PLUS: Primaries Across The South & Burger King Trolls McDonald's CEO

Good afternoon,

And just like that, it’s election season again! Midterm election season kicks off today with three states holding closely watched primaries.

TEXAS: The biggest race to watch in the Lone Star State is for one of its Senate seats, where both parties have competitive races.
- GOP: Longtime Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) is fighting two primary challengers on his right — state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX) — where $100 million has been spent on advertising. The race will likely result in a runoff election later this spring.
- DEMS: Democrats haven’t won statewide in Texas in more than three decades, but they’re hoping this is their year. A lot will depend on who’s their candidate. Progressive Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) is facing off against moderate state Rep. James Talarico.
- In the House, Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) is facing pressure from all sides: he has a tough primary challenge from Brandon Herrera, a gun activist and YouTube personality, and he faces mounting calls to resign after allegations surfaced that he pressured a former aide (who later killed herself) into a sexual relationship. Gonzales did, however, gain Trump’s endorsement back in December (before the allegations emerged).
NORTH CAROLINA: We are watching primaries in another major Senate race. We expect that former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley (who has received President Trump’s endorsement) will emerge for a faceoff this fall.
- There are plenty of other races on the ballot, including for the U.S. House, state legislature and judicial seats.
ARKANSAS: On the GOP side, incumbent Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK) is likely to win his primary. On the Democratic side, Ethan Dunbar and Hallie Shoffner are facing off to see who will run against the Republican candidate in the fall.

📲 We’ll be watching for the results over on our Instagram page, so make sure to check out @mosheh!

~ Mo News Team

🚨 ONE IMPORTANT THING

Iran War Day Four: Trump Says It’s “Too Late” For Iran To Negotiate; Americans Try To Evacuate

We are now on Day Four of the joint U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. President Trump continues to make his case for the war, saying the goal is to cut off Iran’s nuclear capabilities and ballistic missile program, not to influence regime change.

Iran strikes U.S. consulate in Dubai: As we ‘hit send’ on this newsletter, Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirms that a parking lot next to the U.S. consulate in Dubai was hit by a suspected Iranian drone, but all personnel are accounted for. It follows multiple Iranian strikes on US diplomatic compounds in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Succession: There are also reports that the Islamic Republic has selected a new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei. He’s the 56-year-old second son of Iran’s supreme leader. (More on that below.)
Death toll: The Iranian Red Crescent said Tuesday morning that 787 people have been killed in Iran since the U.S.-Israeli military campaign began Saturday. Six American troops were killed in an Iranian attack and 11 people were killed in Israel so far, according to the U.S. and Israeli governments.

U.S. ORDERS AMERICANS TO LEAVE MIDDLE EAST— BUT THEY’RE STRUGGLING TO GET OUT:
The U.S. government ordered Americans to leave fourteen countries in the Middle East and closed several embassies in the area as Iran expanded its retaliatory attacks on U.S. targets in the region. Asked about a lack of evacuation plans for Americans, President Trump on Tuesday said there was no evacuation plan because the joint strikes launched on Iran by the U.S. and Israel “happened very quickly.”

THE CURRENT PLAN: Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the U.S. is trying to get charter flights, military flights, expanded commercial planes, and even land routes to help Americans leave the region. But the State Department needs to know who needs help getting out, and where they are.
- WHO TO CALL: Rubio is urging Americans in the Middle East who need consular assistance to call +1-202-501-4444 from overseas or +1-888-407-4747 from the U.S. and Canada.
  - You can also sign up for help via state.gov.

EMBASSIES CLOSED: The evacuation comes as the U.S. embassy in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, closed on Tuesday after it was attacked by two drones. The drones caused the building to catch on fire and inflicted minor material damage, according to a Saudi Arabian spokesperson. The U.S. also shut down embassies in Lebanon and Kuwait after similar strikes. And as we mentioned above, late Tuesday, an Iranian drone struck the U.S. consulate in Dubai.

⛽️ THE ECONOMIC FALLOUT
Stocks had another wild session on Tuesday with investors concerned about a prolonged U.S.-Iran conflict and the impact on the economy, particularly the oil market. At one point, the Dow was down roughly 1,200 points, but made up ground later in the day as President Trump said the U.S. Navy will escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, if necessary.

“No matter what, the United States will ensure the FREE FLOW of ENERGY to the WORLD. The United States’ ECONOMIC and MILITARY MIGHT is the GREATEST ON EARTH — More actions to come,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
- Trump’s message came after The Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander said the Strait of Hormuz — the world’s most vital transit route for crude oil — is closed and that Iran would target any ships attempting to travel by that route.
  - About 20% of the world’s oil moves through the Strait of Hormuz. Oil from the area primarily goes to Asia and Europe.
- GAS PRICES: The price of crude oil jumped— which eventually makes it way into the prices Americans will pay at the gas pump. A gallon of regular was selling for $3.11 on average in the U.S., according to AAA. That’s up 11 cents overnight, surprising some drivers at the pump.
  - Gasoline prices were already rising before the U.S. launched strikes on Iran as refiners switch over to more expensive summer blends of fuel.
INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMACY : President Trump threatened to cut off diplomacy with Spain on Monday after Spain said it wouldn’t allow the U.S. to access its bases as part of the Iran strikes.
- Trump also criticized Britain for not joining the Iran attacks. He said of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer: "This is not Winston Churchill that we're dealing with."

WHO’S GOING TO BE IRAN’S NEXT SUPREME LEADER?
There is reporting tonight, including from the Iran International outlet, that is an opposition outlet out of London, that the Iranian clerics have elected a new Supreme Leader, Mujtaba Khamenei.

If that name sounds familiar, that’s because his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was the Supreme Leader for the last 36 years. He was assassinated on Saturday at the beginning of the U.S.-Israeli operation there.
There have only ever been two supreme leaders in the history of the Islamic regime. The first one, Ruhollah Khomeini, who ran the country from 1979 to 1989, and then Ali Khamenei, who ran the country from 1989 until his death on Saturday.
We don’t know that much about Mujtaba. He doesn’t have much of a public profile and doesn’t have any governing experience. But he is widely viewed as a hardliner like his father (TLDR: don’t expect much change) who has operated behind the scenes.
He is believed to have close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the country’s most powerful military force. He is also linked to the Basij, the regime’s volunteer paramilitary arm that was involved in murdering thousands of protesters earlier this year.

Earlier Tuesday, Israel and the U.S. struck buildings in the Iranian city of Qom on Tuesday, where dozens of senior Iranian clerics had gathered to elect a new Supreme Leader.

An Israeli defense official said they had targeted the building to interrupt the The Council of Experts’ process of selecting a new Supreme Leader and that the strikes hit while votes were being counted.
When asked about a worst-case scenario for the future of Iran, Trump said: “I guess the worst case would be we do this and somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person… We don’t want that to happen. It would probably be the worst, you go through this, and then in five years you realize you put somebody in who’s no better.”

THE POINT OF NO RETURN?
President Trump said on Truth Social on Tuesday that it was “too late” for Iran to negotiate an end to the war. Ali ⁠Bahreini, ambassador of the Iranian mission to the U.N. in Geneva, told reporters Tuesday that Iran had not contacted the U.S. for negotiations, either.

Trump on Tuesday also ruled out the idea that Israel forced the U.S. to strike Iran.

“If anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand,” said Trump from the Oval Office while meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
- The President explained, “[Iran was] going to attack if we didn’t do it, they were going to attack first. I felt strongly about that.”
The day prior, Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested that U.S. strikes were prompted by Israeli plans to strike Iran, and concern about Iranian retaliation.

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⏳ THE SPEED READ

🚨NATION

Father of Georgia school shooter found guilty of murder and manslaughter (CNN)
In quick reverse, DOJ seeks to continue Trump’s battle with law firms (NBC)
GOP Senator Tillis threatens to block nominations until Noem responds to ICE queries (AXIOS)
White House faces thousands of lawsuits as it tries to slow-walk tariff refunds (POLITICO)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

Beijing braces for economic impact as Iran war threatens Chinese oil: “A manmade crisis” (CBS)
Pakistan says its forces killed 67 Afghan troops in cross-border clashes. Kabul rejects the claim (AP)
Airlines in Middle East rule out services resuming before Thursday (GUARDIAN)
Slain cartel leader ‘El Mencho’ buried in a golden casket (CNN)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

OpenAI amends Pentagon deal as Sam Altman admits it looks ‘sloppy’ (GUARDIAN)
Banking, payments services disrupted after Amazon UAE data centers hit in drone strikes (CNBC)
Musk, xAI tout newest Grok update as only ‘non-woke’ platform: ‘Doesn’t equivocate’‘ (FOX)
ChatGPT Health ‘under-triaged’ half of medical emergencies in a new study (NBC)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Paramount’s $110 Billion Warner Bros. Deal Backed by Arab Sovereign Funds Raises Soft Power Concerns (VARIETY)
NBA player Luke Kornet calls on Atlanta Hawks to cancel promotion with Magic City adult entertainment club (AP)
‘Game of Thrones’ movie officially in the works at Warner Bros. (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER)
USA’s Hilary Knight says she played with torn MCL at Olympics (ESPN)

ICYMI FROM THE 📲

In case you missed it… Fast food competitors are skewering McDonald’s after its CEO posted a video in which he appears reluctant to eat a hamburger from his own restaurant.

In an Instagram video posted last month, McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski takes a tiny bite of the franchise’s new Big Arch burger and refers to the dish as a “product.”

Burger King fired back on Monday with a TikTok video of its North American president, Tom Curtis, taking a massive, enthusiastic bite of a Whopper. 🍔😋