The Evening: Zelensky Agrees to Halt Strikes, Fed Dims Outlook, Unbroken Chain, and More

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Good Evening,

It's Wednesday, March 19th.

Zelensky Agrees to Halt Strikes on Russian Energy Targets

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine agreed in a Wednesday phone call with President Trump to accept Russia’s offer for a mutual pause in attacks on energy targets for 30 days as a step toward a broader cease-fire, as the NYT reports

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Fed Dims Economic Outlook, Citing Uncertainty Over Tariffs

The Federal Reserve extended its wait-and-see posture on interest rates while marking up its forecasts for inflation and revising down its outlook for growth this year, as the WSJ reports

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Israeli Troops Move Into Gaza

Israeli troops recaptured part of the Netzarim Corridor that bisects the Gaza Strip and deployed an infantry brigade along the enclave’s perimeter, as The Washington Post reports

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Executive Education

Develop agile responses to unprecedented challenges. Join Global Foresight: Preparing for Future Trends

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from April 8-11 to gain strategic foresight tools—from identifying drivers of change to modeling future scenarios—and learn to anticipate external challenges. Register

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by March 26.

Audio Briefs

CSIS now offers audio versions of our latest analysis. Listen to the latest Commentary by CSIS's Jon B. Alterman, "The Gaza War Resumes

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In That Number

1.7 percent

Federal Reserve officials say they expect GDP growth of 1.7% in 2025, down from their December projections of 2.1%

Source: WSJ

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Critical Quote

“You’ve got a lot of reading.”

—President Donald Trump to reporters on releasing the JFK Assassination Files

iDeas Lab

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The U.S. and its like-minded partners regulate the world’s most widely used reserve, payment currencies, and financial networks leaving little room for rerouting monetary flows. Even for China, large-scale circumvention of financial sanctions via third markets is extremely difficult. Read the full analysis here.

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The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and multimedia.

Optics

(Photo credit: AFP/Getty Images.) Smoke rises above buildings following multiple U.S. strikes on Yemen's Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa, as the U.S. military said its campaign against the Iran-backed rebels was ongoing on March 19, 2025.

Recommended Reading

“Policy Volatility Beckons a Disorderly Economic Transition

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” by CSIS's Navin Girishankar.

This Town Tomorrow

At 10:00 a.m.

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, the CSIS Defense and Security Department welcomes co-founder of Blue Water Autonomy Austin Gray for a conversation on the of impact of autonomous vehicles in modern warfare.

Also at 10:00 a.m.

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, the CSIS Economic Security and Technology Department begins its multi-panel conference discussing strategies to accelerate the nation’s semiconductor talent pipeline and scale workforce development.

Additionally, at 10:00 a.m.

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, Brookings analyzes the key challenges and opportunities shaping the future of U.S. defense strategy and spending.

Video

Early today, CSIS's Vice President of Communications Alex Kisling was joined by Frank Lavin for a conversation on his new book, Inside the Reagan White House. Lavin reflects on his time serving in Reagan's administration, providing a compelling inside look at the most successful president of modern times. Watch the full video here.

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Podcasts

CSIS Middle East expert and former CIA Norman Roule joins the podcast for a conversation on President Trump’s muscular approach to the Houthis in Yemen and Hamas in Gaza.

Listen on Spotify

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& Apple Podcasts

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Smiles

“A slow winter day, a night like forever

Sink like a stone, float like a feather”

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Since we here at Smiles have been celebrating the life of the Grateful Dead’s bassist/founding member Phil Lesh this week, I thought we would feature a clip of Phil himself with his band, Phil Lesh and Friends. The tribute that Phil’s son Grahame led over the weekend was called “Unbroken Chain” because that track is one of the great Lesh tunes. Until his death at 84 last October, Phil continued to perform live with his son and a trove of world class musicians that he inspired. Here’s Phil and Friends

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a couple of years ago performing “Unbroken Chain.”

I invite you to email me at [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

and follow me on Twitter @handrewschwartz

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The Evening is my daily guide to key insights CSIS brings to the events of the day. It is composed by Lauren Adler, Ava Rose, and the External Relations team.

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