UK blocks Trump from using RAF air bases for potential Iran attack: report
The United Kingdom is blocking the Trump administration from using its military air bases for a possible attack on Iran over concerns that a strike could violate international law. A report by The Times said the U.S. was drawing up a report to use Royal Air Force base Fairford in England, which is home to America’s fleet of heavy bombers in Europe. President Donald Trump reportedly spoke with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Tuesday about the plans. U.K. officials were reportedly worried that giving the United States permission to use the RAF bases for a military attack could breach international law, according to The Times. MORNING GLORY: WHAT WILL PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP DECIDE TO DO WITH IRAN? “Should Iran decide not to make a Deal, it may be necessary for the United States to use Diego Garcia, and the Airfield located in Fairford, in order to eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous Regime,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Wednesday. “An attack that would potentially be made on the United Kingdom, as well as other friendly countries. We will always be ready, willing, and able to fight for the U.K., but they have to remain strong in the face of Wokeism, and other problems put before them.” Trump has pressed for Tehran to make a deal with the U.S. over its nuclear program. “President Trump’s first instinct is always diplomacy, and he has been clear that the Iranian regime should make a deal,” a White House official told Fox News Digital. “Of course, the President ultimately has all options at his disposal, and he demonstrated with Operation Midnight Hammer and Operation Absolute Resolve that he means what he says.” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said the use of British military bases against Iran is a “necessity for an attack — it would be beyond surprising.” “The bottom line is the largest state sponsor of terrorism on the planet is the weakest it’s been because the people of Iran have risen up by the millions to end their oppression and the United States and Israel have delivered crushing blows to the regime’s military infrastructure,” Graham wrote on X. “To my friends in Britain, sitting this one out puts you on the wrong side of history and is yet another example of how much our alliances throughout Europe have degraded.” KHANNA AND MASSIE THREATEN TO FORCE A VOTE ON IRAN AS PROSPECT OF US ATTACK LOOMS On Thursday, Trump told reporters Iran has a maximum of 15 days to make a deal or “it’s going to be unfortunate for them.” Washington and Britain have been in a rift over the use of Britain’s air bases. Under the terms of long-standing agreements with Washington, the bases can only be used for military operations against third countries that have been agreed in advance with the government, according to The Times. On Wednesday, Trump withdrew his support for Starmer’s deal to hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. However, a deal would allow the U.K. to keep control of Diego Garcia and its strategically important air base. “Our relationship with the United Kingdom is a strong and powerful one, and it has been for many years, but Prime Minister Starmer is losing control of this important island by claims of entities never known of before. In our opinion, they are fictitious in nature,” Trump wrote Wednesday. “Prime Minister Starmer should not lose control, for any reason, of Diego Garcia, by entering a tenuous, at best, 100-year lease,” he added. “This land should not be taken away from the UK and, if it is allowed to be, it will be a blight on our great ally.” The U.S. uses Diego Garcia for bombers operating in the Middle East and Asia.
Trump directs release of government alien and UFO files to multiple federal agencies nationwide
President Donald Trump said he will direct the release of government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life and unidentified aerial phenomena, saying there is “tremendous interest” in the issue following remarks by former President Barack Obama. Trump said he would instruct War Secretary Pete Hegseth and other relevant departments and agencies to begin identifying and declassifying records tied to unidentified aerial phenomena, UFOs and potential extraterrestrial life, framing the move as a response to heightened public curiosity. “Based on the tremendous interest shown, I will be directing the Secretary of War, and other relevant Departments and Agencies, to begin the process of identifying and releasing Government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and unidentified flying objects (UFOs), and any and all other information connected to these highly complex, but extremely interesting and important, matters,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “GOD BLESS AMERICA!” Trump said aboard Air Force One that Obama revealed classified information by suggesting aliens are real, calling the remarks a “big mistake” and accusing Obama of disclosing secrets about possible non-human visitors to Earth. JD VANCE SAYS UFOS, ALIENS COULD BE ‘SPIRITUAL FORCES’ AS VP VOWS TO ‘GET TO THE BOTTOM’ OF MYSTERY IN SKIES Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked Trump about Obama’s claim during a gaggle aboard Air Force One, pressing the current sitting president on whether he has seen evidence of non-human visitors on Earth. “He gave classified information. He’s not supposed to be doing that,” Trump said. “I don’t know if they’re real or not. I can tell you, he gave classified information. He’s not supposed to be doing that – he made a big mistake. He took it out of classified information.” Former President Barack Obama appeared on Brian Tyler Cohen’s podcast Saturday, where he was asked point-blank whether aliens are real. “They’re real, but I haven’t seen them,” Obama said. The 44th president also dismissed the idea that extraterrestrials are being held at Nevada’s Area 51, saying there is no secret underground facility “unless there’s this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the president of the United States.” After his comments sparked buzz online, Obama sought to clarify his remarks on Instagram. TULSI GABBARD TELLS PODCASTER ALIENS MAY BE REAL: ‘WE’RE CONTINUING TO LOOK FOR THE TRUTH’ “I was trying to stick with the spirit of the speed round, but since it’s gotten attention, let me clarify,” he wrote. “Statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good there’s life out there. But the distances between solar systems are so great that the chances we’ve been visited by aliens are low, and I saw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us. Really!” Cohen also asked what Obama’s first question was after taking office, prompting another alien reference. “Uh, where are the aliens?” Obama joked. PILOT REPORTS UFO HOVERING BESIDE JET, LEAVING AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL STUNNED: ‘GOOD LUCK WITH THE ALIENS’ Saturday’s appearance was not the first time Obama addressed the topic. During a 2021 interview on “The Late Late Show with James Corden,” he said that after entering office, he looked into whether aliens were being studied in a secret lab and was told they were not. Still, Obama noted that officials are investigating aircraft exhibiting unusual flight patterns. “There is footage and records of objects in the skies that we don’t know exactly what they are,” he said. “We can’t explain how they moved, their trajectory. They did not have an easily explainable pattern. I think people still take seriously trying to investigate and figure out what that is.” UFO DOCUMENTARY PULLS BACK CURTAIN ON ‘PSYCHOLOGICAL OPERATION’ AFTER DECADES OF GOVERNMENT COVER-UP: EXPERT Doocy later asked President Joe Biden about Obama’s remarks, referencing unidentified aerial phenomena, or UAPs. “What do you think that it is?” Doocy asked. “I would ask (Obama) again,” Biden responded. Interest in UAPs has intensified in recent years, drawing attention from federal lawmakers and defense officials. Congress passed the Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Disclosure Act in 2023, and the Department of Defense established the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office to further examine such incidents. Fox News Digital’s Mike Sinkewicz contributed to this report.
Cornyn warns Paxton would be ‘kiss of death’ for GOP as bloody primary race ramps up
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, had a stark warning for Texans as he fights to keep his job in the Senate, saying a vote for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton could mean a Democrat wins the Lone Star State seat for the first time in three decades. “Ken Paxton will be the kiss of death for Republicans on the ticket in November of 2026,” Cornyn said. Cornyn made his comments as he crisscrossed the state in a mad dash to shore up support as early voting began in Texas earlier this week. He’s deadlocked in a battle for political survival in a grueling three-way primary with Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas. TRUMP WITHHOLDS ENDORSEMENT IN FIERY GOP SENATE PRIMARY AS EARLY VOTING BEGINS IN TEXAS Nick Maddux, an advisor for Paxton, fired back in a statement to Fox News Digital that the current Texas attorney general won his election by double digits in 2022, “and the same thing is going to happen in 2026, because Republican voters are fired up to go to the polls and support him.” Maddux charged that Cornyn “is the worst possible choice” for turning out “low-propensity, Trump-supporting America First voters.” “There’s a reason that he’s stuck in the mid-20s even after $70-plus million’s been lit on fire to help him instead of going to races in NC, MI, ME and GA,” Maddux contended. “Texas voters don’t like him, don’t trust him, and won’t show up to vote for him in November.” CORNYN TORCHES DEMOCRATIC FIELD AS HE SEEKS RE-ELECTION IN TEXAS With the March 3 primary election less than two weeks away, Cornyn wanted to remind voters that their decision could have direct consequences on the GOP’s grip in Texas. The last time a Democratic candidate won a statewide election in Texas, Cornyn noted, was in 1994. And on the opposite side of the playing field, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, and Texas state Rep. James Talarico are salivating at the chance to snatch the seat. “I think the attorney general, if he’s the nominee, could very well lose the seat,” Cornyn said. “But if he doesn’t lose the seat, he’s not going to win except by the hair of his chin. And, unfortunately, that will not help the down-ballot races.” EARLY VOTING UNDERWAY IN TEXAS PRIMARY Congressional Republicans hold a trifecta in Washington, D.C., which has been instrumental in advancing President Donald Trump’s agenda, particularly his marquee tax bill, the “big, beautiful bill.” But midterm elections often serve as a referendum against the sitting president, and though Republicans in the state redistricted last year to give GOP candidates a better chance come November, Cornyn believes a Paxton win in their three-way primary battle would have a negative trickle-down effect. Trump, however, has not yet endorsed a candidate in the contest, telling reporters earlier this week that he “liked all three of them.” “I know President Trump feels very strongly not only about Texas but also about the congressional races,” Cornyn said. “We’ve got five new congressional seats in Texas, and I know the president wants to carry the majority for the House into the midterms and beyond, because, as he said himself, if Democrats win the majority in the House of Representatives, they will impeach him for the third time.”
BJP to launch ‘Parivartan Yatra’ in West Bengal ahead assembly polls
Ahead of the upcoming assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is preparing to build momentum against the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal through a statewide outreach campaign titled “Parivartan Yatras”.
University of Texas regents approve limits on teaching “unnecessarily controversial subjects”
Opponents warned the policy’s vagueness could push professors to self-censor and leave students less prepared for the workplace.
Virginia Republicans charge ‘power grab’ as Democrat who backed redistricting runs for Congress
Virginia Republicans are taking aim at a Democratic state lawmaker who played a key role in pushing through congressional redistricting in the state and is now running for newly drawn U.S. House seat. After Virginia Delegate Dan Helmer launched a congressional campaign, some Republican leaders took aim at him for what they call a “power grab.” “I think it does look bad,” House Minority Leader Terry Kilgore told Fox News Digital, as he pointed to Helmer’s plan to run for Congress. “The whole process looks terrible, because all it is a power grab. We feel the optics are bad.” And the Virginia GOP, in a social media post, argued, “Democrats are so corrupt that they’re anointing nominees from the very people who drew the maps.” THE REDISTRICTING BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE RUNS THROUGH THIS STATE A 44-year-old U.S. Army veteran who served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Helmer on Wednesday launched a campaign for the Democratic nomination in Virginia’s newly drawn 7th Congressional District — one of four new left-leaning seats that would favor the Democrats if voters pass an April referendum to approve a constitutional amendment greenlighting mid-decade redistricting. VIRGINIA DEMOCRAT GIVES PROFANITY-LACED RESPONSE TO CRUZ’S CRITICISM OF THE STATE’S REDISTRICTING PUSH Helmer, who has served in Virginia’s House of Delegates since 2020 and is the House Democratic Caucus campaign chair, was one of the architects behind the push last autumn in the state legislature to draw the new map. Virginia is the latest battleground in the ongoing crucial battle between President Donald Trump and Republicans versus Democrats to alter congressional maps ahead of November’s elections. Republicans are defending their razor-thin House majority in the midterms, and Democrats need a net gain of just three seats to win back control of the chamber. That means the redistricting efforts in Virginia and other states may very well decide which party controls the House next year. Virginia Republicans had challenged the validity of the upcoming referendum, arguing that Democrats had erred procedurally when the legislature approved amendments to the state Constitution. And last month, a lower court ruled in the GOP’s favor. But a ruling late last week by the state Supreme Court OK’d the holding of the ballot measure, which asks voters to give the legislature, rather than Virginia’s current non-partisan commission, redistricting power through the 2030 election. Early voting on the referendum is scheduled to start on March 6. But last week’s ruling on the referendum doesn’t mean the legal challenges are over. Democrats are still defending their ability to redraw the maps, and the state Supreme Court may schedule arguments in that case. And separately, this week, the Republican National Committee led a new lawsuit to try and block the April referendum. Helmer, in a campaign launch video, touted his “successful efforts to take on and win against Donald Trump.” And he dismisses criticism from Republicans that his congressional bid is bad optics, noting that after redistricting passed through the legislature, he then recused himself from the process of redrawing the maps. But the Virginia GOP, pointing to Helmer’s two previous unsuccessful bids for Congress, argued the state lawmaker “is a career loser who had to rig the game to have any hope of winning a congressional seat after he lost TWO primaries in 2018 and 2024.” And Virginia Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle told Fox News Digital that the optics of “trying to gerrymander Virginia” are “not good.”
Trump says US contributing $10B to Board of Peace, Iran must reach nuclear deal or ‘bad things happen’
The U.S. is putting its money where its mouth is when it comes to the Board of Peace. President Donald Trump announced during the inaugural meeting of the board, that the U.S. was committing to contribute $10 billion to the board. “The Board of Peace is showing how a better future can be built, starting right here in this room,” Trump said on Thursday. “I want to let you know that the United States is going to make a contribution of $10 billion to the Board of Peace… and we’ve had great support for that number.” The president said that the contribution “sounds like a lot, but it’s a very small number” when compared to the cost of war. Trump estimated that the $10 billion commitment was equivalent to the cost of two weeks of fighting. “Together, we can achieve the dream of bringing lasting harmony to a region tortured by centuries of war, suffering and carnage,” Trump added, saying that he hoped it could serve as inspiration for other nations entangled in conflicts that seem unending. IRAN’S PRESIDENT STRIKES SOFTER TONE ON NUCLEAR TALKS AFTER TRUMP’S WARNING THAT ‘BAD THINGS WOULD HAPPEN’ The Board of Peace was set up as part of the Trump administration’s plans to end the Israel-Hamas war and to rebuild Gaza. Several countries have committed to joining the board, including Argentina, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Egypt, El Salvador, Hungary, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Morocco, Mongolia, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. While touting the significance of the board, Trump also encouraged more nations to join not just the initiative, but in a greater effort towards peace, singling out Iran in particular. “And now is the time for Iran to join us on a path that will complete what we’re doing. And if they join us, that’ll be great. If they don’t join us, that’ll be great too, but it will be a very different path,” Trump said. “They cannot continue to threaten the stability of the entire region, and they must make a deal.” TRUMP MEETS NETANYAHU, SAYS HE WANTS IRAN DEAL BUT REMINDS TEHRAN OF ‘MIDNIGHT HAMMER’ OPERATION The president warned that “bad things” would happen if Iran did not make a deal. “Iran is a hot spot right now. And they’re meeting and they have a good relationship with the representatives of Iran,” Trump said. “And, you know, good talks are being had. It’s proven to be over the years, not easy to make a meaningful deal with them. And we have to make a meaningful deal. Otherwise, bad things happen. But we have to make a meaningful deal.” Representatives of the U.S. and Iran recently participated in indirect nuclear talks in Oman, with both sides meeting with Omani foreign minister Badr al-Busaidi. Following the indirect talks, which he said were “very good,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that Iran wanted to make “a deal very badly.” “They know the consequences if they don’t make a deal. The consequences are very steep,” Trump told reporters earlier this month. Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi also expressed optimism after the indirect talks, which he said were “a good start.” “After a long period without dialogue, our viewpoints were conveyed, and our concerns were expressed. Our interests, the rights of the Iranian people, and all matters that needed to be stated were presented in a very positive atmosphere, and the other side’s views were also heard,” Araghchi said at the time. “It was a good start, but its continuation depends on consultations in our respective capitals and deciding on how to proceed,” he added. A top Iranian official was spotted in Oman just days after the indirect talks, though it was not immediately clear if he was there to discuss next steps in the negotiations. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Trump White House ballroom proposal gets approval by Commission of Fine Arts
The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts has officially fast-tracked the estimated $400 million proposal to build President Donald Trump‘s new White House East Wing ballroom Thursday. While Thursday’s session was originally intended only for design discussion, Chairman Rodney Mims Cook Jr. moved for an immediate final approval. “Our sitting president has actually designed a very beautiful structure,” Cook said before the vote. “The United States just should not be entertaining the world in tents.” Trump celebrated the vote in a Truth Social post later in the day. TRUMP UNVEILS NEW RENDERING OF SPRAWLING WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM PROJECT “The Commission of Fine Arts just approved, unanimously, 6 to 0, with one recusal because he had a conflict in that he worked professionally on the job, the White House Ballroom,” Trump said. “Great accolades were paid to the building’s beauty and scale. Thank you to the members of the Commission!” The project involves building the ballroom on the site where the East Wing once stood, following its October demolition. Six of the seven commissioners voted in favor. Commissioner James McCrery abstained, having served as the project’s architect. “This is an important thing to the president. It’s an important thing to the nation,” Fine Arts chairman Rodney Mims Cook Jr. said in the panel’s first public hearing on Trump’s proposal earlier this month. Administrations long before Trump’s complained about having to host State Dinners and major events in temporary structures. The old East Wing dining room had just a 200-seat capacity, according to the White House, making this expansion more than triple the seats and nearly double the square footage of the main White House structure. TRUMP SAYS IT ‘IS TOO LATE’ TO STOP THE WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM CONSTRUCTION AMID LAWSUIT The estimated $400 million project has faced criticism from Democrats, but Trump has vowed the funding to be private and the benefits to be immense. The National Trust for Historic Preservation had filed a federal lawsuit to halt construction. “We’re donating a $400 million ballroom, and we got sued not to build it – for 150 years they’ve wanted a ballroom,” Trump said in December. “And we’re giving them, myself and donors are giving them free of charge for nothing. We’re donating a building that’s approximately $400 million. “I think I’ll do it for less, but it’s 400. I should do it for less. I will do it for less, but just in case they say 400; otherwise, if I go $3 over, the press will say it costs more.” Despite Thursday’s approval, the project faces further review March 5 by the National Capital Planning Commission, led by a top White House aide. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Critics warned Trump’s deportations would spark bloodshed — progressive group reports police killings fell
One year after critics warned President Donald Trump’s mass deportation push would spark bloodshed in America’s largest sanctuary cities, new data from a leading progressive police-reform group shows police-involved killings actually declined — the first drop in five years. Lawmakers and activists from Los Angeles to New York predicted that Trump’s surge into largely sanctuary-city communities would lead to more violence against innocent residents, which recently reached a fever pitch with the shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis. However, data from progressive advocacy project Mapping Police Violence, a subsidiary of the Harlem-based Campaign Zero police reform group, found that police-involved killings actually went down in that timespan. In its police violence report for 2025, the 1,314 police-involved killings marked a decline for the first time in five years. NOEM DIGS AT AGITATORS, SANCTUARY POLITICIANS IN TOUTING ICE MISSION CONTINUES 1 YEAR INTO TRUMP’S SECOND TERM In 2024, that figure was 1,382, reportedly a record high, and in 2023, 1,362 people died at the hands of police, whether justified or otherwise. “If they are so violent, why did police kill 68 fewer people in 2025 than 2024? Certainly, that’s not what I expected to happen,” wrote columnist David Mastio in the Kansas City Star. “These facts complicate the political narrative that Trump has unleashed ‘violent and sometimes deadly tactics … by federal immigration officers in communities across the country’.” Mastio also pointed out that recent complaints from the left about an uptick in police-involved violence since George Floyd’s death in the Twin Cities left out the detail that any increase would have occurred under a Democratic administration in Washington. During the immigration enforcement surge in Los Angeles, Sen. Alex Padilla told PBS that the situation is a “crisis of Trump’s own making” and voiced concern over the repercussions of any violence. Padilla, D-Calif., famously appeared to try to accost Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem when he barged into a press conference during the surge — a claim the senator denied after he was briefly detained by security. FEDERAL IMMIGRATION OFFICIALS PRIVATELY FUME OVER DHS CLAIMS AFTER DEADLY MINNESOTA SHOOTING Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a statement during the height of the Minneapolis surge that people were being “racially profiled, harassed, terrorized, and assaulted. Schools have gone into lockdown.” “Minneapolis didn’t ask for this operation, but we’re paying the price,” claimed Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her expressed concerns that violence indeed would increase against innocent people as DHS honed in on his metro region. “Our residents are scared, and as local officials, we have a responsibility to act. Today we’re standing side by side with Minneapolis and the attorney general to fight back,” Her said. In his column, Mastio noted that the latest figures come from an “unimpeachable ‘defund-the-police’ source” that would not “gift” credible data to its ideological opponents. Meanwhile, DHS has routinely highlighted data showing that it is violence against law enforcement that is up. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin recently told Fox News Digital of a four-figure percentage increase in threats against ICE and federal immigration officers. “Our ICE law enforcement officers are now facing an 8,000% increase in death threats against them and a more than 1,300% increase in assaults against them while they risk their lives every single day to remove murderers, pedophiles, rapists, terrorists, and gang members from American neighborhoods,” McLaughlin said. “Make no mistake, threatening rhetoric and this unprecedented violence against our law enforcement is incited by sanctuary politicians through their repeated vilification and demonization of law enforcement.”
Trump praises ‘magnificent’ B-2 bombers that struck Iran in 2025
NewsFeed Speaking at the inaugural “Board of Peace” meeting, Donald Trump praised the “magnificent” B-2 bombers that “totally decimated the nuclear potential” of Iran last summer, saying they helped bring peace to the Middle East for the first time in 3,000 years. Published On 19 Feb 202619 Feb 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Adblock test (Why?)