Russia took satellite images of a U.S. air base in Saudi Arabia three times in the days before Iran attacked the site and wounded American troops, according to a summary of Ukrainian intelligence shared with NBC News by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
In an interview in the Gulf nation of Qatar on Saturday, Zelenskyy said he was “100%” confident Russia was sharing such intelligence with Iran to help target U.S. forces across the Middle East.
“I think that it’s in Russia’s interest to help Iranians. And I don’t believe — I know — that they share information,” he said. “Do they help Iranians? Of course. How many percent? One-hundred percent.”
Zelenskyy shared a summary of the daily presidential briefing he receives from Ukraine’s spy agencies. The report stated that Russian satellites had taken images of the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia on March 20, March 23 and March 25.
Meanwhile, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., did not rule out supporting the deployment of U.S. ground troops in Iran, telling NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that “we’ve got to be able to know what the objectives are and what they’re actually carrying out.”
In a separate interview, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said the Trump administration has “gotten us into what will be looked at as one of the greatest blunders, presidential blunders, of our time.”
Booker criticized the administration for not asking Congress for approval, arguing that Trump was “pushing us further and further into a conflict with no foreseeable off-ramp and thousands of more troops moving into that region.”
More news on the Iran war:
- U.S. sends more troops: Iran said it is ready to face U.S. troops on the ground, accusing Washington of secretly planning an assault while seeking negotiations to end the war.
- Regional attacks continue: The Iran-backed Houthis fired a missile at Israel from Yemen, an escalation that could further disrupt the Middle East’s vital shipping lanes, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his country’s military will widen its ground campaign in southern Lebanon.
- Global impact: There’s no end to the war in sight after one month as Iran squeezes the global economy.
- The MAGA pulse: Trump fans at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference said they trust the president, but worry about the chaos the war may unleash.
‘Meet the Press’
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said Sunday that he is not ruling out the prospect of running for president in 2028, but that he is focused on running for re-election to the Senate this year.
“I hope New Jersey will support me for another six years,” Booker told NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”
Booker has already run for president once, in the 2020 election cycle when he dropped out of the Democratic primary, citing a lack of funds to continue his campaign.
But Booker has fueled rumors in recent years that he could run again. The senator has raised $10 million for his campaign account and an affiliated joint fundraising committee, with a major bump after he delivered a record-breaking speech for 25 hours and 5 minutes on the Senate floor.
Politics in brief
- Shutdown record: The DHS funding lapse is now the longest shutdown in U.S. history at 44 days as lawmakers remain at a stalemate. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents would remain at airports until TSA officers are able to resume normal operations, border czar Tom Homan said.
- ‘No Kings’: Throngs of demonstrators gathered in cities across the country Saturday for a third round of protests against the Trump administration.
- 150 years later: Trump is turning to an 1884 Supreme Court ruling against a Native American in his fight to limit birthright citizenship, a citation experts say is legally problematic.
- Cleaning house: Corey Lewandowski, a special government employee who served as a top adviser to former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, departed from his post.
God and bitcoin: Why some Christians are putting their faith in cryptocurrency
Todd and Janet Gatewood, who launched the Nashville-based radio show “God, Freedom and Bitcoin” in January, see the current downturn in the bitcoin market as a blessing. “This is what we call ‘on sale,’” Janet said, encouraging listeners to “buy the dip.”
During this time of volatility, some of the Christian investors who follow them and other financial influencers are doubling down.
The Gatewoods are among a diverse group of Christian financial influencers, entrepreneurs and even pastors working to pitch the faithful on digital currencies. The push coincides with an emerging Christian subculture, from churches allowing congregants to tithe with digital coins to blogs promoting bitcoin as biblically sound.
But the embrace of cryptocurrencies has not been without controversy, and some observers fear the enthusiasm for digital coins is ripe for abuse.
Taylor Frankie Paul video reignites fevered online discourse around domestic violence
When a 45-second video of reality star Taylor Frankie Paul hurling metal barstools at her ex-boyfriend during a 2023 altercation surfaced days before her season of “The Bachelorette” was set to premiere on ABC, the fallout was swift.
ABC said it wouldn’t air the show. Some cast members from both “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” — in which Paul stars — and the “Bachelor” universe distanced themselves. Several content creators who focus on pop culture analysis condemned the display of domestic violence.
But Paul also had a slew of vocal defenders who rushed to social media to label the incident “reactive abuse,” a term used to describe when an abuse victim is pushed to respond in an aggressive manner. It’s a topic that often becomes an online flashpoint among advocates, experts and commentators after high-profile domestic violence cases make headlines.
Notable quote
Real estate is one of the only professions where you meet strangers alone in private, enclosed spaces, with no standardized screening process.
Beth Andress, who teaches violence prevention and self-defense to real estate professionals
The fatal shooting of a 27-year-old real estate agent during an Iowa open house in 2011 shook her industry. But in interviews with NBC News after an arrest last week in the long-dormant case, some said the barrage of threats and risks persist and not enough has been done to protect agents.
March Madness getting down to the wire
Freshman Keaton Wagler scored 25 points and Illinois ended Iowa’s underdog March Madness run by dominating in the frontcourt, beating the Hawkeyes 71-59 on Saturday to advance to the Final Four for the first time since 2005.
This will be the sixth trip to the Final Four for Illinois, which has never won a national title. Joining the Illini are the Arizona Wildcats, who topped Purdue 79-64, and Michigan, which blew out Tennessee 95-62. Duke and UConn are vying for the last spot in the Final Four.
In the women’s bracket, UConn became the first to win a spot in the Final Four after beating Notre Dame 70-52.
In case you missed it
- World leaders voiced concern after Israeli police prevented Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Sunday.
- A pro-Palestinian activist whose home was the target of a foiled firebombing plot had previously filed a federal lawsuit accusing a far-right pro-Israel group of threats.
- With the world’s attention shifting to the Iran conflict, Russia is pushing forward with a spring offensive in Ukraine despite months of peace talks that no longer appear to be Washington’s priority.
- Bank of America agreed to pay $72.5 million to survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation who allege the bank enabled and profited from his crimes.
- Colombian officials discovered a body amid the search for a U.S. flight attendant who went missing in the country last weekend.
- The Denver Summit shattered the National Women’s Soccer League attendance record with 63,004 fans at Empower Field at Mile High.
