“Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., blasted travel chaos gripping airports nationwide as a direct result of Democrats’ ‘temper tantrum’ over immigration policy, as the ongoing standoff snarls TSA operations and disrupts millions of passengers nationwide. ‘The reason we’re at this impasse is that Democrats are using long TSA lines to throw a temper tantrum about deportations of violent criminal illegal aliens and funding of ICE and Border Patrol,’ Cotton said on ‘Fox News Sunday.’ The Arkansas Republican argued the disruptions are not the result of funding shortfalls, but reiterated they stem from a deliberate political fight over immigration, accusing Democrats of shifting demands and prolonging the standoff as airport delays drag on nationwide.” [editor’s note: While I oppose deportation in general, I might be talked into an exception for scumbags like Cotton. He needs to be kept away from decent human beings – TLK] (03/29/26)
“A U.S. Secret Service agent on former first lady Jill Biden’s detail shot himself in the leg by mistake Friday in Philadelphia, the agency announced. Around 8:30 a.m., the agent sustained ‘a non-life-threatening injury following a negligent discharge while handling a service weapon at the Philadelphia International Airport during a protective assignment,’ a Secret Service statement issued to ABC News said.” (03/27/26)
“North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observed a test of an upgraded solid-fuel engine for weapons capable of reaching the U.S. mainland, and called it a significant development boosting his country’s strategic military arsenal, state media reported Sunday. While the test was in line with Kim’s stated goal of acquiring more agile, hard-to-detect missiles targeting the U.S. and its allies, some experts speculate North Korea’s claim may be an exaggeration. Missiles with built-in solid propellants are easier to move and conceal their launches than liquid-fuel weapons, which in general must be fueled before liftoffs and cannot last long. The official Korean Central News Agency reported Kim watched the ground jet test of the engine using a composite carbon fiber material. It said the engine’s maximum thrust is 2,500 kilonewtons, up from about 1,970 kilonewtons reported in a similar solid-fuel engine test in September.” (03/29/26)
“Mongolia’s Prime Minister Zandanshatar Gombojav resigned Friday after rising tensions within the ruling Mongolian People’s Party and a parliamentary boycott by the opposition. The parliament accepted Zandanshatar’s resignation. The opposition Democratic Party earlier this month launched a boycott of parliamentary activity, citing concerns over the concentration of power within the ruling party. There have been months of corruption allegations against Justice Minister Enkhbayar Battumur, a close ally of Zandanshatar, who has not been accused.” (03/27/26)
“President Donald Trump said Thursday that progress has been made in negotiations with Tehran aimed at ending the Iran war. … Trump said he would delay attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure by an additional 10 days. … Statements from Iran about the negotiations have struck a different tone from Trump’s. Iran’s state-run media reported earlier Thursday that Tehran had rejected a 15-point ceasefire proposal by the White House. But the Iranian report did not suggest a total breakdown in negotiations, leaving open the possibility that Washington could issue a follow-up proposal. Iran has previously offered its own terms for ending the conflict, including demands for the United States and Israel to pay compensation for war damage, the cessation of Israeli attacks against Lebanon, and the recognition of Iran’s sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.” (03/27/26)
“The Senate agreed unanimously early Friday to reopen the Department of Homeland Security after a 40-day shutdown, but without funding for immigration enforcement and deportation operations. Senators approved the package at 2:20 a.m by voice vote after a marathon session, which followed arduous bipartisan negotiations that occurred in fits and starts over the last six weeks. The measure is expected to have President Donald Trump’s support but faces an uncertain future in the House. … Trump announced Thursday that he would sign an order to pay Transportation Security Administration officers who have gone without paychecks during the funding lapse at the Department of Homeland Security. … The House is set to hold an unrelated vote at 10:00am before leaving for recess.” (03/27/26)
“Vladimir Putin has asked Russia’s oligarchs to donate to the country’s dwindling defence budget to continue its invasion of Ukraine, it has been reported. The Russian president is expected to continue the conflict, which began in February 2022, until Moscow has secured the remaining areas of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region not under its control, according to the Financial Times. At least two businessmen have told Putin they would be willing to make contributions to the defence budget after talks on Thursday, the newspaper reported. Putin is understood to be pressing ahead with the invasion after Ukraine refused to withdraw unilaterally from Donbas during recent negotiations brokered by the US.” (03/26/26)
“A judge has blocked the Trump administration from labeling Anthropic a ‘supply chain risk’ and cutting off all federal work with the artificial intelligence firm, an early win for Anthropic in its bitter feud with the government over AI guardrails. U.S. District Judge Rita Lin on Thursday ruled in favor of Anthropic, which sued the federal government earlier this month for taking actions that it called an ‘unprecedented and unlawful’ attempt to punish the company for First Amendment-protected speech. Lin’s ruling in the case prevents the government from enforcing its supply chain risk designation against Anthropic, a move that aimed to stop private government contractors from using the company’s powerful Claude AI model.” (03/26/26)
“A U.S. judge on Thursday dismissed X Corp’s antitrust lawsuit that accused the World Federation of Advertisers and major companies including Mars, CVS Health and Colgate-Palmolive of illegally boycotting billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s social media company. U.S. District Judge Jane Boyle in the federal court in Dallas said X failed to show it had suffered any harm under federal antitrust laws. X Corp’s lawsuit, filed in 2024, said the advertisers, acting through a World Federation of Advertisers initiative called Global Alliance for Responsible Media, collectively withheld ‘billions of dollars in advertising revenue’ from X, previously known as Twitter.” (03/26/26)
“An Amsterdam court on Thursday ordered Elon Musk’s Grok to stop generating non-consensual nude pictures and child sexual abuse material. The company xAI, which owns the artificial intelligence chatbot, is ordered to pay damages of €100,000 per day for each day it fails to comply, up to a maximum of €10 million. … The platform took steps to restrict features in January after Grok was found to be generating [fake] pictures of real people in bikinis or nude. Estimates have said that around 3 million pictures were generated in 11 days.” (03/26/26)
