Trump’s Executive Orders and International Tensions Rise – 3/15/2025

United States

  • Vice President Vance claims Germany “k*lls itself” by accepting millions of illegal migrants “from countries that are totally culturally incompatible.”
  • Vivek Ramaswamy, running for Ohio governor, vows to eliminate the state’s income tax to boost competitiveness with Texas and Florida.
  • House Republicans, led by Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.), propose legislation to enshrine the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) into federal law, granting Elon Musk and Acting Administrator Amy Gleason authority to cut waste, per Fox News.
  • Oklahoma’s governor reports wildfires have damaged or destroyed over 200 homes across the state.
  • President Trump signs an executive order dismantling several programs, including Voice of America, per WSJ.
  • A Jewish ex-classmate of detained Columbia anti-Israel protester Mahmoud Khalil alleges he “seethed with hatred” for Israel, saying, “He made me feel so uncomfortable” she dropped their class, per NYP.
  • Minnesota Senate Republicans plan to introduce a bill defining “Trump Derangement Syndrome” as a mental illness.
  • A Brooklyn kitten is confirmed as NYC’s second avian flu case, infected by another cat, per NYP.
  • The White House praises the dismantling of the multimillion-dollar BLM Plaza, calling it an “eyesore of a virtue signal,” per NYP.
  • A roof collapse at a St. Patrick’s Day frat party near the University of Pittsburgh injures 16, including three seriously, after students overcrowded it, per a witness: “There were people on that porch area, people right below on the concrete, and then people on the roof and then it all came down.”
  • Suffolk County Police arrest Yolany Mejia Carranza, 55, for illegally posing as a dentist and conducting root canals on immigrants in a sham Long Island clinic, per NYP.
  • U.S. officials frame strikes on pro-Iran Houthi targets in Yemen as a deliberate warning to Iran.
  • President Trump intensifies tariff dispute with Canada, renews bold call to make it the 51st U.S. state, raising questions about his intent, per ABC.
  • Checkpoints are a daily reality for many Americans, forcing them to prove citizenship or residency. A South Texas social worker says undocumented families feel “like in a cage,” per NBC.
  • Trump’s sweeping layoffs of federal workers and research grant freeze could unravel America’s post-WWII scientific dominance, per Bloomberg Economics.
  • Elon Musk plans a Mars rocket launch next year, eyeing human missions by 2029, per Forbes.
  • Trump axes 19 Biden executive orders, reversing policies on heat pumps, gender ideology in diplomacy, national monuments, labor rules, and biotech funding, outpacing Biden’s first-year total, per White House.
  • Ex-Treasury Sec. Lawrence Summers warns Trump’s policies give the U.S. a near 50-50 chance of recession this year, per Bloomberg Economics.
  • U.S. convenience store sales dropped 4.3% by volume in the year ending Feb. 23, as shoppers cut back on cigarettes and snacks, per WSJ.
  • NASA analysis ties unexpected 2024 sea level rise to climate change, per ABC.
  • A rare “Star Wars” medal from “A New Hope,” given to Luke Skywalker, hits the auction block with bids expected between $300,000 and $600,000, per AP.
  • Deadly storms claim at least 19 lives, including 11 in Missouri, with tornadoes and winds sparking fires and flood risks into the weekend, per Forbes.
  • A Los Angeles man wins $50 million from Starbucks after severe burns from a 2020 tea spill, per CBS.
  • Cuts to agencies overseeing U.S. dams may threaten public safety, experts caution, per ABC.
  • U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio declares, “South Africa’s Ambassador to the United States is no longer welcome in our great country,” in an X post.
  • El Salvador to jail 300 Venezuelan Tren de Aragua members deported from the U.S. for a year, with the U.S. paying $6 million, per AP.
  • Trump taps Keith Kellogg as his Ukraine envoy, shifting focus from his prior Russia-Ukraine peace role.
  • Trump orders immediate airstrikes on the Houthis, warning, “To all Houthi terrorists, your time is up & your attacks must stop, starting today. If they don’t, hell will rain down upon you like nothing you’ve seen before!”
  • Trump signs a six-month government funding bill, preventing a shutdown.
  • Retired chef Daniel Quint whips up weekly creole soup for seniors at Bellingham’s Woodrose Apartments to combat hunger, per KING 5.
  • Federal appeals court removes obstacles to Trump’s directives limiting diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, per KTVB.
  • Star receiver Cooper Kupp signs a $45 million contract to join the Seattle Seahawks, returning to his Washington roots, per KING 5.
  • Rescue crews save two Salt Lake City skiers, ages 19 and 20, stranded on Oregon’s South Sister Mountain after one was injured, per KATU.
  • FAA permanently restricts non-essential helicopter flights near Reagan National Airport, shutting down a major route, per KATU.
  • Seattle Fire tracks 139 unstable buildings at risk of collapse, with 33 fixed by owners under new rules, per KING 5.
  • Pennsylvania police seek a masked individual who left a mysterious box at a residence in the early hours, per KATU.
  • U.S. influencer issues apology after public backlash for grabbing an Australian baby wombat, per KING 5.
  • Corey Pickett, 42, killed by gunfire outside a friend’s house, per NBC Los Angeles.
  • Veterans gather at Washington state Capitol to protest cuts to federal jobs, per KING 5.

International

  • Argentina’s President Milei asserts, “We want to be a country where life is easier for those who do things the right way, and much more difficult for those who do things the wrong way,” stressing legal accountability.
  • Cuba’s power grid crashed Friday night, leaving over 10 million in darkness in the island’s fourth major blackout in six months, per CNN.
  • Air Canada apologizes for replacing Israel with “Palestinian territories” on its in-flight maps, per NYP.
  • EU moves to build its own military satellite network, reducing dependence on U.S. intelligence amid doubts over Trump’s defense commitment, per Financial Times.
  • Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, launches “Confessions of a Female Founder,” an eight-episode podcast with female founders sharing unfiltered startup tales, per ABC.
  • Zelensky warns Russian forces are gathering near Ukraine’s Sumy region, signaling a possible new offensive in the northeast, per The Telegraph.
  • Iran’s Central Bank rolls out a 2-million-toman banknote, valued at $47.
  • Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa grants state workers an extra month’s salary for Eid.
  • UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer calls on Russia’s Vladimir Putin to agree to a Ukraine ceasefire to prove his peace intentions.
  • Prime Minister Mark Carney says he’ll hold off on a U.S. trip but anticipates a future talk with Donald Trump at the “appropriate moment.”
  • A French nuclear submarine docks in Halifax, Canada, amid Trump’s alleged threats to annex the nation.