“The Trump administration on Tuesday exempted oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico from the Endangered Species Act after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said environmentalists’ lawsuits against the industry threatened to hobble domestic energy supplies as the U.S. wages war against Iran. Critics said the move by the government’s Endangered Species Committee could doom a rare whale species and harm other marine life. Nicknamed the ‘God Squad’ by groups who say it can decide a species’ fate, the committee comprises several Trump administration officials and is chaired by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. It met Tuesday for the first time in more than three decades amid global oil shocks and soaring energy prices brought on by the Iran war.” (03/31/26)
“Italy last week denied permission for U.S. military aircraft to land at the Sigonella air base in Sicily before heading to the Middle East, sources said on Tuesday, because Washington had not sought prior authorisation from the government in Rome. According to the Corriere della Sera daily, which first reported the news, ‘some U.S. bombers’ had been due to land at the base in eastern Sicily before flying on to the Middle East, where the United States is at war with Israel against Iran. The report did not specify when the aircraft were due to land but said permission was denied because the U.S. had not requested clearance and Italy’s military leadership had not been consulted, as required under treaties governing the use of U.S. military installations in the country.” (03/31/26)
“A Scottish man, described as a senior figure in an international crime syndicate, was arrested shortly after landing on the resort island of Bali, authorities in Indonesia said Tuesday. The 45-year-old, identified as Steven Lyons, was taken into custody by immigration officers at Ngurah Rai International Airport on Saturday on arrival from Singapore, according to Untung Widiyatmoko, head of Indonesia’s branch of Interpol. The immigration system had flagged him as the subject of an Interpol Red Notice issued at Spain’s request. A Red Notice is an alert issued by Interpol at the request of a member country for police worldwide to arrest a suspect for extradition. Lyons, who is wanted in Spain and the United Kingdom in connection with organized crime, drug trafficking and money laundering, will be extradited to Spain on Wednesday, Widiyatmoko told reporters in Denpasar, the provincial capital of Bali.” (03/31/26)
“An analysis from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive (ATF) could not conclusively connect a bullet fragment recovered during Charlie Kirk’s autopsy to the rifle found near the scene of the rightwing political activist’s killing – and the FBI is running additional tests, lawyers for Kirk’s accused murderer said in recent court filings. In the court filings, Tyler Robinson’s defense team also asked for a delay to a preliminary hearing scheduled in May, saying they need time to review the bullet analysis as well as an enormous amount of other material that could contribute to the suspect’s defense. …The defense said in its motion that it may try to use the analysis to clear Robinson of blame during the preliminary hearing while prosecutors aim to show they have enough evidence against him to proceed with a trial.” (03/31/26)
“A Malaysian court on Tuesday ordered jailed former prime minister Najib Razak to pay US$1.3 billion to a former unit of scandal-tainted state fund 1MDB, state media reported. The Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled that Najib was liable for losses incurred by SRC International, a former subsidiary of sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad, state news agency Bernama reported. High Court judge Ahmad Fairuz Zainol Abidin ruled that Najib breached his fiduciary duties, abused his position as prime minister, and misappropriated SRC funds for personal gain, Bernama reported. … Najib has been in prison since August 2022 after being found guilty of corruption and money laundering over funds misappropriated from SRC in a separate case.” (03/31/26)
“The founder of a Texas megachurch who pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a child in the 1980s was released Tuesday after serving six months in an Oklahoma jail. Robert Preston Morris, 64, was released just after midnight, said Osage County Sheriff’s Capt. Matt Clark. Morris pleaded guilty last year to five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child as part of a plea agreement under which he received a 10-year suspended sentence with the first six months to be served in the Osage County Jail. … Morris was the senior pastor of Gateway Church in the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Southlake, where he led one of the nation’s largest megachurches until June 2024 when — faced with the victim’s allegations — he resigned. He was indicted last year by an Oklahoma grand jury.” (03/31/26)
“The Chinese government is set to ban people from storing the cremated remains of their loved ones in empty apartments instead of paying for expensive cemetery plots. The new law will put an end to ‘bone ash apartments,’ which have risen in popularity as spaces in cemeteries remain scarce. Low property prices in the country mean that for many, it is more affordable to entomb the ashes of relatives in an empty apartment than pay for funeral costs. The legislation prohibits the use of residential properties ‘specifically for the placement of ashes’ as well as the burial of remains outside of cemeteries and areas where ecological burial is legal. Bone ash apartments are empty properties which are turned into ritual halls by family members of the deceased. Their loved one’s ashes are placed inside and the space turned into an ancestral shrine.” (03/31/26)
“U.S. gasoline prices have surged above $4 per gallon for the first time in more than three years, as the oil supply shock triggered by the Middle East war rapidly drives up costs for families. Prices at the pump hit a nationwide average of $4.018, the highest level since August 2022 when Russia’s war against Ukraine shook energy markets, the travel association AAA said. Gas prices have soared more than 30% since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in late February, according to AAA data. … Vice President JD Vance told consumers they face ‘a rough road ahead’ on gas prices in the coming weeks. Vance promised that the spike is temporary and prices will fall after the war has ended.” (03/31/26)
“A Russian tanker docked Tuesday at the Cuban port of Matanzas laden with 730,000 barrels of oil, marking the first time in three months that an oil tanker reached the island. The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump had allowed the Anatoly Kolodkin to proceed despite an ongoing U.S. energy blockade. Cubans including Energy and Mines Minister Vicente de la O Levy cheered the ship’s arrival. A shortage of petroleum has exacerbated a deep economic crisis that has left the population mired in long blackouts and facing a severe shortage of food and medicine. … Experts say the anticipated shipment could produce about 180,000 barrels of diesel, enough to feed Cuba’s daily demand for nine or 10 days.” (03/31/26)
“Japan’s first long-range missile was deployed at a southwestern army camp, officials said Tuesday, as the country pushes to bolster its offensive capabilities. The upgraded Type-12 land-to-ship missiles, developed and produced by Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, became operational at Camp Kengun in Kumamoto prefecture. … The upgraded Type-12 missile has a range of about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles), a significant extension from the 200-kilometer (125-mile) range of the original that would allow it to reach mainland China. The deployment of the long-range missile gives Japan a ‘standoff’ capability, meaning it can strike enemy missile bases from afar, marking a break from the self-defense-only policy the country long followed under its pacifist constitution.” (03/31/26)
