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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
President Trump yesterday criticized Iran’s latest counterproposal again, calling it a “piece of garbage” and declaring that the cease-fire was “on massive life support.” Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaiel Baqaei called the proposal “reasonable and generous.” Two U.S. officials told Axios that Trump is leaning towards taking some form of military action against Iran to increase pressure and force concessions on its nuclear program. “I think we all know where this is going,” one official said. Aaron Boxerman, Sanam Mahoozi, Michael Levenson, and Max Bearak report for the New York Times; Barak Ravid reports; Mariana Alfara and Karen DeYoung report for the Washington Post.
IRAN WAR – OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
The United Arab Emirates has carried out military strikes on Iran during the ongoing conflict, according to sources, casting the UAE as an active combatant in the war. The UAE has not publicly acknowledged the reported strikes, including on a refinery on Iran’s Lavan Island in early April. Summer Said and Shelby Holliday report for the Wall Street Journal.
The U.S. ambassador to Israel today confirmed that Israel sent Iron Dome anti-missile batteries and personnel to operate them to the United Arab Emirates to defend the country during the war in Iran. Melanie Lidman and Jon Gambrell report for AP News.
The Wall Street Journal said yesterday that it had received subpoenas related to a Feb. 23 article detailing Pentagon officials’ warnings to Trump about the risks of a military campaign against Iran. Trump privately complained to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche about media leaks in the wake of the Iran war, according to officials, prompting an aggressive push at the Justice Department to pursue investigations. Devlin Barrett reports for the New York Times.
Trump yesterday proposed suspending federal gas taxes until prices fall, without mentioning that such a move would require congressional approval. The impact of his proposal would be small: federal taxes are slightly over 18 cents per gallon for gasoline and about 24 cents per gallon for diesel. Prices are up about 50 percent since the war began. Shawn McCreesh reports for the New York Times.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Israeli lawmakers yesterday approved a bill setting up a special tribunal that would have the authority to sentence to death Palestinians convicted of taking part in the October 2023 Hamas-led attack. Julia Frankel reports for AP News.
WEST BANK VIOLENCE
EU foreign ministers reached an agreement yesterday on new sanctions targeting violent Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said. The sanctions package targets three settlers and four settler organisations, whose identities have yet to be publicly disclosed. The proposal had been blocked previously for months by the former Hungarian government. Reuters reports.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Andriy Yermak, the former chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has been formally accused of involvement in a multimillion-dollar corruption scheme, according to yesterday’s announcement from Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau and Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor. Cassandra Vinograd reports for the New York Times.
Nearly 20 countries are interested in drone deals with Ukraine, and four agreements have already been signed, Zelenskyy said yesterday. Ukraine has started to receive the necessary volume of fuel thanks to the agreements, Zelenskiy added, without elaborating. Reuters reports.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Philippine Senator Ronald dela Rosa yesterday locked himself in his Senate offices, where he cannot be arrested, after the International Criminal Court unsealed a warrant for his arrest on suspicion of crimes against humanity. Dela Rosa was the chief enforcer in former President Rodrigo Duterte’s devastating anti-drug campaign. Nestor Corrales and Stephanie van den Berg report for Reuters; Jason Gutierrez reports for the New York Times.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer told his cabinet today that he will not resign. “The Labour Party has a process for challenging a leader, and that has not been triggered,” Starmer said. “The country expects us to get on with governing. That is what I am doing and what we must do as a cabinet.” Junior Minister Miatta Fahnbulleh resigned from the government just before Starmer’s meeting started, writing on social media that “the public does not believe that you can lead this change – and nor do I.” Michael D. Schear and Stephen Castle report for the New York Times
A Nigerian military airstrike on Sunday killed at least 100 civilians in a market in northwest Zamfara state, Amnesty International said yesterday. Citing witnesses, Amnesty said military jets had been spotted hovering around the area at midday and returned about two hours later and struck the crowded market. Ardo Hazzad reports for Reuters.
TECH DEVELOPMENTS
A criminal hacking group recently attempted to launch a widespread cyberattack that appeared to rely on AI to detect a previously unknown bug, Google said in research published yesterday. “We have high confidence that the actor likely leveraged an A.I. model to support the discovery and weaponization of this vulnerability,” the report said. Google did not say precisely when this occurred, whom it was targeting, or which AI platform the hackers used. Dustin Volz reports for the New York Times.
Canvas, a software used by schools and universities, said yesterday that it had reached a deal with ShinyHunters, the hacking group that recently breached its systems, for the return of stolen data and the destruction of any copies. The hackers said they had accessed the data of more than 275 million users at nearly 9,000 schools worldwide, including private conversations between students and teachers as well as personal identifying information such as names and email addresses. Instructure, which provides Canvas software, did not say what it had given the hackers in exchange for the return of the data. Qasim Nauman reports for the New York Times.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Trump will be joined in China this week by 16 chief executives, including Elon Musk and Tim Cook. U.S. officials have said that Trump wants to discuss the creation of a board of investment and a board of trade with China, for which he is bringing a delegation of business leaders across a wide range of industries. One source said that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was not invited and will not be going to China. Tyler Pager reports for the New York Times.
The United States has been holding regular negotiations with Denmark to expand its military presence in Greenland, according to multiple sources, with talks between both sides progressing in recent months. U.S. officials are seeking to open three new bases in the south of the territory. A White House official told BBC News that the administration is very optimistic that the talks are headed in the right direction. Daniel Bush reports.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Democratic leaders in Virginia yesterday asked the Supreme Court to allow the state to use a congressional map drawn by Democrats and approved by voters in an April referendum. Virginia state officials claimed that last week’s ruling by the state’s Supreme Court had amounted to “judicial defiance” of the will of the voters to create a new district map. Abbie VanSickle and Campbell Roberston report for the New York Times.
The Supreme Court yesterday granted a request from Alabama’s Republican leaders to lift an injunction that blocked the state from using a map the legislature adopted in 2023. That map includes only one majority-Black district, while the current House map includes a second majority-minority district in which nearly half the population is Black. Josh Gerstein reports for POLITICO.
The Alabama attorney general’s office announced yesterday that it was opening its own investigation into the Southern Poverty Law Center, less than a month after the Justice Department charged the organization with several financial crimes. “Thanks to the [DOJ’s] action to deal with the S.P.L.C., the state’s efforts have now received a shot in the arm,” the attorney general, Steve Marshall, said in the statement. Christina Morales reports for the New York Times.
Eileen Wang, the mayor of Arcadia, Calif, resigned yesterday after federal prosecutors announced they had charged her with acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government. She will plead guilty, according to the plea deal, also unsealed yesterday. Pooja Salhotra reports for the New York Times.
Senators yesterday advanced the nomination of Kevin Warsh to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve in a 49–44 vote, the first step in the process to confirm him as Fed chair. Katherine Hapgood reports for POLITICO.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
Trump yesterday nominated former acting FEMA chief Cameron Hamilton to permanently lead the agency, despite previously removing him after he testified that FEMA should not be abolished. Scott Dance reports for the New York Times.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
The Supreme Court yesterday maintained full access to the abortion pill Mifepristone until 5 pm on Thursday, giving the court another three days to consider its next steps. Lawrence Hurley reports for NBC News.
A federal appeals court yesterday rejected the Trump administration’s mass detention policy. The ruling follows similar victories in the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit and the New York-based 2nd Circuit. Kyle Cheney reports for POLITICO.
A nonprofit filed a lawsuit yesterday to stop the Trump administration from its ongoing repainting of the reflecting pool on the National Mall to make it “American Flag Blue. The Cultural Landscape Foundation argued that the resurfacing is “unlawful” and that it should be restored to its original color until the administration follows congressionally mandated procedures to do the work. Gary Grumbach and Dareh Gregorian report for NBC News.
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