Saturday, March 14, 2026

The News Roundup – Domestic and International (The 1A) 2026-03-13

Domestic

Two weeks into the war with Iran, the United States has spent more than $10 billion dollars. The conflict has claimed the lives of more than 1,000 Iranians and seven American service members. Those numbers are likely to grow if there are boots on the ground, a possibility that Trump Administration officials refuse to rule out.

The president traveled to Kentucky and Ohio this week where he went on the defensive, justifying the increase in gas prices and touting the drop in drug prices.

Americans’ faith in the future of fair elections is at an all time low, according to new PBS/NPR/Marist poll.
Interview: 

International

Early findings from a Pentagon investigation indicate that the U.S. may be at fault for a missile strike on an Iranian school. That attack killed at least 175 children, teachers, and other staff.

Israel is widening strikes into Lebanon and threatening to invade the southern portion of the country. The Tehran-backed Hezbollah group has been sending missiles into Israel since the attacks on Iran began nearly two weeks ago. Lebanon is appealing to Israel’s allies to stop the campaign.

And as the world’s attention swings to Iran, how is Hamas regrouping in Gaza?
Interview: 

 


Catholic priest in Louisiana charged with child sexual abuse

Korey LaVergne, 37, of the Lafayette diocese, charged with three counts of felony indecent behavior with a juvenile…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/13/catholic-priest-louisiana-charged


 

Anti-ICE protesters accused of being part of antifa found guilty of support for terrorism in Texas

Case was seen as major test of the first amendment and whether the US could use broad anti-terrorism statute to prosecute leftwing protesters…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/13/texas-terrorism-trial


 

 

Pete Hegseth attacks media for not being positive enough about US attacks on Iran

US defense head is eager to frame operation as a success – and slam journalists for not portraying it in a positive light…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/13/pete-hegseth-iran-was-us-press


Lack of Iran war plan has unleashed chaos and could stymie US military for decades, say critics

White House contends with reality of shoddy preparations for war and unclear conditions for victory…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/13/goal-plan-iran-war-military


 

Carney joins European leaders in criticizing US easing of Russian oil sanctions - POLITICO

"The lifting of sanctions means that [Russia] will receive more money and there will be more drone attacks" in the Middle East, Zelenskyy said, standing alongside French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris... 

Carney joins European leaders in criticizing US easing of Russian oil sanctions politico.com

 

 
 

Republican farm bill criticized as agribusiness giveaway: ‘Pesticide industry wishlist’

Advocates say bill weakens safety reviews, boosts industry influence and shields pesticide makers from legal liability…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/12/republican-farm-bill-pesticide-environment


 

Data? What Data? | Paula Poundstone

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/us5ul-RB6xI

 

Court blocks probe of Fed Chair Jerome Powell, DOJ to appeal - POLITICO

"There is abundant evidence that the subpoenas' dominant (if not sole) purpose is to harass and pressure Powell either to yield to the President or to resign and make way for a Fed Chair who will," Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg wrote. "The Government has offered no evidence whatsoever that Powell committed any crime other than displeasing the President."…

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/13/court-blocks-dojs-probe-of-fed-chair-jerome-powell-00828448 


 



 

 

 

 

Hey MAGA! Shouldn't y'all be out there putting stickers of Trump on gas pumps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jgk0oEtpzYc

 

DOGE staffer who flagged grants for 'DEI' struggles to define the term

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpbGF7l-t2w

 

Hegseth, attacking press, declares victory is near amid ongoing Iran conflict - POLITICO

The Defense secretary gave little indication on how or when the war would end.

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/13/pete-hegseth-iran-war-cnn-attack-00827629 


 

Cuban president confirms talks with US officials amid Trump pressure - POLITICO

The Cuban government has been in talks with U.S. officials, President Miguel Díaz-Canel said on Friday, as the country works to stave off the threat of regime change brought on by the White House. 

But changes to Havana's political system are off-limits, Lianys Torres Rivera, Cuba's chief of mission in the United States, told POLITICO in an interview Friday...

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/13/cuba-us-trump-talks-00827682 


 

Gavin Newsom wants to hand Donald Trump his gasoline price problem - POLITICO

"Look at your cost at the pump the last few days: That was an act of the Trump administration," Newsom told reporters two days after the first U.S. strikes in Iran...

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/13/newsom-trump-iran-gas-prices-00823927


 

Trump's memecoin advertises new chance for investors to meet president at Mar-a-Lago - POLITICO

A company affiliated with President Donald Trump's eponymous memecoin is advertising plans to host a luncheon next month for the cryptocurrency token's top 297 investors with Trump himself...

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/12/trumps-memecoin-investors-get-a-second-chance-at-meeting-the-president-00827086 


 

One month later, White House and Democrats no closer to ending the DHS shutdown - POLITICO

"I'm hopeful that as you see these problems at the airports, that the public will start talking to Democrats," said Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.).  

But Democrats have a legislative rebuttal: Bills that would fully fund TSA and other parts of DHS that are casualties of the larger immigration standoff. Republicans have repeatedly objected over the last two weeks when Democrats asked for votes on those bills on the Senate floor. "

Who's standing in the way? America, look at it," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a floor speech Thursday. "We're not putting any preconditions on funding TSA; the Republicans are."…

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/13/democrats-republicans-dhs-shutdown-00827135 


 

The local special election sparking intrigue in Donald Trump’s backyard - POLITICO

Florida Democrats are trying to flip the Palm Beach state House district that includes Mar-a-Lago this month, in a race that could test President Donald Trump's Sunshine State influence and symbolically hit him on his home turf. 

A Democratic win on March 24 in the District 87 special election would embolden Florida's beleaguered Democratic Party ahead of the midterms and add to a string of recent nationwide victories and overperformances. After a slew of losses in recent cycles, Florida Democrats in particular have tried to show they can return the state to swing status and end the Legislature's GOP supermajority in November...

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/13/florida-special-election-palm-beach-00826611 


 

Democrats are trouncing Republicans in state elections since Trump took office - POLITICO

Democrats have flipped 28 Republican-held seats in state legislatures across the country over the past 14 months, a sign that the GOP is indeed at risk of losing control of the House, and maybe even the Senate, in the midterms...

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/12/dems-flip-28-state-legislature-seats-in-trump-2-0-00827125 


 

Vance was ‘skeptical’ voice in White House on Iran strikes - POLITICO

White House officials revealed that the vice president made his opposition known in the leadup…

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/13/jd-vance-skeptical-iran-operation-00826780 


 

Hegseth ignored military officials when he slashed offices that limit risk to civilians - POLITICO

The Defense secretary's decision to cut offices that mitigate civilian harm faces renewed attention as the Pentagon investigates a strike that killed hundreds of Iranian children...

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/13/military-leaders-warned-hegseth-not-to-gut-offices-that-limit-risk-to-civilians-00827722 


 

Republican lawmakers shrug at more funding for Iran war - POLITICO

Top Republicans say the White House hasn't made the case that it's facing any financial difficulties with the war, so don't feel pressure to boost the Pentagon's $1 trillion budget. And Democrats are unlikely to support the plan at all, which would make securing the votes to pass a supplemental package an uphill climb…

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/13/getting-congress-to-pay-for-the-iran-war-wont-be-an-easy-sell-00826757 


 

Trump: Iran war will end when I ‘feel it in my bones’ - POLITICO

Trump told Fox News Radio that he didn't think the war "would be long." But he suggested that only he will know when it will be over, saying the conflict will end "when I feel it, feel it in my bones."…

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/13/trump-iran-war-ending-timeline-00828138 


 

‘Oh, boy’: Oil industry frets over Trump's profit-minded Iran post - POLITICO

"The interesting thing about Trump's statement is that he inadvertently stated a belief that a lot of people have — that something like this happens and the oil companies will make a lot of money," Mizruchi said. "It probably didn't occur to him that people — including in the industry — weren't happy about that" statement...

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/13/oil-iran-trump-price-messaging-00826428 


 

Del Monte collapse leaves California peach growers stranded. ‘No place else to go

https://youtube.com/shorts/cKCUO8DyoWI?si=jP4yKToKMbD-Uh8E

Trump Got To Name The War | Tankers On Fire | Hegseth's Insecurity | 'Sq...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQZRMZOnTJQ

 

US temporarily lifts sanctions on Russian oil at sea as Iran war sees global prices surge

Trump administration announces 30-day waiver on Russian oil stranded at sea as concerns over US-Israel war on Iran unsettles markets…


 

Mining’s toxic timebomb: dams full of poisonous waste are dotted around the world. What happens when they burst?

While tailings dams are meant to last for ever, extreme weather events are making many unstable – with devastating consequences for nature and humans…

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/mar/13/minings-toxic-timebomb-dams-full-of-poisonous-waste-are-dotted-around-the-world-what-happens-when-they-burst-aoe


 

Israeli military drops charges against soldiers accused of Gaza detainee abuse

Israel's top military lawyer has dropped all charges against five soldiers accused of the violent abuse and rape of a Palestinian detainee from Gaza...

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/12/israeli-military-top-lawyer-drops-charges-soldiers-palestinian-detainee-abuse-gaza


 

Four crew confirmed dead after US military plane crash in Iraq

Rescue efforts continue for remaining two crew members from refuelling plane that crashed in western desert…

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/12/us-military-aircraft-iraq-crash


 

Kill line v Chinamaxxing

In China, one social media trend hangs on the idea that a life in the US is always one step from disaster, while another in the US has gen Z revelling in Chinese lifestyle hacks…

https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2026/mar/13/chinamaxxing-social-media-trend-gen-z-china-us


 

Political Experts React to Trump’s INSANE New Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rM5m7Q1dj3w

 

Do we want to keep fixing the same issue? Unlearned lessons from the first big oil crisis

As energy prices tripled in the 1970s due to Middle Eastern wars, Scandinavia, France and the Netherlands sped up green transition…


 

Blistering early-season heatwave threatens California and other western states

Records could be smashed in southern California as experts warn weather set to be 'exceptional – and not in a good way'…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/12/california-heatwave


 

Middle East war creating ‘largest supply disruption in the history of oil markets’

Vast release of emergency crude reserves fails to quell mounting fears about supply crunch, rattling markets…

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/mar/12/middle-east-war-creating-largest-supply-disruption-in-the-history-of-oil-markets


 

Iran vows to fight on in first message issued in name of Mojtaba Khamenei

Tehran will keep strait of Hormuz closed and continue attacks on US assets, speech read out on state TV says…

 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/12/iran-vows-to-fight-on-in-first-message-issued-in-name-of-mojtaba-khamenei


Donald the Brave | Paula Poundstone

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/CWWpWXtaiic

 








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