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 …
RELATED:
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
Dave Lawler / Axios:
Hegseth on seeking $200 billion for Iran war: “That number could move”
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, New York Post, France 24, The Daily Caller, Washington Times and Toledo Blade
Meredith Lee Hill / Politico:
Congress must ‘adequately’ fund defense, Johnson says, amid talk of $200 billion war request
Lisa Mascaro / Associated Press:
Pentagon seeks $200 billion in additional funds for the Iran war, AP source says
Pentagon seeks $200 billion in additional funds for the Iran war, AP source says
Discussion:
Associated Press, Reuters and WTOP News
The Hill:
Live updates: Hegseth blasts European allies, media at press conference; Mullin nomination advances
Live updates: Hegseth blasts European allies, media at press conference; Mullin nomination advances
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, New Republic, Metro.co.uk and New York Post
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:
Bloomberg, RedState, UPI and The National Pulse
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
Someone Needs to Tell Trump the Truth About the War — The average price of a gallon of gasoline is now about $3.88, according to AAA. In eight states, it's over $4/gallon. Happy Thursday. — What Nobody's Telling Trump — by William Kristol — I doubt anyone on the inside …
Discussion:
ABC News, Just Security and Fox News
RELATED:
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:
Washington Examiner, The Bulwark, Esquire, Straight Arrow News, Washington Times, NBC News, CBS News, New York Post, Not the Bee, New York Times, Axios, KHOU-TV, Talking Points Memo, Townhall, UPI, Forbes, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, The Independent, Jewish Insider, Bloomberg, MS NOW, Associated Press, RedState, News Talk 105.9, The Guardian, GB News, The Hill, Breitbart, The Daily Wire, Raw Story, Fox News, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, ABC News, The Floridian, The Post Millennial, Mediaite, Reason, American Prospect, Grabien and Wall Street Journal
Nia-Malika Henderson / Bloomberg:
The White House Is Lost in the ‘Weave’ — The Trump administration has a coherence problem. This issue starts at the top with a fabulist president who is increasingly unfiltered and unfocused, offering up ping-ponging thoughts with little purpose or explanation.
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
Reuters:
Exclusive: Iran attack wipes out 17% of Qatar's LNG capacity for up to five years, QatarEnergy CEO says — Iranian attacks have knocked out 17% of Qatar's liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity, causing an estimated $20 billion in lost annual revenue and threatening supplies to Europe and Asia …
Discussion:
Daily Caller News Foundation
RELATED:
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, NPR, Fortune, CBS News, FOREVER WARS, Wall Street Journal, WNYW-TV, NewsMax.com, KEYT-TV, El País, Forbes, Al Jazeera, WTOP News, Florida Politics, BusinessDay, WKZO and Blaze Media
Peter Beaumont / The Guardian:
Middle East war: why attacks on gasfields like South Pars are a major escalation
Discussion:
Al Jazeera, News Items, Associated Press, Jerusalem Post, KVIA-TV, Bloomberg, Axios, Raw Story, WJR-AM1, Foreign Policy, The Times of Israel, The Hill, The War Zone, BusinessDay, New York Times, Reuters, Middle East Monitor, Washington Times, Semafor, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Washington Post, Washington Examiner, HotAir and NewsMax.com
Associated Press:
Live updates: Pentagon seeks $200 billion in additional funding for the Iran war, AP source says
Live updates: Pentagon seeks $200 billion in additional funding for the Iran war, AP source says
Discussion:
WTOP News
CNBC:
Oil briefly hits $119 and Europe gas prices surge after attacks on energy facilities in Qatar, Iran
Oil briefly hits $119 and Europe gas prices surge after attacks on energy facilities in Qatar, Iran
Discussion:
New York Magazine, The Hill, HotAir, Washington Post, New York Times, Axios, Washington Examiner, One America News Network, Mercury News, Forbes, France 24, Straight Arrow News, Israpundit, Wall Street Journal, Al Jazeera, Hackwhackers, KEYT-TV, UPI, The Gateway Pundit, NewsMax.com, GB News, RedState, Reuters and CBS News
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:
The Parnas Perspective, RedState, Raw Story, NewsMax.com and The Hill
NBC News:
Trump's DHS pick Mullin advances by one vote after Sen. Fetterman votes yes — Republican Sen. Rand Paul opposed Mullin, but Democratic Sen. John Fetterman crossed the aisle to rescue the nominee, who was approved by a one-vote margin. — WASHINGTON — A key Senate committee voted 8-7 …
Discussion:
Scripps News, Bloomberg, CNBC, Washington Times, IJR, The Philadelphia Inquirer, PBS NewsHour, The Hill and KHOU-TV
RELATED:
Meg Kinnard / Associated Press:
Mullin's DHS nomination advances to full Senate despite opposition from Republican Rand Paul
Mullin's DHS nomination advances to full Senate despite opposition from Republican Rand Paul
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, New York Post, CBS News, Axios, New York Times, ABC News, UPI, Townhall, Jewish Insider, NewsMax.com, Newsweek, MS NOW, The Week, Semafor, Forbes, National Politics, Raw Story, WKZO, Mediaite, Washington Times, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, The Hill, Talking Points Memo, WVEC and Politico
Associated Press:
A scary injury led to Trump's close bond with Homeland Security nominee Mullin
A scary injury led to Trump's close bond with Homeland Security nominee Mullin
Discussion:
Breitbart, The Post Millennial, Forbes, WFMD AM, Christian Science Monitor, NewsMax.com and MS NOW
Eric Bazail-Eimil / Politico:
Mullin's nomination to be DHS chief advances out of committee
Mullin's nomination to be DHS chief advances out of committee
Discussion:
The Hill, NBC News, The Guardian, The Independent, Washington Examiner, Axios, NewsMax.com and New York Times
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:
Civil Discourse …, The Guardian, Digby's Hullabaloo, Crooks and Liars, The Hill, CBS News, Raw Story 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, The Times of Israel, RedState, Reuters, WTTG-TV, Townhall, The Independent, The US Sun, Raw Story, IJR and Mediaite
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:
The Post Millennial, WKZO, FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York Times and CBS News
Daniel Lippman / Politico:
Political operatives with Trump ties raked in millions of dollars in commissions from DHS ad campaign … The March 3 DHS memo noted there was only a “limited competition” for the awarded contracts because of the “urgent and compelling need” for the ad campaign.
Calen Razor / Politico:
Bernie Sanders to force disapproval votes over U.S. arms sales to Israel — Sen. Bernie Sanders is introducing joint resolutions of disapproval Thursday over several U.S. arms sales to Israel amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the Vermont independent's office tells POLITICO.
Discussion:
NewsMax.com
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, NBC News, RedState, CNN, Axios, New Republic, The Gateway Pundit, The Independent, Newsweek, The Hill, Los Angeles Times, Raw Story and CBS News
RELATED:
Sadie Gurman / Wall Street Journal:
Democrats Walk Out of Bondi Meeting on Epstein Files
Democrats Walk Out of Bondi Meeting on Epstein Files
Discussion:
CBS News, NewsMax.com, The Dean's Report, Associated Press, Mediaite, Bloomberg, Forbes, NOTUS and The U.S. House Committee …
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:
Mock Paper Scissors, WKZO, 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 …
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:
The Independent and New York Sun
Avery Lotz / Axios:
States challenge “broadcast behemoth” mega-merger — Eight states sued to block the massive $6.2 billion merger of Nexstar and Tegna that could create the largest local broadcast company in the country by far. … - FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr has already signaled he supports the transaction.
Discussion:
CNN, The Hill, Reuters, NewsMax.com, The Wrap, KHOU-TV, TheDesk.net, Deadline and WKZO, more at Mediagazer »
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:
Raw Story, NOTUS and NewsMax.com
RELATED:
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:
The Hill and Fox Business


