On March 17, 2026, U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth ordered the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) to return 1,042 full-time Voice of America (VOA) employees to work, concluding that agency senior adviser Kari Lake’s overhaul was arbitrary and unlawful. The ruling found Lake had assumed powers beyond her legal authority and failed to … Read more
Lead Chief Justice John Roberts warned Tuesday at Rice University’s Baker Institute in Houston that personally directed attacks on federal judges threaten the rule of law and “got to stop,” a statement delivered two days after President Donald Trump publicly denounced a judge who ruled against the administration. Roberts avoided naming any one person or … Read more
Lead: On March 16–17, 2026, Arizona prosecutors filed the first-ever criminal charges against Kalshi, a New York–based online prediction market, accusing the platform of operating an unlicensed gambling business that allowed state residents to wager on sports and elections. The state alleges Kalshi failed to obtain required Arizona approvals and that some markets—like election betting—are … Read more
March 17, 2026 — The Academy Awards telecast on ABC and Hulu drew an average audience of 17.9 million viewers on Sunday night, a 9 percent decline from the prior year, Nielsen reported. The fall interrupted a four-year upward trend and came as other major awards shows also posted lower totals this season. Critics largely … Read more
Lead At LoanDepot Park in Miami on 17 March 2026, Venezuela led the United States 2-0 in the World Baseball Classic final as the game entered the top of the seventh. Wilyer Abreu’s solo home run in the fifth supplied both runs; Eduardo Rodríguez and Venezuela’s bullpen have largely silenced a star-studded U.S. order. Nolan … Read more
Lead: On March 18, 2026, two people in their 70s were killed in Ramat Gan after being struck by shrapnel from Iranian missiles intercepted over Israel. Emergency services reported five others lightly wounded and multiple suspected shrapnel impact sites across central Israel, including near Tel Aviv Savidor Center train station. Authorities suspended train services to … Read more
Lead On March 17, 2026, Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, resigned from the Trump administration, citing opposition to the U.S.-Israeli campaign in Iran and alleging outside pressure on policy. His departure is the first senior administration resignation explicitly tied to the Iran war and surfaced amid rising unease in the Republican coalition. … Read more
Lead: Pakistani authorities denied on Tuesday that their forces struck a hospital in Kabul, after Afghan officials said an air attack on the Omar Addiction Treatment Hospital late Monday killed 400 people and wounded about 250. Islamabad’s information minister told Al Jazeera Arabic the country targets only terrorist infrastructure and military sites. Afghan spokespeople described … Read more
Lead: The United Farm Workers (UFW) announced on Tuesday that it will not participate in Cesar Chavez Day on 31 March, citing “troubling allegations” that the union’s co-founder, Cesar Chavez, may have been involved in abuse of young women and minors. The decision follows internal concern and public attention around claims tied to the early … Read more
Lead: On March 17, 2026, Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), submitted his resignation, framing it in part around opposition to U.S. and Israeli action toward Iran and invoking the 2019 death of his wife, Navy linguist Chief Petty Officer Shannon Kent. He described Shannon’s January 2019 death in a suicide bombing … Read more
Lead: Block Club Chicago is publishing live returns from key contests in the Illinois 2026 primary on March 17, 2026, covering statewide and multiple U.S. House races centered on Chicago and Cook County. Early returns and precinct-level tallies are being reported as they arrive from county and state election offices, but final outcomes will depend … Read more
Lead Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London on Tuesday to press allies to sustain support for Ukraine as fighting linked to Iran diverts international attention. Zelenskyy warned that Russia and Iran are partnering on weapons and tactics and urged Western partners not to reallocate critical air defenses away from … Read more
Brigadier General Gholamreza Soleimani, 62, the head of Iran’s Basij volunteer paramilitary, was killed on March 17, 2026, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said, blaming an “attack by the American-Zionist enemy.” The IRGC and Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency published the announcement amid a broader US‑Israeli campaign targeting Iran’s military and security apparatus. Soleimani … Read more
Three weeks into the U.S. and Israel military campaign against Iran in mid-March 2026, the conflict shows no clear end. Karim Sadjadpour, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, argues that what began without an imminent nuclear or direct missile threat — a “war of choice” — has shifted into circumstances the … Read more
MIAMI — On March 17, 2026, Team USA manager Mark DeRosa unveiled a lineup for the World Baseball Classic championship that again leaves Cal Raleigh out of the starting nine, opting instead for Dodgers catcher Will Smith. Nolan McLean will take the mound as the starter; veteran Alex Bregman returns to the infield in a … Read more
