Early Edition: August 12, 2025

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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR

The Israeli airstrike that killed five Al Jazeera journalists on Sunday has heightened tensions with Qatar, the network’s funder and key mediator in efforts to end the war in Gaza. “The deliberate targeting of journalists by Israel in the Gaza Strip reveals how these crimes are beyond imagination,” the prime minister of Qatar said yesterday. Amnesty International has called for an “independent and impartial investigation” into the killings of Palestinian journalists, while the U.N. Human Rights Office called the attack a “grave breach of international humanitarian law.” Vivian Nereim reports for the New York Times; Kareem Khadder and Mohammed Tawfeeq report for CNN.

Palestinians reported the heaviest bombardments in recent weeks yesterday in areas east of Gaza City, just hours after Netanyahu said he aimed to expedite IDF plans for a new expanded offensive to take place against Hamas “fairly quickly.” Nidal Al-Mughrabi reports for Reuters.

New video footage appears to show the moment a Palestinian activist was killed in the West Bank last month as an Israeli settler fired toward him during a confrontation with unarmed Palestinians. The Washington Post reports.

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE

In an interview yesterday with Axios, President Trump stopped short of directly supporting Israel’s plans to occupy Gaza City but said he did not believe Hamas would release the hostages if the situation remained unchanged. Barak Ravid reports.

U.S. air drops of aid in Gaza have not been “a serious consideration” for the Trump administration, according to a U.S. official. While the Biden administration saw the air delivery of 1,220 tons of assistance, one source said such aid drops are now viewed as an unrealistic option because they would fall short of meeting the needs of the 2.1 million Palestinians in Gaza. Even if Israel approved the use of U.S. airspace, it is unknown how “big a lift capacity” could be managed to deliver adequate aid, a source added. Phil Stewart, Jonathan Landay, and Idrees Ali report for Reuters.

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE

French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday called for a U.N. “stabilization” mission to protect civilians in Gaza and disarm Hamas. “This war must end now with a permanent ceasefire,” the French president said, calling on the UN Security Council. Meanwhile, Australia’s prime minister has accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of being “in denial” over the consequences of the war in Gaza. The Dutch prime minister yesterday also called for a ceasefire in Gaza. Joseph Ataman and Catherine Nicholls report for CNN; Tiffanie Turnbull reports.

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund has sold its shares in 11 Israeli companies, its managers announced yesterday, citing the “serious humanitarian crisis” in Gaza for its decision. AP News reports.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR — U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE

European leaders are planning to meet with Trump before his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, European officials say. The goals are to reaffirm what Europe views as red lines, including stressing that a ceasefire must be the first step in a deal; that territorial exchanges must be reciprocal and be based on current frontlines; and securing a long-term security guarantee for Ukraine. European leaders also plan to make a renewed push to persuade Trump that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European heads of government should be present at the U.S.-Russia summit. Bojan Pancevski and Alexander Ward report for the Wall Street Journal.

Trump said yesterday he expects Putin to attend Friday’s meeting with specific proposals for a deal to end the war in Ukraine — which he will then forward onto Zelenskyy with a recommendation to either make peace or “keep fighting.” Dave Lawler reports for Axios.

Thousands of North Koreans are being sent to Russia to work in slave-like conditions, filling a severe labor shortage worsened by Moscow’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, the BBC has learned. Jean Mackenzie reports.

OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS

Two months after being shot in a rally, presidential hopeful and Colombia Sen. Miguel Uribe has died in hospital. While the attack was caught on multiple videos, the assailant and motive remain unknown. Astrid Suárez reports for AP News.

Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces killed 40 people yesterday in an attack on a displacement camp outside of el-Fasher, the capital of the North Darfur province, according to a local rights group. The RSF has not acknowledged the attack, but said its forces made advances in el-Fasher and had seized military equipment. Fatma Khaled reports for the Washington Post.

Hundreds of Indian opposition members were briefly detained in New Delhi yesterday as they attempted to march to the country’s electoral commission, protesting what they claim are repeated, deliberate, and calculated electoral irregularities benefiting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s powerful ruling party. Mujib Mashal and Hari Kumar report for the New York Times.

The captain and two crew members of an oil tanker suspected of sabotage connected to the cutting of critical undersea cables have been charged, Finnish authorities announced yesterday. Finnish authorities initially believed the ship might belong to Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet,” raising fears of a potential covert campaign to sabotage European infrastructure. However, Finnish authorities yesterday declined to comment on whether they still believed the vessel is linked to Russia. Amelia Nierenberg reports for the New York Times.

China has reportedly detained Liu Jianchao, a senior diplomat who was widely viewed as a potential foreign minister. The reason for his detention is unknown at the time of writing. Chun Han Wong and Lingling Wei report for the Wall Street Journal.

Dozens of soldiers have been detained in Mali on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the country’s military leadership, sources say. The arrests, which reportedly took place overnight and are expected to continue, highlight growing tensions within the military government amid reports of a strengthening jihadist insurgency in the north. Basillioh Rukanga and Chris Ewokor report for BBC News.

Malaysia, Bangladesh, and several regional partners will send a joint delegation to Myanmar to advocate for peace and humanitarian assistance for Rohingya refugees, the Southeast Asian nation’s prime minister said today. Reuters reports.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung will issue a presidential pardon for former Justice Minister Cho Kuk, the Ministry of Justice announced yesterday, potentially reinstating Cho as a prominent liberal political figure following his imprisonment for academic fraud. Reuters reports.

U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS

The Trump administration is intensifying U.S. government criticism of perceived adversaries in South Africa and Brazil as the State Department’s political leadership reshapes the U.S. approach to documenting global human rights abuses, according to leaked draft documents reviewed by the Washington Post. According to a memo, the department’s annual human rights reports, set to be delivered to Congress today, will accuse the South African government of mistreating White Afrikaner farmers, and also accuse the Brazilian government of persecuting former president and Trump-ally Jair Bolsonaro. Adam Taylor, Hannah Natanson, and Meg Kelly report for the Washington Post.

The United States has designated the Balochistan Liberation Army, a Pakistani separatist group, as a foreign terrorist organization, the State Department announced yesterday. The group’s fighting wing, the Majeed Brigade, has also been designated. The move coincides with Pakistan’s army chief’s visit to Washington. Munir Ahmed reports for AP News.

Preventing a surge in tariffs by the world’s two largest economies, the United States and China have agreed to pause bilateral tariff hikes for an additional 90 days, according to an executive order signed by Trump yesterday. In a joint statement with Washington, Beijing confirmed the 90-day truce extension, saying the agreement was based on negotiations that took place in Sweden last month, adding that the 10% tariff on U.S. goods would still remain during that period. Elisabeth Buchwald and Phil Mattingly report for CNN.

South Korea’s new president Lee Jae Myung will visit Washington later this month to meet with Trump, Lee’s office announced today, to discuss trade and defense cooperation. Kim Tong-Hyung reports for AP News.

U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS

The Federal Emergency Management Agency and at least three other federal agencies have terminated their contracts with unions to comply with Trump’s executive order that strips federal workers of union protections, according to documents reviewed by the Washington Post. The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services have also canceled their collective bargaining agreements, with the decision following the Veterans Affairs announcing plans last week to end nearly all of its contracts with federal unions. Brianna Sacks, Jake Spring, Hannah Natanson, and Meryl Kornfield report.

Trump will nominate Heritage Foundation economist E.J. Antoni as the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The announcement, made yesterday on social media, comes just over a week after Trump fired BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer after alleging, without evidence, that she had manipulated labor market data. Sam Sutton and Nick Niedzwiadek report for POLITICO.

Acknowledging a shift in the political landscape since it brought its lawsuit in 2023, the group that sued military academies — including the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and the U.S. Air Force Academy — over their consideration of race in admissions has dropped its case. Announcing the end of the cases yesterday, the president of Students for Fair Admissions said the group had reached an agreement with the Department of Justice on behalf of the Defense Department. Vimal Patel reports for the New York Times.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS

Trump announced yesterday that he was placing the D.C. police under federal control and will deploy the National Guard to the streets of Washington to address violent crime. While government statistics confirmed violent crime has hit a 30-year low, Trump told reporters at the White House, “It’s becoming a situation of complete and total lawlessness, and we’re getting rid of the slums, too.” The decision follows the administration mobilizing FBI agents in recent days in overnight shifts to assist local law enforcement in D.C. to prevent crime, officials say. Under the city’s Home Rule Act, the president can take over the D.C. police for a maximum of 30 days by declaring “special conditions of an emergency nature.” After that time, the police would revert to local control unless Congress pass legislation allowing for a time extension. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) called the actions “unsettling and unprecedented,” while shadow senator Ankit Jain called on Trump to instead address the “historic judicial vacancy crisis in D.C.” Noting that the city is down two judges out of nine on the D.C. Court of Appeals, Jain said, “What happens when you don’t have enough judges? Trials get delayed, crime goes up … Why has the president not made this a priority of nominating judges?” Michael Birnbaum and Perry Stein report for the Washington Post; Annie Karni reports for the New York Times.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION

Troops were deployed to protect federal property and personnel in California in recent months despite intelligence assessments indicating a minimal threat, two military officials testified yesterday in a landmark trial over Trump’s authority to use soldiers for domestic policing. The three-day, non-jury trial before U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco will determine whether the June deployment violated a 19th-century law prohibiting the military from engaging in civil law enforcement. Dietrich Knauth and Jack Queen report for Reuters.

A federal judge yesterday blocked the Trump administration from withholding federal funding to the National Endowment for Democracy, a congressionally created nonprofit that promotes democracy worldwide. The organization has been crippled by the loss of $239 million in funding earlier this year. In a 15-page ruling, Judge Dabney L. Friedrich found that the administration withheld the money “for impermissible policy reasons,” causing the organization “irreparable” harm, including staff layoffs and the termination of several democracy-supporting initiatives. Chris Cameron reports for the New York Times.

A Manhattan federal judge yesterday rejected the government’s bid to unseal grand jury transcripts from its investigation into convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell. Judge Paul A. Engelmayer, who is overseeing Maxwell’s case, wrote in a 31-page opinion that releasing the transcripts would be a breach of grand jury secrecy, and that allowing such exceptions “casually or promiscuously” would undermine public confidence in future witnesses’ willingness to testify. Engelmayer added that the Justice Department’s “entire premise — that the Maxwell grand jury materials would bring to light meaningful new information about Epstein’s and Maxwell’s crimes, or the government’s investigation into them — is demonstrably false.” Hurubie Meko reports for the New York Times.

Harvard University and the Trump administration are close to finalizing a potentially landmark settlement in which Harvard would spend $500 million on vocational and educational programs and research in exchange for the restoration of billions in federal research funding, sources say. The deal is not yet certain, as both sides are still negotiating key language in the agreement, and both Trump and senior Harvard leaders must approve the terms. Alan Blinder, Michael D. Schmidt, and Michael C. Bender report for the New York Times.

Did you miss this? Stay up-to-date with our Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions