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.’

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.

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.

A top Senate Republican demanded that if former Prince Andrew is found to have broken American laws with his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, he should stand trial in the U.S.

‘If he’s violated American law, absolutely,’ Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital.

Scott’s comments came after the news that the former prince, now Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who is linked to the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office in the United Kingdom on Thursday.

British authorities were reportedly investigating whether Mountbatten-Windsor had shared confidential trade information with Epstein while acting as Britain’s special envoy for trade over a decade ago, the Associated Press reported.

Mountbatten-Windsor has denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein, despite being one of his most well-known associates. He was also accused by the late Virginia Giuffre — one of Epstein’s most prominent accusers — in her memoir of having sex with her when she was a minor.

The list of co-conspirators and those connected to Epstein continues to grow, following Congress’ move to force the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release millions of documents related to him, known as the ‘Epstein Files.’

But criminal action against those alleged to have ties with Epstein has remained scarce, given that appearing in the files doesn’t directly translate to criminal charges. Scott argued that if people ‘violate the law, you should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.’

‘It’s as simple as that. It’s despicable what Epstein did,’ Scott said. ‘I can’t imagine these people who had relationships with Epstein, especially after he was convicted the first time, and they kept their relationship.’

‘If they’ve done anything wrong, they should be held accountable,’ he continued. ‘I don’t know if Prince Andrew has done anything wrong, but everybody who has should be held accountable. What you read that happened to these young girls is just like — I’ve got two daughters, I’ve got a granddaughter, and I can’t imagine, you know, the position that Epstein and, it seems like, some other people put these young women in.’

The Senate voted unanimously last year in favor of legislation that President Donald Trump signed into law that required the DOJ to release all unclassified records, documents, communications and investigative materials ‘publicly available in a searchable and downloadable format’ related to the late financier and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.

Several names of prominent Americans, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, were revealed in the trove of unredacted documents.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., when asked if Lutnick or others should face consequences, said earlier this month that ‘transparency is something we all ought to aspire to here.’

‘And if there are folks who are, you know, named in there or discussed in there in some way, they’re going to have to answer for that,’ Thune said.

Millions of files and a handful of months later, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced earlier this week that the DOJ had unloaded all the documents. But lawmakers have said it’s not enough.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., charged that the DOJ’s handling of the Epstein files ‘is a travesty.’

‘But in France, the Paris prosecutor’s office just opened two investigations based on new leads from the released files,’ Schumer said on X. ‘And in Britain, former Prince Andrew has been arrested over ties to Epstein. When will there be justice in America?’

The U.S. military has assembled one of its most substantial concentrations of naval and air power in the Middle East in decades, a force built near Iran not for a limited strike, but for sustained combat operations if ordered. 

While diplomats in Geneva trade proposals, the Pentagon has moved beyond a ‘show of force’ to an operational footing that represents the largest concentration of U.S. air power in the region since the Iraq War.

Two-carrier war

Two carrier strike groups now anchor the alignment.

The USS Abraham Lincoln is operating in the Arabian Sea, supported by Arleigh Burke–class destroyers, including the USS Spruance, USS Michael Murphy, USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. and USS Pinckney.

Transiting the Mediterranean is the USS Gerald R. Ford strike group, escorted by the USS Bainbridge and USS Mahan. Once the Ford arrives in theater, the Navy will establish a dual-carrier strike posture rarely seen outside major conflict.

Under high-tempo conditions, a single carrier air wing can generate more than 100 sorties in a 24-hour period depending on tanker support and target distance. With two carriers operating in parallel, planners can sustain continuous strike cycles — rotating decks so that aircraft are launching from one carrier while the other rearms and recovers.

That posture allows for sustained pressure over multiple days rather than isolated waves.

Hardened targets, repeated strikes

The buildup comes as satellite imagery reveals Tehran, Iran, accelerating defensive preparations.

Commercial imagery published in a report by the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) shows Iran reinforcing the Taleghan 2 facility at Parchin with fresh concrete and overburden. Similar hardening is underway at tunnel entrances near Natanz.

‘The core issue is all these efforts would complicate the battle damage assessment (BDA) in a post-strike environment,’ defense analyst Can Kasapoğlu said. Hardened subterranean targets require repeated ‘drill’ strikes, multiple munitions on the same coordinates, followed by confirmation missions to determine whether facilities have been disabled.

That kind of campaign demands sustained sortie generation and deep munitions reserves.

Suppression and strike depth

While the Department of War has not released exact aircraft numbers, the regional air presence has expanded significantly.

Advanced fighter jets, including F-22 Raptors and F-35 Lightning IIs, have been repositioned at regional hubs. These stealth platforms are designed to suppress air defense systems such as Iran’s S-300 and Bavar-373 batteries.

Once air defenses are degraded, aircraft such as F-15E Strike Eagles and carrier-based F/A-18 Super Hornets would conduct follow-on strikes against missile infrastructure, command nodes and IRGC facilities.

Further depth is provided by long-range bombers. 

B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, operating from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri with aerial refueling, are capable of 30-hour round-trip missions. They are the only platforms configured to deliver the 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) against deeply buried targets.

The logistics backbone: A weeks-long window

Senior U.S. officials have disclosed that the Pentagon is preparing for ‘sustained, weeks-long operations’ if conflict erupts — surgical Operation Midnight Hammer strikes conducted in June 2025.

Defense analysts say that timeline reflects the realities of munitions burn rates and forward-positioned stockpiles.

In high-intensity conflict simulations, forward-positioned precision munitions can be significantly depleted within roughly three to four weeks depending on sortie tempo and target density. After that point, forces would rely increasingly on resupply from the continental United States, a process that can take additional weeks to scale into a full maritime logistics bridge.

Operations may not come to a halt, but campaign duration would depend heavily on replenishment cycles and industrial production, not just aircraft availability.

No ground invasion posture

Notably absent is the kind of troop buildup associated with a ground invasion.

There are no large-scale Army combat formations staging in Kuwait or Iraq for an occupation. The emphasis remains on stand-off strikes and precision airpower, a campaign designed to degrade targets from a distance rather than seize and hold territory.

That distinction carries political weight.

A January 2026 Quinnipiac University poll found that 70% of American voters oppose a direct war with Iran, with even higher resistance to deploying ground troops. 

‘Talk of the U.S. military potentially intervening in Iran’s internal chaos gets a vigorous thumbs down, while voters signal congressional approval should be a backstop against military involvement in any foreign crisis,’ said Quinnipiac analyst Tim Malloy.

Retaliation risk: ‘All-out war’

Iranian officials have warned that U.S. bases in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Turkey would be targeted if Washington launches an attack. Senior Iranian military figures have said any U.S. strike would be treated as ‘all-out war.’

In response, the U.S. has distributed Patriot and THAAD missile defense batteries across regional hubs to shield its assets from potential missile retaliation.

Diplomacy still on the table

Despite the military posture, talks are ongoing. Iranian officials have said they will return within weeks with additional proposals aimed at narrowing gaps in negotiations.

President Donald Trump has framed the moment in blunt terms.

‘We have to make a deal, otherwise it’s going to be very traumatic, very traumatic,’ Trump said recently, warning that Iran would face consequences if diplomacy collapses.

‘The presence of so much firepower in the region creates a momentum of its own,’ said Susan Ziadeh, a former U.S. ambassador. ‘Sometimes that momentum is a little hard to just put the brakes on.’

The force now in position — from dual carriers to stealth bombers — is structured not for a single weekend strike, but for endurance.

Whether it is used, and for how long, will depend on decisions made at the negotiating table.

President Donald Trump welcomed leaders from around the world on Thursday as he hosted the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace in Washington, D.C. 

One country that would not be joining the board but will be hosting a related event is Norway.

The U.S. president announced the plan for Norway to host a meeting on Palestinian aid during the inaugural meeting of the board Thursday. However, as he announced Norway’s plans, he joked about getting the Nobel Peace Prize.

‘I’m excited to announce that Norway has agreed to host an event bringing together the Board of Peace. Oh, I thought when I saw this note, ‘I’m excited to announce that Norway,’ I thought they were going to say that they’re giving me the Nobel Prize. Oh, this is less exciting,’ Trump quipped. 

‘Oh, it says, ‘I’m excited to announce that Norway,’ and I’m saying, ‘Oh, great, I’m getting the Nobel Prize. Finally, finally, they got it right.’ But I don’t care, I don’t care about the Nobel Prize. I care about saving lives.’

Trump received several nominations for the prize. However, they were declared past the Nobel Committee’s nomination deadline. In the end, the award was given to then-exiled Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado.

After the capture of Venezuela’s dictatorial leader Nicolás Maduro, Machado came to the U.S., where she met with Trump and presented him with her Nobel Peace Prize.

‘I presented the president of the United States the medal … the Nobel Peace Prize, and I told him, ‘Listen to this, 200 years ago, General Lafayette gave Simón Bolívar a medal with George Washington’s face on it,’ Machado said while speaking at the U.S. Capitol in January. 

‘He kept that medal for the rest of his life. Actually, when you see his portraits, you can see the medal.’

She said Lafayette gave the medal to Bolívar as a symbol of the partnership between the people of the U.S. and the people of Venezuela and their shared fight for freedom against tyranny.

Trump thanked Machado for the medal in a post on Truth Social.

‘It was my Great Honor to meet María Corina Machado, of Venezuela, today,’ Trump wrote. ‘She is a wonderful woman who has been through so much. María presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect. Thank you María!’

Norway has said it would not join the Board of Peace. However, it will convene its Ad-Hoc Liaison Committee (AHCL) for Palestinian aid, according to The Times of Israel. The outlet noted that Norway has led the AHCL for decade. It was established in the wake of the Oslo Accords, which were also aimed at ending the Israel-Hamas conflict.

A spokesperson for the Norwegian Foreign Ministry told The Times of Israel that Norway ‘remains firm’ in its position against joining the Board of Peace.

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.

‘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.’

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.

Iran has a short window to agree to a deal with the U.S., President Donald Trump said Thursday, before warning that the situation could soon shift if negotiations fail.

The talks focus largely on curbing Tehran’s advancing nuclear program, which U.S. officials say has moved closer to weapons-grade enrichment.

The U.S. and Israel also want Iran to give up its long-range ballistic missiles, stop supporting groups around the Middle East and stop using force against protesters inside Iran.

‘We’re going to make a deal, or we’re going to get a deal one way or the other,’ Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, signaling determination to secure an agreement.

While declining to specify whether the ultimate goal is the complete dismantling of Iran’s nuclear program, Trump made clear there would be consequences if diplomacy falls short.

‘We’re either going to get a deal, or it’s going to be unfortunate for them,’ he said.

Trump suggested the window for a breakthrough is narrowing, indicating Iran has no more than ’10, 15 days, pretty much maximum’ to reach an agreement.

Trump spoke as negotiation efforts with Tehran remain ongoing.

Although Trump has repeatedly expressed hope for a deal, indirect talks in Geneva have yielded mixed feedback.

Trump said ‘good talks are being had,’ and a senior U.S. official said Iran would make a written proposal on how to address U.S. concerns, Reuters reported.

‘I believe we made good progress,’ said Abbas Araghchi, the head of the Iranian delegation in Geneva. ‘The path toward an agreement has started, but we will not reach it quickly.’

Vice President JD Vance, however, said in an interview with Fox News that ‘red lines’ were set.

‘In some ways, it went well. They agreed to meet afterward,’ Vance said. ‘But in other ways, it was very clear that the president has set some red lines that the Iranians are not yet willing to actually acknowledge and work through. So, we’re going to keep on working it.’

According to The Associated Press, Iran has resisted broader U.S. and Israeli demands to curb its missile program and cut ties with armed regional groups.

Trump’s comments also coincided with Iran’s annual military drills with Russia on Thursday as a second U.S. aircraft carrier moved closer to the Middle East.

Similarly, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned of military action despite ongoing talks.

Last year when President Donald Trump helped broker a ceasefire agreement between Thailand and Cambodia, he took a victory lap.

‘Who else could say, ‘I’m going to make a phone call and stop a war between two very powerful countries, Thailand and Cambodia?” he said.

Now, that agreement appears under strain, as Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet told Fox News Digital that Thai forces have pushed into long-held Cambodian territory beyond the line of dispute. Thai soldiers have sealed off villages with barbed wire and shipping containers, leaving 80,000 Cambodian locals unable to return home, according to Cambodian officials.

‘The occupation is beyond even Thailand’s unilateral claim,’ Manet said. ‘Many of the villagers cannot go back to their hometowns.’

Cambodia and Thailand have sparred for decades over sections of their 500-mile land border, much of which was drawn during the French colonial era and later interpreted differently by Bangkok and Phnom Penh. The dispute has periodically flared into armed clashes, particularly around areas near historic Khmer temple sites and rural villages where demarcation remains incomplete.

Tensions escalated again last year, with fighting breaking out along contested stretches of the frontier and displacing thousands of civilians on both sides. The clashes prompted diplomatic intervention and culminated in a ceasefire agreement brokered with U.S. involvement during an ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur.

Images and local reporting from the most recent fighting show damage to structures near the frontier, including at or near the UNESCO-listed Preah Vihear temple complex — raising concerns about the safety of cultural heritage sites caught in contested zones. Cambodian officials have blamed Thai forces for the damage, while Thai officials have denied deliberately targeting religious or cultural landmarks, saying military operations were limited to contested security areas.

The Thai embassy could not be reached for comment on this interview.

Still, Manet declined to threaten military retaliation. ‘Our position is to always stick to peaceful resolutions,’ he said. ‘We don’t believe that using war to stop a war is sustainable or practical.’

Thailand, with a population of more than 70 million — roughly four times Cambodia’s 17 million — maintains a significantly larger and better-equipped military, raising the stakes of any renewed conflict.

With fighting again threatening fragile stability along the frontier, Manet traveled to Washington this week for the inaugural meeting of Trump’s Board of Peace.

‘The Board of Peace can play an active role in promoting peace, stability and normalcy between Cambodia and Thailand,’ he said.

Hun Manet took office in 2023, succeeding his father, Hun Sen, who ruled Cambodia for nearly four decades. The leadership transition marked the first formal handover of power in decades, though the ruling Cambodian People’s Party has maintained firm control over the country’s political system amid longstanding criticism from rights groups about limits on opposition activity.

A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Manet has sought to maintain close ties with China while cautiously reopening channels with Washington, including restoring joint military exercises that had been suspended in 2017.

As Cambodia navigates tensions with Thailand, it is also balancing relations between Washington and Beijing.

Manet said navigating ties with competing world powers ‘doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game’ and that Cambodia, as a smaller nation, cannot afford to ‘choose one country against the other.’

That balance has centered in part on Ream Naval Base, a strategic facility on Cambodia’s southern coast rebuilt with Chinese financing.

The USS Cincinnati docked at Ream in late January, marking the first U.S. warship visit since the base was renovated with Chinese funding and technical support. The visit was marked by a striking visual: the USS Cincinnati docked roughly 150 meters from a Chinese naval vessel already moored at the base. For years, U.S. officials have raised concerns that Cambodia had granted China exclusive access.

But Manet insisted the base remains under Cambodian control. ‘Our constitution says that no foreign military base [can] be situated on Cambodian soil.’

The U.S. visit, he said, ‘clearly shows that Cambodia is not exclusively used as a naval base for cooperation with China.’

Manet also confirmed that annual U.S.-Cambodia military exercises known as Angkor Sentinel, suspended in 2017, are set to resume this year — signaling warming defense ties. ‘We hope to have expanding cooperation with the U.S.’

In recent years, Cambodia has emerged as a hub for large-scale online scam operations, including so-called ‘pig butchering’ schemes that have defrauded victims worldwide — including Americans — out of billions of dollars. U.S. authorities have sanctioned Cambodian-linked entities tied to crypto fraud and pressed Phnom Penh to intensify enforcement efforts amid concerns about trafficking and forced labor linked to some compounds.

Manet said his government has stepped up cooperation with U.S. authorities and recently worked with the FBI to dismantle a major operation.

‘We have recently worked with the FBI cracking on a major case involving one of the Oknyaks,’ he said, referring to an influential Cambodian figure. ‘We arrested him, and we closed down one of the big compounds.’