Trump’s war reaches America’s shores

March 13, 2026

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[Note: I will host my regular livestream on Saturday at 9 am Pacific / Noon Eastern.]

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The reverberations of Trump’s illegal war reached America’s shores on Thursday in three separate attacks. Although the facts are still developing, it appears that the attacks were carried out by terrorists responding to the US war on Iran.

The first attack targeted a Jewish synagogue, Temple Israel, in Detroit (West Bloomfield), Michigan. See CBS Detroit, Suspect in Detroit-area synagogue attack is killed by security, officials say. Temple Israel is one of the largest Reform congregations in the US. Per a statement issued by Temple leadership, “everyone is safe.” The FBI is investigating the matter as a “targeted act of violence” intended to inflict mass casualties. See Bridge Michigan, Michigan synagogue attack: FBI investigating as ‘targeted act of violence’.

Per Michigan Bridge,

The attack at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, a major Jewish place of worship that also houses an early childhood learning center, sparked international condemnations of antisemitism, shook the local community and prompted other area schools and synagogues to take precautionary measures.

Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard confirmed that the suspect was killed and said a security guard who was hit by the attacker’s vehicle and knocked unconscious “should be OK.” Later, he said 30 law enforcement officers were also taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation after the suspect’s vehicle caught fire.

Bouchard said the attacker died after driving through the facility’s doors and down a hall, where on-site security officers “engaged him in gunfire.” At some point in that sequence, Bouchard said, “something ignited in the vehicle,” setting it ablaze.

The attack on Temple Israel has led to an outpouring of domestic and international support for the synagogue and condemnation of the attack. Senator Elissa Slotkin echoed the comments of many leaders when she said,

“All communities deserve the right to worship safely. All communities. And acts of terror and antisemitism must be condemned and dealt with to the fullest extent of the law.”

In a second incident, a terror suspect entered a Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) class at Old Dominion University and opened fire, killing Lt. Col. Brandon Shah, an ROTC instructor. The ROTC students in the class subdued and killed the shooter. See CNN, Old Dominion attack suspect identified as Mohamed Bailor Jalloh.

Per CNN,

The FBI is now investigating the Thursday morning attack as an act of terrorism, identifying the shooter as Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, a former Virginia National Guard member who has served prison time for attempting to aid the Islamic militant group a decade ago.

Before the attack began, FBI Special Agent In Charge Dominique Evans said Jalloh shouted “Allahu Akbar” — or “God is greater.”

“Brave ROTC members in that room subdued him, and if not for them, I’m not sure what else he may have done,” Evans said Thursday.

Finally, a hacker group linked to Iran infiltrated the computer systems of a US-based medical company. The hacker group claimed the cyber-attack was in retaliation for the US bombing of an Iranian girls’ school on the first day of the war. See The Guardian, Iran-linked group says it hacked US company in retaliation for Minab school bombing.

Per The Guardian,

An Iran-linked group said it hacked a US medical company, causing “global disruption” to its systems, in retaliation for the bombing of the Minab school in Iran, in an attack seen as widening the Middle East into the cyber realm.

Handala, a hacker group, claimed responsibility for the attack on Wednesday on the Stryker Corporation, which makes medical devices and is based in Michigan. It affected thousands of employees using the company’s Microsoft systems.

In a statement, Stryker said the attack is expected to continue to cause “disruptions and limitations of access to certain of the Company’s information systems and business applications” and warned: “The timeline for a full restoration is not yet known.”

The hacker group posted a statement on Twitter (which I will not republish or link to) that cited the US bombing of the girls’ school and said that Stryker was selected as a cyber target because of links to “Zionism.”

As Trump’s war on Iran is leading to antisemitic attacks in the US, the rate of Islamophobic posts on Twitter spiked after Trump started his war against Iran. See Center for the Study of Hate, The US-Israel War on Iran and the Rise in Hate Against Muslim Americans. (“Between February 28 and March 5, a total of 25,348 Islamophobic posts targeting Muslims were recorded on [Twitter].”)

One of the people posting anti-Islamic content on Twitter is Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville (AL), who posted side-by-side photos of the Twin Towers under attack on 9/11 and NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani sitting at an iftar dinner (breaking the daily fast during Ramadan). Tuberville wrote, “The enemies are within the gates.”

Senator Chris Murphy responded to Tuberville’s post, saying:

“I just saw this vicious racist post by my colleague Tommy Tuberville about Mayor Mamdani. How broken a human being do you have to be to post something like this?”

The hateful violence and rhetoric against Jews and Muslims sparked by Trump’s war on Iran will test us all. See my Concluding Thoughts.

Developments in Trump’s illegal war on Iran.

The news from Trump’s war on Iran is grim. The US lost a KC-135 refueling aircraft over Iraq. The aircraft usually has a crew of three. Rescue operations are underway in an isolated area of Iraq.

The NYTimes reported that Iran has begun laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz. Although the action was anticipated, Trump has suggested that the US has destroyed most of Iran’s mine-laying ability. But as reported by the NYTimes, the IRGC is using hundreds of small, private boats to lay mines two or three at a time. See NYTimes, (“The U.S. military said that while it had destroyed larger Iranian naval vessels, Iran began using smaller boats to lay mines on Thursday . . . .”)

Iran’s new leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, vowed to continue the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz to “avenge the blood of the martyrs.” See NYTimes, above.

The total number of vessels attacked in the Persian Gulf since the start of the war now stands at 16. See NYTimes, above.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has caused a shortage of liquified natural gas in India, where LNG is used by hundreds of millions for cooking. See NYTimes, War in Iran Has India Scrambling to Keep Stoves Lit for Cooking - The New York Times

Per the Times,

India is the world’s second-largest importer of liquefied petroleum gas, after China, burning about 31 million tons a year. Roughly 60 percent of that is imported, mostly via the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that provides passage from the Persian Gulf to the open sea. The rest is made in India, mainly as a byproduct from crude-oil processing.

In the US, gas prices are up, and the stock market is down. See CNBC, Dow tumbles more than 700 points as oil jumps, closing at new 2026 low under 47,000:

Finally, in desperation, Trump is now touting high gas prices as a good development, claiming that when gas prices go up, “we make a lot of money.” Of course, when Trump says “we,” he means “me.” See Daily Beast, Billionaire Trump Says Americans Must Suck Up Sky-High Gas Prices.

Trump should rename the war on Iran “Operation Epic Gas Prices.” You can quote me on that.

Trump refuses to sign housing billed passed by both chambers of Congress

Trump is making good on his promise to not sign any legislation until the SAVE Act passes—which will likely be never. In a rare bipartisan move, Congress passed a bill designed to increase the supply of affordable housing in the US. Trump told Speaker Mike Johnson that he wouldn’t sign the bill because “No one gives a [F-word] about housing.”

Trump’s comment to Johnson is consistent with his earlier vow (at a January cabinet meeting) to drive housing prices up. See The Hill, Dems knock Trump’s pledge to ‘drive housing prices up’. (“I don’t want to drive housing prices down. I want to drive housing prices up for people who own their homes. And they can be assured that’s what’s going to happen.”)

Trump appears to believe that “affordability” is a word Democrats made up. He doesn’t understand that building more affordable housing is something that tens of millions of Americans want—including many in his base.

Opportunities for Reader Engagement

Urgent: Misinformation Is Targeting Black Voters in Virginia—Help Us Reach Them —Join a phone bank today.

Republicans have sunk to a new low. They know that if Virginians understand what the redistricting referendum actually does, they can’t win—so instead of telling the truth, they’re trying to confuse voters.

Over the weekend, they sent mailers and texts—primarily targeting Black communities—urging people to vote no by falsely comparing the referendum to Jim Crow laws. In reality, it does the opposite: it’s about pushing back against election rigging.

This is deliberate misinformation, and we can’t let it stand.

We need your help to reach Black voters across Virginia and make sure they know the truth—that these mailers are nothing more than desperate bully tactics meant to mislead voters.

Join Center for Common Ground for their guided phones banks Tuesday & Thursday at 6pm ET to Black and Brown voters across Virginia. Just a few hours of your time can help cut through the lies and make sure voters have the facts before they cast their ballots. Register here

Join a Flip the Vote house party!

Reminder! Please join hosts and Today’s Edition readers Susie Glaze and Steve Rankin for a virtual house party for Flip The Vote on Monday, March 16, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. Pacific / 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

Flip the Vote is an organization that helps donors strategically support grassroots groups in swing states. These groups work year-round to educate and mobilize low-propensity Democratic voters. Donor support gives the groups time to scale up, train staff, and prepare for huge get out the vote efforts in 2026. You can learn more at FliptheVote.org

At the meeting, we will be joined by representatives from Flip The Vote, who will tell us about their work. There will be time for a Q&A with the representative who will field your questions.

Register HERE. There’s no expected donation, but we are confident after hearing their plans for the election cycle you might be interested in contributing. 100% of your donation goes directly to their grassroots partners. If you are unable to attend, please consider contributing to Flip the Vote’s partners. You can do so HERE.

Concluding Thoughts

The hateful violence and rhetoric against Jews and Muslims sparked by Trump’s war on Iran will test us all. In these trying times, it is difficult to find the right words to express the mixture of outrage, condemnation, sympathy, grief, condolence, and hope provoked by every act of religious and ethnic animosity. As news of the two terror attacks flashed across my phone, my thoughts immediately turned to the question of “What can I say that hasn’t been said thousands of times that will bring comfort in the face of tragedy and hate?”

Americans need unity, love, and understanding at a time when many in the world seek to divide us by amplifying hate and ignorance. I was still pondering what I would say in tonight’s newsletter when I saw Jen Psaki interview Texas state representative James Talarico. Psaki asked Talarico to comment on the two attacks, and Talarico gave an answer that gave me comfort and hope.

I link to Talarico’s comment below, but note first that Talarico is a Christian who frequently quotes the New Testament in addressing political issues. In his response to Psaki, he cited a statement by Jesus in the Gospel of Luke: “Blessed are you who weep.” The video is here, cued to his answer: Jen Psaki interview with James Talarico.

Talarico’s answer is worth viewing in its entirety, and I recommend it to your attention on a day when many are feeling despair and hopelessness. Talarico gives an eloquent answer, calling for understanding and love. But then he says this:

Sometimes we see the world most clearly through our tears.

And so, if your heart is breaking as you watch what is happening to our communities, to our country, to our world, it means you still have a heart. And I want people to trust that. And I want people to protect that.

Because that is what will get us out of all this. So, blessed are those who weep tonight. Hopefully, love will ultimately prevail over this kind of hate and violence in our world.

On a day when we see the world through tears, we should trust that the emotions prompting those tears point the way forward on our path to a more just and tolerant world.

Talk to you tomorrow.

Pro-democracy protest photos

[Send photos to rbhubbell@gmail.com. Include city and state. No photos of minors, please.]

West LA Freeway Brigade, Los Angeles, CA 3/12/26

Weekly Visibility Brigade in Lexington, MA on March 12, 2026 over 95/128. Drizzly conditions, so our letters were protected by "raincoats."

March 11 - weekly standout in Jamaica Plan MA

Thank you to the NY overpass protestors. It was a great message, so we decided to bring it to our Pasadena, CA, commuters. It was well received!

This week’s Tyranny Tuesday Protest in Reno in front of our main federal courthouse. Since the start of 2026, we have drawn a big crowd every week. About 100 to 150 patriots. From noon to 1 p.m., we line up on the sidewalk, filling one city block.

Attached are 2 photos from a protest yesterday in Southfield, Michigan, where ICE is planning to (or already has?) leased office space "only for administrative work." They're also leasing space not far away, near Detroit Metro airport, in a warehouse, intending to turn it into a concentration camp for several hundred people. Local people are very upset, of course, and protest events are multiplying. Over 200 people turned out yesterday-

Newton, MA Standout 3/11/26

Protest photos from Brattleboro, Vermont

Rosa Parks & Interstate on 8 March 2026 in Portland, Oregon