Iran's New Leader Chosen, Airport Security Issues & Pixar's Hit - Monday, March 9, 2026

**Erica Mandy** (0:00)
Today is Monday, March 9th. We have updates for you about the war in Iran, including Iran's new supreme leader and what it signals to the US., why the US was reportedly upset with Israel for the first time since their joint attacks began, and the significant impact now on gas prices as oil hits over $100 a barrel. Plus, why more Americans are now missing their flights, what happened at Rihanna's home that led to an arrest, and which movie marked a studio's turnaround at the weekend box office. Those stories and even more news coming up. Welcome to The News Worthy, all the day's news in less than 15 minutes. I'm Erica Mandy, thanks so much for being here. Let's do this. Iran has a new supreme leader now steering his country through one of its biggest crises in modern history, the war with the US and Israel. As we've been reporting, the last supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was the highest authority in the country for more than three decades until he was killed in an airstrike during the opening blow of the war. His son, Moshtaba Khamenei, was just appointed yesterday. He's known for being another hardliner with close ties to Iran's military. So this election is widely seen as a sign that Iran has no plans to surrender. Before the announcement, President Trump called the younger Khamenei an unacceptable choice, and Israel threatened to kill whoever succeeded the last Ayatollah. Of course, the new leader is coming into power just as the US and Israel have expanded their attacks. Over the weekend, Israeli strikes on Iran's oil storage facilities lit up the sky over Iran's capital of Tehran with huge plumes of orange flames and later thick black smoke. People in the area have captured videos of oil-tainted rainfall staining everything around them. Iran's Red Crescent Society warned people that the rainfall could be highly dangerous and acidic and could cause chemical burns and serious lung damage. Now, some reports cite sources who say the US was not happy with these strikes that they went far beyond what was expected when Israeli leaders notified their American counterparts. The US is apparently concerned about Israeli strikes on infrastructure serving ordinary Iranians since they could drive up oil prices and convince Iranian civilians to support the regime. But Israel defends the strikes, saying the fuel depots were being used by the Iranian military for things like aircraft and are therefore legitimate targets under the laws of war. Other civilian infrastructure has also come under attack though, like water desalination plants in the region. Exactly who is responsible for those strikes is still unclear. Meanwhile, Iran has launched attacks all across the region in retaliation. Several Gulf states have continued to report they've either been hit by or intercepted Iran's missile launches. Yesterday, the US ordered diplomats to leave Saudi Arabia because of safety risks, days after the embassy in the Saudi capital was damaged in a drone attack. Well, this is the first formal mandatory order for a US embassy in the region since the conflict began, though the US has also sent non-essential staff home from embassies in Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain. And the US military reported a seventh American service member who died from injuries sustained during a counterattack a week ago. Iran's UN ambassador says this war has also killed more than 1300 Iranian civilians and injured thousands more. The death toll is expected to keep rising. President Trump says he'll decide, together with Israel, when this war will end. A protest and counter protest in Manhattan got violent over the weekend. And authorities say a homemade bomb was thrown at Gracie Mansion, which is the New York City mayor's official residence. The police commissioner says the device could have killed someone, but thankfully there were no explosions or injuries reported. Two people were arrested. It all started when far-right influencer Jake Lange came up with the plan for a protest to, quote, stop the Islamic takeover of New York City, as New York City is now being run by its first Muslim mayor, Zoran Mamdani. Lange showed up to the mansion with a group of protesters. Mamdani and his wife were not home at the time, but a group of counter protesters soon followed. Fist fights broke out, and one of the protesters sprayed mace at counter protesters. Then it was at least one person from the counter protester side who threw two objects, prompting everyone to run for cover. And at least one of the objects was ignited. Now the FBI is investigating alongside the NYPD. Severe storms brought tornadoes to parts of the central US. And sadly, at least eight people died. Even more were hurt. Several buildings, including homes, schools and churches, were destroyed or damaged. In all, this storm spanned 1,500 miles from Texas to the northeast. But some of the worst damage was seen in Oklahoma and Michigan. Both states governors declared states of emergency to free up support and resources. Officials are still assessing the damage to figure out exactly how to rebuild and recover.