1. Trump expected to propose federal budget on Monday
President Trump is set to unveil a blueprint for the federal budget on Monday. The proposal is expected to consist of cuts to a range of domestic and international programs, including foreign aid, environmental protection, and transportation, which the White House says will lead to a balanced budget in 15 years. Trump has reportedly told aides that Medicare and Social Security cannot be cut. Alternatively, the plan is expected to prioritize increased spending on border security and defense — including new funds for Space Force. The budget has little chance of becoming law, however, due to bipartisan resistance to several aspects of the plan.
The Washington Post The Associated Press
2. Judge rules that the Trump administration must reunite thousands of separated families
A federal judge in California has ordered the Trump administration to reunite thousands of families who were separated at the U.S.-Mexico border. The decision follows an earlier one which initially stated that the administration was responsible for reuniting 2,800 families who were separated after June 26, 2018. But a watchdog report revealed that thousands of additional families may have been separated as far back as July 1, 2017. The judge, Dana Sabraw, has now included those families in his ruling. Identifying the families will likely prove to be difficult, as the government did not have an adequate tracking system at the time of the separations. But Sabraw said it "can be done."
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3. EU will soon require Americans to apply for a visa
The European Union announced on Friday that beginning in 2021, American travelers will need to apply for a visa to to visit the Schengen Area — a 26-country zone on the continent that does have internal borders. Americans, who can currently spend up to 90 days in the Schengen zone without a visa, will need a valid passport, an email account, and a credit or debit card to apply for the visa. Once retrieved, the visa will remain valid for three years and carriers will be able to enter Schengen countries as many times as possible within that span. The EU said it "has recently decided to improve their security level to avoid any further problems with illegal migration and terrorism."
CNN ETIAS
4. Jussie Smollett indicted on 16 felony counts
Jussie Smollet was indicted on 16 felony counts of disorderly conduct on Friday. The charges come after more than a month of confusion after Smollett said he was the victim of a homophobic and racist attack, which police now say was a fabrication. A grand jury released the new charges against the Empire actor on Thursday and scheduled an arraignment for March 14. The charges come in two sets: One set covering what Smollett originally told police about the attack, and one covering his interview with police later that day. Smollett faces a potential sentence of probation to four years in prison. He will reportedly likely arrive at a plea deal.
CBS Chicago ABC7 Chicago
5. Power outages plague Venezuela amid crisis
Nation-wide blackouts have affected Venezuela since Thursday, creating even more difficulties for a country that is in the midst of a political crisis and suffering shortages of food and medical supplies. Offices and schools were closed throughout the country on Friday and hospitals have struggled to operate without power. The outages occurred ahead of planned protests against President Nicolás Muduro on Saturday, organized by Venezuela's opposition movement. Maduro and his political adversary, opposition leader Juan Guaidó, have each blamed the other for causing the power failure. Some parts of Caracas and the rest of the country have had power restored, but the situation remains tenuous.
BBC Reuters
6. White House Communications Director Bill Shine resigns from post
White House Communications Director Bill Shine resigned on Friday, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced. Shine joined the White House in July 2018, and was previously the co-president of Fox News. President Trump said Shine "will be totally involved" with his 2020 campaign as a senior adviser, and Shine called his time in the White House "the most rewarding experience of my entire life." News of his departure came as a surprise, though White House reporters had noticed that he unexpectedly dropped out of plans to travel with Trump to Vietnam for a meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong Un last week. He offered his resignation on Thursday night, said the White House, and Trump "accepted."
White House CNN
7. U.S. gained 20,000 jobs in February, smallest increase in 17 months
U.S. employers added just 20,000 jobs in February, the smallest increase in 17 months, the Labor Department reported Friday. The increase fell far short of the expected gain of 172,000. The February figure represented a significant drop from the surprisingly large gain in January, which was initially reported at 304,000 but adjusted up to 311,000 on Friday. The unemployment rate fell to 3.8 percent from 4.0 percent in the previous month. The tight labor market prompted companies to raise pay and benefits to recruit and keep workers, with average earnings rising 11 cents to $27.66 an hour. The yearly pay increase climbed to 3.4 percent from 3.2 percent, the largest jump since the end of the recession in 2009.
MarketWatch Yahoo Finance
8. Report reveals ICE is detaining 10,000 more migrants than legal cap allows
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is detaining 50,049 migrants as of Wednesday, up 2,000 people from Jan. 30 and up 6,000 from November, a Friday report found. The record-high figure surpasses the 40,520 migrant limit Congress set in the most recent ICE budget. The agency continues to expand detentions but has not explained how it has payed for the additional beds. ICE detentions have been growing since President Trump took office, with the agency's total number of migrant detainees surpassing the record set under former President Barack Obama in 2016. Advocacy groups have criticized the conditions of the facilities. ICE is requesting increased funding from Congress for 52,000 detainee beds.
The Daily Beast The Week
9. House Democrats pass doomed election reform bill
The House on Friday passed a massive bill that would dramatically overhaul America's electoral system. However, it is likely to fail in the Senate — if Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) allows a vote — and President Trump has promised to veto it if it reaches his desk. The bill, which was passed along party lines, proposed automatically registering Americans to vote once they turn 18, banning states from preventing convicted felons from voting, compelling political nonprofits to reveal so-called "dark money" donors, and making Election Day a federal holiday. It also addresses partisan gerrymandering. Because some of the reforms would likely boost voter turnout for Democrats, McConnell called it a "power grab."
The Hill The Washington Post
10. U.S. women's soccer players file gender discrimination lawsuit
All 28 members of the U.S. women's national soccer team filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation on Friday. The suit said that although female and male U.S. soccer players perform the same job responsibilities, the female players — despite producing superior on-field results — are paid less money. The suit cites that if both the men's and women's teams played twenty friendlies per year, male players would earn $260,320 to the female players' $99,000. The lawsuit comes just three months before the FIFA Women's World Cup, which will take place in France in June, when the U.S. side will look to defend their 2015 title.
ESPNW Los Angeles Times
