Posts on Friday, March 13, 2026

During breaking news coverage of the Michigan synagogue attack on Thursday, MS NOW host Katy Tur decided to connect the attack to the Republican Party in multiple instances of the first hour, including a placement of blame of “Donald Trump’s war in Iran.” Additionally, Near the end of her first hour, Tur turned to talk about anti-Semitism on the far-right in the midst of the synagogue attack with fellow MS NOW host, All In’s Chris Hayes. Katy Tur Reports was in continuation of MS NOW’s breaking news coverage that started around 1:30 PM Eastern after a driver rammed into Temple Israel near Detroit. In her first instance,

China and Russia on Thursday expressed their displeasure with the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for condemning Iran’s unprovoked attacks on neighboring countries. UNSC adopted a draft resolution on Thursday sponsored by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that condemned Iran’s attacks on the Gulf states and Jordan. The resolution had overwhelming support, with no less than 135 co-sponsors and no votes against its adoption. The resolution demanded Iran halt its “egregious” and “deplorable” attacks against neighboring states and cease its effort to destroy their energy infrastructure. It pointedly avoided mentioning Israel, which has also been attacked by Iran.

Let me begin by putting all my cards face-up on the table. No one wishes the SAVE Act, requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote and a photo-ID in order to cast a ballot, to become law more than I.[snip] The argument against the SAVE Act is one of the more absurd cases to make, and it has not resonated at all with the American public, regardless of political party. [snip] President Trump said yesterday on the White House lawn that the SAVE Act is probably the most popular piece of legislation he's submitted to Congress, and he's correct.

If you have followed Operation Epic Fury closely, you know why the United States has been blowing up Iran's military power, its leadership, and has allied itself with Israel to devastate the Iranian regime. Yet, according to several polls, Americans aren't sure why Trump initiated the operation, and are mostly unaware of how incredibly successful it has been. Aside from the decapitation strikes' successes, people are led to believe that Iran is doing pretty well out of the war. There were a couple of striking findings in the poll, but the one that stands out is that Americans are confused about why we are at war in the first place.

Perhaps the US always did plan to provide armed escorts for shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Sky News a little earlier today. The US Navy certainly has had its hands full for the first twelve days of the war on Iran, and most of the assets deployed have focused on force protection rather than commerce protection, particularly from the threat of Iran's ballistic missiles and drones. With the pace of those attacks falling off – and the price of oil rising sharply, even with massive releases from strategic reserves – Bessent wants to reassure markets that, well ... help is on its way: