Oil prices yoyo as refineries hit and shipments halt; White House won’t rule out a draft in Iran war; Trump bails out Ticketmaster

Drop Site Daily: March 9, 2026

U.S. and Israeli airstrikes pound Iran for a tenth day. “Black rain” reported in Tehran after Israeli strikes on oil facilities. Desalination plants targeted in strikes. Oil prices soar; Bahrain and Kuwait oil companies declare force majeure. Iran’s retaliatory strikes continue to hit the Gulf. Record pace of strikes in U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign on Iran, according to Airwars, including twice as many as during the opening days of Israel’s war on Gaza. Iran says oil tanker struck in Strait of Hormuz. Iran names Mojtaba Khamenei as new supreme leader. President Donald Trump blames Iran for girls’ school bombing as more evidence emerges that it was the U.S. Trump says any end to the Iran war will be decided jointly with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. U.S. begins using British bases for operations tied to Iran war. Israeli raid in Lebanon leaves dozens dead. Israeli drone strike in Khan Younis kills father and daughter. Israeli strikes kill Palestinians in Central Gaza and Gaza City. Settler attack kills three Palestinians in West Bank village. White House won’t rule out a draft. Trump settles the highly anticipated antitrust trial against Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation. U.S. military kills six in latest Pacific vessel strike. Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner is leading Republican Sen. Susan Collins in a new poll, as Gov. Janet Mills trails her. Trump-endorsed North Carolina Senate leader appears to have been ousted. Trump calls Mexico the “epicenter” of cartel violence at Shield of the Americas summit in Florida. Corpus Christi water crisis threatens fuel supplies and major energy exports. Drone strikes on markets in Sudan’s Kordofan kill at least 33. Nigerian troops kill 45 bandits in clash in Katsina state. Russian missile and drone barrage kills at least 12 across Ukraine.

From Drop Site: Jeremy and Ryan appear on Tim Dillon to discuss the Iran War. New episodes of “Trading Inside of Congress” and “Eyeing Office” from Capitol Hill.

Leqaa Kordia, a 33-year-old Palestinian woman from Paterson, New Jersey, has spent nearly a year in ICE detention in Texas after speaking out against Israel’s war in Gaza, despite an immigration judge twice ruling that she is eligible for release. Drop Site joins the IMEU Policy Project, MPower Action, Jewish Voice for Peace ACT, and the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights Action in calling for her immediate release. The link below allows users to send emails and make calls to their member of Congress on Leqaa’s behalf:

This is Drop Site Daily, our free daily news recap. We send it Monday through Friday.

Smoke rises from Shahran oil depot after U.S. and Israeli attacks in Tehran, Iran on March 08, 2026. Photo by Hassan Ghaedi/Anadolu via Getty Images.

War on Iran

• U.S. and Israeli airstrikes pound Iran for a tenth day: The U.S. and Israel continued to bombard Iran on Monday, with reports of massive explosions in Tehran as well as cities in the south. The Israeli military said it had begun a “wide-scale wave of strikes…across Tehran, Isfahan, and southern Iran.” Explosions were heard across Tehran over the weekend as Israeli forces targeted Iranian infrastructure, including the campus of Imam Hussein University. Images circulating online showed fires and smoke near Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport, with blasts shattering windows in the western part of the city and forcing some people to shelter in underground parking areas, residents told BBC. Airstrikes also damaged multiple buildings inside a complex housing Iran’s judiciary and Supreme Court near Arg Square in central Tehran’s historic government district.

• “Black rain” reported in Tehran after Israeli strikes on oil facilities: Israeli attacks on fuel depots and other oil infrastructure in and around Tehran on Saturday caused massive fires to burn for hours in the capital. Roughly 30 large storage tanks at the country’s largest refinery were targeted, according to Israel’s Channel 14, and with major fires at the Shahr-e Rey refinery south of the capital and an explosion at the Fardis oil depot in Karaj. The strikes released large quantities of toxic hydrocarbons and industrial gases, which Iranian authorities said are mixing with rainfall to produce highly acidic “black rain” capable of causing skin burns and respiratory distress. Dense smoke from fires darkened parts of the city, with reports describing conditions resembling a “nuclear winter” effect as sunlight is obscured by thick plumes. Authorities say oil-contaminated rainwater has coated rooftops and streets with oily soot that may carry heavy metals such as nickel and vanadium, raising concerns about long-term contamination of soil and water systems. The Iranian Red Crescent advised residents to protect exposed food and avoid contact with the corrosive rainfall. Iran threatened to attack oil facilities in neighboring countries in retaliation for Israel hitting at least five energy sites in and around Tehran. State media quoted a spokesperson for the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) accusing the U.S. and Israel of targeting civilians and fuel facilities, urging Gulf states to press them to stop. “If you can tolerate oil at more than $200 per barrel, continue this game,” the IRGC spokesperson said.

• Oil prices soar then dip: Oil prices soared to nearly $120 a barrel with the war threatening production and shipping—crossing $100 for the first time since 2022 shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine—before going back down on Monday. French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that “the use of strategic reserves is an envisaged option.” He said G7 leaders could meet this week to coordinate a response to climbing energy prices. Global stock markets fell on Monday, with Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index plunging more than 5% and markets across Europe losing between 2% and 3%.

• Bahrain and Kuwait oil companies declare force majeure: Bahrain’s national oil company on Monday declared force majeure for its shipments, releasing the company of its contractual obligations because of extraordinary circumstances. Kuwait’s Petroleum Corporation also declared force majeure after it implemented a reduction in crude oil production and refining throughput because of the conflict. The head of Kuwait’s national oil sector said on Sunday the near halt in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz marks an unprecedented shift in regional geopolitics, noting that the waterway had never been closed to traffic in more than 80 years. He said there has been “five or six days of practically zero traffic through the Strait of Hormuz,” which is astonishing, given that the Strait accounts for 20% of the world’s oil supply.

• Desalination plants targeted in strikes: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned U.S.–Israeli strikes on Iran’s desalination plant on Qeshm Island in statements to the press over the weekend, calling the attack “a blatant and desperate crime” that disrupted water supplies to 30 villages and warned that targeting Iranian infrastructure would carry “grave consequences.” On Sunday, Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said an Iranian drone attack caused material damage to a water desalination plant in the Gulf country.

• Iran names Mojtaba Khamenei as new supreme leader: Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated by Israel on the first day of the war, has been named as the new Supreme Leader of Iran, Iranian state TV reported early on Monday. An Iranian official told Drop Site on Friday that no new negotiations would be initiated with the U.S. or intermediaries until the new Supreme Leader was announced.

• Casualty counts: The death toll in Iran has not been updated since Friday when the Iranian Red Crescent Society reported at least 1,332 had been killed in the war. Over 10,000 civilian structures have been damaged across Iran in the U.S. and Israeli strikes since last week, including homes, schools and almost three dozen medical facilities, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society.

• Record pace of strikes by U.S. and Israel; twice as many as the opening days of Israel’s war on Gaza: The first days of bombing in Iran saw far more sites targeted than any recent U.S. or Israeli military campaign, according to an investigation by Airwars. The study found that in the initial days of the war, significantly more targets were hit per day than any campaign in recent decades. “Even in the opening days of Israel’s unprecedented bombardment on Gaza after October 7th, it appears that around half the number of targets were hit compared to the first days in Iran,” the report says. “In 100 hours the U.S. and Israel declared hitting more targets in Iran than in the first six months of the U.S.-led Coalition’s bombing campaign against the so-called Islamic State,” the report said. The analysis added that the rate of strikes also raises questions about the role of AI in targeting, with reports that Anthropic’s Claude AI has been integrated throughout the U.S. military.

• Retaliatory strikes in the Gulf: Iran’s army said early Saturday that its naval forces launched a large wave of drone attacks targeting U.S. bases and Israeli military installations.

  • Iranian forces said the strikes included the Al Minhad base in Abu Dhabi and Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, where U.S. troops are stationed, as well as radar installations at Israel’s Sedot Micha base.

  • Explosions were reported in Dubai and Manama, according to Agence France-Presse.

  • Strikes were also reported in Qatar on Saturday, and a drone strike on Dubai’s airport briefly halted the facility’s operations, after Emirati airspace had just reopened after a sustained closure.

  • Fuel tanks at Kuwait’s International Airport were reportedly struck by Shahed drones on Sunday, as the country’s government announced an intensified effort to shore up its air defenses. Two Kuwaiti security officers were killed on duty on Sunday, according to the country’s Interior Ministry.

  • Also on Sunday, Saudi Civil Defense said a “military projectile” struck a residential site in Al-Kharj, killing two maintenance workers of Indian and Bangladeshi origin and injuring 12 others, though officials did not initially attribute the projectile to Iran.

  • Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said its missile units struck positions of Kurdish separatist groups at three locations in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region. Multiple explosions were reported across Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, including a strike on the headquarters of the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan in the Zargwezala area, according to local Channel 8 and reporting from Drop Site correspondent Alexis Daloumis.

• Bahrain sees civilian casualties rise: More than 32 civilians were injured when a missile struck and damaged several homes on Sitra Island, south of Manama, according to Bahrain’s Al-Abdal Media Network, 4 of whom are in “serious condition.” Bahrain’s Interior Ministry attributed the damage to a “blatant Iranian drone attack” that hit residential areas. Videos and local reports circulating online suggest the object may have been a Patriot interceptor missile that fell after attempting to intercept an incoming drone. Missile interception debris fell in the Muharraq area of the country on Sunday, according to officials, injuring three people and damaging a university building.

• Iran says oil tanker struck in Strait of Hormuz, where it “welcomes” U.S. escorts of tankers: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the Prima oil tanker was struck by a drone on Saturday after repeatedly ignoring warnings from IRGC naval forces about prohibited passage and unsafe conditions in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian authorities said the vessel continued through the waterway despite multiple warnings, but did not immediately say whether it sustained major damage or altered course after the strike. Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defense HQ sarcastically said it “welcomes” the U.S. escorting oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, adding that Iranian forces are “waiting” for the Americans.”

• PUK leader signals reluctance to join anti-Iran campaign: President Trump held separate phone calls on March 1 with Bafel Jalal Talabani, leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, and Masoud Barzani’s Kurdistan Democratic Party, telling Kurdish leaders they must choose between alignment with the United States and Israel or with Iran, according to The Washington Post. The U.S. and Israel were reportedly exploring whether Kurdish factions in Iraq could support Iranian Kurdish groups in opening a second front in western Iran.Trump told reporters on Saturday that he has “ruled [Kurdish participation] out, I don’t want the Kurds going in.”

• Trump says Iran does not need to become a democracy: President Trump told CNN and NBC News on Saturday that he is not concerned with whether Iran becomes a democratic state after the U.S.-Israel war, stating instead that the country needs a “fair and just” leader who will treat the United States and Israel well. Trump said he would be open to working with a “moderate Shia religious leader” and suggested he expects to play a role in shaping or influencing Iran’s future leadership. Trump has previously rejected Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his newly named successor.

• Iranian drone strike destroys U.S. THAAD radar in Jordan: An Iranian drone strike destroyed an AN/TPY-2 radar used by the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan on Saturday, according to a U.S. official and satellite imagery reviewed by CNN. The radar is central to tracking ballistic missiles and guiding THAAD interceptors, and its loss may shift missile interception duties to Patriot batteries whose PAC-3 interceptor stocks are already limited. The United States operates only eight THAAD batteries worldwide, according to experts cited by Foreign Policy, each costing about $1 billion, while another advanced radar reportedly damaged earlier in the war in Qatar—the AN/FPS-132—could take five to eight years and roughly $1.1 billion to replace.

• Trump blamed Iran for the Minab girls’ school bombing, as more evidence emerges it was the U.S.: Trump denied reports that the U.S. bombed the elementary school in Minab, at which around 175 casualties have been reported, saying on Air Force One that, “Based on what I’ve seen, it was done by Iran.” His comments came as the investigative group Bellingcat said a newly released video appears to contradict Trump’s claim that Iran was responsible for the attack. The three-second clip of a video circulated Sunday by Iran’s semiofficial Mehr news agency shows a munition falling on a building. Trevor Ball of Bellingcat identified the munition as a Tomahawk cruise missile—which only the U.S. is known to possess in the war. Previous reports by the New York Times and Reuters also point to U.S. culpability for the deadly school strike.

• Iran says temporary ceasefire no longer acceptable: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told NBC News on Sunday that Tehran will not consider another temporary ceasefire, arguing that previous pauses in fighting only allowed Israel and the United States to resume the war. “We are not at that point yet,” Araghchi said when asked about conditions to end the conflict, adding that this time Iran is seeking a permanent end rather than another halt that fails to bring lasting peace. The statement comes after Iranian military officials walked back statements from Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian that were interpreted as ordering a cessation of Iranian strikes against regional countries, blaming Trump for “misinterpretation.”

• U.S. orders diplomatic staff to leave Saudi Arabia: The U.S. State Department ordered American diplomatic staff in Saudi Arabia to depart the country on Sunday, according to The New York Times, as security concerns grow amid the escalating war with Iran. On Monday, the State Department also ordered non‑emergency staff and family members to leave the U.S. consulate in Adana, in southern Turkey.

• Trump says end of Iran war will be decided jointly with Netanyahu: President Donald Trump said in an interview with The Times of Israel on Sunday that the decision on when to end the war with Iran will be made jointly with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump said the timing would be “mutual… a little bit,” adding that he would make the final call “at the right time.” Praising Netanyahu’s leadership, Trump said the two had “worked together” throughout the conflict and claimed the war had prevented Israel’s destruction. He added that Iran had intended to destroy Israel but that the joint U.S.-Israeli campaign had instead left Iran “being destroyed.”

• U.S. begins using British bases for operations tied to Iran war: The United States has begun using British military bases for certain operations against Iran, Al Monitor reports, with the United Kingdom’s defense ministry saying the sites are being used for “specific defensive operations” aimed at preventing Iranian missile launches into the region. The bases involved include RAF Fairford in southwestern England and the joint U.K.-U.S. base at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

• U.S. service member dies from injuries in Saudi Arabia: A U.S. service member has died from injuries sustained during an attack on American troops in Saudi Arabia on March 1, U.S. Central Command said Sunday, bringing the number of American military personnel killed in the Iran war to seven. The first six were Army reservists killed in a March 1 attack on a Kuwaiti port.

• One killed in Israel: Israel said a man was killed in an Iranian missile attack on Monday, raising the death toll in Israel since the start of the war to 11.

• UN Security Council split over competing Iran resolutions: A split has emerged at the United Nations Security Council after Bahrain and Russia submitted competing draft resolutions about the war on Iran. The draft submitted by Bahrain on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council condemns Iran for attacks on Gulf states and calls Iran’s actions a breach of international law, without mentioning that the conflict was initiated as an attack on Iran by the United States or Israel. Russia circulated a rival draft that avoids singling out any country and instead condemns attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure by all parties while calling for an immediate halt to escalation. The dispute over the competing resolutions comes after a March 5 meeting in Moscow where Gulf ambassadors urged Russia to pressure Iran to stop attacks on their territories; Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov rejected efforts to single out Tehran.

Attacks on Lebanon

• Israeli raid in Lebanon leaves dozens dead: At least 41 people were killed and 40 wounded in Israeli airstrikes on the Nabi Sheet area and nearby towns in Lebanon’s Baalbek District after Israeli soldiers disguised as Lebanese soldiers launched an air and ground raid on the area. The operation early Saturday was reportedly undertaken to retrieve the remains of Israeli soldier Ron Arad, who disappeared in Lebanon four decades ago; the Israeli commandos did not recover Arad’s body. Local residents and fighters reportedly detected the force, triggering clashes with Hezbollah and members of the community before Israel carried out about dozens airstrikes to cover the unit’s withdrawal.

• Israeli air attacks on Lebanon continue: Israel continued airstrikes on Beirut and other parts of Lebanon on Monday. The Israeli military on Monday said it was targeting Hezbollah’s financial arm, al-Qard Al-Hasan. Over 70 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since dawn on Sunday, according to local reports. Weekend attacks included:

  • Multiple locations across the south and in Beirut were hit, and an overnight airstrike on a building in Seer al-Gharbiyeh, north of the Litani River, killed at least 19 people, most of them women and children, according to Naharnet.

  • In Sidon, Israeli naval missiles struck near the northern entrance of the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp, hitting a house and injuring civilians and Lebanese Army soldiers stationed nearby.

  • On Saturday night, Israel struck the Ramada Hotel in Beirut, killing 3 and injuring 9, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.

  • Israeli ground troops launched what the military said were “focused raids” on Hezbollah’s infrastructure in the south.

  • Two paramedics were killed and six injured in separate Israeli air strikes in the town of Tayr Debba and the village of Jouaiya, both in southern Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry, which blasted the “systematic targeting of ambulance teams.”

• 83 children killed in Israeli attacks in Lebanon over a week: The death toll from Israel’s assault on Lebanon has risen to at least 394, with 1130 wounded, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. At least 83 children have been killed and 254 injured by Israeli attacks on Lebanon, according to UNICEF. “On average, more than 10 children have been killed every day across Lebanon over the past week, with approximately 36 children injured each day,” UNICEF said.

• Half a million displaced: Over 517,000 people have been forcibly displaced in Lebanon as a result of Israeli attacks and displacement orders over the past week, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Social Affairs. Some 70,000 Syrians have crossed the border from Lebanon into Syria, according to UNHCR.

• Israel using white phosphorus in Lebanon: HRW: Israeli forces are unlawfully and indiscriminately using white phosphorus munitions over residential areas in southern Lebanon, according to Human Rights Watch. “The Israeli military’s unlawful use of white phosphorus over residential areas is extremely alarming and will have dire consequences for civilians,” said Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch, in a statement. “The incendiary effects of white phosphorous can cause death or cruel injuries that result in lifelong suffering.”

• Lebanon postpones elections for 2 years: Lebanon’s parliament has postponed legislative elections, originally scheduled for May, by two years because of the Israeli assault. Lebanon’s state news agency said 76 legislators voted in favor of the decision, 41 were against, and four abstained. Hezbollah’s 13-member bloc in parliament voted in favor of the extension.

• Israeli military chief warns Lebanon war will be long: Israel’s military chief of staff Eyal Zamir said on Sunday the war in Lebanon “will take a long time,” as the Israeli military confirmed that two Israeli soldiers were killed in overnight Hezbollah attacks in southern Lebanon—the first Israeli troop deaths reported since the wars with Lebanon and Iran began. Zamir said Israeli forces carried out strikes overnight against “Iranian Quds Force units in Lebanon,” and warned that “there is no safe place for the tentacles of Iranian evil anywhere in the Middle East.” Describing Hezbollah as “an extremist arm of the Iranian octopus,” Zamir said the group will continue to pay a “heavy price” for these casualties.

The Gaza Genocide, Israel, and the West Bank

• Casualty counts: Over the past 24 hours, seven Palestinians were killed and 17 were injured in Israeli attacks in Gaza. The total recorded death toll since October 7, 2023 has risen to 72,133 killed, with 171,826 injured. Since October 11, the first full day of the so-called ceasefire, Israel has killed at least 648 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded 1,728, while 755 bodies have been recovered from under the rubble, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

• Israeli drone strike in Khan Younis kills father and daughter: An Israeli drone strike in central Khan Younis killed a man and critically injured his young daughter as she was preparing to leave for kindergarten. The girl, Julia Al-Qedra, was with her father, Ahmad Al-Qedra, when the strike hit, killing him at the scene. On Sunday, it was announced that Julia had succumbed to her wounds.

• Seven Palestinians killed across Gaza on Sunday: An Israeli strike on tents sheltering displaced families in the Al-Sawarah area of central Gaza killed three people on Sunday, including two children, according to Al Jazeera. Ten others were wounded in the attack, among them three children. Another Israeli airstrike killed three Palestinians near Al-Azhar University in western Gaza City after a car traveling in the area was hit, according to local sources speaking to Drop Site. Paramedic AbdulrahmanHamdouna, 31, was killed by the airstrike. Several other people nearby were wounded in the attack, Al Jazeera reported. A separate attack on tents in Al-Zawaida killed Palestinian journalist Amal Al-Shamali, 46, a correspondent for Qatar Radio.

• Settler attack kills three Palestinians in West Bank village: Armed Israeli settlers killed three Palestinian civilians in the village of Abu Falah in the occupied West Bank on Sunday during an attack on the community, under the protection of the Israeli army, according to Palestinian activist Issa Amro. Thaer Hamayel, 24, and Fare’e Hamayel, 57, were both shot in the head by settlers, while Mohammad Marra, 55, died after suffocating from tear gas fired by Israeli forces. This attack comes amid a broader escalation in settler violence and movement restrictions across the occupied West Bank since the onset of U.S.–Israeli strikes on Iran. In the past week, eight Palestinians were killed in a series of Israeli settler and military attacks and 225 were detained, according to WAFA.

United States

By Julian Andreone, with Ryan Grim. Have a tip on Capitol Hill? Email Andreone at Julian@dropsitenews.com.

• TicketMaster/Live Nation settlement: The antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation, which the Department of Justice has been preparing for years, was supposed to continue this week. Trump settled it instead, after firing the head of the antitrust division. The first week of the trial went poorly for Live Nation, one of the most reviled companies in the United States, reports Matt Stoller, author of the BIG newsletter. State attorneys general, however, are planning to pursue the company regardless. The NYT reports that Live Nation agreed to allow venues to use competing platforms to sell tickets, rather than lock them into exclusive deals with Ticketmaster, and would also allow artists to use alternate platforms. Such an arrangement was the bare minimum prosecutors were seeking.

• White House won’t rule out a draft: In a Fox News interview, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt declined to rule out a possible draft in the United States. Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene laid into her on Twitter: “How about the answer is NO DRAFT AND NO BOOTS ON THE GROUND because we campaigned on NO MORE FOREIGN WARS OR REGIME CHANGE!!! Liars every single one of them! Not my son, over my dead body!!!!!”

• U.S. military kills six in latest vessel strike in the Pacific: The U.S. military conducted a strike against a boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Sunday, killing six people, according to U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM). SOUTHCOM posted a video of the strike and said, “six male narco-terrorists were killed” as they were “engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” without providing evidence. Over 150 people have been killed in dozens U.S. strikes on vessels in the Pacific and Caribbean since September.

• Trump calls Mexico the “epicenter” of cartel violence at Shield of the Americas summit in Florida: Trump said the “epicenter” of cartel violence is in Mexico, and continued to hint at a U.S. intervention. “The Mexican cartels are fueling and orchestrating much of the bloodshed and chaos in this hemisphere, and the United States government will do whatever is necessary to defend our national security.” Under discussion is a hemispheric “agreement” to use “lethal military force to destroy the sinister cartels and terrorist networks once and for all.” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum brushed off Trump’s remarks.

• Trump administration exploring potential economic deal with Cuba: USA Today reported Sunday that the White House is quietly exploring an economic agreement with Cuba that could ease sanctions and loosen restrictions on Americans traveling to the island. The reported discussions include possible cooperation on ports, energy, and tourism, and could allow the Communist Party of Cuba to remain in power. At the Shield of the Americas summit, however, Trump also threatened Cuba, saying, “Cuba’s in its last moments of life as it was. It’ll have a great new life…That’ll be an easy one.”

• Corpus Christi water crisis: Corpus Christi, Texas, is facing a severe water shortage that could disrupt jet fuel supplies to Texas airports and oil exports from one of the United States’ largest petroleum ports if reservoirs continue to decline. Without significant rainfall, officials warn the city could enter a water emergency within months and face total depletion next year, potentially forcing curtailment of industrial activity at major refineries operated by companies such as Valero, Flint Hills Resources, and Citgo. The last hope, according to one official, would be 20-30 inches of rainfall—“basically a hurricane.” Read the full report from The Texas Tribune here.

• Defense contractor gets major ICE contract: On Friday, the administration awarded a contract worth at least $113.1 million to KVG LLC, a defense contractor, to build and operate a detention center in a Williamsport, Maryland warehouse, according to federal spending website USASpending.gov. The company has not been awarded any previous federal contracts for immigrant detention, according to government procurement records.

• Jewish Insider keys in on Dan Osborn’s independent Senate bid in Nebraska: The news outlet Jewish Insider is often a leading indicator of where pro-Israel groups such as AIPAC plan to spend money, and on Monday the outlet came after Osborn for accepting an endorsement from the New Policy PAC, which backs candidates critical of Israel. The PAC was launched by former State Department officials who resigned in protest of the genocide. JI highlighted comments Osborn made that were critical of the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran, which has the support of incumbent Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts.

• Graham Platner leading Susan Collins in new poll, as Janet Mills trails her: A new survey from the conservative-leaning Quantas Insights finds Platner, who also has the support of a New Policy PAC, ahead of Collins by seven points in the Maine Senate race, while sitting Gov. Janet Mills trails Collins by just under two points. The new poll comes after another concerted effort to derail Platner by establishment Democrats in Washington. The poll has Platner ahead of Mills by five points.

• Trump-endorsed North Carolina Senate leader ousted: It’s not yet official, but the longest-serving leader of the NC State Senate appears to have been ousted in a primary, another reflection of voter anger. Phil Berger’s loss could have broader implications for GOP fundraising and the party’s prospects in the fall, where a key Senate race hangs in the balance. That race includes Green Party nominee Brian McGinnis, a veteran who had his arm broken at a congressional protest last week.

Other International News

• Drone strikes on markets in Sudan’s Kordofan kill at least 33: Drone attacks on two markets in the towns of Abu Zabad and Wad Banda in Sudan’s West Kordofan state killed at least 33 people and injured 59 others, according to AFP. The strikes targeted areas controlled by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in the Kordofan region.

• Sudan’s Burhan warns factions against backing Iran, meets with Hilal: Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan warned Islamist factions fighting alongside the military not to declare support for Iran in the Gulf conflict, saying no group can speak on behalf of the Sudanese state or its armed forces, according to Sudan Tribune. Burhan reportedly said such statements could damage Sudan’s relations with Gulf states, particularly Saudi Arabia, a major backer of the Sudanese Armed Forces.

• Nigerian troops kill 45 bandits in clash in Katsina state: At least 45 armed bandits were killed in a clash with Nigerian troops in the Danmusa area of Katsina state in northern Nigeria on Saturday, according to reporting from Reuters. Gunmen from neighboring Zamfara state rode into Alhazawa village in Musawa on March 5 and attempted to steal cattle. The attackers returned the following day and encountered soldiers stationed at the army’s Forward Operating Base in Dan Ali near Maidabino ward, triggering a gun battle. A Nigerian army captain and two soldiers were also killed in the clash.

• Russian missile and drone barrage kills at least 12 across Ukraine: Russia launched a large wave of missiles and drones across Ukraine early Saturday morning, killing at least 12 people and wounding more than a dozen others, according to the AFP. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia fired 29 missiles and 480 drones, with strikes hitting energy and railway infrastructure and a ballistic missile destroying a five-story apartment building in Kharkiv, where at least 10 people were killed, including two children.

• Left coalition wins Colombian congressional elections: Colombia’s legislative elections delivered strong results for the left-wing Historic Pact coalition, winning more than 4 million votes and expanding their presence in Congress. The result is seen as a boost for allies of outgoing President Gustavo Petro ahead of the May 31 presidential election where their candidate Iván Cepeda Castro currently leads in polls against the hardline conservative Abelardo de la Espriella. The results nonetheless leave Congress divided, meaning no single bloc will control a majority.

More from Drop Site

• Watch Jeremy Scahill and Ryan Grim’s full appearance on The Tim Dillon show, where they discussed the latest in Iran, the response of the Gulf States to the war, the Epstein Files, and more:

• The second installment of “Trading Inside Congress” dropped this weekend. Julian Andreone looks at the more conspicuous stock trades from members of Congress:

• “Eyeing Office”: Andreone interviews Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, running for Michigan’s Senate seat this year. That video is here:

Programming note: You can sign up here to get updates from us on our WhatsApp channel.

If you want to continue getting this newsletter, you don’t have to do anything. But if this is too much—we do try to be mindful of your inbox—you can unsubscribe from this newsletter while continuing to get the rest of our reporting. Just go into your account here at this link, scroll down, and toggle the button next to “Drop Site Daily” to the off setting. It looks like this: