President Trump said his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin will take placenext Friday in Alaska.
Why it matters: This will be their first meeting since 2019, and comes after Trump had grown increasingly frustrated over Putin's unwillingness to agree to a ceasefire or negotiate earnestly toward a peace deal with Ukraine.
The 50% tariffs President Trump announced this week were officially designed to drive a wedge between India and Russia, but so far the only rupture they've caused is with the United States.
The Trump administration is asking for $1 billion from UCLA in a proposed settlement after the Justice Department determined the university violated federal civil rights law and allowed "systematic" antisemitism, per a source with knowledge of the negotiations.
The big picture: The Los Angeles university is one of a number of high education institutions the Trump administration has accused of antisemitism, freezing funding as a result.
Some congressional Republicans are raising questions about Israel's planned occupation of Gaza City as pro-Israel Democrats push back on the operation with unusual ferocity.
Why it matters: Israel's coalition of political allies in the U.S. has become scrambled in recent weeks amid a growing humanitarian crisis is Gaza — and a coinciding drop in U.S. public opinion toward Israel.
Germany announced Friday that it will impose a partial arms embargo on Israel in response to the Israeli cabinet's decision to approve a new offensive to occupy Gaza City.
Why it matters: This is an unprecedented move by Israel's closest ally in Europe and its second most important international partner after the United States.
Just nine states are meeting the Anti-Defamation League's standards for combating antisemitism, according to a new report from the group set to be released Friday.
The big picture: States and universities are facing pressure to adopt laws and policies aimed at battling rising antisemitism, but critics say some of those recommendations may silence criticism of Israel.
Israel's security cabinet approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposal for the occupation of Gaza City, a senior Israeli official said.
Why it matters: The decision, which came after more than 10 hours of consultations in the security cabinet, is the first phase in an offensive that could include the occupation of the entire Gaza Strip by the Israel Defense Forces.
U.S. officials doubled a reward for the arrest of Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro from $25 million to $50 million on Thursday.
The big picture: Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the increased reward in a video posted to X that accused the Venezuelan leader of using criminal gangs including Tren de Aragua (TDA) and the Sinaloa Cartel "to bring deadly drugs and violence" into the U.S.
Florida must pause construction at the immigration detention center in the Everglades that's dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" while an environmental lawsuit plays out, a federal judge in Miami ruled Thursday.
The big picture: While environmentalists called U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams' 14-day temporary restraining order in their suit filed against the Trump administration "an important milestone," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) noted on X: "Operations at Alligator Alcatraz are ongoing and deportations are continuing."
President Trump will host a signing ceremony tomorrow at the White House for a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, alongside the leaders of those countries.
The big picture: The deal is one of Trump's most significant foreign policy achievements so far and could help end one of the world's longest-running conflicts.
Senior UN aid officials met Wednesday with the chair of the U.S. and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, marking their first direct engagement since the foundation began operating in Gaza in late May, according to a U.S. official and two other sources with direct knowledge.
Why it matters: The U.S.-brokered meeting at the UN mission in New York came after months of bitter public exchanges between the UN and the GHF, as Gaza spirals deeper into starvation.
White House envoy Steve Witkoff plans to hold a video conference on Thursday with senior officials from Ukraine, Finland, France, Germany, Italy and the U.K. to brief them on his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and discuss the path forward, including a possible Trump-Putin summit, according to two sources with direct knowledge.
Why it matters: PresidentTrump was moving toward a much tougher position on Russia, but pivoted after the Trump-Witkoff meeting to talking optimistically about the "progress" being made and the possibility of a summit with Putin.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Trump have agreed to meet, likely next week, the Kremlin said Thursday.
Putin himself was somewhat more noncommittal later on Thursday, saying only that there was mutual interest in meeting, possibly in the United Arab Emirates.
Friction point: The White House wants to follow a Trump-Putin meeting with a three-way peace summit involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Putin seems cool on that idea, and the Ukrainians think he's just trying to soften Trump's position.
President Trump celebrated his sweeping new tariffs finally taking effect on dozens of trading partners early Thursday.
Why it matters: Trump's tariff policy has begun to impact some businesses, which warn they'll have to pass costs onto consumers. But the president wrote on Truth Social as the levies took effect that "BILLIONS OF DOLLARS" were now "FLOWING" into the U.S.
