Signup to receive the Early Edition in your inbox here.
A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
The Justice Department yesterday ordered an immediate halt to all new civil rights cases or investigations and indicated it may back out of Biden-era police department monitoring agreements, two internal memos reviewed by the New York Times show. Glenn Thrush reports.
The Trump White House yesterday told three Democratic members of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board to resign or be fired, sources say. If successful, the move would paralyze the bipartisan watchdog agency that investigates national security surveillance activities that can intrude on individual rights. Charlie Savage reports for the New York Times. [Editor’s note: readers may be interested in Andrew Weissmann’s analysis of the move.]
Trump on Tuesday revoked a decades-old executive order banning discrimination in federal contracting, the White House said in a memorandum yesterday. Dareh Gregorian reports for NBC News.
The Trump administration yesterday sent home approximately 160 civil servants working for the National Security Council amid a “full review” screening their commitment to Trump’s agenda, sources say. Zeke Miller and Aamer Madhani report for AP News; Ellen Nakashima and John Hudson report for the Washington Post.
President Trump’s acting agency chiefs yesterday called on government employees to report anyone continuing to do diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work in defiance of a Trump executive order, threatening “adverse consequences” against those who do. Brittany Gibson and Marc Caputo report for Axios.
The House yesterday passed the Laken Riley Act, a bill that will require immigration authorities to detain undocumented immigrants accused of theft-related crimes, if signed by Trump. Mariana Alfaro and Marianne LeVine report for the Washington Post.
Trump is preparing to send around 10,000 troops to the U.S. southern border to assist Border Patrol in implementing orders to shut off asylum access, according to a briefing document seen by the Washington Post. The order directs border agents to block entry on grounds that migrants have passed through countries where communicable diseases are present. Nick Miroff, Dan Lamothe, Maria Sacchetti, and Marianne LeVine report. [Editor’s note: Readers may be interested in Mark Nevitt’s analysis of the declaration of a national emergency on the southern border.]
The Justice Department on Tuesday directed federal prosecutors to investigate and potentially bring criminal charges against officials who do not cooperate with Trump’s mass deportation plans, a document obtained by the Washington Post shows. Maria Sacchetti and Jeremy Roebuck report.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will refer to foreign nationals as “aliens” following an order from the agency’s leadership, according to an internal memo obtained by Axios. Stef W. Kight reports.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) yesterday filed a lawsuit alleging that Trump’s bid to expand “fast track” deportations without a full hearing violates federal law and the Fifth Amendment’s due process clause. Russell Contreras reports for Axios.
Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) will introduce a bill today that would significantly restrict asylum access. Stef W. Kight reports for Axios.
Kentucky police on Monday said they are investigating fliers distributed in several cities across the state on Inauguration Day that encouraged people to monitor and report immigrants and join the Ku Klux Klan. Alexandra E. Petri reports for the New York Times.
The ex-wife of Trump’s Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth recently gave a new statement to the FBI about Hegseth’s alcohol use, sources say. Lauren Fox, Manu Raju, and Pamela Brown report for CNN.
Trump yesterday selected a conservative activist and media critic, L. Brent Bozell III, as his pick to head the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees a group of federally funded outlets countering authoritarian propaganda with independent news. Minho Kim and Chris Cameron report for the New York Times;
Trump announced that Sean Curran, previously the head of his security detail, will lead the Secret Service. Tim Balk reports for the New York Times.
TRUMP’S PARDONS AND COMMUTATIONS
The newly-freed leaders of the far-right Proud Boys and Oath Keepers militias yesterday called for “retribution” and investigations into the prosecution of Jan. 6 Capitol attack defendants. Spencer S. Hsu, Tom Jackman, and Mariana Alfaro report for the Washington Post. [Editor’s note: Readers may be interested in Tom Joscelyn’s analysis of Trump’s Jan. 6 pardons.]
Trump yesterday issued “full and unconditional” pardons to two policemen serving sentences of second-degree murder and obstruction of justice for their role in the 2020 death of Karon Hylton-Brown, a case that sparked mass protests on the heels of the murder of George Floyd. Gabe Cohen reports for CNN.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) yesterday said he will establish a new select committee chaired by Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. The committee will likely also investigate the previous Democrat-led Jan. 6 committee. Emily Brooks reports for the Hill.
Trump yesterday appeared to suggest that Biden and those he pardoned should be investigated and that Biden should have pardoned himself as he left the White House. Irie Senter and Ali Bianco report for POLITICO.
A woman convicted for storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 declined the pardon offered by Trump, saying “she knows what she did was wrong.” Ben Brasch reports for the Washington Post.
U.S FOREIGN AFFAIRS
The Trump administration on Tuesday cancelled flights for thousands of refugees already approved to fly to the United States, a move resettlement group workers say is a “blow” to refugees who followed the lengthy process to enter the country legally. Homeland Security Department refugee officers were also told yesterday to stop making decisions on refugee cases, according to a memo obtained by the New York Times. Miriam Jordan and Hamed Aleaziz report.
The Coast Guard on Tuesday said it will surge additional resources to the “Gulf of America,” in one of the U.S. government’s first official uses of Trump’s desired name for the Gulf of Mexico. Dan Lamothe reports for the Washington Post.
Saudi Arabia wants to invest $600 billion over the next four years into expanded trade and investment with the United States, the Saudi state news agency said today. Hatem Maher reports for Reuters.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
The Israeli military yesterday said it killed an alleged Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant in Gaza who allegedly posed a threat to its forces, its first indication of having struck targets in Gaza since the ceasefire came into force. Separately, the IDF said its troops will begin to withdraw from parts of Gaza following the planned Saturday release of additional hostages. AP News reports.
Israel will maintain control of the Rafah crossing into Gaza during the first phase of the ceasefire, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said yesterday. AP News reports.
Israel has not yet decided whether to help fund the reconstruction of Gaza, Israel’s Economy Minister Nir Barkat said yesterday. Elisa Martinuzzi and Brad Haynes report for Reuters.
Hamas’ continued hold on power in Gaza poses a challenge to implementing a permanent ceasefire, regional diplomats and security experts say. Nidal Al-Mughrabi reports for Reuters.
[Editor’s note: see Other Global Developments for West Bank news]
SYRIA
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas yesterday said she hopes an agreement on easing the bloc’s sanctions on Syria can be reached next week. Lili Bayer and Andrew Gray report for Reuters.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
President Vladimir Putin is growing concerned about Russia’s increasingly sluggish economy, with economic woes contributing to growing support for a negotiated settlement to the Ukraine war within a section of Russia’s elite, sources say. Darya Korsunskaya, Guy Faulconbridge, and Gleb Stolyarov report for Reuters.
NATO is willing to “pay the bill” to ensure the continued supply of U.S. weapons to Ukraine, Secretary-General Mark Rutte said today. Sudip Kar-Gupta and Lili Bayer report for Reuters.
A Russian overnight strike on Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya region killed one person and wounded 30 others, Ukrainian officials said today. Serhiy Chalyi reports for Reuters.
HOUTHI DEVELOPMENTS
Yemen’s Houthis have released the crew of a Red Sea cargo ship sailing under the Bahamian flag after holding them hostage for more than a year, the Houthi-owned Al Masirah TV reported yesterday. Christian Edwards reports for CNN.
Trump yesterday announced that he re-designated the Houthis as a terrorist organization, reversing former President Biden’s 2021 removal of the designation. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Israel’s military is using “lessons” from its Gaza offensive in its West Bank operation to “ensure terrorism does not return,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said yesterday. Dana Karni, Kareem Khadder, Lucas Lilieholm, and Tim Lister report for CNN.
The IDF today said it killed two Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants overnight who carried out a deadly attack on a West Bank bus earlier this month. The men had exchanged fire with Israeli troops. AP News reports.
Israeli forces surrounded a hospital in the occupied West Bank’s Jenin and trapped hundreds of Palestinians inside for hours, the Palestinian Health Ministry said yesterday. The IDF said it was detonating explosive devices planted by militants beneath the road outside the hospital. AP News reports.
International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan today said he has applied for arrest warrants for Taliban leaders in Afghanistan on charges of crimes against humanity for widespread discrimination against women and girls. Stephanie van den Berg reports for Reuters.
More than 32,000 people have been displaced while attempting to flee the escalating violence in Colombia’s northeast, according to the country’s ombudsperson. Michael Rios, Stefano Pozzebon, Fernando Ramos, Mauricio Torres, and Ivonne Valdés report for CNN.
South Korean investigators today asked prosecutors to indict the country’s detained President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived martial law imposition. Hyung-Jin Kim reports for AP News.
The ICC yesterday said it demanded answers from Italy on why it freed a Libyan man subject to an international arrest warrant on suspicion of crimes against humanity and war crimes. Crispian Balmer reports for Reuters.