Top Items:
Axios:
Behind the Curtain: Trump's escalation trap — For five years in office, President Trump has operated with intuition, impulse and improvisation. — The Iran war, now entering Week 3, is the first time Trump's style has made it impossible for him to easily talk or improvise his way out.
Discussion:
PBS NewsHour, Raw Story and Semafor
RELATED:
Paul Krugman:
No, America is Not Respected — Thanks to Trump, we're held in contempt even by our closest allies — There's a real Baghdad Bob feel to pronouncements from the Trump administration these days. The war is going great! We've been totally victorious! Also, other countries …
Edward Luce / Financial Times:
Donald Trump warns Nato faces ‘very bad future’ if allies fail to help US in Iran — US president tells the FT in an interview that China summit could be delayed — Donald Trump has warned that Nato faces a “very bad” future if US allies fail to assist in opening up the Strait of Hormuz …
Discussion:
The Guardian, New York Post, The Hill, NBC News, Washington Examiner, The Independent, Axios, Bloomberg, Politico, CNN, New York Magazine, MS NOW, Wake Up To Politics, The Post Millennial, Blaze Media, Reuters, Racket News, France 24, Fortune, Israpundit, UPI, The Daily Wire, The Gateway Pundit, DVIDS, CounterPunch, Semafor, Mediaite, Fox News, IJR, Blue Virginia and HuffPost
Politico:
Trump's Sunday night crashout — With help from Eli Okun, Ali Bianco, Irie Sentner and Makayla Gray — Good Monday morning. This is Jack Blanchard, loading up on bottled water and cans of beans and heading to the basement. Good luck out there. Get in touch. — Yes, we're still talking about the weather.
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
Trump's Fork in the Road to Tehran — Leading the New York Times this morning: Israel is stepping up its ground attacks against the Iranian proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon, while other nations appear to be shrugging at Trump's demand that they send warships to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Ravi Mattu / New York Times:
Trump's Threat to Delay Summit With Xi Casts New Shadow Over China Relations — President Trump warned that he could postpone a meeting set to begin in just over two weeks if China refuses to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz. — President Trump threatened to postpone a long-planned summit …
Discussion:
Washington Times, CNN, New Republic, Bloomberg and Al Jazeera
Reuters:
Iran War Live Updates: Israel Expands Lebanon Offensive; Trump's Oil-Route Demands Draw Cool Response
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Guardian, Bloomberg, Israpundit, Reuters, The American Conservative, BusinessDay, France 24 and CBS News
Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
March 15, 2026 — Today, as the country enters its third week of war against Iran …
March 15, 2026 — Today, as the country enters its third week of war against Iran …
Discussion:
Fortune, CBS News, The Kyiv Independent and Israpundit
Steven Erlanger / New York Times:
In Iraq, the U.S. Tried to Bring Allies on Board. Not in Iran.
In Iraq, the U.S. Tried to Bring Allies on Board. Not in Iran.
Discussion:
The Guardian
Reuters:
US allies rebuff Trump's request for support in Strait of Hormuz
US allies rebuff Trump's request for support in Strait of Hormuz
Discussion:
The Hill, The Week, Bloomberg, France 24, NPR, Modern Diplomacy, BusinessDay and NewsMax.com
Bloomberg:
Trump's Call for Chinese Warships Hits on Sensitive Topic for Xi
Trump's Call for Chinese Warships Hits on Sensitive Topic for Xi
Discussion:
Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, The Independent, Reuters and Fox News
Bloomberg:
Trump Leaves Allies and Foes Guessing on Endgame for Iran
Trump Leaves Allies and Foes Guessing on Endgame for Iran
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, New York Times, Washington Post and Reuters
Nette Nöstlinger / Politico:
Germany to Trump: We won't help you reopen the Strait of Hormuz
Germany to Trump: We won't help you reopen the Strait of Hormuz
Discussion:
Middle East Monitor and NewsMax.com
Milena Wälde / Politico:
Trump warns NATO (again) of ‘very bad future’ if allies don't secure Strait of Hormuz
Trump warns NATO (again) of ‘very bad future’ if allies don't secure Strait of Hormuz
Discussion:
The Guardian, Bloomberg, MS NOW, Reuters, Washington Examiner, The Hill, France 24, NewsMax.com, The Week, New York Post, The National Pulse, WTOP News, Al Jazeera, Fortune, Middle East Monitor and The Floridian
Politico:
'We're going to have a problem': Republicans want Trump to move on from 2020 … “I'm always one to believe you should look forward, not backward,” said Charlie Gerow, a Pennsylvania-based GOP strategist and Trump convention delegate who hosted a meeting of fake electors in 2020 at his Harrisburg-based public affairs firm.
Discussion:
Raw Story
RELATED:
Jacob Knutson / Democracy Docket:
Trump blasts Supreme Court for not overturning 2020 election — In another round of late-night social media posts, President Donald Trump attacked the Supreme Court for not overturning his loss in the 2020 presidential election — and tried to pressure the court to rule his way in future election cases.
Discussion:
Election Law Blog, New Republic, Lawfare and MS NOW
Callum Jones / The Guardian:
Trump claims he has ‘absolute right’ to impose new tariffs after supreme court blow
Trump claims he has ‘absolute right’ to impose new tariffs after supreme court blow
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, The Gateway Pundit, NewsMax.com and New York Sun
Emanuel Fabian / The Times of Israel:
Gamblers trying to win a bet on Polymarket are vowing to kill me if I don't rewrite an Iran missile story — Bettors are using death threats to try to get The Times of Israel's military correspondent to change his report on a missile impact in central Israel. This is his alarming account
Elizabeth Ginexi:
I Wrote Research Funding Announcements for NIH for 22 Years. This Year They've Published 14 — For decades, the National Institutes of Health published between 650 and 850 Notices of Funding Opportunities each year. These announcements tell the research community which diseases need study …
Steven Nelson / New York Post:
Trump briefed that Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei is probably gay — and president has priceless reaction — WASHINGTON — President Trump was stunned to learn last week that US intelligence indicates new Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei may be gay — and that his father …
Discussion:
RedState, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, The US Sun, The Gateway Pundit, CBS News and HotAir
Gregory S. Schneider / Washington Post:
As states scrap for congressional seats, Virginia could tip the scales — The party's well-funded canvassing and advertising campaign for a referendum that could add four blue seats to Congress has Republicans scrambling to respond. — RICHMOND — Karen Taylor Dantzler heard the arguments …
Discussion:
Axios
RELATED:
Ilya Somin / Lawfare:
Slavery and Birthright Citizenship — The administration's rationale in the birthright citizenship case contradicts the central purpose of the 14th Amendment's Citizenship Clause. — Meet The Authors — Trump v. Barbara, the birthright citizenship case, is currently before the Supreme Court.
Marissa Armas / CBS News:
Afghan father, former U.S. military ally, dies in ICE custody in North Texas — Add CBS News on Google — An Afghan father who served with U.S. forces died in ICE custody less than a day after being arrested in North Texas. — Mohammed Nazeer Paktiawal's family says he was in the country legally …
Discussion:
The Independent, New Republic, KEYT-TV, Reuters and Honolulu Star-Advertiser
RELATED:
Jennifer Jett / NBC News:
Afghan asylum-seeker dies after less than 24 hours in ICE custody
Afghan asylum-seeker dies after less than 24 hours in ICE custody
Discussion:
UPI, ICE, KHOU-TV, Raw Story, FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth and The Texas Tribune
Gillian Brockell:
Video proves Delta flew Liam Ramos and his dad to ICE detention center — Liam Conejo Ramos and his father were flown to a Texas detention center via Delta Air Lines the day after they were captured by federal agents who allegedly used the 5-year-old boy as bait, according …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
New York Times:
Behind Mamdani's Smile, a Politician Who Can Be a Ruthless Operator — Mayor Zohran Mamdani, while charming in public, has thrown sharp elbows in private as he pushes his political brand and agenda among fellow Democrats. — Zohran Mamdani was on the brink of completing his buoyant ascent …
New York Times:
Trump's Effort to Target Rivals Stall as Judges Cut Short Basic Investigative Steps — A ruling Friday that derailed an investigation into the Federal Reserve chair at an exceptionally early stage showed the limits of President Trump's campaign of legal retribution.
Mark Leibovich / The Atlantic:
A 79-Year-Old Freshman Senator? — “I'll share my lipid profile with anybody!” Janet Mills, the governor of Maine, pledged to me. — These are the kinds of assurances that candidates make when everyone keeps harping on their age. — Mills, who is 78, is trying to dislodge Susan Collins …
Discussion:
Townhall and The Portland Press Herald
Steve Vladeck / One First:
216. Taking the TPS Cases Seriously — Two emergency applications seeking to put especially cruel Trump administration immigration policies back into effect are a referendum on the judicial role—and on the emergency docket, in particular. — Welcome back to “One First,” …
Becket Adams / The Hill:
‘Lobstergate’ shows just how far our media have sunk — It is a terrible time to be a news consumer. Sadly, the only way to explain today's media is to write them off as either malicious or hopelessly incompetent. — Consider “lobstergate,” one of the more achingly idiotic so-called controversies in recent years.
Discussion:
Townhall
Ben Kamisar / NBC News:
Poll: Israel's standing plummets among Democrats, fueling primaries on the left — More registered voters view Israel negatively than positively in the latest NBC News poll, driven by change among independents and especially Democrats. — American voters' feelings on Israel …
Discussion:
Mediaite and Chicago Sun Times
Alan Blinder / New York Times:
Professors Are Changing What They Teach, Even Far from Trump's Gaze — Harvard is the White House's biggest target, but professors all over the country have been censoring themselves, avoiding provocative topics and rewriting grants. — Rewritten syllabuses. Self-censored lectures.
Scott MacFarlane / MacFarlane News:
EXCLUSIVE: Justice Dept to receive referral today to probe Kristi Noem for perjury — The Justice Department will receive a recommendation later today to conduct an investigation into whether former U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem committed perjury in her testimony to Congress earlier this month.
Discussion:
CNBC, Raw Story, The Parnas Perspective and Mediaite

