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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
At the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said “Iran must be powerful so as to avoid being threatened, to avoid its future being threatened.” The day before, U.S. President Donald Trump told the U.N. body that he would “annihilate” Iran if its leaders do not make a deal. Pezeshkian said Iran would not seek nuclear weapons but that the country had a right to “peaceful nuclear technologies,” Susannah George and John Hudson report for the Washington Post.
U.S. negotiators – Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner – held a meeting with Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, at the U.N. on Tuesday. The discussion was mediated by Qatar. “I don’t want to mischaracterize this as a major breakthrough,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at a press conference on Wednesday. “But at the same time, I think it was significant that at least there was a conversation.” Edward Wong for the New York Times.
The U.S. Army identified the 19th U.S. service member to die while deployed in support of the war with Iran. Capt. Bianca C. Wilkerson, 37, of Norfolk, Virginia, died Sept. 18 “as a result of a non-combat-related incident,” the Army said Wednesday. Natalie Oliverio for Military Times.
IRAN WAR – YEMEN
The United Kingdom is offering Saudi Arabia air-to-air refueling of Saudi planes to help the country repel attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels. Officials said the agreement will start soon and will involve the Royal Air Force refueling Saudi planes on “defensive” missions. Jill Lawless for the AP.
IRAN WAR – OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
Eight Navy personnel who were part of the USS Abraham Lincoln strike group attempted suicide during their long deployment, which included combat operations against Iran. Two sailors assigned to the strike group jumped overboard in recent months, but were rescued. Others were prevented from jumping. The information about the sailors was included in a letter from Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao, who was responding to questions posed by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY). Zachary Cohen reports for CNN.
CHINA
On Wednesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Washington, where he was greeted with a rare planeside welcome from Trump. “A 100-foot (30 meter) long red carpet was unfurled at the bottom of the staircase placed at the door of Xi’s plane.” And First Lady Melania Trump joined her husband to greet Xi and his wife. Michelle L. Price and Didi Tang report for the Associated Press.
The United States and China are extending their trade truce for two months, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Wednesday evening. The truce was set to expire Nov. 10. Oliver Ward and Ari Hawkins for POLITICO.
The Pentagon is investigating how parts from its F-35 fighter jet program ended up in Hong Kong, where China was able to obtain them. Bloomberg reported Wednesday that China has the parts after a shipment was “unexpectedly diverted to Hong Kong while on the way from Australia to the United States for either repair or disposal months ago.” Ben Finley and Konstantin Toropin for the Associated Press.
TECH DEVELOPMENTS
Open AI’s Sam Altman and Anthropic’s Dario Amodei urged world leaders gathered at the U.N. Security Council to cooperate with each other to manage the threats posed by AI. If not, Amodei said, “AI could be a risk to humanity as a whole.” His ideas for AI cooperation included: an international ban on using AI to make biological weapons, “evaluation and verification systems so countries can verify each other’s commitments, and common global standards for testing AI along with a notification system for AI security incidents.” Hadas Gold for CNN.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said an autonomous OpenAI program infiltrated an Australian government health website in June. Albanese said he spoke to Altman about the incident in New York on Wednesday, telling the tech CEO that he was disappointed in how long it took OpenAI to warn Australia. “It took until 10 September before there was any notification at all — and the notification was an email sent to just the public mailbox,” he said. AFP reports.
WEST BANK VIOLENCE
The son of Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter was critically injured in a ramming attack in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday afternoon. He was serving as a reserve soldier manning a checkpoint near the settlement of Beit Horon. The Palestinian driving the car, Mahmoud Muhammad Mahmoud Suleiman, was shot and killed at the scene of the attack. Tal Shalev and Oren Liebermann for CNN.
In early September, the United States drafted a statement condemning plans by the United Kingdom, France, and Canada to block imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, but the statement was never released because it didn’t have the support of the White House or the State Department’s senior leadership. Humeyra Pamuk and Alexander Cornwell report for Reuters.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Speaking at the U.N., Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Russia’s “ridiculous and never-ending war” could soon spread to other parts of Europe. He said a peace agreement was needed before AI plays a larger role in the war. “As early as next year, there is a real possibility that A.I., not only people, will decide what happens on the battlefield.” The New York Times reports.
Trump has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to the G20 summit in Miami in December, Rubio told reporters on Wednesday. Putin’s attendance would mark his first in-person appearance at the annual gathering since 2019. Edward Wong and Michael Crowley for the New York Times.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez, speaking at the U.N. General Assembly, promised her country would hold elections and praised the recent oil deal with the United States. Nayara Batschke for the Associated Press.
A survey by Venezuelan polling firm Meganálisis shows that nearly 80 percent of Venezuelans reject the oil deal with the United States. Meanwhile, more than nine in 10 disapprove of Trump’s meeting with Rodríguez in New York this week. Antonio María Delgado for the Miami Herald.
The Financial Times has obtained a document that reveals Belgium’s foreign ministry warned internally that the United States under Trump is no longer a reliable ally. The document, from 2025, “urged officials to cultivate ties with his opponents to protect the country’s interests.” Laura Dubois reports.
Tigrayan leaders say a new war with the Ethiopian government has begun. The fighting, which erupted on Wednesday, shatters a fragile truce. “A civil war that began in 2020 between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and federal forces resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths before the Pretoria Agreement, brokered by the African Union, was signed in November 2022.” The TPLF has reportedly seized control of federally controlled airports in Tigray and Ethiopian Airlines suspended flights to the region. Reuters reports.
Judges at the International Criminal Court convicted Mahamat Said Abdel Kani, a former Central African Republic militia commander, of crimes against humanity for abusing and torturing prisoners at a detention facility. “Today, I can sleep easier because the court has acknowledged my suffering,” one former prisoner said. Molly Quell reports for the Associated Press.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
The Pentagon has a void of confirmed officials due to a legislative backlog and partisan politics on Capitol Hill. “Open leadership posts include the top civilian leaders in the Army and Navy as well as the Army’s top general.” Leo Shane III and Connor O’Brien for POLITICO.
A Reuters investigation has found that “FBI data allegedly stolen by the hacking group ShinyHunters carries granular detail about scores of bureau officials’ job assignments, including sensitive work against Chinese spies, Russian intelligence, drug cartels, and more.” Raphael Satter and A.J. Vicen report.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly temporarily restored White House access for POLITICO, CNN, and MS NOW, after Trump barred them from covering official events. Early Thursday, Kelly “granted a temporary restraining order sought by POLITICO, CNN and MS NOW as part of a joint lawsuit filed challenging the revocations. Citing the urgent needs of a ‘free press,’ Kelly ordered the 78 journalists’ credentials returned for at least two weeks while further litigation plays out,” Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney report for POLITICO.
To justify its ban of POLITICO, the White House provided examples of times the news outlet used anonymous quotes from a “senior administration official.” But one of the examples it cited “was an article based on a press call the White House hosted, according to an invitation reviewed by The Washington Post.” Scott Nover reports.
In a ruling on Wednesday, an Iowa judge threw out the president’s lawsuit against pollster J. Ann Selzer, her polling company, the Des Moines Register, and Gannett. Trump’s lawsuit focused on a poll published days before the 2024 presidential election that showed Vice President Kamala Harris with a lead in Iowa, a state Trump eventually won. “The suit was dismissed with prejudice, which means Trump cannot file the same claim again,” Brian Stelter and Liam Reilly report for CNN.
Did you miss this? Stay up-to-date with our Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions.
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