Today’s Headlines: Three weeks into the Iran "excursion" — Trump's word, not ours — and there's no end in sight. Trump claimed Iran asked for a ceasefire; Iran said that didn't happen. Either way, 5,000 more marines and three more warships are headed to the region, joining the 50,000 U.S. troops already there. Oil is stuck at $100 a barrel, every country Trump asked to help escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz said no, and the U.S. bombed Iran's Kharg Island oil hub — which Trump said he might hit "a few more times just for fun," as one does. Iran fired a missile at an Italian base in Iraq's Kurdistan region, a drone killed a French soldier in the same area, and Emmanuel Macron had to call Tehran to say that's unacceptable. At home, a federal judge blocked the DOJ's attempt to criminally investigate Fed Chair Jerome Powell, ruling it was a pretext to pressure the Fed on interest rates — the Trump administration is appealing. The FCC chair threatened to pull local TV licenses over Iran war coverage he doesn't like, and Trump threatened media outlets on social media for the same reason. Neither has real teeth yet, but that's sort of the point. Meanwhile, a viral six-hour deposition of two former DOGE employees revealed they used ChatGPT to identify 1,400 grants to cut — including ones for Black civil rights documentaries and Holocaust research — with zero government or academic experience between them. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration will collect a $10 billion fee from the TikTok deal — on an app valued at roughly $14 billion total. Palantir's CEO went on CNBC to brag that his AI will shift economic power away from educated women who vote Democratic. Kash Patel announced the FBI will now train with UFC fighters. Marco Rubio is on the witness list in his close friend's federal trial for acting as an unregistered foreign agent of Venezuela. A Florida Democrat won the Boca Raton mayoral race by one vote, and the Republican loser said he'd "sleep on" whether to accept the results. And a UCLA study found that diverse film casts outperform at the box office — which landed the same weekend the Oscars completely snubbed Sinners.

Resources/Articles mentioned in this episode:

The Guardian: Middle East crisis live: Israel says it has launched ‘extensive strikes’ on Iran as Trump says US ‘not ready’ to make a deal to end war

NYT: More Marines and Warships Being Sent to Middle East, U.S. Officials Say

Reuters: Airstrike on Italian base in Iraq was deliberate, defence minister says

Bloomberg: Oil Erases Gains as Traders Gauge Supply Impact of Kharg Attack

CNBC: Iran sends millions of oil barrels to China through Strait of Hormuz even as war chokes the waterway

The Sun: Russians ‘forced to use walkie-talkies and paper maps’ after Putin’s internet blackout as Kremlin intensifies crackdown

CNN: FCC chair threatens TV networks amid Iran war coverage — but his warning rings hollow

Politico: Court blocks probe of Fed Chair Jerome Powell, DOJ to appeal

WSJ: Trump Administration Set to Receive $10 Billion Fee for Brokering TikTok Deal

The New Republic: Palantir CEO Makes Shocking Confession on Disrupting Democratic Power

404 Media: I Watched 6 Hours of DOGE Bro Testimony. Here's What They Had to Say For Themselves