A bipartisan group of senators are pushing to label Russia a state sponsor of terrorism over kidnapped Ukrainian children, as momentum builds once again for a big, bipartisan Russia sanctions package.
Why it matters: Russia's violation of Polish airspace this week has reignited the desire of Senate leaders for a strong response to aggression from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday dismissed Peter Mandelson, the British ambassador to the U.S., over his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Why it matters: Mandelson's relationship with the disgraced financier was thrust back into the spotlight after the release of Epstein's so-called "birthday book" earlier this week. In it, he described Epstein as his "best pal."
President Trump demanded a commitment from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to strike Qatar again after the attack against Hamas leaders in Doha, two sources with knowledge of the issue tell Axios.
Why it matters: Netanyahu didn't consult Trump or any of his top advisers until missiles were in the air. The strike infuriated the White House and alarmed leaders in the region and around the world.
NASA's Perseverance Mars has uncovered unusual features in rocks that suggest there may have once been life on the Red Planet, according to a new study.
Why it matters: This discovery "is the closest we've actually come to discovering ancient life on Mars," said Nicky Fox, associate administrator of NASA's science mission directorate, at a Wednesday briefing on the findings of the study that was published in the journal Nature.
Poland and NATO forces shot down more than a dozen Russian drones that "repeatedly" violated the Polish airspace late Tuesday and early Wednesday, Polish officials said.
Why it matters: European and NATO leaders condemned the incident as one of the most serious escalations by Moscow since its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
The Trump administration launched an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) crackdown on Chicago Monday, which the city's mayor, Brandon Johnson, said he'd "received no notice" of.
The big picture: The launch of "Operation Midway Blitz" follows weeks of threats from President Trump to tackle crime in Chicago and other Democrat-run cities by expanding ICE's presence and possibly deploying National Guard troops as part of his agenda against undocumented immigrants despite opposition from Democratic leaders.
