In an exclusive interview with CBS News Saturday, Federal Communications Chair Brendan Carr doubled down on his warning that broadcast licenses could be revoked amid President Trump’s criticisms of media coverage of the war in Iran.
“People have gotten used to the idea that, you know, licenses are some sort of property right, and there’s nothing you can do that can result in losing their license,” Carr told CBS News. “I try to sort of help reorient people that, no, there is a public interest, and broadcast is different.”
Earlier Saturday, Carr wrote in an X post that “broadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions – also known as the fake news – have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up. The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not.”
Carr posted the message in response to Mr. Trump’s Truth Social post slamming media coverage of an attack on U.S. air tankers in Saudi Arabia.
“Four of the five had virtually no damage, and are already back in service,” Mr. Trump wrote. “None were destroyed, or close to that, as the Fake News said in headlines.”
In his post, Mr. Trump specifically criticized newspaper outlets The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, but the president has often criticized broadcast TV news outlets, claiming negative coverage and suggesting some have their licenses revoked.
Critics immediately pounced on Carr’s post from Saturday.
“Constitutional law 101: it’s illegal for the government to censor free speech it just doesn’t like about Trump’s Iran war,” Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts wrote on social media in response.
“This is the federal government telling news stations to provide favorable coverage of the war or their licenses will be revoked. A truly extraordinary moment,” Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut wrote.
“All broadcasters should, you know, feel entirely free to do all of their reporting,” Carr told CBS News, as long as they’re not engaging in “news distortion.”
“Everyone that complies with the terms of the licenses should feel, you know, very comfortable,” Carr said. “Anyone that doesn’t like, you know, the contours of the licenses, they’re fine to take it to cable or to a streaming service, or to turn the license in and do it a different way. But, you know, there is something unique about being on the broadcast airwaves.”
The FCC, an independent agency, issues eight-year licenses to individual broadcast stations, many of which are owned and operated by television networks. It does not license TV networks such as CBS, NBC, ABC or Fox.
The FCC’s authority over content standards is limited to over-the-air broadcasts on television and radio, but not other forms of programming, such as cable networks or streaming platforms.
“Over-the-air broadcasts by local TV and radio stations are subject to certain speech restraints, but speech transmitted by cable or satellite TV systems generally is not,” the FCC’s website states. “The FCC does not regulate online content.”
Carr added there was no imminent effort to reassess broadcast licenses, but pointed to ongoing investigations which could serve as a reason to call for early license renewal. Specifically, Carr gave two examples, including an FCC investigation into ABC’s “The View” over the equal time rule, and a probe into Comcast and its subsidiary, NBC Universal, over diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
Last month, Stephen Colbert, host of “The Late Show” on CBS, criticized the network, alleging an interview he conducted with U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico was blocked from airing over fears it violated the equal time rule. The interview was not broadcast, but was posted online.
In a statement, CBS countered that the Late Show “was not prohibited by CBS from broadcasting the interview, but that “the show was provided legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal-time rule for two other candidates, including Rep. Jasmine Crockett, and presented options for how the equal time for other candidates could be fulfilled. THE LATE SHOW decided to present the interview through its YouTube channel with on-air promotion on the broadcast rather than potentially providing the equal-time options.”
Under the equal-time rule, an FCC-licensed broadcaster that lets a political candidate appear on its airwaves must also offer “equal opportunities” to all other candidates running for the same office.
Broadcast TV licenses are up for renewal as early as June 2028 in a handful of states, with rolling dates thereafter through August 2031, according to the FCC’s website.
The Trump administration is also set to consider mega mergers that will likely reshape the television industry. Last month, Mr. Trump appeared to support the $6.2 billion purchase of Tegna by the Nexstar Media Group. Carr has also signaled his support for the deal as the FCC moves closer to weighing in on the merger.
The FCC and the Justice Department will also have to consider the $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by CBS News parent company Paramount Skydance.
Mr. Carr praised Mr. Trump for “fundamentally reshaping the entire media landscape,” but “at the same time, there’s more change that needs to happen.”
“It used to be there was a good balance between the local TV stations and the national programs,” he told CBS News. “So if there was some stuff that the national programs were running that the local TV stations didn’t think was a good fit for the community, they would pre-empt, they would push back.”
Carr went on: “And it’s just been lost. And now, it’s just, basically, the license TV stations are effectively just mouthpieces for the programming coming from, no disrespect, Hollywood and New York.”
Carr kickstarted a cascade of controversy on Sept. 17, 2025, when in an interview he criticized remarks made by late-night host Jimmy Kimmel about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk as “some of the sickest conduct possible,” and said there was a “path forward for suspension over this.”
“The FCC is going to have remedies we could look at,” he said at the time.
Later that same day, ABC announced it had suspended the show “indefinitely,” while media giants Nexstar and Sinclair said they were pulling the show.
The S&P 500 is only down 3% so far this year and 5% off its all-time high, still far from reaching bear market territory or even a correction, suggesting investors aren’t panicking yet about the U.S.-Israel war on Iran. But that could change soon.
To be sure, oil prices have soared more than 40% since the war began two weeks ago and are up nearly 70% year to date. But they remain below the peak seen after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, despite one-fifth of the world’s oil supplies being bottled up by Iran’s de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
“The end is not in sight,” Dan Alamariu, chief geopolitical strategist at Alpine Macro, said in a note Thursday. “The Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed, and markets are starting to price in a prolonged, uncertain endgame.”
On Saturday, Reuters reported that U.S. and Iranian officials have rejected efforts by other Mideast countries to get both sides to start ceasefire negotiations. President Donald Trump then told NBC News that he’s not willing yet to make an agreement.
“Iran wants to make a deal, and I don’t want to make it because the terms aren’t good enough yet,” he said, adding that any terms will have to be “very solid.” Trump declined to say what those terms would be
Despite a punishing bombardment that’s decimated Iran’s military and wiped out top leadership, the regime is still able to threaten ships in the Persian Gulf and keep oil prices high. At the same time, Tehran has no appetite yet to reach a deal that ends the conflict, as it seeks to deter any future attacks by inflicting as much economic pain as possible right now, Alamariu pointed out.
But he sees the war ending within two months because Iran also faces threats to its economy and internal political control as airstrikes hit levers of repression like the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Basij militia. In fact, there are rumors of power struggles within the regime, especially after Mojtaba Khamenei’s selection as the new supreme leader, Alamariu added.
“As such, even the Tehran regime has an incentive to eventually end the war, as a lengthy conflict risks fractures and its own self-preservation,” he wrote.
Trump is grappling with his own constraints, such as high oil prices and low political support for the war with midterm elections coming later this year.
But in the meantime, both sides are poised for further escalation. On Friday, the U.S. attacked military sites on Kharg Island, Iran’s top terminal for oil exports, and is sending 2,500 Marines to the Mideast. Iran is increasingly targeting more civilian infrastructure among Gulf neighbors and threatened the region’s biggest port on Saturday.
Alamariu noted that it’s likely Iran’s Houthi allies in Yemen will try to close the Red Sea to commercial shipping, heaping additional economic pain on top of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
“A simultaneous two-strait disruption would compound the shock, impacting the additional ~5 mb/d oil flows that normally transit the Bab el-Mandeb and impairing a main Europe-Asia trade route,” he warned. “This could stoke inflation further, especially in Europe.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. is unlikely to launch a full-scale ground invasion of Iran, but seizing Kharg Island could cut off the regime’s revenue lifeline and force a deal without occupying the mainland, or so the thinking goes.
However, even if Marines landed on Kharg, they would face the risk of attacks from Iranian missiles and drones, which have struck U.S. military bases around the Mideast despite sophisticated air-defense systems.
Then there’s the more dire escalation option of attacking desalination plants that produce most of the Gulf’s fresh water. David Sacks, who is President Donald Trump’s AI and crypto czar, flagged this possibility and warned it could render the Gulf almost uninhabitable.
Alamariu acknowledged there’s a growing chance that the war lasts longer than his two-month outlook, and the Strait of Hormuz would likely remain closed for the duration. That means Brent crude prices will stay above $100 a barrel and possibly even top $150. And yet, the market hasn’t reached maximum panic yet.
“Peak war panic is more likely to hit in the next 1 to 3 weeks,” he predicted. “The longer the conflict lasts, the more investors price in economic damage.”
Using oil prices as a gauge for market panics, crude has historically peaked four to eight weeks into similar conflicts, according to Alamariu. The Iran war has now entered its third week.
A panic could take the form of a global risk-off event, such as a major stock market plunge, triggered by Houthi intervention, Gulf producers declaring force majeure, or further U.S. escalation.
And if the Strait of Hormuz stays closed, spillover effects will hit agricultural commodities and semiconductors as key inputs like fertilizer and helium run short, he said.
“If we are wrong and the war drags past two months, the playbook shifts from trading volatility to hedging for structural economic damage,” Alamariu added.
The International Energy Agency declared that the Iran war has caused the worst oil disruption in history. And while member nations have agreed to release 400 million barrels in strategic reserves, the daily flow from those stockpiles will be far short of offsetting the daily flow that’s been cut off.
Energy research firm Wood Mackenzie also warned on Tuesday that with 15 million barrels per day of Gulf supply suddenly gone, oil prices would need to hit $150 a barrel for demand destruction to kick in and rebalance the market.
In inflation-adjusted prices, oil actually hit $150 after Russia invaded Ukraine, but Wood Mackenzie Chairman and Chief Analyst Simon Flowers said the current situation could be worse.
“Supply volumes at risk this time are dimensionally bigger—and real,” he said. “In our view, US$200/bbl is not outside the realms of possibility in 2026.”
Trump objectives for ending war ‘different’ than Netanyahu’s, president says
Michael Loria
President Trump told reporters Friday evening that his objectives around ending the war on Iran “might be a little different” than those of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The president did not elaborate on the distinction. Critics have said Trump allowed Israel to push the United States into war.
The president’s comments come as he also told reporters again that he couldn’t say exactly when but that the war would last as long as “necessary.”
“I can’t tell you that,” Trump said. “I mean, I have my own idea. But what good does it do? It’ll be as long as it’s necessary. They’ve been decimated. The country’s their country’s in bad shape. The whole thing is collapsing.”
The president in launching the war said it was aimed at eliminating Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs although his objectives have seemed to shift over the course of two weeks of conflict.
7:36 pm ET March 13, 2026
Trump announces strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island
Michael Loria
President Trump announced Friday evening that U.S. military forces had struck Kharg Island, an Iranian island in the Persian Gulf that processes the majority of the country’s oil exports.
“The United States Central Command executed one of the most powerful bombing raids in the History of the Middle East, and totally obliterated every MILITARY target in Iran’s crown jewel, Kharg Island,” the president said in a statement.
Trump noted U.S. forces left the island’s oil infrastructure intact but gave the Iranians an ultimatum if the country continues its stranglehold on oil exports in the region.
“I have chosen NOT to wipe out the Oil Infrastructure on the Island,” the president said. “However, should Iran, or anyone else, do anything to interfere with the Free and Safe Passage of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz, I will immediately reconsider this decision.”
6:33 pm ET March 13, 2026
US offers up to $10M reward for info on top Iranian leaders
Terry Collins
The U.S. government is offering “a reward of up to $10 million for information on the key leaders of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its component branches,” according to theRewards for Justicewebsite.
With the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran entering a third week, the government is seeking info on 10 Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, Deputy Chief of Staff in the Supreme Leader’s Office Ali Asghar Hejazi, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani, and Director and Minister of Intelligence and Security Esmail Khatib.
“These individuals command and direct various elements of the IRGC, which plans, organizes, and executes terrorism around the world,” the website said, adding that the men “play a central role in Iran’s use of terrorism as a key tool of Iranian statecraft.”
In a translated March 13 post on X, Larijani said, “Brave people. Brave officials. Brave leaders. This combination cannot be defeated.”
The U.S. also wants information on several unnamed people with high-ranking titles in the Iranian power structure. This includes the secretary of the Defense Council, the IRGC commander, and an adviser to the supreme leader.
5:11 pm ET March 13, 2026
Oil pushes higher to end Friday, gas likely to follow
Andrea Riquier
Oil prices pressed higher on March 13, and will likely pull gasoline prices in their wake, even as demand for fuel looked to increase.
The price of a barrel of crude neared $103 around 4 PM Eastern, and gas averaged $3.644 nationally, according to GasBuddy’s tracker. Brent crude, the global benchmark, is up more than 52% compared with a month ago, suggesting gasoline prices, which follow with a lag, have more room to rise.
Meanwhile, spring break in some parts of the country and generally warmer weather and outdoor activities mean more demand for driving.
At $3.59, the average on March 12, gas prices were in line with averages from 2024, AAA said Thursday. That year, however, prices peaked mid-spring and trailed lower over the remainder of the year. With so many variables in play right now, it may take oil − and gas – longer to stabilize this time around.
4:48 pm ET March 13, 2026
Lebanon toll nears 800, Beirut swells with refugees
Reuters
Israel destroyed a bridge in southern Lebanon on Friday and dropped leaflets in Beirut threatening Gaza-scale devastation as it deployed more troops to fight Iran-backed Hezbollah and warned of more attacks on the country’s infrastructure.
As Israeli warplanes pounded Beirut’s suburbs with air strikes, Lebanon’s interior minister said authorities were unable to accommodate the hundreds of thousands of people who have sought refuge in the capital.
Israeli strikes have killed 773 people in Lebanon since March 2, Lebanon’s state news agency said on Friday, citing the health ministry.
Israel launched its offensive against Hezbollah after it opened fire on March 2 to avenge the killing of Iran’s supreme leader at the start of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
4:42 pm ET March 13, 2026
Trump’s shifting Iran war endgame
Cybele Mayes-Osterman
Since the U.S. and Israel first attacked Iran on Feb. 28, President Trump has floated several endgames, sometimes within the same day.
In a video address in the early morning hours as the first bombs fell on Iran, Trump urged Iranians to seize “your only chance in generations” and “take over your government.” But by the next day, he said Iran’s leaders “want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them,” he told The Atlantic.
Trump told Axios on March 5 that he must be personally involved in picking the country’s new leader. Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in the war’s first salvo and his his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, has assumed leadership of the country.
In a post the next day, Trump said there would be no talks and demanded Iran’s “unconditional surrender.” Asked to elaborate, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, later said Iran would not “come out and say that themselves,” and Trump consider Tehran to have surrendered when the country no longer posed a threat.
By March 13, Trump had a new benchmark for the end of the war – “when I feel it in my bones,” he told Fox News.
1:09 pm ET March 13, 2026
Trump says he knows Iran war is over ‘when I feel it in my bones’
Terry Collins
President Donald Trump said he’ll know exactly when the war in Iran will be over during an interview on Fox News Radio on March 13.
“When it’s over, and I don’t think it’s going to be long, when it’s over, this is going to bounce back right back,” Trump told Fox News host Brian Kilmeade, host of “The Brian Kilmeade Show.” “So fast.”
Kilmeade then asked the president when he will know when the war is over.
“When I feel it,” Trump said. “When I feel it in my bones.”
Trump also told Kilmeade that he believes new Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is alive, echoing comments by Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth to reporters duringa war briefinghours earlier.
“I think he probably is. I think he’s damaged, but I think he’s probably alive,” Trump said about the Iranian leader. “I believe he’s alive in some form, yeah.”
Trump went on to say that Iran is being hit “harder than anybody since World War II,” with more to come in the next few days.
12:26 pm ET March 13, 2026
Trump thinks Putin might be helping Iran ‘a little bit’
“I think he might be helping him (Iran) a little bit, yeah, I guess. And he probably thinks we’re helping Ukraine, right?” Trump told Fox News host Brian Kilmeade, host of “The Brian Kilmeade Show,” according to Reuters.
“Yeah, we’re helping them also,” Trump added, further referring to Ukraine, which has been warring with Russia since 2022.
Trump’s comments come after he spoke with Putin on March 9. Trump said he had a “very good call” with Putin about Ukraine and the Middle East.
12:20 pm ET March 13, 2026
Oil tops $100 again, economy falters
Andrea Riquier
Brent crude prices breached $100 a barrel midday Friday and stocks reversed earlier gains to trade mostly lower amid weaker-than-expected economic data and no clear end in sight to the U.S.-Iran war. Oil’s global benchmark was trading near $102 around noon Eastern time, and the S&P 500 was down 0.3%.
Gas prices hovered at about $3.644 a gallon nationally, GasBuddy reported.
Earlier in the morning, the Commerce Department said that the economy grew just 0.7% in the final three months of 2025, a sharp downgrade from earlier estimates. Orders for durable goods – things like machinery that last a long time – were below analyst expectations in January. And consumer sentiment fell in the University of Michigan’s first reading for March.
Although most of the data released Friday morning was old news, it showed the economy had “less momentum than previously reported,” said Don Rismiller, chief economist for Strategas, in a client note. “We are raising our U.S. recession odds in 2026 from 20% to 25%.”
11:20 am ET March 13, 2026
Marines heading to the Middle East, Wall Street Journal reports
Cybele Mayes-Osterman
A Marine expeditionary force has been ordered to the Middle East, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing two unnamed U.S. officials.
The newspaper said defense chief Pete Hegseth had approved a request from U.S. Central Command for a Marine unit.
A Pentagon official told USA TODAY: “Due to operations security we do not discuss future or hypothetical movements.”
11:12 am ET March 13, 2026
How much is the Iran war costing taxpayers?
Cybele Mayes-Osterman
11:07 am ET March 13, 2026
Trump hints at Navy escorts in Strait of Hormuz but military says not yet
Bart Jansen
Trump told Fox News on March 13 that U.S. ships would escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz “if we needed to” but his Pentagon leaders said the military is concentrating on Iran’s missiles, drones and navy first.
The fighting has nearly halted shipments through the strait, which handles 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas. Total oil output from the Middle East is estimated at 7 million to 10 million barrels per day or 7% to 10% of global demand.
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth the only thing blocking the key shipping channel was Iran firing on ships. He said the military would work to reopen the strait.
But Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called the strait a “tactically complex environment.”
“Before I think we want to take anything at scale through there, we want to make sure we do the work pursuant to our current military objectives to do that safely and smartly,” he said.
11:04 am ET March 13, 2026
At least 2,000 killed in Iran war
Bart Jansen
At least 2,000 people have been killed in the Middle East during the U.S-Israeli war on Iran that began Feb. 28, according to Reuters.
The deaths have come in neighboring countries hosting U.S. military bases and in Lebanon, where Israel is trading airstrikes with Hezbollah, a militant group supported by Iran.
Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations said March 6 at least 1,332 people had been killed since the war began.
Lebanese authorities said at least 687 people had been killed in Israeli strikes. The World Health Organization said at least 98 were children.
Iraqi health authorities said at least 30 people had been killed, mostly members of the Shi’ite Popular Mobilization Forces.
Israel’s ambulance service said 12 people have been killed, including nine in an Iranian missile strike on Beit Shemesh near Jerusalem. The Israeli military said two soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon.
The United States has lost 13 service members, including six aboard an aircraft refueling tanker that crashed over western Iraq after a collision with another U.S. jet.
The United Arab Emirates’ defense ministry said six people have been killed in Iranian attacks.
Kuwait authorities reported six deaths.
Syria’s state news agency said four people were killed when an Iranian missile struck a building in Sweida.
Oman, which has been hosting mediation talks between the U.S. and Iran, said two people were killed in a drone strike on an industrial zone. One person was killed when a projectile hit a tanker off the coast of Muscat, the vessel’s manager said.
Sauid Arabia said two people were killed when a projectile fell on a residential area in Al-Kharj City.
Bahrain’s interior ministry said two people were killed in separate attacks, one in a residential building in Manama.
France said one soldier was killed and six wounded in a drone attack in northern Iraq.
10:07 am ET March 13, 2026
Iran war upends Middle East
8:48 am ET March 13, 2026
Trump doesn’t want US involved in ‘nation building,’ Hegseth says
Cybele Mayes-Osterman
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said President Donald Trump does not want the U.S. to be involved in “democracy building” or “nation building” in Iran, unlike past presidents, whose wars had “expansive, nebulous mission sets that kept changing overtime.”
8:42 am ET March 13, 2026
Caine calls Strait of Hormuz ‘tactically complex environment’
Bart Jansen
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said the only thing blocking the Strait of Hormuz is Iran firing on ships but that the military would work to reopen commercial shipping.
“The only thing prohibiting transit in the straits right now is Iran shooting at shipping,” Hegseth said. “It is open for shipping should Iran not do that.”
The reason to destroy Iran’s navy was that Tehran had interrupted shipping for decades, Hegseth said.
“That’s not a strait we’re going to allow to remain contested or with a lack of flow of commercial goods,” Hegseth said. “We’re working with you to make sure that energy flows.
Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, declined to say what steps might be taken but said the military is studying its options.
“It’s a tactically complex environment,” Caine said. “Before I think we want to take anything at scale through there, we want to make sure we do the work pursuant to our current military objectives to do that safely and smartly.”
8:41 am ET March 13, 2026
‘Today will be our busiest day,’ Caine says
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy
Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, talked about the morale of soldiers and said Friday would be the busiest day since the start of the Iran war almost two weeks ago.
“When I asked these soldiers yesterday, what is it that you need from the secretary and I,” Caine said. “They looked at each other, paused for a moment and looked back at me and said, ‘more rounds, sir.’”
“Our joint force will continue today against the enemy from the land, sea, and air,” he said. “We remain deeply grateful for their service and for the third time today, I’ll mention that today will be our busiest day.”
8:39 am ET March 13, 2026
Investigator appointed to probe school strike
Cybele Mayes-Osterman
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said U.S. Central Command has designated an investigating officer to complete an investigation into the strike on a school in southern Iran that killed at least 175 people, many of them children. The officer is outside U.S. Central Command, Hegseth said.
Oil prices were up fractionally on Friday compared to the day before, near $99 per barrel shortly before the stock market opened. Stock futures rose and the volatility index, sometimes called Wall Street’s “fear gauge,” retreated.
On Friday morning, Reuters reported that an India-flagged oil tanker had sailed out of the east of the Strait of Hormuz carrying gasoline bound for Africa, even as analysts warned that that development would do little to ease the supply crunch around the world.
In the U.S., gas prices, which follow those of oil with a bit of a lag, were higher. The national average as of 8:30 AM ET was $3.644 a gallon, according to GasBuddy. That’s 24% higher than last month’s average. In some parts of the West, prices are well over $4 a gallon.
8:21 am ET March 13, 2026
Hegseth calls tanker casualties ‘heroes’
Bart Jansen
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth called the four airmen killed in the crash of an aircraft refueling tanker “heroes” and said their sacrifice was necessary in pursuit of peace.
“War is hell. War is chaos. As we saw yesterday with the tragic crash of our KC-135 tanker, bad things can happen,” Hegseth said. “American heroes, all of them.”
“Their sacrifice will only recommit us to the resolve of this mission,” Hegseth added. “War in this context and in the pursuit of peace, is necessary.”
Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the military is still treating the incident as a rescue and recovery mission for the two remaining crew members of the plane.
8:20 am ET March 13, 2026
Rescue still underway after air tanker crash
Cybele Mayes-Osterman
Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the military is still treating the crash of a KC-135 air tanker as an “active rescue and recovery operation.” Four airmen have been recovered, he said.
U.S. Central Command announced hours earlier that four of the six servicemembers on board are confirmed dead.”Please keep these brave airmen, their families, friends and units in your thoughts,” Caine said.
8:15 am ET March 13, 2026
Hegseth says ‘don’t need to worry about’ Strait of Hormuz
Bart Jansen
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said U.S. military has hit 15,000 targets since the war began Feb. 28, destroying Iran’s air force and navy, and said the closure of the Strait of Hormuz was the result of desperation.
“They are exercising sheer desperation in the Straits of Hormuz,” Hegseth said. “Something we’re dealing with. Have been dealing with it. Don’t need to worry about it.”
8:15 am ET March 13, 2026
New Iranian leader ‘wounded and likely disfigured,’ Hegseth says
Cybele Mayes-Osterman
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth told reporters on Friday that Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is “wounded and likely disfigured.”
Hegseth questioned why the younger Khamenei, whose father was killed by U.S. and Israeli forces early in the war, had put out a written statement the prior day with no video or audio.
“Why a written statement? I think you know why,” he said.
7:53 am ET March 13, 2026
US to hit Iran ‘very hard’ over next week, Trump says
Jeanine Santucci
President Donald Trump said in a FOX News interview that aired Friday that the United States will hit Iran “very hard over the next week.” He also said the United States would help escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz “if we needed to.”
Just after midnight Friday, Trump said in a post on social media that the U.S. is “totally destroying the terrorist regime of Iran.”
“Watch what happens to these deranged scumbags today,” Trump wrote.
7:35 am ET March 13, 2026
Pentagon chief to give Iran war updates
Jeanine Santucci
U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine are expected to give a news conference Friday morning at 8 a.m. EDT with updates on the war effort against Iran.
Toronto ups security for protest after shots fired at US Consulate
Jeanine Santucci
Police in Toronto, Canada, said they would have an enhanced presence near the U.S. Consulate this weekend as thousands of protesters against the war in Iran and counter-protesters are expected to gather for an annual observance in support of the Palestinians on Saturday.
The Toronto Police Service cited recent incidents including when two suspects fired shots at the U.S. Consulate building earlier in the week and other shootings at synagogues in the area. The shooting at the Consulate on Tuesday caused damage to the building but nobody reported injuries, police previously said.
Toronto Police Service Superintendent Craig Young said the demonstration is expected to start around noon on Saturday and is expected to draw about 3,000 protesters and counter-protesters. Given “geopolitical tensions” around the world, that number could be higher, Young said.
Al-Quds Day, or International Quds Day, is an annual observance held on the last Friday of Ramadan to support Palestinians. It began in Iran in 1979. Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, in his first address this week called for participation in Al-Quds Day on Friday,
6:19 am ET March 13, 2026
Four US service members killed in plane crash over Iraq
Kim Hjelmgaard
Four of the six crew members aboard a U.S. military refueling aircraft that crashed in western Iraq on Thursday have been killed, the U.S. military confirmed early Friday. The statement from U.S. Central Command said rescue efforts are still ongoing for the remaining two crew members. The military said the incident involved another aircraft, but was not the result of hostile or friendly fire. The circumstances of the incident are under investigation.
An armed group allied to Iran previously claimed responsibility for the incident.
6:18 am ET March 13, 2026
French soldier killed, President Macron says
Michael Loria
French President Emmanuel Macron announced Thursday evening that the country suffered its first casualty amid the war on Iran.
Chief Warrant Officer Arnaud Frion of the 7th Battalion of Chasseurs Alpins was killed during a strike on troops stationed in Iraq, Macron said. Several French soldiers were wounded. He was from Varces in southeastern France, near Grenoble.
French troops have been stationed in the area since 2015, the French president said. They are part of a U.S.-led coalition aimed at fighting ISIS.
“To his family, to his brothers in arms, I want to express all the affection and solidarity of the Nation,” Macron said in a statement. “Their presence in Iraq is part of the strict framework of the fight against terrorism. The war in Iran cannot justify such attacks.”
6:18 am ET March 13, 2026
Suspect behind Michigan synagogue attack born in Lebanon, DHS confirms
Michael Loria
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security confirmed Thursday evening that the suspect behind an attack on a synagogue in Michigan was born in Lebanon.
The suspect drove his vehicle into Temple Israel, one of the nation’s largest synagogues in suburban Detroit. The head of temple security was injured during the crash, authorities said. According to local police, temple security fatally shot the suspect.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson identified the suspect as Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, a 41-year-old born in Lebanon who became a naturalized U.S. citizen in February 2016.
Ghazali entered the U.S. at the Detroit Metropolitan International Airport in 2011 on an immigrant visa as the spouse of a U.S. citizen.
Local authorities declined to get into Ghazali’s specific motives but said, “obviously, what happens around the world sometimes affects us.”
March 13, 2026Updated March 14, 2026, 12:38 a.m. ET
President Donald Trump has breathed new life into an old story – that he supposedly intervened during a fight between Basketball Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant and Jayson Williams, a 9-year NBA veteran, when Bryant and Williams were in New York for the 1998 NBA All-Star Game.
“Kobe was having a hard time with somebody and it worked out fine,’’ Trump said, although he did not mention Williams by name.
Charles Oakley, then a star power forward with the New York Knicks, was on the elevator when Williams, then with the New Jersey Nets, punched Bryant, according to “Three-Ring Circus: Kobe, Shaq, Phil, and the Crazy Years of the Lakers Dynasty” – a book by Jeff Pearlman, a New York Times-bestselling author.
The elevator was at the Grand Hyatt in New York, then owned by Trump, according to Pearlman’s book.
Oakley, during a phone interview with USA TODAY Sports, said he doesn’t remember being on the elevator during the reported incident but that he’s heard Williams tell the story of the fight.
“He had told it to some people that I was around,’’ Oakley said. “Jayson, he liked to be a story. He’s a storyteller. I told him, ‘Jayson, I mean, you 55, 57. You probably told that story 50 times.’ ’’
Williams, 58, did not respond to a request for comment by email and did not answer a phone call from USA TODAY Sports. His voicemail box was full.
The altercation reportedly broke out after Bryant got into an elevator occupied by Williams and Oakley, Williams greeted Bryant and then took offense to Bryant’s cold replay, according to Pearlman’s book, which states that Williams lunged and punched Bryant in the cheek.
“Trump, of all people, grabbed Williams and told Bryant, ‘Get out of here. Quickly.’ ”
Bryant got off the elevator, according to Pearlman’s book.
Bryant died in 2020 during a helicopter crash that also killed his daughter Gianna and seven other people.
Donald Trump shared footage of air strikes hours after saying the US carried out “powerful bombing raids” on Iran’s oil hub of Kharg Island. He said the US hit military targets but threatened to go after oil facilities if Iran blocks the Strait of Hormuz.
A city just half an hour south of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort has a new Democratic mayor following an exceedingly narrow election.
Andy Thomson was declared the winner of the mayoral race in Boca Raton, Florida, on Friday after early results indicated he won by just a single vote.
The election, which was held on Tuesday, had to be recounted twice due to the extremely narrow margin. Thomson’s victory makes him the first Democrat to lead the city in more than 30 years.
Boca Raton’s new Mayor-elect Andy Thomson. Andy Thomson
Thomson, with 7,572 votes, beat his two rivals: Republicans Mike Liebelson and Fran Nachlas, who won 7,567 and 3,967 votes, respectively.
“I’m thrilled to congratulate Mayor-elect Andy Thomson on this monumental victory,” said Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried.
“Winning by a margin of just 5 votes, this race is proof that organizing everywhere and talking to every voter will make all the difference in 2026.”
Boca Raton is just half an hour from Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s residence and golf club in Palm Beach. Joe Raedle/Getty Images
The win notches another instance of a growing trend in which Democrats continue to flip formerly Republican offices, many of which had previously been deeply red.
On Thursday, Democrat Bobbi Boudman beat Republican Dale Fincher for a seat in the New Hampshire House of Representatives, marking the 28th such reversal since Trump took the White House in 2024.
Voters in Florida were seen to reject major redevelopment in the area and the power of wealthy developers, particularly the Terra and Frisbie Group’s proposed megaproject for the downtown government campus, which became the subject of the Save Boca campaign.
A measure on the ballot that would allow the development was voted down by 3-to-1, while Thomson campaigned on addressing the affordability crisis, boosting housing access, and protecting public land—many issues that are expected to sway voters at the national Midterm elections in November.
“This victory reiterates an undeniable trend in Florida: Democrats can run and win anywhere—including Donald Trump’s backyard,” Fried said. “Floridians are tired of the chaos, corruption, and sky-high prices on everything from groceries to gas and healthcare.”
The Democrats are hoping to ride the “blue wave” to victory in November and flip the House of Representatives. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
“They are voting for trusted leaders like Andy to steady the ship and return common sense, people-centered solutions back to our communities.”
Recent polling suggests that 62 percent of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy, while 48 percent believe his policies are actively harming it. Cost of living continues to be a major source of voter concern, something a majority of voters don’t believe Trump is properly addressing.
Current projections for the midterm election results show that the Democrats could end up with a 12-seat majority in the House of Representatives, overturning the Republicans’ current 4-seat lead.
Jennifer Jenkins aims to replicate Thomson’s win at the midterms in November. X
Jennifer Jenkins, a fellow Democrat and Florida Senate candidate for the midterms, congratulated Thomson on his win.
“This is a reminder EVERY vote matters. Your vote is your voice. USE IT!” Jenkins wrote on social media. “Let’s keep the wave going.”
Thomson succeeds outgoing mayor Scott Singer and is scheduled to take office on March 31.
![Two explosions are seen in footage released by US President Donald that he says shows the bombing of Iran's Kharg Island. [Donald Trump via social media]](http://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/us_strikes_iran_kharg_island_airport_airbase-1773461350.jpg?resize=730%2C410&quality=80)
