Tuesday Briefing: An extraordinary security breach

Plus, a scrumptious pasta dish

View in browser|nytimes.com March 25, 2025 By Natasha Frost Good morning. We're covering the accidental disclosure of U.S. military plans in a chat group and rising domestic tensions in Israel. Plus: British food, beige but beautiful. Pentagon officials expressed shock that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had discussed plans to strike Yemen in a Signal chat group. Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times U.S. officials' group chat about war plans included a journalist The U.S. defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, disclosed plans for striking targets in Yemen in a group chat on the Signal app that included the editor in chief of The Atlantic, two hours before the attacks on the Houthi militia were carried out, the White House said yesterday, confirming an account in the magazine. In an extraordinary security breach, Jeffrey Goldberg, the journalist, was mistakenly added to the chat by Michael Waltz, the national security adviser. The conversation took place outside the secure government channels that would normally be used for classified and highly sensitive war planning. Defense Department officials expressed shock that Hegseth had put American war plans into a commercial chat group. That itself could be a violation of the Espionage Act, a law covering the handling of sensitive information, they said. Details: At 11:44 a.m. on March 15, Hegseth posted the "operational details of forthcoming strikes on Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and attack sequencing," Goldberg wrote. "The information contained in them, if they had been read by an adversary of the U.S., could conceivably have been used to harm American military and intelligence personnel, particularly in the broader Middle East." Quotable: Vice President JD Vance, who was in the group chat, expressed reluctance about the strikes, arguing that European countries benefited from U.S. efforts to protect shipping lanes from Houthi attacks. "I just hate bailing Europe out again," he said. Hegseth responded: "I fully share your loathing of European free-loading. It's PATHETIC." More on the Trump administration Trump said he would impose a 25 percent duty on imports from any country that bought oil from Venezuela, in an apparent effort to use tariffs as financial sanctions. A decision to send a high-powered U.S. delegation to Greenland, apparently uninvited, has irked officials there and could strengthen the island's bonds with Denmark. (Separately, the trip has forced a dog-sledding race into an uncomfortable spotlight.) The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to block a ruling from a judge who had ordered it to rehire thousands of fired federal workers. A judge kept in place his ruling that barred the administration from deporting Venezuelan immigrants whom officials accused of being gang members. Makers of a vast array of American products are weighing the risks, and potential payoffs, of the sweeping tariffs the president has promised to impose on April 2. To an 88-year-old tour guide at the site of one of World War II's critical battles in Belgium, Americans were always heroes. Now, he's not so sure. Track Trump's actions since he took office. A protest yesterday near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Jerusalem residence against his government's efforts to dismiss the attorney general and a security chief.  Ammar Awad/Reuters Deep political rifts re-emerge in Israel Israel is at war both externally — in Gaza, Lebanon, the occupied West Bank and Yemen — and internally, as citizens feud over longstanding domestic conflicts that pose profound questions about their country's future. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governing coalition has revived contentious efforts to expand its control. Netanyahu and his supporters say the moves are a legitimate effort to rein in bureaucrats and judicial officials who have stymied the will of their elected government. His critics say they constitute a huge conflict of interest for a prime minister who's on trial for corruption. Public anger has been exacerbated by the impression that Netanyahu has benefited politically from the return to war in Gaza, which has helped shore up his fragile coalition government. Gaza: Israel's renewed offensive has families fleeing neighborhoods they had only recently returned to. Related: A Palestinian director of the Oscar-winning documentary "No Other Land" was beaten by Israeli settlers and detained by the Israeli authorities in the occupied West Bank yesterday evening, witnesses said. "I thought he was straight up with me," Steve Witkoff, an envoy for President Trump, recently said of Russia's president, Vladimir Putin. Maansi Srivastava for The New York Times Talks between Russia and the U.S. on a Ukraine truce Russian officials held talks on the details of a potential limited cease-fire in the Ukraine war with representatives of the U.S. yesterday in Saudi Arabia. The delegations are expected to publish a joint statement today, according to Russian state news agencies. Steven Witkoff, whom President Trump has tapped to be his personal envoy to President Vladimir Putin of Russia, has said that the ultimate goal of the talks is a 30-day full cease-fire that would allow time for negotiations about a permanent truce in Ukraine. The path toward such a truce, however, is uncertain. Analysis: Moscow sees economic and geopolitical benefits in humoring Trump's push for a cease-fire, our Moscow bureau chief Anton Troianovski writes. But the Kremlin's war aims haven't shifted. MORE TOP NEWS Dilara Senkaya/Reuters Turkey: The arrest of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's top political rival has prompted the biggest protests in more than a decade. Sudan: A Times reporter and photographer were the first Western journalists to visit central Khartoum since the civil war broke out. This is what they saw. Afghanistan: The U.S. lifted multimillion-dollar bounties on three senior Taliban officials, according to the Afghan authorities and a senior American official. Lebanon: The nation needs money to recover from the ravages of war. But to attract funds, it must fix how it's run. Climate: Many countries have banned single-use plastic shopping bags, but paper bags aren't necessarily more planet-friendly. France: The actor Gérard Depardieu appeared before a Paris court. He has been charged with sexually assaulting two women. Japan: Automakers, initially optimistic about some of President Trump's policies, are reckoning with potentially devastating tariffs. Britain: Bird flu infected a sheep, in what the government said was a world first. Tech: The genetic testing company 23andMe filed for bankruptcy protection after concerns mounted about its business model and data security. Culture: A new exhibition showcases the thousands of small decisions that inform the filmmaker Wes Anderson's style. SPORTS NEWS Soccer: Manchester United is trying to fund a 2-billion-pound mega-stadium while also cutting costs and staff members. Soccer: About one in every 30 corner kicks leads to a goal. And then there's Jamal Musiala's bizarre goal for Germany against Italy. Take a look. Formula 1: Liam Lawson, Max Verstappen's new Red Bull Racing teammate, is in danger of losing his seat after just two races. MORNING READ Emily Rhyne and Noah Throop Max Park is a longtime speedcubing world-record holder, relying on a method of turns that was developed in 1982. Park's best official solving time is 3.13 seconds, and he completes a cube in 60 moves. It takes beginners 100. "It's like playing chess at the speed of Ping-Pong," his dad said. See here how he does it. Lives lived: Brian James, who helped spark the punk-rock revolution in the 1970s as the lead guitarist and chief songwriter of the British band the Damned, died last month at 70. CONVERSATION STARTERS Lose the veneers: The actress Aimee Lou Wood of "The White Lotus" has found fans of her perfectly imperfect teeth. Ultrathin is in: When it comes to fashion models, the body diversity revolution appears to be at an end. Status symbol: In Singapore, driving a Kia is like wearing a Rolex. That's by design. Acid pop: Could you live in a lime-green apartment? ARTS AND IDEAS David Chow British classics get a glow-up It's hard to describe classic British dishes without reinforcing a bland, beige and soggy stereotype. Fish pie: a monochromatic pairing of milky cod and mashed potato. Mushy peas: boiled legumes puréed into pulp. Even summer pudding, filled with vibrant fresh berries, is encased in wet white bread. But traditional British meals are on the up, as a new generation of restaurateurs offer fresh takes on the familiar. As one chef put it, while British food is gentle and simply made, "simple is not easy." (There's still a lot of beige, though.) We hope you've enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times. RECOMMENDATIONS Kate Sears for The New York Times Cook: This astoundingly simple pasta tastes as complex as anything you'd get at a restaurant. Reset: Try a 10-minute yoga routine to send you off to dreamland. Plan: These five stunning German train trips offer an affordable vacation. Read: The author Sara Gran recommends eight great noir thrillers. Beautify: The best eyeliners glide on smoothly and last all day. Play the Spelling Bee. And here are today's Mini Crossword and Wordle. You can find all our puzzles here. That's it for today's briefing. See you tomorrow. — Natasha Reach Natasha and the team at briefing@nytimes.com. Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for Morning Briefing: Europe Edition from The New York Times. To stop receiving Morning Briefing: Europe Edition, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. To opt out of updates and offers sent from The Athletic, submit a request. Subscribe to The TimesGet The New York Times app Connect with us on: Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018