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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
Iranian Supreme National Security Council Deputy Secretary Ali Bagheri Kani yesterday said senior representatives from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan met with Iranian officials in Iran. Bagheri Kani said the meetings were aimed at promoting regional security. Erika Solomon, Vivian Nereim, and Adam Rasgon report for the New York Times.
IRAN WAR – YEMEN
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen today said it intercepted and destroyed ballistic missiles and drones launched by the Iran-aligned Houthis towards Saudi Arabia’s Eastern and Southern regions. Saudi Civil Defense issued early warning alerts for a potential hostile threat in the Eastern region and in Kharj governorate, later saying the danger had passed in both areas. Enas Alashray reports for Reuters.
Egypt’s parliament yesterday voted to authorize President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi to provide Saudi Arabia with military support against Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis. The parliament said that the vote was meant to give el-Sissi authorization to take necessary measures to back the kingdom in the defense of its sovereignty against external “aggression.” Samy Magdy reports for AP News.
IRAN WAR – OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
Head of U.K. counter-terror police Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor today said two U.K. nationals have been charged with national security offenses over last month’s incident at Royal Air Force Fairford. Mohmed Ahmad Abdulkarim has been charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service, while Nouman Essghir has been charged with entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the United Kingdom. BBC News reports.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for weeks sought to orchestrate a new airstrike on Iran but ran into resistance from IDF Chf. of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, senior Israeli defense officials and other sources told the New York Times. Zamir was then concerned over the past few days that Netanyahu began pushing for a separate action against Iran, short of an overt strike, and Zamir warned that this would be a miscalculation that could provoke Iran into attacking Israel. David M. Halbfinger, Ronen Bergman, Natan Odenheimer, Adam Rasgon, and Aaron Boxerman report.
WEST BANK DEVELOPMENTS
President Trump’s Board of Peace yesterday appointed Shelley Greenspan to lead its outreach to Congress and the Washington think tank community. Greenspan served as the White House’s Jewish community liaison during the Biden administration. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
The U.N. Independent Commission of Inquiry on Palestine yesterday delivered a report to the U.N. General Assembly that said Israel was committing genocidal acts against Palestinian civilians in Gaza despite a cease-fire agreement, and was carrying out crimes against humanity in the West Bank. The panel said the report is meant to look at the drivers of violence by Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and the report found Israel was deliberately targeting Palestinian children and was using torture, rape, and sexual violence as part of a broader attack aimed at displacing and subjugating the Palestinian population. Israel immediately rejected the claims. Nick Cumming-Bruce reports for the New York Times.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
The U.N. Independent Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine yesterday delivered a report to the U.N. General Assembly which concluded that Russia’s systematic bombardment of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure is intended to inflict harm and suffering on civilians and amounts to a crime against humanity. The report detailed that Russia said it had targeted energy infrastructure serving a military or dual use, but the commanders ordering the attacks knew the power generators they were striking were indispensable to local inhabitants and were well aware of the impact. Nick Cumming-Bruce reports for the New York Times.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy yesterday said Ukraine has been waiting for “nearly a month” for U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to allow missiles for its air defense systems to be sent to the country. Zelenskyy on social media said he “instructed our team to raise this with the American side once again. Conversations with other countries are also ongoing.” Ellen Mitchell reports for The Hill.
Ukrainian officials and Russia’s Defense Ministry today said a limited ceasefire is being respected in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky. U.S. First Lady Melania Trump announced the ceasefire last Friday, which is meant to allow aid deliveries and the evacuation of civilians, due to begin this Friday. Oleshky was seized in the first days of the war in 2022, and Ukraine now estimates that of the previous population of 24,000, only 6,000 people, including 200 children, remain in the city and its surrounding areas. The ceasefire did not stop strikes elsewhere, as a Russian attack today hit the Southern Bridge and subway infrastructure in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv. Olga Malchevska and Sareen Habeshian report for BBC News; JekaterĪna Golubkova reports for Reuters.
U.S. House Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) yesterday warned oil industry heads that oil companies will “be held accountable” if they import any barrels of Russian diesel fuel under the deal Trump struck with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Raskin is expected to head the Judiciary Committee if Democrats win control of the House in next week’s election. Ben Lefebvre reports for POLITICO.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere today held phone calls with Putin followed by calls with Zelenskyy. The call with Putin was related to upcoming meetings in Abu Dhabi, according to Stubb’s office. Stubb said the conversation was “frank and substantive.” Zelenskyy’s aide told reporters that Zelenskyy had spoken with Stubb and Stoere afterwards. Essi Lehto and Mark Trevelyan report for Reuters.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
The French government yesterday announced new teaching posts, expanded university admissions, and billions of euros in loans for school renovations in its first significant concessions to student protests. The government also confirmed freshman classes at public high schools will be capped at 28 students, and vowed to scrap Parcoursup, the centralized platform that manages college applications, by 2028, while “substantial change” will occur to the site in the meantime, according to French Higher Education Minister Philippe Baptiste. Student unions welcomed the new measures as a step in the right direction, but pledged to continue the fight until all their demands are met. Noemie Bisserbe reports for the Wall Street Journal; Thomas Adamson and Sylvie Corbet report for AP News.
Researchers at TrendAI, a unit of Tokyo-based cybersecurity company Trend Micro, concluded the Israeli company Discover-Tech was heavily targeting users of Starlink’s satellite internet service in a likely effort to spy on them, sources told Reuters. Discover-Tech was one of the biggest sources of digital advertisements shown to users of SpaceX’s Starlink service, and ads were likely being used to geolocate or otherwise surveil them. Raphael Satter reports.
Jordanian Government Communication Minister Mohammed al-Momani today said it had killed more than 20 Islamic State militants in airstrikes on southern Syria last night, launched in response to a deadly church attack in Jordan that authorities linked to militants operating across the border. Syria said the strikes killed seven people, including three children and a woman, and Mohammad al-Momani said Jordan regretted the civilian casualties. Yasmine Ghania and Ahmed Tolba report for Reuters.
A group of 21 Indian news publishers today began their court challenge against a privacy law announced last year by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The challenge told the Indian Supreme Court that the law would require journalists to seek consent from people they write about, and that this amounted to pre-censorship and could lead to newsrooms shutting down. The lawsuit comes amid accusations of declining press freedom in India since Modi took office in 2014. Aditya Kalra reports for Reuters.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Church said at least 60 people were killed in two separate attacks in Ethiopia’s conflict-hit Oromia region in the past week. The Oromia regional government and a source linked to the rebel alliance fighting government forces in the northern Tigray region traded blame for the attacks. The Oromo Liberation Army is one of seven armed groups that announced last month that they had formed an alliance aimed at overthrowing Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government. Reuters reports.
Nigerian State Head of the National Emergency Management Agency Ladan Ayuba today said at least 62 people have been killed after gunmen attacked a community in northeastern Nigeria last Friday. The attacks also wounded 52 other people and displaced thousands. Dyepkazah Shibayan reports for AP News.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes yesterday ordered the police to seize the passports of Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro because he is under criminal investigation related to a money laundering scheme, according to a court document reviewed by the New York Times. The ruling stems from an inquiry into Bolsonaro’s links to Brazilian lawyer Willer Tomaz who is accused of laundering more than $1 billion through a vast fraud scheme. Bolsonaro had access to the bank accounts of a company owned by Tomaz. Bolsonaro confirmed Brazil’s federal police had asked for his passports, and that he intended to comply with the request. Ana Ionova, Alice Maciel, and Thayz Guimarães report; Ricardo Brito reports for Reuters.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s election win on Sunday has triggered outrage in Trump’s orbit. Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro yesterday said the result was a “cautionary tale for the midterms” after a Brazilian Supreme Court justice extended voting on Sunday. Navarro also said Lula is “owned and operated by communist China.” Trump said the elections looked “rigged,” but said he is “not running Brazil,” and gets along with Lula “very well.” Later in the day, Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party said it acknowledged the runoff result in a statement signed by the party’s head Valdemar Costa Neto. Megan Messerly, Daniel Desrochers, Ari Hawkins, and Phelim Kine report for POLITICO; Oliver Griffin and Eduardo Simões report for Reuters.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday issued a veiled warning to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado as he told reporters “you’re not going to street-protest your way into a democracy.” Rubio did not explicitly mention Machado in his statement, but a White House source told Axios that “Rubio is on political edge.” Marc Caputo reports.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday said trade talks with the Trump administration have picked up slightly because the United States is moving closer to Canada’s demands. Canadian Minister of Internal Trade Dominic LeBlanc said Canada remains in “constructive dialogue” with the United States, while Carney described a “slight, slight intensification” of discussions. Separately, U.S. and Canadian sources told Reuters that the two countries are working on a deal to ease U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel and autos. Rob Gillies reports for AP News; Promit Mukherjee and David Shepardson report.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide yesterday responded to Trump’s disparaging comments about the country and said Trump “knows very well that the Nobel committee is independent.” Barth Eide said “we have reminded him of that, in case anyone is wondering, and that is still the case,” but also reiterated Norway attached “great importance” to its longstanding relationship with the United States. Leo Sands and Henrik Pryser Libell report for the New York Times.
Indian Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri today said India has faced no pressure from the United States to reduce its Russian crude imports. Puri said the purchase of Russian oil is linked to discounts and pricing when compared with other grades. Nidhi Verma reports for Reuters.
U.S. AI DEVELOPMENTS
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei yesterday detailed the risks and untold benefits AI can bring to humanity as Anthropic looks set to debut on the stock market. Amodei begins the paperwork with the belief that “AI is one of the most consequential technologies in human history,” and later states that “AI will profoundly accelerate the rate of progress in biology and medicine, potentially curing diseases that have plagued humanity for millennia.” The letter also warns that “AI can be misused by those who wish to do harm,” warns that “authoritarian governments may use AI to create high-tech surveillance states,” and that the “incredible economic value of AI may come with economic disruption.” Mike Isaac reports for the New York Times.
The Federal Trade Commission yesterday sent demands for Anthropic executives to testify in its consumer harm probe, an FTC spokesperson told Axios. The FTC is investigating Anthropic and OpenAI and has sent civil subpoenas seeking documents from both companies about safety incidents. The spokesperson said individuals at other AI companies have also received demands to testify. Maria Curi reports.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Illinois man Matthew Unglesbee has been charged with one count of false information and hoaxes and one count of mailing threatening communications in relation to letters containing a white substance which were sent to four members of Congress this month, according to a criminal complaint unsealed yesterday. FBI personnel responded to three congressional members’ offices in the Northern District of Illinois last Wednesday after receiving an anonymous tip, and found letters containing “white granular substance,” later determined to be salt, along with handwritten notes that read “HA HA,” according to the affidavit. Sophie Brams reports for The Hill.
Texas Gov. Gregg Abott (R) last year tried to bring data centers to the state despite his current crackdown on the centers, according to records obtained by POLITICO. The documents show Abbott’s top staff on Dec. 16 2025 held a closed-door meeting with representatives of Texas’ largest tech and transmission companies. A person at the meeting said Abbott’s office’s message was that Texas wanted data centers. Shelby Webb reports.
A Hinds County judge yesterday blocked Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s (R) attempt to permanently drop the manslaughter case against former Capitol Police officer Michael Lamar Rhinewalt, a white man, who admitted to killing Jaylen Lewis, a black man, during a traffic stop. The judge ruled the AG’s office was showing a “bias” for law enforcement, despite its legal responsibility to prosecute the manslaughter case. A majority-Black jury last month was deadlocked on whether to convict Rhinewalt, but the new ruling leaves open the possibility that Rhinewalt could face a second trial and up to 20 years in prison under a future AG. Madeleine Nguyen reports for AP News.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Deputy Director and Chf. Medical Officer Jennifer Shuford yesterday told the Washington Post that she is leaving the Trump administration after next week’s midterm elections. Shuford said she is “leaving to spend more time with my family.” Dan Diamond and Lena H. Sun report.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTION
Trump on social media yesterday said anybody “reporting Voter Fraud in the past Elections, or the upcoming 2026 Midterm Election, will be paid $1,000,000 upon the arrest and conviction of those that created the Fraud!” The White House did not respond to questions about where the money would come from or how U.S. citizens are supposed to report fraud accusations. Tyler Pager reports for the New York Times.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. yesterday announced that more than 250 hospitals have signed a pledge to serve healthier meals to patients. Kennedy said he expects improvements in patient satisfaction, citing hospitals that have already launched similar changes. Kennedy Jr. also announced that hospitals that sign the “Make Hospital Food Healthier” pledge will receive a badge they can display on their websites. Joseph Choi reports for The Hill.
The Justice Department yesterday brought new charges against former FBI director James B. Comey, accusing Comey of mishandling security information in Oct. 2016 that they said ended up in a New York Times article, according to court papers unsealed yesterday. It is the third time in 13 months that the Trump administration has sought to prosecute Comey whom Trump fired as FBI director in 2017. The new charges came in the form of a criminal investigation filed under seal in a federal court this month, which means that prosecutors brought charges without immediately seeking approval from either a judge or a grand jury. Comey reacted to the new charges by stating they “would almost be funny if it weren’t such an appalling abuse of the Department of Justice, one that we cannot become numb to.” Devlin Barrett reports; Tara Suter reports for The Hill.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
A federal judge yesterday ruled that Maurene Comey, the daughter of James B. Comey, was illegally fired from her job at the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan. Comey last year sued the Trump administration, alleging she was abruptly fired not because of her performance, but either in retaliation for her association with her father or because of perceptions about her political viewpoint. The judge said Comey’s removal was unlawful and that she was eligible for about five months of backpay. The DOJ said it planned to appeal the ruling. Corinne Ramey reports for the Wall Street Journal.
Six U.S. citizens yesterday sued Trump, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles over the White House’s bans and restrictions on the press. The suit argues the new White House policy surrounding press access “deprives the public of the reporting of those organizations, and it inevitably deprives them of the independent reporting of other news organizations as well.” Mira Bhakta reports for The Hill.
Federal Judge Ana C. Reyes yesterday extended a tree-cutting block at East Potomac Park. Reyes granted a preliminary injunction for a preservationist group and golfers restricting the Trump administration from cutting trees at the park, stating that “the Court would much prefer not to have to resolve Lorax v. Once-ler redux.” Tara Suter reports for The Hill.
A federal appeals court panel yesterday refused to order California to set aside 20,000 mail ballots that the DOJ said are likely from noncitizens. The panel found it has no jurisdiction and the Trump administration needs to wait for the federal trial judge to rule. The judge is set to hold a hearing today. The court said the “United States’s claimed time emergency, at least in part, is a self-constructed one.” Zach Schonfeld reports for The Hill.
Did you miss this? Stay up-to-date with our Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions.
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