It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Friday, March 20, 2026
Aid Group Warns US-Israeli War on Iran Has Unleashed ‘Triple Emergency’ With Devastating Consequences for Millions “With global humanitarian needs already at record levels, further escalation of the conflict in the Middle East and wider region will have grave ramifications for crises across the world,” said one advocate.
A rehabilitation nurse guides a patient through exercises at the International Committee of the Red Cross-supported rehabilitation ward in Juba Military Hospital in Juba, South Sudan on February 19, 2026. (Photo by Luis Tato/AFP via Getty Images)
The US-Israeli war against Iran has unleashed a “triple emergency” that is draining the global humanitarian aid system of resources and putting millions of the world’s most vulnerable people at even greater risk, according to a dire warning issued Friday by the International Rescue Committee.
The war has already resulted in the deaths of thousands and the displacement of millions of people in Iran and Lebanon. But the IRC says that the ripple effects of the war are beginning to spread to conflict zones across the world.
The conflict has caused many nations in the region to partially or fully close their airspace, leaving critical cargo stranded.
Meanwhile, Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for US and Israeli attacks has disrupted the flow of more than 20% of the world’s oil exports, sharply raising transport costs and straining budgets that could go toward lifesaving aid.
“Medical aid is highly dependent on international transport,” said Willem Zuidema, Save the Children’s global supply chain director. “The blockage in the Strait of Hormuz, combined with spiking cost for insurance and fuel, is directly impacting patients in our health facilities, at the worst time possible.”
IRC said $130,000 worth of pharmaceutical aid intended for its humanitarian response to the conflict in Sudan has been left stranded in Dubai due to the strait’s closure.
According to Save the Children, this delay has put 90 primary healthcare facilities across Sudan at risk of running low on supplies.
More than 400,000 children, the group estimated, could be affected by the inability to receive antibiotics, antimalarial drugs, pain and fever medications, and other treatments.
The group said it has been forced to deliver the aid using the much more costly method of transporting it across Jeddah, where it will be carried by sea freight to Sudan, which the group said could add as much as $1,000-2,000 per container.
The same is true of humanitarian zones in Afghanistan and Yemen, where treatments for thousands of children must now be delivered by air or by land, dramatically raising the costs.
The closure of the strait has also forced many vessels carrying aid to find alternative routes. IRC said its shipping partners have been forced to reroute their operations to instead travel around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, adding up to a month for ocean freight deliveries to war zones on the continent.
“What we are seeing is the war in Iran unleashing a triple emergency,” said David Milliband, the president and CEO of IRC.
“First, a surge in humanitarian need, with Lebanon now the most visible humanitarian scar and one of the fastest-growing displacement crises in the world, with over one million people forced from their homes in weeks,” he said.
“Second, a global economic shock, as disruptions to food, fuel, and fertilizer markets, putting up to 30% of fertilizer trade at risk, threatens more than 300 million people already facing acute food insecurity,” said Milliband, and “third, a system under strain, with more than 60 conflicts stretching diplomatic attention and funding to a breaking point, pushing crises like Sudan and Gaza further down the list of priorities.”
Milliband marveled at the priorities of the powers prosecuting the war. He pointed to a recent estimate from the Pentagon that the first six days of the war alone cost $11.3 billion, noting that “just $4 billion is enough to pay for treatment for every acutely malnourished child in the world.”
Zuidema said that the “grave ripple effects” caused by the war are exacerbated by the fact that “governments are cutting vital foreign aid budgets.”
He called on all parties to the war to cease hostilities and to adhere to their obligations under international law, including allowing the free flow of humanitarian aid.
“There should be no barriers to lifesaving supplies: Exemptions should be put in place to allow humanitarian supplies, fertilizer, and food to be able to move through the Strait of Hormuz,” Zuidema said. “With global humanitarian needs already at record levels, further escalation of the conflict in the Middle East and wider region will have grave ramifications for crises across the world.”
As in Gaza, Israel’s ‘Deliberate’ Bombing of Lebanese Civilians Takes Heavy Toll
“When the international community didn’t stop Israel as it deliberately killed nearly 75,000 Palestinians in Gaza, including 20,000 children, Israel knew they could kill civilians with impunity,” said one critic.
A woman stand amid the rubble of the Ahmad Abass Building in the Bachoura neighborhood of central Beirut after it was destroyed by an Israeli airstrike on March 18, 2026. (Photo by Guy Smallman/Getty Images)
Eighty percent of Lebanese people killed in Israel’s renewed airstrikes on its northern neighbor were slain in attacks targeting only or mainly civilians, a leading international conflict monitor said Friday.
Reuters, using data provided by the Madison, Wisconsin-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED),reported that 666 people were killed by Israeli strikes on Lebanon between March 1-16. As of Thursday, Lebanese officials said the death toll from Israeli attacks had topped 1,000.
While Lebanese authorities do not break down the combatant status of those killed and wounded during the war, Israel’s targeting of civilian infrastructure, including entire apartment buildings, and reports of whole families being wiped out, have belied Israeli officials’ claims that they do everything possible to avoid harming civilians.
Classified Israel Defense Forces (IDF) data leaked last year revealed that—despite Israeli government claims of a historically low civilian-to-combatant kill ratio—83% of Palestinians killed during the first 19 weeks of the genocidal war on Gaza were civilians.
According toGaza officials, 2,700 families were erased from the civil registry in the Palestinian exclave during Israel’s genocidal assault.
“When the international community didn’t stop Israel as it deliberately killed nearly 75,000 Palestinians in Gaza, including 20,000 children, Israel knew they could kill civilians with impunity,” Lebanese diplomat Mohamad Safa said on social media earlier this week. “The result is exactly what we’re seeing in Lebanon and Iran right now.”
US-Israeli bombing of Iran has killed at least 1,444 people, according to officials in Tehran. The independent, Washington, DC-based monitor Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRAI) says the death toll is over twice as high as the official count and includes nearly 1,400 civilians.
The February 28 US massacre of around 175 children and staff at an elementary school for girls in the southern city of Minab—which US President Donald Trumpinitially tried to blame on Iran—remains the deadliest known incident of the three-week war.
As Israeli airstrikes intensify and the IDF prepares for a possible ground invasion of southern Lebanon—which Israel occupied from 1982-2000—experts are warning that noncombatants will once again pay the heaviest price.
“Deliberately attacking civilians or civilian objects amounts to a war crime,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights spokesperson Thameen al-Kheetan said earlier this week. “In addition, international law provides for specific protections for healthcareworkers, as well as people at heightened risk, such as the elderly, women, and displaced people.”
As was the case during Israel’s bombing of Gaza and Lebanon following the October 7, 2023 attack, journalists are apparently being deliberately targeted again. Reporters Without Borders said in December that, for the third straight year, Israel was the world’s leading killer of journalists in 2025.
“This was a deliberate, targeted attack on journalists,” said RT correspondent Steve Sweeney after narrowly surviving an IDF airstrike on Thursday. “There’s no mistake about it. This was an Israeli precision strike from a fighter jet.”
“But if they think they’re going to silence us, if they think we’re going to stay out of the field, they’re very, very much mistaken,” he added.
Siding With NYT, US Judge Blocks ‘Outrageous’ Pentagon Press Policy “It’s unfortunate that it took this long for the Pentagon’s ridiculous policy to be thrown in the trash,” said one press freedom advocate.
Chief US Department of Defense spokesperson Sean Parnell and Joint Staff Director for Operations Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich participate in a press conference at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia on March 17, 2025. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
A federal judge in Washington, DC blocked the US Department of Defense’s widely decried press policy on Friday, which The New York Times and reporter Julian Barnes had argued violates their rights under the First and Fifth amendments to the Constitution.
The Times filed its lawsuit in December, shortly after the first briefing for the “Pentagon Propaganda Corps,” which critics called those who signed the DOD’s pledge not to report on any information unless it is explicitly authorized by the Trump administration. Journalists who refused the agreement turned over their press credentials and carried out boxes of their belongings.
“A primary purpose of the First Amendment is to enable the press to publish what it will and the public to read what it chooses, free of any official proscription,” Judge Paul Friedman, who was appointed to the US District Court for DC by former President Bill Clinton, wrote in a 40-page opinion.
“Those who drafted the First Amendment believed that the nation’s security requires a free press and an informed people and that such security is endangered by governmental suppression of political speech,” he continued. “That principle has preserved the nation’s security for almost 250 years. It must not be abandoned now.”
Friedman recognized that “national security must be protected, the security of our troops must be protected, and war plans must be protected,” but also stressed that “especially in light of the country’s recent incursion into Venezuela and its ongoing war with Iran, it is more important than ever that the public have access to information from a variety of perspectives about what its government is doing—so that the public can support government policies, if it wants to support them; protest, if it wants to protest; and decide based on full, complete, and open information who they are going to vote for in the next election.”
The newspaper said that Friday’s ruling “enforces the constitutionally protected rights for the free press in this country. Americans deserve visibility into how their government is being run, and the actions the military is taking in their name and with their tax dollars. Today’s ruling reaffirms the right of the Times and other independent media to continue to ask questions on the public’s behalf.”
The Times had hired a prominent First Amendment lawyer, Theodore Boutrous Jr. of Gibson Dunn, who celebrated the decision as “a powerful rejection of the Pentagon’s effort to impede freedom of the press and the reporting of vital information to the American people during a time of war.”
“As the court recognized, those provisions violate not only the First Amendment and the due process clause, but also the founding principle that the nation’s security depends upon a free press,” Boutrous said. “The district court’s opinion is not just a win for the Times, Mr. Barnes, and other journalists, but most importantly, for the American people who benefit from their coverage of the Pentagon.”
Seth Stern, chief of advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation, also welcomed the ruling, saying that “the judge was right to see the Pentagon’s outrageous censorship for what it is, but this wasn’t exactly a close call. If the same issue was presented as a hypothetical question on a first-year law school exam, the professor would be criticized for making the test too easy.”
“It’s shocking that this sweeping prior restraint was the official policy of our federal government and that Department of Justice lawyers had the nerve to argue that journalists asking questions of the government is criminal,” Stern declared. “Fifty years ago, the Supreme Courtcalled prior restraints on the press ‘the most serious and the least tolerable’ of First Amendment violations. At the time, the court was talking about relatively targeted orders restraining specific reporting because of a specific alleged threat—like in the Pentagon Papers case, where the government falsely claimed that the documents about the Vietnam War leaked by Daniel Ellsberg threatened national security.”
“Courts back then could never have anticipated the government broadly restraining all reporting that it doesn’t authorize without any justification beyond hypothetical speculation,” he added. “It’s unfortunate that it took this long for the Pentagon’s ridiculous policy to be thrown in the trash. Especially now that we are spending money and blood on yet another war based on constantly shifting pretexts, journalists should double down on their commitment to finding out what the Pentagon does not want the public to know rather than parroting ‘authorized’ narratives.”
The Trump administration has not yet said whether it will appeal the decision in the case, which was brought against the DOD—which President Donald Trumpcalls the Department of War—as well as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson, Sean Parnell.
Trump ally used ICE to deport mother of his child during custody battle: NY Times
Former modeling agent and longtime ally to President Donald Trump, Paolo Zampolli asked a top ICE official for help "to settle a personal score" and have the mother of his child deported during a custody battle, according to The New York Times.
Zampolli, a now presidential special envoy, introduced Trump to the president's now wife Melania.
He found out that his Brazilian ex-girlfriend, Amanda Ungaro, had arrested on charges of fraud at her work and in custody at a Miami jail — and last year talked to a top official at ICE, David Venturella, to see if she could be placed in ICE detention, citing that she was in the country illegally, The Times reported.
The two had been going through a custody battle over their teenage son and "now he saw an opportunity" to try and get him back, Friday's report stated.
A source familiar with Zampolli's communications and records acquired by The Times revealed that Ungaro was picked up from a Miami jail by ICE agents before she could make bail and later deported. Although this could have happened without her ex-boyfriend's involvement, it raises questions about how members of the Trump administration have used the federal government during Trump's second term to pursue personal vendettas.
Zampolli denied to The Times that he sought special favors or that he had requested federal officials take Ungaro into custody.
The Department of Homeland Security told The Times that Ungaro was detained and deported over an expired visa after being charged with fraud.
“Any suggestion that she was arrested and removed for political reasons or favors is FALSE,” the DHS statement said.
Zampolli has often bragged about his loyalty to the Trumps, and has known the president for more than 30 years. He even recruited Melania, a former model, from Slovenia. Zampolli also had ties to the late financier and convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
"In the city’s modeling scene, Mr. Zampolli also intersected with Jeffrey Epstein, the financier who would later be accused of sexually abusing hundreds of girls and young women," according to The Times. "The men once discussed buying a modeling agency together, and Mr. Zampolli’s name appears several times in the millions of Epstein documents recently released by the Justice Department.
"In one 2011 email, Mr. Epstein warned an Emirati businessman: 'Be careful, zampoli is trouble. Lots.' He added, 'He sells stories to the press.'"
Zampolli has denied having a close friendship with Epstein. He added that his name was not included as frequently as other people, such as professors, celebrities or monarchs.
“At least I was included, because if you’re not on the list, you’re a loser, right?” Zampolli told The Times.
DOJ moves to prosecute president of Colombia — a vocal Trump critic
Nicole Charky-Chami March 20, 2026 RAW STORY Colombian President Gustavo Petro speaks during a press conference after casting his vote in congressional elections and party primaries for presidential candidate, in Bogota, Colombia on March 8, 2026. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez
The Justice Department has launched an investigation into Colombian President Gustavo Petro, purportedly over his alleged ties to drug traffickers, The New York Times reported on Friday.
The U.S. attorney's offices in Manhattan and Brooklyn are investigating Petro, an adversary of President Donald Trump, and have included agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security Investigations, three sources told The Times. The prosecutors leading the investigation have previously worked on international narcotics trafficking cases.
Investigators were in the early stages of examining whether Petro had met with drug traffickers and if he had received campaign donations from them, according to the anonymous sources who said they could not disclose the information surrounding the active investigations
It's unclear if the separate investigations will result in criminal charges.
"There was nothing to indicate that the White House had a role in initiating either investigation," The Times reported.
Trump could attempt to influence Colombia's presidential elections this May, although Petro, who is the country's first left-wing leader, is limited to serving one term.
"But Mr. Trump, who has frequently wielded criminal inquiries as a cudgel against his rivals and enemies, has harshly criticized Mr. Petro, calling him a 'sick man,'" according to The Times. "And he could use the investigations as leverage in seeking more cooperation from Colombia, which is both the world’s top producer of cocaine and one of America’s most crucial allies in cracking down on narco-terrorism in the region."
After Dropping ‘Made-Up’ Allegation Against Maduro, DOJ Now Reportedly Probing Colombia’s Petro “This is what they did before they abducted Maduro,” said one observer. Colombian President Gustavo Petro speaks during a press conference at the Colombian Embassy in Washington, DC, on February 3, 2026. (Photo by Oliver Contreras/AFP via Getty Images)
The US Department of Justice has reportedly launched multiple drug trafficking investigations into Colombian President Gustavo Petro—a leftist and staunch critic of President Donald Trump—just over two months after dropping a key yet fictitious allegation against Venezuela’s kidnapped leader.
“Three people with knowledge of the matter” told The New York Times on Friday that the US Attorney’s offices in Manhattan and Brooklyn are conducting the investigations in concert with “prosecutors who focus on international narcotics trafficking,” the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Investigators are reportedly probing whether Petro met with any drug traffickers or if his presidential campaign solicited donations from them. The sources told the Times that the probes are in their early states and it is unclear whether any criminal charges would be filed.
The Times noted that “there was nothing to indicate that the White House had a role in initiating either investigation.”
However, Trump has shown exceptional zeal for weaponizing the government to target his political foes and has repeatedly accused Petro—who has been a vocal critic of US imperialism, high-seas boat bombings, and support for Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza—of being a drug trafficker.
Trump has offered no evidence to support his allegations against Petro. The US, on the other hand, has a centuries-long history of involvement in drug trafficking, from China to Southeast Asia to Central America—and Colombia, where the CIAallegedly worked with the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), a far-right paramilitary group founded by drug lords to combat leftist insurgents during the country’s decadeslong civil war.
As a sitting head of state, Petro has immunity from US jurisdiction while in office. But that did not stop Trump from bombing and invading Venezuela to abduct President Nicolás Maduro to the United States. The DOJ charged Venezuela’s president with narco-terrorism conspiracy, conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States, and possession of machine guns and destructive devices.
The DOJ has quietly dropped its “made-up” allegation against Maduro—that he was the kingpin of the “Cartel de los Soles”—after learning that the name is a slang phrase and not an actual criminal group.
After kidnapping Maduro, Trump told Petro to “watch his ass.”
Last October, the US Treasury Department sanctioned Petro and his wife, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying at the time that Colombia’s leader “has allowed drug cartels to flourish and refused to stop this activity.”
This, after the US State Departmentrevoked Petro’s visa after he used his September 2025 United Nations General Assembly address to accuse Trump of complicity in the Gazagenocide and urged the UN to open a criminal case against the US leader for his extrajudicial bombing of boats allegedly transporting drugs from South America to the United States. Petro also implored US troops to “not point your rifles against humanity.”
Some observers say Trump may try to leverage the probe of Petro to pressure him into greater cooperation with the failed but ongoing 55-year War on Drugs. Colombia is the world’s leading cocaine producer whose previous right-wing governments were staunch US allies during and after the Cold War.
According to the Times: At the same time, Colombian news outlets have reported that people linked to traffickers have tried to channel funds to Mr. Petro, including through his son. His son admitted that illicit money entered his father’s 2022 election campaign, Colombian prosecutors said, but they have not brought criminal charges against Mr. Petro himself. He has denied wrongdoing, describing the accusations as politically motivated.
Others speculate that Trump may be trying to put his finger on the scale of Colombia’s May 31 election. As Colombia’s Constitution limits presidents to a single term, Petro has urged his supporters to vote for leftist Sen. Iván Cepeda. Trump has forged close ties with right-wing governments across Latin America, recently hosting his Shield of the America’s summit in Miami and meddling in elections from Honduras to Chile to Argentina.
Relations between Trump and Petro seemed to have been improving. When Petro visited the White House last month for his first face-to-face meeting with Trump, many observers braced themselves for fireworks. However, Trump emerged from the meeting calling it “terrific.” He even signed a copy of his ghostwritten book, The Art of the Deal, for Petro, writing, “You are great” on the title page.
Petro, in turn, posted a photo Trump gifted him of the two men shaking hands, and a handwritten message saying, “Gustavo: A great honor—I love Colombia.”
Displeased White House intervenes as Bill Maher announced as Kennedy Center prize-winner
Donald Trump, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Photos by Yuri Gripas, Elizabeth Frantz for Reuters)
The White House stepped in Friday to stop late-night television host Bill Maher from receiving a prestigious humor award at the Kennedy Center shortly after news of the honor was reported, according to The Atlantic.
Earlier Friday, the outlet reported that Maher – a frequent critic of President Donald Trump – had been selected to receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
But Atlantic staff writer Michael Scherer told his followers on social media, “After this story was published, the White House called the Kennedy Center and made clear that Maher would not receive the prize.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also disputed the report in a statement to the magazine. “This is fake news. Bill Maher will NOT be getting this award.”
The move to block Maher’s award comes amid Trump’s sweeping changes at the storied Washington, D.C. institution. The president took over the Kennedy Center last February by replacing its trustees with loyalists who went on to name Trump as its chair.
The MAGA-fied board also rebranded the venue as the Trump-Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Trump and Maher have sparred in the past, including a recent social media barrage by Trump targeting the HBO host. In a span of roughly 15 minutes on March 6, the president repeatedly posted about Maher, dismissing the comedian as a “joke” and a “total waste of time.”
Trump's FEMA disaster chief claimed he 'teleported' to a Waffle House 50 miles away
The man Donald Trump put in charge of America's disaster response has claimed on multiple podcasts that he once teleported involuntarily to a Waffle House in Rome, Georgia — and that his car was lifted off the ground and carried 40 miles before being dropped in a ditch near a church.
“Teleporting is no fun,” Gregg Phillips told listeners in comments flagged by CNN's KFILE. “It’s no fun because you don’t really know what you’re doing. You don’t really understand it, it’s scary, but yet um – but so real. And you know it’s happening, but you can’t do anything about it, and so you just go, you just go with the ride. And wow, what just an incredible adventure it all was.”
Phillips also claimed that his vehicle “lifted up” as he drove, and carried him 40 miles away from Albany, Georgia, setting him down in a ditch near a church.
Phillips was appointed in December to lead FEMA's Office of Response and Recovery, one of the most consequential jobs in federal emergency management. He rose to prominence as a far-right conspiracy theorist who helped spread the baseless claim that millions of illegal votes were cast in 2016.
In January 2025, Phillips said former President Joe Biden ought to die.
“I would like to punch that b---- in the mouth right now," Phillips said. "He is a nasty, s---, crappy human being, and he deserves to die. And I hope he does."
He also suggested COVID-19 was engineered to kill people, claimed a Chinese army was being imported to kill Americans, and appeared in "2000 Mules," a since-retracted election fraud film whose distributor was forced to issue a public apology.
A FEMA spokesperson downplayed the remarks, telling CNN, “This is so silly it’s barely worth acknowledging."
"DHS, FEMA, and Mr. Phillips are focused on the critical mission of emergency management and ensuring the safety of the American people. Many of the comments cited are taken out of context or represent personal, informal, jovial, and somewhat spiritual discussions made in the context of barely surviving cancer; in a private capacity prior to his current role," the spokesperson said.
Career FEMA officials expressed alarm when Phillips arrived. After watching him in action during January's brutal winter storms, some slightly softened.
"Gregg Phillips is FEMA's best hope at this moment," one senior official told CNN. "I can't believe I'm saying that."
'He thinks he can teleport!' Jake Tapper floored by Trump official's podcast appearances
CNN anchor Jake Tapper appeared stunned after reporting surfaced that the Trump administration official now leading federal disaster response has claimed he once involuntarily teleported to a Waffle House.
Gregg Phillips, the man President Donald Trump put in charge of overseeing FEMA disaster response, made the remarks on multiple podcasts, according to CNN’s KFILE.
“Teleporting is no fun,” Phillips said during a podcast appearance flagged by the network. “It’s no fun because you don’t really know what you’re doing.” The FEMA official also claimed his car was once lifted off the ground and carried roughly 40 miles before being dropped near a church.
“No, that's not an actor from a low-budget sci-fi movie talking about being teleported to a ditch,” an astonished Tapper told viewers Friday. “Those comments come from the man who’s now in charge of leading FEMA’s disaster recovery and response across the United States."
Reacting on air, Tapper raised concerns about the high-level appointment.
“So again, this individual is in charge of the disaster relief response for hundreds of millions of Americans – and he thinks he can teleport to a Waffle House in Rome, Georgia,” the CNN host added.
A FEMA spokesperson dismissed scrutiny of the remarks in a response to CNN, calling the reporting “so silly it’s barely worth acknowledging.”
GESTAPO DEATH CAMP
Fury as teen dies in ICE jail shut down for abuse — and agency can't find arrest record
Royer Perez-Jimenez was found unconscious and unresponsive just after 2:30 a.m. at the Glades County Detention Center in Moore Haven, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Facility staff performed CPR and fire rescue arrived minutes later. He was declared dead about 20 minutes after he was found. ICE said his death is being treated as a presumed suicide, though the official cause remains under investigation.
His death marked the 13th in ICE custody since January and the 46th since Trump returned to office, compared to 24 total deaths across all four years of the Biden administration, according to The Associated Press.
ICE said Perez-Jimenez was arrested Jan. 22 by the Volusia County Sheriff's Office and charged with felony fraud for impersonation and resisting an officer before being transferred to ICE custody in February. But when the AP requested his arrest report from the sheriff, the agency said it searched its system, and Perez-Jimenez didn't appear in it.
The medical examiner's office didn't respond to reporters' requests for his autopsy report. The Florida prosecutor's office referred all inquiries to the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Attorney General's office.
The facility where Perez-Jimenez died has a troubled past. The center was shut down by the Biden administration before being reopened under Trump. Detainees have reported worms in food, malfunctioning toilets and overflowing sewage.
The teen's death ignited a social media firestorm, with writer and advocate Thomas Kennedy noting the facility has also seen a near-fatal carbon monoxide leak and regular exposure to a toxic disinfectant chemical spray linked to severe medical harms.
"19 year old dead at an ICE detention in Florida center know for mistreatment, including a 'near-fatal carbon monoxide leak last November; and regular exposure to highly dangerous levels of a toxic disinfectant chemical spray linked to severe medical harms,'" he wrote on X.
Perez-Jimenez was also the second person to die in ICE custody this week. An Afghan immigrant whose family said he had been evacuated after working with U.S. forces died in a Texas hospital after being detained by immigration authorities.
The Mexican government called detention deaths "unacceptable" in a statement Thursday and demanded a prompt U.S. investigation. Officials from the Mexican Consulate in Miami visited the facility and requested documentation.
Immigration attorney Nicolette Glazer wrote on X, "Horrific! A teenager is the latest victim of punitive immigration detention. He died in the notorious South Glades detention center."
"Immigration detention system deprives people of freedom, isolates people away from loved ones and subjects people to abysmal conditions," said Carly Perez Fernandez, communications director at Detention Watch Network.
Denmark’s military drew up contingency plans to destroy key airfields in Greenland if President Donald Trump made good on threats to seize the Arctic territory, according to a report Friday in The New York Times.
Citing two European officials familiar with the discussions, the outlet reported that Danish soldiers deployed to Greenland in January, equipped with explosives, live ammunition, and blood supplies as Trump’s rhetoric against the remote island escalated. The preparations were aimed at disabling runways and slowing any potential U.S. advances, the Times reported.
“The soldiers never actually did anything to the airfields,” according to the Times' report on Friday. “But Denmark’s consideration of such a scenario shows just how unnerved the Scandinavian country was in January as President Trump escalated threats to take over Greenland, a gigantic Arctic island that has been part of the Danish kingdom for more than 300 years.”
Denmark’s public broadcaster DR first reported details of the plans, revealing that the military exercise involving allies – including France, Germany, Britain, and Norway – was partly intended to signal unity against Trump’s threats.
“Militaries will naturally think: ‘OK, what’s the worst that can happen?’” Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, a senior fellow at the Brussels-based think tank Bruegel, told the outlet. “So you start with the runways and you prepare for combat. Well, blood banks. Live ammunition. There you go,” he added.
Trump eventually softened his tone on Greenland and later invaded Iran alongside Israel, the Times pointed out. U.S. officials have said there were no active American war plans for the island.
Netflix series airs video that puts Trump's striking decline on full display
President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (not pictured) in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C. on March 19, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
A new documentary focused on billionaire news mogul Rupert Murdoch and his family has also revealed the stunning mental and physical decline of President Donald Trump as questions over his health escalate, according to a report from The i Paper on Friday.
Netflix's "Dynasty: The Murdochs" takes a close look at the Murdochs and Trump — his ascendance from a TV celebrity and real estate magnate to the Republican Party's leader. But shocking footage in the series revealed just how much the president has changed, with a comparison of video footage from 10 years ago compared to recent clips of the 79-year-old, according to the report.
The video highlights how much Trump's speaking, bizarre statements and focus have dramatically shifted.
"But perhaps most striking for many Trump watchers is footage from the first debate of the Republican presidential candidates for the 2016 election, which features a coherent and effective – albeit often offensive – performance by Trump, who scored win after win against his opponents," The iPaper reported.
Trump has faced ongoing speculation about his physical and mental fitness, with critics pointing to his frequent verbal snafus, rambling speech patterns and apparent difficulty concentrating during public appearances — sometimes falling asleep during meetings and press conferences.
Medical experts and observers have noted instances where he has stumbled over words, contradicted himself within minutes, and displayed confusion during complex policy discussions. Supporters have argued that such observations are politically motivated, while medical professionals have raised concerns about the cumulative effect of age and stress on cognitive function.
"Trump critics have frequently suggested that he could be suffering from Alzheimer’s disease," according to The i Paper. "Trump in January said that while his father had Alzheimer’s, he did not. However, in doing so, he forgot the name of the disease."
CNBC warns Trump Americans aren't about to cancel Netflix and Spotify to pay for his war
President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he departs the White House for Florida, in Washington, D.C. on March 20, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
President Donald Trump got a harsh reminder on Friday as gas prices soared amid the ongoing Iran war.
CNBC anchor Brian Sullivan suggested that as the economy takes a hit amid the conflict in the Middle East, people are still not likely to cut back on things such as subscriptions for Spotify and Netflix.
"I find it hard to believe that people are going to cancel their Spotify account at 19 bucks a month or Netflix at 22 bucks a month because of the war in Iran and slightly higher gas prices, which, while painful, I don't think they're enough to change people's behavior over a couple of dollars here and there," Sullivan said.
Tom Lee, entrepreneur and financial analyst, described how the economic downturn wasn't just temporary.
"Absolutely not," Lee said. "I mean, people do need to realize that volatility is here to stay simply because the options markets have gotten too big to ignore. They are the story. And so they have a there's a lot of mechanical volatility that gets created that has nothing to do with fundamentals."
.jpeg)
