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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the last 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
President Trump yesterday signed an executive order purporting to designate Antifa as a “domestic terrorist organization” and directing “all relevant agencies” to “utilize all applicable authorities to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle any and all illegal operations … conducted by Antifa, any person claiming to act on behalf of Antifa,” or those who financially support it. Legal experts point out that the United States does not have a “domestic terrorism” designation. Antifa, a shorthand for anti-fascists, is a diffuse political ideology and not a unified organization. Chris Cameron reports for the New York Times; Aaron Pellish reports for POLITICO.
Trump yesterday claimed that the use of a common pain reliever, acetaminophen, in pregnant women causes autism. He did not present evidence backing his claim. In a POLITICO op-ed that announced new research into the root causes of autism and endorsed a B-vitamin-based drug to treat the disorder, Food and Drug Agency Commissioner Marty Makary, National Institute of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya, and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz were more circumspect, noting that family control studies “have failed to find a correlation” between acetaminophen and autism. Azeen Ghorayshi reports for the New York Times.
The Agriculture Department yesterday put a team of federal economists and researchers responsible for producing the government survey that measures hunger in the United States on indefinite paid leave, the employees’ union said. According to a notice seen by the Wall Street Journal, USDA officials said the leave is “not a disciplinary action”. The staffers were told they were placed on leave while an “unauthorized disclosure” was being investigated, a union representative said. Dan Frosch and Patrick Thomas report.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently formalized new restrictions on when, where, and how the military and Pentagon leaders can engage with the public. Hegseth’s memo states that the Pentagon will prioritize “engagements with organizations that comport themselves professionally” and will make a “concerted effort to engage” with institutions representing differing perspectives. Colin Demarest and Sara Fischer report for Axios.
White House border czar Tom Homan did “absolutely nothing wrong” and “never took the $50,000”, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said yesterday, describing the FBI probe into Homan as “another example of the weaponization of the Biden Department of Justice against one of President Trump’s strongest and most vocal supporters.” The New York Times reported on Saturday that FBI agents last year made an audio recording of a meeting in which Homan appeared to promise to help the agents, posing as businessmen, to secure federal contracts related to border security. Devlin Barrett reports.
The Treasury Department will no longer carry out additional vetting of the members of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel, with the panel’s work returning to “business as usual,” according to an email obtained by POLITICO. Danny Nguyen reports.
The commission overseeing the United States’ 250th birthday celebration yesterday announced it has terminated its White House-selected executive director, Ariel Abergel. The 25-year-old appointee “initiated a security breach of a … social-media account, attempted to procure the resignations of multiple commissioners by misrepresenting himself as acting on behalf of Congressional leadership, and engaged in multiple other serious and repeated breaches of authority and trust,” the commission’s spokesperson said. Abergel attributed his firing to his efforts to honor Charlie Kirk. Meredith McGraw and Jess Bravin report for the Wall Street Journal.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
The United States is considering sanctioning the entire International Criminal Court in retaliation for its investigations into suspected Israeli war crimes as early as this week, Reuters reports, citing several sources. While Washington has already sanctioned several ICC prosecutors and judges, sanctioning the court itself could significantly disrupt its operations. ICC officials had already held emergency meetings to prepare for the potential blanket sanctions, a source said. Anthony Deutsch, Humeyra Pamuk, and Stephanie van den Berg report.
The Treasury Department yesterday imposed new Global Magnitsky Act sanctions on the wife of Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the judge overseeing the prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro. The Brazilian Supreme Court earlier this month convicted Bolsonaro of organizing a coup to stay in power following his 2022 electoral loss. Jacob Wendler reports for POLITICO.
The U.S. government is set to revoke the visas of Brazilian Solicitor-General Jorge Messias and five other current and former Brazilian judicial officers, a Trump administration official told Reuters yesterday. Gram Slattery reports.
The Trump administration is exploring options to provide Argentina with a lifeline to combat its financial woes, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced yesterday. Argentinian President Javier Milei’s economic overhaul is facing growing opposition over the economy contracting amid austerity measures. Brian Schwartz, Ryan Dubé, and Sam Goldfarb report for the Wall Street Journal.
Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday said he was prepared to abide by the existing limits on the number of deployed nuclear weapons for a year after the New START accord expires in February 2026, as long as the United States does the same and “does not take steps that undermine or violate the existing balance of deterrence potentials.” Andrew Osborn, Vladimir Soldatkin, and Jonathan Landay report for Reuters.
The State Department yesterday barred Iranian diplomats based in or visiting New York from shopping at wholesale club stores like Costco and purchasing luxury goods without specific permission, according to a notice set to be published this week in the Federal Register. Matthew Lee reports for AP News.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
The Trump administration will expand its use of AI in immigration enforcement from this Thursday, introducing ImmigrationOS, a system that allow agents to approve raids, book arrests, generate legal documents, and arrange deportations in one place, a former official said. Angélica Franganillo Díaz reports for CNN.
The Labor Department said yesterday that it will open investigations into employers that “abuse” the H-1B visa program, in order to “ensure employers prioritize American Workers.” Lauren Kaori Gurley and Danielle Abril report for the Washington Post
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
U.S. authorities on Saturday detained a man who allegedly aimed a laser at Marine One while Trump was on board, according to a complaint filed by a U.S. Secret Service officer. The filing states that the man was “shirtless, talking to himself and being loud” prior to the incident. Faith Wardwell reports for POLITICO.
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” will resume airing tomorrow, Disney announced yesterday. In its statement, the company said that it suspended Kimmel over the comments he made about the killing of Charlie Kirk last week “to avoid inflaming a tense situation.” Aaron Pellish reports for POLITICO.
TECH DEVELOPMENTS
Nvidia announced yesterday that it plans to invest $100 billion in OpenAI. According to a source close to OpenAI, the deal involves two inter-linked transactions, with Nvidia first investing into OpenAI to obtain non-voting shares, enabling OpenAI to then buy Nvidia’s chips. Deepa Seetharaman and Akash Sriram report for Reuters; Michael Action, Cristina Criddle, George Hammond and Tim Bradshaw report for the Financial Times.
Trump plans to sign an executive order delaying the enforcement of a 2024 law banning Tiktok for another 120 days to finalise the terms of a Washington-Beijing TikTok deal, a senior White House official said yesterday. The White House is “100 percent confident” that the deal will go through, the source added. The Chinese government has not confirmed a deal to date, with a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson telling reporters yesterday that China acknowledged receipt of “information on the basic framework consensus on the TikTok issue.” Anthony Adragna reports for POLITICO.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
France yesterday announced its recognition of Palestine’s statehood, with Andorra, Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta, and Monaco also announcing or confirming their recognition of a Palestinian state during a U.N. General Assembly meeting aimed at galvanizing support for a two-state solution. The United States did not attend the France- and Saudi Arabia-organized meeting. Joseph Krauss and Farnoush Amiri report for AP News; Fiona Nimoni reports for BBC News.
Trump will today present the most concrete proposal for ending the war in Gaza to date to a group of leaders from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia, and Pakistan, according to U.S. and Arab officials. “Our understanding is that Trump wants to get our feedback and support for the U.S. plan to end the war,” one of the Arab diplomats said. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
Pro-Palestine strikes by grassroots unions caused major disruption across Italy yesterday, with some protesters storming Milan’s central train station and clashing violently with police. Giada Zampano reports for AP News.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Israel’s offensive on Gaza City has taken hospitals in the city out of service, the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry said. Jordanian armed forces are also moving their field hospital in Gaza City’s Tel Al-Hawa neighborhood to Khan Younis for the safety of the hospital’s staff, Jordan’s state news agency Petra reported yesterday. Nidal Al-Mughrabi reports for Reuters.
Israeli artillery shelling and quadcopter drone attacks are driving people from their homes in Gaza City, local residents say. Israeli tanks have now advanced into the city centre, according to witnesses. Yolande Knell reports for BBC News.
Hamas authorities publicly executed three men accused of collaborating with Israel in Gaza City on Sunday, according to a Palestinian official and BBC Verify. Nidal Al-Mughrabi reports for Reuters; Merlyn Thomas reports.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR — INTERNATIONAL RESPONSES
During an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council yesterday, European allies warned that they would shoot down Russian jets or drones involved in any further incursions of NATO airspace. British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said NATO “is defensive, but be under no illusion…if we need to confront planes that are operating in NATO airspace without permission, then we will do so.” U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Michael Waltz told the Security Council that the United States “will defend every inch of NATO territory.” Ivana Kottasová and Nina Subkhanberdina report for CNN.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Zelenskyy plans to meet Trump today in New York and is likely to discuss further U.S. sanctions on Russia, ahead of speaking to the U.N. General Assembly tomorrow morning. Tom Balmforth reports for Reuters.
The U.N. Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Russia, Mariana Katzarova, told the press yesterday that “repression [in Russia] is escalating,” with Moscow targeting civilians and journalists in order to silence opposition to the war in Ukraine. According to Katzarova’s report, since mid-2024 “at least 3,905 individuals [were] convicted on administrative or criminal charges for peaceful dissent.” AP News reports.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Copenhagen and Oslo airports stopped all flights late yesterday evening for several hours following drone sightings over both airports. The Danish police have not been able to confirm Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s social media claim that Russia had violated Danish airspace, but said they believe a “capable operator” sent them. Norwegian police confirmed that they seized the drone that was spotted over Oslo airport, but had yet to locate its operator. At the time of writing, there has been no confirmation the incursions are linked. Sune Engel Rasmussen reports for Wall Street Journal.
Ruling military juntas in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger announced in a joint statement yesterday that they are withdrawing from the International Criminal Court, calling it an “instrument of neocolonial repression in the hands of imperialism.” The three states have said they instead want to establish “indigenous mechanisms for the consolidation of peace and justice.” AP News reports; Harry Sekulich reports for BBC News.
Brazil’s Chief Prosecutor yesterday announced that he has charged Brazilian congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, with coercion. The prosecutor’s office said that Eduardo Bolsonaro has “repeatedly sought to subordinate the interests of Brazil and the entire society to his own personal and family agenda.” Eduardo Bolsonaro currently resides in the United States and responded to the charges as “bogus accusations” and “ongoing political persecution.” Tabby Wilson reports for BBC News; Reuters reports.
ICC prosecutors have charged former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte with crimes against humanity as an “indirect co-perpetrator” for murders committed in the Philippines between 2013 and 2022, a redacted charge sheet dated to July 2025 that was made public yesterday shows. Natasha Preskey reports for BBC News.
The U.N. Group of Human Rights Experts in Nicaragua said today that Nicaragua’s government is expanding its repression of opponents, targeting Nicaraguans living abroad. Gabriela Selser reports for Reuters.
Moldovan authorities said yesterday that they carried out 250 raids and detained 74 people as part of an investigation into the Russia-coordinated plan to destabilize the country ahead of Sunday’s parliamentary elections. AP News reports.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
The Supreme Court yesterday granted the Trump administration’s emergency request to remove FTC member Rebecca Kelly Slaughter until a hearing in December, staying a lower court order that had temporarily reinstated Slaughter in her post. The Court indicated it will consider oral arguments on whether a long-standing Supreme Court precedent limiting the president’s power to fire officials of independent agencies unconstitutionally interferes with the president’s ability to control the executive branch. Josh Gerstein reports for POLITICO; Lydia Wheeler and Jess Bravin report for the Wall Street Journal.
A federal judge yesterday temporarily ordered the Trump administration to recommence the flow of $500 million in funding for scientific research to the University of California, pending a final decision on the issue. In her ruling, the judge said that the government’s indefinite suspension of National Institute of Health grants was “likely arbitrary and capricious.” Eric He reports for POLITICO.
A federal judge yesterday granted a preliminary injunction of the stop-work order imposed by the Trump administration on the Revolution Wind offshore wind project. The order said that the company is likely to suffer irreparable harm if it does not restart work on the project and the government can carry out their review while the work is carried out. Kelsey Tamborrino reports for POLITICO.
A West Point law professor yesterday filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Military Academy, alleging the school is violating the First Amendment by banning opinions by professors in the classroom and some books and courses. Larry Neumeister reports for AP News.
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