Today In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
The Must-Reads
The ‘Ghost of al-Qassam’ becomes Hamas’s third leader in seven months WSJ Editorial: U.N. fudges the data on West Bank violence Iran says it will accelerate nuclear work after U.N. atomic agency censure IAEA board declares Iran in breach of non-proliferation obligations Where Russia is advancing in Ukraine and what it hopes to gain U.S. moves to withdraw some Middle East personnel as Iran tensions rise WINEP’s Michael Knights: Iraq pledges nuclear cooperation with Russia and China South Korea turns off speakers blasting K-Pop into North Korea CSIS’ Sofia Triana and Daniel Byman: A smuggled pathogen raises specter of Chinese agroterrorism Denmark approves US military bases on Danish soil as Trump eyes Greenland US pushes Mexico to prosecute, extradite politicians with cartel ties Hudson Institute’s Mike Gallagher: Trump’s big opportunity in JapanIn The News
Israel
After more than 600 days of war and years of being steered by the brothers Yahya and Mohammed Sinwar, Hamas has a new leader in the Gaza Strip. – Wall Street Journal
The American ambassador to Israel has said that it should be up to “Muslim countries” to build a Palestinian state on their territory instead of in the areas that much of the world recognizes as Palestinian lands. – New York Times
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said on Wednesday that the military and security forces had recovered the remains of two Israeli hostages held in Gaza since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that ignited the war. – New York Times
The United Nations General Assembly will vote on Thursday on a draft resolution that demands an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in the war in Gaza after the United States vetoed a similar effort in the Security Council last week. – Reuters
The U.S- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation accused Hamas militants of attacking a bus on Wednesday carrying Palestinians working with the organization, leading to at least five deaths and multiple injuries. – Reuters
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that the bodies of two hostages had been recovered from Gaza by the military and the domestic intelligence agency, the Shin Bet. – Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is discouraging governments around the world from attending a U.N. conference next week on a possible two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, according to a U.S. cable seen by Reuters. – Reuters
Israel’s parliament rejected early on Thursday a preliminary vote to dissolve itself, the Knesset said in a statement, after an agreement was reached regarding a dispute over conscription. – Reuters
The legal organization representing most of the activists detained aboard an intercepted Gaza-bound aid boat said Wednesday that Israeli authorities had placed two of the campaigners in solitary confinement. – Agence France-Presse
Defense Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday called on Egypt to block two pro-Palestinian activist convoys planning to head to Egypt’s Rafah border crossing with Gaza. – Agence France-Presse
Security officers from the southern border village of Shlomit rushed to assist the nearby Moshav Pri Gan as 10 Hamas terrorists on five motorcycles infiltrated the area from the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023. – Times of Israel
France is weighing whether to recognize a Palestinian state, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s attendance at a UN conference next week aimed at promoting a two-state solution will signal if Paris will go ahead with the pivotal move, four diplomats familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel on Wednesday. – Times of Israel
Argentinian President Javier Milei, who is on a three-day visit to Israel, spoke at a special Knesset plenum session held in his honor on Wednesday, at which he announced that his country would move its embassy from the Tel Aviv area to Jerusalem next year. – Times of Israel
The Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday announced that it was advancing changes to its structure and expanding several units, as part of lessons learned from Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terror onslaught. – Times of Israel
The key principles of the Draft Law framework agreed on Thursday night between Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Yuli Edelstein and the haredi parties include immediate sanctions against haredi draft evaders. – Arutz Sheva
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to convene the security cabinet on Thursday to update ministers on the progress made in negotiations over a potential cease-fire deal with Hamas. – Haaretz
Israel is one of only a small handful of countries where a majority of the population has confidence in U.S. President Donald Trump, a report published on Wednesday by the Pew Research Institute shows. – Haaretz
Editorial: Meanwhile, Israel’s Shin Bet records 6,068 serious attacks by Palestinians (shootings, stabbings, suicide bombings, etc.) against Israeli civilians over only two years, 2020-22. Including some “less serious” attacks more than triples the number. Violence by Israeli settler radicals in remote outposts is a real problem. Yet the liberal picture of the West Bank—wanton violence by Israeli civilians against peaceful Palestinians—is an inversion of the daily reality. – Wall Street Journal
Jaroslava Halper writes: Perhaps Yang can convince Palestinians to extend a genuine peaceful gesture to Israel. This would go a long way — but it’s extremely unlikely any meaningful gesture can or will happen given the Palestinians’ history of supporting terrorism and denying Israel’s right to exist. Any effort to unilaterally establish a Palestinian state under these conditions would only lead to more violence. – The Algemeiner
Sharon Katz writes: For nine days, the media propped up the Madleen crew members as heroic activists who could save Gaza. All the while, truckloads of humanitarian aid were entering Gaza daily in full coordination with the IDF and legitimate humanitarian organizations. The coordinated media effort to amplify a voyage with no logistical plan and no credible partners did nothing to help Gazan civilians. Instead, it served only the interests of a few narcissistic activists chasing headlines and a curated Instagram story. – The Algemeiner
Iran
Iran said it would open a new uranium enrichment facility and increase its production of highly enriched fissile material after the U.N. atomic agency member states declared Tehran had failed to comply with its nuclear nonproliferation obligations, casting a fresh shadow over struggling U.S.-Iran nuclear talks. – Wall Street Journal
Israel appears to be preparing to launch an attack soon on Iran, according to officials in the United States and Europe, a step that could further inflame the Middle East and derail or delay efforts by the Trump administration to broker a deal to cut off Iran’s path to building a nuclear bomb. – Washington Post
The U.N. nuclear watchdog’s 35-nation Board of Governors declared Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations on Thursday for the first time in almost 20 years, raising the prospect of reporting it to the U.N. Security Council. – Reuters
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff plans to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Oman on Sunday and discuss Iran’s response to a recent American proposal for a nuclear deal, a U.S. official said late on Wednesday. – Reuters
Russia said on Wednesday it stood ready to remove highly enriched uranium from Iran and convert it into civilian reactor fuel as a potential way to help narrow U.S.-Iranian differences over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme. – Reuters
Iran on Wednesday executed a man convicted in the fatal shootings of seven people during a 2022 protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, though human rights activists say he was tortured into confessing to killings likely carried out by security services. – Associated Press
A fire broke out at a petrochemical complex in southern Iran on Wednesday, killing at least three people and injuring 10, state television reported. – Agence France-Presse
Russia and Ukraine
Russian forces ate into more Ukrainian territory in May than in almost any month since the end of 2022, as the Kremlin presses a summer offensive to create the impression in the West that victory is within its grasp. – Wall Street Journal
Ukraine’s capital region of Kyiv has reeled from several recent nights of record-breaking Russian drone attacks, with air raid alerts wailing for nearly 130 hours over the past month. By comparison, Mukachevo and the surrounding region of Transcarpathia have endured only one-tenth as much time under alert. – New York Times
A concentrated, nine-minute-long Russian drone attack on Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv on Wednesday killed six people and injured 64, including nine children, Ukrainian officials said. – Reuters
The United States supports Russians’ aspirations for a brighter future, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on the occasion of Russia Day, reaffirming a desire for constructive engagement in efforts to bring about peace in the war with Ukraine. – Reuters
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday Russia was determined to sow chaos in and destroy the south of his country as well as nearby Moldova and Romania, and called for increased pressure on Moscow to prevent further military threats. – Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that special attention in the country’s new arms programme should be paid to the nuclear triad – land-based, sea-based and aircraft-launched weapons. – Reuters
Serbia’s populist President Aleksandar Vucic travelled to the Ukrainian city of Odesa for a regional summit on Wednesday, the first time the Moscow-friendly leader has visited the country during his 12 years in power. – Reuters
The Ukrainian military said on Wednesday that it had struck a major Russian gunpowder plant in the western Tambov region overnight, causing a fire at the site. – Reuters
Ukraine has brought home the bodies of 1,212 soldiers killed in the war with Russia, the Kyiv officials responsible for exchanging prisoners of war said on Wednesday. – Reuters
Ukraine’s defense industry is urging the West to abandon its longtime fixation on high-end, expensive weaponry in favor of cheaper, mass-produced arms, the kind needed to survive and win a grinding war of attrition against an adversary like Russia. – Business Insider
Courts in Russia have convicted one opposition figure in absentia and placed another under house arrest as Moscow continues its crackdown on dissent. – Associated Press
Syria
It was established by Syria’s fledgling government to restore calm in a country fractured by roughly 14 years of civil war. Instead, the Committee for Civil Peace has become a source of national strife. – New York Times
Syria’s Islamist-led government has said women should wear burkinis or other swimwear that covers the body on public beaches, though an official denied there was any ban on Western beachwear and said the decision was misunderstood. – Reuters
Middle East leaders and their Western allies have been warning that Islamic State could exploit the fall of the Assad regime to stage a comeback in Syria and neighbouring Iraq, where the extremist group once imposed a reign of terror over millions. – Reuters
Peace between Syria and Israel is “very possible,” a Trump-linked evangelical Christian pastor said after he and a pro-Israel American rabbi held talks this week with Syria’s Islamist leader Ahmed al-Sharaa at the presidential palace in Damascus. – Times of Israel
Following intelligence gathered in recent weeks, IDF forces conducted a targeted overnight operation in Syria and arrested several terrorists from the Hamas terror organization. – Arutz Sheva
A Syrian girl received life-saving treatment at Rambam and returned home, a spokesperson for Haifa’s Rambam Health Care Campus revealed Thursday morning. – Arutz Sheva
Rob Geist Pinfold writes: Allowing Sharaa to integrate some foreign fighters into Syria’s army is just one part of reforming the country’s military and exerting state sovereignty. It will remain controversial and must be done with caution. But by taking a more realistic approach on this, as well as sanctions relief, Washington will advance both U.S. and Syrian security. The Trump administration is belatedly working to better the Syria that exists, instead of waiting for the ideal one that it won’t get. By accepting the TIP’s integration into the Syrian army, Trump has chosen the least bad option. – Foreign Policy
Middle East & North Africa
The U.S. is moving to draw down its presence in parts of the Middle East to essential personnel, the State Department and Pentagon said Wednesday, as tensions in the region rise, sending oil prices higher. – Wall Street Journal
Increased tensions in the Middle East may lead to an escalation in military activity that could impact shipping in critical waterways, Britain’s maritime agency said on Wednesday. – Reuters
A Turkish far-right politician accused of inciting public hatred and hostility went on trial Wednesday in a case critics view as an effort to suppress opposition to the president. – Associated Press
Turkey will export 48 of its nationally-produced KAAN fighter jets to Indonesia, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Wednesday, marking the first export deal for the advanced aircraft that is still in the development stage. – Associated Press
A convoy carrying hundreds of activists has arrived in Libya after driving from Algeria and crossing through Tunisia on its way to the Gaza Strip to challenge Israel’s blockade on humanitarian aid on the territory. – Associated Press
A former Lebanese Cabinet minister has been arrested and charged after an investigation into alleged financial crimes, judicial and security officials told The Associated Press. – Associated Press
Michael Knights writes: Another potential alternative is the nuclear power consortia and fuel bank currently being discussed by various Gulf states in reference to ending Iran’s enrichment activities. If that plan comes to fruition, Iraq should be encouraged to join it instead of looking to the rogue’s gallery of Iran, Russia, and China, all of whom carry immediate sanctions risks today and potential secondary tariff risks in the future. – Washington Institute
Korean Peninsula
South Korea on Wednesday switched off loudspeakers that had been broadcasting K-pop songs, news and other propaganda into North Korea for the past year — one of the first concrete steps taken by the newly elected leader, Lee Jae-myung, to improve inter-Korean ties. – New York Times
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said in a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin that his country will always stand with Moscow, state media reported on Thursday. – Reuters
President Donald Trump would welcome communications with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un after having had friendly relations with Kim during his first term, the White House said on Wednesday. – Reuters
Foreign funds are piling into South Korean stocks and bonds suggesting a resurgence in investor confidence in Asia’s fourth-biggest economy as political clarity returns after the election of Lee Jae-myung as president. – Bloomberg
Joel S. Wit writes: Finally, while diplomats may negotiate a deal and leaders may clinch an agreement, implementation will prove challenging. The Trump administration will need to carefully prepare to move forward. That will require exercising leadership in building cooperation between all the participants to finance and supervise the agreement’s implementation. Admittedly, a minerals-for-security deal with North Korea would be a bold but difficult undertaking. However, a bold initiative may be the only way out of an increasingly dangerous situation that could well result in a devastating nuclear war. – Politico
China
President Trump said the U.S. deal with China to revive their trade truce was done, subject to final approval from him and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. – Wall Street Journal
China is putting a six-month limit on rare-earth export licenses for U.S. automakers and manufacturers, according to people familiar with the matter, giving Beijing leverage if trade tensions flare up again while adding to uncertainty for American industry. – Wall Street Journal
China’s chokehold on supplies of minerals essential to high-tech goods from electric vehicles to jet fighters has become a formidable advantage in trade negotiations with the U.S. – Wall Street Journal
A Chinese-backed militia is protecting new rare earth mines in eastern Myanmar, according to four people familiar with the matter, as Beijing moves to secure control of the minerals it is wielding as a bargaining chip in its trade war with Washington. – Reuters
China’s 240-hour transit visa-free policy has been extended to people arriving from 55 countries, including Indonesia, Russia and Britain, who will be able to engage in tourism and business, the official Xinhua news agency said. – Reuters
Chinese fighter jets flew unusually close to Japanese military patrol planes over the weekend, Tokyo said, after two Chinese aircraft carriers were spotted operating simultaneously in the Pacific for the first time. – Reuters
China and 53 African countries called on nations, especially the United States, to return to the “right track” of resolving trade differences, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday. – Reuters
China’s dominance over critical minerals in global supply chains was a powerful bargaining chip in trade talks between Beijing and Washington that concluded with both sides saying they have a framework to pursue a deal. – Associated Press
Sofia Triana and Daniel Byman write: More broadly, the United States needs to track, publicize, and organize an allied response to various Chinese gray-zone activities, especially overseas. Perhaps further investigation will reveal that this smuggling attempt has nothing to do with the Chinese government. Still, it seems clear from other incidents around the world that China is engaging in a gray-zone campaign to probe U.S. and allied weaknesses, cause economic harm, and quietly signal that it can and will punish its enemies. – Foreign Policy
Asia
Hong Kong’s national security police have a new target in their sights: gamers. In a stern warning issued Tuesday, they effectively banned a Taiwanese video game they described as “advocating armed revolution,” saying anyone who downloaded or recommended it would face serious legal charges.- Washington Post
Thailand’s ruling party, besieged by a faltering economy and a border crisis, faces more uncertainty this week as the Supreme Court begins hearing a case that could lead to jail time for its most influential politician, Thaksin Shinawatra. – Reuters
Japan’s Princess Kako of Akishino, a niece of Emperor Naruhito, was welcomed on Wednesday by Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for a private ceremony on the latest leg of her 11-day tour of the South American nation. – Associated Press
Japan this week confirmed that two Chinese aircraft carriers have operated together for the first time in the Pacific, fueling Tokyo’s concern about Beijing’s rapidly expanding military activity far beyond its borders. – Associated Press
Charles Sullivan writes: Tokayev has demonstrated competence since 2022, which he employs to legitimize his brand of authoritarian rule, but additional Western sanctions, followed by increased Kremlin influence, would undermine his credibility. Tokayev needs to move more decisively as his balancing act grows increasingly precarious. – Center for European Policy Analysis
Europe
Northern Ireland has been the site of rioting, with homes, businesses and vehicles attacked in what the police have described as “hate-fueled acts and mob rule.” Further unrest broke out in Ballymena on Wednesday night, while in Larne, a town on the east coast, masked rioters attacked a leisure center that had provided emergency shelter for families fleeing Ballymena. – New York Times
Poland’s centrist government won a confidence vote in Parliament on Wednesday, averting political turmoil for the biggest country on the European Union’s eastern flank and a robust supporter of Ukraine. – New York Times
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has arrived in Kyiv to discuss military support for Ukraine in its war with Russia, the DPA news agency reported on Thursday. – Reuters
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in a phone call with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, agreed that a deal on the status of Gibraltar unlocked the opportunity for both countries to advance bilateral relationship, Starmer’s office said on Wednesday. – Reuters
Germany welcomes a China-U.S. agreement on easing rare-earth export restrictions and hopes negotiations between the United States and the European Union can progress in a similar way, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Wednesday. – Reuters
Poland is likely to introduce partial controls on its border with Germany in the summer if the number of migrant crossings continues to grow, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told lawmakers on Wednesday. – Reuters
A group of neo-Nazis attacked several actors outside a Lisbon theatre late on Tuesday, forcing it to cancel a show about Portugal’s national poet Luis de Camoes to mark Portugal Day, which commemorates the literary icon. – Reuters
Kosovo has accepted a request to receive migrants deported from the United States, with an initial plan to take in 50 deportees per year, the government said in a statement to Reuters on Wednesday. – Reuters
Poland has detained and charged one of its citizens with spying for Russian intelligence services, the State Prosecutor’s Office said on Wednesday. – Reuters
Czech President Petr Pavel called on the US to give Europe more time and realistic goals to take care of the continent’s security and contain an increasingly aggressive Russia. – Bloomberg
Denmark’s Parliament on Wednesday approved a bill to allow U.S. military bases on Danish soil, a move that comes as President Donald Trump seeks to take control of the kingdom’s semi-autonomous territory of Greenland. – Associated Press
Africa
Kenyan President William Ruto said on Wednesday that a blogger arrested last week had died “at the hands of the police”, reversing official accounts of his death in the latest case to draw scrutiny to the actions of the country’s security services. – Reuters
The Sudanese army retreated from the Libya-Egypt-Sudan border triangle area, it said on Wednesday, a day after it accused forces loyal to eastern Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar of an attack alongside the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. – Reuters
At least 49 people were confirmed dead Wednesday as floods devastated one of South Africa’s poorest provinces, and officials said the toll was expected to rise as more bodies are recovered in the search for missing people. – Associated Press
The Americas
Colombia’s leftist President Gustavo Petro on Wednesday signed a decree to hold a referendum on labor reforms, an attempt to force the Senate to vote on a proposal on the matter before their session wraps up later this month. – Reuters
Argentina’s supreme court has effectively banned former president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner from government, a move that poses both a challenge and an opportunity for the opposition Peronist party ahead of crunch midterm elections this year. – Reuters
Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe remains in a critical condition after being shot in Bogota on Saturday, but has shown signs of neurological improvement, the hospital treating him said on Wednesday. – Reuters
A record 1.3 million people have been forced to leave their homes in Haiti due to a surge in armed violence in the last six months, according to the UN agency for migration. – Reuters
Authorities in El Salvador have targeted outspoken lawyers like Anaya, journalists investigating Bukele’s alleged deals with gangs and human rights defenders calling for the end of a three-year state of emergency, which has suspended fundamental civil rights. Some say they have been forced to flee the country. – Associated Press
North America
President Trump is keen to conclude a new economic-and-security pact with Canada as quickly as possible, with the possibility of a breakthrough when Trump meets Prime Minister Mark Carney at the Group of Seven summit in Alberta, Washington’s chief envoy in Ottawa said. – Wall Street Journal
The Trump administration is pressuring Mexico to investigate and prosecute politicians with suspected links to organized crime, and to extradite them to the United States if there are criminal charges to answer there, according to sources familiar with the matter. – Reuters
Tom Rogan writes: Reflecting his latitude for aggressive covert action in the shadows, Trump should respond to any CJNG attacks on U.S. interests by authorizing lethal strikes against any and all CJNG personnel the U.S. can identify. Paramilitary officers from the CIA’s Special Operations Group should be ordered to launch raids to kill CJNG officers or capture and forcibly relocate them back to the U.S. The fact that the CJNG’s key territories border the Pacific Ocean increases the feasibility of unilateral U.S. actions against the group. – Washington Examiner
United States
President Trump’s confrontation with California moves to a San Francisco courtroom on Thursday, where Gov. Gavin Newsom is seeking a judicial order blocking the White House from deploying National Guard units and Marines to aid the administration’s deportation campaign in Los Angeles. – Wall Street Journal
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he would deploy the National Guard across parts of the state as protests against ICE raids have gripped Los Angeles and resulted in hundreds of arrests spread across the country. – Wall Street Journal
A federal judge in New Jersey on Wednesday blocked the Trump administration from detaining Mahmoud Khalil under a seldom-used provision of immigration law related to foreign-policy interests, putting the former Columbia student a step closer to being able to stay in the U.S. – Wall Street Journal
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Wednesday that the 55% tariffs imposed by the United States on China will not change after a trade deal was struck between the two countries. – Reuters
President Donald Trump said he intended to send letters to trading partners in the next one to two weeks setting unilateral tariff rates, ahead of a July 9 deadline to reimpose higher duties on dozens of economies. – Bloomberg
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the European Union is likely to be among the last deals that the US completes, as the administration rushes to secure tariff agreements with other trading partners. – Bloomberg
The White House said on Wednesday that 330 immigrants have been arrested in Los Angeles since Friday. “Since June 6, there have been 330 illegal aliens that have been arrested as part of these riots in Los Angeles,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a Wednesday briefing. – The Hill
The Trump administration is moving to ax all climate rules alongside Biden-era and pollution rules for power plants. The moves come as the Trump administration looks to promote a fossil fueled future — and are expected to worsen global warming and air pollution. – The Hill
The US Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against a California cafe, alleging that it discriminated against Jewish customers by refusing to serve them. – Times of Israel
Anti-Israel activist groups are “amplifying” the violent messaging of terrorist groups and Iran-linked information operations, which seek to incite hate crimes against Jews as revenge for the war in Gaza, experts testified to a US congressional panel on Wednesday. – Algemeiner
Mike Gallagher writes: A big swing on trade and technology with Japan would reward an ally that is investing aggressively in its own defense and (perhaps unusually) has as much to offer the U.S. as we can offer it. It could also set the gold standard for trade deals with other countries, allowing the Trump administration to transform tactical disagreements with allies over tariffs into a strategic coalition to counter Chinese economic warfare. Mr. Trump put on quite a show in Riyadh. A sequel in Tokyo would be even bigger—and watched with envy in Beijing. – Wall Street Journal
Thomas Beck writes: Trump has taken unprecedented steps both to reduce regulatory overreach and to reassert executive authority as intended by the Constitution — for example, by removing members of so-called “independent” agencies. Applying the pardon power to civil offenses where warranted is another legitimate tool available to him. – The Hill
Sen. Ruben Gallego writes: If the United States wants to remain competitive and secure, we need to do more than protect the progress we’ve made. We must cut red tape and streamline permitting without sacrificing safety or community input. We also need to foster domestic innovation and onshore the supply chain for nuclear components, so that our energy security does not depend on unfriendly nations. China and Russia already have operational SMRs. The U.S. must catch up. – Fox News
Cybersecurity
French President Emmanuel Macron said he would push for European Union regulation to ban social media for children under the age of 15 after a fatal stabbing at a school in eastern France, the latest such violent attack that left the country reeling. – Reuters
The majority of justices on Brazil’s Supreme Court have agreed to make social media companies liable for illegal postings by their users, in a landmark case for Latin America with implications for U.S. relations. – Associated Press
Two House Democratic leaders are asking a government watchdog to dig into two federally-funded initiatives to catalog software flaws and vulnerability data in light of their recent troubles. – CyberScoop
Seven law enforcement agencies in Asia coordinated on an operation to shut down dozens of scam centers and arrested more than 1,800 people involved. – CyberScoop
Editorial: National security concerns are typically addressed by the federal government, but state AGs can also hold Chinese companies accountable for actions that steal data, infringe copyrights and mislead consumers. Nebraska’s lawsuit could bring out more information during legal discovery. As long as Chinese companies are putting backdoors and malware on American devices, state AGs can help protect consumers. – Wall Street Journal
Defense
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday resisted lawmakers’ demands for transparency about the luxury airplane from Qatar that President Donald Trump wants to use as Air Force One, rebuffing several sharp questions about the Boeing 747-8 jetliner and the terms surrounding its transfer to the U.S. government. – Washington Post
A former CIA analyst who pleaded guilty in January over a leak of classified Israeli plans to strike Iran was sentenced to 37 months in prison on Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice said. – Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has launched a formal review of former President Joe Biden’s AUKUS defense pact with Australia and Britain to allow Australia to acquire nuclear-powered submarines, a U.S. defense official said. – Reuters
The Air Force has tested a new variation of its ship-killing Quicksink guided bomb to expand its options for taking out enemy vessels in a future war. – Defense News