News briefs

Tribune News Service on Mar 10, 2026

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Iran security official threatens Trump: ‘Watch out for yourself’

A hard-line Iranian security official personally threatened President Donald Trump on Tuesday as the war raged on and the two nations traded charges over the Tehran’s chokehold on oil exports out of the Persian Gulf.

Ali Larijani, a top member of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, suggested Tehran might target Trump if the U.S. makes good on threats to unleash the “most intense” attacks of the war in hopes of restarting the flow of oil through the Straits of Hormuz.

“Iran does not fear your paper threats. Even those greater than you could not eliminate the Iranian nation,” Larijani tweeted. “Watch out for yourself — lest you be eliminated.”

Larijani, a former Revolutionary Guard commander, cryptically added that the Straits of Hormuz could “either be a Strait of peace and prosperity for all or will be a Strait of defeat and suffering for warmongers.”

—New York Daily News

Democrats float tax relief plans to home in on affordability

WASHINGTON — Democrats with potential presidential aspirations have unveiled a slew of tax breaks in recent days that emphasize the party’s focus on affordability in hopes of taking back the White House.

The latest pitch, unveiled Monday from New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker, would more than double the standard deduction for married couples filing jointly to $75,000, with proportional breaks for heads of households and single filers. But other proposals look to take advantage of more topical matters: Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, for example, is proposing a pause on the federal gas tax through Oct. 1 amid rising oil prices due to the war in Iran.

It’s part of a broader Democratic effort to make affordability the top issue of both the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential election. Affordability concerns were key to President Donald Trump’s 2024 win — and Democrats are now looking to turn the tables amid soaring global tariffs and skyrocketing gas prices due to the war in Iran.

“The tax system, we all know this, is rigged,” Booker said in a video Monday. “It’s rigged against working people and all full of things to help people with a lot of money, whether it’s corporations or billionaires, avoid paying taxes.”

—CQ-Roll Call

Maura Healey ‘demands’ $1,745 tariffs refund for Massachusetts residents

Could Bay Staters get a double refund this tax season?

Gov. Maura Healey has sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent — calling for a $1,745 tariffs refund for every Massachusetts household after the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump admin’s tariffs were unconstitutional.

“On behalf of the people of Massachusetts, I demand a refund of $1,745 to every Massachusetts household for the financial harm caused by President Trump’s unconstitutional taxes,” Healey wrote in the Tuesday letter.

“With approximately 2.8 million households in Massachusetts, my office estimates that $4,886,000,000 is owed to consumers in our state who shouldered the burden of increased costs,” the governor added.

—Boston Herald

China irked by last-minute scramble to plan Xi-Trump summit

With three weeks until Donald Trump meets Xi Jinping, Beijing is frustrated by what it sees as insufficient U.S. preparation that may limit the landmark summit to trade agreements and leave key diplomatic and security matters untouched.

Chinese officials are dissatisfied with what they consider last-minute planning ahead of Trump’s arrival on March 31, according to one person familiar with the preparations. The White House’s lack of communication about Trump’s expectations for the visit has also been an issue for Beijing, said a separate person familiar with the matter, who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly.

The Chinese frustrations stem, in part, from the White House’s departure from Beijing’s standard practice of hosting U.S. high-level officials to lay the groundwork for a state visit. Before Trump’s last trip to China in 2017, the U.S. dispatched both a secretary of state and commerce chief to China months before the U.S. leader’s arrival.

A White House official, who was granted anonymity to discuss the planning, said the Trump administration is very comfortable with trip preparations regarding both logistics and policy outcomes. China’s Foreign Ministry said both sides “maintain communication on the interaction between the two heads of state,” without elaborating.

—Bloomberg News