October 23, 2025

MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional conflicts:

• In an opinion issued yesterday, the U.N.'s International Court of Justice said that Israel has an obligation to ensure that the basic needs of the civilian populations in Gaza and the West Bank are met and that it must support U.N. relief efforts in the Palestinian territories. [more]
• Israeli lawmakers gave preliminary approval yesterday to a bill that would apply Israeli law to the occupied West Bank – a measure that analysts say is tantamount to annexation of the territory. Following approval of the measure – the eventual fate of which is uncertain – U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance said President Donald Trump would oppose such an annexation and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that such a move could endanger efforts to end the war in Gaza. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1,337 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Both the European Union and the United States have announced new economic sanctions on Russian oil, gas, and transportation sectors over the invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking in Brussels today, thanked both the U.S. and E.U., saying "We waited for this.... This is very important." [more]
• Reports say the European Union is expected to approve, as early as today, initial plans to finance Ukraine for the next two years, including through the use of frozen Russian assets. [more]
• Chinese and Indian oil companies have signaled intentions to significantly cut their purchases of Russian oil following the imposition of new U.S. sanctions on major Russian oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil. [more]

U.S. FEDERAL DEBT | According to Treasury Department data, the U.S. government’s gross national debt surpassed $38 trillion yesterday, with the most recent one trillion in debt having accumulated since August – the fastest accumulation of a trillion dollars in debt outside of the COVID-19 pandemic period. [more]

U.S. DRUG WAR | The Defense Department says it carried out two new military airstrikes on boats suspected of carrying illegal drugs over the past two days, with both strikes taking place in the eastern Pacific Ocean, off the western coast of Central America. [more]

U.S. IMMIGRATION | Reports say more than 100 U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other federal agents are expected to begin arriving in the San Francisco, California, region today as part of a surge in immigration enforcement actions. San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie and California Gov. Gavin Newsom have suggested that the surge in federal operations is meant to provoke violent protests. [more]

U.S. MILITARIZATION | U.S. District Judge April Perry yesterday extended her order blocking the deployment of federalized National Guard troops to Chicago, Illinois, indefinitely. Perry said the order would remain in place until the full case has been decided in her court or the U.S. Supreme Court intervenes in the case. [more]

U.S. POLITICS | North Carolina's GOP-controlled legislature gave final approval yesterday to new congressional districting maps for the state as part of efforts to support Trump administration-backed efforts to help maintain a Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives following the 2026 mid-term elections. [more]

U.S. HIGHER EDUCATION | The University of Virginia and the U.S. Justice Department announced the signing of an agreement yesterday under which the university agreed to follow White House guidance forbidding discrimination in admissions and hiring and ban other diversity, equity, and inclusion practices in exchange for the resumption of federal funding and the suspension of several DOJ investigations into the Charlottesville, Virginia, school. [text of agreement] [more]

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE | Following last week's walkout of almost all established media outlets after they declined to sign on to new Pentagon media policies, the Defense Department announced its new press corps yesterday, comprising some 60 new journalists and organizations, including the Gateway Pundit, the National Pulse, Human Events, podcaster Tim Pool, the Just the News website, Frontlines by Turning Point USA, and LindellTV, run by “MyPillow” CEO Mike Lindell. [more]

U.S. WHITE HOUSE | President Donald Trump said yesterday that the entirety of the White House's East Wing will be demolished to make room for the planned White House ballroom, despite earlier assurances that the project would maintain existing buildings. Trump also said the ballroom project would cost $300 million – up from the initial $200 million cost announced in July. [more]

CALIFORNIA | Gov. Gavin Newsom announced yesterday that he will deploy National Guard troops in California next month to support food banks in anticipation of disruptions to federal food assistance amidst the ongoing federal government shutdown. [more]

U.S. AND CANADA | Ahead of next month's release of his government's budget, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has set a goal for his country to double its non-U.S. exports over the next decade, saying, "The U.S. has fundamentally changed its approach to trade, raising its tariffs to levels last seen during the Great Depression. We have to take care of ourselves because we can’t rely on one foreign partner." [more]

HUMAN RIGHTS | Journalists Andrzej Poczobut and Mzia Amaghlobeli, who are currently imprisoned in Belarus and Georgia, respectively, were named yesterday as this year's recipients of the Sakharov Prize, the European Union’s top human rights honor. [more]

CHINA | At the conclusion of its four-day meeting to plan its next five-year economic plan, the Chinese Communist Party said today that it plans to focus on accelerating China's self-reliance in science and technology amidst complex global changes and rising uncertainty. [more]

ICELAND | Reports cite researchers as saying mosquitoes were recently discovered in Iceland for the first time. Officials at the Natural Science Institute of Iceland say the insects may well have been introduced to Iceland via ships or containers and that their presence does not necessarily imply an effect of a warmer climate. [more]

NEW ZEALAND | Severe storms prompted New Zealand authorities to issue the country's highest wind warnings today. More than 200 flights at New Zealand airports were cancelled amidst the storms, which also caused widespread power outages, the closing of schools, and the cancellation of planned rallies for some 100,000 health and education workers taking part in a half-day walkout strike. [more]

NORTH KOREA | A new report from the international Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team says North Korean hackers have stolen billions of dollars from businesses and organizations around the world by breaking into cryptocurrency exchanges and by creating fake identities to get remote tech jobs at foreign companies. [full report] [more]

MORE NORTH KOREA | The official Korean Central News Agency cites government officials as saying North Korea's latest missile tests, conducted earlier this week, involved a new hypersonic missile system aimed at strengthening the country's nuclear deterrent capabilities. [more]

PERU | Police and military troops are patrolling the streets of Lima, Peru, today on the first day of a state of emergency declared by recently installed President José Jerí as part of efforts to reign in crime.  Reports note that the state of emergency declaration also suspended several constitutional rights — including freedoms to assemble and to protest. [more]

TAIWAN | Health authorities reported Taiwan's first cases of African swine fever yesterday and ordered prevention and control efforts to contain the infections. Measures ordered include the culling of at least 195 pigs from the farm where the infections were detected and a temporary ban on the movement and slaughter of pigs across the island territory. [more]

BASKETBALL | Reports say Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups have been arrested in connection with a federal investigation into sports betting and illegal gambling. The FBI is expected to provide additional details on the arrests in a press conference later today. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1983, suicide bombers drove truckloads of high explosives into the barracks of U.S. Marines and French paratroopers in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 241 U.S. service members and 58 French troops. [more history]