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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: U.S. DEFENSES AND VULNERABILITIES
Survivors of the deadliest Iranian attack on U.S. forces since the war began disputed the Pentagon’s account, telling CBS News that the Army unit hit in Kuwait on March 1 was “unprepared to provide any defense for itself” and not in a fortified position. The soldiers said six service members were killed and more than 20 wounded when a drone struck the Port of Shuaiba facility, undercutting Pete Hegseth’s description of a single drone slipping through defenses at a fortified site; the Pentagon declined comment, citing an active investigation. Jonah Kaplan and Michael Kaplan report for CBS News.
The Trump administration did not warn U.S.-flagged commercial vessels tied to the military before bombing Iran, leaving Merchant Marine Academy cadets aboard some of the ships stranded in the Persian Gulf for weeks, NOTUS reported, adding that about half a dozen cadets were on two of five such vessels in the region and that, without advance notice, there was no clear way to evacuate them once the war began, Anna Kramer, Jasmine Wright, and Joe Gould report.
Rebuilding U.S. missile defenses damaged during the Middle East war will require going through China, which dominates processing of gallium and other critical minerals used in interceptors, POLITICO reports. China also controls more than 90 percent of heavy rare earth processing, giving Beijing added leverage as Washington tries to restock, Daniel Desrochers writes.
IRAN WAR: ISLAMABAD NEGOTIATIONS
Iran’s delegation was expected in the capital on Thursday night, led by chief negotiator and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, alongside Iran’s foreign minister and other officials. Al Jazeera reports.
Pakistani authorities imposed tight security in Islamabad ahead of Saturday’s first U.S.-Iran peace talks, sealing off areas around the Serena Hotel, requisitioning the property through Sunday, and spreading military personnel and checkpoints across the Red Zone. Al Jazeera reporting; Saad Sayeed and Ariba Shahid report for Reuters.
Security officials said the precautions went beyond routine arrangements for a high-profile visit, underscoring fears that any disruption could derail the fragile U.S.-Iran diplomatic opening. Reuters reported that Pakistani authorities enhanced airspace surveillance and placed emergency services on standby ahead of Saturday’s talks. Reuters reports.
IRAN WAR: LEBANON-CEASEFIRE SCOPE
The U.S.-Iran ceasefire was initially understood to include Lebanon, including by President Donald Trump, before Washington shifted position after a call between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, CBS News reports. Trump had been told the truce would apply across the region and agreed that it included Lebanon, mediators believed the same, and Pakistan publicly said Lebanon was covered, Margaret Brennan, Olivia Gazis, Jennifer Jacobs, and Michal Ben-Gal report.
Iran’s parliamentary speaker and lead negotiator in truce talks on Thursday rejected U.S. and Israeli assertions that Lebanon was excluded from the two-week truce, saying Pakistan, a key mediator, had “publicly and clearly stressed the Lebanon issue.” He said the first point of Iran’s 10-point framework treated Lebanon and Iran’s allies as an “inseparable part of the ceasefire” and added that “there is no room for denial and backtracking.” Financial Times reports.
Lebanon’s prime minister asked his Pakistani counterpart in a call Thursday to confirm that Lebanon is covered by the U.S.-Iran ceasefire, after renewed Israeli attacks deepened the dispute over the truce’s scope. Financial Times reports.
Israeli attacks on Lebanon are a “clear violation” of the ceasefire and would “render negotiations meaningless,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated early Thursday. Reuters reports.
Pakistan’s U.N. envoy said Thursday that Lebanon’s inclusion in the ceasefire deal was clear to all sides and should not distract from planned talks in Islamabad this weekend. Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said he did not understand the confusion because Lebanon had been “clearly” included in the prime minister’s statement announcing the agreement. Associated Press reporting.
European politicians pressed Thursday for Lebanon to be included in the truce after Israel’s mass bombardment of Beirut further strained the U.S.-Iran deal. The calls underscored widening international resistance to Washington and Israel’s position that the ceasefire does not extend to Israel’s conflict with Hezbollah. Financial Times reports.
IRAN WAR: LEBANON NEGOTIATIONS
The State Department will host Israel-Lebanon talks in Washington next week aimed at ending the current hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, a U.S. official confirmed. A person familiar with the planning said the talks are expected to be led on the U.S. side by Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa and on the Israeli side by Ambassador Yechiel Leiter. Matthew Lee reports for Associated Press; Lex Harvey reports for CNN; Reuters reporting.
Israel will open direct talks with Lebanon but will not halt attacks on Hezbollah, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday, pairing a diplomatic opening with an insistence that the military campaign will continue, in a shift from earlier Israeli statements that negotiations would proceed only “under fire.” Netanyahu said the talks would focus on disarming Hezbollah and formalizing peaceful relations, while the Washington Post reports that a Lebanese official said a temporary truce would be needed for negotiations to proceed. Reuters reports; Sammy Westfall, Suzan Haidamous, Mohamad El Chamaa and Lior Soroka report for the Washington Post.
Lebanon’s president said he was pursuing a diplomatic track “to achieve a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, followed by direct negotiations between them,” an approach he said was beginning to be viewed “positively” by international actors. Lebanon had spent the previous day pressing for a temporary halt in hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah to open space for broader talks, according to a senior Lebanese official describing the effort to Reuters as “a separate track but the same model” as the U.S.-Iran truce. Reuters reports.
Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Fayyad said Thursday that the group rejects direct negotiations with Israel and that Lebanon’s government should first secure a ceasefire before taking any further steps. The statement appeared to be Hezbollah’s first public response since Netanyahu said Israel was ready to begin talks immediately. Reuters reports.
A Pakistani source said Islamabad was also working on ceasefires for Lebanon and Yemen, where Israel has struck Iran-aligned forces. “It will be discussed during the talks and we will settle it,” the source said, according to Reuters.
IRAN WAR: LEBANON OPERATIONS
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Thursday that Israel’s Wednesday strikes across Lebanon killed at least 303 people, up from its previous count of 254 deaths, and wounded 1,150, raising the overall death toll since the March 2 assault to 1,888, and those injured to over 6,000, while warning that the figures remained preliminary. Financial Times reports.
President Donald Trump said Thursday that he had asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to scale back Israeli strikes in Lebanon, adding that the prime minister agreed to “low-key it” ahead of talks in Pakistan. The comments came a day after the deadliest Israeli strikes in Lebanon since the war began, even as Netanyahu said Israel would keep hitting Hezbollah and had approved direct negotiations with Lebanon. Associated Press reporting.
Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel “will continue to strike Hezbollah wherever required.” In a social media post, he warned that “whoever acts against Israeli civilians — will be struck” and tied continued military action to restoring “full security to the residents of the north.” Financial Times reports; Haley Ott reports for CBS News.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel would press ahead with its offensive against Hezbollah, arguing that Iran was seeking a Lebanon ceasefire because it feared Israel would “crush” the group. He said the IDF was ready to respond in force if Tehran resumed missile fire, that strikes would continue “throughout Lebanon” wherever Hezbollah launched rockets, and that the ground campaign aimed to create four control lines south of the Litani River. Financial Times reports.
The head of Israel’s military said Thursday that the army’s mission in Lebanon is to keep “deepening the damage” and weakening Hezbollah. Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, speaking to troops inside Lebanon, said the objective was to remove the direct threat to residents of northern Israel. Associated Press reporting.
A senior Israeli official said Thursday that the IDF was preparing to scale down its attacks in Lebanon. Reuters reports.
Israeli forces struck roughly 10 launchers in Lebanon on Thursday after Hezbollah fired rockets toward northern Israel, according to the IDF. Sirens sounded repeatedly in communities near the Lebanese border throughout the day as the Israeli military said it was continuing to locate and dismantle additional launchers. Associated Press reporting.
An IDF strike on a residential building in the southern village of Zrariyeh killed multiple people, while a separate airstrike in Beirut’s southern Chiyah neighborhood heavily damaged three residential buildings, Lebanon’s state news agency reported. Financial Times reports.
The Israeli military said Thursday that it had struck Hezbollah launch sites in Lebanon, and Hezbollah said it responded Friday with a rocket barrage. Victoria Craw reports for the Washington Post.
At least 400 Hezbollah fighters have been killed, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the group, which has also fired hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel. Reuters reports.
Hezbollah said it carried out at least 20 military operations against Israel and its forces on Thursday, including attacks on Israeli vehicles inside Lebanese territory and rocket fire into northern Israel. Reuters reports.
IRAN WAR: LEBANON EVACUATIONS
Israel issued a sweeping evacuation order for Beirut’s southern suburbs and warned of more strikes early Thursday. The IDF’s “latest [evacuation] post included a map that marked the southern part of the capital in red, including an area between the airport’s runways. Previous orders have not listed the seaside Jnah district, although it has been bombed,” the Financial Times reported.
The World Health Organization chief “urge[d] Israel to reverse” its evacuation order for Beirut’s Jnah area, saying the directive covers two major referral hospitals and renders evacuation “operationally unfeasible.” In a post on X, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the hospitals are full, including with patients wounded in Wednesday’s strikes, and that about 450 patients and five shelters housing more than 5,000 people are affected. The Associated Press reports; Joel Gunter reports for BBC News.
IRAN WAR: INSIDE LEBANON
The Lebanese government instructed the army to strengthen its control over Beirut and secure a state monopoly on weapons in the capital, a move that points to renewed pressure on Hezbollah’s weapons. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the move came after Israel’s heaviest strikes yet on Beirut and was designed “to protect citizens,” amid a fraught push to harden the government’s stance without triggering civil strife. Financial Times reports.
Lebanese officials declared a day of mourning after Wednesday’s attacks on densely populated areas, which they described on Thursday as a “massacre.” Reuters reports.
IRAN WAR: STRAIT OF HORMUZ
Iran appeared to retain a chokehold on traffic through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday night, according to ship-tracking data. The Botswana-flagged LNG tanker Nidi turned back early Friday after attempting to exit the Gulf via a route ordered by the Revolutionary Guard, and Kpler recorded only four tankers and three bulk carriers passing through on Thursday. Associated Press reporting.
The Strait of Hormuz remains effectively choked off, with traffic still about 90 per cent below normal and roughly 600 cargo vessels trapped, Lloyd’s List Intelligence says. According to the firm’s Thursday briefing, every ship that had transited since Monday had an Iranian nexus through trade, ownership, or sanctions links. Victoria Craw reports for the Washington Post.
The head of Abu Dhabi’s state oil company said Thursday that the Strait of Hormuz is “not open,” warning that access is being “restricted, conditioned and controlled” by Iran. Sultan Al Jaber said passage through the waterway remains subject to “conditions and political leverage.” Laura Sharman reports for CNN.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said the alliance could “play a role” in a U.K.-led coalition planning to keep the Strait of Hormuz open. He said the effort would likely involve practical support such as minehunters, frigates, and radar technology. Financial Times reports.
President Donald Trump pressed NATO allies on Wednesday to spell out within days how they would support a military mission to secure shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Bloomberg and the Financial Times report that he renewed the demand in talks with Mark Rutte, though European governments involved in U.K.-led planning have so far resisted any deployment while the fighting is ongoing. Financial Times reports.
Reuters reported Thursday that TASS, citing an unnamed senior Iranian source, said Iran would permit no more than 15 vessels a day to pass through the Strait of Hormuz under the U.S.-Iran ceasefire, signaling a limited reopening of the strait rather than a full restoration of shipping.
The European Commission urged Iran to abandon its new toll on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, saying international law guarantees free navigation through the waterway. The Commission said that means “no payment or toll whatsoever,” though it added that any decision on whether to pay Tehran’s $1-a-barrel charge rests with shipping companies. Financial Times reports.
In the first 24 hours of the ceasefire, only one oil-products tanker and five dry bulk carriers sailed through a strait that had typically handled around 140 ships a day before the war. Reuters reports.
Trump said Thursday that Iran’s leadership must not impose fees on tankers crossing the Strait of Hormuz, as shipping through the chokepoint remained largely frozen. Writing on Truth Social, he warned Tehran to stop if it was charging vessels and said Iran was doing a “very poor job” of allowing oil traffic to resume. Donald Judd reports for CNN.
Trump publicly cast doubt on the ceasefire’s effectiveness Thursday, accusing Iran of failing to allow oil to move through the Strait of Hormuz as agreed. In two Truth Social posts, he objected both to continued restrictions on shipping and to reports that Iran may be charging fees on vessels using the waterway. Associated Press reporting.
The British prime minister spoke with Trump about reopening the Strait of Hormuz as he continued a Gulf trip focused on restoring tanker traffic through the waterway. Downing Street said Starmer was in Qatar when the two spoke, after stops in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates. Associated Press reporting.
IRAN WAR: STRIKES IN THE GULF
Drone strikes hit Kuwait late Thursday, including “vital facilities” and a National Guard base, the Gulf state said, accusing Iran and its proxies of the attacks. Associated Press reporting.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard later denied launching any attacks on Gulf states Thursday, saying that if the reports were true, the attacks were “without a doubt” the work of Israel or the United States. Associated Press reporting.
The Saudi Energy Ministry on Thursday issued its first public accounting of broad wartime damage to the kingdom’s energy sector, saying strikes hit oil, petrochemical, and power facilities across multiple regions. The ministry said a pumping station on the East-West Pipeline was among the hardest hit, cutting throughput by about 700,000 barrels per day, while disruptions at Manifa and Khurais reduced output by a further 600,000 barrels per day; it also gave the kingdom’s first publicly acknowledged casualty toll, reporting that one industrial security guard was killed and seven others were wounded. Associated Press reporting; Financial Times reports.
The UAE later said it was reassessing which regional partners it can depend on after the Gulf region bore the brunt of Iranian attacks. Presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said the government would scrutinize its international relationships and bolster economic and financial resilience, while seeking clarification from Tehran on the truce and the Strait of Hormuz. Adam Pourahmadi reports for CNN.
IRAN WAR: CEASEFIRE
Iran has not yet begun direct talks with the United States despite this week’s two-week ceasefire, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his Saudi counterpart, according to the Financial Times, citing an Iranian readout of the call. Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry said Araghchi and Prince Faisal bin Farhan reviewed the latest developments and discussed ways to reduce tensions and restore regional security and stability. Financial Times reports.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said in a statement read on state television Thursday that Tehran is not seeking war but will not relinquish its rights. Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since replacing his father after he was killed on the first day of the war, also pledged revenge for attacks on Iran, vowed to avenge his father and Iran’s “martyrs,” and said the Strait of Hormuz would enter “a new phase.” Reuters reports. “All must know that, by Almighty God’s will, we definitely won’t allow the criminal aggressors who attacked our country to go unpunished,” a post on his X account said.
South Korea will send a senior diplomat to Iran to press for the safety of its citizens and freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, Seoul said Friday. The Foreign Ministry said special envoy Chung Byung-ha will soon depart after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi welcomed the plan in a call with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun on Thursday. Associated Press reporting; Yoonjung Seo reports for CNN.
China used its leverage as Iran’s biggest oil customer to urge Tehran to accept the Pakistan-brokered ceasefire, diplomats told the Associated Press, as Beijing weighs whether the truce may strengthen its hand with Trump ahead of next month’s summit. China helped press for the temporary deal but remains reluctant to provide the long-term security guarantees Iran wants, with the Washington Post reporting that Beijing privately balked when asked to act as a guarantor. Didi Tang, Aamer Madhani, and Farnoush Amiri report for Associated Press; Cate Cadell reports for the Washington Post.
Australia will not take an offensive role in the Iran war, Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles said, distancing Canberra from proposals to provide combat support to the United States. Marles said Australia was “not part of this conflict against Iran” and dismissed former Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s argument that it should have offered the U.S. Air Force support including strike fighters. Associated Press reporting
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said progress on the ceasefire should be judged over the coming days, not on “day 1 or day 2,” as he called for toll-free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and said Israel was “wrong” to continue attacking Lebanon. Speaking in the Gulf, Starmer said his recent discussions with regional leaders and industry executives had focused on what happens in the next “2, 3, 4 days.” Financial Times reports.
IRAN WAR: U.S.-RELATED DEVELOPMENTS
House Democrats failed Thursday to force a vote on a resolution that would require President Donald Trump to obtain congressional approval before launching further attacks on Iran. During a brief pro forma session, Rep. Glenn Ivey tried to bring the measure up, but Rep. Christopher Smith declared the House adjourned before any vote could occur. Associated Press reporting.
The State Department summoned Iraq’s ambassador to protest Iran-backed militia attacks, including what it described as an “ambush” of U.S. diplomats, and warned that Baghdad has not done enough to stop them. In a statement Thursday, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said Iraqi authorities had taken some responsive steps but cautioned that support for militias by elements tied to the Iraqi government is damaging bilateral relations. Jennifer Hansler reports for CNN; Associated Press reporting.
Pro-Iran groups have used artificial intelligence-generated memes to “troll” Trump and “shape the narrative” around the war, the Associated Press reports. Analysts said the posts, which depict Trump as old, isolated, and out of step and have drawn millions of views across social platforms, appear linked to Tehran-backed actors seeking to stir enough discontent to weaken Western resolve. Sam McNeil reports.
IRAN WAR: OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
A former Iranian foreign minister, Kamal Kharazi, died late Thursday after being wounded in an airstrike last week, according to Iranian state television. Kharazi previously served in Mohammad Khatami’s government and later as a foreign affairs adviser to the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Associated Press reporting.
The United Nations stepped up its engagement Thursday, with the secretary-general’s envoy meeting Iranian officials and humanitarian representatives in Tehran as the organization discussed what role it might play in ending the conflict. In a separate statement, the U.N. warned that the fighting in Lebanon poses a “grave risk” to the ceasefire, said there is “no military solution” to the conflict, and noted that Israeli evacuation orders in Beirut’s southern suburbs cover U.N. sites and 13 shelters housing more than 6,000 displaced people. Associated Press reporting.
Differences between the English and Persian versions of Iran’s 10-point plan underscore how unsettled the parties remain on Tehran’s right to enrich uranium, Al Jazeera writes in an explainer on the competing U.S. and Iranian proposals.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Britain said Thursday that a Russian Akula-class attack submarine and two GUGI deep-sea vessels conducted a month-long covert operation near undersea cables and pipelines north of the U.K. Defence Secretary John Healey said British and allied forces, including Norway, tracked the vessels and forced them to retreat, adding there was no evidence of damage to underwater infrastructure. Reuters reports; BBC News reports.
The U.K. said it responded by deploying HMS St Albans, RFA Tidespring, Merlin helicopters, RAF P-8 aircraft, and sonobuoys in an overt operation meant to show Moscow it had been detected. Healey warned Putin that “we see you,” while the government also pointed to an additional £100 million for P-8 submarine-hunting aircraft and the Atlantic Bastion program to bolster protection of critical undersea infrastructure. The Guardian reports.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s long-running corruption trial will resume on Sunday after Israel lifted the state of emergency imposed during the war with Iran on Wednesday evening, a court spokesperson said. Hearings will proceed “as usual,” with sessions scheduled from Sunday through Wednesday. Steven Scheer reports for Reuters
ICE SHOOTING: RENEE GOOD
A federal judge in Minnesota ordered the government to turn over a broad set of unredacted records related to Jonathan Ross’s killing of Renee Good for in camera review, including Ross’s personnel and training files, witness statements, cellphone data, body-camera and vehicle footage, and medical and fitness-for-duty records. Judge Jeffrey M. Bryan said Thursday that the material, which must be provided by May 1, could be relevant to sentencing in the separate Muñoz-Guatemala case because Ross’s conduct may bear on mitigation, with disclosures to the defense to be determined later by a magistrate judge. Jeff Day reports for the Minnesota Star Tribune; Noah Hurowitz and Austin Campbell report for The Intercept.
WIRED reported that Minnesota investigators’ attempts to obtain access to evidence in Good’s killing were ignored by the FBI for at least two days, offering new detail on the breakdown that later led Minnesota officials to sue for access to federal shooting records. BCA Superintendent Drew Evans repeatedly texted an FBI official on Jan. 7 seeking inclusion in interviews and coordination over evidence, shortly before the FBI told the agency it would lead the case alone and the BCA would lose access to case materials and interviews, Caroline Haskins reports for WIRED.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
The Justice Department has closed more than 23,000 criminal cases since President Donald Trump returned to office, redirecting resources toward immigration enforcement, according to a ProPublica analysis. The report says the department filed around 32,000 new immigration cases in its first six months, even as it declined unusually large numbers of cases involving drugs, white-collar crime, labor corruption, and national security. Ken B. Morales and David Armstrong report.
Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) said ICE allowed her to inspect the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis during an unannounced oversight visit Thursday, and that the holding area appeared in “fairly decent order.” The visit followed a recent court ruling on lawmakers’ access to immigration facilities; Craig said she faced a delay before being allowed in and was not permitted to speak with the one detainee she was told was being held there. Max Nesterak reports for the Minnesota Reformer.
ICE agents have begun leaving some U.S. airport security checkpoints after helping TSA manage long lines during the partial government shutdown, CNN reports. The pullback began last week at some of the 14 airports where Trump deployed ICE on March 23, after TSA callout rates fell once the administration moved to pay workers. Alexandra Skores reports.
OTHER U.S.-RELATED DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
A Chinese pharmaceutical firm hired lobbyists tied to Donald Trump Jr. and then won a rare victory before the U.S. national security panel that reviews foreign investments, Reuters reports. Public filings and documents reviewed by Reuters show that Grand Pharmaceutical Group hired Checkmate, a firm led by Trump Jr. associate Ches McDowell, before CFIUS rejected a U.S. startup’s bid to force a review of Grand Pharma’s stake in a laser-device company with possible military uses. Alexandra Alper reports for Reuters.
Florida officials have opened an investigation into OpenAI and ChatGPT over their alleged role in the 2025 Florida State University shooting. NBC News reports that court documents indicate the accused shooter exchanged more than 200 messages with ChatGPT, including questions about mass shootings and the FSU student union, while OpenAI said it would cooperate with the inquiry. Doha Madani reports.
A federal judge granted President Donald Trump more time to pursue jurisdictional discovery before responding to the BBC’s motion to dismiss his libel suit. In a April 9 order, Judge Roy Altman said it was reasonable to allow discovery into the BBC’s jurisdictional ties before further briefing, extending Trump’s deadline to June 1 and the BBC’s reply deadline to June 15. Josh Gerstein reports.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
A White House official told Reuters that President Donald Trump is considering withdrawing some U.S. troops from Europe. Gram Slattery and Steve Holland report for Reuters.
Trump officials are redirecting U.S. counterterrorism efforts toward antifa and other far-left groups and pressing allies abroad to do the same, a New York Times investigation revealed. The Times says the administration is planning international meetings on the issue even as some officials worry the shift is drawing attention and resources away from more immediate threats, including those related to Iran. Jack Nicas, Alan Feuer, Matina Stevis-Gridneff, Edward Wong, and Jim Tankersley report.
The Trump administration has pressured immigration judges to speed deportations, threatening discipline and firing judges seen as out of step with its enforcement agenda, a New York Times investigation found. Since Trump returned to office, more than 100 immigration judges have been dismissed and 143 replacements installed, as deportation orders rose and asylum grants fell below 10 per cent. It said the drop reflected more than tougher rulings on Biden-era arrivals: fired judges tended to be more immigrant-friendly, the administration targeted courts seen that way, and a June 2025 memo threatened discipline for perceived “bias” against DHS, Nicholas Nehamas, Allison McCann, Steven Rich, Jazmine Ulloa, and Hamed Aleaziz report.
Federal prosecutors’ effort to directly search devices seized from Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson appeared to face fresh hurdles Thursday as a federal judge seemed skeptical that an earlier ruling had actually impeded the Justice Department’s investigation, while a magistrate judge later continued building a court-led review of materials that Natanson and The Post say include years of reporting files and more than 1,200 confidential sources. The magistrate judge also refused prosecutors’ request to pause the process, allowed the FBI to resume processing accessible data, and said he would keep moving forward “until someone tells me to stop.” Perry Stein reports for the Washington Post.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has rewritten the charter governing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee, expanding the panel’s remit after a federal judge temporarily blocked an earlier overhaul of federal vaccine policy. The new rules direct the committee to examine alleged gaps in vaccine-safety research, cumulative effects of the childhood schedule, ingredients such as aluminum, mRNA platforms, and foreign vaccine schedules, while also adding non-voting liaison roles for vaccine-skeptic groups. Brenda Goodman reports for CNN; Sophie Gardner and Lauren Gardner report for POLITICO.
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TRANSITION
On his first official day as acting attorney general, Todd Blanche issued a series of memos to Justice Department staff outlining his initial priorities and announcing senior staffing moves. Thursday’s memos reiterated President Donald Trump’s pledge to protect America, thanked the department’s former head, Pam Bondi, and named Trent McCotter principal associate deputy attorney general, while saying Colin McDonald would continue assisting the deputy attorney general’s office alongside his role leading the department’s new fraud division. Paula Reid reports for CNN.
A fierce struggle is underway over who will lead the Department after Bondi’s ouster, with POLITICO reporting that the fight has become a broader battle over control of a department already under strain from internal conflict, veteran departures, and credibility problems in the courts. Harmeet Dhillon and Blanche appear to be central contenders, while Jeanine Pirro, Lee Zeldin, Ed Martin, and Stanley Woodward are also described as key players in the succession fight. Myah Ward, Kyle Cheney, and Josh Gerstein report.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
A federal judge ruled Thursday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s second attempt to restrict reporters’ access to the Pentagon “failed to comply” with his recent ruling that the earlier policy violated the First and Fifth Amendments. In The New York Times’ ongoing suit, Judge Paul Friedman said the Defense Department had attempted an “end-run around” his March 20 ruling by issuing an “interim” policy that used “slightly different language to achieve that same unconstitutional result,” and ordered the restoration of the same Pentagon access reporters had before the new restrictions. Erik Wemple reports for the New York Times; Jacob Rosen reports for CBS News; Scott Nover reports for the Washington Post.
The Fifth Circuit denied rehearing en banc by the full court of its 2-1 decision upholding the Trump administration’s mandatory-detention policy, leaving Supreme Court review as the likeliest next step. The panel’s February ruling in the consolidated Buenrostro-Mendez and Covarrubias cases held that certain noncitizens present in the United States without lawful admission can be subjected to mandatory detention without bond, and Thursday’s order noted that no active judge requested a poll of the full court.
A federal judge in Boston issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Education Department from compelling public universities in 17 states to submit broad data on race and admissions practices. Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV said the Education Department had statutory authority to seek the information but faulted the “rushed and chaotic manner” in which it imposed the new reporting requirements, including inadequate engagement with universities, Reuters reported.
A unanimous Third Circuit panel stayed most of the federal court’s order requiring restoration and maintenance of the President’s House site near Independence Hall, pending appeal. The panel’s Thursday order put on hold Judge Cynthia Rufe’s restoration, maintenance, and public-access requirements, while leaving intact provisions barring further changes, requiring preservation of removed items, and directing the government to preserve the status quo. 6abc reports.
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ICYMI: Yesterday on Just Security
Amid Shaky Ceasefire, War in Iran Is Starving Sudan
By Rachel George
