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Mar 13, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump must address a challenge with one group of voters, a CNN analyst said Friday. As midterms approach, Trump needs to focus on independents, the group most divided on the joint U.S.-Israeli war in Iran, political commentator and CNN host Michael Smerconish told anchor Wolf Blitzer. "I see that largely it's a referendum on the commander in chief," Smerconish said. "Republicans overwhelmingly supportive of the efforts, supportive of the president; Democrats in equal numbers, in opposition. The tie breakers are the independents, and that's why, by a relatively slim margin, I see the war effort as being underwater." He argued that the upcoming elections would reveal how Americans support both the president and the conflict in the Middle East, something that the Trump administration should focus its messaging around. He also suggested the White House needs to shift its approach toward explaining why the military strikes were happening. "It needs to be sold more about policy than the personality of the president," Smerconish said. "I think what they need to say is, look, for half a century religious fanatics who rule in another country have sworn our destruction. 'Death to America, death to Israel.' We're just not going to let them have a nuclear weapon. And I'd repeat it and repeat it and repeat it."

Mar 13, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump predicted that his war in Iran would be "a little winding road for a little while" but said it had to be done because the country had an "evil curse."During an interview with controversial YouTube boxer Jake Paul this week, Trump attempted to explain his thinking on the Iran war."We did this excursion. We had to do it. Wipe out evil. Sometimes you have evil," the president said. "So we have to do it right, but our military has been unbelievable.""No, and I commend you for your bravery, and I think so many Iranians do as well," Paul speculated. "And I think what you're doing is phenomenal. And I was shocked that so many activists, like, in America, didn't like it. But meanwhile, they were like, 'oh, we support women.'""We support gays, but they throw gays off the buildings, okay?" Trump replied. "But I think I have tremendous support on this. This is something that's been incredible. I have the best poll numbers I've ever had now, and it's not because of this.""It's a little bit of a, we take a little winding road for a little while, but we have to wipe out the evil," the president added. "It's an evil curse. They're evil people."

Mar 13, 2026 - World

Honda said it is halting plans for three models of electric vehicles that would have been sold in North America, blaming tariffs, eased gasoline regulations and rolled-back incentives.

Mar 13, 2026 - World

A Miami man pleaded guilty this week to coordinating with a Chinese distributor to import illegal "bath salts" into the U.S. for sale in the Miami area from 2022 to 2025.

Mar 13, 2026 - World

Longtime campaign strategist Mark McKinnon, who advised former President George W. Bush and the late Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), could not contain his laughter after watching Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) being interviewed on CNN late Thursday.Appearing on MS NOW with host Chris Jansing, McKinnon watched Jordan tell CNN's Kasie Hunt, “President Trump is committed to achieving that [Iran regime change] goal, and if that means prices go up for a time, I think Americans understand, we can live with that .But, in the end, we want all that to happen, and we want it all to happen in as quick a time as it possibly can.”After sharing the clip, Jansing asked her guest, “But with gas now up 65 cents a gallon and no end in sight, do you think Americans understand?”“No!” McKinnon exclaimed while laughing. “I think Americans have a very low pain threshold; short-term pain, mid-term pain, long-term pain. Americans are not very good at sacrificing anything, particularly for a conflict that they're not supporting going in, much less four weeks into it now. So that's a real problem for the administration.”“And, you know, it's the Iranians are reading the American media, and they know that politicians react to their voters and their voters are reacting to the price of oil,” he elaborated. “And I just — it's astonishing to me that the general there said the only thing preventing [Strait of Hormuz shipping] traffic is Iran. Yeah. The place where bombing is preventing it, and they know it, and they know that they can just continue this.” - YouTube youtu.be