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12:05 PM ET, March 20, 2026

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Andrew Egger / The Bulwark:
Trump Is Getting Drilled, Baby, Drilled  —  There has always been a chasm between the actual MAGA voters and the MAGA intelligentsia that purports to speak for them, but it has rarely been as visible as it is this week.  Many of the leading lights of the literate right have been pulling their hair out …
RELATED:
Ryan Cooper / American Prospect:
Ol' Donny Trump Has Really Stepped in It This Time  —  In Iran, he finally created a jam for himself it will not be easy to wriggle out of.  — Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email  —  If there is a core feature of the phenomenon of Donald Trump, it's impunity.
Discussion: Agence France-Presse
Joshua Keating / Vox:
Here's how Iran could become a “forever war”
Caitlin Dewey / Vox:
What everyday life is like for Iranians right now
Discussion: The Intercept
David E. Sanger / New York Times:
Trump's Complaint About Israeli Strike on Gas Field Exposes Divergent Strategies
Steven Erlanger / New York Times:
Iran War Underscores the Diverging Aims of Trump and Netanyahu
Discussion: The Hill
Financial Times:
Iran sets its price to end the war
Discussion: Politico
New Republic:
Transcript: Trump War Takes Dark Turn as Leaks Unnerve Dems: “Madness”  —  The following is a lightly edited transcript of the March 20 episode of the Daily Blast podcast.  Listen to it here.  —  Greg Sargent: This is The Daily Blast from The New Republic, produced and presented by the DSR Network.
Discussion: Reuters
RELATED:
Matt Gertz / Media Matters for America:
Prime-time Fox shows gave less than a minute of airtime to the Pentagon's $200 billion Iran funding request  —  RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM ROB SAVILLO, HARRISON RAY & TYLER MONROE  —  Fox News isn't bothering to sell the staggering cost of the ill-conceived war President Donald Trump launched against Iran.
New Republic:
Trump War Takes Darker Turn as Leaked Plans Unnerve Experts: “Madness”  —  Everything we're learning now strongly suggests that Donald Trump's war is about to get worse.  First, officials leaked word to The Washington Post that the Pentagon and the White House are likely to demand $200 billion more from Congress.
New York Times:
Trump Friend Asked ICE to Detain the Mother of His Child  —  Last year, Paolo Zampolli, the former modeling agent who famously introduced Donald and Melania Trump, asked the administration for a favor.  —  Megan Twohey  —  Zampolli was in a custody battle with his Brazilian ex-girlfriend over their son.
Axios:
Trump mulls risky Kharg Island takeover to force Iran to open strait  —  The Trump administration is considering plans to occupy or blockade Iran's Kharg Island to pressure Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, four sources with knowledge of the issue tell Axios. … In the meantime, global energy prices are surging.
New York Times:
U.S. Prosecutors Investigate Colombia's President, a Onetime Trump Foe  —  The Justice Department is examining whether President Gustavo Petro of Colombia has ties to drug traffickers.  —  President Gustavo Petro of Colombia, who has had a volatile relationship with President Trump …
Discussion: Bloomberg
Reuters:
US to deploy thousands of additional troops to the Middle East, officials say  —  The United States military is deploying thousands of additional Marines and sailors to the Middle East, three U.S. officials told Reuters on Friday.  —  The deployments of the USS Boxer, along …
Wall Street Journal:
U.S. War Planes and Helicopters Kick Off Battle to Reopen Hormuz  —  Effort takes on new urgency nearly three weeks into the war with Iran as oil prices soar
Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money and Semafor
RELATED:
Eric Schmitt / New York Times:
U.S. Military Ramps Up to Clear Strait of Hormuz
Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
March 19, 2026  —  After yesterday's revelation that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is blocking the release of a memo related to a Drug Enforcement Agency investigation into sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and 14 co-conspirators, Attorney General Pam Bondi added more evidence to the idea …
ProPublica:
The Number of Families Being Held at Dilley Detention Center Has Plummeted  —  The number of parents and children booked into the country's only immigrant family detention center, in Dilley, Texas, plummeted in February by more than 75% compared with a month earlier, according to Immigration …
Discussion: HuffPost and New York Times
RELATED:
New York Times:
ICE Released Hundreds of Children from Immigration Detention
Discussion: NewsMax.com and Slate
Washington Post:
CBS News will end radio service as Weiss struggles to right ship  —  The troubled network is eliminating its century-old CBS News Radio division and laying off more staff.  —  CBS News will end its nearly century-old radio service, CBS News Radio, and cut more jobs amid a rocky turnaround effort under …
CNN:
A top FEMA official has history of violent rhetoric and said he once teleported to Waffle House  —  Federal agencies Fighting disinformation Election security Media  —  As millions of Americans braced for a series of brutal storms this winter, the senior official in charge …
Paul Krugman:
Scenes from the Death of the Pax Americana  —  No real post today.  I don't have it in me.  Just a few scenes from the accelerating collapse in America's reputation and influence.  —  Item: The Danish Broadcasting Corporation, roughly speaking Denmark's equivalent of the BBC …
Sean Hollister / The Verge:
Google Search is now using AI to replace headlines  —  We're seeing Verge headlines rewritten by Google AI. … Since roughly the turn of the millennium, Google Search has been the bedrock of the web.  People loved Google's trustworthy “10 blue links” search experience and its unspoken promise …
Peter Nicholas / NBC News:
Father of service member killed in Iran war said he never told Pete Hegseth to ‘finish’ the job  —  Hegseth said “family after family” of service members killed urged the administration to “not stop until the job is done.”  President Donald Trump made a similar claim earlier this month.
Shifra Dayak / NOTUS:
The Trump Administration Is Turning the U.S. Census on Its Head  —  The changes could cloud the government's understanding of what the United States population looks like and the resources it needs.  — Copy  —  The 2030 U.S. census is poised to look very different than the one released in 2020.
Wall Street Journal:
Saudi Arabia Sees a Spike to $180 Oil if Energy Shock Persists Past April  —  Prices at such a level could trigger a recession or consumer changes that crush demand  —  Saudi Arabia's oil officials are working frantically to project how high oil prices might go if the Iran war and its disruption …
Discussion: NewsMax.com
Drew Harwell / Washington Post:
Thousands have swooned over this MAGA dream girl.  She's made with AI. … The beautiful Army blonde Jessica Foster has posed with an F-22 Raptor fighter jet, donned camouflage in the desert and walked a tarmac with President Donald Trump on the first day of the strikes on Iran.
Discussion: The Independent
TMZ.com:
Chuck Norris Hospitalized After Medical Emergency  —  EXCLUSIVE  —  Chuck Norris has been hospitalized in Hawaii ... TMZ has learned.  —  Sources with direct knowledge tell us ... some medical emergency occurred in the last 24 hours on the island of Kauai that landed Chuck in the hospital.
NPR:
An immigration court few have heard of is quietly shaping policy behind the scenes  —  The Trump administration has reshaped a lesser-known corner of the Justice Department to set immigration policy and escalate mass detentions and deportations.  —  An administrative court known as the Board …
Discussion: CBS News
Darlene Superville / Associated Press:
US Mint can begin producing Trump commemorative gold coin after arts commission approves design  —  A federal arts commission on Thursday approved the final design for a 24-karat gold commemorative coin bearing President Donald Trump's image to help celebrate America's 250th birthday on July 4.
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Bluesky announces $100M Series B after CEO transition  —  Social network Bluesky is gearing up for big changes with today's news that the company raised $100 million in Series B funding.  The round, led by Bain Capital Crypto, was closed in April 2025 but had not been disclosed until now.
ProPublica:
As Trump Demands Voter Data, This Fiercely Independent Red State Says No  —  States were on notice from the U.S. Department of Justice that if they didn't fall in line, the federal government would force them into compliance.  —  It wasn't President Donald Trump's administration applying pressure.
Amy Harmon / New York Times:
Judge Rules That R.F.K. Jr. Overstepped on Transgender Care  —  The ruling provides temporary relief for 21 states seeking to stop the Trump administration from ending federal funding to hospitals that provide gender-transition care.  —  A federal judge in Oregon ruled on Thursday …
New York Times:
Trumps, on a Deal-Making Spree, Turn Next to Transylvania  —  The president's company is eyeing a site for a golf course and luxury apartments.  Will a huge landfill and a troubled project history stand in the way?  —  The Trump Organization has for decades planted the family name …
Discussion: NewsMax.com
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Told Inner Circle Some Mass Deportation Policies Went Too Far  —  President directs a new approach as some advisers believe immigration is no longer as strong a political issue for Trump  —  WASHINGTON—President Trump is seeking to lower the profile of his mass deportation effort …
Financial Times:
Denmark was ready to blow up Greenland runways if US invaded  —  Danish soldiers sent to Arctic island in January were also given blood supplies in case of combat  —  The Danish military sent explosives and blood supplies to Greenland in January as part of contingency planning for a US attack …
Reed Abelson / New York Times:
How New Mexico Became an Obamacare Success Story  —  Affordable Care Act enrollment has dropped across the United States since the enhanced federal subsidies expired.  But New Mexico has record numbers of people signing up.  —  When Congress did not extend the Obamacare subsidies …
Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:
How Trump Is Trying To Suppress Voting On College Campuses Ahead Of November  —  His administration is going after a nonpartisan group that more than 1,000 universities and colleges rely on to boost student voter engagement.  —  WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump has been brazen …
Caroline Vakil / The Hill:
Trump convinces GOP primary challenger to drop bid for Colorado House seat  —  President Trump announced on Friday that he met with a primary challenger of Rep. Jeff Hurd's (R-Colo.) and was able to get her to drop her bid as Republicans look to avoid a nasty contest in a House race that Democrats are eyeing this November.
Discussion: Washington Examiner
 
 
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 More Items: 
Reuters:
Switzerland halts weapons exports to US due to Iran war, citing neutrality
Camille Mumford / Emerson Polling:
March 2026 National Poll: 47% Oppose US Military Action in Iran, 40% Support
Discussion: The Daily Caller
Jason Lange / Reuters:
Rising gas prices hitting US household finances and more pain is expected, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds
Discussion: The Hill, Newsweek and Reuters
Greg Olear / PREVAIL:
Ramble On: Real Fake
Discussion: The Daily Wire
Stephen Neukam / Axios:
Scoop: Moderate Senate Dems endorse Stevens in divisive Michigan primary
Avi Asher-Schapiro / ProPublica:
DOGE Goes Nuclear: How Trump Invited Silicon Valley Into America's Nuclear Power Regulator
Discussion: CounterPunch
G. Elliott Morris / Strength In Numbers:
New poll: 58% of voters say the war in Iran is a bad use of taxpayer dollars
 Earlier Items: 
Politico:
Capitol agenda: Senate heads into a weekend grind
Wall Street Journal:
In Nearly 90 Truth Social Posts, Trump Narrates the War in Iran
J.D. Wolf / MeidasTouch News:
Trump Announces Extended 4-Day Weekend in Palm Beach
Discussion: Wall Street Journal
Tiffany Stanley / Associated Press:
Pete Hegseth's Christian rhetoric draws renewed scrutiny after the US goes to war with Iran
Discussion: The New World and twitchy.com
Tom Schaller / Public Notice:
House Republicans are heading for the exits
Punchbowl News:
3/20/26☀️ AM: … Everyone in the House Republican Conference is publicly confident …
Discussion: Raw Story