Early Edition: November 5, 2025

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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the last 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:

SUDANESE CIVIL WAR

The war in Sudan is “spiraling out of control,” U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said yesterday, adding it is essential that “no more weapons come into Sudan.” Nearly 71,000 people have been displaced since the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary (RSF) took hold of El Fasher, according to the International Organization for Migration. Jon Gambrell reports for AP News.

A drone attack on a funeral gathering in the North Kordofan State, Sudan, killed at least 40 civilians on Monday, according to local reports and the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Sudanese media reports allege that the strikes were carried out by the RSF. Pranav Baskar reports for the New York Times.

Executive Director of Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab Nathaniel Raymond yesterday told Al Jazeera that the RSF “have begun to dig mass graves and collect bodies throughout [El Fasher].” A senior official at UNHCR in Sudan said yesterday, “The current insecurity continues to block access, preventing the delivery of life-saving assistance to those trapped in the city without food, water and medical care.” Al Jazeera reports.

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR – CEASEFIRE

Hamas yesterday returned the body of deceased U.S.-Israeli hostage Itay Chen to Israel. Israel returned the bodies of 15 more Palestinians to Gaza today. Barak Ravid reports for Axios; Wafaa Shurafa reports for AP News.

Aid agencies are in “a race against time” to get food and other supplies into Gaza, a U.N. World Food Programme spokesperson said yesterday, adding “we need everything to be moving fast… the winter months are coming.” WFP said that they are severely limited in their operations because only two crossings into Gaza are currently open. The Norwegian Refugee Council said that Israeli authorities have rejected 23 requests from nine aid agencies to bring in essential shelter material since the ceasefire took effect on October 10. Al Jazeera reports.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

The Russian Defence Ministry said today that its forces were advancing north inside the city of Pokrovsk and clearing out Ukrainian troops. The Ukrainian military said that fierce fighting was underway in Pokrovsk, special forces had arrived, and more weapons were being sent. Both Russia and Ukraine continue to issue claims and counterclaims about the situation. Guy Faulconbridge and Andrew Osborn report for Reuters; Laura Gozzi reports for BBC News.

U.S. CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC OPERATIONS 

The U.S. military killed two people yesterday in another strike on an alleged drug vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced. It was the 16th strike announced by the Defense Department since operations began in early September. Carol Rosenberg reports for the New York Times.

The Trump administration has prepared several possible plans for military action in Venezuela, including direct attacks on military units that protect Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and moves to seize control of Venezuelan oil fields, according to several U.S. officials. Officials said that Trump had yet to decide on how to proceed, adding that he is reluctant to place U.S. troops at risk. Some officials expect that upcoming guidance from the Justice Department on the legal basis for further military action will argue that Maduro and his security officials are central figures in the Cartel de los Soles, a U.S.-designated narco-terrorist group. David E. Sanger, Tyler Pager, Helene Cooper, Eric Schmitt, and Devlin Barrett report for the New York Times.

OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday released details of a C$64 billion defense budget. The plan would include another C$81 billion for the Canadian military over the next five years. Paul McLeary reports for POLITICO.

Iran must “seriously improve” co-operation with U.N. inspectors to avoid increasing tensions with the West, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi told the Financial Times. Gross said that the IAEA had carried out around 12 inspections in Iran since June, but it had not been given access to the most important nuclear facilities.

Bosnia’s Constitutional Court said yesterday that it had rejected appeals by former president of Bosnia’s autonomous Serb Republic, Milorad Dodik, against a verdict barring him from politics and against a decision to strip him of his mandate as a regional president. The court said that both appeals were without foundation. Dario Sito-Sucic reports for Reuters.

China and Russia announced yesterday in a joint statement that “both sides will make every necessary effort to carry out mutual assistance and cooperation in opposing unilateral coercive measures.” In the statement, Beijing and Moscow stressed the need to “prevent some country from abusing their monopoly and dominant position in specific sectors of the world economy,” without naming the United States directly. Liz Lee, Ethan Wang, Xiuhao Chen, and Lidia Kelly report for Reuters.

TECH DEVELOPMENTS

Prosecutors alleged in an indictment filed last month that three American cybersecurity professionals secretly ran a ransomware operation aimed at taking down U.S.-based companies. The three people are said to have collaborated with ALPHV BlackCAT, a notorious hacking gang, to encrypt companies’ networks and extort their owners out of millions of dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency. Raphael Satter reports for Reuters.

U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS

The Treasury Department yesterday sanctioned nearly a dozen North Korean individuals and tech groups for their alleged roles in a scheme to steal funds from U.S. companies by posing as remote tech employees. Maggie Miller reports for POLITICO.

The Pentagon is considering a request from Saudi Arabia to buy 48 F-35 fighter jets, according to two sources. The Pentagon’s policy department has worked on the potential transactions for months, and the case has now progressed to secretary level within the Defense Department, according to one official. Mike Stone reports for Reuters.

The United States has proposed a draft U.N. Security Council resolution that would lift sanctions on Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, according to the draft resolution seen by Reuters yesterday. Michelle Nichols reports.

U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS 

“‘TRUMP WASN’T ON THE BALLOT, AND SHUTDOWN, WERE THE TWO REASONS THAT THE REPUBLICANS LOST ELECTIONS TONIGHT,’ according to Pollsters,” Trump said yesterday on social media. The Democrats won the Virginia and New Jersey governor elections, and Democratic candidate Zohan Mamdani won the mayoral election. Trump did not elaborate on which pollsters he was quoting. Rebecca Falconer reports for Axios.

Polling stations across seven counties in New Jersey received bomb-threat emails on election day yesterday, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said in a statement. “Law enforcement has determined that there are no credible threats at this time,” Lieutenant Governor Tahesha Way said yesterday. Passaic County received three threats and redirected some affected voters to other locations. Julie Carr Smyth and Hannah Fingerhut report for AP News.

“I write to demand an explanation for why [the Justice Department] has abandoned the women and girls abused by Mr. Epstein, Ms. Maxwell, and their co-conspirators,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) wrote in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi on Monday, requesting information as to why the DOJ “fired or cut off career prosecutors from the case, and ceased its investigation.” DOJ has not responded to CBS News’ request for comment at the time of writing. Kaia Hubbard and Graham Kates report.

Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Jim Jordan (R-OH) yesterday wrote to Verizon and AT&T requesting materials relating to former special counsel Jack Smith’s seizure of phone records of Republican congressmen around the time of the Jan 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Jordan said the DOJ’s actions under Biden amounted to “spying on lawmakers and constituted an abuse of power.” Hailey Fuchs reports for POLITICO.

Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee Roger Wicker (R-MS) yesterday said that he has seen an “unsettling trend” in the Pentagon that undermines Trump’s commitment to NATO, singling out policy chief Elbridge Colby’s office in particular. “Members and staff of this committee have struggled to receive information from the policy office,” Wicker said, adding, “the situation needs to improve if we are to craft the best defence policy.” Connor O’Brien reports for POLITICO.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS

“The administration is fully complying with the court order. I just spoke to the president about it,” the White House clarified yesterday. This clarification came after Trump posted on social media that money for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program “will be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government.” Trump’s post also contradicted guidance on how to fund the November benefits published by the Department of Agriculture earlier on Tuesday. Gregory Svirnovskiy and Marcia Brown report for POLITICO.

White House aides have been strategizing on how to reconstitute Trump’s global tariff regime if the Supreme Court rules that he has exceeded his authority, according to six current and former White House officials. The White House is ready to make use of other trade statutes to keep pressure on U.S. trading partners and preserve billions in tariff revenue, the source said. Aides conceded that other tariff authorities are not a “one-for-one replacement” for relying on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, but confirmed they are pursuing them. Megan Messerly, Doug Palmer, Daniel Desrochers, and Ari Hawkins report for POLITICO.

Several Pentagon officials told Reuters that they are experiencing whiplash from Trump’s orders as they try to understand the defense priorities of this administration. Announcements from nuclear testing to possible military action in Nigeria have caught officials off guard. One U.S. military official said, “I think we are all learning about this at the same time,” with regard to Trump’s Nigeria announcement.  Phil Stewart, Idees Ali, and Steve Holland report.

“Director [Kash] Patel has disregarded the law and launched a campaign of erratic and arbitrary retribution,” the FBI Agents Association said yesterday in a statement, adding “FBI agents deal in facts, and we urge Director Patel to do the same.” A spokesperson for the association told Axios that the FBI’s decision to fire, reinstate, and then once again fire agents yesterday “highlight[s] the chaos that occurs when long-standing policies and processes are ignored.” Josephine Walker reports; Perry Stein reports for the Washington Post.

Furlough notifications sent to Agriculture Department employees last week did not include any mention of back payment or the 2019 law requiring such payments, unlike earlier notifications sent out at the beginning of the government shutdown. This was also the case for employees at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and the National Park Service. Eileen Sullivan reports for the New York Times.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION

A federal judge yesterday ruled that the Department of Transportation cannot withhold billions of dollars in funding to states that refuse to cooperate with immigration enforcement conditions. The judge said that the DOT and Transport Secretary Sean Duffy had blatantly overstepped their authority by linking funding for road maintenance and bridges to immigration demands. Alex Nieves reports for POLITICO.

A federal judge yesterday ordered the White House to restore real-time American Sign Language interpretation at all press briefings conducted by Trump or press secretary Karoline Leavitt. Kyle Cheney reports for POLITICO.