The US launched preemptive strikes against Iran after learning Israel was about to attack " and American troops in the region faced an imminent threat of retaliation, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday. Rubio made the revelation on Capitol Hill, where he briefed a small group of congressional leaders on the joint US-Israel offensive. 'There absolutely was an imminent threat,' Rubio stated. 'And the imminent threat was that we knew that if Iran was attacked, and we believed they would be attacked, that they would immediately come after us, and we were not going to sit there and absorb a blow before we responded.' Read more
Washington " A federal appeals court on Monday declined to delay implementation of the Supreme Court ruling that invalidated most of President Trump's tariffs, allowing next steps in processing of tariff refunds to begin swiftly, following the high court's decision last month.
The decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit clears the way for the lower court, the U.S. Court of International Trade, to begin the process of crafting relief for the small businesses that successfully challenged Mr. Trump's global tariffs.
As of 4 pm ET, March 2, six U.S. service members have been killed in action. U.S. forces recently recovered the remains of two previously unaccounted for service members from a facility that was struck during Iran's initial attacks in the region. Read more
A former Russian senator who appeared in the Jeffrey Epstein files and reportedly called Ghislaine Maxwell a "friend" has been found dead in Moscow, Russian state media has reported. Umar Dzhabrailov, 67, was discovered in a residential complex in the center of the capital on Monday with a gun next to him after what unnamed law enforcement agencies called a "suicide," TASS reported.
OpEd: The Justice Department filed an emergency motion to the 6th District Court that was rife with basic spelling errors, including spelling voters as "votors," United States as "United Staes," and emergency as "emeregency."
Latest numbers show 80+% Of men have registered with Selective Service....
A new poll from Emerson College shows that Texas state Rep. James Talarico (D) and state Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) have single-digit leads in their respective Texas Senate primary races.
The survey, released Sunday, found that 52 percent of likely Democratic primary voters backed Talarico, while 47 percent backed Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D).
Paxton, meanwhile, received support from four in 10 likely GOP primary voters, with Cornyn garnering support from 36 percent of voters and 17 percent backing Rep. Wesley Hunt (R).
Both results are within the margin of error.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth bizarrely claimed in a live Pentagon address that the U.S. did not "start" the war with Iran. Hegseth, in his platitude-filled broadcast message on Monday morning, said Iran has carried out attacks for decades in a "one-sided war against America," without offering much in the way of specifics. "We didn't start this war, but under President Trump, we are finishing it," the former Fox News host added. Elsewhere in the communique, he said the goal of the so-called "Operation Epic Fury" was not regime change, even though the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini was killed in an early strike. "This is not a so-called regime change war, but the regime sure did change and the world is better off for it," Hegseth crowed.
First Lady Melania Trump is slated to chair a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, March 2, an appearance that was announced last week before the United States launched its war against Iran. Her office said the former model would "make history at the United Nations, taking the gavel as the United States assumes the Security Council Presidency to emphasize education's role in advancing tolerance and world peace." Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, confirmed Melania's event would mark the first time a first lady " or first gentleman " has presided over a Security Council meeting. The US will hold the Council's rotating presidency in March. President Donald Trump's third wife has dabbled in diplomacy before, notably working to try to secure the release of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.
The "big wave" is yet to come in the war with Iran, US President Donald Trump told CNN on Monday. "We haven't even started hitting them hard. The big wave hasn't even happened. The big one is coming soon," said the US leader. His statement comes after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said there were currently no American troops on the ground in Iran, but left the option open, saying "we'll go as far as we need".
Shoppers in upstate New York earlier this month turned up a rare find while perusing a local antique store this month: tucked next to a cookie jar made in the shape of a chicken was a live owl resting peacefully on a shelf.
Glenn Greenwald: For decades, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and American neoconservatives have dreamed of only one foreign policy goal: having the United States fight a regime-change war against Iran. With the Oval Office occupied by Donald Trump " who campaigned for a full decade on a vow to end regime-change wars and vanquish neoconservatism " their goal has finally been realized.
Police Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch announced that the NYPD delivered the safest January ever for gun violence, with the fewest shooting incidents and shooting victims in recorded history. Manhattan and Staten Island went the entire month of January without a single murder.
Jessica Tisch Doing Great for New Yorkers
Under a new policy released Thursday, the Trump Administration will test conversion therapy on trans people in prisons. It explicitly states that it aims to help trans people "recover," all the while forcibly detransitioning them both medically and socially.
Russian President Vladimir Putin may have lost another close ally after the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but an oil shock from conflict in Middle East spells potential good news for his war chest. The U.S.-Israeli war against Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway giving access to the Persian Gulf and one of the world's key chokepoints for tankers carrying oil and liquefied natural gas. That is firing speculation that global crude prices could spike dramatically, boosting Russian revenues. "$100+ oil per barrel soon," Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev gloated on X Saturday evening. The current price of Brent crude is about $73 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate trades at about $67.
The U.S. military said on Monday that Kuwait "mistakenly shot down" thee American F-15E Strike Eagles during a combat mission as Iran attacked the country. The U.S. military's Central Command said the combat included attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles and drones -- the first time Iran's aging combat fleet has been engaged in the war. "The U.S. Air Force fighter jets were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses," it said. "All six aircrew ejected safely, have been safely recovered, and are in stable condition. Kuwait has acknowledged this incident, and we are grateful for the efforts of the Kuwaiti defense forces and their support in this ongoing operation."
