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In the news today: The Trump administration levies new sanctions on Russian oil giants; the U.S. Agriculture Department will reopen offices to help farmers and ranchers get access to $3 billion of aid; and the International Court of Justice said Israel must allow a UN relief agency to supply aid to Gaza. Also, groundbreaking ballerina Misty Copeland dances her final performance as she retires from the American Ballet Theatre.

President Donald Trump meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

WORLD NEWS

Trump levies new sanctions on Russian oil giants in a push on Putin to end Ukraine war

President Donald Trump’s administration announced on Wednesday new “massive sanctions” against Russia’s oil industry that are aimed at moving Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table and bringing an end to Moscow’s brutal war on Ukraine. Read more.

What to know:

• The sanctions against oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil followed months of calls from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as well as bipartisan pressure on Trump to hit Russia with harder sanctions on its oil industry, the economic engine that has allowed Russia to continue to execute the grinding conflict even as it finds itself largely internationally isolated.
  
  
• “Hopefully he’ll become reasonable,” Trump said of Putin not long after the Treasury Department announced the sanctions against Russia’s two biggest oil companies and their subsidiaries. “And hopefully Zelenskyy will be reasonable, too. You know, it takes two to tango, as they say.”

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• EU joins US in heaping more sanctions on Russia to push Putin into Ukraine peace talks
  
  
• Ukraine unveils upgraded sea drone it says can strike anywhere in the Black Sea

POLITICS

USDA is reopening some 2,100 offices to help farmers access $3B in aid despite the ongoing shutdown

The Agriculture Department will reopen about 2,100 county offices all across the country on Thursday, despite the ongoing government shutdown to help farmers and ranchers get access to $3 billion of aid from existing programs. Read more.

Why this matters:

• The USDA said each Farm Service Agency office will have two workers who will be paid even though the government remains closed. These offices help farmers apply for farm loans, crop insurance, disaster aid and other programs. Thousands of other federal employees like air traffic controllers are working without pay during the shutdown.
  
  

• A USDA spokesperson said this move reflects President Trump’s commitment to helping farmers and ranchers, who are traditionally some of his strongest supporters. Recently, some of them have been unhappy with Trump’s latest moves although his support remains strong across rural America. Just this week, ranchers were unhappy with Trump’s idea to import more beef from Argentina because that could hurt their profits, and earlier this month soybean farmers complained that a $20 billion aid package for Argentina allowed that country to sell soybeans to China.
  
  

• The House Agriculture Committee Democrats said on X that this shows that Trump and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins “could have supported farmers all along, but you chose not to because you’d rather use farmers’ pain to score cheap political points while increasing the cost of living for ordinary Americans by making food and health care more expensive.”

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• Health care compromise appears far off as the government shutdown stalemate persists

   

• US hits $38 trillion in debt, after the fastest accumulation of $1 trillion outside of the pandemic

   

• After others departed, Pentagon announces ‘new’ press corps filled with conservative news outlets

   

• WATCH: Trump claims strikes on suspected drug vessels are saving American lives

   

• Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada will double its non-US exports as Canadians can’t rely on US

   

• Federal agents sent to San Francisco area, which mayor says is meant to incite ‘chaos and violence’

   

• With Supreme Court decision still pending, judge extends block on Guard in Chicago indefinitely 

   

• LA man shot by federal agents during arrest streams law enforcement activity on TikTok 

   

• Appellate court pauses lawsuit over Everglades detention center due to government shutdown

   

• California National Guard to support food banks due to expected food assistance delays

   

• University of Virginia strikes deal to pause Trump administration investigations

   

• Trump says he’s owed a ‘lot of money’ over federal probes. Here’s how the government could pay him

   

• What to know about the $250 million ballroom Trump is adding to the White House

   

• Maine Senate candidate Platner says tattoo recognized as Nazi symbol has been covered

   

• Ex-US Sen. John E. Sununu enters GOP primary race in New Hampshire for the seat he lost in 2008

   

• Democratic Sen. Merkley of Oregon speaks for more than 22 hours to protest Trump amid shutdown

   

• Mamdani, Cuomo and Sliwa clash bitterly during final NYC mayoral debate

   

• Plan to sell golf course built on slaves’ graves sparks outrage in Florida’s capital city

   

• Author Michael Wolff sues Melania Trump, saying she threatened $1B suit over Epstein-related claims

WORLD NEWS

Top UN court says Israel must allow UN relief agency to supply aid to Gaza

The International Court of Justice said on Wednesday that Israel must allow the U.N. aid agency in Gaza, known as UNRWA, to provide humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian territory. Read more.

What to know:

• Israel “is under the obligation to agree to and facilitate relief schemes provided by the United Nations and its entities, including UNRWA,” ICJ President Yuji Iwasawa said. Israel has not allowed UNRWA to bring in its supplies since March.
  
  

• But UNRWA continues to operate in Gaza, running health centers, mobile medical teams, sanitation services and school classes for children. It says it has 6,000 trucks of supplies waiting to get in.
  
  

• Israel has denied it has violated international law, saying the court’s proceedings are biased, and the country didn’t attend hearings in April. However, Israel provided a 38-page written submission for the court to consider.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• Vance criticizes Israel’s parliament vote on West Bank annexation, says the move was an ‘insult’
  
  
• Photos show Gaza’s destruction as families return to what’s left of their homes
  
  
• What to know about the 13 hostages whose remains are still inside Gaza

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