Trump Legal Testimony and International PM Meeting – 3/17/2025

United States

  • A U.S. judge has directed Trump’s legal team to testify under oath regarding deportation flights, per Fox
  • The Social Security Administration will reduce its phone support services, per Axios
  • Trump appoints MAGA figures like Michael Flynn and Charlie Kirk to military academy boards, per Politico
  • Texas charges a midwife and an associate with illegal abortions, marking a potential first since Roe v. Wade’s end, per NYT
  • Trump declares Hunter and Ashley Biden will lose Secret Service protection, per CNN
  • A judge in an Alien Enemies Act case reprimands a DOJ attorney for dodging critical deportation-related questions, per MSNBC
  • Astronauts stranded in space for 286 days safely splash down on Earth, per Forbes
  • Students increasingly use AI chatbots like ChatGPT to cheat in school, creating a “giant experiment no one asked for,” per WSJ
  • PepsiCo acquires prebiotic soda Poppi for nearly $2 billion, announced Monday, per NBC
  • About 70% of Americans over 65 will need long-term care, with 53 million caregivers often relying on personal savings, per CBS
  • Walmart replaces Affirm with Klarna as its sole buy-now-pay-later provider, impacting Affirm’s stock and boosting Klarna ahead of its IPO, per CNBC
  • A recent AtlasIntel poll shows JD Vance with 51% favorability, far ahead of Gavin Newsom at 29%, conducted March 7-12
  • Fulton County DA Fani Willis must pay $54,000 following a court order
  • Rep. Ilhan Omar labels the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, signed by President Adams, as “Un-American”
  • Harvard University will now offer free tuition to students from families earning $200,000 or less, per Bloomberg Economics
  • A New Jersey professor is suing William Paterson University after his 380-million-year-old fossil collection was discarded in a landfill due to unpaid invoices, seeking damages for negligence and emotional distress, per NBC News
  • A new poll reveals Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez holds a slim edge among Democrats as the leader best embodying the party’s core values
  • California’s voter rolls show Republicans gaining 138,000 new registrations, dwarfing the Democrats’ increase of 12,000
  • Trump pushes for expanded coal-based energy production, promising to “immediately begin producing energy with BEAUTIFUL, CLEAN COAL”
  • U.S. airstrikes pound Houthi targets in Yemen, destroying multiple weapon depots in a fiery assault overnight
  • Whoopi Goldberg voices fears about potential deportation amid ongoing immigration debates
  • Rep. Thomas Massie warns President Trump that striking Iran would be an “Act of War” requiring Congressional approval
  • Dan Bongino, newly appointed FBI Deputy Director, pledges to overhaul the agency, rooting out corruption and bias to rebuild public trust, per FBIDDBongino
  • Trump reveals plans to release approximately 80,000 pages of JFK files
  • A 2030 Electoral College forecast predicts Texas and Florida each gaining 4 votes for Republicans, while California loses 3 and New York loses 2 for Democrats, shifting the 2024 tally to Trump 321, Harris 217

International

  • Canada’s new PM Carney met French President Macron on Monday, his first foreign trip, to bolster ties amid Trump’s criticisms of Canada’s economy and sovereignty, per NBC
  • The last living Battle of Britain pilot has passed away, marking the “end of an era,” per BBC
  • Georgia’s former President Mikheil Saakashvili receives an additional 4.5-year sentence for illegal border crossing, bringing his total to 12.5 years, per Interpress News
  • Trump plans a Tuesday call with Putin to discuss halting the Ukraine war, now in its third year, per CBS