March 24, 2026
Conflicting Accounts and Oil Shocks
Good morning, everyone!
A programming note: Everything Briefing will be out today and tomorrow and will return on Friday as I tend to wedding planning.
Until then, you can stay up to date on my Notes page, where I will keep you apprised of the day’s history.
And, if you missed it, be sure to check out the latest edition of Last Week in History:
Today, we will look at the ongoing war in the Middle East and its subsequent impact on energy markets.
Let’s get to it.
United States
-The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency deployed agents to 14 airports across the country yesterday amid the ongoing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown. Since its partial closure, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers are increasingly calling out of work as their paychecks are withheld.
Currently, approximately 50,000 TSA officers are being required to work without pay. The officers screen passengers, baggage, and cargo at over 440 airports to ensure secure U.S. air travel.
Funding lapsed for a slew of the Department’s agencies on February 14 as congressional Democrats raised objections to the administration’s immigration enforcement tactics.
Yesterday, President Donald Trump said that Republicans should not agree to any deal until Democrats agree to pass the “SAVE America Act”, a sweeping bill that would require a birth certificate to register to vote and a photo ID to cast a ballot.
View his full remarks in Memphis, Tennessee, here:
On Sunday, Trump reportedly rejected a proposal that would have reopened all of DHS’ agencies except for ICE—a path that would have allowed Republicans to fund the agency under a separate party-line budget bill.
-The Senate confirmed Markwayne Mullin’s nomination to serve as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security in a near-party-line vote yesterday.
-The average U.S. gas price stood at $3.96 yesterday amid the ongoing war in the Middle East, according to AAA.
-The Supreme Court appeared weary yesterday of allowing mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day to be counted in oral arguments.
-The Pentagon said yesterday that it would grant credentials to news organizations that had objected to newly-imposed restrictions on press reporting after a federal judge deemed them unconstitutional.
-New Jersey Senator Cory Booker said he was considering a bid for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination in an interview with CBS News Sunday Morning.
View it here:
Meanwhile, Kentucky Governor Andy Bashear, another prospective Democratic presidential candidate, took a shot at Vice President JD Vance in his home state of Ohio, calling him the “most arrogant politician” he has ever seen.
-Former Vice President Mike Pence’s think tank, Advancing American Freedom, is locked in a battle with the Trump-aligned Heritage Foundation over the future of the Republican Party.
-Some 950 New York University professors went on strike yesterday.
-The number of abortions in the United States in 2025 remained largely unchanged from the year before, according to a new report.
-A major heatwave could soon hit the Eastern United States.
-Local elections will be held across Florida, Iowa, South Carolina, and Wyoming today.
View a full list here.
-On this day in 1902, Thomas Dewey was born in Owosso, Michigan.
He would go on to become a prominent prosecutor before being elected three times as governor of New York.
Viewed as a leader of the liberal wing of the Republican Party, Dewey would lead his party’s presidential ticket in 1944 and 1948, most memorably losing to President Harry Truman despite a commanding lead in the polls in the run-up to the vote.
In 1962, President John F. Kennedy met with former President Dwight Eisenhower at Eisenhower’s home at Eldorado Country Club in Indian Wells, California, to discuss foreign affairs.
During his time in office, Kennedy often sought Eisenhower’s advice and counsel.
In 1977, President Jimmy Carter hosted former President Gerald Ford in the Oval Office for a private meeting.
Following their competitive 1976 election contest, the two leaders became close personal friends.
In 1999, President Bill Clinton announced a NATO bombing campaign against Serbian forces in an address from the Oval Office.
The mission, which lasted 78 days, sought to halt Serbia’s ethnic cleansing of Albanians in Kosovo.
View his address here:
Other Links:
2 pilots killed when jet collides with fire truck at New York’s LaGuardia Airport - AP
“We’re in a tough spot”: Mattis delivers harsh Iran assessment - Axios
Democrats launch new inquiry into Corey Lewandowski - NBC
Hawley investigates FICO for mortgage credit scoring - Politico
Trump tours Elvis Presley’s Graceland - CNN
Trump administration places Christopher Columbus statue on White House grounds - NPR
Rama Duwaji, NYC’s first lady, faces new scrutiny over her art and social media - CNN
Kalshi to preemptively block athletes and politicians from trading on their markets - Axios
Africa
-Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said yesterday that his country is interested in importing liquefied natural gas from Mozambique as it seeks to meet its energy needs amid persistent Russian attacks on energy infrastructure.
The East African country is a major gas producer and is on track to become a top global supplier.
-Chad is planning to deploy 800 security officials to Haiti this year to join a multinational force to assist the Caribbean island government’s effort to rein in endemic violence.
-On this day in 1998, President Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton visited a school in Mukuno, Uganda, as part of a 10-day tour of Africa.
Clinton’s visit to Uganda made him the first sitting American president to visit the country.
Other Links:
Italy’s Meloni to travel to Algeria as Iran war disrupts Qatar LNG supplies - Reuters
Nigerians in Lagos grapple with rising pump prices - Africa News
A strike on a hospital in Sudan killed at least 64 people, WHO says - AP
Zimbabwe releases on bail top opponent of changes extending the president’s rule - AP
Benin presidential candidate vows new police forces to fight jihadists - Reuters
Africa’s push for a $40 smartphone and the lessons from China - Semafor
Russia in Africa: Inside the alleged operation to influence Angolan politics - BBC
Notorious apartheid police commander ‘Prime Evil’ testifies at South African hearing on killings - AP
Americas and the Caribbean
-Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was discharged from the hospital on Monday after receiving treatment for a lung infection.
The right-wing leader is currently serving a 27-year prison sentence for plotting to stay in office following his 2022 election defeat to current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Bolsonaro’s eldest son, Flávio Bolsonaro, is running to oust Lula in this year’s presidential election.
-The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has designated Colombian President Gustavo Petro as a “priority target” as it probes his alleged ties to drug trafficking.
-The European Commission said on Monday that the key provision of its landmark trade agreement with the South American bloc Mercosur will apply on a provisional basis from May 1.
The pact—which includes the 27-member EU and Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia—will establish one of the largest free trading zones.
Altogether, the pact will cover over 700 million people and roughly a quarter of the world’s gross domestic product.
The agreement will substantially lower trade barriers, with nearly all tariffs phased out over 15 years.
-Argentina’s economy expanded 4.4% in 2025, signaling a major shift in the country’s trajectory since President Javier Milei assumed office.
Meanwhile, the country’s inflation and poverty rates have fallen.
When Milei took office in 2023, annual inflation stood at 160%. Today, it stands at 31.5%—the lowest in eight years.
-On this day in 1980, Archbishop Óscar Romero—an outspoken critic of the escalating conflict between El Salvador’s military government and left-wing insurgents—was assassinated.
In a sermon directed at Salvadoran soldiers the previous day, Romero said, “In the name of God... I beseech you, I beg you, I order you: stop the repression!”
Other Links:
Tons of aid flows into Cuba as humanitarian convoy arrives on the struggling island - AP
Brazil’s Lula slams ‘interference’ in previously colonized countries, without naming Trump - AP
34 killed, dozens hurt as Colombian military plane crashes after takeoff - Reuters
Former US congressman secretly lobbied for Venezuela, prosecutor says at trial - Reuters
Chileans mark World Water Day by protesting President Kast’s rollback of environmental rules - AP
Argentina’s ‘Dirty War’ still on trial 50 years later - DW
Asia/Indo-Pacific
-The ongoing war in the Middle East has gripped countries across Asia. As Iran attacks oil vessels transiting the strategic Strait of Hormuz, oil and gas deliveries have been halted.
Approximately 84% of the oil and natural gas shipped through the waterway in 2024 was slated for Asian markets, with China being the largest purchaser from nations in the region.
Roughly a fifth of the world’s energy supply comes from the region.
-North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged to “irreversibly” cement Pyongyang’s status as a nuclear power in an address to the country’s rubber stamp parliament yesterday.
-Vietnam’s Communist Party secured a near-unanimous parliamentary election victory in a vote with no meaningful opposition.
-Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hosted European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Canberra today, with the two leaders agreeing to a long-delayed free trade agreement and announcing a new defense partnership.
-On this day in 2008, Bhutan held legislative elections, marking the completion of its transition from an absolute monarchy to a parliamentary democracy.
Other Links:
Indonesia seeks $5 bln budget savings to face Iran war impact - Reuters
Asia faces crisis from Mideast disruption, Singapore foreign minister warns - Reuters
South Korea stocks lead Asia rally as oil slumps on Iran war de-escalation signals - CNBC
Japanese national returns home after monthslong detention in Iran - AP
North Korea says summit with Japan is off unless Tokyo drops ‘its anachronistic’ ways - AP
Europe
-Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that his country has “irrefutable” evidence that Russia is providing Iran with intelligence in its war against the United States and Israel.
-Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in Prague over the weekend to protest against the new Czech government led by populist Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, whom they view as a threat to the country’s democracy.
The gathering was the largest anti-government protest in the Central European country since 2019.
-Slovenia’s political parties are set to hold coalition talks after no clear winner emerged from Sunday’s parliamentary elections.
-Voters in Italy rejected a major judicial reform proposal backed by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government on Monday.
-Denmark will hold parliamentary elections today.
Although Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's Social Democrats are slated to suffer their poorest showing in more than a century, the party’s prospects have been somewhat resurrected by President Donald Trump’s threats to seize Greenland, a Danish semi-autonomous territory.
-On this day in 2016, former Serbian politician Radovan Karadžić was found guilty of committing war crimes during the civil war that followed Yugoslavia’s dissolution in the 1990s.
Other Links:
NATO leader says he expects Europe will come together on Iran - Politico
EU reacts to ‘concerning’ report of Hungarian leak to Russia - DW
France’s Socialists hold on to power in major cities in election boost for mainstream - BBC
Jewish charity’s ambulances set on fire in what UK police investigate as an antisemitic attack - AP
Pope Leo says aerial military strikes should be banned - Reuters
Middle East
-President Trump said yesterday that he had ordered a pause to strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure, citing “very good and productive conversations” with Iran on ending the near-month-long regional war.
Shortly thereafter, Iranian officials and state media said that Tehran was not in talks with the Trump administration.
Over the weekend, Trump said he was “winding down” the conflict.
-Global oil prices slid 13% after Trump’s call to halt strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure.
-The Trump administration reportedly views Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, as a potential future leader.
-Israel’s finance minister called for the annexation of southern Lebanon.
-On this day in 1946, the Soviet Union announced it would withdraw troops from Iran, preempting an early Cold War standoff with the United States.
The U.S., USSR, and Britain had deployed troops to the country in 1942 to defend the oil-rich nation against a possible German invasion during World War II.
Following the end of the war, Moscow did not withdraw its soldiers from the country despite an agreement to do so.
By March, the Soviets agreed to exit the country after extracting oil concessions from Tehran. The U.S.-backed government almost immediately reneged on the agreement and remained a staunch ally of Washington until the Iranian Revolution of 1979.
In 1995, Vice President Al Gore met with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in the West Bank town of Jericho as Washington sought to advance the Middle East peace process.
View archival footage from his trip here:
Other Links:
Trump approved Iran operation after Netanyahu argued for joint killing of Khamenei - Reuters
More than 40 Middle East energy assets ‘severely damaged,’ IEA chief says - CNBC
The Back-Channel Diplomacy Behind Trump’s U-Turn on Iran - The Wall Street Journal
Pentagon Officials Weigh Deployment of Airborne Troops for Iran War - The New York Times
Israeli settlers smash cars and set fires in the West Bank as 4 Palestinians killed in Gaza - Politico
That’s all for today. See you on Friday.
Good luck on the wedding planning, Jacob. It can be arduous. I look forward to seeing you back either on Friday or next week, if you need the time.