On Friday (December 5), FIFA will conduct the draw for the top men's football tournament, taking place across the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Washington

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will feature an expanded field of 48 teams, divided into 12 groups of four. Teams are sorted into four pots according to world rankings, with the three co-hosts—Mexico, Canada, and the United States—joining the top nine ranked teams in pot one.

For the first time, FIFA will implement a tennis-style bracket system to ensure the top four seeds—Spain, Argentina, France, and England—cannot meet before the semifinals, provided they win their groups. The draw process, which includes specific rules to limit teams from the same confederation in each group, is expected to take up to an hour.

2026 World Cup draw kicks off soon

There are more teams than at any previous World Cup, 48 total split into 12 groups of four. For the draw, the teams are sorted into four pods based on world rankings. Pot one contains the top nine ranked teams plus the three co-hosts. That's Mexico, Canada and the United States. Pot two is the next 12 highest ranked teams. The next 12 best teams go into pot three. Pot four has six qualified teams plus six placeholders. Those are for the winners of the playoffs in March. The hosts are already pre-assigned and the remaining nine pot one teams will fill the other groups. Then pots two, three and four are drawn. There will be one team from each pot per group. Teams from the same confederation cannot be grouped together except Europe, which has so many teams that some groups will have two, but never more than two. And for the first time, FIFA are using the tennis style bracket system to keep the top four seeds apart. So as long as they win their groups, Spain, Argentina, France and England can't meet each other before the semifinals. All of these rules will be followed in real time, but with more teams than ever before, the whole thing could still take up to an hour.

It's a deal described as the beginning of a new path to peace. Leaders from Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have signed an agreement aiming to end the long-running conflict in eastern DRC. U.S. President Donald Trump hosted the leaders in Washington, DC.

DR Congo-Rwanda peace deal: Leaders sign accord alongside U.S.

The Pentagon announced another strike against an alleged drug-carrying boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean. This comes as lawmakers react to a classified briefing on the controversial Sept. 2 strikes targeting a vessel near Venezuela.

Pentagon announces new boat strike

New evidence was presented in court in connection with the case against Luigi Mangione, the man accused of shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. CBS News' Katrina Kaufman reports.

Manhattan

New evidence shared in Luigi Mangione's pre-trial hearing

Israel has been cleared for the 2026 Eurovision song contest after the European Broadcasting Union said most members did not want a vote on participation, prompting four countries — the Netherlands, Ireland, Spain and Slovenia — to boycott the competition over the war in Gaza.

Israel’s Eurovision participation triggers boycotts

Honduran presidential candidate Salvador Nasralla said U.S. President Donald Trump’s last-minute support for rival Nasry Asfura hurt his chances in the country’s closely fought election.

Tegucigalpa

Honduras' Nasralla: Trump's influence damaged my election chances

A northern Virginia man was arrested and accused of placing two pipe bombs outside the Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee headquarters on the eve of the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. Scott MacFarlane has details.

FBI arrests suspect in 2021 D.C. pipe bomb case

A grand jury has rejected the Department of Justice's attempt to re-indict New York Attorney General Letitia James. CBS News legal contributor Jessica Levinson has reaction.

Grand jury rejects DOJ's attempt to re-indict Letitia James

The New York Times has sued the U.S. Defence Department and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth in an effort to force the Pentagon to abandon its restrictive new press policy. The Times alleges that the policy, rejected by at least 30 news organizations, violates its rights to free speech and due process.

New York

New York Times sues Pentagon, Hegseth over press restrictions

President Trump weighed in on Russian President Vladimir Putin's meeting with his envoy, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner. CBS News' Ramy Inocencio has more.

Moscow

Ukraine Invasion

Trump insists Putin wants to end Ukraine war after Witkoff's trip

Democrats have released never-before-seen images in the Jeffrey Epstein case. They were taken at his private island estate. It comes as the Trump administration faces a deadline to release the full Epstein case files in two weeks.

Newly released images and videos show Epstein's private island estate

Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves, more than five times more than the United States.

Caracas

Maduro accuses U.S. of pushing for regime change to get Venezuela’s oil

Australia starts enforcing a landmark ban requiring social media platforms to take down accounts belonging to under-16s

Canberra

Australia under-16s social media accounts to be taken down

European Union lawmakers and member states reached a deal to ban all imports of Russian gas before the end of 2027, as the bloc seeks to choke off key funds feeding Moscow's war chest. Aimed at breaking a reliance the bloc has struggled to end despite the invasion of Ukraine, the accord marks a compromise between EU capitals and the European Parliament, which wanted the ban to hit sooner.

Brussels

EU agrees deal to ban Russian gas by end of 2027

President Trump pardoned Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas and his wife on Wednesday. The couple was indicted in 2024 on more than a dozen federal charges. Cuellar has denied any wrongdoing.

Trump pardons Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar and his wife

Sources say the Pentagon watchdog found Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth could have endangered American service members when he shared military information in a Signal group chat in March. Alex Plitsas, a former Pentagon official, joins "The Daily Report" to discuss.

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Democrats on the House Oversight Committee Wednesday released never-before-seen images of the private island owned by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. CBS News legal reporter Katrina Kaufman has more details.

Never-before-seen images of Jeffrey Epstein's island released

The doctor who pleaded guilty to selling ketamine to Matthew Perry in the weeks before the actor's overdose death has been sentenced to 30 months in prison.

Los Angeles

Doctor who sold Matthew Perry ketamine sentenced to 30 months in prison

Google subsidiary YouTube has criticized an Australian law banning social media accounts for under-16s, arguing the legislation set to start Dec 10 makes young users of Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube less safe.

YouTube attacks Australia's underage social media ban

U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff met Putin in the Kremlin on a revised Ukraine peace plan but left without a deal. Russia insists on territorial gains, army cuts, and blocking NATO membership, while Zelenskyy calls for long-term deterrence against future aggression.

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U.S. President Donald Trump, in a televised cabinet meeting, said “I don't want them in our country” about Somali immigrants, sparking outrage from politicians and migration experts. His remarks coincided with reports of planned federal raids targeting Minneapolis’ Somali community.

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Russian tanker attacked off Turkey, Putin warns of retaliation

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he had watched the first U.S. strike in September on an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in real time, but did not see survivors in the water or the second lethal strike that he described as being carried out in the "fog of war."

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Republican comfortably beats Democratic challenger after polls showed candidates in a close race in US state.

Tennessee

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U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to expand his crackdown on drug trafficking during a cabinet meeting, suggesting he’d order land strikes on Venezuela and attacks on any country transporting illegal drugs into the U.S.

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OpenAI has declared a "code red" as Google threatens to unseat the AI industry's early leader, according to the Wall Street Journal. Technology journalist Jacob Ward joins CBS News to discuss.

California

OpenAI declares 'code red' as Google threatens its AI lead

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President Vladimir Putin has hailed what his commanders told him was the full Russian capture of the city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine as an important victory after a prolonged campaign, saying it would help Moscow fulfil its wider war aims.

Pokrovsk

Russia claims control of Pokrovsk

Major rescue and recovery efforts are underway across Southeast Asia after a series of severe storms battered the region displacing millions and killing more than 1,100 people.

Breakdown