May 7, 2025

INDIA AND PAKISTAN CONFLICT | Pakistani officials say at least 26 people were killed today in Indian airstrikes linked to the massacre of tourists in India-controlled Kashmir last month, which India has blamed on Pakistan-backed militants. India has ordered civil defense security drills to be held in all states and union territories as Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif says his country's military has been authorized to take "corresponding actions" after the Indian airstrikes. For additional details, see yesterday evening's Daily Brief Special Update. [more]

MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional conflicts:

• Palestinian health authorities say at least 48 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza over the past day, including 27 deaths in an attack that reports say hit a school in which hundreds of Palestinians were sheltering. [more]
• U.S. President Donald Trump said yesterday that three more hostages held by Hamas in Gaza since the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel have died, leaving only 21 believed to still be alive. [more]
• Oman said yesterday that it brokered an agreement to end U.S. bombing of Houthi rebel sites in Yemen in exchange for the Iran-backed group halting its strikes on Red Sea shipping. U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed the agreement, though Houthi officials have yet to release a concurring statement. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1168 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• A three-day cease-fire in the Ukraine war unilaterally announced by Russia to mark its commemoration of victory in World War II is scheduled to take effect at midnight Moscow time tonight. [more]
• Ukraine and Moscow targeted each other's capital cities with drones overnight ahead of the scheduled start of a three-day cease-fire unilaterally announced by Russia. [more]

U.S. REAL ID | Requirements for REAL ID-compliant identification cards for flying domestically in the U.S. go into effect today after nearly 20 years of delays. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said yesterday that people without a REAL ID will be allowed aboard flights but may face additional screening steps, and noted that passports and tribal IDs are also accepted as valid identification. [more]

U.S. MILITARY | The Supreme Court yesterday allowed a Trump administration ban on transgender people serving in the military to take effect while related court proceedings play out. [more]

U.S. DEPORTATIONS | In separate rulings yesterday, two federal judges said the Trump administration's invocation of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 as justification for deporting suspected Venezuelan gang members is improper. In his ruling, District Court Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein in New York said the Tren de Aragua gang "may well be engaged in narcotics trafficking, but that is a criminal matter, not an invasion or predatory incursion." [more]

U.S. ECONOMY | Commerce Department data released yesterday indicates that the U.S. trade deficit rose to a record-high $140.5 billion in March – more than double the level seen in the same period last year. Analysts say the deficit spike is linked to businesses and consumers attempting to purchase foreign products ahead of the latest Trump administration tariffs. [more]

U.S. TRANSPORTATION | Amidst a recent increase in high-profile air safety investigations, Alvin Brown, the vice chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, was removed from his position yesterday. No explanation for Brown's removal has yet been provided, and analysts note that it is extremely rare to remove a Board member during his term. [more]

U.S. MEASLES | North Dakota has become the 11th U.S. state with an ongoing measles outbreak, recording its first cases of the disease since 2011. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that there are currently 935 known cases of measles in the U.S. – more than triple the total number seen in all of 2024. [more]

U.S. AND CHINA | Top trade officials from both the U.S. and China will meet Saturday in Switzerland for the first major talks since the onset of the countries' ongoing trade and tariff war. [more]

U.S. AND CANADA | Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump described their meeting yesterday in Washington, DC, as productive. Reports note that Carney displayed discomfort and pushed back during a media appearance as Trump continued to insist that Canada should become the 51st U.S. state. [more]

GLOBAL HEALTH | UNAIDS, the U.N. agency that fights HIV, reportedly plans to cut its workforce by more than 50% amidst funding cuts from major long-time donors in the U.S., Asia, and Europe. The agency has previously warned that more than 6 million additional people could die over the next four years and an additional 2,000 people per day could become infected with HIV without funding maintenance. [more]

VATICAN | The Catholic Church's College of Cardinals opens its conclave in Vatican City today to begin the process of selecting a successor to the late Pope Francis. A first vote is expected to take place this evening. [more]

PANAMA | Thousands of people took part in demonstrations yesterday in Panama City, Panama, to protest an agreement signed during last month’s visit by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that gives U.S. troops access to strategic air and naval facilities in the Central American nation. [more]

NORTH KOREA | Amidst ongoing provision of military arms and equipment to Russia for use in the war in Ukraine, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for his country to accelerate its production of artillery shells. [more]

HONDURAS | The U.S. embassy in Honduras issued a potential mass shooting warning yesterday, saying information suggests the possibility of attacks on three possible targets this week and on May 16 in the Central American country's capital of Tegucigalpa. [more]

U.K. AND INDIA | In what British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called a "landmark" deal, India and the U.K. reached a long-sought trade agreement yesterday that significantly reduces or eliminates tariffs on a variety of products traded between the countries. [more]

GERMANY | After losing a first-round vote early yesterday, Friedrich Merz was elected Germany's new chancellor by the country's parliament in a second round of voting later in the day. [more]

TECH INDUSTRY | Just weeks after a court ruling that found tech giant Google's digital ad network has been improperly abusing its market power to stifle competition, the U.S. Justice Department asked a federal judge this week to punish the company by ordering it to sell off its AdX business and DFP ad platform. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1945, Nazi Germany signed an unconditional surrender at Allied headquarters in Rheims, France, ending its role in World War II. An additional surrender document was signed the following day, May 8, as the initial document was not recognized by the Soviet Union. [more history]