Pete Hegseth's Crazed, Angry Tirades on Iran Give Dems a Big Opening  —  Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth knows that playing a decisive tough guy on television is the way to keep Donald Trump happy, so he did just that while addressing reporters Monday about the U.S. bombing of Iran.

Live updates: U.S. shuts embassies in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait after drone attacks; Israeli troops stage incursion into Lebanon  —  President Donald Trump indicated the conflict could last weeks and said wars can be fought “forever” with America's stock of munitions.

U.S. Troops Were Told Iran War Is for “Armageddon,” Return of Jesus  —  To support my reporting and keep it free for everyone, you can become a paid subscriber.  Thank you.  —  A combat-unit commander told non-commissioned officers at a briefing Monday that the Iran war is part of God's plan …

Law School Tells Students, ‘You MUST Be Aligned Politically With President Trump,’ For Summer Job  —  In The Hunt for Red October, we learn that Soviet submarine carried a “political officer,” a Communist Party appointee whose job wasn't navigating or torpedoing things, but making sure everyone …

Labor Secretary's Top Aides Forced Out  —  The two aides to Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer had been on leave during an investigation of misconduct at the department.  —  Two top aides to Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer were forced out Monday night amid an internal investigation …

The bruising, messy House primary battles to watch today … Here's what POLITICO is watching today.  —  The vulnerable incumbents  —  Republican and Democratic incumbents alike are facing challenges in mostly safe House seats, and it's worrying leaders of both parties.

Kash Patel's latest firings ousted agents with expertise in Iran  —  The FBI director gutted a specialized, global espionage unit of counterintelligence agents, just days before Operation Epic Fury.  —  When FBI Director Kash Patel fired a dozen FBI agents and staff last week for their role …

Capitol agenda: Marco Rubio works to stave off a revolt on Iran  —  The White House is trying to stave off a revolt on Capitol Hill against its military actions in Iran, as both chambers are set to vote on resolutions this week that would put guardrails on President Donald Trump's unilateral use of military force.

CBP Tapped Into the Online Advertising Ecosystem To Track Peoples' Movements  —  Customs and Border Protection (CBP) bought data from the online advertising ecosystem to track peoples' precise movements over time, in a process that often involves siphoning data from ordinary apps like video games …

The casino-fication of war  —  On February 28, the United States and Israel began major combat operations in Iran.  For some, the consequences of this action were fatal.  By Monday, the war had claimed the lives of at least six U.S. soldiers, hundreds of people in Iran, and dozens more in neighboring Gulf states.

Israel bombs council choosing Iran's next supreme leader, official says  —  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, an Israeli defense official said.

Exclusive: U.S. Marines fired on protesters storming consulate in Karachi, officials say  —  U.S. Marines opened fire on demonstrators during the storming of the Karachi consulate over the weekend, two U.S. officials said on Monday—a rare use of force at a diplomatic post …

How you word a poll question can have a large impact on results  —  Our new poll finds question wording can swing opinion by 20-60 points on immigration, the budget, and transgender rights.  That's a problem for people who use polls to tell politicians what voters want  —  ∙ Paid

Trump Opens the Pandora's Box of Assassination  —  Killing anyone without a trial, let alone a foreign leader, involves a moral choice.  —  On Saturday, the United States, in a joint operation with Israel, killed Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

She'd Never Changed Her Gender Marker.  Kansas Invalidated Her License Anyway.  —  A trans Kansas resident recently changed her name but not her gender marker on her license, fearing what Kansas may do if she did.  The Kansas DMV still flagged her ID.  —  Andrea Ellis of Wellington …

Civilian deaths in Iran pass 700 amid fear of bombs and regime clampdown  —  As US-Israeli airstrikes hit their cities, people tell of how the authorities are warning them off the streets  —  More than 700 civilians have been killed since the start of the US-Israel war on Iran last weekend …