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Today is Monday, March 2nd. We're talking about what some are calling the most consequential action President Trump has ever taken. What we know about American strikes in Iran and Iran's retaliation all around the Middle East. Also, a new terror investigation in Austin, Texas, and the chance of more potential threats on US Soil. Plus, the impact of Mideast violence on oil and gas prices, the Pentagon's new artificial intelligence deal, and Hollywood's last big award show before the Oscars. Those stories and even more news coming up. Welcome to the Newsworthy. All the day's news in less than 15 minutes. I'm Erica. Mandy. Thanks so much for being here. Let's do this. The US And Israel launched a major coordinated strike against Iran over the weekend. They hit and killed the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has ruled over Iran with ultimate power since 1989. Khamenei was the commander in chief of the armed forces as well as the head of the judiciary, the legislature and the executive branch. He was also designated as the most senior guardian of the Shiite faith. Reports say through his 37 years in power, Khamenei, more than any other single individual, shaped the course of the modern Middle East. He imposed a harsh theocratic system based on Sharia law, including strict dress codes, censorship and severe punishments for dissent. Other top leaders in Iran were reportedly also killed. U.S. defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called the attack the, quote, most lethal, most complex and most precision aerial operation in history. It was officially dubbed Operation Epic Fury. And the US And Israel have continued hitting targets in Iran ever since. Iranian leaders say the death toll has topped 200, including at least 165 people who died when a girls elementary school was struck. The Israeli military said it was not aware of that strike. The US Military said it would look into the report. While going after more targets. President Trump said heavy bombing would continue through the week or longer. He told Iranians to take cover, but also urged them to later rise up and take down Iran's ruling regime while the leadership that's left in Iran is not backing down. In response to the US And Israel's attack, Iran fired back against other countries all around the region, even their own allies, along with America's. It targeted US Military facilities as well as hotels popular with Western tourists, ports, airports and more in at least nine countries like Israel, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and beyond. Iran supported militant groups in Iraq and Lebanon also started firing against Israel and a US Base. Israel hit back at the group in Lebanon, too, widening the conflict further. At least three American service members have been confirmed killed in counterstrikes, and dozens of other people in the region have also died in this conflict. So far, President Trump says the death toll is likely to rise, even among U.S. troops. Still, he said, this campaign will continue until, quote, all of our objectives are achieved. President Trump explained his rationale in a late night address. He spoke about how Iran supports armed militias in the region, and he reiterated his ultimate objective, making sure Iran can never get a nuclear weapon. The Iranian government has always insisted its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but that's been in doubt for decades. In fact, the strikes came just two days after the latest nuclear talks between the US And Iran. Now, the White House says Iran's new potential leadership is open for their own talks and that Trump will be willing to sit down with them eventually. At this point, it's not clear exactly who might be in charge of Iran. Iran's theocracy doesn't have an obvious successor. To be continued. Back in the U.S. the FBI's Counterterrorism and Intelligence teams were put on high alert over fears of retaliation for the weekend strikes. The U.S. secret Service is also increasing its security presence at the White House, President Trump's Mar a Lago Club in Florida, and other sites around the country. Authorities say they're monitoring pro Iran groups, urging supporters to mobilize against the U.S. so far, they haven't seen any specific threats against U.S. targets, but the FBI is now looking at a mass shooting in Texas and investigating it as a potential act of terrorism. It happened outside a bar on Austin's popular 6th street just before closing time on Saturday morning, right around the time President Trump announced the military action against Iran. At least two people were killed and 14 others were hurt, including some college students. Law enforcement officials say the shooter was wearing clothes with an Iranian flag design and the words Property of Allah. Police shot and killed the gunman. Officials say it's too early to say the suspect was definitely motivated by the Iran strikes, but local officials are now working with the FBI. The growing conflict in the Middle east is stirring intense emotion around the US Outside the White House over the weekend, hundreds of people held an anti war rally. Many other similar protests were held around the country that have been described as mostly peaceful. In Congress, reactions have been mixed on both sides of the aisle, but most Republicans support Trump's decision to strike Iran, saying the Iranian regime was a brutal dictatorship and a threat to American interests that needed to be taken out. Most Democrats are against it, saying the president is risking the stability of the whole Mideast region while while endangering American troops and harming America's national security. And then there are some lawmakers who are supportive of the idea of strikes, but say Trump should not have taken action without authorization from Congress. This week, lawmakers are expected to vote on a war powers resolution that would compel the president to seek approval before conducting more military operations in Iran. It's unclear if that has the votes to pass, but even if it does, it almost certainly does not have the two thirds majority needed to override a Trump veto. So it's likely just about making lawmakers go on record about where they stand. The impact of the ayatollah's death and the violence that's followed is rippling throughout the world. At least 22 people were killed in clashes in Pakistan, including one caused when hundreds of protesters stormed the US Consulate there. Also, shipping companies suspended their vessels traffic through the Suez Canal. There have also been attacks on vessels traveling the Strait of Hormuz so global trade could take a big hit. There were also repercussions for air travel in the Middle east with several countries closing their airspace. Now, many world leaders are calling for peace. Britain, France and Germany say they're ready to work with the US and other allies to help stop Iran's retaliatory strikes. The 22 nation Arab League called the Iranian attacks across nations a blatant violation of their sovereignty. Meanwhile, Russia and China are criticizing the US And Israel for killing Khamenei. The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting yesterday where the UN Chief and many countries pushed for all attacks to end and for leaders to return to diplomacy. Iran's ambassador to the UN Called the US And Israeli strikes a war crime and a crime against humanity. Again, though, the US Defended itself, saying the US Acted with global security in mind. The US Is actually taking over the rotating presidency of the Security Council for the month of March. And today, first lady Melania Trump is set to preside over a Security Council meeting. This is the first time any first lady or first gentleman from any country has ever taken on that role. We have much more news for you still ahead, including this conflict's impact on oil and gas prices, what to know about the Pentagon's new deal with an AI company and even the one movie to take home two top prizes over the weekend. But first, let's take a quick break because the newsworthy is brought to you by Oneskin. I've tried a lot of different face moisturizers and there's so much about Oneskin that really stands out. Right away I noticed the feel of it. It's lightweight but still super hydrating. It goes on easily and leaves my face feeling refreshed. Same goes for the eye cream. 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And you will now available in Canada too. Don't keep settling for clothes that don't last. Go to Q U I n c e.com newsworthy for free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com newsworthy now back to the news. The Pentagon is now banning members of the military from attending Columbia, Yale Brown Princeton and many other universities. That means starting next school year, the military will stop sending officers on professional courses and graduate programs at the schools. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth explained his decision by saying the schools have become, quote, breeding grounds of toxic indoctrination since they've quoted replaced the study of victory in pragmatic realism with the promotion of wokeness and weakness. He didn't give any specific examples, but in the past the Trump administration has taken issue with universities over things like diversity programs, transgender policies and anti Israel protests over the war in Gaza. It's worth noting some of the universities Hegseth listed, like Columbia and Brown, actually signed deals with the White House, agreeing to a range of demands. Other schools, though, like Harvard, are still fighting back. OpenAI signed a new deal with the Pentagon so its artificial intelligence tools can be used in the military's classified systems. The announcement came just hours after President Trump told all federal agencies to stop using OpenAI's rival anthropic. And Defense Secretary Hegseth declared Anthropic would be deemed a supply chain risk, a step that's typically reserved for companies with direct connections to foreign adversaries. That's not believed to be the case here. Instead, remember Anthropic refused to back down in recent negotiations with the Pentagon, saying since the military requested to use its tools with no restrictions, Anthropic insisted on keeping its system from being used in autonomous weapons and mass surveillance of US citizens. Now the statement from OpenAI lays out similar restrictions and asks the military to offer the same terms to all AI companies. So it's not clear why the Defense Department agreed to the OpenAI deal, but anthropic is threatening to sue. Meanwhile, as all of this is playing out on the federal level, Anthropic is seeing a boost around the country. Its chatbot Claude hit number one in US App downloads over the weekend. The world's richest person is ready to stand trial starting today. Elon Musk is accused of violating securities law by publicly flip flopping over his agreement to buy Twitter, driving down the company's stock price, giving him more leverage during negotiations. Musk defends himself, saying he did not purposely manipulate the stock and that there's no proof stock price drops had to do with anything, he said. Anyway, this trial has faced challenges already with a judge struggling to seat a jury. Last week, Musk's lawyer said the problem was, quote, we have so many people in the venay who hate him so much and dozens of potential jurors had to be dismissed. Still, the trial is set to get going today, and it's expected to last at least a couple of weeks. Musk could take the stand. With just two weeks before the Oscars, another best picture contender seems to be gaining momentum. Sinners won the top prizes at both the NAACP Image Awards and the Actor Awards, formerly known as the Screen Actors Guild Awards. The actor awards happened last night, and it's considered an indicator of what's to come since actors comprise the largest voting bloc in the Academy, too. And Sinners won for best ensemble and best actor for the movie star Michael B. Jordan. Hamnet star Jessie Buckley won best actress at the NAACP Image Awards. Sinners took home 13 wins, including best motion picture. Michael B. Jordan won the top prize of entertainer of the Year. Salt N Pepa and DJ Spinderella were inducted into the NAACP Image Awards hall of Fame. And Viola Davis won the Chairman's Award for her contributions to the world outside of entertainment. That's it for the Maine News. So now it's time for MONEY Monday when we talk about one interesting MONEY related news story. Well, in the face of the new Middle east conflict, the price of oil is already surging. When the Asian markets opened last night, crude oil prices soared to their highest level in just over a year. And that's seen as an early sign gas prices will go up for Americans. But exactly how much is unclear. But we know the market will be affected in many ways. First, as we mentioned, ships are already avoiding the Strait of Hormuz, which handles about a fourth of the world's seaborne oil trade. There have also been reports of attacks on tankers, and insurance rates are skyrocketing for tankers moving crude and petroleum products through the region. That could mean shortages in parts of the world, but not in the US Prices are still expected to rise here, though. Typically, retail gas prices move about two and a half cents for every $1 move in the price of crude oil. So analysts say price hikes at the gas pump could start as soon as today. Of course, analysts say the longer the conflict lasts, the more impact it will have. Thank you so much for joining us today and for supporting our show. We'll be back with even more news tomorrow. For now, have a great day.