Early Edition: September 16, 2025

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

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR

There are reasonable grounds to conclude Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, the U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory said in a new report published today. The report cites statements by Israeli leaders and patterns of conduct by Israeli forces as evidence of genocidal intent, and singles out the former Israeli defense minister, Yoav Gallant, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and President Isaac Herzog for inciting genocide. Israel’s foreign ministry said that it categorically rejects the report. David Gritten reports for BBC News; Jeremy Bowen reports for BBC News.

The Israeli military early today launched a ground offensive on Gaza City, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed during a hearing in his corruption trial today. Palestine’s foreign ministry has called for “urgent international intervention to protect civilians in Gaza City” in response to the offensive. According to the Israeli military’s estimates, there are up to 3,000 Hamas militants in the city, comprising less than 1% of its population, CNN quotes a military official as saying. Isabel Kershner reports for the New York Times; BBC News reports; Eugenia Yosef and Nadeen Ebrahim report.

Israeli strikes killed 38 people in Gaza since the Israeli offensive intensified overnight, with most of the deaths concentrated in Gaza City, according to local hospitals. Jessie Yeung and Abeer Salman report for CNN.

More than 10% of Palestinians living in Gaza have been killed or injured since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, former IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said last week. The figure offered by Halevi is close to the number of casualties estimated by Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. Tal Shalev and Eugenia Yosef report for CNN.

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE

Netanyahu spoke to President Trump in advance of Israel’s strike on Qatar last week, Axios reported yesterday, citing three Israeli officials. Trump and Netanyahu both rejected the report, with Trump stating that Netanyahu did not directly speak to him and Netanyahu’s office reiterating the attack was a “wholly independent” Israeli operation. Separately, Netanyahu yesterday said that the “American-Israeli alliance has never been as strong as it is now.” Barak Ravid reports; Kanishka Singh reports for Reuters; Michael Crowley reports for the New York Times.

“Time is running out” for a negotiated end to the war in Gaza, U.S. State Secretary Marco Rubio said today, as he departed Israel for Qatar. Michael Crowley reports for the New York Times.

U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS

On Trump’s orders, the U.S. military yesterday killed three “positively identified, extraordinarily violent drug trafficking cartels and narcoterrorists” from Venezuela in a strike on a vessel in international waters around South America, Trump announced in a social media post yesterday. In his post, Trump also claimed that the vessel was headed to the United States. Haley Britzky reports for CNN.

The recent incidents between Venezuela and the United States are “aggression of military character” from the United States and not tensions between Caracas and Washington, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said yesterday, adding that the communication between the two governments “have been thrown away.” Reuters reports.

[Editor’s Note: Readers may be interested in Brian Finucane, Asserting a License to Kill: Why the Caribbean Strike is a Dangerous Departure from the “War on Terror”, Just Security, September 15, 2025]

Qatar and the United States are on the verge of finalising an enhanced defense cooperation agreement, State Secretary Marco Rubio said yesterday. He did not provide further details of what is being agreed. Reuters reports.

The deputy leader of the German far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, Beatrix von Storch, this week met with officials from the U.S. National Security Council, the State Department, and Vice-President Vance’s office at the White House, sources say. According to an AfD official, von Storch and another AfD politician present at the talks, Joachim Paul, did not meet with Vance himself. Chris Lunday, Pauline von Pezold, and Ferdinand Knapp report for POLITICO.

Colombia has “failed demonstrably” to uphold its counternarcotics agreements obligations but the United States will not halt its funding for the country as the assistance is “vital to the national interests of the United States,” the Trump administration said in a presidential determination yesterday. The determination also designates Afghanistan, Bolivia, Burma, Colombia, and Venezuela as having “failed demonstrably” in upholding the agreements. Jennifer Hansler and Stefano Pozzebon report for CNN.

India and the United States will today hold a day of trade talks in New Delhi. India’s chief negotiator, Rajesh Agarwal, said that his meeting with the U.S. trade representative for South Asia, Brendan Lynch, is a “discussion” on how a trade agreement can be reached and not an official round of negotiations. Anahita Sachdev reports for BBC News; Manoj Kumar reports for Reuters.

The United States has expanded its intelligence sharing with Mali’s repressive junta in recent months in a bid to help repel the advance of Islamist extremists in West Africa, current and former U.S. officials say. The Malian military has used the U.S.-provided intelligence to conduct strikes, according to the officials. Rachel Chason reports for the Washington Post.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski called on NATO countries to properly consider a no-fly zone over Ukraine in an interview published by the Frankfurt Allgemeiner yesterday. Sikorski said that “we as NATO and the EU could be capable of doing this, but it is not a decision that Poland can make alone.” Kate Brady and David L. Stern report for the Washington Post.

Two U.S. military officers observed a series of Belarus-Russia war games at the Borisovsky Military Training area in Belarus yesterday, according to a video shared by Minsk. The U.S. officers observed the drills alongside representatives from two other NATO members, Turkey and Hungary, and the Russian Deputy Defence Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov. Frederik Pleitgen reports for CNN.

EU officials announced today that the European Commission will delay presenting its next sanctions package against Russia to prepare a response to the Trump administration’s demand that EU member states stop purchasing Russian oil and gas. Jan Strupczewski and Julia Payne report for Reuters.

OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS

The U.N. Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan published a report today detailing “grand corruption” amongst the South Sudanese authorities. The report states that “the country has been captured by a predatory elite that has institutionalised the systematic looting of the nation’s wealth for private gain” and is “again on the brink of catastrophe.” Aaron Ross reports for Reuters.

The Chinese Coast Guard has accused a Philippine ship of intentionally ramming one of its vessels this morning near the Scarborough Shoal, a disputed territory in the South China Sea. The encounter occurred six days after China announced that it was designating part of the Scarborough Shoal as a national nature reserve. AP News reports.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS

The Defense Department’s Inspector General has completed a monthslong review of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of Signal to discuss sensitive military operations, according to sources. The watchdog has now sent its findings to Hegseth, the standard practice for such reviews, the sources added. According to one of the sources, a version of the report will likely be made public. Natasha Bertrand and Zachary Cohen report for CNN.

Trump yesterday said he would consider designating the far-left anti-fascism group Antifa as domestic terrorists, as well as bringing racketeering proceedings against people funding protests. Antifa is a loosely-organized group with no leadership or membership lists. Trump did not elaborate on who or what exactly he would designate. Kevin Liptal and Adam Cancryn report for CNN.

Separately, Vice-President Vance yesterday pledged to crack down on “radical left lunatics” and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said he’d use the Justice Department and Homeland Security Department to disrupt unspecified networks responsible for provoking violence. Irie Sentner reports for POLITICO.

The Trump administration has ordered multiple national parks to remove signs and exhibits related to slavery, sources say. According to the sources, National Park Service officials are broadly interpreting Trump’s March executive order directing the Interior Department to eliminate information that reflects a “corrosive ideology” as applying to information on racism, sexism, slavery, gay rights, or persecution of Indigenous people. Jake Spring and Hannah Natanson report for the Washington Post.

U.S. POLITICAL VIOLENCE

The suspect accused of killing Charlie Kirk wrote a text message before the shooting that he planned to kill Kirk, FBI Director Kash Patel said yesterday. Separately, the Washington Post reported that the alleged shooter sent a message to friends apparently confessing to the crime shortly before his arrest. Brad Brooks and Joseph Ax report for Reuters; Hannah Knowles, Shawn Boburg, and Aaron Schaffer report.

FEDERALIZATION OF DOMESTIC POLICING

Trump yesterday signed a memorandum creating a federal task force “to end street and violent crime in Memphis” and authorizing the deployment of the National Guard to the city. Commenting on the move, Trump said the task force would be a “replica” of the Washington, D.C., crime crackdown efforts and that he is considering sending federal law enforcement officials into Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans. He also threatened to federalize the Washington police again if the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department does not cooperate with ICE. Luke Broadwater and Emily Cochrane report for the New York Times; Rebecca Shabad reports for NBC News.

The Washington crime crackdown is diverting federal officials from other work, delaying FBI counterintelligence efforts and investigative work on issues including financial fraud and public corruption, sources tell the New York Times. Devlin Barrett reports.

U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS

The Senate yesterday voted 48-47 to confirm White House Chief Economist Stephen Miran to a vacant Federal Reserve board post, ahead of the central bank’s interest-rate setting meeting today. For the duration of his Fed appointment, Miran will take a leave of absence from his post as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, rather than resign. Victoria Guida reports for POLITICO.

Trump yesterday filed a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against the New York Times, four NYT reporters, and book publisher Penguin Random House, alleging the paper interfered with the 2024 election and “spread false and defamatory content” about him. Gareth Vipers reports for the Wall Street Journal.

In a Substack post, longtime Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah yesterday said she was fired from the WaPo Opinions department over her comments on Charlie Kirk’s assassination last week. According to two WaPo staffers, the publication’s management also took issue with Attiah misquoting a 2023 Kirk remark on affirmative action. Brian Stelter reports for CNN.

U.S. IMMIGRATION

The South Korean government announced yesterday that it will investigate the occurrence of any human rights violations during the ICE raid at a Hyundai plant earlier this month. Immigration officials detained 316 South Koreans during the raid, with one of the detainees recounting inhumane conditions during the search and detention. Max Rego reports for The Hill.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said yesterday that “visa revocations are under way” for non-U.S. citizens celebrating the killing of Charlie Kirk. State Department representatives have not responded to Axios’ request for comment on how many visas have been revoked so far. Rebecca Falconer reports.

TECH DEVELOPMENTS

China’s antitrust regulator yesterday said it had found Nvidia violated Beijing’s antimonopoly law in an initial probe. The regulator cited violations in connection with the U.S. chipmaker’s acquisition of an Israeli company in 2020 and indicated that the investigation is ongoing. Raffaele Huang reports for the Wall Street Journal.

U.S. officials yesterday announced that they had reached a preliminary deal with China on TikTok during trade talks in Madrid. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that both sides had agreed to a “framework” for a deal to divest TikTok from its Chinese owner, ByteDance. Alan Rappeport and Jose Bautista report for the New York Times.

Alphabet, the owner of Google, today announced a £5bn investment into U.K. artificial intelligence, ahead of Trump’s arrival in London today for his state visit. Faisal Islam reports for BBC News.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION

In a 2-1 ruling, a federal appeals court yesterday rejected Trump’s bid to quickly fire Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook. The majority of the appeals court agreed with a lower court’s finding that Trump’s attempt to fire Cook appeared to have violated her due process rights. The administration has, at the time of writing, not indicated whether it will ask the Supreme Court to intervene on the issue before an interest-rate setting meeting scheduled for today. Tony Romm, Colby Smith, and Ben Casselman report for the New York Times.

A federal judge yesterday said she was not able to offer any help to five West African men the Trump administration recently deported to Ghana. The judge said her “hands are tied,” as even though the men may face the prospect of torture and death in their home countries and have won protection from U.S. immigration court, they are now in the custody of the Ghanaian government. Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein report for POLITICO.

Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI director James Comey and a former federal prosecutor who handled the Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell cases, yesterday filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s decision to fire her without providing an explanation. In her lawsuit, Comey alleges the termination was unmerited, and that she was fired “solely or substantially because her father is former FBI Director James B. Comey, or because of her perceived political affiliation and beliefs, or both.” Erica Orden reports for POLITICO.

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