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By MICHELLE L. PRICE and MARY CLARE JALONICK

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. intelligence assessment completed shortly before the United States and Israel launched a war in Iran had determined that American military intervention was not likely to lead to regime change in the Islamic Republic, according to two people familiar with the finding.

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The National Intelligence Council’s assessment in February concluded that neither limited airstrikes nor a larger, prolonged military campaign would be likely to result in a new government taking over in Iran, even if the current leadership was killed, according to the two people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the classified report.

The determination undercuts the administration’s assertion that it can complete its objectives in Iran relatively quickly, perhaps in a matter of weeks. The administration has asserted that it was not seeking regime change in Iran, even as President Donald Trump considers whom he would like to see lead the country.

The intelligence assessment concluded that no one powerful or unified opposition coalition was poised to take over in Iran if the leadership was killed, according to the people familiar with the report. It determined that Iran’s establishment would attempt to preserve continuity of power if Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed, the people said.

In line with the assessment’s findings, Iran’s leading clerics on Sunday chose a new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, to succeed his father, who was killed in the war’s opening salvo. The son is believed to hold views that are even more hardline than his father, and his selection is a strong sign of resistance from Iran’s leadership and an indication the government won’t step aside quickly.

A poster of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, the successor to his late father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as supreme leader is placed on an anti-riot police car as policemen stand on top of the car, during a rally to support him in Tehran, Iran, Monday, March 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

The details of the assessment were reported earlier by The Washington Post and The New York Times.

Trump and other top administration leaders have given different justifications for the strikes that began on Feb. 28, saying they were necessary to set back Iran’s nuclear weapons program or to preempt an Iranian ballistic missile attack. While Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said the war is not aimed at regime change, Trump has said it’s something he wants to see.

A message seeking comment from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence was not immediately returned Monday. Director Tulsi Gabbard fired the council’s acting chairperson last year after the release of a declassified NIC memo that contradicted statements the Trump administration has used to justify deporting Venezuelan immigrants.

Trump, dating back to his first term, has been deeply skeptical of the U.S. intelligence community and has frequently dismissed its findings as politically motivated or part of a “deep state” effort to undermine his presidency.

Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani in Doral, Florida, and David Klepper in Washington contributed to this report.

By YURAS KARMANAU

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarusian journalist Pavel Dabravolski was convicted Monday of treason and sentenced to nine years in a maximum-security prison, activists said, the fifth media worker to be jailed in two weeks in a relentless government crackdown on freedom of the press.

Dabravolski, who has reported for international and domestic news outlets and won numerous prizes for his work, was found guilty during a closed-door trial at Minsk City Court, according to the Belarusian Association of Journalists. The 36-year-old most recently worked for BelaPAN, which the Belarusian authorities have designated as extremist.

President Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus for over three decades, has stayed in power through a relentless crackdown on dissent.

Massive protests broke out following the 2020 elections, which were widely denounced as fraudulent. More than 65,000 people were arrested and thousands were beaten. In the wake of the protests, hundreds of independent media outlets and nongovernmental organizations were shut down and outlawed.

Exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said Dabravolski was being targeted by “trumped-up charges.”

“Dabravolski’s only ‘crime’ was doing his job and covering the 2020 protests after the stolen elections,” she said. “We see that the conveyor belt of repression inside Belarus continues unabated.”

Activists have reported a sharp increase in government pressure on Belarus’ media workers.

“Repression is escalating and Dabravolski’s sentence shows that the authorities are increasing pressure on journalists in a country that already has the worst freedom of speech in Europe,” Andrei Bastunets, the head of the journalists’ association, told The Associated Press.

The group says that 28 journalists are imprisoned in Belarus.

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“It contradicts the idea that the human rights situation in Belarus has allegedly improved due to the release of prominent political prisoners,” Bastunets said.

Under Lukashenko, Belarus has faced years of Western isolation and sanctions for repression and for allowing Moscow to use its territory during its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. He has recently sought to improve relations with the West by releasing hundreds of political prisoners.

Many more remain behind bars, however, with human rights organization Viasna estimating that there are 1,140 political prisoners.

Also on Monday, Belarus’ main security agency, the KGB, designated four independent publishing houses that publish books in the Belarusian language as “extremist” without any explanation.

Lukashenko has made Russian an official language, alongside Belarusian, which like Russian uses the Cyrillic alphabet and is hardly heard spoken on the streets of Minsk and other large cities anymore. Official business is conducted in Russian, which dominates the majority of the media. Lukashenko speaks only Russian, and government officials often don’t use their native tongue.

Viasna activists say that independent book publishers have been facing increased pressure lately, with authorities targeting them with raids and detentions. At least 10 people have been arrested in the last month as part of that campaign, Viasna said.

By DAVID McHUGH, AP Business Writer

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The Iran war has put at risk some of the world’s most critical oil and gas infrastructure — the pipelines, refineries, and shipping terminals that keep energy flowing from the countries around the Persian Gulf to the global economy.

Strikes by Iranian drones have disrupted operations, while risk of Iranian strikes has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, the conduit for some 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas. Oil fields in countries including Iraq have cut back output as storage fills up. Qatar, a major supplier of liquefied natural gas, has shut down its exports as well.

“A lot of very critical energy infrastructure has been either forced to shut down because of direct damage from drones and missiles,” said Torbjorn Soltvedt, principal Middle East analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft, “or because production is effectively being shut in as a result of shipping grinding to a halt. We’re already starting to see some of the global ramifications of that.”

All that has sent prices soaring, raising the cost of everything that needs fuel: flying, running factories, transporting goods, and farming. International benchmark Brent crude has risen from $72.97 the day before the war started to almost $103 on Monday.

• FILE – In this Nov. 19, 2019, photo made available by U.S. Navy, the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, left, the air-defense destroyer HMS Defender and the guided-missile destroyer USS Farragut transit the Strait of Hormuz with the guided-missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf. (Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Zachary Pearson/U.S. Navy via AP, File)
• FILE – A thick plume of smoke rises from an oil storage facility hit by a U.S.-Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, file)
• FILE – The current diesel fuel price is shown on a pump at a filling station in Richardson, Texas, March 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, file)
• FILE – This April 4, 2009, file photo, shows a gas production facility at Ras Laffan, Qatar. (AP Photos/Maneesh Bakshi, File)
• FILE – In this Jan. 18, 2016 file photo, an oil pump works at sunset, in the desert oil fields of Sakhir, Bahrain. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali, File)

Show Caption1 of 5FILE – In this Nov. 19, 2019, photo made available by U.S. Navy, the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, left, the air-defense destroyer HMS Defender and the guided-missile destroyer USS Farragut transit the Strait of Hormuz with the guided-missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf. (Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Zachary Pearson/U.S. Navy via AP, File) Expand

Here is the key infrastructure that’s at risk and why it’s important.

Ras Laffan liquefied natural gas terminal, Qatar

The terminal was shut down by state-owned QatarEnergy following a drone strike, dealing a shock to global gas markets since Qatar produces 20% of the world’s liquefied natural gas (LNG). The company is citing force majeure — in other words, that it’s unable to supply its contracted customers due to circumstances beyond its control.

Ras Laffan, the largest LNG export facility in the world according to the company’s website, draws gas from the world’s largest single gas field and chills it until it is liquid for loading on tankers that take it to customers, primarily in Asia. Gas purchasers in Europe will also feel the pinch as competition gets fiercer for available cargoes.

Ras Tanura port and refinery, Saudi Arabia

Located on the Persian Gulf northeast of Dammam, this is Saudi Aramco’s largest refinery and a port capable of accommodating large tankers. It was temporarily shut down after a drone impact caused a fire.

East-West pipeline, Saudi Arabia

Saudi Aramco operates this pipeline from the Aqaiq oil processing center near the Persian Gulf to the Yanbu port on the Red Sea, avoiding the Hormuz chokepoint.

Fujairah oil terminal, United Arab Emirates

A key terminal for very large oil tankers on the Gulf of Oman, it is important because it enables Abu Dhabi to export a significant share of its oil without sending it through the Strait of Hormuz. It has been reported as disrupted by the fighting by Rystad Energy data and analytical firm. The port company did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment about its status.

“Iran’s targeting of oil storage in Fujairah isn’t a coincidence; it’s attacking one of the potential reroutings of oil that’s been trapped in the Persian Gulf,” analyst Soltvedt said.

Kharg Island, Iran

A tanker terminal that has handled almost all of Iran’s roughly 1.6 million barrels per day of prewar crude exports, most of it going to China. Iran reportedly accelerated shipments in the days before the war started. Its operational status is unclear.

Leviathan natural gas field, Israel

Israel’s Energy Ministry directed operator Chevron to shut down the field, located 130 kilometers (80 miles) off the shores of Haifa, due to the security situation. It’s the largest natural gas reservoir in the Mediterranean and is a key supplier to Egypt. A shutdown during Israel’s 12-day war with Iran in June led Egypt to curtail gas supplies to industries including fertilizer producers.

Southern Iraqi oil fields

Iraq has suspended output of 1.5 million barrels per day at key fields at Rumaila and West Qurna due to dwindling storage. The Rumaila field is a so-called supergiant, meaning it holds more than a billion barrels in reserves.

Rystad Energy reports Iraq and other Gulf countries are running out of space to put the oil, meaning other fields may shut down. That could bring interruption since once shut down, oil and gas wells may need weeks or months to resume.

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Even if the Strait of Hormuz reopens in a few days, “it’s going to take time to restart production in some of these fields. It’s not a switch that can be turned on and off,” said Soltvedt. “It’s the same for Qatar in terms of their LNG facility. It will probably take weeks to get some of the facilities up and running again.”

Al Basra Oil Terminal, Iraq

This artificial island located 50 kilometers (30 miles) from shore in the Persian Gulf exports oil worth 80% of Iraqi’s annual GDP from the country’s oil fields.

Bapco refinery, Bahrain

The Sitra Island refinery is the backbone of Bahrain’s oil sector, processing supply from Bahraini fields and delivered from Saudi Arabia via pipeline. A missile strike halted operations and disrupted jet fuel, diesel and other supplies.

MIAMI — In the overall pantheon of NBA all-time scoring leaders, Bam Adebayo exited Sunday night’s victory over the Detroit Pistons at No. 413 on the league’s list, just ahead of Terrell Brandon, just behind Jeff Teague.

But with the Heat, the ninth-year center now stands alongside one and second to only one, having joined Dwyane Wade as the only players in the Heat’s 38 seasons to score 10,000 points with the franchise.

For Adebayo, there still is a considerable gap to overcome, with his 10,001 points paling in comparison to Wade’s 21,556 with the Heat.

But for a player drafted out of Kentucky in 2017 mostly as a defensive presence, it still is a stride that earned the game ball Sunday and appreciation from his coach.

“He came in not known necessarily as a scorer,” Erik Spoelstra said. “He’s worked and willed himself into that. And for this particular team, his scoring is really important.”

Having recently passed previous Heat captain Udonis Haslem for the franchise record for defensive rebounds, Adebayo paused to also take stock of reaching 10,000 points.

“It means a lot, coming from someone who got drafted to play defense, and everybody thinking I was just like a lob threat,” he said. “But it just shows the growth of my game.”

Adebayo, 28, is about to begin a three-year, $166 million extension with the Heat next season.

“Obviously this organization  believes in me,” Adebayo said, “and I’ve been here that long to where I can get 10K with the same team, and obviously be in the history books behind somebody like D-Wade. So it’s a great accomplishment. I’m glad I got it with a W, too.”

Adebayo has scored at least 21 points in each of the last five games.

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“Obviously, we know how impactful he can be on both sides of the floor,” guard Tyler Herro said “And that’s the benefit and the luxury of having someone like him. He can come out there on any given night and have zero points, 15 rebounds, eight assists, and then he’s locking up on the defensive end. So every night is going to be different.”

Mindfulness Sanctuary

The Heat will unveil their fourth Heat Mindfulness Sanctuary on Wednesday at Alonzo and Tracy Mourning Senior High School in North Miami Beach, with Heat guard Davion Mitchell among those scheduled to be in attendance.

The sanctuary, according to the Heat, “is designed to serve as a restorative, nature-inspired environment where students and faculty can decompress, reflect and recharge. The space will include immersive aquatic-themed wall graphics, artificial-grass flooring, calming audio elements, aromatherapy, interactive sand gardens, creative art therapy tools, and additional wellness resources to support emotional balance and stress management.”

Through the Miami Heat Mindfulness Champions Initiative, select high school teachers across the nation’s third-largest school district receive training and resources in mindfulness and mental health education to share with students and fellow faculty.

Noam Ash didn’t expect his own life to become the inspiration for his first feature film. But that’s what happened when the then-27-year-old was living with his grandparents in 2018.

The screenwriter’s conversations with his manager about another script he was working on kept turning to how he had moved in with his Holocaust survivor grandfather after breaking up with his boyfriend.

“My manager was like, ‘I think you should actually write about that,’” Ash recalled in an interview.

Nearly a decade later, Ash’s film “Bookends,” which is loosely inspired by his own experience, is the first movie incubated by the Jewish Writers Institute Screenwriters Lab to make it to production. It stars F. Murray Abraham, Caroline Aaron and Charlie Barnett alongside Ash, who portrays a character loosely based on himself.

The film follows a young gay man who moves in with his grandmother and grandfather — a Holocaust survivor — after a bad breakup, and soon confronts end-of-life issues while navigating a new romance with his grandparents’ doctor.

“Bookends,” directed by Mike Doyle, recently premiered at the Santa Barbara Film Festival, where it received the 2026 Stand Up Award sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League, and has since drawn offers of distribution.

“Bookends is a work of art that explores the richness, diversity, and complexity of a Jewish family and community,” ADL California regional director Joshua Burt said in a statement. “It is just the sort of storytelling that will help the Jewish community seem familiar to the non-Jewish world, helping everyone embrace one another as part of the wider community.”

For Ash, the film is a testament not only to his own story but to the nurturing that came from the Jewish Writers Institute throughout the process, which overlapped with an increasingly fraught time for Jewish creatives.

“Over the past couple of years, there has been a lot of fear in Hollywood, there’s a lot of people not knowing if they should include certain subject matter in their work.” Ash said. “I think fear thrives in isolation and love blossoms in community, and [JWI] really created the space where they were saying, ‘there are people out here who want your stories, and there are people out here who believe in them.’”

One of multiple initiatives supporting Jewish creatives, the Screenwriters Lab provides financial and networking support for Jewish filmmakers and writers seeking to create Jewish films and television programs.

“If we don’t tell our stories, there’s lots of people who are telling alternate versions, so it’ll be swallowed up,” said Ari Pinchot, a film producer and co-director of the Screenwriters Lab.

Pinchot said he was drawn to supporting Jewish screenwriters after premiering his 2012 documentary “Follow Me: The Yoni Netanyahu Story,” about the brother of the current Israeli prime minister who was killed while rescuing hostages during Israel’s raid in Entebbe in 1977.

“I realized how much the audience was starving for this kind of Jewish content,” Pinchot said.

Pinchot ultimately secured support from the Maimonides Fund, a private foundation, to launch the Screenwriters Lab in conjunction with Crystal City Entertainment, his feature film finance and production company. (Maimonides also supports 70 Faces Media, JTA’s parent company.)

To participate in the Screenwriters Lab, applicants must submit a detailed pitch of their script. Cohort members receive a $10,000 stipend and spend three days in New York, three days in Los Angeles, and eight days in Israel. They receive one-on-one mentorship, attend master classes and lectures, and meet with producers, writers, directors, studio heads, distributors, and financiers.

Other projects supported by the lab include a script for nonfiction writer Sarah Wildman’s memoir “Paper Love”; a reimagining of “Pride and Prejudice” that takes place at a Jewish summer camp; and “We Canceled Mikvah Night,” a miniseries inspired by the 2024 sex strike in Borough Park that became part of a campaign to help an Orthodox woman obtain her religious divorce. But Ash’s is the first to be completed and seen by the public.

Pinchot said “Bookends” exemplifies the Screenwriters Lab’s value proposition.

“We love to find stories that aren’t the typical Jewish story,” Pinchot said of Ash’s film. “And so his approach and his story was really atypical but shine a light on a wonderful aspect of the Jewish community, which is acceptance and multi-generational interactions and people who are trying to find their place within a very tight-knit community.”

Noam Ash’s grandparents both died before the film was finished. His grandmother Miriam Friederman Cohen died in 2021 and his grandfather Saul B. Cohen died in 2022. They were both 96 years old at the time of their deaths.

But Ash said they both lived long enough to know that he was working on the film.

“The film is really a love letter to my grandparents, and the greatest generation,” Ash said. “I do consider my relationship with my grandparents to be one of the greatest blessings of my life.”

For more info, go to JTA.org. 

BUENOS AIRES — Argentina has issued a new arrest warrant for an Iranian official in connection with the 1994 AMIA Jewish community center bombing in Buenos Aires, at the same time that the alleged mastermind was named the new head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Ahmad Vahidi was appointed head of the IRGC on March 1, a day after the unit’s previous leader was killed in the first wave of U.S.-Israeli strikes. Vahidi helmed the IRGC’s Quds Force paramilitary arm responsible for attacks abroad at the time of the AMIA bombing.

Argentinians see poetry in the first strikes, which killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and dozens of his deputies as they met in Tehran. The street where they were meeting was named for Louis Pasteur — the same name as the street in Buenos Aires where the AMIA Jewish community organization is located.

Eighty-five people, including children, were killed in the 1994 AMIA bombing. Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy in Lebanon, was quickly identified as having executed the attack, and an arrest warrant for Vahidi was first issued in 2006.

But efforts at accountability faltered for years. A Jewish prosecutor who accused the Argentine president of covering up Iran’s role in exchange for trade benefits, Alberto Nisman, was shot to death in 2015.

Since 2023, when a pro-Israel president was elected, the Argentine government has reinvigorated the investigation and prosecution efforts, as well reopened an inquiry into Nisman’s death, now considered a homicide. A landmark legal ruling in 2024 officially declared that Iran and Hezbollah were responsible for the bombing, setting the state for potential international legal action.

“The pursuit of justice for the 85 victims is a matter of national policy and will continue until the last person responsible pays for this horrific crime, either with their freedom or their life,” Argentine President Javier Milei said in response to the start of the war on Saturday.

He continued, “The Argentine Republic hopes that this joint military action by our allied countries will put a definitive end to what were more than 40 years of oppression and human rights violations in Iran, and that the Iranian people will finally have peace and regain their democracy.”

On March 4, federal prosecutor Sebastián Basso asked a judge to formally charge 10 additional Iranian and Lebanese suspects in the AMIA case. The chief of the AMIA investigative unit also issued an international arrest warrant for Ali Asghar Hejazi, a senior Iranian official described as a close aide to Khamenei who so far has apparently survived the attacks on Iran’s leadership.

The moves seek to advance under Argentina’s recently approved trial-in-absentia framework, which would allow courts to try suspects who remain outside the country and have never appeared before Argentine justice.

“Last year we also obtained important information from an Iranian dissident group. What I asked the judge yesterday was to move quickly against the 10 suspects we have identified so we can hold a trial in absentia as soon as possible and show society the evidence the Argentine state has gathered over the past 30 years,” Basso said in an interview with Radio Mitre. “Hezbollah carried out the attack, but it acted as a puppet of the Iranian regime.”

According to a filing submitted to federal judge Daniel Rafecas, prosecutors say Hejazi played a role in the decision-making structure behind the attack. Investigators believe he chaired the Omure Vijeh Committee, a body within the Iranian leadership where intelligence about the target was gathered and the plan to attack the AMIA building was allegedly developed.

For more info, go to JTA.org. 

By CARA ANNA

Iran has named a son of its late supreme leader as his successor. U.S. President Donald Trump already had expressed disdain for Mojtaba Khamenei, calling him “unacceptable.” The Islamic Republic’s war strategy now has a new commander, and the powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has pledged allegiance.

Oil prices shot above $100 a barrel. Both sides in the war struck new targets over the weekend, including civilian ones. Bahrain accused Iran of hitting one of the desalination plants that are crucial for drinking water in Gulf countries. Israel struck oil depots in Tehran, sending up thick smoke and causing environmental alerts.

The U.S. announced another soldier’s death. Saudi Arabia announced the first deaths there. Anger grew in Arab countries over Iran’s launching of hundreds of missiles and drones around the region. The Israeli military’s chief of staff warned that the war “will take a long time.”

Here’s where things stand as the war enters its 10th day.

A man carries shoes from his destroyed house that was hit by Israeli airstrikes hit several houses in Sir al-Gharbiyeh village south Lebanon, Sunday, March, 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari) Iran

Iran’s announcement of a new supreme leader came after the country’s remaining leadership appeared to show a rift. President Masoud Pezeshkian apologized for attacks on neighboring countries, but hard-liners criticized that and said the war strategy would continue.

The new supreme leader had not been seen or heard from publicly since the war began. He has not made a statement in his new role. The younger Khamenei inherits both the war and domestic unrest after Iran earlier this year cracked down on some of its largest protests in half a century.

Iran did not publicly update its death toll over the weekend from the over 1,200 previously reported. More Iranians fled the country.

Israel

Israel attacked both Iran and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in neighboring Lebanon, where authorities say over a half-million people have been displaced and over 300 killed.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed “many surprises” in the next phase of the war. Israel said it destroyed the headquarters of the Revolutionary Guard Air Force, which operated the ballistic missile command, and struck ballistic missile launchers and missile production facilities.

Eleven people have died in Israel since the war began. Multiple alerts continued to sound per day across Israel about incoming projectiles, almost all of them intercepted.

An Army carry team moves a flag-draped transfer case with the remains of U.S. Army Reserve soldier Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, of White Bear Lake, Minn., who was killed in a drone strike at a command center in Kuwait after the U.S. and Israel launched its military campaign against Iran, past President Donald Trump during a casualty return, Saturday, March 7, 2026, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) United States

The U.S. military warned Iranians to stay indoors, asserting that Iran was launching attacks from densely populated areas. Evidence mounted indicating that the U.S. was behind the deadly strike on a girls’ school in Iran on the first day of the war, but Trump suggested Iran was to blame.

Trump also attended the return of the remains of U.S. soldiers killed in the war. Seven have been killed.

Families of U.S. detainees in Iran worried their loved ones are at risk.

The U.S. military did not give an update over the weekend on the number of missiles and drones that Iran has fired in recent days, after saying the rate had gone down sharply. Experts said it’s possible that Iran is holding back some missiles in reserve.

Middle East

The head of the Arab League called Iran’s war strategy “reckless” as Gulf and other nations reported intercepting Iranian missiles and drones in areas of their countries with no U.S. military presence.

No country other than the U.S. and Israel has said it is attacking Iran. Some countries in the region host U.S. military facilities or troops. Iran has urged countries not to allow the U.S. to attack it from their territories. A missile hit a helicopter landing pad in the U.S. Embassy complex in Iraq.

More deaths were reported. Saudi Arabia said a falling military projectile killed two people from Bangladesh. Kuwait said two border guards were killed, and the United Arab Emirates reported a driver killed.

Foreign residents and workers have made up most of the reported deaths in the Gulf. Over a dozen people have been killed there in all.

Globally

The U.S. sought to assure Americans that surging fuel prices are a short-term problem. Russia is profiting from the surge.

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Many travelers and pilgrims remain stranded in the Middle East. The U.S. State Department said over 32,000 Americans have left the region since the war began.

Nervousness remained around some of the world’s busiest air hubs. Passengers waiting for flights at Dubai International Airport were ushered into train tunnels after several blasts were heard. Kuwait said fuel tanks at Kuwait International Airport were targeted by drones.

More states are becoming involved. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country will send experts to advise the U.S. and Middle Eastern allies on repelling Iranian drone attacks next week.

For more than a century, U.S. military chaplains have worn insignia identifying their faith — a cross for Christians and tablets with a Star of David for Jews. Now Jewish chaplaincy groups are asking the Pentagon to intervene after chaplains from Messianic Judaism, a Christian movement that blends Jewish practices with belief in Jesus, began wearing the Jewish symbol.

The effort is being led by the Aleph Institute, a Chabad-affiliated organization that endorses Jewish chaplains for the U.S. military.

Aleph asked the military to investigate the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations, which endorses Messianic chaplains, and to revoke its endorsement authority if it continues allowing clergy to wear Jewish insignia traditionally reserved for Jewish chaplains.

“It is clear that [the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregation] is acting in a manner incompatible with the interfaith cooperation and respect that has defined 150 years of U.S. military chaplaincy,” Aleph wrote in a letter to the Armed Forces Chaplains Board.

In a view shared by many Jews, Aleph suspects that the Messianic movement is a facade — a deceitful tactic aimed at proselytization.

“They have engaged in heavily deceptive behavior, all for the purpose of trapping unsuspecting Jews into the belief that Jesus is part of Jewish theology,” Aleph’s letter said. “Due to persecution, forced conversion, and extreme tactics employed by many Christian countries over the millennia proselytization of Jews is considered an antisemitic tactic.”

Military chaplains serve as clergy and counselors for members of the armed forces, providing worship services, pastoral counseling and religious accommodations for troops and their families. Because chaplains may be the only clergy available in combat zones or remote postings, their insignia — patches and small metal pins worn on their uniforms — function as a quick signal of religious identity.

Aleph and other Jewish chaplaincy groups say the chaplaincy system is being undermined by the Messianic movement, whose adherents may identify as Jews but are not recognized as such by any denomination of Judaism.

Rabbi Sanford Dresin, Aleph’s vice president of military programs and a retired Army chaplain, warned in a separate letter that using Jewish symbols could mislead Jewish troops about who represents Judaism.

“The entire spectrum of American Jewry unequivocally opposes any insignia to be designed for wear by Messianic chaplains other than the cross,” Dresin wrote. “Any insignia containing a traditional Jewish symbol would be misleading to Jewish service members, and would be deceptive in nature.”

Other Jewish chaplaincy organizations have joined Aleph’s effort.

Rabbi Laurence Bazer, who endorses Reform, Conservative and Orthodox rabbis and cantors as military chaplains through the Jewish Chaplains Council, said Jewish groups are working together on the issue.

“In dealing with the Messianic chaplains and insignias, we stand with our partners, Aleph Institute, and others in our position,” Bazer said. “We’re in partnership, and we’re working toward resolving this so they are not using any sort of Jewish symbol.”

Modern Orthodox leaders have also raised concerns.

In a January letter to the Armed Forces Chaplains Board, the Rabbinical Council of America warned that the use of Jewish symbols by non-Jewish clergy could create confusion in the military chaplaincy system.

“In the military setting, insignia are not private expressions of belief,” RCA leaders wrote. “They are government-authorized identifiers that communicate a chaplain’s religious endorsement and pastoral role. The use of Jewish symbols by chaplains not endorsed by recognized Jewish bodies creates a serious risk of confusion and misrepresentation and conveys an appearance of official Jewish authenticity that does not exist.”

Messianic leaders reject the criticism and say their chaplains are simply following existing military policy.

Barney Kasdan, a leader of the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations who oversees the group’s military chaplaincy endorsements, said Messianic chaplains identify as Jews and therefore wear the same insignia as other Jewish chaplains.

“The tablets — the Ten Commandments — is the traditional Jewish insignia,” Kasdan said. “We identify as Jews, and as far as the Department of Defense is concerned, if you’re a Jewish denomination you wear the Jewish insignia.”

Kasdan said the organization currently has five Messianic chaplains serving in the military and three candidates in training. The group became an officially recognized chaplaincy endorser with the Department of Defense in 2017, he said.

Kasdan said Messianic leaders would be open to adopting a separate insignia if the Pentagon created a policy allowing one.

“We would be happy with our own distinctive insignia design that is different from the tablets,” he said. “But right now we’re just following the current policy.”

Messianic chaplains also say the Christian cross does not reflect their religious identity.

“A cross does not reflect who we are culturally,” Kasdan said. “If a chaplain wearing a cross is leading a Jewish-style service — reciting the Shema, using a siddur — Christians would say that’s misleading.”

The dispute comes at a moment when the military chaplaincy is under heightened scrutiny amid broader political debates about religious expression in the armed forces. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has signaled support for expanding religious expression protections for service members and chaplains, though the Pentagon has not announced any policy changes related to chaplain insignia.

Asked about the Jewish groups’ concerns, a Pentagon spokesperson said the department had received the correspondence but declined to comment further.

“As with all correspondence, the Department will respond directly to the authors as appropriate,” the spokesperson wrote in an email. “At this time, we don’t have anything to provide on this.”

One of the chaplains cited in Aleph’s complaint is James Burling, who serves with a Marine combat training battalion at in North Carolina. His religious training comes from Christian institutions, including a master of divinity from Azusa Pacific University, an evangelical Christian university, and graduate studies in pastoral counseling at Southern California Seminary.

Burling said in an interview that he wears the insignia his endorsing organization directs him to wear.

“I wear the insignia I am directed to by my endorser,” he said. “He directed me to wear the stone tablets with the Star of David on top.”

Burling describes himself as Jewish but says his religious practice takes place in Messianic congregations.

“I identify as Jewish,” he said. “But as far as what I practice, I attend a Messianic synagogue.”

He said he does not attempt to convert Jewish service members and instead focuses on pastoral care.

“If I meet Jewish Marines, I make sure they have what they need,” he said. “I give them Tanakhs. I make sure they have their scriptures. I don’t push anything on them.”

Burling pointed to a San Diego rabbi, Yoram Dahan, as someone familiar with his Jewish learning and involvement in the community. But Dahan said that while Burling had studied Torah with him, he never understood Burling to be Jewish.

“James studied Torah with us and he was very serious about it. He loves Israel. But of course he is Christian,” Dahan said.

“If he says he is Jewish, it is not true and it’s not good,” Dahan added. “The Messianics are a very dangerous group.”

Kasdan said Messianic chaplains hope the issue can be resolved cooperatively.

“We want to work in the spirit of cooperation and peace,” he said. “We’re just trying to serve the military and their families.”

But Aleph and other Jewish chaplaincy groups say the stakes go beyond theology.

Because Jewish service members may rely on insignia to identify clergy who represent their faith, particularly in remote or high-stress military settings, they argue that Jewish symbols should remain reserved for chaplains representing Judaism.

“This is not a theological dispute or an effort to exclude any individual from service,” the RCA letter says. “It is a matter of accuracy in government speech and the protection of religious freedom for a minority faith community that depends on clear institutional signals.”

For more info, go to JTA.org. 

By JULIE CARR SMYTH

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio State President Walter “Ted” Carter Jr. resigned on Monday after disclosing “an inappropriate relationship” with a woman seeking public resources for her private business.

Carter, 66, said in a statement that he had resigned voluntarily after informing the university’s board of trustees of his error. He did not elaborate on the nature of the relationship and said he was leaving with his wife, Lynda.

“For personal reasons, I have made the difficult decision to resign from my role as president of The Ohio State University,” he said. “I disclosed to the board of trustees that I made a mistake in allowing inappropriate access to Ohio State leadership.”

Ohio State is the nation’s sixth-largest university, with more than 60,000 students, over 600,000 living alumni and a highly ranked football team and medical center. Carter oversaw a fiscal year 2026 budget totaling $11.5 billion in revenues and $10.9 billion in expenditures.

The university brought Carter on board in 2023 from the University of Nebraska system. He is also a former superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy and holds the national record for carrier-arrested landings with over 2,000 mishap-free touchdowns.

He filled a vacancy at Ohio State left by the mid-contract resignation of President Kristina Johnson, which went largely unexplained. The engineer and former undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Energy had been chancellor of New York’s public university system before she joined the Buckeyes as president in 2020.

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Recently Nick Fuentes, the far-right influencer and unrepentant antisemite and misogynist, did something unusual for him: He apologized to a Jew.

Sort of.

The apology was court-ordered, and Fuentes himself was not present for it. His attorney handed a note to the recipient, 59-year-old Marla Rose, and quickly demanded it back before it could appear in public.

And it had nothing to do with Fuentes’s hate speech, but rather with a misdemeanor battery charge stemming from the 27-year-old streamer’s assault of Rose in late 2024 as she approached his front door.

Yet the incident and its aftermath have become one of the few ways in which Fuentes has been held accountable for some of his actions as his public influence has continued to grow. And for Rose, a freelance writer and self-described “jack-of-all-trades progressive activist” who does not typically foreground her Jewish identity, her up-close encounters with Fuentes have proved an education in other ways.

“My Jewish identity is also forged by social justice, of the history of speaking up for those who are oppressed,” she said in an interview. “I think that Jewish people have a long and beautiful history of social justice.”

Rose grew up in a family of “High Holiday Jews,” as she describes it, who came orginally from Russia and Ukraine. While her mother held a leadership role with the sisterhood of their local synagogue, today she doesn’t involve herself much in religious life; she also identifies as agnostic. And despite Fuentes’ constant torrent of antisemitic invective online, Rose said her own Jewish identity had little bearing on her decision to walk up to his door — though it wasn’t entirely absent, either.

“My culturally Jewish background is very aligned with what I did,” she said. “My heroes are people like Emma Goldman” — the Jewish socialist leader of the early 20th century.

Instead, it was the realization that the two lived in the same town — revealed when a Fuentes tweet after President Donald Trump’s reelection (“Your body, my choice”) led to his address being doxxed online.

When Rose saw his address listed as located in the Chicago suburb of Berwyn, Illinois, she drove the 10 minutes to his house and filmed the front of it to send to her friends. As she was filming, she recalled, someone drove by and asked if it was indeed Fuentes’ house. They dared her to knock on the door, and she agreed — a longtime political canvasser, she was used to knocking on strangers’ doors.

“I don’t believe that people should hide behind screens,” she said, about why she did it. “And since he did make this very public statement that contributes to violence against women and reducing our bodily autonomy, I figured … OK, what the hell, I’ll ask. I didn’t expect he would answer the door.”

But Fuentes did open the door. He pepper-sprayed Rose, shoved her off his porch and grabbed and stomped on her phone, breaking it. The experience was harrowing and, Rose says, unexpected: she didn’t think her approaching his property was grounds for assault. (Rose maintains she had not yet rung Fuentes’ doorbell, though the local police report stated she knocked on his door until he answered.)

After she decided to press charges a few days later, the state negotiated a deferred prosecution for Fuentes, rather than a trial. In exchange, Fuentes promised to complete 75 hours of community service, attend an anger management class, compensate Rose for the phone and offer the apology. But his attorneys kept pushing for extensions on completing the work, until Rose last month threatened to take him to trial in response to the delays.

That led to the court appearance last month, in which Fuentes’s attorneys produced two of the four required consequences: the phone repayment and the apology. Arguing that having a public apology circulating online would be unfair to their client, his attorneys instead handed Rose a paper note containing the apology before quickly withdrawing it.

“I was in shock,” Rose recalled, saying she had been blindsided by the new arrangement. “That’s not what we had agreed upon between us.”

Requests for comment to Fuentes’s attorney were not returned.

In her recollection, Rose described the apology as “a ChatGPT-type short letter.” Fuentes stated that he had “overreacted” to her presence, while noting several times that she was “uninvited.” His long history of hate speech was not mentioned, and he attended the hearing by Zoom instead of in person (his camera was also off, to her recollection). His attorneys had pushed for an additional delay on his completion of the community service and anger-management requirements.

“I’m still trying to find some sort of justice with that letter of apology,” she said.

In recent weeks, Fuentes — while keeping up his antisemitism — has staked out positions that some observers have found surprising. He’s loudly opposed war with Iran and even urged his followers to vote Democrat over Republican. His longstanding crusade against Israel is looking more and more in keeping with the growing consensus on the left, as well.

That has led some of Rose’s friends and fellow activists — “quote-unquote, ‘progressive people,’” as she describes them — to send her articles about Fuentes on Facebook, expressing seeming admiration that he has changed his tune. “I get a lot of messages from people who are like, ‘Wow, is Nick Fuentes changing his ways?’”

It dismays her; she knows better.

“It bothers me that people aren’t seeing the larger, broader context in which he’s making these new claims,” she said. “I think it’s 100% opportunistic. He’s trying to get more people to follow him.”

One way Fuentes does that, she acknowledges, is through Israel — a region where the left is vulnerable. “There are people who conflate Israel and Jewish people and Judaism, and whatever your views are on Zionism, conflate all those things together,” she reflected. “And it’s the perfect opportunity for a bad actor like Fuentes to jump in there and stir up more antisemitism and just lean into the tropes that are so ancient.”

For more info, go to JTA.org.

Today is Monday, March 9, the 68th day of 2026. There are 297 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On March 9, 1959, the Barbie doll was introduced at the American International Toy Fair in New York.

Also on this date:

In 1796, the future emperor of the French, Napoleon Bonaparte, married Josephine de Beauharnais.

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In 1841, the U.S. Supreme Court, in United States v. The Amistad, ruled 7-1 in favor of a group of illegally enslaved Africans who were captured off the U.S. coast after seizing control of a Spanish schooner, La Amistad. The justices ruled that the Africans should be set free.

In 1862, during the American Civil War, the ironclad warships USS Monitor and CSS Virginia (formerly USS Merrimac) clashed for five hours to a draw at Hampton Roads, Virginia. The first engagement of ironclad warships opened a new era in naval warfare.

In 1916, more than 400 Mexican raiders led by Pancho Villa attacked Columbus, New Mexico, killing 18 Americans.

In 1945, during World War II, over 300 U.S. B-29 bombers began Operation Meetinghouse, a massive firebombing raid on Tokyo. The raid killed an estimated 100,000 civilians, left 1 million homeless and destroyed 16 square miles (41 square kilometers) of the city.

In 1964, the U.S. Supreme Court, in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, raised the standard for public officials to prove they’d been libeled in their official capacity by news organizations.

In 1997, rapper The Notorious B.I.G. (Christopher Wallace) was killed in a still-unsolved drive-by shooting in Los Angeles at age 24.

In 2022, a Russian airstrike devastated a maternity hospital in the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, killing four people and wounding at least 17.

Today’s birthdays:

• Singer Jeffrey Osborne is 78.
• Actor Juliette Binoche is 62.
• Actor Emmanuel Lewis is 55.
• Actor Oscar Isaac is 47.
• Comedian Jordan Klepper (TV: “The Daily Show”) is 47.
• Rapper Chingy is 46.
• Actor Matthew Gray Gubler is 46.
• Retired soccer player Clint Dempsey is 43.
• Olympic skiing gold medalist Julia Mancuso is 42.
• Actor Brittany Snow is 40.
• Rapper Bow Wow is 39.
• Rapper YG is 36.
• Social media personality Khaby Lame is 26.
• Olympic gymnastics gold medalist Sunisa Lee is 23.

MIAMI — Observations and other notes of interest from Sunday night’s 121-110 victory over the Detroit Pistons:

– Heading into the All-Star break, the concern was home for Heat didn’t mean heightened hope.

– That’s when the Heat not only lost three of their four home games before the break, but lost them to the likes of the Bulls, Hawks and Jazz.

– The concern was the current ongoing stretch of home games might not necessarily be optimized.

– Now?

– Concerns allayed.

– A five-game home winning streak,

– A 21-11 home record.

– Sunday’s game opened a four-game homestand, with matchups to follow every other day against the Wizards, Bucks and Magic.

– “We’ve known for all season long how important it is to establish a home spirit and a feeling,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “You don’t want this to be a place where people want to arrive. And I think we’ve done a pretty good job of that.”

– He added, “But more importantly, it’s just the opportunities as competitors. These games have a little bit more context to them. And that’s what you have to love about this time of year.”

– Of the Heat’s remaining many of the toughest perceived challenges will come at home, including games against the Lakers, Spurs and Celtics.

– As well as key seeding games against the Magic, 76ers and Hawks.

– Nothing would mean more for the Heat than a constant chorus of Pepas

– With Norman Powell (groin) and Andrew Wiggins (toe)  still out, the Heat for a second consecutive game opened with Bam Adebayo,  Pelle Larsson, Myron Gardner, Davion Mitchell and Tyler Herro.

– It was Gardner’s sixth start, with the Heat entering 3-2 when he starts.

– The Pistons opened with a lineup of Tobias Harris, Duncan Robinson, Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren and Marcus Sasser.

– Gardner was called for two early fouls, with Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kel’el Ware then entering together first off the Heat bench.

– Kasparas Jakucionis then entered, as Adebayo returned to play alongside Ware.

– Dru Smith followed, for nine deep.

– It was the 100th regular-season appearance for Smith.

– With his first steal, Herro moved past Keith Askins for 19th place on the Heat all-time list.

–  Mitchell’s third assist gave him a single-season high for his career.

– While Wiggins still is limited by knee tendinitis, the formal reason for his second consecutive absence was an inflamed left big toe.

– “We’ll just treat it,” Spoelstra said. “Every injury is different, so he’s dealing with both things right now that we think we can clear up in the short term. And we’ll just see. He’s getting a lot of treatment, so that’s definitely helping and he’s making some progress.”

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– As for Powell entering his second week of being out with a strained right groin, Spoelstra said, “I think he’s been able to do a little bit more. He’s definitely been able to do more, So, again, I think we shut him down at a responsible time to be able to try to fast track this. But I don’t have an update on his timeline. But he definitely is doing more.”

– Going in, there was ample credit to the Pistons from their rise from just two years ago being in the ashes.

– “It’s a credit to the coaching staff there,” Spoelstra said. “They built a culture very quickly. And the young players that they’ve had that were around two years ago have really used that as fuel and motivation.”

– Spoelstra added, “But it’s hard to win in this league in general. It’s even more of a challenge to win when you have a lot of young players. But I think Cunningham and Duren are wired a little bit differently than most young players. And they defend.They’re always going to have a chance in games the way they defend.”

– The Pistons entered on their first three-game losing streak of the season.

– “The best part of this group is we continue to grow, we continue to learn, and it’s all part of the process for us,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said.

– He added, “We still feel like we haven’t reached our ceiling yet.”

MIAMI — The sizzle also has substance.

Not only is it now eight wins in the last 10 games for the Heat, but with ample quality wins to add substance to the surge.

Sunday night it was a rousing 121-110 decision over the East-leading Detroit Pistons to follow up Friday night’s victory in Charlotte over the streaking Hornets and last weekend’s home victory over the West-contending Houston Rockets.

Shorthanded yet again, the Heat still remained in a comfort zone as they extended their winning streak to five, consistently a step ahead of the Pistons.

So even with Norman Powell and Andrew Wiggins among those out for Erik Spoelstra’s team, the push for something better than a fourth consecutive trip to the play-in round continued, moving to 36-29, the first time seven games above .500 since the 14-7 start to the season.

“You can sense that our locker room is trying to seize the moment right now,” Spoelstra said. “We’re having a lot of fun competing with each other and playing to a consistent identity on both ends.”

As has been the case amid the injury absences, it was the franchise mainstays leading the way, with Tyler Herro scoring 26 and Bam Adebayo 24. There also were 19 points from sixth man Jaime Jaquez Jr., who also had seven assists and five rebounds.

‘I mean, we’ve been saying it for years, man. We can beat anybody,” Herro said. “We can also lose to anybody. So just continue to stack good days.”

The Pistons, who were lacking sidelined former Fort Lauderdale Pine Crest standout Ausar Thompson, got 26 points from Cade Cunningham and 24 from fellow All-Star Jalen Duren, as their season-worst losing streak reached four.

“The guys are getting confidence,” Spoelstra said.

And Ws.

“I feel like a different team coming into this second half of the season,” Adebayo said.

Five Degrees of Heat from Sunday night’s game:

1. Game flow: The Heat led 34-16 after the first quarter, ending the period on an 11-1 run ,with Detroit 1 of 9 on 3s over the 12 minutes..

The Heat then pushed their lead to 24 in the second period, which, to that stage, was Detroit’s largest first-half deficit of the season. The lead in the first half reached 25, before the Heat went into the intermission up 67-58.

The Heat extended their lead to 27 in the third period, before going into the fourth up 103-80.

Detroit then pulled its starters with 4:30 to play, down 119-97 at that stage.

“We have our motivations, what we’re trying to do,” Spoelstra said of the bid to push up the standings.

2. Short but set: With Powell (groin)  and Wiggins (toe) out, and with the Heat also without Nikola Jovic (back) and Simone Fontecchio (groin), Spoelstra seemed to find a comfort zone by essentially only having nine players available for his rotation.

So that again had Myron Gardner as a placeholder in the starting lineup alongside Adebayo, Herro, Davion Mitchell and Pelle Larsson, with an ease of then rotating in Jaquez, Kel’el Ware, Kasparas Jakucionis and Dru Smith.

Ware and Jakucionis each added 12 points off the bench, with Larsson scoring 10.

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3. Adebayo again: It was yet another milestone night for Adebayo.

A week after moving past Udonis Haslem for the franchise all-time lead in defensive rebounds, this time with his 23rd point, he joined Dwyane Wade as the only players in the franchise’s 38 seasons with 10,000 career Heat points

“He came in not known necessarily as a scorer,” Spoelstra said of the 2017 first-round pick. “He’s worked and willed himself into that. And for this particular team, his scoring is really important.”

So, now, 10,000.

“It means a lot,” Adebayo said with a smile, “coming from someone who got drafted to play defense.

“But it just shows the growth of my game. Obviously this organization believes in me. I’ve been here that long to where I can get 10K with the same team.”

Adebayo rounded out his stat line with nine rebounds and six assists.

4. Comeback story: Herro continues to inspire with his offense in his return from a month off due to a rib injury.

During the initial stages of what now is a nine-game return, the concern was a slow-arriving 3-point comfort zone.

This time, after shooting 8 of 10 on 3-pointers in Friday night’s victory in Charlotte, Herro closed 4 of 8 from beyond the arc, with a pair in the third period that effectively ended any Detroit comeback hopes.

“I was without the game for a while,” Herro said, “and to be out there means a lot now to be winning out there with these guys. It just feels amazing.”

5. Advantage Heat: The schedule hardly worked in the Pistons’ favor in this one, with Heat idle on Saturday and the Pistons not only coming off a Saturday night home game and making the overnight flight, but also losing an hour with clocks moving forward by an hour.

Then again, the Heat won Friday in Charlotte on the second night of a back-to-back set, while the Hornets were idle the night before that game.

“It shows us what we can do,” Jaquez said of the Heat’s perseverance. “We just gotta buy in.

“At this time of the year, guys are stepping up, and we have no shortage of guys who are ready.”

General Daily Insight for March 09, 2026

Cosmic wisdom can guide us to unexpected paths forward. With clever Mercury trining auspicious Jupiter at 1:23 am EDT, generous answers are more likely to appear when we ask. Morning conversations favor clear requests and thoughtful answers. Distractions may try to confuse us, but sticking to the practical facts should stop them from messing things up. Later, the Moon enters Sagittarius, inspiring us to open our minds and hearts. Learning arrives when we listen first, then ask questions as necessary. Opportunities are everywhere when we look.

Aries

March 21 – April 19

Day-to-day choices pack surprising potential for peace. Quiet reflection gains power as cerebral Mercury in your 12th House of Solitude trines jovial Jupiter in your comforting 4th house, guiding you through releasing past aches. You may sweep up at home or forgive yourself for a misunderstanding at work. It’s okay if your impact is subtle rather than drastic. When times are tough, keeping up the daily grind is a meaningful accomplishment. Give yourself extra room to breathe as you move forward.

Taurus

April 20 – May 20

Kindness can travel farther than you expect. Your 11th House of Friendship pairs up with your 3rd House of Chatter as talkative Mercury trines lucky Jupiter. Small gestures could inspire major support from your community. As such, consider sending a heartfelt note to a peer or complimenting teamwork whenever you see it. Your steady nature sets the pace, so people should hear you clearly. Keep your connections warm and consistent throughout the day ahead. Your reliability builds lasting bridges that support future goals.

Gemini

May 21 – June 20

Your ideas deserve a bigger stage today. With studious Mercury trining Jupiter, the Planet of Wisdom, in your 10th House of Drive and your 2nd House of Logistics, you gain a better understanding of what it takes to make yourself heard. You could share with a supervisor or mentor, or reach out to your peers for their advice. Your quick mind spots what to improve, and your confidence helps others get on board. For the best results, keep your goals simple and trackable.

Cancer

June 21 – July 22

A new view steadies your caring heart. This Mercury-Jupiter trine unites your distant 9th house and your personal 1st house, since Jupiter’s currently in your sign. That makes this an excellent time to explore different philosophies around your unique view on life. Even if you aren’t up to analyzing moral quandaries, you can experience personal growth by doing your best to discover something new today. Learn what you can, then share your ideal next steps with a trusted confidant. Your optimism attracts helpful allies.

Leo

July 23 – August 22

Certain truths are likely on the tip of your tongue. Your 8th House of Shared Resources steadies as informative Mercury trines idealistic Jupiter in your quiet 12th house. Their collaboration makes it easier to talk calmly about shared needs. You may propose splitting a cost differently — be sure to mention how this benefits everyone involved. Your generous spirit shines while you keep boundaries firm and respectful. Say what you need without overexplaining. Straight talk invites mutual respect and steadier cooperation.

Virgo

August 23 – September 22

Peace arrives through simple, honest dialogue. Cognitive Mercury is trining Jupiter, uniting your 7th and 11th houses — which both focus on your connections with other people. The 7th house is more about one-on-one bonds, while the 11th house magnifies the potential of a united community. A calm check-in with a collaborator can clear a snag and reveal what will work in reality. Your careful eye helps each person feel seen and respected. Shared effort moves any project toward enduring success.

Libra

September 23 – October 22

Regular systems should make your day feel easier. Your 6th House of Practice and your 10th House of Work alike benefit as Mercury trines Jupiter, emphasizing the power of simple routines. Reorganizing your personal to-do list could make it much less intimidating. Plus, in the workplace, a cooperative team all using coordinating methods is a great way to improve your results without needing a ton more effort. Showing appreciation is another important brick in the path to successful teamwork. Consistent gratitude transforms stress into momentum.

Scorpio

October 23 – November 21

Playing isn’t just for kids — it’s currently an extra valuable way to learn and grow. Creativity might feel like it’s erupting from your soul as chatty Mercury in your expressive 5th house trines blissful Jupiter in your curious 9th house. This is the ideal aspect for theatrical art pieces, though overall, it empowers art of any kind. Your intense focus gains joy when you let curiosity lead. Don’t get lost seeking nonexistent perfection; your work is all the more meaningful for its potential flaws.

Sagittarius

November 22 – December 21

Your home is your castle, so treat it well! This morning, Mercury and Jupiter embrace across your homey 4th house and your intense 8th house. Any efforts to improve your living space may need to be run by other people, like a roommate or landlord. Still, there are likely things you can do to up your dwelling’s coziness factor all on your own, like stocking your cabinets with your favorite snacks or investing in quality blankets. Strong foundations can carry big dreams without unnecessary strain.

Capricorn

December 22 – January 19

Your conversations are full of cosmic potential today! You may reply to a long thread and discover cooperation grows as soon as you summarize the potential next steps. With messenger Mercury trining Jupiter, the Greater Benefic — with Mercury in your communication quadrant and Jupiter in your amicable 7th house — social exchanges carry extra goodwill. Being patient is the best way to keep conversations on track without sounding harsh. Keep messages kind to maintain morale. Genuine compliments move work forward with steady grace.

Aquarius

January 20 – February 18

Certain purchases will support your values more than others at the moment. Your 2nd House of Resources and your 6th House of Wellness are stabilized by today’s Mercury-Venus trine. You’re ready to make grounded choices regarding your everyday finances. Analyzing a subscription or frequent purchase could give you valuable insight. It would also be wise to set up a regular time for a financial review, whether that’s a monthly meeting with an accountant or a weekly kitchen-table discussion. Build steady value with consistent attention.

Pisces

February 19 – March 20

Pisces, your voice can currently land with warm, clear intent. Your message can be heard and understood as mental Mercury in your sign trines fortunate Jupiter in your light-hearted 5th house, allowing you to shine with kindness and strength. In any circumstances, people should feel your sincerity when you speak from the heart. Your empathy becomes leadership as you set a compassionate tone that others can follow. So what are you waiting for? Get out there and make your true self known!

By ALEX VEIGA

CHICAGO (AP) — Oil prices have eclipsed $100 per barrel for the first time in more than three and a half years as the Iran war hinders production and shipping in the Middle East.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, was at $101.19 shortly after trading resumed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, up 9.2% from its settlement price of $92.69 Friday.

West Texas Intermediate, the light, sweet crude oil produced in the United States, was selling for about $107.06 a barrel. That’s 16.2% higher than its Friday settlement price of $90.90.

Both could rise or fall as market trading continues.

The increases followed U.S. crude prices jumping by 36% and Brent crude prices rising 28% last week. Oil prices have surged as the war, now in its second week, ensnared countries and places that are critical to the production and movement of oil and gas from the Persian Gulf.

Roughly 15 million barrels of crude oil — about 20% of the world’s oil — typically are shipped every day through the Strait of Hormuz, according to independent research firm Rystad Energy. The threat of Iranian missile and drone attacks has all but stopped tankers from traveling through the strait, which is bordered in the north by Iran, carry oil and gas from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Iran.

Iraq, Kuwait and the UAE have cut their oil production as storage tanks fill due to the reduced ability to export crude. Iran, Israel and the United States also have attacked oil and gas facilities since the war started, exacerbating supply concerns.

The last time U.S. crude futures traded above $100 per barrel was June 30, 2022, when the price reached $105.76. For Brent, it was July 29, 2022, when the price hit $104 per barrel.

The global surge in oil prices since Israel and the U.S. attacked Iran on March 1 has rattled financial markets, sparking worries that higher energy costs will fuel inflation and lead to less spending by U.S. consumers, the main engine of the economy.

In the U.S., a gallon of regular gasoline rose to $3.45 on Sunday, about 47 cents more than a week earlier, according to AAA motor club. Diesel was selling for about $4.60 a gallon, a weekly increase of about 83 cents.

The price of natural gas has also climbed, though not as much as oil. It rose about 11% last week and ended Friday at $3.19 per 1,000 cubic feet.

If oil prices stay above $100 per barrel, some analysts and investors say it could be too much for the global economy to withstand.

Over the weekend, Israel’s military struck oil depots in Tehran and four oil storage tankers and a petroleum transfer terminal.

Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, said the war’s impact on the oil industry would spiral, warning it soon could become harder to produce and sell oil.

Iran exports roughly 1.6 million barrels of oil a day, mostly to China, which may need to look elsewhere for supply if Iran’s exports are disrupted, another factor that could increase energy prices.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Iran’s late supreme leader, has been named his successor, Iranian state TV announced early Monday, as the war that began with his father’s killing less than two weeks ago took a dramatic turn.

The younger Khamenei, 56, had long been considered a contender for the post, even before an Israeli strike killed the 86-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and despite never being elected or appointed to a government position.

The post-midnight announcement came after signs of a rift among Iranian officials as the country awaited a decision by the 88-seat Assembly of Experts, a group of clerics that selects the supreme leader. State TV read a statement saying he was selected based on “strong” votes and urging the nation to unite behind him, and showed people celebrating in public areas of Tehran.

There has been only one other transfer of power in the office of supreme leader since the Islamic Revolution almost a half-century ago.

A secretive figure, the younger Khamenei has not been seen publicly for days. He now stands at the heart of Iran’s theocracy and will have final say over all matters of state. He will serve as commander-in-chief of the military and powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, and gains a stockpile of highly enriched uranium that could be used to build a nuclear weapon, if he chooses to decree it.

He also faces the likelihood of U.S. criticism. “Khamenei’s son is unacceptable to me,” U.S. President Donald Trump has said. “We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump told ABC News earlier Sunday he wants a say in who comes to power once the war is over; a new leader “is not going to last long” without his approval.

The Revolutionary Guard issued a statement expressing support, and the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah shared a portrait of the younger Khamenei on Telegram with the caption, “Leader of the blessed Islamic revolution.”

Regional anger grows over strikes

The war toll on civilian targets grew as Bahrain accused Iran of striking a desalination plant vital to drinking water supplies, and oil depots in Tehran smoldered following overnight Israeli strikes.

In a sign of rising regional anger, the Arab League chief lashed out at Iran for its “reckless policy” of attacking neighbors, including ones that host U.S. forces. Gulf countries have been struck by hundreds of missiles and drones since the war started on Feb. 28, and Iran’s president has vowed to expand attacks.

Saudi Arabia reported its first deaths, saying a military projectile fell onto a residential area and killed two people of Indian and Bangladeshi nationality. Foreign residents and workers have made up most of the war’s deaths in Gulf nations.

Israel reported its first soldier deaths, saying two were killed in southern Lebanon, where its military is fighting the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. The U.S. military said a service member died of injuries from an Iranian attack on troops in Saudi Arabia on March 1. Seven U.S. soldiers have now been killed.

The war has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, at least 397 in Lebanon and at least 11 in Israel, according to officials.

Iran’s president toughens tone

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian backtracked from conciliatory comments a day earlier in which he apologized for attacks on neighbors’ soil. Iranian hard-liners had swiftly contradicted him, saying war strategy wouldn’t change.

“The more pressure they impose on us, the stronger our response will naturally be,” Pezeshkian said Sunday.

Pezeshkian has urged neighboring states not to take part in U.S. and Israeli attacks. The U.S. strikes have not come from the Gulf Arab governments but from U.S. bases and vessels in the region.

“The geography of some countries in the region — both overtly and covertly — is in the hands of the enemy, and those points are used against our country in acts of aggression. Intense attacks on these targets will continue,” judiciary chief Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejei wrote on X on Saturday.

Mohseni-Ejei and Pezeshkian were part of the three-member leadership council overseeing Iran.

Desalination and oil facilities attacked

Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia reported additional Iranian missiles launched toward them.

Bahrain accused Iran of indiscriminately attacking civilian targets and damaging one of its desalination plants, though its electricity and water authority said supplies remained online.

Desalination plants supply water to millions of residents in the region and thousands of stranded travelers, raising new fears of catastrophic risks in parched desert nations.

The desalination plant strike came after Iran said a U.S. airstrike damaged a desalination plant there. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the strike on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz had cut into the water supply to 30 villages.

He warned that in doing so “the U.S. set this precedent, not Iran.”

In response, CENTCOM spokesperson U.S. Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins said that “U.S. forces do not target civilians – period.”

Iranian authorities also said Israel’s overnight strikes on four oil storage tankers and a petroleum transfer terminal killed four people. Witnesses in Tehran said the smoke was so thick that it looked as if the sun had not risen.

Israel’s military said the oil depots were being used by Iran’s military for fuel to launch missiles.

The Iranian Red Crescent Society warned Tehran residents to take precautions against toxic air pollution and the risk of acid rain.

It also said about 10,000 civilian structures across the country had been damaged, including homes, schools and almost three dozen health facilities. It also

Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf warned it soon could become harder to produce and sell oil. Some regional producers, including in Iraq, have curbed output amid dangers in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran maintains sufficient fuel, Veys Karami, managing director of the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company, told the state-run news agency.

Lebanon says a half-million people displaced

Lebanon said over a half-million people have been displaced in the week of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

The actual number is likely higher. Lebanon’s count of 517,000 refers to those who registered on the government’s online portal. Israel over the past week has called on residents in dozens of villages across southern Lebanon and the entirety of Beirut’s southern suburbs to evacuate as fighting intensifies.

Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine said 83 children and 82 women have been among those killed.

In Beirut, sheltering families crammed into schools, slept in cars or in open areas near the Mediterranean Sea, where some burned firewood to keep warm. The government said it would open a sports stadium to shelter thousands more.

Israel’s renewed offensive began last week after Hezbollah launched rockets toward northern Israel during the war’s opening days. The strikes have been the most intense since a November 2024 ceasefire. Israel has continued near-daily strikes, primarily in southern Lebanon, saying Hezbollah had been trying to rebuild its positions there.

___

Sam Metz reported from Ramallah, West Bank, Kareem Chehayeb from Beirut and Samy Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press journalists Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel and Aamer Madhani in Doral contributed reporting.

Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A device thrown by a counterprotester at an anti-Islam demonstration in New York City on Saturday was confirmed to be an improvised explosive, according to a preliminary police analysis.

Two people were in custody for their alleged role in the confrontation, which unfolded during a “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City” event led by the far right activist Jake Lang outside the Manhattan residence of Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

The sparsely attended event drew a far larger group of counterdemonstrators, including one person who tossed a smoking object containing nuts, bolts, screws and a “hobby fuse” into the crowd, police said.

In a social media post Sunday, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the department’s bomb squad determined the object wasn’t a hoax device or smoke bomb, but an “improvised explosive device that could have caused serious injury or death.”

The device extinguished itself steps from police officers, Tisch noted. The same person who threw it then received a second device from another counterprotester, which was dropped and did not appear to ignite, the commissioner said.

Charges against the two counterprotesters were still pending. Tisch said police were working with federal prosecutors and the FBI on the case.

“Violence at a protest is never acceptable,” Mamdani said in a statement Sunday. “The attempt to use an explosive device and hurt others is not only criminal, it is reprehensible and the antithesis of who we are.”

A person associated with Lang’s protest was also arrested and charged with reckless endangerment, assault and unlawful possession of a noxious matter after allegedly macing counterprotesters, police said.

Lang was previously charged with assaulting an officer with a baseball bat, civil disorder and other crimes before receiving clemency as part of President Donald Trump’s sweeping act of clemency for Jan. 6 defendants last year. He recently announced that he is running for U.S. Senate in Florida.

Earlier this year, Lang organized a rally in Minneapolis in support of Trump’s immigration crackdown, drawing an angry crowd of counterprotesters that quickly chased him away.

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Authorities in Peru on Sunday said they have arrested three people following the deadly bombing of a nightclub as the number of those injured rose to 44.

The explosion occurred early Saturday at the Dalí nightclub in the city of Trujillo in La Libertad region, which has the largest gold-producing area in Peru and is rife with extortion and illegal mining.

La Libertad Regional Health Management confirmed that those injured rose from 33 to 44, including three minors between the ages of 16 and 17.

At least 10 patients have been discharged, while four others remain in serious condition, said Gerardo Florián, executive director of the Trujillo Health Network.

Municipal officials said they shuttered the club for 30 days because it violated an operating hours limit and an ordinance prohibiting minors from entering the establishment.

The club did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

The police press office confirmed to The Associated Press that three people had been arrested in the case without providing more details. Video broadcast on local media showed the suspects handcuffed and being led away by police.

Saturday’s explosion is the latest to hit La Libertad.

In 2025, the region experienced 286 explosions, 136 of which occurred in the city of Trujillo, according to official figures.

In January of that year, an explosive device detonated in a prosecutor’s office building in Trujillo, and in August and September, two explosions left more than twenty people injured and damaged dozens of homes.

The Miami Dolphins’ roster for their first season under new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan will begin to take shape in earnest this week.

Free agent negotiations across the NFL start at noon Monday before those players can officially sign with new teams at the start of the new league year, at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

As Sullivan inherits a dire cap situation, while still needing to find a resolution with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and his guaranteed $54 million for 2026, the Dolphins aren’t expected to make many big splashy moves, like in recent years as former GM Chris Grier was trying to hold on to Miami’s win-now window that came and went.

Sullivan has said, since his introductory news conference in January, the Dolphins will build through the draft and become more aggressive in free agency once in a healthy cap situation.

So, what does that mean for the free agency approach for him as the first wave opens up?

He will still likely need to find veterans at several positions of need to fill out the roster. Many may just be stopgaps to bridge the Dolphins through what could be lean years before they’re ready to compete again once Sullivan has multiple draft classes to develop a core.

The biggest question comes at quarterback. Miami is likely bound to part ways with Tagovailoa. Sullivan, after saying “everything’s on the table” at the NFL scouting combine, is still trying to find a trade partner first before possibly releasing him with a post-June 1 designation to spread the dead cap hit over two seasons. A resolution would preferably be found by Friday, when an additional $3 million of his 2027 salary becomes fully guaranteed on the third day of the league year.

Tagovailoa was benched for the final three games last season to open the door for rookie Quinn Ewers to see playing time. Ewers figures to be in a quarterback competition with a passer to be named later, which could come in free agency.

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The most coveted free agent quarterback this cycle is Malik Willis, previously the backup for the Green Bay Packers, where Sullivan and new coach Jeff Hafley hail from.

The question on Willis is how much he ends up going for and how much the Dolphins will be willing to spend. If Miami’s new brass can land him for a bargain — let’s say, less than or around $20 million — he may very well be the next starting quarterback in South Florida. But if the asking price gets closer to $30 million or more, it’s difficult to visualize the Dolphins getting into a bidding war.

So does it then become Kirk Cousins, Jimmy Garoppolo or someone else as a veteran quarterback signing? Or just wait for a quarterback draft pick come late April?

Elsewhere, the Dolphins really need edge defenders.

They have Chop Robinson going into his third season, and he may be transitioning to putting his hand in the ground more often if Miami goes to more four-man defensive lines. The Dolphins, as Bradley Chubb has been informed he’ll be released, also re-signed outside linebacker Cameron Goode, a key special teams contributor.

They’ll probably eye a veteran available on an economical contract. Sullivan, Hafley and new defensive coordinator Sean Duggan had Kingsley Enagbare in Green Bay. Could it be former Miami Hurricane Al-Quadin Muhammad, coming off a strong year in Detroit? Maybe A.J. Epenesa from Buffalo? Or Haason Reddick, now a couple of years removed from his last double-digit sack season? Yetur Gross-Matos off injury with San Francisco? A reunion with Emmanuel Ogbah?

The Dolphins could be in line to revamp their secondary. All starters from last season at cornerback and safety could be gone, while they can develop rising second-year defensive backs in cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. and safety Dante Trader.

They should get opportunities to compete for starting jobs. Sullivan and new cornerbacks coach Jahmile Addae have previously worked with veteran Rasul Douglas, who was a standout for the team on his one-year deal last season. A return of Douglas and his work ethic would help establish the right culture in the building, while his coverage on the back end assists the pass rush.

The Dolphins also have to decide what to do with fellow veteran Jack Jones, nickel Kader Kohou, coming off a torn ACL and safeties Ifeatu Melifonwu and Ashtyn Davis, while possibly seeking a trade partner for Minkah Fitzpatrick.

As the Seattle Seahawks have two starting cornerbacks as free agents, could the Miami native Josh Jobe intrigue the Dolphins? Trevon Diggs is an option who was with the Packers last season. Would former Bills nickel Taron Johnson pique the interest of Miami’s new regime, as he has worked with Addae?

That only scratches the surface of Dolphins possibilities in free agency. They’ll need pass-catchers at wide receiver after cutting Tyreek Hill and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, as well as tight end. There’s bound to be an offensive lineman or two meant to provide depth or to infuse competition for starting guard spots.

As Sullivan has made his calls on many of the expected offseason moves and smaller signings early in his tenure, he will truly begin putting his fingerprints on the Dolphins’ roster this week.

A pedestrian was struck and killed by a Brightline train early Sunday in Fort Lauderdale despite efforts by fire rescue departments to save him.

“We responded to a train accident where a pedestrian was struck by a moving train. When we arrived, he was still alive, pinned under the train,” said Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue spokesman Frank Guzman in an email. “Despite a valiant effort utilizing resources from throughout our department, Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue, the Florida East Coast Railway, and others, the patient lost a pulse during the rescue attempt and was pronounced deceased on scene shortly after being extricated.”

The victim was not identified. The incident, reported in the 700 block of North Andrews Avenue, occurred around 1:30 a.m. Sunday.

Rail corridor deaths involving Brightline trains have drawn intense scrutiny and public attention since the higher speed rail line started service in 2018. A count by the Miami Herald placed the number of deaths at just below 200 through 2025.

Millions have been spent by the railroad and local, state and federal governments to improve the safety environment along the Florida East Coast Railway corridor. Brightline shares the rail line with the FEC to operate multiple train trips daily between Miami and Orlando with stops in Aventura, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton and West Palm Beach.

State and local transportation planners are studying the possibility of constructing tunnels or overpasses in Fort Lauderdale to enhance safety and ease traffic gridlock at roadways with railroad crossings.