Trump Deportation Shifts and International Election Moves – 3/20/2025

United States

  • Judge Boasberg warns of “consequences” for Trump admin after defying order to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members
  • Disney shareholders overwhelmingly dismiss anti-DEI proposal to exit HRC equality index, per Fox Business
  • Judge halts DOGE access to sensitive Social Security systems, per CBS
  • Ben & Jerry’s founders push for ousted CEO’s return, per WSJ Business
  • Failed GOP candidate Solomon Pena convicted on 13 felonies for plotting shootings at Democrats’ homes, per Reuters
  • Federal employee unemployment claims dropped last week but stay higher than last year, per Bloomberg Economics
  • Trump admin threatens to cut NYC transit funds over subway crime, despite MTA reporting a 40% drop since 2020, per Bloomberg Economics
  • Trump admin now targets academics for deportation, shifting focus from undocumented migrants, per NBC
  • Fed model shows recession odds plummet, a rare shift seen only 11 times in 65 years, per Bravos Research
  • Southwest flight nearly departs from Florida taxiway; crew “mistook the surface,” per NBC
  • Federal judge stops deportation of Georgetown researcher Badar Khan Suri, detained this week, per ABC
  • Tesla boosts dealership security amid vandalism targeting Elon Musk’s firm, per CBS
  • President Trump signs order to dissolve the U.S. Department of Education
  • AG Pam Bondi files charges against three Tesla attackers, facing up to 20 years in prison, for firebombing dealerships in Oregon, Colorado, and South Carolina. “The days of committing crimes without consequence have ended,” Bondi warns
  • Elon Musk’s DOGE halts $52 million payment to the World Economic Forum
  • Trump uses Cold War-era authority to ramp up U.S. critical minerals production
  • “We are going to be returning education very simply BACK TO THE STATES where it belongs,” says President Trump
  • Barron Trump, turning 19, called a “smart guy” by his father, per Fox
  • Defense Sec. Hegseth cancels $580 million in DoD contracts, vows “transparency”
  • Leaked files uncover USAID, UK, and media groups in a vast censorship scheme targeting Americans, per America First Legal
  • JD Vance nets $228,000 profit selling his DC-area home, per BI

International

  • Venezuelan soccer player Jerce Reyes Barrios deported to El Salvador over a tattoo mistaken for gang ties, despite no criminal record, per ABC News
  • Canadian Liberal leader Mark Carney to call April 28 election as Trump’s tariff threats shift odds, overtaking Conservative Pierre Poilievre
  • Hong Kong’s Li Ka-shing caught in China-US rift over Panama Canal port sale to BlackRock-led group, per Bloomberg
  • Conor McGregor declares he’s running for President of Ireland
  • Putin decrees Ukrainians in occupied territories must take Russian citizenship or leave by September 10
  • UK warns British travelers of strict U.S. immigration penalties, per The Hill
  • Scientists find vast underground ocean on Mars
  • European nations plan to phase out U.S. role in NATO over 5-10 years, per FT
  • Hungary’s FM Szijjarto vows to block EU military aid to Ukraine, saying, “We are going to Brussels to reject the proposals,” per News AZ