World News
Iranian Aerial Attack Strikes Central Israel
Iran launched a new wave of missile and drone attacks against Israel on Sunday, with the Israel Defense Forces reporting rescue and recovery operations underway at several incident sites in central Israel. Israeli police confirmed a destroyed vehicle at the site of a projectile impact in southern Tel Aviv. The strikes are part of Iran’s ongoing retaliation against the US-Israel military campaign, now entering its third week.
Trump Urges International Help to Reopen Strait of Hormuz
President Trump called on other nations to assist in securing the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime passageway through which roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil supply normally passes. Iran has effectively closed the strait, sending crude oil prices skyrocketing. Iran’s newly appointed supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei has said the blocking of the strait will continue to be used as leverage.
Pentagon Identifies Six Service Members Killed in Iraq Crash
The Pentagon identified six US service members who were killed when a refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq on March 12 while supporting operations in Iran. The loss comes as the broader conflict continues to exact a growing toll on US forces in the region.
Politics
Republican-Led States Press Ahead With New Voting Restrictions
A growing number of Republican-led states are moving swiftly to implement new voting restrictions aligned with President Trump’s agenda, even as similar proposals have stalled on Capitol Hill. Trump has made the SAVE America Act his top domestic priority heading into the 2026 midterm cycle.
Congressional Republicans Under Fire for Anti-Islamic Comments
At least four congressional Republicans have expressed anti-Islamic sentiments on social media in the wake of the Iran war, drawing sharp criticism. A senator from Alabama who is running for governor has previously called for the mass expulsion of Muslims from the United States.
Defense Department Tightens Restrictions on Stars and Stripes
The Defense Department imposed new rules on Stars and Stripes, the independent military newspaper, in its latest effort to put extraordinary restrictions on journalists covering the agency. The move has raised press freedom concerns amid wartime reporting.
Business & Economy
Oil Approaches $100 a Barrel as IEA Releases Emergency Reserves
Brent crude climbed near $100 per barrel this week after briefly surging past that level on Monday for the first time in nearly four years. The International Energy Agency announced a historic release of 400 million barrels of emergency oil reserves to stabilize markets, but analysts say the move is insufficient to offset the roughly 15 million barrels per day choked off by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
US Gas Prices Average $3.58 Per Gallon and Rising
The US average retail gasoline price has risen 60 cents to $3.58 per gallon since the US-Israel attacks on Iran began on February 28, according to the American Automobile Association. The Energy Information Administration forecasts prices could remain elevated through the second quarter before easing later in the year.
Tech & AI
NVIDIA GTC 2026 Kicks Off Monday With Major AI Announcements Expected
NVIDIA’s annual GTC conference begins Monday in San Jose with CEO Jensen Huang set to deliver a keynote to 30,000 attendees from 190 countries. The company is expected to outline its strategy for defending its lead as the AI market shifts from model training toward inference, orchestration, and agentic workloads. NVIDIA also announced a partnership with Thinking Machines Lab to deploy at least one gigawatt of next-generation Vera Rubin systems.
Morgan Stanley Warns of Imminent AI Breakthrough
Morgan Stanley issued a sweeping report warning that a transformative leap in artificial intelligence is imminent, driven by unprecedented compute accumulation at top AI labs. The bank noted that OpenAI’s GPT-5.4 scored 83 percent on the GDPVal benchmark, placing it at or above human-expert level on economically valuable tasks, and predicted AI will become a powerful deflationary force.
OpenClaw Becomes Most-Starred Project on GitHub
OpenClaw, the open-source AI agent project acquired by OpenAI in February, surpassed both React and Linux to become the most-starred project on GitHub. The tool, which enables users to build always-on AI agents, has gained massive traction among developers though it has not yet broken through to mainstream non-technical users.
Weather
Massive Storm Outbreak Threatens 180 Million Across Central and Eastern US
A rapidly intensifying storm system is delivering a triple threat of blizzards, severe thunderstorms, and dangerous winds affecting nearly 200 million people from the Heartland to the East Coast. The National Weather Service has placed over 45 million people under weather alerts. Over 2,800 flights have been cancelled nationwide as the storm disrupts major travel hubs.
Rare Level 4 Severe Weather Warning Issued for Monday
The Storm Prediction Center upgraded the threat level to a rare 4 out of 5 for Monday along the East Coast, including Washington, DC, with the potential for destructive winds exceeding 70 mph and long-track tornadoes. Blizzard warnings are in effect for parts of Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, northern Illinois, and southeastern Minnesota, where 1 to 3 feet of snow is forecast.
Record Heat Building Across the Southwest
While the eastern half of the country braces for cold, an impressive upper-level ridge is bringing record-breaking early-season heat to the Southwest. Temperatures are expected to soar 20 to 30 degrees above normal for mid-March, with some areas potentially reaching triple digits over the coming week.