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U.S. news
world news
ECM World News
March 2025 Articles
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March 6, 2025 -- As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to a variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:

U.S.

Military cuts

Economy and tariffs

Presidential power

Ukraine aid

DOGE

Press restrictions

Court Actions

Other National News

WORLD

Ukraine-Russia

Europe

Mexico

Israel-Gaza

Vatican

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

U.S.

Military

Trump fires chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and two other military officers (AP)

 President Donald Trump abruptly fired Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr. as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Friday, sidelining a history-making fighter pilot and respected officer as part of a campaign led by his defense secretary to rid the military of leaders who support diversity and equity in the ranks. 

Hegseth orders major Pentagon spending cuts (Politico)

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is directing Pentagon agencies and the military to cut their budgets by 8 percent as part of a dramatic realignment of defense spending to address priorities of President Donald Trump such as protecting the border and modernizing the nuclear force. The Pentagon would cut military commands in Europe and the Middle East, as well as several programs long deemed critical while preserving or increasing spending in 17 priority areas, including border security, according to a memo obtained by POLITICO.

Presidential power

Legal experts warn of 'constitutional crisis' as JD Vance and Elon Musk question judges' authority over Trump (NBC)

Vice President JD Vance wrote Sunday on X, "Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power."

Trump signs order to claim power over independent agencies (Politico)

The action is likely to face court challenges and test a once-fringe legal theory.

Republican lawmakers urge Trump to respect federal court rulings (The Hill)

Senate Republicans are urging President Trump to respect the rulings of federal judges who have blocked his executive actions to freeze spending federal grants and loans, dismantle the U.S. Agency on International Development (USAID) and ban birthright citizenship. ... they are growing increasingly worried about the nation plunging into a constitutional crisis if Trump ignores court orders halting his most aggressive actions.

Trump appears to channel Napoleon in vision for executive authority: ‘He who saves his Country does not violate any Law’ (CNN)

“He who saves his Country does not violate any Law,” Trump claimed in a social media post, now pinned atop his profile. Trump has dramatically reimagined the scope of his executive power at the start of his second term, issuing scores of executive actions. The efforts have been bolstered by the administration’s implicit confidence in its capacity to defend itself from legal challenges as Trump, in part, sought to remake the judiciary during his first term.

Ukraine aid

Trump pauses military aid to Ukraine after Oval Office argument with Zelensky, White House official says(CNN)

President Donald Trump is ordering a pause on shipments of US military aid to Ukraine after his heated Oval Office argument with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last week... In recent weeks, Trump has echoed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s talking points, falsely claiming Ukraine started the war and accusing Zelensky of being a dictator, but his decision to halt the delivery of military aid is a move that could have real consequences for the balance of the conflict and strengthen Putin’s hand.

Reagan-era Republicans aghast as Trump turns Russia policy on its head (Guardian)

Officials who served in 1980s say Trump is opposing friends and supporting enemies: ‘It makes me sick what’s going on’

How a U.S. President Pivoted Toward Russia(Wall Street Journal)

Trump bolstered Putin’s bargaining position in the past week, but the road to this alliance has been years in the making

DOGE

DOGE released data about federal contract savings. It doesn't add up (NPR)

... An NPR review of the more than 1,100 contracts in that initial release finds that DOGE's "maximally transparent" calculations still overstate its estimated savings totals by billions of dollars.

Trump officials fired nuclear staff not realizing they oversee the country’s weapons stockpile, sources say (CNN)

Trump administration officials fired more than 300 staffers Thursday night at the National Nuclear Security Administration — the agency tasked with managing the nation’s nuclear stockpile — as part of broader Energy Department layoffs, according to four people with knowledge of the matter. Sources told CNN the officials did not seem to know this agency oversees America’s nuclear weapons….

Musk gives all federal workers 48 hours to explain what they did last week or face consequences (AP)

Hundreds of thousands of federal workers have been given little more than 48 hours to explain what they accomplished over the last week, sparking confusion across key agencies as billionaire Elon Musk expands his drive to slash the size of federal government … Some agencies soon told employees that they did not have to comply if they received Musk’s message… Labor union leaders quickly condemned the ultimatum and threatened legal action.

As Musk works to slash federal spending, his own firms have received billions in government contracts (ABC)

As billionaire businessman Elon Musk has been leading an unprecedented effort to slash government spending, his own companies have, over the last several years, received an increasing amount of funding through government contracts, according to federal spending data. Over the last decade, Musk's companies SpaceX and Tesla were awarded at least $18 billion in federal contracts, according to spending data -- with SpaceX winning more than $17 billion worth of contracts since 2015.

Judge Who Made Life Hell for Trump Will Oversee Case on Elon Musk (New Republic)

...Judge Tanya Chutkan, who presided over Trump’s federal election interference case, was assigned the federal lawsuit filed by 14 states against the president and Musk, attacking the so-called Department of Government Efficiency’s authority.

Elon Musk calls for the US to 'delete entire agencies' from the federal government (AP)

Elon Musk called on Thursday for the United States to “delete entire agencies” from the federal government as part of his push under President Donald Trump to radically cut spending and restructure its priorities. ..Musk said, “If we don’t remove the roots of the weed, then it’s easy for the weed to grow back.” 

Elon Musk’s Enemy, USAID, Was Investigating Starlink’s Contracts in Ukraine (Gizmodo)

The agency was in the midst of a probe into the billionaire's equipment at the time of Musk's assault.

 

Press restrictions

The White House says it 'will determine' which news outlets cover Trump, rotating traditional ones (AP)

The White House said Tuesday that its officials “will determine” which news outlets can regularly cover President Donald Trump up close — a sharp break from a century of tradition in which a pool of independently chosen news organizations go where the chief executive does and hold him accountable on behalf of regular Americans.  

AP sues 3 Trump administration officials, citing freedom of speech (AP)

The Associated Press sued three Trump administration officials Friday over access to presidential events, citing freedom of speech in asking a federal judge to stop the blocking of its journalists…. The AP says its case is about an unconstitutional effort by the White House to control speech — in this case not changing its style from the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America,” as President Donald Trump did last month with an executive order. 

Court Actions

Supreme Court rejects Trump administration's bid to avoid paying USAID contractors(NBC)

The administration’s efforts to effectively dismantle the foreign aid agency led contractors to file a suit claiming they're owed money.

Supreme Court rules that government watchdog fired by Trump may temporarily remain on the job (CNN)

The Supreme Court on Friday dashed President Donald Trump’s plan to immediately fire the head of an independent agency that investigates whistleblower claims, allowing Hampton Dellinger to remain in the job through at least the middle of next week.

Social Security

Trump official calls Social Security ‘wrong’ as administration lays groundwork for massive cuts  (Newsbreak)

...Despite promises on the campaign trail that his administration would not touch Social Security , and claiming that his Democratic rivals are the ones trying to end it, Trump and the world’s wealthiest man and his allies are trying to justify cuts to Social Security and federal health programs Medicare and Medicaid to come up with Musk’s target figure of more than $1 trillion in savings.

Elections

Dismantling of federal efforts to monitor election interference creates opening for foreign meddling (AP)

The Trump administration’s downsizing and disbanding of federal agencies has hit efforts that improve election security and monitor foreign influence. That could create gaps for America’s enemies to exploit the next time the country holds a major election….

Trump Bid to Take Over Postal Service Could Threaten Mail Voting (Democracy Docket)

President Donald Trump may soon attempt to absorb the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), an independent agency, into his administration by issuing an executive order that reportedly would dissolve the service’s leadership. The order could allow the Trump administration to make mail voting — which was used by tens of millions of voters last year — more difficult. Trump has repeatedly said he’d like to end the practice, falsely claiming it allows for widespread fraud. 

Economy and tariffs

Trump enacts sweeping tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, opening door to painful trade war (CNN)

 President Donald Trump’s blanket 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada took effect on Tuesday, an extraordinary action aimed at bringing America’s top trading partners to heel. But it threatens to weaken the North American economy, including that of the United States, at a time of significant stress.  Trump also doubled the tariff on all Chinese imports to 20% from 10%. Those duties sit atop existing tariffs on hundreds of billions in Chinese goods.

America First? Not when it comes to stock markets worldwide this year  (Associated Press)

The difference in performance has been so stark than an index of stocks from 22 of 23 developed economies around the world, excluding the United States, has trounced the S&P 500: a 7.5% rise through Monday versus 1.7% for Wall Street’s benchmark. 

Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts: Promises vs. Reality

Many provisions of President Trump’s signature Tax Cuts and Jobs Act from 2017 are set to expire at the end of 2025. Three economists break down the fiscal impact of the cuts for individuals and businesses.

Education

Federal Judge Blocks DOGE Access to Sensitive Data At Education Department and OPM(Democracy Docket)

A federal judge Monday temporarily blocked the Department of Education and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) from sharing sensitive data with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the faux agency headed by billionaire Elon Musk that has drawn a flurry of legal actions against it. In issuing the temporary restraining order, the judge said DOGE’s access to the data breached federal privacy laws and posed irreparable harm to plaintiffs. 

Members of Congress denied access to Department of Education (MSN)

MSN - Multiple members of Congress were denied entry to the Department of Education on Friday, according to videos and social media posts from lawmakers…. The source told The Hill the individual blocking the door and denying members entry was with the Office of Security, Facilities and Logistics Services at the Department of Education.

Immigration

Feds Fire 20 Immigration Judges Despite Case Backlog Amid Trump Wave of Government Cuts

The Trump administration fired 20 immigration judges without explanation, a union official said Saturday amid sweeping moves to shrink the size of the federal government…. / It was unclear if they would be replaced. The U.S. Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review, which runs the courts and oversees its roughly 700 judges, did not respond to a request for comment Saturday. / Immigration courts are backlogged with more than 3.7 million cases, according to Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, and it takes years to decide asylum cases. 

Invasive frisks, suicide attempts: Three migrants describe Guantánamo detention (Washington Post)

The men said they were denied calls to loved ones, subjected to humiliating searches and left in isolation for prolonged periods.

3 migrants beat the Trump administration in court. They got deported the next day (ABC)

The scars of their year-long incarceration remain.

Rubio says El Salvador will house deportees from U.S., including Americans  (NPR)

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said late Monday that El Salvador's president has offered to accept deportees from the U.S. of any nationality, including violent American criminals now imprisoned in the United States.

Agriculture and weather service

Farmers hit by a federal funding freeze scramble to respond ahead of spring thaw(NBC)

Many farmers made investments based on Agriculture Department funding that the Trump administration has put on hold. Some are in financial peril.

Trump picks Neil Jacobs to head NOAA, a scientist with 'Sharpiegate' ties (NPR)

President Trump has nominated Neil Jacobs to be the administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. Jacobs, an atmospheric scientist, was previously the agency's acting leader during part of the first Trump administration...Jacobs was also cited for misconduct after the "Sharpiegate" incident, in which he and other Trump-appointed NOAA officials were found to have exerted pressure on scientists to alter the forecast for 2019's Hurricane Dorian to align with misstatements made by President Trump, suggesting the hurricane would veer into Alabama.

IRS layoffs and taxpayers’ privacy data

Elon Musk's DOGE seeks access to taxpayer data at IRS: AP sources (AP)

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is seeking access to troves of sensitive taxpayer data at the IRS, two people familiar with the inner workings of the plan who were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly told The Associated Press on Monday.

IRS will lay off thousands of probationary workers in the middle of tax season  (AP)

The IRS will lay off thousands of probationary workers in the middle of tax season, according to two sources familiar with the agency’s plans, and cuts could happen as soon as next week.

Air safety

Trump begins firings of FAA air traffic control staff just weeks after fatal DC plane crash (AP)

 The Trump administration has begun firing several hundred Federal Aviation Administration employees, upending staff on a busy air travel weekend and just weeks after a January fatal mid-air collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. 

Protests, pushbacks, and Republicans cancel townhalls

Speaker Johnson tells GOP lawmakers to skip town halls after an onslaught of protests (AP)

House Speaker Mike Johnson is encouraging Republican lawmakers to skip town halls that have been filled with protesters decrying the Trump administration’s slashing of federal government….

Major troubles for Donald Trump in new polling (NJ.com)

In a new Economist/YouGov poll, the president has a 46 percent approval rating while 48 percent of those polled disapprove of the job he is doing. That is the first time since he was sworn-in that Trump is underwater, and it’s not likely to get better as thousands of federal employees fight for their jobs, Americans go to court to contest cuts in government programs, and the approval rating of Trump’s hatchet man, Elon Musk, continues to plummet.

Mike Pence emerges as one of the few Republicans willing to challenge Trump 2.0 (AP)

His group spent nearly $1 million on ads opposing Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump’s pick to lead the nation’s health agencies. He’s delivering speeches urging the president to stand with longstanding foreign allies and lobbying members of Congress while aides write letters and opinion columns.  This weekend, he posted an article he penned more than a decade ago on the limits of presidential power after Trump claimed that, “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.” / Mike Pence is emerging as one of the last Republicans in Washington willing to publicly criticize the new administration.

LGBTQ

GOP bill to ban trans athletes from women’s sports blocked in Senate (The Hill)

The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act failed to clear an initial procedural hurdle on a 51-45 vote.

Corruption

Four top New York City officials resign as turmoil ripples over Mayor Adams' corruption case (AP)

Four top deputies to New York City Mayor Eric Adams are resigning in the latest fallout from the Justice Department’s push to end a corruption case against Adams and ensure his cooperation in President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown — a bargain that has raised questions about the mayor’s political independence and ability to lead the city. 

 

WORLD

Ukraine-Russia

US joins Russia to vote against UN resolution condemning Russia’s war against Ukraine (CNN)

The United States joined Russia to vote against a UN General Assembly resolution condemning Russia’s war against Ukraine Monday in a stunning shift from years of US policy.  The vote against the Ukrainian and European-backed resolution saw the US at odds with its longtime European allies and instead aligned with the aggressor in the war on the three-year anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.  The US again voted the same way as Russia later Monday on a US-proposed UN Security Council resolution that did not call the Kremlin the aggressor or acknowledge Ukraine’s territorial integrity. The resolution passed without the support of five European members of the Security Council.

Russia launches largest drone attack on Ukraine on eve of third year of war (CBS)

Russia launched a record 267 drones into Ukraine overnight into Sunday destroying infrastructure and killing at least 3 people, one day before the world marks the third year of Moscow's full-scale invasion. 

Trump’s rush for a deal with Putin leaves Ukraine and Europe scrambling  (CNN)

A dangerous fault line is opening as Donald Trump rushes to end the war in Ukraine.  The US president craves an early political triumph...But an equitable end to the conflict may defy a quick fix since it poses existential issues for Ukraine and European security. This tension was exacerbated by the president’s decision to exclude officials from Kyiv and European powers from US-Russia talks that took place in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

US refuses to blame Russia for Ukraine war, splitting with European allies in UN votes (AP)

In a dramatic shift in transatlantic relations under President Donald Trump, the United States split with its European allies by refusing to blame Russia for its invasion of Ukraine in votes on three U.N. resolutions Monday seeking an end to the three-year war. 

Europe

Leaked memo reveals alarming German warnings over Trump  (Politico)

Donald Trump’s return to the White House has Germany’s diplomatic corps bracing for what it sees as a deliberate dismantling of United States democratic norms. A confidential memorandum written by Andreas Michaelis, Germany's ambassador to the U.S., warns of an agenda of “maximum disruption” that could redefine the American constitutional order.

Scholz rebukes Vance, defends Europe's stance on hate speech and far right (Reuters)

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz delivered a strong rebuke on Saturday to U.S. Vice President JD Vance's attack on Europe's stance toward hate speech and the far right, saying it was not right for others to tell Germany and Europe what to do. Vance lambasted European leaders on Friday, the first day of the Munich Security Conference, accusing them of censoring free speech and criticising German mainstream parties' "firewall" against the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

Mexico

Mexico's President Sheinbaum threatens to take legal action over the Gulf name change  (NPR)

On Monday, Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum outlined a letter she received from Google regarding the controversy over renaming the Gulf of Mexico. / Last week, the tech company updated Google Maps in the U.S. to reflect Trump's preferred title of "Gulf of America." Users in Mexico still see the body of water with its original name, while all other international users view it with both names listed.

The US now considers these cartels and gangs terrorist groups. Here’s what to know about them (CNN)

Tren de Aragua, MS-13 and the Sinaloa cartel are among the two gangs and six drug cartels the US has officially designated as foreign terrorist organizations, fulfilling a long-standing goal from US President Donald Trump’s first term in office.Trump previously ordered the US to declare cartels terrorist groups in a January 20 executive order, but until US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s official announcement on Thursday, none of the cartels had been specifically named.

Mexico sends drug lord Caro Quintero and 28 others to the U.S.  (NPR) - Mexico has sent 29 drug cartel figures, including drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who was behind the killing of a U.S. DEA agent in 1985, to the United States as the Trump administration turns up the pressure on drug trafficking organizations….

Trump’s Funding Freeze Creates Narco Dream at Mexico Border (New Republic)

Donald Trump’s freeze on foreign aid is hurting one of his major campaign promises: taking on fentanyl and ending overdose deaths from the drug in the U.S.

Israel-Gaza

Forensics chief confirms ID of body of Shiri Bibas, no evidence she died in explosion (Times of Israel)

Times of Israel - The director of the Abu Kabir National Institute of Forensic Medicine, Dr. Chen] said there was no evidence that [Shiri] Bibas died in an explosion, refuting Hamas’s claims that she and her sons were killed in an Israeli airstrike…. The military previously said forensic evidence had shown that, like Shiri, neither Ariel nor Kfir was killed in an Israeli strike but were murdered by terrorist captors “in cold blood” in November 2023….  

Trump issues 'last warning' to Hamas over Israeli hostage release (BBC)

..."I am sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job, not a single Hamas member will be safe if you don't do as I say," Trump said in a lengthy post on his Truth Social platform. Hamas accused the US president of encouraging Israel to break the ceasefire deal currently in effect between the two sides. Trump's statement came just hours after the White House confirmed it was holding direct talks with Hamas over the remaining hostages.

Vatican

Pope Francis has pneumonia in both lungs as tests show ‘complex picture,’ Vatican says (CNN)

Pope Francis, who has been hospitalized since last week, was found to have pneumonia in both lungs following a CT scan on Tuesday, the Vatican said, with tests continuing to indicate “a complex picture” for one of the oldest popes in the church’s history.

 

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