LOADING ERROR LOADINGPresident Donald Trump extended a somewhat two-faced invitation to Iran’s national soccer team on Thursday to participate in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Trump said the team is welcome to join the tournament, but he seemed to caution against doing so, nearly two weeks after the United States and Israel attacked Iran. Advertisement“The Iran National Soccer Team is welcome to The World Cup, but I really don’t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety,” Trump wrote in a social media post. The team’s first World Cup appearance came in 1978, as the Islamic Revolution was underway. The sports minister’s assertion and Trump’s subsequent invitation come just days after seven members of Iran’s national women’s soccer team were granted humanitarian visas in Australia after the team traveled to the Women’s Asian Cup prior to the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, CNN reported earlier this week.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) 1 on my agenda is getting billionaires to pay their fair share in taxes,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) But he said it’s “encouraging” that Democrats are putting out proposals for outside scrutiny, even if experts agree the proposals fall short. Kelly, another possible presidential candidate and the lead co-sponsor of Van Hollen’s bill, brushed off the criticism of the tax cut by saying Trump’s tax cuts went to the rich. Now Democrats are going even bigger on the tax cut concept.

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At a rally Wednesday in Kentucky, the president bragged about how he chose “Operation Epic Fury” as the name for the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran during what he implied was a very boring meeting. Advertisement“Operation Epic Fury!” Trump exclaimed at the rally, like he was announcing the next installment in the “Fast & Furious” franchise. ‘Sir, you could pick the name you’d like, sir.’ I said, ‘The name of what?’ ‘The name of the attack on Iran, sir,’” Trump told the crowd, making sure to use a cartoonishly stiff voice for whoever was asking him to make the decision. Then I see ‘Epic Fury.’ I said, ‘I like that name! I like that name!’”AdvertisementPresident Donald Trump speaks during a rally in Monroe, Louisiana in 2019.

AdvertisementThe Feb. 28 airstrike in Minab killed at least 175 people, mostly children younger than 12. “This time he’s lying about the deaths of girls in Iran brave enough to try to get an education,” O’Donnell said. Advertisement“Donald Trump doesn’t know about a lot of things,” O’Donnell said. He continued, “Donald Trump doesn’t know most things that he needs to know and should know, but Donald Trump knows those girls were killed by one of his Tomahawk missiles. “And the next day, Donald Trump said there’s an investigation going on, so he wasn’t going to talk about it,” O’Donnell said.

›The second-ranked Arizona Wildcats defeated the eighth-seeded UCF Knights 81-59 in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament. Brayden Burries led the Wildcats with 21 points, while Tobe Awaka recorded a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. The game was played on Thursday, March 12, 2026 in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament. The players Brayden Burries The leading scorer for the Arizona Wildcats, pouring in 21 points in the victory. Tobe Awaka The Arizona forward recorded a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

We asked 1,000 Americans if U.S. strikes on Iran should continue. Do you think the U.S. should continue military strikes against Iran, or should it stop military strikes at this time? The share of Americans saying the United States should “continue military strikes against Iran” grew from 25 percent to 34 percent since the first weekend of attacks. Why will U.S. military actions in Iran contribute to the long-term security of the U.S.? California woman, 31, Democrat Show more responsesWhy won’t U.S. military actions in Iran contribute to the long-term security of the U.S.?

Toppin (foot) has been ruled out for Thursday's game versus the Suns, Tony East of Forbes.com reports. Toppin will hit the sidelines for the first leg of this back-to-back set, but maybe he'll be able to get back out there for Friday's game against the Knicks. Toppin's absence should open up some minutes for Kobe Brown and Micah Potter.

Nembhard (back) is good to go for Thursday's game versus Phoenix, Tony East of Forbes.com reports. Nembhard is back after a one-game stint on the sidelines, which may result in Kam Jones shifting back to the second unit. Nembhard is averaging 17.1 points, 7.4 assists and 1.9 triples per contest on the season.

Local News Here are the richest people in Massachusetts, according to Forbes As the rich become richer, close to 30 people with ties to the Bay State are worth over a billion dollars. Boston Celtics owner William “Bill” Chisholm is one of the state's newest billionaires. Matthew J. Lee / The Boston Globe, FileForbes released its annual World’s Billionaires List this week, and it’s the biggest one yet. The United States leads the pack with 989 billionaires, and nearly 30 of them have ties to Massachusetts. Worth $1.5 billion, he first launched his Boston company in 2012, becoming a billionaire for the first time in 2024.

McConnell (hamstring) is out for Thursday's game against the Suns, Tony East of Forbes.com reports. McConnell suffered a hamstring injury during Sunday's game against Portland, and he's now in line to miss a second straight game. Expect Kam Jones and Ben Sheppard to see extended minutes in the backcourt with Aaron Nesmith (ankle) and Quenton Jackson (calf) also out.

Tuberville, a former football coach who is running for Alabama governor, has repeatedly made anti-Muslim remarks against Mamdani, who is Muslim. In December, Tuberville also posted “the enemy is inside the gates” alongside a news article about Mamdani using the Quran at his swearing-in. Tuberville has also claimed on X that Islam “is not a religion. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) have repeatedly made negative posts about Muslims this year, with 51 and 47 negative posts about Muslims or Islam, respectively. Tuberville defeated Sen. Doug Jones (D) with 60 percent of the vote in the 2020 Senate race.

This week, the Washington Post Editorial Board posted a column tearing down the Railway Safety Act of 2026. With that in mind, SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson submitted an op-ed to the Washington Post editorial board today. After reading what the post passed off to the country as facts on your safety, Brother Ferguson wasn’t about to let it be the last word. Please take a moment to read the view from the railroad corporations that the Washington Post put out there, as well as the response your union sent back at them. After reading these two opposite points of view, SMART-TD would like to encourage all our members to drop the Washington Post Editorial Board a line at oped@washpost.com.

LOADING ERROR LOADINGROTC students in an Old Dominion University classroom subdued and killed the shooter who killed one person and wounded two others, the FBI announced Thursday. “There’s still a lot more stuff we have to work out.”Jalloh: Guard service and Islamic State tiesThe suspected shooter, Jalloh, is a naturalized U.S. citizen from Sierra Leone. Jalloh later told the informant that the Islamic State group had asked if he wanted to participate in an attack. He tried to donate $500 to the Islamic State, but the money actually went to an account controlled by the FBI, according to court documents. AdvertisementLocated in coastal Norfolk, Old Dominion University has about 24,000 students, 17,500 of them undergraduates.

Oil prices initially shot more than 9% higher as supply concerns worsened with Iranian attacks on commercial shipping around the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has escalated its attacks aimed at generating enough global economic pain to pressure the United States and Israel to end the war. Germany’s DAX lost 0.4% to 23,533.60, while the CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.7% to 7,982.64. AdvertisementSince the start of the war, sharp moves for oil prices have triggered swings up and down for financial markets worldwide, sometimes by the hour. Stagflation fears are rising not just because of higher oil prices but also because of weakness in hiring by U.S. employers.