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2:35 PM ET, March 19, 2026

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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.
Discussion: New Republic
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.
Peter Beaumont / The Guardian:
Middle East war: why attacks on gasfields like South Pars are a major escalation
Associated Press:   Live updates: Pentagon seeks $200 billion in additional funding for the Iran war, AP source says
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 …
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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 …
Nia-Malika Henderson / Bloomberg:
The White House Is Lost in the ‘Weave’
Discussion: Axios
Reuters:
Exclusive: US weighs military reinforcements as Iran war enters possible new phase
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 …
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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 and Raw Story
Dave Lawler / Axios:
Hegseth on seeking $200 billion for Iran war: “That number could move”
Politico:
Trump's next pressure point
Discussion: Wall Street Journal
Ian Ward / Politico:
The Number of MAGA Fractures Is Growing
Discussion: The Hill and RealClearPolitics
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.
RELATED:
Rachel Frazin / The Hill:
Trump ribs Japanese prime minister on Pearl Harbor in Oval Office talk on Iran  —  President Trump ribbed the nation of Japan over its World War II bombing of Pearl Harbor in a Thursday Oval Office meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.  —  Taking questions from reporters …
RELATED:
Javier C. Hernández / New York Times:
Trump Jokes About Pearl Harbor in Meeting With Japan's Leader  —  Breaking a taboo, President Trump needled Japan's prime minister about the World War II attack, as she widened her eyes and appeared to take a deep breath in the Oval Office.  —  For decades, American presidents …
GOV.UK:
Joint statement from the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan on the Strait of Hormuz: 19 March 2026  —  Joint statement from the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan on the Strait of Hormuz.
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 …
RELATED:
Miriam Jordan / New York Times:
Family of Minneapolis Boy Detained by ICE Faces Fast-Track Deportation
Discussion: WTOP News and WNYW-TV
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 …
RELATED:
Calen Razor / Politico:
Capitol agenda: Markwayne Mullin's rockier-than-expected road
Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
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 in the Epstein files showing …
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 …
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 …
RELATED:
Hailey Fuchs / Politico:
Epstein's lawyer tells House Oversight investigators he had ‘no knowledge’ of Epstein's crimes  —  Darren Indyke, Jeffrey Epstein's lawyer and a co-executor of his estate, told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that he had no knowledge of the convicted sex offender's crimes …
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.
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
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 …
Discussion: The Independent and NewsMax.com
Jacob Knutson / Democracy Docket:
‘Like a bomb threat’: Election chiefs decry SAVE America Act, Trump's attacks on voting  —  Secretaries of state slammed President Donald Trump and Republicans' sweeping anti-voting bill, the SAVE America Act, warning Thursday that it would set off chaos if it became law before the upcoming 2026 midterms.
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.
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 …
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 …
CNN:
US F-35 damaged by suspected Iranian fire makes emergency landing, sources say  —  By Haley Britzky and Oren Liebermann  —  A US F-35 fighter jet made an emergency landing at US air base in the Middle East after it was struck by what is believed to be Iranian fire, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
 
 
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 More Items: 
Rob Crilly / Washington Examiner:
Why Republicans are hoping for midterm help from a star-spangled summer
Discussion: archive.ph
Byron Tau / Associated Press:
State Department cut jobs with deep expertise in Middle East as Iran crisis escalates
Discussion: WTOP News
 Earlier Items: 
Meredith Lee Hill / Politico:
Congress must ‘adequately’ fund defense, Johnson says, amid talk of $200 billion war request
Max Rego / The Hill:
GOP state AGs backing SAVE Act
Discussion: WFMD AM
New York Times:
Trump Vowed to Crack Down on Fraudsters, but He's Pardoned Dozens
Discussion: MS NOW
ABC News:
‘I will follow the law,’ Bondi says after Democrats storm out of Epstein files briefing
Meghan Bartels / Scientific American:
COVID probably killed 150,000 more people in its first two years than official U.S. tolls show
Discussion: Associated Press
 

 
From Techmeme:

Agnee Ghosh / Bloomberg:
OpenAI agrees to acquire Astral, which makes Python tools for developers, to integrate its team into Codex, and says Codex has 2M+ users, up 3x since January

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Google has started consumer beta testing of a dedicated Gemini AI app for the Mac, as it seeks to compete with Mac apps for ChatGPT and Claude

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Bluesky raised a $100M Series B led by Bain Capital Crypto in April 2025, following a $15M Series A in 2024 and an $8M seed in 2023; it now has over 43M users
 
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