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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
U.S. and Qatari officials said yesterday that negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz are making progress. The Qatari foreign ministry spokesman, Majed al-Ansari, told reporters that the negotiations on the strait were in “very progressive stages” as draft language of a possible agreement had been “circulated among the parties.” The White House was actively involved in the negotiations, regional sources said, adding that there have been several calls among U.S envoy Steve Witkoff, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi in recent days. President Trump said yesterday his administration had “very good discussions” with Iran during all-day negotiations. Two regional sources and a U.S. official told Axios that the United States is aiming to announce a deal today. Aaron Boxerman and Ismaeel Naar report for the New York Times; Barak Ravid reports; Tala Ramadan and Kanishka Singh report for Reuters.
The United States has used “virtually all” of its global stockpile of highly accurate long-range missiles during its war with Iran, according to two sources. The sources expressed concern that the falling missile supplies could limit the U.S. ability to deter adversaries, including Russia and China. A fourth source said that despite the high usage of precision weapons, the United States can resupply. Asked for comment on the stockpile data, the White House issued a statement from Trump, saying the United States had “far more munitions than anyone in the world” and “far more than we need.” Erin Banco, Mike Stone, and Jonathan Landay report for Reuters.
IRAN WAR – YEMEN
A projectile struck an Indian-flagged vessel near Yemen, causing it to capsize and sink, but all 14 seafarers on board were rescued, India’s shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal said yesterday. Yemen’s transportation ministry accused the Houthis of carrying out the attack by using an explosive-laden boat. The Houthis have not claimed responsibility for the attack. Sofia Ferreira Santos reports for BBC News.
The Houthis’ military spokesman, Yahya Saree, said today that the Houthis had launched a missile attack on a Saudi oil tanker off the coast of the Red Sea port city of Yanbu. Saree did not say when the attack took place. Reuters reports.
IRAN WAR – OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
Possible cyber intrusions targeting water and wastewater utilities have now been reported in at least a dozen U.S. states, multiple sources told ABC News. Iran remains the prime suspect in the cyberattacks, which can blind utility operators by changing passwords or disabling alarms, according to the sources, though its involvement has not been officially confirmed. The FBI is urging utilities to disconnect from the internet where possible and become familiar with reverting to manual controls. Luke Barr, Jack Date, Katherine Faulders, Josh Margolin, and Aaron Katersky report.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that Israel will not withdraw from its current lines in Gaza until Hamas has completely disarmed, pushing back on the recent deal announced by Trump. The Trump administration “sent us a draft. We did not agree. It is not our draft. We sent our comments,” Netanyahu said in a video shared on social media. Wafaa Shurafa, Samy Magdy, Ibrahim Hazboun, and Melanie Lidman report for AP News.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Russian missile and drone strikes on Kyiv and the surrounding area overnight killed at least 17 people and wounded 44 others, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Ukrainian drones hit a Wildberries warehouse south of Moscow, the company and the region’s governor said today. It was the 14th Wildberries warehouse to catch fire in less than three weeks, according to a Ukrainian tally. Hanna Arhirova reports for AP News.
A North Korean missile unit has begun deploying to western Russia and could be equipped with 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers for strikes against Ukraine, an official at Ukraine’s military intelligence agency said. Tom Balmforth reports for Reuters.
The United States is pressing ahead with talks on allowing Ukraine to make Patriot interceptor missiles, even after Trump cast doubt on such a deal last week, four sources told Reuters. Washington’s envoy to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, is leading the push to reach an agreement and traveled to Kyiv last month to discuss the issue and assess options with Ukrainian officials and weapons industry executives, the four sources said. “No order was given to halt the discussions,” one of the sources said, adding that talks continued with U.S. arms makers, military officials and others. Jonathan Landay and Andrea Shalal report.
The EU will use €1.4 billion ($1.6 billion) taken from interest generated by frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine, the European Commission said today. The money, transferred to the bloc on August 3, came from interest on cash balances, part of Russian central bank assets frozen by the EU in the wake of Moscow’s invasion, the Commission added. Reuters reports.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
The Steering Council for the Emergence of a Federal Democratic Union (SCEF), an umbrella coalition of Myanmar’s major ethnic armed groups and the shadow National Unity Government, said last month that it is committed to pursuing a negotiated political settlement, marking a shift after more than five years of civil war. The announcement comes as Myanmar’s junta chief Min Aung Hlaing visits Thailand this week amid regional efforts to revive peace talks, although the military has yet to recognise SCEF as a negotiating partner. Reuters reports.
The World Food Programme yesterday said that child malnutrition in Afghanistan has reached critical levels, with child wasting now widespread and aid shortages forcing clinics to turn away six out of seven women and children who need treatment. Olivia Le Poidevin reports for Reuters.
The World Food Programme warned today that a very strong El Niño has an 81% chance of occurring and could push nearly 49 million more people into acute food insecurity by the end of 2027. Olivia Le Poidevin reports for Reuters.
TECH DEVELOPMENTS
Leading AI models from Anthropic and OpenAI created fake online personas and tried to deceive human coders into abetting a cyberattack during a recent safety evaluation, the United Kingdom’s AI Safety and Security Institute said yesterday. “This is the first time AISI has seen deception of this severity that was targeted at a real person, unprompted, in the real world,” AISI said in a report. John Sakellariadis reports for POLITICO.
The White House is excluding open models from its framework to test AI capabilities, sources told Axios. The framework allows for the review of covered frontier models, defined as closed-source with state-of-the-art capabilities and national security risks, multiple sources said. Maria Curi reports.
The Federal Communications Commission is working on a measure to bar imports of new Chinese optical transceivers, which allow data to travel over fiber-optic cables at the speed of light within data centers, four sources told Reuters. Alexander Alper reports.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
The Trump administration has revoked the visa of the Brazilian ambassador, Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, according to a senior State Department official. The move follows Brazil’s decision to stall the approval of Trump’s newly appointed ambassador to Brazil and refuse entry to several other U.S. diplomats, the official said, adding that Viotti’s visa will be reinstated if Brazil accepts Daniel Perez as the next U.S. ambassador. Ana Ionova and Adam B. Ellick report for the New York Times.
The United States has increased its intelligence assets in Cuba in recent months, according to two sources. One of the sources described the increase as a key tactical step that could pave the way for a U.S. military incursion, but they stressed that the outlines of any such operation remain unclear. Dasha Burn reports for POLITICO.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
The Department of Health and Human Services yesterday unveiled a $150 million contract with a small Texas law firm, entrusting it with representing thousands of unaccompanied children in immigration proceedings. None of the lawyers for the firm list immigration law as an area of expertise, per a POLITICO review of the firm’s site. The contract will replace the previous contract with Acacia Center for Justice and its subcontractors, which included major nonprofits such as Kids in Need of Defense. Eric Bazail-Eimil reports.
Local attorneys report that ICE has begun fitting some Haitian immigrants in Ohio with ankle monitors after the Trump administration ended their Temporary Protected Status. A Trump administration official confirmed the effort to call Haitians with temporary protected status into ICE offices, give them ankle monitors, and release them. Arelis R. Hernandez, Ted Hesson, and Lauren Kaori Gurley report for the Washington Post.
Family members of Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, a Salvadoran man who died at Delaney Hall detention center on Saturday, are demanding an independent investigation into his death, alleging he was denied proper medical care inside the facility. Hallie Golden and Jake Offenhartz report for AP News.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
An armed suspect was arrested late Sunday afternoon at Trump National Golf Course in California, just days before Trump’s fundraiser is set to be there, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said yesterday. The man was observed by federal agents taking photographs and videos and appearing to monitor security-planning activity. Nicole Norman reports for POLITICO.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) yesterday ordered a pause on approvals of new data center projects while regulators audit proposed projects amid concerns that rising electricity demand could threaten the reliability of the state’s power grid. Reuters reports.
A federal judge yesterday agreed to dismiss the seditious-conspiracy case against the leader of the Oath Keepers, Stewart Rhodes, and seven other members of the group who planned to storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Salvador Rizzo reports for the Washington Post.
The Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday narrowly approved Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general, in a 12-to-10 vote along party lines. Glenn Thrush and Michael Gold report for the New York Times.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other Pentagon officials yesterday privately briefed Senate Republicans on the need for a major increase in defense spending, citing threats from China, depleted weapons stockpiles, and the need for AI investment, according to two sources. The Trump administration is also considering a future “lame-duck” budget package that could combine large Pentagon funding increases with other priorities such as a debt ceiling increase. Stef W. Knight reports for Axios.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
The Pentagon’s deployment of National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., is set to cost an additional $1.4 billion through the end of the Trump administration, according to information provided to Congress and reviewed by the Washington Post. Theodoric Meyer, Noah Robertson, and Sophia Solano report.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
A federal appeals court yesterday upheld an earlier injunction that said the Environmental Protection Agency could not terminate $20 billion in climate grants, and that the recipients should have access to the funds as their case proceeds. Claire Brown reports for the New York Times.
Did you miss this? Stay up-to-date with our Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions.
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