The Brief

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the U.N. General Assembly as dozens of delegates walked out in protest, defending Israel's military campaigns and calling those who left 'moral cowards.'

Netanyahu dismissed allegations of genocide in Gaza as 'the biggest lie' and criticized New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, telling him 'shame on you.' Despite an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against him, Netanyahu was not detained during his U.S. visit.

Iran has proposed a seven-day roadmap to end its conflict with the United States, offering to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume nuclear talks if Washington lifts its naval blockade, waives sanctions on Iranian oil sales, and observes a ceasefire that includes Lebanon. Iran's foreign minister said Friday the country is still awaiting a U.S. response, saying "the choice rests with the US."

Tensions remain high while the two sides wait: Iraq has suspended Iranian flights at its four airports after new U.S. aviation sanctions, and Iran has threatened 'widespread disruption' in response. Iran's president has said Tehran wants a deal before November's U.S. midterm elections, as high fuel prices tied to the seven-month conflict pressure President Trump ahead of the vote.

Hurricane Polo regained Category 5 status off Mexico's southwestern coast, with its intensity fluctuating between Category 4 and 5 — the strongest rating on the hurricane scale.

The storm was expected to begin slowly weakening by the weekend, forecasters said, though it continues to threaten life-threatening flooding along Mexico's coastline.

Chinese President Xi Jinping wrapped up his first visit to Washington in more than a decade on Friday, with President Trump taking him to the National Archives to view the country's founding documents, capping a three-day state visit critics said was heavy on pomp and light on substance.

The two leaders struck a warm tone and Xi announced China will send two giant pandas to Zoo Atlanta as an 'envoy of friendship.' Trump and Xi are set to meet two more times before the end of the year, though the visit ended with no deal announced on artificial intelligence and little concrete progress on trade or Taiwan.

Pope Leo XIV opened his first papal trip to France on Friday with a warning that a 'paradise of machines' could undermine humanity, delivering the message at the Elysee Palace as thousands gathered in Paris to greet him.

The pontiff's remarks raised existential questions about artificial intelligence, a nuclear arms race and other threats to life, framing the visit around what it means to be human amid rapid scientific and technological change.

Fighting has broken out in Ethiopia's Tigray region amid rising tensions between the Tigray People's Liberation Front and the national army, raising fears of a return to the full-scale war that devastated the region from 2020 to 2022.

Internet access has been restricted in the region, echoing the near-total communications blackout Tigray experienced during the earlier civil war.