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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
Iran yesterday provided an updated proposal for a deal to end the war, but White House officials said it is not a meaningful improvement on past proposals and is insufficient for a deal, sources told Axios. Though neither side has publicly disclosed any concessions in negotiations, a senior Iranian official told Reuters that the United States was softening its stance, agreeing to release a quarter of Iran’s frozen funds and showing greater flexibility in allowing Iran to continue some peaceful nuclear activity. Two sources said that Trump was expected to convene his top national security team in the Situation Room today to discuss military options. Barak Ravid reports for Axios; Reuters reports.
Trump said yesterday that he had authorized a new wave of attacks against Iran this week but that he was holding off as the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates requested more time to work out a nuclear deal. “We were getting ready to do a very major attack tomorrow, and I put it off for a little while, hopefully maybe forever, but possibly for a little while, because we’ve had very big discussions with Iran,” Trump told reporters. Tyler Pager and Eric Schmitt report for the New York Times.
Iran has used the ceasefire with the United States to dig out multiple bombed ballistic missile sites, move mobile missile launchers, and adjust its tactics for any resumption of strikes, a U.S. official said. Tyler Pager and Eric Schmitt report for the New York Times.
IRAN WAR – OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
G7 finance ministers met yesterday in Paris for a two-day gathering focused on devising a plan to contain the economic fallout from the war in Iran. Officials are also expected to discuss sanctions policy, illicit finance, and the future of support for Ukraine. The U.S. delegation is being led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Alan Rappeport reports for the New York Times.
Bessent yesterday announced that the United States will give a 30-day extension for countries to import Russian oil that is already in tankers at sea. Josh Boak reports for AP News.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Israeli forces yesterday intercepted a flotilla of more than 40 boats carrying aid for Gaza in international waters west of Cyprus. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the raid was “effectively neutralizing a malicious plan designed to break the isolation we have imposed on Hamas terrorists in Gaza.” Last month, Israeli forces intercepted 22 boats from the same flotilla near Crete. David Gritten reports for BBC News.
WEST BANK VIOLENCE
Israeli forces shot a Palestinian man on Sunday as he tried to cross the barrier between the occupied West Bank and Israel in search of work. Palestinian health officials identified the man yesterday and confirmed that he had died of his wounds. The Israeli military said the soldiers had fired because the group was suspected of damaging the barrier while trying to cross. Julia Frankel reports for AP News.
SUDANESE CIVIL WAR
A Sudanese Rapid Support Forces paramilitary commander, known as Abu Lulu, who was arrested last year following videos of him executing unarmed people in El Fasher, has been released from prison and returned to active duty, nine sources told Reuters. The RSF-led coalition government, in response to questions from Reuters, issued a statement yesterday denying the group had released Abu Lulu. A special court will try him and others accused of violations during the El Fasher offensive, according to the statement from a spokesman for the RSF-led Tasis government. Reade Levinson, Mahamat Ramadane, and Giulia Paravicini report.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Indonesian authorities have used online disinformation campaigns to brand activists and journalists as “foreign agents” and silence dissent, Amnesty International said in a report published today. The rights group found that the disinformation campaigns were being driven by social media accounts that appeared to be affiliated with military units and to Prabowo’s Gerindra party. Ananda Teresia reports for Reuters.
UNHCR High Commissioner Barham Salih told member states the agency had “no choice” but to cut more jobs and make urgent reforms as it faces a 15% fall in funding and foreign aid in 2026, according to a letter seen by Reuters. Olivia Le Poidevin reports.
An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda is believed to have caused more than 130 deaths, according to local authorities. On Sunday, the World Health Organization declared the Ebola epidemic a “public health emergency of international concern,” though it does not yet meet the criteria of “pandemic emergency.” The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention yesterday triggered Title 42, a public health law, to limit entry to the United States from the DRC, Uganda, or South Sudan for at least 30 days. Helen Regan, Brenda Goodman, Erikas Mwisi report for CNN; Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Maggie Haberman report for the New York Times.
Russia’s defence ministry announced today that it will begin three days of nuclear drills, including the launch of ballistic and cruise missiles. The exercises, involving 64,000 people and 7,800 pieces of military equipment, will rehearse “the preparation and use of nuclear forces in the event of aggression.” The drills will also include training in how to use Russian tactical nuclear weapons deployed in Belarus. Reuters reports.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
For the past four months, negotiators from the United States, Greenland, and Denmark have been holding confidential talks in Washington. A New York Times investigation, based on interviews with officials, found that the United States is trying to modify a military arrangement to ensure U.S. troops can stay in Greenland indefinitely. Washington also wants effective veto power over any major investment deals in Greenland to box out China and Russia; cooperation on Greenland’s natural resources; and military expansion on the island. Justus Hansen, a member of Greenland’s parliament, said that if Washington gets everything they want, “we might as well raise our own flag halfway.” Jeffrey Gettleman, Maya Tekeli, Anton Troianovski, and Eric Schmitt report.
Greenland’s government said yesterday that progress has been made in talks with the United States, while reiterating that the island will never be for sale. Reuters reports.
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau instructed senior State Department officials to approve a visa for former Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, allowing him to flee to the United States from Hungary, three sources said. Poland is seeking to prosecute Ziobro, the architect of severe changes to the Polish judicial system from 2015 to 2023. Humeyra Pamuk and Jonathan Landay report for Reuters
The Pentagon announced yesterday that the United States will suspend its involvement in the Permanent Joint Board on Defense, a body that coordinates military consultation with Canada, pointing to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s address to the World Economic Forum earlier this year. Colin Meyn reports for The Hill.
U.S.-NIGERIA ISIS OPERATION
The Nigerian military said yesterday that a new operation with U.S. forces has killed more than 20 Islamic State group militants in northeastern Borno state. Ope Adetayo reports for AP News.
U.S. CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC OPERATIONS
The Defense Department’s inspector general announced yesterday that it is investigating U.S. Southern Command over its targeting of alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. The watchdog will look at the intelligence and targeting used for the strikes, as well as other aspects of the operations, according to a letter dated May 11. Gordon Lubold and Mosheh Gains report for NBC News.
U.S. prosecutors charged Alex Saab, a top ally of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, with money laundering over his alleged exploitation of a Venezuelan welfare plan, according to court filings unsealed yesterday. Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff reports for Reuters.
The Trump administration yesterday issued sanctions on three Cuban government agencies and 11 top officials, including three generals and communist party officials associated with the Cuban security apparatus. Frances Robles reports for the New York Times.
“The threats of military aggression against Cuba from the biggest military power on the planet are already known,” Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez said yesterday. “The threat alone is an international crime. To make good on it would provoke a bloodbath of incalculable consequences, along with the destruction of peace and stability.” Cheyanne M. Daniels reports for POLITICO.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
Trump yesterday moved ahead with plans to allow 10,000 more white South Africans into the United States as refugees, according to a report submitted to Congress yesterday. The administration is expected to hold formal meetings with Congress to discuss the report in the coming days, a source said. Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Hamed Aleaziz report for the New York Times.
Minnesota State prosecutors yesterday charged an ICE agent with assault in the January shooting of Julio C. Sosa-Celis, a Venezuelan immigrant in Minneapolis. In a statement, ICE officials described the state prosecution as “unlawful and nothing more than a political stunt.” Ernesto Londoño and Mitch Smith report for the New York Times.
The Brookings Institution estimates that more than 100,000 children have been separated from their parents during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, adding that roughly three-quarters of those children are likely U.S. citizens. Researchers allege that official government figures undercount the problem because many detained immigrants are either not asked about their children or are too afraid to disclose that information. Miriam Jordan and Jeff Adelson report for the New York Times.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled 5-2 that Children’s Hospital Colorado must resume providing hormone therapy and puberty blockers to transgender minors after the hospital paused treatments over threatened federal funding cuts from the Trump administration. Jack Healy reports for the New York Times.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton yesterday opened an investigation into the Southern Poverty Law Center over its alleged funding of extremist groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan. Max Rego reports for The Hill.
A coalition of 10 district attorneys, calling itself “Project for the Fight Against Federal Overreach,” is vowing in an announcement expected today to investigate incidents of suspected voter intimidation by federal agents deployed by Trump. The announcement, obtained in advance by POLITICO, comes after Trump declined to rule out sending the National Guard or ICE agents to polling places. Aaron Pellish reports.
TECH DEVELOPMENTS
Elon Musk’s $150 billion lawsuit against OpenAI and Sam Altman was rejected by a federal jury yesterday. The jury found that Musk had failed to file his lawsuit within the time frame required by law. Cade Metz and Mike Isaac report for the New York Times.
A group of more than 60 loyal Trump allies is urging the administration to test and approve the most powerful AI models before they are released, according to a new letter shared with Axios. Ashley Gold reports.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
The Treasury Department’s general counsel, Brian Morrissey, resigned yesterday, just hours after the Trump administration announced the creation of a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” that could soon make payments to Trump’s political allies who claim that the Biden administration improperly targeted them, three sources said. Andrew Duehren reports for the New York Times.
Trump said yesterday he would ask the Justice Department to open an investigation into an error regarding mail-in ballots in Maryland. The Maryland State Board of Elections announced last week that it had been “made aware of an error” that led to some voters receiving ballots for the wrong party in the state’s upcoming primaries. The state “sent out 500,000 Illegal Mail In Ballots, and they got caught!” Trump said. Jacob Wendler reports for POLITICO.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
A federal judge yesterday blocked ICE from making most immigration arrests at Manhattan immigration courts, reversing an earlier decision after the government admitted it had wrongly justified the policy with an incorrect DHS memo. Jonah E. Bromwich and Benjamin Weiser report for the New York Times.
The New York Times yesterday filed a second lawsuit challenging the Defense Department’s effort to restrict the press’s access to the Pentagon on Monday, arguing a requirement that reporters are accompanied by official escorts inside the building is unconstitutional. Jacob Wendler reports for POLITICO.
Did you miss this? Stay up-to-date with our Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions.
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