– America and Russia start negotiations on Ukraine in Saudi Arabia. The talks will last 12 hours, but results are not yet shared.
– Paula White, the White House Faith Officer just appointed by Trump, is asking believers to “donate” $1,000 before Easter in exchange for seven supernatural blessings. “God will assign an angel to you…. He will give you prosperity. He will take away sickness from you. He will give you long life,” she said in a commercial.
– Trump states that the new import tariffs he previously announced as of April 2 will still be limited and some countries may receive a rebate.
– Kristi Noem, the Secretary of Homeland Security, states during cabinet deliberations that the U.S. plans to eliminate federal disaster relief organization FEMA.
– Trump announces Dr. Susan Monarez as his nomination for director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
– National security adviser Mike Waltz inadvertently adds journalist Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic to a Signal group with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other senior officials detailing attack plans on Houthi targets in Yemen.
– The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to continue mass layoffs of workers who are on probation, following a ruling by Judge Alsup that required the government to reassign thousands of laid-off workers. The government sees the ruling as exceeding the powers of district judges.
– Vice President Vance said in an interview, “Denmark, which controls Greenland, is not a good ally. We have to protect our own national security. If that means taking more territorial interests in Greenland, that’s what President Trump is going to do.
– Trump announced a new 25% tax on trade with countries that buy oil or gas from Venezuela, because of Venezuela’s support for criminals and hostility to the U.S. The tax will take effect April 2, 2025. Countries taking oil include China, Italy, Spain and Cuba.
Fallout
– Judge Boasberg rejected the Trump administration’s request to lift the order blocking the deportations of Venezuelans under the Alien Enemies Act. He ruled that those affected are likely to be vindicated because they are entitled to individual hearings and due process.
– Congressmen and national security officials are reacting with shock at The Atlantic’s news. Democrats are demanding hearings and concerns are being raised about the leak, including not using secure communication channels, not archiving the chats (which is required by law) and apparently adding a journalist to a chat group without verification.
– Several sources report to The Moscow Times Russia is deliberately stretching the peace talks over Ukraine to gain more territory and strengthen its negotiating position vis-à-vis the US.
– A federal judge prohibits the Texas A&M administration from canceling a planned drag show on campus. The judge ruled that Trump’s executive order does not override First Amendment protections.
– The Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) payroll payment system, known as VATAS, has not been functioning properly since Thursday and is reportedly in “Emergency Mode” for the first time ever. This is causing delays in processing paychecks. VA employees are temporarily using manual time cards to process payments, but several people say they have been notified that they will not receive their money in a timely manner.
– A federal judge blocks DOGE from accessing sensitive personal data of millions of Americans at the Departments of Education and Treasury and the Office of Personnel Management. The judge ruled that such access likely violates the Privacy Act of 1974, which prohibits unauthorized disclosure of personal information by the government, citing Congress’ concern at the time that one official or agency could compile “every detail of our personal lives” in an instant.
– Louis DeJoy, the director of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), announces his resignation. He is temporarily replaced by Doug Tulino until a successor is named. His resignation comes after years of restructuring within the USPS. His resignation follows rumors of Trump’s plans to restructure the USPS and a possible conflict with DOGE.
– A federal judge in New Jersey is prohibiting the Trump administration from taking steps to fire two decorated transgender members of the military.
– A vote is scheduled next week in the House of Representatives on Representative Darrell Issa’s “No Rogue Rulings Act. The proposal seeks to limit the powers of federal judges who impede Trump’s policies through nationwide court orders.
– There is a broad trend of European universities deliberately attracting American scholars fleeing political and ideological interference in the U.S. under Trump, reports The Guardian. Several universities say they are working on this.
– The White House confirms that Goldberg was indeed inadvertently in the Signal group.
– Defense Secretary Hegseth denies that war plans were shared in the Signal chat. ‘Nobody was texting war plans.’ He also calls Goldberg “a deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist. Goldberg responds that Hegseth is lying and that a list of “human targets to be killed in the attack” was even shared.
– DOGE, according to the Washington Post, plans to lay off up to 20 percent of the office tasked with stamping out Social Security fraud. One of the contracts already terminated provided funding for an investigation into preventing scams. Many such efforts are scams in which a fraudster poses as someone on Social Security. They resulted in losses of at least $577 million last year, often by extorting seniors’ personal information.
– Yunseo Chung, a 21-year-old college student who has lived in the U.S. since she was seven, is suing the Trump administration seeking to deport her for her participation in pro-Palestinian protests. The government considers her behavior “troubling.” Chung pasted posters at Columbia University stating that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. According to the university, she did not violate any policy rules in doing so, documents for the lawsuit say. Freedom of speech is under attack, her lawyers say.
– Democrats are being urged by their supporters to take the news of the Signal Group big and not let it go, but there are also many reactions to this from people who think this too will fade into oblivion after a few days. They also fear that Trump will come up with some bizarre proposal about something to divert attention from the issue.
– The chairman of the House Republicans responded to the outcry over the Signal group, “Measures will be taken to prevent this from happening again. Asked by The Hill if Waltz and Hegseth should be disciplined for sharing sensitive details, Johnson replied, “No, no, of course not.”
– The Supreme Court denied Trump ally Steve Wynn’s request to review the landmark press freedom case “New York Times v. Sullivan,” preserving journalists’ protections against defamation claims made by public figures without evidence of intent.
– Employees of the US Agency for Global Media, such as Jaewoo Park of Radio Free Asia, fear deportation to countries like Vietnam and Myanmar, where they risk imprisonment or death. The cessation of funding threatens independent media like Voice of America, which provides important news coverage to countries like North Korea.
– Fox host Brian Kilmeade says in response to the deportations to El Salvador, “It’s not practical to think that we can give right to trial to 8 million people…. if we want to give every one of these people time in court and a lawyer, we can’t. They don’t deserve it.”
– The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) files an affidavit from a Venezuelan woman who wanted ICE to extradite her to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act, stating that she overhears ICE agents on the plane talking about the court order to turn the plane around: i.e., that order was in in time for them to return, but it did not happen.
– The United Nations is warning employees at its global headquarters in New York to carry their UN ID cards and passports with them at all times as ICE addressed several people last week. Never before has the UN issued a warning about this.
– After Tesla supporters call for boycotting the Vancouver International Auto Show because Tesla was barred there out of concern for the safety of employees, visitors and exhibitors, the event is actually breaking attendance records. More than 138,000 visitors came to the show.
– Families of several people deported to El Salvador were told that their relatives had signed documents to be deported to Venezuela, but were instead sent to El Salvador. One woman, who was also deported but later sent back because she was a woman, reported that she was repeatedly told they were going to Venezuela even when the plane was already on its way.
– Hillary Clinton, who was under fire from Republicans for years for using a private server for e-mail traffic when she was Secretary of State tweeted, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
– Judge Patricia Millett, in a case about people deported to El Salvador, says: ‘There were planeloads of people. There were no procedures in place to notify people. Nazis got better treatment under the Alien Enemy Act than has happened here.’
– Police find undetonated incendiary bombs at a Tesla dealership in Austin.
– In Florida’s 6th District, Democrat Josh Weil raised $9 million, while Republican Randy Fine collected only $987,759. This large difference is causing concern among Republicans, as the district was previously passed by Tr
– Hyundai and President Trump announced a $20 billion on-shoring investment in the U.S., including a $5.8 billion steel plant in Louisiana. The plant, which will create more than 1,400 jobs, will produce 2.7 million tons of steel annually and supply auto plants in Alabama and Georgia.
– Trump’s portrait in Colorado will be removed, state Capitol employees report.
– Tesla’s market share in the European electric car market is down 58 percent in the first two months of this year, from 18.4 percent in 2024 to 7.7 percent. At the same time, Chinese EV brands are gaining ground, with nearly 20,000 vehicles sold in Europe in February, well above Tesla’s 15,700.
– Tesla’s shares are up nearly 12% March 24, in part due to optimism about possible tariff cuts, Musk’s confidence in the company’s future and an attractive entry price after previous share price declines. In addition, Tesla is benefiting from a general rise in technology stocks on Wall Street.
