBS News.

Trump yesterday endorsed former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo for mayor of New York City, adding that he may hold back federal funds to the city if Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani wins. Kanishka Singh and Daniel Trotta report for Reuters.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION

Two lawsuits were filed yesterday against the Education Department’s new rule amending which employers will qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. The plaintiffs argue that the rule violates the First Amendment rights of millions of public service workers. “The regulation allows current and future administrations to change PSLF eligibility according to their priorities or ideology, inviting government overreach,” one of the plaintiffs said. Rebecca Carballo reports for POLITICO.