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Lead On March 19, 2026, global oil prices climbed further after strikes on key energy facilities in the Persian Gulf raised fresh doubts about supply. Brent crude exceeded $114 a barrel, while U.S. benchmark WTI approached $96. The disruptions coincided with reports of damage at South Pars and Qatar’s Ras Laffan, and pulled Asian equity … Read more

Lead: Miami (Ohio) secured a First Four victory in Dayton on Wednesday, beating SMU 89-79 to reach the NCAA Tournament first round and set up an 11-seed matchup with No. 6 Tennessee in Philadelphia on Friday. The RedHawks’ balance was led by Eian Elmer, Luke Skaljac and Brant Byers, who combined for 59 points and … Read more

Lead Iran’s intelligence minister, Esmaeil Khatib, was killed overnight in a reported precision airstrike, a senior Israeli official told Fox News. At the same time U.S. Central Command said American forces struck hardened missile sites along Iran’s coastline near the Strait of Hormuz using large deep‑penetrator munitions. The attacks coincided with missile and drone volleys … Read more

In Part 4 of an interview published on Nintendo.com, Kirby Air Ride director Masahiro Sakurai outlines why the Road Trip mode was created and how its narrative and structure were assembled. Sakurai says Road Trip was not in the original design, but was added to broaden single-player appeal alongside City Trial and Air Ride. He … Read more

Asian stock markets slipped on Thursday after U.S. equities fell and oil surged above $110 a barrel, with investors weighing higher fuel costs, a firmer dollar and rising U.S. yields. Brent crude traded at $111.51 a barrel early Thursday, while U.S. benchmark crude was $95.97. Markets were also responding to a report showing wholesale inflation … Read more

Former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent gave his first public comments since resigning when he sat for a lengthy interview with Tucker Carlson on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. The conversation — more than one hour and 40 minutes long — covered the US–Iran conflict, claims about restricted access to President Donald Trump, and other … Read more

The recent strikes on upstream gas production sites in the Gulf represent a marked escalation in the Middle East conflict, with immediate operational effects and the potential for long-term disruption to global energy markets. Over two consecutive days this week, a drone strike forced suspension of operations at Abu Dhabi’s Shah gasfield and a separate … Read more

Theaters and studios are bracing for a direct box-office collision: Warner Bros./Legendary’s Dune: Part Three and Disney/Marvel’s Avengers: Doomsday are both set to open on Dec. 18, 2026. The clash became public-facing this week when Dune’s new poster reaffirmed the date, confirming a schedule overlap that industry sources say will force difficult allocation choices for … Read more

Lead In mid‑March 2026, a sudden and deep disruption to Middle Eastern crude and fuel flows has pushed international markets into a short‑term physical shortage, prompting analysts to treat a $200‑per‑barrel Brent outcome as a realistic possibility. Industry trackers report exports from the region fell from roughly 25–26 million barrels per day (bpd) in February … Read more

Lead: On March 18, 2026 at Lehigh, Prairie View A&M and Lehigh traded runs in a physical first half that ended with Prairie View A&M leading 67-55. The visiting Panthers closed the period on a string of high-effort interior plays and timely free throws while the Mountain Hawks relied on several late baskets and offensive … Read more

Lead: On March 18, 2026, the Senate voted 53-47 to defeat a Democratic-led war powers resolution that sought to restrict President Trump’s ability to expand U.S. military operations against Iran as the conflict neared its fourth week. The proposal, spearheaded by Sen. Cory Booker, would have ordered the president to withdraw U.S. forces from hostilities … Read more

This week, users discovered that Kagi Translate — the LLM-based translation tool from search company Kagi — can be asked to render text in improbable styles, including a prompt described online as “horny Margaret Thatcher.” The behavior, first noted in community threads and visible in Kagi’s web interface, has prompted both amusement and concern about … Read more

Lead The U.S. federal debt exceeded $39 trillion on Wednesday, a record high reached just weeks after the outbreak of the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran. The milestone arrives amid competing priorities in Washington — including major tax legislation, stepped-up defense spending and immigration enforcement — even as officials and advocates debate how quickly to rein … Read more

This week, director Denis Villeneuve reiterated that Dune: Part Three is intended for the largest possible screens, saying the film was conceived as an IMAX-first experience. Ahead of the film’s December 18 theatrical release, an online remix — dubbed a “Franken‑IMAX” cut — has given many viewers a stronger sense of that scale by combining … Read more

Lead: Miami (OH) RedHawks and SMU Mustangs meet in the First Four of the 2026 NCAA Tournament on Wednesday, March 18, with tip-off at 9:15 p.m. ET on truTV. SMU enters as a 7.5-point favorite and a -310 moneyline, while Miami (OH) is a +7.5 underdog with a +245 moneyline; the market total is 162.5 … Read more