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A curated guide to major news and developments over the weekend. Here’s today’s news:
IRAN WAR – CEASEFIRE
President Trump on Friday requested several changes to a proposed deal to extend the existing ceasefire with Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz during a Situation Room meeting, sources said. The exact changes are unknown, but officials said Trump insisted on tougher language surrounding Iran’s nuclear commitments. Another source said Trump wanted some of the wording around reopening the Strait of Hormuz amended as well. One foreign official said the changes are not substantive and mostly center on the U.S. desire for assurances on key issues. Kevin Liptak, Logan Shiciano, and Kathleen Magramo report for CNN; Marck Caputo and Barak Ravid report for Axios.
The United States carried out further “self-defense” strikes in Iran over the weekend, targeting Iranian radar and command and control sites. U.S. Central Command said last night that the strikes were a response to “aggressive Iranian actions that included the shootdown of a US MQ-1 drone opening over international waters.” Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it struck a U.S. air base, allegedly used to launch an attack on a telecommunications tower on Iran’s Sirik Island, according to Iranian state media outlets. The IRGC’s announcement came after Kuwait reported it repelled drone and missile attacks. Kevin Liptak, Logan Shiciano, and Kathleen Magramo report for CNN; Yan Zhuang reports for the New York Times.
IRAN WAR – LEBANON OPERATIONS
Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjaim Netanyahu over the weekend, putting forward a plan to allow for “gradual de-escalation” between Israel and Lebanon, a U.S. official said yesterday. Rubio proposed that, as a first step, Hezbollah would stop all attacks on Israel, and in return, Israel would refrain from escalation in Beirut. Aoun tried to advance the proposal; however, Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said Israel had to stop shooting first. Reuters reports.
The Israeli military captured a strategic, Crusader-era Beaufort castle in southern Lebanon yesterday, following days of fighting in the area. “From Beaufort Ridge, Hezbollah terrorists managed military and combat activities and carried out numerous attacks,” the IDF said. Netanyahu yesterday praised the operation, saying, “We returned to Beaufort stronger than ever.” Kareem El Damahoury and Todd Symons report for CNN; Aaron Boxerman and Natan Odenheimer report for the New York Times.
“Now my directive is to deepen and expand our hold on areas that had been under Hezbollah’s control,” Netanyahu announced yesterday. The IDF said it had “expanded its operations against Hezbollah targets north of the [Litani] river” and in “additional areas.” Kareem El Damahoury and Todd Symons report for CNN.
Netanyahu today ordered an attack on the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut. A Lebanese source said Netanyahu’s announcement reflected the deterioration of the U.S-led diplomatic track in recent days. Citing the escalating violence in Lebanon, France has called for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council. Reuters reports.
IRAN WAR – OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
U.S. forces in recent weeks have helped coordinate the passage of around 70 commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, according to U.S. officials. The officials said that most of the vessels had turned off their transponders to avoid detection when going through the narrow waterway. Peter Eavis and Eric Schmitt report for the New York Times.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
An Israeli airstrike killed at least two Palestinians and wounded 12 yesterday at a Gaza cafe packed with people celebrating public holidays, Gaza health officials said. Reuters reports.
“To call it a ceasefire is a joke,” one Israeli soldier told AP News during an interview about the ongoing situation in Gaza. Three soldiers described a sense of confusion among forces, with a lack of clarity on the rules of engagement around the yellow line. Some commanders paid lip service to the ceasefire agreement, while privately voicing a desire for the war in Gaza to continue, the soldiers said. Sam Mednick reports.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Ukraine’s presidential envoy on sanctions policy, Vladyslav Vlasiuk, said in recent days that fragments of an Oreshnik ballistic missile that Russia fired at Ukraine on May 24 contained microchips from Belarus. Vlasiuk urged Western allies to tighten sanctions enforcement against Belarus. Yuras Karmanau reports for AP News.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
The Ta’ang National Liberation Army said yesterday that an accidental explosion of material stored for mining killed multiple people in Myanmar’s Kaung Tat village. The BBC and local news outlet Shwe Phee Myay News Agency said at least 55 people had died, and that dozens more were wounded. The TNLA said the incident was being investigated. Reuters reports.
Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary and President To Lam told Reuters on Friday that there was no contradiction in seeking stronger relations with China and ensuring progress in solving the ongoing territorial disputes across the South China Sea. Greg Torode reports.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Hundreds of young people in Nanyuki, Kenya, demonstrated today against the establishment of an Ebola quarantine center for U.S. citizens at the Laikipia Air Base. The protests come two days after Kenya’s High Court suspended the facility’s establishment, pending a hearing on Tuesday. Kenyan Health Minister Aden Duale said yesterday that the quarantine center was for “everyone” and not exclusively for U.S. nationals, while Rubio said the U.S. government intends to commit $13.5 million toward Kenya’s Ebola preparedness efforts. Evelyne Musambi reports for AP News.
“When our interests align, we act together with focused resolve,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore over the weekend. “When our interests diverge, we adjust pragmatically without the drama or the moralising. I think Western Europe might take note.” Gregor Stuart Hunter, Rae Wee, and Jun Yuan Yong report for Reuters.
A senior U.S. military officer met with Cuban counterparts at the perimeter of Guantánamo Bay Naval Station on Friday, where they had a brief exchange on security matters regarding the base, which continues to hold 15 prisoners, according to a post by U.S. Southern Command. Cuba’s government said the meeting was “positive.” Carol Rosenberg, Julian E. Barnes, and Eric Schmitt report for the New York Times.
U.S. CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC OPERATIONS
The U.S. military on Friday killed a further three men in a strike against an alleged drug smuggling boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean, U.S. Southern Command announced on Saturday. According to Brown University, the costs of the operation are now at $4.7 billion. Narcotics experts say the boat strikes have failed to slow the smuggling of cocaine from South America to the United States. Julian E. Barnes reports for the New York Times.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
The Department of Homeland Security said on Friday that it would be up to individual immigration officers to decide whether someone should be forced to go abroad to gain a green card, adding that officers had long had such discretion. The announcement appeared to be a partial walk-back of a change announced last month that immigrants seeking permanent residency would have to return home to do so. Hamed Aleaziz, Madeleine Ngo, and Lydia DePillis report for the New York Times.
Police on Friday arrested an ICE officer in Texas on four counts of second-degree assault for the non-fatal shooting of Venezuelan immigrant Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in Minnesota in January, and one count of falsely reporting a crime for his actions in the aftermath. Gregory Svirnovksiy reports for POLITICO.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is considering pulling some customs staff from Newark’s airport to help federal officials respond to protests at Delaney Hall, a nearby immigration detention facility, two administration officials said. New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D) announced plans Friday to create protected protest zones around the Delaney Hall facility to try to “lower the temperature” there — a decision Mullin praised as a “win for law and order.” But Sherrill also called the idea of pulling federal customs officials from Newark Liberty International Airport “completely ridiculous,” citing the upcoming FIFA World Cup. Myah Ward and Oriana Pawlyk report for POLITICO.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Roughly one in five lawyers who worked in the federal government at the end of 2024 had left by March 2026, according to a New York Times analysis of federal employment data, amounting to an exodus of more than 10,000 lawyers. Many departing lawyers cite staffing cuts, disagreements with administration policies, and concerns about political pressure, with many moving to state attorneys general offices, nonprofits, and advocacy groups that are challenging the administration in court. Eileen Sullivan and Andrea Fuller report.
Former Attorney General Pam Bondi on Friday declined to answer any questions from members of the House Oversight Committee about Trump’s involvement in anything surrounding the Epstein files, according to Democratic lawmakers. Bondi reportedly also said the Committee would need to direct many of its questions to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. Perry Stein and Maegan Vazquez report for the Washington Post.
Louisiana Republicans on Friday passed a new gerrymander that will eliminate one of the state’s two Democratic, majority-Black House districts. Andrew Howard reports for POLITICO.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
A federal judge on Friday barred the Trump administration from taking steps to launch Trump’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund. The order prohibits the government from establishing the fund or processing disbursements until a hearing is held in June. Zach Montague reports for the New York Times.
A federal judge on Friday ruled that Trump’s effort to rebrand the Kennedy Center in his own name is illegal, stating that it violated the clear language of federal law that requires the building to honor “President Kennedy and President Kennedy alone.” The order came as part of a broader ruling that also overturned a plan announced in March to close the center for two years of renovations. Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein report for POLITICO.
The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups filed a lawsuit on Friday over alleged human rights abuses at the United States’ largest immigration detention center in El Paso, Texas. A DHS spokesperson said claims that there are inhumane conditions at the camp are categorically false. Andrew Hay reports for Reuters.
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