Odds and Ends — 4 March 2026

The Israeli air force on Tuesday struck the building housing Iran’s Council of Experts in the holy city of Qom in an attempt to disrupt the process of appointing a new supreme leader.
The Council of Experts is the body within the Iranian regime with the authority to appoint a new supreme leader. The clerics on the council vote on a short list of candidates being drafted by a smaller secret committee.

https://twitter.com/RachBlevins/status/2028806616515002443

https://twitter.com/TheMaineWonk/status/2028705677653234004

https://twitter.com/OWS1892/status/2028889055132311943
https://twitter.com/SocialistMMA/status/2028882638316974354

UAE Considers Striking Iran Missile Sites

The United Arab Emirates is considering taking military action to stop Iranian missile and drone strikes on the country.
An Emirati strike on Iran would be unprecedented. The fact that it’s being considered reflects the enormous anger among Gulf countries over Iranian attacks that have targeted civilian infrastructure and oil and gas facilities.

https://twitter.com/RichardMNephew/status/2028806286607864013

https://twitter.com/covie_93/status/2028895494735339802

https://twitter.com/Tazerface16/status/2028857259221230029

https://twitter.com/wyattreed13/status/2028960697971802463

Hegseth, Caine preview major gravity-bombing campaign on Iran

Translation: we’re running out of smart bombs.

https://twitter.com/Mesnia1016/status/2028644389325594676

https://twitter.com/maria_drutska/status/2028644044742795581

https://twitter.com/TheRickWilson/status/2028826473138635124

https://twitter.com/SpockResists/status/2028733395484708987

https://twitter.com/davidsirota/status/2028979804561916211

Politics:

Trump Defeated on Congestion Pricing

A federal judge on Tuesday ruled that the federal government’s attempt to end New York’s congestion pricing toll was illegal, handing a major victory to the state in its defense of the first-in-the-nation traffic reduction plan, which the Trump administration had tried for more than a year to kill.

https://twitter.com/JohnWest_JAWS/status/2028761861466775669

———— The Epstein Coverup ————

While we’re all distracted by the Iran fiasco, the DOJ has been taking down Epstein files.

———— Autocracy R Us ————

Trump Tries to Continue Fight Against Law Firms

The Trump administration indicated on Tuesday that it planned to renew its defense of executive orders that it had leveled against law firms, a sharp reversal a day after indicating that it would drop that fight in court.
The situation remained fluid Tuesday morning. It was not immediately clear what legal strategy the administration would ultimately embrace or whether a court would allow the Justice Department to reverse course.

https://twitter.com/gtconway3d/status/2028953700991975835

Noem Has ‘Systematically Obstructed’ Inspector General

The inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security said the agency’s leaders had ‘systematically obstructed’ its work, including in a federal criminal investigation.
In the letter to lawmakers dated Monday, the inspector general outlines 11 instances that he says the department had blocked his office from accessing records and information it needed to pursue its inquiries. He said DHS’s refusal to cooperate in the criminal investigation, which he said had national security implications, was ‘particularly egregious.’

https://twitter.com/JoyceWhiteVance/status/2029202562449051655