Mali: JNIM claimed to have killed 21 soldiers in coordinated attacks.

Israel is attacking Lebanon again.

A federal judge rejected the Trump administration’s push to unseal Jeffrey Epstein’s 2019 grand jury trannoscripts, saying they add little compared to the 100,000+ Epstein files already in government hands.

Hamas:

The new Israeli aggression is a disregard for the mediators' efforts to reach a ceasefire and prisoner exchange.

NEW: US Navy F-18 crashes off Virginia; pilot rescued.

The jet was from Strike Fighter Squadron 83.

Sudan: Health Ministry reported 1,575 new cholera cases and 22 deaths last week, bringing the total to over 101,000 confirmed cases and 2,515 deaths since August 2024.

Israel is reportedly considering recruiting Jewish individuals in the U.S. to address soldier shortage.

Zimbabwe: The United States has suspended the processing of most visa applications for Zimbabwe until further notice.

Frank Caprio, known as "the Nicest Judge in the World," dies at 88.

European allies are urging Trump to deploy US F-35 jets to Romania’s expanding NATO base as part of security guarantees for Ukraine, after he ruled out sending ground troops but offered “air” support.

Source: The Times

Fire in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region after Russian drone attacks.

Russia’s Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery, located in Rostov region, is burning after Ukrainian attacks.

The US State Department fired its top Israel-Palestine press officer, Shahed Ghoreishi, after he pushed to acknowledge slain Gaza journalists and oppose forced Palestinian displacement.

Source: WaPo

JD Vance:

It was like one in the morning in Moscow, and nobody was expecting it. Trump says, “You know, we’ve had a pretty good meeting. I’m gonna go call Putin, see what he says about it.”

Everybody’s like, “Oh, you’re gonna call him next week?” And he’s like, “No, what time is it in Moscow? Let’s call him right now.”

Trump cuts through the BS of all these diplomatic protocols. He just says, “I’m gonna get things done. If I want to talk to somebody, I’m gonna talk to somebody.”

Meanwhile, a lot of the Europeans were saying, “No, no, no, there needs to be proper vetting, and the teams have to prepare the phone call, and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.”

And the president was like, “No, no, I want to talk to the guy. I’m going to talk to the guy.”

US Navy sailor Jinchao “Patrick” Wei, 25, was convicted of spying for China by providing sensitive details on US warships and Marines in exchange for $12,000.

A jury found him guilty on six counts, including espionage and arms export violations. Wei, recruited on social media by a Chinese intelligence officer in 2022, faces up to life in prison at his December sentencing.

Source: NYT

JD Vance on Putin:

He's more soft spoken than you'd necessarily expect. The American media has a particular image of him. He's soft spoken in a certain way. He's very deliberate, he's very careful. Fundamentally, he's a person who looks out for the interests as he sees it of Russia.

Somalia: Al-Shabaab reportedly carried out a landmine attack at Balad-Hawo Airport.

Source: Somalia Security Insight

JD Vance:

Ukraine wants to know that it is not going to get invaded again by Russia.

Russians want certain pieces of territory, most of which they've occupied but some of which they haven't.

So that is really where the meat of the negotiation is.

JD Vance:

I told Zelensky, “As long as you behave, I won’t say anything.” He chuckled and that was a good icebreaker.