Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth delivered a speech Monday outlining the objectives of Operation Epic Fury, a large-scale U.S. and Israeli military campaign against Iran launched under President Trump's orders. Hegseth described the operation's goals as destroying Iran's offensive missile capabilities, missile production, naval forces, and security infrastructure, while permanently preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons. He emphasized the mission is not aimed at regime change, nation-building, or establishing democracy, and rejected comparisons to prolonged conflicts like the Iraq War. Hegseth also referenced a prior operation, Operation Midnight Hammer, which he said destroyed Iran's nuclear program, and stated that Iran's refusal to negotiate a deal afterward prompted the current campaign.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a stark warning at a Pentagon press conference, declaring that any group threatening or killing Americans would be "hunted down without apology and without hesitation" by the U.S. The statement came 48 hours after U.S.-Israeli strikes killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior Iranian officials, prompting Iranian counterattacks that killed nine people near Jerusalem and injured 28. The conflict has since escalated across multiple fronts, with Iran and allied groups firing missiles at Israel, Arab states, and U.S. military targets, while Kuwait mistakenly shot down three American warplanes. The widening war has already disrupted global air travel, driven up oil prices, and drawn pledges of support from U.S. allies.
Amid the Trump administration's expanded immigration enforcement, immigrant mothers and mothers partnered with undocumented immigrants across the United States are having difficult conversations with their children about how to respond to ICE encounters. These discussions — which include memorizing addresses, recording interactions, and staying silent with law enforcement — mirror the "Talk" that Black parents have long had with their children about police, and carry significant emotional and psychological burdens for both mothers and children. Research indicates that while practical safety directives can be beneficial, repeated exposure to immigration enforcement is linked to psychological distress and poor health outcomes in children. Many of these mothers report feeling ill-equipped, isolated, and grieved that their children must confront adult fears at an early age.
Middle Chuch in Manhattan's East Village held its second "ICE Out, Sing-In" service on February 26, drawing hundreds of attendees who were trained to use song as a form of non-violent protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The event, organized in coordination with the national network Interfaith Alliance and faith groups in Minneapolis, featured civil rights-era hymns and activist music performed by gospel and resistance choirs. The Singing Resistance movement began approximately six weeks ago in Minneapolis, where participants sang outside hotels housing ICE agents, and has since spread to churches and marches in other cities including New York.
A Minneapolis father describes the impact of intensified ICE enforcement operations on his family and community, following the January 7 shooting death of Renee Good by an immigration agent and a subsequent incident in which ICE agents deployed chemical irritants outside Roosevelt High School during student dismissal. The author details the emotional toll of explaining these events to his young children, alongside broader community disruptions including school closures, declining attendance, lockdowns, and families too fearful to leave their homes. He describes neighbors organizing mutual aid, standing guard outside schools, and using encrypted communications, while noting that the trauma extends beyond immigrant families to all residents of the city. The piece concludes with a partial drawdown announcement from border czar Tom Homan, though the author expresses skepticism and calls for continued community solidarity.
U.S. military strikes against Iran, which began on February 28 and killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have reignited a congressional debate over war powers authority. Bipartisan resolutions in both chambers seek to invoke the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which requires the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of military action and terminate operations within 60 days without congressional approval. While a House and Senate vote on the measures was expected as early as March 4, passage faces long odds, as Republican-controlled chambers have generally declined to limit Trump's war powers and no war powers resolution veto has ever been overridden. Notably, the Trump administration did brief the congressional "Gang of Eight" ahead of the February 28 strikes, a departure from its previous practice during earlier military actions.
The U.S. and Israel launched joint military strikes against Iran on February 28, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and resulting in over 200 deaths, according to Iranian media. President Trump justified the attacks by claiming Iran was close to developing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States. However, national security analysts dispute these claims, with experts noting that U.S. airstrikes last summer destroyed Iran's major nuclear enrichment facilities and that recent intelligence assessments placed Iran as far as 10 years away from developing a missile capable of striking the U.S. Analysts also expressed doubt that the strikes would trigger the popular uprising against the Iranian government that Trump called for.
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a response with the Court of International Trade (CIT) opposing requests to expedite the tariff refund process related to IEEPA tariffs, arguing the court should wait at least 90 days — following a standard 32-day Supreme Court judgment transmission period — before ruling on refund administration. Notably, the DOJ did not dispute the existence of a refund process, only the accelerated timeline. Retailers who have paid significant import duties are advised to register with the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) portal, the U.S. Customs system through which any approved refunds would be distributed, to avoid delays if and when refunds are processed.
Following a Supreme Court ruling striking down certain tariffs, President Trump has implemented temporary tariffs as a bridge measure, with trade experts warning they will likely revert to higher levels within 150 days once Section 301 investigations conclude. Experts indicate the administration intends to continue pursuing high tariffs through various legal authorities, including Sections 301 and 232, maintaining ongoing uncertainty around trade deals, tax revenue, and refunds. U.S. Ag Trade Negotiator Julie Callahan defended the tariff strategy, arguing that reciprocal tariffs have opened previously closed markets for American agricultural products including meats, dairy, crops, and biofuels.
The U.S. and Israel have launched military strikes on hundreds of targets in Iran, including air defense systems, missile launchers, and command centers, resulting in the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran has retaliated with missile and drone strikes against Gulf states hosting U.S. military bases, including Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and the UAE, killing three American service members and disrupting regional infrastructure including Dubai's airport and Saudi oil facilities. A new front has opened in Lebanon, where Israel launched airstrikes killing over 30 people after Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel. President Trump indicated combat operations could last four to five weeks, while also signaling openness to diplomacy with Iran's emerging leadership.
In a opinion piece published in the Missoula Current, Doug James criticizes Montana Senator Steve Daines for his silence during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in which Trump nominee Jeremy Carl made statements comparing the treatment of January 6 rioters to Black Americans under Jim Crow, and has a history of making antisemitic remarks and invoking "great replacement theory." James argues that Daines, who introduced Carl at the hearing by noting their shared hometown of Bozeman, failed in his moral responsibility by not publicly condemning Carl's rhetoric. The author contends that Daines' silence constituted implicit endorsement, writing that "silence is not neutrality — silence is shelter."
The ACLU argues that state laws claiming to "save women's sports" by banning transgender athletes do not address the real issues facing women in sports, such as pay inequality, underfunding, and harassment. The organization is representing 15-year-old transgender athlete Becky Pepper-Jackson in a case before the Supreme Court, challenging West Virginia's ban under Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. The ACLU contends that transgender girls who undergo medical interventions like puberty blockers and hormone therapy do not hold the physiological advantages that proponents of such bans claim, and that excluding transgender athletes sets a broader precedent for discrimination beyond sports. President Trump's executive order threatening to pull federal funding from schools that allow transgender girls to compete is also cited as a misuse of Title IX.
