Early Edition: December 2, 2025

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

U.S. CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC OPERATIONS 

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt yesterday confirmed that the U.S. military took a second strike on Sept. 2. Leavitt said that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had authorized the Special Operations commander overseeing the attack, Adm. Frank M. Bradley, “to conduct these kinetic strikes,” adding that it was Bradley who had ordered the second strike. Bradley “worked well within his authority and the law directing the engagement to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat to the United States of America was eliminated.” Distancing himself from the strike, Hegseth later said, “I stand by [Bradley] and the combat decisions he has made” on Sept. 2 and since. Charlie Savage, Julian E. Barnes, and John Ismay report for the New York Times; Paul McLeary reports for POLITICO.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) yesterday told reporters that Democrats are unlikely to pursue impeachment against Hegseth over alleged follow-up strikes against boats in the Caribbean. Referring to the House Armed Services Committee’s probe into the reports, Jeffries said, “What’s on the table is a meaningful investigation which we can hope would be bipartisan.” Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI) told Axios that he is considering introducing articles of impeachment against Hegseth, despite Jeffries’ positioning yesterday. Andrew Solender reports for Axios.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR – INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE  

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy yesterday met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris to discuss European support and the current peace proposal, as the U.S.-led effort to end the war with Russia progresses this week. Zelenskyy told reporters that Ukraine’s priority is getting security guarantees and maintaining its sovereignty, adding “to be frank, the topic of territories is the most complicated.” Macron stressed that only Kyiv can make decisions about whether to cede any territory. Cassandra Vinograd reports for the New York Times.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR 

Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday claimed that Russian forces have taken control of Pokrovsk and Vovchansk, without providing any evidence. Ukraine’s military denied Putin’s claims, and soldiers on the frontline told ABC News they were false. Oleksiy Pshemyskiy, Tanya Stukalova, Kerem Inal, Patrick Reevell, and Ian Pannell report for ABC News.

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR – CEASEFIRE 

An Israeli drone strike today killed a Palestinian journalist in southern Gaza, officials at Nasser Hospital said. Also today, Israeli forces fatally shot a man in central Gaza, according to Al-awda hospital. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on either of the deaths. Wafaa Shurafa, Samy Magdy, and Megan Janetsky report for AP News.

WEST BANK VIOLENCE

The Palestinian Health Ministry said today that Israeli forces killed an 18-year-old Palestinian near Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli military said this morning that its troops shot and killed a suspect who stabbed two soldiers near Ateret, an Israeli settlement north of Ramallah. It remains unclear at the time of writing whether it was the same incident. Wafaa Shurafa, Samy Magdy, and Megan Janetsky report for AP News.

SUDANESE CIVIL WAR 

Sudan’s military government has offered Russia a 25-year naval base deal at Port Sudan, providing Moscow with the right to station 300 troops and dock up to four warships, according to Sudanese officials. In return, Sudan would receive advanced Russian anti-aircraft systems and weaponry at preferential prices to use in the ongoing civil war against the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary, a Sudanese official told the Wall Street Journal. Benoit Faucon and Nicholas Bariyo report.

OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS

Heavily armed gangs launched attacks across Haiti’s central Artibonite region over the weekend, with police asserting that 50% of the region has fallen under gang control. A Pont-Sondé official told AP News that yesterday he had confirmed nearly a dozen deaths, including a mother, a child, and a local government employee. Junior Racine, Danica Coto, and Evens Sanon report.

China has issued the first set of new rare earth export licenses, easing months of supply chain disruptions caused by the strict controls introduced by Beijing in April. The year-long permits, granted to three major Chinese magnet producers, should accelerate shipments to certain customers, a source said today. Reuters reports.

Chinese rare-earth magnet companies are legally sidestepping Beijing’s export restrictions by redesigning magnets to avoid using certain restricted rare-earth elements and by embedding magnets inside motors, which are not restricted, according to employees of several large Chinese magnet companies. Jon Emont reports for the Wall Street Journal.

A Libyan war crimes suspect, Khaled Mohamed Ali Al Hishri, has been transferred from Germany to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, where he faces allegations of involvement in torture and abuse at a notorious prison during Libya’s civil war. His trial is not expected to begin until late 2026. Stephanie van den Berg reports for Reuters.

TECH DEVELOPMENTS 

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman yesterday declared a “code red” to enhance ChatGPT’s quality, delaying other products like advertising and AI agents, according to an internal memo viewed by the Wall Street Journal. OpenAI aims to improve ChatGPT’s personalization, speed, reliability, and question-answering capabilities amid competitive pressure. Berber Jin reports.

U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS

“We are trying to tell [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] to stop this because if he continues he will self-destruct,” a senior U.S. official speaking about Israel’s repeated strikes in Syria told Axios.“Syria doesn’t want problems with Israel,” an official said, adding “but Bibi is seeing ghosts everywhere.” The U.S. officials said that the White House did not receive prior notice of the Israeli operation last Friday which killed 13 Syrians, and that the Israelis also did not warn Syria through military channels as they had previously. Barak Ravid reports.

Trump yesterday claimed that Honduras was “trying to change the results of their Presidential election,” alleging that the country’s election commission had prematurely stopped counting votes. “If they do there will be hell to pay!” Trump added. The two leading candidates, Nasry Asfura and Salvador Nasralla, were locked in a “technical tie” on Monday, with just 515 votes separating Asfura from his challenger. The head of the electoral commission called for “patience and prudence” while the result was tallied, but officials have not released an update since yesterday. Caitlin Webber reports for Reuters; Will Grant and Vanessa Buschschlüter report for BBC News.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt yesterday defended Trump’s pardon of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, arguing his conviction was the result of a politicized trial last year. Hernández “was opposed to the values of the previous administration and they charged him because he was president of Honduras,” Leavitt said. Faith Wardwell reports for POLITICO.

Juan Orlando Hernández wrote a four-page letter to Trump, dated Oct. 28, requesting clemency, claiming that “just as you,… I have suffered political persecution, targeted by the Biden-Harris administration.” Roger Stone told Axios that he reached out to Trump on Friday and reiterated points he had previously made in a series of Substack posts calling for the pardon of Hernández, claiming a pardon announcement would energize the Honduran National Party, and drawing attention to Hernández’s letter. Marc Caputo reports for Axios.

U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS 

The Trump administration yesterday fired eight immigration judges from the immigration court offices at 26 Federal Plaza in New York, according to two sources. The eight judges included Amiena A. Khan, the assistant chief immigration judge at 26 Federal Plaza. A spokesperson for the Justice Department declined to answer questions about the dismissals or their cause. Ana Ley reports for the New York Times.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem yesterday recommended that Trump enact “a full travel ban on every damn country that’s been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies.” Trump reposted Noem’s statement on his own social media account, without offering any comment. It is not immediately clear what countries could be targeted by such a ban; a DHS spokesperson said that the agency would be “announcing a list soon,” expanding the travel ban beyond those countries announced by Trump in June. Chris Cameron reports for the New York Times; Rebecca Falconer reports for Axios.

U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS 

An appeals court panel yesterday affirmed a lower court order disqualifying Alina Habba from her position as Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. Erica Orden reports for POLITICO.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS

“CNN reporting revealed that 14 FEMA employees previously placed on leave… were wrongly and without authorization reinstated by bureaucrats acting outside of their authority,” a spokesperson for the Homeland Security Department told Axios by email. “Once alerted, the unauthorized reinstatement was swiftly corrected by senior leadership. The 14 employees who signed the Katrina declaration have been returned to administrative leave,” the department said in the email. Emily Peck reports.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION 

Former immigration judge Tania Nermer yesterday filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department, alleging that she had been removed from her position as a federal immigration judge because of her sex and national origin and because she had previously run for office as a Democrat. Suzanne Monyak reports for Bloomberg.