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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
The Atlantic yesterday published the contents of the messages detailing an attack on Yemen shared by senior administration figures in a Signal chat that included a journalist. President Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe all indicated that the chat did not contain classified material. According to several defense sources, the operational information Hegseth sent in the chat was “highly classified.” Jeffrey Goldberg and Shane Harris report; Natasha Bertrand, Zachary Cohen, Betsy Klein, and Shania Shelton report for CNN.
Phone numbers linked to Signal and WhatsApp accounts, email addresses, and some passwords belonging to Waltz, Gabbard, and Hegseth can be found on the internet, according to an investigation by the German Der Spiegel newspaper. According to Der Spiegel, hostile actors “could use this publicly available data to hack the communications of those affected.” Separately, WIRED reported that Waltz’s Venmo account revealed the names of hundreds of his personal and professional associates before being made private yesterday. Patrick Beuth, Jörg Diehl, Roman Höfner, Roman Lehberger, Friederike Röhreke, and Fidelius Schmid report; Dhruv Mehrotra and Tim Marchman report.
The Trump administration has stopped funding a national database tracking domestic terrorism, hate crimes, and school shootings, according to records obtained by the Washington Post. Ellie Silverman reports.
The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology is considering plans to eliminate an entire team responsible for publishing and maintaining critical atomic measurement data, according to an email sent mid-March by the research group’s leader. Louise Matsakis and Will Knight report for WIRED.
The Trump administration is discussing whether to block certain colleges from having any foreign students if the government decides too many students are “pro-Hamas,” senior Justice and State Department officials say. Marc Caputo reports for Axios.
The Social Security Administration yesterday said it would postpone and modify its plans to introduce ID check requirements and cut phone services for benefits recipients. Ashleigh Fields reports for the Hill.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem yesterday threatened to send more immigrants from the United States to a maximum-security El Salvador prison where detainees are held without access to either the Salvadoran or U.S. justice systems. Mary Beth Sheridan and Maria Sacchetti report for the Washington Post.
OTHER U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Masked DHS agents on Tuesday detained a Turkish PhD student from Tufts University without explanation, her lawyer said in a court filing yesterday, adding that he is not aware of any charges filed against her or her current location. A DHS spokesperson said that the student “engaged in activities in support of Hamas.” A federal judge has ordered DHS to explain why it detained the student. Jake Offenhartz, Kathy McCormack, and Michael Casey report for AP News.
More than 700 lawyers and legal groups from across the political spectrum have signed a letter asking Attorney General Pam Bondi to defend the legal profession’s independence amid the Trump administration’s escalating attacks. Mike Scarcella reports for Reuters.
The federal judiciary has created a new task force that will consider how to respond to “current risks” for the judiciary amid rising threats, according to a memo distributed to federal judges yesterday. Abbie VanSickle and Mattathias Schwartz report for the New York Times.
In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court yesterday upheld a Biden-era ban on “ghost guns,” hard-to-trace weapons that can be assembled from parts kits available on the internet. Josh Gerstein reports for POLITICO.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
The EU sanctions on Russia will stay in place until the “unconditional withdrawal” of Russian troops from Ukraine, the European Commission said in a statement yesterday. The Kremlin previously said that it would only implement a partial ceasefire deal brokered by the United States if sanctions on Moscow’s banks and food exports are lifted. Henry Foy, Christopher Miller, and Max Seddon report for the Financial Times.
North Korea appears to have sent at least 3,000 more soldiers to fight for Russia between January and February, South Korea’s military said today, adding that Pyongyang has also sent a “significant amount” of short-range ballistic missiles and rocket launchers to support Moscow. Lex Harvey reports for CNN.
France pledged 2 billion euros in military aid to Ukraine ahead of today’s third “coalition of the willing” summit in Paris, with 30 European leaders set to discuss how to strengthen Kyiv’s position. John Irish and Elizabeth Pineau report for Reuters.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Protests against Hamas’ presence in Gaza continued for the second day yesterday, with groups of Palestinians chanting slogans against the militant group in a rare show of dissent. Abu Bakr Bashir, Iyad Abuheweila, Hiba Yazbek, and Rawan Sheikh Ahmad report for the New York Times.
Israeli overnight strikes on Gaza killed a family of six and a Hamas spokesperson, according to the emergency service of Gaza’s Health Ministry and a Hamas official. AP News reports.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Trump yesterday announced he plans to impose 25% tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of imported cars and auto parts on April 3. Doug Palmer and Daniel Desrochers report for POLITICO.
The Trump administration intends to terminate the U.S. financial support for Gavi, an organization that saved millions of lives over the past 25 years by helping purchase critical vaccines for children in developing countries, as well as to significantly scale back support for efforts to combat malaria. Stephanie Nolen reports for the New York Times, which reviewed a 281-page spreadsheet that the U.S. Agency for International Development sent to Congress Monday night that contained the information.
Four U.S. soldiers who went missing in Lithuania during a training exercise have died, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said yesterday, adding that he did not yet know the details of the incident, which occurred on a training ground close to the Belarussian border. Vanessa Gera reports for AP News.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro will face trial on charges of plotting to stay in power after losing the 2022 elections and attempting to orchestrate a coup, the country’s Supreme Court ruled yesterday. Bolsonaro called the ruling an “attempt to silence the opposition.” Ana Ionova reports for the New York Times.
The Sudanese army recaptured the country’s capital Khartoum from the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary, Sudan’s military leader, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, said yesterday. The move marks a major military gain for the army. Barbara Plett Usher reports for BBC News; Reuters reports.
South Sudan’s security officials have placed Vice-President Riek Machar, a long-time rival of the country’s President Salva Kiir, under house arrest, Machar’s party said yesterday. The U.N. mission to South Sudan warned “the country’s leaders stand on the brink of relapsing into widespread conflict” in response to reports of Machar’s detention. Wycliffe Muia and Ashley Lime report for BBC News.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
The Trump administration cannot resume summary deportations of migrants under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 authority until a judgment on the move’s constitutionality is handed down, a federal appeals court ruled yesterday. Hassan Ali Kanu reports for POLITICO.
The Trump administration yesterday filed an appeal asking the Supreme Court to allow it to go forward with planned cuts of hundreds of millions of dollars for teacher training as part of its crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Andrew Chung reports for Reuters.
A federal appeals court yesterday temporarily blocked a district court order directing Elon Musk and DOGE to turn over records and testify about its efforts to slash the federal government size, suggesting that the lower court must first rule on the Trump administration’s motion to dismiss the case before allowing discovery. Ella Lee reports for the Hill.
A federal judge yesterday extended a temporary block on the Trump administration’s efforts to fire probationary workers for five more days, stating that he needed more time to determine whether the halt should apply country-wide or be restricted to the plaintiff states while the case proceeds. Eileen Sullivan reports for the New York Times.
Voice of America Director Michael Abramowitz yesterday sued the Trump administration over its attempt to dismantle the government-funded media outlet. Katherine Long reports for POLITICO.
A group of federal employees dismissed over their involvement in diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives have brought a class action complaint against the Trump administration before the Merit Systems Protection Board. Alexandra Olson reports for AP News.
A federal judge yesterday sharply rejected the Trump administration request that she recuse herself from deciding a lawsuit challenging an executive order targeting Perkins Coie, stating that the DOJ’s bid to challenge her was “designed to impugn the integrity of the federal judicial system.” Tierney Sneed reports for CNN.
Did you miss this? Stay up-to-date with our Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions
