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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 – LEBANON
On Thursday, President Donald Trump announced a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. It went into effect at midnight in Lebanon and prompted thousands of displaced Lebanese families to return to their homes in southern Lebanon. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun welcomed the announcement from Trump, but the Iranian-back militia Hezbollah, over which the Lebanese government has little control, only acknowledged the truce but “did not directly address whether it would accept” it. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to accept the ceasefire is facing backlash in Israel, where critics say Netanyahu was unable to resist Trump’s pressure. Meanwhile, Trump said that he was inviting Netanyahu and Aoun to the White House for a summit. The New York Times reports.
IRAN WAR
The U.S. military is widening its naval blockade of Iran, announcing on Thursday that it could stop any ship tied to Iran anywhere in the world. Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon that U.S. forces in other regions “will actively pursue any Iranian-flagged vessel or any vessel attempting to provide material support to Iran.” Konstantin Toropin, Ben Finley, and David Klepper report for AP.
French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are hosting a summit today to devise an international plan to secure the Strait of Hormuz after the war ends. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni are also attending. Although no U.S. officials are participating, Trump is expected to be briefed afterward. Many officials view the summit skeptically and have set low expectations for a concrete plan to emerge from it. The Financial Times reports.
Western military intelligence assessments indicate that Iran has been able to mitigate the impact of U.S. and Israeli strikes thanks to its pre-war planning. Steps the country took before the war began helped it in “preventing the destruction of its missile and drone capabilities as well as maximizing the impact of its military response.” Alex Wickham, Ellen Milligan, and Alberto Nardelli report for Bloomberg.
Days after the United States and Israel started bombing Iran, U.S. intelligence detected signs that China weighed whether to provide Iran with advanced radar systems, sources told CBS News. Whether China decided to move forward with the transfer is unknown, James LaPorta, Eleanor Watson, Olivia Gazis, Sara Cook, and Margaret Brennan report. The Financial Times previously reported that Iran is using a spy satellite it secretly bought from China in 2024 for targeting in the war.
In a narrow vote of 214-213, the Republican-led House of Representatives rejected a measure that would block Trump from ordering further strikes on Iran. On Wednesday, a procedural vote on a war powers resolution in the Republican-led Senate also failed, with Republicans again voting against the measure. Mariana Alfaro and Noah Robertson report for The Washington Post.
The Iran war will likely cause delays in U.S. weapons sales to Europe, sources told Reuters. U.S. officials have started to inform their European counterparts about the potential delays, which will affect previously purchased weapons, including various kinds of ammunition. Gram Slattery and Humeyra Pamuk report for Reuters.
Journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, a Kuwaiti-American dual national, is being detained in Kuwait after he commented on videos and images related to the war in Iran, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. He was arrested on March 3 when he was in the country to visit family and has not posted online or been seen in public since. “It is understood that authorities have charged him with spreading false information, harming national security and misusing his mobile phone — vague and overly broad accusations that are routinely used to silence independent journalists,” the committee said in a statement. Amelia Nierenberg reports for the New York Times.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
The last remaining American troops in Syria left their base on Thursday, ending a 10-year presence in the country. The Syrian government said in a statement that “it welcomed “the completed handover of military sites where United States forces were previously present in Syria to the Syrian government.” The U.S. troops are reported to have exited via Jordan to avoid possible attacks in Iraq. Ragip Soylu reports for the Middle East Eye.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Early Friday morning, the House of Representatives approved a two-week extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which is set to expire on Monday. The 10-day extension creates more time for negotiations. Despite Trump’s pressure to reauthorize the surveillance law without any changes, some Republicans (and Democrats) are demanding they be allowed to vote on adding new privacy limits to it. The Senate now needs to vote on the 10-day extension. Charlie Savage reports for the New York Times.
The Justice Department told Congress on Thursday that it was appealing a ruling from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court that “barred national security agencies from using certain tools to process Americans’ data” gathered under Section 702, Charlie Savage reports for the New York Times. In March, the court reauthorized the program for another year, creating a temporary safety net if Congress lets the law lapse, but the court added certain restrictions that the Trump administration opposes.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard raised concerns about FISA’s Section 702 with Trump in February. She told the president that reauthorizing the law should include reforms for protecting American privacy. Trump did not heed her advice and has since urged Republicans to renew the law without any changes. John Sakellariadis reports for POLITICO.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is scheduled to meet White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles today in an effort to resolve the company’s standoff with the Pentagon. Anthropic is suing the Pentagon after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth blacklisted the AI company when Amodei refused to back down on two safety restrictions. Mythos, Anthropic’s latest version of Claude, is reportedly more advanced and potentially dangerous, posing serious threats to cyberdefenses. Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen report for Axios.
The FBI is ramping up its investigation into former CIA Director John Brennan and his involvement in a U.S. intelligence assessment that found Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help Trump win. The investigation, which is being run by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami, plans to interview “roughly a half-dozen witnesses.” Andrew Goudsward and Jana Winter for Reuters.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
Local prosecutors in Minneapolis charged an ICE agent with assault on Thursday. According to the criminal complaint, the federal agent pointed a gun at two people in a car as he attempted to pass them in an unmarked vehicle on the shoulder of a highway. The case is “a rare instance of state prosecutors charging a federal agent for on-duty actions,” Sheila M. Eldred and Ernesto Londoño report for the New York Times.
Senate Republicans said they plan to release a budget resolution next week for immigration enforcement funding, a move aimed at ending the partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security. Aidan Quigley and Aris Folley report for Roll Call.
Todd Lyons, the acting head of ICE, is planning to leave the federal government later this spring, with May 31 being his last official day in government. It is not clear who will replace Lyons, who is expected to join the private sector. Camilo Montoya-Galvez reports for CBS News.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
At a hearing of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, Republican lawmakers voiced their support for Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, who has clashed with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Driscoll clearly disagreed with Hegseth’s decision to fire Army Chief of State Gen. Randy George in early April. At the hearing on Thursday, Driscoll praised George and said that he was away with his family when he got the news that Hegseth was removing the general. When they returned, he and his family drove straight to George’s house and “we all gave him a hug,” he said. Some House Republicans said they wanted an explanation for George’s firing. Dan Lamothe reports for The Washington Post.
On Thursday, at a briefing at the Pentagon, Hegseth slammed the U.S. media, calling it “unpatriotic,” and describing its coverage of the Iran war “garbage.” He compared the press to the biblical Pharisees who came into conflict with Jesus. AP reports.
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