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What We’re Watching: Constitutional Crisis and the Embassy of Fast Food

An American Constitutional Crisis – A "constitutional crisis" arises when a confrontation among branches of government can't be resolved by existing law. The US Constitution gives Congress the responsibility of oversight of the president and his administration, and it grants the president certain privileges, as well. Some Democrats now argue that the Trump administration's refusal to provide congressional committees with access to requested witnesses and documents, including the unredacted Mueller Report and President Trump's tax returns, has created such a crisis. But the Constitution provides for three branches of government. Congress is already taking Trump to court on multiple issues. If the president or Congress refuses to comply with coming court rulings, then the US will face a true constitutional crisis. We're not there yet, but the danger is growing.

Austrian McDonald's – On Tuesday, we told you about Burger King's new plan to deliver fast food to motorists stranded in traffic jams in Mexico City. Here's some good fast-food news for US citizens travelling in Austria who have lost their passports and are craving a milkshake. The US Embassy in Vienna announced this week that McDonald's restaurants across Austria will serve as mini embassies for American tourists, who can receive limited consular services there.


What We're Ignoring: Guatemala's Dirty Politics and a Tidal Wave of Euro-Kitsch

Guatemala's Presidential Field – Guatemala's Constitutional Court has ruled that Zury Ríos cannot compete in the country's June 16 presidential election because she's the daughter of former military dictator Efraín Ríos Montt, the world's first former head of state to be charged with genocide in his own country. Guatemalan voters can still choose between former first lady Sandra Torres, who faces charges of embezzlement, perjury and tax fraud, and former attorney general Thelma Aldana, who is under investigation for campaign finance irregularities.

Eurovision – We're ignoring Europe's famed song contest because it takes place in non-European Israel, non-European Australia is among the favorites to win, some of the performances give kitsch a bad name, and because the Russians don't consider the voting important enough to hack. And as we've seen, Russians will hack anything.

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What We’re Watching: The kings of soccer make a trade deal, Venezuela’s Machado to meet Trump, Moscow sends message to Europe

Protesting farmers hold anti - Mercosur banners while chanting slogans during the protest. Thousands of farmers protested against the signing of the agreement between the European Union and the Mercosur.

Attila Husejnow / SOPA Images via Reuters Connect
Europe and South America finally agree to long-sought trade dealIt took more than 25 years, but the European Union and Mercosur, the South American common market, provisionally agreed to a free trade deal, eliminating tariffs on over 90% of each other’s exports. If it passes, it would create the largest free trade zone in the world and mark the [...]
​Sudanese brothers, refugees from el-Fasher, wash clothes at sunset outside the Tine transit camp in eastern Chad, on November 22, 2025.

Sudanese brothers, refugees from el-Fasher, wash clothes at sunset outside the Tine transit camp, amid the conflict between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese army, in eastern Chad, on November 22, 2025.

REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
1,000: A civil war that has produced one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises reached a grim milestone today. One thousand days into the conflict in Sudan, over 150,000 people have been killed and 9 million uprooted across the country by the fighting.. 584,000: The US economy added just 584,000 jobs in all of 2025, according to the Bureau of [...]
​Protesters gather as vehicles burn in Tehran, Iran, in this screen grab from a social media video released on January 9, 2026.

Protesters gather as vehicles burn, amid evolving anti-government unrest, in Tehran, Iran, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video released on January 9, 2026.

Social Media/via REUTERS
Twelve days ago, a protest over Iran’s deteriorating economy began at a market in Tehran, in what were then estimated to be the largest demonstrations in the country since 2022.Since then, they have spread dramatically. People in over 100 cities and towns across the country have taken to the streets to vent their anger over a plunging Iranian rial [...]
​Passengers enter a shared taxi in Dnipro, Ukraine, on January 8, 2026.

Passengers enter a shared taxi in Dnipro, Ukraine, on January 8, 2026. Following a massive Russian drone attack on the energy infrastructure of Ukraine’s southern regions, most consumers in Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia regions, including the regional capitals, were left without power.

Mykola Miakshykov/Ukrinform
1 million: Russian drone strikes crippled energy infrastructure in southeast Ukraine overnight, leaving over one million people in Dnipropetrovsk without heat or water in the dead of winter. Electricity supplies were also disrupted for thousands more people in neighboring Zaporizhzhia. [...]