PEN America announce 2026 World Voices festival with Judith Butler and Bill McKibben

• FBI sources report analyzing an apparent improvised explosive device (IED) left outside the visitor center at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, amid heightened security concerns linked to the Iran war. • The device was discovered on March 19, 2026, prompting a federal investigation by the FBI's National Counterterrorism Center, though no group has claimed responsibility. • This incident heightens fears of domestic terror threats tied to escalating Middle East conflicts, potentially straining U.S. military installations.

• A University of Alabama student disappeared in Spain while on spring break, with foul play fears growing as of March 19, 2026. • U.S. authorities and Spanish police are searching for the student, last seen in a popular tourist area, amid reports of potential abduction risks. • The case underscores vulnerabilities for American travelers abroad during global tensions, drawing State Department involvement.

• Thousands of TSA agents called out sick on March 19, 2026, protesting ongoing delays in wage payments despite federal funding. • The mass absenteeism disrupts airport security nationwide, coinciding with surging travel demands and war-related alerts. • Labor issues risk compromising U.S. aviation safety at a critical time, prompting emergency federal intervention calls.

• The U.S. Federal Reserve decided to hold interest rates steady on March 19, 2026, in its first move since oil prices spiked due to the Iran war. • Officials cite inflationary pressures from energy disruptions but project stability if conflict de-escalates. • The decision impacts American consumers facing higher gas prices, influencing mortgage and loan rates nationwide.

• A New York Times investigation on March 19, 2026, alleges civil rights icon Cesar Chavez groomed and sexually abused teenage girls in the farmworkers movement. • Sources detail multiple accounts of abuse during the 1970s, challenging Chavez's legacy as a labor hero. • The revelations prompt reevaluation of U.S. civil rights history and calls for institutional accountability.

House of Lords decision welcomed as ‘landmark moment’ after attempt to strike out amendment is defeatedUK politics live – latest updatesWomen who have been convicted, and in some cases jailed, over illegal abortions are set to be pardoned after a historic vote in the House of Lords.Last June, the House of Commons voted to end the criminalisation of women who terminate their pregnancies outside of the legal framework, while keeping the existing framework in place. Doctors and others who act outside of the law could still face the threat of prosecution. Continue reading...

Legislators propose designating 31 March as Farmworkers Day in light of allegations against late labor leaderSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxCalifornia legislative leaders are moving to rename Cesar Chavez Day as Farmworkers Day in light of sexual abuse allegations against the late labor leader.California was the first state to designate Chavez’s birthday, 31 March, as a day to honor the civil rights leader nearly 30 years ago. In 2000, the state legislature passed a bill to make it an official paid day off for state employees and require the state to start teaching students about his legacy and his involvement in the labor movement in California. Continue reading...

Duggar, 31, was taken into custody in Arkansas and was awaiting extradition to Florida, where he faces the chargeFormer reality TV star Joseph Duggar is facing a child molestation charge in Florida, almost five years after his brother Josh, who also starred in the TLC show 19 Kids and Counting, was convicted of downloading child sexual abuse images.Joseph Duggar, 31, was arrested in Arkansas, where he lives, and was awaiting extradition to Florida on Thursday. Duggar is charged with lewd and lascivious behavior toward a child under 12 years old, according to an arrest affidavit from the Bay county sheriff’s office in Panama City, Florida. Continue reading...

Fed officials expected to lower capital requirements for banks such as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase by 4.8%Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxUS federal regulators are trying to soften bank requirements, loosening the amount of capital US banks must have in what would be some of the biggest changes to bank restrictions since the 2008 financial crisis and a huge win for financial institutions.On Thursday, US Federal Reserve officials are expected to vote to lower capital requirements – the funds they need to cover risky assets – for the biggest banks by 4.8%, which could free up capital for banks such as JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. Continue reading...

Distributor says authorities warned screening Tunisian film-maker Kaouther Ben Hania’s docudrama could harm India–Israel relationsThe Indian release of The Voice of Hind Rajab, the Oscar-nominated Tunisian film about the death of a five-year-old girl during the Israel-Gaza war, has been blocked by the country’s ratings body, according to the film’s Indian distributor.In a report by Variety, Manoj Nandwana of Mumbai-based Jai Viratra Entertainment said that he was told that if the film was released, it would “break up” India-Israel relations. Continue reading...

Monte Verde, thought to be 14,500 years old, had cast doubt on earlier idea for how humans came to western hemisphereA groundbreaking new study may have once again upended our understanding of human prehistory in the Americas.For years, the predominant theory of how humans arrived in the western hemisphere centred around the Clovis culture, which crossed the Beringia land bridge from Asia between 13,400 and 12,800 years ago, and spread south. Continue reading...

Daria Boyarskaya coordinating OSCE mission to monitor next month’s parliamentary vote in countryHungarian rights groups have raised concerns over the appointment of Vladimir Putin’s former interpreter to a key role in an international election monitoring mission, amid fears of Russian interference ahead of Hungary’s crucial vote next month.Daria Boyarskaya, who worked for many years for Russia’s foreign ministry and interpreted in numerous high-level meetings including one between Putin and Donald Trump, is now a senior adviser at the parliamentary assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE-PA), based in Vienna. She is coordinating the body’s mission to monitor next month’s parliamentary election in Hungary. Continue reading...