China Expands Nuclear Defense Network in Remote Desert 
US-Iran Ceasefire Extension Near as Strait of Hormuz Shipping Deal Advances 
US and Iran Near Nuclear Deal as Ceasefire Extension Awaits Trump Approval 
Kentucky School District Secures $27 Million in Social Media Addiction Lawsuit Settlements 
Russia Prepares New Large-Scale Attack on Ukraine, Zelenskiy Warns 
US Designates Brazil’s PCC and Comando Vermelho as Global Terrorist Entities Ahead of FTO Listing 
Poland Considers Revoking Zelensky’s Top Honor Over Controversial UPA Army Unit Recognition 
DOJ Opens Criminal Investigation Into E. Jean Carroll Over Alleged Perjury 
U.S.-China Taiwan Conflict Could Trigger Nuclear Escalation, IISS Warns 
Baltic Drone Incidents Raise NATO Security Concerns 
Netanyahu Orders Expansion of Israeli Control in Gaza to 70% 
Flavio Bolsonaro Meets Trump, JD Vance, and Marco Rubio Amid Brazil Political Crisis 
Trump Nears Decision on Iran Ceasefire Extension as Key Disputes Remain 
Trump Administration Threatens Newark Airport International Travel Shutdown Over Immigration Dispute 
U.S. Lawmakers Back Ukraine’s Request for More Patriot Missiles Amid Rising Russian Attacks 
Iran-U.S. Nuclear Talks Remain Unresolved as Strait of Hormuz Risks Keep Markets on Edge 
US Southern Command Chief Holds Rare Military Meeting With Cuban Officials at Guantanamo Bay 
The United States is expected to ramp up its deportations while expanding legal pathways for potential migrants. The move comes in anticipation of a spike in illegal border crossings when COVID-19 restrictions end next month.
The US State Department and the Department of Homeland Security said in a fact sheet of their plans on Thursday that the country will be ramping up its deportation flights to some countries while aiming to process migrants that have crossed the border illegally in the coming days.
The US will also be expanding its legal pathways for migrants at the same time, encouraging them to apply for refugee resettlement or other forms of entry in two new processing centers in Guatemala and in Colombia without resorting to making the journey to the US-Mexico border.
The two processing centers, with the support of the United Nations, will be expected to screen up to 5,000 to 6,000 migrants each month as the US has pledged to accept more refugees from the Western hemisphere. US officials said that Canada and Spain have also said they would accept migrants through these processing centers.
The centers will also process family reunification applications, which are already available to Cubans and Haitians and would be expanded to those from Honduras, Colombia, El Salvador, and Guatemala. The program allows migrants with US relatives to work and enter the country legally as they wait for their US visas.
The measures are part of President Joe Biden’s plan to address a potential increase in illegal border crossings when COVID-19 border restrictions end in May. Biden, a Democrat, has come under criticism from both Republicans and some members of his party for either failing to curb illegal crossings or adopting more restrictive measures similar to that of his predecessor Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, three major newspapers in the country: the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal, issued a joint letter calling for the release of WSJ journalist Evan Gershkovich, who has been detained in Russia since March.
The three newspapers stressed that Gershkovich was being detained simply because he was doing his job as a reporter. Moscow has argued that Gershkovich was arrested on charges of spying, which Washington has dismissed, with the State Department saying that Gershkovich was “wrongfully detained.”
