May 9, 2025

INDIA-PAKISTAN CONFLICT | India's Civil Aviation Ministry announced the temporary closure of 24 airports in the country's northern and western regions late last night amidst ongoing high tensions and border clashes with neighboring Pakistan. According to early morning reports, at least five people were killed, and at least 12 others were injured, overnight in heavy exchanges of artillery fire between the two countries in the disputed Kashmir region. [more]

MIDDLE EAST | Update from regional conflicts:

• Amidst the ongoing Israeli blockade of aid entering Gaza, a newly created U.S-based group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, has proposed taking over humanitarian aid for the Palestinian enclave. The group's proposal, which is reported to be supported by U.S. government officials, is currently under consideration by Israel and United Nations officials. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1170 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here is your update:

• Ukrainian security officials say two former members of the Ukrainian military have been arrested on suspicion of spying for Hungary by collecting intelligence on Ukraine’s military in the west of the country. [more]

U.S. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS | President Donald Trump fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden yesterday evening. Hayden, whose 10-year term was set to expire next year and who was the first woman and the first African American to head the Library of Congress, was criticized just hours before the firing by the conservative group American Accountability Foundation, which accused her of promoting children’s books with “radical” content and literary material authored by Trump opponents. [more]

FEMA | Cameron Hamilton, acting head of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, was fired from his position yesterday – just one day after testifying before Congress – in apparent disagreement with Trump administration policy – that he did "not believe it is in the best interest of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency. [more]

U.S. MILITARY | Under a directive issued yesterday, the Department of Defense plans to begin immediately removing some 1,000 openly transgender service members from duty and give others 30 days to self-identify. The directive comes just days after a Supreme Court ruling allowing a Trump administration ban on transgender individuals in the military to take effect while court challenges play out. [more]

ALABAMA | A panel of federal judges ruled yesterday that a congressional districting map drawn up by the Alabama legislature in 2023 violated the Voting Rights Act by intentionally diluting the voting strength of Black residents, and ordered the state to continue using an existing court-ordered map that led to the election of a second Black congressman in the state last year. [more]

U.S. IMMIGRATION | A federal lawsuit filed yesterday by the National Center for Youth Law and Democracy Forward advocacy groups is challenging Trump administration changes to vetting procedures for reuniting children who crossed into the U.S. without their parents. The lawsuit follows the release of government data showing the average time unaccompanied children are held in custody before being released to sponsors grew from 37 days in January to over 112 days by March. [more]

U.S. INFANT MORTALITY | According to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of infant deaths in the U.S. fell to about 19,900, or 5.5 deaths per 1,000 live births, in 2024 – down from about 20,150, or a rate of about 5.6 per 1,000 live births, in 2023. Researchers suggest that vaccination campaigns against RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, could have contributed to the decline. [CDC data] [more]

U.S., DENMARK, AND GREENLAND | The Wall Street Journal cited unnamed sources yesterday as saying U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard issued a "collection emphasis message" to intelligence agency heads last week directing them to prioritize learning more about Greenland's independence movement and attitudes on U.S. resource extraction on the island. Among responses to the report were criticism from Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who denounced spying against an ally, and a statement from Tulsi Gabbard's office that three criminal referrals to the Justice Department have been filed related to intelligence community leaks. [more]

U.S. AND U.K. | Under a trade agreement announced yesterday by U.S. President Donald Trump and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the U.S. will maintain a 10% duty on nearly all imports from the U.K., but cut its tariffs on car imports from the U.K. to 10% from 27.5%. Additionally, among other measures, U.K. steel exports will enter the U.S. duty-free, the U.K. will eliminate its tariff on ethanol from the U.S., and both countries have agreed to greater market access for each other’s beef. [more]

U.S. AND CHINA | Ahead of trade talks scheduled for tomorrow in Switzerland, U.S. President Donald Trump suggested today that China must import more U.S. goods and, in exchange, the U.S. should lower its 145% tariff on most Chinese goods to 80%. [more]

VATICAN | U.S.-born Augustinian missionary Robert Prevost was selected by the College of Cardinals yesterday to lead the Catholic Church. Provost, who chose the papal name Leo XIV, is the first-ever pope from the United States and is seen overall as a centrist with progressive views on some key social issues. [more]

RUSSIA | Marking the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, Russia held a massive military parade in Moscow's Red Square today. Foreign attendees at the parade included Chinese President Xi Jinping and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. [more]

SOUTH SUDAN | The U.N.'s World Food Program and agency for children, or UNICEF, said yesterday that fighting along the Nile River in South Sudan has prevented humanitarian aid from reaching more than 60,000 malnourished children and that they expect food aid supplies for the country's Upper Nile State to run out by the end of May. [more]

AUSTRALIA | Recently re-elected Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said today that reducing student debt will be among his government's first priorities in his new term in office. [more]

SOCCER | Manchester United and Tottenham advanced to UEFA's second-tier Europa League final yesterday with wins over Athletic Bilbao and Bodø/Glimt, respectively. The teams will play for the championship on May 21. [more]

MUSIC AWARDS | Lainey Wilson was named entertainer of the year – for the second year in a row – last night at the 60th annual Academy of Country Music Awards. Other awardees included the Ella Langley and Riley Green duet "You Look Like You Love Me" as single and music event of the year, Cody Johnson's "Dirt Cheap" as song of the year, and Chris Stapleton as male artist of the year. [full list of awardees] [more]

GAMING | Four honorees were inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame yesterday: the 1981 arcade game Defender, the digital pet Tamagotchi, the early multi-player game GoldenEye 007, and the 1996 game Quake. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1914, following a national campaign by Anna Jarvis and others who sought to honor mothers' legacies and promote peace, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, acting on a joint congressional resolution, signed a proclamation designating the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day. [more history]