March 14, 2025

MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional conflicts:

• Hamas has reportedly agreed to release an American-Israeli dual national, believed to be the last living American hostage held in Gaza, as well as the remains of four other dual national Americans who died in captivity, after receiving a proposal from mediators to resume negotiations on the second phase of a cease-fire deal with Israel. [more]
• Reports say the U.S. and Israel have reached out to officials of three East African nations – those of Sudan, Somalia, and the breakaway region of Somalia known as Somaliland – to discuss the potential resettlement in Africa of Palestinians from Gaza as part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed postwar plan for redeveloping the Palestinian enclave. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1114 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Responding to a U.S.-backed 30-day cease-fire proposal to which Ukraine has agreed, Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday said he agrees with such a proposal but that there are still issues to be worked out and that any truce should lead to a lasting peace that addresses the “root causes” of the conflict. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky characterized Putin's response as "manipulative," while U.S. President Donald Trump called it "incomplete." [more]
• According to a new Ipsos poll of Ukrainian citizens commissioned by The Economist, 74% of Ukrainians favor continuing to fight against the Russian invasion even without U.S. support. [full poll report] [more]

U.S. BUDGET | Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer signaled yesterday that he will vote today to advance a Republican spending bill that would fund government operations through September. Reports note that at least eight Democrats will need to join with Republicans to move the measure forward ahead of a funding deadline of midnight tonight. [more]

U.S. FEDERAL LAYOFFS | In separate rulings yesterday, two federal judges ordered the Trump administration to rehire thousands of probationary government employees removed from their positions as part of mass firings directed by the Office of Personnel Management and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. The rehiring orders affect employees at multiple government agencies, including at the departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Energy, Interior, Treasury, and Health and Human Services, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Agency for International Development. [more]

U.S. CITIZENSHIP | In a series of emergency applications yesterday, the Trump administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow executive orders restricting birthright citizenship to partially take effect while related court proceedings play out. Three federal appeals courts have previously blocked an executive order from President Donald Trump that aimed to restrict the right to birthright citizenship as detailed in the 14th Amendment. [more]

U.S. PROTESTS | Colombia University said yesterday that it has suspended, expelled, or revoked the diplomas of some students who took over a campus building last spring during pro-Palestinian protests. The university’s actions follow the recent arrest of activist leader Mahmoud Khalil, a legal permanent resident of the U.S., by federal immigration authorities and the stripping of some $400 million in funding to Colombia by the Trump administration. [more]

U.S. IMMIGRATION | Reports say U.S. authorities this week transferred all immigrants being held at the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba to a holding facility in Louisiana amidst legal challenges to the Trump administration policy of holding dangerous illegal immigrants at the offshore military facility. [more]

U.S. POSTAL SERVICE | In a letter sent to members of Congress this week, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy says the U.S. Postal Service has agreed to work with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to address inefficiencies and to reduce USPS staffing by about 10,000 workers. [more]

ARIZONA | Twelve-term Democratic Congressman Raúl Grijalva of Arizona died yesterday at the age of 77. Reports say Grijalva, who was known as a champion of immigration and environmental issues, died of complications from cancer treatment. [more]

GLOBAL FINANCE | Amidst global trade tensions and concerns over inflation and economic volatility, gold – long considered a financial safe-haven – rose above the psychological milestone of $3,000 an ounce on Friday for the first time. [more]

IRAN | Chinese, Russian, and Iranian representatives jointly called for an end to nuclear-related U.S. sanctions on Iran today and said multi-national talks on issues surrounding Iran’s nuclear programs should be restarted. The joint statement came after the delivery of a letter from U.S. President Donald Trump to Iran’s supreme leader urging the resumption of related talks. [more]

SUDAN | The U.N. children’s agency, UNICEF, says the ongoing civil war in Sudan has created the world’s most devastating humanitarian crisis, with some 30 million people, including 16 million children, urgently in need of aid. [more]

CANADA | Former central banker Mark Carney is scheduled to be sworn in as Canada’s new prime minister today, taking over from the outgoing Justin Trudeau. [more]

PORTUGAL | President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa announced yesterday that Portugal will hold an early general election on May 18. The announcement came two days after the country’s minority government lost a confidence vote in parliament. [more]

HOLI | Today marks the most widespread celebration of the Hindu religious festival Holi – the Festival of Colors, Love and Spring – by millions of people primarily in India and elsewhere around the South Asia region. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1794, American inventor Eli Whitney received a patent for the cotton gin – a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds and that revolutionized the American cotton industry. [more history]