In today’s newsletter: Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Iran’s slain supreme leader, is named as his replacement. Politicians are focusing more on white-collar professionals as AI advancements threaten jobs. And a superbloom transforms Death Valley National Park.
Here’s what to know today.
Late ayatollah's son named Iran's new supreme leader
Mojtaba Khamenei has been named as Iran’s new supreme leader just over a week after his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes.
Before the announcement, President Donald Trump said Iran’s new leader “is not going to last long” without his approval and called the younger Khamenei an “unacceptable” choice. The Israel Defense Forces also warned that any successor would be considered a target.
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Mojtaba is known to hold significant influence among the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which already declared its “full obedience” to him. However, the politician lacks the religious credentials of his father to lead a clerical regime and is not particularly popular in Iran. Father-to-son succession has been frowned upon since the monarchy was topped in 1979.
Despite what little support there might be, experts indicate the regime is unlikely to change. Instead, it will be eager to show Israel, the U.S. and the Iranian people that it isn’t collapsing, said Javed Ali, a former senior counterterrorism official, before the appointment.
“The next supreme leader will step into that same system,” he added.
Here’s what to know about Iran’s new supreme leader.
Meanwhile, stocks tumbled as oil hit $100 per barrel for the first time since July 2022 as the ripple effects from the war continue impacting global markets.
Oil’s remarkable jump came even despite a record 35% rise last week. In addition to surging oil prices, U.S. retail gas prices also soared to a national average of more than $3.45 per gallon. The last time oil and gas prices surged to such levels was immediately after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Follow live updates on the Iran war on our blog.
More on the Iran war:
- After a year of tariff threats, insults and diplomatic clashes with European allies, Trump is left to wage a war in Iran with only Israel by his side.
AI has industry and political leaders warning of white-collar job displacement
Blue-collar workers have been at the center of political messaging for years. Politicians meet with waitresses at a diner to pitch raising the minimum wage or tour a factory to spotlight job growth. Lately, though, a different group has been getting more attention: white-collar professionals.
Rapid advancements in AI have industry leaders and political officials in both parties warning of massive job displacement for white-collar workers, a college-educated and increasingly Democratic demographic.
Several elected officials who spoke with NBC News said potential losses could echo the “China shock” that rattled manufacturing jobs decades ago. Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri is one lawmaker sounding the alarm.
“We’re looking at a massive collapse of the middle class,” he said. “We simply cannot allow that to happen.”
More politics news:
- Trump said he won’t sign any bills until the SAVE America Act is passed, adding that a “watered down” version of the act would not do.
- NBC News poll: Trump struggles across the key issues of 2026 so far — from immigration to prices to Iran — as Democrats hold a midterm election lead. And as primaries kick off, voters in both parties say they are prioritizing ideology over electability when picking candidates.
Death Valley sees its most spectacular superbloom in a decade
A superbloom of wildflowers has painted the normally barren landscape of Death Valley National Park — one of the most extreme places on the planet and the hottest and driest spot in North America — in pretty pink, purple and yellow hues.
This year’s superbloom is the most spectacular in a decade, according to the National Park Service. It’s a result of rainier-than-normal conditions throughout the region last fall and early winter.
Unlike cacti, which store water to survive, these flowers can exist for long periods of time in seed form in the soil. And if you want to see them, time is of the essence.
Here’s the best time to catch a glimpse.
Read All About It
- A woman is in custody after she was accused of firing at Rihanna’s L.A. home with an AR-15-style rifle while the pop star was inside, police said. No injuries were reported.
- Travel at major U.S. airports turned into a nightmare over the weekend, with up to three-hour security wait times and a shortage of TSA workers amid the partial government shutdown.
- A Georgia teenager is facing a homicide charge after running over a high school teacher in an attempt to flee the scene of a prank.
- An NYPD officer died in a medical episode while deployed to Kuwait in support of the Iran war.
- A device thrown outside Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral residence during dueling protests was confirmed to be an improvised explosive, according to police.
Staff Pick: Shot by gang members, these Paralympians are making history
When I first heard about a Salvadoran ski team, I thought of a movie my entire family loves: “Cool Runnings.” But this wasn’t just a story about a group of athletes from a tropical country who take on a winter sport.
David Chávez and Jonathan Arias were both shot by gang members and paralyzed from the waist down when they were only 14. They both cycled through periods of depression before getting into the world of competitive sports.
A chance encounter led Arias to start surfing. Chávez soon joined the team. About three years ago, they began to focus on Para cross-country skiing despite hailing from a nation that never sees snow. They were helped along the way by a former U.S. Ski Team coach who built special exercise equipment and devised a unique training method on the beach outside their center.
Now, they are making history as the first Salvadorans to participate in the Winter Paralympic Games.
— Rich Schapiro, investigative reporter
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