Here at F Newsmagazine, we know how hard it is to juggle class, work, and life — especially when you have finals to prepare for instead. For those who wish to keep up, News in Brief is here to cover major Chicago, U.S., and global events. We gather our information from reputable sources like NBC, NPR, CBS, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, and other journalism organizations. We’re here to be a trusted source for students to disseminate news that we feel is important to students at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and our community. So while you browse this issue during lunch, take the time to briefly catch up on the news. 

News in Brief covers major Chicago, U.S., and global events. We strive to be a trusted source of news for the School of the Art Institute of Chicago community. Take the time to briefly catch up on the news.

International

U.S. aids Cuba in energy crisis

In January, a U.S. raid killed 32 Cuban military and intelligence officials protecting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Maduro was forcibly removed from office, which cut off Cuba from Venezuelan oil. Weeks later, the U.S. enacted a Cuban oil blockade. Cuba’s Deputy Minister of Energy and Mines, Argelio Abad Vigo, stated last week that the island produces only about 40% of the fuel it needs — meaning the country is now in the midst of a fuel crisis. Power outages — already common before the crisis — increased with a nationwide blackout in March. Education, public transportation, medicine, and other services have been affected by the crisis. The country is receiving international support from Brazil, the European Parliament, and even the United States Democratic Socialists of America. Ships with food and volunteers were expected to arrive in late March.

National

ICE Agents posted in airports

You may not have noticed with everything else going on, but the U.S. government shut down again on Feb. 13. Two shutdowns have already occurred in 2026, but the current shutdown only affects the Department of Homeland Security as Democratic senators try to rein in the powers of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. However, the lack of funding also means that Transportation Security Administration workers in airports aren’t getting paid — at the time of publication, for more than 40 days. Airport security lines across the nation are experiencing hours-long waits, with Houston, Atlanta, and Baltimore/Washington international airport security lines marking the start of the issue, and the DHS reported that 458 workers have quit altogether, not including the ones who didn’t show up. 

These “roles critical to national safety at our nation’s airports are going without pay for the third time in nearly six months,” the DHS said in a release on March 17.

On March 23, ICE showed up in green “Police/ICE” vests at 13 airports to alleviate the TSA shortage. President Trump wrote on Truth Social that they were “helping our Country out of the Democrat caused MESS at the airports, etc.”

The TSA shortage was intensified by a surge in spring break travel. Additionally, New York’s LaGuardia airport was shut down following an incident where a plane crashed into a firetruck on the runway on March 22, killing two pilots. There is no clear connection between this accident and the government shutdown.

Other organizations whose funding was cut as a result of the shutdown are the Federal Emergency Management Agency (disaster relief) and secret service workers.

Local

The fight over Illinois’s data center boom

Illinois has made moves to fight data center development through the POWER Act bill, which was introduced in February. On March 17, a seven-hour meeting was held in Joliet, a town 45 miles from Chicago. The meeting concerned the opening of a “massive” new data center in the area. Data centers in Illinois have already increased energy bills, especially in the Northern part of the state. Concerns about increasing data center numbers include water safety, affordability, and pollution. There are already 207 data centers in the Chicago Metropolitan Area. The planned Joliet data center would become the largest in Illinois.

Meanwhile, Chicago’s Lakeshore East is set to open Alpha Schools, a fully AI-driven private school, this fall. The school will replace teachers with “guides” and use software to teach core subjects. The $55,000 school plans to serve 100 students and has been praised by the Trump administration.

Chicago police may be forced to pay settlement for deadly car chase

In 2017, Stacy Vaughn-Harrell, a 47-year-old woman, died after being hit by a car fleeing the police. On March 18, 2026, Chicago City Council approved a proposed $27 million settlement for the case. The settlement is a result of a second trial after new evidence was revealed, creating a “new case.” The officers were also accused of trying to cover up the case, passing it off as an ordinary car crash. Chicago police, which is funded by taxpayers, is to cover $20 million of the settlement, with the city’s insurance company paying $7 million. Chicago Alderman Nick Sposato stated, “Somebody got severely hurt, and now we’re responsible for it because we’ve got the deep pockets.”