Daily SumUp

Yemeni health officials say nine civilians killed in US bombardment, days after Houthis vowed to resume maritime attacks if Israel did not lift Gaza blockade. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

President Donald Trump said he ordered a series of airstrikes on the Houthi-held areas in Yemen on Saturday, promising to use “overwhelming lethal force” until Iranian-backed Houthi rebels cease their attacks on shipping along a vital maritime corridor. The Houthis said 13 civilians were killed in the capital, Sanaa. “Our brave Warfighters are right now carrying out aerial attacks on the terrorists’ bases, leaders, and missile defenses to protect American shipping, air, and naval assets, and to restore Navigational Freedom,” Trump said in a social media post. “No terrorist force will stop American commercial and naval vessels from freely sailing the Waterways of the World.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s response to a US-proposed ceasefire in Ukraine is “not good enough,” Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, after hosting a virtual summit aimed at drumming up support for Kyiv and piling pressure on Russia. After hosting a meeting of the “coalition of the willing” – a group of Western nations that have pledged to help defend Ukraine against Russia – Starmer said leaders had agreed that “the ‘yes but’ from Russia is not good enough” and that Russia would have to come to the negotiating table sooner or later. “We agreed collective pressure will be put on Russia from all of us who were in the meeting this morning,” he added. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The US is expelling South Africa's ambassador to Washington, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio describing him as a "race-baiting politician". In a post on X, Rubio accused Ebrahim Rasool of hating the US and President Donald Trump, and said the ambassador was "no longer welcome in our great country". The office for South Africa's president on Saturday called the decision "regrettable", adding that the country remained committed to building a mutually beneficial relationship with the US. The rare move by the US marks the latest development in rising tensions between the two countries. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A pregnant teenager was killed after a woman allegedly cut her unborn child out of her womb, according to local authorities. In a press conference held in Brazil on Friday, March 14, Civil Police Chief Caio Albuquerque of the city of Cuiabá said that 16-year-old Emilly Azevedo Sena, who was nine months pregnant, had been missing since Wednesday, March 12. Her body was found buried in the backyard of a home in the Jardim Florianópolis neighborhood the following day, per Albuquerque. He stated that a woman has since been arrested for the crime. Albuquerque said the woman admitted to having experienced a miscarriage six months prior, but claims she did not tell her husband or family about the miscarriage and continued to act as though she was pregnant, per local news outlet g1. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pope Francis has entered his fifth week of hospital treatment for double pneumonia and is continuing the work of his papacy as signs of his recovery remain positive. Francis remains in stable condition, “confirming the progress” the 88-year-old pontiff has made in the past week, the Vatican said on Saturday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

US immigration authorities have announced the arrest of a second activist who participated in pro-Palestinian protests last spring at Columbia University in New York City. Leqaa Kordia, who is a Palestinian and from the West Bank, was arrested in New Jersey, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement on Friday. The statement said another student, Ranjani Srinivasani, who has Indian citizenship, chose to "self-deport" by leaving the US earlier this week. This follows the arrest of Columbia campus activist Mahmoud Khalil, who was detained on Saturday in New York before being flown to a jail in Louisiana. The DHS statement says that Ms Kordia had overstayed her student visa, which had been terminated in 2022 "for lack of attendance". It did not say whether she had been attending Columbia or another institution. She had previously been arrested in April 2024 for taking part in protests at Columbia University, according to DHS. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A mother grieves as her sons, whom she had struggled to keep alive in the war, were killed during a truce that remains marred by violence. For a year and a half, Umm Mahmoud Alerfan did everything she could to try to keep her children alive. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Starbucks has been ordered to pay $50 USD to a delivery driver who was severely burned by a hot beverage. LOS ANGELES — A delivery driver has won US$50 million in a lawsuit after being seriously burned when a Starbucks drink spilled in his lap at a California drive-through, court records show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Heartwarming photographs of President Donald Trump walking to Marine Force One with Elon Musk’s son are going viral, with internet users doting over the joyful moment. The image, which was posted to X by the White House, shows Trump giving his signature thumbs up while Musk’s son, X Æ A-12, also known as “Lil X,” happily smiling at the cameras as they headed to the famous chopper on Friday. The snap has garnered more than 4 million views as of Saturday morning. “I love this pic! Lil X looks so happy,” wrote one user with a blush emoji on X. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The threat of violent tornadoes in parts of the US proved deadly as well as destructive as whipping winds moved east into the Mississippi Valley and Deep South on Saturday, with at least 17 people killed and scores of homes decimated. The most fatalities as of Saturday morning were in Missouri, authorities said, which was lashed by twisters overnight that resulted in at least 11 deaths. The Missouri State Highway Patrol also reported that multiple people were injured. The deaths included a man who was killed after a tornado ripped apart his home, "It was unrecognizable as a home. Just a debris field," said Coroner Jim Akers of Butler County, describing the scene that confronted rescuers when they arrived. "The floor was upside down. We were walking on walls." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Food and Drug Administration issued a warning on Friday that advised consumers against inhaling nitrous oxide products such as Galaxy Gas, Baking Bad, Whip-it! and Miami Magic. Recreational use of nitrous oxide as a party drug has long been prevalent, but whipped cream charger products such as Galaxy Gas have recently found a young and enthusiastic user base. Experimentation with an intentional misuse of the product has developed into a popular subgenre on social media, with widely shared videos of teenagers inhaling the gas from tubelike canisters of flavors like strawberry cream, tropical punch and vanilla cupcake. The videos have collected millions of views on TikTok, X and YouTube, despite attempts to limit searches for the product. The name Galaxy Gas has caught on as a generic shorthand for these products, which the F.D.A.’s warning also says includes MassGass, Cosmic Gas, Hotwhip and InfusionMax. A wave of public concern has risen about the health dangers of these products, which are often sold in loud and colorful packaging that their critics say is appealing to teenagers and children. The F.D.A.’s advisory said the products could be purchased “at retailers, including, but not limited to: Amazon.com, eBay, Walmart, and at smoke/vape shops and gas stations.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

President Donald Trump’s administration will pay El Salvador $6 million to imprison for one year about 300 alleged members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, in one of the first instances of the Central American country taking migrants from the United States. The agreement follows discussions between El Salvador’s President, Nayib Bukele, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio about housing migrants in El Salvador’s notorious prison. Bukele’s government has arrested more than 84,000 people, sometimes without due process, since 2022 as part of his crackdown on gang violence in the small country. Memos detailing the transfer did not disclose how the Trump administration identified the roughly 300 people as members of Tren de Aragua, a gang Trump repeatedly highlighted in the campaign and declared to be a terrorist organization. “The Republic of El Salvador confirms it will house these individuals for one (1) year, pending the United States’ decision on their long term disposition,” wrote El Salvador’s ministry of foreign affairs in a memo obtained by the Associated Press. The Central American nation and Trump administration last month struck a deal to house migrants detained in the United States. The Trump administration contended that El Salvador could even house American citizens, though the U.S. cannot deport citizens to another country. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

SpaceX's Starship to leave for Mars end of 2026, Musk says. Despite recent failures, Elon Musk insisted the world's most powerful rocket will soon blast off to the Red Planet. The tech billionaire said human landings could begin before the end of the decade. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Air Canada was forced to apologize after it was discovered that some of its planes did not show Israel as a state on maps featured as part of their in-flight entertainment systems. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A St. Patrick’s Day party turned into chaos after a porch roof collapsed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Friday. It happened near the University of Pittsburgh. Dozens of people were on it when it buckled, falling on top of the crowd below. A total of 16 people were taken to the hospital, including three who had serious injuries, but all are expected to survive. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sam Jones, a US influencer who briefly snatched a baby wombat from its distressed mother, and uploaded the footage to social media has left Australia. Australia's Home Affairs minister Tony Burke had earlier said his department was reviewing whether it could revoke Ms Jones's visa, but the BBC understands that she left the country of her own accord. "There has never been a better time to be a baby wombat," Burke said in a short statement on Friday celebrating Jones's departure. Anger erupted across Australia after Jones posted a video of her taking a baby wombat from the side of a road while laughing and running away from the distraught mother wombat. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sudanese army says final phase to liberate Khartoum from RSF imminent Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

SpaceX launches a new crew to the space station to replace NASA’s stuck astronauts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The US has averted a government shutdown after the Senate passed a Republican-led measure to keep the government funded for the next six months. The stopgap funding bill passed in the Senate 54-46, as two Democrats joined all but one Republican senator in voting yes. President Donald Trump must now sign it into law before the Friday midnight deadline. The key vote came earlier when some Senate Democrats, after fierce debate, allowed the measure to pass a procedural hurdle. The Senate minority leader, Democrat Chuck Schumer, and nine others broke with their colleagues to vote to advance the bill to its final Friday evening vote. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.