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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the last 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
IRAN WAR
A U.S.-Israeli strike on a major bridge just outside Tehran yesterday killed at least eight people and injured around 95. President Trump said on social media that the U.S. military “hasn’t even started destroying what’s left in Iran,” adding “Bridges next, then Electric Power Plants! New Regime leadership knows what has to be done, and has to be done, FAST!” Lex Harvey, Avery Schmitz, Adam Pourahmadi, Sana Noor Haq, and Angus Watson report for CNN; Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
Iranian state media today released photos of what it claimed was the wreckage of a U.S. Air Force F-35 fighter jet downed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. According to CNN, the photos from the wreckage show a partial logo for “US Air Forces in Europe” that appears on a F-15 tail fin. U.S. Central Command has yet to comment on the IRGC’s claims. Brad Lendon and Isaac Yee report for CNN.
Roughly half of Iran’s missile launchers are still intact and thousands of one-way attack drones remain in Iran’s arsenal after five weeks of U.S.-Israeli strikes, according to recent U.S. intelligence assessments, three sources told CNN. Two sources said that roughly 50 per cent of Iran’s drone capabilities still exist. “They are still very much poised to wreak absolute havoc throughout the entire region,” one of the sources said of Iran. In response to questions on this intelligence, a White House spokesperson said, “Here are the facts: Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks are down 90 per cent, their navy is wiped out, two-thirds of their production facilities are damaged or destroyed.” Haley Britzky, Natasha Bertrand, and Jim Sciutto report.
Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh was detained by Iranian intelligence agents at her house in Tehran this week, her daughter said yesterday. Since the war began on Feb. 28, Iranian authorities have reportedly arrested hundreds of people, often for communicating with foreign media. Days before her arrest, Sotoudeh gave an interview to a Persian media outlet abroad in which she said the Islamic Republic’s policies “have exposed us to death” and spoke out against the government’s crackdown on protests in January. Sarah El Deeb reports for AP News.
Iran said yesterday it would seek to oversee shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz even after the war. An Iranian deputy foreign minister said that though Iran was drafting a protocol for his country and Oman to monitor transit through the strait, Iran would not be imposing restrictions. Yeganeh Torbati reports for the New York Times.
IRAN WAR – POLITICAL RESPONSE
A U.N. Security Council effort led by Bahrain to authorize military force against Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz faced disagreements yesterday, with Russia, China, and France opposing the use of force, according to a diplomat and a senior U.N. official. A final draft of the proposal, obtained by AP News, authorizes defensive – but not offensive – action to ensure vessels can safely transit through the strait. China, Russia, and France’s views on the changes are not known. The vote on the resolution is expected to take place tomorrow. Farnaz Fassihi reports for the New York Times; David Brunnstrom and John Irish report for Reuters; Edith M. Lederer reports.
French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday criticized Trump for his unserious approach to the war in Iran and unhelpful attacks on NATO. “When we’re serious, we don’t say the opposite of what we said the day before,” Macron told reporters. Macron also rejected the possibility that nations could forcibly seize the Strait of Hormuz, saying “that has never been an option we have chosen, and we consider it unrealistic.” Mark Landler reports for the New York Times.
ISRAEL-GAZA WAR
Hamas has told mediators it will not discuss giving up arms without guarantees that Israel will fully quit Gaza as laid out in a disarmament plan for Trump’s “Board of Peace,” three sources told Reuters. A Hamas delegation met with Egyptian, Qatari, and Turkish mediators in Cairo this week to give their initial response to the plan. Hamas conveyed several demands, including an end to Israeli violations of the ceasefire, two Egyptian sources said. Nidal al-Mughrabi and Ahmed Shalaby report.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
A New York Times investigation based on dozens of interviews with Alawites in Syria found that abductions have become common since Bashar al-Assad was ousted in late 2024. The current Syrian government has denied that Alawite women and girls are being targeted by kidnappers, saying that it has only confirmed one such case. The Times verified the kidnappings of 13 Alawite women and girls, in addition to one man and one boy. Syrian activists say they know of scores of such kidnappings, but details are difficult to confirm because victims and their families are too afraid to speak out. Ben Hubbard and Laura Boushnak report.
Myanmar’s military leader, Min Aung Hlaing, was elected president today by the country’s parliament. Richard C. Paddock reports for the New York Times.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Trump yesterday announced plans to impose tariffs of up to 100 per cent on certain imported medicines, aiming to pressure manufacturers to lower prices and build production facilities in the United States. All generic drugs and companies that have already struck deals with the United States will be exempted. The Trump administration also announced that it would roll back tariffs on steel, aluminium, and copper for some goods and simplify how the levy was calculated. Ana Swanson and Rebecca Robins report for the New York Times.
U.S. CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC OPERATIONS
Cuba said yesterday that it was pardoning more than 2,000 prisoners, one of the largest releases in years and the second in less than a month. The Cuban Embassy in Washington said that the latest pardons were a “humanitarian and sovereign gesture,” designed to coincide with Holy Week. It was not clear whether the new pardons were part of ongoing negotiations between the United States and Cuba. Francesca Regalado and David. C. Adams reports for the New York Times.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
Salah Sarsour, the president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, was detained by ICE agents this week after the authorities said he had been convicted of crimes in Israel more than three decades ago and had lied on his U.S. green card application. Sarsour has no criminal record in the United States. “It is difficult to believe that D.H.S.’s position now is not rooted in a violation of [Sarsour’s] First Amendment right to speak about the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank,” Sarsour’s lawyer said this week. Jacey Fortin reports for the New York Times.
ICE’s office of detention oversight carried out a congressionally mandated inspection of Camp East Montana, the largest U.S. migrant detention camp, over three days in February. The report, published this week, found 49 “deficiencies,” meaning “any violation of detention standards, policies, or operational procedures.” There were 22 deficiencies related to the “use of force and restraints,” 11 related to “facility security and control,” and five related to “medical care.” Kanishka Singh reports for Reuters.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel issued an opinion this week finding that the Presidential Records Act of 1978 exceeds “Congress’s enumerated and implied powers, and it aggrandizes the Legislative Branch at the Expense of the constitutional independence and autonomy of the Executive.” The law requires presidents to preserve official records during their time in office and says that such records are public property. The DOJ’s opinion, if pursued, would effectively permit White House lawyers to set their own voluntary presidential recordkeeping policy. Maegan Vazquez and Jeremy Roebuck report for the Washington Post.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said yesterday that he will delay a vote on a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill until the Senate makes progress on funding for ICE and CBP, sources told Axios. This marks a shift from his Wednesday announcement with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), where they had planned to advance a DHS funding bill excluding ICE and CBP, deferring those agencies to a later reconciliation package. Kate Santaliz reports.
ICE Director Todd Lyons told lawmakers that he had authorized the use of “cutting-edge technological tools” to help the Homeland Security Investigations division fight fentanyl, particularly against organizations using encrypted communications. “It’s outrageous that [DHS] and ICE are using this spyware with no Congressional oversight and a complete lack of compliance standards,” Reps. Summer Leed (D-PA), Shontel Brown (D-OH), and Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ) said in a joint statement yesterday. Tim Starks reports for Cyberscoop.
The National Capital Planning Commission yesterday approved Trump’s plans for a $400 million White House ballroom, asserting that the federal court’s order to halt construction has no bearing on its review process. Jennifer Yachnin reports for POLITICO.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
Trump announced yesterday that Attorney General Pam Bondi will be leaving her role in the Justice Department and “transitioning to a much needed and important new job in the private sector.” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche will lead the department in an acting capacity. An administration official told POLITICO that Trump is considering additional changes to his cabinet, adding “he’s very angry and he’s going to be moving people.” Trump has expressed particular frustration with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez DeRemer. Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein report for POLITICO; Dasha Burns reports.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth yesterday asked Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George to step down and take immediate retirement, sources told CBS News. A senior Defense Department official said, “We are grateful for his service, but it was time for a leadership change in the Army.” One source said Hegseth wants to replace George with someone who will implement Trump and Hegseth’s vision for the army. Sources told the New York Times that two weeks ago, George asked Hegseth to meet with him to discuss the removal of four officers from the one-star list, as well as the general’s view that Hegseth was interfering unnecessarily in Army personnel decisions overall. Jennifer Jacobs, Eleanor Watson, and James LaPorta report; Greg Jaffe, Helene Cooper, and Eric Schmitt report.
Hegseth has taken steps to block or delay promotions for more than a dozen Black and female senior officers across all four branches of the military, according to nine U.S. officials. Two officials said there are concerns in the military and the White House that Hegseth is blocking promotions because of race or gender, as he targets DEI initiatives at the Pentagon. Gordon Lubold and Courtney Kube report for NBC News.
Hegseth directed military commanders yesterday to allow troops to carry personal firearms while stationed at bases. Chris Cameron reports for the New York Times.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
A coalition of legal groups filed a lawsuit yesterday against the Department of Homeland Security, saying the agency had allowed federal immigration agents to routinely enter homes to carry out searches and arrests without judicial warrants in violation of the Fourth Amendment. The case has been brought on behalf of several people in Minnesota whose homes were searched. Zach Montague reports for the New York Times.
Did you miss this? Stay up-to-date with our Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions.
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