First Fired: Trump Ousts Noem as Homeland Security Chief After Rocky Tenure (Bloomberg)

Donald Trump removed Kristi Noem as Homeland Security secretary after months of controversy, marking the first time he has replaced a Cabinet member during his second term. Trump announced he would replace her with Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin. Mullin, who won a special election in 2022, has also come under scrutiny of late, appearing to confuse Iran and Iraq, and calling Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, “President Hegseth.”

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Noem faced a barrage of misconduct allegations in hearings on Capitol Hill earlier this week, including about a no-bid $220 million ad campaign, a $70 million jet that includes a bedroom with a queen-size bed, the accusation that Noem lives rent-free in a waterfront Coast Guard residence typically reserved for the commandant, the DHS Inspector General's contention that his office's work has been “systematically obstructed,” delays in Hurricane Helene disaster relief to North Carolina, and a Coast Guard pilot allegedly being fired over a misplaced blanket.

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The hearings also revisited the January ICE shootings that killed two American citizens — Renee Good and Alex Pretti — during immigration operations in Minneapolis. Noem declined to retract her characterization of both as domestic terrorists, citing ongoing investigations.

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Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., during the hearing Tuesday, called Noem's leadership of DHS a “disaster.” 

Her Ad Campaign: Why Trump Finally Fired Noem (Bloomberg)

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The move came so suddenly that Trump announced his decision on Truth Social just minutes before Noem walked on stage for a scheduled speech at a policing conference in Nashville, where she talked about the Trump administration’s work targeting cartels. 

Climate Progress

Mike Bloomberg: Cap and Trade Works in Europe. Don’t Screw It Up. (Bloomberg Opinion)

Few policies have done more to combat climate change than the European Union’s emissions trading system. By putting a price on carbon — currently about €70 per metric ton of carbon dioxide — it has given companies throughout the bloc a powerful incentive to invest in going green, Mike writes in an op-ed published today on Bloomberg Opinion.

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Europe’s leaders should stand by it — and improve it — rather than bowing to industry pressure to walk away from it.

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Cap-and-trade systems, in which the government sets the quantity of allowable emissions and the market determines the price, have proved effective. The EU’s system is the world’s largest: The greenhouse gas output of covered companies has roughly halved since its inception in 2005 — a reduction of about 1 billion metric tons annually, far more than similar systems elsewhere, Mike writes.

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The system is also helping to strengthen the EU’s strategic independence from major fossil fuel producers, including Russia. And it is generating more than 40 billion in annual revenue that is benefiting EU nations. Some of that money, for example, has helped turn Poland into the world’s second-largest manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries after China.

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In the years ahead, the revenue is expected to grow as coverage expands to buildings and transportation — and as the EU phases out free allowances for industries such as chemicals, steel and cement. In line with best economic practices, the EU seeks to channel the additional funds to people and regions that struggle with the costs of the green transition, and to more investments aimed at scaling up clean technologies, Mike writes.

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Read the full op-ed here.

Iran Latest

Dramatic Escalation: Trump Says He Should Be Involved in Picking Next Iranian Leader (Bloomberg)

Donald Trump said Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Iran’s late ayatollah, is an unacceptable successor and insisted on being personally involved in picking the country’s next leader.

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Another Demand: Trump Demands Immediate Pardon for Netanyahu to Focus on Iran (Axios)

Donald Trump told Axios on Thursday that Israeli President Isaac Herzog must pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "today" — calling Herzog "a disgrace" for failing to act over the last year.

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Open-Ended: Trump’s Shifting Iran Strategies Risk a Chaotic Global Endgame (Bloomberg)

On the battlefield, the US and Israeli campaign’s opening phase has been swift. Missiles and bombs hit command nodes and suppressed air defenses. Iran’s navy was decimated, according to US officials. Five days into the conflict, satellite imagery and open data sources show that while Iran’s nuclear facilities have so far largely avoided attack, strikes have damaged a range of sites, including hospitals, police stations, a court and densely populated areas of northern Tehran.

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But the lack of clarity on the endgame has raised questions about what all this destruction is meant to achieve.

Note: Confirmed strikes are ISW data verified by Bloomberg with satellite imagery from multiple sources. Sources: Institute for the Study of War and AEI’s Critical Threats Project, Bloomberg reporting, Satellite image ©2026 Vantor

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Iran Offensive: Iran Intensifies Attacks Across Gulf as Israel Hits Tehran (Bloomberg)

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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told NBC News that his country hadn’t asked for a ceasefire and had no intention to negotiate. “We see no reason why we should engage once again with those who have, who are not honest in negotiation,” he said.

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Organizing the Opposition: Trump Calls on Kurds to Aid U.S. Effort in Iran, Offers Support (Washington Post)

The Trump administration, bracing for more U.S. casualties and considering whether to put troops on the ground in Iran, has begun reaching out to Tehran’s domestic opposition as potential allies to foment an uprising against the regime.

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More Fallout: US Sinking of Iranian Warship Piles Pressure on India’s PM Modi (Bloomberg)

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Thoughts and Prayers: Iran Counts China and Russia as Friends. Where Are They? (New York Times)

What I'm Reading

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Reminder: In the US, Daylight Saving Time (DST) begins on Sunday, March 8 at 2 AM. At that time, you should set your clocks forward one hour.

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More State Control of Trade: US Considers Requiring Permits for Nvidia, AMD Global AI Chip Sales (Bloomberg)

US officials have written draft regulations that would restrict AI chip shipments to anywhere in the world without American approval, giving Washington broad control over whether other countries can build facilities for training and running artificial-intelligence models — and under what conditions.

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Not So Fast: Federal Commission Delays Vote on Trump’s White House Ballroom Project (Washington Post)

A federal planning commission on Thursday delayed a vote on Donald Trump’s planned White House ballroom until next month, citing “significant public input,” including tens of thousands of comments — nearly all of them critical of the project.

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Staying the Course: China Makes Stability No. 1 Task in World Shaken by Trump (Bloomberg)

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Continuity defined Premier Li Qiang’s address to lawmakers on Thursday at the country’s highest-profile political gathering since the US and Israel struck Iran. The growth target was nudged slightly lower, fiscal spending remained roughly on par with last year and language on Taiwan was left largely unchanged. China even scaled back military spending, despite war flaring in the Middle East.

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What wasn’t said was almost as notable. There were no direct mentions of Trump’s latest actions, as is customary at carefully choreographed Communist Party events planned months in advance. Investors hoping for sweeping economic stimulus were disappointed. Also absent was any signal that China plans to shrink a record trade surplus that has alarmed officials from Washington to Brussels .

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Making America Unhealthy: Parents Tried to Shield Their Children From Vaccines. Instead They Got Measles. (New York Times)

Measles was vanquished in the US more than 25 years ago because of high rates of vaccinated schoolchildren. But in Spartanburg, SC — ground zero for the largest measles outbreak since 2000 — those mandates have been weakened by vaccine skepticism and the state’s religious exemption, which has driven vaccination rates perilously low.

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According to reporting by Axios, experts say a vaccination rate of 95% is needed to prevent outbreaks. But at the Global Academy of South Carolina, a public charter school in Spartanburg, only 21 percent of its students were vaccinated, one of the worst rates for a public school in the state.

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This chart shows how measles has made a comeback in the US. As of Feb. 26, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed a total of 1,136 infections in 27 states — a huge increase for the highly contagious disease roughly two months into the year. 

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🔊 Dive Deeper: The Daily Read Podcast just dropped—and it’s packed with an AI-powered breakdown of today’s biggest headlines. We go beyond the scroll with the key takeaways, smart context, and the “why it matters” behind each story, so you can stay ahead in less time. Listen now on Spotify or  Apple Podcasts.
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News from the Friendly Skies: United Airlines Says Put on Your Headphones or Get off the Plane (Washington Post)

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United Airlines has a new rule on the books that has some travelers cheering: Listening to audio without headphones can now get passengers removed from a plane.

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The airline already had a pro-headphone policy in place, but last week it updated its contract of carriage — the rules a passenger agrees to in order to fly — to specify that “passengers who fail to use headphones while listening to audio or video content” could be removed from a plane or not allowed to board.

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Last Chance in NYC: Acclaimed Singer Songwriter Mitski Performs New Album in NYC (The Shed)

Mitski is midway through her limited engagement at The Shed, one of the city's most innovative cultural venues.

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Brooklyn-based band Gustaf joins for the final three days — March 6, 7, and 9 — performing Mitski's new album 'Nothing’s About to Happen to Me' in The Shed’s iconic McCourt space. Doors open at 7pm; concert begins at 8pm. Get your tickets here.

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Mitski. Photo: Lexie Alley. Courtesy of The Shed.

Weekend Streaming Guide

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International Women's Day is Sunday. Here are some great options to mark the occasion this weekend.

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Barbie (HBO Max)

Directed by Greta Gerwig, this film —which explores the matriarchal society Barbieland where all prestigious positions are held by women and Kens are rebuffed in favor of female friendships — became a cultural sensation in 2023, giving us the summer of "Barbenheimer" before going on to garner eight Academy Award nominations. 

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A League of Their Own (Tubi)

Directed by the late trailblazer Penny Marshall, this iconic comedy is primarily set in 1943. With men away at war, a new women’s pro baseball league gives two sisters a chance to chase their dreams while their rivalry tests their bond.

The Woman King (Hulu)
Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, this film is inspired by true events that took place in the Kingdom of Dahomey, one of the most powerful states of Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries, and tells the story of Nanisca, general of the all-female military unit known as the Amazons.

Best of Late Night

On the widening war in Iran:

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‌“Remember the good old days when he was just demolishing the White House?” — Jimmy Fallon

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“Yep, Trump is one step away from telling us his whole strategy is a Magic 8 ball.” — Jimmy Fallon

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On signals that the former Ayatollah's son is likely to be Iran's next Supreme Leader:

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“Great. Another ‘nepotollah.’ It’s sad.”  — Stephen Colbert

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“It’s actually between two of his sons: Ayatollah Eric and Ayatollah Jr.” — Jimmy Fallon

And from The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Steve Carell recalls his early advertising work and describes his Second City pal Chris Farley as “a force of nature.” Carell's new show, “Rooster,” premieres this Sunday on HBO Max.