MARCH 17. 2026

Deepfakes are Already Shaping Opinions Around Conflicts

Governments and companies must do more to detect and debunk them.

Making the U. S. More Resilient to Oil Price Shocks

The U. S. is now a net oil exporter. With the right policy changes, it can protect consumers from high prices.

Kabul Accuses Pakistani Airstrike of Killing Over 400 People

Islamabad maintains that it hit “military and terrorist infrastructure, ” not a civilian drug rehabilitation center.

China’s Hormuz Problem

Beijing must navigate an oil crunch and fragile diplomacy with Washington.

Trump Wants to Put You in a Massive, Secret Government Database

Agencies are reportedly pooling immigration data, Social Security numbers, and more into a central database. FPF is suing to learn how deep it goes.

Trump’s War on Iran Could Cost Trillions

“My kids’ kids, and probably their kids, are going to be paying for this, ” said one official briefed on the U. S war on Iran.

Iranian Kurds Can Fight, but How Effectively?

Political concerns over Kurdish involvement overlook more pressing practical issues.

Ukraine and the EU Need a Fresh Start

“Membership lite” could clear the hurdles to Kyiv’s EU accession.

The Israel Lobby’s Responsibility for the Iran War

The advocates for the U. S. -Israeli special relationship have played a special role.

Jürgen Habermas Shaped the Postwar Order — His Death Must Not Mark Its End

The greatest democratic theorist of the postwar era leaves behind a world dismantling everything he defended.

Why We Have to Fight Back Against ICE Protesters’ Terror Convictions

For years, Trump has been throwing hefty charges at protesters and seeing if he can win convcitions. He always failed — until now.

Oil Regulators Found Hundreds of Wells Violating Oklahoma Rules. Then They Ignored Their Findings.

Oklahoma took on an ambitious project to catalog all of the state’s injection wells, which shoot toxic waste generated by oil drilling back into the ground. Despite records showing risk of drinking water pollution, the state chose not to act.

How Ann Arbor, Michigan, is creating its own clean energy utility

Investor-owned utilities have been slow to ditch oil and gas. The city of Ann Arbor plans to boost access to renewables through a new dual-service model.

Georgia farmers’ long wait for Helene relief is ending

The state’s biggest crops needed a special program to cover ‘once in a generation’ losses — for the second time in a decade.

Sound ideas

Podcasters show how philosophers are trying to upend the status quo in unexpected ways.

Will the Iran War Derail Colombia’s World-First Energy Transition?

An economy dependent on fossil fuels planned to wind down, rather than expand, extraction.

Price Hikes at the Pump Destabilize Southeast Asian Politics

Indonesia, for one, has a bloody history of fuel-related riots.

MARCH 16. 2026

Trump Seeks Help to Reopen Hormuz. Europe Says No.

After months of bashing allies, the White House finds itself fighting largely alone.

‘A Moment of Grave Peril’

Aid agencies warn that the Iran war will deepen humanitarian crises across the region.