“Americans’ views on Trump soured significantly with regard to his stewardship over the cost of living, as gasoline prices have surged since the US and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran. US President Donald Trump’s approval rating fell in recent days to its lowest point since he returned to the White House, hit by a surge in fuel prices and widespread disapproval of the war he launched on Iran, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found. The four-day poll, which closed on Monday, showed 36% of Americans approve of Trump’s job performance, down from 40% in a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted last week. Americans’ views on Trump soured significantly with regard to his stewardship over the cost of living, as gasoline prices have surged since the US and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran on February 28. Just 25% of respondents approved of Trump’s handling of the cost of living, an issue that was at the center of his 2024 presidential election campaign.” (03/25/26)
“When the term ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ was coined, the words carried a hint of gallows humor. But as time passed and insane behavior by the president’s opponents became widely embedded in key people and institutions, any whiff of humor faded into history. Especially during a time of war with a deadly, fanatical enemy, an irrational hatred of our commander-in-chief by powerful Americans is not a laughing matter. All the more so when the infected include the top Democrat in Washington and the editors of America’s largest newspaper. Revealing scenarios in recent days that involve Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and the New York Times illustrate how hatred of the president has distorted their judgments and undercut their patriotism.” (03/24/26)
“British political parties will be banned from accepting donations in cryptocurrencies, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Wednesday, saying illicit finance poses a ‘stark’ danger to the country’s democracy. Starmer told lawmakers that ‘we will act decisively to protect our democracy’ from outside meddling. ‘That will include a moratorium on all political donations made through cryptocurrencies,’ he said during the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions session in the House of Commons. The move could be a financial blow to the hard-right party Reform UK. The party led by Nigel Farage is one of the few in Britain to accept cryptocurrency donations. The government also said it will put an annual cap of 100,000 pounds ($134,000) on donations by British voters living abroad. Reform has received 12 million pounds in the past year from Christopher Harborne, a British businessman based in Thailand, according to Electoral Commission figures.” (03/25/26)
“Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos says he is working to secure new sources of oil after he placed the country under a state of national energy emergency in response to the war in Iran. Marcos told Filipinos in a televised address that the government would procure one million barrels of oil to add to the current stock, which is good for 45 days. ‘We will have a flow of oil. Not just one delivery, not two deliveries, but a flow of oil-related products,’ he said. The Philippines, which imports 98% of its oil from the gulf, became the first country to declare an energy emergency after local diesel and petrol prices more than doubled in the country since the war broke out on 28 February. The US-Israel war with Iran and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz – a key shipping route – have sent shock waves through global energy markets, causing shortages and price rises.” (03/25/26)
Source: Inequality.org
by Sarah Anderson & Reyanna James
“At least 16 US billionaires owe their wealth to one of America’s 20 largest low-wage employers, corporations where a significant share of workers earn so little they have to rely on public assistance. Of these 16 billionaires, 8 are associated with Walmart. Amazon and Tyson Foods have two members of this elite club, while Home Depot, Best Buy, Starbucks, and Chipotle each have one. For detailed data on wages and CEO pay at these and other leading low-wage corporations, see the recent Institute for Policy Studies report ‘America’s 20 Largest Low-Wage Employers and the Affordability Crisis.’ This article includes updated net worth data from the just-released Forbes 2026 Global Billionaires List.” (03/25/26)
“Rabbi Jessica Rosenberg, like hundreds of other residents and organizers in the Twin Cities, now keeps a strict schedule — at least every other day — of long volunteer patrols for vehicles driven by federal immigration agents occupying the region. In about two and a half months, thousands of agents unleashed wanton violence across the country as they abduct an average of more than 60 residents per day; shooting, killing and firing chemical weapons at nonviolent protesters, and extrajudicially arrest preschoolers and send them across the country. Things have been hard, but neighborhoods have also become more united and communication has become systematized and effective. ’The day-to-day experiences [are] of being exhausted and having your nervous system very jacked,’ Rosenberg said.” (03/24/26)
“Asian countries are turning to coal as the Iran war disrupts oil and gas shipments. The continent is exposed because it relies on imported fuel, much of it passing through the Strait of Hormuz — a chokepoint for about a fifth of global oil and natural gas trade. … It burns cleaner than coal, but still emits climate change-causing gases, especially methane. The war has countries shifting back to coal to cover LNG shortfalls. India is burning more coal to meet higher summer demand. South Korea has lifted caps on electricity from coal. Indonesia is prioritizing using its domestic supply. Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam are boosting coal-fired power. Burning more coal risks worsening smog in major cities, slowing the transition to renewable energy and increasing the region’s planet-warming emissions.” (03/24/26)
“For most of the last 40 years, pollsters have asked voters: Which party do you trust more on healthcare? The answer has been pretty much the same over this whole period. Voters trust Democrats more, sometimes by a two-to-one margin. When I’ve asked my Republican politicos why that is, the answer I typically receive is: Our party doesn’t do healthcare. Then they crouch in the fetal position. Well, the GOP certainly better start ‘doing healthcare’, because the issue of medical care access and affordability is front and center for American families. The Republican promise to voters should be better healthcare at half the cost. Here are five easy pieces to this saner and higher-quality healthcare system.” (03/24/26)
“A rebel group in eastern Congo has detained civilians, including two journalists, in metal shipping containers without light or ventilation, an advocacy group said Tuesday. Reporters Without Borders, or RSF, said the Rwanda-backed M23, which controls parts of eastern Congo, used the containers in the city of Goma as makeshift detention cells under ‘inhumane’ and ‘degrading’conditions. … As many as 80 detainees at a time were placed inside a container, without light or ventilation and allowed out only once a day. Witnesses said they received minimal food, while some reported routine beatings. According to the testimonies, conditions were extreme — suffocating heat by day and cold at night — with deaths reported. Survivors were often held for weeks before being transferred to other locations.” (03/24/26)
“The March 4, 2026, edition of the Arizona Daily Star put the facts succinctly: ‘A Haitian asylum seeker held for four months at Florence Correctional Center died Monday at a Scottsdale hospital due to complications from an infected tooth.’ It seems the infection spread from his tooth to his lungs, and he developed the pneumonia that killed him. In other words, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) allowed a prisoner to die of a toothache. His name was Emmanuel Damas. He was 56 years old and the father of two. And we can only expect medical treatment at ICE centers to deteriorate further.” (03/24/26)
