Here is what you need to know in the March 4, 2026, Streamline newsletter:
This morning, we have the latest updates on what is now Day 5 of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran. As the attacks continue to surge, there are many Americans still struggling to evacuate the Middle East.
Last night, the San Diego Unified School District decided to initiate job layoffs as part of the effort to fix its budget deficit. Anchor Max Goldwasser shows which specific positions are in danger of getting cut.
TSA agents are continuing to do their jobs without pay as the partial government shutdown drags on. We’re following through with workers as they try to get by while missing a paycheck.
TOP STORY
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. sank an Iranian warship in international waters, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday, as it intensified its bombardment with Israel of Iran's security forces and other symbols of power. Tehran vowed to completely destroy the Middle East's military and economic infrastructure — signaling the war was nowhere near over and could expand further.
The tempo of the strikes on Iran was so intense that state television announced the mourning ceremony for Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the conflict, would be postponed. Millions attended the funeral of his predecessor Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989.
In addition to striking Tehran on the fifth day of the conflict, Israel hit the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, while Iran fired on Bahrain, Kuwait and Israel. As the conflict spiraled, Turkey said NATO defenses intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Iran before it entered Turkey’s airspace.
The war has killed more than 1,000 people in Iran and dozens in Lebanon, while disrupting the supply of the world’s oil and gas, snarling international shipping, and stranding hundreds of thousands of travelers in the Middle East.
Both sides are unrelenting in their attacks
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said a torpedo from a U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship. He did not name the ship, but earlier an Iranian warship sank off the coast of Sri Lanka.
In a Pentagon briefing, Hegseth said that the Tuesday night strike on an Iranian warship was the first such attack on an enemy since World War II.
“An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters,” Hegseth said. “Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo.”
Sri Lankan authorities said 32 people were rescued from the Iranian ship and that others died.
Israel said it hit buildings associated with Iran's Basij, the all-volunteer force of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard that conducted a bloody crackdown on protesters in January that killed thousands and saw tens of thousands detained in the country.
The Israeli military also said it hit buildings associated with Iran’s internal security command, which also has suppressed demonstrations in the past. It also pounded towns near Beirut.
Israel and the U.S. have said they want to see the Iranian public overthrow the country's theocracy, and strikes against counterprotest forces are likely part of that effort.
Iranian state television showed the ruins of buildings in the center of the capital of Tehran, with interviewees saying the attacks damaged their homes. Strikes have also been reported in the holy Shiite seminary city of Qom, targeting a building associated with a clerical panel set to pick Iran’s next supreme leader. Iranian media said it was empty at the time.
State TV has begun calling the conflict the “Ramadan war,” a reference to the holy Muslim fasting month currently taking place. But that term also suggested leaders are trying to prepare the public for a protracted conflict.
Adm. Brad Cooper, the top U.S. military commander in the Middle East, echoed that sentiment, saying: “We’ve just begun.”
Cooper said American forces have damaged Iran’s air defenses and taken out ballistic missiles, launchers and drones. Israeli military spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said that such damage has led to a decline in launches from Iran.
Still, explosions echoed in the skies over Jerusalem on Wednesday, and Israel’s military said Iran had launched missiles toward the country, while Hezbollah sent rockets.
Iran has also struck around the region, and air sirens sounded Wednesday morning across Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.
At least 1,045 people have been killed in Iran, the country's Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs said Wednesday. Eleven people in Israel have been killed. More than 50 people have been killed in Lebanon, according to the Health Ministry. Six U.S. troops have been killed.
Those in Tehran are unsure of what to do
A resident of Tehran, who runs a clothing shop, said he didn’t know how to protect himself from the bombing.
“It’s very difficult to decide what to do. If I leave the city, how am I supposed to earn money and survive?” said the man, who spoke on condition of anonymity for the fear of reprisals.
Energy supplies in the crosshairs
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard issued its most-intense threat yet.
“The continued mischief and deception by the United States in the region will come at the cost of the complete destruction of the region’s military and economic infrastructure,” it said in a statement issued via Iranian state television.
With Iranian attacks disrupting tanker movement through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which about a fifth of the world’s oil is shipped, Brent crude prices hit $84 a barrel, up more than 15% since the start of the conflict and at its highest price since July 2024.
Global stock markets have been hammered over worries that the spike in oil prices may grind down the world economy and sap corporate profits.
Iran’s clerics are choosing a new supreme leader
Iran’s leaders are scrambling to replace Khamenei, who ruled the country for 37 years, and was killed on the first day of strikes.
It’s only the second time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that a new supreme leader is being chosen.
Potential candidates range from hard-liners committed to confrontation with the West to reformists who seek diplomatic engagement. Mojtaba Khamenei, Khamenei’s son, has long been considered among them — despite the fact he’s has never been elected or appointed to a government position.
In a sign that Iran’s leadership will only seek to consolidate its power as it faces its biggest crisis in decades, the head of the judiciary warned Wednesday that “those who cooperate with the enemy in any way will be considered an enemy.”
Israel’s defense minister, meanwhile, threatened whoever Iran picks to be the country’s next supreme leader.
“Every leader appointed by the Iranian terror regime to continue and lead the plan to destroy Israel, to threaten the United States and the free world and the countries of the region, and to suppress the Iranian people — will be a target for elimination,” Israel Katz wrote on X.
It’s not clear how Washington will respond if a new leader in the mold of Khamenei is chosen. U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the “worst case would be do this, and then somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person.”
Story by Jon Gambrell, David Rising and Samy Magdy, Associated Press
MICROCLIMATE FORECASTS
Coasts
Inland
Mountains
Deserts
BREAKING OVERNIGHT
The San Diego Unified School District’s board announced the district is moving forward with layoffs just weeks after narrowly avoiding a planned teachers strike.
SD Unified said it will eliminate 221 positions -- 133 of them currently filled and 88 that are vacant -- to save $19 million.
The district faces a projected $47 million budget deficit.
The cuts specifically apply to classified employees, which include bus drivers, custodians, special education and teacher aides, and cafeteria workers.
Some classified employees rallied ahead of Tuesday’s board meeting, but in a unanimous vote, the board decided to move forward with the layoffs.
One paraeducator raised concerns about how the job cuts could impact students, telling ABC 10News, “We are already spread thin, so, with more of a case load, it's going to be impossible to be able to service all the students that we need to have."
Preliminary layoff notices will be sent March 15, with final notices going out by May 15.
CONSUMER
From nearly 8% to down just below 6%, dropping mortgage rates are giving first-time home buyers some hope.
But despite the recent decrease, there are still some factors making the “American Dream” far out of reach for some people.
WATCH — Ryan Hill explains the current real estate landscape’s impact on San Diego County’s housing market:
WE FOLLOW THROUGH
Transportation Security Administration workers just missed their first paycheck since the federal government shutdown began in mid-February.
Although it was only a partial paycheck, tensions remain high, especially with the conflict happening in the Middle East.
Many TSA officers ABC 10News spoke to are unhappy about missing pay and say they are exhausted, as this is currently the third government shutdown in the past six months.
The stalemate in Congress centers on funding for the Department of Homeland Security; TSA is affected because it is part of DHS.
Nyrine Washington, who represents the American Federation of Government Employees Local 1260, said other departments are being paid while TSA is not. According to Washington, there is no timeline for when TSA workers will be paid.
“I don't feel like they feel like the seriousness of the job that we do is being put on the back burner when we're also national security. We're also here to protect the skies of the American public. It's just unfortunate that we have to worry about whether we should call off work, whether we should pick up our children, and being threatened with disciplinary actions if we do call off. So, it's a choice that nobody should have to make right now,” Washington said.
Washington also noted that many TSA workers live paycheck to paycheck, and some officers still have not received back pay from the last government shutdown.
Meanwhile, she is asking for the public’s support and said “thank yous” are appreciated.
She urges people to contact Congress and push for pay under the Shutdown Fairness Act.
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