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White House says ‘diplomacy’ is ‘always’ top option for Trump on Iran
When asked about the possibility of US strikes against Iran, Leavitt said that the Trump administration “totally obliterated Iran’s nuclear facilities” and has been clear that “diplomacy” is always the president’s “first option”.
“Iran would be very wise to make a deal with president Trump,” Leavitt added today.
She also noted that while there was a “little bit of progress” following Tuesday’s talks in Geneva between the US and Iran, “we’re still very far apart on some issues”.
Leavitt did not answer a question about an exact deadline that Donald Trump would give Iran to achieve a deal, before engaging in military action.
Key events
US military could be ready to attack Iran this weekend – report
As Donald Trump reportedly weights an attack on Iran, the United States military told the president it could be ready to begin strikes as soon as Saturday, CBS News reports, citing unnamed sources.
Reuters, citing an unnamed senior US official, offered a slightly different timeline, reporting that top US national security advisers were told during a meeting in the White House Situation Room on Wednesday that all US military forces deployed to the region should be in place by mid-March.
Iran is expected to submit a written proposal on how to resolve its standoff with the United States in the wake of U.S.-Iran talks in Geneva on Tuesday, the official told Reuters.
According to the Israeli reporter Barak Ravid, Trump also met on Wednesday with the two advisers leading indirect talks with Iran, Steve Witkoff, a real estate developer turned envoy, and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law.
The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier group and its flotilla of warships is already in the region, CBS News noted, and a second carrier group, the USS Gerald Ford, is en route to the Middle East.
As of Wednesday, the Ford was off the coast of West Africa, according to maritime vessel tracking data, and open-source researchers.
On Israeli television, Ravid reported that US sources told him the talks in Geneva with Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, were a “nothing burger” and the Pentagon is preparing for a joint Israeli-US offensive that could last weeks. According to Ravid’s sources, Iran only has until the end of February to offer concessions on its nuclear program.
NYU hospital to shutter gender-affirming care program for minors
Shrai Popat
NYU Langone Health, one of New York City’s major hospital networks, announced this week that it will shut down its gender‑affirming care program for minors, as the Trump administration escalates threats to strip federal funding from providers that treat trans youth.
In a statement to the Guardian, spokesperson Steve Ritea said that “given the recent departure of our medical director, coupled with the current regulatory environment, we made the difficult decision to discontinue our Transgender Youth Health Program.” He added that the hospital’s pediatric mental health services will continue.
The move comes after months of sustained pressure from the administration, including an executive order signed shortly after Trump returned to office declaring that the federal government will not “fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so‑called ‘transition’ of a child from one sex to another”.
NYU Langone reportedly began cancelling appointments for minors soon after the order was issued. New York attorney general Letitia James directed the hospital to resume care, warning that the network risked violating state anti‑discrimination laws. A federal judge later issued a temporary restraining order blocking the administration’s directive from taking effect.
In December, however, the Department of Health and Human Services proposed a rule that would withhold Medicare and Medicaid funding from hospitals providing “sex‑rejecting procedures for children under 18”.
Gender‑affirming care is endorsed by major US and international medical associations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics. Treatments such as puberty blockers are reversible, and surgery for minors is rare. Providers emphasize that care plans follow extensive evaluations and involve families throughout.
Local officials and advocacy groups condemned NYU Langone’s decision, arguing the hospital is capitulating to threats to cut federal funds. Manhattan borough president Brad Hoylman‑Sigal said the closure would “jeopardize the lives and well‑being of their patients”.
“Studies have shown that ending gender‑affirming care after it has begun without patient consent can carry significant physical and mental health risks,” he said. “For these young patients, gender‑affirming care is life‑affirming care.” A rally in support of trans youth is planned for Wednesday evening outside the Stonewall National Monument in Manhattan.
STAT news reported earlier this month that 40 hospitals across the country have paused or ceased to offer some type of gender-affirming care to young people since Trump returned to office. The White House has not yet responded to the Guardian’s request for comment.
13 US states sue Trump administration over cancelled funding for clean energy projcts
The attorneys general of California, Colorado and Washington filed a lawsuit in federal court on Wednesday on behalf of a coalition of 13 states, seeking to force the federal government to pay billions of dollars in grants approved by Congress for clean energy projects.
The Trump administration terminated some funding already allocated under environmentally focused laws, including the Inflation Reduction Act, that passed during the presidency of Joe Biden to support wind, solar and other fossil-free power sources.
Donald Trump, long known for his irrational hatred of wind power, has instead focused on fossil fuel production.
“The President claims to seek ‘American Energy Dominance’ but, in California, his unlawful termination of over $1.2 billion in total funding for crucial clean energy projects means over 200,000 union job cuts, rising energy prices, and higher rates of pollution that wreak havoc on our health,” California’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, said in a statement. “The President is cherry-picking this funding at the expense of hardworking Americans and stifling innovation and the economy for the sake of partisan retribution. My office will continue to hold the President and his administration accountable for breaking the law.”
“We will not allow Trump to sell out our future to his biggest donors,” California’s Governor, Gavin Newsom, added. “Trump didn’t just tear up a contract: he defied Congress, jeopardized more than 200,000 good-paying jobs, and robbed billions of dollars in health savings from communities that have been hit the hardest by pollution. We’re not letting that stand. California will fight for these jobs, this infrastructure, and the global clean energy competitiveness that the Trump administration has ceded to China.”
The lawsuit alleges that the termination of billions of dolalrs in federal funding for Arches (Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems) and millions under the Resilient and Efficient Codes Implementation (RECI) program violates the constitutional separation of powers, since the funding was approved and appropriated by bipartisan majorities in Congress before Trump took office.
In his rambling speech today, Donald Trump repeated the longstanding lie that Joe Biden didn’t actually win the 2020 election. “We had a man that was not a president,” Trump said at a reception celebrating Black History Month at the White House.
Even though it’s an official event, it’s resembling a campaign-style stump speech. Trump has listed – what he sees as – the crowning achievements of his second term in office, and inspired the crowd to heckle the reporters in the room.
At a reception today honoring Black History Month, Donald Trump kicked off the event by remembering the late civil rights trailblazer Jesse Jackson, calling him a “force of nature”.
“He really was special, with lots of personality, grit and street smarts,” Trump said. “He was gregarious and someone who truly loved people.”
The president noted that Dr Ben Carson – who served as the housing and urban development secretary during Trump’s first term – will be honored with a Presidential Medal of Freedom. This will be Carson’s second, as he was first awarded with the honor in 2008.
White House says it is ‘deeply unfortunate’ that Vatican declines invitation to join Trump’s Board of Peace
Earlier today, the Vatican announced that Pope Leo XIV would not join Donald Trump’s Board of Peace – focused on the reconstruction of Gaza. Ahead of the board’s first meeting in Washington DC on Thursday, the Vactican’s secretary of state said that at the international level it should “above all be the United Nations should that manages these crisis situations”.
White House press secretary said the snub was “deeply unfortunate” while addressing reporters today.
“I don’t think that peace should be partisan or political or controversial,” she added. “The administration wants all those who were invited to join the Board of Peace to join because, again, the board of peace is overseeing the reconstruction of a territory that has been plagued with violence, with bloodshed, poverty, for far too long.”
Leavitt went on to underscore that the board is a “legitimate” organization. This, despite major European allies declining to join the group, and the $5bn entry fee that Trump has touted for member states to join the board.
Karoline Leavitt said today that the next step to contain the sewage spill in the Potomac River is for the leaders of Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC to “step forward and to ask the federal government for help” so they can “take control of this local infrastructure that has been abandoned and neglected by Governor Moore in Maryland for far too long”.
Moore has rejected the White House’s criticism, saying Trump is “lying”, noting that the federal government is responsible for the sewage pipe as it sits on federal land. “If the president wants me to ask nicely, my response is this: ‘Please Mr President, do your job,’” Moore said on Wednesday.
When asked about the governor’s comments today, Leavitt simply replied:
The federal government has been preparing plans. The White House has been in contact with Fema, with the Army Corps of Engineers, with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Again, we’ve been standing by this is a problem we want to fix, not just for the federal government, but for everyone who lives in District of Columbia, including all of you.
White House says ‘diplomacy’ is ‘always’ top option for Trump on Iran
When asked about the possibility of US strikes against Iran, Leavitt said that the Trump administration “totally obliterated Iran’s nuclear facilities” and has been clear that “diplomacy” is always the president’s “first option”.
“Iran would be very wise to make a deal with president Trump,” Leavitt added today.
She also noted that while there was a “little bit of progress” following Tuesday’s talks in Geneva between the US and Iran, “we’re still very far apart on some issues”.
Leavitt did not answer a question about an exact deadline that Donald Trump would give Iran to achieve a deal, before engaging in military action.
Leavitt defends development of ICE detention facility in New Hampshire, amid outrage in the state
Karoline Leavitt defended the ongoing development of an immigration detention facility in her home state of New Hampshire today.
“Obviously, there are a lot more illegal alien criminals left in our homeland. That includes in New England, there are many within our communities, in New Hampshire, in Maine and definitely in Massachusetts and in the Boston suburbs that need to be arrested, detained and deported back to their home countries,” Leavitt said.
The possible construction in Merrimack, New Hampshire, has caused controversy in the state, with the Republican governor Kelly Ayotte saying that she initially received limited information from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) about the facility – which many local organizers and lawmakers have opposed. Ayotte’s office published plans of the facility last week, after ICE acting director Todd Lyons claimed he had worked with the governor’s office – Ayotte denied that the agency had shared the requisite documents. The governor is now facing pressure to prevent the federal government to expand its detention footprint and signing off on the facility.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, has started today’s briefing by noting that Donald Trump will travel to Georgia tomorrow where he’ll visit two local businesses and give a speech on his “efforts to make life affordable for working people”.
White House says parties are ‘still pretty far apart’ when it comes to DHS funding bill negotiations
A White House official tells the Guardian the parties remain “pretty far apart”, after Democrats sent the Trump administration their counter-proposal for a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill.
Currently, the department has been shut for days, following stalled negotations over legislation to secure DHS funding through September with tougher guardrails on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
The White House official said that the administration “remains interested in good faith conversations to end the Democrat shutdown before more Americans feel the impacts” but also remains “committed to carrying out the President’s promise to enforce federal immigration law”.
On Monday, a spokesperson for Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said that Democrats had sent the White House their latest offer. For their part, GOP lawmakers say that Democrats’ demands – which include the use of judicial warrants for at-home arrests and ensuring officers no longer wear masks – are red lines.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) found there was “no violation” of its rules during Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl half-time show performance, Reuters reports.
The FCC had requested transcripts of the performance from NBC, after a Republican lawmaker suggested that Bad Bunny’s performance may have violated federal indecency regulations.
The FCC commissioner, Anna Gomez, said she reviewed the transcripts of the performance in Spanish after the commission requested them.
“I reviewed them carefully, and I found no violation of our rules and no justification for harassing broadcasters over a standard live performance,” Gomez said.
The Trump administration is working to block states and cities from offering free transportation to undocumented immigrants, according to reporting from Politico.
The outlet reported today that the Department of Transportation is drafting a law that would prohibit local jurisdictions from using federal transit money to assist undocumented migrants.
In some states and cities, officials have offered free buses to help migrants reach sources, including intake shelters or shelters.
“The change wouldn’t stop undocumented immigrants from using public transportation,” Politico reports. “However, it would seek to prevent local agencies or towns from using public transportation to move unauthorized immigrants around the city or outside it to another state, a person familiar with the plan said.”
The transportation department’s proposal is part of a package of measures that the White House is considering to include in the transportation reauthorization bill slated to go to Congress this year.
Democratic voters are still lacking optimism about their political party since President Donald Trump’s 2024 win, a recent poll reveals.
Only around seven in 10 Democrats have a positive view of the Democratic party, the Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found.
“While the overwhelming majority of Democrats still feel good about their party, they’re much less positive than they’ve been in the past,” the AP reports.
The midterm elections are still months away. Increasing negative views of Trump and other Republicans may help their party later this year. Favorable views of the Democratic party plummeted after the 2024 election.
Several Democratic lawmakers plan to boycott State of the Union for National Mall rally
Several Democratic lawmakers will boycott Donald Trump’s address to Congress on Tuesday 24 February, and instead attend a rally on the National Mall.
So far, at least 12 Democratic members of Congress will skip the State of the Union. These include senators Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, as well as progressive representatives Pramila Jayapal and Greg Casar.
The event, dubbed the “People’s State of the Union”, is being coordinated by progressive media network MeidasTouch and the liberal advocacy group MoveOn. Attorney and commentator Katie Phang and former anchor Joy Reid will co-host the rally. The event’s organizers say it will spotlight federal workers, immigrants and Americans affected by the Trump administration’s policies.
In a statement, Van Hollen said that he would not attend the joint address to Congress next week. “Trump is marching America towards fascism, and I refuse to normalize his shredding of our Constitution & democracy,” he said. “This cannot be business as usual.”
Top oversight Democrat says that Wexner deposition is ‘very important’ for committee
Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, said Les Wexner’s deposition will be “very important” to the ongoing investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes, in an interview with MSNOW on Tuesday.
“You don’t pay a person the amount of money that Wexner was paying Epstein for just financial advice. They were very close for a long period of time,” Garcia said of the 88-year-old billionaire who employed Epstein as a personal money manager for 20 years. “We have a lot of questions about the finances, the relationship, what Wexner knew, who Jeffrey Epstein also received money from, what was actually Wexner’s larger involvement with Ghislaine Maxwell, and we hope those questions will be answered.”
Garcia added that the questions from lawmakers to Wexner will be “pretty direct” during today’s deposition. “We know he has significant information as to why he was providing so much money to Epstein,” he said. The lawmaker is also determined to understand why Wexner’s name – along with those of other high profile men – were redacted in the justice department’s latest release of documents.
“Why the cover-up? Why we protecting possible co conspirators? Why are we protecting Jeffrey Epstein’s, essentially, benefactors?,” Garcia said.
Talarico says campaign raised $2.5m in the immediate aftermath of Colbert interview controversy
Following the decision by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to air its interview with James Talarico on YouTube, the Texas Democratic Senate candidate said that his campaign raised $2.5m in the 24 hours since Colbert said that CBS told him not to air the segment, for fear of triggering the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) equal-time rule.
Crockett praises move from Colbert to air Talarico interview on YouTube: ‘It probably gave my opponent the boost he was looking for’
In an interview with MSNOW, Democratic congresswoman Jasmine Crockett addressed the claims from Stephen Colbert that CBS told him not to air a television interview with James Talarico, the Texas state lawmaker running for US Senate. Colbert said the decision stemmed from a concern that it would trigger a legal requirement to provide equal access to Talarico’s campaign rivals – which includes Crockett.
The congresswoman said that her team received a call from Paramount Skydance – CBS’s parent company – who told her that Colbert could, in fact, move forward with airing the Talarico interview but would need to offer Crockett equal time.
“I did not get a request from the Colbert show to go on … I’ve been on Colbert multiple times, and frankly, if we would have gotten an offer that would have been great, but we’re in the middle of early voting, so I’m kind of focused on being in Texas at this moment,” Crockett told MS Now.
In the end, the Talarico interview was instead broadcast on Colbert’s YouTube page, which is out of the remit of the FCC. In a statement, CBS said that The Late Show was not prohibited from broadcasting the segment, instead the network “provided legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal-time rule for two other candidates”.
Speaking to MS Now, Crockett added that she had “no love” for CBS News editor Bari Weiss, nor for the FCC chair Brendan Carr. “It is important that we resist,” she said. “I think it probably gave my opponent the boost he was looking for so I think it’s probably better than he didn’t get on, and that they went straight to streaming.”
Oversight committee to depose Victoria’s Secret CEO, amid renewed scrutiny over ties to Epstein
Today, congressional lawmakers on the House oversight committee continue their investigation into the handling of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes with a deposition of Les Wexner, the billionaire and former CEO of Victoria’s Secret.
Wexner is facing scrutiny for his association with Epstein – who served as his personal money manager from the mid-1980s until 2007, when Epstein was under investigation for sex crimes. He then stepped away from managing Wexner’s personal finances. The businessman, who also owned Bath & Body Works, later discovered that Epstein had been mismanaging funds, and severed ties with him.
While Wexner has vehemently denied any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes, he is under renewed dissection after his name appeared in the latest tranche of documents released by the justice department, which showed a 2019 FBI document that listed Wexner as a co-conspirator of Epstein. The 88-year old has never been convicted of a crime, and maintains that he has cooperated with officials at each juncture of their investigations into Epstein, who died by suicide in a Manhattan jail in 2019.
Last week, congressman Ro Khanna, revealed that Wexner’s name was one of six high-profile men whose names were redacted in the latest document drop by the Department of Justice.
Wexner will testify for lawmakers in New Albany, Ohio, and several Democratic members of the committee will hold a press conference after the deposition.
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