This is the Intelligence Feed.
Dispatch Washington · May 16, 2026 The Trump administration launched Project Freedom on May 4, 2026, a U.S. Central Command operation designed to escort commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz following sustained Iranian interference with maritime traffic [1][2]. President Trump announced the operation in a Truth Social post Sunday evening, saying the U.S. had…
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on May 1, 2026, broadening U.S. sanctions against the Cuban government under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), 50 U.S.C. §§ 1701 et seq. [1][2] The order, formally titled "Imposing Sanctions on Those Responsible for Repression in Cuba and for Threats to United States National Security and…
The Department of Defense announced May 1 that it had finalized agreements with eight commercial AI companies to deploy their technologies on the department's most sensitive classified networks. The eight firms are Amazon Web Services, Google, Microsoft, NVIDIA, OpenAI, SpaceX, and Reflection, with Oracle added hours after the initial announcement. The agreements authorize those systems…
The Trump administration plans to shutter the Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC), a U.S.-run facility in Kiryat Gat, southern Israel, established to monitor the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and coordinate the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Seven diplomats familiar with the center's operations told Reuters the CMCC is set to be shut by the Trump administration. The…
President Donald Trump notified Congress on May 1 that hostilities with Iran "have terminated," asserting that a ceasefire in place since April 7 satisfied the requirements of the War Powers Resolution of 1973 and eliminated the need for congressional authorization. Under the Resolution, a president may initiate military action without prior authorization but must notify…
The White House formally sent to the Senate the nomination of David Brat, of Virginia, to serve as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States to the Commonwealth of Australia. The nomination was announced by the White House and will proceed through the Senate confirmation process. The post has been vacant since Caroline Kennedy…
President Donald Trump signed into law on April 30 a bipartisan appropriations measure restoring funding to most of the Department of Homeland Security, ending what had become the longest shutdown of a federal department in U.S. history. The partial shutdown, which affected only DHS, began Feb. 14 and surpassed all prior records for duration by…
The British government formally declared an antisemitism emergency on April 30 and announced £25 million (approximately $34 million) in new security funding following a double stabbing and a pattern of arson attacks targeting Jewish sites across London. The government pledged to increase security for Jewish communities after a string of arson attacks and a double…
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told the Senate Armed Services Committee on April 30 that the administration's current ceasefire with Iran has frozen the 60-day clock under the War Powers Resolution of 1973, a legal position that Democratic members immediately rejected as unsupported by the statute. Hegseth argued that President Donald Trump's extension of the ceasefire…
President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that the United States is reviewing a potential reduction of its military forces in Germany, a declaration that blindsided Defense Department officials and arrived with no prior interagency coordination. Trump posted on Truth Social that "The United States is studying and reviewing the possible reduction of Troops in Germany, with…