Evening Brief: U.S. Troop On Alert, Syria Ceasefire, Gaza Plan

Federal authorities have placed active-duty Army units on standby amid escalating immigration protests in Minneapolis, as court rulings tighten ICE crowd-control limits, fringe pro-ICE activism collapses locally, regional tensions shift in Syria with a Kurdish withdrawal east of the Euphrates, and President Trump moves to assert U.S. control over postwar Gaza through a new international “Board of Peace.”

American Mercenaries Linked to UAE Assassination Program in Yemen

The UAE’s reported use of former U.S. special operations contractors to run a targeted assassination campaign in southern Yemen shows how a partner’s “counterterror” fight can slide into deniable contract killing, with shaky oversight and almost no accountability.

Morning Brief: Maduro Removed, Iran Warns U.S., Ukraine Fights Gray Zone

Delta Force with DEVGRU support removed Nicolás Maduro as the U.S. moves toward prosecution and a short stabilization plan, Iran threatened U.S. forces after Trump warned Tehran over killing protesters, and Russia claimed Huliaipole while Ukraine and independent mappers describe a heavily contested gray zone in Zaporizhzhia.