Monthly News: The Most Attention Grabbing News Headlines of March

Editor Zachary Myers writes “I will bet good money that this will be the strangest news story of 2026” (Jadyn Jacobs).

Image: Guillaume Photographie on https://unsplash.com/

April 7, 2026

Zachary Myers, Editor

I have somewhat sworn off televised news. I always see hints that newscasters are biased in their reporting, especially when it comes to politics. While there is nothing wrong with a newscaster having an opinion about a politician or issue they do not like, they need to can those thoughts in the aim of neutrality and objectivity in reporting. This is what I attempt to do through this news column. I will share the biggest news stories as objectively as I can given the facts, and then give my personal breakdown of the incident.

March 1st - March 7th:

The first major shakeup in the Trump administration recently occurred. On March 5, the president fired the secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, whose main role was overseeing the mass deportation of illegal immigrants. While she was mainly fired for spending $220 million dollars on an ad for Homeland Security featuring herself, Noem has garnered flack for the actions of the mass deportations and the violence it has caused. Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin will replace Noem, who will be appointed as President Trump's special envoy to his Shields of America project to provide security against narcotics trafficking in the Western Hemisphere.

I am fairly unfamiliar with how responsible Noem is for the actions of immigration officials during the deportation efforts. From where I see it, the boss is always responsible for the actions of their employees. She also fails to take any responsibility when she is questioned about her actions as Homeland Security secretary, deflecting any and all questions when she is interviewed. On top of firing, she should be removed from politics in general but what Trump essentially did is make her a junior defense secretary. That being said, I hope Senator Mullin will make a good new secretary and steer the country in a more united direction. 

Trump fires Kristi Noem as homeland secretary, announces replacement

March 8th - March 14th:

The war in Iran is not only having lethal repercussions but also cost repercussions as well. Gas prices have spiked across the country as the war has gone on, due to tensions in some of the key oil producing areas in Iran. Hikes in gas prices are common in international conflicts involving the US and oil driven countries, including strikes on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia in 2019 and the war between Russia and Ukraine that started in 2022. Because these countries supply oil to most of the rest of the world, when there is conflict between these countries and others, supply stays the same but product is harder to obtain. This leads to gas prices rapidly rising in the immediate days and weeks after conflicts. Some of the biggest impacts will come to small business owners, who rely on delivery routes, and truck drivers who will use diesel and rely on food and gas during long drives. 

I feel like often in modern international conflicts the US gets involved in, it affects Americans more than it is reported. The news will show what takes place overseas, rather than focus on the impacts at home. Our politicians fail to realize that we only get involved in conflicts because our leaders think it makes our country look brave to outsiders. We need to reconvene on what we value in this country and focus on the internal needs of our nation. The foremost thing to do is to stop getting involved in international conflicts that do not affect us. That way, we can fully focus on our nation like we should always be. 

Iran war drives gas price surge

March 15th - March 21st:

One of the most popular postseason tournaments in sports is fully underway. As part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), March Madness is a whole month of some of the best college basketball teams across the United States. There are four sections of teams in the tournament (east, west, south, north), and it is structured in a bracket style. There have been over twenty-seven million brackets filled out in 2026. Oftentimes, the tournament has some shocking upsets and incredible moments, such as in 2023 when sixteen seed Fairleigh Dickinson beat one seed Purdue in the first round, or in 2016 when Villanova beat North Carolina with a buzzer beating three from Kris Jenkins to win the NCAA championship. 

In my opinion, based on an article by Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf, here are the three most notable headlines to look for in this tournament. One thing I have noticed is that most of the best players in this tournament are freshmen, and the article notes that this could be the best freshman class in college basketball history. Some of the most notable stars include Cam Boozer of Duke, the son of former NBA star Carlos Boozer, AJ Dybantsa of Brigham Young University (BYU), the projected number one pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, and Darius Acuff Jr of Arkansas, a scoring machine. Another notable detail of this tournament I noticed is how deep the field is. While the one and two seeds are very deserving of their placement, some of the four and five seeds, including St John’s, Kansas and Vanderbilt, would be one or two seeds pretty much any other year. Each team has had dominant stretches across their seasons, with St John’s blowing out number two seed University of Connecticut (UCONN) to win the Big East title.

At the end of the day, this time in sports is one of the most fun because of how invested people are in how these games are played. When you predict a specific game, you get invested in how a specific team plays and are more likely to be engaged with the game, even if it ends up being a blowout. It also allows people who may not enjoy sports to be involved, as brackets can be filled out by anyone, even if it is as a joke. While this time cannot top the NFL playoffs for me, I can understand why for some sports fans this is the best time of the year. 

Your guide to men's basketball this March: Contenders, stars, storylines to watch - ESPN

March 22nd - March 31st:

I will bet good money that this will be the strangest news story of 2026. Twenty-seven year old Dayton Webber, who is famous for being quadruple amputee champion cornhole player, was arrested for shooting and killing Bradrick Michael Wells. The incident occurred on Sunday March 23, where Webber allegedly shot the victim during an argument the two had when they were driving in La Plata, Maryland. Webber tried to convince the other passengers to help him hide the body, but they refused and called the police, who eventually found Wells in a residential yard in a town fourteen miles away from La Plata. Webber was arrested after he was found travelling to Charlottesville, Virginia, and will be charged with both first and second degree murder. His lawyers currently have no comment on the case.

I was dumbfounded when I first heard about the case, and in all honesty, I audibly laughed at first glance. How can it be possible that a man with no arms or legs can either drive a car or shoot someone with enough precision to kill them. Later, I found a video that Webber posted of him loading and shooting a gun at a target in the woods. This proves that he can somehow fire a gun accurately despite his ailments. There is not a lot of information related to how he knew the victim, his motivations, his mental health struggles, etc. When more information comes, I will likely have more of an opinion on this case, but for now, I find it hard to believe that a man who has overcome so much adversity would throw it all away like he is being accused of. 

Quadruple amputee and cornhole pro accused of fatally shooting man while driving