A leaked internal U.S. Army email, reported by CNN and Business Insider, lists Wake Forest University among 33 "moderate to high risk" institutions, though the Army has not officially published or confirmed such a list. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also announced a ban on service members attending certain selective universities, set to take effect for the 2026-2027 academic year. Lt. Col. John Flach, Wake Forest's ROTC military science professor, said there are no official indications of changes to the university's Army partnerships and that current funded students and ROTC programs would be unaffected even in a worst-case scenario. Separately, Wake Forest's ROTC program will transition to an extension unit of North Carolina A&T State University due to Army workforce reductions, though Flach said the change will not significantly impact the cadet experience.
Democracy Docket argues that Donald Trump is using the U.S. bombing of Iran as a pretext to justify seizing executive control over voting rules ahead of the 2026 midterms, including potential bans on mail-in voting and voting machines. Trump has linked Iran to alleged foreign interference in the 2020 and 2024 elections, part of a broader pattern of blaming multiple countries — including Venezuela, China, Cuba, and Italy — for his 2020 electoral loss. A draft executive order circulated by right-wing election deniers cites national security statutes as the legal basis for presidential authority over elections, though constitutional scholars and at least one federal court have held that the Constitution reserves election rule-setting authority for the states, not the president. The article, written from an advocacy perspective by Democracy Docket, vows to legally challenge any such executive action.
President Trump justified U.S. military strikes on Iran by citing "imminent threats" to the U.S. and its allies, including Iran's alleged pursuit of nuclear weapons and support for terrorist proxies, though the administration has provided limited evidence for these claims. Congressional Democrats and some Republicans have questioned the legal basis for the strikes, arguing Trump bypassed congressional authority, and are pushing war powers resolutions to require legislative approval for future military action against Iran. Three U.S. service members were killed and five wounded in the attacks, and Iran launched retaliatory strikes against Israel and the Persian Gulf region. The political and strategic fallout remains uncertain, with analysts noting the outcome will largely depend on whether the conflict escalates or remains contained.
Federal judges across the United States are reporting a dramatic surge in violent threats following President Trump's public attacks on judges who rule against his administration, with serious threats against federal judges rising 78% over four years to affect 400 judges in 2024 alone. CBS News spoke with 26 federal judges — both Democratic and Republican appointees — who described death threats, bomb scares, swatting incidents, and an organized campaign of unsolicited pizza deliveries designed to signal that their home addresses are known. Judge Esther Salas, whose son was murdered in a 2020 attack at her home, and retired Judge John Jones are among those warning that the inflammatory rhetoric from national leaders is emboldening threats and risks getting a judge killed. The White House defended Trump, citing his own experience as an assassination target and accusing the judiciary of issuing unlawful rulings, while Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy AG Todd Blanche declined interview requests.
Federal judges across the U.S. are reporting a sharp rise in violent threats, with the U.S. Marshals recording a 78% increase in serious threats against federal judges last year, totaling around 400 targets. Many judges and legal observers link the trend to President Trump's repeated public attacks on judges who rule against his administration, calling them "lunatics," "crooked," or "communist," though the White House dismissed any connection as "deeply unserious." Judges like Reagan appointee John Coughenour and Obama appointee Esther Salas have faced death threats, bomb threats, and intimidation tactics such as "pizza doxxing," with Salas — whose son was killed in a 2020 attack targeting her — warning that inflammatory political rhetoric is putting judges' lives at risk. While threats have also come from left-wing actors, a bipartisan group of 56 retired judges has formed to lobby the White House, with one warning that "if we're not careful, we're gonna get a judge killed."
Senator Tim Kaine and Representative Thomas Massie are pushing for a war powers resolution to limit President Trump's military authority following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran under Operation Epic Fury. Legal analyst Jonathan Turley argues that drafting such a resolution has become nearly impossible now that Iran is actively retaliating with missile strikes and has closed the Strait of Hormuz, as the War Powers Act permits presidential use of force in response to attacks on U.S. forces. Turley contends that any resolution limiting the president's options mid-conflict would either be practically meaningless or dangerously constrain military operations. He also notes the political inconsistency of Democrats who remained silent when Presidents Obama and Biden exercised similar unilateral military authority.
Anthropic's Claude AI chatbot surged to the top spot on Apple's App Store free apps chart, overtaking OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google Gemini, following a public dispute with the Trump administration. The spike in downloads came after President Trump barred federal agencies from using Claude, and the Department of Defense threatened Anthropic with a "supply-chain risk" label after the company refused to allow its AI to be used for mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons. The backlash generated a wave of public support for Anthropic. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, whose company stepped in to fill Anthropic's government contract role, nonetheless called the blacklisting "a very bad decision" and "an extremely scary precedent."
These letters to the editor from The News-Press reflect sharply divided opinions on President Trump's State of the Union address and his presidency, with writers criticizing his character, policies, and what some describe as authoritarian behavior, while at least one letter defends Republican congressional actions as policy agreement rather than subservience. Correspondents also weighed in on a range of other topics, including a planned "No More Kings" demonstration in Collier County on March 28, the merits of avoiding private college debt in favor of public universities, the ongoing war in Ukraine, and Florida legislation that would require cursive writing instruction in public schools for grades two through five. The letter collection highlights deep political polarization, with critics accusing Trump of bullying behavior and constitutional overreach, while supporters argued that Democrats showed hostility toward American citizens by refusing to stand during the State of the Union. Additional letters touched on tariffs, AI-predicted risks to democracy and the economy, and concerns about the use of crime victims in political speeches.
Jack White publicly criticized Donald Trump on Instagram following U.S. airstrikes on Iran under Operation Epic Fury, mocking the president's televised announcement and his "Board of Peace" initiative with pointed sarcasm. White questioned the branding of the peace-focused initiative amid military actions targeting multiple countries, and sarcastically suggested Trump deserves a Nobel Peace Prize. The musician has a history of criticizing Trump, most recently condemning him over a since-deleted social media post depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes.
A U.S.-Israel military campaign against Iran, launched by President Trump without congressional authorization, has killed an estimated 165 people — mostly children — and resulted in three American troop deaths from retaliatory strikes. Critics argue Trump is using the conflict to distract from domestic controversies, including the Epstein files and Justice Department document suppression, and potentially to justify emergency powers ahead of the midterms. The article also raises alarm about the consolidating right-wing ownership of major media outlets, noting that a pending merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery could give Trump ally David Ellison control over CNN and HBO, with California Attorney General Rob Bonta identified as the primary legal obstacle to the deal.
NPR's Ayesha Rascoe asks Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., about Congressional authorization for the U.S. strikes on Iran.
The commentary, written by a Sperryvile resident, argues that U.S. immigration enforcement under the second Trump administration has become overly indiscriminate, with ICE detaining many people who have no criminal history and entered legally under authorized refugee programs. The author contends that while immigration control is a legitimate concern, the current approach — including a $95 billion ICE budget and aggressive arrest quotas — goes too far, and local law enforcement should focus on actual criminals rather than law-abiding immigrants. The piece calls on Congress to reach a bipartisan compromise that balances border security with the country's ongoing need for foreign labor and acknowledges immigrants' longstanding contributions to American society. The author also criticizes the proposed "Save America Act" voter ID bill as an unnecessary measure that further demonizes immigrants ahead of the midterm elections.
