Top Items:
Washington Post:
Pentagon seeks more than $200 billion in budget request for Iran war — Some White House officials do not think the Pentagon's request has a realistic shot of being approved in Congress, one senior administration official said. — The Pentagon has asked the White House to approve …
Discussion:
Axios, The Hill, American Prospect, CBS News, NewsMax.com, The Independent, Raw Story and Responsible Statecraft
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Lisa Mascaro / Associated Press:
Pentagon seeks $200 billion in additional funds for the Iran war, AP source says — The Pentagon is seeking $200 billion in additional funds for the Iran war, a senior administration official says. The department sent the request to the White House, according to the official …
Discussion:
Reuters, WTOP News and Toledo Blade
Kevin Breuninger / CNBC:
Hegseth says potential $200 billion Iran war spending request could shift: ‘Takes money to kill bad guys’
Hegseth says potential $200 billion Iran war spending request could shift: ‘Takes money to kill bad guys’
Discussion:
New York Post and Washington Times
Shelby Talcott / Semafor:
FBI investigates intelligence aide who resigned over war — The Scoop — The FBI has opened a leak investigation into a top former intelligence official who resigned Tuesday in protest over the war in Iran. — The investigation into former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent …
Discussion:
The Bulwark, Straight Arrow News, NBC News, New York Post, KHOU-TV, Not the Bee, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, Axios, New York Times, UPI, RedState, Forbes, NewsMax.com, The Independent, Jewish Insider, The Guardian, Washington Examiner, The Daily Wire, GB News, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, The Hill, News Talk 105.9, ABC News, Fox News, Mediaite, Reason, American Prospect, Grabien, Wall Street Journal and Salon
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Peter Alexander / NBC News:
FBI conducting leak investigation into former Trump official who resigned over Iran war
Discussion:
Townhall, The Hill, HuffPost, Newsbusters, Mediaite, Fox News, NewsMax.com, The Guardian, Al Jazeera and The Daily Caller
Jennifer Jacobs / CBS News:
Joe Kent, ex-Trump counterterrorism chief who resigned over Iran war, under FBI investigation for alleged leaks
Joe Kent, ex-Trump counterterrorism chief who resigned over Iran war, under FBI investigation for alleged leaks
Michelle Goldberg / New York Times:
Joe Kent's Resignation Letter Is Dangerous Because It's Half True
Joe Kent's Resignation Letter Is Dangerous Because It's Half True
Discussion:
The Hill, The Spectator, USA Today, Townhall, CBS News, Talking Points Memo, New Republic, Axios, Politico and The Washington Free Beacon
Reuters:
Exclusive: US weighs military reinforcements as Iran war enters possible new phase — President Donald Trump's administration is considering deploying thousands of U.S. troops to reinforce its operation in the Middle East, as the U.S. military prepares for possible next steps in its campaign against Iran …
Discussion:
BusinessDay, Newsweek, The Gateway Pundit, New York Post and The Post Millennial
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Punchbowl News:
3/19/26☀️ AM: … Congress has sat firmly on the sidelines as President Donald Trump wages …
Discussion:
Newsweek, CNBC and Political Wire
Barak Ravid / Axios:
After Tehran strikes, Trump says Israel won't attack Iran gas fields anymore
After Tehran strikes, Trump says Israel won't attack Iran gas fields anymore
Discussion:
HotAir, Washington Post, The Hill, CNBC, Israpundit, Washington Times, IJR, New York Times, Breitbart, Mediaite, France 24, CBS News, The Times of Israel, Metro.co.uk, Al Jazeera, Daily Caller News Foundation, WTOP News, Politico, The Gateway Pundit, Forbes, NewsMax.com, Washington Examiner, The War Zone and Bloomberg
Washington Post:
Drones over base where Rubio, Hegseth live raise security concerns — Lockdowns at U.S. bases and a global security alert underscore concerns that Iranian retaliation could extend to officials on U.S. soil — U.S. officials detected unidentified drones above the Washington Army base …
Discussion:
PJ Media, Reuters, Townhall, The Independent, Raw Story, The US Sun, IJR and Mediaite
Alexander Ward / Wall Street Journal:
Trump Wants No More Energy Strikes, But Supported Attack On South Pars — President Trump wants no more strikes on Iranian energy sites after Israel's Wednesday attack on a vital Iranian gas field, U.S. officials said. — Trump, who knew about the Israeli strike on South Pars in advance …
Discussion:
Straight Arrow News, Associated Press, The Post Millennial, HuffPost, CBS News, Bloomberg, CNBC, New York Times, Middle East Monitor, Al Jazeera, Mediaite and NewsMax.com
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Peter Beaumont / The Guardian:
Middle East war: why attacks on gasfields like South Pars are a major escalation
Discussion:
Al Jazeera, Jerusalem Post, KVIA-TV, Bloomberg, Axios, Raw Story, WJR-AM1, Foreign Policy, The Times of Israel, The Hill, BusinessDay, Washington Post, New York Times, Reuters, Associated Press, Washington Times, Semafor, Middle East Monitor, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Washington Examiner and HotAir
Associated Press:
Brent crude nears $115 as energy prices surge after Iran attacks Gulf energy facilities — Global oil and natural gas prices soared Thursday after Iran attacked a key natural gas facility in Qatar that can supply one-fifth of the worlds gas as well as two oil refineries in Kuwait.
Discussion:
Reuters, Washington Examiner, Wall Street Journal, WJBK-TV, CBS News, Florida Politics, NewsMax.com, Forbes, KEYT-TV, El País, NPR, WTOP News, Al Jazeera, CityNews Toronto, BusinessDay, WKZO, GB News, Blaze Media and Fortune
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Bloomberg:
Hegseth Says Iran War Not Becoming a ‘Forever War’ or ‘Quagmire’ — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed back against criticism the US war on Iran risked becoming a military “quagmire,” as Iranian attacks on energy infrastructure pushed energy prices even higher on Thursday.
Discussion:
The Independent and Middle East Monitor
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Hannah Knowles / Washington Post:
Republicans are ramping up attacks on Muslims — and getting rewarded — Past GOP leaders, including George W. Bush, spoke out against Islamophobia. Now it is going unchallenged. — Republicans in Congress have said that “Muslims don't belong in American society” and that …
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Regina Medina / MPR News:
Judge ends asylum claims for Liam Conejo Ramos and his family, orders family's removal — An immigration judge has ended the asylum claims of Liam Conejo Ramos and his family, according to their Minneapolis lawyer. — The 5-year-old boy from Columbia Heights received national attention …
Discussion:
New York Times, CBS News, WKZO and FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul
Associated Press:
A scary injury led to Trump's close bond with Homeland Security nominee Mullin — Sen. Markwayne Mullin, Donald Trump's nominee to replace Kristi Noem as Homeland Security secretary, traces his close bond with the president to a scary personal moment in 2020, when Mullin's son suffered …
Discussion:
Breitbart, Christian Science Monitor, The Post Millennial, WFMD AM, MS NOW and NewsMax.com
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Lisa Mascaro / Associated Press:
One ‘freaking snake’ and no apologies: How the Mullin hearing went off the rails
One ‘freaking snake’ and no apologies: How the Mullin hearing went off the rails
Discussion:
Semafor, Washington Post, Axios, Raw Story, NewsMax.com, New York Post, The Hill, Rolling Stone, New York Times, One America News Network, The Daily Signal, Washington Times, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, RedState, Breitbart, Wall Street Journal, Townhall, GovExec.com, Politico, New York Sun, IJR, Forbes, The Daily Wire, CBS News, The Independent, WVEC, NOTUS, Mother Jones, New Republic, ABC News, Washington Examiner, New York Magazine, 2paragraph News, Bloomberg, The Floridian, Newsweek and NPR
Wall Street Journal:
A U.S. Citizen Now Runs Mexico's Top Drug Cartel—and Targeting Him Is Complicated — The California-born stepson of the late kingpin ‘El Mencho’ enjoys constitutional protections other capos could only dream of — TAPALPA, Mexico—An American citizen now appears to be in charge of Mexico's …
Washington Post:
Vance is in a bind, supporting a war that could cost him politically — People close to JD Vance concede that a long conflict will be a challenge for the next GOP nominee but say the vice president hasn't made up his mind about running. — Vice President JD Vance is projecting loyalty …
Discussion:
Raw Story, New York Times, Washington Examiner, Mediaite, WKZO and Al Jazeera
Sam Sutton / Politico:
‘What is he doing?’: New threats emerge for Trump's economy as war drags on … “Downside risks are rising, and this is an extremely fluid situation,” he said. — The data shows that the warning lights were flickering even before Iran shut the Strait of Hormuz, choking global supply chains.
Discussion:
Raw Story, Mediaite, Blaze Media and New York Times
Nick Lichtenberg / Fortune:
The national debt just crossed $39 trillion—almost doubling since Trump vowed to erase it — The United States national debt crossed $39 trillion for the first time Tuesday, arriving at the grim milestone less than five months after it first hit $38 trillion in late October …
Discussion:
Associated Press and Fox Business
NBC News:
Some DHS contractors told White House officials they were asked to pay Corey Lewandowski — Some companies complained to the Trump administration that Lewandowski has stood to personally profit from the DHS contracting process. Lewandowski denies the allegations.
Discussion:
NewsMax.com and The Hill
Bill Donahue / Billboard:
Afroman Wins Verdict Rejecting Lawsuit Filed by Ohio Cops Over Mocking Music Videos — Police officers raided the “Because I Got High” rapper's Ohio home, then sued him after he ridiculed them on social media — but a jury just sided with Afroman. … Afroman won a jury verdict Wednesday …
Discussion:
HuffPost, USA Today, CBS News, Techdirt, Washington Post, Rolling Stone, Los Angeles Times, New York Post and Althouse
Meghan Bartels / Scientific American:
COVID probably killed 150,000 more people in its first two years than official U.S. tolls show — We have severely undercounted the number of COVID deaths, scientists say … COVID may have killed significantly more people in the U.S. in the first two years of the pandemic than official records indicate …
Discussion:
Associated Press and Gizmodo
Dan Diamond / Washington Post:
Trump's face on a gold coin? His hand-picked panel will decide. — The proposal has already been rejected by members of a separate federal coin committee — and panned by former member Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. — Just now — A federal arts commission will weigh whether to approve …
Discussion:
New York Sun and The Handbasket
Politico:
‘He has to justify what he did’: Black leaders slam JB Pritzker after Illinois primary … Pritzker's money helped put Stratton on the path to becoming just the sixth Black senator in U.S. history. But by boxing out Kelly, he frayed his relationship with the caucus, which holds significant sway …
Discussion:
NBC News, New York Times, The Hill, CNN, Daily Mail, Newsweek, New York Post and Bloomberg
Brent Lang / Variety:
Val Kilmer Resurrected by AI to Star in ‘As Deep as the Grave’ Movie — First Look (EXCLUSIVE) — Five years prior to his death in 2025, Val Kilmer was cast as Father Fintan, a Catholic priest and Native American spiritualist, in “As Deep as the Grave.” But Kilmer, who was battling throat cancer, was too sick to ever make it to set.
ABC News:
‘I will follow the law,’ Bondi says after Democrats storm out of Epstein files briefing — Democrats say the AG refused to commit to following the committee's subpoena. — Rep. Robert Garcia speaks to the media following a closed-door briefing for members of the House Oversight …
Discussion:
The Guardian, New York Times, RedState, NBC News, The Gateway Pundit, Newsweek, Axios, CNN, The Independent, The Hill, Forbes, NOTUS, Raw Story, CBS News and Breitbart
Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Following Trump, Republicans in Congress Propose to Ban Most Voting by Mail — A restrictive voter I.D. bill under consideration in the Senate could severely limit mail-in voting. Conservatives are pressing to end the practice outright, taking aim at an option that is widely used by voters.
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Deseret News, NewsMax.com and Washington Examiner
Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
March 18, 2026 — I was intending to take tonight off, but there's big news—I mean, aside from all the other big news—that I want to make sure gets attention. — Back on February 23, Daniel Ruetenik, Pat Milton, and Cara Tabachnick of CBS News reported on a newly uncovered document …
Discussion:
Digby's Hullabaloo, Crooks and Liars, The Hill, CBS News, Raw Story and Bloomberg
Dave Lawler / Axios:
Scoreboard on every street: Gas heads for $4 per gallon due to Iran war — Most Americans will likely soon be paying over $4 per gallon as the war in Iran drives one of the sharpest gas price surges in recent history. … - “President Trump has been clear that these are short-term disruptions.
Discussion:
New York Times, Democrats and YouGov
New York Times:
Ozempic Is About to Go Generic for Billions of People — In India, China and several other nations, Novo Nordisk is on the verge of losing patent protection for its blockbuster weight loss drug, opening the door for cheaper competing versions. — Alex Travelli and Pragati K.B.
Discussion:
Semafor and Scientific American
Jon Levine / The Washington Free Beacon:
Zohran Mamdani's Wife Celebrated Palestinian Terrorists, Including Plane Hijacker, In Social Media Posts From Early Adulthood — Rama Duwaji also boosted a post that said Tel Aviv 'Shouldn't exist in the first place' — New York City's first lady, Rama Duwaji, glorified terrorist violence …
Discussion:
The Post Millennial, Townhall, HotAir and twitchy.com
Anna Wilde Mathews / Wall Street Journal:
Millions of Americans Are Going Uninsured Following Expiration of ACA Subsidies — Nearly a third of those enrolled in Affordable Care Act plans last year have left the market after costs rose sharply — Nearly one in 10 people who had Affordable Care Act plans last year dropped health insurance altogether …
Discussion:
MS NOW

