Today's Headlines: Why Energy Is Such a Potent Target in the War With Iran
Trump Signals Retreat From Goal of Regime Change in Iran
View in browser
The New York Times
Today's Headlines

March 21, 2026, 4:30 a.m. Eastern time

Top News

Why Energy Is Such a Potent Target in the War With Iran

More than three dozen oil, natural gas and related sites have been attacked in nine countries. More strikes could keep energy prices higher for longer.

Trump Signals Retreat From Goal of Regime Change in Iran

In the first days of the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran, Mr. Trump pressed for a popular uprising against Tehran’s government.

Striking Down Pentagon Press Limits, Judge Vindicates Independent Journalism

The ruling cut deeper than left-versus-right politics, declaring that the policy imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is unconstitutional.

World

Laid Off in Midlife, China’s Reform Generation Braces for Downward Mobility

The future once seemed boundless for those who grew up during China’s reform era. Now in middle age, they are pinned between economic stagnation and institutional age discrimination.

Denmark Was Ready to Blow Up Airfields to Stop a U.S. Invasion of Greenland

The Danes brought blood supplies, explosives and live ammunition to Greenland as part of contingency plans in case President Trump acted on his threats to seize the island.

​At Least 10 Killed in South Korean Factory Fire

Survivors jumped from windows to escape the blaze, the deadliest at a factory in South Korea in two years. Four people are still missing.

See more world news

U.S.

Chuck Norris, Black-Belt Action Star of Movies and Television, Dies at 86

He channeled his martial arts skills into heroic roles in films like “The Delta Force” and “Missing in Action” and in the long-running TV series “Walker, Texas Ranger.”

Fresno Took 30 Years to Name Cesar Chavez Blvd. Undoing It Took a Day.

The reckoning for the labor leader’s sex abuse was swift in Fresno, Calif., the heart of the Central Valley region where the farmworker movement was born. Towns across the nation face similar debates.

San Francisco Driver Gets Probation After Killing a Family of 4

Mary Fong Lau, 80, will perform 200 hours of community service as part of her sentence. Her speeding vehicle crashed into a family as they waited for a bus ride to the zoo in 2024.

See more U.S. news

Politics

Trump Friend Asked ICE to Detain the Mother of His Child

Paolo Zampolli, a former modeling agent and a longtime Trump ally, was in a custody battle over his son. An ICE official agreed to help.

Hegseth Invokes Divine Purpose to Justify Military Might

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has imbued U.S. military actions with a Christian moral underpinning that suggests they are divinely sanctioned.

U.S. Lifts Sanctions on Some Iranian Oil to Get More to Market

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent estimated that the move would add about 140 million barrels of crude to the oil market.

See more political news

Business

The U.S. Economy Is Insulated From High Oil Prices. Americans Aren’t.

The overall economy has proved resilient in recent years, even as many households have struggled. The war with Iran is following the same pattern.

Judge Rules Pentagon Restrictions on Press Are Unconstitutional

A federal judge tossed parts of the Pentagon’s restrictions on news outlets, saying they violated the First Amendment, in a lawsuit brought by The New York Times.

The I.R.S. Is Phasing Out Paper Checks. Here’s How to Speed Your Refund.

President Trump has directed that most federal payments be issued electronically, including tax refunds. Last year nearly 10 million people got their refund via a paper check.

See more business news

Technology

Elon Musk Is Responsible for Some Twitter Investor Losses, Jury Finds

The verdict was a rare loss for Mr. Musk, who investors claimed had tried to drive down the share price of the social media company, now called X, to renegotiate his $44 billion offer.

More! More! More! Tech Workers Max Out Their A.I. Use.

At a number of companies, employees compete on leaderboards to show how much A.I. they’re using. They’re racking up big bills along the way.

Polymarket Says It Predicts the Truth. Its Social Feeds Are Filled With Falsehoods.

A review of the betting market’s social media feeds found it has published hundreds of false and misleading posts.

See more technology news

New York

Inside the Arrest That Led to Banksy’s Possible Unmasking Decades Later

In 2000, Banksy was a largely unknown street artist hanging around downtown Manhattan when the police nabbed him for trying to deface a billboard.

New York City Celebrates Its First Ramadan With a Muslim Mayor

Many New Yorkers said Ramadan felt especially poignant this year under Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who used his own observance of the holiday to model the diversity of Muslim life in the city.

Alexander Brothers Are Said to Seek Trump Pardons for Sex Trafficking

People representing the three brothers have reached out to a lobbyist and an influential Jewish group that have supported clemency for others. There are no signs the White House is considering a pardon.

See more New York news

Arts

BTS Is Back. But the K-Pop Landscape Has Changed.

The superstar boy band returns after a four-year hiatus on Friday. The genre it helped turn into a global juggernaut has endured some shifts, and minted new stars.