ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

April 24, 2025 -- As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to a variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:

U.S.

Lawsuits and key court rulings

• Supreme Court temporarily pauses deportations under Alien Enemies Act (CNN)
• Judge in Abrego Garcia case indicates she's weighing contempt proceedings against Trump administration (NBC)
• Supreme Court allows Trump to deport Venezuelans under wartime law, but only after judges’ review (AP)
• Rightwing group backed by Koch and Leo sues to stop Trump tariffs (Guardian)
• Supreme Court Pauses Order Requiring Trump to Reinstate Thousands of Federal Workers (Democracy Docket)
• Trump officials face records lawsuit over Signal chat (The Hill)
• Judge blocks Trump from enforcing 'chilling' order against law firm (NPR)
• Judges threatened with impeachment, bombs for ruling against Trump agenda (NPR)
• US judge orders Trump administration to restore legal aid to unaccompanied migrant children (AP)
• Judge blocks Trump effort to expand proof of citizenship requirement for voter registration (CNN)

Economy, business and labor

• U.S. consumer sentiment falls for third straight month amid tariff, inflation worries(UPI)
• Concerns about espionage rise as Trump and Musk fire thousands of federal workers (AP)
• Florida debates lifting some child labor laws to fill jobs vacated by undocumented immigrants (CNN)

Signalgate

• ‘Amateur hour’: Washington aghast at Trump administration’s war plan group chat (Politico)
• 5 revelations from the Trump administration’s war plan texts  (Politico)
• Flight data show Steve Witkoff was in Russia during group chat on Signal (CBS)

 Immigration

• Trump Finds Another Country to Accept His Mass Deportations (New Republic)
• Japanese Americans react to Trump's plans to invoke Alien Enemies Act (KGTV)
• Immigration officers are becoming 'extreme' in how they vet travelers entering the U.S. (NPR)
• IRS acting commissioner is resigning over deal to send immigrants' tax data to ICE, AP sources say (AP)
• US citizens getting pulled aside: Travelers fear scrutiny at the border is rising  (USA Today)
• ‘I was a British tourist trying to leave the US. Then I was detained, shackled and sent to an immigration detention centre’ (Guardian)

Diversity, equity and inclusion

• Is planting trees 'DEI'? Trump administration cuts nationwide tree-planting effort (NPR)
• Museums and parks must remove some items related to race and gender: Executive order (ABC)

FEMA funding for disaster recovery

• Noem said she plans to eliminate FEMA (The Hill)

Economy and political corruption

• Trump administration halts funding for two cybersecurity efforts, including one for elections   (AP)
• ‘Something stinks’: Elon Musk, congressional Republicans target Democrats’ main fundraising machine (CNN)
• This Republican tried to impeach a judge. Guess which billionaire cut him a check? (Arizona Central)

Other National News

• Trump Claims Nazis Treated Jewish Prisoners With “Love” (New Republic)
• Trump Will Get His Showy (And Likely Expensive) Military Parade in D.C.  (Washington City Paper)

WORLD

• US allies express alarm at Trump’s plan to let Russia keep most of the land it seized from Ukraine (CNN)
• Canada Announces Bombshell Break With U.S. Over Trump (New Republic)
• Earthquake rocks Thailand and Myanmar, triggering the collapse of a Bangkok high-rise (AP)
• Anthrax kills 50 hippos in Congo's Virunga National Park (Newsweek)
• As the World Turns on Trump, Mexico's Claudia Sheinbaum Has Other Plans (Newsweek)
• Who are the Houthis and why is the US targeting them? (BBC)
• The US lifts bounties on senior Taliban officials, including Sirajuddin Haqqani, says Kabul (AP)
• Mexicans searching for missing relatives uncover possible mass killing site (NPR)
• Some European countries and Canada issue advisories for travelers to the U.S.  (NPR)
• Parisians vote to ban cars from 500 more streets (The Independent )
• Turkey's opposition urges peaceful protests over Istanbul mayor's arrest despite bans (AP)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

U.S.

Lawsuits and key court rulings

Supreme Court temporarily pauses deportations under Alien Enemies Act (CNN)

The Supreme Court early Saturday morning paused the deportation of immigrants potentially subject to the Alien Enemies Act, freezing action in a fast-developing case involving a group of immigrants in Texas who say the Trump administration was working to remove them.

Judge in Abrego Garcia case indicates she's weighing contempt proceedings against Trump administration (NBC)

The judge presiding over the case of a man who was mistakenly deported by the U.S. government to a prison in El Salvador suggested Tuesday that she was weighing contempt proceedings against the Trump administration.

Supreme Court allows Trump to deport Venezuelans under wartime law, but only after judges’ review (AP)

... In a bitterly divided decision, the court said the administration must give Venezuelans who it claims are gang members “reasonable time” to go to court. But the conservative majority said the legal challenges must take place in Texas, instead of a Washington courtroom.

Rightwing group backed by Koch and Leo sues to stop Trump tariffs (Guardian)

New Civil Liberties Alliance says president’s invocation of emergency powers to impose tariffs is unlawful

Supreme Court Pauses Order Requiring Trump to Reinstate Thousands of Federal Workers (Democracy Docket)

The Supreme Court Tuesday paused a lower-court court order that reinstated thousands of probationary federal workers fired by the Trump administration earlier this year... the court said some of the nonprofit organizations challenging the dismissals lacked standing.

Trump officials face records lawsuit over Signal chat (The Hill)

 A government watchdog group is suing national security leaders for their use of Signal to discuss military actions, saying the move violated the Federal Records Act (FRA). / The suit from American Oversight, which routinely files public records requests, said the move obstructs their ability to access government documents. 

Judge blocks Trump from enforcing 'chilling' order against law firm (NPR)

 A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked parts of President Trump's executive order targeting a prominent law firm for its representation of Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign and for causes unpopular with his administration….  [U.S. District Judge Beryl] Howell said the president's order against Perkins Coie is clearly intended to punish the firm, and likely violates its First, Fifth and Sixth amendment rights… While the executive order takes aim at Perkins Coie, Howell said the "potential adverse impact cannot be understated." The order "casts a chilling harm of blizzard proportion across the entire legal profession," she said, warning that it will be understood as "an effort to intimidate" attorneys and prevent them from advocating on behalf of clients and causes at odds with the president.

Judges threatened with impeachment, bombs for ruling against Trump agenda (NPR)

Federal judges who have ruled against the Trump administration this year are confronting a wave of threats, potentially compromising their personal safety and the independence of the judiciary.

US judge orders Trump administration to restore legal aid to unaccompanied migrant children (AP)

A federal judge in California on Tuesday ordered the Trump administration to temporarily restore legal aid to tens of thousands of migrant children who are in the United States without a parent or guardian.

Judge blocks Trump effort to expand proof of citizenship requirement for voter registration (CNN)

A federal judge has halted parts of an executive order signed by President Donald Trump that sought to boost requirements that Americans show documents proving their citizenship when registering to vote.

Economy , business and labor

U.S. consumer sentiment falls for third straight month amid tariff, inflation worries(UPI)

 It's the third straight month of falling consumer confidence in the economy and was well below the Dow Jones consensus estimate of 63.2.  Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu reported that declines were seen "consistently across all groups by age, education, income, wealth, political affiliations, and geographic regions."  "Sentiment has now fallen for three consecutive months and is currently down 22% from December 2024," it said.

Concerns about espionage rise as Trump and Musk fire thousands of federal workers (AP)

As President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk work to overhaul the federal government, they’re forcing out thousands of workers with insider knowledge and connections who now need a job.  / For Russia, China and other adversaries, the upheaval in Washington as Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency guts government agencies presents an unprecedented opportunity to recruit informants, national security and intelligence experts say. 

Florida debates lifting some child labor laws to fill jobs vacated by undocumented immigrants (CNN)

...The state’s legislature on Tuesday is set to debate a bill that would loosen child labor laws, allowing children as young as 14 years old to work overnight shifts. If the new law is passed, teenagers would be able to work overnight jobs on school days.

Signalgate

‘Amateur hour’: Washington aghast at Trump administration’s war plan group chat (Politico)

Members of Congress and national security staffers were stunned Monday by a bombshell report that top Trump administration officials — including the vice president and Defense secretary — discussed war plans in a Signal group chat... In the report in The Atlantic, the magazine’s editor revealed that he had accidentally been added to a group chat on the secure messaging app Signal where senior members of the Trump administration were discussing plans for airstrikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen.

5 revelations from the Trump administration’s war plan texts  (Politico)

Vice President JD Vance suggested the president doesn’t understand the stakes of the Houthi strikes and other takeaways from the messages inadvertently shared with a journalist.

Flight data show Steve Witkoff was in Russia during group chat on Signal (CBS)

 President Trump's Ukraine and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff was in Moscow, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, when he was included in a group chat with more than a dozen other top administration officials — and inadvertently, one journalist — on the messaging app Signal, a CBS News analysis of open-source flight information and Russian media reporting has revealed. 

Immigration

Trump Finds Another Country to Accept His Mass Deportations (New Republic)

Amid the fury over Trump’s deportations to El Salvador, the administration just deported someone to Rwanda. And no, he’s not from there.

Japanese Americans react to Trump's plans to invoke Alien Enemies Act (KGTV)

President Donald Trump is expected to invoke a sweeping wartime act that could speed up his plan for mass deportations.  The Alien Enemies Act of 1798 could give the president tremendous power to target and remove undocumented immigrants.  The last time the act was invoked was during World War II, when Japanese Americans were detained and sent to internment camps, including those who lived in San Diego at the time.  Joseph and Elizabeth Yamada of San Diego were young children the last time the Alien Enemies Act was invoked in the U.S….

Immigration officers are becoming 'extreme' in how they vet travelers entering the U.S. (NPR)

If you have a green card or a valid visa, entering the U.S. is usually a straightforward affair. Border officials might ask the purpose of your visit and how long you intend to stay before waving you through. But lately, officers have stepped up their questioning of travelers. Visitors with apparently minor visa violations have been shackled and chained and sent to U.S. detention centers.

IRS acting commissioner is resigning over deal to send immigrants' tax data to ICE, AP sources say (AP)

 Melanie Krause, who had served as acting head since February, will step down over the new data-sharing document signed Monday by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The agreement will allow ICE to submit names and addresses of immigrants inside the U.S. illegally to the IRS for cross-verification against tax records. 

US citizens getting pulled aside: Travelers fear scrutiny at the border is rising  (USA Today)

U.S. citizens and legal residents are experiencing heightened anxiety about traveling due to increased immigration scrutiny under the Trump administration.

‘I was a British tourist trying to leave the US. Then I was detained, shackled and sent to an immigration detention centre’ (Guardian)

Graphic artist Rebecca Burke was on the trip of a lifetime. But as she tried to leave the US she was stopped, interrogated and branded an illegal alien by ICE. Now back home, she tells others thinking of going to Trump’s America: don’t do it

Diversity, equity and inclusion

Is planting trees 'DEI'? Trump administration cuts nationwide tree-planting effort (NPR)

In February, communities around the country learned that funding was canceled for a nationwide tree-planting program aimed at making neighborhoods cooler, healthier and more resilient to climate change.  The urban forestry initiative, administered by the nonprofit Arbor Day Foundation, was supposed to distribute $75 million in grant funding to about 100 different cities, nonprofit organizations and tribes…In a letter terminating the contract, the U.S. Forest Service stated the program "no longer aligns with agency priorities regarding diversity, equity and inclusion."

Museums and parks must remove some items related to race and gender: Executive order (ABC)

President Donald Trump signed an executive order behind closed doors on Thursday directing federal agencies and the Smithsonian to eliminate what the order calls "divisive" and "anti-American" content from museums and national parks, sources familiar with the order told ABC News.

FEMA funding for disaster recovery

Noem said she plans to eliminate FEMA (The Hill)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she planned to “eliminate” the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) during a televised Cabinet meeting Monday.

Election integrity and corruption

Trump administration halts funding for two cybersecurity efforts, including one for elections   (AP)

The Trump administration has cut millions of dollars in federal funding from two cybersecurity initiatives, including one dedicated to helping state and local election officials. 

‘Something stinks’: Elon Musk, congressional Republicans target Democrats’ main fundraising machine (CNN)

ActBlue, a fundraising juggernaut for liberal candidates and causes, is facing stepped-up scrutiny and criticism from Republicans on Capitol Hill and allies of President Donald Trump – as the GOP flexes its new power in Washington and targets one of the key pillars of the Democratic Party’s financial infrastructure.

This Republican tried to impeach a judge. Guess which billionaire cut him a check? (Arizona Central)

Elon Musk gave the maximum campaign contributions allowed to seven Republican members of Congress for sheepishly ignoring the law and giving President Donald Trump whatever he wants.

Other National News

Trump Claims Nazis Treated Jewish Prisoners With “Love” (New Republic)

Donald Trump made the unbelievable claim during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Trump Will Get His Showy (And Likely Expensive) Military Parade in D.C.  (Washington City Paper)

 During his first term in 2018, Trump wanted a grandiose military parade on the streets of D.C.  But Trump angrily and reluctantly canceled his plans after military leaders said it would cost $92 million and after District officials complained that heavy military equipment…would tear up the roadways... Now, second-term Trump apparently won’t be denied.  According to a D.C. source with knowledge of the plan that’s still being developed, Trump has commandeered Saturday, June 14—the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army and, as it happens, Trump’s 79th birthday—for his military parade.

WORLD

US allies express alarm at Trump’s plan to let Russia keep most of the land it seized from Ukraine (CNN)

...The administration’s framework, presented in Paris last week, proposes significant sacrifices from Kyiv, including US recognition of Crimea as Russian territory and Ukraine ceding large swaths of territory to Russia... Asked what concessions Russia was offering on Thursday, Trump replied, “stopping the war,” suggesting that not “taking the whole country” is a “pretty big concession.”

Canada Announces Bombshell Break With U.S. Over Trump (New Republic)

The new Canadian prime minister announced the two countries’ relationship is “over.”

Earthquake rocks Thailand and Myanmar, triggering the collapse of a Bangkok high-rise (AP)

A 7.7 magnitude earthquake rocked Thailand and neighboring Myanmar midday on Friday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed, and prompting Myanmar to declare a widespread state of emergency. The midday temblor with an epicenter near Mandalay, Myanmar's second largest city, was followed by a strong 6.4 magnitude aftershock.… To the northeast, the earthquake was felt in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces in China and caused damage to houses and injuries...

Anthrax kills 50 hippos in Congo's Virunga National Park (Newsweek)

At least 50 hippos and other large animals have been killed by anthrax poisoning in eastern Congo's Virunga National Park and have been spotted floating along a major river that feeds one of Africa's great lakes, the head of the park said on Tuesday. Tests confirmed anthrax poisoning, said Virunga Park director Emmanuel De Merode, adding that buffalo have been killed too. The exact cause of the poisoning was not yet clear.

As the World Turns on Trump, Mexico's Claudia Sheinbaum Has Other Plans (Newsweek)

When Claudia Sheinbaum took office as Mexico's first female president last October, her historic rise drew global attention—and quiet skepticism. A scientist by training and a reserved technocrat by reputation, Sheinbaum was seen as cautious and untested in the arena of high-stakes diplomacy.

Who are the Houthis and why is the US targeting them? (BBC)

The start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023 brought a new kind of conflict to prominence, with Iran-backed Houthi rebels attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The US launched several attacks in response. The latest, in mid-March, shook the new Trump presidency after it emerged that a journalist had been invited to a messaging group in which his most senior officials, including the vice-president, were discussing details of the attacks about to be launched.

The US lifts bounties on senior Taliban officials, including Sirajuddin Haqqani, says Kabul (AP)

The U.S. has lifted bounties on three senior Taliban figures, including the interior minister who also heads a powerful network blamed for bloody attacks against Afghanistan’s former Western-backed government, officials in Kabul said Sunday.

Mexicans searching for missing relatives uncover possible mass killing site (NPR)

There are more than 120,000 disappeared people in Mexico, according to the government's tally. Search collectives like the Jalisco Search Warriors have had to organize to do the work that authorities often will not do. They search for sites like the one in Teuchitlan, sometimes with government protection, but more often without, then make their discoveries known to pressure authorities into doing their jobs. This time it worked.

Some European countries and Canada issue advisories for travelers to the U.S.  (NPR)

 Denmark, the United Kingdom, Germany, Finland and Canada have revised their guidelines at a time when some travelers from these countries have been detained by immigration officials. … Some of the warnings also note that the State Department has also suspended its policy allowing transgender, intersex and nonbinary people to update the sex field on their passports …. In 2024, more than 13 million people visited the U.S. from western Europe alone….Spending by those visiting the U.S. this year could also "fall by 12.3%, amounting to a $22 billion annual loss," according to a February report by travel data company Tourism Economics.

Parisians vote to ban cars from 500 more streets (The Independent )

Ten thousand parking spots will be removed in latest car crackdown. Parisians have voted in favour of pedestrianising 500 more streets in the French capital, bolstering City Hall’s ongoing campaign to reduce car usage and enhance air quality.  A referendum held on Sunday saw nearly 66 per cent of voters approve the measure to create more car-free zones.  However, turnout was low at just over 4 per cent, according to official results.

Turkey's opposition urges peaceful protests over Istanbul mayor's arrest despite bans (AP)

The leader of Turkey’s main opposition on Friday renewed a call on supporters to take to the streets for peaceful demonstrations against the arrest of Istanbul’s mayor and top rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, even as authorities widened a ban on protests and criticized the appeal as irresponsible.