Diplomats from Israel and Lebanon met Wednesday under U.S. auspices and discussed cooperation on economic projects to help stabilize the situation in southern Lebanon near their shared border.
Why it matters: The meeting in Naqoura on the border between the countries was the first such direct, public engagement between Israel and Lebanon since 1993.
President Trump said on Wednesday that his adviser Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had "a very good" meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Why it matters: His remarks were the first public comment by the U.S. about the five-hour meeting at the Kremlin on Tuesday, which focused on Trump's plan for peace between Russia and Ukraine.
MAGA is urging the Trump administration to crack down harder than ever on immigration — legal and illegal — after the shooting of two National Guardsmen by an Afghan refugee.
Why it matters: For President Trump's hard-charging base, simply deporting criminals who entered the country illegally is no longer sufficient.
American troops in the Middle East are now armed with attack drones reminiscent of the Iranian-made Shahed, which has been adopted by Houthi rebels and Russian forces alike.
Why it matters: The Pentagon has, under both Trump and Biden administrations, clamored for cheap, readily available drones — and for them to actually be used in the field.
Not only is China winning the clean energy race, but it's picking up the pace when most other economies — including the U.S. — are slowing down, according to new McKinsey data.
Why it matters: The energy transition is shifting geopolitical alliances and power centers, and China is solidifying its lead while the U.S. falls back.
The Trump administration paused all immigration applications from 19 countries it determined to be "high-risk," per a Tuesday evening U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services memorandum.
The big picture: The action marks the administration's latest move to curtail immigration from certain countries after an Afghan national was identified as the suspect in last week's deadly shooting in D.C. that targeted National Guard members.
The Trump administration will pause aid for Democrat-led states that don't provide the government with identifying information about SNAP recipients, such as immigration status, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on Tuesday.
Why it matters: If the administration goes through with the threat, millions of Americans could lose their SNAP benefits, sometimes known as food stamps, just over a month after recipients were put in limbo during the longest-ever government shutdown.
President Trump's advisers Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Russian President Vladimir Putin for around five hours in the Kremlin on Tuesday to try to convince him to support the updated U.S. peace plan for Ukraine.
Driving the news: Putin's foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov told reporters after the meeting concluded that it had been "useful, constructive and meaningful."
The man accused of shooting two West Virginia National Guard members in D.C. last week has been charged with murder and is facing additional firearm and assault felonies, per court documents filed Tuesday.
The big picture: President Trump's administration seized on the shooting, allegedly carried out by an Afghan national, to institute a stiffer travel ban and step up its immigration crackdown.
During a long phone call on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked President Trump for more support in his push for a pardon from Israel's president, two U.S. officials and one Israeli official said.
The big picture: In a conversation that largely focused on Gaza and Syria, the leaders also discussed Netanyahu's ongoing corruption trial. Trump has repeatedly intervened in Israel's judicial process and domestic politics to push for an end to those proceedings.
Every National Guard member in Washington, D.C., is now armed following the recent shooting that killed one and critically injured another minutes away from the White House, the Pentagon said during a Tuesday press conference.
The big picture: President Trump and the Pentagon have said that the fatal shooting was a "terrorist attack" on American soil and have doubled down on the president's push to send troops into cities to reduce crime.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said after meeting with President Trump on Monday that she's recommending a travel ban on multiple countries in connection with criminal activity in the U.S.
The big picture: Trump widened his administration's hardline immigration crackdown after officials said the suspect in last Wednesday's ambush-style shooting in D.C. that killed one National Guard member and critically injured another was an Afghan national.
The publisher of the "Franklin the Turtle" children's books series said Monday it condemns the unauthorized use of the beloved character, after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared an image of him apparently firing at drug boats.
The big picture: Hegseth posted the image to his personal X account amid reports questioning the legality of adeadly strike on a suspected drug boat near Venezuela that prompted some congressional lawmakers to warn that, if substantiated, the deaths could violate the laws of war.
From a U.S. prison cell, Honduras' ex-president secured a likely pardon for drug trafficking thanks to a letter he penned praising President Trump — whom he called "Your Excellency" — and a persistent lobbying campaign by longtime Trump pal Roger Stone.
Why it matters: The surprise announcement of Juan Orlando Hernandez's looming pardon is a window into the unorthodox, norm-shattering way Trump grants clemency.
