The Common Ills: 2026-03-08

Monday, March 09, 2026

Monday, March 9, 2026. Another US service member is dead in Chump and Netanyahu's war on Iran, the price of oil is soaring due to the war, the US government has ordered US diplomatic personnel out of Saudi Arabia, Iran chooses a new leader, the Epstein Files scandal continues and the woman who spoke out in three interviews with the FBI about Chump allegedly assaulting her finds some details she shared confirmed by a press investigation.

Malachy Browne and John Ismay (NEW YORK TIMES) report:

A newly released video adds to the evidence that an American missile likely hit an Iranian elementary school where 175 people, many of them children, were reported killed.

The video, uploaded on Sunday by Iran’s semiofficial Mehr News Agency and verified by The New York Times, shows a Tomahawk cruise missile striking a naval base beside the school in the town of Minab on Feb. 28. The U.S. military is the only force involved in the conflict that uses Tomahawk missiles.

A body of evidence assembled by The Times — including satellite imagery, social media posts and other verified videos — indicates that the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school building was severely damaged by a precision strike that occurred at the same time as attacks on the naval base. The base is operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

Asked by a reporter from The Times on Saturday if the United States had bombed the school, President Trump said: “No. In my opinion and based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran.” He said, “They’re very inaccurate, as you know, with their munitions.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was standing beside Mr. Trump, said the Pentagon was investigating, “but the only side that targets civilians is Iran.”

The video of the strike, which was first reported by the research collective Bellingcat, was independently verified by The Times. We compared features visible in the footage to new satellite imagery captured days after the strikes in Minab.

The video was filmed from a construction site opposite the base and shows a worn, dirt path across a grassy area and piles of debris also evident in recent satellite imagery, bolstering its credibility. The video also comports with other verified videos taken in the immediate aftermath of the strikes.

There is no turning to the US in Iran. Not when you've killed children in a school and certainly not when you lie about it. You can see the resistance to the US in many actions including the selection of a new leader. Farnaz Fassihi and Yan Zhuang (NEW YORK TIMES) note:

Iran projected defiance in the face of expanding U.S.-Israeli attacks on Monday by naming a son of its slain supreme leader as his successor, disregarding warnings from the Trump administration, while a surge in oil prices signaled growing alarm over the war’s effect on the global economy.

The new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was appointed by a committee of senior clerics days after President Trump declared that he was an “unacceptable choice” and amid Israeli threats to kill Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s successor.

Carlotta Gall (NEW YORK TIMES) adds:

There have been only two supreme leaders since the job was created after the Iranian Revolution in 1979 for Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Now Iran has a third.

Mojtaba Khamenei, a 56-year-old politician, cleric and son of the previous supreme leader, was appointed to the role by a council of 88 clerics, known as the Assembly of Experts, according to a statement released early Monday morning local time.

As supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei becomes the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Iran, both a spiritual leader and the highest authority in the land. Under Iran’s Constitution, that gives him overarching control of Iran’s politics and its armed forces, as well as leadership in religious affairs.

On Chump and Netanyahu's war on Iran, Eric Schmitt and Helene Cooper (NEW YORK TIMES) report, "Another American service member has died in the war with Iran, the Pentagon said on Sunday, bringing the number of American troops killed in the conflict to seven. The service member, who was not publicly identified while the military notifies relatives, was seriously injured on March 1 when Iran struck a Saudi military base where American troops were stationed, U.S. Central Command said in a statement."

Soumya Karlamangla (NEW YORK TIMES) notes:

The moment that split Steve Nikoui’s life into a before and after was when three Marines walked up his driveway to notify him that his 20-year-old son had been killed in Afghanistan.

Mr. Nikoui, who lives in Southern California, was recently pulled back into that painful memory, as he watched a mother on TV describing the same knock on the door after her own child was killed, this time during the conflict in Iran.

“My heart really went out to her and the families,” said Mr. Nikoui, whose son Kareem was killed during the American withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. “That is the beginning of your new life, a life that you never asked for, never dreamed about. Now it’s here.”

“Every day I just think about Kareem, the life he would’ve led, the things he would’ve done,” Mr. Nikoui added.

Since the United States and Israel launched coordinated attacks on Iran last month, at least seven American service members have been killed. Before Iran, the last reported deaths of U.S. service members occurred in December, when an attack in central Syria killed two Army soldiers and a civilian interpreter.

Greg Sargent (THE NEW REPUBLIC) observes, "Consider three of the biggest developments in our politics right now: We just learned that the economy lost 92,000 jobs in February, a capstone to a terrible year in terms of job creation. President Trump has fired widely despised Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, a key architect of his mass deportations. And reports are indicating that the killing of scores of Iranian schoolchildren might have been the handiwork of the United States." AP reports, "Oil shot to its highest price since 2023 after surging again Friday because of the Iran war, and a weak update on the U.S. job market knocked stocks lower to cap Wall Street's worst week since October." Emmett Lindner (NEW YORK TIMES) points out, "The average price of U.S. gasoline reached $3.48 a gallon, according to data from the AAA motor club. That is a nearly 17 percent increase since the first U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran on Feb. 28. Gas hasn’t been at these levels since 2024." Chump's war of choice. And we've learned more about that war. David McAfee (RAW STORY) notes:

Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina has been exposed by the Wall Street Journal for "coaching" a foreign leader on how to influence Donald Trump.

The WSJ ahead of the weekend published a story called, "Lindsey Graham's Quest to Sell Trump on Striking Iran." In that piece, there is a nugget about the senator engaging in a campaign to help Netanyahu to persuade Trump to launch an Iran war.

"To help make the case on Iran, Graham traveled several times to Israel in recent weeks, meeting with members of the country's intelligence agency," the Journal reported Friday.

Graham is quoted in the article as saying, "They'll tell me things our own government won't tell me."

The report further states, "He spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, coaching him on how to lobby the president for action. Netanyahu showed the president intelligence that persuaded Trump to go ahead, Graham said."

McAfee quotes some people objecting to what Lindsey did and they're right to object, but let's be clear on what happened. Lindsey is not a private citizen. He is a US senator and has been one for 23 years and counting. A member of the US government, who took an oath to the Constitution, collaborated with the leader of another nation on how to trick Donald Chump into going along with the foreign leader's plans to start a war.

Lindsey should be facing charges. He should be expelled from the US senate. He did not put American interests first and he worked with another country's leader to start a war.

He is a national disgrace. He is also a traitor.

David McAfee also notes that Chump isn't doing well either:

Republican strategist Maura Gillespie, who previously advised former Speaker John Boehner and Rep. Adam Kinzinger, warned on MS NOW that President Donald Trump faces a serious credibility crisis after contradicting his campaign promises on military intervention.

Appearing on MS NOW over the weekend, Gillespie highlighted the hypocrisy of Trump's position on Iran, noting that he initially claimed military strikes would empower Iranians to choose their own leader—only to reverse course days later by declaring his intention to heavily influence Iran's next leader.

"A leader without followers is just a guy out taking a walk," Gillespie said, invoking a famous John Boehner quote. She warned that Trump is rapidly losing support among his core base.

Lack of planning and exploration on Chump's part means US citizens are trapped in danger zones and the US government is unable to assist them in returning home and telling them to avoid the US embassies because they might be struck in an attack. Mike's noted that in "Chump protects the oil but not the American people" and today Katie Herchenroeder (MOTHER JONES) reports:

Without providing clear guidance on how to do so or how it will help, the United States government is advising Americans abroad to depart immediately from 14 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Qatar, as its deadly offensive in Iran continues.

Americans abroad remain stuck in place. Thousands of flights have been cancelled and there’s uncertainty surrounding which airspaces will be safe, and when.

New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand told Mother Jones that President Donald Trump “has essentially told the thousands of citizens who are stuck in the Middle East because of a war he started that they are on their own.” Gillibrand, a Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Intelligence Committee, called the administration’s actions “completely unacceptable and downright disgraceful.”

Sen. Gillibrand has criticized US actions in the region, saying in a statement on Saturday that, “America voted for lower costs, not forever wars.” She said she’s working with New Yorkers currently in the region to get back to the state.

Yesterday, Senator Tim Kaine appeared on CBS' FACE THE NATION

MARGARET BRENNAN: So, do you have an estimate on the number of Americans still stranded in the Middle East?

SENATOR TIM KAINE: It's thousands and thousands.

MARGARET BRENNAN: It is?

SENATOR TIM KAINE: Now, not every American chooses to come home.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Right.

SENATOR TIM KAINE: So, there's hundreds of thousands if you just add them all up who is coming home. I am working with the Virginians who are reaching out to my office. We were able to facilitate one Richmond area resident getting home from Dubai on a flight a couple of days back. And so it's sort of dealing with that. But what worries me a little bit more is that some of the professionals at embassies and consuls are not being told to come home and they're sort of there and often their security presence is not what we wish it would be. So, we have to pay close attention to them.

Chump put no time into planning this war, he just rushed to join Netanyahu.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You're on Armed Services as well.

SENATOR TIM KAINE: Yes.

MARGARET BRENNAN: The Pentagon may be looking at a supplemental budget request to fund this new war in the Middle East. CSIS estimates the first 100 hours of the war cost nearly $4 billion.

SENATOR TIM KAINE: Yes.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Have you heard an estimate on cost? Where are we on this supplemental? Will it get any Democratic support?

SENATOR TIM KAINE: We don't know that the White House is sending a supplemental. So, we had a classified briefing the other day and the topic came up. What I can say, and it's not classified, is the administration said they haven't made a decision. My goals right now are two-fold. Stop this war, which I view as both illegal and profoundly unwise, and protect our troops. If a supplemental comes over, I'm going to be looking to see, OK, how does it square with those goals? Protecting the troops is key. That's one of the reasons I want to stop the war. I think they're just exposed to a completely unnecessary risk by what President Trump has done. So, we'll look at a supplemental, if they send one –

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.

SENATOR TIM KAINE: To see, OK, how does it accomplish those goals.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Did they tell you what that's dependent on? Why don't they know if they need more money? Is it the duration of the time of the conflict or –

SENATOR TIM KAINE: I think that's the issue. You traditionally don't ask for a supplemental halfway through because you might ask for an inadequate amount. You might not – I think they may not want to ask for a supplemental because they're trying to avoid debates and votes in Congress on the Iran war right now.

I put up a war powers vote that I was –

MARGARET BRENNAN: Right.

SENATOR TIM KAINE: That I lost earlier this week. But I can assure you, I'm not going away. We have other means to have a debate and discussion about whether this war is in the U.S.' interest after 25 years of war in the Middle East.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.

SENATOR TIM KAINE: They may want to avoid a vote on that and are trying to delay it for that reason.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.

SENATOR TIM KAINE: They'll make that call and we have to look at the content.

Edward Wong, Mark Mazzetti, Vivian Nereim and Adam Rasgon (NEW YORK TIMES) report:

American employees of the U.S. diplomatic mission in Saudi Arabia have been told to leave the country under mandatory departure orders issued by the State Department, according to current and former U.S. officials.

The move by the State Department means American officials are aware of growing risks in the region. It is the first time the agency has approved or issued what it calls an ordered departure in Saudi Arabia since the U.S.-Israel war on Iran began on Feb. 28.

Turning to The Epstein Files, let's note the big news from this past week first. Devlin Barrett (NEW YORK TIMES) reported Thursday:

The Justice Department released F.B.I. documents on Thursday describing several interviews with a woman who made an accusation against President Trump. The pages had been previously withheld from the vast trove of documents related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein because of what officials called a mistaken determination that they were duplicates.

The typewritten notes recounted multiple interviews the F.B.I. conducted in 2019 with the woman, who said she had been sexually assaulted by both Mr. Epstein and Mr. Trump. She came forward shortly after Mr. Epstein was arrested that summer on charges of federal sex trafficking.

Her accusations against Mr. Trump date back to the 1980s, when she was a teenager. Her description of being assaulted by Mr. Trump is among a number of uncorroborated accusations against well-known men, including the president, contained in the millions of documents released by the Justice Department.

The department had already released documents describing the existence of the memos released Thursday, indicating that the F.B.I. had conducted four interviews related to her claims and had written summaries of each conversation. But only one of those interviews, in which she described being assaulted by Mr. Epstein, appeared to be included in the initial release, raising questions about why the remaining three were missing.

Chris Walker (TRUTHOUT) adds:

The documents detail an FBI interview in 2019 with a woman who alleged that Trump sexually assaulted her in the 1980s, when she was between the ages of 13 and 15 years old.

The allegations within the documents have not been corroborated by any additional evidence. However, the decision to exclude them from the Epstein files database has led to widespread suspicion that the DOJ was concealing them on Trump’s behalf, in violation of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which prohibits files from being restricted for the purpose of protecting someone’s reputation.

On the woman making the accusations, Alexander Willis (RAW STORY) reports:

Key details in the account of a woman who’s accused President Donald Trump of sexually assaulting her when she was a minor were verified Sunday in an explosive investigation conducted by The Post and Courier.

The woman first came forward to the FBI following the 2019 arrest of Jeffrey Epstein, and was interviewed by the agency four separate times. A Justice Department source told the Miami Herald that the woman was found credible by the agency, the outlet reported.

In her interviews with the FBI, the woman accused Epstein and at least two other associates, including Trump, of sexual assault when she was 13. She accused Trump of sexually assaulting her, pulling her hair and punching her in the head sometime in the mid-1980s.

While details of her specific allegations against Trump were not further verified by The Post and Courier, other details she provided the FBI were, giving further credence to her account.

At IN THESE TIMES, Sonali Kolhatkar points out:

For years, Trump’s conservative backers have attacked LGBTQ+ people, drag queens, immigrants, and others, claiming a desire to protect women and children from rapists and groomers. Trump even boasted that “whether the women liked it or not,” he would “protect” them from migrants, whom he slandered as “monsters” who “kidnap and kill our children.”

But when given the opportunity to seek justice for countless women and children who were trafficked, abused, and exploited by the world’s wealthiest, most powerful people, the MAGA movement and its leaders have shown a startling disinterest in accountability. During her hearing Bondi tried desperately to deflect attention, claiming that the stock market was more deserving of public attention than Epstein’s victims.

Even the Republican rank-and-file is now mysteriously detached from the Epstein files.

And over the weekend, Maggie Astor and David A. Fahrenthold (NEW YORK TIMES) reported on another person tight with Epstein facing consequences:

Dr. Bernard Kruger, a doctor in Manhattan, has stepped away from roles at two concierge medicine practices after the public disclosure of his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the wealthy sex offender who died in a jail cell in 2019.

The head of one practice, the Atria Health and Research Institute, sent an email to employees on Monday saying that Dr. Kruger had “recently retired and is no longer involved with Atria.” He had been a part-time, nonpracticing physician there, the email said.

A spokeswoman for the other practice, Sollis Health, a private emergency room, said on Friday that Dr. Kruger was on leave from the company’s board of directors “pending a review launched by management in consultation with external legal counsel when it became aware of Dr. Kruger’s past interactions with Jeffrey Epstein.”

The doctor had been part of a small circle of specialists catering to Mr. Epstein in the last decade of his life, The New York Times reported last week.

[. . .]

Dr. Kruger was a longtime physician to Mr. Epstein. In 2016, a private emergency room in Manhattan that he co-founded charged Mr. Epstein $15,000 for an annual membership that covered him and five “girls,” emails show. An accountant told Mr. Epstein that the practice — called Priority Private Care at the time, but now Sollis Health — did not require naming the patients, which would give him “more flexibility.” (A spokeswoman for Sollis said names were added later, and also said Dr. Kruger had never been a practicing physician there.)

Dr. Kruger’s medical office in Manhattan also appears to have allowed Mr. Epstein to book appointments without using names. In one case in 2018, the office sought to reschedule an appointment for “Jeffrey’s assistant” but didn’t know which assistant. (It turned out to be a lawyer close with Mr. Epstein, and Dr. Kruger’s spokesman said the doctor never saw patients without knowing their identities.)

Let's wind down with this from Senator Ron Wyden's office:

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., today demanded that big businesses and corporations use any tariff refunds they receive to compensate small businesses and U.S. consumers for any costs they incurred from Donald Trump’s reckless tariffs.

Trump’s trade war and reckless tariffs have resulted in higher prices, lost jobs, and chaos for businesses up and down the supply chain. Estimates show the average U.S. family paid nearly $2,000 because of the tariffs. If large corporations that passed along tariff costs are receiving refunds, it is imperative that consumers and small businesses who bore some of those costs are made whole.

“American consumers and small businesses did not choose to pay these tariffs, and the Supreme Court has confirmed that the tariffs were unlawful,” Wyden and Schumer wrote to Suzanne Clark, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “Simple fairness demands that the financial burden imposed on small businesses and working families not become a windfall for the largest corporate balance sheets. Companies that passed along tariff costs should pass along savings from tariff refunds.”

This letter comes following an order from the Court of International Trade directing the Trump administration to cease delays and begin issuing refunds of the tariffs recently struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. The order follows nearly two weeks of stalling by the Trump administration, which has tried to withhold refunds of tariffs they illegally collected from U.S. businesses.

The text of the letter is here.

Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Perks Of The Job" went up Friday afternoon and the following sites updated:

Trump GOES MUTE on US WAR DEATHS…MARKETS CRASH!!!!

Epstein Bombshell Drops as WAR BACKFIRES

Rick Wilson On Republican’s Saying FIRE STEPHEN MILLER

GOP Judge GOES NUCLEAR and Threatens to JAIL ICE

NYPD arrests 6 after improvised explosive device thrown near Mayor Mamdani’s home

Trump's DOJ EMBARRASSES Itself in New Court Filing!

‘They know Iran didn’t do it’: Intelligence expert blasts Trump over Iranian school bombing claim

🚨 Erika Kirk's Own Childhood Records Just DESTROYED Her Entire Story

Trump-Epstein BLACKMAIL SCHEME Surfaced JUST BEFORE DEATH

Trump PANICS as admin OFFICIAL to TESTIFY IN EPSTEIN PROBE

Sunday, March 08, 2026

TRUMP AND HEGSETH WILL BE CHARGED FOR WAR CRIMES IN AN ALREADY ILLEGAL WAR!

New Epstein Bombshell Made Me Rethink EVERYTHING

🚨SECRET Epstein INTERVIEWS SURFACE on Trump…IT’S BAD!!

Iran -- another US service member has died and oil rose to over $100 a barrel

Sunday and possibly the firing of Kirsti Noem as Homeland Security Secretary last week has emboldened people to call for more expulsions. For example, Laura Esposito (DAILY BEAST) reports:

A Republican senator is calling for the resignation of one of Donald Trump’s closest advisers.

Thom Tillis said White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller is “a big problem” for the president during an appearance on CNN Sunday.

“He’s a big problem in this administration. He has been from the beginning,” Tillis, 65, said on CNN’s State of the Union.

The North Carolina lawmaker has been among few Republican senators to join Democrats in scrutinizing the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration crackdown, which mounted pressure on Miller and Kristi Noem, who was fired as Homeland Security secretary on Thursday.

Stephen Miller was also raised by Senator Tim Kaine this morning on CBS' FACE THE NATION when he was asked about Kristi Noem's firing:

MARGARET BRENNAN: You've said you do regret having voted for her. You were one of the Democrats who did.

SENATOR TIM KAINE: Big mistake. Yes, look, she was a governor. Governors are often good cabinet secretaries. But what we learned, and this bears going forward, is that she wasn't calling the shots. Stephen Miller is calling the shots. And as long as he is calling the shots, without reforms, this is going to continue to be a very, very rogue, renegade department.

MARGARET BRENNAN: What they use.

SENATOR TIM KAINE: Well, for homes, I would say judicial warrants. I think that would be important for invading people's homes. These are basic principles that our local law enforcement agencies live by. The Ashland town police lives by them. We should ask our federal agencies to do exactly the same thing.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, do you need to see and hear something from Senator Markwayne Mullin to get you to vote for him? If you're saying he's just going to be basically a puppet of Stephen Miller.

SENATOR TIM KAINE: That's our fear. So, he could demonstrate otherwise. But what we want to see is not just the change in the nameplate on the door, we want to see reforms to the way ICE and CBP operates. They should operate like local law enforcement does, not invading people's homes without warrants, body cameras, not wearing masks –

MARGARET BRENNAN: Administrative, not judicial warrants, right?

SENATOR TIM KAINE: Yes. Yes.

Another one today who was being asked to be set aside was Lindsey Graham -- who coached Netanyahu on how to approach Chump to get him to agree to go to war with Iran. Peter Aitken (NEWSWEEK) notes:

Conservative commentator Meghan McCain on Sunday posted a message on X urging the Trump administration to “stop sending” GOP Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina out to speak for the administration over his messaging regarding the Iran war.

“I’ve known Lindsey Graham since I was a child,” McCain, daughter of the late Republican U.S. Senator John McCain, wrote. “I am imploring anyone who will listen in the Trump administration to stop sending this man out as a surrogate. He is scaring people and doing damage to whatever message you’re trying to sell to the American public about the Iran war.”

The network was forced to apologize for its coverage Saturday of the dignified transfer of six U.S. service members killed in Kuwait.

At the event, Trump was sporting a baseball cap, a wardrobe choice that some critics found disrespectful given the nature of the event. Fox News’ coverage of the dignified transfer, however, used footage from a different dignified transfer, and one where Trump appeared hatless.

Fox News again covered the event on Sunday, and in one segment, appeared to use the correct footage, but only clips that omitted Trump entirely.

“Fox’s dignified transfer footage now just completely excludes Trump,” wrote Acyn Torabi, the senior digital editor for Meidas Touch, in a social media post on X Sunday, alongside a clip of the new Fox News segment.

The fallen are just some of the people Chump's actions put at risk. On CBS' FACE THE NATION, Senator Tim Kaine noted the Americans stranded in the region.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So, do you have an estimate on the number of Americans still stranded in the Middle East?

SENATOR TIM KAINE: It's thousands and thousands.

MARGARET BRENNAN: It is?

SENATOR TIM KAINE: Now, not every American chooses to come home.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Right.

Chump put no time into planning this war, he just rushed to join Netanyahu.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You're on Armed Services as well.

SENATOR TIM KAINE: Yes.

MARGARET BRENNAN: The Pentagon may be looking at a supplemental budget request to fund this new war in the Middle East. CSIS estimates the first 100 hours of the war cost nearly $4 billion.

SENATOR TIM KAINE: Yes.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Have you heard an estimate on cost? Where are we on this supplemental? Will it get any Democratic support?

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.

SENATOR TIM KAINE: To see, OK, how does it accomplish those goals.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Did they tell you what that's dependent on? Why don't they know if they need more money? Is it the duration of the time of the conflict or –

I put up a war powers vote that I was –

MARGARET BRENNAN: Right.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.

SENATOR TIM KAINE: They may want to avoid a vote on that and are trying to delay it for that reason.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.

SENATOR TIM KAINE: They'll make that call and we have to look at the content.

On the topic of money, the war has resulted in the increase of the price of oil. Rebecca F. Elliott and Joe Rennison (NEW YORK TIMES) note

Oil prices surged on Sunday evening, briefly topping $110 a barrel soon after markets opened, in a sign of growing concern that the war in the Middle East will continue to take a toll on energy supplies.

It was the first time in almost four years that the global oil benchmark, known as Brent, cost more than $100 a barrel. Oil is now around 50 percent more expensive than it was before the United States and Israel began attacking Iran on Feb. 28.

Let's wind down with this from Senator Elizabeth Warren's office:

Members urge State Department to take immediate action to evacuate U.S. citizens abroad

“The early failures of the Trump Administration to provide protection for American citizens abroad are inexcusable”

“[T]he failure to adequately protect [embassy staff] from this war shows blatant disregard for them and for the U.S. citizens they help to serve”

Text of Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) led the entire Massachusetts delegation in pressing Secretary of State Marco Rubio to explain the Trump administration’s “complete failure” to evacuate U.S. citizens — including Massachusetts residents — from the Middle East following the administration’s starting a reckless war in Iran.

“The early failures of the Trump administration to provide protection for American citizens abroad are inexcusable,” wrote the lawmakers. “We urge the State Department to take immediate action to support the evacuations of American citizens and provide protection for personnel in U.S. embassies throughout the Middle East.”

Following the administration's joint strikes with Israel against Iran on February 28, the State Department put out an alert on March 2 for U.S. citizens to “DEPART NOW” from over a dozen countries in the Middle East “due to serious safety risks.” By the time the Department issued the evacuation order, much of the region’s airspace was already fully or partially closed, significantly limiting options for U.S. citizens to evacuate.

Despite the evacuation warnings, the Trump administration appears to be leaving Americans on their own to scramble to get to safety. It was not until several days into the war and after Iran had conducted multiple retaliatory strikes against nine countries in the region that the White House announced it was working to evacuate Americans. The administration went on to issue “confusing signals” about whether U.S. citizens can get help.

On March 3, the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem tweeted that it was “not in a position at this time to evacuate or directly assist Americans in departing Israel.” The State Department posted later that afternoon that the government was “actively securing military aircraft and charter flights for American citizens who wish to leave the Middle East.”

Yet, multiple reports indicate that when Americans called the number that the State Department directed them to for departure assistance for at least several hours after this announcement, they received a message stating: “Please do not rely on the U.S. government for assisted departure or evacuation at this time. There are currently no United States evacuation points.”

“Up to one million U.S. nationals are reportedly living in the Middle East, and the Trump administration’s failures to prepare to evacuate them after the administration and Israel launched a war against Iran puts these citizens’ lives at risk,” wrote the lawmakers. “Additionally, the Trump administration and State Department appear ill-prepared for attacks targeting U.S. embassy personnel, despite the administration having spent months planning Operation Epic Fury.”

On March 3, President Trump admitted the administration had no evacuation plans for Americans abroad because “it all happened very quickly.”

“[T]his debacle is a predictable consequence of the Trump administration’s dismantlement of the State Department,” noted the lawmakers.

In July 2025, the State Department fired over 1,300 employees, including over 1,100 civil servants and nearly 250 foreign service officers as part of its reorganization directed by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The Department also recalled almost 30 career diplomats from ambassadorial and senior embassy posts across the world in December 2025. This included the ambassador to Egypt, who has not yet been replaced, and is one of the countries from which Americans have been urged to evacuate. The U.S. also has no confirmed ambassadors in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Kuwait, Algeria, Libya, and Iraq.

The Trump administration also appears unprepared to protect and evacuate U.S. embassy staff. The U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia was reportedly hit by multiple drone strikes that “caus[ed] part of its roof to collapse,” and the U.S. consulate in the United Arab Emirates also reportedly was struck by a drone in its parking lot. Officials also reportedly “expect[] the U.S. death toll to rise, and that some of those deaths could be the result of Iran’s targeting of embassies.”

“[These challenges] raise serious concerns about the Trump administration and State Department’s failure to adequately plan to protect State Department employees…the failure to adequately protect them from this war shows blatant disregard for them and for the U.S. citizens they help to serve,” wrote the lawmakers.

“Americans abroad rely on the State Department when they need help overseas — particularly when the United States has started a war that could result in a diplomatic and national security quagmire,” concluded the lawmakers.

The coalition pressed Secretary Rubio and the State Department for real plans to help American citizens evacuate the Middle East, as well as to explain any involvement it had in the planning for Operation Epic Fury and what steps it took to prepare for evacuating American citizens from the region and to protect U.S. embassy personnel, within one week, by March 12, 2026.

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Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Perks Of The Job" went up Friday afternoon and the following sites updated: