Even though the U.S. and Iran are embroiled in war, a new lawsuit against the Trump administration is claiming that the two governments actually began working together last year and jeopardized Iranian asylum seekers’ lives in the process. The White House has dismissed these claims, but those who filed the lawsuit are not backing down.

‘Confidential information’
The issue first arose in 2025 when the Trump administration “adopted a policy of providing” the Iranian government with “confidential information from the immigration files of Iranians seeking asylum” in the U.S., according to the lawsuit filed by the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund. Many of the asylum seekers whose information is allegedly being shared are people who “seek refuge” in the U.S. because of the “grave dangers they face” in Iran, such as pro-democracy activists and members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Disclosing the confidential information of these asylum seekers “violates federal regulations requiring confidentiality, endangers their family members and acquaintances who may still be residing in Iran, and puts those who are subject to removal to Iran at risk of persecution,” said the legal defense fund in a statement. The lawsuit is requesting that the court “order the U.S. government to stop sharing asylum-applicant information with the government of Iran.”

The allegations are based on accounts from “detainees who had been called into meetings with Iranian officials who seemed to already possess details from their U.S. immigration files,” said Michael Kirkpatrick, an attorney for the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund, to The New York Times. The Department of Homeland Security has denied any wrongdoing. 

‘Lives depend on them’
The U.S. government is “allowed to work with government officials of foreign countries to coordinate deportation logistics,” said The Associated Press. But federal regulations generally “prohibit the government from sharing information that could reveal that the individual getting deported applied for asylum.” Congress “made these confidentiality protections mandatory precisely because lives depend on them,” said Ali Rahnama, the interim executive director of the fund, to the AP.

The war between the two nations might ordinarily have slowed the information sharing. But the lawsuit “alleges that the Trump administration has continued to share confidential information” throughout the conflict, said ABC News.

The vice president of the Philippines is facing impeachment proceedings in a trial that has brought long-standing political tensions to a head. Sara Duterte denies charges, including corruption, bribery and threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in what she claims is a case of political harassment. The trial, which began on Monday, is the culmination of a fallout between the country’s most powerful political dynasties.

Who are the Duterte and Marcos families?
The vice president (pictured above) is the daughter of Rodrigo Duterte, who ruled the Philippines with an iron fist from 2016 to 2022. In the 2022 election, she became the running mate of presidential candidate Marcos Jr., the son of the dictator who ruled for 20 years before being deposed in 1986. The two younger scions seemed “unstoppable” and won a landslide, said the BBC. In the end, however, there was “not enough power to share between them.”

What happened?
Cracks appeared when Marcos’ allies in the Senate began investigating Duterte for alleged misuse of government funds. The pair also disagreed on their approach to Beijing. Marcos ordered the navy to “stand up to China” in the South China Sea, in “sharp contrast” to pro-China Duterte, said Al Jazeera.

In October 2024, their relationship had become so “toxic” that she had the urge to “chop off his head,” she said to reporters at the time. “If I get killed, go kill BBM,” said Duterte in November during a livestream about Marcos, who’s commonly referred to as Bongbong. His supporters filed an impeachment complaint based on the livestream and the alleged misuse of funds. This trial shifts the “power struggle” to “a new battleground,” said the BBC, and it will “play out on livestreams for the entire nation.”

What’s the trial’s significance?
Prosecutors view the case as a “test of accountability ‌and public trust,” said Reuters, while her defense team denounces it as a “politically driven bid” to unseat an elected official. The outcome could “shape the 2028 presidential race,” in which Duterte says she intends to run. Should she be convicted and barred from standing, there are “fears of widespread protests” and political turmoil that would “impact the Philippines’ economic growth.”

A Morocco fan holds a flare in his mouth after the World Cup quarterfinal between France and Morocco in New York City’s Astoria, Queens. France came out victorious after star Kylian Mbappé scored his eighth goal of the tournament in the 60th minute.
Ryan Murphy / AP Photo

Martial arts is still one of the few subgenres without much presence in the sprawling prestige TV universe. But as streamers have diversified and internationalized their offerings, there are now more options than ever before, including these standout shows. 

‘Kung Fu’ (1972-75)
Some of the casting decisions, like having David Carradine play a Chinese character that Bruce Lee auditioned for, would not fly today. But the series remains an “unforgettable pop culture phenomenon that blended solid action, engrossing storytelling and the philosophical musings” of Caine’s slain mentor, Master Po (Keye Luke), said Flickering Myth. (Prime Video)

‘Wu Assassins’ (2019)
Indonesian superstar Iko Uwais (“The Raid”) plays Kai Jin, a San Francisco chef based in Chinatown who learns that he’s the last in a long line of mystical warriors. A “true treat for any action fan,” the series “grabs you with its flesh-and-blood energy and ambition, offering a spectacle that has become all too rare in action stories these days,” said Nick Allen at Roger Ebert. (Netflix)

‘My Name’ (2021)
Ji-woo, played by Han So-hee (pictured above), joins the police as a mole for a drug cartel to get revenge for her father’s murder in this Korean drama that remains little known in the U.S. This “enthralling and enjoyable revenge thriller” uses “long drawn-out sequences and impressive choreography” to build a compelling and slick drama, said Greg Wheeler at The Review Geek. (Netflix)