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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Ukraine supports the Trump administration’s proposal for a 30-day cease-fire with Russia and the United States will immediately lift a pause on intelligence sharing and military assistance to Kyiv, according to a statement issued by the two countries following talks in Saudi Arabia yesterday. “The ball is now in [Russia’s] court,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. Andrew E. Kramer and Alan Rappeport report for the New York Times.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is unlikely to embrace the U.S. proposal for a 30-day ceasefire, Russian sources said today, adding that a deal would have to “take Russian battlefield advances into account and address Moscow’s concerns.” The Kremlin has yet to publicly comment on the proposal. Guy Faulconbridge and Marina Bobrova report for Reuters.
A Russian strike killed one person and injured nine others in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, the local governor said today. Russian forces have also begun an assault on the town of Sudzha, the main population center in the Kursk region seized by Ukraine, a top Russian commander said yesterday. Reuters reports; Anatoly Kurmanaev reports for the New York Times.
SYRIA
Armed groups killed entire families during an outbreak of sectarian violence in Syria last week, with attacks targeting predominantly Alawite cities and villages, an Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights spokesperson said yesterday. Witnesses also testified they saw “summary executions” take place, the spokesperson added. Kareem El Damanhoury and Sandi Sidhu report for CNN.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
An Israeli air strike killed four Palestinians in Gaza yesterday, the territory’s civil emergency service said. Israeli fire also killed eight Palestinians in Gaza and three more in the occupied West Bank on Monday, Palestinian officials said. Separately, Hamas has said that a new round of ceasefire talks started yesterday. Nidal Al-Mughrabi reports for Reuters; AP News reports.
The recent direct talks between the United States and Hamas were a “one-off”, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday. Summer Said, Michael R. Gordon, and Dov Lieber report for the Wall Street Journal.
“Any Israeli vessel” that travels through waters outside Yemen is now a target, Yemen’s Houthi rebels said today, citing Israel’s continued blockade of aid to Gaza. Jon Gambrell reports for AP News.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
The Trump administration is significantly downsizing its Public Integrity Section, an unit that oversees prosecutions of public officials accused of corruption, sources say. Ryan J. Reilly, Sarah Fitzpatrick, and David Rohde report for NBC News.
The Education Department will cut nearly 50% of its workforce, Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement yesterday. Separately, the Education Department told staff in an email that its offices would be closed today for “security reasons.” Sunlen Serfaty, Kaanita Iyer, Rene Marsh, Alayna Treene, and Kevin Liptak report for CNN; Lexi Lonas Cochran reports for the Hill.
The plan to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is still on, an employee tasked with firing hundreds of staffers at the agency testified yesterday, contradicting the picture painted by a witness for the administration yesterday. Tierney Sneed reports for CNN.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is cutting another 1,000 employees, sources say. Separately, the National Weather Service has cancelled training preparing meteorologists to forecast during disasters amid “short staffing” and travel spending reductions. Seth Borenstein reports for AP News; Rachel Frazin reports for the Hill.
Environment Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin yesterday said he had terminated $20 billion in climate change grants issued under the Inflation Reduction Act, citing “substantial concerns” about the program’s “integrity.” Alex Guillen and Zack Colman report for POLITICO.
The U.S. Agriculture Department has halted more than $1 billion in funding for local food banks and schools by terminating two programs that aid local government food purchases, the agency said. Ashleigh Fields reports for the Hill.
President Trump yesterday hinted he might be open to labelling individuals who target Tesla dealerships as “domestic terrorists,” following a string of protests at the Musk-owned company’s showrooms. Alex Gangitano and Miranda Nazarro report for the Hill.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
A senior U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) official yesterday instructed a number of the agency’s remaining staffers to convene for an “all day” effort to destroy documents stored at USAID’s former headquarters, according to an email seen by POLITICO. Materials earmarked for destruction include classified and personnel files, the email indicated. Phelim Kine and Nahal Toosi report.
The United States will begin enforcing a law requiring Canadians visiting the country for 30 days or more to register with the U.S. authorities, according to a notice obtained by ABC News. Luke Barr reports.
Trump’s sweeping tariffs on steel and aluminium imports entering the United States from any country in the world went into effect today, with the EU announcing tariffs on up to $28 billion worth of U.S. goods in response. Ana Swanson and Jeanna Smialek report for the New York Times.
OTHER U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Elon Musk has told Trump’s advisers he wants to donate $100 million to groups controlled by the Trump political operation, according to sources. Theodore Schleifer and Maggie Haberman report for the New York Times.
The Senate yesterday voted 78-19 to confirm Gail Slater, a veteran tech and media lawyer, to lead the Justice Department’s antitrust division. David McCabe reports for the New York Times.
Interim D.C. U.S. attorney Ed Martin has again written to demand information from Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-VA) about a business founded by Vindman and his brother to help Ukraine fight Russia, Vindman’s office said yesterday. Spencer S. Hsu reports for the Washington Post.
The Federal Aviation Administration will adopt a federal safety board’s urgent recommendations to reroute helicopter traffic around Washington D.C.’s Ronald Reagan National Airport, Transport Secretary Sean Duffy announced yesterday. Mark Walker and Niraj Chokshi report for the New York Times.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is on a plane to Rotterdam following his arrest on an International Criminal Court warrant, an ICC source said. Anthony Deutsch and Stephanie van den Berg report for Reuters.
Pakistani security forces have said they are trying to recover hostages taken by a separatist militant group that hijacked a train carrying more than 400 people in Pakistan’s Balochistan province yesterday. A group known as the Baloch Liberation Army has claimed it is holding at least 214 people and demanded a prisoner exchange with the Pakistani government. Zia ur-Rehman reports for the New York Times.
Greenland’s opposition party which favors a slow approach to independence from Denmark won yesterday’s parliamentary election on the territory, dominated by Trump’s pledge to take control of the island. Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Tom Little report for Reuters.
Portugal is likely heading for its third general election in as many years, following the toppling of the country’s right-of-centre minority government in a no-confidence vote yesterday. Alison Roberts reports for BBC News.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
A federal judge yesterday declined to issue an order temporarily restraining DOGE from taking over the U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF), ruling that the USADF’s chair, Ward Brehm, did not show he would suffer irreparable harm if his motion was not granted. Tara Suter reports for the Hill.
A third appellate court yesterday upheld a block on Trump’s executive order limiting birthright citizenship, ruling that the government’s attorneys didn’t prove that the block should be immediately lifted. Rebecca Boone reports for AP News.
A federal judge yesterday issued an order temporarily restraining the Trump administration from cutting hundreds of millions of dollars for teacher training, ruling that the cancelations violated administrative law by failing to give a clear explanation and exposed the states to a risk of lasting harm. Michael Casey reports for AP News.
Trump could fire Hampton Dellinger, the former head of the Office of Special Counsel, at will because Dellinger wielded executive power, a federal appeals court said on Monday in an opinion explaining the order it issued last week. Derek Hawkins reports for the Washington Post.
A union for USAID contractors yesterday asked a federal judge to block any destruction of classified documents after an email ordered staffers to help burn and shred agency records. Ellen Knickmeyer and Farnoush Amiri report for AP News.
The law firm Perkins Coie yesterday sued the Trump administration to try to stop Trump’s executive order that barred Perkins Coie lawyers from entering federal buildings and discouraged federal officials from interacting with the firm’s lawyers. Michael S. Schmidt reports for the New York Times.
Complying with a court order to resume refugee admissions could “take months,” the Trump administration said yesterday in a court filing, citing a “significant deterioration” in the program’s functions since its Trump-ordered shutdown in January. David Nakamura reports for the Washington Post.
The acting Office of Personnel Management Director, Charles Ezell, will not testify at a hearing later this week in a major case challenging the Trump administration’s federal workforce cuts, DOJ attorneys told a federal judge yesterday. Devan Cole reports for CNN.
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