Exclusive: Error in second half of 2025 came after IRS saw over a quarter of its workforce reduced after huge cuts by Doge…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/20/irs-error-political-donations
Saturday, March 21, 2026
The News Roundup – Domestic and International (The 1A) 2026-03-20
Domestic
As Israel and the U.S. continue to fire missiles at targets within Iran, the American military and President Donald Trump are weighing the costs and benefits of putting U.S. boots on the ground in the Middle East once again.Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s Department of Homeland Security confirmation hearing saw him clash with his fellow congresspeople. Despite the meeting’s testy tone, the committee cleared Mullin by a single vote, sending his confirmation to the full Senate.
A federal judge ruled this week that Voice of America must reinstate more than 1,000 employees after the Trump administration placed them on leave last year.
Interview:
International
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, announced this week that the Strait of Hormuz wasn’t technically closed to all traffic, just to ships controlled by the country’s enemies. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump is leaning on Japan to send warships to the passageway, to counteract Iran’s efforts to control the flow of trade.New reporting from The Guardian indicates that before the U.S. began bombing Iran, security officials from U.S. allies judged that, as talks between Washington and Tehran progressed, a peace deal was in reach.
The U.S. eased sanction on Russia and Venezuela this week to unlock more viable sources of oil as energy prices rise and the war with Iran continues.
Interview:
Top US Fema official claims to have teleported to a Waffle House before
On a January 2025 podcast appearance, Phillips claimed that his car was "lifted up" while he was driving and transported 40 miles (65km) away into a ditch near a church. And in another instance on the same episode, Phillips said he was teleported 50 miles away to a Waffle House in Rome, Georgia, CNN detailed in a deep dive into Phillips' past public statements...
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/20/fema-gregg-phillips-waffle-house
US company to pay $22.5m over newborn’s death after denying woman remote work
Chelsea Walsh prematurely gave birth after firm rejected work from home request in 2021 amid high-risk pregnancy…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/20/ohio-employer-pay-newborn-death-mother
US judge blocks Pentagon’s restrictions on press after New York Times lawsuit
"Those who drafted the first amendment believed that the nation's security requires a free press and an informed people and that such security is endangered by governmental suppression of political speech," US district court judge Paul Friedman wrote in his opinion. "That principle has preserved the nation's security for almost 250 years. It must not be abandoned now."…
"Especially in light of the country's recent incursion into Venezuela and its ongoing war with Iran, it is more important than ever that the public have access to information from a variety of perspectives about what its government is doing", Friedman wrote…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/20/us-judge-blocks-pentagon-policy
RFK Jr overstepped in declaring gender-affirming treatments unsafe, judge rules
"Today's win breaks through the noise and gives some needed clarity to patients, families, and providers," Letitia James, the Democratic New York attorney general who led the lawsuit, said in a statement on Thursday's ruling. "Healthcare services for transgender young people remain legal, and the federal government cannot intimidate or punish the providers who offer them."…
"The notion that 'I will go forward and issue a declaration and see if we can get away with it' is not a principle of governance that adheres to the overarching commitment to a democratic republic that requires the rule of law to be regarded and respected and honored as a sacred," he said.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/20/rfk-jr-gender-affirming-treatment-ruling
‘Doomsday scenario’: a visual guide to the oil and gas site attacks in the Middle East
"I never in my wildest dreams would have thought that Qatar would be – Qatar and the region – in such an attack, especially from a brotherly Muslim country in the month of Ramadan, attacking us in this way," al-Kaabi told the Reuters news agency...
Los Angeles man blinded by officer’s projectile at anti-ICE protest, claim says
Jesus Javier Gomez Islas, 23, says in filing against LAPD he has permanently lost vision in one eye due to unjustified munition fired at his face…
Father of killed US military member disputes Hegseth’s claim he said to ‘finish’ the job in Iran
Asked by NBC News if he said anything to the president or Hegseth about continuing the Iran war, which has so far seen the deaths of at least 13 members of the US military, Simmons was adamant that nothing like that had taken place. "
No, I didn't say anything along those lines," he said…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/20/iran-war-military-father-pete-hegseth
CBS News Radio shutting down after nearly a century on the air, marking end of an era | PBS News
CBS News said Friday it will shut down its storied radio news service after nearly 100 years of operation, ending an era and blaming challenging economic times as the world moves on to digital sources and podcasts. Said longtime CBS News anchor Dan Rather: "It's another piece of America that is gone."…
‘It’s not sustainable’: US farmers reeling as Iran war pushes fertilizer costs up
Closure of strait of Hormuz – a key fertilizer production and transportation route – has squeezed farmers as prices jump…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/20/iran-war-us-farming-impact
Feds move to dismiss charges against officers accused of falsifying warrant in Breonna Taylor raid | PBS News
The March 13, 2020, death of Taylor, who was Black, and local anger over Louisville's handling of the case gained widespread attention during the wave of racial justice protests sparked by the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis that May. Six years on, activists continue to point to Taylor's killing as an example of the systemic injustice Black women face.
Federal prosecutors under former President Joe Biden pressed charges against the officers. Under President Donald Trump, though, the Department of Justice asked that Brett Hankison, the only officer serving prison time related to Taylor's killing, be let out of prison while he appeals his conviction...
Trump has damaged democracy at remarkable speed, reports find : NPR
"The developments in the United States are moving towards dictatorship, what the founders wanted to avoid," said Staffan Lindberg, the V-Dem Institute's founding director, who spent seven years in the U.S. "It's the most rapid decline ever in the history of the United States and one of the most rapid in the world."…
https://www.npr.org/2026/03/20/nx-s1-5754021/trump-democracy-autocracy-dictatorship-reports
Measles outbreak confirmed in Washtenaw County
About one in five unvaccinated people who get measles require hospitalization, and the disease can result in swelling around the brain, pneumonia, and even death, Bagdasarian said.
"We have to realize that with infectious diseases, these are illnesses that don't recognize state lines," Bagdasarian said. "These are diseases that are spread incredibly easily."…
https://www.michiganpublic.org/health/2026-03-19/measles-outbreak-confirmed-in-washtenaw-county
Could we see a repeal of Michigan’s same-sex marriage ban?
The Supreme Court held at the time that marriage bans violated the due process and equal protection clauses of the U.S. Constitution. But times have changed and the Supreme Court has changed. On abortion, the conservative-leaning court held in the Dobbs decision that reproductive rights don't have constitutional protections because those are not specifically spelled out. Some justices have indicated they're open to a similar argument should a new marriage case wind up before the court...
Senate rejects DHS funding bill a fifth time - Live Updates - POLITICO
The 47-37 vote comes as the White House attempts to negotiate with a broader range of Senate Democrats on changes to immigration enforcement policies they are demanding after DHS agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens in Minnesota in January...
NYC Mayor Mamdani launches community safety office | PBS News
Mamdani initially envisioned a $1 billion-per-year agency that would dispatch civilian workers, instead of police, in non-criminal emergencies. His initial proposal is far more modest, though, launching with only two staff members and few immediate plans to shift the city's approach to 911 calls...
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/nyc-mayor-mamdani-launches-community-safety-office
China has been preparing for a global energy crisis for years. It is paying off now
As other Asian economies race to conserve energy, China has huge reserves of oil and gas as well as alternative energy sources like wind and solar…
Poll: Talarico leads Cornyn and Paxton in general election matchups
The poll validates what some in the MAGA movement have argued is not a significant difference when it comes to electability between Cornyn and Paxton…
Strike on Iran gasfield exposes US-Israel rift as Trump claims he did not know
US president says he told Netanyahu 'don't do that' as he distances himself from attack that has angered Gulf allies…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/19/israeli-strike-iranian-gas-field-trump
Iran says it will show ‘zero restraint’ if energy infrastructure is targeted again
Foreign minister issues warning after Israeli attack on South Pars gasfield and as Qatar reels from retaliatory strike…
Teenager becomes youngest person to die in ICE detention
"At intake, Perez was evaluated by medical staff," reads the press release by ICE. "He denied any behavioral health issues or concerns and answered 'no' to all suicide screening questions."
At least 10 other people have died in ICE custody so far this year: Victor Manuel DÃaz, 36; Heber Sanchez DomÃnguez, 34; Luis Beltrán Yanez–Cruz, 68; Luis Gustavo Núñez Caceres, 42; Jairo Garcia-Hernandez, 27; Lorth Sim, 59; Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal, 41; Emanuel Cleeford Damas, 56; Pejman Karshenas Najafabadi, 59; and Alberto Gutiérrez Reyes, 48...
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/19/teenager-ice-detention-florida-dies
Georgia woman charged with murder after police say she took pills to induce abortion
If prosecuted, case against 31-year-old would be one of first in Georgia since it passed 2019 law banning most abortions…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/19/georgia-murder-charges-abortion
Meta AI agent’s instruction causes large sensitive data leak to employees
This breach is one of several recent high-profile incidents caused by the increasing use of AI agents within US tech companies. Last month, a report from the Financial Times said Amazon experienced at least two outages related to the deployment of its internal AI tools.
More than half a dozen Amazon employees later spoke to the Guardian about the company's haphazard push to integrate AI into all elements of their work, leading, they said, to glaring errors, sloppy code and reduced productivity...
Heatwave scorching US west ‘virtually impossible’ without climate crisis, say scientists
"These temperatures are completely off the scale for March," said analysis co-author Ben Clarke, who is an extreme weather and climate change researcher at Imperial College London, in a statement…
"These findings leave no room for doubt. Climate change is pushing weather into extremes that would have been unthinkable in a preindustrial world," said Friederike Otto, a climate science professor at Imperial College London, who also worked on the study.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/20/heatwave-us-west-climate-crisis
LIVE DEBATE 1-3-2026
Guests also turn the conversation to the beliefs of Islam. M's, an Islamic expert and a physician, joins to straighten out the guests authoritatively.
Interview:
Friday, March 20, 2026
Seven-year-old Canadian girl with autism and mother detained by ICE in Texas
"She has a social security card. She has a functional visa. That's good until 2030, so I don't understand why they're stopping her and detaining her," she said…
"This really just illustrates the cruelty of the US system. Basically, people are being kidnapped and thrown into detention in abusive, inhumane, unsafe conditions."…
A man at the center of Michigan's 2022 election petition scandal gets 4 years in prison
The petitions were full of bogus signatures and, as a result, the candidates didn't have enough valid ones to qualify. No candidate was accused of knowing about the scheme...
Average U.S. long-term mortgage rate rises to 6.22%, highest in more than 3 months | PBS News
Only three weeks ago, the average rate had dropped to just under 6% for the first time since late 2022, but it has risen every week since the war with Iran started, rattling financial markets and stoking worries about higher inflation due to a spike in energy prices...
Judge orders removal of Liam Conejo Ramos family after asylum denial | MPR News
Attorney Danielle Molliver, with Nwokocha & Operana Law Offices, told MPR News on Wednesday that the firm is appealing the decision handed down by U.S. Immigration Judge John Burns. Molliver said an appeal could take months or years...
Why the $3T 'private credit' industry is Wall Street’s latest worry : NPR
"It's [only] March, and we've had AI angst, private credit angst, and now we have a war. So there's a lot of angst," Aganga says...
https://www.npr.org/2026/03/19/nx-s1-5747128/private-credit-equity-jamie-dimon-wall-street
Board of Peace Hamas disarmament proposal : NPR
A third person briefed on the proposal called it a comprehensive framework to ensure the "complete handover" and "full decommissioning" of arms belonging to Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza, and that if Hamas accepts the proposal, it would ensure large-scale reconstruction of Gaza…
Despite the fragile truce agreement, Israeli forces have killed hundreds of Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to Gaza health authorities. Israel says the attacks targeted Hamas militants. Several Israeli soldiers have also been killed in attacks by militants...
https://www.npr.org/2026/03/19/nx-s1-5753798/hamas-weapons-trump-gaza-board-of-peace
How RFK Jr.’s Vaccine Agenda Risks a Return of Childhood Plagues — ProPublica
Sowing Doubt, Risking Supply: Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is spreading doubts about the safety of vaccines and considering changes that could prompt manufacturers to flee the U.S. market.
Plagues of the Past: History has shown how vaccine-preventable diseases can roar back when trust in shots or access to them have faltered.
Dangers Abroad: As the U.S. pulls international aid, deadly and disabling diseases like diphtheria, rubella and polio continue to harm people overseas and can easily reach the U.S...
https://www.propublica.org/article/rfk-jr-vaccine-agenda-childhood-plagues
Analysis from West Point warns that strait of Hormuz blockade will strangle US defense industry
Report shows how minerals critical to defense readiness have seen a 'near total' disruption in seaborne trade
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/19/west-point-analysis-iran-war-costs
DHS Waited Until It Was Sued to Remind ICE Agents About the First Amendment – Mother Jones
"Defendants acknowledge that officers on the ground suggested otherwise, however, those statements were contrary to DHS policy," government attorneys wrote in a March 10 brief. "Indeed, agents throughout Maine have recently been reminded of this First Amendment policy and requested to adhere to the guidance within."
But records show that DHS emailed this policy to its ICE Boston Field Office on March 10, mere hours before submitting the email to the court as proof of the government's documented commitment to protecting First Amendment activity...
WATCH: Senate Homeland Security panel advances Markwayne Mullin's nomination for DHS | PBS News
The 8-7 vote came after a contentious hearing Wednesday and sent the Cabinet nomination to the full Senate, which could act to confirm the Oklahoma Republican next week. That vote included a "no" from the Republican chairman, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, and a "yes" from a Democrat, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania.
The approval comes as the parties are fighting bitterly over the policies of the Department of Homeland Security, leading to a funding lapse that is now in its 34th day…
This Is Your Kid’s Brain on AI Slop – Mother Jones
At first, the video seems harmless. The song is upbeat and informative. The animation aligns with the promised subject.
Except, hold on a second, did those lyrics just say, "Red means stop, and green means right"? And why are the characters changing in every frame—different hairstyles and colors, slightly different outfits for the girl and boy?
Worst of all, for a video that purports to be "educational," the visuals are sending precisely the wrong message about riding in a car. ..
https://www.motherjones.com/media/2026/03/this-is-your-kids-brain-on-ai-slop/
ICE Is Ignoring Rules Put in Place to Avoid Family Separations, Researchers Say – Mother Jones
The vast majority of parents said ICE had not asked them if they had kids, contrary to the agency's own rules. "We've been tracking significant levels of family separation, in violation of the policies that the US government has to protect family unity," says WRC's Zain Lakhani...
Democrats Urge Windfall Tax as Oil Firms Prepare to Cash in on the Iran War – Mother Jones
Nonprofits join call for a levy to help offset consumer costs...
Is ICE building a DNA database of political protesters? : NPR
"What you worry about is an officer making a decision in the field that a person committed a crime when they might not have. Maybe they were doing something protected under the First Amendment," Kerr says. "The officer says, 'I think you crossed the line, I'm going to arrest you.' It turns out the officer was wrong, but the DNA test has been conducted, and the information has been entered into the database. What then?"…
https://www.npr.org/2026/03/18/nx-s1-5739257/ice-officers-dna-protesters-database
Several Republican-led states have passed SAVE Act replicas : NPR
The Republican-backed legislation is a top priority for President Trump, who has long railed — falsely — about widespread voting by non-U.S citizens. And while the bill is unlikely to overcome Democratic opposition and the Senate's legislative filibuster, GOP-led states have taken up the cause.
Proof-of-citizenship bills are now sitting on governors' desks in Florida, South Dakota and Utah. Those follow similar laws passed in recent years in Louisiana, New Hampshire and Wyoming, according to the Voting Rights Lab, which tracks election policy, and narrower measures in places like Ohio...
https://www.npr.org/2026/03/19/nx-s1-5750510/state-save-acts-florida
Bernie Sanders to force disapproval votes over U.S. arms sales to Israel - Live Updates - POLITICO
"No more weapons to support an illegal war," the senator said in a statement...
JD Vance defends Trump agenda in Michigan
Vance said Michigan added over 2,000 manufacturing jobs since Trump took office in late January last year. But federal jobs numbers are a little more nuanced.
Michigan rose from roughly 594,500 manufacturing jobs in January 2025 to 596,600 preliminary jobs in December. But the sector ended the year down around 5,500 jobs from a peak during Trump's first month back in office, before his tariffs were largely in place.
Democrats accused Vance of telling a "fairy tale" overall...
How State Department cuts of Middle East experts affect U.S.'s handling of Iran war | PBS News
The Trump administration has left the assistant secretary position in charge of Near Eastern Affairs vacant, along with key ambassadorships in the Middle East. Four of the five supervisors in the bureau have temporary titles.
The current and former officials, some of whom asked for anonymity to discuss sensitive internal matters during an active conflict, paint a portrait of an understaffed government workforce struggling to execute the president's agenda. Those who remain tell colleagues that their analysis, recommendations and advice go unheeded...
Why experts say the Iran war underscores risks of Trump's all-in focus on oil | PBS News
When President Donald Trump returned to office last year, he launched a crusade to shift the country away from renewable energy, drastically undoing the climate-friendly policies of his Democratic predecessor to focus instead on oil and other fossil fuels as the answer to his goal of American energy dominance.
But the war in Iran is underscoring the risks of that approach.
As crude oil prices rise above $100 a barrel and gasoline prices surge toward $4 a gallon, the Republican president's strategy of blocking clean energy such as wind and solar power has left Americans with fewer alternative energy sources and thus more vulnerable to supply shocks caused by the war, experts say. The Strait of Hormuz, a key access point for the global oil market, remains effectively blocked as Iran targets traffic through it...
Cursive reemerges in schools, with pushback from experts : NPR
Kenerson, a multilingual teacher at Holmes, started the middle school club when students couldn't read her writing on the board. They just stared at her blankly, she said. "
I realized they didn't know how to write or read in cursive," Kenerson said. For an educator who firmly believes that quotes deserve to be written in cursive, and has a new one on her board each month, Kenerson wanted to give students a chance to understand the magic of the loopy writing…
https://www.npr.org/2026/03/19/nx-s1-5669426/cursive-handwriting-school-controversy
WATCH: 'It takes money to kill bad guys,' Hegseth says as Pentagon seeks billions more for the Iran war | PBS News
The Pentagon is seeking $200 billion in additional funds for the Iran war, a sizable amount that is certain to be met with questions from Congress, which would need to approve any new money...
Inside China's race to build AI-powered robots
An irony of the Trump administration's mission to revive industrial production within the US is that much of the machinery required to make America great again comes from the country that motivated America's industrial revival in the first place. China now accounts for more than half of the world's new factory robot installations annually. Chen thinks Chinese and American engineers are comparable in skill and talent. "The difference is really just cost and speed, and how many people you can throw at a problem – we might have 1,000 who can do this work, and they might have 100," he said.
Chen and I walked to the end of the warehouse, where we now had a frontal view of the GM truck. After watching Jack work for a bit, Chen pointed me to the robotic arms on each side of the car body: "You see those? This is the screwdriving robot. Even if manufacturing does come back to North America, they won't be putting workers on the line to fasten screws any more. They'll use robots."
I wasn't so sure. Wasn't one reason that Americans elected Trump because they wanted their blue-collar jobs back? Chen thought this was pure illusion. The world had changed, and so had young people. Chen told me to think about China, where factory culture is deeply ingrained but young Chinese are increasingly reluctant to tolerate the drudgery. "It's just how people are wired now." If even Chinese people aren't willing to do factory work any more, Chen was saying, why would Americans?
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/mar/19/inside-chinas-robotics-revolution
Efforts to shut down pro-Palestinian speech face series of setbacks in court
Rulings in cases alleging antisemitism on US campuses say common pro-Palestinian speech is constitutionally protected…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/19/pro-palestinian-speech-antisemitism-lawsuits
US startup advertises ‘AI bully’ role to test patience of leading chatbots
$800-a-day position involves exposing a chatbot's inconsistencies as it forgets, fudges or hallucinates
Russian oil tanker heading to Cuba amid US economic blockade
Vessel with 730,000 barrels of crude set to reach Cuba on 23 March, according to maritime data, after Donald Trump said he expects to have 'honour of taking' country
Officials ‘missed 99% of data’ on Covid vaccines before making recommendation, memos reveal
US based Covid vaccine recommendations for children and pregnant people on ideology instead of evidence, critics say…
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