BUSINESS

HBO’s The Pitt tackles ICE, immigration and the ethics of healthcare in crisis in its latest gripping episode.

Mueller oversaw an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Nexstar Media Group has finally closed its $6.2 billion acquisition of Tegna, following significant legal and regulatory pressure up to the day of the approval.On March 19, Nexstar officially confirmed the closure of the deal, which it first unveiled in August 2025, a move that makes it the largest local television station owner in the country.The deal adds 64 stations across 51 markets, strengthening Nexstar’s reach in key advertising regions. The combined company now operates 265 television stations in 44 states and the District of Columbia, significantly expanding its presence nationwide.Nexstar moves to refinance the acquisitionWithin a day of the closure, Nexstar also moved quickly to strengthen its balance sheet by announcing a $5.1 billion debt offering.The company said it plans to offer $3.39 billion in new senior secured notes due 2033 and $1.725 billion in senior notes due 2034, according to a company press release.More Streaming:Paramount Warner Bros. hostile bid has a catch for cable networksApple TV adds key feature Netflix droppedFacebook makes daring move to challenge Disney, NetflixThe proceeds from the offering, along with cash on hand, will be used to repay borrowings related to the Tegna deal and fund purchases. The move signals Nexstar’s shift from dealmaking to execution as it integrates one of the largest local TV transactions in years. Antitrust lawsuits challenged the mergerThe combined company can reach 80% of the U.S. television households, per Nexstar’s press release. Critics argued the merger effectively allows Nexstar to exceed the 39% national ownership cap, a limit set under federal law.Federal Communications Commissioner Anna M. Gomez was among the most vocal critics of the decision.Gomez said that strained local journalism, which is suffering from layoffs and “shrinking editorial voices,” will be further impacted, as the “merger will accelerate exactly that trend.”Gomez also cautioned that larger broadcast groups often centralize newsroom operations following mergers, potentially reducing the number of reporters covering local communities.The merger even prompted several states and lawyers to block the merger on antitrust grounds, claiming it would lead to increased consolidation in local TV markets and raise costs for distributors, ultimately affecting viewers and harming competition in local news.This includes Pay TV distributor DirecTV, which filed a federal antitrust lawsuit in California, alleging that the merger violates antitrust laws and harms consumers.

Nexstar stock is up 11% year to date.Shutterstock

FCC approval comes with conditionsDespite the uproar, the FCC has approved the deal, noting that it will allow Nexstar to own less than 15% of television stations, in line with the FCC’s policy goals of competition, localism, and diversity.The FCC indicated that this acquisition will be in the public interest, as Nexstar has promised to invest in local journalism to better serve communities.The FCC also granted Nexstar waivers from multiple ownership rules and local station ownership limits, allowing it to own multiple stations in designated market areas (DMAs). The permission comes with a caveat: Nexstar will have to divest six stations across different DMAs and commit to affordability and localism.FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said approving the merger aligns with the agency’s effort to strengthen local broadcasting. The deal widens Nexstar’s lead over competitors, namely Sinclair Broadcast Group, which has been pursuing its own consolidation strategy, including an ongoing but unsuccessful attempt to acquire station owner E.W. Scripps.Related: T-Mobile makes free perk lineup even more generous for customers

A wave of crypto job cuts in early 2026 exposes the gap between two convenient narratives: macro headwinds and AI transformation.

Looking for today’s NYT Connections hints? Some help and the answers for today’s game are right here to help keep your streak alive.

Multiple Republicans have expressed serious reservations about approving the request.

The real institutional prize isn’t about tokenized assets. It’s about programmable yield.

The Hyperliquid network has seen significant growth, with weekly derivatives trading volume exceeding $50 billion and 24-hour fee revenue of $1.6 million.

Sam Raimi’s “Send Help,” starring Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien, is arriving on digital streaming this week. Find out when you can watch the survival horror thriller at home.

Three weeks in, and the U.S.-Israel war against Iran seems no closer to a conclusion than when the bombs, missiles and drones first began to fill the skies over Iran and other parts of the Middle East. And everyone in the world is feeling the war’s effects: It has boosted the price of crude oil substantially since the end of January. Brent crude finished March 20 at $112.19 a barrel, up around 3% on the day and 84% for the year and 63% since the end of January.Gasoline prices are soaring. The average U.S. price was $3.912 per gallon as of March 20, using AAA data. That’s up 37.8% for the year and 33.5% since the end of January. Stocks are lower, while interest rates have moved up.The future doesn’t look like it will improve soon. In a report released this week, investment bank Goldman Sachs analysed what may happen to oil prices.The conclusion: Oil prices “will likely continue to trend higher.” Related: Iran’s shocking threat to boost oil to $200For how long depends, Goldman’s analysis says. The key is when the Strait of Hormuz reopens to regular flows of crude oil, liquefied natural gas, and related products to the world from the eight nations that ring the Persian Gulf — the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, and Iran.The region ships 20% or more of the crude oil and 20% of the LNG. All must pass through the strait, and Iran forms its north side. Iranian forces have used mines, drones and missiles deployed in and around the strait to keep oil tankers stuck, fully loaded, in ports in the Gulf. The only tankers getting through the strait are those escorted by Iranian war vessels.The war is more than trying to disrupt oil. Israel has used the war to attack Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran fired missiles at Diego Garcia, 2500 miles (4,000 kilometers) from the Persian Gulf to disrupt U.S. military activities.

A fireball erupts from an Israeli airstrike on Beirut. Getty Images Fadel Itani/Getty Images

How Goldman Sachs looks at the challengeGoldman’s analysis (including examinations of prior oil shocks) is:It will take time, maybe years, for production among the Gulf states to recover.In the meantime, if it can’t be shipped, Brent crude has a good chance of reaching or exceeding its record price of $147.50 a barrel in July 2008.If the United States limits Iranian exports, Brent, the global benchmark crude, will command a higher premium over Light Sweet crude, the U.S. benchmark, than it does now. Brent’s premium now is about $14 a barrel, based on light sweet crude’s March 20 close of $98.23 a barrel.A long war boosts time needed to recoverThe report suggests the recovery will be faster if the Strait is fully accessible by April, and if the damage to production and shipping facilities is modest. If that’s the case, Brent could fall back into the $70 range by the fourth quarter of 2026. That would be where Brent was priced in February.Four years at least may be the most likely scenario for Gulf production to recover, the report suggests.A quick reopening of the strait will accelerate recovery because it means less damage to the vast infrastructure for producing, processing, and loading oil, chemicals, and liquefied natural gas.A long war can expose deeper problems. The Iraq-Iran war in 1980 was so devastating that, by 1984, production in both countries was still down 64% from levels before the war, the report says. Complicating matters is that, over the years, many Persian Gulf countries have underinvested in upgrading their production and shipping infrastructures. And when countries started rebuilding their oil industries, they had to play catch-up to rebuild their infrastructure.Trump: U.S. may wind down in gulfThere’s another potential complication that may affect the course of this war. What happens in the immediate future is unclear. President Trump said late Friday he might begin winding down U.S. operations in the Gulf region and that other countries should police the Strait of Hormuz.He also mentioned possibly having a dialogue with Iran’s leaders, but the president ruled out a cease fire. “You don’t do a cease-fire when you’re literally obliterating the other side,” he told a press gathering.Related: Morgan Stanley has a stark warning for oil investorsSo far, few countries have offered to join the United States in opening the strait.The U.S., meanwhile, is sending three warships and thousands of Marines to the region, where some 50,000 personnel are already stationed. But the Trump Administration said it wasn’t planning to put “boots on the ground” in Iraq.Stocks continue to struggleThe war — and the oil shock that has come with it — hit financial markets again on March 20. The Standard & Poor’s 500 fell 100 points, or 1.5%, to 6,506, its third straight loss and 11th in 15 trading days in March. Nine of 11 sectors were lower. Only energy (barely) and financial stocks were higher.The Nasdaq Composite fell 2% to 21,648. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 444 points to 45,577. Energy stocks were mostly lower. Exxon Mobil and Chevron were higher.The indexes, lower for the week, are down for the month. The Dow and Nasdaq have both lost nearly 10% since hitting 52-week highs: in February for the Dow and late October for the Nasdaq. A 10% drop from a recent peak is the popular definition of a correction.Bond yields and mortgage rates were also higher.Related: This Gulf oil stock is more about cash than crude