The New Grok Times — March 29, 2026

World

The War Widened and Washington Pretended Not to Notice

Split composition: on the left, missile trails streak across a darkening Middle Eastern sky; on the right, an enormous crowd fills an American city street holding signs, dusk light catching both scenes

TL;DR

The Houthis opened a second front from Yemen, nine million Americans marched, and Washington's response to both was the same studied indifference.

MSM Perspective

CNN and AP covered the Houthi attack and the No Kings protests as separate events, never naming the contradiction between them.

X Perspective

X connected the two stories MSM kept apart: a government expanding a war while telling nine million protesters it does not think about them.

By Yosef Stern, Jerusalem March 29 10 min read

Missile trails cutting across a twilight sky over a desert landscape, seen from a distance, with the faint silhouette of military radar installations on the horizon

World

The Houthis Opened a Second Front and the War Has No Borders

Yemen's Houthis launched two waves of missiles and drones at Israel on Saturday, opening the war's second front from 1,800 kilometers away.

By Yosef Stern, Jerusalem March 29 7 min read

An enormous crowd stretching down a wide American boulevard toward the Capitol dome, viewed from above, protest signs visible as a sea of color against the gray street

Politics

Nine Million Marched and Were Told "We Do Not Think About You"

The Trump administration's response to the largest protest in American history was seven words that said more than the protest itself.

By Samuel Crane, Washington March 29 5 min read

Thick smoke rising from an industrial complex in an arid landscape, seen from satellite perspective, buildings partially destroyed, surrounding terrain brown and barren

World

Israel Crossed the Nuclear Threshold at Arak and Yazd

Israel struck Iran's Arak heavy-water reactor and Yazd yellowcake plant on Friday -- nuclear facility attacks during a declared pause that no one can reconcile.

By Yosef Stern, Jerusalem March 29 5 min read

A formal diplomatic meeting room with four flags -- Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt -- arranged in a semicircle around an empty conference table, afternoon light through tall windows

World

Four Nations Convened Peace Talks Without Washington at the Table

Pakistan is hosting Saudi, Turkish, and Egyptian foreign ministers for war talks that begin Sunday -- the first multilateral effort that excludes the United States.

By Priya Sharma, Delhi March 29 5 min read

A long, empty TSA screening lane at a major airport terminal, blue bins stacked unused, overhead monitors dark, a single TSA agent standing at the far end of the belt

Politics

The DHS Shutdown Became the Longest in American History

Day 43 of the DHS shutdown passed the record for any partial government shutdown -- while the government found $2.1 billion a week for a war Congress never authorized.

By Samuel Crane, Washington March 29 5 min read

A gas station price sign showing regular unleaded at $3.98 per gallon, photographed at dawn with an American flag hanging limply from a pole in the background, empty pump lanes

Economy

Gas Hit $3.98 and the War Came to Every Kitchen Table

The national average hit $3.98 per gallon -- up exactly one dollar since the war began -- and the Hormuz premium is now permanent as long as the blockade holds.

By Hendrik Van Der Berg, Brussels March 29 4 min read

A fuel station in Lusaka, Zambia with a handwritten 'No Fuel' sign on the pump, a line of vehicles stretching into the distance, midday heat shimmer

Economy

Africa Is Hurting Again From a Crisis It Had No Part in Starting

The Washington Post headlined what this paper has been reporting for days: Africa is absorbing the worst of a war it did not start, cannot influence, and was not invited to prepare for.

By Dara Osei, London March 29 3 min read

A Metro Manila street at evening with alternating lit and dark blocks, a family eating dinner by candlelight visible through an open window, tropical humidity

World

The Philippines Started Rationing Power and Nobody in Washington Noticed

The Philippines has 45 days of fuel, rotating blackouts in Metro Manila, and 98 percent oil dependence on the Gulf -- and it still has not appeared on a single American front page.

By David Chen, Beijing March 29 3 min read

The Pentagon building seen from above through cloud cover, the five-sided structure casting a long shadow, late afternoon light, documentary tone

Technology

Anthropic Won in Court but the Pentagon Has More Weapons

Anthropic's preliminary injunction was a procedural win, not a precedent -- and Politico reports the Pentagon has multiple legal avenues to finish what the court paused.

By David Chen, Beijing March 29 3 min read

The Lebanese Foreign Ministry building in Beirut at dawn, a cedar flag hanging limply in still air, empty street, a single security guard at the gate

World

The Day Lebanon Tests Whether It Is a Sovereign State

Hezbollah says the deadline to expel Iran's ambassador 'does not exist' — today we find out if Lebanese sovereignty is real.

By Charles Ashford, London March 29 3 min read

C-17 Globemaster cargo planes on a tarmac at dusk, paratroopers in full kit walking toward the ramp, heat haze off the concrete, documentary military photography

Politics

Five Thousand Troops Arrived in the Gulf Without Congressional Authorization

Five thousand Marines and paratroopers deployed to the Gulf with no congressional vote — Newsweek says ground assault may be imminent.

By Samuel Crane, Washington March 29 3 min read

The Space Launch System rocket on Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center, illuminated by xenon spotlights against a dark Florida sky, the moon visible above

Technology

In Three Days NASA Will Launch Humans to the Moon for the First Time in 50 Years

Artemis II is confirmed for April 1 -- four astronauts, a lunar flyby, and the first crewed journey beyond low Earth orbit since 1972, launched by a government that cannot fund DHS or end its own war.

By Kenji Nakamura, Tokyo March 29 3 min read

An MRI control room in a Delhi hospital, a technician studying a monitor showing low helium levels, a patient waiting area visible through glass, clinical fluorescent light

Business

The Helium Shortage Reached India and the Queue for an MRI Just Got Longer

Indian hospitals have 15 to 20 days of helium inventory, MRI scan costs are rising globally, and the clearest three-box story from March 27 is now playing out on three continents.

By Theo Kaplan, San Francisco March 29 3 min read

A suburban house with a 'For Sale' sign on a quiet American street, no cars in the driveway, bare early spring trees, overcast sky suggesting stagnation

Economy

Mortgage Rates Hit 6.49% and the Spring Housing Market Is Frozen

The 30-year fixed rate hit 6.49% on Wednesday while the Fed sits trapped at 3.25-3.75%, and the spring buying season that was supposed to thaw the housing market arrived frozen solid.

By Hendrik Van Der Berg, Brussels March 29 3 min read

The New York Stock Exchange trading floor, screens showing green arrows and oil price tickers, traders in shirt sleeves looking up at monitors, tension beneath the optimism

Business

Wall Street Is Betting Corporate Earnings Can Withstand a War

Reuters reports Wall Street is confident Q1 earnings will hold despite surging oil -- but the confidence rests on a quarter that started before the war did, and Q2 will tell the real story.

By Theo Kaplan, San Francisco March 29 3 min read

A vintage recording studio console with warm analog light, a guitar leaning against a stool, sheet music scattered on a stand, the feeling of a song just finished

Entertainment

The Man Who Wrote "Wild Thing" and "Angel of the Morning" Died and You Never Knew His Name

Chip Taylor wrote two of the most recognizable songs of the 20th century, was Angelina Jolie's uncle, and most people could not name him if you hummed the melody.

By Camille Beaumont, Los Angeles March 29 4 min read

Iranian military command center with officers studying maps, dim overhead lighting, tension visible in posture and gesture

World

The Wire

World