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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
U.S. PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION
President-elect Trump is expected to name Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) as Secretary of State, people familiar with his thinking said yesterday. Maggie Haberman, Jonathan Swan, and Edward Wong report for the New York Times.
In other appointments news, Trump has asked Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) to serve as White House National Security Adviser, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to serve as Secretary of Homeland Security. Vivian Salama, Alex Leary, and Alexander Ward report for the Wall Street Journal; Kaitlan Collins reports for CNN; Shubham Kalia reports for Reuters.
Career Justice Department lawyers who “won’t implement” Trump’s agenda “in good faith” should resign or face the possibility of being fired, a lawyer affiliated with Trump’s transition team warned yesterday. Josh Gerstein reports for POLITICO.
Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods said Trump should not pull the United States from the 2015 Paris climate agreement, citing the risk of confusing global efforts to mitigate climate change impacts. Colin Eaton and Benoît Morenne report for the Wall Street Journal.
TRUMP LEGAL MATTERS
Special counsel Jack Smith’s decision to pause the Jan. 6 prosecution of Trump is not a reason to delay the prosecution of Jan. 6 Capitol riot defendants, the Justice Department argued yesterday. Kyle Cheney reports for POLITICO.
OTHER U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
A Massachusetts Air National Guard member who pleaded guilty to leaking highly sensitive military documents related to the Ukraine war is expected to be sentenced today, facing up to 17 years in prison. Michael Casey reports for AP News.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams yesterday asked a federal judge to reschedule his bribery trial for an earlier date to better accommodate his reelection run next year. Joe Anuta reports for POLITICO.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Trump’s win means “the time has come” to annex parts of the West Bank, Israel’s finance minister said yesterday, the strongest indication to date of Trump’s election emboldening Israeli hardliners. Louisa Loveluck, Claire Parker, and Cate Brown report for the Washington Post.
Israeli strikes on Gaza have killed at least 37 people since Sunday night, Palestinian medics said. Many victims were in an Israeli-declared “humanitarian zone” at the time of their death. Nidal al-Mughrabi reports for Reuters; Wafaa Shurafa reports for AP News.
Israel’s military today said hundreds of packages of food and water were brought to a besieged area in northern Gaza. The effort, accompanied by a small expansion of Israel’s southern Gaza humanitarian zone, comes hours before the expiration of a Biden administration deadline for Israel to increase Gaza aid supply. Melanie Lidman reports for AP News; Hiba Yazbek reports for the New York Times.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
The Biden administration deadline for Israel to improve Palestinians’ access to aid or face restrictions on U.S. military assistance is due to expire later today. International aid organizations today said Israel failed to meet U.S. demands, with conditions in Gaza at their worst since the war began. Julia Frankel and Samy Magdy report for AP News; Jennifer Hansler reports for CNN.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s close adviser, Ron Dermer, met with Trump on Sunday, Israeli and U.S. officials say, ahead of a series of Biden administration meetings later this week. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman yesterday accused Israel of committing “genocide” against Palestinians during a Riyadh summit. The Washington Post reports.
Israel denied or impeded the majority of Gaza aid missions in October amid a “severe deterioration” in the operating environment for humanitarian groups in the territory, a U.N. aid agency (OCHA) said yesterday. Amanda Coletta reports for the Washington Post.
The state of health care in Gaza is now “apocalyptic,” World Health Organization officials said yesterday. Rebecca Tan and Annabelle Timsit report for the Washington Post.
ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH WAR
Israel’s newly-appointed Defense Minister Israel Katz said “there will be no ceasefire and there will be no respite” in Lebanon, contradicting the Israeli foreign minister’s suggestion yesterday that “certain progress” was being made on ceasefire talks. Tala Ramadan reports for Reuters; William Christou reports for the Guardian.
The Israeli military conducted at least five airstrikes on the Hezbollah-controlled suburbs of Beirut today, with no immediate reports of casualties. Reuters reports.
The Israeli military yesterday issued new evacuation warnings for more than 20 towns and villages in southern Lebanon, the first in nearly a month. Euan Ward and Isabel Kershner report for the New York Times.
Hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees are fleeing the conflict in Lebanon and returning to Syria, seeking safety in the country they previously fled over its decade-long civil war. Ben Hubbard reports for the New York Times.
ISRAEL-IRAN CONFLICT
Iran is building a “defensive tunnel” in Tehran following Israeli strikes on targets in the country, an Iranian news agency reported today. Reuters reports.
ISRAEL-IRAN CONFLICT — U.S. RESPONSE
U.S. forces yesterday carried out strikes targeting “Iranian backed groups” in Syria following attacks on U.S. personnel, Central Command said. The Washington Post reports.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said yesterday that Ukrainian troops “continue to hold back” the “nearly 50,000-strong enemy group” in Kursk. Ivana Kottasová and Svitlana Vlasova report for CNN.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
The United States will support a controversial U.N. cybercrime convention in next week’s vote, Biden administration officials said yesterday. Maggie Miller reports for POLITICO.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
The U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan yesterday said that the “emerging reports that RSF soldiers poisoned hundreds” in the town of Al Hilaliya “shock the conscience,” calling for emergency aid delivery to the region. Separately, Human Rights Watch yesterday called for an international force to protect civilians in Sudan following reports of killings and rapes in Gezira. Samy Magdy reports for AP News.
Haiti’s new acting prime minister was sworn in today, as mounting violence forced the country’s main airport to halt flights after Spirit Airlines and JetBlue planes were hit by gunfire. Amanda Coletta reports for the Washington Post; Rebecca Falconer reports for Axios.
The main parliamentary factions in Germany agreed today to a snap election in February 2025. Kate Connolly reports for the Guardian.
Boko Haram insurgents killed 17 Chadian soldiers in a Saturday attack on a military post, Chad’s army said, adding that 96 assailants also died. Edouard Takadji reports for AP News.
The prime minister of Mauritius conceded his party’s “huge defeat” in Sunday’s parliamentary election. Danai Nesta Kupemba and Yasine Mohabuth report for BBC News.