“As the U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran enters its second month, Iran has found a new way to hold leverage over the world economy: closing and opening the Strait of Hormuz at will. Iran’s ability to shut off one of the world’s major shipping routes, which transports one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas, allows it to dictate the cost of energy in the U.S. and everywhere else. Reporting suggests that Iran’s control over the strait won’t clear up whenever the war ends. … on Monday, the Iranian parliament passed a bill that would impose tolls on any ship passing through the strait, while banning U.S. and Israeli vessels from entering.” (04/01/26)
Source: Brennan Center for Justice
by Michael Waldman
“The US Supreme Court today will hear a major constitutional case about birthright citizenship. We shouldn’t be debating this right now. But since the president chose to act with such striking disregard for the law, here we are. Birthright citizenship is in the Constitution. The first sentence of the 14th Amendment reads, ‘All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.’ This has been the law for more than 150 years. … The Supreme Court in 1898 confirmed the 14th Amendment’s plain meaning. In United States v. Wong Kim Ark, it ruled that children born here are citizens, even if their parents are not. That principle gave rise to generations of new Americans. Donald Trump tried to Sharpie this out of the Constitution.” (04/01/26)
“President Donald Trump has an incredibly childish obsession with outdoing his predecessors, who he constantly derides as stupid and corrupt. There is, of course, no evidence for Trump’s charges, like the supposedly terrible economy he inherited from President Joe Biden, but Donald Trump is not a man who feels constrained by reality. While Trump does everything he can to reverse policies to promote clean energy, overturn trade agreements (including his own), and undermine security pacts, there is one area where Trump looks to substantially outpace the work of his predecessors. This is in promoting the transition to a non-fossil fuel-based economy. … his reckless attack on Iran will do a hundred times more to promote clean energy worldwide than all the incentives in Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.” (04/01/26)
“It is widely thought that the February 5 expiration of New START, the last arms control agreement capping US and Russian nuclear weapons, could usher in a dangerous and highly destabilizing new nuclear arms race. Since the Cold War peak of over 70,000 nuclear weapons in 1986, arms control treaties have reduced the number to approximately 12,200 today—still equivalent, however, to 145,000 Hiroshimas. Many of these decommissioned weapons remain in storage where they can be readily redeployed, making it possible to double Russian and US arsenals in one to two years. If a new nuclear arms race begins between the US and Russia, the US could ‘upload’ 800 bombs and cruise missiles stored at military bases back onto B-2 and B-52 bombers in a matter of weeks. ” (04/01/26)
“‘Liberty may be endangered by the abuse of liberty, but also by the abuse of power.’ — James Madison … Our biggest concern in America today is the Democratic Party’s abuse of power, their desire for tyrannical control, and an unlimited government (‘Our rights come from government, not God,’ Democratic Senator Tim Kaine said a few months ago). If government gives us our rights, then government can take them away at will, and that is as good a definition of totalitarian government as one could wish for. It is exactly what Communist China has today, what Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and every other tyranny the world has ever seen foisted upon their people. It is exactly what tyrants and government (and Democrats) want. So, patriotic Americans (following our Founding Fathers) fear unlimited, oppressive government.” (04/01/26)
“A judge in Brazil has blocked a project to build a zipline connecting the famous Sugarloaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro to a nearby hill, Morro da Urca. The attraction’s developer said it would allow visitors to descend from Sugarloaf Mountain at speeds of almost 100km/h (62mph) via four ziplines covering a distance of 755m (0.47 miles). The project – which started four years ago — had triggered protests from locals and environmentalists, who argued that the construction work was causing irreparable damage to the Unesco World Heritage Site. The developer is expected to appeal against the decision.” (04/01/26)
“At the start of this week, a four-day gathering of the World Trade Organization ended in deadlock over a disagreement between just two of its 166 member countries. The United States sought a 10-year extension to existing duty-free digital purchasing rules (for items such as software, music, and movies); Brazil would only agree to a two-year extension. Nevertheless, working on the sidelines, 66 other members – from Asia, Europe, and the Americas – forged their own agreement on the issue. The recent increase in such ‘minilateral’ solutions to global obstacles signifies more than mere impatience with time-consuming multilateral processes. Rather, it highlights the impetus and realization among the world’s middle powers about their changing role – and responsibility – in shaping a world order amid major geopolitical shifts.” (03/31/26)
“A Russian military plane has crashed in [Crimea], killing 29 people on board, the Russian defence ministry has said. Wreckage of the An-26 aircraft was found on Tuesday after the plane lost contact with authorities during ‘a routine flight,’ according to the ministry. It blamed ‘a technical failure’ and reported no external damage to the aircraft, implying that missiles, drones or birds are not suspected of causing the crash. Seven crew members and 23 passengers had been on board as it flew over the … Crimean peninsula …. Russia’s Investigative Committee confirmed the crash and said it had opened an inquiry into a flight safety violation. News agency Tass reported that communication with the plane was lost at about 18:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, and the wreckage was found following a search and rescue effort. Ukraine has not commented on the crash.” (04/01/26)
“America’s space program is once again pushing toward new frontiers: For the first time in more than 50 years, the nation will send humans back to the moon — and then to Mars and beyond. It starts with the liftoff of Artemis II, scheduled for Wednesday evening. Yes, this mission in many ways is an echo, even a repeat, of the Apollo lunar flights of the ’60s and ’70s. The trip will bring them the furthest from Earth any humans have ever been and return them at a record speed of 25,000 miles per hour, facing temperatures of 5,000 degrees. Yet the point this time isn’t simply another lunar landing: It’s to prepare for even greater goals — such as the eventual establishment of a human base, with a continuous human presence, on the lunar surface and in lunar orbit, with a mission to Mars to follow.” (04/01/26)
“The Trump administration is moving the Forest Service’s headquarters out of Washington and into Salt Lake City, Utah, as part of a broader push to shift federal agencies closer to the regions they oversee and reduce the footprint of government in the nation’s capital. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the move Tuesday and said it will begin a sweeping restructuring of the agency, relocating leadership and redistributing authority across the country in an effort officials say will improve decision-making, cut costs and strengthen hiring. The shift represents a significant structural change to how the Forest Service operates, moving top leadership and key functions closer to the western states where the majority of national forest land is located and where wildfire risk and land management demands are most concentrated.” (04/01/26)
