Good morning everyone. It was a busy night and it is already a busy morning. The Pentagon is complaining about media coverage of the war in Iran, saying reporting about incidents like U.S. casualties is meant to make Donald Trump look bad. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Americans remain stranded across the Middle East. Countries like France are already organizing evacuation flights, but Americans calling the State Department hotline were told the U.S. government cannot currently assist them in leaving.
At the same time, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee is facing criticism after joking that Americans sheltering during Iranian attacks who become pregnant could name their child after him.
Also, both Meta and TikTok are having issues this morning in case you are looking for my content there. I am grateful we still have Substack. Thank you to everyone who has subscribed, shared this reporting, or sent supportive messages over the past week. If you can, please subscribe and help us keep growing.
Here’s the news:
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth criticized media coverage of the Iran war, saying news outlets highlight incidents like U.S. service member deaths or drones getting through air defenses to make President Donald Trump look bad, and urged journalists to “report the reality” of the broader military campaign.
- As the war with Iran escalates, the Trump administration urged Americans to leave 16 Middle Eastern countries but told stranded citizens they cannot rely on U.S. evacuation assistance, with a State Department hotline warning there are currently no evacuation points and no guaranteed government help for departures.
- CNN has confirmed that U.S. officials told lawmakers that Iran’s Shahed one-way attack drones are harder to stop than expected and U.S. air defenses likely cannot intercept them all, raising concerns about defense capacity as the war escalates and Iran continues launching large numbers of drones and missiles across the region.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said a U.S. submarine torpedoed and sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, claiming Iran’s navy has been largely “decimated” and calling it the first enemy ship sunk by torpedo since World War II.
- U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that the military campaign is escalating, saying “more and larger waves are coming” and the U.S. is accelerating operations rather than slowing them down.
- An airstrike on Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school in Minab, southern Iran, killed at least 168 people, many of them children, becoming the deadliest reported civilian incident of the war so far, with responsibility still unclear as the U.S. and Israel investigate and Iran vows retaliation.
- When asked about a reported strike on a girls’ school in southern Iran, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. is investigating the incident and emphasized that U.S. forces do not target civilian sites, but provided no further details on who was responsible. Reports say the strike killed dozens to more than 100 students, though responsibility remains disputed and under investigation.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said a militant leader involved in an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate Donald Trump was included on a U.S. target list and later killed in an airstrike, though he said the operation primarily focused on destroying Iran’s missiles and launch systems.
- The U.S. national average price of diesel reached $4.00 per gallon, the first time since April 24, 2024, according to GasBuddy, amid rising energy prices during the escalating Middle East conflict.
- According to the Washington Post, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee drew criticism after sending an “awkward” memo joking that embassy staff sheltering during Iranian attacks might name a future child after him, as U.S. diplomats and families were ordered to shelter in place and multiple embassies shut amid the escalating conflict.
- France evacuated citizens from the Middle East on a charter flight to Paris, while the U.S. faces criticism for slower assistance to Americans, with officials urging citizens in the region to leave using commercial flights as Washington works to arrange limited charter evacuations.
- Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez rebuked President Donald Trump, saying Spain will not support the war effort against Iran or act out of fear of reprisals, arguing the conflict is “bad for the world” and contrary to Spain’s values and interests.
- A container ship in the Strait of Hormuz was struck by an unknown projectile, causing an engine-room fire and forcing the crew to abandon the vessel, though all crew members were accounted for with no injuries, according to the U.K.’s Maritime Trade Operations agency.
- Rep. James Comer said sending U.S. “boots on the ground” in Iran could be unavoidable depending on how the conflict develops, signaling some Republicans are open to the possibility of deploying American troops if the war escalates.
- During a heated U.N. Security Council exchange, U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz warned Iran’s envoy to “be careful with his words sitting on American soil,” adding “not my first firefight,” as the diplomats clashed over the legality and consequences of U.S.–Israel military strikes on Iran.
- Texas state Rep. James Talarico won the 2026 Texas Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, defeating Rep. Jasmine Crockett with a unity-focused campaign aimed at moderates and disaffected Republicans, and will face the Republican nominee in the general election. Jasmine Crockett issued the following statement this morning to her supporters:
- After winning the Democratic Senate primary in Texas, James Talarico told supporters the result showed “something happening in Texas tonight,” saying voters had given the country “a little bit of hope.”
- Democrats flipped a state house seat in Arkansas:
- Don Huffines, who’s family is the owner of Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro ranch in New Mexico will be the Republican nominee for Comptroller.
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom called Israel an “apartheid state” and said its leadership may force the United States to reconsider future military support, while criticizing the Trump administration’s backing of Israeli strikes in Iran.
- NBC News reported that the U.K. police arrested three men (ages 39, 43, and 68) in London and Wales on suspicion of spying for China and assisting a foreign intelligence service under the National Security Act 2023, amid growing concerns from British officials and MI5 about increasing covert Chinese efforts to influence U.K. politics and recruit sources.
- CNN has confirmed that the Justice Department reversed its plan to drop legal fights with four major law firms targeted by Trump after backlash from Trump and top aide Stephen Miller, reviving appeals tied to executive orders that attempted to restrict the firms’ access to federal buildings, classified information, and government agencies because of their connections to Democrats and past work opposing Trump.
- TikTok is currently fighting a major court case in Ireland over a €530 million privacy fine and whether it can transfer European user data to China, a decision that could force the company to cut off data flows to China and reshape how Chinese tech firms operate under Europe’s GDPR rules. Learn more here.
See you soon.
— Aaron
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