“Thousands of supporters of Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro demonstrated in cities across the South American nation on Sunday, as organizers hoped to build momentum for a right-wing victory in the upcoming presidential elections. Protesters draped in yellow and green – the colors of the national flag — took to the streets in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and the capital Brasilia to voice their opposition to current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva who faces a tough reelection bid in October. … Bolsonaro is in prison, where he is serving a 27-year sentence for attempting a coup despite his 2022 electoral defeat to Lula.” (03/01/26)
“Iran has announced the formation of a three-member transitional council to handle the state duties following the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, member of a powerful constitutional watchdog, was appointed on Sunday to the temporary council, whose other two members are President Masoud Pezeshkian and Supreme Court Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei. … According to Article 111 of the Iranian Constitution, the transitional council will govern the country until an 88-member panel called the Assembly of Experts chooses a new supreme leader after almost 37 years of rule by Khamenei. His killing on Saturday by the joint United States and Israeli forces has raised crucial questions about Iran’s future.” (03/01/26)
“The gunman who killed two people at a bar in Texas early Sunday in a mass shooting that left 14 others wounded was wearing a sweatshirt that said ‘Property of Allah,’ and another shirt with an Iranian flag design, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The shooter has been identified as 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne, the law enforcement official and another person familiar with the matter said. The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation. The shooting erupted a day after Israel and the United States launched an attack on Iran that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The FBI said it was investigating the shooting as a potential act of terrorism. Diagne was originally from Senegal, according to multiple people briefed on the investigation. One of the people told the AP that Diagne came to the U.S. in 2006 and was a naturalized U.S. citizen.” (03/01/26)
“A resident shot a home intruder early Saturday morning. Authorities say the man tried to break into a residence in the 600 block of Saint James Street [in Rapid City, South Dakota]. Police responded to the home at around 3:25 a.m. after reports of a shooting. When officers arrived, they found a man with a single gunshot wound. He was transported to a local hospital, where he received treatment for serious but non-life-threatening injuries.” (02/28/26)
“Pakistan has declared ‘open war’ against Afghanistan, bombing the capital and other major cities after a series of escalating attacks between the neighbours. Afghanistan had made its own cross-border attack on Thursday against Pakistan in retaliation for deadly airstrikes on border areas over the weekend, which were reported to have killed a dozen people. In response, Pakistan carried out airstrikes early on Friday, including in Kabul, where at least three explosions were heard. Kandahar in the south, where the Taliban’s supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada is based, was targeted, as was the province of Paktia in the east.” (02/27/26)
“Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified that she has no new information regarding Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal activities during a deposition before the House Oversight Committee on Thursday. Bill and Hillary Clinton’s depositions on Thursday and Friday mark the first time a former first couple has appeared before a congressional panel under subpoena. … ‘You have compelled me to testify, fully aware that I have no knowledge that would assist your investigation, in order to distract attention from President Trump’s actions and to cover them up despite legitimate calls for answers,” Hillary Clinton said in her opening statement to lawmakers.’ Clinton told the panel Thursday that she does not recall ever meeting Epstein, and told the New York Times that she met Maxwell only a few times. Her name does not appear to have been mentioned in the Justice Department’s publicly released Epstein files.” (02/26/26)
“At least six Palestinians have been killed in Israeli drone attacks targeting two police posts in the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip and the al-Mawasi area in Khan Younis in the south, as Israel presses on with its more than two-year genocidal war on the devastated enclave. The attacks overnight into Friday were condemned by Hamas as undermining mediator efforts during a ‘ceasefire’ phase that Israel has violated almost daily since October 10. Medical sources at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis reported the arrival of four bodies and several wounded individuals following an Israeli military strike on a police checkpoint at the al-Maslakh intersection in al-Mawasi. The sources said that the strike occurred in an area outside the Israeli military’s control, and described the condition of some of the wounded as critical.” (02/27/26)
“Mortgage rates dipped into the 5% range for the first time since 2022 as Treasury yields continued to fall. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell three basis points for the week ending Wednesday to 5.98%. That’s the lowest level since Sept. 8, 2022. The 15-year fixed rose nine basis points to 5.44%. Three months of a slow interest rate decline have filtered through the mortgage industry, with increasing reports of home loan rates finally slipping below 6%. Freddie Mac is the latest rate aggregator to record a sub-6% result, with a 30-year fixed rate of 5.98%.” (02/26/26)
“Kansas officials have sent letters out to over 1,000 transgender state residents, warning them that their driver’s licenses and birth certificates may now be invalid. Kansas Department of Revenue Spokesperson Zach Denney confirmed to The Topeka Capital-Journal that the letters were sent out to an estimated 1,500 trans people in the state after a new law took effect, invalidating gender marker changes on the documents. … State lawmakers previously passed the anti-trans legislation despite warnings from Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, who vetoed the bill. Lawmakers in both the state’s House and Senate overrode Kelly’s veto on Feb. 18. The law also banned transgender people from using bathrooms or locker rooms in government buildings that align with their gender identity and banned the creation of gender-neutral bathrooms with more than one stall.” (02/26/26)
“A local ceasefire around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southeastern Ukraine has been agreed, with the help of the International Atomic Energy Agency, to allow for necessary repairs of the backup power lines to the plant. The IAEA has confirmed that a local arrangement has been reached to help the repair teams ensure the safety of the plant, with demining activities in the area ongoing to enable access. Reuters noted that the plant, Europe’s largest, has been under Russian control since shortly after the start of the war in 2022. It is not currently producing electricity, and relies on external power to keep its nuclear material cool and avoid a catastrophic accident.” (02/27/26)
