November 5, 2025

MIDDLE EAST | Update from regional conflicts:

• The United States is reported to have circulated a draft U.N. Security Council proposal yesterday that would mandate the establishment of an international stabilization force in Gaza for at least two years. Under proposed terms, the force would work with a vetted Palestinian police force to secure border areas, ensure the demilitarization of the enclave, and secure the flow of humanitarian aid. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1,350 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here is your update:

• While denying that its troops were surrounded by Russian forces in the strategic Donbas region city of Pokrovsk, Ukraine has confirmed that fierce fighting in the city has placed its troops in a difficult position and said that "active countermeasures" are being undertaken to prevent Russian troops from gaining a foothold. [more]

U.S. ELECTIONS | In closely watched races widely seen as the first major test of the political climate during President Donald Trump's second term in office, Democratic candidates prevailed in all major elections yesterday, including in Virginia, New Jersey, and New York City. [more]

U.S. BALLOT INITIATIVES | In addition to yesterday's elections, multiple ballot initiatives were decided yesterday across the U.S., including: California approving adoption of new congressional maps for the next three election cycles, Colorado approving an increase in income taxes on households earning at least $300,000 annually in order to fund free meals for public school students, Maine approving a so-called "red flag law" to allow temporarily prohibiting a person from having dangerous weapons if the person is deemed a threat to themselves or others, and Texas approving changes to the state constitution explicitly stating that people must be citizens of the United States to vote in Texas and affirming that parents are the primary decision makers for their children. [more]

U.S. GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN | Having entered its 36th day, the ongoing federal government shutdown is now the longest in U.S. history. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy suggested yesterday that already disrupted air travel could become "chaos" next week if air traffic controllers miss another paycheck. After President Donald Trump said in a social media post yesterday that federal food assistance funds would not be sent out while the government remains shut down, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified later that the administration would comply with court orders that the funds be at least partially paid. [more]

U.S. TARIFFS | The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments today in cases challenging President Donald Trump's use of the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, to impose tariffs on goods imported into the United States. [more]

KENTUCKY | Investigations are ongoing today into the crash of a UPS cargo plane shortly after it took off from Muhammad Ali International Airport in Louisville, Kentucky. Authorities say at least nine people were killed in the incident. [more]

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA | Local officials say at least 11 people died, and more than 30 others were injured last night when a fire broke out in a retirement home in the Bosnian city of Tuzla. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. [more]

GERMANY | The German government moved today to ban the Islamic group Muslim Interaktiv, which Interior Ministry officials say represented a threat to the country’s constitutional order by promoting antisemitism and discrimination against women and sexual minorities. [more]

SUDAN | Government officials have blamed the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces for a drone strike earlier this week on a funeral gathering outside the army-held city of el-Obeid in North Kordofan state in which at least 40 people were killed. [more]

PHILIPPINES | Authorities say the death toll from damage, flooding, landslides, and accidents this week from Typhoon Kalmaegi has risen to at least 85 and that another 75 people remain missing. Fatalities associated with the storm include six crew members of a military helicopter that crashed on Mindanao island after it was deployed to assist in relief efforts. [more]

RUSSIA | After President Donald Trump said last week that the U.S. would resume its nuclear testing, Russian President Vladimir Putin today ordered his Defense Ministry to study and prepare proposals for possible nuclear weapons tests. [more]

BELGIUM | Officials say delays and cancellations at Belgium’s main international airport in Brussels are ongoing following drone sightings overnight that forced the airport to close temporarily. Prime Minister Bart De Wever has called a meeting with senior ministers to discuss safety concerns related to the drone activity. [more]

AUSTRALIA | Regulators announced today that message board Reddit and live-streaming service Kick have been added to the list of social media platforms that must ban Australian children under the age of 16 from holding accounts. The platforms join Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, and YouTube in being subject to the new regulations, which take effect December 10. [more]

COLLEGE FOOTBALL | The College Football Playoff committee released its first rankings for this season's 12-team playoff yesterday. Ohio State claimed the No. 1 spot in the rankings, followed by Indiana, Texas A&M, Alabama, and Georgia. [full rankings] [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1872, Susan B. Anthony, a leader in the American women's suffrage movement, cast a ballot in the U.S. presidential election. She was later arrested for voting illegally, convicted in a trial she called “the greatest outrage history ever witnessed,” and fined $100, which she refused to pay. [more history]