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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the last 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
IRAN
Indirect talks between the United States and Iran held yesterday in Geneva ended with an agreement on a “set of guiding principles,” according to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. He added that both sides had agreed to exchange drafts on a potential deal. Three Iranian officials said that Iran had indicated willingness to suspend nuclear enrichment for three to five years, and then to join a regional consortium for civilian grade enrichment. In exchange, Iran demanded that Washington lift financial and banking sanctions and the embargo on its oil sales. A U.S. official said that the Iranians would provide more detailed proposals in the next two weeks, but did not provide any specifics. Aaron Boxerman, Erika Solomon, and Nick Cumming-Bruce report for the New York Times.
Vice President JD Vance said yesterday that Iran had failed to acknowledge core U.S. demands during yesterday’s talks. Vance told reporters that the talks had not yielded any breakthrough, adding that military action against Iran remained an option. “In some ways, it went well – they agreed to meet afterwards. But in other ways, it was very clear that the president has set some red lines that the Iranians are not yet willing to actually acknowledge,” Vance said. Laurence Norman and Benoit Faucon report for the Wall Street Journal.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Following the first day of talks in Geneva, Ukrainian, Russian, and U.S. negotiators offered no public signs of progress. The negotiations were expected to focus on Ukrainian territory in eastern Ukraine that Moscow wants under its control as a price for ending the war. Kyiv has said this demand is a nonstarter. The talks are expected to continue today. Constant Meheut reports for the New York Times.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Axios yesterday that the Ukrainian people would reject a peace deal that involves Ukraine unilaterally withdrawing from the eastern Donbas region and turning it over to Russia. During an interview, Zelenskyy also said that it was “not fair” that President Trump kept calling on Ukraine, not Russia, to make concessions for peace. Barak Ravid and Dave Lawler report.
ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH CEASEFIRE
The Lebanese government said on Monday that the army will need at least four months to complete the second phase of its nationwide disarmament plan. Hezbollah yesterday rejected the plan, calling it a mistake that serves Israeli interests. Laila Bassam and Tala Ramadan report for Reuters.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Peru’s Congress yesterday voted 75-24 to remove interim President José Jerí from office. Jerí is under a preliminary investigation into corruption and influence peddling, stemming from a series of undisclosed meetings with two Chinese executives. Franklin Briceno and Manuel Rueda report for AP News.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet told Reuters yesterday that Thai forces are still occupying Cambodian territory after fighting last year despite a peace accord between the nations, and a ceasefire reached on Dec. 27. Hun Manet said Thai troops had laid shipping containers and barbed wire inside Cambodian territory and that residents are unable to return home. Thailand has said it is maintaining troop positions as part of de-escalation measures and has denied it is occupying territory. Simon Lewis reports.
Poland has barred Chinese-made vehicles from entering military facilities due to concerns that their onboard sensors could be used to collect sensitive data, the Polish army said yesterday. Barbara Erling reports for Reuters.
The head of the State Department’s Bureau of Arms Control and Nonproliferation, Christopher Yeaw, yesterday disclosed new details to support its claim that China conducted an underground nuclear explosion in 2020 in the western Xinjiang region. The United States used seismic data captured by a facility in Kazakhstan to conclude that China had conducted the explosive nuclear test, Yeaw said. The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organizations, an international body, said yesterday that it detected “two very small seismic events,12 seconds apart,” in the time period described by Yeaw, but that they were too small to “assess the cause of these events with confidence. Adam Taylor and Cate Cadell report for the Washington Post.
A panel of independent experts appointed by the U.N. Human Rights Council said on Monday that the recently released documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein suggest the existence of a “global criminal enterprise” that carried out acts that “may reasonably meet the legal threshold of crimes against humanity.” Jasper Ward reports for Reuters.
TECH DEVELOPMENTS
Meta yesterday announced its plan to spend billions of dollars on millions of Nvidia’s AI chips in a multiyear deal. This deal comes amid announcements from Google, Amazon, and Microsoft in recent months that they have developed new in-house chips. A source said that Meta’s own in-house chip strategy had suffered some technical challenges and rollout delays. Michael Action and Hannah Murphy report for the Financial Times.
Researchers from Johns Hopkins, Oxford, Stanford, Columbia, and NYU are calling for guardrails on certain infectious disease datasets that could enable AI to design deadly viruses. The international group of researchers has endorsed a framework to govern certain biological data, saying that “responsible governance and scientific progress are not contradictions.” Megan Morrone reports for Axios.
U.S. CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC OPERATIONS
The U.S. military killed at least 11 men in strikes in both the eastern Pacific and the Caribbean Sea overnight on Monday, according to U.S. Southern Command. Eight of those killed were on two boats in the Pacific, and three were in the Caribbean. Carol Rosenberg reports for the New York Times.
The United States has indicted Avtandil Kalandadze, captain of the oil tanker formerly known as the Bella 1, on charges of falsely flying a Guyanese flag and refusing to comply with a U.S. Coast Guard order during a weeks-long chase in the Atlantic, which concluded last month. Nicholas Nehamas, Seamus Hughes, and Christiaan Triebert report for the New York Times.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said yesterday that Ottawa’s new “Buy Canadian” defense strategy is aimed at reducing Canada’s reliance on the United States. “There are many strengths to this partnership that we have with the United States, but it is a dependency,” Carney said, adding that Canada must expand its domestic defense industrial base “so we are never hostage to the decisions of others when it comes to our security.” Mike Blanchfield reports for POLITICO.
Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot summoned the U.S. ambassador to Belgium, Bill White, to a meeting yesterday over his comments accusing Belgium of antisemitism. White on Monday criticized Belgium’s handling of a case in Antwerp where three mohels – Jewish men who perform ritual circumcision – were placed under judicial investigation for allegedly carrying out procedures without a doctor present. “Personal attacks against a Belgian minister and interference in judicial matters violate basic diplomatic norms,” Prévot said. Jeanna Smialek and Koba Ryckewaert report for the New York Times.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
The FBI and St. Paul Police Department are investigating allegations that ICE officers severely beat Mexican citizen Alberto Castañeda Mondragón during a January arrest in Minneapolis, causing eight skull fractures that doctors say are inconsistent with ICE’s claim that he injured himself by falling while trying to flee. Jim Mustian, Michael Biesecker, and Jack Brook report for AP News.
An immigration judge has blocked the Trump administration from deporting Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian graduate who led protests at Columbia University against the war in Gaza. The judge said she terminated the case due to a procedural misstep by the Justice Department, which failed to certify an official document it intended to use as evidence. Jake Offenhartz reports for AP News.
ICE officials knew as early as March 2025 that officers were using more force against civilians and targets of their immigration enforcement operations than under previous administrations, according to internal emails. Caleb Vitello, an official overseeing ICE field and enforcement operations, was informed on March 20, 2025, that ICE officers had reported 67 incidents in which they had used force since January. This was nearly a fourfold increase from the same time frame in 2024. Eric Bazail-Eimil reports for POLITICO.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Stephen Colbert said on his late-night show on Monday that his network, CBS, had barred him from airing an interview with State Rep. James Talarico (D-TX), a democratic candidate in the Texas U.S Senate race, because of new guidance from the Federal Communications Commission about equal airtime for political candidates. John Koblin reports for the New York Times
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
Homeland Security Department spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin announced yesterday that she is leaving her role next week. Sources said that McLaughlin had begun planning to leave DHS in December but extended her stay to help the administration deal with the fallout of the fatal shootings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Daniel Lippman and Adam Wren report for POLITICO; David Nakamura and Isaac Arndorf report for the Washington Post.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed Army Secretary Dan Driscoll to fire Col. David Butler during a discussion at the Pentagon last week, defense officials said. It was at least the second time that Hegseth had raised the issue with Driscoll. Butler had been nominated for a promotion to brigadier general, but Hegseth took issue with the plan for reasons that remain unclear, officials said. Butler has now submitted his retirement paperwork. Dan Lamothe reports for the Washington Post.
Christian nationalist Pastor Doug Wilson spoke yesterday at the Pentagon’s monthly worship service, according to a Defense Department social media post. Wilson has called for a return to patriarchal values and the removal of the right to vote from women. The Pentagon Press Secretary did not address questions about the pastor’s views on women, but said “Secretary Hegseth, along with millions of Americans, is a proud Christian and was glad to welcome Pastor Wilson to the Pentagon today.” Cameron Adams reports for the Daily Beast.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
A federal judge said yesterday that ICE cannot re-detain Kilmar Abrego Garcia because a 90-day detention period has expired and the government has no viable plan for deporting him. The government has “made one empty threat after another to remove him to countries in Africa with no real chance of success,” the judge said. Travis Loller reports for AP News.
The National Parks Conservation Association and several other organizations filed a lawsuit yesterday challenging Trump’s March 2025 executive order on “restoring truth and sanity to American history,” which ordered the removal of “corrosive ideology” from national parks. Cheyanne M. Daniels reports for POLITICO.
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