Reuters World News - Iran, Kelly v. Hegseth, Marine Le Pen and trans athletes

Episode Date: January 13, 2026

U.S. President Donald Trump says countries doing business with Iran will face 25% tariffs. U.S. Senator Mark Kelly sues Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth over demotion threats, while Minnesota and Illinois sue the administration to block ICE surges. France’s Marine Le Pen begins her corruption conviction appeal. And the U.S. Supreme Court takes up a case over transgender athletes in school sports.     Listen to Morning Bid podcast ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Find the Recommended Read here. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt out of targeted advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hi, I'm Kim Vinal in Wanganui, New Zealand. It's Tuesday, January 13th. Today, Trump threatens countries doing business with Iran with a 25% tariff. Mark Kelly sues Pete Hegsep for trying to drop his military rank. The Supreme Court takes up the battle over trans athletes in school sports, and France's Marine Le Pen appeals to a corruption conviction. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything. you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes, seven days a week. US President Donald Trump is ratcheting up 25% tariffs on any country that does business

with Iran. The move posted on Truth Social comes as Iran continues its deadly crackdown on protesters. Hundreds have been killed as Iran aims to quell outcry in the country. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt says the Trump administration is in communication with Tehran. despite the Islamic Republic's attempt to suppress the demonstrations. What you're hearing publicly from the Iranian regime is quite differently from the messages the administration is receiving privately. And I think the president has an interest in exploring those messages. One of Trump's options is military strikes.

But as our White House reporter Steve Holland explains, that's not the only option. Now, we are told that the options include other things like boosting any government sources online, use of cyber weapons against Iranian military and civilian sites, and putting more sanctions on the regime. The cyber attacks could include trying to shut down various buildings, infrastructure in Iran, but the Iranian regime has cut off internet access to the citizens there. So that may be of limited use. There's always a number of military targets that the U.S. are looking at that could put pressure on the regime. Short term, they'd love to help. the protesters somehow. Long term, they are looking for ways to pressure Khomeini and his regime

and getting him to step down. But as a caveat, you have to think about what would come in the vacuum created by Khomeini's departure. So it's going to take a lot of very close diplomatic skills. The son of the late Shah of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, who lives in the United States, is presenting himself as a potential opposition leader. Now, Trump so far has declined a meeting with him, but if this progresses further, you can see that happening in the future. Arizona Senator Mark Kelly is suing Pete Higsef,

saying the defense secretary violated his free speech rights. The Pentagon is attempting to demote Kelly from his rank of retired Navy captain. The action came after Kelly joined other lawmakers in urging troops to push back on orders to deploy in U.S. cities and carry out lethal strikes on boats in the Caribbean, which the lawmakers say are unlawful. You can refuse illegal orders.

The lawsuit alleges that the Defense Department's actions were retaliatory and asked the court to block Higset's review and declare his actions unlawful. And the legal action against the Trump administration doesn't end there. Next up, Minnesota's Attorney General has announced his state is filing a lawsuit to block a surge of ICE officers following the facial shooting of Renee Good last week. The lawsuit we're filing against the United States Department of Homeland Security to end the unlawful, unprecedented surge of the federal law enforcement agents into Minnesota.

The lawsuit also names U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Christy Noem and asks a federal court in Minnesota to declare the surge unconstitutional and issue a temporary restraining order. Illinois has also filed a similar federal lawsuit against what its leadership is calling Homeland Security's dangerous use of force. And in another lawsuit, this time in the entertainment world, Paramount Skydance is suing Warner Brothers Discovery. It's asking for more information on a rival $82 billion deal with Netflix, escalating the fight to take control of the Hollywood studio. It also plans to nominate directors to the Warner Brothers Board in an aggressive step to convince investors that its $108 billion cash bid is better than Netflix's cash and stock offer.

The Trump administration's move to open a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has sparked fierce condemnation from three people who previously held the job. Janet Yellen, Ben Ben Bananke and Alan Greenspan, joined with other former government economic leaders in condemning the probe. They say in a statement that interference with central bank independence is often seen in emerging market countries with weak institutions. And they warn that interference leads to, quote, highly negative consequences for inflation and the functioning of their economies more broadly.

For more, we've got Amanda Cooper from our sister Markets podcast MorningBank. Hi Kim, that's right. It is indeed unprecedented to have these three former chairs speak out against the attacks on Fed independence. Crucially, they point to the impact that it could have on inflation and how this might make the Fed even less likely, or give the central bank rather, even less room to cut rates as President Trump wishes. We know the affordability is front of mind for him right now and the impact that those high prices are having on consumers. So today's CPI report for December is going to be under even closer scrutiny. new than usual, I think, for markets. Thanks, Amanda. You can always catch MorningBid wherever you get your podcasts. The Supreme Court hears arguments today on whether states can ban transgender athletes

from female sports teams. The states behind the bans in the cases in question, Idaho and West Virginia, argue this is about fairness for biological women in sports. The challenges say these bans are discriminatory. Supreme Court reporter Andrew Chung will be at the hearing. The laws are trying to prevent biological males, is what they refer to, from participating on female sports teams. So the Supreme Court is weighing whether these laws are a violation of the Constitution or a federal law called Title IX, which prevents and prohibits sex discrimination in education. The Supreme Court will determine whether this is sex discrimination And Andrew says the result could have implications far beyond the playing field.

This case is about transgender participation in sports, but if the Supreme Court rules for the states, it could have a much wider effect, because depending on what the court says, if it rules broadly, it could affect transgender rights in other areas, including other things that happen in education. It could affect how students are treated in the classroom. It could affect how they are designated on government documents going forward.

It could affect how and whether the government will still be able to ban them from the military, as President Trump has sought to do. It could have pretty wide-ranging ripple effects. And to Paris now for another court hearing. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen is appealing her corruption conviction. Le Pen was barred from public office. for five years last year, after being convicted of misusing more than four million euros in EU funds. The result of this appeal will determine whether she can run in the 27 presidential election. Reporter Elizabeth Pinov is in Paris.

If she cannot run, the president of the party called Jordan Bardela, who is a young and talented politician, he's 30, she's 57, so it's a new deal. generation and he's doing good in the polls, so he would run. Le Pen has called her conviction a political persecution, and she has some powerful allies in Washington, D.C., who agree. Donald Trump expressed his support to Marine Le Pen when she was convicted. He put a message on the truth social, saying that she had all his support and that he was also criticizing the French justice.

And, well, Marie Le Pen did not really react to that support, saying that there is no interference from the US and that she's independent. And Jordan Badella repeated it today saying that, well, there was no interference from the US. Officially, the National Rally refused this help. They didn't want any help. But there is definitely an interest by the Trump administration into this trial. And for today's recommended read, to Gaza, where school has restarted for some after more than two years. Some 400 children are attending lessons in a makeshift school set up in plastic tents among the ruins, and their learning is interrupted by regular gunfire and explosions from the so-called yellow line held by Israeli forces.

There's a link to that story in the description. For more on any of the stories from today, check out Reuters.com or the Reuters app. Don't forget to follow us on your favorite podcast player. If you're listening on a smart speaker, just ask for the latest news from Reuters, seven days a week. We'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show.