Iran is increasing pressure on the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint in the Middle East. This narrow waterway is of global significance, as approximately 20% of the world’s oil supply passes through it.
CBS News national security analyst Aaron MacLean provides further insights into the situation.
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/it-is-quite-likely-us-will-use-military-means-reopen-strait-of-hormuz-analyst-says/
Two years after a Dallas family’s dog disappeared, she was found 1,300 miles away in New Jersey.
Tony Dokoupil has the story of how she made her way back home.
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/lost-dog-found-1300-miles-away-returned-to-family-years-two-years-after-going-missing/
**Mother Knows Best: Kathryn Hahn Cast as Mother Gothel in Disney’s Live-Action “Tangled”**
Kathryn Hahn announced on Tuesday via Instagram that she will be playing Mother Gothel in Disney’s upcoming live-action reimagining of *Tangled*.
The “Agatha All Along” star shared a playful video saying, “Hey, OOTD, I just found out what that stands for. So here’s my outfit of the day.” She then stepped back to reveal she was wearing an oversized shirt plastered with Mother Gothel’s face. “Simple jeans, glasses, T-shirt. This is easy. You know, just another day.” Hahn captioned the post simply, “OOTD, Mother Gothel.”
To make sure fans caught on, Walt Disney Studios also shared her video across its social media channels, captioning it: “You want her to be the bad guy? FINE. Kathryn Hahn is Mother Gothel in Disney’s live-action *Tangled*.”
Hahn’s announcement comes after months of fan casting, speculation, and excitement about her possible involvement in the film. In January, Deadline reported that Hahn was in talks for the role, and she had been responding to rumors at various red carpet and press events ever since. While often sidestepping direct confirmation, she expressed her love for the character and her fondness for playing “gnarly witches.”
Originally released in 2010, *Tangled* is Disney’s animated adaptation of the classic fairy tale *Rapunzel*. The story follows a young princess with long, magical blond hair who has been unknowingly kidnapped and hidden away in an isolated tower. Mother Gothel, voiced by Donna Murphy in the original film, is the old witch who poses as Rapunzel’s mother to exploit the magical powers of her hair.
Stay tuned as more details about the live-action *Tangled* continue to emerge!
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2026-03-10/kathryn-hahn-mother-gothel-tangled-live-action-disney
Boston police are investigating after bomb threats were reported at multiple Stop & Shop grocery stores on Monday.
At around 1:50 p.m., officers responded to a reported threat at the supermarket chain’s Jamaica Plain location at 301 Centre St., according to an email from the Boston Police Department to Boston.com. About six minutes later, more officers were dispatched to a second threat at 305 Guest St., the store’s Allston location.
Bomb squads were requested and responded to both incidents, said Officer Mark Marron. Although police did not find anything suspicious at either location, both threats remain under active investigation.
Meanwhile, police in Reading responded to a similar threat at a Stop & Shop located at 25 Walkers Brook Drive earlier that day. The town’s police department issued an advisory at about 2:30 p.m., urging the community to avoid the area.
Later that afternoon, Reading police and fire officials explained that a bomb threat was called in at about 1:45 p.m., prompting a coordinated response involving the Massachusetts State Police Bomb Squad. As a precaution, the store was evacuated.
By approximately 3:15 p.m., police and the bomb squad completed their search of the supermarket and determined that the threat was not credible. Although the scene was cleared, authorities are continuing to investigate the incident.
Police have not confirmed whether the three reported threats are connected or if they were made by the same caller. Law enforcement officials continue their investigation into these incidents.
https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2026/03/10/3-stop-shop-locations-in-boston-reading-receive-bomb-threats-police-say/
President Trump provided updates on the ongoing conflict in Iran during a press conference on Monday. He expressed his disappointment regarding the country’s recent leadership change, specifically the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the former supreme leader.
Joining the discussion, CBS News congressional correspondent Nikole Killion offered insights and key takeaways from the news conference. Additionally, Joe Zacks, former deputy assistant director for counterterrorism at the CIA, contributed his expert analysis on the situation.
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/trump-disappointed-iran-pick-supreme-leader-likes-idea-internal-candidate/
At the top of the list of things people don’t like about LAX are the traffic in and out of the airport and the high cost of rideshares. Now, airport officials are proposing a plan they hope will ease one of those problems while increasing the other.
On Tuesday morning, Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) board members are expected to vote on whether to increase the access fees for private transportation companies that ferry travelers to and from Los Angeles International Airport. This includes rideshare companies such as Uber and Lyft, along with taxi and limousine services.
The proposal aims to encourage riders to use the yet-to-open Automated People Mover, also known as Skylink, and reduce vehicle traffic around the terminals.
### Travelers React to Proposed Fee Increase
Travelers at the airport Monday who heard about the vote were incredulous.
“We expect rides to be expensive like in every city but for it to go up even more is kind of crazy,” said Jordan Conway, who was catching a ride into the city after arriving from Nashville with his friend for their annual trip to Southern California. Their ride from the airport was projected to cost about $80.
Currently, rideshare companies including Uber and Lyft pay $4 to access the airport for pickups and drop-offs. Under the proposed plan, the fee would rise to $12 to access the airport’s central terminal area, and $6 for picking up and dropping off at Skylink.
The increases would also apply to black car, taxi, and limousine drivers, who currently pay nothing to drop off passengers curbside at the airport.
### Uber Pushes Back
Uber has begun reaching out to its customer base to rally opposition to the plan. In an email sent Monday, Uber stated, “LAX is pushing through a proposal that would more than double the fees you pay to get picked up or dropped off by rideshare.”
LAWA officials told The Times there is room to reconsider when the new fees would be implemented, possibly postponing until after the long-delayed Automated People Mover actually opens.
### Delay and Details on the Automated People Mover
The train, originally slated to open in 2023, has faced significant delays due to disputes between the airport and contractor LAX Integrated Express Solutions involving timeline, compensation, and production issues.
David Reich, deputy executive director for mobility strategy at Los Angeles World Airports, said the people mover is now scheduled to open in early summer. It’s anticipated to run 24/7 in four-car sets, two minutes apart during peak hours, accommodating up to 200 passengers per train.
LAWA estimates the train will move 85 million passengers per year.
“By distributing traffic amongst multiple locations rather than funneling it all into the central terminal area, we can reduce gridlock, improve safety, and give passengers better options on how to get to LAX,” Reich said.
“It’s just not sustainable anymore for all the vehicles — 80,000 to 100,000 a day — to come into that very limited curb front.”
### Fee Increase Justified by Market Rates
The proposed access fee increase would be the first at LAX in 10 years, according to airport officials. Fees at LAX have traditionally been below other major travel hubs, including Boston, Seattle, and San Francisco International Airports, where rideshare companies are charged $6 for access.
“We’ve made all these investments, so it makes sense now to look at getting those fees on par with the market rate for access,” Reich explained.
How companies decide to navigate the additional cost, or whether to pass it on to customers, remains up to them. This could affect how some people move around the city.
### Impact on Travelers
Brandon Bailey, who flew into LAX from Texas on Monday morning, told The Times the potential increase will leave a hole in his travel budget.
“It’ll definitely affect my travels, I come in every month for work,” Bailey said. “I’m just going to pay it, but I’m paying more today than I ever have.” His Uber ride from the airport to his destination was priced at $58.
Along with increasing the access fees, the board is also discussing a limit on rideshare pickups: allowing only 30% of pickups at the central terminal area within the airport horseshoe, with the remaining 70% at Skylink. For passenger drop-offs, the percentages would be reversed, Reich said.
The current proposal allows the board to increase the fees 30 days after the vote, but implementation may be delayed until the people mover is operational, Reich added.
### Political Response and Public Criticism
On Monday afternoon, seven state Assembly members and two state senators issued a statement calling on the board to delay the vote. They echoed Uber’s criticism that the public did not have enough time to consider the proposal or understand the reasoning behind it.
“At a time when Californians face a persistent affordability crisis, we should carefully consider policies that increase transportation costs or make work opportunities connected to the airport more difficult to access,” the statement said.
However, LAWA maintains they have been studying how to implement policies around Skylink since 2020. Reich said, “In earnest, we started talking about plans, both publicly to our board and directly to Uber and Lyft and other companies, since at least 2023.”
### Expert Takes: Rising Costs and Travel Hacks
John E. DiScala, creator of the travel tips and deals website Johnny Jet, said the proposal comes at a difficult time as gas prices are also rising.
DiScala noted he doesn’t know if Uber or Lyft passing the fee increase on to customers will change traveler behavior. But the overall rising costs for gas and other essentials are adding up.
So much so, he said, that his neighbor recently asked for a ride to LAX to avoid paying for a rideshare.
One possible effect could be on hotel shuttles to the airport — a trick DiScala uses when traveling alone. He predicts hotels may crack down on shuttle riders who are not staying at their facilities.
Instead, people might start asking friends who live near the airport for rides.
“There is a saying that you know someone loves you if they pick you up at LAX,” he said.
—
This proposal reflects the ongoing balancing act at LAX between improving infrastructure and managing the costs and convenience for travelers and transportation providers alike. As the vote approaches, many eyes will be on how the changes could reshape travel to and from one of the nation’s busiest airports.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-03-09/rideshares-to-from-lax-could-get-more-expensive-under-new-proposal
Above a muddled Southland college basketball landscape, a heartwarming, heartstopping story has arisen.
In a winter filled with the unhappy buzz of screaming coaches and quitting players, a beautiful noise has appeared. It comes from the most dominant college basketball team in Westwood in three decades. It is directed by the coaching curator of the memory of John Wooden. It is led by the most impressive UCLA post player since then-Lew Alcindor.
If they were men, they would have been in the national headlines for the last six months. But from those shadows they have emerged stronger, more connected, and loudly prepared to bring home a long-awaited national championship.
Listen up — that roar at your door is the UCLA women’s basketball team, bursting onto the national headlines Sunday after delivering the kind of Big Ten tournament title beating that sounds, well, fake.
They defeated ninth-ranked Iowa 96-45. They won the title game in arguably the country’s deepest conference by 51 points. Fifty-one points. Fifty-one points! Who wins a game of such import by 51 points? A team that should be the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament, that’s who.
Seriously, when officials reveal the women’s March Madness bracket next weekend, even though one-loss UCLA is ranked second behind defending champion and unbeaten Connecticut, the Bruins should be the top-line No. 1 team.
They have won 25 straight games, all but two by double digits, against a much tougher schedule than the one faced by UConn. Yes, the Bruins’ one loss is to Texas, but the Longhorns just won the SEC and are going to be another No. 1 seed.
And yes, the Bruins lost to UConn by 34 points in last season’s national semifinals, but the Huskies lost Paige Bueckers and the Bruins just got deeper and better and more committed.
By earning the No. 1 overall seed, the Bruins would have a smoother ride to the finals, where a UConn rematch for the national championship seems destined. The Bruins deserve it. The Bruins have earned it.
Were you watching the carnage at Indianapolis’ Gainsbridge Fieldhouse Sunday? If so, you probably turned the channel after 15 minutes. Maybe sooner.
“What they’ve done this year has been extremely impressive,” said Iowa coach Jan Jensen after the throttling. “I think you saw a lot of senior leadership on their end, a team that’s been on a mission since the Final Four last year.”
On Sunday, it was a mission of mauling.
The Hawkeyes took the lead with a quick three-pointer before the Bruins reeled off 13 straight points while holding Iowa to two total baskets in a first quarter that ended with the Bruins holding a 17-point lead.
For the next three quarters, the Bruins made the Hawkeyes look like a grade-school team, not a program that reached the national championship games twice in the last three years.
No, Caitlin Clark isn’t walking through that door. Not that she would have helped much. These Bruins overwhelmed the Hawkeyes by displaying every necessary strength required to take the final step and finish the job next month in Scottsdale.
“I just want to say thank you to the incredible players that really fulfilled their mission and stayed committed to the hard character qualities that we knew we needed to make this kind of run,” said head coach Cori Close.
It helps that they have six veterans who will be taken in the next WNBA draft. It also helps that Close will be steering them into her 10th tournament in 15 coaching seasons — she’s been here enough to know all the madness moves.
In search of the school’s second women’s basketball national title and first in 48 years, they are doing everything right.
They play near-perfect team basketball. On Sunday, they set a Big Ten tournament record with 34 assists on 40 baskets, the highlight being an over-the-head backward pass from Angela Dugalic to Kiki Rice in the fourth quarter.
“This group has the potential to do whatever it wants,” said Rice.
They are deeper than any team in the country. They won by 51 points, and their unquestionably best player, Lauren Betts, took all of nine shots. Lauren was even outscored by her little sister Sienna, whom Lauren wildly cheered for while standing in front of the bench.
The tournament most outstanding player was not Lauren Betts, but Kiki Rice, who wasn’t the leading scorer but had eight assists and three steals—and didn’t crack a smile until she heard her teammates on the trophy stage chanting her name.
“She’s one of the most selfless people I’ve ever played with,” Lauren Betts said of Rice. “She really could not care less about all the attention. She just wants to win.”
In all, nine different players scored for UCLA, and when is the last time you’ve seen a scoresheet so full in a game of such magnitude?
Oh yeah, they can also shoot. All of them can shoot, as they made half of their 26 three-point attempts, led by Gianna Kneepkens’ four treys and team-high 19 points.
The Bruins could have used Kneepkens last season against UConn, but she was playing for Utah. She’s here now, and that could be the difference.
Compared to last spring’s surprise Final Four run, everything feels different. These Bruins know they belong on this big stage, know how to win here, and calmly and precisely play as if they know they can pull this off.
During Sunday’s postgame celebration, the three Bruins who briefly, but famously, joined the UCLA dance team during a recent men’s game repeated the dance on the Indianapolis court. They’re feeling it. Their fans are feeling it. Soon an entire city could be feeling it.
“I’m joyful,” said Close, “and the dance is just beginning.”
https://www.latimes.com/sports/ucla/story/2026-03-08/ucla-mauled-iowa-proved-bruins-can-win-national-title
Country Joe McDonald, the singer-songwriter whose Vietnam War protest song became a signature anthem of the 1960s counterculture, has died at 84. McDonald passed away on Saturday in Berkeley, California, according to a statement released by a publicist. His health had recently declined due to Parkinson’s disease.
Born in 1942 in Washington, D.C., McDonald grew up in El Monte, California, just outside Los Angeles, according to a biography on his website. As a young man, he served in the U.S. Navy before turning to writing and music during the early 1960s. He eventually became involved in the political and cultural ferment of the Bay Area.
In 1965, he helped form the band Country Joe and the Fish in Berkeley. The group became part of the emerging San Francisco psychedelic music scene, blending folk traditions with electric rock and pointed political commentary. The band’s best-known song, “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag,” captured the growing anti-war sentiment of the Vietnam era.
With its ragtime-influenced rhythm and sharply satirical lyrics about war and political leadership, the song quickly became associated with protests against the conflict. McDonald delivered the song to some half a million people at the 1969 Woodstock festival in upstate New York. Performing solo, he led the crowd in a form of call-and-response before launching into the anti-war anthem, turning the performance into one of the defining scenes of the festival.
Country Joe and the Fish released several recordings during the late 1960s and toured widely, becoming closely identified with that era’s West Coast rock and protest movements. McDonald later continued performing and recording as a solo artist, producing numerous albums across a career that spanned more than half a century.
His work drew variously from folk, rock, and blues traditions and often reflected his long-standing interest in political and social issues. Although he became widely known for his opposition to the Vietnam War, McDonald frequently emphasized respect for those who served in the U.S. military.
After his own service in the Navy, he remained engaged with veterans’ issues and occasionally performed at events connected to veterans and their experiences, according to his website biography.
Country Joe McDonald’s legacy as a musician and activist continues to resonate, reminding us of the power of music as a force for social change.
https://www.npr.org/2026/03/08/nx-s1-5741805/country-joe-mcdonald-woodstock-vietnam-protest
While the U.S. Senate remains deadlocked over President Trump’s call for strict citizenship voting requirements, Republicans in some states are pressing ahead with their own measures that could require documentary proof of citizenship to join or remain on the voter rolls.
Proof-of-citizenship legislation won final approval this week in South Dakota and Utah, has already passed one chamber in Florida, and received a committee hearing in Missouri. In Michigan, supporters of voter citizenship documentation submitted 750,000 petition signatures this week in a bid to get a constitutional amendment on the November ballot.
—
### Current Federal Law and Trump’s Position
Federal law already prohibits noncitizens from voting in U.S. elections, with violators subject to fines, imprisonment, and potential deportation. When people register to vote, they affirm under penalty of perjury that they are U.S. citizens. But Trump contends that’s not enough. He wants prospective voters to show proof of their citizenship.
Democrats and voting rights advocates argue that the Republican measures amount to voter suppression, as they may prevent many eligible voters from casting ballots. Similar laws have been overturned by courts as an unconstitutional burden on voting rights.
—
### What Would the Federal Legislation Do?
The federal *Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act*, or *SAVE America Act*, would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote. This proof could include a U.S. passport, citizen naturalization certificate, or a combination of a birth certificate and government-issued photo identification.
The federal bill also would require voters to present photo identification to cast a ballot, a policy some states already mandate.
The Republican-led House approved the legislation last month on a mostly party-line vote, but it has stalled in the Senate under a filibuster threat from Democrats.
—
### South Dakota and Utah
Legislation passed in South Dakota and Utah would create a two-tier voting system. People who provide documentation of their citizenship could vote in all elections. Those who don’t could vote only in federal elections for president, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House.
This bifurcated voting system is modeled after Arizona, where tens of thousands of voters who have not provided proof of citizenship can cast ballots only in federal elections. Arizona implemented its system after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2013 that the state could not require citizenship documentation for federal elections.
The bills in South Dakota and Utah would take effect upon a governor’s signature, meaning they could be in place for newly registered voters ahead of the November elections.
Utah’s bill also directs election officials to use an online service from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to check the citizenship status of existing voters. Those flagged would be sent notices asking for proof of citizenship to remain eligible to vote in all elections.
—
### Florida and Michigan
Neither the Michigan initiative nor legislation passed by the Florida House would require people to submit proof of citizenship when registering to vote. Instead, the measures would create a behind-the-scenes review that could result in some people being asked for citizenship documentation.
Under the Michigan measure, the secretary of state would review driver’s license records, juror records, and federal Homeland Security and Social Security data to determine whether registered voters are citizens. Those flagged would be removed from the voter rolls if they cannot provide proof of citizenship.
The Florida legislation would require election officials to verify the citizenship of all registered voters using the state’s driver’s license database. Anyone whose citizenship could not be verified would be required to submit documentary proof.
—
### Why Are Some Pushing for Proof of Citizenship?
Trump and some fellow Republicans have complained for years about noncitizens voting in U.S. elections, although evidence of such occurrences is rare. The few cases found are not nearly enough to affect an election result, studies have shown, and those caught face severe penalties.
In 2024, a student from China was charged with perjury and attempted illegal voting after registering to vote by showing a University of Michigan student ID and signing a document asserting he was a U.S. citizen. He later contacted a local clerk’s office requesting to get his ballot back and ultimately fled the country.
The case provided part of the impetus for the Michigan ballot initiative, said Paul Jacob, chairman of Americans for Citizen Voting, which is backing the measure.
“We want a system we can have confidence in,” Jacob said. “The way you avoid big problems in elections is to fix the small problems when they rise up and present themselves.”
—
### Voting Rights Advocates’ Concerns
Constitutional amendments limiting voting to “only citizens” have won widespread support when placed on state ballots. But voting rights advocates note that requiring documentary proof can get complicated.
During a recent debate in the Florida House, Democratic state Rep. Ashley Gantt recounted how her aunt was born in a South Carolina home at a time when some hospitals didn’t accept Black patients. As a result, she has no birth certificate and has had difficulty trying to demonstrate her citizenship, Gantt said.
A proof-of-citizenship law “would stop many thousands if not more U.S. citizens from voting in Florida,” said Michelle Kanter Cohen, policy director and senior counsel at the nonprofit Fair Elections Center. “It requires documentation that a lot of eligible citizens don’t have, or don’t have access to.”
Nationwide, about 21 million people—9% of voting-age citizens—lack documentary proof of citizenship or cannot easily obtain it, according to a 2024 report by the Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement at the University of Maryland.
—
### Other States
Legal challenges are common when states pass proof-of-citizenship requirements for voters. After Kansas adopted a proof-of-citizenship law 15 years ago, more than 31,000 U.S. citizens ended up getting blocked from registering to vote. Federal courts declared the Kansas law an unconstitutional burden on voting rights, and it hasn’t been enforced since 2018.
Two years ago, New Hampshire and Louisiana both passed proof-of-citizenship laws, prompting lawsuits. New Hampshire’s law went to trial last month and is awaiting a ruling. Louisiana’s election commissioner acknowledged in a December court filing that the requirement has not been enforced.
A nonprofit group also filed a legal challenge to a Wyoming proof-of-citizenship law passed last year. But a federal court dismissed that case while ruling the group lacked standing to sue.
—
The debate over proof-of-citizenship voting requirements remains contentious, balancing concerns over election integrity with fears of disenfranchising eligible voters. As states continue to push forward with various legislation, legal battles and legislative gridlocks are likely to continue through the upcoming election cycle.
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2026-03-07/as-trump-bill-restricting-voting-stalls-in-senate-some-states-forge-ahead
CHICAGO (WLS) – The Obama Presidential Center on Chicago’s South Side will officially open on Juneteenth, the former president’s foundation announced on Saturday.
The center, located in Jackson Park, will be dedicated the day before the opening, on June 18, kicking off four days of celebrations.
ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett discuss the significance of opening to the public on Juneteenth.
Tickets to the center’s museum will be available starting in May.
