Early Edition: November 24, 2025

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A curated guide to major news and developments over the weekend. Here’s today’s news:

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR – INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE  

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that President Trump’s 28-point peace plan may force Ukraine to choose between “losing our dignity” or “the risk of losing a key partner,” adding that U.S. officials “expect an answer from us.” Two sources told Axios that the White House has made it clear to Zelenskyy that they want him to sign a deal by Thanksgiving. Dave Lawler reports for Axios.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told a group of U.S. lawmakers that the 28-point peace plan, leaked last week, does not represent the Trump administration’s position, members of the bipartisan delegation to the Halifax International Security Forum said on Saturday. They said that Rubio described the plan as a Russian proposal rather than a U.S. initiative. Late on Saturday, Rubio said “the peace proposal was authored by the U.S.,” adding “it is offered as a strong framework for ongoing negotiations.” Joe Gould reports for POLITICO.

Ukrainian and U.S. officials met yesterday in Geneva for talks on the U.S.-proposed plan to end the war with Russia. In a joint statement, the two nations confirmed that “as a result of the discussions, the parties drafted an updated and refined peace framework.” The statement added that “Ukraine and the United States agreed to continue intensive work on joint proposals in the coming days.” Rubio said he was “very optimistic” that an agreement could be reached “in a very reasonable amount of time.” There was no comment from the Kremlin yesterday about the talks in Geneva. A U.S. official said that plans for separate talks between the United States and Russia were underway. Cassandra Vinograd and Nick Cumming-Bruce report for the New York Times.

While the talks were in progress in Geneva, Trump yesterday criticized Zelenskyy in a post on social media, saying “UKRAINE ‘LEADERSHIP’ HAS EXPRESSED ZERO GRATITUDE FOR OUR EFFORTS,” adding “AND EUROPE CONTINUES TO BUY OIL FROM RUSSIA.”  Zelenskyy said that his delegation in Geneva is focussed on finding “doable solutions” to end the war. The talks are set to continue today. Barak Ravid and Colin Demarest report for Axios.

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR – CEASEFIRE 

Medicins Sans Frontieres said on Friday that its medical teams in Gaza had treated Palestinian women and girls with open fractures and gunshot wounds to their limbs and heads from Israeli airstrikes and gunfire last week. The Israeli military did not respond to requests for comment. Emma Farge and Olivia Le Poidevin report for Reuters.

Israeli airstrikes on Saturday killed at least 24 Palestinians in Gaza, wounding another 54, according to health officials in Gaza. The Israeli military said that the airstrikes were launched against Hamas militants, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office saying that the strikes killed five senior Hamas members. Israel says the strikes were in response to gunfire at its troops. Wafaa Shurafa reports for AP News.

A senior Hamas delegation yesterday met with Egypt’s chief of intelligence to discuss the ceasefire agreement and the situation in Gaza, Hamas said in a statement. Hamas said it reaffirmed its commitment to implementing the first phase of the ceasefire agreement during the meeting in Egypt, but accused Israel of “continued violations” that threatened to undermine the deal. Hamas called for a “clear and defined mechanism” under the supervision of mediators to document and halt any breaches of the deal. Nidal Al Mughrabi and Ahmed Shalaby report for Reuters.

The Israeli military’s chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, yesterday told about a dozen senior commanders that they would be ousted from the army or disciplined for failures related to the Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023. “I have decided, after careful consideration, to draw personal conclusions regarding commanders holding certain positions who served on Oct. 7,” Zamir said in a statement yesterday. Ephrat Livni reports for the New York Times.

WEST BANK VIOLENCE

Netanyahu met with top security officials to discuss the surge in Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank, an Israeli official said on Friday. The official said proposals floated at the meeting included getting violent settlers to attend educational programs, adding that there would be a follow-up meeting. The U.N. The Humanitarian Office documented 29 attacks by settlers in the West Bank from November 11 to 18, U.N. Secretary-General spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Friday, adding that the attacks caused 11 injuries, damage to 10 homes, two mosques, and over 20 vehicles, as well as damage to crops, livestock, and roughly 1,000 trees. Julia Frankel reports for AP News.

ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH – CEASEFIRE 

The Israeli army yesterday killed Hezbollah’s chief of staff, Haytham Tabtabai, in an airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs, according to a military statement. The strike killed five people and wounded 25 others, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Hezbollah confirmed Tabtabai’s death. “Hezbollah’s leadership is studying the matter of response and will take the appropriate decision,” Deputy Chair of Hezbollah’s political council Mahmoud Qamati told reporters. Fadi Tawil and Kareem Chehayeb report for AP News.

SUDANESE CIVIL WAR 

The commander-in-chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, yesterday rejected a ceasefire proposal provided by U.S.-led mediators, calling it “the worst yet” as it “eliminates the Armed Forces, dissolves security agencies and keeps the [RSF] where they are.” Al-Burhan said the proposal was unacceptable, adding “if the mediation continues in this direction, we will consider it to be biased mediation.” Samy Magdy reports for AP News.

23 children have died of malnutrition-related causes from 20 October to 20 November in the besieged city of Kadugli, in the Kordofan region of Sudan, according to the Sudan Doctors Network. The group said on Friday that the deaths were a “result of severe acute malnutrition and shortages of essential supplies” in the two areas where a blockage “prevents the entry of food and medicine and puts the lives of thousands of civilians at risk.” Famine in Kadugli was declared earlier this month by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification. Samy Magdy reports for AP News.

U.S. CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC OPERATIONS

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is set to visit Puerto Rico and one of the Navy warships dispatched to the Caribbean Sea today. The stated reason for the trip is to thank troops ahead of Thanksgiving, according to two U.S. officials. One official said that Caine is expected to consult with commanders on the armada’s preparations for Operation Southern Spear. Eric Schmitt reports for the New York Times.

The United States is ready to launch a new phase of Venezuela-related operations in the coming days, four U.S. officials told Reuters. Two of the sources said that covert operations would likely be the first part of the new action against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Reuters was not able to establish the exact timing or scope of the new operations. Three international airlines cancelled flights departing from Venezuela on Saturday after a warning of a “potentially hazardous situation” when flying over Venezuela from the Federal Aviation Administration on Friday. Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali report.

OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS

303 schoolchildren and 12 teachers were abducted by gunmen during the attack on St Mary’s School in Nigeria’s Niger state last week, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said on Saturday. On Sunday, CAN announced that fifty of the abducted children had escaped and had been reunited with their parents. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the abductions.  AP News reports. Ahmed Kingimi reports for Reuters.

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was taken into preventative custody on Saturday, according to his spokesperson Fabio Wajngarten. A Supreme Court Justice ordered Bolsonaro’s detention, after more than 100 days of house arrest, citing a potential flight risk. In a hearing on Sunday, Bolsonaro denied any intent to escape or to try to remove his ankle monitor, adding that he had tampered with his electronic ankle monitor due to medicine-induced paranoia and hallucinations. The judge decided to keep Bolsonaro in police custody. Daniel Carvalho reports for Bloomberg; Luciana Novaes Magalhaes, Sergio Queiroz, and Anna Portella report for Reuters.

COP30 ended on Saturday with a compromise deal that avoids directly calling for a phaseout of fossil fuels, instead launching the Global Implementation Accelerator and the Belém Mission to 1.5 to speed up efforts to limit temperature rise. Ben Geman reports for Axios.

Siniša Karan, a close ally of the former President of Bosnia’s Serb Republic, Milorad Dodik, yesterday won the snap presidential election, the election commission said. The election was called after Dodik was stripped of his office and banned from politics for six years. Karan promised to continue Dodik’s policies “with ever greater force.” Branko Filipovic and Daria Sito-Sucic report for Reuters.

TECH DEVELOPMENTS 

The Internal Revenue Service is deploying Salesforce’s AI agent program, Agentforce, across multiple divisions, including the Office of Chief Counsel, Taxpayer Advocate Service, and the Office of Appeals, Axios learned. This comes following a 25% reduction in the IRS workforce this year. Ashley Gold reports.

U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-VA) on Friday called for the declassification of a “highly disturbing” 2019 phone call between Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Vindman did not divulge what was said in the call, saying instead that it “would shock people if they knew what was said.” Vindman and dozens of other House Democrats demanded the release of the phone call in a letter to Trump last Thursday. Robert Jimison reports for the New York Times.

U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS 

“I am, as President of the United States, hereby terminating, effective immediately, the Temporary Protected Status for Somalis in Minnesota,” Trump said on Friday in a social media post. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said yesterday that her office would evaluate whether to end protection for Somalis under the program, suggesting that if the status was revoked, it would apply to Somali immigrants across the country, not just those in Minnesota. Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs reports for the New York Times; Andrea Shalal reports for Reuters.

“The city of Chicago does not intend to apply for any federal grants that require the city to comply with President Trump’s political aims,” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office said in a statement shared with Reuters. Chicago will not apply for the Justice Department’s community violence intervention grants after the Trump administration reshaped the program to focus on law enforcement and immigration. Bianca Flowers reports.

U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS 

Marjorie Taylor Greene Aaron (R-GA) announced on Friday that she is resigning from Congress on January 5. Greene did not provide advance notice to anyone in House Republican leadership, according to three sources. Pellish and Meredith Lee Hill report for POLITICO.

At least three Democratic lawmakers filed police complaints last week over Trump’s social media post calling for them to face arrest and even punishment by death after they advised U.S. service members to defy illegal orders. Faith Wardwell reports for POLITICO.

Attorneys for former FBI Director James B. Comey asked a federal judge on Friday to dismiss the government’s indictment because the inexperienced prosecutor, acting U.S. Attorney Lindsay Halligan, had failed to secure the approval of the full grand jury that purportedly returned the indictment against him. Alan Feuer reports for the New York Times.

In a meeting at the White House on Friday, Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani discussed common ground on tackling New York’s affordability crisis. On Saturday, Trump said he could still deploy the National Guard to New York City “if they need it,” but for now, “other places need it more.” In an interview aired yesterday, Mamdani did not say whether Trump ruled out sending troops, but emphasized that he had told Trump the NYPD would handle public safety. Mamdani reaffirmed that he sees Trump as a fascist and a threat to democracy, yet expressed willingness to work with him for the city. Avery Lotz reports for Axios; Alexandra Marquez reports for NBC News.

The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs has requested that multiple university research centers studying political extremism hand over years worth of documentation on federal watch list programs, the January 6 Capitol Attack, vaccine mandates, the 2020 elections, and Trump supporters, according to information obtained by WIRED. The queries appear to be connected to an ongoing investigation by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) into the “weaponization of the Quiet Skies Program.” However, it seems that the inquiry may be a broader attempt to target academic researchers on extremism, which could discourage inquiries into far-right radicalization. Ali Winston reports.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on Friday that he personally directed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to remove claims that vaccines do not cause autism. The CDC formally changed the guidance on their website earlier last week. Aaron Pellish reports for POLITICO.

The Department of Government Efficiency has disbanded eight months ahead of its scheduled end in July 2026. Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor told Reuters “that doesn’t exist,” when asked about DOGE’s status, adding that it is no longer a “centralized entity.” Courtney Rozen reports for Reuters.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION 

A federal judge on Friday blocked the IRS from sharing confidential taxpayer information with ICE, ruling that the prior disclosure to immigration authorities violated taxpayer confidentiality laws. The order requires the agencies to notify the court before any future disclosures. Danny Nguyen reports for POLITICO.

An appeals court panel on Saturday blocked the Trump administration from expanding its fast-track deportation policy, which would have allowed for the expedited removal of migrants living anywhere in the United States. The 2-1 ruling upheld most of a lower court order, which had previously ruled that the Department for Homeland Security could not enforce policies exposing migrants to rapid expulsion if they had been in the country for less than two years. Nate Raymond reports for Reuters.

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