The Latest: Hegseth changes policy on how Pentagon officials communicate with Congress

Leaders at the Pentagon have significantly altered how military officials will speak with Congress after a pair of new memos issued last week.

In an Oct. 15 memo, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his deputy, Steve Feinberg, ordered Pentagon officials — including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — to obtain permission from the department’s main legislative affairs office before they have any communication with Capitol Hill.

The memo was issued the same day the vast majority of Pentagon reporters exited the building rather than agree to the Defense Department’s new restrictions on their work, and it appears to be part of a broader effort by Hegseth to exert tighter control over what the department communicates to the outside world.

According to the memo, a copy of which was authenticated by a Pentagon official, “unauthorized engagements with Congress by (Pentagon) personnel acting in their official capacity, no matter how well-intentioned, may undermine Department-wide priorities critical to achieving our legislative objectives.”

Here’s the latest:

Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon is still speaking on the Senate floor after 15 hours

Merkley held the chamber open all night to protest President Trump’s “tightening authoritarian grip on the country” amid the government shutdown.

Merkley started speaking at 6:21 p.m. Tuesday evening and has been talking for more than 15 hours, with occasional breaks for questions from other Democratic senators who’ve joined him on the floor.

Merkley’s lengthy speech comes after Democratic Sen. Cory Booker broke the all-time record for longest continuous floor speech in April. Booker, who was also protesting Trump, broke the record set 68 years ago by then-Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina.

By holding the floor open all night, Merkley forced Senate floor staff, security and other support workers who are currently unpaid to work overtime hours. The government has been shut down since Oct. 1 as Democrats have demanded an extension of federal health care subsidies and Republicans have refused to negotiate until the government is reopened.

Final report on US hunger blocked during the government shutdown

The U.S. Agriculture Department in September said it would scrap the annual household food security report after 30 years, stating that it had become “overly politicized” and “rife with inaccuracies.”

The final report, for 2024, was scheduled for release Thursday, but all reports and data releases have ceased, an agency spokesperson said in a statement.

Ending the report will make it difficult to gauge the extent of hunger in the U.S. amid deep cuts in federal food assistance programs and the effect of tariffs and immigration crackdowns on rising food prices, said Joseph Llobrera, of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a think tank.

“If USDA read its own reports, they would realize it’s apolitical,” he said.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to meet with Israel’s Netanyahu amid Gaza ceasefire efforts

Rubio will travel to Israel to meet with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, the Israeli government announced Wednesday.

The announcement comes as the Trump administration works to shore up the Gaza ceasefire deal.

▶ Read more about Mideast tensions

Vice President JD Vance meets privately with hostage families during his second day in Israel

The meeting was private and closed to press coverage.

But according to Vance’s office, other participants included his wife, Usha Vance; Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel; hostages who were returned alive under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas; and family members of deceased hostages whose remains have yet to be returned by Hamas.

Relatives of victims of the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, also attended the meeting.

Vance also met separately Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

Putin directs drills of Russian nuclear forces as his summit with Trump is put on hold

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday directed drills of the country’s strategic nuclear forces that featured practice missile launches, an exercise that came as his planned summit on Ukraine with U.S. President Donald Trump was put on hold.

The Kremlin said that as part of the maneuvers involving all parts of Moscow’s nuclear triad, a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile was test-fired from the Plesetsk launch facility in northwestern Russia, and a Sineva ICBM was launched by a submarine in the Barents Sea. The drills also involved Tu-95 strategic bombers firing long-range cruise missiles.

The exercise tested the skills of military command structures, the Kremlin said in a statement.

▶ Read more about Russia’s nuclear drills

North Korea test-fires ballistic missiles ahead of Trump’s Asia trip

North Korea performed its first ballistic missile tests in five months Wednesday, days before President Trump and other leaders are expected to meet in South Korea.

South Korea’s military said it detected multiple short-range ballistic missiles that were launched from an area south of Pyongyang and flew about 350 kilometers (220 miles) toward the northeast. The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff didn’t release more specific flight details but said the missiles didn’t land in the sea.

Trump is to leave for Asia at the end of the week in the first trip to the region of his second term. He plans to go to Malaysia first for a regional summit, and then head to Japan before traveling on to South Korea for an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting, an annual summit meant to promote economic integration and trade.

▶ Read more about tensions between North Korea and South Korea

Japan says it plans to tell Trump it will build up military and upgrade security strategy

Japan’s new foreign minister said Wednesday his country plans to show its determination to further build up its defense to rapidly adapt to changing warfare realities and growing tension in the region when U.S. President Donald Trump visits Tokyo next week.

Trump is expected to hold talks next Tuesday with Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who took office Tuesday after being elected Japan’s first female leader.

Takaichi, who had spent much of past few weeks embroiled in internal political wrangling, has to face major diplomatic tests within days of taking office — Trump’s visit and two regional summits.

“We are firmly preparing for President Trump’s visit,” Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said.

▶ Read more about U.S. relations with Japan