Source: ABC News
“Georgia’s Patriarch Ilia II, the longtime head of the Georgian Orthodox Church and one of the country’s most influential figures, has died. He was 93. Ilia II died late Tuesday after being hospitalized in critical condition with internal bleeding. … Ilia II led the church for nearly five decades. He assumed the leadership role in 1977, when Georgia was part of the Soviet Union and religious practices were restricted, and remained a dominant spiritual and public figure after Georgia regained independence.” (03/18/26)
https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/georgian-orthodox-patriarch-ilia-ii-hailed-epochal-figure-131174318
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“Wolff v. Trump — the Parties get SNIPPY (I am NOT A LAWYER, just a commenter).” (03/17/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U30Fc1sl2-k
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Sarah McLaughlin
“Spain is no longer just talking about regulating online ‘hate.’ Now it’s building an AI system to track it. Fresh off an announcement that he intends to pursue an under-16 social media ban, as well as regulations holding tech owners personally liable for hateful content on their platforms and algorithms that share that material, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is promoting the launch of an AI program to track online hate. … It’s valuable for governments to know and understand how prejudice operates and affects the citizens they govern, but this system risks expanding government pressure on platforms to censor lawful political expression.” (03/17/26)
https://www.fire.org/news/blogs/free-speech-dispatch/spains-new-ai-hate-tracker-raises-familiar-risks-online-speech
Source: Niskanen Center
by Rachel Levine & Michael Goggin
“Initial results from Niskanen Center and Grid Strategies’ Winter Storm Fern report underscore the need for more interregional transmission capacity and new grid resources of all forms to meet rising demand for electricity while keeping prices low. In particular, generator performance varied by region and by fuel type while gas supply constraints and transmission congestion increased costs to consumers.” (03/17/26)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/winter-storm-ferns-impact-on-the-price-of-power-and-what-to-do-about-it
Source: Chicago Tribune
“BP announced Tuesday night that it will initiate a lockout for more than 800 United Steelworkers Local 7-1 employees as the two parties still haven’t come to a contract agreement. In a Tuesday update, the company said it provided notice to cancel the 24-hour rolling contract extension, provided lockout notice, and sought commitment from the union to help facilitate a safe handover of operations. The lockout becomes effective at midnight Thursday. … BP has trained replacement workers — consisting of current and former employees — to operate the refinery safely and in compliance with regulatory requirements, and the company doesn’t expect disruptions to its operations or production.” (03/18/26)
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/03/18/bp-to-lockout-usw-employees-as-still-no-deal-reached-in-negotiations/
Source: SFGate
“A Brazilian police operation in Rio de Janeiro favelas on Wednesday killed seven presumed drug traffickers, including a gang chief, as well as a local resident caught in the crossfire, law enforcement officials said. Claúdio Augusto dos Santos, a drug-trafficking boss and member of the notorious Red Command criminal organization, was among those killed in the operation in central Rio, Secretary of the Military Police Col. Marcelo de Menezes said in a press conference. In retaliation, police said ‘criminals’ set fire to a bus and blocked roads in Rio’s central zone, leading to four arrests. Márcio Sousa, the driver of the bus set alight, reported that the attackers boarded the vehicle with two bottles of gasoline.” (03/18/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/brazilian-police-operation-in-rio-favelas-leaves-22083835.php
Source: National Public Radio [US state media]
“The race for a safe Democratic House seat offers clues about the party’s future.” (03/17/26)
https://www.npr.org/2026/03/17/nx-s1-5750404/the-race-for-a-safe-democratic-house-seat-offers-clues-about-the-partys-future
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton
“Irish history is lost in the infamous mists of time (so Irish) and buried under the bright green of the island’s sod (again, so Irish). Popular history speaks of Celts as being the ‘indigenous’ people of an Eire (Ireland) who were colonized and disinherited by evil Norman and English invaders (aided by their minion warriors and settlers of Scotland). It is much more complicated, of course. The history of Eire is indeed very much like that of North America (Turtle Island): a constant series of invasions, occupation, colonization, and war.” (03/17/26)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/03/17/the-irish-saga-stolen-land-and-the-blame-game/
Source: The American Prospect
by Ryan Cooper
“The SAVE Act is coming up for a Senate vote soon, having passed the House back in February. On Tuesday, it cleared its first hurdle, advancing a motion to begin debate on a 51-48 vote that fell mostly along party lines; that’s well short of the 60 votes needed to clear a filibuster and ultimately pass. This bill is probably the most sweeping abrogation of voting rights since Jim Crow. As the Brennan Center explains, it would require both voter ID and proof of citizenship to vote, as well as force the states to send their voter files to the Department of Homeland Security. Tens of millions [sic] of U.S. citizens do not have ready proof of their citizenship, and tens of millions more [sic] don’t match with the documents they do have (for instance, married women who have changed their last name).” (03/18/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/03/18/senate-democrats-should-kill-filibuster-save-act-trump-republicans/
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“Illinois lieutenant governor Juliana Stratton won the Democratic primary race to succeed Illinois’[s] US senator Dick Durbin, beating out US representative Raja Krishnamoorthi. With nearly 90% of the vote tallied, Stratton was leading Krishnamoorthi by more than six percentage points on Tuesday night, according to the Associated Press. … Stratton, a progressive with the support of governor JB Pritzker, had been behind Krishnamoorthi in polling until recent weeks, when an infusion of cash from the governor and a hardening sentiment on immigration pushed aside the relatively moderate congressman. Stratton also faced competition on her left from congresswoman Robin Kelly, which threatened to split the progressive vote. Kelly drew less than 20% of the vote, according to the Associated Press. Durbin, 81, is retiring after service five terms in the Senate.” (03/18/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/18/illinois-democratic-senate-primary-race-juliana-stratton
