Listen to this issue.

0:00

/630.360816

1×

MIDDLE EAST WAR | Day 235.

• In an interview on Sunday, Arsenio Dominguez, the head of the U.N.'s International Maritime Organization, said about 6,000 seafarers remain trapped in the Strait of Hormuz amidst the ongoing Middle East war, and urged ships not to transit the Strait due to continuing attacks on vessels. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1,697 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• At least four people were killed, and 27 others were wounded, in Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine's Kyiv region over the past day, according to Ukrainian officials. The attacks follow a Russian barrage on Ukraine's energy infrastructure early yesterday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says left more than half a million people without electricity, heat, and running water. [more]
• Ahead of a meeting today in Oslo, Norway, between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, and the leaders of Norway and Finland, U.S. President Donald Trump said yesterday that Zelenskyy "is not helping matters much" and that "it's time for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine." [more]

SEPTEMBER 11 | In an order yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear appeals by accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two alleged co-conspirators, leaving in place former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's decision to throw out plea deals that would have spared the three men the death penalty. [more]

U.S. DISTILLED SPIRITS | After two federal appeals courts issued conflicting rulings in April, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed yesterday to consider whether Congress had the constitutional authority to ban the distilling of spirits in private homes, a prohibition enacted in 1868 as part of a tax measure. [more]

U.S. ELECTIONS | In a move targeting alleged noncitizen voting, the Justice Department yesterday charged 28 lawful permanent residents in California with crimes including submitting fraudulent voter registrations and making false statements on naturalization applications. The department also asked a federal court to order California to set aside mail-in ballots from some 20,000 people it says are "likely" noncitizens until their citizenship can be verified. [more]

U.S. FARMING | The Department of Agriculture announced last night that it will make $8 billion in one-time payments to U.S. farmers to help offset high diesel costs during the harvest season amidst what the department characterized as "temporary market disruptions and increased input costs." [press release] [more]

U.S. IMMIGRATION | The Department of Homeland Security says some 100,000 Ukrainians and Sudanese in the U.S. under Temporary Protected Status, which was set to expire yesterday, will "retain protection" from deportation pending future decisions on their immigration status. [more]

U.S. WOMEN'S HEALTH | President Donald Trump yesterday signed an executive order creating a Women's Health Division at the National Institutes of Health and a White House task force to coordinate federal research into women's health. The order also revoked a 2023 memorandum and a 2024 executive order on women's health research issued under former President Joe Biden. [full executive order] [more]

WASHINGTON, D.C. | At a court hearing yesterday, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes pressed Justice Department lawyers to reconcile officials' testimony that there is no final plan to redevelop the historic East Potomac Golf Course with President Donald Trump's social media post saying work would begin "immediately." Reyes is reported to be considering a longer-term order limiting what the administration can do to the course. [more]

U.S. AND JAPAN | Amidst growing tensions with China, North Korea, and Russia, Japanese and U.S. troops yesterday began large-scale joint military exercises focused on the defense of Japan's southwestern islands. About 45,000 Japanese and 12,000 U.S. troops are taking part, along with forces from seven other countries, five of which – France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the Philippines – are participating for the first time. [more]

U.S. AND CUBA | Cuban authorities said yesterday that men captured in February after an armed speedboat incursion into Cuba from the United States have confessed and could face terrorism-related charges. [more]

CANADA | Voters in the Canadian province of Alberta yesterday overwhelmingly rejected beginning a process toward a future referendum on independence, with unofficial results showing about 76% having voted in favor of remaining in Canada. [more]

FRANCE | Cities across France were calm last night under targeted curfews imposed in parts of Paris and several other cities following a weekend of widespread rioting and looting. Protest groups have called for new demonstrations on Saturday. [more]

ITALY | Amidst a series of ongoing protests and following weekend clashes between demonstrators and police, the Italian government is expected to approve various security measures today, including the deployment of 500 army troops to Milan and steps aimed at curbing violence by minors. [more]

EUROPE AND RUSSIA | German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned in an interview yesterday that Europe is underestimating the threat posed by Russia, which he said is seeking to "destabilize the entire political order" of the continent. [more]

FINLAND AND RUSSIA | Amidst concerns over military threats posed by neighboring Russia, Finnish army officials say the country is seeking to acquire one million anti-personnel land mines for potential deployment along the countries' shared border. The move follows Finland's withdrawal earlier this year from the Ottawa Convention banning the use of land mines. [more]

SPACE SECURITY | Orbital tracking company LeoLabs says a Russian military satellite came within roughly 500 meters over the past several days of a commercial radar-imaging satellite operated by Iceye, whose satellites have supported Ukraine's military, in what one space analyst says may be the first time one spacecraft has approached another without permission. LeoLabs says that while the maneuvers do not establish hostile intent, they demonstrate capabilities that could support intelligence gathering, interference with other satellites, or "preparation for future counterspace operations." [more]

YEMEN | Iranian-backed Houthi rebels struck a training camp for Yemeni security force recruits in the southern province of Shabwa with ballistic missiles yesterday, killing at least 53 people and wounding more than 200 others, according to local authorities. [more]

U.K., SAUDI ARABIA, AND YEMEN | Citing an intensification of attacks on the kingdom by Yemen's Houthi rebels, the U.K. Ministry of Defence announced today that it will deploy Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets to help defend Saudi cities and critical infrastructure against missile and drone strikes. The ministry says the jets will play only a defensive role and will not conduct offensive strikes against the Houthis. [more]

SUDAN | Amidst Sudan's ongoing civil war, medics and rights groups say more than 160 people have been killed since Friday in an escalating wave of drone attacks, including some 80 at a transport hub in West Kordofan on Sunday and three children in the capital, Khartoum, yesterday. [more]

KOREA | Accusing South Korea of firing warning shots at its soldiers near the countries' shared border, North Korea yesterday threatened to resume propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts and deploy more "tactical strike" weapons along the border. South Korea's Defense Ministry said today that it would "punish" any further North Korean provocations "resolutely." [more]

HAITI | The military of El Salvador says four Salvadoran soldiers remain unaccounted for after gangs in Haiti attacked their armored vehicle with explosives on Sunday, in the first major attack on the international gang suppression force since it began operations in the country. [more]

BASEBALL | The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians, 7-3, last night in Game 6 of MLB's American League Championship Series to win the series and advance to the World Series against the Milwaukee Brewers. Neither team has ever won a World Series, and Game 1 is scheduled for Friday in Milwaukee. [more]

FOOTBALL | Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is expected to miss the rest of the NFL season due to blood clots in his lungs. [more]

COLLEGE BASKETBALL | Florida is No. 1 in the preseason AP Top 25 men's college basketball poll, released yesterday, followed by Duke, Illinois, UConn, and Arizona. [full poll] [more]

SPACE | Japan's space agency yesterday launched a spacecraft on a five-year mission to land on Phobos, the larger of Mars' two moons, and bring samples back to Earth in 2031. If successful, the mission would be the first to return material from the Martian system. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1973, during the Watergate scandal, U.S. President Richard M. Nixon ordered the firing of special prosecutor Archibald Cox, prompting Attorney General Elliot Richardson and his deputy, William Ruckelshaus, to resign rather than carry out the order in what became known as the "Saturday Night Massacre." [more history]