September 25, 2025

MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional conflicts:

• At least 22 people were wounded yesterday in a drone attack launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels on the southern Israeli city of Eilat. [more]
• Palestinian health officials say at least 41 people were killed in Israeli military action in Gaza yesterday, including 22 who died in an Israeli airstrike targeting Hamas militants that struck a tent compound in Gaza city in which displaced people were sheltering. [more]

U.S. FEDERAL FUNDING | The White House Office of Management and Budget said in a memo released last night that federal agencies should consider a reduction in force for programs that could lose funding next week in the event of a spending measure not being passed by Congress. Reports note that previous government shutdowns have furloughed workers until funding was approved, while a reduction in force would effectively eliminate worker positions. [more]

JAMES COMEY | The Justice Department is reportedly seeking to indict former FBI Director James Comey on allegations that he lied to Congress in his 2020 testimony related to the investigation into alleged ties between Russia and Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. Reports note that the move comes days after President Trump urged his attorney general to charge Comey and others and after the recent replacement of the Eastern District of Virginia's top prosecutor. [more]

U.S. DISASTER FUNDING AND IMMIGRATION | Rhode Island-based U.S. District Judge William Smith ruled yesterday that it is unconstitutional to require states to cooperate on immigration enforcement actions to get federal funding for disaster relief, saying such moves are "coercive, ambiguous, and unrelated to the purpose of the federal grants." The ruling was made in response to a federal lawsuit filed by 20 states that claimed the Trump administration threatened to make disaster funding dependent on immigration policy cooperation. [more]

TEXAS | Authorities in Dallas, Texas, say the three victims in yesterday morning's shooting at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in the city were all detainees, one of whom died in the incident. Authorities said they found ammunition with anti-ICE messaging at the scene and that 29-year-old Joshua Jahn, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, has been identified as the suspect in the case. [more]

U.S. ECONOMY | In its third and final estimate of second-quarter economic activity, the Commerce Department says the U.S. gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic output, rose at an annualized rate of 3.8% from April through June - up from the 3.3% rate previously estimated. [more]

U.S. JOB MARKET | According to Labor Department data released today, initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 218,000 for the week ended September 20. Data also shows that U.S. employers added an average of only 29,000 jobs per month in the three-month period ending in August, compared to 82,000 per month during the same period last year. [more]

U.S. CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS | According to court documents unsealed this week, federal agents say they seized multiple classified documents from the office of former national security adviser John Bolton as part of an investigation into whether Bolton mishandled defense records. [more]

U.S. AND TURKEY | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to meet with President Donald Trump today at the White House, with trade and military issues, including the potential purchase of military aircraft by Turkey, expected to be among the main topics of discussion. [more]

GLOBAL CLIMATE | Dozens of countries gave updates on pollution-related plans and commitments yesterday at a special climate summit convened by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York. China, the world’s largest carbon-polluting country, announced it would aim to cut greenhouse emissions by 7-10% by 2025, increase its wind and solar power sixfold from 2020 levels, and make pollution-free vehicles mainstream, while European Union officials noted their member states' recent agreement to target cuts of between 66% and 72%. [U.N. press release] [more]

CHINA | Tropical cyclone Ragasa weakened to a tropical depression today as it moved along the southern coast of China after causing extensive flooding in multiple regions of the country's Guangdong province. [more]

DENMARK | Danish authorities say drone incursions over four airports across Denmark overnight appear to have been a coordinated "hybrid attack" and that it is not yet known who is behind the incidents. The incidents came just days after a similar drone incursion that disrupted flights for hours at the country's main Copenhagen airport. [more]

FRANCE | Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to five years in jail after being found guilty of criminal conspiracy in connection with a scheme from 2005 to 2007 to finance his political campaign with funds from Libya in exchange for diplomatic favors. Sarkozy was cleared of three other charges, including passive corruption, illegal campaign financing, and concealment of the embezzlement of public funds. [more]

BASEBALL | In a 9-2 win over the Colorado Rockies last night, Seattle Mariners' star Cal Raleigh became just the seventh player in major league history to hit 60 home runs in a season. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1789, the first United States Congress adopted 12 amendments to the U.S. Constitution and sent them to the states for ratification. Ten of the amendments were ratified in December 1791 and became the Bill of Rights. [more history]