Lead Amazon MGM’s sci‑fi adaptation Project Hail Mary recorded $12 million in preview screenings ahead of its wide release, the largest preview take of 2026 so far. The preview haul outperformed Scream 7’s $7.8 million and sets the film on track for a strong opening weekend. Early projections place the film between $63 million and … Read more
Lead Chuck Norris, the martial-arts champion and actor best known for Walker, Texas Ranger, died on March 20 at age 86, his family announced. The family said he passed away surrounded by relatives and asked that the immediate circumstances remain private. Norris had been hospitalized in Hawaii earlier in the week after what media outlets … Read more
March 20, 2026 — Federal regulators on Thursday cleared Nexstar Media Group’s $6.2 billion acquisition of rival broadcaster Tegna, a deal that will significantly expand Nexstar’s local-TV footprint and redraw parts of the U.S. local news map. The Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department signed off on the merger a day after eight state … Read more
Google is quietly testing a change to its core Search results that replaces publisher headlines with AI-generated alternatives. Over the past few months The Verge documented multiple cases where search results displayed headlines that differed from the ones written by reporters, sometimes altering nuance or apparent meaning. Google says the trial is a small, narrow … Read more
As Nowruz arrived on March 20, 2026, many Iranians marked the spring new year in a subdued atmosphere across Tehran and other cities. Markets such as Tajrish Bazaar saw smaller crowds than usual as families balanced traditional customs with grief after a deadly January crackdown and three weeks of U.S.-Israeli bombardment. Economic hardship — rising … Read more
Lead European leaders at a Brussels summit on Thursday accused Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of disloyalty and blackmail after he blocked a €90bn loan package intended for Ukraine. Orbán posted on X, “No oil = no money,” linking his veto to a dispute over a damaged Druzhba pipeline that carries Russian oil to Hungary. … Read more
Lead President Trump on Friday attacked NATO allies for declining to send ground forces to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, calling them “cowards,” as the Pentagon dispatched a second Marine expeditionary unit and three warships toward the Middle East. The moves come amid an intensifying U.S.–Israeli campaign against Iranian targets and continued Iranian missile and … Read more
On March 20, 2026 the U.S. Department of Justice, representing the Trump administration, filed a civil suit in federal court in Boston alleging Harvard University violated the civil rights of Jewish and Israeli students and staff. The complaint accuses Harvard of tolerating antisemitic conduct and seeks to compel compliance with Title VI while pursuing recovery … Read more
U.S. equity indexes slipped on Friday as investors monitored fresh exchanges between Iran and Israel and reports of additional U.S. military reinforcements to the region. The Dow fell 257 points, the S&P 500 dropped 0.8% and the Nasdaq slid 1.2% on March 19, 2026, leaving major averages headed for a fourth consecutive weekly decline. Oil … Read more
March 20, 2026 — US Treasury yields surged on Friday as traders sharply increased the odds of a Federal Reserve interest-rate hike by October to roughly 50%, driven in part by renewed fears that a prolonged conflict in the Middle East could lift global inflation. The $31 trillion Treasuries market sold off, sending yields up … Read more
Lead: James “Jimmy” Gracey, a 20-year-old University of Alabama student from Elmhurst, Illinois, who vanished while on break in Barcelona, was found dead Thursday afternoon in waters off a beach near the city’s nightlife district, Catalonia regional police said. He had been last seen around 3 a.m. on Tuesday outside the Shoko nightclub and did … Read more
Lead: Chuck Norris, the martial-arts champion turned movie and television action star, died at age 86 after being hospitalized in Hawaii. His family said in a statement posted Friday that he passed that morning and was surrounded by loved ones. Norris built a decades-long career from 1970s fight films to the CBS series Walker, Texas … Read more
Lead: Jill Duggar Dillard issued a family statement this week after the arrest of her younger brother, Joseph Duggar, in connection with alleged child molestation dating to a 2020 vacation in Panama City Beach, Florida. Authorities say the victim was 9 at the time and is now 14; Joseph, 31, faces charges including molestation of … Read more
Lead Inside the Justice Department, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) has quietly become a central engine of immigration policy, altering how courts handle detention, bond and removal. Since President Trump took office, the board was cut from 28 seats to 15 within weeks and refilled with his appointees, a change that coincided with a … Read more
Lead: Renewed fighting between Hezbollah and Israeli forces since March 2, 2026 has intensified divisions inside Lebanon’s Shi’ite community. The exchange of rocket fire and Israel’s large-scale response — including a targeted ground operation announced on March 16 — has displaced hundreds of thousands and, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry, left more than 900 … Read more
