Lead: The United States has signalled it will relax certain sanctions on Russian oil this week as global energy prices spike amid the ongoing Middle East conflict. Financial Times reporting indicates the move aims to relieve near-term supply pressures while remaining framed as targeted and temporary. The decision follows a sharp uptick in oil market … Read more
Asian and Pacific equity markets opened lower on Friday after oil surged on renewed fears that a protracted Middle East conflict could choke energy flows. The selloff followed sharp comments from Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, and warnings from the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy about potential wider disruptions. Brent crude … Read more
Lead On the 14th day of the widening confrontation between the United States, Israel and Iran, economic and security shocks are mounting across the region and beyond. Markets pushed Brent crude above $100 a barrel, while Tehran’s new supreme leader signaled the Strait of Hormuz could remain closed as leverage. Fighting and counterstrikes continued overnight, … Read more
Lead Boots Riley returns with I Love Boosters, which premiered at SXSW, delivering a high-energy, surreal satire of fashion consumerism led by Keke Palmer. The film reunites Riley’s appetite for broad social critique after his 2018 debut Sorry to Bother You and trades straightforward coherence for gleeful excess. It follows a trio of shoplifters in … Read more
Lead: China’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday denounced a new U.S. trade investigation into alleged manufacturing overcapacity, calling it a political pretext, as China’s legislature approved a Five-Year Plan focused on technological self-reliance and advanced manufacturing. The U.S. probe — announced Wednesday by U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and covering China, Mexico, the European Union and … Read more
Lead — In Charlotte on March 12, 2026, top-seeded Duke survived a turbulent ACC Tournament quarterfinal against eighth-seeded Florida State, prevailing 80-79 after a late-game push and a missed buzzer jumper by Robert McCray V. The Blue Devils answered an eight-point second-half deficit with a 19-2 run and closed out the game despite missing two … Read more
Federal and local authorities say a single attacker drove a vehicle into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, Mich., on Thursday, March 12, 2026, then exchanged gunfire with security before dying at the scene. Officials identified the suspect as Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, 41, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Lebanon who entered the United States … Read more
Lead Pro Football Focus revised a three-round mock for the 2026 NFL Draft the same week the league opened the new year and free agency formally began on Wednesday, a period that has already seen a dozen teams spend hundreds of millions to reshape rosters. The updated mock factors heavy early free-agent movement and was … Read more
Lead: The NFL free agency period opened on March 11, 2026, and a flurry of signings, trades and one high-profile non-trade have reconfigured several rosters ahead of the 2026 season. The most disruptive moment was the arranged but ultimately unconsummated Maxx Crosby deal between the Las Vegas Raiders and Baltimore Ravens, a sequence that produced … Read more
Lead On March 12, 2026, the Florida Legislature approved House Bill 991, requiring citizenship verification for all registered voters and narrowing which photo IDs are accepted at polling places. The Republican-backed measure cleared the Senate 27-12 and the House 77-28 and moves to Gov. Ron DeSantis for consideration. Sponsors said the law closes gaps they … Read more
Shortly before Thursday afternoon at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, a gunman opened fire inside a classroom in Constant Hall, the university’s business school. Three people were shot; one later died in hospital and two were injured. The suspect, identified by the FBI as Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, was also found dead after students—members of … Read more
Fox announced on Thursday that Livvy Dunne, the former LSU gymnast turned social media personality, has joined the network’s Baywatch reboot in a recurring role. Dunne will play Grace, described by producers as “a highly enthusiastic junior lifeguard,” and is set to appear alongside a cast led by Stephen Amell and Shay Mitchell. The series … Read more
Lead One day after the Arizona Cardinals released him, 28-year-old quarterback Kyler Murray signed a one-year contract with the Minnesota Vikings on March 12, 2026, giving the former No. 1 overall pick a clear path to reboot his career. The deal, reached after a visit to the Vikings’ TCO Performance Center in Eagan, Minn., is … Read more
Lead In Washington this week, President Donald Trump shifted from celebrating low domestic gasoline prices to arguing that higher oil prices can benefit the U.S. after a war with Iran sent crude and pump prices sharply higher. The move follows a spike in global benchmark crude to about $100 a barrel and a surge in … Read more
Lead NASA completed a two-day Flight Readiness Review (FRR) this week and announced a new target launch date for Artemis II: April 1 at about 6:24 p.m. ET. The agency said its managers reached unanimous agreement that the integrated team has addressed key issues and listed alternate April windows on the 2nd–6th and the 30th. … Read more
