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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments. Here’s today’s news:
PRESIDENTIAL EXECUTIVE ORDERS
President Trump issued a flurry of executive orders yesterday, reversing many of former President Biden’s policies on immigration, the environment, and diversity. For a full list, see the Washington Post. The orders issued by Trump include:
- Withdrawing the United States from the Paris Agreement and the World Health Organization (Sheryl Gay Stolberg reports for the New York Times);
- Suspending all U.S. foreign aid assistance for 90 days, pending review of whether the programs align with Trump’s foreign policy goals (Matthew Lee reports for AP News);
- Declaring a “national emergency” on the U.S.-Mexico border, ordering a suspension of refugee admissions, and directing the U.S. military to “seal the borders” (Zolan Kanno-Youngs reports for the New York Times);
- Moving to end birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to parents who are not lawfully present or are in the country on a temporary visa. The American Civil Liberties Union immediately brought a lawsuit challenging the order as unconstitutional (Rebecca Beitsch reports for the Hill);
- Rescinding Biden’s executive order sanctioning Israeli settlers and entities accused of violence in the occupied West Bank (Kelly Kasulis Cho reports for the Washington Post);
- Rescinding a Biden-era census order affirming the practice of including residents Truwith no legal migration status in state census counts (Hansi Lo Wang reports for NPR);
- Creating a category of federal workers known as “Schedule F,” which would lack the job protections enjoyed by career civil servants. The order is subject to a legal challenge brought by the National Treasury Employees Union (Courtney Rozen reports for Bloomberg Law);
- Instructing the Attorney General to “review the activities of all departments and agencies exercising civil or criminal enforcement authority” as well as intelligence agencies for indications of political bias in work conducted under the Biden administration (Devlin Barrett reports for the New York Times);
- Revoking the security clearance of 51 former intelligence officials who signed a 2020 letter calling the Hunter Biden laptop story Russian disinformation, as well as granting security clearances to certain personnel outside the usual process (Katie Bo Lillis reports for CNN).
JANUARY 6 PARDONS AND COMMUTATIONS
Trump yesterday issued a full pardon to the nearly 1,600 people charged in relation to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack and only commutations of sentences for a small group. Enrique Tarrio, the former Proud Boys leader convicted of seditious conspiracy, received a full pardon, while Stewart Rhodes, the Oath Keepers’ founder, received a commutation of his sentence. Alan Feuer reports for the New York Times.
Ed Martin, a conservative activist who advocated for the Jan. 6 defendants’ release, will be the interim U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., Trump’s Justice Department official Chad Gilmartin said. Ryan J. Reilly reports for NBC News.
OTHER DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Former President Biden yesterday issued a slate of preemptive pardons for prominent critics of Trump and Biden’s own family members, citing the risk of “unrelenting” reprisals. On Sunday, Biden also issued pardons to five activists and public servants, including a posthumous grant of clemency to the civil rights leader Marcus Garvey. Kevin Liptak and Arlette Saenz report for CNN; Erica L. Green reports for the New York Times.
Elon Musk appeared to conclude his remarks at President Trump’s celebration rally yesterday with a “Roman salute,” a fascist gesture associated with Nazi Germany. Ben Samuels reports for Haaretz; PBS News reports.
The Senate yesterday unanimously confirmed former Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) to serve as Secretary of State, making him the first confirmed appointee of the Trump administration. Abigail Hauslohner reports for the Washington Post.
Acting FBI director Paul Abbate resigned from his post yesterday, an FBI official said. Scores of senior career diplomats also intend to step down following yesterday’s request from the Trump transition team that they do so, according to U.S. officials, who added that the practice of replacing career civil servants is happening faster and on a larger scale than with previous administrations. Sarah N. Lynch reports for Reuters; Edward Wong reports for the New York Times.
The acting head of the U.S. immigration court system was fired yesterday along with three other top immigration officials shortly after Trump took office, three sources said. Hamed Aleaziz reports for the New York Times.
The Senate passed the Laken Riley Act yesterday, mandating the federal detention of immigrants without legal status accused of, among other charges, theft and burglary. Twelve Democrats voted in favor of the bill. Al Weaver reports for the Hill.
The Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday voted to advance Trump’s Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to the floor, in a 14-13 vote along party lines. Alexander Bolton reports for the Hill; Jack Detsch and Paul McLeary report for POLITICO.
Three sets of claims alleging breaches of the Federal Advisory Committee Act by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency were filed in federal court in Washington yesterday. Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney report for POLITICO.
The man accused of masterminding 9/11 has agreed to let government prosecutors use portions of a confession he says was obtained by torture at his sentencing trial if his case is settled with a life sentence. Carol Rosenberg reports for the New York Times.
A man was arrested in connection with setting fire at a strip mall that includes a district office of Rep. Glenn Grothmann (R-WI) on Sunday in response to “recent talks” of banning TikTok. Johnny Diaz reports for the New York Times.
A former CIA analyst pleaded guilty to leaking classified documents about Israel’s preparations to attack Iran late-last year, the Justice Department said. Oren Liebermann reports for CNN.
U.S FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Nearly 1,660 Afghans cleared to resettle in the United States are having their flights cancelled under Trump’s executive orders suspending U.S. refugee programs, a U.S. official and a leading refugee resettlement advocate said yesterday. Jonathan Landay reports for Reuters.
French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou yesterday said France and Europe would have to stand up to Trump and his policies or face being “crushed.” Reuters reports.
Plans are in place for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to meet with Trump “in the coming weeks,” according to an Israeli official. Lauren Izso and Max Saltman report for CNN.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Israel released 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees early yesterday, concluding the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement following Hamas’ return of three female Israeli hostages on Sunday. The Washington Post reports.
Hamas yesterday said it would next release additional hostages held in Gaza on Saturday, in accordance with the agreed ceasefire timeline. Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Emily Rose report for Reuters.
The Israeli military shot and injured a Palestinian teenager in Gaza yesterday, according to journalists working with CNN. Israeli snipers reportedly killed two civilians in a separate incident in Rafah yesterday, according to the Palestinian WAFA news agency. Mohammad Al-Sawalhi, Eugenia Yosef, and Mostafa Salem report.
Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel’s far-right national security minister, on Sunday said he resigned from Netanyahu’s ruling coalition over the Gaza ceasefire deal. Bryan Pietsch reports for the Washington Post.
Gaza Civil Defense lost 99 personnel, with 319 others injured, due to “deliberate Israeli targeting” over 470 days of war, the group said yesterday. Abeer Salman reports for CNN.
The Israeli military today announced it has begun an operation in the occupied West Bank’s city of Jenin, without providing further details. James Mackenzie reports for Reuters.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
The U.N. said 915 aid trucks entered Gaza yesterday on the second day of the ceasefire, citing information from Israel, the United States, Qatar and Egypt. Michelle Nichols reports for Reuters.
The U.N. Human Rights Office (OHCHR) yesterday said it was “alarmed” by a new wave of violence by Israeli settlers and security forces in the occupied West Bank that erupted following the Gaza ceasefire. Sarah Sirgany and Caitlin Danaher report for CNN.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
Israel expects Trump to lift the Biden administration’s hold on the supply of 2,000-pound bombs, outgoing Israeli U.S. ambassador Mike Herzog told Axios in an interview. Barak Ravid reports.
Hamas is ready to enter into dialogue with the United States, a senior Hamas official said on Sunday, a rare move for the group which has long excoriated Washington for supporting Israel. Adam Rasgon reports for the New York Times.
ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH CEASEFIRE
Despite its truce with Hezbollah, Israel’s military advanced into dozens of new positions across southern Lebanon in the first 40 days of the agreement, according to satellite imagery reviewed by the Washington Post. It is unclear whether IDF’s actions violate the ceasefire, as the U.S.-led committee to monitor the deal has yet to define what counts as a violation. Abbie Cheeseman and Meg Kelly report.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Saturday stressed the urgency of an Israeli military withdrawal from the country’s south in a meeting with the U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres. Ahmed Tolba and Menna Alaa El-Din report for Reuters.
HOUTHI DEVELOPMENTS
Yemen’s Houthis will limit their attacks on commercial vessels to Israel-linked ships if the Gaza ceasefire is fully implemented, the Houthi-associated Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center said in an email dated Friday. Jonathan Saul reports for Reuters.
SYRIA
The EU is considering a “staged approach” to suspending its economic sanctions on Syria, according to two internal documents seen by Reuters. Lili Bayer reports.
Negotiators are zeroing in on a potential deal to settle the fate of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Jonathan Spicer, Tuvan Gumrukcu, and Maya Gebeily report for Reuters.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
A Russian ballistic missile attack on Kyiv killed at least three people early Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Cassandra Vinograd reports for the New York Times.
There is “no room” for British-Ukrainian cooperation in the Sea of Azov, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Saturday in response to a new partnership agreement announced last week. Reuters reports.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Colombian President Gustavo Petro yesterday vowed “war” against left-wing guerillas, declaring a state of emergency and deploying thousands of troops to contain violent scuffles between rival militias that killed at least 100 people over the past five days in the country’s northeast. Manuel Rueda and Astrid Suárez report for AP News.
An unidentified attacker shot and killed two Iranian Supreme Court judges in Tehran on Saturday, according to Iranian state media. At least one of the judges was known to handle death penalty cases for activists and opposition members. Susannah George reports for the Washington Post.
Sudan’s military carried out retaliatory killings after recapturing the city of Wad Mahadi from the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary last week, according to videos verified by the Washington Post. Katharine Houreld, Hafiz Haroun, and Jonathan Baran report.
Supporters of South Korea’s arrested President Yoon Suk Yeol stormed into a court building early Sunday after a warrant extending Yeol’s detention was issued. Joyce Lee and Ju-min Park report for Reuters.
Ruptures of seabed cables in the Baltic Sea in recent months were likely maritime accidents rather than sabotage, U.S. and European intelligence officials believe. Greg Miller, Robyn Dixon, and Isaac Stanley-Becker report for the Washington Post.