September 26, 2025

MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional conflicts:

• The Israeli military said today that it carried out airstrikes today on a site in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley region used for manufacturing precision missiles. [more]
• Amidst ongoing concern over Israeli comments about a possible full-takeover of the occupied West Bank, U.S. President Donald Trump said yesterday that he would not allow Israel to annex the Palestinian enclave. [more]
• Tech giant Microsoft announced yesterday that it has disabled services to an Israeli military unit after a company review determined its artificial intelligence and cloud computing products were being used to help carry out mass surveillance of Palestinians. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1,310 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here is your update:

• In a reversal of Berlin's previous stance, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called yesterday for the European Union to use frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine’s war effort, saying the move could unlock a 140-billion-euro loan for Kyiv and show "staying power" against Russian aggression. [more]

U.S. DOMESTIC INVESTIGATIONS | President Donald Trump signed a memorandum yesterday directing the FBI's National Joint Terrorism Task Force to coordinate and supervise a comprehensive national strategy to "investigate, prosecute, and disrupt entities and individuals engaged in acts of political violence and intimidation." The move comes amidst multiple statements by Trump concerning allegations of unlawful conduct by left-leaning activists and organizations. [full memorandum] [more]

U.S. TARIFFS | President Donald Trump announced a new series of import tariffs yesterday, including: 100% on pharmaceutical drugs, 50% on kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities, 30% on upholstered furniture, and 25% on heavy trucks. Trump clarified that the import duty on pharmaceuticals would not be applied to products from companies that are building manufacturing plants in the United States. [more]

U.S. MILITARY | The Pentagon confirmed yesterday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has summoned hundreds of U.S. military generals and admirals from around the world to an in-person meeting next Tuesday at northern Virginia's Quantico Marine Corps base. Reports note that the purpose of the meeting, which has been described as unusual, is not yet known. [more]

U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE | In a filing to the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday, multiple former top U.S. economic officials, including former Federal Reserve chairs Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke, and Janet Yellen, urged justices to reject President Donald Trump's firing of sitting Fed governor Lisa Cook – a move the officials say “would expose the Federal Reserve to political influences, thereby eroding public confidence in the Fed’s independence and jeopardizing the credibility and efficacy of U.S. monetary policy." [more]

JAMES COMEY | The U.S. Justice Department announced the federal indictment of former FBI Director James Comey yesterday on charges of making a false statement to Congress and obstruction of a criminal proceeding in connection with his 2020 Senate testimony regarding the investigation into alleged ties between Russia and then-candidate Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. [more]

U.S. VOTER DATA | After suing Oregon and Maine for the same reason last week, the Justice Department announced new lawsuits yesterday against California, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania over the states' alleged refusal to turn over detailed information on voters to federal investigators. [more]

U.S. ECONOMY | Newly released data from the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis indicates that consumer spending in the U.S. rose 0.6% in August - up from a 0.5% increase in July. Also announced was that the personal consumption expenditure price index - the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation - rose 2.7% in August, compared to the year-ago period - up from 2.6% in July and the highest level since February. [more]

U.S. FEDERAL PRISONS | Saying the Council of Prison Locals union has become "an obstacle to progress instead of a partner in it," the U.S. Bureau of Prisons said yesterday that it is canceling its collective bargaining agreement with workers and stripping the bureau's nearly 35,000 employees of union rights. Reports note that the collective bargaining agreement agreed to previously was supposed to run through May 2029. [more]

E.U. SECURITY | European Union Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius is chairing talks today about the possibility of building a "drone wall" to defend European borders close to Russia and Ukraine. Reports note that the talks follow several European airspace violations by Russian drones, and that among those taking part in the talks are representatives from Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Bulgaria, Denmark, Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine, and NATO. [more]

U.K. | In a move he says will help reduce illegal immigration, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced plans for the introduction of a mandatory digital identification card in the U.K. that will be required to get work and also be used to facilitate access to health care, welfare, childcare, and other public services. [more]

PHILIPPINES | Topical Storm Bualoi made landfall in the Philippines' Eastern Samar province overnight, knocking out power and sparking floods and landslides. The storm has been associated with at least four deaths and reports say more than 400,000 people were evacuated from landslide- and flood-prone villages ahead of its arrival. [more]

CANADA | The Canadian Union of Postal Workers went on strike yesterday following a government announcement that door-to-door mail delivery would end for nearly all Canadian households within the next decade – a move Procurement Minister Joël Lightbound said would save millions of dollars per year amidst declines in physical mail volume. [more]

MADAGASCAR | A dawn-to-dusk curfew has been imposed in Madagascar's capital Antananarivo after protests over frequent power outages and water shortages turned violent, according to government security official General Angelo Ravelonarivo. [more]

AMAZON SETTLEMENT | Online shopping giant Amazon agreed yesterday to pay $2.5 billion to settle claims that it tricked tens of millions of people into signing up for its Prime membership program and then made it hard for customers to cancel when they wanted to end their memberships. Up to $1.5 billion of the settlement funds will go toward $51 payments to qualifying customers. [more]

CYBERCRIME | Global law enforcement organization Interpol announced today that an operation carried out between July and August resulted in arrests across 14 African countries of 260 people suspected in online romance and extortion scams. [more]

DICTIONARY UPDATE | Among the more than 5,000 new words and phrases added to a newly published edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary are: beast mode, dad bod, farm-to-table, petrichor, rizz, side-eye, and teraflop. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1580, after nearly three years at sea, English Admiral Francis Drake arrived in Plymouth Harbor, England, completing his circumnavigation of the globe. [more history]