Listen to this issue.

0:00

/7:11

1×

U.S., ISRAEL, IRAN WAR | Day 6. U.S. and Israeli combat operations continue today across Iran, while Iranian missile and drone attacks target sites across the Middle East, and Israel expands its ground operations against Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon. [more]

• Amidst reports of related discussions between the U.S. and Iraq-based Kurdish Iranian dissident groups, reports cite Kurdish militant group leaders as saying they have moved troops nearer the Iran-Iraq border in preparation for possible U.S.-backed ground operations inside Iran. [more]
• Navy officials in Sri Lanka say their forces have recovered 87 bodies and rescued 32 people from the wreckage of the Iranian warship sunk by a U.S. submarine off the Sri Lankan coast in the Indian Ocean yesterday. [more]
• A shelter-in-place order was issued for residents near the U.K.'s Akrotiri military base on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus this morning amidst apparent new targeting of the base by Iran. The U.K., France, and Spain have each announced the deployment of naval assets to the Cyprus region to defend assets. [more]
• As Iran's military warns it will carry out "more intense and widespread" regional attacks, authorities in Azerbaijan said this morning that Iranian drones struck the terminal building of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic Airport and another crashed near a school in the Azerbaijani village of Shekarabad. Iran has denied launching attack drones at Azerbaijan, but reports also note that Iranian officials have similarly claimed not to have targeted regional oil facilities and civilian sites known to have been struck. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1,468 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here is your update:

• Russian officials have accused Ukraine of carrying out a "terrorist attack" that sank a Russian-flagged liquefied natural gas tanker earlier this week in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya. Reports note that the ship, the Arctic Metagaz, is believed to have been operating as part of Russia's shadow fleet of tankers attempting to circumvent sanctions imposed over the invasion of Ukraine. [more]

U.S. WAR POWERS | The U.S. Senate yesterday rejected a war powers resolution that would have limited President Donald Trump's authority to carry out further military operations against Iran without Congressional authorization. The House is expected to vote on a similar measure today. [more]

U.S. TARIFFS | Judge Richard Eaton of the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled yesterday that companies that paid import tariffs struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court last month are due refunds. Eaton said he alone will hear cases pertaining to refunds of the tariffs, which President Donald Trump imposed on goods from almost all countries last year. [more]

FLORIDA | Saying it usurped the exclusive authority of the federal government to identify and designate terrorist organizations, a federal judge yesterday temporarily blocked an executive order by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that designated two Muslim groups as foreign terrorist organizations. [more]

WYOMING | The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued its first approval for a commercial nuclear reactor in eight years yesterday. Construction of the $4 billion TerraPower nuclear power plant in Kemmerer, Wyoming, is expected to begin within weeks and to be completed by 2030. [more]

RHODE ISLAND | A report released yesterday by Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha says a years-long investigation found that 75 Catholic clergy molested more than 300 victims in the state since 1950. Reports note that Neronha’s office has charged four current and former priests with sexual abuse for allegations stemming from incidents between 2020 and 2022, while the Catholic Diocese of Providence's Bishop Bruce Lewandowski says "“There are no credibly accused clergy in active ministry." [full attorney general report] [more]

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY | The House and Senate are both expected to vote this week on a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security, which has been in partial shutdown since February 14 after its funding was blocked over concerns about the department's immigration enforcement operations and policies. [more]

MONTANA | Just minutes before a filing deadline for candidates, Montana Republican U.S. Sen. Steve Daines unexpectedly ended his bid for a third term in office yesterday and Trump-backed Montana U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme filed his candidacy for the seat. [more]

EPSTEIN INVESTIGATIONS | Amidst reports of the apparent withholding of some documents related to investigations into late financier and convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, the House Oversight Committee voted yesterday to subpoena Attorney General Pam Bondi to answer questions regarding the Justice Department's handling of the Epstein files and investigation. [more]

U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE | President Donald Trump formally nominated Kevin Warsh yesterday to chair the Federal Reserve after current chair Jerome Powell's term ends in May. [more]

E.U. AND SOUTH AMERICA | The Brazilian Senate voted yesterday to ratify the landmark free-trade deal between South America's Mercosur trade block and the European Union. The deal, which has yet to be approved by the E.U.'s top court, seeks to integrate total markets of some 700 million people in countries with a total gross domestic product of about $25 trillion. [more]

ECUADOR AND CUBA | Amidst the Trump administration's stated policy of asserting U.S. leadership in the Americas, and on the same day as the U.S. and Ecuador announced joint anti-organized-crime military operations, Ecuador declared Cuba's ambassador persona non grata yesterday and ordered Cuban diplomatic staff to leave the South American country within 48 hours. [more]

CONGO | Congolese government authorities say at least 200 people were killed in a mine collapse Tuesday near the town of Rubaya in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Reports cite the M23 rebel group, which controls the mine, as saying only five people were killed in the collapse, which the group claims was caused by a bomb. [more]

CUBA | Government officials say millions of people in western Cuba, including in the capital Havana, are without power today following a shutdown yesterday at one of the country's largest thermoelectric power plants. Energy officials say repairs and restoration of power could take up to 72 hours to complete. [more]

SOUTH KOREA | South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called today for government officials to activate a $68.5 billion emergency financial package aimed at stabilizing markets amidst volatility that has surged following the start of the U.S.-Israel-Iran war. [more]

CHINA | The annual National People's Congress opened today in Beijing with Premier Li Qiang announcing a target of 4.5% to 5% annual economic growth – China's lowest expansion goal since 1991 – and the presentation of a draft budget that would cut the country's annual increase in defense spending to 7% – down from 7.2% in recent years. [more]

BASEBALL | The 2026 World Baseball Classic tournament opened today with a 3-0 Australia win over Taiwan at the Tokyo Dome in Japan. The U.S. and Japan – both among the favorites to win the tournament – open play tomorrow. [tournament bracket and schedule] [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1946, in a speech at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, Winston Churchill popularized the term “Iron Curtain”— describing the separation of the Soviet Union and its eastern and central European allies from Western nations. [more history]