Tracy Mumford: From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Wednesday, March 4th. Here's what we're covering.

The Times has learned Iran is on the verge of selecting its next Supreme Leader to head the regime after the US-Israeli attacks killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over the weekend. According to three Iranian officials, the frontrunner is Khamenei's son, Mojtaba Khamenei. He's an influential but reclusive figure known for his close ties to the country's revolutionary guards.

One analyst in Tehran said that hardline supporters of Iran's government could back him quickly, viewing him as picking up the mantle of his martyred father. But a large portion of Iran could reject him for the very same reason, seeing him as a continuation of the oppressive regime that's killed thousands of anti-government protesters in just the last few months.

The clerics making the selection could announce their decision as soon as today. It comes after President Trump said yesterday that the US-Israeli strikes had taken out some of the Iranian officials the White House had viewed as potential successors.

Donald Trump: And now we have another group. They may be dead also based on reports. So I guess you have a third wave coming and pretty soon we're not going to know anybody.

I guess the worst case would be we do this and then somebody takes over who's as bad as the previous person, right? That could happen. Uh, we don't want that to happen. That would probably be the worst. You go through this and then, uh, in 5 years you realize you put somebody in who was no better.

Tracy Mumford: Trump did not say specifically who the US wanted to see lead the country. In all, Trump seems to be distancing himself from any long-term plans for Iran, which analysts say adds a new level of uncertainty to the situation. For years in Washington, we've heard about this maxim called the Pottery Barn rule. You break it, you own it. As in, if the US decides to start a war in a country, it's responsible for the consequences. But in the last few days, President Trump has made it clear that he does not believe in the Pottery Barn rule at all. My colleague Anton Troyki covers global affairs for the Times.

Anton Troyki: They've made it clear they believe that the US has the right to attack any country anywhere if it believes that it's necessary in the name of American national security and American interests. And at the same time, they've made it clear that they don't see the US as being responsible for what happens in those countries after military action. And of course in the case of Iran, the risks of this are immense. The more the central authorities, the security forces in that country are weakened, the more infrastructure there is destroyed, the more you have the risk of either chaos and civil war or an even more repressive regime taking hold.

Tracy Mumford: As of today, nearly 900 people have been killed in the fighting in the Middle East. The vast majority of them in Iran, which the US and Israel have continued attacking. Iran has continued to hit back, striking targets all over the Gulf and choking off a key shipping lane for oil and gas, which has caused prices for those to surge, raising fears of widespread economic repercussions. Meanwhile, in Washington, the Senate is expected to vote today on limiting the president's ability to continue to strike Iran.

Now, one last thread to follow from all of this is how Israel is seizing this particular moment. Times Jerusalem bureau chief David Halbfinger says that in the past week the Israeli government has been emboldened.

David Halbfinger: We learned in the reporting here that Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel wanted his military commanders to begin preparing for a strike on Iran that would happen between April and June. The military wasn't so thrilled about that because that was a plan to act alone. But when the United States came on board, their tune changed. Now the United States would be bearing much of the burden, taking out much of its ballistic missile capacity in the east and also crucially bringing many many airborne refueling tankers which make it possible for Israel to keep its fighters in the air over Iran almost indefinitely. That was a huge lift and that really made it possible for Israel to be confident that it could go now.

In addition to striking Iran in partnership with the US, Israel has also been carrying out deadly strikes in Lebanon, saying it's targeting Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group there. What we're really seeing here in both theaters of operation is a very confident Israel. It's confident in its military, its technology, certainly in its intelligence, and now in its ability to really shape the region and its environment to its advantage.

Tracy Mumford: In Texas, one of the first big fights of the midterms played out last night with some nail-biting primaries for the US Senate. On the Democratic side, James Talerico, a state lawmaker, defeated US Representative Jasmine Crockett. Talerico was a virtual unknown until a few months ago, and he rallied support with Bible-infused messaging about bridging divides. Crockett, meanwhile, is viewed as a firebrand in the Democratic Party and has openly criticized its leadership.

And on the Republican side, that bitter Senate primary is not over yet. US Senator John Cornyn now faces a runoff with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton after neither candidate reached the 50% threshold to win outright. Cornyn is a dealmaking four-term senator and he's been fighting for his political life against Paxton who has survived multiple ethical and legal scandals to become a darling of MAGA voters. The race has also been expensive. The candidates and outside groups spent nearly $100 million on ads, a vast majority of that in support of Cornyn. Combined with the spending on the Democrats, these primaries are the most expensive in US history.

Tracy Mumford: And finally, another local is saying, "Nope, nope, not anymore" to springing forward and falling back. The top government official in Canada's West Coast province announced they are done with all that.

Official: It creates all kinds of problems. Kids get up at the same time even though the clock's changed. Parents lose sleep, kids lose sleep.

Tracy Mumford: In British Columbia, the shift this weekend will be their last. They're going to pick one time zone and stick with it. They're not alone. There's a huge amount of support for scrapping the twice-a-year time jumps. Most countries don't do it. In the US, it's a holdover from 100-plus years ago. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine has said it should stop, that it disrupts the body's natural clock, and that kind of shift can have health effects and lead to things like more traffic accidents. There is legislation to end it in the US, and that's made slow but steady progress in Congress. For now, though, it is still coming. So, Sunday, remember, you're going to lose an hour.

Those are the headlines. Today on the Daily, a look at how the merger between Paramount and Warner Brothers could reshape the cultural and political landscape in the US.