Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced late Friday the U.S. is revoking the visa of a Brazilian Supreme Court judge who oversaw the prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro and briefly banned Elon Musk's X in the country.
Why it matters: President Trump has repeatedly come to the aid of right wing allies across the globe, including Bolsonaro, calling them victims of ideological witch hunts. Trump threatened to hit Brazil with 50 percent tariffs in part for prosecuting Bolsonaro for an alleged coup attempt.
Why it matters: The rejection comes after nearly 400 Jewish groups urged the National Education Association (NEA) committee to reject a plan to no longer to use ADL material on antisemitism or Holocaust education.
A growing number of Democratic-leaning states and cities are weighing proposals to ban federal immigration agents from wearing masks and require them to display IDs when making arrests.
Why it matters: Images of masked, armed agents in plain clothes grabbing people off the streets and rushing them into unmarked vehicles have alarmed many Americans — and put pressure on lawmakers to respond.
Israel and Syria agreed on a ceasefire after days of heightened tensions and Israeli airstrikes in Damascus and southern Syria, U.S. envoy Tom Barrack said on Friday.
Why it matters: The Trump administration that mediated the ceasefire has become extremely concerned that the crisis this week could further destabilize the region and undermine the U.S. diplomatic push in Syria.
The roughly 250 men deported from the U.S. and detained in El Salvador were returned to their native Venezuela on Friday in exchange for the release of American prisoners.
Driving the news: Ten Americans and an undisclosed number of Venezuelan political prisoners are being freed in exchange for the roughly 250 Venezuelan men who were accused of being members of Tren de Aragua and detained at CECOT, a high-security prison in El Salvador.
The director of Israel's Mossad spy agency visited Washington this week seeking U.S. help in convincing countries to take hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from Gaza, two sources with knowledge of issue tell Axios.
The spy chief, David Barnea, told White House envoy Steve Witkoff that Israel has been speaking in particular with Ethiopia, Indonesia and Libya.
Why it matters: The Israeli government's goal of removing much of Gaza's population is hugely controversial. While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government claims such a "relocation" would be "voluntary," U.S. and Israeli legal experts have labeled it a war crime.
The International Energy Agency is launching the next phase of its work to expand access to cleaner cooking in sub-Saharan Africa, where progress has been slower than in other regions.
Why it matters: Widespread use of polluting fuels like wood, charcoal and dung — and open fires or inadequate stoves — is a massive health and economic problem.
Elon Musk may be gone from the White House, but there's someone far more effective now firming up DOGE's legacy: Russell Vought.
Why it matters: The director of the Office of Management and Budget is helping make DOGE's dreams come through — by clawing back $9 billion in federal funding for the Public Broadcasting Service, National Public Radio and foreign aid.
