Thursday, March 26, 2026

March 26, 2026

Good morning,

A quick note before today's news: Yesterday, I sent a separate email asking for reader support to keep Cut to the News going. Besides donations, there are no other sources of funding for the newsletter.

Already, 45 of you have chipped in, and it's greatly appreciated. But we are still well short of our goal. If you missed the email or meant to get back to it, today's a good day. Please click here now. Thank you! On to the news.

Leading the News . . .

L.A. jury hits Google and Meta with $3M over YouTube, Instagram addiction claims . . . A Los Angeles jury found Google and Meta liable for $3 million after a 20-year-old plaintiff argued their platforms' design fueled addiction starting in youth. Jurors ruled the companies negligent for engineering attention-grabbing features without adequate warnings, a decision poised to ripple across thousands of similar lawsuits. With punitive damages still pending, the verdict signals mounting legal pressure on tech giants over user harm and accountability. Reuters

Do Back-to-Back Courtroom Losses Herald Meta's 'Big Tobacco' Moment? . . . Meta, fresh off $60 billion in profit, now faces a more serious threat than modest damages after back-to-back jury verdicts in California and New Mexico found it liable for harms to young users. Legal experts warn the rulings could crack long-standing liability shields, opening the door to a wave of lawsuits built on product-defect claims. Meta itself cautioned such outcomes could force sweeping changes to platforms used by billions. Wall Street Journal

Politics

U.S. intercepted Ukraine government messages discussing plot to route money to Biden re-election . . . A declassified intelligence summary reveals U.S. intercepts of Ukrainian officials allegedly pursuing a scheme to divert hundreds of millions in American clean energy funds into the United States to benefit Joe Biden's 2024 campaign and the DNC. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has ordered a records sweep through USAID to determine whether the plot advanced and if it warrants an FBI referral. Just the News

Consent Decree Marks Final Defeat of 'Orwellian' Biden 'Censorship Regime . . . Republican attorneys general in Louisiana and Missouri secured a consent decree blocking federal officials from pressuring social media companies to curb dissenting COVID-19 views, calling prior tactics coercive and Orwellian. They argue the Biden administration leveraged threats to Section 230 protections to turn platforms into de facto government censors. The agreement marks a significant legal check aimed at preventing future federal influence over online speech. Daily Caller

Pulte targets Letitia James in revived fraud probe spanning Illinois and Florida . . . Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte moves to reignite a stalled Justice Department probe into New York Attorney General Letitia James, issuing fresh criminal referrals after a judge previously dismissed similar claims. The filings allege James misrepresented how properties in Illinois and Florida would be used to secure insurance policies, raising new scrutiny over potential fraud tied to filings with major insurers. Washington Examiner

MAHA Surgeon General Pick Hits Republican Opposition in Senate . . . Dr. Casey Means, tapped by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for surgeon general, is stuck in limbo as key Republicans on the Senate health committee withhold support, leaving her without a clear path forward. With Democrats expected to oppose, even a single GOP defection could sink the nomination. Skepticism has come from GOP figures like Bill Cassidy, Lisa Murkowski, and Susan Collins. Wall Street Journal

National Security

Trump Tells Aides He Wants Speedy End to Iran War . . . President Trump tells advisers he hopes to wrap up the Iran conflict within weeks, aiming for a mid-May summit with Xi Jinping under calmer conditions. Privately, he admits options for ending the war are limited, while peace talks remain in early stages. Frustrated by the distraction, Trump has shifted focus to midterms, immigration enforcement, and election-legislation moves, signaling the conflict is competing with his broader political agenda. Wall Street Journal

The way to shorten the war is to signal that you are willing to fight forever. That's what Iran is signaling, and it's working.

Appeals Court Hands Trump Big Win on Detaining Illegal Immigrants . . . A divided 8th Circuit panel handed the Trump administration a win, ruling the government can detain illegal immigrants without bond in the case of Joaquin Herrera Avila, arrested in Minneapolis in 2025. The decision overturns a lower court siding with the detainee and reinforces DHS authority during removal proceedings. The 2-1 ruling, from Republican-appointed judges, sharpens the legal edge in ongoing battles over immigration enforcement powers. Daily Signal

ICE Arrests Multiple Illegal Alien Pedophiles In One Day, DHS Says

Retired General Mike Flynn reaches $1.25M settlement with feds over Russia collusion pursuit

International

Israel says Iranian leader who ordered Strait of Hormuz closure killed in targeted strike . . . Israel's defense minister says a targeted IDF strike eliminated IRGC Navy commander Alireza Tangsiri and senior aides, blaming him for threats to mine and choke off the Strait of Hormuz. The hit, framed as a warning to Iran's leadership, underscores escalating tensions in a vital oil trade corridor. Fox News

U.N. backs Ghana-led reparations push over trans-Atlantic slave trade vote split . . . The U.N. General Assembly passed a sweeping resolution condemning the trans-Atlantic slave trade and urging reparations, with 123 nations in favor and the United States, Israel, and Argentina opposed. Framed as addressing enduring global inequities, the measure labels slavery among history's gravest crimes while spotlighting its lasting economic and social impact. Washington Examiner

So they want us to pay reparations to Ghana? Once they include African involvement in the slave trade, which was extensive, the reparations push will go away.

Church of England installs first female archbishop at Canterbury

Colombia's Sweet Strategy to Defeat the Cocaine Trade . . . Colombian officials are working to eliminate the nation's illicit cocaine trade and replace it with chocolate. "We say to the world, 'Please buy cocoa, not coca,'" Defense Minister Pedro Arnulfo Sanchez told The Daily Signal. Thousands of acres of farmland in Colombia have been converted from growing coca crops, the plant used to produce cocaine, to planting cocoa trees. Daily Signal

Money

AI cash craze turns private lives into global payday . . . Thousands are selling intimate details—from phone chats to daily walks—to train artificial intelligence, turning personal privacy into profit. Teens in Chicago, young adults in South Africa, and workers in India are receiving small payouts for granting apps access to microphones, cameras, and videos, feeding AI firms hungry for data. The booming practice raises stark questions about surveillance, consent, and how much of our lives tech companies can quietly monetize under the guise of innovation. Washington Times

Traders Made Hundreds Of Millions In Suspiciously Timed Iran Bets

You should also know

Oklahoma lawmakers push human composting . . . Oklahoma's State House approved HB 3660 in a 59-37 bipartisan vote, moving to classify "natural organic reduction"—the practice of turning human remains into fertilizer—as a form of cremation. The measure drew support across party lines but sparked backlash from dissenting Republicans, who blasted the idea as a grim redefinition of dignity in death. The proposal now advances amid unease over how far lawmakers are willing to stretch long-held norms. Daily Caller