Meridian Evening Brief — Mar 28
Editor’s note: A protest-heavy U.S. political cycle collided with a widening Middle East war and a few notable tech and culture turns tonight. The result is a news mix that feels tense, globally connected, and not especially interested in letting anyone coast into the weekend.
Al Jazeera • Politics • Vice President JD Vance tops CPAC’s straw poll to be US president in 2028
JD Vance won the 2026 CPAC straw poll with 53 percent support among nearly 1,600 attendees. Secretary of State Marco Rubio finished second with 35 percent, a sharp rise from his standing in the 2025 poll. The result does not decide the Republican nomination, but it is being treated as an early signal of activist sentiment inside the party. The poll comes as Republicans look ahead to the 2026 midterms and the open question of succession after Donald Trump’s second term.
BBC World • World • India restoring a centuries-old royal kitchen that never stopped serving food
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj0vj36yd12o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss
Workers in Lucknow are restoring a royal kitchen built in 1837 by Muhammad Ali Shah in the former Awadh kingdom. The site has continued serving meals for nearly 200 years, especially during Ramadan and Muharram, and is still funded through an old endowment now managed by the Hussainabad Trust. The Archaeological Survey of India began the restoration in October and aims to preserve the structure using traditional lime mortar and lakhauri bricks rather than modern cement. Cooking has continued during the project through the kitchen’s twin-layout design.
BBC World • Business • Shops and restaurants in Egypt told to close early as energy crisis deepens
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0rxz7ggv8go?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss
Egypt has ordered shops, restaurants, and cafes to close by 21:00 each night for the next month as it tries to conserve energy. The measures also include dimmed street lighting, reduced roadside advertising, and one work-from-home day per week for many public employees in April. Officials say the country’s fuel bill has more than doubled since January, driven by disruption linked to the war around Iran and the effective blockage of the Strait of Hormuz. Hotels and tourist attractions are exempt, reflecting the sector’s importance to the Egyptian economy.
TechCrunch • Tech • Bluesky leans into AI with Attie, an app for building custom feeds
https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/28/bluesky-leans-into-ai-with-attie-an-app-for-building-custom-feeds/
Bluesky introduced a new standalone AI app called Attie at its Atmosphere conference. The app uses Anthropic’s Claude and is designed to let users create custom feeds and shape their own social algorithms through natural-language prompts rather than code. Company leaders said the long-term goal is to let people build broader tools and social apps on top of the AT Protocol. Bluesky framed the product as a user-controlled alternative to the way large platforms currently use AI to optimize engagement.
BBC World • Politics • No Kings protests across the US rally against Donald Trump
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq8wy7g1gd1o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss
Large “No Kings” protests took place across major U.S. cities including Washington, New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Organizers said they were demonstrating against the Trump administration’s Iran war policy, immigration enforcement, and cost-of-living pressures. The White House dismissed the rallies, while organizers said the events were peaceful and part of a broader national movement. The demonstrations mark the third major round of No Kings protests and included turnout in both large cities and smaller towns.
Al Jazeera • World • Air strikes in Iraq kill three PMF fighters, two police
Air strikes in Iraq killed three members of the Popular Mobilisation Forces and two Iraqi police officers, according to Iraqi and media reports. The PMF, an ex-paramilitary coalition now integrated into Iraq’s armed forces, blamed the United States and Israel for the attacks. The strikes hit near Kirkuk and Mosul as the broader war involving Iran continued to spill across Iraq’s borders. Iraqi Kurdistan also reported drone activity near Erbil and Duhok, underscoring concern that Iraq is becoming a wider theater in the regional conflict.
Al Jazeera • Politics • Reza Pahlavi pledges to ‘make Iran great again’ at 2026 CPAC conference
Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s former shah, used a CPAC speech to call for regime change in Iran and urge the Trump administration to continue its hard line. He told the audience that while Trump is “making America great again,” he intends to “make Iran great again,” drawing a standing ovation. His remarks came one month into the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, which Al Jazeera says has killed at least 1,937 people in Iran. The appearance also highlighted divisions on the American right, where support for the war remains strong among Republicans but not universal.
Al Jazeera • Business • Pakistan secures Iran deal to send 20 ships through Strait of Hormuz
Pakistan said Iran has agreed to allow 20 Pakistani-flagged vessels to transit the Strait of Hormuz, with two ships expected to cross each day. Islamabad described the move as a meaningful easing measure during a global energy shock triggered by the near-shutdown of the waterway. The article says maritime traffic through Hormuz is down by about 90 percent and oil prices have climbed above $100 a barrel. Pakistani officials are also presenting the arrangement as part of a wider diplomatic push to reduce tensions around the conflict.
BBC World • World • Three Lebanese journalists killed in Israeli strike, say broadcasters
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgme1j70294o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss
Three Lebanese journalists were killed in an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon, according to their employers. The dead included Ali Shoeib of Al Manar TV and Fatima Ftouni and Mohamed Ftouni of Al Mayadeen, who were reportedly in a marked press vehicle. The Israel Defense Forces said Shoeib was a Hezbollah operative working under journalistic cover, but it did not provide evidence and did not comment on the other two deaths. Lebanese officials and press freedom advocates condemned the attack and said it reflected an increasingly dangerous environment for reporters in the country.
The Guardian World • Entertainment • James Tolkan, known for his roles in Top Gun and Back to the Future, dies aged 94
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/28/james-tolkan-top-gun-back-to-the-future-dies
Actor James Tolkan has died at the age of 94 in Lake Placid, New York, according to his booking agent and a brief obituary cited by The Guardian. Tolkan was widely known for playing Vice Principal Strickland in Back to the Future and Tom “Stinger” Jardian in Top Gun. He was born in Michigan, served in the Navy during the Korean War, and later spent decades working in theater and film. He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Parmelee Welles.
TechCrunch • Tech • Mark Zuckerberg texted Elon Musk to offer help with DOGE
https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/28/mark-zuckerberg-texted-elon-musk-to-offer-help-with-doge/
Newly released court documents show that Mark Zuckerberg texted Elon Musk in February 2025 to offer support for DOGE, the Trump-era Department of Government Efficiency effort associated with Musk. According to the report, Zuckerberg said Meta teams were prepared to remove threatening or doxxing content targeting DOGE personnel. Musk responded positively and also floated the idea of Zuckerberg joining a bid for OpenAI, though Zuckerberg did not ultimately participate. The messages surfaced as part of Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI.
