A historian and national security specialist was skeptical Monday of Secretary of State Marco Rubio's first public comments defending the Trump administration's decision to launch strikes against Iran.
CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen expressed doubt about Rubio's argument of an "imminent threat" and what could happen next in the war with Iran, which has left six American service members dead.
"I mean, the Israelis and the United States are very closely allied. And their operations, as we've seen just now, are very closely integrated," Bergen added. "And Netanyahu has been in D.C., repeatedly. We've been moving massive amounts of military assets into the region since January, so I just find that kind of an implausible rationale."
Republicans on the House Oversight Committee released video on Monday of the nearly five-hour deposition of former President Bill Clinton about his relationship with the disgraced financier and convicted sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein.
The interview happened about four days after former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified before the committee.
Here are five stand-out moments from the interview.
'I did nothing wrong'
In his opening statement, Clinton forcefully denied doing anything wrong throughout his relationship with Epstein.
"No matter how many photos you show me, I have two things that at the end of the day matter more than your interpretation of those 20-year-old photos," he said. "I know what I saw, and more importantly, what I didn't see. I know what I did, and more importantly, what I didn't do. I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong."
Clinton laughed at assertions that he was subject to a 'honey pot'
One of the Republicans showed Clinton a copy of a passport released by the Department of Justice that appears to show Epstein under a different alias.
A Republican on the committee posited that she believed Epstein was an "intelligence agent" and that Clinton may have been targeted in a "honey pot" operation to extract intelligence. The term "honey pot" refers to using intimate or sexual favors to coerce someone into giving up intelligence information.
Clinton laughed at the assertion.
Revealed Trump claimed falling out with Epstein was over land deal
Clinton also volunteered information about a falling out between President Donald Trump and Epstein in the early 2000s.
Clinton said Trump and Epstein were friends for a time, but stopped talking after a land deal fell apart.
Forcibly denied speaking to Epstein about matters outside of The Clinton Foundation
During one back-and-forth with a House Republican, Clinton denied ever speaking to Epstein about matters that didn't relate to The Clinton Foundation.
When asked if he ever spoke to Epstein about young girls, the former president replied forcefully, "No."
Undercut claim by late Epstein survivor
Clinton also undercut a claim made by the late Epstein survivor, Virginia Giuffre.
Giuffre claimed in previous testimony that she saw Clinton on Epstein's infamous island in St. James. Clinton said that assertion is not true.
The Hennepin County, Minnesota, district attorney is investigating Trump Border Patrol enforcer Greg Bovino and 16 other federal agents for "unlawful conduct."
According to The Minnesota Star Tribune, "The decision to create the project also rose from an alleged lack of investigative effort from local law enforcement into the actions of federal agents."
Per an email obtained by the Tribune, District Attorney Mary Moriarty, whose county includes Minneapolis, "alerted the Hennepin County Chiefs of Police Association shortly before announcing the project’s formation. The email said Moriarty met with the chiefs a month ago to discuss 'how to respond to federal law enforcement actions in our community' and that Moriarty had 'grown concerned about the lack of investigation into some of the more high-profile incidents' involving federal agents."
The Trump administration made clear it had no interest in investigating the incidents that led to the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, other than to possibly investigate the victims' ties to radical groups.
After weeks of crackdowns and protests that led to a national outcry, the Trump administration reassigned Bovino back to his original position in California, allowing White House border czar Tom Homan to take control of the situation.
Ultimately, the administration backed down and ended the surge.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) said he was "baffled" Monday that his Senate colleagues weren't supporting President Donald Trump's decision to begin military strikes in Iran — and Democrats were furious at his comments.
The Pennsylvania Democrat's loyalty has increasingly been called into question as he has shown he was breaking with Democrats over the war in Iran, Politico reported.
"Every member in the U.S. Senate agrees we cannot allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon. I’m baffled why so many are unwilling to support the only action to achieve that. Empty sloganeering vs. commitment to global security — which is it?" Fetterman wrote on X.
Other Democrats and commentators had strong responses to Fetterman's statement.
“Well, John Fetterman knows better,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told CNN. “Article I of the Constitution explicitly provides Congress with the authority to declare war. Period, full stop.”
"A man who has never seen war and never will, cheering this on from a comfortable perch in Washington. Every Senator who fails to stop this war should lose their seat, starting with @SenSusanCollins and @SenFettermanPA," Democratic Senate candidate and veteran Graham Platner wrote on X.
"Any politician who votes to start another endless war in the Middle East should lose their seat in 2026," California state congressional candidate and co-founder of Justice Democrats Saikat Chakrabarti wrote on X.
"'The only action?' Bombing a school and slaughtering young children is 'the only action?' The President committing acts of war without Congressional approval and lying to the American people is 'the only action?' Deploying our loved ones into another forever war is 'the only action?' Resign," Charles Booker, Kentucky Senate candidate and former Kentucky state representative, wrote on X.
"You sure did fool us all," media and communications specialist Louw Breytenbach wrote on X.
"The only action? 1) Iran was not working on a nuclear weapon, as confirmed by US intelligence. 2) There was a nuclear agreement with Iran that was keeping its enrichment levels low. Trump left that agreement, and then Iran responded by increasing enrichment. Every sabotage and attack since has caused Iran to increase enrichment further. 3) Military strikes to stop the program worked so well that after 'obliterating' their nuclear program eight months ago, we are already concerned about it again. You are a warmonger. It is that simple," Navy veteran and independent writer Jared Ryan Sears wrote on X.
The United States Central Command announced that the death toll of service members in Operation Epic Fury had risen to six as of Monday afternoon.
"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," CENTCOM said in a statement. "Major combat operations continue. The identities of the fallen are being withheld until 24 hours after next of kin notification."
On Sunday, President Donald Trump addressed the first three deaths in the operation, noting that more were expected.
"We expect casualties with something like this," Trump told NBC at the time. "We have three, but we expect casualties - but in the end it's going to be a great deal for the world."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio argued Monday that the U.S. faced a significant and "imminent threat" that prompted strikes in Iran.
Reporters asked Rubio in Washington, D.C., whether Congress was notified about the national security threats, and Rubio said he told the "gang of eight" leaders that strikes were coming.
"There absolutely was an imminent threat," Rubio said Monday afternoon.
He claimed that the Iranian military was growing its nuclear weapons program and planning to launch attacks against America and its allies in the region. In the days since, Rubio said Iran has attacked civilian areas in the Middle East in retaliatory strikes since the attacks started Saturday.
"We would love to see this regime be replaced. And ultimately, as the president has said, he would love for the people of Iran to use this as an opportunity to rise up and remove these leaders," Rubio said. "They've been wanting to remove them for a long time, we've seen successive waves of protests and we've seen them slaughter people. But the objective of this mission is to make sure they don't have these weapons that can threaten us and our allies in the region. That's why we're doing what we're doing now."
"And while we would love to see a new regime. The bottom line is no matter who governs that country, a year from now, they're not going to have these ballistic missiles and they're not going to have these drones to threaten us.
Rubio said he knew that oil prices would be impacted as a result of the strikes and that the Trump administration was aiming to mitigate against that.
"They are a terroristic regime," Rubio said. "They sponsor terrorism and they participate in terrorism."
He did not know how long the conflict would last.
"The hardest hits are yet to come from the US military," Rubio said. "The next phase will be even more punishing than it is right now."
Rubio: “No presidential administration has ever accepted the War Powers Act as constitutional…We've complied with the law 100%.” pic.twitter.com/ewfIuHBKod — The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) March 2, 2026
President Donald Trump spent much of his first year in office in an all-out war against solar power, even going so far as to change regulations so that renewable energy faces vastly more permitting. But now, many prominent MAGA voices are beginning to enthusiastically promote solar development.
The reason for the shift is simple, The Washington Post reported on Monday: artificial intelligence.
One of the most notable figures in Trump's orbit to be touting the benefits of solar power is Katie Miller, the wife of Trump's infamous anti-immigrant strategist Stephen Miller.
"'Solar energy is the energy of the future,' Katie Miller posted recently. 'Giant fusion reactor up there in the sky — we must rapidly expand solar to compete with China.' Another of her posts suggested solar is more vital to the U.S. than coal power, contradicting White House messaging and policy."
Nor is Miller alone, noted the report, as "a growing number of prominent Trump allies — including former House speaker Newt Gingrich, veteran strategist Kellyanne Conway and GOP pollster Tony Fabrizio — are promoting solar as electricity demand surges and energy affordability climbs the list of voter concerns."
Perhaps nowhere is this starker than Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who previously called solar power a "parasite" on the power grid, but last week, while speaking with reporters, said, “Is there a commercial role for solar power that can add to the grid affordable, reliable energy? Certainly there is.”
It isn't a newfound attention to climate change driving the shift, the report said — rather, the big change that has happened over the last year is "a realization taking hold more broadly among Republicans that solar power — long embraced by liberals — is increasingly indispensable to America’s bid to dominate AI, close a yawning 'electron gap' with China and contain runaway residential electricity costs. These conservatives describe it as crucial to U.S. competitiveness, the grid’s reliability and their own movement’s political survival."
It also comes as communities all over America that voted for Trump begin to rise up against the construction of AI data centers near them, driven by a fear that these facilities will consume all the local energy and drive up people's power bills. Trump himself responded to these concerns in his State of the Union Address, promising he would push technology companies to generate all their power onsite — a plan experts have said is just not that simple.
Montana's Rep. Ryan Zinke is hanging up his congressional hat, announcing Monday he won't seek reelection in what's shaping up to be a major shake-up for House Republicans.
The former Interior secretary blamed health woes for his exit, revealing he's been through "multiple surgeries" since returning to Congress in 2023 to repair injuries from his Navy SEAL days, Politico reported.
“The injuries sustained from a career in Special Operations are not immediately life threatening, but the repair cannot be deferred any longer and recovery will require considerable time with Lola and the family,” Zinke said in the letter. “My judgement and experience tell me it is better for Montana and America to have full-time representation in Congress than run the risk of uncertain absence and missed votes.”
Zinke's departure marks another House GOP retirement as Republicans brace for the midterms with their razor-thin majority. His decision to wait until next year to leave town is being seen as a lifeline for Republican leadership trying to keep the ship steady.
However, Montana's 1st District just became a potential Democratic pickup opportunity. Party operatives had already been circling the district before Zinke's announcement.
First lady Melania Trump told the United Nations that she hoped the children of the world could experience "peace" just days after her husband, the president of the United States, was said to have bombed an Iranian girls' school because of outdated maps.
While presiding over the UN Security Council on Monday, Melania Trump made a statement in her "capacity as first lady of the United States."
"First, my heartfelt condolences to the families who have lost their heroes, who sacrifice their lives for freedom," she said without referring specifically to the conflict in Iran. "Their bravery and dedication will always be remembered. I extend my earnest wishes for a swift and smooth recovery to all those who have been injured."
"You are in my thoughts and prayers during these challenging times," she continued. "The U.S. stands with all of the children throughout the world. I hope soon peace will be yours."
According to The New Republic, at least 175 people were killed on Saturday when the U.S. bombed Shajarah Tayyebeh, a girls' primary school in Minab, Iran.
Internal documents reviewed by The Washington Post reveal the Trump administration's sweeping effort to scrub America's parks of inconvenient truths, from slavery to civil rights to climate science.
The submissions paint a picture of park rangers scrambling to comply with orders to remove content deemed "disparaging" to America. At Cape Hatteras, officials flagged a brochure mentioning aviator Samuel Langley's failed flight attempts. At Glen Canyon, staff questioned whether condor conservation displays might offend hunters.
Park officials flagged slavery autobiographies at Ford's Theatre, exhibits about segregation at historic civil rights sites, and even books about Thomas Jefferson's children with Sally Hemings at his memorial. A Junior Ranger booklet at Arlington House had to be scrutinized for stating that Robert E. Lee "broke his promise and fought for slavery."
"At Harpers Ferry, site of abolitionist John Brown’s raid in 1859, an employee singled out a document that describes how a 'mob murders' an abolitionist. 'Does this denigrate the murderers?' the employee wrote. 'We can reword to: ‘Abolitionist editor Elijah Lovejoy is murdered for his views.’'"
Other submissions expressed concern about light pollution affecting turtles and merchandise reading, "Well-behaved women seldom make history."
Bill Wade, executive director of the Association of National Park Rangers, argued the order contradicts what rangers stand for: “Park rangers everywhere, and all park employees for that matter, have been passionate about telling true stories about history, and about science. It’s a real affront to the values that rangers have.”
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos predicted severe consequences following Paramount Skydance's acquisition of Warner Bros., a deal finalized after Netflix withdrew from the bidding war in late February. Sarandos characterized Paramount's bid as "unusual" and "irrational," warning it could be seismic for the U.S. media landscape. According to Sarandos, Paramount plans cost-cutting exceeding $16 billion within 18 months, with production and personnel representing the largest expense targets. This will result in reduced production output and significant job losses across the industry. Sarandos expressed confidence Netflix will benefit from the upheaval, though he stated he hopes his predictions prove wrong "for the sake of the industry." The Paramount Skydance deal, led by the Trump-supporting Ellison family, includes major assets like CNN and HBO Max, financed primarily through debt.
People had sharp reactions Monday after President Donald Trump dropped a confusing remark during a Medal of Honor speech in Washington, D.C.
Trump spoke during the ceremony — his first time speaking live publicly since the U.S. and Israel initiated military strikes in Iran — amid growing questions about the conflict and his health.
"Finally, we honor one more American soldier, a fallen warria of world. Of wars. And really, terra,” Trump said, which was shared in a video by journalist Aaron Rupar.
Media experts and researchers were in awe of the president's comments.
"We all luv 2 kill & die 4 a special guy whose brain is a perfect glistening sphere of plaque and grease," Pat Blanchfield, writer and Associate Faculty at the Brooklyn Institute for Social Research, wrote on X.
"Someone wrap grandpa in a white blanket (the kind with the buckles) and take him back to his nice, soft room," photographer Diana Rivera wrote on X.
"????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????" MS NOW host and media personality Rachel Maddow wrote on Bluesky.
"Ok but seriously why did he say 'Terra?' the man doesn't watch TV that isn't about him, he doesn't read books - where did this word enter his lexicon?" Researcher Craig Johnson wrote on Bluesky.
"Time for the home," activist Randy Samples wrote on Bluesky.
Trump: "Finally, we honor one more American soldier, a fallen warria of world. Of wars. And really, terra.” pic.twitter.com/7Ih78Rwdcp — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 2, 2026
In a seismic admission of defeat, the Trump administration's Justice Department is abandoning its legal defense of an executive order that would have punished law firms that had represented clients against his prior policies or legal woes.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the DOJ is expected to "drop its appeals of four trial-court rulings that struck down President Trump’s actions against law firms Jenner & Block, WilmerHale, Perkins Coie, and Susman Godfrey."
Trump's orders had blocked these law firms from doing business with the federal government or from obtaining security clearances. Experts widely criticized it as undermining the centuries-old principle that everyone has a right to legal counsel and that lawyers should not be punished solely for disagreements with their clients.
Several other law firms cut deals with the Trump administration to avoid similar orders punishing them, which included commitments to provide pro bono aid to various causes Trump agrees with and eliminate diversity policies in their offices.
After cutting those deals, however, many of those law firms realized the terms of the agreements were either unenforceable or not what they had believed they were agreeing to, and quietly abandoned them.
