“Explosive drone strikes by Haitian security forces targeting gangs have killed over 1,200 people, including 43 adult civilians and 17 children, Human Rights Watch said in a report on Tuesday, adding that operations have ramped up in recent months. Since last March, Haitian security forces, with support from Vectus Global, have carried out anti-gang operations using quadcopter drones strapped with explosives, often in densely populated parts of the capital Port-au-Prince. Vectus Global is a private U.S.-based military company led by Blackwater founder Erik Prince. Haiti’s prime minister’s office, defense minister, national police, Vectus, and the U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The U.S. charge d’affaires in Haiti told a Senate committee last month that the State Department had licensed Vectus to export its services to Haiti. A spokesperson for the U.N.-backed Gang Suppression Force in Haiti declined to comment.” (03/10/26)
“The Mexican government wants to stop people from using cellphones anonymously. Every mobile phone number in Mexico — some 127 million — must now be biometrically tied to the owner’s identity. Cellphone owners must register their numbers by June 30 or lose signal. The ID card to which numbers must be linked will in turn be linked, via QR code, to a national registry of biometrically verified records. Who needs anonymity? Just criminals? … The safety of journalists, dissidents hiding from other governments, targets of abusers and stalkers, and anyone with good reason to keep his identity separate from his phone will be endangered by Mexico’s new mandate.” (03/09/26)
“When it comes to ensuring that America’s supply of doctors is sufficient to meet Americans’ demand for medical care, one of the most significant investments is also one of the most overlooked: Medicare’s Graduate Medical Education (GME) payments. As the largest funder of medical residency slots, GME subsidies are a powerful lever in determining whether we have enough doctors where they’re most needed. So why aren’t we making the best use of it?” (03/09/26)
“Americans awoke on Saturday, February 28, 2026, to discover that the United States had launched one of the largest military operations in its history. Operation Epic Fury followed the collapse of diplomatic talks purportedly aimed at ending the Islamic Republic of Iran’s efforts to build nuclear weapons and its 47-year history of aggression against the U.S. and the nations of the Middle East by Iran and its proxy forces. The effort began nearly two months after President Trump first called for a 50% increase in the U.S. defense budget, bringing it to $1.5 trillion. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the U.S. government was already on track to run a $1.9 trillion deficit in fiscal year 2026. Without any plan to reduce the government’s excessive spending, the new spending would require the U.S. government to borrow more, above and beyond that amount.” (03/09/26)
“A jury has found the Alexander brothers guilty on all counts in their federal sex trafficking trial in New York City. Jury deliberations began Thursday for the former real estate titans, Oren and Alon Alexander, 38-year-old twins, along with their brother, Tal Alexander, 39, who have denied sexually assaulting anyone or running a sex trafficking conspiracy, as prosecutors have charged. They pleaded not guilty. Throughout the five-week trial, 11 women testified that they were sexually assaulted by one or more of the brothers. At least eight of the women claimed they were drugged by one of the Alexanders.” (03/09/26)
“Trump’s ‘all over the place’ press conference at his Miami resort on Monday appears to have had two key objectives: a) Calm the markets by signalling the conflict may soon be over because it has been so ‘successful,’ and b) Prepare the ground for Trump ending the war through a unilateral declaration of victory. Though ending a war that never should have been started in the first place — rather than fighting it endlessly in the pursuit of an illusory victory as the U.S. did in Afghanistan — is the right move, it won’t be as easy as Trump appears to think. Tehran also has a vote — and there is little to suggest that it will agree that the war is over.” (03/09/26)
“Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Tuesday they would not let any oil be shipped from the Middle East if U.S. and Israeli attacks continue, prompting President Donald Trump to say the U.S. would hit Iran much harder if it blocked exports. The rhetoric did little to quell a fall in crude prices and a rally in global shares that followed Trump expressing confidence in a swift end to hostilities, even after Iran showed defiance by naming Mojtaba Khamenei as its new supreme leader. … Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Tehran was unlikely to resume negotiations with the U.S, which he said had spoken of progress after three rounds of talks. ‘Still, they decided to attack us. So, I don’t think talking to the Americans anymore would be on our agenda any more,” he said in an interview with PBS.'” (03/10/26)
