May 22, 2025

MIDDLE EAST | Update from regional conflicts:

• Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court urged a judge yesterday to reject a request from Israel to drop arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, issued over allegations of using "starvation as a method of warfare" in Gaza. Prosecutors said there is no basis for withdrawing the warrants and stressed the importance of continuing investigations "where crimes are ongoing and escalating." [more]

U.S. SPENDING AND TAXES | Following all-night negotiations, the House of Representatives passed the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" by one vote early this morning, advancing President Donald Trump's spending and tax agenda. The latest Congressional Budget Office report on the more-than-1,000-page package says included tax-break provisions would increase federal deficits by $3.8 trillion over a decade, while changes to Medicaid, food stamps, green energy programs, and other services would total about $1 trillion in reduced spending. The measure also includes changes to student loan repayment rules, a no-tax-on-tips provision, and work requirements for Medicaid eligibility. The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration. [more]

WASHINGTON, DC | Two staff members of the Israeli Embassy in Washington were shot and killed yesterday evening while leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum. Reports say the suspect in the shooting, Elias Rodriguez, 30, of Chicago, who is in police custody, shouted, "Free Palestine" following the incident. [more]

U.S. DEPORTATIONS | Boston-based U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy said yesterday that the Trump administration's deportation of eight immigrants convicted of crimes to South Sudan was "unquestionably in violation" of his previous order that deportees be given "meaningful opportunity" to object to being deported to countries other than their homelands due to safety concerns. [more]

U.S. AIR FORCE ONE | The Pentagon said yesterday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has accepted Qatar's gift of a luxury Boeing 747 jet for President Donald Trump to use as Air Force One. Acceptance of the gift comes amidst ongoing concerns about the ethics, legality, and security of accepting the plane and reports that it will cost an estimated $1 billion to overhaul the plane for presidential use. [more]

U.S. HEALTH | HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is expected to release a White House-mandated report on childhood diseases and health today. The report, compiled by the so-called "Make America Healthy Again Commission," will reportedly include information on a variety of topics, including pediatric medications, nutrition, and diseases and conditions such as obesity, depression, and attention deficit disorder. [more]

U.S. POLICING | The Justice Department announced yesterday that it is cancelling proposed consent decrees reached with Minneapolis and Louisville to implement policing reforms in the wake of the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, saying it would "retract the Biden administration’s findings of constitutional violations" in the cases. The department said it would also retract findings of constitutional violations in six other U.S. locations. [DOJ announcement] [more]

U.S. EMPLOYMENT | Initial applications for unemployment benefits in the U.S. fell 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 227,000 in the week ended May 17, according to Labor Department data released today. [more]

U.S. AND SOUTH AFRICA | In their White House meeting yesterday, U.S. President Donald Trump continued to press South African President Cyril Ramaphosa about largely baseless claims that white farmers in the African nation are being targeted for persecution and murder, at one point showing a video featuring South African opposition politicians – none part of Ramaphosa’s government or political party – using anti-apartheid chants about attacking white South Africans. [more]

U.S. AND CANADA | Prime Minister Mark Carney said yesterday that Canada is in talks with the United States about joining the "Golden Dome" missile defense program detailed by President Donald Trump earlier this week. [more]

U.S. AND IRAN | A fifth round of talks between Iran and the U.S. over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program is scheduled to take place tomorrow in Rome, Italy. [more]

SYRIA | Geir Pedersen, the top U.N. official for Syria, warned yesterday of the danger of "renewed conflict and deeper fragmentation" in Syria amidst growing polarization – specifically citing recent violence against the Druze minority as an example of causes for concern. [more]

PHILIPPINES | In what he termed a "reset" of his administration, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has asked all of his Cabinet secretaries to submit resignations. The move comes a week after opposition candidates won crucial seats in the Philippine senate. [more]

CHINA | State broadcaster CCTV reports that at least two people have died, and 19 others remain missing, today in flooding and landslides in China's southwestern Guizhou province. [more]

NORTH KOREA | The state-run Korean Central News Agency reports that North Korea's second naval destroyer was damaged yesterday during a launch event at the northeastern port of Chongjin. KCNA did not report the severity of damage, but did note that the ship's hull was punctured in the incident. [more]

AUSTRALIA | Authorities in Australia's eastern New South Wales state say three people have died, and one remains missing, amidst ongoing record-setting floods brought on by heavy rains. More than 500 people in the region have been rescued by emergency personnel, according to reports. [more]

ARGENTINA | Reports say dozens of protesters demanding higher pensions were injured in clashes with police yesterday outside Argentina's Congress in Buenos Aires. [more]

BASKETBALL | Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been named the NBA's Most Valuable Player for 2025, marking the seventh year in a row that a player born outside the U.S. has been named the league MVP. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1960, the 9.5-magnitude Valdivia earthquake – the strongest ever recorded – struck southern Chile, killing an estimated 1,655 people and leaving some 2 million homeless. Tsunamis resulting from the quake affected southern Chile, Hawaii, Japan, China, the Philippines, eastern New Zealand, southeast Australia, and the Aleutian Islands. [more history]