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MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional conflicts:

• Australia, Canada, and the U.K. announced their formal recognition of a Palestinian state yesterday in a coordinated move that sparked strong criticism from Israel. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer insisted the move was not a reward for Hamas, but, rather, a step to "revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis." France is expected to make a similar move later today at the United Nations, but says its gradual establishment of diplomatic relations with a Palestinian state will be conditioned on the release of hostages held by Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza. [more]
• Local officials say at least five people, including three children, were killed yesterday in an Israeli drone strike on the town of Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon. The Israeli military says the attack targeted a Hezbollah militant operating from within a civilian population. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1,306 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here is your update:

• Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics suggested this weekend that Russia appears to be testing NATO's political and military resolve and is aiming to reduce the alliance's support for Ukraine through military flight incursions into and around NATO member country airspace that could compel the redirection of resources toward the defense of alliance countries. [more]

U.S. GUN VIOLENCE | One person was killed, and two others were wounded, Saturday night when a man opened fire at the Sky Meadow Country Club in Nashua, New Hampshire, as a wedding was taking place. Authorities say the suspect in the shooting, Hunter Nadeau, 23, has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder. [more]

U.S. POLITICS | President Donald Trump appeared to urge Attorney General Pam Bondi to pursue cases against his political adversaries over the weekend, complaining in a social media post that "nothing is being done" with investigations of people including James Comey, Adam Schiff, and Leticia James. Trump further stated that "We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility. They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED." [full Trump post] [more]

U.S. HUNGER | In a statement released Saturday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that it will cease publishing Household Food Security Reports, saying the annual reports on hunger in the U.S. "do nothing more than fear monger" and that they have "failed to present anything more than subjective, liberal fodder." Reports note that the USDA has produced the reports for 30 years and that the move comes in the wake of the recently passed, Trump administration-backed tax and spending bill that the Congressional Budget Office estimated would result in some 3 million people no longer qualifying for food stamps, also known as SNAP benefits. [USDA press release] [more]

CHARLIE KIRK | Tens of thousands of people, including President Donald Trump and other senior administration officials, attended the memorial service for late conservative activist and TurningPoint USA founder Charlie Kirk yesterday in Glendale, Arizona. [more]

U.S. GOVERNMENT | Reports cite government sources as saying that Tom Homan, President Donald Trump's border czar, was recorded accepting $50,000 in cash from an undercover FBI agent last year in exchange for a promise of immigration-related government contracts when he joined the Trump administration. Investigations into the incident were ordered closed by FBI Director Kash Patel this summer, according to reports. [more]

U.S. WORK VISAS | President Donald Trump announced on Friday that new H1-B visas for high-skilled foreign workers in the U.S. will require a $100,000 fee payment – up from the current fees of about $2,000 to $5,000. The White House said the new fee took effect yesterday and clarified that the increase applies only to new visas, not renewals, and not to current visa holders. [more]

CALIFORNIA | Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a measure into law Saturday that bans most law enforcement officers, including federal immigration agents, from covering their faces while conducting official business in California. Reports note that Trump administration officials have defended the use of masks to obscure the identities of agents who could face threats or possible harassment in public and online. [more]

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE | In a memo distributed late last week, the Defense Department says it will require credentialed journalists at the Pentagon to sign a pledge to refrain from reporting information that has not been approved for public release — including unclassified information – or risk losing their credentials. The Society of Professional Journalists called the new Pentagon policy "alarming," saying it "reeks of prior restraint — the most egregious violation of press freedom under the First Amendment — and is a dangerous step toward government censorship." [more]

U.S. AND RUSSIA | Russian President Vladimir Putin said today that he is prepared to extend the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with the United States, which limits the number of each country's nuclear weapons, by one year when it expires in February 2026 if U.S. President Donald Trump will agree to do the same. [more]

U.S. AND CHINA | Following a phone call between the two earlier in the day, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that he will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in South Korea next month and that he will travel to China in the early part of next year. [more]

U.S. AND AFGHANISTAN | Taliban leaders in Afghanistan yesterday rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's calls for the U.S. to regain control of Bagram Air Base, from which the U.S. withdrew in 2021. In a speech early Sunday, Fasihuddin Fitrat, chief of staff at the Afghan Defense Ministry, said, "Ceding even an inch of our soil to anyone is out of the question and impossible." [more]

TYPHOON RAGASA | Schools and many business and government offices are closed today in the northern Philippines and southern Taiwan as Super Typhoon Ragasa passes through the region with sustained winds of 215 kph (or 134 mph). The storm is on a westerly course and is expected to make landfall on the Chinese mainland by Wednesday. [more]

BRAZIL | More than 100,000 people are estimated to have taken part in demonstrations across Brazil yesterday to protest against a possible pardon for former President Jair Bolsonaro and his allies, who were convicted of attempting a coup following Bolsonaro's presidential election loss to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2022. [more]

EUROPEAN TRAVEL | Scores of flights were cancelled or delayed at multiple European airports over the weekend, and disruptions continue today, due to a cyberattack that affected software from Collins Aerospace that is used for flight check-ins. Airports in Berlin, Brussels, and London were among those most heavily affected. [more]

PHILIPPINES | Authorities say at least 49 people were arrested yesterday following clashes with police near the Philippine presidential palace in Manila. Reports note that it is not known if the protesters near the palace had also taken part in a peaceful anti-corruption demonstration in the city in which more than 30,000 people took part. [more]

COLLEGE FOOTBALL | Following weekend games, Ohio State remains at No. 1 atop the AP Top 25 College Football Poll, followed by Miami, Penn State, LSU, and Georgia. [full poll] [more]

WEEKEND MOVIES | "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Infinity Castle" topped the North American box office over the weekend with an estimated $17.3 million in receipts, followed by "Him" and "The Conjuring: Last Rites." [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1980, the Iran-Iraq War began when Iraqi armed forces invaded western Iran along the countries' shared border. Fighting continued until 1988, and a formal peace agreement was signed in 1990. [more history]