Skip to content 3/13/2026 Jody Hice and Guests Wrap up Top News Stories from the Week with a Biblical Worldview Analysis Mar 13 · 54 min ...more
3/13/2026 Jody Hice and Guests Wrap up Top News Stories from the Week with a Biblical Worldview Analysis
March 13, 2026 · 54 min
Exploring links between the Iran war, domestic terror, and the failure to fund DHS, exposing foreign influence on U.S. higher education, and the Middle East conflict’s impact on Iranian Christians.
Series Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Audio March 13, 2026 · 54 min · Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Audio
Exploring links between the Iran war, domestic terror, and the failure to fund DHS, exposing foreign influence on U.S. higher education, and the Middle East conflict’s impact on Iranian Christians. ...more Show the full description Show less Exploring links between the Iran war, domestic terror, and the failure to fund DHS, exposing foreign influence on U.S. higher education, and the Middle East conflict’s impact on Iranian Christians.
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In this video 0:00 Iran War Escalation and Domestic Terrorism Threats17:03 Foreign Funding Undermining US Universities27:24 Resilient Iranian Church Amid War and Persecution37:04 Biblical Worldview on Abortion Pills, Antisemitism, and Church Safety
Iran War Escalation and Domestic Terrorism Threats 0:00 From the heart of our nation's capital in Washington, DC, bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and sound bites into conversations with our nation's leaders and newsmakers,0:13 all from a biblical worldview, sitting in for Tony as today's host, Jody Heiss.0:19 Their 1 way attack drones yesterday, down 95 percent. And as the world is seeing, they are exercising sheer desperation in the straits of Hormuz.0:32 Something we're dealing with. We have been dealing with it, and don't need to worry about it. We're on plan to defeat, destroy, disable all of their meaningful military capabilities at a pace0:44 the world has never seen before.0:49 That was secretary of war Pete Hegseth earlier today providing an update on Operation Epic Fury in Iran. Welcome to this March thirteenth edition of1:01 Washington Watch. I am your Friday host, Jody Heise. Thank you so much for joining us. Alright. Coming up, 2 recent violent incidents in the US are now under1:13 FBI terrorism investigation, both involving suspects with ties to ISIS. Meanwhile, Democrats continue to block funding for the Department of Homeland Security.1:24 Texas congressman Randy Weber will be joining us shortly to discuss what he calls Democrats refusal to negotiate amid growing domestic security threats.
1:37 Plus, doctor Peter Wood who testified yesterday at a senate hearing, he'll share insights on the growing influence of foreign actors on American education. So
1:49 stay with us. Alright. Tensions in the Middle East are certainly escalating as the US and Israel
2:00 continue their military campaign against Iran. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth says Iran's newly appointed supreme leader, Mosheba Khomeini, may be wounded and
2:12 in hiding following recent strikes. Though there's no real evidence of that for sure that is at least been released. And joining me now is Washington Watch reporter Mary Stackhouse.
2:25 Mary, thanks for joining me. Listen. Let's start with this 1 with the rising tensions and all the uncertainty around Iran's leadership. What are we learning about the situation on the
2:36 ground there and, perhaps even the broader implications of this conflict?
2:41 Thanks, Jody. Officials say the situation remains fluid. Secretary of war Pete Hegseth told reporters that Iran's leader, Mosheba Khamenei, is believed to be possibly
2:53 disfigured and wounded after strikes early in the war. However, Iran has not confirmed that, and he has not made a public appearance since taking power following the death of his father, Ali Khamenei.
3:05 Here's secretary Hegseth.
3:07 With every passing hour, we know and we know they know that the military capabilities of their evil regime are crumbling. They can barely communicate, let alone coordinate. They're confused,
3:19 and we know it. Our response, we will keep pressing. We will keep pushing, keep advancing. No quarter, no mercy for our enemies.
3:31 Now Hegseth also accused Iran of taking what he called desperate steps in the Strait of Hormuz by disrupting oil traffic that carries a major share of the world's oil supply. At the same time, the
3:43 US military is investigating the crash of a Boeing KC 1 35 Stratotanker in Western Iraq that killed 6 all 6 service members on board. This brings the US death toll in the
3:54 operation to 13. Meanwhile, president Donald Trump declined to say whether the US might target Iran's key oil hub on Kharg Island as Iranian officials warned that any strike on their southern islands
4:06 would trigger a major escalation. Officials say the coming days will be critical as the conflict continues to unfold. Jody?
4:16 Thanks, Mary. If I can switch gears with you real quickly as, related to this. But here on the homeland, we've had a couple of recent incidents that have certainly raised concerns about
4:27 domestic security threats here. Do you have any news to share with us about the attack on the synagogue in Michigan and the shooting that took place at the Old Dominion University, in Virginia?
4:39 Yes, Jody. So 2 recent violent incidents in the US are under FBI terrorism investigation involving suspects with ties to ISIS. In Michigan, Ayman Mohammed
4:51 Ghazali, a 41 year old naturalized US citizen from Lebanon, drove a truck into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield while carrying a rifle targeting the synagogue's congregation and children.
5:03 Security stopped him, and no 1 was seriously injured. Authorities described the attack as deliberate and as a terrorism related attack. Separately, at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia,
5:15 Mohammed Bayler Jola, a former ISIS supporter, released from federal prison in 20 24, opened fire in a classroom, killing 1 person and injuring 2 US army personnel.
5:27 ROTC ROTC students subdued him ending the attack. Here's what FBI special agent Dominique Evans said after the attack.
5:36 The FBI is now the lead investigative agency investigating this as an act of terrorism. The shooter has been identified as Mohammed Baylor Jalo.
5:48 In 20 16, Jalo was arrested and plead guilty for attempting to provide material support to ISIL, now known as ISIS.
5:58 Jody, both cases underscore ongoing threats from individuals radicalized by extremist ideology and highlight the importance of strong security at schools and houses of worship.
6:10 Jody.
6:12 Mary, thank you so much for this update. We certainly will continue to follow all of this, but thank you for bringing us up to speed. Alright. With concern over all these threats that are taking place here in the
6:24 homeland as, in fact, growing threats and, of course, all this, continues as the war in Iran rages. I wanna bring in a member of congress for his take on the current
6:36 situation and, here to discuss this in Moore's congressman Randy Weber. He serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and also co chairs the bipartisan task force for combating
6:48 antisemitism. He represents the fourteenth congressional district of the great state of Texas. Congressman Weber, always great to see you, my friend. Welcome back to Washington Watch.
6:59 Well, thank you, Jody. We love what Washington Watch, what y'all are doing. Thank you.
7:04 Well, it's always great to have you. Alright. Let me get your your thoughts on all of this. Of course, we saw a couple of attacks yesterday. 1 against a synagogue in Michigan, the other at the Old Dominion
7:16 University in Virginia. I'd like to begin our conversation I can and get your reaction to, a comment made by Michigan governor Gretchen, Whitmer. She spoke at spoke
7:28 at the press earlier today, and says it was all an act of antisemitism. Let me play this clip and then get your reaction. Play clip 1 for me, please.
7:38 This was a school. These are 0 to 5 year olds that were targeted yesterday. This is not a political moment. This is not a political, debate. This
7:50 is targeting babies who are Jewish. That's antisemitism at its absolute worst.
7:57 Very clear words. I mean, this is just a sample of a growing threat against Jewish people, isn't it?
8:04 Well, there's there's absolutely no question about it. And, Jody, it's gone on for a lot longer than some people realize. And our Jewish friends have been targets for a long time, and we're seeing it get worse
8:16 and worse and worse. I'm glad that she recognized that. But, you know, here's part of our situation, Jody. Americans have not seen now they're they're wanting to fault president from for it's not a hand,
8:28 but declaration of war, right, against the the Iranian terrorists, right, that the IGRC that have killed more Americans and more other people, Jewish people, more
8:40 Israelis, starting way back in 19 83 if you wanna go that far back. And what a lot of people don't remember, Jody, and I was in the Texas legislature in 2009. On November the fifth
8:52 2009, major Nadal Hassan killed 13 soldiers in Fort Hood in Texas. 13 soldiers. This has been going on for
9:03 and he was with a pistol out shooting people and killing them and and hollering, Allah Akbar, Allah Akbar. This has gone on for a long time. We need to be paying attention, and this needs to be labeled
9:15 antisemitism and terrorism if it's not, you know, rolled into 1. This has got to stop American peep the Democrats have got to get off dead center and start funding, DHS. That
9:27 has lapsed, by the way, on Valentine's Day. And isn't it interesting that we're having a discussion today? Because this is Friday the thirteenth. This is unbelievable. Americans seem to be paying attention, and the
9:37 president's on track. Our great men and women that are fighting for us are on track. And those who are taking care of us at the airports, they're on track too. We've gotta keep them funded.
9:48 Yeah. And, you know, I'm glad you brought up with the with the Democrats because I I wanna get your thoughts on that. I mean, we've had that in Michigan. We've had the attack on Old Dominion University. Of course, the
9:58 FBI is leading that investigation and, calling it an act of terrorism. And, you know, at the same time, these are not just talking points for Republicans
10:10 to get DHS funded. This is a very serious real threat, and the Department of Homeland Security needs to be funded. I mean, this is a for real issue that we're watching, isn't it?
10:22 It really is. And right now, there's about 100000 of DHS employees that have gone without a paycheck now. And there's people who are having to quit, having to retire because they can't they can't afford to just work
10:33 without pay. And our Democrat friends, they wanna make Trump accountable for the problem. They wanna make him look bad, it sounds like. To me, maybe I'm naive, but I'm telling you what, he's standing up
10:45 for America. He's he's intent on knocking out the Iranian terrorist regime. He's doing a good job. I couldn't be more proud of him and our fighting men and women than I am right
10:57 now because it's gone on way too long. Again, major Nadal Hassan back in 2009, November the fifth, it was. He showed up he showed that ugly head of the snake way
11:09 back then. We should've been paying attention then. You're saying and you're also seeing instances where judges are letting terrorists out thinking they're somehow reform reformed. They're not gonna
11:21 be reformed when their intent is to kill Americans, so they spend 7 years in jail, whatever it might be. The sentences ought to be longer. They ought to be more harsher for any terrorism charge.
11:33 Yeah. And, you know, I always saw that at Old Dominion and, of course, many are saying it's a lone wolf actor or someone who's just acting on themselves. And and yet a bigger concern for sure is the potential
11:44 presence of sleeper cells. I mean, especially after what we just had under the Biden administration with wide open borders. Who knows how many, individuals are here as you describe,
11:56 intend harm for America. I mean, look at September eleventh. There are only 19 terrorists who do did that. How many in the world could be here now? So, I mean, this is a major
12:08 issue, isn't it?
12:10 It it it is, Jody. And Louie Gohmert, when he was in congress and I went down my first term to the border Texas border, thank god for governor Abbott, and the fact that the Texas legislator warrant to re secure the Texas
12:22 border, which is about 2 thirds of America's border, the 1900 and some odd miles of border with Mexico we have. But even then, there was terrorists coming across the border in 2013. Of course, when
12:34 Biden got that was under president Obama. Trump did as much as he could to try to begin to stop that. Then when when Biden got in office, of course, it was come 1, come all, and Americans are
12:46 paying the price. We have no idea who's in this country.
12:50 Well, as the old saying goes, they they first come after the Saturday people and then the Sunday people, and that would be That's right. Christians. And this is this is certainly seems to
13:02 be what is unfolding. And I mean, there's no doubt there's an increased hostility that's taking on against churches and Christians in general right now. Congressman Randy Weber, I
13:14 wanna thank you so much for joining us and for giving your insight as to what's happening.
13:20 Well, thank you. I'll keep sounding that clarion bell that America needs to wake up to this.
13:26 We certainly will. You keep the torch ablaze as well. Alright, friends. We've got a lot more coming your way here on Washington Watch, so don't go anywhere. After the break, we're gonna talk about
13:38 American universities that are literally receiving billions, billions of dollars from countries like China, countries like Qatar. And we don't even know what the schools may
13:50 be getting out of it. Should we be concerned about all of this? Well, we'll discuss it next. So stay with us. We'll be right back.
14:03 When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for 1 people To dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another,
14:10 And to assume among the powers of the earth
14:13 The separate and equal station to which the laws of nature
14:16 And of nature's god entitled them.
14:19 A decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes
14:24 which impel them to the separation.
14:26 We hold these truths to be self evident.
14:29 That all men are created equal.
14:31 That they're endowed by their creator.
14:33 With certain unalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
14:39 That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men.
14:43 Deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Happy 200 and fiftieth. Happy 200 and fiftieth.
14:51 Happy 200 and fiftieth.
14:53 Happy 200 and fiftieth birthday, America. May god bless America. You see, America has freedom for a purpose.
15:05 The question is, are we living by that purpose today? See, the founders understood we as a nation would be accountable to God for what he had granted to us.
15:17 They sought freedom for a purpose, and that freedom was given to us as a nation for that same purpose to serve God, to honor him, and to live as a people
15:29 under his authority.
15:32 At the 20 26 National Gathering for Prayer and Repentance in Washington DC, members of congress, state leaders, evangelical leaders, and intercessors from across the
15:43 nation united as 1 voice in prayer.
15:47 Heavenly father, thank you so much for this gathering. We do repent, and we ask for your continued favor and blessing over our nation even when we don't deserve it.
15:56 I thank you that because of the shed blood and the glorious righteousness of your son, Jesus Christ, a sinner such as myself can boldly approach your
16:07 throne. You said that you helped the humble, and we're asking just now that you would help
16:17 us, Lord.
16:29 We pray that you humble us, help us to follow after you with all our hearts so that we can see righteousness exalted in this nation and this nation restored to you. We know this is not by our power. It's not by our
16:40 might. It is by your spirit.
16:42 Freedom has a name. His name is Jesus. And freedom has a purpose. It is to honor and glorify you. We pray that we would return to that purpose. Amen.
Foreign Funding Undermining US Universities
17:03 Welcome back to Washington Watch. I am your Friday host, Jody Heise, and we thank you so much for joining us today. Alright. Yesterday, the senate committee on health,
17:15 education, labor, and pensions, which is also known as the HELP Committee, they held a hearing on exposing malign foreign influence in higher education.
17:27 And as the witnesses highlighted, we've been seeing countries like China and Qatar literally give billions of dollars in gifts and contracts to American universities, and it's not clear what
17:39 they're getting out of it. Play clip 7 for me, please.
17:43 We have some idea where the Qatar money has gone to. It has built a medical school in, Doha. It has also given money to MIT, to Harvard, Rutgers,
17:55 Stanford, UCLA, University of Chicago, University of Maine, Carnegie Mellon, Georgetown, and about 25 other American colleges and universities. Why? What is Qatar
18:07 getting for this? We really don't know and that's the question worth asking.
18:13 It sure is. Well, that was doctor Peter Wood. He's president of the National Association of Scholars testifying yesterday, and now he joins us to help unpack this issue
18:25 further. Doctor Wood, welcome to Wash and Watch. It's our honor to have you.
18:30 Well, thank you for having me, Jody.
18:34 Well, let's begin with this. There there may be some in our audience who may be asking, what is the concern with universities receiving gifts from foreign countries? How would you respond to that?
18:47 I would respond that if the countries are friendly to us and not engaged in mischief, there really is no concern at all. But if the country is an American adversary that
18:59 is known for stealing our stuff, that tries to propagandize our youth, who tries to undermine American institutions, then there is a problem. In the case of China,
19:11 all of that is well documented. China has been engaged in, disruptive activities in American higher education for a generation. It has also
19:23 made off with, stolen, a great deal intellectual property. China's economy booms partly on the basis of the fact that it's turned the United States into its research and development
19:35 office. Qatar is a more mysterious entity. They're not trying to build a first world economy there. Rather, they are engaged
19:48 in what I would call a kind of psychological manipulation of the United States. Some of what they do is seemingly pretty benign. They ask us to build a
20:00 medical school for them, and we do it. But at the same time, they're doing things like training Al Jazeera's journalists at, Northwestern University, or at least they were. So there
20:11 there's something amiss in this, relationship. And it's particularly amiss that we don't know. We can't really get answers to these questions. The universities that take the money will
20:23 not say how they're spending it or even how much it is. The law requires colleges and universities to divulge any gifts of 250000 dollars or more. But
20:35 for a generation, that law has gone unenforced. We get scraps of information now and then. But basically, this is a
20:47 situation in which the nation's enemies are able to make use of our openness. We like to be welcoming. We think of ourselves as a
21:00 nation that is with open arms taking in all comers, but some of those who accept that invitation mean to do us harm. There are even more mysterious things taking place.
21:12 My go to example is that 480000000 dollars came from the Isle of Guernsey in the English Channel to Yale University. Well, Guernsey with a population
21:24 of, under 70000 people is not giving out lavish gifts to 1 of the wealthiest universities in the world. So what is happening? Well, Guernsey is a cutout.
21:36 Someone else is giving Yale money, and that person or entity doesn't want its identity known. The Guernsey case is multiplied. There's other nations
21:48 like Bermuda that do similar things. So we're in a world now where American higher education, you know, tax exempt because it serves the interests of the American
22:00 people, is not serving the American people at least all the time. Some of the time, it is serving other nations that find it convenient to send their students here, to take our
22:12 research offshore, to find other ways to use the university to propagandize America, to, sort of give up on our core values.
22:23 Well, let me ask you this. And we've, unfortunately, only have a couple of minutes left. But, what what other issues came up during the hearing that Americans, especially,
22:35 those in our government, should take note of? What other things are kind of red flags?
22:42 Well, I think antisemitism is on that list. We know that Americans historically have not been especially antisemitic, but somehow since the atrocities
22:54 in Israel 2 years ago, the American college students have somehow founded in them to hate the Jews. That too is part of
23:06 this foreign influence operation that is working in our country. What else is going on? Well, I would say we have become dependent on the goodwill
23:18 of people that have very little goodwill for us. And that that goes into who we hire to teach, what textbooks we choose, what topics can be covered. If you go to college these days, you aren't
23:30 going to learn very much about, say, Taiwan or Tibet or the South China Sea or, the the Uighurs, the various places where human rights are
23:42 abused, organ harvesting, those topics are off the table. Why? Because the universities are getting too much money from China to rock the boat. So, those topics
23:53 get suppressed. The average college graduate knows nothing about them.
23:59 Stunning. We've got about 30 seconds. That's a real quick synopsis. What should the US do? How do we respond to this real quickly?
24:09 We need to pass laws that, make getting visas to come to the United States, subject to careful scrutiny by the state department. We need to make some hard
24:21 decisions about which countries we want to partner with and which we need to stay away from. Those are the 2 basic things we need to do.
24:31 Absolutely. There's gotta be accountability on this. It's frightening as you describe what, could potentially be taking place with, foreign countries that certainly are not our friends. Thank you, doctor Peter Wood,
24:42 president of the National Association of Scholars. Great to have you on the program with us today. Thank you. Thank you. Our friends, stay with us. Coming up, we'll discuss how the conflict with Iran is impacting
24:54 Christian churches in the Islamic Republic. So stay with us.
25:01 I think all people really need to have this type of education.
25:04 Well, I can tell you that it's been an amazing course period.
25:07 I think this course is a reminder that a biblical worldview should really impact everything. It impacts our government from the federal to the state to the local. It should impact what we're doing with our families and
25:19 with our work.
25:20 God and government is a video driven bible based training course from Family Research Council that explores the connection
25:28 between biblical principles and American government. In this 6 session video series, FRC president Tony Perkins equips participants with a practical understanding of
25:40 civil government from a biblical world view.
25:43 I would encourage all people to take it. I almost wish I would've took it earlier that I could've taught my kids this.
25:49 I wish I had known these things when we were homeschooling because I think children and my adults now would just greatly be influenced by that information.
25:56 So I'm an attorney and for me it gives me some direct practical knowledge of what I can do to try to impact my legal community to make better legislation, to
26:08 try to encourage legislators to make choices that have a biblical worldview, which is what we really want.
26:14 Any pastor would benefit from taking this course because we are dual citizens. Right? We are citizens of the kingdom of God, but we're also seated citizens of this great land and that that comes with responsibility. Even
26:25 as someone who has been involved in these types of issues for a while, you're learning little bits and pieces of new stuff all the time. But it's also approachable enough that newer people, younger people, high school,
26:35 college students, they can really glean something from this. So I would encourage everybody to take this course, whether it's the videos, whether it's doing it in person, bring your bible study group through it, bring
26:46 your homeschool group through it, and equip yourself for these challenging days ahead. View the course
26:51 at f r c dot o r g slash god and government
26:56 or on the stand firm app.
27:04 Welcome back to Washington Watch. I'm your Friday host, Jody Heise. Thank you so much for tuning in with us today. Alright. While Iran's official census claims
27:16 that 99.5 percent of the population there is Muslim, an independent survey that took place in 20 20, it found that only 40 percent ofShow more
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