
5 things to know for March 20: Presidential race, Immigration, Government shutdown, Cyberattacks, Haiti
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Strawberries topped this year’s “Dirty Dozen” list — a ranking of the fruits and vegetables contaminated with the most amount of pesticides. However, studies have found that levels of pesticides in adults and children can drop up to 95% after a switch to an organic diet. Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, both of whom had already clinched their parties’ presidential nominations, picked up more delegates Tuesday in their respective primary contests in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kansas and Ohio as they gear up for a rematch in November. In Ohio, businessman Bernie Moreno won the key Republican Senate primary, setting up a high-stakes contest against Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in the fall that will be pivotal to deciding control of the Senate. Trump had endorsed Moreno, and the primary was this year’s first test of the former president’s clout in a contested Senate race. A federal appeals court late Tuesday put Texas’ controversial immigration law back on hold, hours after the Supreme Court had cleared the way for the state to begin enforcing the measure. Senate Bill 4 would have allowed state officials to arrest people they suspect of entering the country illegally. The Supreme Court decision had handed a significant — yet temporary — win to Texas, which has been battling the Biden administration over immigration policy. The panel of judges that issued Tuesday’s order is set to hear arguments later today on Texas’ request to put the law back into effect pending the state’s appeal of a federal judge’s block of the law. Congressional leaders on Tuesday formally announced a deal to fund the rest of the government through the fiscal year. House Speaker Mike Johnson announced the deal in a statement, saying he hopes the text of the legislation will be released “as soon as possible” — a key step expected before either chamber votes. Congress has until 11:59 p.m. ET Friday to pass the deal, and getting through both chambers is expected to take days. Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, will likely need many Democratic votes to pass the legislation as the far right wing of his conference has been pushing against the bill. And in the Democratic-controlled Senate, any one member of the narrowly divided chamber can slow down the process, pushing the federal government past its deadline. Cyberattacks are hitting water systems throughout the US as the Biden administration warns state governments to improve their defenses against such threats. A letter issued to governors from the White House and Environmental Protection Agency said, “even basic cybersecurity precautions” are not in place at water facilities and “can mean the difference between business as usual and a disruptive cyberattack.” The US water sector, which spans 150,000 public water systems, has struggled to find the cash and personnel to deal with the increasing number of attacks. In November, hackers breached industrial equipment at multiple water facilities to display an anti-Israel message on equipment, while Chinese state-backed hackers have been lurking in US water facilities for years.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth risked compromising sensitive military information that could have endangered US troops through his use of Signal to discuss attack plans, a Pentagon watchdog said in an unclassified report released Thursday. It also details how Hegseth declined to cooperate with the probe.

Two top House lawmakers emerged divided along party lines after a private briefing with the military official who oversaw September’s attack on an alleged drug vessel that included a so-called double-tap strike that killed surviving crew members, with a top Democrat calling video of the incident that was shared as part of the briefing “one of the most troubling things” he has seen as a lawmaker.

Authorities in Colombia are dealing with increasingly sophisticated criminals, who use advanced tech to produce and conceal the drugs they hope to export around the world. But police and the military are fighting back, using AI to flag suspicious passengers, cargo and mail - alongside more conventional air and sea patrols. CNN’s Isa Soares gets an inside look at Bogotá’s war on drugs.

As lawmakers demand answers over reports that the US military carried out a follow-up strike that killed survivors during an attacked on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean, a career Navy SEAL who has spent most of his 30 years of military experience in special operations will be responsible for providing them.









