Good morning everyone. Here is some news to start your day. The United States appears to have underestimated Iran’s war readiness when launching its strikes. Iran now has a new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who is considered even more hardline than his father and is openly hostile toward the United States and Israel after an Israeli strike killed both his father and his wife. At the same time, newly surfaced video appears to show a U.S. missile striking near a girls’ school in southern Iran, raising serious questions about President Trump’s claim that Iran was responsible for the attack.
Meanwhile, the FBI has begun seizing voter records in Arizona as part of a widening election investigation, and additional revelations tied to the Epstein files continue to emerge.
On another note, there is a video circulating online that uses AI to make it look like I said that more than 100 U.S. soldiers were captured by Iran. I did not make that video. It is completely fake. Please do not share it. People who feel threatened by the work we are doing are now cloning my voice and creating AI videos to spread misinformation. If you do not hear it directly from me, it did not come from me.
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Here’s the news:
- U.S. officials say the first week of the war revealed Iran was more prepared than expected, continuing widespread and unpredictable strikes even after the killing of Ali Khamenei and other senior leaders in Israeli attacks aided by CIA intelligence, with the Donald Trump administration warning that additional American casualties are likely.
- Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, has become Iran’s new Supreme Leader after the killing of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei; considered more hardline and closely aligned with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), he is a secretive cleric who rarely appears in public but has long been trusted by his father and senior clerics, previously served during the Iran-Iraq war, and reportedly lost his wife Zahra in the same Israeli airstrike that killed his father.
- Video confirmed by the New York Times appears to show a U.S. Tomahawk missile striking near a girls’ primary school in Minab, southern Iran—an attack that reportedly killed around 170–180 people, mostly children; analysts say Israel does not possess Tomahawk missiles, while the U.S. does, contradicting Donald Trump’s claims that the United States is not responsible.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would not confirm the President’s claims:
- Six Democratic senators said they are “horrified” by a strike on a school in southern Iran that reportedly killed many children, citing analysis suggesting a possible U.S. missile and calling for a full investigation and answers from the Defense Department.
- Oil prices jumped more than 15% to around $100 per barrel as the Iran war disrupts shipments through the Strait of Hormuz and forces production cuts across the region, sending global stocks lower and prompting G-7 finance ministers to consider releasing strategic reserves to stabilize markets.
- Residents of Tehran described “apocalyptic” conditions after U.S.-Israeli airstrikes hit multiple oil depots and fuel facilities around the capital, sending thick black smoke across the city, raising fears of toxic air and acid rain, and triggering health issues, fuel shortages, rising prices, and panic as some residents attempted to flee while authorities urged people to stay indoors.
- Turkey says NATO intercepted a ballistic missile that entered its airspace from Iran, marking the second such incident since the Iran war began, while the U.S. has suspended consular services in southern Turkey and urged Americans in the region to leave due to security risks.
- The U.S. has advised non-essential personnel to leave its consulate in Adana, near a major NATO base, and urged American citizens to depart southeastern Türkiye due to security concerns, the U.S. Embassy in Ankara said.
- Sen. Lindsey Graham, a longtime ally of Donald Trump and known Iran hawk, urged Israel to be more “cautious” after it reportedly bombed about 30 Iranian fuel depots, signaling growing concern even among Trump’s hardline supporters about the widening war with Iran.
- According to Politico, G7 finance ministers are considering releasing 300–400 million barrels from strategic oil reserves to stabilize markets after oil prices surged above $100 per barrel due to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, though Donald Trump has downplayed the price spike as a temporary cost of eliminating Iran’s nuclear threat.
- With one of the smallest House majorities in nearly a century, Mike Johnson and GOP leaders must secure nearly every Republican vote to pass legislation, forcing members to rush back to Washington despite illness, family tragedies, or travel disruptions, as even a single absence could derail votes and threaten Republican control of the chamber.
- The FBI has secretly seized large amounts of election data from Arizona’s Maricopa County through a grand jury subpoena as part of a widening criminal probe into potential election irregularities, expanding an investigation that previously involved a ballot raid in Fulton County, Georgia. Donald Trump celebrated this news today:
- Hundreds of protesters gathered outside Jeffrey Epstein’s former Zorro Ranch in New Mexico on International Women’s Day to honor victims, rebuild a removed roadside memorial, and demand deeper investigations into alleged crimes at the property as state authorities reopen probes into Epstein’s criminal activities there. H/T Washington Eye:
- An NPR investigation found that Jeffrey Epstein used his wealth and connections to gain access to the Interlochen Center for the Arts, where he allegedly targeted and preyed on teenage girls, according to documents in the recently released Epstein files.
- Airports across the U.S. are experiencing hours-long security lines as a partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security leaves the Transportation Security Administration short-staffed, with some travelers waiting more than three hours and workers missing paychecks amid a political standoff over immigration funding.
- Politico has confirmed that Live Nation has reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice in a major antitrust case, agreeing to pay about $200 million to states, open parts of its Ticketmaster platform to rival ticket sellers like SeatGeek and Eventbrite, limit exclusive venue contracts to four years, divest more than 10 amphitheaters, and cap ticket service fees at 15%, ending a federal trial that alleged the company maintained an illegal monopoly over live events.
- According to the Wall Street Journal, Donald Trump has reportedly become obsessed with a $145 pair of leather Oxford dress shoes and has begun giving them to friends, advisers, and cabinet members as a kind of insider MAGA status symbol, with aides joking that “all the boys have them.”
- According to Reuters, Israeli airstrikes and tank shelling in Gaza killed six Palestinians—including two women, a girl, and a journalist—after a strike near crowded tent camps for displaced families and shelling in the Nuseirat camp, according to medics, while Israel said one strike targeted two Hamas members allegedly preparing an attack.
See you soon.
— Aaron
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