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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

Lorde, the New Zealand singer-songwriter, announced on March 18, 2026 that the long-running agreement she first signed with Universal Music Group at age 12 has ended. In a series of voice memos to fans she said the contract lapsed in December and described stepping away from label control as a deliberate move to regain creative … Read more

Lead: On March 18, 2026, Sen. Markwayne Mullin faced the Senate Homeland Security committee amid an unusually personal and combative confirmation hearing for his nomination as Secretary of Homeland Security. What began as routine vetting quickly centered on a bitter feud with committee chair Sen. Rand Paul, who recounted a 2017 assault that left him … Read more

Lead Authorities are investigating an outbreak of meningococcal disease centered in Kent, southeast England, where at least 20 young adults have been identified as infected and two people have died. The cluster has been linked in part to Club Chemistry in Canterbury, with health officials advising antibiotics for attendees on March 5–7. Six of the … Read more

Lead As the United States and Israel press military action in Iran, disruptions to oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz have pushed global energy markets into turmoil. China, however, has continued to receive shipments and sits atop record onshore commercial crude inventories, positioning it to weather the shock. Combined with large investments in an … Read more

Lead On March 18, 2026, in Auburn Hills, Michigan, Vice President J.D. Vance said he regarded the resignation of Joe Kent — the senior counterterrorism official who quit over the Iran war — as appropriate because Kent openly opposed the administration’s approach. Vance, speaking at a manufacturing event where he promoted the president’s economic agenda, … Read more