ISIS-linked gunman kills Old Dominion professor; US refueling plane crash kills 4

A convicted ISIS supporter opens fire inside a college ROTC class, killing a military veteran who led the department. How cadets stopped the rampage, including one who stabbed the attacker.

Plus, an explosives-filled car crashes into a synagogue in Michigan and barrels inside the building. What investigators are learning after security confronts the suspect.

And explosions rock Tehran as thousands fill the streets during a major demonstration. The violence comes as four U.S. service members are confirmed killed in a refueling plane crash in Iraq.

These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Friday, March 13, 2026.

ROTC professor killed in Old Dominion campus shooting

A gunman shot and killed a ROTC professor at a Virginia university Thursday, injuring two other Army service members during the attack. Police identified the victim as Army Lt. Col. Brandon Shah, a war veteran and department chair at Old Dominion University.

Authorities said ROTC students intervened to confront the gunman, who was ultimately shot and killed during the encounter.

Police identified the suspect as Mohamed Jalloh, a former Army National Guard soldier who was convicted in 2016 of providing material support to ISIS after attempting to carry out a terrorist attack, according to the FBI special agent in charge.

During his trial, Jalloh denounced ISIS, writing in a letter to the judge that he had been “driven by my emotions rather than my intellect,” and that he regretted “becoming involved with such an evil organization.”

The judge sentenced him to 11 years in prison, but he was released in 2024. It is not yet clear why he was released early.

Investigators said Jalloh reportedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” — an Arabic phrase meaning “God is greatest” — before opening fire on campus.

Military records show Jalloh served as a combat engineer in the Virginia National Guard from 2009 to 2015 before receiving an honorable discharge.

The incident is currently under investigation as a potential act of terrorism.

Shooter dead after ramming truck into Michigan synagogue

Federal officials have identified the man who drove a truck into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan, and exchanged gunfire with security officers. The Department of Homeland Security named the suspect as 41-year-old Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, a U.S. citizen originally from Lebanon.

Temple Israel and its adjoining Tyner Religious School in West Bloomfield were already on high alert during the Iran war, authorities said, and security officers were already on duty.

Straight Arrow News was on the scene as law enforcement vehicles lined the streets around the synagogue, armed officers searched the area, and children were led away from the building.

Investigators said the truck broke through the synagogue’s front doors and drove down a hallway inside.

Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said security personnel confronted the suspect. He is dead, but investigators have not yet confirmed the exact cause of his death.

A security guard was struck by the truck and knocked unconscious, but is expected to recover.

Temple Israel said all 140 students inside the building — along with staff and teachers — were safely accounted for.

“We are just absolutely amazed at the heroism of our security team, who did exactly what we expected of them. At the same time, we were trained and all of our staff members, all of our teachers have been trained over the years because we expect these things to happen, we just never want them to be real.”

— Rabbi Joshua Bennett, Temple Israel

The crash also sparked a fire and filled parts of the building with heavy smoke.

Approximately 30 law enforcement officers received treatment for smoke inhalation as crews secured the scene. Security has been increased at synagogues and Jewish organizations across the Detroit area.

“This wasn’t an attack on just Jews. This was an attack on all of us in our way of life. You should all be free to pray wherever you want. This is not just about us; this is about the community and how we should live as humans,” Jewish Detroit CEO Steven Ingber said.

Investigators are still working to identify the suspect’s motive and piece together the final sequence of events. The FBI is now investigating it as a targeted act of violence against the Jewish community.

Tehran under intense strikes, Trump warns ‘watch what happens’

Tehran is under attack this morning, and President Donald Trump has issued a new warning as the war with Iran approaches two weeks. Explosions shook the Iranian capital as protesters gathered for the annual Quds Day rally in support of Palestinians.

Thousands packed the streets, chanting slogans including “death to Israel” and “death to America.”

Iranian state television said a large blast struck a square filled with demonstrators. The cause of the explosion isn’t clear. But earlier, Israel warned it would “conduct operations in this area in the coming hours” and urged people nearby to evacuate.

Trump also issued a new threat aimed at what he called the “deranged scumbags” of the Iranian regime, telling them to “watch what happens today.”

He offered no specifics, but added: “They’ve been killing innocent people all over the world for 47 years. And now I — as the 47th president of the United States — am killing them.”

Trump called it a “great honor.”

Meanwhile, U.S. Central Command announced that rescue operations are in progress after a U.S. military refueling plane crashed in Iraq. The KC-135 aircraft was part of the operation against Iran. Officials said the crash was not caused by hostile or friendly fire.

CENTCOM confirmed that four of the six crew members aboard died, but rescue efforts are ongoing for the remaining two.

And the conflict continues to rattle global energy markets.

Oil prices remain around $100 a barrel, even after Trump eased sanctions on Russian oil, allowing countries to buy Russian shipments stranded at sea.

That move comes as the Strait of Hormuz — which carries roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil supply — remains closed.

Rep. Jim Clyburn, 85, seeks 18th term

One of the most powerful Democrats in Congress said he’s not finished yet.

South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn said Thursday he will run for another term in the U.S. House. The 85-year-old Democrat will seek an 18th term representing the state’s 6th Congressional District.

Clyburn made the announcement at South Carolina Democratic Party headquarters in Columbia. He said he believes he is capable of continuing the work and plans to run what he called a vigorous campaign.

Clyburn has served in Congress since 1993, becoming the first Black lawmaker elected from South Carolina since Reconstruction. Over three decades, he rose to the top ranks of House Democratic leadership and became one of the party’s most influential power brokers.

He’s perhaps best known nationally for a moment in 2020 when his endorsement helped revive Joe Biden’s struggling presidential campaign just days before the South Carolina primary.

Now, even as several longtime Democrats step aside, including Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer, Clyburn said he still believes he has work left to do.

“I do believe that I’m very well equipped and healthy enough to move into the next term, trying to do the things that are necessary to continue that pursuit of perfection,” Clyburn said. He later added: “This could very well be my last term, and it could very well not be. We’ll just see how things go.”

If reelected, Clyburn would be 88 years old at the end of his next term, at a time when both parties face increasing pressure from younger candidates calling for a generational change in Washington.

Kim Jong Un tests pistols, inspects weapons factory with daughter

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un is once again putting his daughter front and center — this time at a firing range. New images from state media show Kim and his teenage daughter Kim Ju Ae firing pistols together during a visit to a weapons factory.

Senior officials joined them on the range as Kim inspected a newly produced handgun and praised it as “excellent.” The visit was part of a broader push to expand North Korea’s conventional weapons production after years of focusing heavily on nuclear arms.

And it wasn’t just small arms.

Earlier this week, Kim and his daughter were also observed overseeing the launch of strategic cruise missiles from one of North Korea’s newest naval destroyers.

The missiles reportedly struck island targets off North Korea’s west coast, with Kim saying the tests demonstrate the need to maintain what he calls a “powerful and reliable nuclear war deterrent.”

Kim’s daughter — believed to be around 13 years old — has been seen at missile launches, military parades and weapons demonstrations since 2022.

South Korean intelligence officials now believe she is likely being positioned as the next leader of the Kim dynasty.

NASA targets April 1 for Artemis II launch

NASA has set April 1 as the target launch date for its Artemis II mission, which will carry astronauts around the moon for the first time since the Apollo era.

The mission has faced several delays in recent months.

First, a fuel leak in February forced NASA to postpone an earlier launch window. Then, engineers discovered a helium flow issue, prompting managers to roll the rocket and spacecraft off the launch pad at Cape Canaveral and return them to the vehicle assembly building for repairs.

NASA announced it has completed a flight readiness review and is targeting a launch on April 1.

The mission will send four astronauts on a roughly 10-day trip around the moon — a lunar flyby aimed at testing key spacecraft systems before NASA tries a future moon landing.

“Again, while I am comfortable and the agency is comfortable with targeting April 1st as our first opportunity, just keep in mind we still have work to go. There are still things that need to be done within the VAB and out at the pad. And as always, we’ll always be guided by what the hardware is telling us, and we will launch when we’re ready.”

— Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD)

NASA plans to roll the rocket back out to the launch pad on March 19.

If everything goes as planned, the Artemis II crew will travel over half a million miles, orbiting the moon before safely returning to Earth.

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Find out how much of your electricity bill goes to utility investors: New report

Utility companies are earning an average of 13 cents in profit for every dollar Americans spend on electricity — a higher margin than most businesses. That’s according to a new report released Thursday by the nonprofit watchdog Energy and Policy Institute (EPI), which argues the utility industry needs to be reformed. 

In the report “Paying for Their Profits: How Ratepayers Foot the Bill for Soaring Utility Profits,” EPI found that from 2021 to 2024, utility companies made an average of 12.8% profit from all of their revenue. EPI’s report is built on an analysis of public financial data from 110 investor-owned electric utility companies.

The utility industry has disputed EPI’s findings, arguing its methodology is flawed due to ignoring costs that are simply passed through to customers not collected as profits, such as debt payments.

EPI also launched a tool allowing users to enter their monthly bill amount and search for their utility company to see how much of their payment goes to the company’s net profit, according to the analysis. 

Early data from 2025 shows profit is on the rise to 15 cents for every dollar paid. That comes as electric bills are also increasing. And utilities across the country are looking to increase their spending to pay for electric grid upgrades as aging infrastructure meets heightened electricity demand.

“Many households are spending a huge part of their income just to pay their bills, keep the lights on,” said Brionté McCorkle, executive director of Georgia Conservation Voters, in a press briefing on Thursday. “That burden continues to get worse.” Read the full story now>

Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief