US kills 11 in 3 strikes on alleged drug-running boats
The U.S. military conducted airstrikes on three vessels it says were operated by “designated terrorist organizations” and were engaged in narco-trafficking, U.S. Southern Command announced Tuesday. “Late on Feb. 16, at the direction of #SOUTHCOM commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted three lethal kinetic strikes on three vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations. Intelligence confirmed the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes and were engaged in narco-trafficking operations. Eleven male narco-terrorists were killed during these actions, 4 on the first vessel in the Eastern Pacific, 4 on the second vessel in the Eastern Pacific, and 3 on the third vessel in the Caribbean. No U.S. military forces were harmed,” SOUTHCOM said in a statement posted to X. This is a developing story. Check back soon for updates.
Iran signals nuclear progress in Geneva as Trump calls for full dismantlement
Negotiations between the United States and Iran advanced Tuesday toward what Tehran described as the beginning of a potential framework, but sharp public divisions between the two sides underscored how far apart they remain. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the two sides reached a “general agreement on a number of guiding principles” and agreed to begin drafting text for a possible agreement, with plans to exchange drafts and schedule a third round of talks. “Good progress was made compared to the previous meeting,” he said, adding that while drafting would slow the process, “at least the path has started.” Yet Washington publicly has insisted that any agreement must result in the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear program — including its enrichment capacity — along with limits on Tehran’s ballistic missile program and an end to its support for allied militant groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah. Those demands go well beyond temporary enrichment pauses or technical adjustments. ISRAELI OFFICIALS REPORTEDLY WARN IRAN’S BALLISTIC MISSILES COULD TRIGGER SOLO MILITARY ACTION AGAINST TEHRAN Iran Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei appeared to push back directly against that premise, signaling a firm ceiling on Iran’s concessions. “The Americans say, ‘Let’s negotiate over your nuclear energy, and the result of the negotiation is supposed to be that you do not have this energy!’” he wrote on social media as talks were underway. “If that’s the case, there is no room for negotiation.” Khamenei’s remarks suggest that while Iranian negotiators may be discussing limits or interim measures, Iran is unlikely to accept an agreement that eliminates its nuclear program outright — setting up a direct collision with the Trump administration’s insistence on dismantlement. “Progress was made, but there are still a lot of details to discuss,” according to a U.S. official. “The Iranians said they would come back in the next two weeks with detailed proposals to address some of the open gaps in our positions.” President Donald Trump said Monday he would be watching the talks closely. The mistrust runs deep. Iranian officials have pointed to U.S. military strikes on their nuclear facilities in June 2025 as part of the broader backdrop complicating diplomacy, arguing such actions demonstrate Washington’s willingness to use force even as negotiations unfold. VANCE WARNS IRAN THAT ‘ANOTHER OPTION ON THE TABLE’ IF NUCLEAR DEAL NOT REACHED Behind the diplomatic push, the United States has significantly expanded its military footprint in the region. The USS Abraham Lincoln is operating in the Arabian Sea, and F-35 fighter jets from the carrier shot down an Iranian Shahed-139 drone recently after it approached the strike group — a move U.S. officials described as demonstrating low tolerance for provocations. The USS Gerald R. Ford, the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, is now transiting toward the Middle East. President Trump confirmed the deployment on Feb. 13, saying, “In case we don’t make a deal, we’ll need it.” Reports indicate a third carrier, the USS George H.W. Bush, is being prepared for possible expedited deployment, which would create a rare three-carrier U.S. presence near Iranian waters. The buildup extends beyond naval forces. A squadron of F-35A Lightning II aircraft landed at RAF Lakenheath in the United Kingdom earlier in February as a staging point for potential deployment to the Middle East, while satellite imagery shows additional U.S. aircraft — including F-15E Strike Eagles and A-10 Thunderbolts — positioned at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan. Logistics flights into the region have also surged. More than 100 C-17 cargo aircraft have arrived since late January, transporting advanced air defense systems, including Patriot and THAAD batteries, to bases in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, according to defense tracking data. At the same time, Iran’s leadership has paired diplomatic engagement with forceful warnings. Khamenei said the United States could be “struck so hard that it cannot get up again,” and a senior commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy declared the country is prepared to close the Strait of Hormuz if ordered — a move that could disrupt roughly one-fifth of global oil flows through the strategic waterway. Despite the heightened rhetoric and military signaling, Iranian officials said talks would continue, framing the Geneva discussions as a step toward a possible agreement — even as the fundamental dispute over dismantlement versus preservation of Iran’s nuclear capabilities remains unresolved. Fox News’ Nick Kalman contributed to this report.
DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin to leave Trump admin, source confirms
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin is leaving the Trump administration, Fox News has confirmed. McLaughlin, one of the administration’s most vocal defenders of President Trump’s immigration enforcement policies, is set to leave the administration next week. She planned to leave as early as December but delayed her departure amid high-profile DHS incidents, including the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis last month. Politico was first to report that McLaughlin plans to depart DHS next week. McLaughlin also served in the first Trump administration at the Treasury Department under then-Secretary Steven Mnuchin and at the State Department on arms control issues. An Ohio native, McLaughlin previously served as political communications director for Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and as a senior adviser on Vivek Ramaswamy’s 2024 Republican presidential campaign, according to the DHS website. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Trump withholds endorsement in fiery GOP Senate primary as early voting begins in Texas
President Donald Trump says he’s not ready yet to take sides in the combustible Republican Senate primary in right-leaning Texas. “I just haven’t made a decision on that race yet,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday night as he returned to the nation’s capital from Florida. “I like all three of them.” Trump, whose comments came on the eve of the start of early voting in Texas ahead of the March 3 primary, was referring to longtime Republican Sen. John Cornyn, who’s seeking re-election, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and two-term Rep. Wesley Hunt, a West Point graduate who flew Apache helicopters during his Army service and who represents a solidly Republican district in the Houston area. Paxton and Hunt are challenging Cornyn in the state’s high-profile and divisive nomination race. “They’ve all supported me. They’re all good, and you’re supposed to pick one. So, we’ll see what happens, but I support all three,” Trump said. CORNYN TORCHES DEMOCRATIC FIELD AS HE SEEKS RE-ELECTION IN TEXAS Cornyn, who is backed by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), has been highlighting his Trump credentials, telling Fox News Digital late last year, “I get along well with the president. I’ve supported him during his first term, and now in his second term — I think the figure we came up with was 99.3% of the time. So I want the president to be successful and look forward to continuing to support him and his policies.” But Paxton, a MAGA firebrand and longtime Trump supporter, and Hunt, a rising star in the MAGA world, question Cornyn’s loyalty to Trump and depict him as a RINO, the acronym for “Republican in Name Only.” EARLY VOTING UNDERWAY IN TEXAS PRIMARY Meanwhile, the NRSC and establishment Republicans are raising concerns that if Paxton wins the primary, it could give Democrats a chance to flip the Senate seat in November’s general election, when the GOP will be defending its 53-47 majority in the chamber. They point to the slew of scandals and legal problems that have battered Paxton over the past decade, as well as the state attorney general’s ongoing messy divorce. The primary race is competitive, with many public opinion polls suggesting Paxton and Cornyn battling it out with Hunt in third place. Trump noted that the Senate GOP nomination battle in Texas has “got a ways to go.” That’s because the Republican nomination is likely to head to a May 27 runoff, which would only be averted if one of the three contenders tops 50% of the vote in the March primary. Trump’s latest thoughts on the Texas Republican Senate primary follow comments earlier this month when he told reporters he was “taking a serious look” at making an endorsement in the race, which he said would come soon. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a progressive champion and vocal Trump critic, and state Rep. James Talarico, a former middle school teacher and Presbyterian seminarian who, like Crockett, is also seen as a rising Democrat, are facing off for their party’s nomination.
Trump hammers AOC Munich stumbles as ‘not a good look for the United States’
President Donald Trump said the way Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez answered questions at the Munich Security Conference “was not a good look for the United States.” The Democratic lawmaker from New York and potential 2028 presidential candidate has been facing criticism for making foreign policy gaffes at the event. In one instance, Ocasio-Cortez appeared to stall for nearly 20 seconds when asked if the U.S. should send troops to defend Taiwan from a possible invasion by China, and in another, claimed Venezuela is below the equator. “By the way, I watched AOC answering questions in Munich. This was not a good look for the United States. I watched Gavin Newscum answering questions in Munich, and this was a bad look for our country,” Trump told reporters onboard Air Force One on Monday night. “This was a bad – these two people are incompetent, and at least Hillary is competent. She’s just Trump deranged. She was so deranged and she is an angry woman. But I watched the other two speaking and answering basic questions. Look, Gavin has destroyed California, and AOC I never really got her, I never heard her speak very much and they started answering questions. She had no idea what was happening,” Trump continued, referencing Newsom’s and Clinton’s attendance at the Munich Security Conference. RUBIO SHINES ON GLOBAL STAGE WHILE AOC, WHITMER, AND NEWSOM TAKE HEAT “She had no idea how to answer, you know, very important questions concerning the world. But she can’t answer questions concerning New York City either, because New York City [has] got some problems,” Trump also said about Ocasio-Cortez. Fox News Digital has reached out to Ocasio-Cortez’s and Newsom’s offices for reaction. Ocasio-Cortez was asked on Friday, “Would and should the U.S. actually commit U.S. troops to defend Taiwan if China were to move?” The four-term lawmaker appeared to stall for nearly 20 seconds before offering that the U.S. should try to avoid reaching a clash with China over Taiwan. AOC MOCKED FOR ‘ABSOLUTE TRAIN WRECK’ WEEKEND ON GLOBAL STAGE: ‘MADE A FOOL OUT OF HERSELF’ “This is, of course, a, a very long-standing, policy of the United States, and I think what we are hoping for is that we want to make sure that we never get to that point, and we want to make sure that we are moving in all of our economic research and our global positions to avoid any such confrontation and for that question to even arise,” Ocasio-Cortez said. Ocasio-Cortez also claimed that Venezuela was “below the equator” while criticizing the Trump administration for arresting the nation’s dictator Nicolás Maduro. “It is not a remark on who Maduro was as a leader. He canceled elections. He was an anti-democratic leader. That doesn’t mean that we can kidnap a head of state and engage in acts of war just because the nation is below the equator,” Ocasio-Cortez said. In a post on Truth Social Monday night, Trump said, “AOC and Newscum were an embarrassment to our Nation.” Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser, Lindsay Kornick and Peter Pinedo contributed to this report.
Election integrity groups press Supreme Court to require ballots by Election Day
FIRST ON FOX: A coalition of election integrity groups is urging the Supreme Court to uphold a lower court ruling that found federal law requires mail ballots to be received by Election Day. The conservative-leaning groups, including the Honest Elections Project and the Center for Election Confidence, filed an amicus brief on Tuesday supporting the Republican National Committee’s challenge to Mississippi’s postmark deadline. They argue that federal law establishing a single Election Day requires ballots to be in election officials’ hands by the close of polls. The case could determine whether similar postmark-based deadlines in 14 states remain valid ahead of the 2026 midterms. Supporters of the RNC’s position say a ruling affirming the lower court would establish a clear standard for when ballots must be received, though curtailing acceptance of late-arriving ballots would not guarantee that election officials won’t still be tabulating ballots in close races beyond Election Day. “Counting ballots that are received after Election Day unnecessarily damages public trust in election outcomes, delays results, and violates the law,” Jason Snead, Honest Elections Project executive director, told Fox News Digital in a statement. Others who signed onto the amicus brief included the American Legislative Exchange Council and Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections. SUPREME COURT SAYS ILLINOIS CONGRESSMAN CAN SUE OVER STATE MAIL-IN VOTING LAWS Oral arguments in the case, Watson v. Republican National Committee, are set for March 23, and a decision is expected by the summer. The case arose from a lawsuit brought by the RNC challenging Mississippi’s practice of counting mail ballots received up to five business days after Election Day if postmarked by that day. The RNC chose to bring the case in the Republican-friendly U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, which ruled in the RNC’s favor and found that federal law trumps the state’s deadline and requires ballots to be received by Election Day. At issue is whether statutes establishing a single Election Day mean that all ballots must be received by that day to be valid. The election integrity groups argued that under the Supreme Court’s decision from three decades ago in Foster v. Love, the “final act of selection” must occur on Election Day and that receipt of a mail-in ballot constitutes casting a ballot, which cannot happen after Election Day by that standard. Snead said a favorable ruling from the Supreme Court would “protect the rights of voters and the integrity of the democratic process, and ensure that it is easy to vote but hard to cheat in future elections.” The election integrity coalition argued that allowing ballots to arrive after Election Day can lead to delayed results and can chip away at voters’ confidence in elections. The groups also pointed to recent U.S. Postal Service guidance that warned that postmarks might not reliably reflect when a ballot entered the mail. HOUSE GOP MOVES TO REQUIRE PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP, PHOTO ID TO VOTE IN FEDERAL ELECTION Fourteen states and Washington, D.C., currently count ballots received after Election Day if postmarked on time. Since the 2024 midterm election, four Republican-controlled states, Kansas, Ohio, Utah and North Dakota, have moved to require receipt by Election Day. A ruling upholding the 5th Circuit could invalidate the laws in the 14 states and require ballots to be in election officials’ hands by the close of polls. The decision is expected to affect the 2026 midterms. Military and overseas ballots, which are governed by the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, would likely remain unaffected.
Texas early voting begins ahead of contentious March 3 primary elections
Early voting ahead of Texas’ March 3 primary contests runs from Tuesday, Feb. 17 through Friday, Feb. 27, according to the Texas secretary of state. The Lone Star State’s Republican and Democratic U.S. Senate primaries are being watched nationally, as the GOP seeks to cling to its majority in the chamber. Incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn is facing primary challengers, including notable figures like Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt. SHARIA LAW VICTIM WHO FLED SOMALIA ISSUES ENDORSEMENT IN CRITICAL SENATE RACE Cornyn has served in the U.S. Senate for more than two decades — he took office in late 2002. The top contenders in the Democratic primary are U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett and Texas state Rep. James Talarico. JASMINE CROCKETT’S VULGAR 6-WORD MESSAGE FOR TRUMP IN EPSTEIN PROBE “While people don’t know if their loved ones will come home because they’ve been disappeared by ICE or if there will be accountability for the despicable things in the Epstein files or if they will be choosing between rent, healthcare, or food… some would suggest let’s just do politics as usual… THAT is the exact thinking that got us here,” Crockett wrote in a Monday post on X. “Tomorrow is the first day of early voting, It’s time for the people to be heard, loudly & clearly!” she declared in the post. CROCKETT DISPUTES OPPONENT’S DENIAL OF ‘MEDIOCRE BLACK MAN’ COMMENT, CALLS OUT ‘WELL-INTENTIONED WHITE FOLK’ CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP If no candidate were to win a majority in a race, there would be primary runoff in May.
Trump task force racks up 500 arrests in January as president brands cartels ‘ISIS of the Western Hemisphere’
EXCLUSIVE: President Donald Trump’s joint Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) made more than 500 arrests in one month as the interagency operation conducted a “surge” of resources in January. HSTFs, joint operations of DHS’ Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the FBI that partner with other state and local agencies, were established via the president’s day-one executive order, “Protecting the American People Against Invasion.” “The President’s Homeland Security Task Forces are a landmark achievement that highlight what the federal government can achieve with a leader like President Trump who is willing to slash red tape, increase coordination, and put the safety of the American people first,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital. “The January HSTF Human Trafficking Surge made tremendous progress toward getting criminals off the streets and protecting victims,” she said, adding that HSTFs around the country continue similar work every day to fulfill Trump’s pledge to “Make America Safe Again.” TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TOUTS ‘MOST SECURE BORDER IN HISTORY’ AS 2.5 MILLION MIGRANTS EXIT US The January surge sought to stifle the presence of criminal cartels, foreign gangs and dismantle cross-border smuggling rings with a particular focus on crimes involving children as it utilized any and all available tools to enforce federal immigration laws. During HSTF’s 114 operations in January, 507 people were arrested — 231 facing federal charges and 276 facing state charges — and 16 federal indictments were secured. Authorities seized 1,109 pounds of narcotics, including heroin, fentanyl and meth, as well as six weapons caches. Fifty-two victims identified during the operations were provided about $491,000 in restitution. ICE REVEALS ‘WORST OF THE WORST’ ARRESTS IN JUST ONE DAY AFTER ROUNDING UP ‘THUGS’ CONVICTED OF VILE CRIMES A total of 257 victims were successfully identified, with 27 being children. The operation spanned the entire Lower 48, from Atlantic City to San Diego, and included Las Cruces, Raleigh, Miami, Buffalo, St. Paul, Wilmington, Delaware, Key West, and several border towns, including San Ysidro in California, Laredo in Texas, Nogales in Arizona, and Eagle Pass in Texas. Departments involved ranged in size from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel Police Department in Cape Charles, Virginia, to the Coast Guard and Border Patrol. In one case last week reported by the Coast Guard, its San Juan station worked with HSTF to apprehend a stowaway smuggler with 10 bales of cocaine in a Puerto Rico harbor. That cache weighed 790 pounds and had a street value of $5 million. “It should now be clear to the entire world that the cartels are the ISIS of the Western Hemisphere,” Trump said in christening the HSTF in October. Since its launch, HSTF has partnered with other agencies on several operations, including with the IRS and SDNY.
SCOOP: Hegseth orders removal of Army public affairs chief amid broader Pentagon purge
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth has ordered Army Secretary Dan Driscoll to remove Col. Dave Butler from his current job serving as chief of Army public affairs and chief advisor to Driscoll, who currently is in Geneva serving on the negotiating team to end the Ukraine war, Fox News has learned. Butler served as the head of public affairs for the Joint Chiefs when Gen. Mark Milley was chairman, and was slated to receive his first star. His name appeared for two years in a row on an Army list of 34 officers selected for promotion. That list has been held up by Hegseth for nearly four months because he reportedly has concerns about four to five officers selected by the Army board, but by law he cannot remove them from the list. Butler volunteered to take his name off the promotion list if it would help unlock the other promotions, according to an Army official. Driscoll, an Army veteran and close ally of Vice President JD Vance – he attended Yale Law School with the vice president – had resisted Hegseth’s pressure to fire Butler for months because of his ongoing contributions to the transformation of the Army. HEGSETH MOVES TO CENSURE SEN MARK KELLY, REVIEW HIS RETIREMENT RANK AND PAY OVER ‘SEDITIOUS VIDEO’ “We greatly appreciate COL Dave Butler’s lifetime of service in America’s Army and to our nation,” Driscoll said in a statement. “Dave has been an integral part of the Army’s transformation efforts and I sincerely wish him tremendous success in his upcoming retirement after 28 years of service.” Butler traveled with Driscoll to Ukraine in November 2025 to help jump-start negotiations. The demand by Hegseth came Thursday, Fox News has learned. Hegseth entered the Pentagon in 2025 and immediately began firing top officers or forcing them into early retirement without giving a reason or for cause: Adm. Lisa Franchetti, who was serving as chief of naval operations; Gen. CQ Brown, who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Gen. James Mingus, who was serving as vice chief of the Army; Gen. Douglas A. Sims, director of the Joint Staff; Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin; Gen. James Slife, vice chief of the Air Force; and Gen. Timothy Haugh, director of the National Security Agency, among others. The unexplained firings have led to fear, uncertainty and an unwillingness to speak up among senior military leaders. FIRED UNDER TRUMP, FORMER MILITARY OFFICERS LAUNCH DEMOCRATIC BIDS FOR CONGRESS One of the Army’s best communicators, Butler served alongside the nation’s tiered special operations units on countless missions overseas attached to the Army’s Delta Force from 2010 to 2014. He served as the public affairs officer to Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, from 2015 to 2018. He worked as the public affairs officer for Gen. Scott Miller when he was Joint Special Operations Command commander from 2016 to 2018, and then, at Miller’s request, served in Afghanistan when Miller deployed there from 2018 to 2019. Butler served as the chief spokesman and director of communications for all U.S. and NATO forces during that time that Miller served as the top four-star general in Afghanistan. A former four-star commander who once commanded U.S. Special Operations said Butler was “the consummate professional, the most competent Public Affairs officer I have ever worked with and a gifted practitioner of strategic communications.” During the Army’s 250th birthday celebrations in 2025, President Donald Trump recognized Butler by name for helping the Army chief to organize the parade in Washington, D.C.
Trump remembers Jesse Jackson as ‘good man,’ ‘force of nature’
President Donald Trump issued a Truth Social post on Tuesday, reflecting on Rev. Jesse Jackson in the wake of the 84-year-old civil rights leader’s death. Trump said he knew Jackson “well” and described him as “a good man.” “The Reverend Jesse Jackson is Dead at 84. I knew him well, long before becoming President. He was a good man, with lots of personality, grit, and “street smarts.” He was very gregarious – Someone who truly loved people!” the president said in the post. REV JESSE JACKSON, CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER AND RAINBOW PUSH FOUNDER, DIES AT 84 “Despite the fact that I am falsely and consistently called a Racist by the Scoundrels and Lunatics on the Radical Left, Democrats ALL, it was always my pleasure to help Jesse along the way,” Trump continued. “I provided office space for him and his Rainbow Coalition, for years, in the Trump Building at 40 Wall Street; Responded to his request for help in getting CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM passed and signed, when no other President would even try; Single handedly pushed and passed long term funding for Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs), which Jesse loved, but also, which other Presidents would not do; Responded to Jesse’s support for Opportunity Zones, the single most successful economic development package yet approved for Black business men/women, and much more,” the president added. “Jesse was a force of nature like few others before him. He had much to do with the Election, without acknowledgment or credit, of Barack Hussein Obama, a man who Jesse could not stand. He loved his family greatly, and to them I send my deepest sympathies and condolences. Jesse will be missed!” Trump concluded. Jackson’s family described him as a “servant leader.” ‘GODFATHER’ STAR ROBERT DUVALL DEAD AT 95 “Our father was a servant leader — not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world,” the family noted in a statement. “We shared him with the world, and in return, the world became part of our extended family. His unwavering belief in justice, equality, and love uplifted millions, and we ask you to honor his memory by continuing the fight for the values he lived by,” the statement said. Jackson had been suffering from Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, according to a Rainbow PUSH Coalition press release issued last year. REV JESSE JACKSON RELEASED FROM HOSPITAL AFTER TREATMENT FOR RARE BRAIN DISORDER CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “He has been managing this neurodegenerative condition for more than a decade. He was originally diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease; however, last April, his PSP conduction was confirmed,” the release noted.