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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. forces are set to pull out from their last bases in Iraq by tomorrow. The withdrawal was agreed in 2024 under President Biden and has been carried out under the Trump administration, even as it wages war in Iran. A commander in the Iran-umbrella group Islamic Resistance in Iraq Abu Mojtaba al-Yasiri described U.S. withdrawal as a “historic victory for the Iraqi Islamic resistance groups and honorable Iraqis.” Ahmed Rasheed reports for Reuters.
President Trump is willing to give Iran sanctions relief and release frozen Iranian funds in return for concrete Iranian steps regarding their nuclear program, according to U.S. officials. Trump on social media yesterday denied reports as “untrue.” Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
Hossein Mohebbi, an Iran Islamic Revolutionary Guard spokesman, today called Trump a “big liar,” and accused him of concealing the truth from Americans about Iran’s nuclear programme and the effectiveness of Iran’s blockade of energy supplies. Mohebbi said the United States knows “Iran is not after nuclear weapons.” Reuters reports.
IRAN WAR – YEMEN
The World Health Organization yesterday said that more than 800 people have been killed and thousands more injured and/or displaced since fighting resumed between the Iran-aligned Houthis and Saudi-backed government in Yemen. The data did not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Vivian Nereim reports for the New York Times.
IRAN WAR – OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
Saudi Arabia resumed exporting oil via the East-West pipeline after repairing damages caused by drone strikes, according to sources yesterday. Summer Said and Georgi Kantchev report for the Wall Street Journal.
The U.S. Treasury Department was set to grant a limited waiver to its Iran sanctions program yesterday to allow for flights carrying Shi’ite Muslim religious pilgrims between Iran and Iraq, a source told Reuters. The waiver would allow flights between Iran and the Shi’ite holy city of Najaf in Iraq for one month, with a more permanent waiver potentially following. Timour Azhari and Ahmed Rasheed report.
The five men arrested on suspicion of terrorism offenses near Royal Air Force Fairford were released on bail yesterday, according to U.K. Counter Terrorism Policing. All five men were confirmed to be U.K. nationals in their 20s from London, and the Iranian embassy in London said it “categorically rejects” claims that linked Iran to the incident. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday said it was clear a “foreign actor” had been involved. Matt Spivey and Tara Mewawalla report for BBC News.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz today said the Israeli military had targeted and killed the Head of Hamas’ armed wing in northern Gaza Izz al-Din Al-Beik. Hamas issued a statement confirming Beik’s death, and medics said the airstrike hit an apartment building in Gaza City’s Nasr neighborhood, killing one other person. Nidal al-Mughrabi and Maayan Lubell report for Reuters.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Russian airstrikes in Kyiv yesterday struck Ukraine’s National Academy of Sciences, an institution accredited with almost all major scientific discoveries in Ukraine, and killed two people. Another six people were injured and the building was heavily damaged. Kim Barker and Maria Varenikova report for the New York Times.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy yesterday said there are more than 8,000 North Korean troops on Russian territory and that preparations are underway to deploy another 10,000 troops. Heejin Kim reports for Reuters.
Russia plans to spend around $202 billion on defense in 2027, around 27% more than the original budget and the highest figure since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022, according to government documents seen by Reuters. Darya Korsunskaya reports.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal today said Estonia had concluded that an August fire at Estonian defense company Milrem Robotics, which supplies unmanned ground vehicles to Ukraine, was caused by an arson attack commissioned by Russian security services. Michal said the conclusion was based on information gathered by Estonia’s Internal Security Service KAPO. The Kremlin denied the claim and called the accusations unfounded. Essi Lehto reports for Reuters.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul yesterday visited the International Criminal Court and said the “German government completely supports the court.” Wadephul added that Germany is working with “other states” on preserving the ICC’s ability to function. Mike Corder reports for AP News.
Argentinian President Javier Milei yesterday threatened to launch a legal challenge against the U.K. government unless it halts oil exploration off the coast of the Falkland Islands. Milei set a two-week deadline for the Sea Lion oilfield project, a joint venture between Israeli and British companies, and said he had instructed the Foreign Ministry to initiate proceedings before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea if their activity was not stopped. The companies insist they have valid licenses issued by the United Kingdom. Will Grant reports for BBC News.
Arakan Army spokesman Khine Thu Kha today said the death toll from Myanmar military airstrikes in Rakhine state yesterday rose to 50 after rescuers found more bodies. Another 58 were injured, and the numbers were confirmed by aid worker Wai Hun Aung. Khine Thu Kha said the military “deliberately targeted densely populated markets, schools, civilians, and residential buildings.” Reuters reports.
Malaysia today began the repatriation of Myanmar nationals under a voluntary program despite warnings from the U.N. Refugee Agency and rights groups that conditions remain unsafe. The 1,476 people who began the trip today are among 5,000 Myanmar nationals who will be repatriated in stages from Malaysia. AP News reports.
CLIMATE DEVELOPMENTS
Spanish Energy Minister Sara Aagesen today said Spain, Portugal, and Luxembourg sent a letter to the European Commission in which the countries asked for a new EU target for 2040 to expand renewable energy that is “both ambitious and realistic.” Inti Landauro and Kate Abnett report for Reuters.
U.S. Conservative organizations are filing multiple open record requests at U.S. public universities from academics studying climate change, according to a POLITICO investigation published yesterday. More than 100 open records requests have been filed at 19 public universities, targeting at least 30 researchers, with more than half filed since Trump’s re-election in Nov. 2024. Chelsea Harvey, Lesley Clark, and Corbin Hiar report.
A group of 15 U.S. states and a Texas county yesterday sued the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration over an environmental review of planned commercial drone package delivery rules. The states claim the FAA violated the law by failing to adequately analyze the potential environmental impacts of expanded drone package delivery operations. David Shepardson reports for Reuters.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. yesterday announced he will not take part in a climate-change lawsuit scheduled to be heard next week in the court. The announcement provides no reason for Alito Jr.’s recusal, but the justice has faced pressure from environmental and court watchdog groups to step aside because he owns stocks in two oil companies, and he flew on the private jet of an investor in a company involved in the dispute. Abbie VanSickle reports for the New York Times.
U.S. AI DEVELOPMENTS
OpenAI Head of Safety Systems Saachi Jain told the Wall Street Journal that OpenAI would not release GPT-6.1 Astra over safety concerns that researchers raised during internal testing. Jain said Astra failed in tests measuring alignment, as it showed higher levels of deception around what actions it did or didn’t take. Another issue was “scope authorization,” meaning Astra would push ahead on a task without user authorization, and would sometimes reach for external tools even if it might be unsafe. Maxwell Zeff reports.
OpenAI yesterday apologized for unauthorized access to Medicare statistical data by its agents and its handling of the incident. OpenAI said it is “working to do better in the future,” and working to understand the “new kind of cyber incident.” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese today responded to the apology and said he had a “direct but constructive discussion” with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Paul Karp reports for POLITICO.
Nvidia yesterday unveiled a new security platform designed to stop AI agents from going rogue. Nvidia Vice President of Enterprise AI Justin Boitano said the “new security platform could have stopped” OpenAI’s breach of Hugging Face. Kelvin Chan and Anne D’Innocenzio report for AP News; Kelvin Chan reports for AP News.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, OpenAI President Greg Brockman, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Palantir CEO Alex Karp, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang are expected to have lunch with Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson today, according to sources who confirmed the attendance of the AI executives. The National Design Studio is hosting a separate launch event today for America.gov, a new AI-powered government website intended to consolidate services and information across agencies’ websites. Owen Dahlkamp reports for POLITICO.
A new coalition, known as the American Infrastructure Alliance, wants to partner with state and local officials to create standards and guardrails for data centers in 2027. The alliance is backed by Blackstone, OpenAI, QTS, and SoftBank Group, alongside key unions such as the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. The group plans initial campaigns in Texas, Georgia, Ohio, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and South Carolina. Hans Nichols reports for Axios.
Lawyers from the New York Times and other major publishers yesterday asked a federal court to disregard the Justice Department’s efforts to get involved in their copyright infringement lawsuit against OpenAI, saying the Trump administration may simply be biased in OpenAI’s favor. The publishers responded to the DOJ’s statement in support of OpenAI and said that the department discounted the Copyright Office’s contrary conclusion on fair use and AI. Hassan Ali Kanu reports for POLITICO.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Taiwanese Defense Minister Wellington Koo today said Taiwan is in continuous talks with the United States about arms sales and has received assurances that U.S. policy on Taiwan has not changed following Trump’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Taiwan already has a backlog of previously ordered weapons that have yet to be delivered. Ben Blanchard reports for Reuters.
EU lawmakers are calling for the European Commission to forbid European firms and banks from applying U.S. sanctions on the ICC. Dutch lawmaker Dirk Gotink said the EU “needs to protect the ICC” which would involve “blocking statute,” following an EU Economy Committee meeting yesterday. Giovanna Faggionato reports for POLITICO.
U.S. import bans against some Canadian goods took effect today. U.S. officials yesterday released a notice saying Canadian products including wine and a variety of liquor would be “unconditionally rejected” by U.S. Customs and Border Protection starting today. Ana Swanson reports for the New York Times.
Rubio yesterday said the United States hopes Cuba will choose a “different path,” and that those hoping to wait out Trump’s term will “learn the lesson the hard way” if they don’t change course. Rubio added that Cuba needs to have “free and fair elections.” Kanishka Singh reports for Reuters.
The State Department yesterday announced the revocation of visas for 27 Latin American officials, including Bolivia’s Attorney General, to “fulfil commitments to defend democratic governance across our hemisphere against corruption and narco-trafficking.” Matthew Lee reports for AP News.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
The Senate yesterday passed the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act. The bill allows the NCAA to set and enforce standardized rules on transfers, recruits, and pay-for-play name-image-likeness arrangements. It also caps the amount schools can pay student athletes and tries to prevent the formation of a super league. Stef W. Kight and Kate Santaliz report for Axios.
Former U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee today about his past investigations into Trump. Judiciary chair Chuck Grassley said Smith “must answer for what he did to hundreds of Republican groups and individuals.” Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff and Andrew Goudsward report for Reuters.
The Federal Reserve’s in-house watchdog yesterday said a former staff member was found multiple times trying to remove confidential information before retiring. The apparent breaches did not ultimately trigger a formal misconduct hearing. Michael S. Derby reports for Reuters.
FBI investigators last week concluded that a recent hack of a bureau jobs portal represents a “major” incident, according to a determination notification to Congress viewed by POLITICO. FBI spokesperson Benjamin Williamson told POLITICO yesterday that the first agency-wide email about the breach was sent Sep. 22, “less than 12 hours after public reporting surfaced.” John Sakellariadis and Maggie Miller report.
Andrew Bailey yesterday announced he is leaving his post as FBI Deputy Director. FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed the departure and thanked him for his work. A senior administration official told Axios that Bailey “quit because he had nothing to do.” Josephine Walker reports.
Prosecutor Kurt Olsen yesterday quit the DOJ’s “grand conspiracy” case. Olsen quit after facing issues with his security clearance. Jack Eckenrode, one of the lead FBI agents assigned to the case, also departed in recent weeks, according to sources. Alan Feuer reports for the New York Times.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has assigned personnel to use AI and cyber capabilities to “identify, disrupt, and neutralize foreign interference” in upcoming elections. Hegseth’s memo was authorized on Sep. 22 and has three related directives. Hegseth’s order does not direct military personnel to polling stations. Marc Caputo and Brittany Gibson report for Axios.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTION
Education Secretary Linda McMahon yesterday unveiled a final regulation that seeks to restore a rule on how sexual misconduct is investigated on college campuses. McMahon said the final rule “clears the Biden Administration’s illegal rewrite of Title IX” and says the title’s protections are based on “SEX, not ‘gender identity’.” Bianca Quilantan reports for POLITICO.
The Trump administration yesterday asked the Supreme Court to allow for federal prison officials to stop providing certain gender-transition medical treatments to transgender inmates. Lower courts have blocked Trump’s executive order directing that imprisoned trans women be housed in men’s facilities, and barring transgender inmates from receiving medical treatment for gender dysphoria. Ann E. Marrow reports for the New York Times.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
A federal judge yesterday blocked the Federal Emergency Management Agency from withholding anti-terrorism funds from local governments that don’t change how they run elections. In June, FEMA said it would withhold 20% of counterterrorism grants available to states that didn’t agree to use a federal database to check the citizenship status of voters. The judge ruled that the statute “does not authorize FEMA to withhold counterterrorism grants until states and high-risk urban areas achieve policy objectives on their own dime.” Patrick Marley reports for the Washington Post.
CNN, MS NOW, and POLITICO yesterday asked a federal judge to extend his temporary order restoring their access to the White House. The outlets argue that the actions taken by the White House administration to “retaliate” against them only underscore that the “motive is to punish and chill journalism they dislike.” Tierney Sneed reports for CNN.
Did you miss this? Stay up-to-date with our Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions.
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