5 Big News Stories Overnight - Wednesday, March 4, 2026

China: Strikes on Iran Put China’s Energy Security at Risk

France 24 reports:

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi condemned the US and Israeli attacks on Iran on Sunday, calling the "blatant killing of a sovereign leader" and attempts to provoke regime change "unacceptable" and urging an immediate ceasefire and a return to talks to prevent a wider regional conflict.

China has long been a key Iranian ally, buying some 90% of its crude oil and providing economic and technological support. The recent US-Israeli strikes, which disrupted key installations and killed senior figures including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, put Beijing in a delicate position: it refuses to get involved in the Middle East firestorm, yet its energy security is at stake. 

PHOTO: Yan, Unsplash

U.S.: Trump: Starmer is No Churchill

Telegraph reports:

Donald Trump has attacked Sir Keir Starmer over his lack of support for the Iran war, saying he is “not Winston Churchill” and “ruins relationships”.

In his harshest rebuke of the Prime Minister yet, the United States president criticised him for initially blocking the use of Diego Garcia, the military base in the Chagos Islands, for military strikes.

The remarks from the Oval Office on Tuesday came after Mr Trump told The Telegraph he was “very disappointed” in Sir Keir and that his refusal was unlike anything that had “happened between our countries before”.

U.S.: Trump’s Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, Will Testify in House Epstein Investigation.

New York Times reports:

Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, agreed on Tuesday to sit for an interview with the House Oversight Committee about his relationship with the sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Mr. Lutnick, a billionaire businessman, lived next door to Mr. Epstein in New York. Until recently, he had claimed to have cut ties with Mr. Epstein in 2005, after he made a visit to the Manhattan townhouse where the authorities said Mr. Epstein engaged in sexual acts with underage girls.

U.S.: Ex-Morgan Stanley Broker Convicted of Defrauding Ex-NBA Players

Advisor Hub reports:

A jury in federal court in Manhattan on Tuesday found former Morgan Stanley broker Darryl M. Cohen guilty of defrauding three former professional basketball players out of millions of dollars through unauthorized transfers and overcharges on life settlement investments.

Cohen, who was arrested in March 2023, was convicted of wire fraud and investment advisor fraud, according to media reports and a lawyer representing the victims. The judge presiding over the month-long trial declared a mistrial for a third charge of conspiracy after the jury, which began deliberating on Friday, failed to reach a unanimous verdict. 

Prosecutors alleged that from 2017 to 2020, Cohen “orchestrated” a scheme along with an independent financial planner to steal from three pro athlete customers through sales of life settlement policies at inflated prices of as much as 310%, according to court documents. 

The planner’s firm made a $4.5 million profit while Cohen took in $246,000 in undisclosed kickbacks, according to prosecutors. The court cast included testimony from former NBA players Chandler Parsons, Jrue Holiday and Courtney Lee, according to Law360. 

Kuwait: Four of the Six U.S. Troops Killed Have Been Identified

The four deceased are Capt. Cody A. Khork and Sgts. Nicole M. Amor, Declan J. Coady, and Noah L. Tietjens.