May 8, 2025

INDIA AND PAKISTAN CONFLICT | Updates from what is the most intense confrontation between the two countries since 2019, when the rivals came close to all-out war:

• Pakistani officials say the death toll from Indian airstrikes yesterday has risen to at least 31. [more]
• Reports say India targeted multiple Pakistani sites with attack drones today, with Pakistan claiming to have shot down 25 of the aircraft, and both countries report casualties from relatively small exchanges of fire across their de facto shared border. [more]
• Both countries have evacuated thousands of people from their portions of the contested Kashmir region. [more]

MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional conflicts:

• Lebanese authorities say heavy Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon today killed at least one person and wounded at least eight others. [more]
• Aid group World Central Kitchen said today it is shutting its food kitchens in Gaza due to empty warehouses and no replenishment of supplies amidst Israel's ongoing blockade of humanitarian assistance in the Palestinian enclave. [more]
• Speaking at a meeting of E.U. foreign ministers in Warsaw yesterday, Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said the Netherlands is “drawing a line in the sand” over Israel’s actions in Gaza and is insisting on a review of a European Union pact governing trade ties with the country. [more]
• Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa said Wednesday that his country is participating in indirect talks with Israel to prevent recent hostilities from escalating. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1169 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here is your update:

• Ukrainian officials say at least one person was killed, and two others were injured early today in Russian bomb and missile attacks on Ukraine's northeast regions despite a three-day cease-fire announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin that was to go into effect at midnight. [more]

U.S. JUDICIARY | Speaking before a gathering of some 600 judges and lawyers yesterday, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts said judicial independence is necessary to "check the excesses of the Congress or the executive." The statement came amidst ongoing White House criticism of multiple federal court rulings that have delayed or stopped Trump administration actions and policies. [more]

U.S. PROTESTS | At least 80 people were taken into police custody yesterday amidst pro-Palestinian demonstrations at New York City's Columbia University in which protesters pushed past campus security to occupy the school's main library. Reports say Columbia officials requested New York Police Department assistance after protesters were asked repeatedly to show identification and to leave the library but refused to do so. [more]

U.S. ECONOMY | The Federal Reserve yesterday kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 4.3% for a third straight meeting, with Chair Jerome Powell citing risks of both higher unemployment and higher inflation and potential effects of trade tariffs as contributing factors for not lowering the rate. [more]

TENNESSEE | Three former Memphis, Tennessee, police officers were acquitted of all state charges yesterday in connection with the 2023 death of Tyre Nichols, who was beaten by the officers after he ran away from a traffic stop. Reports note that the officers were previously convicted on federal charges related to the case and face upcoming sentencing hearings. [more]

U.S. DEPORTATIONS | Reports say U.S. immigration authorities have informed some detained migrants that they will be deported to Libya. In a related hearing yesterday, U.S. District Judge Brian E. Murphy in Massachusetts said any such “allegedly imminent” removals to Libya would clearly violate his previous order blocking people from being deported to countries other than their homelands without being given a “meaningful opportunity” to argue that it would jeopardize their safety. [more]

U.S. SURGEON GENERAL | A day before Janette Nesheiwat was to appear before a Senate confirmation panel, President Donald Trump withdrew her nomination to be the U.S. surgeon general yesterday, replacing her with Dr. Casey Means, a physician-turned-wellness influencer with close ties to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s 2025 presidential campaign. [more]

U.S. FEDERAL FUNDING | Saying plaintiffs were likely to win their case, Senior U.S. District Judge Barbara Rothstein in Seattle yesterday temporarily blocked the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Federal Transportation Administration from imposing new grant conditions or delaying funding already awarded to eight cities and counties across the U.S. that faced pressure from the Trump administration to comply with various policies, including ending DEI initiatives, assisting with federal deportation efforts, and not publicizing information about lawful abortions. [more]

U.S. CLIMATE AND WILDFIRES | A new study published in the journal Nature Communications Earth & Environment concludes that smoke from wildfires driven by climate change between 2006 and 2020 contributed to as many as 15,000 deaths in the U.S. from exposure to small particulate matter. [full study] [more]

KOREA | South Korean military officials say North Korea launched multiple short-range ballistic missiles of various types into the waters off its eastern coast today and suggested that the launches could be linked to performance tests of weapons it plans to export. [more]

TURKEY | Social media platform X, formerly Twitter, has blocked access in Turkey to the account of jailed Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who has more than 9 million followers, due to a legal request by Turkish authorities citing national security and public order concerns as reasons for the request. [more]

GERMANY | According to court documents filed today, Germany's domestic spy agency plans to temporarily pause its classification of the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, political party as an extremist organization pending litigation by the party. [more]

AUTO INDUSTRY | Toyota, the world's biggest automaker, announced today that it expects a 21% drop in profits for its current fiscal year due largely to U.S. tariffs and a weaker yen. [more]

SOCCER | With a 2-1 win over Arsenal yesterday, Paris Saint-Germain advanced to the UEFA Champions League final in which they will face Inter Milan in Munich, Germany, on May 31. [more]

PHILANTHROPY | Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said today that he plans to distribute "virtually all" of his estimated $200 billion net worth to philanthropic causes over the next 20 years with three main goals: ending preventable deaths of mothers and babies, eradicating deadly infectious diseases, and lifting hundreds of millions of people around the world out of poverty. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1945, following Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender, World War II in Europe officially ended at midnight. The war in the Pacific continued until the Japanese surrender in September. [more history]