Trump Inflation Report Improves, China-Russia-Iran Summit Scheduled – 3/12/2025

United States

  • Robert Morris, Gateway Church founder, faces indictment for five counts of lewd acts with a child in Oklahoma, per CBS
  • A prolonged outage of the federal student loan site Wednesday highlights risks of Trump’s plan to dismantle the Department of Education, per AP
  • Tim Walz kicks off a nationwide series of town halls in Republican strongholds, eyeing a potential 2028 presidential bid, per CNN
  • Trump grants pardon to a former Tennessee legislator jailed for campaign fraud, per CBS
  • SpaceX sets Friday morning as the new launch target for a mission to bring two astronauts home, delayed earlier today, per ABC
  • Scientists predict an Alaska volcano is likely to erupt within weeks or months, per NYP
  • Senators Warren and Wyden caution the Social Security nominee that staff reductions must not disrupt benefit payments, per NBC
  • A Virginia high school track athlete is charged with assault after striking a rival with a baton during a relay, caught on viral video, per ABC
  • A man perishes after a chairlift fall at a Montana ski resort, per AP
  • Massive layoffs at the Department of Education gut a key U.S. education data agency, per ABC
  • Trump’s initial inflation report shows improvement, reversing four months of increases from Biden’s term, per CNN
  • Police say a bomb threat targeted the sister of Justice Amy Coney Barrett at her South Carolina home this month, per Reuters
  • Senator John Fetterman (D) confirms he’ll back the Republican-led spending bill
  • Representative Lauren Boebert demands impeachment of activist judges acting beyond their authority
  • Gas prices in the U.S. have fallen to their lowest since March 2021, according to GasBuddy
  • Audio allegedly captures DEI activist Shelton Snow offering exam answers to minority air traffic controller candidates, per Daily Mail
  • U.S. mortgage rates decline for sixth straight week, hitting lowest point since December 2024
  • Jim Cramer on CNBC suggests Tesla’s stock charts signal a potential upcoming surge
  • Federal judge halts Trump admin from enforcing order against law firm Perkins Coie, per NBC, Reuters
  • Long Island’s Damaris Beltre, 57, indicted for allegedly running a $12M tax fraud scheme with fake returns and PPP loans
  • J.P. Morgan’s Chief Economist aligns with Polymarket, estimating a 40% chance of recession
  • A striking “Blood Worm Moon” lunar eclipse will cast a red glow across North America late Thursday into Friday
  • Trump admin aims to axe taxes for those earning under $150,000 annually, says Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick

International

  • Japan’s 10-year bond futures sink to their lowest level since November 2009
  • China, Russia, and Iran schedule a Beijing summit to address Iran’s nuclear ambitions
  • China releases updated rules for overseeing clean energy development funds, per Reuters Business
  • South Africa’s finance minister seeks broad party backing for a revised budget amid coalition tensions, per Bloomberg Economics
  • Hungary’s ruling party pushes constitutional amendments that may ban an LGBT march and revoke dual citizenship for security risks, per NBC
  • Marco Rubio reveals U.S. sanctions targeting Sweden’s violent Foxtrot gang and its leader, “The Kurdish Fox”
  • Yemen’s Houthis vow to continue attacking Israeli-linked ships until Gaza aid crossings reopen