“A day after a federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to cut off all federal funds to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the president’s senior adviser at the agency that oversees the broadcaster withdrew the cancellation of the network’s grants. In a letter to RFE/RL chief executive Steve Capus, Kari Lake wrote that the U.S. Agency for Global Media had ‘rescinded’ the previous letter ‘terminating your grant agreement’ and that Radio Free Europe would continue to receive federal funds for the time being. … In addition to the letter, Lake also filed a response in RFE/RL’s lawsuit notifying the court that the grant termination had been withdrawn, seeking to end the legal standoff with the broadcaster.” (03/27/25)
“U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem landed in Colombia on Thursday as part of a tour of three Latin American nations to discuss immigration, crime and deportation. Her trip comes amid a souring in relations between the Trump administration and the Colombian government – long the United States'[s] closest ally in the region. Tensions between the two countries rose in January over accepting flights of immigrants deported from the U.S. Noem sat down with the country’s foreign minister Thursday morning, and is set to meet with Colombia’s leftist leader and police to discuss efforts to fight organized crime later. Colombian President Gustavo Petro and U.S. President Donald Trump, both populists [sic], share diametrically opposed views over key issues like combatting crime and the American government’s role in Latin America.” (03/27/25)
“British Steel said Thursday that it is planning to close its two blast furnaces and steelmaking operations in the northern England town of Scunthorpe, after its Chinese owner Jingye failed to agree a rescue package with the U.K. government. Unions called on the government to help secure the future of the company, which Jingye said is suffering daily losses of around 700,000 pounds ($900,000) despite the Chinese firm investing more than 1.2 billion to maintain operations since its takeover of British Steel in 2020. The company, Britain’s second-biggest steelmaker, blamed ‘highly challenging market conditions, the imposition of tariffs, and higher environmental costs relating to the production of high-carbon steel.'” (03/27/25)
“Donald Trump has said he would be willing to reduce tariffs on [US buyers of Chinese products] to get a deal done with TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell the social media app used by 170 million Americans. He acknowledged the role China would play in any agreement. ‘With respect to TikTok, and China is going to have to play a role in that, possibly in the form of an approval, maybe, and I think they’ll do that,’ Trump told reporters on Wednesday. ‘Maybe I’ll give them a little reduction in tariffs or something to get it done,’ he added. Trump’s comment suggests the sale of TikTok’s is a priority for his administration and important enough to use tariffs as a bargaining chip with Beijing. TikTok did not immediately comment.” (03/27/25)
“BBC correspondent Mark Lowen has been deported from Turkey after being arrested in Istanbul on Wednesday, the BBC has said. Lowen had been in Turkey for several days to report on the ongoing protests that were sparked by the Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu’s arrest last week. Imamoglu — who is being held in jail on corruption charges he denies — is seen as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival. He has been selected by his party as presidential candidate in the 2028 election. In a statement issued on Thursday, the BBC said: ‘This morning (27 March) the Turkish authorities deported BBC News correspondent Mark Lowen from Istanbul, having taken him from his hotel the previous day and detained him for 17 hours.’ On Thursday morning, he was presented with a written notice that he was being deported for ‘being a threat to public order,’ the statement said.” (03/27/25)
“A panel of Brazil Supreme Court justices unanimously ruled that former President Jair Bolsonaro and seven of his associates will stand trial on five counts, including attempting to stage a coup after the far-right leader lost the 2022 election. The panel will review existing evidence, potentially gather new evidence and hear testimonies. Legal experts estimate that Bolsonaro could be sentenced to up to 40 years in prison, though his actual jail time — if convicted — would be less than that due to procedural considerations.” (03/27/25)
“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)
