Contributing Writers

Aliya Rahman, a Minneapolis resident who was violently detained by ICE officers in January during “Operation Metro Surge,” filed a federal tort claim against the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday, claiming the agency used excessive force and violated her rights. Rahman was never charged with any crime. “They battered Aliya. They assaulted Aliya. They were negligent in their medical care for Aliya,” says Jessica Gingold, one of Rahman’s attorneys.

“We’ve seen now, in the last six weeks, Iran and Hezbollah almost single-handedly checking — not defeating, but checking — the two biggest military powers in the region, which is the U.S. and Israel,” says Rami Khouri. Khouri says the U.S. and Israel have been “forced into” ceasefires in Iran and Lebanon. This is all a sign “of the evolving balance of power across the region” and demonstrates that Iran’s Axis of Resistance “is still effective.

A 10-day ceasefire has begun in Lebanon. The news is being celebrated across the country, but major questions remain over what happens next. President Trump announced the deal between Israel and Lebanon on Thursday. Hezbollah, which is not a party to the agreement, says it will observe the ceasefire. The Israeli military is occupying a large swath of southern Lebanon, about 10% of the country.

President Trump on Thursday repeated his claim that a deal to end the war on Iran is “very close” and that direct talks with Iran could resume in Pakistan as soon as this weekend. Despite the claims, the Pentagon is surging thousands of additional troops to the Middle East, including an additional 6,000 sailors and aviators joining the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier battle group. Around 4,200 others with the Navy and Marines are expected to arrive near the end of the month.

Aliya Rahman, a Minneapolis resident who was violently detained by ICE officers in January during “Operation Metro Surge,” filed a federal tort claim against the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday, claiming the agency used excessive force and violated her rights. Rahman was never charged with any crime. “They battered Aliya. They assaulted Aliya. They were negligent in their medical care for Aliya,” says Jessica Gingold, one of Rahman’s attorneys.

“We’ve seen now, in the last six weeks, Iran and Hezbollah almost single-handedly checking — not defeating, but checking — the two biggest military powers in the region, which is the U.S. and Israel,” says Rami Khouri. Khouri says the U.S. and Israel have been “forced into” ceasefires in Iran and Lebanon. This is all a sign “of the evolving balance of power across the region” and demonstrates that Iran’s Axis of Resistance “is still effective.

A 10-day ceasefire has begun in Lebanon. The news is being celebrated across the country, but major questions remain over what happens next. President Trump announced the deal between Israel and Lebanon on Thursday. Hezbollah, which is not a party to the agreement, says it will observe the ceasefire. The Israeli military is occupying a large swath of southern Lebanon, about 10% of the country.

President Trump on Thursday repeated his claim that a deal to end the war on Iran is “very close” and that direct talks with Iran could resume in Pakistan as soon as this weekend. Despite the claims, the Pentagon is surging thousands of additional troops to the Middle East, including an additional 6,000 sailors and aviators joining the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier battle group. Around 4,200 others with the Navy and Marines are expected to arrive near the end of the month.

Maoz Inon’s parents were killed in the October 7 attacks in 2023. Aziz Abu Sarah’s brother died after being tortured in an Israeli prison. The two have closely worked together calling for peace in Israel and Palestine over the past two years. They just released a book titled The Future Is Peace: A Shared Journey Across the Holy Land.
“I grew up angry. I grew up believing peace is impossible. But at some point, I realized — when I was 18 — that Maoz and I are not on the opposite side.

A new book tells the inside story of the second Trump administration’s dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID. Its author, Nicholas Enrich, worked at USAID for over a decade before he was pushed out of the agency in early 2025, when the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency summarily cut its staff and funding.

Sudan marked three years since a bloody civil war began between its national army and the powerful Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group. The RSF revolted against the Sudanese Armed Forces after a 2021 military coup left it with diminished political power. The coup itself upended the civilian-led democratic revolution that ousted Sudan’s longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019.

Amid the ongoing crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, we speak with Laleh Khalili, a professor of Gulf studies who researches the shipping and logistics industry and its impact on the global economy. The U.S. implemented a naval blockade on Iran earlier this week, which Khalili says could lead to its military “firing on ships that it assumes are Iranian or carrying oil from Iran or other cargo to Iran.

Maoz Inon’s parents were killed in the October 7 attacks in 2023. Aziz Abu Sarah’s brother died after being tortured in an Israeli prison. The two have closely worked together calling for peace in Israel and Palestine over the past two years. They just released a book titled The Future Is Peace: A Shared Journey Across the Holy Land.
“I grew up angry. I grew up believing peace is impossible. But at some point, I realized — when I was 18 — that Maoz and I are not on the opposite side.

Democratic Congressmember Eric Swalwell of California and Republican Tony Gonzales of Texas resigned Tuesday. Both of them faced potential expulsion votes after they were accused of sexual misconduct involving former staffers.
Swalwell’s resignation came just days after CNN and the San Francisco Chronicle reported multiple allegations against him, including twice raping a former staffer. Swalwell denied the allegations. He dropped out of the California gubernatorial race on Sunday.

Israeli forces continue to bombard towns in southern Lebanon today, according to Lebanese state media. Several people were killed in a strike on the coastal town of Ansariya. According to Lebanon’s Health Ministry, Israeli attacks have killed over 2,100 people, wounding nearly 7,000. Over 1 million Lebanese have been displaced, and 40,000 homes have been destroyed or heavily damaged. We go to Beirut, where we’re joined by investigative journalist Lylla Younes.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted the first direct talks between Israel and Lebanon in decades on Tuesday in Washington. Hezbollah, which was not a party to the talks, made clear it will not abide by any agreement that results from their negotiations.
Israel’s demand that Hezbollah be disarmed is “anything but reasonable,” says Daniel Levy, former Israeli peace negotiator under Prime Ministers Ehud Barak and Yitzhak Rabin.

The federal government is preparing to begin automatically registering eligible U.S. men ages 18 to 26 for the military draft pool. The U.S. hasn’t had a military draft since 1973, but it still maintains a registry of eligible men in case the draft is restored. New rules around automatic military draft registration were tucked into the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act.

The Trump administration has fired six more immigration judges in its effort to reshape immigration policy and the immigration courts. Two of the fired judges, Roopal Patel and Nina Froes, had each dismissed high-profile cases brought by the government against international students who had advocated for Palestinian rights, Rümeysa Öztürk and Mohsen Mahdawi. Around 100 immigration judges have been fired by the Trump administration. Firings in previous administrations were rare.

The first-ever pope from the United States is clashing with the White House. Pope Leo XIV, head of the Catholic Church, which counts more than a billion people in the world as its members, has spoken out forcefully against war. He said in his Palm Sunday address that Jesus “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war … [whose] hands are full of blood.” In response, President Donald Trump said Pope Leo is “weak on crime, and terrible for foreign policy.

After the first round of ceasefire negotiations in Pakistan collapsed over the weekend, we speak to two former nuclear negotiators about prospects for ending the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, including what another nuclear deal might look like. Robert Malley, a U.S. negotiator for the 2015 nuclear deal (which President Trump withdrew from in his first term), says Trump’s “mercurial” behavior makes it difficult to predict his objectives and the course of any future talks.

The federal government is preparing to begin automatically registering eligible U.S. men ages 18 to 26 for the military draft pool. The U.S. hasn’t had a military draft since 1973, but it still maintains a registry of eligible men in case the draft is restored. New rules around automatic military draft registration were tucked into the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act.

The Trump administration has fired six more immigration judges in its effort to reshape immigration policy and the immigration courts. Two of the fired judges, Roopal Patel and Nina Froes, had each dismissed high-profile cases brought by the government against international students who had advocated for Palestinian rights, Rümeysa Öztürk and Mohsen Mahdawi. Around 100 immigration judges have been fired by the Trump administration. Firings in previous administrations were rare.

Official election results in Hungary show Péter Magyar and his opposition Tisza party won Sunday’s parliamentary election in a landslide, with more than the two-thirds majority needed to amend Hungary’s constitution. Hungary’s far-right Viktor Orbán has been prime minister of the country since 2010, making him the European Union’s longest-serving leader. His campaign was supported by Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Trump administration.

Ship traffic has been halted again in the Strait of Hormuz after President Trump ordered the U.S. military to begin a naval blockade of all Iranian ports and coastal areas starting Monday at 10 a.m. ET. Iran denounced Trump’s move as an illegal act amounting to “piracy” and has threatened to strike Gulf ports in retaliation. Trump ordered the blockade after the U.S. and Iran failed to reach a deal to end the war following 21 hours of talks in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Amid strains in U.S.-European relations, the Trump administration has worked to strengthen ties with Hungary and its far-right leader, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who is facing his biggest challenge in 16 years. With just days to go before parliamentary elections, Orbán’s Fidesz party is trailing the center-right pro-EU Tisza party led by Péter Magyar. U.S. Vice President JD Vance traveled to Budapest this week and appeared alongside Orbán to openly campaign for his reelection.

The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has deepened rifts with several European countries. The Spanish government has been most outspoken in its opposition to the war, and U.S. allies like Germany and the United Kingdom have voiced some criticism while providing logistical support for the assault on Iran. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has tried to smooth over differences and placate President Trump, even as he has mused about pulling the U.S.