The Daily Brief - Mar. 3, 2026
The latest on Iran, the Texas Senate primary, and more
These are today’s top stories, delivered straight to your inbox. Read below to catch up on all the news you might’ve missed.
Embassy Closures and Evacuations
Americans across the Middle East are struggling to get out of the region, with three US embassies shut down, airspace closed in at least eight countries, and little help available from Washington.
The embassies in Kuwait, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia were all closed as of today. The embassy in Riyadh was hit multiple times by drone attacks — its main building was smoke-damaged and a section of the roof gave way, according to an internal State Department alert reviewed by The Washington Post. In Kuwait City, a warehouse caught fire and the main building’s windows were damaged.
The State Department said it was arranging charter flights for citizens in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan, but they did not know when the charters would be ready. At least eight countries have fully closed their airspace since fighting began Saturday, including Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Israel. Qatar Airways said its flights remain suspended.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said there are “very limited options” for Americans, with Ben Gurion Airport in Israel closed and no word on when it might reopen. He suggested people take a tourist bus to Egypt and fly from there, adding that the embassy cannot currently help Americans leave.
Representative Ted Lieu criticized the administration: “You told Americans to depart now via commercial means when you know many airports/airspace are closed. Maybe you should have thought of a frickin’ plan first.”
US-Iran Death Toll
As the war between the US, Israel, and Iran began its fourth day, the number of US service members killed had risen to six. On Sunday, US Central Command reported that three service members were killed and five seriously wounded after an Iranian strike on a base housing American troops in Kuwait, and one of the wounded troops died from those injuries the following day. On Monday, officials said they had recovered the bodies of two additional service members who’d been killed in an attack on a facility in the region.
The names of the service members killed will not be released until at least 24 hours after the Defense Department notifies their families. The Trump administration has suggested that they expect more Americans to be killed.
“As one nation, we grieve for the true American patriots who’ve made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation, even as we continue the righteous mission for which they gave their lives,” Trump said in a video message posted online Sunday. “Sadly, there will likely be more before it ends. That’s the way it is.”
On Monday, Trump submitted a letter to Congress notifying them of the joint US-Israeli strikes against Iran, noting that Iran has been a major state sponsor of terror and stating that “United States forces remain postured to take further action, as necessary and appropriate, to address further threats.” The letter invokes the War Powers Resolution, which obligates the President to notify Congress of military action taken without its authorization within 48 hours.
The death toll in Iran has risen to 787 people according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society, a state-affiliated humanitarian organization in the country. There have been more than a thousand attacks, impacting 153 cities. In Lebanon, Israeli air attacks have reportedly killed at least 40 people.
Supreme Court — Transgender Students
The Supreme Court has temporarily blocked a California law that prevented schools from telling parents if their child identifies as transgender without the permission of the student. The case is still playing out in lower courts, but the order means schools can notify parents without the student’s consent while litigation moves forward.
Catholic parents represented by the Thomas More Society brought the case, saying California’s policies caused schools to help their children socially transition without telling them. The court’s majority sided with the parents on religious freedom grounds, writing that “California’s policies violate those beliefs” and burden the free exercise of religion.
The three liberal justices dissented. Justice Elena Kagan wrote that the court was “throwing over a State’s policy” in “a slapdash way.” Conservative Justices Alito and Thomas said they would have gone even further.
Governor Newsom’s office said teachers should be focused on instruction, not required “to be gender cops.” The Thomas More Society called it “the most significant parental rights ruling in a generation.”
The decision is part of a series of recent moves by the court on gender and education issues, including upholding state bans on gender-related healthcare for minors and allowing parents to opt out of school lessons with LGBTQ+ content. Other parental notification cases from Massachusetts, Florida, and Wisconsin are also pending.
Texas Senate Primary
Voters in Texas are heading to the polls today in a much-anticipated Senate primary, with extremely close races on both sides.
For Republicans, longtime Senator John Cornyn is facing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt as his biggest competition. Cornyn has served in the Senate for four terms, and this is the first real challenge he’s faced in a primary.
Trump has not endorsed in the race, but Ken Paxton has aligned himself strongly with the president. He’s also faced scandal, with his wife filing for divorce last year on what she said were “biblical grounds,” accusing him of adultery in her divorce filings. Sen. Cornyn tried to capitalize on this in an ad, calling Paxton a cheater and saying he is currently “sleeping around with a married mother of seven.”
Polls show a very close race between Paxton and Cornyn, with Paxton slightly ahead. Wesley Hunt is trailing by double digits.
For Democrats, State Rep. James Talarico is in a tight race with US Rep. Jasmine Crockett. Talarico has tried to appeal to more moderates and independents, while Crockett is vying for progressive and Black and Hispanic votes. Polls show Talarico with a lead over Crockett.
If no candidate gets more than 50% of the vote, there will be a runoff election on May 26 between the top two candidates.
NY Redistricting Case
In an unsigned, unexplained emergency ruling, the US Supreme Court decided 6-3 that the boundaries of the only Republican-held congressional district in New York City do not need to be redrawn ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. This pauses a state court decision that found the district unfairly diluted the votes of Black and Hispanic residents.
In New York, congressional district maps are drawn by the bipartisan Independent Redistricting Commission. When the trial court issued a ruling to require the boundaries to be redrawn, Republican congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis, who is seeking to hold onto her seat in a district that covers Staten Island and part of Brooklyn, appealed, along with state election officials and a group of voters. After losing on appeal, Malliotakis and the other parties bypassed New York’s highest state court and instead went to the US Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court did not issue an opinion explaining its decision, but in a concurring opinion, Justice Samuel Alito wrote that the state court’s order for “the New York Independent Redistricting Commission to draw a new congressional district for the express purpose of ensuring that ‘minority voters’ are able to elect the candidate of their choice” was a decision that “blatantly discriminates on the basis of race.”
In a dissent, Justice Sotomayor criticized the majority for intervening in the case at all. She said the court’s “101-word unexplained order can be summarized in just 7: ‘Rules for thee, but not for me,’” since the Supreme Court has repeatedly “said that federal courts should not interfere with state-court litigation” or “meddle with state election laws ahead of an election.”
“By granting these applications,” she continued, “the Court thrusts itself into the middle of every election-law dispute around the country, even as many States redraw their congressional maps ahead of the 2026 election. It also invites parties searching for a sympathetic ear to file emergency applications directly with this Court, without even bothering to ask the state courts first.” Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson also signed onto the dissent.
The decision came through what’s become known as the Supreme Court’s controversial “shadow docket,” or, “emergency docket,” where parties can ask the court to make emergency decisions on a case without going through the full briefing and oral argument process, and the justices may decide the cases without explaining their reasoning in fully-written opinions.
Clinton Testimony
The House Oversight Committee yesterday released videos of President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testifying as part of the investigation into convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Both resisted participating in the closed-door testimony for months, instead offering to testify in public hearings before ultimately appearing after being threatened with contempt of Congress.
In her testimony, Hillary Clinton repeatedly emphasized her lack of a personal connection to Epstein, and seemed to grow frustrated with the lines of questioning.
“How can I answer questions about a person that I don’t believe I ever even met?” she asked. When asked if she’d ever been to Epstein’s island, she responded, “You know what? I am so tired of answering that question. If you have one scintilla of evidence to the contrary, put it forward. I have never been on his island, period. I’ve never been in his home, his offices, his anything. I don’t know how many times you have to say the same thing over, and over, and over again. And I just am struggling with the relevance of all of this.”
Bill Clinton denied having any sexual contact with the women and young girls that Epstein introduced him to, and also said that he’d never visited Epstein’s island. He described having a “cordial” relationship with Epstein after being introduced to him by former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, who recently resigned from his teaching position at Harvard over revelations about his relationship with Epstein. “There’s nothing that I saw when I was around him that made me realize he was trafficking women,” Clinton said.
While Clinton admitted traveling on Epstein’s plane, he explained that he did so as part of his work for the Clinton Foundation.
“I thought we had an understanding about the airplane that — that he would let me use the airplane to set up my AIDS program around the world if I agreed to talk to him about economics and politics.”
Regarding the NY Redistricting case, this is the first time the term “shadow docket” has made sense to me.
Congress is the body who can bring the Supreme Court back in line if it is behaving in unconstitutional ways, and this practice of randomly taking cases without satisfying the approved procedural qualifications is dangerous in my opinion.
Is there any movement within Congress to stop this behavior?
We act like it’s the executive branch destroying democracy but it’s these 6 justices that let it happen. Absolutely abhorrent. The court just issues blow after blow. They aren’t elected and they serve for life. Great.