This week’s World Watch features top U.S. issues including inflation and falling wages, a court blocks payoffs to January 2 insurrectionists, the SAVE Act fails passage, judges block key immigration policies, an ICE agent is arrested, administration corruption evidence mounts, mail-in voting issues raised, depletion of U.S. weapons stockpiles, plus top international stories.
U.S.
Economy
- Affordability isn’t only about inflation. Wages are also falling behind (NPR)
- Exxon warns oil inventories will hit dangerously low levels in weeks, forcing prices to shoot higher (CNBC)
Court actions
- Officers who defended Capitol from rioters sue to block payouts from $1.8B ‘anti-weaponization’ fund
(AP) - Justice Department says it will pause ‘anti-weaponization’ fund after judge’s ruling (NPR)
Congressional actions
SAVE Act, Republicans’ voting overhaul, fails in the Senate (NPR)
Immigration and deportation
- A federal judge strikes down Trump administration immigration policy affecting 39 countries (AP)
- Immigration courts are using a new tactic to speed up deportation orders (NPR)
- Federal judge dismisses human smuggling case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia
- ICE agent charged in shooting during Minneapolis immigration crackdown is arrested in Texas (CNN)
- Mullin ‘drawing up plans’ to halt international flight processing in ‘sanctuary cities’ (The Hill)
Corruption and ethical issues
- The White House Intervened to Get a $620 Million Deal for a Company Tied to Donald Trump Jr. (Pro Publica)
- Trump Bought Stock In UFC’s Parent Company As He Promoted White House Fight (Huffington Post)
- The Shady Way Trump’s Board of Peace Is Collecting Money (The New Republic)
- Samuel Alito’s Son Has Been Quietly Working for Trump’s Treasury Department (NOTUS)
Privacy
- ICE officers are taking DNA samples from protesters they’ve arrested (NPR)
- ICE expands use of iris scanners in its operations through a multi-million-dollar contract (El Pais)
Voting
- Postal Service proposes requiring states to provide mail-in ballot voter lists (CNBC)
- Judge refuses to block Trump order to limit mail voting. There’s no immediate effect on the midterms (AP)
Military and war
- US will need years to replenish stockpiles of advanced weapons used in Iran war, new analysis finds (AP)
- Army cuts dozens of medical training courses amid funding woes
- Exclusive / FBI investigates intelligence aide who resigned over war (Semafor)
Protest concert
WORLD
- Chilean American stolen as a baby reunites with his mom and gets a second chance at family (AP)
- The paper trail linking a US fuel trader to a notorious Mexican cartel (Reuters)
- Exceptionally early heat wave shatters records and brings deaths in Europe (AP)
- Havana Syndrome Weapon: US Secretly Acquired Russian Microwave Device Causing Brain Injuries, 60 Minutes (International Business Times)
- Mobile internet blackouts sweep Moscow, leaving residents feeling ‘powerless’ (NBC)
- Afghanistan floods devastate villages, killing 315 (Reuters)
- As Argentina inflation nears 300%, climb in prices slows a bit (Reuters)
For excerpts and links to full stories, scroll down.
U.S.
Economy
Affordability isn’t only about inflation. Wages are also falling behind (NPR)
New research from the Brookings Institution released Wednesday describes affordability by comparing the rising costs of essentials against family incomes. By that measure, the report found, in 2024 45.5% of U.S. households did not earn enough to cover their necessities.
Exxon warns oil inventories will hit dangerously low levels in weeks, forcing prices to shoot higher (CNBC)
Exxon Mobil warned Thursday that oil inventories will fall to record low levels in coming weeks, forcing prices to spike and curbing demand. “We’re approaching unheard of inventory levels,” said Exxon Senior Vice President Neil Chapman at a conference hosted by Bernstein in New York.
Court actions
Officers who defended Capitol from rioters sue to block payouts from $1.8B ‘anti-weaponization’ fund
(AP)
Two police officers who helped defend the U.S. Capitol from an attack by a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters sued on Wednesday to block anyone — including Jan. 6, 2021, rioters — from receiving payouts from a new $1.776 billion settlement fund for people who claim to be victims of politically motivated prosecutions.
Justice Department says it will pause ‘anti-weaponization’ fund after judge’s ruling (NPR)
The Justice Department says it will abide by a federal judge’s ruling pausing the government’s creation of a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund that has drawn bipartisan pushback in Congress.
Congressional actions
SAVE Act, Republicans’ voting overhaul, fails in the Senate (NPR)
The SAVE America Act, a far-reaching Republican election overhaul that President Trump said should be his congressional allies’ top priority, has officially failed in the Senate.
Immigration and deportation
A federal judge strikes down Trump administration immigration policy affecting 39 countries (AP)
In a ruling harshly criticizing the administration, U.S. District Chief Judge John McConnell Jr. said the policy “threw the lives of countless immigrants living in the United States into indeterminate legal limbo…In legal terms that means USCIS’s actions are contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious.”
Immigration courts are using a new tactic to speed up deportation orders (NPR)
Immigrants are now being scheduled for massive master calendar hearings — or “mega masters” — that include 100 or more people at a time.
Federal judge dismisses human smuggling case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia
ABC – A federal judge on Friday dismissed the criminal human smuggling case brought by the Department of Justice against Kilmar Abrego Garcia. U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw granted Abrego Garcia’s motion to dismiss, finding that the federal government failed to rebut Abrego Garcia’s “presumption of vindictiveness.”
ICE agent charged in shooting during Minneapolis immigration crackdown is arrested in Texas (CNN)
An ICE agent facing several assault charges in connection with a shooting involving two Venezuelan people in Minnesota earlier this year has been arrested in Texas, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said. Christian Castro was charged earlier this month with four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime.
Mullin ‘drawing up plans’ to halt international flight processing in ‘sanctuary cities’ (The Hill)
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said late Tuesday he is “drawing up plans” to end the processing of international flights in left-leaning cities, pointing to protests outside an immigration detention center in New Jersey as rationale.
Corruption and ethical issues
The White House Intervened to Get a $620 Million Deal for a Company Tied to Donald Trump Jr. (Pro Publica)
Interviews and Defense Department records reviewed by ProPublica show that the request to loan hundreds of millions of dollars to the firm linked to Trump Jr. was made by Peter Navarro, a White House adviser to President Donald Trump and a friend of Trump Jr.’s. Of the dozens of companies the Pentagon was considering funding at the time, Vulcan’s was the only deal initiated by a top aide to the president, said an official at the Pentagon who was not authorized to speak publicly.
Trump Bought Stock In UFC’s Parent Company As He Promoted White House Fight (Huffington Post)
The president purchased as much as $50,000 of TKO Group Holdings even as he heavily promotes an Ultimate Fighting Championship event for his birthday.
The Shady Way Trump’s Board of Peace Is Collecting Money (The New Republic)
The official financial fund set up for Donald Trump’s Board of Peace has received exactly zero dollars—but that doesn’t necessarily mean that cash isn’t flowing into the president’s slush fund run by war criminals… Rather than rely on the official fund, Trump’s Board of Peace has decided to receive donations through its JPMorgan account, which has no transparency or reporting requirements.
Samuel Alito’s Son Has Been Quietly Working for Trump’s Treasury Department (NOTUS)
Philip Alito has been working as an attorney with the Treasury’s office of the general counsel for months even as the Supreme Court takes up cases involving the department.
Privacy
CE officers are taking DNA samples from protesters they’ve arrested (NPR)
It’s unclear where the samples acquired from protesters in recent months are ending up or how they’re being used…. DNA tests can reveal information about a person’s ancestry, their risk for developing certain health conditions, and their likelihood of having certain personality traits . The fear, Murphy says, is that all that data could be weaponized – and that extends beyond the risk to a single person. “You’re taking their entire family tree…”
ICE expands use of iris scanners in its operations through a multi-million-dollar contract (El Pais)
[ICE has] entered into an agreement with BI2 Technologies…that includes the deployment of iris scanners, access to private databases, and real-time verification tools for field agents. The no-bid contract, valued at approximately $25 million, represents a major expansion of a previous agreement signed in 2025. According to the contract documents, ICE will receive more than 1,500 iris-scanning devices, as well as continuous access to biometric systems designed for the rapid identification of individuals during immigration enforcement and detention operations.
Voting
Postal Service proposes requiring states to provide mail-in ballot voter lists (CNBC)
The U.S. Postal Service proposed new rules Friday that would require states to provide voter-level data on mail-in ballots in federal elections, one day after a federal judge declined to immediately block President Donald Trump’s executive order tightening mail-in voting rules. The proposal would require states to submit to the Postal Service the names and addresses of voters receiving mail-in or absentee ballots, along with unique barcodes tied to each voter’s outbound and return ballot envelopes.
Judge refuses to block Trump order to limit mail voting. There’s no immediate effect on the midterms (AP)
A federal judge has declined to halt President Donald Trump’s executive order creating a federal voter list and limiting mail voting, clearing the way for potential sweeping changes in how American elections are run shortly before this year’s midterm elections. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee in Washington, late Wednesday rejected the request by Democrats and civil rights groups that had argued Trump’s order would likely be found unconstitutional because the states and Congress, not the president, have the power to set election rules.
Military and war
US will need years to replenish stockpiles of advanced weapons used in Iran war, new analysis finds (AP)
U.S. military contractors need at least three years to replenish stockpiles of three key weapons systems used heavily in the Iran war, according to an analysis released Wednesday, adding to concerns that American forces would have limited firepower in any future conflict.
Army cuts dozens of medical training courses amid funding woes
ABC – At least 34 medical-related courses have been canceled during the second half of the Pentagon’s fiscal year…The cuts come from the Army Medical Center of Excellence, the service’s hub for its medical training….
Exclusive / FBI investigates intelligence aide who resigned over war (Semafor)
The investigation into former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent is focused on allegations that he improperly shared classified information, four people with direct knowledge of the investigation told Semafor. In his resignation letter, Kent wrote that Iran “posed no imminent threat to our nation” and accused President Donald Trump of starting the war because of “pressure from Israel.”
Protest concert
Bruce Springsteen calls out the White House and announces a protest festival (AP)
Bruce Springsteen, Foo Fighters, Dave Matthews, Brittany Howard and Joan Baez will headline a star-studded protest festival set for the Washington, D.C., area a month before the midterm elections
WORLD
Chilean American stolen as a baby reunites with his mom and gets a second chance at family (AP)
Adopted by an American family when he was 9 months old, the 36-year-old is one of thousands of children who were stolen from Chilean families during the 17-year dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet and among hundreds who have been reunited with their birth families thanks to DNA tracing and organizations that are helping Chilean adoptees investigate their pasts.… The government estimates more than 20,000 children were stolen from families.
The paper trail linking a US fuel trader to a notorious Mexican cartel (Reuters)
Smuggled fuel and stolen crude oil have become the second-largest source of revenue for Mexico’s cartels behind narcotics, according to the U.S. government.
Exceptionally early heat wave shatters records and brings deaths in Europe (AP)
Unpredictable and extreme weather is becoming more frequent as Earth warms. Experts say unprecedented and deadly weather extremes that sometimes strike at abnormal times and in unusual places are putting more people in danger.
Havana Syndrome Weapon: US Secretly Acquired Russian Microwave Device Causing Brain Injuries, 60 Minutes (International Business Times)
Sources told 60 Minutes that attacks near the White House and CIA HQ affected staff and agents, with Dr. Relman from Stanford citing microwave energy as a possible cause. The US government secretly bought a portable microwave device from a Russian criminal network in 2024, and the Pentagon has spent over a year testing it on animals at a military facility, according to a 60 Minutes investigation that aired on 8 March.
Mobile internet blackouts sweep Moscow, leaving residents feeling ‘powerless’
NBC – Moscow is in the throes of a major mobile internet blackout as the Russian government tightens restrictions it has touted as necessary to ensure the “security” of its citizens…The restrictions have disrupted the daily lives of millions of residents and hit businesses that rely on mobile internet, leading Muscovites to revert to cash….The Kremlin has tried to steer people to a state-backed alternative known as MAX, which was created by the state-controlled company VK, and some fear it could be used for surveillance.
Afghanistan floods devastate villages, killing 315 (Reuters)
Flash floods caused by heavy rains have devastated villages in northern Afghanistan, killing 315 people and injuring more than 1,600, authorities said on Sunday, as villagers buried their dead and aid agencies warned of widening havoc.
As Argentina inflation nears 300%, climb in prices slows a bit (Reuters)
Prices in Argentina are climbing, despite positive signs of a deceleration, with the embattled South American country’s annual inflation rate set to edge closer to 300% when the government reveals the latest data on Tuesday.