Early Edition: December 10, 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 

Following a strike on an alleged drug vessel in October, Pentagon lawyers suggested that the two survivors could be placed into a notorious prison in El Salvador, according to three officials. Later that month, Pentagon officials decided that boat strike survivors would be sent back to their home countries or to a third country, three other officials said. During a meeting with the State Department, officials made it clear that they did not want survivors to end up in the U.S. judicial system, where court cases could force the administration to show evidence justifying the strikes. Damien Cave, Edward Wong, and Maria Abi-Habib report for the New York Times.

The Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Mike Rogers (R-AL), said yesterday that he does not need to further investigate the Sept. 2 strike that killed two survivors. “It’s done,” Rogers told reporters. “I’ve got all the answers I needed.” A spokesperson for Rogers confirmed the congressman’s plans, though his timeline for winding things down was not clear. Connor O’Brien reports for POLITICO; Noah Robertson, Dan Lamothe, and Tara Copp report for the Washington Post.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declined to commit to releasing the video of the Sept. 2 strikes in the Caribbean,” Democratic lawmakers said yesterday after a classified briefing to the “Gang of Eight.” The closed-door discussion, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratclifee, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine mostly centered on the 22 known boat strikes, according to a U.S. official. “I asked them what their strategy is, and what they were doing, and again, did not get satisfying answers at all,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (NY) said after the briefing. Megan Mineiro and Julian E. Barnes report for the New York Times; Patricia Zengerle, Bipasha Dey, and Ghaneshwar Rajan report for Reuters.

Adm. Alvin Holsey, the outgoing head of U.S. Southern Command, briefed top lawmakers on the House and Senate Armed Services Committees yesterday. “We got some clarity on the chain of command and who made decisions at what point, but on the legality of it we didn’t get a lot of clarity,” said Representative Adam Smith (D-WA). Megan Mineiro and Julian E. Barnes report for the New York Times.

The U.S. military yesterday flew a pair of fighter jets over the Gulf of Venezuela in what appears to be the closest U.S. warplanes have come to Venezuelan airspace since the strikes began in September, according to a public flight tracking website. A U.S. defense official said the jets conducted a “routine training flight” in the area. Konstantin Toropin reports for AP News.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR – INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE 

“I will say frankly that I am ready for elections,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters yesterday, adding that elections could be held in the next 60 to 90 days if the United States and Europe provided Kyiv with security guarantees. Zelenskyy also said yesterday that Ukraine was still working on revising a peace plan, which would probably be sent to the United States on Wednesday. Claire Moss reports for the New York Times.

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR – CEASEFIRE 

A UNICEF spokesperson yesterday called for the Rafah crossing in southern Gaza to be opened to help increase the flow of humanitarian trucks which would bring down the number of children and adults with malnutrition, adding that not enough aid is currently entering Gaza. The spokesperson said that 8,300 pregnant and breastfeeding women in October alone were admitted for treatment for acute malnutrition, adding “this pattern is a grave warning and it will likely result in low birthweight babies being born in the Gaza Strip for months to come…This is not over.” UN News reports.

Husam Badran, a member of Hamas’ political wing, yesterday called for the “full implementation of all the terms of the first phase” of the peace plan before moving forward, including an end to the continuing demolition of Palestinian homes in the areas under Israeli-control. Megan Janetsky and Julia Frankel report for AP News.

The anti-Hamas group, Popular Forces, operating from Israeli-held areas of Gaza will continue to fight Hamas despite the killing of a prominent commander, Yasser Abu Shabab, last week, according to Ghassan Duhine, a deputy in the group. Three Egyptian sources said that such anti-Hamas groups had increased their activities since the ceasefire, and estimated they now had 1,000 fighters, adding 400 since the truce. A diplomat said the groups lacked any popular constituency, but added that their emergence raised concerns for stability in Gaza. Aidan Lewis reports for Reuters.

SUDANESE CIVIL WAR 

The United States yesterday imposed sanctions on four individuals and four firms for their alleged involvement in a transnational network that recruits former Colombian military members who train soldiers for the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces paramilitary. Under-Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K. Hurley said the RSF was supported by Colombian fighters when it captured El Fasher in October. Fatima Hussein reports for AP News.

OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS 

Fighting between Thailand and Cambodia has continued for a third day, showing no signs of slowing, as hundreds of thousands of people are displaced. About 400,000 people have been evacuated from across seven provinces in Thailand and around 700 schools closed, according to a spokesperson for the Thai military. The Cambodian defense ministry said that Cambodia has evacuated more than 127,000 villagers and closed hundreds of schools. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on social media that the two nations should “cease hostilities immediately,” adding that they must follow de-escalatory measures outlined in the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords in October. Jerry Harmer and Jintamas Saksornchai report for AP News; Kelly Ng reports for BBC News.

Russian and Chinese bombers yesterday conducted a joint, eight-hour patrol near Japan and South Korea, the Japanese defense ministry said. “The repeated joint flights of bombers by both countries signify an expansion and intensification of activities around our country, while clearly intending to demonstrate force against our nation, posing a serious concern for our national security,” Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said on social media. The Chinese Ministry of National Defense said that the patrol was a normal part of regular cooperation between the Russian and Chinese militaries. Jason Douglas reports for the Wall Street Journal.

Infighting within Haiti’s Viv Ansanm gang coalition has killed at least 49 people in Port-au-Prince since Monday, according to a local human rights group. Danica Coto reports for AP News.

TECH DEVELOPMENTS 

Microsoft yesterday announced that it would invest $17.5 billion in India for AI development, building on a $3 billion commitment announced earlier this year. The four-year spending plan starts in 2026 and would give Microsoft the largest cloud-computing presence in India. Aditya Soni, Deborah Mary Sophia, Nishit NAvin report for Reuters.

The Defense Department yesterday announced that it will deploy Google’s Gemini AI through the new GenAI.mil platform so all Pentagon employees can use it on their work computers. “The future of American warfare is here, and it’s spelled A-I,” Hegseth said. Google Cloud said in a press release that employees can use Gemini for Government unclassified work, adding that none of the Defense Department’s data will be used to train Google’s public models. Sam Sabin and Colin Demarest report for Axios.

U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Moscow is waiting for a formal answer from Washington on Russia President Vladimir Putin’s proposal to extend NewSTART, the last remaining Russian-U.S. arms control treaty, which expires on Feb. 5, Russian Secretary of the Security Council Sergei Shoigu said yesterday. NewSTART caps the number of strategic nuclear warheads that both nations can deploy, and the deployment of land- and submarine-based missiles and bombers to deliver them. Guy Faulconbridge and Lucy Papachristou report for Reuters.

U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it plans to ask travelers eligible for the visa waiver program for a long list of personal data, including social media, email addresses from the last decade, and the names, birth dates, places of residence and birthplaces of parents, spouses, siblings and children, according to a document filed yesterday in the Federal Register. Christine Chung reports for the New York Times.

Gov. JB. Pritzker (D-IL) yesterday signed into law several measures set to increase immigration protections in Illinois, including a ban on immigration arrests at state court houses or within 1,000 feet of those facilities, and restrictions on what information Illinois hospitals, childcare centers, and colleges can share with immigration authorities. María Luisa Paúl reports for the Washington Post.

Federal immigration agents yesterday used pepper spray to force their way through a crowd in Minneapolis to reach their vehicles following an identification sweep tied to the Trump administration’s crackdown on Somali immigrants, according to City Council Members Jamal Osman and an AP News videographer. Mark Vancleave and Steve Karnowski report for AP News.

U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS 

A federal judge yesterday suggested that Lindsey Halligan should resign as U.S. attorney after a ruling declared her appointment unlawful, pointing toward Alina Habba’s resignation on Monday. The judge also asked whether there was any legal guidance issued by the Justice Department to explain why Halligan is still in the job. The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel has advised internally that Halligan could stay because the judge’s decision declaring her appointment invalid did not require a specific measure to be taken, according to sources. Devlin Barrett reports for the New York Times.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) removed language from the National Defense Authorization Act that would have restored a State Department office tasked with relocating Afghan refugees, a senior Senate Democrat and another source said yesterday. The sources said that language reestablishing the office was included in the compromise NDAA as recently as Friday, and that Johnson and Republican leadership had scrapped it over the weekend. Eric Bazail-Eimil reports for POLITICO.

A federal judge yesterday granted the Justice Department’s motion to release grand jury material and other nonpublic evidence from the criminal case of Ghislaine Maxwell. James Hill reports for ABC News.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS

Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought signalled over the weekend that the White House may again use a reconciliation bill to increase defense spending next year. This approach has sparked criticism from Democrats and Republican lawmakers, who warn it sets a dangerous precedent and erodes one of the last areas of bipartisan consensus on the Hill. “I would prefer to use the regular appropriations process,” Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-MS) said. The strategy of combining a reconciliation package with the base defense budget could potentially push defense spending above $1 trillion. Anthony Adragna and Briana Reilly report for Punch Bowl News

The Trump administration has appointed Gregg Phillips, who has no official experience managing emergencies and has repeatedly claimed that millions of people voted illegally in the 2016 presidential election, as head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Office for Response and Recovery. Brianna Sacks reports for the Washington Post.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION 

The American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights yesterday filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department, State, and Defense seeking disclosure of records related to the use of military force against civilian boats the government alleges were carrying drugs. Mariana Alfaro and Amy B Wang report for the Washington Post.