Trump news at a glance: Hegseth attacks media over war coverage as Trump calls Iran leaders ‘scumbags’ | Trump administration
Pete Hegseth used a Pentagon press conference to criticize journalists for their coverage of the war in Iran, at one point proposing alternative TV headlines.
The US defense secretary claimed Iran was left without an operational air force, navy or missile defense network after 13 days of strikes, and said the combined US-Israeli air campaign had hit more than 15,000 targets since the start of the war.
“What should the banner be? [on TV] read?” he said. “How about ‘Iran increasingly desperate’?
Meanwhile, Donald Trump has warned that Iran could be hit hard in the coming days, with the US president calling the Iranian regime’s leaders “deranged bastards”.
Here are the key stories at a glance.
Pete Hegseth again asserted Friday that the U.S. military campaign against Iran was an unprecedented success, using a Pentagon news conference to accuse journalists of downplaying Washington’s supposed gains on the battlefield.
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Trump calls Iranian leaders ‘deranged bastards’ as violence escalates in Middle East
Donald Trump said Iran would be hit “very hard” in the coming days, calling the regime’s leaders “deranged bastards” who it was a “great honor” to kill, as residents of Tehran reported relentless bombings and a continuing spiral of violence across the Middle East.
The US president’s comments, which signal an intensification of the US-Israeli campaign, come as Israeli and US military aircraft launched successive waves of attacks on the Iranian capital and elsewhere on Friday.
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ICE Agents Reveal Daily Arrest Quotas, Surveillance Enforcement in Rare Court Testimony
U.S. immigration agents in Oregon used a custom-made app to identify neighborhoods and people to target, and they sought to meet daily arrest quotas during their operations, court testimony revealed.
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Judge orders ICE to release Minneapolis man after 50 days of illegal detention
A federal judge ruled Friday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) must release a Minneapolis man and asylum seeker who has been illegally detained for 50 days.
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Seven in 10 Americans say Trump’s tariffs caused prices to rise
Seven in ten Americans say Donald Trump’s tariffs have caused them to pay higher prices, according to an exclusive new Guardian poll. The Harris Poll survey poses a major problem for Republicans in the battle for the upcoming midterm elections. The majority of voters (72%) believe that Trump’s tariffs have had a negative rather than positive impact, and 67% believe that tariffs are not the right solution to improve the economy.
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US airports ask for donations for unpaid TSA staff
A growing number of U.S. airports are asking for donations to support employees affected by the partial government shutdown, as airport security officials did not receive their first full paycheck on Friday. Transportation Security Administration employees have been working without pay at U.S. airports since the shutdown began in February, after Republicans and Democrats failed to reach a funding deal.
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Judge blocks Justice Department from subpoenaing Fed Chairman Jerome Powell
A federal judge on Friday blocked the Justice Department from subpoenaing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell as part of an investigation supposed to focus on the management of the central bank’s renovation.
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What else happened today:
A catch-up? Here’s what happened Thursday March 12.
