Today’s Headlines: Trump held a two-hour cabinet meeting yesterday dedicated largely to his Sharpie, his ballroom renovation, and claiming Iran is "begging" for a deal while insisting he's definitely not desperate for one. He then paused strikes on Iranian energy plants until April 6th, privately told advisors he wants the war wrapped in four to six weeks, and the Pentagon simultaneously floated sending 10,000 more ground troops. Israel killed Iran's navy commander — the architect of the Strait of Hormuz blockade. And the USPS announced a 7% fuel surcharge on packages, citing the Iran war. The cost of this conflict is now literally showing up in your shipping rates. In wannabe king news, Trump announced he'd sign an executive order to pay TSA workers — something he could have done at any point instead of using their paychecks as leverage. He's also eyeing the White House Treaty Room as a potential bedroom. And his signature will begin appearing on U.S. currency in June, ending a 165-year tradition, to mark America's 250th birthday. At CPAC, Deputy AG Todd Blanche boasted that Kash Patel has purged everyone involved in Trump's prosecution from the FBI, endorsed the view that all executive branch employees work directly for Trump, and floated having ICE agents show up at polling locations on Election Day. The DOJ settled with Michael Flynn for $1.25 million — for the crimes he pleaded guilty to — while the Miami Herald reported that bags of shredded documents were found outside the jail where Epstein died days after his death, the FBI closed the inquiry and an anonymous letter to a federal judge alleged a coverup. The DOJ also issued two new criminal referrals against New York AG Letitia James, this time for homeowners insurance fraud, based largely on social media posts from a Trump ally. Tomorrow is the third round of No Kings protests — 3,000+ events nationwide, with Bruce Springsteen, Joan Baez, Jane Fonda, and Bernie Sanders headlining the flagship rally in Minnesota.

Resources/Articles mentioned in this episode:

AP News: Trump interrupts a Cabinet meeting dealing with the Iran war and rising prices to talk Sharpies

WSJ: Trump Tells Aides He Wants Speedy End to Iran War

WSJ: Exclusive: Pentagon Weighs Sending Another 10,000 Ground Troops to the Middle East

The Guardian: IRGC naval commander killed in Israeli strike was hardliner who understood power of strait of Hormuz

WVTM: USPS seeks a temporary 8% charge on Priority Mail and other products to offset transportation costs

NBC News: Trump says he will order DHS to 'immediately' pay TSA officers as partial shutdown drags on

NYT: Trump Eyes White House Treaty Room for Latest Renovation Project

Reuters: Exclusive: Trump signature to appear on US currency, ending 165-year tradition

NYT: Trump Calls for Law Cracking Down on Crime and ‘Rogue Judges’

The Hill: Blanche boasts of having ‘cleaned house’ at DOJ, FBI following Trump prosecutions

NYT: Justice Dept. Settles Flynn’s Wrongful Prosecution Suit for $1.25 Million

Miami Herald: Bags of documents shredded after Epstein’s death at NY jail

NBC News: Trump housing official seeks new DOJ prosecution of Letitia James

KARE 11: 'No Kings' rally set for St. Paul with Joan Baez, Jane Fonda, Maggie Rogers and Bruce Springsteen

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Today’s Headlines: A Los Angeles jury found Meta and YouTube liable for a user's social media addiction — the first verdict of its kind — awarding $6 million in damages for negligently designing platforms to be addictive despite knowing the harm. Meta 70% liable, YouTube 30%. Both stocks went up anyway. With 2,000 pending related lawsuits and a separate New Mexico jury ordering Meta to pay $375 million for enabling child exploitation, this may be the Big Tobacco moment for social media — or the beginning of a very long appeals process. Probably both. Day 27 of the Iran war: Trump deployed 2,000-3,000 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne while telling reporters "we've won this war." Iran rejected his 15-point peace proposal as "extremely maximalist and unreasonable" — their counteroffer included war reparations and permanent sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz. Not close. Rubio told Congress the U.S. may need to physically enter Iran to secure nuclear material. NBC News reported Trump's daily war briefing is a two-minute explosion montage, which explains a lot. TSA is at 450 resignations, callout rates above 40%, no funding deal in sight. Epstein's accountant — who managed his finances for decades, opened bank accounts for victims, organized their housing, and appeared on shell companies used to move money — testified the FBI and DOJ never once interviewed him during their "exhaustive" investigation. French prosecutors raided a Rothschild bank in Paris in a separate Epstein probe involving a diplomat who allegedly passed UN Security Council material to Epstein. Newly released Jack Smith memos state Trump had a business motive for retaining classified documents, one of which only six people in the U.S. government were authorized to see. Finally, Melania hosted a global summit on children and technology, arrived with a humanoid robot, and suggested AI could be "the educators of the future." Ok. 

Resources/Articles mentioned in this episode:

CNBC: Jury in Los Angeles finds Meta, YouTube negligent in social media addiction trial

NPR: Iran rejects Trump's proposal to end the war and lays out 5 conditions

Axios: White House downplays reports Iran rejected Trump peace proposal

NBC News: Inside Trump's daily video montage briefing on the Iran war

Axios: TSA staffing crisis escalates as agents quit, stay home

Oversight Committee: Oversight Committee Releases Richard Kahn and Darren Indyke Deposition Videos

AP News: French authorities search Paris arm of Swiss bank Edmond de Rothschild in Epstein-linked probe

MS Now: Trump appeared to have business motive for keeping classified documents, Jack Smith finds

Axios: Republican Sen. Rick Scott sues Booz Allen over leaked tax returns

NYT: Melania Trump Appears With a Robot, Saying More Children Should Be Educated by Them

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Today’s Headlines: The DHS shutdown is now an explicit ransom situation. Trump won't reopen it — or pay TSA workers — until Democrats support the SAVE Act, his voter restriction bill that would ban most mail-in voting and require a passport or birth certificate to register. He rejected a bipartisan fix. He also voted by mail yesterday in a Florida special election his party lost. Steve Bannon called ICE agents at airports "a test run for the 2026 elections," which is the part you're supposed to notice. A California sheriff running for governor also seized 656,000 ballots from last year's redistricting election claiming fraud — officials say the actual discrepancy was 103 votes. Markwayne Mullin was confirmed as DHS Secretary 54-45, Rand Paul the only Republican no vote, Fetterman voting yes. Delta revoked all congressional airport perks until the shutdown ends — the lawmakers who created the TSA crisis now wait in the same lines. The NTSB investigator sent to the LaGuardia crash was stuck in a TSA line for hours getting there. On day 25 of the Iran war, Pakistan is emerging as the leading host for peace talks, with JD Vance as likely U.S. negotiator — because Iran refused to meet with Kushner and Witkoff, which tracks. The Times reported MBS has been privately urging Trump to intensify the war, calling it a "historic opportunity," and suggesting U.S. ground troops seize Iranian energy infrastructure. Trump confirmed it unprompted, calling MBS "a warrior." Meanwhile Kushner's firm Affinity Partners — backed almost entirely by Saudi, UAE, and Qatari sovereign wealth — grew from $3 billion to $6.2 billion since he left the White House, tracking his deepening foreign policy role almost perfectly. He also quietly reversed his pledge to stop fundraising. OpenAI shut down Sora six months after launch — downloads down 45%, a $1 billion Disney deal collapsed before any money changed hands. The official reason is "compute resources," which is what you say when your product turned out to be deeply unsettling and nobody wanted to keep using it.

Resources/Articles mentioned in this episode: 

CNN: Trump casts a mail-in ballot in Florida special election as he tries to sharply limit absentee voting

The Hill: Trump tells lawmakers ‘don’t worry about Easter’ to force vote on DHS, SAVE Act 

The Guardian: California sheriff running for governor seizes over 650,000 ballots from 2025 election 

CNN: Chad Bianco: Riverside County, California, sheriff seizes more than a half million ballots from 2025 election

CNBC: Senate confirms Markwayne Mullin as next DHS secretary

CNBC: Delta suspends 'specialty services' perk for members of Congress, cites DHS shutdown

NPR: Trump declares victory and claims Iran offers a 'prize' in talks Iran has denied having

AlJazeera: Pakistan ‘ready to host US-Iran talks’: But can latest peace push work?

NYT: Saudi Leader Is Said to Push Trump to Continue Iran War in Recent Calls 

Bloomberg: Kushner’s Affinity Partners Assets Surge to $6.2 Billion on Mideast Backing

Axios: OpenAI will shutter Sora video app

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Today’s Headlines: A fatal collision at LaGuardia killed both pilots of an Air Canada flight after a fire truck crossed the runway and hit the plane on landing. Nine passengers remain hospitalized. The NTSB is investigating, but context matters: the tower was understaffed, TSA agents are six weeks without pay, hundreds have quit, and half the nation's busiest airports had more than a third of agents call out Saturday. Trump blocked a bipartisan fix because he won't sign anything without his unrelated voter restriction bill, and deployed ICE agents to airports instead. Newark's tower was also evacuated Monday.  On day 24 of the Iran war, Trump announced he was postponing threatened strikes on Iranian power plants, citing "very good conversations" — which Iran immediately said never happened. More notable: oil futures spiked unusually about 15 minutes before Trump posted the announcement. Iran said the war continues until it receives full compensation. Israel launched an "unprecedented" wave of overnight strikes anyway. The IEA said the energy crisis is now worse than the 1970s oil shock and 2022 Ukraine crisis combined. Gas hit $3.96 nationally, with Goldman Sachs projecting elevated prices through 2027. Elsewhere: a federal judge ruled the Pentagon's press policy unconstitutional, so the Pentagon moved its press office outside the building and required military escorts for journalists. The Supreme Court signaled skepticism toward mail-in ballot grace periods in a case that could affect 14 states plus DC — five months before midterms. A DOGE-gutted IRS developed a "technical glitch" that made $51 million in political donations invisible. Trump sued Harvard over antisemitism. Four Jewish ambulances were torched outside a London synagogue by an Iran-linked group. And Russian intelligence reportedly proposed a staged assassination attempt on Hungary's Orbán to boost his flagging poll numbers ahead of April 12th elections.

Resources/Articles mentioned in this episode:

The Atlantic: American Aviation Is Near Collapse - The Atlantic

NPR: LaGuardia reopens after the crash that killed 2 and hurt dozens. Here's what to know

CNBC: ICE deployed to some U.S. airports as long security lines persist during partial shutdown

CNBC: Volume in stock, oil futures surged minutes before Trump's market-turning post

CNN: Live updates: Iran war news, Trump delays strikes on Iranian power plants after ‘very good’ talks with Tehran

NPR: U.S. judge rules against Pentagon restrictions on press coverage

THe Guardian: IRS glitch masked $51m in political donations, finance watchdog says | Trump administration

NYT: Trump Administration Sues Harvard Over Accusations of Antisemitism

NBC News: Jewish volunteer ambulances set on fire in London in apparent antisemitic attack

WaPo: To tilt Hungarian election, Russians proposed staging assassination attempt

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Today’s Headlines: Week four of the Iran war and it’s giving WW3 vibes. Trump gave Iran a 48-hour ultimatum to open the Strait of Hormuz or face bombed power plants; Iran responded by threatening to close the Strait entirely and launched two intermediate-range ballistic missiles at a shared U.S.-UK base in the Indian Ocean — over 2,000 miles away, farther than Iran was previously believed capable of reaching. Iran also struck Israel's main nuclear research center this weekend, and Saudi Arabia expelled Iran's military attaché and embassy staff after Iranian strikes hit their country. Trump then posted that Iran is "dead" and pivoted immediately to attacking Democrats.  At home, TSA workers are entering week five without pay — over 350 have already quit, airport security lines have hit five hours in some cities — and Senate Republicans voted down a bill that would have funded their salaries, 49-41. Trump's solution is to deploy ICE agents to airports instead. Elon Musk offered to personally pay TSA workers' salaries, which conveniently dropped the same day a California jury found him liable for defrauding Twitter shareholders when he acquired the company for $44 billion. Damages could reach $2.6 billion. Trump's special envoy Paolo Zampolli — the man who allegedly introduced Donald and Melania — was exposed by the New York Times for calling in a favor to ICE to have his ex-girlfriend, the mother of his child, detained and deported while they were in a custody battle. She arrived in the U.S. on Jeffrey Epstein's plane in 2002, when she was 17. Zampolli was 32 when they met. In media consolidation news, The FCC approved a $6.2 billion merger between Nexstar and Tegna, waiving federal ownership limits to let one company control local news for 60% of U.S. households — eight state attorneys general immediately sued. Nevada temporarily banned Kalshi from offering sports and election betting until it gets proper gambling licenses. And Trump celebrated the death of Robert Mueller on social media, writing "Good. I'm glad he's dead."

Resources/Articles mentioned in this episode:

AP News: Iran threatens to 'completely' close Strait of Hormuz and hit power plants after Trump ultimatum

CNN: Iran launched missiles at US-UK military base in the Indian Ocean. Here’s what that says about its capabilities

WSJ: Saudi Arabia Expels Iranian Embassy Staff

Axios: Trump to deploy ICE agents to airports Monday

The Hill: Republicans reject Democrats’ effort to pay TSA by suspending Senate rules

Axios: Musk offers to pay TSA salaries, as Trump floats ICE at airports

CNBC: Elon Musk misled Twitter investors ahead of $44 billion acquisition, jury says

NYT: Trump Friend Asked ICE to Detain the Mother of His Child

NBC News: 8 states file emergency motion to block Nexstar-Tegna merger after FCC approval

WSJ: Nevada Wins Temporary Ban on Sports Betting on Kalshi

NYT: Trump’s Reaction to Mueller’s Death: ‘Good, I’m Glad.’

Subscribe to the Betches News Room and join the Morning Announcements group chat. Go to: ⁠⁠⁠betchesnews.substack.com

Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson

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Today’s Headlines: The Iran war's bill just got a lot bigger — the Pentagon is asking Congress for $200 billion, on top of the $12 billion already spent, while Trump insists he's "not putting troops anywhere" in a statement that inspired exactly zero confidence. Israel struck the South Pars Gas Field — the largest natural gas field in the world, shared by Iran and Qatar — damaging Qatari energy infrastructure, hitting an American F-35, and triggering retaliatory Iranian strikes across the region. Trump posted that the U.S. "knew nothing" about the attack, Israel immediately said that wasn't true, then Trump said he'd actually warned them not to do it — so he did know — and then threatened to blow up the entire gas field himself if Iran touches Qatar. Oil and gas prices climbed further, the stock market dropped, and seven allies — the UK, Japan, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, and one more — announced they'd help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Trump accepted graciously by screaming in all caps that he doesn't need anyone's help. Also, Trump told Japan's prime minister "who knows better about surprise than Japan, why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor" — an actual thing he said out loud. Elsewhere in global chaos: Hungary's Viktor Orban blocked a $100 billion EU loan to Ukraine, potentially threatening the country's ability to keep its government running. Canada announced it's building its own sovereign space program to reduce dependence on Starlink. Two Iranian citizens were charged in the UK with spying on Jewish institutions on behalf of Iranian intelligence. And in one of the most cold-blooded moves yet, the U.S. State Department is reportedly considering withholding HIV medication from 1.3 million people in Zambia as leverage to extract a minerals deal — because apparently that's a negotiating tactic now. Markwayne Mullin's DHS nomination cleared committee 8-7, with Rand Paul voting no and John Fetterman voting yes, because nothing means anything anymore. Full Senate vote is next, outcome predictable.

Resources/Articles mentioned in this episode:

NYT: Pentagon Seeks Additional $200 Billion to Fund Iran War

NYT: Israeli Officials Said U.S. Was Told About South Pars Attack

Axios: After Tehran strikes, Trump says Israel won't attack Iran gas fields anymore

Axios: Seven U.S. allies back potential Strait of Hormuz coalition

NBC News: Trump makes Pearl Harbor joke during meeting with Japanese prime minister

NYT: 2 Men Charged With Spying for Iran on Jewish Institutions in UK

WSJ: Ukraine Suffers Money Setback After Hungary Blocks $100 Billion From Europe

NYT: Canada Takes Its Sovereignty Push to Space

NYT: U.S. Considers Withholding H.I.V. Aid Unless Zambia Expands Minerals Access

AP News: Mullin's DHS nomination advances to full Senate despite opposition from Republican Rand Paul

Subscribe to the Betches News Room and join the Morning Announcements group chat. Go to: ⁠⁠⁠betchesnews.substack.com

Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson

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Today’s Headlines: Russia is having a great week. It's sharing satellite imagery, intelligence, and drone technology with Iran, sending a tanker of 700,000 barrels of crude to Cuba in direct defiance of the U.S. blockade, and watching oil approach $110 a barrel. Israel assassinated Iran's intelligence minister, Iran's new Supreme Leader vowed revenge, and the IDF is still running wide-scale strikes across Iran and southern Lebanon. The Fed announced no interest rate cuts this month — or likely this year — because starting a war with no plan tends to complicate things. Gas nationally jumped nearly a dollar a gallon in under four weeks, wholesale food prices hit their biggest spike in a year, and that's before oil prices fully filter through to grocery shelves. Trump's solution is to quietly waive sanctions on Venezuelan, Russian, and Iranian oil — the sanctions he spent years bragging about. On Capitol Hill, Tulsi Gabbard testified at the Worldwide Threats Hearing and managed to both defend the war and confirm that Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, and Pakistan are jointly developing nuclear missile systems targeting the U.S. homeland — apparently without noticing the tension there. She declined to confirm Russia is arming Iran, even as it's actively happening. Markwayne Mullin's DHS confirmation hearing got contentious, with Rand Paul making clear he's a no. The Fed held rates steady and basically told Trump to stop asking. In a bombshell report, the New York Times published allegations from more than 60 sources — including civil rights icon and UFW co-founder Dolores Huerta — that labor hero Cesar Chavez groomed and sexually abused girls as young as 12 within the movement. Huerta, now 95, said the abuse led to the birth of two children she placed for adoption, and that she stayed silent for 60 years knowing she would be pushed out of the movement she helped build. Her statement is devastating and worth reading in full. And Meta shut down Horizon Worlds — its virtual reality social network that almost no one used and that cost the company a reported $77 billion.

Resources/Articles mentioned in this episode:

Bloomberg: Cuba’s Worst Fuel Crisis in Decades May Get Relief From Russia

WSJ: Russia Is Sharing Satellite Imagery and Drone Technology With Iran 

CNBC: Israel says it has killed Iran’s intelligence minister in third assassination in two days

NBC News: Tulsi Gabbard in spotlight after top official resigns in protest over Iran war

The Hill: CIA director confirms Iran seeking intelligence support from Russia, China

NBC News: Live updates: Senators clash with Trump's homeland security pick; intel officials testify on top threats

CNBC: The Fed issues its latest interest rate decision Wednesday. Here's what to expect

WSJ: Oil Rises After Israel Strikes Iran Gas Field and Tehran Hits Qatar Fuel Hub

AP News: US wholesale prices rose by a surprisingly hot 3.4% last month, the most in a year

AP News: US eases Venezuela oil sanctions as Trump seeks to boost world oil supply during Iran war

NYT: Cesar Chavez, a Civil Rights Icon, Is Accused of Abusing Girls for Years

NYT: Dolores Huerta Issues Statement on Cesar Chavez Sexual Abuse Allegations

CNBC:  Meta is shutting down VR social platform Horizon Worlds in further pivot away from the metaverse 

Subscribe to the Betches News Room and join the Morning Announcements group chat. Go to: ⁠⁠⁠betchesnews.substack.com

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Today’s Headlines: The Iran war claimed a notable casualty on the home front: Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, resigned and posted his letter on Twitter, writing that Iran posed no imminent threat and the war was started due to pressure from Israel's lobby. He's no hero — Kent is a MAGA loyalist with his own troubling associations — but when someone who could defend virtually everything else this administration has done draws a line here, that says something about how broadly unpopular this war has become. Meanwhile, Israel killed two of Iran's most senior remaining officials overnight, including the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, while continuing wide-scale strikes in Iran and southern Lebanon. Trump spent St. Patrick's Day in the Oval Office with Ireland's prime minister, alternating between insisting the U.S. doesn't need NATO's help and complaining it was "very unfair" that no one offered to send minesweepers. Cuba is now on the radar — Trump mused about "taking Cuba in some form" while his administration cut off the island's oil supply, triggering a nationwide blackout. He said he can do "anything he wants" with Cuba. Elsewhere in the circus: Trump appointed Erika Kirk — of Summer House — to the U.S. Air Force Academy's Board of Visitors, a formal congressional oversight body. In other news, Peter Thiel is in Rome giving private lectures warning about the Antichrist, and the Vatican is…not pleased. A former Kansas City pastor was suspended after it emerged she managed Epstein's private island in 2018-2019 and listed different employment on her resume. AG Pam Bondi was formally subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee to testify about her handling of the Epstein files, with an appearance ordered for April 14th. And finally, the SEC is floating a proposal to cut public company earnings reports from quarterly to twice a year — still TBD, but worth watching and preliminary Illinois primary results. 

Resources/Articles mentioned in this episode:

AP News: Top counterterrorism official Joe Kent resigns over Trump's Iran war

NYT: Trump Appointee Pressed Analyst to Redo Intelligence on Venezuelan Gang

The Independent: Trump rants US doesn’t need any help in Iran war and ‘never did’

AP News: Iran launches barrage of missiles after Israel kills 2 of its top officials

CNN: Trump muses over ‘taking Cuba’ as island’s power grid collapses after weeks of US oil blockade

Military: Erika Kirk And The Air Force Academy Board: What The Appointment Reveals About The Panel

CNN: Peter Thiel’s secret lectures on Antichrist in Rome spark debate

FOX 4: Former KC-area pastor suspended after church learns she managed Epstein’s private island

AP News: Attorney General Pam Bondi subpoenaed to answer questions from Congress about the Epstein files

WSJ: SEC Prepares Proposal to Eliminate Quarterly Reporting Requirement

NBC: Illinois Senate Primary Election 2026 Live Results

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Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson

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Today’s Headlines: Four weeks in, the Iran war is getting more expensive, more chaotic, and more geopolitically cursed by the day. The US has lost 13 service members and spent $12 billion — and according to U.S. intelligence, Iran's regime is not only still standing but consolidating power and getting more hardline. Iran struck Dubai's international airport and the UAE's biggest oil terminal over the weekend, gas hit $4.99 a gallon, and the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed to American and Israeli ships — while Iran pockets an estimated $140 million a day selling oil at inflated prices to everyone else. And of course, two of the US Navy's three minesweeper ships were docked in Malaysia this weekend, and the third is MIA.  Israel meanwhile launched a new ground invasion into southern Lebanon against Hezbollah, with its military preparing for at least three more weeks of operations. Trump postponed his China summit, complained that China should be "thanking" the US for the war we started, and alternated between bragging we don't need any of our friends but also demanding our friends send warships. Jared Kushner was also in the region — not for diplomacy, but reportedly fundraising $5 billion for his investment firm from Saudi Arabia and Qatar. On the Epstein beat: Bank of America settled a lawsuit from a woman who alleged the bank maintained ties to Epstein and failed to flag suspicious activity. The House Oversight Committee is calling the prison guard who was on duty the night Epstein died to testify on March 26th — records show she was asleep and googling Epstein news shortly before his body was found. Harvard students and faculty filed a formal proposal to remove Les Wexner's name from campus buildings. And a federal judge in Massachusetts blocked RFK Jr.'s childhood vaccine schedule overhaul and froze his newly appointed CDC advisory committee members — a rare, clean win.

Resources/Articles mentioned in this episode:

WaPo: U.S. intelligence says Iran’s regime is consolidating power

BBC: Iran hits key UAE oil port and Dubai airport

Financial Times: Iran earns oil windfall as US turns blind eye

Financial Times: US diesel prices soar to almost $5 as Iran war pinches global supplies

Business Insider: 2 of the US' 3 mine-hunting ships assigned to the Middle East were just seen in Asia

NYT: Iran War Live Updates: Trump Pressures China and NATO Countries to Help Open Strait of Hormuz

WaPo: Trump-Xi summit delayed as U.S. president pushes China to help open Hormuz

Politico: Iran says Russia and China providing ‘military cooperation’

WSJ: China Resumes Military Flights Around Taiwan After Sudden 10-Day Hiatus

Time: How an Israeli Ground Invasion of Lebanon Could Unfold 

NYT: Entering War’s Third Week, Trump Faces Stark Choices

NYT: Jared Kushner Solicits Funds for His Firm While Working as Mideast Envoy

WSJ: Bank of America Agrees to Settle Lawsuit Over Jeffrey Epstein Ties, U.S. Court Says

NBC News: House Oversight Committee seeks testimony from prison guard on duty when Jeffrey Epstein died

The Crimson: Harvard Kennedy School Faculty, Students File Denaming Proposal for Wexner Building

NBC News: Federal judge blocks RFK Jr.'s changes to childhood vaccine schedule

PBS: What to expect in the Illinois state primary

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Today’s Headlines: Three weeks into the Iran "excursion" — Trump's word, not ours — and there's no end in sight. Trump claimed Iran asked for a ceasefire; Iran said that didn't happen. Either way, 5,000 more marines and three more warships are headed to the region, joining the 50,000 U.S. troops already there. Oil is stuck at $100 a barrel, every country Trump asked to help escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz said no, and the U.S. bombed Iran's Kharg Island oil hub — which Trump said he might hit "a few more times just for fun," as one does. Iran fired a missile at an Italian base in Iraq's Kurdistan region, a drone killed a French soldier in the same area, and Emmanuel Macron had to call Tehran to say that's unacceptable. At home, a federal judge blocked the DOJ's attempt to criminally investigate Fed Chair Jerome Powell, ruling it was a pretext to pressure the Fed on interest rates — the Trump administration is appealing. The FCC chair threatened to pull local TV licenses over Iran war coverage he doesn't like, and Trump threatened media outlets on social media for the same reason. Neither has real teeth yet, but that's sort of the point. Meanwhile, a viral six-hour deposition of two former DOGE employees revealed they used ChatGPT to identify 1,400 grants to cut — including ones for Black civil rights documentaries and Holocaust research — with zero government or academic experience between them. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration will collect a $10 billion fee from the TikTok deal — on an app valued at roughly $14 billion total. Palantir's CEO went on CNBC to brag that his AI will shift economic power away from educated women who vote Democratic. Kash Patel announced the FBI will now train with UFC fighters. Marco Rubio is on the witness list in his close friend's federal trial for acting as an unregistered foreign agent of Venezuela. A Florida Democrat won the Boca Raton mayoral race by one vote, and the Republican loser said he'd "sleep on" whether to accept the results. And a UCLA study found that diverse film casts outperform at the box office — which landed the same weekend the Oscars completely snubbed Sinners.

Resources/Articles mentioned in this episode:

The Guardian: Middle East crisis live: Israel says it has launched ‘extensive strikes’ on Iran as Trump says US ‘not ready’ to make a deal to end war

NYT: More Marines and Warships Being Sent to Middle East, U.S. Officials Say

Reuters: Airstrike on Italian base in Iraq was deliberate, defence minister says

Bloomberg: Oil Erases Gains as Traders Gauge Supply Impact of Kharg Attack

CNBC: Iran sends millions of oil barrels to China through Strait of Hormuz even as war chokes the waterway

The Sun: Russians ‘forced to use walkie-talkies and paper maps’ after Putin’s internet blackout as Kremlin intensifies crackdown

CNN: FCC chair threatens TV networks amid Iran war coverage — but his warning rings hollow

Politico: Court blocks probe of Fed Chair Jerome Powell, DOJ to appeal

WSJ: Trump Administration Set to Receive $10 Billion Fee for Brokering TikTok Deal

The New Republic: Palantir CEO Makes Shocking Confession on Disrupting Democratic Power

404 Media: I Watched 6 Hours of DOGE Bro Testimony. Here's What They Had to Say For Themselves

Deadline: Kash Patel Confirms UFC Fighters Will Train FBI Agents: "Historic Opportunity"

Vanity Fair: Marco Rubio’s Florida Bestie Is an Accused ‘Foreign Agent’ Set to Go on Trial— With Rubio On the Witness List

Palm Beach Post: Recount makes Andy Thomson new Boca mayor. Liebelson may fight result

Variety: Audiences Prefer Films With Diverse Casts, UCLA Study Finds

Subscribe to the Betches News Room and join the Morning Announcements group chat. Go to: ⁠⁠⁠betchesnews.substack.com

Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices