ECM World Watch: national and global news
March 6, 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.
- New Trump administration order could lead to the detention of thousands of legal refugees (NBC News)
- Military group deluged in complaints as Armageddon views pushed on troops (CNN)
- Trump fires Noem as frustrations build among White House officials, GOP lawmakers (CNN)
- State Department orders nonprofit libraries to stop processing passport applications (AP)
- 7 key things to know about Trump's tariffs after the Supreme Court decision (NPR)
- Trump Finally Nominated New FEC Commissioners. But Their Confirmations Could Languish. (NOTUS)
- Trump’s Claims About Noncitizens Voting Are False. We Can Prove It. (Cato Institute)
- New Mexico reopens investigation into alleged illegal activity at Epstein's former Zorro Ranch (AP)
- Kash Patel gutted FBI counterintelligence team tasked with tracking Iranian threats days before US strikes, sources say (CNN)
- Trump Administration Considers Requiring Banks to Collect Citizenship Information (Wall Street Journal)
- Federal judge nixes latest policy requiring 7 days' notice for members of Congress to visit ICE facilities (NBC)
- Kristi Noem accused of creating ‘significant’ security risks with policy allowing passengers to wear shoes in airport security (The Independent)
WORLD
- Prince Andrew arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office as King says 'law must take its course' (BBC)
- 25 Mexican National Guard troops left dead during an operation that killed cartel leader 'El Mencho' (AP)
- Reporters Arrested at Trump’s Secret Deportation Compound in Cameroon (New Republic)
- --Trump gathers members of Board of Peace for first meeting, with some U.S. allies wary (KPBS)
- Epstein files trigger fallout in Europe, less so in U.S. (NPR)
- At least 6,000 killed over 3 days during RSF attack on Sudan’s el-Fasher, UN says (AP)
- Hundreds of thousands join Iran protests around the world (BBC)
For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.
U.S.
New Trump administration order could lead to the detention of thousands of legal refugees (NBC News)
The Department of Homeland Security says in a memo that refugees applying for green cards must return to federal custody one year after they were admitted to the U.S.
Military group deluged in complaints as Armageddon views pushed on troops (CNN)
The Military Religious Freedom Foundation, or MRFF, has received over 110 complaints from service members across all military branches regarding commanders promoting apocalyptic Christian theology surrounding the Iran war. Complaints came from more than 40 units at 30+ military installations ...One commander told non-commissioned officers the war was "part of God's divine plan," citing the Book of Revelation and claiming President Trump was "anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon."
Trump fires Noem as frustrations build among White House officials, GOP lawmakers (CNN)
President Donald Trump said Thursday on social media he was firing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and would name Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin to replace her. Trump thanked Noem for her service, saying in his Truth Social post she “has had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!)” and that she “will be moving to be Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere.”
State Department orders nonprofit libraries to stop processing passport applications (AP)
The U.S. State Department has ordered certain public libraries nationwide to cease processing passport applications, disrupting a long-standing service that librarians say their communities have come to rely on and that has run smoothly for years.
7 key things to know about Trump's tariffs after the Supreme Court decision (NPR)
The Supreme Court ruled Friday that President Trump overstepped his authority when he ordered tariffs on imports from nearly every country in the world, using a 1970s "emergency" statute. Here are 7 things to know about what's at stake.
Trump Finally Nominated New FEC Commissioners. But Their Confirmations Could Languish. (NOTUS)
The federal campaign finance enforcer and regulator hasn’t had enough commissioners to fully operate since May 2025.
Trump’s Claims About Noncitizens Voting Are False. We Can Prove It. (Cato Institute)
A number of states have undertaken investigations into noncitizen voting, cross-checking voter rolls with citizenship status, and found it virtually nonexistent.
New Mexico reopens investigation into alleged illegal activity at Epstein's former Zorro Ranch (AP)
New Mexico’s attorney general has reopened an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein ’s former Zorro Ranch, as allegations swirl about what role the secluded spot played in sexual abuse or sex trafficking of underage girls and young women. Attorney General Raúl Torrez’s office said Thursday that the decision was made after reviewing information recently released by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Just days before the United States launched a major military operation in Iran, FBI Director Kash Patel fired a dozen agents and staff members from a counterintelligence unit tasked with monitoring threats from Iran, according to two sources familiar with the matter. They were ousted for a simple reason: Each was involved in the investigation of President Donald Trump’s alleged retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. As a result, Patel hamstrung the Washington, DC-based FBI counterintelligence unit, known as CI-12, which handles cases ranging from mishandling of classified documents to tracking foreign spies operating on US soil.
Trump Administration Considers Requiring Banks to Collect Citizenship Information (Wall Street Journal)
The Trump administration is weighing a possible executive order or other action that would require banks to collect citizenship information from customers, a new front in the administration’s crackdown on immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, according to people familiar with the matter.
U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb ruled that a group of Democratic lawmakers is likely to succeed in showing that the requirement is illegal and exceeds the government's statutory authority.
Kristi Noem accused of creating ‘significant’ security risks with policy allowing passengers to wear shoes in airport security (The Independent)
in November, a classified report by the inspector general at DHS concluded that some full-body scanners operated by TSA are incapable of screening shoes, sources familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal. / The report found that Noem’s reversal of the decades-old policy had “inadvertently created a new security vulnerability in the system.” When Noem’s office was informed of the findings, it…prohibited it from being published and increased its level of classification, sources told the WSJ.
WORLD
... The arrest, first reported by the BBC, comes after Thames Valley Police said they were assessing a complaint over the alleged sharing of confidential material by the former prince with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
25 Mexican National Guard troops left dead during an operation that killed cartel leader 'El Mencho' (AP)
Mexico Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch said Monday 25 members of the National Guard were left dead in Jalisco in six separate attacks after the killing of Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes….He also said some 30 criminal suspects were killed in Jalisco and four others were killed in Michoacan Several Mexican states canceled school on Monday, with local and foreign governments warning their citizens to stay inside after widespread violence erupted.
Reporters Arrested at Trump’s Secret Deportation Compound in Cameroon (New Republic)
Four journalists and a lawyer were arrested in Cameroon trying to cover Donald Trump’s secret deportation program. The journalists were interviewing deported immigrants at a government detention center in the capital, Yaoundé, when they were detained by police along with a lawyer representing most of the 15 detainees. The compound was known to house African immigrants deported by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The detainees, none of whom are Cameroonian citizens, all had protection orders from U.S. courts barring them from being sent to their home countries for fear of persecution, The New York Times reported.
--Trump gathers members of Board of Peace for first meeting, with some U.S. allies wary (KPBS)
...Trump created the group to oversee his ceasefire plan in Gaza, and announced Thursday that member states have pledged $7 billion for reconstruction in Gaza. He also said the U.S. would contribute $10 billion to the Board of Peace...Israel and Arab states are part of this board and they too have representatives at the meeting. There is no Palestinian representative on the board...Some fear Trump's new organization could be used to undermine the United Nations. On Wednesday, a U.N. Security Council meeting on Gaza was moved up in order to accommodate diplomats being able to attend both meetings.
Epstein files trigger fallout in Europe, less so in U.S. (NPR)
The contrast is striking: In Europe, some people whose names come up in the Epstein files are facing consequences — but in the U.S., not so much.
At least 6,000 killed over 3 days during RSF attack on Sudan’s el-Fasher, UN says (AP)
More than 6,000 people were killed in over three days when a Sudanese paramilitary group unleashed “a wave of intense violence … shocking in its scale and brutality” in Sudan’s Darfur region in late October, according to the United Nations.
Hundreds of thousands join Iran protests around the world (BBC)
Hundreds of thousands of people took part in demonstrations around the world against the Iranian government on Saturday…Activists say more than 6,000 people were killed after joining nationwide protests in Iran against the rising cost of living and the government. Thousands more deaths are being investigated.