Oil prices surged and stock markets slid after hard-line Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei was chosen to succeed his late father as Iran’s supreme leader. His appointment on Monday, and new strikes on regional oil infrastructure, signaled that Iran was digging in 10 days into the war launched by the United States and Israel. Oil prices later fell, and the U.S. stock market closed higher, amid hope that the war with Iran may not last that long as world leaders discussed options. Khamenei is a secretive 56-year-old cleric and only the third supreme leader in the history of the Islamic Republic.
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Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Monday, March 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
President Donald Trump promised that 2026 would be a bumper year for economic growth. Instead it's kicked off with job losses, rising gasoline prices and more uncertainty about America’s future. In his recent State of the Union address, Trump said "the roaring economy is roaring like never before.” The latest batch of data on jobs, gasoline prices and the stock market suggests otherwise. There's a gap between the boom that Trump has predicted and the results he's produced. And that could set the tone in this year’s midterm elections as he tries to defend Republican majorities in the House and Senate.
Bahrain has accused Iran of striking a desalination plant as the regional war expands with no end in sight. Iran’s president said Sunday his country is responding to pressure with stronger attacks. He threatened more strikes on American targets in the Middle East. Bahrain said the plant attack damaged equipment but didn’t affect supply. Iran said a U.S. strike hit its own desalination plant and cut water for villages. Israel also intensified strikes in Lebanon, where almost 400 people have been killed and hundreds of thousands evacuated. Israel's military said two soldiers also died in the fighting there.
Bigger and bigger data centers are leading to proposals for massive electric power transmission lines, sometimes across hundreds of miles. These high-voltage power lines cost tens of billions of dollars a year and are the latest front line in the battle over tech giants' massive operations. Artificial intelligence advances are seen by President Donald Trump as critical to the nation’s economic and national security. But their energy needs are threatening to overwhelm the power grid and the transmission expansion is drawing opposition from landowners, conservationists, local officials, consumer advocates and states.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested a reporter for a Spanish-language news outlet in Tennessee but agents did…
Oil surges to its highest price since 2023, and stocks drop after a weak update on the US job market
Oil shot to its highest price since 2023 after surging again because of the Iran war, and a weak update on the U.S. job market knocked stocks lower to cap Wall Street’s worst week since October. The S&P 500 dropped 1.3% Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged as many as 945 points before finishing with a loss of roughly 450, and the Nasdaq composite sank 1.6%. The combination of a weak economy and high inflation is a worst-case scenario for investors because the Federal Reserve has no good tool to fix both problems at the same time.
American employers unexpectedly cut 92,000 jobs last month, a sign that the labor market remains under strain. The unemployment rate blipped up to 4.4%. The Labor Department reported Friday that hiring deteriorated from January, when companies, nonprofits and government agencies added a healthy 126,000 jobs. Economists had expected 60,000 new jobs in February. Revisions also cut 69,000 jobs from December and January payrolls. The surprisingly weak employment picture in February adds to the economic uncertainty over the war with Iran, which has caused oil prices to surge and saddled business and consumers with unforeseen costs.
Aaron Judge will captain a loaded U.S. roster at the World Baseball Classic. The Americans are chasing their first title since 2017. The tournament opens Thursday at the Tokyo Dome, then moves into games in Houston, Miami, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. The U.S. plans to lean on stronger pitching, with Logan Webb, Tarik Skubal, Paul Skenes, and Nolan McLean lined up to start. Japan, led by Shohei Ohtani. enters as defending champion with Yoshinobu Yamamoto starting Friday. The Dominican Republic brings a star-heavy lineup. Australia debuts top amateur draft pick Travis Bazzana.
