“In a marked shift, commercial satellite companies that provide open-source data used widely by many, including journalists and researchers, have restricted access to images showing Iran and the wider Middle East, including areas where there are U.S. military sites that have been targeted by Iran’s retaliatory fire. Planet Labs, which regularly provides imagery used by news organizations including CBS News, said earlier this month that it was delaying the release of all new imagery of Iran, the Persian Gulf, U.S.-allied bases, and ‘existing conflict zones’ for 14 days. … The other large firm often relied on for satellite updates is Vantor, formerly called Maxar, which currently has controls in place on imagery from parts of the Middle East, a spokesperson said.” (03/19/26)
“Iran executed a 19-year-old champion wrestler in a public hanging Thursday along with two other people who were arrested during the brutal crackdown on anti-regime protesters in January. Saleh Mohammadi, a rising star from Qom, was allegedly tortured to confess to the capital crime of waging war against God, with the teen executed without a fair trial, according to human rights groups. ‘His execution was a blatant political murder, part of the Islamic Republic’s pattern of targeting athletes to crush dissent and terrorize society,’ Nima Far, a human rights activist and Iranian combat athlete, told Fox News. Mohammadi, along with fellow protesters Mehdi Ghasemi and Saeed Davoudi, were accused of killing two police officers ‘with knives and swords’ during the January protests, according to Iranian state media. Mohammadi was arrested during the brutal crackdown on anti-regime protesters in January.” (03/19/26)
“The Grammy-nominated rapper Afroman won a defamation lawsuit filed by seven Ohio sheriff’s deputies who sued him over music videos in which he used home security footage to mock their raid of his home. ‘We did it, America! Yeah, we did it! Freedom of speech! Right on! Right on!’ the 51-year-old rapper, born Joseph Foreman, shouted outside the courthouse after the Wednesday evening verdict. … The Adams County deputies [whined that] they were publicly harassed over the viral videos, which were viewed more than three million times on YouTube. The videos show rifle-wielding deputies busting down Afroman’s door, searching his shoes and suit pockets, and hungrily eyeing a cake on the kitchen table, inspiring one song’s title, Lemon Pound Cake. In other music videos, Afroman took aim at the deputies’ personal lives and called them ‘crooked cops’ because of $400 that went missing in the raid.” (03/19/26)
“Lawmakers in Macau, a city under Chinese rule, unanimously approved a bill on Thursday that allows court proceedings to be held behind closed doors when deemed necessary to protect national security [sic] interests. The city enacted its first national security [sic] law in 2009 and tightened it with amendments in 2023. Last July, leading democrat Au Kam San was arrested for alleged collusion with foreign forces to endanger national security [sic], the first known arrest under that law. The new legislation stipulates that judges must refer cases to the city’s Committee for Safeguarding National Security if they believe national security [sic] may be at risk during a public hearing.” (03/19/26)
“Conservatives [sic] celebrated Tuesday after a federal appeals court denied California’s request to narrow a Supreme Court ruling on transgender policies, two weeks after the high court dealt the state a major blow in the same case. ‘California has now lost at the district court, lost at the Supreme Court, and been turned away by the Ninth Circuit,’ Executive Vice President of the Thomas More Society Peter Breen said in a statement. ‘The state has repeatedly tried to paint parents who don’t immediately accept their children’s assertion of a new name and gender as ‘abusive.’ The courts have resoundingly rejected that premise.’ The Supreme Court had temporarily blocked California officials on March 2 from interfering with school policies that require parents to be notified if their child identifies as transgender.” (03/19/26)
“France’s attempt to suspend Chinese online platform Shein’s marketplace was rejected by a Paris Court of Appeal on Thursday, after a Paris court had already ruled against the government’s request in December. Shein has been embroiled in a scandal since France’s consumer watchdog found sex dolls resembling children and banned weapons for sale on its marketplace in November, prompting the government to attempt to suspend the platform.” (03/19/26)
“Gold and silver joined a broad sell-off on Thursday, with the metals shedding around 5% and 10%, respectively, as fears about the Iran war and inflation gripped global markets. At 8:43 a.m. ET, spot gold was down 4.9% at just over $4,600 an ounce. Front-month gold futures were down 5.8% at $4,612. Spot silver was 9.5% lower at $68.22 an ounce, while silver futures lost 12% to settle at $68.31.” (03/19/26)
“Three dozen state and local governments have challenged the Trump administration’s reversal of a landmark Obama-era scientific ruling which held that greenhouse gases were a threat to public health. The lawsuit seeks to overturn the administration’s repeal last month of the 2009 ‘endangerment finding’ that underpins US policies aimed at lowering emissions from cars, power plants and other sources of planet-warming emissions. Several environmental organisations filed a similar lawsuit last month. President Donald Trump touted the climate change rollback as a major achievement, calling it a victory over the Democratic Party’s ‘radical’ energy and climate policies. The petition filed in the US Court of Appeals argues that overturning the ‘endangerment finding’ violated provisions in the Clean Air Act. The group challenging the administration includes 23 states and 17 cities, counties and state agencies, among them New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.” (03/19/26)
“Senate Republicans have blocked a Democrat-led effort to curb President Donald Trump’s powers to wage war against Iran, as the nearly three-week-old conflict escalates and rattles global energy markets. The Senate voted 53-47 mostly along party lines Wednesday night to reject a resolution that would withdraw U.S. armed forces from conflict with Iran absent congressional approval. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky was the only Republican to join his Democratic colleagues and vote in favor of the motion, while Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the only member of his caucus to vote against it.” [editor’s note: They continue to pretend it’s the opposite of what it is. Without congressional APPROVAL in the form of a declaration of war, the war is illegal; failing to vote AGAINST it doesn’t magically make it legal – TLK] (03/19/26)
“A forthcoming Italian referendum on judicial reform will test right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s political strength and could give the fragmented opposition the impetus to forge a broad alliance ahead of next year’s general election. Italians will vote on March 22-23 on a proposal to separate the careers of judges and public prosecutors, splitting the self-ruling High Council of the Judiciary (CSM) into two bodies whose members would be chosen by lot rather than elected. Though centred on the governance of the judiciary, the referendum has become a political showdown between the government-backed ‘Yes’ camp and the opposition, which supports ‘No.’ There is no turnout quorum required to validate the vote.” (03/19/26)
