ECM World Watch: National and global news

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October 3,  2025 (San Diego’s East County) -- 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.

Immigration and detention

Economy and jobs

Travel

Corruption and lack of transparency

Hirings and firings

Court actions

INTERNATIONAL 

Cyberattack disrupts check-in systems at major European airports (AP)

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

U.S.

Immigration and detention

Hundreds of Alligator Alcatraz detainees drop off the grid after leaving site (Miami Herald)

As of the end of August, the whereabouts of two-thirds of more than 1,800 men detained at Alligator Alcatraz during the month of July could not be determined by the Miami Herald. The Herald had obtained the names from two detainee rosters. Around 800 detainees showed no record on ICE’s online database. More than 450 listed no location and only instructed the user to “Call ICE for details”

'It was heartbreaking': Naked zip-tied children dragged from homes in 'surreal' ICE raid (Raw Story)

Just hours after President Donald Trump said U.S. soldiers should use America's cities as “training grounds,” federal law enforcement officials on Tuesday night descended upon an apartment complex in Chicago where witnesses say they broke down residents’ doors, smashed furniture and belongings, and dragged dozens of them — including children — into U-Haul vans.

ICE May Be Breaking the Law to Stonewall Reporters (Columbia Journalism Review)

 Nearly two dozen reporters and other Freedom of Information Act requesters say they are getting the brush-off.

11 N.Y. Officials Arrested Trying to Access ICE Detention Cells (NY Times)

...The officials, including Brad Lander, the city comptroller, and city and state lawmakers, were arrested after they showed up at 26 Federal Plaza and sought to inspect the 10th-floor holding cells, which are operated by ICE and closed to the public. The cells have drawn scrutiny following complaints of unsanitary and overcrowded conditions, leading a federal judge to order ICE to improve the conditions last month.

Economy

 Grocery prices have jumped up, and there's no relief in sight (NPR)

A survey this summer by The Associated Press and NORC found the cost of groceries has become a major source of stress for just over half of all Americans — outpacing rent, health care and student debt. 

After cuts to food stamps, Trump administration ends government's annual report on hunger in America (AP)

The Trump administration is ending the federal government’s annual report on hunger in America, stating that it had become “overly politicized” and “rife with inaccuracies.”  The decision comes two and a half months after President Donald Trump signed legislation sharply reducing food aid to the poor. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the tax and spending cuts…means 3 million people would not qualify for food stamps, also known as SNAP benefits. 

Trump signs proclamation adding $100K annual fee for H-1B visa applications (AP)

President Donald Trump on Friday signed a proclamation that will require a $100,000 annual visa fee for highly-skilled foreign workers and rolled out a $1 million “gold card” visa as a pathway to U.S. citizenship for wealthy individuals, moves that face near-certain legal challenges amid widespread criticism he is sidestepping Congress.  If the moves survive legal muster, they will deliver staggering price increases.

Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa shock: Why US may lose more than India (BBC)

Today, Indian-origin executives run Google, Microsoft and IBM, and Indian doctors make up nearly 6% of the US physician workforce. Indians dominate the H-1B programme, making up more than 70% of the recipients in recent years….. In tech, their presence is even starker…over 80% of "computer" jobs went to Indian nationals… India may feel the shock first, but the ripple effects could run deeper in the US. Indian outsourcing giants such as TCS and Infosys have long prepared for this by building local workforces and shifting delivery offshore ….The broader impact on the US could be severe: hospitals facing doctor shortages, universities struggling to attract STEM students, and start-ups without the lobbying muscle of Google or Amazon are likely to be hit hardest.

Travel

Republican Plan Would Make It Easier to Revoke US Passports: What to Know (Newsweek)

A new Republican bill would make it easier for the federal government to revoke or refuse to issue passports to American citizens... The bill would allow the Secretary of State to decline to issue a passport to or revoke a passport from anyone who has "knowingly aided, assisted, abetted, or otherwise provided material support to an organization the Secretary has designated as a foreign terrorist organization pursuant to section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act,"...

Corruption and lack of transparency

Billions in Taxpayer Dollars Have Become Virtually Untraceable (NOTUS)

The Trump administration’s aggressive approach to overhauling the executive branch has obscured how federal dollars are actually being spent — even for the members of Congress.

Tom Homan was investigated for accepting $50,000 from undercover FBI agents. Trump's DOJ shut it down. (MSNBC)

The FBI and Justice officials closed the investigation, which a Justice Department appointee had called a “deep state” probe in early 2025. In an undercover operation last year, the FBI [Video] recorded Tom Homan, now the White House border czar, accepting $50,000 in cash after indicating he could help the agents — who were posing as business executives — win government contracts in a second Trump administration…According to a document reviewed by MSNBC, Justice officials were eyeing four potential criminal charges in his case: conspiracy, bribery and two kinds of fraud. 

The Justice Department Had 36 Lawyers Fighting Corruption Full-Time. Under Trump, It’s Down to Two. (NOTUS)

 When Donald Trump took office eight months ago, the Department of Justice had 36 experienced attorneys assigned full-time to investigate corrupt politicians and police officers. Today it has two….  Several former Justice Department employees expressed extreme concern that the change in the Justice Manual, coupled with the flattening of the Public Integrity Section, opens the door for the Trump administration to engage in partisan prosecutions of Democrats by assigning the job to …political appointees nominated by the president.

‘Hobbled’ Campaign Finance Regulator Cancels Public Meetings Until 2026 (NOTUS)

The six-member Federal Election Commission is down to two commissioners. It no longer can execute its high-level duties.

Military and defense

Trump says US cities should be military training grounds  (BBC)

US President Donald Trump has said he wants to use American cities as "training grounds" for the military.  In an unusual address to hundreds of military leaders assembled from across the world, Trump described "civil disturbances" as the "enemy from within".

Trump Tells Congress U.S. Is at War With Cartels: What That Means (Time)

President Donald Trump has declared that the U.S. is in a formal “armed conflict” with drug cartels in a confidential notice to Congress. The notice, obtained by the New York Times, labels suspected drug smugglers as “unlawful combatants,” and seeks to justify the Trump Administration’s three military strikes on civilian vessels in the Caribbean sea last month as part of a sustained active conflict. The strikes, which experts said were likely illegal and amounted to extrajudicious murders, killed a total of 17 people. 

Defense Secretary Hegseth requires new 'pledge' for reporters at the Pentagon (NPR)

 Going forward, journalists must sign a pledge not to gather any information, including unclassified reports, that hasn't been authorized for release.  The Pentagon says those who fail to obey the new policy will lose their press credentials, cutting off access to the headquarters of the largest department in the U.S. Government.

Trump Sends Troops to Portland, Authorizes ‘Full Force, If Necessary’ (Time)

Pesident Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he had directed the Pentagon to  send troops to “protect” Portland, Oregon, adding that he was authorizing “full force, if necessary.” “...The announcement comes less than a week after Trump officially designated Antifa as a domestic terror group, and follows a pledge from the Trump Administration to carry out a broad crackdown on leftwing groups in the aftermath of the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Portland's mayor, Keith Wilson, hit out at Trump's order as a "fruitless show of force. ... the president will not find lawlessness or violence here unless he plans to perpetrate it," he said in a statement.

Hirings and firings

Trump is breaking US diplomacy, State Department staffers say (Politico)

 More than 60 ambassadorships don’t even have a nominee, while diplomats are told they’re being evaluated on their “fidelity.”

Trump’s Federal Workforce Cuts Are Stymying Firefighter Safety Fixes: GAO (NOTUS)

 The staffing cuts have forced the U.S. Forest Service “to postpone, pause, or reduce the scope of some efforts planned or underway” to fix what the agency has long considered to be a critical safety issue, according to a Government Accountability Office… This is not the first GAO report to find that the Trump administration’s cuts to the federal workforce are intersecting with critical public safety issues. Earlier this month, the GAO found  that cuts to the Federal Emergency Management Agency were putting the agency at risk of being unprepared for a major natural disaster.

Supreme Court allows Trump to fire -- for now -- remaining Democrat on FTC  (NPR)

In an emergency order Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed President Trump to fire Rebecca Slaughter, the last remaining Democratic member of the Federal Trade Commission. The court's action is technically temporary, since the justices said they will hear arguments in the case in December, but every indication is that the conservative court majority will use the case to reverse a major Supreme Court precedent that dates back almost a century.

Ben Carson Joins the Trump Administration in New Role at USDA (NOTUS)

Ben Carson has joined the Trump administration as a national adviser for nutrition, health and housing for the Department of Agriculture.

Court actions

Reagan-Appointed Judge Gives Trump a Lecture on the First Amendment (NOTUS)

 In a stunning opinion spanning 161 pages, a federal judge in Massachusetts on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration from limiting the free speech of noncitizens by threatening to deport them for pro-Palestinian stances — but he went a step further by warning about President Donald Trump’s “great threat” to American democracy.

Trump asks Supreme Court to let him end birthright citizenship  (Politico)

The president’s Day 1 executive order purporting to end birthright citizenship has not taken effect because four federal judges ruled it violates the 14th Amendment. 

INTERNATIONAL 

Cyberattack disrupts check-in systems at major European airports (AP)

 The disruptions to electronic systems initially reported at Brussels, Berlin’s Brandenburg and London’s Heathrow airports meant that only manual check-in and boarding was possible…. / Airports said the issue centered around a provider of check-in and boarding systems — not airlines or the airports themselves.

Mystery drones over Denmark are 'hybrid attack,' defense minister says  (ABC)

- The latest incidents prompted the complete closure of Aalborg Airport -- which is also used by the Danish armed forces -- on the northern tip of Denmark's Zealand island, the Danish National Police said.  Drones were also reported over the southern cities of Esbjerg and Sonderborg, as well as over the Fighter Wing Skrydstrup air base, which is home to Danish F-16 fighter jets…  The latest drone reports came after Copenhagen Airport was forced to close for several hours on Monday night, as was Oslo Airport in southern Norway.. a Russian warship, the Aleksandr Shabalin, was spotted off Denmark’s coast with its transponder turned off in recent days…. Danish authorities identified three tankers with links to Russia ... as possible launch points.

Denmark warns that Russia is waging a hybrid war on Europe, as EU leaders gather for security talks (AP)

Europe is in the middle of a hybrid war waged by Russia and the continent must arm itself, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned on Wednesday as she hosted a summit of European Union leaders in Copenhagen….  Wednesday’s summit comes after a spate of troubling drone incidents at Danish airports and military bases over the last week France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the U.K. also sent aircraft, ships and air defense systems to Denmark ahead of the talks ….Leaders and intelligence services believe that Russia could mount an assault elsewhere in Europe in 3 to 5 years, and that President Vladimir Putin is intent on testing NATO as doubts swirl about U.S. President Donald Trump’s commitment to the organization. 

World leaders rally behind Palestinian statehood at UN, defying US and Israel (Reuters)

Dozens of world leaders gathered at the United Nations on Monday to embrace a Palestinian state, a landmark diplomatic shift nearly two years into the Gaza war that faces fierce resistance from Israel and its close ally the United States.

Hamas under pressure as Trump issues deadline on Gaza peace plan (Reuters)

U.S. President Donald Trump gave Hamas three to four days on Tuesday to accept a U.S.-backed peace plan for Gaza, warning of "a very sad end" if the group rejected the proposal that he said was close to ending the two-year-old conflict. Mediators Qatar and Egypt shared the 20-point plan with Hamas late on Monday after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had appeared alongside Trump at the White House and endorsed the document, saying it satisfied Israel’s war aims.

Putin offers Trump one-year extension to nuclear weapons treaty (Reuters)

Russian President Vladimir Putin offered his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump a one-year extension on Monday to the last treaty limiting both countries' nuclear weapons while they discuss what comes next….The offer, made as Ukraine tries to convince Trump to impose harsher sanctions on Russia, was made public by Putin at a meeting of his Security Council.

Russia revives Soviet-era tactics to quash dissent, says UN expert (Reuters)

 A report this month by Mariana Katzarova, the U.N.'s special rapporteur on rights in Russia, found that state-sponsored repression is escalating and becoming systematic via national security laws and other measures….  Since the invasion of Ukraine, it has passed stronger laws to punish dissenters and perceived traitors./ Torture, criminal prosecution and…. coercive psychiatry measures include invasive and unnecessary tests, and being admitted open-endedly as a psychiatric patient [are being used]…. Katzarova said laws on foreign agents and spreading fake news were being harnessed "massively" to suppress dissent and critics, by portraying journalists, political opponents and anti-war activists as enemies of the state.

 

 



 

 


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