May 13, 2025

UKRAINE | Today is day 1174 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here is your update:

• Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused again today to say whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will travel to Istanbul this week in response to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's invitation for direct talks. [more]

U.S. PRESIDENTIAL TRAVEL | President Donald Trump began a four-day trip to the Middle East today, arriving in Saudi Arabia for a meeting with de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Trump is also scheduled to visit Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, and has floated the idea of attending possible Ukraine peace talks in Turkey later in the week. [more]

U.S. FEDERAL BUDGET | House Republicans unveiled additional details of their proposed federal budget yesterday, which includes, among other provisions, significant tax breaks paid for largely by cuts to Medicaid and green energy initiatives, increases in the standard deduction, state and local tax deductions, and child tax credit and estate tax exemptions. Additional measures include new tax breaks on tipped wages, overtime pay, Social Security benefits, and auto loans, and new taxes imposed on private universities' endowments. [more]

U.S. IMMIGRATION | The Episcopal Church in the U.S. announced yesterday that it ended its refugee resettlement program with the federal government over the State Department's prioritization of white South African immigrants over other populations that are seeing their immigration protections removed. [more]

U.S. FOREIGN VISITORS | According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, international travel spending in the U.S. is expected to fall about 7%, or $12.5 billion, in 2025 amidst political and government policy concerns and a strong U.S. dollar. [more]

CALIFORNIA | Gov. Gavin Newsom called this week for cities and counties in California to clear and ban homeless encampments. Newsom said such bans could be enacted through prohibitions on “persistent camping” in specific locations, but urged localities to provide notice and make reasonable effort to identify and offer shelter to homeless persons before clearing an encampment. [more]

U.S. ECONOMY | Consumer prices in the U.S. rose slightly in April, according to data released by the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics today. The Bureau's consumer price index rose 0.2% from March and 2.3% from the year-ago period. [full CPI report] [more]

U.S. IRS AND IMMIGRATION | U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich yesterday refused a request by non-profit groups to block the Internal Revenue Service from sharing immigrants’ tax data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the purpose of identifying and deporting people in the U.S. illegally. [more]

ILLINOIS | Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a state executive order yesterday making Illinois the first U.S. state to block the federal government from collecting personal health data related to autism. The move came just days after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced plans to use data maintained by the National Institutes of Health, and claims submitted for Medicare and Medicaid coverage, to determine the causes of autism – a plan that garnered criticism over privacy concerns. [more]

GLOBAL TRADE | While meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shigaru Ishiba today, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director-general of the World Trade Organization, said that global free trade is in a crisis, and urged countries to use current tensions as "an opportunity to solve the challenges we have and take advantage of new trends in trade." [more]

RUSSIA | In its first-ever decision on a dispute between states, the U.N.'s Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization said today that its investigations have found Russia responsible for shooting down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine in July 2014, killing 298 people. The case against Moscow was brought by the governments of the Netherlands and Australia in 2022. [more]

U.K. |. Britain's High Court begins hearings today in a case brought by human rights groups that seek to stop the U.K. government from supplying parts for F-35 fighter jets to Israel. Reports note that the government suspended sales of some military-related supplies to Israel in September over concern that the items "could be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law” in Gaza. [more]

GERMANY | The far-right self-styled "Kingdom of Germany" extremist group was banned by the German government today, and four of the group's leaders were arrested on charges reportedly linked to forming "economic criminal structures." [more]

PHILIPPINES | Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who is currently under detention by the International Criminal Court in The Hague, was announced as the winner of the mayoral election in his hometown of Davao, Philippines, today. Duterte is also the father of current Philippines Vice President Sara Duterte, who is facing impeachment proceedings on multiple charges, including alleged misuse of public funds and plotting to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his wife. [more]

LIBYA | Reports say at least six people were killed over the past day in clashes between heavily armed militias in the Libyan capital of Tripoli. U.N. officials issued warnings of "intense fighting with heavy weaponry in densely populated civilian areas" and said that “attacks on civilians and civilian objects may amount to war crimes.” [more]

AUTO INDUSTRY | Japanese carmaker Nissan said today that it will cut about 15% of its global workforce, or about 20,000 employees, amidst declining sales and revenue projections that the company has blamed partially on U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on auto imports. [more]

ENTERTAINMENT | The 78th Cannes Film Festival opens today in France with a three-film tribute to Ukraine and the awarding of an honorary Palme d’Or award to actor Robert De Niro. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1846, the United States Congress formally declared war against Mexico following clashes along the countries' shared border triggered by the U.S. annexation of Texas. The Mexican-American War continued for nearly two years before ending with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in February 1848.  [more history]