Sunday News: “The Death of Khamenei and the End of an Era”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Sunday, March 1. Also, check out the video of last night’s SNL “cold open,” in which “Trump” says, “Bottom line, all of you should be thanking us – we took out a horrendous, horrible leader who was oppressing his own people. But don’t get any ideas.”

• Global giant Tata Steel is using a heat battery to curb emissions (“Tata Steel and startup Kraftblock say they’ve successfully deployed a thermal-energy storage system that harnesses waste heat at the Jamshedpur steel mill in India.” Nice.)
• Trump Is Attacking Climate Science. Scientists Are Fighting Back. (“It’s easy, looking at the past year, to see the damage the administration has done. But researchers are also stepping up, trying to fill the gaps.”)
• What the US–Israeli strikes on Iran mean for the price of oil
• $100 oil? Prolonged Hormuz closure could spark a 1970s-style energy shock
• Trump Just Made the World Much More Dangerous (“By waging war on Iran, the president is making it more likely that other countries develop nuclear weapons—to protect themselves from the U.S.”)
• Putin’s friendship has limits — as Iran just found out (“Leaders in Damascus, Caracas and now Tehran have all discovered that Russian support only goes so far.”)
• There is no reason to think this war with Iran is necessary
• The Iranian Regime’s Existential Crisis—and What Might Come After Khamenei
• Exclusive: Trump floats “off ramps” after attacking Iran
• Iran Is Built to Withstand the Ayatollah’s Assassination
• Trump attacked regime change wars for years. Now he’s launched his own. (“What does “America First” even mean anymore?”)
• Trump Just Crossed a Line He Promised He Would Never Cross (“This is different than his past strikes on Iran and Venezuela.”)
• Trump’s Iran operation is the opposite of a ‘one and done’
• The Paradox of Trump’s Iran Attack (“When his fantasies unravel, Trump has a habit of abusing power to force his will upon an uncooperative world.”)
• Trump Has No Plan for the Iranian People (“The mere act of bombing Iran will not by itself create a stable regime.”)
• Death Comes to the Dictator (“Ayatollah Ali Khamenei brought his country and regime to ruin.”)
• The Death of Khamenei and the End of an Era (“His life’s work was to preserve a revolution that is heading for the ash heap.”)
• Two months, two tracks: How Trump chose war with Iran
• Israel renews attacks on Tehran as Iran vows to avenge supreme leader’s death (“Tehran launches fresh retaliatory attacks as it confirms death of decades-long leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes”)
• Trump crossed a ‘very dangerous red line,’ Iranian official to CNN
• Push from Saudis, Israel helped move Trump to attack Iran
• ‘The Worst-Case Outcome Is Complete Chaos’ (“Killing the supreme leader was one thing. Ousting the regime will be another.”)
• IRANIAN STATE MEDIA CONFIRMS SUPREME LEADER KHAMENEI IS DEAD
• Congress to vote on Trump’s war powers in aftermath of Iran strikes
• U.S. Strikes in Middle East Use Anthropic, Hours After Trump Ban
• The C.I.A. Helped Pinpoint a Gathering of Iranian Leaders. Then Israel Struck.
• X Is Drowning in Disinformation Following US and Israeli Attack on Iran (“WIRED has reviewed hundreds of posts on X that promote misleading claims about the locations and scale of the attack.”)
• Democrats say Trump hasn’t learned lessons of history, has no strategic endgame with Iran strikes
• Reluctant MAGA demands swift results from Trump in Iran
• Trump talks regime change in Iran after strikes, but history shows that could be very hard
• Trump’s bet on Iranian regime change could be his biggest gamble yet
• Inside Iran, panic as strikes hit but for some it’s a moment of relief
• Israeli strikes rock Tehran as Iran’s counterattacks widen after the killing of the supreme leader
• Ships Avoid Hormuz as Iran Raises Threats, Conflict Spreads
• US-Israel Strikes on Iran Raise Stakes as Conflict Spirals Across the Middle East
• Trump says ‘a large amount’ of Iran’s leadership is gone
• Donald Trump Launches a War of “Epic Fury” on Iran (“The U.S. and Israel have ignited a campaign to topple the Islamic Republic—with little thought to what comes after.”)
• Diagramming the Blows to Iran’s Leadership
• Iran’s Attacks on Persian Gulf Countries Crack Their Safe Haven Image
• Exclusive: Trump was told of high risk, high reward before attack
• Having blasted open a vacuum, there’s no guarantee the US and Israel will like what comes next
• The Killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader and the End of an Era in the Middle East
• A Tyrant Falls. Dangerous Uncertainty Begins.
• War Is Peace: Trump’s Regime-Change Reversal (“If the United States is now kidnapping and killing dictators without direct provocation, it will come back to bite us after demolishing our moral authority in the world”)
• Inside Trump’s decision to attack Iran: ‘a window of opportunity’ (“The US joined an Israeli assault after intel suggested Iran’s top clerics and commanders could be hit at once”)
• For Trump, the Iran Attack Is the Ultimate War of Choice
• Iran missiles brings war to Gulf doorstep; hardens support for US-Israel campaign
• Luxury Dubai hotel hit as Iran launches retaliatory strikes across region
• Trump’s Reckless Decision to Pursue Regime Change in Iran (“And the risks Democrats face if they fail to strongly oppose the war.”)
• Only 21% of Americans Support the United States Initiating an Attack on Iran
• Vance Humiliated as Trump Freezes Him Out Over Iran Split
• Why Attack Iran? (“These facts suggest two interpretive frameworks: a foreign war as a mechanism to destroy democracy at home; and a foreign war as an element of personal corruption by the president of the United States.”)
• “Massive” War Launched by a Man With No Plan. Again. (“Donald Trump is repeating George W. Bush’s catastrophic mistakes.”)
• Trump’s Decision to Strike Iran Opens New Fissures in Midterms (“Republicans largely supported the decision, while Democrats mostly opposed it — but divisions appeared in both parties.”)
• Trump Loses It in Midnight Post After Iran Threatens Retaliation (“The president threatened that the U.S. will ‘hit’ Iran ‘with a force that has never been seen before!'”)
• Trump Hosts Big-Money Party as Missiles Are Fired at Americans (“Millionaires, Republican Party elites and big-spending donors were at Mar-a-Lago to party while Trump’s war raged across at least 10 countries.”)
• The president’s foray into Iran risks alienating his war-weary supporters
• At least 9 killed as Shiites storm US Consulate in Pakistan over killing of Iran’s supreme leader
• Protesters clash with anti-riot police near US embassy in Baghdad over killing of Khamenei
• Protesters rally across US after strikes on Iran that killed Khamenei
• In polarised Iran, Khamenei’s death triggers celebrations and grief
• In Khamenei’s absence, pragmatist Larijani emerges as power broker in Iran
• Oil tanker hit off Oman coast after drones strike Duqm port
• Polymarket Iran Bets Hit $529 Million as New Wallets Draw Notice (Really, really sketchy.)
• What’s Really at Stake in the Fight Between Anthropic and the Pentagon (“Feud goes beyond AI guardrails and revolves around the dream of the nascent technology’s future”)
• Guess What Trump Values Above the Constitution
• Williams: Black history might save Black lives
• Elite Doctors Served Jeffrey Epstein While Treating His ‘Girls’ (“A small stable of doctors gave V.I.P. medical services to the sex offender and the women around him. Some doctors bent or broke the ethical rules of their profession.”)
• Democrats warn GOP that Bill and Hillary Clinton testimony will boomerang on them
• Trump just got much closer to bringing CNN to heel
• As the Midterms Begin, Texas Offers a Test Case for Both Parties
• In Texas, the Old, Kinder, Gentler G.O.P. Faces Its Alamo Moment
• A Texas Senate race is testing Democrats’ stomach for race and gender fights (“Latino voters will probably decide the primary contest between Rep. Jasmine Crockett and state Rep. James Talarico — two rising stars who are stylistic opposites.”)
• A New Threat to Power Grids: Data Centers Unplugging at Once (“Dozens of data centers abruptly dropped off the power grid in recent Virginia incidents, forcing operators to take emergency action”)
• Sen. Tim Kaine on “Trump’s Illegal War with Iran”: “These strikes are a colossal mistake” (Sen. Mark Warner: “Congress must be fully briefed, and the administration must come forward with a clear legal justification, a defined end state, and a plan that avoids dragging the United States into yet another costly and unnecessary war.”)
• What Virginia’s congressional delegation has to say about U.S. attack on Iran (“Democrats criticized President Trump for not seeking congressional authorization; Republicans supported the attack.”)
• Kaine: Trump ‘too mentally incapacitated’ to understand he set stage for Iran nuclear development
• Top Democrat on intel committee accuses Trump admin of ‘misrepresenting intelligence’ to justify war against Iran (That’s Sen. Mark Warner)
• Editorial: Gloomy forecasts should shape the budget debate in Richmond (“It’s critical that the state budget responsibly insulates the commonwealth from continued economic turmoil.” The problem is, that “economic turmoil” isn’t generic, it’s coming directly from the Trump administration – and the editorial should say so, right in the headline!!! – which is why it might not be possible to “insulate” Virginia from it. Really bad “framing” on this one by the Virginian Pilot and Daily Press.)
• Some Virginia police not complying with new Flock license plate reader regulations
• Over 150 gather in downtown Norfolk to protest ICE, call for veterans support
• Researchers probe unmarked graves at Virginia site where slaves once toiled (“The Diocese of Arlington and Catholic University are trying to identify who is buried in the unmarked graves at a cemetery for the family of George Brent, one of Virginia’s earliest settlers.”)
• CWG Live: Cooler and a bit blustery today. Chance of wintry mix tomorrow night. (“Warming into the 60s later this week, maybe near 70?”)