“Outdated intelligence likely led to the United States carrying out a deadly missile strike on an elementary school in Iran that killed over 165 people, many of them children, in the opening hours of the conflict, according to a U.S. official and a second person briefed on findings of a preliminary U.S military investigation into the incident. The bombing of the school and its casualties involving children has become a focal point of the war, and if ultimately confirmed to be at the hands of the U.S., would also stand among the highest civilian casualty events caused by the American military operations in the last two decades.” (03/11/26)
“The Russian government is preparing a possible 10% cut to all ‘non-sensitive’ spending in this year’s budget, sources told Reuters, but the final decision will hinge on the sustainability of the oil price rise triggered by the Iran war. … The Finance Ministry told Reuters in comments on this story that it is discussing measures to prioritize budget spending with other ministries. Andrei Gangan, head of the monetary policy department at the central bank, said an optimisation of spending can only be welcomed. The ministry added that decisions will not affect spending on what Russia terms its ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine or social obligations to Russian citizens, but will help to avoid increasing debt and to retain long-term stability of state finances.” (03/11/26)
“A bipartisan group of senators is requesting that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) review the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) handling and release of documents related to the investigation into the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to a letter obtained by The Washington Post and CNBC. The March 11 letter outlines concerns about redactions in the millions of files released by the DOJ and seeks clarity about how the information was reviewed. … The lawmakers argued the DOJ failed to adequately comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a criticism that has been leveled repeatedly at the Trump administration since the first batch of files was released in December. The law, authored by Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and passed almost unanimously by Congress, allowed victims’ identities and information that could jeopardize a federal investigation to be redacted, but not anything based on ’embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity.'” (03/11/26)
“President Donald Trump visited Kentucky on Wednesday, speaking at Verst Logistics, a contract packaging facility in Hebron. … The visit was in Rep. Thomas Massie’s district, where Trump is endorsing Ed Gallrein in this year’s Republican primary. During his speech, Trump criticized Kentucky congressmen Thomas Massie and Rand Paul. ‘And now Massie, he’s the worst. And I don’t say that, I never hate a guy like this. We call him Rand Paul Jr. — he votes against everything. But at least I like Rand a little bit,’ Trump said. Trump continued: ‘He’s gotta be voted out of office as soon as possible. On the other hand, Ed Gallrein has my complete and total endorsement.'” [editor’s note: Gallrein left the GOP when Trump got its 2016 presidential nomination, but has since returned and become a JD Vance type Trump suck-up – TLK] (03/11/26)
“Three Norwegian brothers have been arrested on suspicion of a ‘terrorist bombing’ at the US embassy in Oslo that caused minor damage at the weekend but no injuries. The police prosecutor Christian Hatlo told a press conference that the brothers, who were Norwegian citizens of Iraqi origin, had been arrested in Oslo and that police were investigating the motive. … The blast took place at around 1:00am local time on Sunday at the entrance to the embassy’s consular section. American embassies have been placed on high alert in the Middle East owing to US-Israeli strikes on Iran. Several have faced attacks as Tehran responds by targeting industrial and diplomatic facilities.” (03/11/26)
“Dementia has become the leading cause of death in Australia, a development that has prompted public health experts to call for a ‘shift in thinking’ about the disease. An estimated 446,500 people in the country are living with the disease as of 2026, according to data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and the Australian Bureau of Statistics. … a 2024 survey found that more than a quarter of Australians incorrectly believed there was nothing they could do to reduce their risk of dementia. … Estimates suggest that about two in five dementia cases in the country can be prevented.” (03/11/26)
“Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told GOP colleagues Tuesday that they don’t have the votes to pass a House-approved voting reform bill through the Senate by forcing Democrats to use a talking filibuster to oppose it, rejecting President Trump’s full-court press. Senate Republicans at a Tuesday lunch meeting discussed the prospect of forcing Democrats to actively hold the floor for days — or even weeks — of continuous debate to make it as hard as possible for them to block the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which Trump called his ‘No.1 priority’ at an issues conference with House Republicans on Monday. Trump warned in Florida on Monday that passing the SAVE Act is critical to helping Republicans keep control of Congress in November.” (03/11/26)
“Mortgage applications increased 3.2% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending March 6, 2026. On an unadjusted basis, the index increased 4.1% compared with the previous week. The refinance index 0.5% from the previous week and was 81% higher than the same week one year ago. The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 57.8% of total applications from 59.8% the previous week.” (03/11/26)
“At least 65 Nigerian soldiers have been killed in jihadist raids across the country’s north-east in the last two weeks, as the west African state battles to contain one of the world’s deadliest terror groups. On 5 and 6 March, gunmen from Islamic State West Africa Province (Iswap) overran four military bases in Borno state, the epicentre of the insurgency. Nigerian daily the Punch reported that about 40 soldiers were killed in total in these attacks. In a statement on 7 March, the same day a mass funeral was held for the fallen troops, the military disputed the death toll but did not provide an alternative number. … Last month, 200 US troops arrived in northern Nigeria to train their counterparts, weeks after the US president, Donald Trump, announced airstrikes on terrorist elements in the region.” (03/11/26)
“The Department of Homeland Security’s investigations arm is investigating [sic] 2020 election results in Arizona, the state’s attorney general, Kris Mayes, and a source familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News on Tuesday. It is not typical for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) to investigate election results, though the agency has investigated voter fraud cases in the past. The agency serves as the investigative arm of DHS and usually investigates transnational crime, including drug smuggling and human trafficking. … Despite the Trump administration’s efforts to relitigate the 2020 election, Biden won the election by 7 million votes, including winning six out of the seven battleground states. The overall electoral count was 306 to 232.” (03/11/26)
