Millicent Hailes’ Perfect, which screens at the 2026 SXSW Film & TV Festival in Austin, TX (March 12–18), attempts a drought-set lesbian romance but largely fails to convince. The film follows a drifter who becomes stranded at an oasis and forms a connection with a wealthy, pregnant woman, while a social-commentary premise about contaminated water … Read more
Lead: Astronomers report evidence that two planets smashed together in the Gaia20ehk system, producing a cloud of hot debris that briefly dimmed and brightened the host star. The system, an otherwise steady main-sequence star about 11,000 light-years away, began showing unusual visible dimming and simultaneous infrared brightening beginning around 2016. Researchers say the observations are … Read more
Lead: On March 12, 2026, Florida’s Republican-controlled legislature approved a bill that would require voters to prove U.S. citizenship when registering and narrow acceptable IDs at the polls. The measure cleared the State House by a 77–28 vote after passing the State Senate, and Gov. Ron DeSantis signaled support on social media. Lawmakers and supporters … Read more
Lead: In March 2026, wildlife scientists confirmed an HPAI H5N1 outbreak at Año Nuevo State Park that has killed dozens of northern elephant seals and is now detected beyond the reserve onto public beaches. Tests from sick and stranded animals show at least 16 live elephant seals infected and 47 dead since the outbreak began, … Read more
U.S. stock futures were largely steady on Thursday night, March 12, 2026, as traders braced for Friday morning’s release of January’s personal consumption expenditures price index (PCE), the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge. The move came after a sharp rally in oil following comments from Iran’s new Supreme Leader, which pushed Brent above $100 and … Read more
Lead On March 12, 2026, US Central Command confirmed that a US KC-135 refuelling aircraft was lost over western Iraq during Operation Epic Fury and that search-and-rescue operations were underway. The command said the incident happened in friendly airspace and that a second US aircraft involved landed safely. Officials stated the crash was “not due … Read more
Lead: The opening wave of 2026 NFL free agency produced a flurry of high-impact transactions that reshaped several rosters on March 12, 2026. Across the first day of signings and trades, teams addressed glaring needs while also resetting positional markets with aggressive contracts. Some moves — from high-upside veteran signings to blockbuster trades and outsize … Read more
Lead: Newly unsealed Slack messages from 2022 show a Live Nation regional ticketing director openly describing practices that charged fans steep ancillary fees, including boasting of “robbing them blind.” The messages were released to the court after the U.S. government and several state attorneys general opposed Live Nation’s effort to keep them out of an … Read more
Lead The Minnesota Vikings announced on Thursday in Eagan, Minn., that they have signed veteran quarterback Kyler Murray, adding experience to a young quarterback room. Murray, the No. 1 overall pick in 2019, spent his first seven NFL seasons with the Arizona Cardinals and started 87 regular-season games for the franchise. The move comes after … Read more
Lead: On Thursday, March 12, 2026, a U.S. KC-135 aerial refueling aircraft went down in western Iraq during Operation Epic Fury, U.S. Central Command said. CENTCOM said a second U.S. aircraft was involved and landed safely, and rescue operations were under way; the incident was reported as not the result of hostile or friendly fire. … Read more
Miami (Ohio)’s long run of invincibility ended Thursday in Cleveland when the RedHawks fell 87-83 to Massachusetts in a Mid-American Conference quarterfinal, snapping a 31-game winning streak and a 362-day unbeaten stretch. The loss, coming five days before the NCAA selection show, leaves the 20th-ranked RedHawks waiting nervously to learn whether the committee will award … Read more
Lead On March 12, 2026, Brent crude settled above $100 a barrel for the first time since August 2022 as global markets reacted to a wave of attacks on vessels across the Arabian Gulf. Traders said millions of barrels of oil were effectively trapped in the Persian Gulf, prompting the largest disruption the oil market … Read more
Who: Authorities say the gunman at Old Dominion University was Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, a naturalized U.S. citizen and former Virginia Army National Guard specialist who pleaded guilty in 2016 to attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State. When/Where: The shooting occurred Thursday in a classroom at Constant Hall, ODU’s business school building in … Read more
Lead On Thursday morning at approximately 10:49 a.m., a gunman opened fire inside Constant Hall at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, killing one person and wounding two others. The shooter, identified by officials as 36-year-old Mohamed Bailor Jalloh of Sterling, Virginia, was also killed at the scene. Two of the injured were taken to … Read more
On March 12, 2026, a suspect drove a vehicle through the doors of Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan, then exited with a weapon and was shot during an armed confrontation with synagogue security, officials said. Authorities declared an active shooter situation and cleared the building; all 140 students and staff were accounted for and … Read more
