The Trump Oil Prices Situation is Crazy, Iran War Updates, & The ISIS-Inspired Gracie Mansion Attack

TL;DR

Oil prices hit $120/barrel as the U.S.-Iran war escalates, while an ISIS-inspired bombing targeted NYC's first Muslim mayor.

Key Points

• 1.A U.S. Tomahawk cruise missile strike on February 28th killed 175 people, mostly children, at an Iranian girls' school adjacent to a naval base — despite Trump blaming Iran without evidence.
• 2.Oil prices surged to nearly $120/barrel before settling around $100 — roughly 50% higher than pre-war levels — with gas prices jumping $0.50/gallon in one week, from $2.98 to $3.45, and analysts warning of a possible record $148/barrel.
• 3.Iran named a new Supreme Leader — the 56-year-old son of the killed previous leader — a hardliner with deep Revolutionary Guard ties, whom Trump has already declared "unacceptable," while demanding Iran's "unconditional surrender."
• 4.Seven U.S. service members have now been killed; the seventh died Saturday after Iran struck a Saudi base where American troops were stationed on March 1st.
• 5.At NYC's Gracie Mansion, 18-year-old Amir Baloch and 19-year-old Ibrahim Nick were arrested after deploying TATP-based IEDs at an anti-Islam rally targeting Muslim Mayor Zohran Mamdani; the FBI confirmed ISIS inspiration and said suspects wanted to exceed the Boston Marathon bombing's death toll.
• 6.The rally was organized by January 6th pardon recipient JC Lang, who promoted flagrant anti-Muslim imagery and called Mamdani "the number one Muslim worldwide."
• 7.A federal judge ruled Kari Lake's leadership of the U.S. Agency for Global Media unlawful, invalidating her actions including mass layoffs at Voice of America, potentially restoring over 1,000 journalists to their jobs pending appeal.
• 8.Trump threatened to refuse signing any legislation until the SAVE Act passes — requiring passport or birth certificate proof for voter registration — while a partial DHS shutdown has TSA workers working unpaid, causing 2–3 hour security lines at major airports during spring break.