Your Morning: Man accused of being main 9/11 attacks plotter to plead guilty

9/11 attacks: The man accused as the mastermind of al-Qaida’s Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S. has agreed to plead guilty, the Defense Department said Wednesday. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two accomplices, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi, are expected to enter the guilty pleas at the military commission at Guantanamo Bay as soon as next week. The agreement comes more than 16 years after their prosecution began. The latest > 

‘They’re cowards’: The full terms of the plea bargains have not been released yet, but defense lawyers requested the men receive life sentences in exchange for their guilty pleas, according to letters sent to some family members of some of the nearly 3,000 people killed on Sept. 11. “They were cowards when they planned the attack. And they’re cowards today,” Terry Strada, head of one group of 9/11 families, said. Read more > 

9/11 families lawsuit: Lawyers for Saudi Arabia argued Wednesday that the country fought against terrorism and al-Qaida in the 1990s just like the U.S. and should not be a defendant in lawsuits seeking over $100 billion for relatives of people killed in the 9/11 attacks. Lawyers for relatives of some 9/11 victims say that a group of extremist religious leaders in Saudi Arabia gained influence in the Saudi government and helped the 9/11 hijackers. What to know >

Hamas military chief killed: The Israeli military said Thursday the head of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, was killed in an airstrike in Gaza in July. Israel believes Deif and Yahya Sinwar, the top Hamas leader in Gaza, were the chief architects of the Oct. 7 attack that triggered the Israel-Hamas war. Sinwar is believed to be hiding in Gaza. The latest > 

Apparent Israeli strike: The announcement of Deif’s death comes a day after an apparent Israeli strike in Tehran that killed Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’ top political leader. Israel has not confirmed or denied whether it was behind the strike in the Iranian capital. The deaths of Haniyeh and Deif risk the possibility Hamas could drop out of cease-fire negotiations and raise fears of a regional war. Read more >

Trump comments: Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday told a conference of Black journalists that Vice President Kamala Harris was “always of Indian heritage” until “she happened to turn Black.” At a gathering of Black journalists in Chicago, Trump’s comments came in response to a question about some Republicans’ efforts to minimize Harris’ title as the country’s first Black and Asian American woman to serve as vice president on a major party ticket. After the Q&A, Trump doubled down on social media: “Crazy Kamala is saying she’s Indian, not Black.” Harris campaign Communications Director Michael Tyler fired back at Trump, saying “Trump lobbed personal attacks and insults at Black journalists the same way he did throughout his presidency – while he failed Black families and left the entire country digging out of the ditch he left us in.” Harris has always been both Black and Indian American, and her race and ethnicity have never been a secret. Full report > 

Tense interview: Trump clashed with ABC News’ Rachel Scott at the convention, slamming her “disgraceful” questioning after she asked why Black voters should trust him with another term. “I think it’s a very nasty question,” Trump said. Read more > 

Sonya Massey: While at the convention, Trump said he was not familiar with the police killing of Sonya Massey, the unarmed Black woman who called 911 for help in her Springfield, Illinois, home. “I don’t know the exact case,” Trump said. “But I saw something, and it didn’t look — it didn’t look good to me.” Full report > 

‘Childless cat lady’ comment: Trump also defended his running mate JD Vance’s past comment about “childless cat ladies” that has caused controversy in recent days. “My interpretation is that he is strongly family-oriented but that doesn’t mean if you don’t have a family, there’s something wrong,” Trump told the NABJ crowd in an attempt to walk back Vance’s earlier comments. In a resurfaced 2021 interview, Vance said the U.S. was being run by Democrats, corporate oligarchs and “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too.” Read more >

Border bust: Agents at the Port of Lukeville in Arizona made the largest fentanyl seizure in U.S. Customs and Border Protection history Tuesday, seizing 4 million fentanyl pills. The drugs, weighing over 1,000 pounds, were found in the frame of a utility trailer. The synthetic opioid is one of the leading causes of death in America, resulting in an estimated 74,702 overdose deaths in 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Full report >

Editor’s note: If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-4673.

Cuba Gooding Jr. returns to spotlight: Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. is positive he’ll be working in Hollywood again after settling a case that alleged he raped a woman in a New York City hotel a decade ago. The Oscar-winning actor is returning to the spotlight with a new faith-based film, “The Firing Squad.” During a Wednesday interview on NewsNation’s “Dan Abrams Live,” Gooding expressed optimism about future work in Hollywood. “100%,” he said, when asked if he thought major studios would hire him again. “We talk to each other, we see each other … My job is in front of America. Good or bad.” Watch >

Double murder trial: In what’s likely a preview of the defense’s strategy for the October double murder trial of Delphi, Indiana, suspect Richard Allen, lawyers representing him argued motions to dismiss the charges against their client, move him to a county jail and sanction the prosecutor for allegedly not turning over evidence in a timely manner. Allen is accused of killing Abby Williams and Libby German in 2017. Details >

Deepfakes: Google is making changes to its search engine in an effort to crack down on nonconsensual deepfake pornography that has exploded with the rise of generative artificial intelligence. The company said Wednesday it has developed a new system that will make it easier for victims of deepfake porn to take down photos and videos of themselves. The latest >