“A county clerk in New York refused Thursday to file a more than $100,000 judgment from Texas against a doctor accused of prescribing abortion pills to a woman near Dallas, setting up a potential challenge to laws designed to shield abortion providers who serve patients in states with abortion bans. A Texas judge last month ordered Dr. Margaret Carpenter, who practices north of New York City, to pay the penalty for allegedly breaking that state’s law by prescribing abortion medication via telemedicine. The Texas attorney general’s office followed up last week by asking a New York court to enforce the default civil judgment, which is $113,000 with attorney and filing fees. The acting Ulster County clerk refused. ‘In accordance with the New York State Shield Law, I have refused this filing and will refuse any similar filings that may come to our office. …’ Acting Clerk Taylor Bruck said in a prepared statement.” (03/27/25)
“Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin said Thursday that he has axed a $2 billion grant to a group linked to Stacey Abrams, the two-time Democratic candidate for governor of Georgia. ‘I have terminated the $2 BILLION Biden EPA grant to this Stacey Abrams-linked NGO,’ the former Long Island congressman tweeted. ‘The DOJ/FBI are investigating and the money has been frozen. It is insane that the Biden Admin would give $2B to an organization that previously only received $100!’ Zeldin was responding to a Thursday morning Truth Social post by President Trump, who has made Abrams the face of efforts to claw back Biden-era environmental and social-justice funds as part of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency cost-cutting initiative.” (03/27/25)
“A Turkish court on Thursday freed seven journalists detained for covering mass protests roiling the country including AFP photographer Yasin Akgul, his lawyer said. Meanwhile police broke up an anti-government protest at an Ankara protest early Thursday, potentially reigniting tensions after the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu. Yasin Akgul, 35, was one of seven Turkish journalists arrested this week after days of covering mass protests that erupted on March 19 when Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu – President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival – was arrested. Akgul and his colleagues were arrested at their homes before dawn and charged with ‘taking part in illegal rallies and marches and failing to disperse despite warnings,’ court documents showed.” (03/27/25)
“The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits slipped last week, while the jobless rate appeared to have held steady in March. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 224,000 for the week ended March 22, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 225,000 claims for the latest week. … The number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid, a proxy for hiring, decreased 25,000 to a seasonally adjusted 1.856 million during the week ending March 15, the claims report showed.” (03/27/25)
“President Donald Trump on Wednesday selected Georgia state Sen. Brandon Beach to serve as the next treasurer of the United States, including having his signature appear on money. The treasurer oversees the U.S. Mint, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and Fort Knox in Kentucky. Beach, who doesn’t need to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, will serve under Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, whose signature also is on bills. Trump announced the selection on Truth Social, where he boasted about Beach’s efforts in the 2024 election.” (03/26/25)
“One San Francisco politician’s attempt to save the struggling California cannabis industry has caught the eye of the Wall Street Journal editorial board, who seem eager to teach the San Francisco progressive a lesson in conservative economics. A Tuesday editorial in the East Coast newspaper took aim at a new bill from San Francisco Assemblymember Matt Haney that would stop California’s tax rate for legal cannabis from increasing. Currently, the state excise tax rate on legal pot is set to jump from 15% to 19% on July 1, an increase that Haney and others say will decimate the legal pot industry. ‘If we continue to pile on more taxes and fees onto our struggling small cannabis businesses, California’s cannabis culture is under serious threat of extinction,’ Haney said in a Monday news release.” (03/27/25)
“Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he plans to call a national election ‘imminently’ as the May 17 deadline for electing a new parliament is fast approaching. ‘It will be in May, I can guarantee that. And it will be called pretty imminently,’ Albanese told radio station Triple M on Thursday. … Separate reports from The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian newspapers said Albanese is scheduled to visit Governor-General Sam Mostyn’s in Canberra on Friday to call the election. Albanese must receive Mostyn’s authorisation, who as governor-general represents the United Kingdom’s King Charles – Australia’s official head of state – to dissolve parliament and declare a general election.” (03/27/25)
“Asian auto stocks led markets lower on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled a 25% tariff on imported vehicles, expanding a global trade war and prompting criticism and threats of retaliation from affected U.S. allies. The new levies on cars and light trucks will take effect on April 3, the day after Trump plans to announce reciprocal tariffs aimed at [American buyers of goods from] the countries responsible for the bulk of the U.S. trade deficit. They come on top of duties already introduced on steel and aluminum, and on goods from Mexico, Canada and China. … The Center for Automotive Research said the new levies were expected to cost car buyers thousands of dollars more, hitting new vehicle sales and resulting in job losses, since the U.S. automotive industry relies heavily on imported parts. … Trump’s directive included temporary exemptions for auto parts while government officials sort through the complexities of turning his proclamation into practice.” (03/26/25)
“Russia has said some Western sanctions must be lifted before it begins a maritime ceasefire with Ukraine. Within hours of the US announcing the two sides had agreed to halt strikes in the Black Sea in separate deals, the Kremlin said it would only take place once sanctions on a number of Russian banks were lifted. The demands include revoking sanctions on the state agricultural bank Rosselkhozbank and restoring the firms’ access to the Swift international payment system. Overnight, Moscow launched a drone attack on the port city of Mykolaiv, Ukrainian officials said, with President Volodymyr Zelensky saying the strikes were ‘a clear signal’ Russia did not want peace.” (03/26/25)
“The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a Biden administration effort to regulate ‘ghost gun’ kits that allow people to easily obtain parts needed to assemble firearms from online sellers. The decision by a court that often backs gun rights resolves the legal dispute over whether the kits can be regulated the same way as other firearms. The ruling was 7-2, with Justice Neil Gorsuch writing the majority opinion saying that the kits can be regulated under the federal Gun Control Act, saying the court had ‘no trouble rejecting’ the arguments made by challengers.” [editor’s note: The dispute isn’t “legal.” The “Supreme Law of the Land” clearly and unambiguously forbids these regulations. The dispute is entirely a matter of a criminal gang’s members arguing over the extent of the crimes they’ll allow each other to commit – TLK] (03/26/25)
