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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the last 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
FEDERALIZATION OF DOMESTIC POLICING
The Homeland Security Department has notified Illinois it has asked the Defense Department for “the deployment of 100 military troops to Illinois,” Gov. JB Pritzker (D) said yesterday, adding that the DHS “claim[ed] a need for the protection of ICE personnel and facilities.” Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) condemned the plan as unconstitutional and politically motivated. Shia Kapos reports for POLITICO; Julie Bosman and Eric Schmitt report for the New York Times.
Portland Mayor Keith Wilson (D) yesterday echoed Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek’s (D) criticism of President Trump’s plan to deploy National Guard troops to Portland, describing it as “not asked for.” In a joint statement, seventeen Oregon mayors denounced the move, saying that “enforcement of civil immigration laws by militarized forces has no legitimate role in our community” and that they would take “all legal and legislative options to counter this unprecedented, unnecessary, and unwanted effort.” Aaron Pellish, Josh Gerstein, and Kyle Cheney report for POLITICO.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) yesterday asked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to deploy up to 1,000 National Guard troops to New Orleans and other cities in the 2026 fiscal year. Landry said his request “builds on the proven success” of National Guard deployments to Washington, D.C., and Memphis. As of yesterday evening, a large-scale deployment of the Guard to Memphis had yet to begin. AP News reports.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Trump and top Congress Democrats yesterday failed to strike an agreement on providing continued government funding ahead of today’s deadline. Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) pointed to “very large differences” on health care policy as the reason for the stalemate, while Vice President JD Vance said he thinks the government is “headed into a shutdown because Democrats won’t do the right thing.” Tyler Pager, Catie Edmondson, and Michael Gold report for the New York Times.
Schumer has floated the idea of agreeing to reopen the government for seven to 10 days as a potential off-ramp for the prospective shutdown, drawing backlash from some Democratic caucus members, Axios reports, citing House Democrat sources. Andrew Solender reports.
Google-owned YouTube has agreed to pay $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit Trump and other plaintiffs filed when Trump was suspended from the platform following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, according to a court filing. The filing states that the settlement does not constitute an admission of liability, and that $22 million of the settlement will be used to support Trump’s construction of a White House State Ballroom while the remaining $2.5 million will go to the other plaintiffs in the lawsuit. In 2021, YouTube suspended Trump’s account after concluding that an uploaded video violated its policy for inciting violence. Peter Charalambous and Meredith Deliso report for ABC News.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
The Acting U.S. Attorney for Nevada, Sigal Chattah, in July asked the FBI to launch a sweeping voter fraud probe into debunked Republican claims about the 2020 election, according to a government document seen by Reuters. According to the document, Chattah told senior officials she wanted to exonerate the six Republicans who were prosecuted for posing as fake electors in Nevada and to remove “illegal aliens” from voter rolls, which would possibly lead to a “reallocation of census numbers” that would impact the race for Nevada’s 4th congressional district seat. The seat is currently held by Rep. Steven Horsford (D). She also told the officials she hopes to demonstrate an ongoing conspiracy between the Biden White House and state attorneys general. Until April, Chattah was the attorney of one of the fake electors and represented the Nevada GOP in a lawsuit alleging that the state failed to maintain accurate voter rolls. “Legal experts said she has multiple conflicts of interest and should recuse herself from any investigations involving certain legal clients or political matters she was involved with directly.” Sarah N. Lynch reports.
Multiple top U.S. military leaders, including Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine, have raised serious concerns about the Trump administration’s forthcoming defense strategy, several current and former officials suggest. Several sources described a “sense of frustration” with the “myopic” plan that they think may be “potentially irrelevant” given Trump’s highly personal approach to foreign policy. Much of the criticism centres on the draft strategy’s emphasis on threats to the U.S. homeland even as China continues a rapid military buildup, the sources suggest. Noah Robertson, Tara Copp, Alex Horton, and Dan Lamothe report for the Washington Post.
The Housing and Urban Development Department yesterday fired two civil rights lawyers who last week spoke to the New York Times about the Trump administration’s attempts to limit enforcement of the Fair Housing Act, the lawyers said. One of the lawyers was given a letter stating that he “engaged in misconduct that included the disclosure of nonpublic information.” Debra Kamin reports for the New York Times.
The Health and Human Services Department’s Office for Civil Rights yesterday told Harvard University President Alan Garber that it is referring the school to the debarment process. The process could ultimately lead to Harvard being permanently banned from receiving federal grant money. An administration official said that the White House does not believe Harvard took sufficient action on alleged antisemitism on campus, and that debarment is designed for entities deemed not responsible enough to do business with the government. Natalie Andrews and Douglas Belkin report for the Wall Street Journal.
The number of people charged with breaking federal drug laws has plummeted this year after the Trump administration redirected enforcement agencies to focus on deporting immigrants, according to a Reuters review of nearly 2 million federal court records. Federal drug cases are currently prosecuted at the slowest rate since at least the late 1990s, Reuters’ research suggests, with the slowdown particularly affecting cases often used to pursue higher-level traffickers. Brad Heath reports.
[Editor’s Note: Readers maybe interested in Margy O’Herron’s The U.S. Deportation Industrial Complex: Arrests and Detention by the Numbers, Just Security, September 22, 2025]
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Top U.S. aides led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio are pushing Trump to increase military pressure on Venezuela in an attempt to remove Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from power, U.S. officials say. Julian E. Barnes, Edward Wong, Julie Turkewitz, and Charlie Savage report for the New York Times.
Maduro has signed a decree granting him additional security powers in case the U.S. military enters Venezuela, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said yesterday. The decree would allow Maduro to mobilize armed forces throughout the country and give the military authority over public services and the oil industry. Reuters reports.
The Pentagon is urging missile suppliers to double or quadruple production rates of 12 critical weapons to resolve low weapons stockpiles for a possible future conflict with China, sources told the Wall Street Journal. Analysts say that the additional $25 billion in munitions funding agreed in early July will not be enough to hit the Pentagon’s ambitious targets. Some people involved in the effort both inside and outside of the government worry that the targets aren’t realistic. Drew FitzGerald and Lara Seligman report.
During a July visit to New Zealand, FBI Director Kash Patel gifted inoperable pistols that were illegal to possess under local gun laws to the country’s police and spy leaders, New Zealand law enforcement agencies told AP News. The 3D-printed replica pistols had to be destroyed, the authorities added. It wasn’t clear what permissions Patel had sought to bring the weapons into the country. Charlotte Graham-McLay and Jim Mustian report.
Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio yesterday renounced her U.S. visa in response to the U.S. State Department’s revocation of Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s visa on Friday. Astrid Suárez and Manuel Rueda report for AP News.
The 25-year-old African Growth and Opportunity Act, which gives some African goods duty-free access to the U.S. market, is set to expire today. A White House official told BBC News that the Trump administration supports a one-year extension to the programme, but this has not been formally announced. Akisa Wandera reports.
The Trump administration yesterday announced that 10% tariffs on imported timber and lumber and 25% tariffs on cabinets and furniture are set to begin on 14 October. Trump further pledged to impose a 100% tariff on foreign-made movies, though it is not clear how or when this would be levied. David Lawder and David Shepardson report for Reuters; Ben Berkowitz reports for Axios.
TECH DEVELOPMENTS
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) yesterday signed into law The Transparency in Frontier Artificial Intelligence Act, which requires most AI companies to report safety protocols used in building their technologies and on the risks posed by their technologies. Cecilia Kang reports for the New York Times.
Senators Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) announced yesterday that they are introducing an AI risk evaluation bill that proposes to establish an evaluation programme at the Department of Energy to collect data on the likelihood of adverse AI incidents. Ashley Gold reports for Axios.
OpenAI is planning to release a new version of its Sora video generator this week that will create videos featuring copyright material unless holders explicitly opt out, sources told the Wall Street Journal. Keach Hagey, Berber Jin and Ben Fritz report.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
The Trump administration yesterday evening deported around 100 Iranians back to Iran on a U.S. chartered flight from Louisiana, Iranian officials involved in the Washington-Tehran deportation negotiations told the New York Times. A U.S. official said that plans for the flight were in the final stages but did not confirm its departure. Farnaz Fassihi and Hamed Aleaziz report.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to the most recent U.S. plan for a ceasefire in Gaza, and an end to the war in the territory is “beyond very close,” Trump announced yesterday following his White House meeting with Netanyahu. According to a Palestinian source, “Qatari and Egyptian officials have handed over the White House plan to end the war in Gaza to Hamas officials in Doha.” Hamas today said it would discuss the deal and consult on it with other Palestinian factions before responding. Trump and Netanyahu both warned of sharp consequences if Hamas rejects the deal, with Netanyahu suggesting “Israel will finish the job by itself” in the event of rejection. Kevin Liptak and Oren Liebermann report for CNN; Rushdi Abualouf reports for BBC News; AP News reports.
In a three-way call with Trump and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Netanyahu yesterday apologized for Israel violating Qatari sovereignty in its recent strike on Doha and for killing a Qatari security official, according to the White House and a source. An Israeli apology was a key condition set by Qatar to continue its role as a mediator. Barak Ravid reports for Axios; Reuters reports.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL RESPONSE
A number of European and Middle Eastern leaders yesterday welcomed the new U.S. peace plan for Gaza. In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia, and Pakistan said they welcomed Trump’s “leadership and sincere efforts” to end the war, and that they are ready to engage with the United States to finalise and implement the agreement. European Council President Antonio Costa said he was “encouraged” by Netanyahu’s positive response to the deal and that “all parties must seize this moment to give peace a genuine chance.” The Palestinian Authority also “welcome[d] the sincere and determined efforts” of Trump to end the war in Gaza, according to a statement published by the PA-backed Wafa news agency. Rushdi Abualouf and George Wright report for BBC News.
In a meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly last week, United Arab Emirates envoys pressed Netanyahu to accept Trump’s peace plan and abandon any plans to annex the occupied West Bank, according to a source. Samia Nakhoul reports for Reuters.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
In a Telegram post, Netanyahu said that he had “absolutely not” agreed to the creation of a Palestinian state during his meeting with Trump. The newest U.S.-backed peace plan postulates that once Gaza redevelopment is completed and the Palestinian Authority is reformed “the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood.” BBC News reports.
The Israeli military continued striking Gaza City yesterday, with the Hamas-run Gaza Civil Defense stating that Israeli attacks killed a total of 13 people. BBC News reports.
Turkey appears to have joined Spain, Italy, and Greece in monitoring an international flotilla carrying aid for Gaza, according to flight data showing three long-endurance drones from a Turkish airbase circling over the vessels for three days. Reuters reports.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
“Ukraine proposes to Poland and all our partners to build a joint, fully reliable shield against Russian aerial threats,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said yesterday while addressing the Warsaw Security Forum. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius warned that establishing a drone wall could take three or four years and Europe should prioritise increasing “capabilities and capacities.” Reuters reports.
[Editor’s Note: Readers may be interested in Michael Schmitt’s Legally Available Options in Response to Russia’s Penetrations of NATO Airspace, Just Security, September 29, 2025]
A Russian drone attack last night killed a family of four in a village in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region, regional governor Oleh Hryhorov said on social media today. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Anna Pruchnicka reports for Reuters.
HOUTHI DEVELOPMENTS
A missile attack yesterday set a Dutch cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden on fire and wounded two mariners, officials said. The French military’s Maritime Information, Cooperation and Awareness Center said the Iran-backed Houthi rebels were behind the attack. The Houthi rebels have not confirmed their involvement at the time of writing. Jon Gambrell reports for AP News.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Thai intelligence documents show that China sent rockets and artillery shells to Cambodia weeks before the Cambodian-Thai border war in July. The Chinese weapons were packed into 42 containers and stored at the Ream Naval Base before they were moved north to the contested border region, according to the documents. Sui-Lee Wee reports for the New York Times
Local media in Afghanistan yesterday reported an internet blackout across the country, identifying the potential nationwide cut of fiber-optic service as part of the Taliban’s crackdown on immorality. Internet access group Netblock said that live metrics showed connectivity in Afghanistan had collapsed to 14% of its ordinary levels. AP News report.
Myanmar’s army “systematically destroyed Rohingya villages, mosques, cemeteries and farmland” to build security outposts following its 2017 expulsion of the Muslim minority from the Rakhine state, according to a U.N.-backed Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar report released yesterday. Reuters reports.
Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces paramilitary now possesses antiaircraft weapons that could threaten civilian air traffic, drones similar to those used by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, and a Chinese surface-to-air missile system, according to an analysis of seized arms caches seen by Washington Post reporters, interviews with officials and a confidential report by the Sudanese intelligence agency. Katharine Houreld reports.
Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday signed a law denouncing the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture. The legislation confirms that Russia’s denunciation came in response to the Council of Europe’s refusal to select a Russian representative to oversee the anti-torture convention. Reuters reports.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
A federal judge yesterday issued an injunction directing the Trump administration to reverse the layoff notices sent to over 500 employees at Voice of America. The judge found that the administration had violated a previous order to restore Voice of America’s news coverage so that it would “serve as a consistently reliable and authoritative source of news.” Minho Kim reports for the New York Times.
A federal appeals court yesterday allowed the Department of Education to proceed with plans to lay off staff in its Office for Civil Rights, reversing an earlier district court injunction. Nate Raymond reports for Reuters.
The Justice Department announced yesterday that it has sued Minnesota state officials over the state’s immigration sanctuary policies. The DOJ alleged that the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, and Hennepin County had refused to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Jasper Ward reports for Reuters.
The DOJ also filed a civil complaint yesterday against protesters and advocacy organizations who allegedly threatened and intimidated Jewish worshipers outside a synagogue in New Jersey in November 2024. The lawsuit has been brought under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which has usually been enforced against people who block access to abortion clinics. Perry Stein reports for the Washington Post.
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