March 2026 EVENTS

The United States and Israel began attacking Iran on Saturday.

Israel’s air force says it dropped more than 1,200 munitions across 24 of Iran’s 31 provinces over the past day in its joint attack with the US.

As of Sunday morning, the Iranian media has reported preliminary casualty figures of 201 people killed and at least 747 injured as rescue operations continue.

Explosions continue to be heard across Iran with Israel claiming it carried out a large aerial attack on the “heart of the capital”.

The deadliest single incident occurred in the city of Minab in southeastern Iran, where a strike on an elementary girl’s school reportedly killed at least 148 people and injured 95. The attack occurred on Saturday, and the death toll has been climbing since.

Iran responded by launching attacks on 27 bases in the Middle East where US troops are deployed as well as Israeli military facilities in Tel Aviv and other parts of Israel. The countries with the most US soldiers are Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

So far, Iran has launched strikes across eight countries in the region: Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Most of these attacks have been intercepted.

Retaliation by Iran against Israel has results in about 9 people reported killed, and about 141 injured.

US Central Command said that three US soldiers had been killed in action and five seriously wounded by Iranian attacks.

Jordan intercepted 49 drones and ballistic missiles but reported no deaths or injuries.

Kuwait was attacked by several ballistic missiles, which it said were all intercepted by their defense systems.

A drone targeted Kuwait International Airport on Saturday, resulting in one death and 32 wounded.

Oman was targeted by drones, with five injuries.

Qatari reported that two ballistic missiles struck the Al Udeid military base, where US forces are stationed, while they successfully intercepted about 65 missiles and 12 drones.

Saudi Arabia confirmed that Iran targeted Riyadh and the Eastern Province, with no reported casualities.

At least three people in the United Arab Emirates were confirmed killed and 58 wounded.

One person was killed and seven injured when debris from intercepted missiles and drones fell on a residential area near Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi. Another individual was killed by falling shrapnel in a residential district of the capital.

Four airport staff at Dubai International Airport sustained injuries, and four people were injured at Palm Jumeirah after a fire in a building caused by falling debris.

The United Arab Emirate’s Defense Ministry says it detected 165 ballistic missiles, destroying 152, and intercepted two cruise missiles.

 Violent clashes between protesters and security forces in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi and in the country’s north left at least 22 people dead and more than 120 others injured as demonstrators supportive of the Iranian government attempted to storm a U.S. Consulate on Sunday, authorities said.

The violence came after the United States and Israel attacked Iran, killing its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The Guardian reports that all unaccompanied immigrant children who are pregnant, many by rape, are being moved to a single facility in Texas in order to avoid providing abortion services in a significant human rights violation.

Unaccompanied minors who lack immigration documentation are at high risk for trafficking and other forms of harm, so they fall under the care of the office of refugee resettlement (ORR), which previously had facilities across the country capable of caring for children under the age of 18 who are pregnant.

Since July, more than a dozen pregnant children have been moved to a single facility in the small town of San Benito, along the south Texas border. The children kept in Texas are as young as 13, and about half are pregnant because of rape, according to a joint investigation by the Texas Newsroom and the California Newsroom. In Texas, abortion is banned in nearly all circumstances, including rape and incest.

“It’s a choice to ensure zero abortions,” said Jonathan White, who worked previously as a former top official working with children’s programs in the ORR. When a pregnant child is moved to Texas, “as long as she is in Texas, she can’t access an abortion – without a federal official needing to deny her an abortion”, he said.

The “total disregard” for the rights of pregnant and nursing detainees is a “dramatic violation” of international law and public health practices ensuring consensual medical treatment, said Diana Romero, professor and director of the Center on Immigrant, Refugee and Global Health at the CUNY graduate school of public health.

Forcing any individual to carry a pregnancy to term is an “egregious” violation of rights, and relocation from other locations around the country to states with more restrictive abortion laws “adds a whole other layer of concern”, Romero said.

The typical age of pregnant unaccompanied minors is 15 or 16, though they can be even younger, White said. “They’re not grown women. They’re little girls,” he said. Because of their young age, “many of them will be comparatively high-risk pregnancies” who need specialized care – yet it’s not clear whether the south Texas facility, which is hours away from major cities, is equipped to offer that care.

The government does not track the prevalence of sexual assault experienced by unaccompanied girls under the age of 18, but other organizations estimate the rate to be between 80% and 90%, White said. “When I was in the program, about half of the pregnant girls related that their pregnancy was a result of sexual abuse or sexual assault, either in home country or in transit,” White said. Many girls don’t learn they are pregnant until they undergo an exam under ORR’s care.

The office of refugee resettlement is housed within the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), but it is now directed by a career immigration official.

When asked whether the pregnant girls were receiving appropriate care, whether other pregnant detainees were also being moved to states with restrictive abortion laws, and the extent to which ORR is now controlled by immigration officials, HHS spokesperson Emily Hilliard said: “These claims are completely inaccurate,” adding that ORR “remains committed to ensuring the safety, well-being, and appropriate care” for the children in its custody.

Trump fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and said Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma would replace her.

Noem "will be moving to be Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere we are announcing on Saturday in Doral, Florida," Trump posted on social media. "I thank Kristi for her service at 'Homeland.'"

Noem is the first Cabinet secretary to leave the Trump administration in Trump's second term. The announcement comes after Noem spent two days being grilled by lawmakers in Congress over her leadership.

Mullin has been a defender of the president and his immigration agenda.

"A MAGA Warrior, and former undefeated professional MMA fighter, Markwayne truly gets along well with people, and knows the Wisdom and Courage required to Advance our America First Agenda," Trump said in his post, highlighting Mullin's position as the only Native American in the Senate. "Markwayne will make a spectacular Secretary of Homeland Security. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"

Mullin will need to be confirmed by the Senate to take on the role permanently.

Mondelēz International, the snack giant behind Oreo, Cadbury and Toblerone, has invested in an Israeli startup developing lab-grown cocoa butter, Celleste Bio. Products may be hitting shelves by 2027.

Health Policy Watch reports that the United States was the only country opposed to the adoption of “agreed conclusions” at the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) on Tuesday.

There were 37 votes in favor and six abstentions from Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Mali, Mauritania, and Saudi Arabia. The CSW is made up of 45 elected members.

“Prior to the adoption, the representative of the United States [Dan Negrea] first proposed that its consideration be deferred, then that the text be withdrawn and then proposed eight amendments to the text,” according to a UN media release.

The US sought the removal of “controversial social issues” from the document, Devex reports. US objections included “ambiguous language promoting gender ideology”, “vague, unqualified commitments to sexual and reproductive health that can be interpreted as implying abortion rights”, and “censorship language on regulating artificial intelligence”, according to the UN media release. 

The CSW, which was established in 1946, is the main global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality, and the rights and the empowerment of women. 

The proposals focus strongly on justice for survivors of gender-based violence, including integrating gender-responsive access to justice across sectors, formally recognizing community justice actors, and introducing new language on digital justice and AI governance aimed at protecting women and girls. 

The text also strengthens standardized systems for gender-based violence data and promotes a whole-of-society approach that recognizes civil society’s role.

 Some 1,700 Kansans had their driver’s licenses invalidated last month because they are transgender.

Kansas is one of five states to prohibit trans people from changing the gender marker on their licenses, but it is the first to pass a law that retroactively cancels licenses that were already changed. The law also invalidated birth certificates for those who updated their gender markers.

Hundreds of trans drivers already received letters from the state informing them their documents were “invalid immediately” and they “may be subject to additional penalties” if they continue to drive, unless they surrender the license to the Kansas Division of Vehicles and receive a new one with their birth sex.

The Pentagon spent $93.4 billion on grants and contracts in September 2025, including $50.1 billion in just five days, according to a government spending watchdog group, Open The Books.

In September 2025, the Department of Defense spent:

• $225.6 million on furniture, including $12,540 for fruit basket stands and $60,719 worth of chairs from Herman Miller — one of which cost $1,800
• $2 million on Alaskan king crab
• $15.1 million on ribeye steak
• $1 million on salmon
• $124,000 on ice cream machines
• $26,000 on sushi preparation tables
• $139,224 on 272 orders of donuts.
• $98,329 on a Steinway & Sons grand piano for Air Force chief of staff's home
• $26,000 on a violin and $21,750 for a custom-made flute from a luxury Japanese brand. 
• $111,497 on new footrests

In 2025, the Pentagon also spent more than $7.4 million on lobster tail in each of the months of March, May, June and October.

Palantir CEO Alex Karp thinks his AI technology will lessen the power of “highly educated, often female voters, who vote mostly Democrat” while increasing the power of working-class men.

“This technology disrupts humanities-trained—largely Democratic—voters, and makes their economic power less. And increases the economic power of vocationally trained, working-class, often male, working-class voters,” Karp said in a CNBC interview Thursday. “And so these disruptions are gonna disrupt every aspect of our society. And to make this work, we have to come to an agreement of what it is we’re going to do with the technology; how are we gonna explain to people who are likely gonna have less good, and less interesting jobs.”

“These technologies are dangerous societally,” Karp continued. “The only justification you could possibly have would be that if we don’t do it, our adversaries will do it. And we will be subject to their rule of law.… Why is it that we’re absorbing the risk of disrupting the very fabric of our society, including the most powerful parts of our society, if it’s not because it’s about maintaining our ability to be American in the near term and long term?”

Florida's controversial "Anti-Diversity Bill" has passed both the House and Senate, banning municipal funding and promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) activities.

The bill prohibits counties and municipalities from using funds or taking official action related to DEI.

The bill does include exceptions for federal and state holiday celebrations, patriotic observances, and monuments.

While city officials are able to attend events, they are prohibited from doing so in an official capacity. 

The legislation is headed to the governor's desk, where it is expected to be signed into law and will go into effect in January 2027. 

 In Washington cabinet members and political allies have been appearing in identical pairs of classic dress shoes. The footwear, according to multiple reports, is often a gift from Trump.

The shoes are made by the American brand Florsheim, which is owned by Wisconsin-based Weyco Group. Trump has a fondness for the brand and buys pairs to hand out to visitors, advisers, and members of his administration.

Recipients are said to feel a certain pressure to put them on when the president is around, even when they don’t fit. Photos circulating online showed Secretary of State Marco Rubio wearing a noticeably oversized pair. The awkward sizing may stem from Trump’s habit of guessing people’s shoe sizes on the spot.

A fundraising email from Trump’s political action committee promises access to the president’s “private national security briefings.”

The email, sent by Never Surrender, Inc., promotes what it calls a “National Security Briefing Membership” and urges recipients to “claim your spot” with multiple links to donate.

It promises that members will “receive my private national security briefings, unfiltered updates on the threats facing America. The straight truth on border invasions, foreign adversaries, deep state sabotage, and every danger the fake news hides.”

The message includes an official White House photograph showing Trump saluting during a dignified transfer of soldier’s remains at Dover Air Force Base.

“I’m the strong commander who stares down tyrants, obliterates terrorists, and never backs down,” the fundraising email continues. “This is for patriots ready to stand with that kind of unbreakable strength. Not for the weak or the wavering.”

The email was first reported by Patriot Takes.

Today, from a Pentagon podium, in an official government briefing, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said this: “We will keep pressing. We will keep pushing, keep advancing, no quarter, no mercy for our enemies.” The line appears in the official Pentagon transcript, was quoted by Reuters, and was also reported by the New York Times.

“No quarter” has a specific meaning in the law of war. It means refusing to spare the lives of enemy fighters even if they are wounded, helpless, or trying to surrender. It is illegal to give such an order.

Customary International Humanitarian Law (Rule 46): Prohibits ordering that no quarter be given, ordering that no survivors be taken or that enemies be killed even if they surrender. 

Declaring that no quarter will be given is a war crime under the Statute of the International Criminal Court.

The Pentagon’s own law-of-war system says the U.S. military must comply with the law of war, and under that body of law a ‘no quarter’ order is unlawful.

A headhunting presentation, prepared by Heidrick & Struggles, aimed at recruiting Wall Street investment bankers to the Pentagon dangled access to government officials and foreign royal families that could be used to raise capital in the future, according to a slide deck viewed by The New York Times.

The presentation says that the Pentagon is seeking to build a 30-person investment team to deploy up to $200 billion in government investment over the next three years. Joining the team offers “unmatched access to top-level government officials and privileged information flow — whatever you need, you can get.”

“If you ever want to raise your own fund, you will gain access to fund-raising channels that include royal families and foreign sovereign contacts,” the slide deck says.

It is not clear whether Pentagon staff members approved or dictated the content of the presentation, which features an agency logo.

Nine protesters in Texas were found guilty of providing support for terrorism and other charges on Friday in a closely watched case in which prosecutors alleged anti-ICE activists were actually part of an antifa cell.

The case marked the first time the government alleged individuals were part of an antifa terrorist cell in a criminal prosecution.

Nine defendants – Benjamin Song, Zachary Evetts, Autumn Hill, Meagan Morris, Maricela Rueda, Savanna Batten, Ines Soto, Elizabeth Soto and Daniel Sanchez-Estrada – were tried together in the case. They faced a mix of charges of providing material support to terrorists, rioting, attempted murder, as well as firearms and explosive charges.

Sanchez-Estrada was the only defendant not at the protest, and was only charged with corruptly concealing a document or record, after prosecutors say he moved leftwing zines following the arrest of his wife, Maricela Rueda, on the Fourth of July. 

The nine defendants were convicted on all of the charges they faced, with limited exceptions. Of the five charged with attempted murder and firearms charges, Evetts, Hill, Morris and Rueda were acquitted. Song was acquitted on two charges of attempted murder and convicted on one. He was also convicted of the firearms charges.

Song faces a minimum of 20 years and a maximum of life in prison. Arnold, Evetts, Morris, Rueda, Batten, Elizabeth Soto and Ines Soto each face between 10 and 60 years in prison. Sanchez Estrada faces up to 40 years.

“Antifa is a domestic terrorist organization that has been allowed to flourish in Democrat-led cities – not under President Trump,” Pam Bondi, the attorney general, said in a statement. “Today’s verdict on terrorism charges will not be the last as the Trump administration systematically dismantles antifa and finally halts their violence on America’s streets.”

The case centered around a protest on the Fourth of July last year at the Prairieland detention center just outside of Fort Worth. A group of demonstrators dressed in dark clothing arrived at the facility just after 10:30pm and had planned to set off fireworks as part of a noise demonstration to show solidarity with the protesters inside. Shortly after arriving at the facility, two or three of the protesters broke away from the larger group and began spray painting cars in the parking lot, a guard shack, slashed the tires on a government van, and broke a security camera. Two ICE detention guards came out and told the protesters to stop. A police officer arrived on the scene shortly after and drew his weapon at one of the people allegedly doing vandalism. One of the protesters was standing in the woods with an AR-15 and hit him in the shoulder. The officer would survive.

Some of the defendants did not know each other before the protests, while others met previously. The demonstrators brought a cache of weapons, including rifles and bulletproof vests, to Prairieland, but left all but one in a van they used to carpool there.

It is undisputed that there was only one shooter, Song, but prosecutors said the event was a coordinated ambush in which the demonstrators used the fireworks to lure guards from the facility and police and then attack them. The defendants strongly disputed that, saying they planned for a peaceful protest that ultimately went awry. They say they brought the firearms – all purchased legally – for self-defense.

Pío Figueroa, who operates a Latin convenience store in downtown Russellville, Alabama, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials on 30 January while transporting $21,000 in cash to a local bank. The funds have disappeared since his arrest.

Figueroa's shop operates a service enabling local residents to send funds to families across Latin America, and the money was from this service. 

On 30 January, police stopped him while he was en route to deposit the cash at a local bank. His family and legal representatives have no explanation for why the stop was made.

Following his arrest, the money disappeared. No explanation has been provided to his family or attorneys as to what became of the funds.

The family’s legal team launched an investigation into the missing funds. Attorney Ruby Adams noted that inquiries encountered a significant obstacle due to the absence of accountability measures at the federal level.

'Local law enforcement, if they were involved, there would be body cam of the situation and a lot more protocols that are taking place,' Adams said. The family was informed that ICE agents do not use such recording equipment. 'We're just being told that there's no body cams, so there's no way to track it,' Adams added.

Following his detention, Figueroa was transferred to the Winn Correctional Center, a federal detention facility in Louisiana. He has since communicated with his family about conditions inside, reporting that detainees receive only two meals a day in small portions and that temperatures in the facility have contributed to illness among those held. 

Trump posted on Truth Social about Iran’s national team traveling to the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The United States is one of the host nations for the 2026 World Cup, alongside Canada and Mexico.

“The Iran National Soccer Team is welcome to The World Cup, but I don’t really believe it is appropriate that they be here, for their own life and safety. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump wrote.

Iran have already qualified for the tournament and are scheduled to play group-stage matches in U.S. host cities, including Los Angeles and Seattle.

The Guardian reports that on Saturday, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chair Brendan Carr made a post on social media threatening broadcasters running “fake news” regarding their license renewals, stating “The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not.”

In his post, Carr falsely claimed that it was in the news industry’s “own business interests since trust in legacy media has now fallen to an all-time low of just 9% and are ratings disasters”.

He went on to say that “It is very important to bring trust back into media, which has earned itself the label of fake news”.

The FCC controls the airwaves, including “commercial and non-commercial fixed and mobile wireless services, broadcast television and radio, satellite and other services” under the Communications Act of 1934.

In his post, Carr copied a Truth Social post by Trump complaining about “misleading” coverage on Iran.

“Yet again, an intentionally misleading headline by the Fake News Media about the five tanker planes that were supposedly struck down at an Airport in Saudi Arabia, and of no further use,” Trump wrote Saturday on Truth Social.

Trump specifically mentioned the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, saying that they “and other Lowlife ‘Papers’ and Media actually want us to lose the War”, calling the outlets’ reporting “the exact opposite of the actual facts!”

“They are truly sick and demented people that have no idea the damage they cause the United States of America,” he added.

Hegseth also spoke on Friday about “fake news” in relation to reporting on US-Israeli action in Iran.

“Some in this crew, in the press, just can’t stop. Allow me to make a few suggestions. People look up at the TV and they see banners, they see headlines. I used to be in that business. And I know that everything is written intentionally,” he said.

Hegseth also referenced the recent acquisition of CNN parent Warner Bros Discovery by Paramount Skydance, owned by multibillionaire Larry Ellison and son David Ellison. “The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better,” Hegseth said.

•  More than 1,200 Iranian civilians have been killed. This includes at least 165 civilians killed in the strike on an Iranian school.
• Over 10,000 Iranians have been injured.
• Up to 3.2 million Iranians have been temporarily displaced.
• 25 Iranian hospitals have been damaged, with 9 out of service.
• At least 13 U.S. service members have been killed, including 7 by enemy fire. 
• 773 people have been killed in Lebanon.
• 1,933 people have been injured in Lebanon.
• 830,000 people have been displaced from Lebanon.
• 12 civilians, 2 soldiers have been killed in Israel.
• At least 16 have been killed in the Gulf State.
• U.S. has spent about $16.5 billion in the first 12 days of war, with $3.7 billion spent in the first 100 hours of Operation Epic Fury.
• More than 15,000 targets have been hit by the U.S.-Israeli campaign.
• More than 90 Iranian vessels have been damaged or destroyed, with 16 ships struck in the region.
• There have been 3 Israeli strikes in central Beirut.  
• 6 Iranian Historical Sites, including UNESCO World Heritage Sites damaged. The list includes Golestan Palace, Chehel Sotoun Palace, Masjed-e Jame (Jameh Mosque), Ali Qapu Palace, the Khorramabad Valley prehistoric sites in Lorestan Province, and Falak‑ol‑Aflak Citadel (Shapur Khast Castle).

In a statement on X, Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, has alleged that remnants of the Epstein network are conspiring to stage a 9/11-style attack and falsely blame Tehran. 

Iran's top security official issued the warning Sunday regarding an alleged plot to orchestrate a large-scale terrorist attack and pin responsibility on the Islamic Republic. 

"I've heard that the remaining members of Epstein's network have devised a conspiracy to create an incident similar to 9/11 and blame Iran for it," Larijani posted, without providing specific evidence or details about the alleged plot. 

"Iran fundamentally opposes such terrorist schemes and has no war with the American people," he wrote, attempting to preemptively counter any narrative that would link Iran to mass casualty attacks on US soil.

ICE agents have been deployed to major airports across the US as a government funding standoff leaves many airport security staff off work.

The partial government shutdown affects the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), meaning many airport security officers are working without pay. The financial strain has led to increased absences, causing staff shortages and delays at security checkpoints.

About 50,000 TSA officers have not been paid after Congress failed to pass funding legislation on February 14.

Although TSA officers are considered essential workers and many are still on the job, the lack of pay has led to increased absences and staffing shortages at airport security checkpoints across the country. Many TSA workers have had to take second jobs to support their families while they are not being paid.

As a result, long lines and delays have been reported at several major airports. 

The DHS said that on Sunday, nearly 12 percent of TSA officers – more than 3,450 workers – did not report for duty, the highest absence rate since the shutdown began in February.

In early February, lawmakers approved a $1.2 trillion spending package to fund most of the federal government through September.

However, funding for the DHS – which oversees agencies including the TSA, ICE, and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), was left out and was supposed to be voted on separately.

Democrats refused to support the DHS funding bill unless changes were made to immigration enforcement policies. Their demands included requiring immigration agents to clearly identify themselves and banning racial profiling.

Republicans rejected the proposed changes and also opposed a Democratic plan to pass partial DHS funding that would exclude immigration enforcement.

Even though ICE is part of the DHS, it is not affected in the same way as TSA because ICE already received separate funding through Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”, which gave ICE and CBP billions of dollars in funding that does not expire for several years. This means the agencies can continue operating and paying staff even if DHS funding is blocked.

Trump announced the plan on Sunday.

“If the Radical Left Democrats don’t immediately sign an agreement to let our Country, in particular, our Airports, be FREE and SAFE again,” Trump wrote, “I will move our brilliant and patriotic ICE Agents to the Airports where they will do Security like no one has ever seen before.”

In a follow-up post hours later, Trump said he had decided to go ahead with the move and had told the agency to “get ready”. “I look forward to moving ICE in on Monday,” he wrote.

Acting Deputy TSA Administrator Adam Stahl said ICE agents would be at airports to “help support” staff in “non-specialised security functions”.

But Trump said in social media posts over the weekend that ICE could detain undocumented immigrants at airports, and made specific references to Somali migrants, whom he has repeatedly singled out in recent months.

Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents TSA officers, said in a statement that TSA members “deserve to be paid, not replaced by untrained, armed agents who have shown how dangerous they can be”.

ICE officers were observed at:

• George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.
• Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
• John F Kennedy International Airport in New York.
• Louis Armstrong International Airport near New Orleans.
• Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.
• Chicago-O’Hare International Airport.
• Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.
• Houston’s William P Hobby Airport.
• LaGuardia Airport (New York).
• Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (San Juan, Puerto Rico).
• Philadelphia International Airport.
• Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
• Pittsburgh International Airport.
• Southwest Florida International Airport (Fort Myers, Florida).

Markwayne Mullin was sworn in on Tuesday as the new Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. 

In 1998, he assumed control of his family's plumbing business after his father's health declined. 

A member of the Republican Party, Mullin served as the junior United States senator from Oklahoma from January 2023 to March 2026 and as the U.S. representative for Oklahoma's second congressional district from 2013 to 2023.

Speaking at an event organized by City Elders, a conservative Christian political organization, in October 2023, Mullin, a former professional mixed martial arts fighter, said parents must be willing to “shepherd” their children, including through punishment.

“I was raised by the fear of a belt,” Mullin said, gesturing to his father in the audience. “I never seen a man that could take a belt off so fast, double it up and still hit you. I don’t know how in the world he done that. I’ve tried it and I just can’t. But that fear was enough to keep me straight, right?”

At the 2023 City Elders event, first reported by the progressive news outlet MeidasTouch, Mullin told the audience, in a comment that was met with a round of applause, that he has had “no problem” spanking his six children.

“As I’ve got older, I’ve had to learn new ways to discipline,” he said. “But my girls — I’ve never seen someone like it — my girls, I’m telling you, they’re loving kids. They’re, I mean, truly loving little girls. You can’t imagine how loving they are.” 

“I can spank them, and I’m still upset, and they’ll come and crawl on my lap two minutes later and just hug on me,” Mullin added. “I’ve had to learn how to forgive more.”

Mullin then told the crowd that spanking his teenage daughter, Larra, who was also in the audience, when she was a young girl had been “like a four-minute ordeal.”

“Because she’s like, ‘No, Daddy! No, Daddy! No, Daddy! I’m sorry, Daddy! I’m sorry, Daddy!’” Mullin said, earning scattered laughter. “And then she’d get madder and madder, and she just couldn’t bring herself to even bend over for me to bust her butt. And I was like, ‘Hun, you got like two seconds, or you're going to get two instead of one.'”

Earlier, Mullin told the group that he had once threatened Larra’s boyfriend. “I told him, ‘If I ever see you kiss her in front of me, I’m dragging your face across the asphalt,’ ” Mullin said, “and that’s a true story.”

As Homeland Security secretary, Mullin (right) will lead more than 250,000 federal law enforcement officers at DHS, which has been shut down for 38 days due to Democratic opposition. 

Mullin was confirmed by the Senate Monday evening in a 54-45 vote. Two Democrats supported him, Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico and one Republican, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, voted against him.

Republican lawmakers in Ohio are pushing to pass House Bill 249, a measure that expands public indecency laws and violates the First Amendment. The bill specifically targets anyone whose gender presentation doesn’t match their “biological” identity.

The bill passed the House 63-30 and is now headed to the Senate, where it will likely sail through before landing on the governor’s desk. 

The legislation “prohibits adult cabaret performances outside of licensed facilities in locations where minors could be present” and “expands public indecency laws to include performers who exhibit non biological gender or with clothing, makeup, fake breasts or other physical traits.”

The bill’s sponsor, Republican Angela King, framed it as protecting children. She says it’s “about shielding the next generation from premature sexualization and erosion of their innocence.”

The New York Times reports that on Monday, Israel's parliament passed the "Penal Bill (Amendment ― Death Penalty for Terrorists).”

A total of 62 of 120 lawmakers in the Knesset voted to approve the bill on Monday, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while 48 voted against it. The rest abstained or were not present for the vote. In theory, the new law could still be revised or even struck down by the Israeli Supreme Court.

According to the wording of the bill, the new law's purpose is to "establish the death penalty for terrorists who carried out murderous terror attacks, as part of the fight against terrorism." It further states that "a person who intentionally causes the death of another with the aim of harming a citizen or resident of Israel, with the intent of rejecting the existence of the State of Israel — his sentence shall be death or life imprisonment, and only one of these penalties."

Palestinians in the occupied West Bank convicted of terrorism in military courts will face a mandatory death sentence or, in the wording of the bill "... his sentence shall be death, and this penalty only."

Only if the court determines that there are "special reasons" can it then commute the death sentence to life in prison. Consensus among all judges is no longer required under the new law. A simple majority will suffice, and avenues for appeal are extremely limited.

B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization, said in a statement released before the law was passed that "these military courts have an approximately 96% conviction rate, based largely on 'confessions' extracted under duress and torture during interrogations." 

The Israel Prison Service (IPS) will be required to carry out the death sentence within 90 days. The prime minister can apply to the court that handed down the sentence to delay the execution by no more than 180 days. The execution, by hanging, will be undertaken by a prison service corrections officer. 

The death penalty bill was sponsored in the Knesset by lawmakers of the far-right Jewish Power ("Otzma Yehudit") party, with support from lawmakers from Netanyahu's Likud party and the conservative Yisrael Beitenu party.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, head of the far-right Jewish Power party and Minister of National Security, was one of the leading voices calling to revive the death penalty. He turned it into a populist campaign and wore a golden noose-shaped lapel pin throughout the campaign.

During Ben-Gvir's tenure as Minister for National Security, Israeli human rights groups such as Physicians for Human Rights have reported a sharp increase in cases of abuse and torture in Israeli prisons and military detention centers.

Ramallah-based Palestinian lawyer Sahar Francis labeled the bill "very dangerous."

"This law reflects the fascist state that Israel is becoming because it is going to be a very discriminatory law," she told DW before the law was passed, explaining her stance by saying that the law would de facto only apply to Palestinians. 

She also pointed out that according to international humanitarian law, "Israel has no right at all to implement the death penalty on occupied people in the occupied territories. It is a discriminatory law that violates international law. They never find themselves held accountable."

Far-right lawmakers in Israel's Knesset were seen cheering and celebrating with champagne on Monday after the law was passed.

On March 31, the U.S. Forest Service announced plans to move its headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Salt Lake City, Utah.

Many regional offices will close in the reorganization, and their services will shift to hubs in New Mexico, Georgia, Colorado, Wisconsin, Montana and California. Instead of maintaining multiple dispersed research stations with their own leadership, the agency will anchor its research at a single location in Fort Collins, Colorado, shuttering research and development facilities in more than 30 states.

According to a news release, the plan is intended to make the agency more “nimble, efficient [and] effective.” Forest Service leaders told staff on a call after the announcement that no changes will be made to fire and aviation management programs or field-based operational firefighters.

Many regional offices will close in the reorganization, and their services will shift to hubs in New Mexico, Georgia, Colorado, Wisconsin, Montana and California. Instead of maintaining multiple dispersed research stations with their own leadership, the agency will anchor its research at a single location in Fort Collins, Colorado.

With the move to Utah, about 260 Forest Service positions currently located in Washington are expected to relocate, and 130 workers will stay put, the agency said.

Deputy Agriculture Secretary Stephen Vaden said Salt Lake City stuck out for its reasonable cost of living, proximity to an international airport and the state’s “family-focused way of life.” It’s a Democratic-led capital city in a red state with values rooted in the locally headquartered Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, known widely as the Mormon church.

Taylor McKinnon at the Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity described the move as “a costly bureaucratic reshuffle” that will put more power in the hands of corporations and states to log, mine and drill public lands.

“National forests belong to all Americans,” said McKinnon, the environmental group’s Southwest director. “Our nation’s capital is where federal policy is made and where the Forest Service headquarters belongs.”

Josh Hicks, conservation campaigns director at The Wilderness Society, predicted that the move will lead to less access to public forests and threats to wildlife habitat, clean water and air.

“At a time when wildfires are getting worse, and access to public lands is already under strain, the last thing we need is an unnecessary reorganization that creates chaos and confusion for the land managers, researchers and wildland firefighters who help keep our forests healthy now and for future generations,” he said.

 Early last year, Trump fired Charlotte Burrows, then chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), along with her fellow Democratic commissioner Jocelyn Samuels, well before their terms were set to expire. It was something no president had ever done before and paved the way for Republicans to have a majority on the bipartisan commission.

The EEOC was established through Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as Congress sought to remedy the vast racial injustices faced by Black Americans. 

Now EEOC chair Andrea Lucas is changing the priorities of an agency that was designed to protect vulnerable and underserved workers.

In late February, Andrea Lucas sent a letter to the leaders of Fortune 500 companies, warning that a company's DEI policies or practices may be illegal if they lead to employment decisions based even just in part on a person's race, sex or other protected characteristic.

In an accompanying statement, she said she was urging corporate America "to reject identity politics as its solution to society's ills."

Under Lucas, the EEOC has dismissed multiple lawsuits on behalf of transgender and nonbinary individuals. Lucas also opposed a 2024 update to the commission's workplace harassment guidance which included a section on gender identity. “Sex is binary (male and female) and is immutable,” she wrote in her dissent.

Instead, Luca has focused on perceived discrimination against white people.

The EEOC is investigating Nike's hiring goals and career development practices to see whether they disadvantage white people. The agency also made a Planned Parenthood affiliate pay $500,000 to settle charges of harassment and discrimination against white people. Late last year, Lucas herself made a direct video appeal to white men to come forward if they believe they've been disadvantaged due to their sex or race.