March 27, 2026

U.S., ISRAEL, IRAN WAR | Day 28.

• U.S. President Donald Trump said yesterday that he would extend until April 6 his deadline for Iran to re-open the Strait of Hormuz or face destruction of its energy infrastructure. The announcement came as other U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iranian targets continued and followed the largest day of losses in U.S. stock market indices since the war began. [more]
• Iran continued to launch airstrikes on Gulf-region nations today, with officials in Saudi Arabia saying at least six Iranian missiles were launched toward Riyadh, and Kuwait noting missile and drone attacks on two of its ports. [more]
• The U.S. and Iran have both confirmed that messages have been passed to each other through third parties, but Iran continues to deny U.S. President Donald Trump's repeated assertions that negotiations to end the war are taking place. The U.S. delivered a 15-point framework for a cease-fire to Iran that included restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program and re-opening the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran rejected and responded to with its own five-point proposal that included reparations and recognition of its sovereignty over the Strait. [more]
• According to the U.N.'s International Organization for Migration, US and Israeli strikes on Iran have damaged at least 82,000 civilian buildings, including the homes of some 180,000 people, since the war began. [more]
• Israel announced yesterday that it will deploy another division of military troops to Lebanon as it pursues plans to occupy all Lebanese territory up to about 20 miles north of the Israeli border. Of note, the Associated Press, citing expansion of the Israel-Lebanon conflict, has said it will now call Israel's actions an "invasion" of Lebanon. [more]

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY | Amidst the department's 42-day partial shutdown, the Senate unanimously approved funding for most of the Department of Homeland Security early today. The funding measure, which excludes Immigration and Customs Enforcement from the funding, is expected to be taken up in the House today. Senate passage of the measure followed an announcement by President Donald Trump yesterday that he would order the use of funds from his spending and tax package passed last year to pay Transportation Security Agency officers amidst ongoing delays and security concerns at airports. [more]

U.S. Protests | More than 3,100 events are planned for tomorrow as part of the latest round of nationwide "No Kings" protests, and related demonstrations are planned in more than a dozen, mostly European, countries. Organizers say more than 9 million people are expected to take part in the events. [more]

U.S. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | U.S. District Judge Rita Lin yesterday temporarily blocked the Department of Defense from labeling AI company Anthropic as a "supply chain risk" – a designation previously only directed at foreign adversaries that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sought to impose after Anthropic refused to allow its AI models to be used for autonomous weapons operation and mass surveillance of U.S. citizens. [more]

U.S. CURRENCY | In what would be the first such move for a sitting president, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said yesterday that the Treasury Department plans to put President Donald Trump’s signature on all new U.S. paper currency to honor the United States' 250th birthday. [more]

U.S. POPULATION | New population estimates from the Census Bureau indicate that the majority of metro areas in the U.S. had slower population gains from 2024 to 2025, with an average growth rate of 0.6%, compared to average growth of 1.1% from 2023 to 2024. Bureau analysts say lower levels of net international migration contributed significantly to the lower growth rate. [press release] [more]

U.S. AND BELARUS | The Trump administration announced yesterday that it will ease sanction on several Belarus-linked financial and potash companies as part of efforts to ease impacts on U.S. farmers of a shortage of nitrogen fertilizers linked to the ongoing Middle East war. [more]

GLOBAL SLAVERY | The U.N. General Assembly, with a 123-3 vote that also saw 52 abstentions, adopted a resolution Wednesday declaring the trafficking of enslaved Africans "the gravest crime against humanity" and calling for reparations as a "concrete step towards remedying historical wrongs.” Reports note that votes against the resolution were cast by the United States, Israel, and Argentina, and that the U.K. and all 27 members of the European Union were among those countries that abstained from voting. [more]

GLOBAL ECONOMY | The Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development says the war in Iran has lowered its projections for 2026 economic growth in much of the world. The organization now projects global GDP growth of 2.9% this year – down from 3.3% growth in 2025. The revised OECD projections also say inflation across G20 countries is expected to rise to 4% this year – 1.2% higher than its previous estimate. [more]

GROUP OF SEVEN | G7 foreign ministers are meeting outside of Paris, France today, with the Middle East war, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, global oil and energy issues, and threats to world peace and stability among the main topics expected to be addressed. [more]

CONGO | United Nations official Vivian van de Perre said yesterday that conflict between government forces and numerous armed groups is expanding in the Democratic Republic of Congo's North Kivu and South Kivu provinces and that escalating and expanding violence in the region is posing series risks to civilians. [more]

CHINA AND PANAMA | The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission said yesterday that it is monitoring a surge in detentions of Panama-flagged vessels in China that appears to be linked to a Panamanian Supreme Court ruling earlier this year that invalidated a concession granted to Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison to operate the terminals at both ends of the Panama Canal. [more]

INDIA | In moves aimed at protecting consumers and curbing potential spikes in inflation amidst effects of the Middle East war on global energy markets, India yesterday reduced duties on gasoline and diesel fuel and imposed windfall taxes on aviation fuel and diesel exports. [more]

MYANMAR | Officials of Myanmar's ruling military junta say a re-shuffling of the country's military leadership is imminent just days ahead of the appointing of a new president by the Southeast Asian nation's parliament. Analysts note that current military chief Min Aung Hlaing has previously expressed his desire to serve as president. [more]

SOCIAL MEDIA | A California jury on Wednesday found both YouTube and Meta liable for harms to children that use their services due to the companies' creation of environments that encouraged social media addictions. The ruling came just days after a New Mexico jury determined that Meta knowingly harmed children's mental health and concealed what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its platforms. [more]

OLYMPICS | Under a new policy announced yesterday by the International Olympic Committee, "Eligibility for any female category event at the Olympic Games or any other IOC event, including individual and team sports, is now limited to biological females" as determined by mandatory genetic testing once in an athlete's career. [more]

BASEBALL | Heading into yesterday's opening day of the season, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani led Major League Baseball’s jersey sales for the third straight year, followed by Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh, and Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts. [more]

HUMOR AWARD | The Kennedy Center announced yesterday that comedian and television host Bill Maher will receive the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. [press release] [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1915, American domestic Mary Mallon, better known as Typhoid Mary, was placed under a quarantine on North Brother Island, New York City, that lasted until her death in 1938. A typhoid carrier, Mallon was allegedly responsible for multiple outbreaks of typhoid fever. [more history]