More than two dozen House Democrats — led by Jared Huffman and Jamie Raskin — are demanding a formal investigation into Pete Hegseth after hundreds of U.S. service members reportedly complained that military commanders were promoting end-times Christian ideology as justification for the war with Iran.

The complaints were submitted to the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which says it has received more than 200 reports from troops across multiple branches since the conflict escalated. According to the group, some soldiers claim commanders suggested the war had a biblical or apocalyptic purpose and even described Donald Trump as being “anointed by Jesus.”

Lawmakers say the allegations raise serious concerns about religious coercion and politicization inside the U.S. military, and are calling for the Pentagon to investigate whether troops are being pressured with ideological messaging while deployed.

A White House reporter is being praised online after confronting Donald Trump during a press conference about the war with Iran.

Shawn McCreesh, a correspondent for The New York Times, challenged the president after Trump suggested that Iran may have bombed its own elementary school using a Tomahawk cruise missile.

McCreesh pushed back directly:

“You just suggested that Iran somehow got its hands on a Tomahawk and bombed its own elementary school… but you're the only person in your government saying this. Even your defense secretary wouldn't say that. Why are you the only person saying this?”

Trump replied: “Because I just don’t know enough about it.”

The exchange came as reporters pressed the administration about the deadly strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ school in Minab, southern Iran, where around 160 people — many of them children — were reported killed during the early wave of attacks in the conflict.

Open-source investigators and journalists have since analyzed geolocated video and satellite imagery from the scene. One widely circulated clip appears to show a Tomahawk cruise missile striking a compound next to the school.

Tomahawks are long-range precision cruise missiles developed and primarily used by the United States, typically launched from U.S. Navy destroyers or submarines and capable of traveling hundreds of miles before striking a target with high accuracy. Iran is not known to possess Tomahawk systems, which is why the president’s suggestion immediately drew scrutiny in the briefing room.

The exchange quickly spread online, with many praising McCreesh for directly challenging the claim during a live White House press briefing.

As thousands of expats fled Dubai following Iranian retaliatory str**es in March 2026, animal shelters across the United Arab Emirates were suddenly overwhelmed.

Rescuers reported dogs tied to lampposts, cats left outside homes, and veterinary clinics receiving requests to put down perfectly healthy pets whose owners didn’t want to deal with them before leaving.

Volunteers said hundreds of posts appeared in WhatsApp and Facebook groups within days, asking shelters to take in abandoned animals.

Organizations like K9 Friends Dubai and War Paws called the situation heartbreaking — especially in a city where many fleeing residents could afford private jets and security convoys.

Under UAE law, abandoning a pet can lead to fines and jail time, but during the crisis enforcement has been minimal.

Now a difficult question is spreading online:

If someone abandons an animal in a crisis…
should they ever be allowed to own one again?

A lady comes into the bookstore I work at every so often and buys hundreds of dollars worth of books (sometimes multiple copies of the same one) and returns a month later ordering returns for all of them without a receipt. Many are damaged and not even sold here. She’s trying to use us as a library.

For years they showed off the luxury Dubai lifestyle. When danger came, many left behind the one thing that loved them unconditionally — their pets.

After Iranian missile strikes in early March 2026, expats rushed to leave Dubai, and hundreds of animals were abandoned. Shelters and rescuers say they were overwhelmed, calling the situation heartbreaking in one of the world’s wealthiest cities.