March 4, 2026

U.S., ISRAEL, IRAN WAR | Day 5.

• In a press conference this morning, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine emphasized that the U.S. and Israel have established air superiority in Iran and will begin to move targeting operations further inland. Hegseth also stated that "we're just getting started" in Iran and that "we're hitting them while they are down." [more]
• In what U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said was the first sinking of a ship using a torpedo since World War II, the U.S. military attacked and sank an Iranian warship this morning off Sri Lanka's Indian Ocean coast. Reports say at least 101 crew members of the Iranian ship are missing following the incident. [more]
• Iranian government officials say at least 1,045 people have been killed in the five days of war. [more]
• The U.S. and Israel have faced some apparent criticism over the war in Iran from traditional U.S. allies, including Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who said today that the war is an example of "acting without constraint or respect for international norms or laws while others bear the consequences." Speaking before Parliament, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer suggested he did not agree to have British troops join in missions against Iran over concerns about the legality of the operations, and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, despite threats by U.S. President Donald Trump to suspend trade with Spain, said today that his country is "not going to be complicit in something that is bad for the world and is also contrary to our values and interests, just out of fear of reprisals from someone." [more]
• French President Emmanuel Macron announced yesterday that he has ordered the nuclear-powered Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier and French fighter jets to the Middle East region to "defend the airspace of our allies." [more]
• Iranian state media cites officials of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard as saying 40 ballistic missiles were launched at US targets in the Middle East early today, including at military bases in Iraq and Kuwait and at US warships, and as issuing a threat to carry out "the 'complete destruction of the region's military and economic infrastructure." [more]
• Reports say NATO air defenses shot down a ballistic missile fired from Iran that was headed into Turkish airspace this morning. [more]
• The war continues to affect oil and gas prices and global stock markets, with benchmark Brent crude oil hitting $84 per barrel today, average U.S. gas prices rising more than 11 cents per gallon over the past days, and market futures showing declines after sharp sell-offs yesterday. [more]

U.S. WAR POWERS | The Senate is scheduled to vote today, and the House is expected to vote tomorrow, on war powers resolutions that would require President Donald Trump to seek Congressional approval for continued military operations against Iran. Reports note that the measures are not necessarily expected to pass in the Republican-controlled chambers, but that supporters see the votes as potentially consequential requirements for each lawmaker to indicate their support for, or opposition to, the military campaign. [more]

U.S. IMMIGRATION | The Department of Homeland Security has reportedly closed a large immigration detention camp on the Fort Bliss Army base in Texas to visitors and attorneys due to an outbreak of measles at the facility. [more]

U.S. MATERNAL MORTALITY | According to newly released Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, 649 U.S. mothers died in 2024 during pregnancy or shortly after giving birth – down from 669 such deaths in 2023 and a continued decline from the particularly high levels seen in 2022 and 2021. [full report] [more]

U.S. ELECTIONS | In yesterday's primary elections to select candidates for the November mid-term elections, Democrats in Texas selected state Rep. James Talarico to be their Senate candidate, while Senator John Cornyn is set for a May runoff vote against state attorney general Ken Paxton to decide the Republican candidate. In North Carolina's Senate race, Democrat Roy Cooper will face Republican Michael Whatley in November. [more]

NEW YORK | A federal judge yesterday blocked Trump administration efforts to end New York City's $9 congestion fee aimed at reducing traffic and raising funds for the city's aging transit system. [more]

U.S. GLOBAL TARIFFS | U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said today that the global 10% tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump after the Supreme Court struck down his earlier tariff programs will likely be increased to 15% this week. Reports note that the new tariffs are being authorized under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which authorizes duties to be imposed on goods imported into the U.S. for up to 150 days. [more]

RUSSIAN SHIPPING | The Libyan Maritime Authority says a Russian-flagged tanker carrying liquefied natural gas exploded and erupted in flames before sinking in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya today. Reports say the tanker is believed to have been part of Russia’s shadow fleet of energy tankers attempting to bypass sanctions imposed on Moscow over its war in Ukraine, and that the cause of the explosion aboard the ship remains unclear. [more]

GREECE | Six years after their original trial, an appeals court in Greece today upheld the convictions of 42 defendants linked to the Golden Dawn neo-Nazi party who were found guilty in 2020 of "belonging to and running a criminal organization" under the guise of a political party. [more]

AUSTRALIA | Jacinta Allan, premier of the Australian state of Victoria, said today that her state plans to launch legislation that would give employees with the ability to work ​from home the legal right to do so at least two days per week. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1789, the Constitution of the United States went into effect as the governing law of the United States, the date having been established by Congress. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, and originally included seven articles. Since taking effect, the Constitution has been amended 27 times, including with the first ten amendments, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, which offer specific protections of individual liberty and justice and place restrictions on the powers of government. [more history]