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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 – CEASEFIRE
U.S. Central Command has prepared a plan for a “short and powerful” wave of strikes on Iran in hopes of breaking the negotiating deadlock, three sources said. Two other sources said President Trump is set to be briefed on the new plans today by CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper. Trump told Axios that he is rejecting the Iranian proposal to open the Strait of Hormuz and lift the blockade, while postponing nuclear talks to a later stage. A senior Iranian security source said yesterday that the U.S. blockade “will soon be met with practical and unprecedented action. Barak Ravid for Axios.
The Trump administration is seeking international partners for a new “Maritime Freedom Construct” coalition to enable navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, according to an internal State Department cable sent to U.S. embassies on Tuesday. The cable called on U.S. diplomats to press foreign governments to sign up to the coalition, which would share information, coordinate diplomatically, and enforce sanctions. Alexander Ward and Robbie Gramer report for the Wall Street Journal.
IRAN WAR – LEBANON OPERATIONS
Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel should only take “surgical” military action in Lebanon and avoid a full resumption of the war, Trump told Axios. “I told Netanyahu he has got to do it more surgically. Not knock down buildings. He can’t do it. It is too terrible and makes Israel look bad,” Trump said. A U.S. official confirmed that the Trump administration has asked Israel to “show restraint” and give space to the new diplomatic process with Lebanon. But the official denied that the U.S.-brokered ceasefire is collapsing, adding that “Hezbollah is not a party to the ceasefire, and is trying to derail it.” Barak Ravid reports.
More than 1 million people in Lebanon are expected to face a food insecurity crisis in the coming months as a result of renewed conflict and mass displacement, according to a new analysis by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification published yesterday. Nazih Osseiran and Haider Nour report for Reuters.
IRAN WAR – OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
“The biggest challenge, the biggest adversary we face at this point are the reckless, feckless and defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some Republicans,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said yesterday in his opening remarks to the House Armed Services Committee. As Hegseth defended the war in Iran, the Pentagon revealed that the war has cost about $25 billion so far, has depleted key munitions, and resulted in the deaths of 14 U.S. service members. Robert Jimison reports for the New York Times; John Ismay and Megan Mineiro report for the New York Times.
Trump said yesterday that the United States is looking at withdrawing nearly 40,000 U.S. military personnel from Germany. Trump’s post came after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz angered the White House on Monday when he said the United States was being “humiliated” by Iran and that the administration had “no truly convincing strategy” to end the war. Jack Detsch and Aaron Pellish report for POLITICO.
The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier will leave the Middle East in the coming days and return to its home port in Virginia, according to two U.S. officials. Konstantin Toropin and Ben Finley report for AP News.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
New maps of Gaza quietly issued by Israel last month put thousands of Palestinians inside an expanded restricted area that the Israeli military says it can adjust as needed. The “restricted area” makes up 11% of Gaza’s territory beyond the Yellow Line demarcating the part of Gaza occupied by Israeli troops since the October ceasefire. Two sources said the Israeli military sent the maps to aid groups in mid-March and said the area is intended to facilitate aid coordination and create a buffer for military operations. Pesha Magid, Nidal Al-Mughrabi, and Alexander Cornwell report for Reuters.
Israel has intercepted at least 22 boats from a flotilla carrying aid for Gaza in international waters near the Greek island of Crete. The organisers of the Global Sumud Flotilla denounced it as “piracy,” saying those on board the vessels had been seized unlawfully 965km from Gaza. The Israeli foreign ministry said about 175 activists had been detained and were being transported to Israel. Reuters reports.
The leaders of major media companies around the world, including AP News, BBC, CNN, and Reuters, are calling on the Israeli government to lift a ban keeping foreign journalists from being able to independently enter and report from Gaza, according to a letter released this morning. Deepti Hajela reports for AP News.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Trump said yesterday that a resolution to the Russia-Ukraine war would come “relatively quickly” after a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In the call, Putin raised the idea of a temporary ceasefire around Victory Day on May 9, according to TASS, a Russian state media organization. Trump told reporters he had suggested “a little bit of a ceasefire” and said Putin “might” make an announcement, but no agreement has been confirmed. Gregory Svirnovskiy reports for POLITICO.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Russia has restricted access to an independent media outlet for distributing “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations,” Russia’s media regulator said yesterday, a phrase used by authorities to describe LGBT relationships. The outlet’s editor said, “We don’t think we were blocked for any specific publication. We believe we were blocked for our systemic work as a whole.” Anna Peverieri reports for Reuters.
Hungary’s Prime Minister-elect Péter Magyar said yesterday that his talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen were “extremely constructive and successful, adding, “in one sentence, EU resources will soon arrive in Hungary.” Paul Kirby reports for BBC News.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
The governor of Sinaloa and nine other current and former Mexican officials were charged with drug trafficking and weapons offenses in a U.S. indictment unsealed yesterday, accused of aiding in the importation of illicit narcotics into the United States. Mexico’s government said shortly after the announcement that it had received multiple extradition requests from the United States, but did not say how it would respond. Megan Janetsky, Michael R. Sisak, and Larry Neumeister report for AP News
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
Ashley Holland, a researcher at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, warned in internal emails last year that she was being pressured to manipulate evidence – such as adding unsupported claims about Haitian migration and removing data contradicting terrorism allegations – to justify ending deportation protections. She cautioned that distorting the data could lead to legal challenges, and those emails are now part of a Supreme Court case over whether the administration lawfully revoked protections for Haitian immigrants. Matthathias Schwartz reports for the New York Times.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
A U.S. jury convicted Mohammad Sharifullah of providing material support to ISIS-K, the group linked to the 2021 Kabul airport suicide bombing. However, the jury could not agree that his actions directly resulted in the deaths from the attack. Michael Kunzelman reports for AP News.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) told Republican House candidates yesterday that he plans to suspend next month’s primary elections so state lawmakers can pass a new congressional map first, two sources said. The move comes after a Supreme Court ruling earlier in the day found that Louisiana’s current map likely violated the Constitution because it relied on race when drawing a second majority-Black congressional district. The 6-3 decision narrowed how Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act can be applied in redistricting cases, limiting the use of race-conscious considerations intended to protect minority voting strength. Dan Merica and Patrick Marley report for the Washington Post; Josh Gerstein reports for POLITICO.
David Morens, an influenza researcher who worked at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases until 2022 and aide to former director Anthony Fauci, was arrested on Monday by six federal agents carrying guns and wearing tactical gear, according to two sources. The agents did not harm Morens but took off his pants and shirt, handcuffed him, and took him to court, where he was jailed. The FBI denied that aggressive tactics were used. The arrest has drawn attention in part because, in non-violent federal cases, defendants are often permitted to self-surrender rather than be taken into custody in this manner. John Cohen reports for Science.
The Federal Reserve yesterday left interest rates unchanged for a third straight meeting, with officials split as higher energy prices driven by the Middle East conflict raised inflation concerns while also risking slower growth. Chair Jerome Powell said he will remain on the Federal Reserve Board after his term as chair ends, citing the need to stay amid a past Justice Department investigation, while Trump’s nominee Kevin Warsh is set to succeed him as chair once confirmed. Andrew Ackerman reports for the Washington Post.
Former Attorney General Pam Bondi will appear for a transcribed House Oversight Committee interview on May 29 as part of an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and the Justice Department’s handling of the case, after previously failing to attend a deposition. Hailey Fuchs reports for POLITICO.
The House of Representatives yesterday narrowly passed a budget blueprint by a vote of 215-211, allowing up to $70 billion in additional funding for immigration agencies like ICE and CBP as part of a plan to reopen the Department of Homeland Security. Michael Gold reports for the New York Times.
The House also yesterday passed a three-year extension of Section 702 of FISA. The bill is unlikely to pass the Senate, where lawmakers in both parties oppose a House-added ban on a central bank digital currency. Kate Santaliz reports for Axios.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
The U.S. military will soon have a sub-unified command focused on autonomous warfare, Hegseth told lawmakers yesterday. “Drones are so central to the future of warfare and where we get them from, that we have to be able to both make the exquisite ones better than anybody else, and also the attritable swarm, and then the ability to defeat them ahead of our adversary,” Hegseth said. Jon Harper reports for Defense Scoop.
The White House is opposed to Anthropic’s recent plan to let roughly 70 additional companies and organizations use Mythos, which would have brought the total entities with access to about 120, sources said. Some officials have raised concerns that Anthropic would not have access to enough computing power to serve that many more entities without hampering the government’s ability to use it effectively, one source said. Robert McMillan and Amrith Ramkumar report for the Wall Street Journal.
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