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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
Iran yesterday said it had attacked 10 ships near the Strait of Hormuz after the United States sank five Iranian oil tankers. At least one seafarer aboard a tanker was reported killed, while another is listed as missing. Enas Alashray, Idrees Ali, and Jana Choukeir report for Reuters.
CBS reporter Jennifer Jacobs yesterday claimed on social media that multiple American military aircraft suffered damage in overnight strikes on the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan. Akanksha Khushi reports for Reuters.
President Trump yesterday told reporters that he expected the Iran war to end after the November U.S. midterm elections because Iran “can’t hold out any longer.” Trump’s comments contradict warnings he heard in a closed-door discussion with advisors. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and others warned Trump that Iran could continue to resist U.S. pressure under blockade potentially past Inauguration Day in January 2029, officials told the Wall Street Journal. Enas Alashray, Idrees Ali, and Jana Choukeir report for Reuters; Alexander Ward, Shelby Holliday, and Michael R. Gordon report.
Trump yesterday said the United States may hit Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, after “a little activity” was noticed at the fortified site. Trump has been threatening strikes on Pickaxe Mountain, located near Iran’s heavily damaged Natanz uranium enrichment facility, since at least mid-July. Steve Holland and Kanishka Singh report for Reuters.
IRAN WAR- YEMEN
Pakistan on Tuesday warned Iran to rein in its Yemeni Houthi allies, while Iran responded that it “does not control the Houthis,” according to senior sources from Iran and Pakistan. Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif yesterday told Pakistani TV that attacks on Saudi Arabia could trigger a joint security arrangement involving Pakistan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree yesterday said Saudi warplanes carried out 54 airstrikes across Yemeni provinces, adding that they would “not go unanswered and unpunished.” Samia Nakhoul, Mubasher Bukhari, and Parisa Hafezi report for Reuters.
Four Yemeni government military sources today said Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis are closer to gaining leverage over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, one of the world’s most important routes for commodity vessels. The Houthis were nearing complete control of Yemen’s coastal cities like Mocha and Dhubab that sit directly along the strait. Mohammed Ghobari and Nayera Abdallah report for Reuters.
IRAN WAR – OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
The International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-member board yesterday voted to report Iran to the U.N. Security Council for the first time in 20 years, citing Iran’s failure to cooperate in a long-running investigation into uranium traces detected by inspectors at undeclared sites. China, Russia, and Niger opposed reporting Iran, while eight countries abstained, and one didn’t vote as it was in arrears, according to diplomats. The resolution was put forward by the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. Stephanie Liechtenstein reports for AP News.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Israeli strikes early today and yesterday killed at least four people in the northern Gaza community of Beit Lahiya, including two children, according to Shifa Hospital. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on today’s strikes, but a statement said its forces yesterday struck Hamas weapons storage facilities in three areas across Gaza. AP News reports.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Russia’s Voronezh Gov. Alexander Gusev today said a woman was killed and two people wounded after drone debris struck a house in the town of Borisoglebsk. Air defense systems had destroyed 19 drones over the region. Anton Kolodyazhnyy reports for Reuters.
A Russian drone strike on a shopping center in the northern Ukrainian city of Sumy yesterday killed two people and injured 20, according to the Regional Gov. Oleh Hryhorov. Ron Popeski reports for Reuters.
Ukrainian sea drones yesterday injured eight people in Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi, according to authorities of the surrounding Krasnodar region. Jekaterīna Golubkova, Alejandro Gael Montiel, and Vinaya K report for Reuters.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere yesterday said Ukrainian President Voloydymyr Zelenskyy’s plane had nearly been struck by a drone as it was about to take off from Moldova. A Moldovan government spokesperson yesterday said authorities closed Moldovan airspace over a drone alert, which delayed Zelenskyy’s departure. Tom Balmforth, Gwladys Fouche, and Alexander Tanas report for Reuters.
Trump yesterday said Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to make a deal to end the war in Ukraine. Trump on Tuesday spoke with Putin on the phone. Steve Holland and Gram Slattery report for Reuters.
U.S. C.I.A. Director John Ratcliffe is preparing to take a bigger role in Washington’s negotiations with Russia and Ukraine, U.S. officials told their European counterparts, according to the Financial Times yesterday. Ratcliffe’s increased involvement would coincide with a reduction in the role of Special Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. CIA spokesperson Liz Lyons called the report “false” on social media. Henry Foy, Christopher Miller, Max Seddon, and Anastasia Stognei report; Anusha Shah reports for Reuters.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
A joint operation involving Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States caught Russian submarines training to unleash a secret weapon designed to disable critical undersea cables in the Arctic without leaving evidence in the spring, sources told Reuters. The operation was carried out by Russia’s GUGI undersea warfare directorate. The vessels were tracked and confronted before they left. Britain and Norway in April disclosed that they uncovered a covert Russian operation in the Arctic, but discovery of a new weapon, the location of the operation, and U.S. involvement had not been reported. Sarah Mcfarlane and Gram Slattery report.
The U.K. Crown Prosecution Service yesterday said a British man has been charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service and preparing an act of sabotage after alleged contact with a representative of the GRU Volunteer Corps, which is said to be controlled by Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency. Sam Tabahriti reports for Reuters.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz yesterday said he remained sceptical that proceedings to ban the far-right AfD party would succeed, and argued that political parties should instead seek to win back their voters. Merz accused AfD of supporting Russia against Germany’s interests and advocating anti-migration policies that were tantamount to “ethnic cleansing.” AfD told Reuters Merz was deliberately mischaracterizing its position as a way of demonizing the party, and said its policies were legal. Maria Martinez reports for Reuters; Andreas Rinke and Kirsti Knolle report.
Saima Wazed, the daughter of ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, yesterday resigned as head of the World Health Organization South-East Asia, following fraud investigations by WHO and Bangladeshi authorities. The WHO placed Wazed on unpaid administrative leave late last year. Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission filed charges against Wazed alleging fraud and forgery. The WHO accused Wazed of “committing financial fraud in relation to her travel to China,” and of misrepresenting her academic credentials. Krishna N. Das and Jennifer Rigby report for Reuters.
The Spanish government yesterday released documents that show the Spanish National Intelligence Centre warned their Moroccan counterparts and the Spanish government’s Ceuta representative of migrants’ plans to storm Ceuta a day before more than 70,000 people crossed into Spain’s North African enclave. Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said the documents showed that there had been no warning of the scale. Emma Pinedo, Jesus Aguado, and Victoria Waldersee report for Reuters.
CLIMATE DEVELOPMENTS
Nepal will ask wealthier countries and global agencies for financial help this week, arguing they should contribute to the $5 billion needed for initial rebuilding as the disaster shows how climate change has hit poor countries that did little to cause it, according to officials. Nepal’s initial estimate for funds covers recovery over the next five months and will be shared with the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and the embassies of countries and blocs, Nepali Disaster Management Chief Dharam Raj Uprety told Reuters. Saurabh Sharma, Sarita Chaganti Singh, and Gopal Sharma report.
The EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service today said the world experienced its joint-hottest month since records began. August had an average global surface air temperature of 16.96 degrees celsius, tied with July 2023’s record. Kate Abnett and Marta Fiorin report for Reuters.
Twenty states and the District of Columbia yesterday filed two lawsuits against the Trump administration over what they called the most severe cuts to protections for wildlife in the time period since the passage of the Endangered Species Act 1973. The first suit asked the federal court to strike down a rule finalized by the Interior and Commerce Departments in July that redefined what it means to “harm” wildlife under the 1973 Act. The second suit challenged two regulations issued by the Fish and Wildlife Service, part of the Interior Department. The first regulation eliminated automatic protections for all species that are newly classified as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
A U.S. grant program for organizations pursuing Trump administration priorities in Europe will exclude French groups because of sensitivities over allegations of foreign interference ahead of next year’s presidential election, sources told Reuters. The State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor grant program offers between $1-3 million to organizations seeking “to strengthen and develop democratic resilience, rule of law, freedom of speech and freedom of the press, and the defense of human rights in Europe,” and eligible groups may also focus on “national sovereignty, migration, censorship, and lawfare challenges.” The decision has already been communicated to French officials, and reflects a recognition in Washington that funding MAGA-aligned organizations in France could jeopardize economic ties between the countries. Gabriel Stargardter reports.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday said that he would seek $45 million from Congress in additional security funding for Ecuador during a visit to the country. Rubio said Washington was increasingly working with Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa’s government to crack down on drug trafficking organizations. Rubio also designated Ecuador-based gang Los Tiguerones as a foreign terrorist organization, and announced the United States would be imposing sanctions on seven former Ecuadorian officials accused of bribery. Alexandra Valencia, Julia Symmes Cobb, and Simon Lewis report for Reuters.
U.S. CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC OPERATIONS
Southern Command yesterday said it “executed a lethal kinetic strike on a go-fast vessel operating along established narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean,” killing three people. Kanishka Singh reports for Reuters.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
The Department of Homeland Security yesterday said that El Salvadorian immigrants will keep their Temporary Protected Status as it was scheduled to expire. The Department said the TPS will be maintained until an announcement is made “at an appropriate time.” Kanishka Singh and Kristina Cooke report for Reuters.
A study from the University of Illinois Chicago’s Great Cities Institute found that ICE’s Chicago-area operation cost local businesses roughly $1.26 billion last year. The study notes that residents of Cook County’s Latino-heavy neighborhoods made “substantially fewer” visits to restaurants and retail businesses in neighborhoods without a high concentration of Latin America-born individuals, and this decline in “cross-community” trips explained the loss of money. Max Rego reports for The Hill.
U.S. TECH DEVELOPMENTS
OpenAI yesterday said it was pushing for mandatory national AI safety requirements due to concerns the technology could accelerate its own development. OpenAI Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane said the prospect of AI-accelerated AI development “demands more than voluntary commitments.” Chandni Shah reports for Reuters.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Challengers to the Republican-drawn congressional map in Missouri yesterday made an emergency filing to the Supreme Court to suspend a federal judge’s order that allowed the map to be used in the midterm elections. Andrew Chung reports for Reuters.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reassigned his Chief Information Officer Sam Corcos away from AI policy over the summer after Corcos relayed private misgivings over White House policy to AI companies, POLITICO reported yesterday. Two administration officials confirmed that Corcos is no longer working on AI matters. Corcos remains Treasury CIO. Sophia Cai and Cheyenne Haslett report.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTION
Trump yesterday said he would pay every American adult a $5,000 “Trump dividend” if Republicans retain control of Congress in the midterms. With approximately 270 million U.S. adults, the idea would cost around $1.35 trillion. Trump has previously promised payments from DOGE dividends and a “tariff refund” which have not materialized. Nandita Bose, Steve Holland, and Nathan Layne report for Reuters; Andrew Duehren reports for the New York Times.
The Trump administration plans to send $500 rebate checks to up to one million people who it claims were overcharged for their coverage under Obamacare, Axios reported yesterday. The White House says the money would come from a $500 million fund of excess fees paid by Affordable Care Act recipients who were overcharged by insurance companies during the Biden administration. The direct-deposit payment would be sent to people in 30 states before the midterm elections. Marc Caputo reports.
The Justice and Education Departments yesterday alleged that admissions practices at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law deliberately favored Black applicants and discriminated against white and Asian candidates. The departments alleged that UC Berkeley School of Law uses “race, essay prompts, and other tactics to further its admissions diversity goals.” The Dean of UC Berkeley School of Law Erwin Chemerinsky yesterday said the schools admissions policy is clear that “race is not considered in any way in admissions decisions.” Kanishka Singh reports for Reuters.
The Commerce Department yesterday proposed changing the national census to include only U.S. citizens and permanent residents. The administration will seek feedback on whether other immigrants with temporary legal statuses, such as refugees, or those with work or student visas, should be included in the count or not. The proposed rule changes would also eliminate parts of the questionnaire that seek information on race or ethnicity, as the department claimed such data is “immaterial” to the constitutional mandate to conduct an actual population count. Race and ethnicity data from the census has been a key information source used in civil and voting rights enforcement. Julia Harte reports for Reuters; Michelle Hackman and Paul Overberg report for the Wall Street Journal.
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