Wag the Strait

In 1997, the Hollywood film Wag the Dog portrayed a White House that fabricates a war in Albania to distract the public from the president’s scandal at home. It was all a matter of spin.

While we may never have witnessed in reality that exact scenario, the Trump administration’s war on Iran comes closer than previous wars. And though I may be way off base here, but I think Trump’s team is about to try and spin their way out of the disaster in Iran by declaring victory and going home.

Led by his war monger Pete Hegseth, aptly portrayed as an empty suit by SNL’s Colin Jost, Trump has tried to bomb Iran back to another century, although most of Iran was already in that century to begin with.

It is a fact the Trump backs down from his threats when confronted by outcomes he doesn’t like (thus the nickname TACO, i.e., Trump Always Backs Down.) And now, with the constriction of the vital Strait of Hormuz, Trump is confronted with an unpleasant consequence he should have anticipated but apparently did not.

To be precise, Trump doesn’t care about Hormuz, Iran, or the oil that is not getting through the strait.

He cares about what the stock market and the public opinion polls are telling him, and they are flashing red on sending in ground troops to secure Hormuz.

Trump is now said to want to address the nation. We’re listening and ready for some serious spin.

HEADLINES:

• Is Trump Walking Out On His Own War? (New York)

• And He Ran, He Ran So Far Away. From Iran, He Ran All… (Bulwark)

• Trump says Iran’s president asked for ceasefire, but U.S. wants Hormuz Strait open first (CNBC)

• Markets cheer as Trump threatens to abandon Iran war, but Jamie Dimon sides with allies: ‘Win this thing and clean up the straits’ (Fortune)

• A Premature Claim (Atlantic)

• Iran war: EU calls Tehran to discuss Strait of Hormuz (DW)

• Europe faces its next big problem: The Iran war is driving up inflation (Politico)

• Trump slams allies after Italy blocks U.S. use of air base for Iran war (WP)

• Gulf allies privately make the case to Trump to keep fighting until Iran is decisively defeated (AP)

• America Needs to Get Serious About Drones (Atlantic)

• Pentagon Weighs Using Anti-Drone Lasers in Washington Airspace (NYT)

• Pete Hegseth Is Vice Signaling (Atlantic)

• Hegseth’s Culture Wars Are Inviting a Military Disaster (Bloomberg)

• Behind the scenes and in front of cameras, Hegseth serving as top cheerleader for military power in Iran war (CNN)

• Justices Reject Colorado Law Banning ‘Conversion Therapy’ for L.G.B.T.Q. Minors (NYT)

• The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday will hear arguments in Trump v. Barbara, a class-action challenge to President Donald Trump’s highly-contentious executive order, which declared an end to birthright citizenship for anyone born to undocumented or temporary resident parents after Feb. 20, 2025. The stakes are enormously high. [HuffPost]

• The man behind Donald Trump’s push to end birthright citizenship (Politico)

• Trump signs a new executive order on voting. Experts say he lacks the authority (NPR)

• On What Was Once Chavez Day, Some Try to Highlight a Movement, Not a Man (NYT)

• The Israeli parliament has passed a law making the death penalty by hanging the default sentence for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank who are convicted of fatal terrorist attacks. Reuters)

• As Putin takes Russia off the grid, there are growing signs of discontent (NBC)

• Plans for gaudy Trump presidential library in Miami spark ridicule (Guardian)

• Read the email Oracle is sending to laid-off employees (BI)

• A School District Tried to Help Train Waymos to Stop for School Buses. It Didn’t Work (Wired)

• Judge Halts White House Ballroom Construction (NYT)

• NASA readies Artemis mission sending astronauts into orbit around the moon (WP)

• Trump’s Executive Order on NPR and PBS Is Unconstitutional, Judge Rules (NYT)

• Trump helped build the Middle East’s AI ambitions. Could his war break them? (CNN)

• A Game Plan for the AI Boom (Atlantic)

• What to Know About California’s Executive Order on A.I. (NYT)

• Thing Left By Previous Tenant Still In Corner (Onion)

War of Words

Trump may have reached his rhetorical limits with the war on Iran.

Frustrated that he apparently cannot bomb the Iranians into submission or Venezuela-style compliance, he is turning his wrath, once again, on our allies.

Europe, the UK and Japan depend on oil from the Middle East far more than the U.S., which is a net oil exporter. So Trump is telling them, ‘this is your problem, not mine.’

Meanwhile, domestic politics are getting to Trump in the form of rising gas prices, which have hit $4/gallon nationally. Trump’s approval numbers have hit the 30s, another sign of danger at home.

Today the Journal reports that Trump may be willing to end the war without forcing Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Of course, this only reminds us that the only reason Hormuz is closed is the bombing campaign Trump and Israel started a month ago. And that our allies were never in favor of this adventure in the first place.

So far this morning the markets are up. That, at least, will make an angry Trump a little bit happier.

HEADLINES:

• Trump tells the UK and other countries ‘go get your own oil’ from Strait of Hormuz (BBC)

• Trump Tells Aides He’s Willing to End War Without Reopening Hormuz (WSJ)

• Trump lashes out at UK and France, telling allies ‘the U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore’ (CNBC)

• Iran threatens to ‘rain fire’ on US troops as possible ground war looms (CNN)

• Iran accuses US of plotting ground attack, as Israel steps up bombardment (Al Jazeera)

• Israel targets Iran’s leaders with lethal expertise using new AI platform (WP)

• There Are Now Over 50,000 American Troops in the Mideast (NYT)

• Pakistan says it will host US-Iran talks (AP)

• In joint campaign, U.S. ceded one mission to Israel — killing top Iranians (WP)

• Trump’s border czar says ICE agents to remain at airports until ‘those airports are secure’ (Guardian)

• Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Order at Supreme Court Splits Conservative Scholars (NYT)

• Trump officials cite white supremacists in bid to end birthright citizenship (WP)

• GOP weighs health care cuts to pay for Iran war (Axios)

• They’ve Been Accused of Running a ‘Covert’ Operation in Greenland. It’s No Secret. (NYT)

• Trump approval just hit the 30s. Can his numbers get any lower? (Silver Bulletin)

• America Is Now a Rogue Superpower (Atlantic)

• The Rapid and “Unprecedented” Collapse of American Democracy (Nation)

• ‘The Cult of Cesar’: Inside the Mountain Compound Led by Cesar Chavez (NYT)

• These Scientists Tested How Climate Change Affects Wild Meadows—With Alarming Results (Mother Jones)

• The road signs that teach travellers about France (BBC)

• Bots are often bad writers. But so are most humans (Economist)

• Video: China’s humanoid robot captivates crowd with smooth catwalk and illusion turn (IE)

• New Political Group to Push Trump’s A.I. Agenda in Midterms (NYT)

• Kristi Noem Defends Use Of Force On Own Face (Onion)

Civilian Casualties

Top story: “New U.S. Missile Hit Iranian Sports Hall and School, Analysis Shows” (NYT)

• The Pentagon used missiles untested in combat in a deadly attack that struck civilian sites near a military compound on Feb. 28, according to visual evidence examined by The Times and weapons experts.

• Local officials cited in Iranian media said this strike and others nearby in the city of Lamerd killed at least 21 people.

• The Times verified videos of two strikes in Lamerd, as well as aftermath footage from the attacks. Times reporters and munitions experts found that the weapon features, explosions and damage are consistent with a short-range ballistic missile called the Precision Strike Missile, or PrSM (pronounced like “prism”), which is designed to detonate just above its target and blast small tungsten pellets outward.

• The sports hall, at the time of the strikes, was being used by a female volleyball team, according to Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran’s representative to the United Nations. Photos and videos posted to a social media account linked to the school show the premises were regularly used by children. The sports hall has also for years been publicly identified as a civilian-use facility on readily available digital mapping platforms, including Google Maps, Apple Mapsand Wikimapia, according to a review by The Times.

HEADLINES:

• Iran war: Tehran warns US against ground assault (DW)

• Pentagon prepares for weeks of ground operations in Iran (WP)

• Iran warns US against ground invasion as regional diplomats seek an end to the war (AP)

• Iran Recruits Volunteers, Expands Check Points Amid Ground Invasion Threat (WSJ)

• Pope Leo XIV rejects claims that God justifies war in Palm Sunday Mass message (NPR)

• As US troops sail to Middle East, how likely is Trump to order boots on the ground? (Guardian)

• A Toothless Iran? Missile and Drone Strikes Show It Can Still Inflict Pain. (NYT)

• The Iran war will cement China’s superpower status (FT)

• Pakistan hosts diplomatic discussions on ending war (NPR)

• How Pakistan Wooed Trump and Styled Itself as a Peace Broker in Iran Conflict (WSJ)

• By invoking his faith in wartime, Hegseth breaks with history (WP)

• U.S. to Allow Russian Oil Tanker to Reach Cuba, Breaking Blockade (NYT)

• Building Tanks While the Ukrainians Master Drones (Atlantic)

• The ‘No Kings’ Protests May Be the Turning Point We Desperately Need (Daily Beast)

• No Kings protests fill streets at over 3,300 rallies in all 50 states, the largest yet (WP)

• Looking to limit birthright citizenship, Trump turns to an 1884 Supreme Court ruling against a Native American man (NBC)

• Here’s why Democrats are in such a mess in the California governor’s race (SFC)

• The Man Who Thought He Could Keep AI Safe (Atlantic)

• Behind the Curtain: AI’s looming cyber nightmare (Axios)

• Epidemiologists Confirm First Airborne Transmission Of Mar-A-Lago Face (Onion)

 

No King, No War

Saturday marked the third “No Kings” rally across the country and many thousands of people came out to demonstrate against the authoritarian Trump and his illegal war.

The Times reported these five takeaways:

• The war seemed to galvanize younger voters.

• Trump’s immigration crackdown remains a focus.

• Dueling protests unfolded near Mar-a-Lago.

• Midterm candidates came out in force.

• Democrats found fresh fuel for their ‘No Kings’ slogan.

Read the entire piece for details.

HEADLINES:

• No Kings protesters across the US rally against Donald Trump (BBC)

• 5 Takeaways From the ‘No Kings’ Rallies as the Midterms Heat Up (NYT)

• Iran still has many missiles (Reuters)

• Iran-backed Houthis enter war with missile strike against Israel (CNN)

• US-Israeli war on Iran widens with first attack from Yemen (Al Jazeera)

• 4 weeks in, Trump’s conflicting signals on Iran war frustrate GOP lawmakers and political allies (CNN)

• War darkens economic outlook (Reuters)

• The No Kings protests keep growing. Are they having an impact? (WP)

• Iran-linked hackers breach FBI Director Kash Patel’s personal email, publish excerpts online (CNBC)

• Kash Patel’s push against Democratic lawmaker raises concerns within FBI (WP)

• Trump DOJ Refuses to Rule Out Second Amendment Right to Nuclear Weapons (Slate)

• DOD: We’ll Take Anyone for This War. Well, as Long as You’re Not … (TNR)

• Trump ratchets up attacks on NATO, says U.S. no longer needs alliance (WP)

• The Rise and Fall of ICE-Tracking Apps (New Yorker)

• Florida’s Immigration Crackdown Is Showing Cracks: ‘We’re Hurting People’ (NYT)

• America Is Sliding Toward Illiteracy (Atlantic)

• Research points to how companies could make social media less addictive for teens (NPR)

• The Shocking Speed of China’s Scientific Rise (Atlantic)

• Afghan War Allies Were Promised Safety in the US—Until Now (Reveal)

• Trump’s signature is coming to U.S. currency — as cash use fades (Axios)

• I’m a High Schooler. AI Is Demolishing My Education. (Atlantic)

• Who’s Sora now? (Reuters)

• In the age of AI, your digital identity needs this protection (WP)

• Trump Weighs Deploying 340 Million More U.S. Troops To Middle East (Onion)