Oscar Winners, Kharg Island, and Who Is Banksy?

 Need To Know 

One Win After Another 

"One Battle After Another" was the big winner at the 2026 Academy Awards last night, taking home the ceremony's top prize of best picture, along with five other awards, including best director (Paul Thomas Anderson), best supporting actor (Sean Penn), and best adapted screenplay.

The other big winner of the night was "Sinners," which won four awards including best actor (Michael B. Jordan) and best original screenplay. Jessie Buckley continued her sweep this awards season, winning best actress for her role in "Hamnet." Meanwhile, "Golden" became the first K-pop song to win an Oscar for best original song. See the full list of winners here. 

See also highlights from the evening, which included a tribute to Hollywood director Rob Reiner led by Billy Crystal. Peek at highlights from the red carpet here. 

Explore an overview of the Oscars via 1440 Topics here.

Iran War Week 3

Israel launched a wave of new airstrikes against Iran and Lebanon yesterday, claiming more than 7,000 strikes since the war began late last month. The country says it plans to strike thousands of additional targets, anticipating at least three more weeks of hostilities.

The updates come as the US military struck Kharg Island, vital to Iran's oil industry. The US and Iran said those strikes did not impact Iran's oil infrastructure. However, President Donald Trump threatened further action if Iran continued to block the Strait of Hormuz, which normally transports 20% of the world's oil (see more, w/video). Trump called on China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others to help secure ships' passage.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi denied Trump's claim that the country is interested in a ceasefire. He also said Russia and China were providing Iran with military cooperation. See updates here.

March Madness Begins

The 68-team field for the 2026 men's college basketball tournament was revealed yesterday, with Duke, Michigan, Arizona, and defending champion Florida grabbing No. 1 seeds (see full bracket). The overall top-seeded Blue Devils are led by freshman Cameron Boozer—son of former star Carlos Boozer—widely considered the best player in the country. 

Miami (Ohio), which went 31-1 but whose strength of schedule was ranked 339, enters as an 11 seed. See more snubs and surprises here.

On the women’s side, Connecticut looks to defend last year’s title while closing out its seventh perfect season (undefeated in both regular and postseason play). The Huskies are joined by UCLA, Texas, and South Carolina as the other No. 1 seeds (full bracket). Each of the top 16 teams will host first- and second-round games at home locations.

Not an expert, but have a little basketball knowledge? Your odds of a perfect bracket are roughly one in 120 billion.

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> Italy's Jannik Sinner defeats Russia's Daniil Medvedev to win Indian Wells final; comes after Medvedev defeated World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in Saturday's semifinal (More) 

> US' Cameron Young wins 2026 Players Championship, PGA Tour’s headline event, taking home $4.5M (More) 

> USA beats Dominican Republic to win World Baseball Classic semifinal game and face Italy or Venezuela in Thursday's finals game; Italy and Venezuela face off tonight at 8 pm ET on FS1 (More) 

Science & Technology

> Trump administration reopens underwater oil and gas operations off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, amid oil supply disruptions; pipeline ruptured in 2015, releasing more than 100,000 gallons of oil along the coast (More) 

> Genetic mutations behind leaky blood vessels in the brains of patients with Rett syndrome identified; neurological disease affects roughly 1 in 10,000 girls, rarely seen in boys (More) 

> Simulations suggest primordial magnetic fields shortly after the Big Bang may resolve the "Hubble tension," or discrepancies in measurements of how quickly the universe is expanding (More) | What we know about the Big Bang (1440 Topics)

Business & Markets

> US stock markets continue downward trend Friday (S&P 500 -0.6%, Dow -0.3%, Nasdaq -0.9%) amid ongoing disruption from Iran war; S&P down 5% from record high in late January (More) | Brent crude oil futures close Friday above $103 per barrel (More)

> Meta to lay off around 20% of its workforce amid mounting AI costs; company to spend $600B on AI infrastructure by 2028, calls proposed layoffs "theoretical" (More)

> US Treasury to receive $10B fee from investors for facilitating the sale of TikTok's US operations to an American ownership group led by Oracle (More) 

Politics & World Affairs

> Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine flees the country after two months in hiding; Wine says Ugandan military was searching for him after disputing January's presidential election (More) 

> Cuban protesters vandalize Communist Party offices in the city of Moron, east of Havana, amid ongoing blackouts worsened by US fuel blockade (More)

> Taiwan reports return of Chinese military planes near the island—more than two dozen Chinese military aircraft and at least seven naval ships—after drop in flights over recent weeks  (More) 

Reuters takes pass at unmasking Banksy.

Ice Cube's "War of the Worlds" dominates Razzie Awards.

Why are Earth's days getting longer?

The most common jobs for women 100 years ago.

Peek at Los Angeles Metro's Lost and Found.

Oregon lawmakers may buy a waterfall.

Two centuries of American board games.

Soft socializing can include puzzle making, flower arranging.

Clickbait: Watch a goldfish drive a car.

Historybook: Roman Emperor Tiberius dies (37 CE); US President James Madison born (1751); World's first liquid-fueled rocket launched in Massachusetts (1926); Singer-songwriter Patty Griffin born (1964); Dow Jones sees largest single-day point drop ever at 2,997 (2020)