The Brief | Two Attacks. One Day. One Pattern the Media Won't Name.
Also: Iran's new supreme leader may be governing from a hospital bed or a cardboard cutout — we genuinely can't tell — four U.S. airmen are confirmed dead in Iraq, and Congress still won't fund DHS.
Happy Friday. Welcome back.
Yesterday was one of those days where the news came in fast, and I was monitoring the situation from the sofa with a tweaked back. I am feeling much better today, thank you all for the sweet messages.
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The Brief runs Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. If someone forwarded this to you, you can fix that problem at the bottom of this email. Let’s get into it.
In today’s Brief:
Back-to-back Islamist attacks on American soil yesterday mark the fourth and fifth Islamist-linked incidents since the Iran war began — and legacy media’s first instinct was still to blame the right
Lt. Col. Brandon Shah — two Bronze Stars, 600 combat hours, three deployments — was killed in his classroom by a man who had already been convicted of aiding ISIS and released early
DHS has now been partially shut down for 27 days; Senate Democrats blocked funding for the fourth time Thursday, even as Iranian sleeper cell threats are at peak levels
Iran’s new supreme leader issued his first statement through state media — in writing, no face, no voice — and a cardboard cutout went viral for a reason
Four airmen are confirmed dead this morning after a U.S. KC-135 refueling tanker crashed in western Iraq overnight.
Breaking News
War update this morning: A U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker crashed in western Iraq overnight while supporting Operation Epic Fury. CENTCOM confirmed four of six crew members are dead, the first Air Force fatalities of this war. Two more airmen are still missing. Rescue operations are ongoing. Officials say it was not due to hostile fire, though an Iran-linked militia has claimed responsibility. Eleven American service members have now died in this conflict. Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Bessent told CNBC the Navy is planning to escort commercial vessels through Hormuz “as soon as militarily possible.” Brent crude closed above $100/barrel.
They’re Calling It “Random.” It’s Not.
In the span of roughly two hours Thursday afternoon, an ISIS-linked gunman opened fire inside an Army ROTC classroom at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, and a Lebanese-born naturalized citizen drove a truck through the front doors of Temple Israel synagogue outside Detroit, armed with a rifle, fireworks, and an unidentified chemical agent. Both attackers are dead. One person was killed: Lt. Col. Brandon Shah. Dozens more could have been.
At ODU, Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, 36, walked into Constant Hall, entered a military science class, and asked if it was ROTC. When someone said yes, he opened fire. He shouted “Allahu Akbar.” He was a former Virginia National Guardsman convicted in 2017 of providing material support to ISIS, sentenced to 11 years, out in December 2024 after serving less than eight. The FBI immediately opened a terrorism investigation. Bill Melugin at Fox News confirmed the ISIS connection through federal sources. RedState had the full conviction timeline.
In Michigan, DHS confirmed the synagogue attacker as 41-year-old Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Lebanon, who entered the country in 2011. His truck crashed through Temple Israel’s main entrance. The preschool wing had 140 students inside. Synagogue security shot and killed him. The building was engulfed in fire from the chemical agent he brought. All 140 students and all staff were accounted for, a genuine miracle.
Officials confirmed Ghazali and his brother were known Hezbollah members, though their specific roles in the organization haven’t been established. The Detroit News reported his family was recently killed in an Israeli airstrike. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel acknowledged a “clear nexus” to the Iran war.
Let’s count, because someone has to. Austin bar shooting — gunman in an Iran flag shirt and “Property of Allah” hoodie, early March. Gracie Mansion ISIS bomb plot — March 7. ODU — March 12. Temple Israel — March 12. That’s four incidents tied to Islamist ideology since the United States went to war with Iran. Yet legacy media’s initial framing was — predictably — to look for right-wing connections. The Daily Caller documented the playbook in real time with the Gracie Mansion coverage. Greg Price caught a Soros-backed DA blaming Republicans for the ODU shooting on video before the facts were even in.
A quick note on framing: JusticeMoms had the sharpest piece on the Gracie Mansion story — how the proximity of the NYC mayor’s mansion to an adjacent mosque allowed the press to recast an ISIS-inspired attack as anti-Muslim backlash. It’s a pattern. And it’s happening again.
Lt. Col. Brandon Shah Survived Iraq and Afghanistan. He Was Killed in His Own Classroom.
Lt. Col. Brandon Shah was the Professor of Military Science at Old Dominion University — the same school where he once enrolled as a student before the Army called. He joined up in 2003 as an Aviation Operations Specialist. He flew more than 1,200 hours across three aircraft types. Over 600 of those were combat hours. He deployed to Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, and to Atlantic Resolve. He earned two Bronze Stars. His father came to America from Pakistan. Brandon was born here, flew here, fought here, and died here, in his classroom, at the school he came back to so he could build the next class of Army officers.
The man increased his ROTC battalion’s enrollment by nearly 50% in three years. His cousin, who also served, called them “proud to serve our country together.”
The students in that room — the ones he trained — subdued the gunman and killed him, preventing what FBI Director Kash Patel said would have been a far larger massacre. Lt. Col. Shah’s last lesson, apparently, landed.
Jalloh was convicted under federal terrorism statutes, and prosecutors originally requested 20 years. He got 11. He was out in under eight, released by the Biden administration's Bureau of Prisons in December 2024. A man convicted of plotting to murder U.S. military personnel in the name of ISIS walked free fifteen months before he killed one of them. Does the system that handed him early release have any answers?
Democrats Vote to Keep DHS Dark — For the Fourth Time
Thursday’s Senate vote was 51-46. DHS funding needed 60 votes to advance. It didn’t get them. It was the fourth time since February 12 that Senate Democrats have blocked this bill — and Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman was again the only Democrat who crossed over.
The Department of Homeland Security is now 27 days into a partial shutdown. TSA agents are working without pay. FEMA disaster response is degraded. Counterterrorism programs are running on reserves. Cities hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup haven’t received security funding. Fox News reported Thursday that Democrats cast these votes even as the intelligence community has specifically flagged elevated Iranian sleeper cell activation threats on U.S. soil.
The Democratic caucus’s stated position: they won’t fund TSA until Congress holds ICE accountable for a shooting. They are holding counterterrorism infrastructure hostage over immigration enforcement politics, on the same day the country absorbed two Islamist attacks. Senate Democratic Leader Schumer explained the position as wanting ICE to “behave like any police department.” Fine. Make that argument when DHS is operational and Iranian proxy attacks aren’t landing on American campuses.
No end is in sight.
Iran’s Ghost Leader Is Running a War From Somewhere Nobody Can Find
Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei issued his first official statement Thursday. Know how? Through Iranian state media. In writing. No face. No voice. Nobody’s seen him publicly since his father was killed.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the statement vowed to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed, threatened to open new military fronts, and praised Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iraqi militias for continuing to fight his war. One Iran expert called it “more defiant, and more specific in his defiance, than his father.” The NY Post unpacked the hidden threats buried in the message, including signals of new fronts beyond missiles and Hormuz.
The cardboard cutout at a pro-regime rally — caught on video — tells the story better than any press release. Reports are he suffered a fractured foot and facial lacerations in the same strike that killed his father, his mother, his wife, and his sister’s child. Iranian state media refers to him as “Jaanbaz” — injured war veteran — which is doing nothing to stop the speculation. Iranian opposition sources are claiming he’s in a coma and has lost limbs. The IRGC may be running the war with his name as a figurehead. Iran scholar Saeid Golkar told the Journal: “He is a ghost leader, like the Hidden Imam.”
Trump said earlier this week the war might end “soon.” The ghost leader’s first statement was a direct rebuttal. Make of that what you will.
Quick Rundown
The surf and turf follow-up is here. Joey Jones dropped a new video on the story I covered Wednesday — watch it below.
Iran just took down a medical device company. Iranian-linked hackers (the Handala group) wiped the phones and laptops of all 56,000 Stryker employees on Wednesday. The hackers cited the girls’ school strike as justification. Stryker stock fell 4%. Expect more of this.
France’s counterterrorism forces were just hit in Iraq. Six French soldiers were injured in a drone attack in the Erbil region Thursday while training with Iraqi forces. The conflict keeps expanding.
Saudi Aramco is buying Ukrainian drones. The world’s largest oil company is reportedly in talks to purchase Ukrainian drones to protect its oil fields. The Iran war’s second-order effects are everywhere.
UFC fighters are training FBI agents at Quantico. UFC fighters will provide hand-to-hand combat instruction to federal agents. Given yesterday’s news, the timing feels appropriate.
Let’s Talk
Four Islamist-linked attacks or plots since the Iran war began. DHS shut down. A convicted ISIS-supporter released early just killed one of America’s finest in his classroom. What’s it going to take for the people in charge of our homeland security to actually fund it?
And: Lt. Col. Brandon Shah’s story deserves more than a news cycle. Share it today with someone who hasn’t heard it.
I want to hear your thoughts. Drop them in the comments. I read every response.
See you Monday.
The Brief publishes Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. No corporate overlords—just independent journalism you can actually trust. Share it with someone who needs the real story.
The way my blood boils reading so many of these headlines… Lord, have mercy. I just keep thinking that the media can’t get worse but it does! The spin they want to put on these patently obvious stories is genuinely disturbing.
Hi Meseidy!
I so enjoy our sharp wit and banter with Racheal!
I saw a news article about a veteran in NM yesterday that "disappeared." It appears he walked off without phone, but with hiking shoes and handgun. He's been missing for 2 weeks. The interesting part: He is an engineer, having worked in NM at the Fed program in Roswell. It happened right after Pres Trump announced they were going to release information regarding Roswell. Smelled kind of fishy. Thought you might want to look into it- just out of curiosity.