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The Justice Department posted pardons online bearing identical copies of Donald Trump’s signature before quietly correcting them this week after what the agency called a “technical error.”

The replacements came after online commenters seized on striking similarities in the president’s signature across a series of pardons dated Nov. 7, including those granted to former New York Mets player Darryl Strawberry, former Tennessee House speaker Glen Casada and former New York police sergeant Michael McMahon.

In fact, the signatures on several pardons initially uploaded to the Justice Department’s website were identical, two forensic document experts confirmed to The Associated Press.

Donald Trump announced Friday that he was scrapping U.S. tariffs on beef, coffee, tropical fruits and a broad swath of other commodities — a dramatic move that comes amid mounting pressure on his administration to better combat high consumer prices. 

Trump has built his second term around imposing steep levies on goods imported into the U.S. in hopes of encouraging domestic production and lifting the U.S. economy. His abrupt retreat from his signature tariff policy on so many staples key to the American diet is significant, and it comes after voters in off-year elections this month cited economic concerns as their top issue, resulting in big wins for Democrats in Virginia, New Jersey and other key races around the country.

The European Commission has fined US companies Apple and Meta millions for violations of the Digital Markets Act.

The European Commission on Wednesday found tech giants Apple and Meta in breach of obligations under the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA), fining the two US companies €500 million ($572 million) and €200 million respectively.

Apple was found to have breached its "anti-steering" obligation under the DMA, while Meta was considered not to have given consumers the choice of a service that uses less of their personal data, another stipulation of the DMA.

However, the EU also closed an investigation of Apple over its user choice obligations after the tech giant complied with the DMA by making it easy to select a default browser and for users to remove pre-installed apps such as Safari.

An ashen pallor and an eerie stillness all that remains where there should fluttering fish and vibrant colours in the reefscape, one conservationist says

The world’s coral reefs have been pushed into “uncharted territory” by the worst global bleaching event on record that has now hit more than 80% of the planet’s reefs, scientists have warned.

Reefs in at least 82 countries and territories have been exposed to enough heat to turn corals white since the global event started in January 2023, the latest data from the US government’s Coral Reef Watch shows.

Coral reefs are known as the rainforests of the sea because of their high concentration of biodiversity that supports about a third of all marine species and a billion people.

But record high ocean temperatures have spread like an underwater wildfire over corals across the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans, damaging and killing countless corals.

Summary

London talks aimed at securing a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia have been downgraded and will no longer include US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff.

The US state department blamed logistical reasons, but it was clear the decision was last-minute and left the Foreign Office wrongfooted.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has ruled out recognising occupied Crimea as Russian territory, after reports suggested this was being considered by the US and the Kremlin. "Ukraine does not legally recognise the occupation of Crimea. There's nothing to talk about," said Zelensky.

Ukraine's ministry of strategic industries said it was "naïve" to expect Ukraine to change its position on "non-negotiable" issues such as Crimea.

The U.S. expects Ukraine's response Wednesday to a peace framework that includes U.S. recognition of Crimea as part of Russia and unofficial recognition of Russian control of nearly all areas occupied since the 2022 invasion, sources with direct knowledge of the proposal tell Axios.

Why it matters: The one-page document the U.S. presented Ukrainian officials in Paris last week describes this as Trump's "final offer." The White House insists it's ready to walk away if the parties don't make a deal soon.

The European Union will never recognize the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula as legally Russian, the bloc's top diplomat Kaja Kallas told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on April 22.

Kallas' comments come in response to reports that the recognition of Crimea as Russian territory is being considered as part of a U.S.-backed proposal to end the war in Ukraine.

"Crimea is Ukraine," Kallas told the AFP.

Summary

A record 7.3 million people have cast their ballots over four days of advanced voting in Canada’s election, marking a 25% increase over the 5.8m advanced ballots cast in the 2021 vote.

There are further indications the election campaign dominated by threats from Donald Trump has galvanized voters, including unusually high ratings for two debates last week.

Prime Minister Mark Carney is the frontrunner, though Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative party is incrementally gaining ground.

This year, polling points to a two-party Liberal-Conservative race.

Summary

Donald Trump is upset after King Charles warmly welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Sandringham, making Trump’s own state visit invitation seem “less special.”

Trump’s allies allegedly asked the British government to intervene, but officials stated the king makes his own decisions.

Relations may also be strained by Trump’s criticism of Canada, where Charles remains head of state.

The U.K. government denied tensions, reaffirming strong U.S.-U.K. ties.

Summary

ICE agents arrested Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, a leader in Columbia University's encampment movement, claiming his student visa was revoked.

However, his attorney Amy Greer states he has a green card, not a student visa.

Despite filing a habeas corpus petition, Greer can't locate where Khalil is being held, noting his eight-months-pregnant wife couldn't find him at a New Jersey facility.

The arrest follows Trump's March 4 social media threat to defund universities allowing "illegal protests" and deport "agitators."

Summary

The U.S. State Department has frozen funding for Fulbright and other international scholarship programs, leaving thousands of scholars stranded without financial support.

The move is part of the Trump administration’s broader efforts to cut government spending. Affected scholars, including Americans abroad and foreign scholars in the U.S., have received only partial payments with no clarity on future funds.

Advocacy groups warn the freeze impacts over 12,500 participants. Universities and scholars are scrambling for alternatives, while officials have yet to provide explanations or solutions.

Summary

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claimed migrant children “have a choice” in coming to the U.S. illegally, sparking pushback from CBS host Margaret Brennan.

Noem later shifted blame to parents, saying they decide whether to keep families together.

The Trump administration revived family detention last week, reversing Biden’s 2021 decision to end it.

Noem defended detentions, criticized Biden’s immigration policies, and confirmed plans to use military bases like Fort Bliss to hold detainees.