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US National Debt
Sources: US Military Can't Spend All the Money

The Trump administration is having trouble figuring out how to allocate the huge increase planned in the 2027 defense budget, sources told the Washington Post.

Last month, Donald Trump agreed to increase defense spending from around $900 billion to $1.5 trillion, a more than 50 percent increase.

The proposal came from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, but faced internal criticism, including from White House budget director Russell Vought, who warns of an excessive increase in the national debt.

The White House is now two weeks late in submitting the budget proposal to Congress, partly because there has been no agreement on how much of the money should go to arms purchases and how much should be invested in technology such as AI.

- I'm not surprised they're having difficulties. It's a huge amount of money in one year, says G William Hoagland at the Bipartisan Policy Center think tank.

Tariff Crisis  Votes on Tariffs
Analysis: More Headaches from the Supreme Court May Await Trump

There is no evil that does not have some good in it – for Donald Trump, the Supreme Court’s invalidation of his trade tariffs is a severe blow to his entire political platform, but it may also have saved the economy. CNN’s Aaron Blake writes in an analysis.

He points out that US growth during Trump’s first year was the second-worst since 2016, that the jobs figure was the weakest in decades and that inflation has taken hold.

“In other words – aside from the stock market – the economy is not doing so well,” he writes, adding that at least part of the reason for this is likely Trump’s tariffs.

However, there is no escaping the fact that the court’s decision is a severe blow to Trump. Especially since six of the Supreme Court's nine judges are conservatives and two of those who voted down the tariffs were appointed by Trump, notes the New York Times' Ann E Marimow.

She writes that the split between the conservative judges could be a warning bell for Trump, who hopes the court will let him fire the central bank governor and tear up the birthright constitution.

"The disagreement also opens the way for the court's liberal members to build coalitions [...] which could make the court's actions more unpredictable in the coming years," she writes.

Political situation in France
Thousands honor slain right-wing extremist

More than 3,000 people have gathered in Lyon during the day to honor Quentin Deranque, the right-wing extremist who was beaten to death earlier this week. This is reported by French media.

The march took place under heavy police guard and just before it started, President Emmanuel Macron came out and called for calm. It seems that those involved have complied, at least by French standards.

One person is said to have thrown eggs at the march from his apartment window, another was arrested for carrying a hammer and a knife. BFMTV writes that the police have filed a handful of reports against participants in the march who either chanted racist chants or made Hitler salutes.

Quentin Deranque was beaten to death by left-wing extremist activists in connection with a demonstration this week. This has led to a very tense situation between the groups at the far end of the political spectrum.

Protests in Iran
Iranian students in new protests against the regime

Students at several universities in Iran have launched new protests against the regime, reports the BBC.

The channel has verified video clips of marching students at Sharif University in Tehran on Saturday. Arguments are also said to have broken out between them and pro-regime students.

A sit-in protest was also held at another university in the capital, and at least one demonstration was held in the country's northeast.

This coincides with the observance of chehelom ("the 40th"), a traditional Persian and Shia Muslim period of mourning held 40 days after a death, for many of those killed in the January protests.