March 20, 2026

U.S., ISRAEL, IRAN WAR | Day 21.

• Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested that Iran no longer has the ability to enrich uranium or make ballistic missiles and said that, at the request of U.S. President Donald Trump, Israel will not carry out additional attacks on Iran's South Par natural gas field. [more]
• In a statement today, Iran's new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei called for his country's enemies to have their "security" taken away. Reports note that Khamenei has not been seen in public since being named the leader of Iran and that there is widespread speculation that he was injured in the opening days of the war. [more]
• Amidst reports that Russia is providing Iran with Russian-produced Shahed drones for use in the current conflict, Israeli forces carried out airstrikes this week on a major Caspian Sea port in northern Iran that is used to conduct trade with Russia. [more]
• U.K.-based shipping intelligence firm Lloyd’s List cites sources as saying India, Pakistan, Iraq, Malaysia, and China are negotiating with Iran to allow their vessels to transit through a “safe corridor” in the Strait of Hormuz. [Lloyd's List analysis] [more]
• The Paris-based International Energy Agency says working from home, sharing car rides, and avoiding air travel are among the emergency measures it recommends to help alleviate what it calls the “largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market” amidst the ongoing Middle East war. [press release] [full report] [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1,483 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here is your update:

• In its latest assessment of the war in Ukraine, the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War suggests that recent Ukrainian ground advances and systematic efforts to degrade Russian air defenses and other assets have likely disrupted Russian preparations for a planned Spring-Summer 2026 renewed offensive. [latest ISW analysis] [more]

U.S. ENVIRONMENT | 24 states, 10 cities, and five counties, all led by Democrats, filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency yesterday seeking to overturn the EPA rule finalized last month that revoked the landmark 2009 endangerment finding that determined carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases threaten public health and welfare. [more]

U.S. STUDENT LOANS | Under an agreement announced yesterday, the U.S. Department of Education will hand over management of about $180 billion in federal student loans whose borrowers are in default to the Treasury Department. The agreement, which also calls for Treasury to eventually take over management of all $1.7 trillion in federal student loans, comes amidst Trump administration plans to move forward with shuttering the Department of Education entirely. [more]

U.S. PROFILES IN COURAGE | The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum has announced the people of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell as recipients of the annual Profile in Courage Awards. The Twin Cities award cites residents as "risking their lives to protect their neighbors and immigrant community members from an unprecedented federal law enforcement operation, peacefully defending the human rights and values that serve as the foundation of our Constitutional democracy," while the award for Powell cites his actions in "protecting the independence of the Federal Reserve, which is critical to the stability of the global economy, despite years of personal attacks and threats from the highest levels of government." [Powell citation] [Twin Cities citation] [more]

U.S. HEALTH POLICY | In a ruling that focused on proper administrative procedures, US District Judge Mustafa Kasubhai said yesterday that the federal government overreached when it issued a declaration last year that treatments like puberty blockers and surgeries are unsafe and ineffective for young people experiencing gender dysphoria. Kasubhai said in his ruling that, "The notion that 'I will go forward and issue a declaration and see if we can get away with it' is not a principle of governance that adheres to the overarching commitment to a democratic republic that requires the rule of law to be regarded and respected and honored as sacred." [more]

U.S. TRUMP COIN | The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts voted yesterday to approve the design of a limited-edition 24-karat gold commemorative coin featuring the likeness of President Donald Trump, clearing the way for the U.S. Mint to produce the coin ahead of America’s 250th birthday celebrations later this year. [coin design document] [more]

ARIZONA | The Yuma Desert community of Martinez Lake, Arizona, recorded a high temperature of 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 Celsius) yesterday, setting a record for the highest March temperature ever recorded in the United States. [more]

U.S. AND CUBA | Amidst an increased Trump administration focus on Cuba and the near-total blockade of oil products reaching the Caribbean island nation, General Francis Donovan, head of the U.S. military's Southern Command, said yesterday that there are no ongoing U.S. rehearsals or preparations taking place for an invasion of Cuba. [more]

DENMARK AND GREENLAND | According to Denmark's public broadcaster, DR, amidst U.S. President Donald Trump's repeated threats, Danish troops sent to Greenland under cover of a planned joint military exercise with several European nations in January were equipped with blood supplies and enough explosives to destroy Greenland's main airport runways for use in the event of a U.S. military action to take control of the Arctic island. [more]

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES | Security officials say a "terrorist network" alleged to have been funded and operated by the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group has been dismantled in the United Arab Emirates. UAE state media reports that the network had been operating under a fictitious commercial cover and was involved in "money laundering, financing terrorism, and threatening national security." [more]

SOUTH KOREA | Emergency officials say at least 55 people were injured, and 14 others remain missing, today in a fire at an auto parts factory in the South Korean city of Daejeon. Efforts to contain the fire are ongoing. [more]

BRAZIL | A new youth online protections law under consideration since 2022 went into effect in Brazil this week. Among other things, the Digital Statute of Children and Adolescents requires those under age 16 to link their social media accounts to a legal guardian to ensure supervision, prohibits platforms from using addictive features, and mandates that online service providers implement an effective age verification mechanism to prevent young users from accessing inappropriate or prohibited material. [more]

U.K. | The Association of Leading Visitor Attractions reports that more than 7.1 million people visited London's Natural History Museum in 2025, breaking the record for the most visitors to any museum or gallery in a single year and taking over first place in the visitors ranking from the British Museum. [more]

COLLEGE BASKETBALL | Following several major upsets in the first full day of this year's NCAA men's basketball tournament, both ESPN and the NCAA say only 0.04% of fans' prediction brackets for the tournament remain error free. [more]

NBA | LeBron James started in last night's Los Angeles Lakers' game against the Miami Heat, playing in the 1,611th regular-season game of his professional career and tying Robert Parish’s all-time NBA record for games played. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1815, the Hundred Days—during which Napoleon, having ended his exile by escaping the island of Elba, would try to recapture his empire in France—began with Napoleon's arrival in Paris. [more history]