NEWS - FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2026 - NEWS
Iran has intensified its attacks on oil and gas facilities around the Persian Gulf, sending shock waves through the global economy. LA Times
VOA VIEW: The US cannot coward in fear from Iran.
The Supreme Court's ruling was a big win for parents' rights, but it is not clear how broadly it extends. LA Times
The weight-loss world is on the brink of a major shake-up. New York Post
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Gov. Kathy Hochul said Manhattan's Moynihan Train Hall at Penn Station will keep its name -- despite President Trump requesting that the major hub be renamed after him. New York Post
The request, which the White House has not yet submitted to Congress, is already encountering some resistance. New York Times
VOA VIEW: Winning a war is not cheap.
Some states and cities have canceled their observances of Cesar Chavez Day on March 31 after revelations that he abused girls and women. New York Times
The suit accuses the agency of illegally repealing the endangerment finding, the scientific assessment that required it to regulate greenhouse gases. New York Times
Boston Scientific announced multiple recalls but has said its battery issues were limited. One internal test in 2025 found batteries with an “extremely high failure rate.” New York Times
During an Oval Office meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi earlier on Thursday, President Donald Trump addressed mounting speculation regarding a ground invasion in the Middle East. OANN
VOA VIEW: You have to do what is best.
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A 20-year-old University of Alabama student has been reported missing during a spring break trip to Barcelona, Spain. OANN
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, under the Department of Homeland Security, registered the two extraterrestrial sites Tuesday, according to get.gov, the domain registry managed by the CISA. Washington Times
Bed bugs are spreading fast across several Southern states due to the surge in tourism to the region during winter and early spring, a leading insect expert says. Washington Times
Mailing a first-class letter may soon cost almost $1 as the U.S. Postal Service's financial situation worsens. Washington Times
VOA VIEW: Things are getting more expensive.
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For many U.S. Jews, following current events these days can be emotionally tumultuous. Simultaneously, there is widely shared anger at the upsurge of attacks targeting their communities, and deep divisions within those communities over whether to support or oppose various policies and actions by Israel in the conflict-wracked Middle East. Washington Times
Attorneys are drawing on statements from a handwritten manuscript by the late mobster James "Whitey" Bulger in an effort to overturn a former FBI agent's murder conviction, saying the crime boss's own words show that the agent was framed. Washington Times
The national debt surpassed a record $39 trillion on Wednesday, a milestone that comes just weeks into the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran. Washington Times
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Federal prosecutors in Georgia have charged three people with buying guns in the Peach State and trafficking them to criminals in the national capital region, including one that ended up in the hands of a high schooler. Washington Times
"The morale is getting worse by the day because no one knows when this is gonna end," said Cameron Cochems, a lead TSA officer in Boise, Idaho. CBS
VOA VIEW: Thanks to Dems.
Two tugboat crew members were killed and two others were injured in what the Coast Guard called a "confined space incident" aboard a barge in Alaska. CBS
A group of House Democrats walked out of a closed-door briefing with Attorney General Pam Bondi on the Jeffrey Epstein probe late Wednesday, as tensions over the DOJ's handling of the Epstein case continue to simmer. CBS
VOA VIEW: The Dems need to be a little upset.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told senators that the Iranian regime "appears to be intact but largely degraded" by ongoing U.S. and Israeli strikes. CBS
VOA VIEW: They been hurt bad.
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Fed officials are grappling with a host of economic challenges, from stubborn inflation to a slowing job market. CBS
The Senate voted to begin a marathon debate on the SAVE America Act, an elections bill that President Trump has been pressing Republicans to pass. CBS
VOA VIEW: It should pass.
Lilly is betting big on retatrutide as the next pillar of its obesity portfolio after its weight loss injection Zepbound and its upcoming pill, orforglipron. CNBC
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Gold and silver prices moved lower on Thursday. CNBC
World leaders are scrambling to contain a spiraling Middle East conflict on Thursday after Israel and Iran traded strikes on gas production facilities. CNBC
VOA VIEW: Iran better wise up.
The Gulf states have said Iran's attacks on energy infrastructure won't "go unanswered" but, so far, they have not hit back. That stance could change soon. CNBC
VOA VIEW: Iran is pushing they're existance.
The Trump administration "remains committed to continuing to strengthen our critical supply chains" amid the Iran war, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. CNBC
Federal judge orders new transparency rules for grand jury proceedings after Trump's failed attempt to secure indictments against six Democratic lawmakers. FOX News
VOA VIEW: The judge is playing games.
A Mexican national was arrested after climbing beneath an El Paso overpass near the U.S.-Mexico border in an attempted crossing, according to CBP. FOX News
VOA VIEW: The fool got caught.
Dennis Arguello-Acosta was arrested following the death of Deputy Kenneth Lewis, who was struck while assisting drivers on a Texas freeway. FOX News
Senate Republicans have blocked a Democrat-led effort to curb President Donald Trump's powers to wage war against Iran, as the nearly three-week-old conflict escalates and rattles global energy markets. UPI
VOA VIEW: The GOP stood tall.
Iran on Thursday attacked major energy facilities in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates after vowing to retaliate for Israel striking its gas field a day earlier. UPI
VOA VIEW: Iran is losing over and over.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard defended U.S. military strikes on Iran during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing Wednesday. UPI
Postmaster General David Steiner told Congress that the U.S. Postal Service would be out of money in less than a year. UPI
VOA VIEW: It will be what will be.
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The Supreme Court issued an order effectively barring the redrawing of the boundary lines of the only congressional district in New York City currently held by a Republican for the 2026 midterm . As they should.
The decision is a victory for the incumbent seeking re-election this November, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, the Staten Island Republican who had asked the Supreme Court to hear her bid to block new lines for that contest.
The Supreme Court order is a potentially significant one for Republicans, who are trying to retain their narrow majorities in both chambers of Congress. The order comes on the heels of efforts in Texas, California, and elsewhere to redraw maps for congressional districts before the midterm elections. The GOP has just a 218-214 majority in the House of Representatives.
Democrats likely would have had a better chance to defeat Malliotakis in her 11th Congressional District if more Black and Latino voters were added to it, as was expected after a ruling in January by a New York state court judge that directed the district’s lines to be redrawn.
Neither the exact numerical breakdown of which Supreme Court justices voted in favor of Monday’s order, nor the rationale for the decision were disclosed. But the court’s three liberal members all dissented from the order. Justice Samuel Alito, a member of the court’s six-member conservative supermajority, in a concurring opinion in the ruling called a New York state judge’s order that Malliotakis’ district be redrawn for the 2026 election one that “blatantly discriminates on the basis of race.”
“The New York Supreme Court (that State’s trial-level court) ordered the New York Independent Redistricting Commission to draw a new congressional district for the express purpose of ensuring that ‘minority voters’ are able to elect the candidate of their choice,” Alito wrote. That is unadorned racial discrimination, an inherently ‘odious’ activity that violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause except in the ‘most extraordinary case,’ ” he said.
