International
The U.S. Senate lays the rules that sought to protect access to contraceptives
The U.S. Senate overthrew on Wednesday a bill that sought to protect access to contraceptives and that will not continue its parliamentary procedure due to opposition from the Republican bench.
The regulation in question, called the ‘Right to Contraception Act’, had no chance of moving forward since it required a majority of 60 votes and the Democrats have 47 seats, although they usually have the support of four independent legislators.
The procedure was slowed down by 51 votes in favor and 39 against.
The leader of the Democratic majority in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, had decided to put it to a vote as a way to challenge Republicans to publicly position themselves against access to those medicines that almost all American women will ever use in their lives.
Among those who voted in favor were two Republican senators, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, who usually have more moderate positions than their co-religionists.
Shortly after the vote, U.S. President Joe Biden reaffirmed in a statement that both he and Vice President Kamala Harris believe that “women in each state should have the freedom to make profoundly personal decisions about their health, including the right to decide whether they want to form or expand their family, and when to do so.”
Therefore, he promised that his Government will continue to work with the Democrats of Congress to protect the reproductive rights of women and try to restore at the federal level the protections against abortion that the Supreme Court annulled almost two years ago, which left the policies in the hands of each state in this regard.
Almost 90% of voters say that Americans should have the right to make decisions about contraception and choose their contraceptives without government interference, according to a recent poll by the progressive firm Impact Research.
Former US President and Republican pre-candidate Donald Trump (2017-2021) said in May in an interview with a Pittsburgh television that he was open to supporting regulations on contraception and that his campaign would publish a policy on the issue “very soon,” but then he retracted those statements.
In addition, the head of Biden’s campaign, Julie Chávez Rodríguez, warned on Tuesday at a press conference about the danger posed by Trump’s “extremism” to women’s reproductive rights and said that this will be one of the topics that Biden will bring to the debate he will lead with Trump on June 27, organized by CNN.
In May, Trump said during an interview with a Pittsburgh television that he was open to supporting regulations on contraception and that his campaign would publish a policy on the issue “very soon,” comments that he later said had been misinterpreted.
Specifically, on his Truth Social platform, Trump assured that he “has never advocated or will advocate” for restricting the contraceptive pill and other contraceptives.
Almost 90% of voters say that Americans should have the right to make decisions about contraception and choose their contraceptives without government interference, according to a recent poll by the progressive firm Impact Research.
International
Son of journalist José Rubén Zamora condemns father’s return to prison as “illegal”
The son of renowned journalist José Rubén Zamora Marroquín, José Carlos Zamora, has denounced as “illegal” the court order that sent his father back to a Guatemalan prison on March 3, after already spending 819 days behind barsover a highly irregular money laundering case.
“My father’s return to prison was based on an arbitrary and illegal ruling. It is also alarming that the judge who had granted him house arrest received threats,” José Carlos Zamora told EFE in an interview on Saturday.
The 67-year-old journalist was sent back to prison inside the Mariscal Zavala military barracks on March 3, when Judge Erick García upheld a Court of Appeals ruling that overturned the house arrest granted to him in October. Zamora had already spent 819 days in prison over an alleged money laundering case.
His son condemned the situation as “unacceptable”, stating that the judge handling the case “cannot do his job in accordance with the law due to threats against his life.”
International
Miyazaki’s style goes viral with AI but at what cost?
This week, you may have noticed that everything—from historical photos and classic movie scenes to internet memes and recent political moments—has been reimagined on social media as Studio Ghibli-style portraits. The trend quickly went viral thanks to ChatGPT and the latest update of OpenAI’s chatbot, released on Tuesday, March 25.
The newest addition to GPT-4o has allowed users to replicate the distinctive artistic style of the legendary Japanese filmmaker and Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki (My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away). “Today is a great day on the internet,” one user declared while sharing popular memes in Ghibli format.
While the trend has captivated users worldwide, it has also highlighted ethical concerns about AI tools trained on copyrighted creative works—and what this means for the livelihoods of human artists.
Not that this concerns OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, which has actively encouraged the “Ghiblification”experiments. Its CEO, Sam Altman, even changed his profile picture on the social media platform X to a Ghibli-style portrait.
Miyazaki, now 84 years old, is known for his hand-drawn animation approach and whimsical storytelling. He has long expressed skepticism about AI’s role in animation. His past remarks on AI-generated animation have resurfaced and gone viral again, particularly when he once said he was “utterly disgusted” by an AI demonstration.
Central America
Nicaragua revokes legal status of 10 more NGOs, bringing total to over 5,600
The Nicaraguan government canceled the legal status of 10 more non-profit organizations on Friday (March 28, 2025), including the Swiss Foundation for Development Cooperation, bringing the total number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) shut down since December 2018 to over 5,600.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, the Swiss Foundation for Development Cooperation, which had been registered since March 9, 2002, was found to be in non-compliance for failing to report its financial status for 2024 and for having an expired board of directors.
Among the 10 NGOs whose legal status was revoked were religious organizations, educational groups, consumer associations, and aquaculture organizations, all dissolved “voluntarily” or closed under similar reasons.
As of today, more than 5,600 NGOs have been dismantled following the popular protests that erupted in April 2018 in Nicaragua. In most cases, the assets of these organizations have been ordered to be transferred to the state.
Son of journalist José Rubén Zamora condemns father’s return to prison as “illegal”
Miyazaki’s style goes viral with AI but at what cost?
Nicaragua revokes legal status of 10 more NGOs, bringing total to over 5,600
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Ecuador prison riot leaves at least 43 dead
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