ECM World Watch: national and global news

March 20, 2026 (San Diego) -- 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.

Iran War and military

• US military sends 2,500 Marines and at least one more ship to Mideast (10 News)
• Attacks on Middle East energy sites deepen threat to US economy, analysts say (ABC News)
• White House blocks intelligence report warning of rising US homeland terror threat linked to Iran war (The Daily Mail)
• Trump officials scrapped Pentagon blueprint to avoid civilian war casualties before Iran strikes, report says (Independent)
• Trump’s DOGE Cuts Slashed Staff That Handled Middle Eastern Oil and Gas Crises (NOTUS)
• Pete Hegseth Blew Billions on Fruit Basket Stands, Chairs, and Crab  (The New Republic)

Other national news

• Michigan synagogue assailant had connections to Hezbollah members in Lebanon, sources say (CNN)
• Trump says he won’t sign any bills into law until SAVE America Act passes (The Hill)
• Americans Are Now a Target in Trump’s Immigration Crackdown (Wall Street Journal)
• Federal Judge Reinstates More Than 1,000 Employees at Voice of America Parent Agency (NOTUS)
• Texas ICE Guards Bet on Which Detainees Would Take Their Life Amid Horrific Facility Conditions (International Business Times)
• Leaked Documents Show a Border Patrol Remade in the Image of Gregory Bovino
• How a census citizenship question could change redistricting  (NPR)
• Judge quashes subpoenas in Justice Department's investigation of Fed chair Jerome Powell (AP)
• ‘Trump is aiming for dictatorship’. That’s the verdict of the world’s most credible democracy watchdog (Guardian)
• One ‘freaking snake’ and no apologies: How the Mullin hearing went off the rails (AP) 
• Judge mocks White House East Wing ‘alteration’ as a ‘brazen interpretation of the laws of vocabulary’ (CNN)

WORLD

• Russia has provided Iran with information that can help Tehran strike US military, AP sources say (AP)
• Iran names Khamenei’s son as new supreme leader (CNN)
• ‘The Air is Unbreathable’: Tehran Shrouded in Cloud of Toxic Smoke After Israel Strikes Fuel Depots (Time)
• ‘Put him on trial’: pro-Kremlin loyalist turns on Putin in rare outburst (The Guardian)

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

U.S.

US military sends 2,500 Marines and at least one more ship to Mideast (10 News)

A U.S. official speaking anonymously said elements from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli have been ordered to the Middle East.

Attacks on Middle East energy sites deepen threat to US economy, analysts say (ABC News)

The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran set off a surge in gasoline prices as fighting clogged a critical waterway for global oil delivery.

White House blocks intelligence report warning of rising US homeland terror threat linked to Iran war (The Daily Mail)

The FBI, Homeland Security, and the National Counterterrorism Center were preparing to put out a joint intelligence statement on Friday to state and local authorities alerting them of a heightened threat due to the ongoing war in Iran… / The five-page bulletin blocked by the White House provides specific details on how Iranian proxies may carry out attacks across the country.…

Trump’s DOGE Cuts Slashed Staff That Handled Middle Eastern Oil and Gas Crises (NOTUS)

 Six months before going to war in Iran, the U.S. government cut staff that would have been central to the current situation.

Trump officials scrapped Pentagon blueprint to avoid civilian war casualties before Iran strikes, report says (Independent)

Before the Iran war, the Trump administration reportedly gutted a series of initiatives aimed at reducing civilian casualties, according to insiders. The move is under new scrutiny now that the U.S. is accused of launching a February 28 missile strike that hit a girls' primary school near a military base and killed scores of people. The attack in the city of Minab left more than 165 people dead, most of them children under 12, according to Iranian officials.

Pete Hegseth Blew Billions on Fruit Basket Stands, Chairs, and Crab  (The New Republic)

The Pentagon spent more money in September—the end of the 2025 fiscal year—than it had in any other year since 2008. But a good chunk of the budget wasn’t used for anything that could be considered a pertinent military expense….Some of the frivolous September purchases made under Secretary Pete Hegseth’s stewardship include a $98,329 Steinway & Sons grand piano for the Air Force chief of staff’s home, $5.3 million for Apple devices such as the new iPad, and an astronomical amount of shellfish, including $2 million for Alaskan king crab and $6.9 million worth of lobster tail.

Michigan synagogue assailant had connections to Hezbollah members in Lebanon, sources say (CNN)

The assailant in Thursday’s attack on a Michigan synagogue had previously been flagged in US government databases for connections with suspected members of the militant group Hezbollah...A week before the attack, Ghazali’s two brothers and two of their children were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon, the mayor of the Lebanese village where they lived told CNN.

Trump says he won’t sign any bills into law until SAVE America Act passes (The Hill)

President Trump on Sunday threatened to not sign any bills into law until the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act is approved by the Senate, doubling down on his push to change voting requirements ahead of the midterm elections.

Americans Are Now a Target in Trump’s Immigration Crackdown (Wall Street Journal)

A WSJ investigation tracked the U.S. citizens caught in the crosshairs of an aggressive federal campaign to detain and demonize dissenters.

Federal Judge Reinstates More Than 1,000 Employees at Voice of America Parent Agency (NOTUS)

Tuesday’s decision came less than one week after the judge declared that Kari Lake’s appointment to the U.S. Agency for Global Media was illegal and nullified months of her efforts.

Texas ICE Guards Bet on Which Detainees Would Take Their Life Amid Horrific Facility Conditions (International Business Times)

A detailed examination of the inhumane conditions faced by detainees in ICE facilities across the US... The majority of ICE facilities across the country have come under scrutiny for their living conditions, with some detainees reportedly driven to consider taking their own lives out of fear they would never be freed.

How a census citizenship question could change redistricting  (NPR)

For decades, mapmakers have generally drawn the districts that state lawmakers represent based on the total number of people living in an area. But Republican officials in some states have called for using a narrower population: only "eligible voters.. /  Some advocates of this form of redistricting have interpreted it to mean leaving out non-U.S. citizen adults and all children. Only adult citizens would count, including those who, in some states, are not eligible to vote because of a felony conviction or their mental incapacity.

Leaked Documents Show a Border Patrol Remade in the Image of Gregory Bovino

The American Prospect - Bovino’s smash-and-grab tactics are now the norm for immigration enforcement across the country.

Judge quashes subpoenas in Justice Department's investigation of Fed chair Jerome Powell (AP)

…. Judge James Boasberg said that the government has “produced essentially zero evidence to suspect Chair Powell of a crime” and called its justifications for the subpoenas so “thin and unsubstantiated” that they were simply a pretext to force Powell to cut interest rates, as Trump has repeatedly demanded.  

‘Trump is aiming for dictatorship’. That’s the verdict of the world’s most credible democracy watchdog

(The Guardian)

The US is no longer a democracy. One of the most credible global sources on the health of democratic nations now says this outright. The Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Institute at Gothenburg University reaches the alarming conclusion in its annual report, that the US is hurtling towards autocracy at a faster rate than Hungary and Turkey.

One ‘freaking snake’ and no apologies: How the Mullin hearing went off the rails (AP)

The chairman opened the hearing with a provocative dare: Say it to my face.  Sen. Rand Paul, the Republican from Kentucky, has made clear he has little regard for President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security, fellow Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin. He says he’ll vote against him...Mullin has called him a “freaking snake,” siding with Paul’s neighbor who left the senator with multiple broken ribs after a surprise attack, the neighbor having tackled the senator years ago as he was doing yardwork outside his home. 

Judge mocks White House East Wing ‘alteration’ as a ‘brazen interpretation of the laws of vocabulary’ (CNN)

 [US District Judge Richard Leon] took issue on Tuesday with the idea that a sprawling $400 million ballroom renovation and the demolition of the East Wing marked a simple “alteration.” / Calling the project “an alteration,” Leon said, “takes some brazen interpretation of the laws of vocabulary.”

WORLD

Russia has provided Iran with information that can help Tehran strike US military, AP sources say (AP)

Russia has provided Iran with information that could help Tehran strike American warships, aircraft and other assets in the region, according to two officials familiar with U.S. intelligence on the matter. 

Iran names Khamenei’s son as new supreme leader (CNN)

Senior clerics selected Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father after another day of strikes across the Middle East. A senior Iranian official warns the war is entering a "new phase."

‘The Air is Unbreathable’: Tehran Shrouded in Cloud of Toxic Smoke After Israel Strikes Fuel Depots (Time)

Iran’s capital was engulfed in a cloud of toxic smoke that unleashed black rainfall dozens of miles away on Sunday after overnight Israeli strikes on several fuel depots caused fires to burn for hours.

‘Put him on trial’: pro-Kremlin loyalist turns on Putin in rare outburst (The Guardian)

Ilya Remeslo sends Telegram post titled ‘Five reasons why I stopped supporting Vladimir Putin’ to his 90,000 followers.