5 things to know for March 20: Department of Education, Pentagon purge, Gaza, Taxpayer data, Alzheimer’s
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The world’s happiest country has been announced and for the eighth year in a row … it’s Finland! Researchers credited the country’s strong social support systems, high trust levels and a less materialistic mindset. The US, on the other hand, received its lowest ranking ever. Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day. President Donald Trump is poised to sign an executive order today to begin the process of dismantling the Department of Education, two administration officials told CNN. Last week, the DOE announced it was cutting 50% of its workforce, a move decried by unions representing federal workers and teachers. The department’s civil rights office, which combats antisemitism, islamophobia, racism and discrimination against students with disabilities, was among the hardest hit. Nearly half of its staff was laid off and its regional offices in Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco were closed. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s order to remove “diversity” content from all of the Pentagon’s platforms has led to a massive purge of information. Tens of thousands of articles about cancer awareness, the Holocaust, the 9/11 terror attacks, sexual assault and suicide prevention were removed as was content about women, LGBTQ people and people of color — including baseball legend Jackie Robinson, who served in the US military during World War II. The automated process has led to “a high level of irresponsible collateral damage,” one defense official said. Separately, the Pentagon is considering making significant cuts to the top of the US military, according to a briefing document obtained by CNN and a US defense official. The plans under consideration include consolidating combatant commands, possibly eliminating a directorate that oversees development, training and education for the joint force and halting the expansion of US forces in Japan. The Israeli military launched a new ground offensive in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday in an effort to “expand the security zone and to create a partial buffer between northern and southern Gaza.” The move comes just one day after Israel broke a 2-month-old ceasefire with Hamas by conducting airstrikes in Gaza that killed at least 400 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Hamas described the latest offensive as a “new and dangerous breach,” and said it remains committed to the ceasefire deal signed in January. Additional Israeli airstrikes overnight claimed at least 40 more lives, the European Hospital said. The IRS and the Department of Homeland Security are engaged in discussions about sharing highly confidential taxpayer data to help authorities ramp up deportations. Currently, undocumented immigrants can register with the IRS and pay taxes — and the agency is required to keep their private information confidential, except in very specific circumstances specified in the tax code. Two immigrant rights groups have already filed suit to block the effort, but on Wednesday, a district judge declined to issue an emergency order blocking the IRS from sharing the data.
Despite the White House’s repeated attacks on federal Judge James Boasberg, the Trump administration remains confident it will prevail in ongoing litigation about the president’s use of executive power.
US authorities have taken a longtime leader of a Los Angeles street gang who investigators say ran a “mafia-like” criminal enterprise that included murder, human trafficking and extortion while he also worked as an entertainment entrepreneur into custody Wednesday after a brief search, officials announced.
Venezuela’s leader described the deportation of 200 migrants deported by the United States to a notorious mega-prison in El Salvador as a “kidnapping”, denied they are criminals and backed calls for their return.
The man who is the last person known to have been with missing University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki is on a plane heading back to the US after he obtained a new passport, a source in the prosecutor’s office told CNN Wednesday.
Canada said on Wednesday that China had executed four Canadian citizens on drugs smuggling charges earlier this year, and strongly condemned Beijing’s use of the death penalty.
President Donald Trump is poised to sign an executive order on Thursday to start the process of dismantling the Department of Education, two administration officials told CNN, a move that will begin fulfilling a major campaign promise.
In a local radio interview earlier this month, Noboa said his government was “already in talks” to receive foreign military support.
The Trump administration has deported hundreds of migrants while refusing to reveal their identities or the evidence against them, prompting complaints from the migrants’ families and from critics who say the administration is trampling on civil liberties.
A maintenance technician alleged on Wednesday that he raised safety issues with the operators of a central Florida amusement ride before a 14-year-old boy fell to his death, but his concerns were never addressed.
Articles about the Holocaust, September 11, cancer awareness, sexual assault and suicide prevention are among the tens of thousands either removed or flagged for removal from Pentagon websites as the department has scrambled to comply with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s order to scrub “diversity” content from all its platforms.
President Donald Trump, in a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei proposing negotiations on a new nuclear deal, made clear that Iran has a two-month deadline to reach an agreement, a source familiar with the letter’s contents told CNN.
Researchers have lost access to a major database of evidence on alleged Russian war crimes, including the locations of more than 30,000 abducted Ukrainian children, and funding for their work has been terminated, according to a letter from House lawmakers and a source familiar with the matter.
The Pentagon is considering making significant cuts to the top of the US military as the Trump administration seeks to shrink the federal government, according to a briefing document obtained by CNN and a US defense official.