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Hard Numbers: Swift rocks the vote, ICC targets Russian commanders, Subianto eyes growth, Big Apple’s cash splash

March 05, 2024
Willis Sparks
​American singer songwriter Taylor Swift performing during the first night of the The Eras Tour in Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Friday, February 16, 2024.
American singer songwriter Taylor Swift performing during the first night of the The Eras Tour in Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Friday, February 16, 2024.
(AAP Image/Joel Carrett)
282 million: Ahead of the Super Tuesday primaries, Taylor Swift called on her 282 million Instagram followers to “make a plan to vote today.” No endorsements yet for specific candidates, but Republicans are bracing for the risk that Swift will use that giant megaphone to boost Joe Biden’s reelection campaign.

2: The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for two senior Russian commanders, Sergei Kobylash and Viktor Sokolov, over alleged crimes against humanity in Ukraine.

8: Indonesia’s newly elected president, Prabowo Subianto, said Tuesday that within five years, his country can grow at 8% per year … without a government spending spree that unbalances the government’s books. That’s what Willis Sparks’ grandfather used to call a “good trick if you can do it.”

70: High interest rates continue to take a toll as nearly 70% of homes in New York City purchased in the final three months of 2023 were bought without a mortgage. (Some folks have apparently saved up their cash). It’s a record high and a jump from 55% in the same period of 2022.

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Le Pen barred from running from office after embezzlement conviction

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, member of parliament of the Rassemblement National party, leaves the courthouse on the day of the verdict of her trial alongside 24 other defendants over accusations of misappropriation of European Union funds, in Paris, France, on March 31, 2025.

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Oh là là! A French court on Monday found National Rally leader Marine Le Pen guilty of misappropriating European funds to her far-right party, and barred the three-time presidential candidate barred from running for office for the next five years. Le Pen has denied wrongdoing and said last November, “It’s my political death that’s being demanded.”

The rise of Elon Musk's DOGE under Trump

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In a few short weeks, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has rapidly reshaped the federal government, firing thousands of workers, slashing spending, and shutting entire agencies. DOGE’s actions have faced some pushback from the courts, but Musk says he’s just getting started. On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer sits down with WIRED Global Editorial Director Katie Drummond for a look at President Trump’s increasingly symbiotic relationship with the tech billionaire, Musk’s impact on politics and policy, and what happens when Silicon Valley’s ‘disrupt-or-die’ ethos collides with the machinery of the US government.

Mass protests target Erdogan’s grip on power in Turkey

People attend a rally to protest against the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu as part of a corruption investigation in Istanbul, Turkey, on March 29, 2025.
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GZERO Explains: Trump and Musk face Wisconsin test

Democratic-backed Dane County Circuit Judge Susan Crawford and Republican-backed Waukesha County Circuit Judge Brad Schimel square off in their only debate until their April 1 election.
Brian Cahn/ZUMA Press Wire via Reuters

Elections are back in the United States — and so is the money. Six months after the 2024 US presidential vote, Wisconsinites will head to the polls Tuesday to decide whether liberal candidate Susan Crawford or her opponent, conservative Brad Schimel,will tip the ideological balance of the state Supreme Court. The liberals currently have a 4-3 advantage.

Japan courts both the US and China on security and trade

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the Prime Minister's office in Tokyo on March 30, 2025.
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Trump warns he’ll bomb Iran over lack of nuclear deal

People walk by as a painter repaints an anti-US mural in Tehran, Iran, on Saturday, March 29, 2025.
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On Sunday, US President Donald Trump issued a stark warning to Iran, threatening to bomb the country and impose secondary tariffs if Tehran fails to reach a new agreement on its nuclear program. In a telephone interview with NBC News, Trump stated, “If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing. It will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before.”

Trump scolds Putin over Ukraine after Moscow greenlights his ambitions for Greenland

President Donald Trump waves as he walks before departing for Florida from the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on March 28, 2025.

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Is the bloom off the bromance between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin? On Sunday, Trump took Putin to task over Russia’s foot-dragging on a ceasefire in Ukraine and threatened to tariff Russian oil and impose more sanctions on the country.

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Rescuers work at the site of a building that collapsed after the strong earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar, on Sunday, March 30, 2025.
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The death toll continues to rise in Myanmar after a devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck near the central city of Mandalay on March 28. Approximately 1,700 people are dead and over 3,400 injured, with the US Geological Service estimating that casualties could top 10,000. Relief operations are further complicated by Myanmar’s ongoing civil war.

Inside Elon Musk and DOGE's "revolutionary" push to reshape Washington, with WIRED's Katie Drummond

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