October 6, 2025

MIDDLE EAST | Update from regional conflicts:

• Representatives of Israel and Hamas are meeting with negotiators in Egypt today for discussions on the first phase of a tentative Gaza cease-fire and peace plan that would include a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the release of all Hamas-held hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1,320 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here is your update:

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at least five people were killed early yesterday morning in Russian missile and drone attacks that targeted nine Ukrainian regions, including the western Lviv region, which saw its largest aerial assault since the start of Russia's invasion in 2022. [more]

U.S. MILITARIZATION | A federal judge granted a temporary restraining order last night blocking President Donald Trump's plan to deploy any National Guard units to Portland, Oregon. The judicial order followed appeals by California and Oregon after the Trump administration announced plans to deploy units from both of the states. Administration officials have indicated they intend to appeal the ruling. [more]

CHICAGO | Reports say increasingly forceful tactics by federal immigration agents in Chicago, Illinois, have included helicopter-based raids, use of chemical agents near a public school, and use of smoke grenades. Authorities say more than 1,000 arrests have been made in the ramp-up of federal immigration enforcement in the city. [more]

U.S. GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN | Day 6. As Republicans and Democrats in Congress continue to blame each other for the ongoing government shutdown, President Donald Trump said last night that shutdown-linked federal job cuts are "taking place right now." [more]

MORE U.S. GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN | The American Federation of Government Employees union filed a lawsuit late last week over the insertion of language blaming Democrats for the ongoing government shutdown into out-of-office e-mail messages without workers' knowledge. Reports cite the government workers' union as saying that "Forcing civil servants to speak on behalf of the political leadership's partisan agenda is a blatant violation of federal employees' First Amendment rights" and note that the partisan messaging in the e-mail messages and on government websites may violate federal ethics laws. [more]

U.S. FARMING | President Donald Trump is expected to announce a significant aid package as early as tomorrow for U.S. farmers, especially those who produce soybeans, amidst a Chinese boycott of American produce sparked by U.S. tariffs and the ongoing trade war between the world's two largest economies. [more]

NOBEL PRIZES | American scientists Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell and Japan's Shimon Sakaguchi were named recipients of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine today for their research on how the immune system spares healthy cells. [more]

FRANCE | French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu resigned today – just a day after naming his new cabinet ministers and less than a month after taking office. Lecornu was France's fourth prime minister in just over a year, and the series of government changes have sparked calls for President Emmanuel Macron to either call for new elections or resign. [more]

JAPAN | Former Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi was elected leader of Japan's governing Liberal Democratic Party over the weekend and is expected to be named the country's first-ever female prime minister when parliament convenes later this month. [more]

AUSTRALIA | Reports say police in the state of Western Australia seized more than 100 firearms and revoked more than 40 gun licenses over the past weeks from dozens of people suspected of holding so-called "sovereign citizen" views that reject government authority. State Police Commissioner Col Blanch said yesterday that the seizures relied on an Australian legal provision that requires a person to meet the standard of a "fit and proper person" in order to hold a gun permit. [more]

NEPAL AND INDIA | Disaster response officials say at least 70 people died over the weekend in Nepal's eastern Illam district and India's Darjeeling region following days of heavy rain that sparked landslides and floods. [more]

ECUADOR | Citing “serious internal unrest," the government of Ecuador declared a state of emergency in 10 of the South American country's provinces over the weekend following two weeks of anti-government protests led by Indigenous groups in response to the revocation of a fuel subsidy that significantly raised diesel prices. [more]

U.K. | After almost 500 people were arrested Saturday at a London demonstration against the government ban of the Palestine Action group, the U.K. Home Office said police would be granted expanded powers to restrict repeated protests based on the "cumulative impact" of demonstrations on local areas. [more]

WESTERN BALKANS | The leaders of Albania, Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Kosovo are gathered for a one-day summit today in Albania for discussions on ways to accelerate the economic integration of their Western Balkans nations with the European Union. [more]

HURRICANE PRISCILLA | Tropical Storm Priscilla strengthened to hurricane status off the southwestern Pacific coast of Mexico overnight and is expected to bring heavy rainfall to the region as it tracks toward and along the Baja California peninsula over the coming days. [NOAA info] [more]

GEORGIA | Following Saturday's local elections that were boycotted by opposition bloc lawmakers, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze accused the opposition of trying to topple his government and said he would implement further crackdowns on dissent. [more]

INDONESIA | Authorities say the death toll from last week's building collapse at an Islamic school in Sidoarjo, Indonesia, has risen to at least 49 and that 14 students are still missing as recovery efforts continue. [more]

MOUNT EVEREST | Chinese state media reports that rescue operations are under way today to help hundreds of hikers trapped by unexpectedly heavy snowfall at tourist campsites on a slope of Mount Everest in Tibet. [more]

COLLEGE FOOTBALL | Following weekend games, Ohio State remains at No. 1 atop the AP Top 25 College Football Poll, followed by Miami, Oregon, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M. Penn State and Texas both dropped out of the top 25 following weekend losses to UCLA and Florida, respectively. [full poll] [more]

WEEKEND MOVIES | Taylor Swift's "The Official Release Party of a Show Girl" topped the North American box office over the weekend with an estimated $33 million in receipts, followed by "One Battle After Another" and "The Smashing Machine." [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1973, war erupted in the Middle East as Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel during the Yom Kippur holiday, starting a nearly three-week conflict that would become known as the Yom Kippur War. [more history]