Greenland must make its own decisions about independence from Denmark, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told President-elect Trump in a Wednesday phone call.
The big picture: Trump, since his first term, has repeatedly floated the idea of the U.S. buying Greenland even though the island's leaders have said it is not for sale.
Ukraine and Russia both need to make concessions to end the war between them, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), President-elect Trump's pick for Secretary of State, said Wednesday at his confirmation hearing.
Why it matters: Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which will enter into its fourth year next month, poses one of the incoming Trump administration's greatest foreign policy challenges.
A deal has been reached in the negotiations between Israel and Hamas to release hostages being held in Gaza and establish a ceasefire, according to U.S., Israeli, Egyptian and Qatari officials.
Why it matters: The agreement will end more than 15 months of the deadliest war in the decades long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The U.S. needs more options to disrupt or destroy space tech deployed by other countries, namely China and Russia, according to Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall.
Why it matters: Counter-space weaponry is seemingly taboo to talk about. Rarely will an official discuss hunting spacecraft.
President-elect Trump'stalk of Canada as a "51st state" and annexing Greenland registered among national-security crowds as an "Oh, boy!" moment. Obnoxious, enticing, familiar.
Why it matters: The darlings of Trump's current foreign policy fixation boast Arctic utility at a time when the icy region is heating up.
President Biden's last-minute executive order Tuesday to undo sanctions on Cuba and delist the socialist nation as a terrorism sponsor is outraging already dispirited Florida Democrats.
Why it matters:Biden's order will be undone almost as soon as Donald Trump replaces him on Monday, so it will have little practical effect. But Florida Democrats fear Biden's move gives Trump a chance to frame their party as beholden to socialists.
South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol was arrested at his presidential residence on Wednesday morning local time following an hours-long standoff, images from the scene show.
Why it matters: It's the first time an incumbent president has been detained in South Korea and marks the second attempt by anti-corruption investigators to arrest him for questioning related to his brief martial law declaration last month that triggered protests and shocked allies.
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Trump's pick for Defense secretary, on Tuesday called the problem of extremism in the military "fake," but researchers warn there's a growing trend of military-linked terrorism.
The big picture: The rising number of people with military backgrounds engaging in domestic terrorism over the past three decades can partially be attributed to the difficulty transitioning from active duty to veteran status and a lack of community or purpose, experts say.
Talk of a possible sale of TikTok's U.S. assets to Elon Musk reflects his increasingly powerful stance as a power broker at the nexus of U.S.-China relations.
Why it matters: Beijing-based TikTok owner ByteDance faces a Jan. 19 deadline to sell the video platform's U.S. business or stop updating the app, which would eventually make it obsolete.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) says it will challenge state laws that make it easier for President-elect Trump to adopt his mass deportation plan and urge other states to put up legal roadblocks to slow mass raids.
Why it matters: The ACLU — the nation's largest civil liberties organization — has the reach to mobilize activists, with chapters in many states, and is expected to be the main litigate to lawsuits against mass deportations.
The archives of a pioneering Chicano Studies historian were destroyed in the devastating wildfires charring through Los Angeles County, his widow confirmed.
The big story: The loss of groundbreaking materials from the late historian Juan Gómez-Quiñones comes as the wildfires so far have claimed 24 lives and flatted the many Black-owned homes in Altadena, California.
Greenland is seeking to work more closely with the U.S. on defense and mining, Prime Minister Múte Egede said at a Monday briefing, per local media.
Why it matters: House Republicans introduced a bill Monday that's designed to allow President-elect Trump to enter into negotiations with Denmark to acquire Greenland, an autonomous territory that's part of the Danish kingdom.
Secretary of State Tony Blinken will lay out a plan for rebuilding and governing Gaza after the Israel-Hamas war on Tuesday, three U.S. officials tell Axios.
Why it matters: Blinken is down to his last week in Foggy Bottom, but he hopes his blueprint will become a reference point for any future day-after plan for Gaza, including for the incoming Trump administration.
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