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, Responsible Statecraft and Eschaton
RELATED:
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
The Hill:
Live updates: Hegseth blasts European allies, media at press conference; Mullin nomination advances — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth started a press briefing Thursday on the latest Operation Epic Fury news by blasting “ungrateful” European allies and “a dishonest” media, as the war enters Day 20.
Discussion:
Metro.co.uk and New York Post
Paul Waldman / Public Notice:
The cost of Trump's Iran war is quickly spiraling upward — PN is supported by paid subscribers. Become one ⬇️ — 💰 Subscribe to PN 💰 — Speaking to Sky News last week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was asked if there was some point at which the Iran war …
Discussion:
Bloomberg
Politico:
Trump's next pressure point — With help from Eli Okun, Ali Bianco, Irie Sentner and Makayla Gray — On today's Playbook Podcast: Jack and Dasha discuss the fraught challenges facing Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi when she arrives for lunch with President Donald Trump today.
Discussion:
New York Times
Kevin Breuninger / CNBC:
Hegseth says potential $200 billion Iran war spending request could shift: ‘Takes money to kill bad guys’
Discussion:
New York Post, The National Pulse 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:
Esquire, The Bulwark, Straight Arrow News, NBC News, New York Post, CBS News, KHOU-TV, Not the Bee, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, Axios, New York Times, Townhall, UPI, Bloomberg, Forbes, The Independent, Jewish Insider, The Guardian, Associated Press, RedState, Washington Examiner, The Daily Wire, GB News, The Hill, The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, News Talk 105.9, Fox News, ABC News, The Post Millennial, Mediaite, Reason, American Prospect, Grabien and Wall Street Journal
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Vance is in a bind, supporting a war that could cost him politically
Discussion:
Raw Story, New York Times, Washington Examiner, Mediaite, WKZO and Al Jazeera
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:
Associated Press, The Hill, The Spectator, USA Today, Townhall, CBS News, Talking Points Memo, Axios, New Republic and Politico
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, New York Times, Washington Examiner, Wall Street Journal, WTOP News, WJBK-TV, CBS News, Florida Politics, Forbes, KEYT-TV, NewsMax.com, El País, Al Jazeera, CityNews Toronto, NPR, BusinessDay, WKZO, GB News, Blaze Media and Fortune
RELATED:
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, New York Times, Reuters, Washington Post, Associated Press, Washington Times, Middle East Monitor, Semafor, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Washington Examiner and HotAir
CNBC:
Stocks fall again as oil prices rise, Dow loses 200 points: Live updates
Stocks fall again as oil prices rise, Dow loses 200 points: Live updates
Discussion:
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
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, Straight Arrow News, Washington Post, The Hill, CNBC, Mercury News, The Daily Caller, Washington Times, IJR, Breitbart, Mediaite, France 24, New York Times, Daily Caller News Foundation, Al Jazeera, Metro.co.uk, CBS News, The Times of Israel, WTOP News, Politico, The Gateway Pundit, Forbes, NewsMax.com, Washington Examiner, The War Zone and Bloomberg
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:
Punchbowl News, BusinessDay, Newsweek, The Gateway Pundit, New York Post, The Post Millennial and Political Wire
RELATED:
Dave Lawler / Axios:
Scoreboard on every street: Gas heads for $4 per gallon due to Iran war
Scoreboard on every street: Gas heads for $4 per gallon due to Iran war
Discussion:
New York Times, Democrats and YouGov
Nicholas Kristof / New York Times:
How Trump Should Extricate Himself From His Iran Quagmire
How Trump Should Extricate Himself From His Iran Quagmire
Discussion:
The American Spectator, Associated Press, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal and Responsible Statecraft
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:
Daily Caller News Foundation, Breitbart, The Post Millennial, WFMD AM, Christian Science Monitor, MS NOW and NewsMax.com
RELATED:
Eric Bazail-Eimil / Politico:
Mullin's nomination to be DHS chief advances out of committee
Discussion:
New York Post, The Hill, CBS News, New York Times, ABC News, NBC News, CNBC, Washington Examiner, Newsweek, Axios, NewsMax.com and Talking Points Memo
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, The Hill, New York Post, Rolling Stone, One America News Network, The Daily Signal, Washington Times, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, RedState, Wall Street Journal, Breitbart, Townhall, GovExec.com, New York Sun, IJR, Forbes, The Daily Wire, CBS News, New York Times, The Independent, WVEC, NOTUS, Mother Jones, New Republic, ABC News, Washington Examiner, New York Magazine, Politico, 2paragraph News, Bloomberg, The Floridian, Newsweek and NPR
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, The Independent, Townhall, The US Sun, Raw Story, IJR and Mediaite
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
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 …
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
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:
WKZO, FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York Times and CBS News
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
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
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
New York Times:
Trump's Hypocrisy on Religious Freedom — The Trump administration holds itself up as a defender of religious freedom. It has created a Religious Liberty Commission, increased funding for faith-based schools and changed vaccine policies to allow more religious exemptions.
Discussion:
NOTUS and NewsMax.com
RELATED:
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
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
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:
The Hill, Associated Press, HuffPost, USA Today, 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
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, CNN, Axios, Newsweek, The Independent, The Hill, Forbes, NOTUS, Raw Story, CBS News and Breitbart
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
Samuel Chamberlain / New York Post:
Republicans overwhelmingly back Trump over Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly on Iran war, poll finds — Reports of Republican fractures over President Trump's decision to go to war with Iran have been greatly exaggerated, according to a new poll shared exclusively with The Post Thursday.
Discussion:
The Independent
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
Alex Isenstadt / Axios:
D.C.'s hottest ticket: Trump's UFC fight night — President Trump tells Axios it's the “hottest ticket that I've ever seen.” — He's talking about UFC Freedom 250, the fight Trump is staging on the White House's South Lawn on June 14. … - But in a Trumpian twist of marketing …

