December 1, 2025

UKRAINE | Today is day 1,374 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Ukraine carried out drone strikes Friday on two ships believed to be part of Russia's "shadow fleet" of oil tankers used to evade international sanctions. The ships were struck off Turkey's Black Sea coast, prompting condemnation from Turkish officials, who said the strikes posed "serious risks to navigation, life, property, and environmental safety in the region." [more]
• In a continuation of efforts to reach a cease-fire agreement for the war in Ukraine, Ukrainian officials attended talks in the U.S. over the weekend and U.S. officials are expected to meet with Russian officials in Moscow this week. [more]

U.S. GUN VIOLENCE | Four people were killed, including children ages 8, 9, and 14, and at least 11 other people were wounded, Saturday when yet-unidentified gunmen opened fire at a child's birthday party at a banquet hall in Stockton, California. Local authorities said investigators believe the shooting was a "targeted incident," but did not elaborate on any potential motive. [more]

U.S. CARIBBEAN MILITARY ACTION | Leaders of the Armed Services Committee in both the House and Senate have launched investigations following reports that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth issued verbal orders to kill surviving crew members of an initial military strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean Sea on September 2. Hegseth has denied the allegations. [more]

U.S. IMMIGRATION | Following the targeted shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, DC, last Wednesday near the White House, President Donald Trump, citing the shooting suspect's Afghan origin, said he would "permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries." [more]

MORE U.S. IMMIGRATION | As part of a revived inquiry into possible contempt of court charges, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered Trump administration officials on Friday to submit written declarations by December 5 regarding their decision to not turn around flights carrying Venezuelan migrants out of the U.S. to El Salvador in March following his order that they do so. [more]

BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING | Adobe Analytics estimates that U.S. consumers, kicking off the holiday shopping season, spent a record $11.8 billion online Friday – a 9.1% increase from 2024. Software company Salesforce, meanwhile, estimates that Friday's online sales totaled $18 billion in the U.S. and $79 billion worldwide. [more]

U.S. AND VENEZUELA | Amidst ongoing tensions and suggestions of U.S. military action in the South American country related to drug trafficking allegations, U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday that the airspace "“above and surrounding” Venezuela should be considered as “closed in its entirety." The Venezuelan government characterized Trump's statement as "a hostile, unilateral, and arbitrary act" intended to undermine Venezuela's "territorial integrity, aeronautical security, and full sovereignty." [more]

U.S. AND HONDURAS | Saying the former Central American leader was "treated very harshly and unfairly," U.S. President Donald Trump announced Friday that he plans to pardon former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was convicted on drug trafficking and weapons charges in 2024, and has been serving his sentence in a West Virginia prison. [more]

U.S. AND U.K. | Reports say the U.S. and U.K. are expected to announce as early as this morning that the two countries will eliminate import tariffs on pharmaceutical products. [more]

ASIAN FLOODING | Recovery efforts continue today following widespread flooding and landslides last week that killed at least 502 people in Indonesia, 334 in Sri Lanka, and 176 in Thailand. Reports note that hundreds of people are still considered missing in each of the affected countries. [more]

GLOBAL ARMS INDUSTRY | According to a report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the world's top 100 weapons-producing companies saw an average 5.9% increase in sales of arms and military services in 2024, which totaled a record $679 billion. The Institute notes that the increase was boosted by "the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, global and regional geopolitical tensions, and ever-higher military expenditure." [press release] [full report] [more]

ISRAEL | Amidst his ongoing trials on charges of fraud, breach of trust, and accepting bribes, which began in 2020, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday requested a pardon from Israeli President Isaac Herzog, saying such a move would "promote the broad reconciliation that our country so desperately needs." Reports cite Israeli legal experts as saying a pre-conviction pardon would be an extremely rare move. [more]

HONG KONG | Investigations are ongoing into last week's deadly fire that spread through a complex of high-rise apartment towers in Hong Kong, killing at least 151 people. Local officials say dozens of people remain missing in the incident and that at least 39 of those who died in the fire have not yet been identified. Reports note that police, citing substandard renovation materials that may have fueled the blaze at the complex, have arrested 13 people on charges of suspected manslaughter. [more]

CROATIA | Thousands of people took part in “United against fascism” protest marches in four major Croatian cities yesterday amidst moves by right-wing groups that protest organizers say are intended to spread fear and silence opponents. [more]

SPACE | The European Space Agency announced Thursday that it plans to increase its budget by 30% for the next three years to 22.1 billion euros ($25.6 billion) as part of efforts to compete with other major space exploration efforts around the world. [more]

COLLEGE FOOTBALL | Following games in the final weekend of college football's regular season, Ohio State remains at No. 1 atop the AP Top 25 College Football Poll, followed by Indiana, Georgia, Oregon, and Texas Tech. [full poll] [more]

WEEKEND MOVIES | "Zootopia 2" topped the North American box office over the weekend with an estimated $96.8 million in receipts, followed by "Wicked: For Good" and "Now You See Me: Now You Don’t." [more]

WORD OF THE YEAR | Lexicographers at Oxford University Press, publisher of the Oxford English Dictionary, have selected "rage bait" as the word of the year, noting that the phrase refers to online content that is “deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative, or offensive." [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1955, in violation of segregation laws in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks refused to surrender her bus seat to a white passenger and was arrested, sparking a 381-day bus boycott led by Martin Luther King, Jr. [more history]