Ric Grenell is expected to step down as president of the Kennedy Center on Monday ahead of a planned two-year shutdown for major renovations.

Matt Floca will replace him as president.

Grenell will remain as an unpaid consultant.

The center — renamed the Trump Kennedy Center — is set to close in July for reconstruction funded by $257 million from Congress.

Richard “Ric” Grenell is a senior U.S. diplomat and close ally of Donald Trump who has held several high-profile roles.

He served as U.S. ambassador to Germany (2018–2020) and acting Director of National Intelligence in 2020.

He is known as a loyal Trump foreign-policy adviser and the first openly gay official to lead the U.S. intelligence community (acting DNI).

Source: Axios

Next month’s Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Formula 1 Grands Prix are expected to be cancelled due to the escalating conflict in the Middle East.

An official announcement could come by Monday, as teams face a March 20 deadline to ship equipment to Bahrain.

CONFIRMED: A video verified by the New York Times shows ballistic missiles launched from Bahrain toward Iran, likely from a U.S.-made HIMARS launcher.

It’s the first confirmed strike on Iran originating from a Gulf country since the war began.

Source: NYT

UAE: Abu Dhabi police say 45 people were arrested for filming attacks or spreading “misleading information.”

Source: AFP

Iran’s retaliation surprised U.S. officials.

Tehran fired 3,000+ missiles and drones at Gulf states and hundreds at Israel.

A former U.S. official said “no one has done more with less than the Iranians.”

Cheap Shahed drones helped hit radars, ports, bases, and oil facilities.

U.S. officials admit “we didn’t necessarily anticipate exactly how they would react.”

Source: FT

Israel has rejected Lebanon’s recent offer for direct talks, saying negotiations cannot happen while rockets are still being fired from Lebanese territory by Hezbollah.

U.S. officials reportedly told Lebanon that the opportunity to act against Hezbollah had already passed in 2025, leaving Israel to handle the situation as it sees fit.

Source: Reuters

JD Vance on gas prices:

Joe Biden left us in a terrible situation, and the reason gas prices are where they are today is because of Donald Trump’s work to get them lower.

A British tourist and 20 others were charged in Dubai for filming or sharing videos of Iranian missile attacks.

UAE cybercrime laws ban content that could “disturb public security.”

Even reposting or commenting on videos can lead to charges.

Penalties can include up to 2 years in prison, fines of 20,000–200,000 AED, and deportation for foreigners.

Source: The Guardian

Reporter: What did you advise Trump initially as he considered his actions in Iran?

JD Vance: I hate to disappoint you, but I will not show up here in front of God and everyone else and tell you exactly what I said in the classified room — partially because I don’t want to go to prison...

About 5,000 additional U.S. Marines and sailors are deploying to the Middle East to support the war in Iran, according to U.S. officials.

Source: NBC News

Long lines observed at gas stations in China as drivers rush to fill up ahead of expected price hikes.

JD Vance on Mojtaba Khamenei:

We know that he's hurt. We don't know exactly how bad, but we know that he's hurt.

Palantir CEO Alex Karp warned AI could shift economic and political power, hurting highly educated white-collar workers while boosting vocational and working-class jobs.

He said AI “disrupts humanities-trained, largely Democratic voters,” whom he described as “highly educated, often female.”

At the same time, it could increase the power of “vocationally trained, working-class, often male voters.”

He argued ignoring the political backlash would be “insane.”

JD Vance on the Minab school strike:

I don't think we fully understand what happened there.

Trump has made it clear he wants it fully investigated. So, that's what we're doing.

📸 Anti-war posters in Washington, D.C., opposing the war with Iran.

"Cody Khork did not have to die fighting Iran for the Epstein class"

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas accused the U.S. of trying to weaken the EU, saying Washington “wants to divide Europe” and “doesn’t like the European Union.”

Source: FT

China says the Red Cross Society of China will provide $200,000 in emergency humanitarian aid to support families affected by Minab school strike in Iran.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf:

Trump was duped by Netanyahu into starting the war and is now acting under his control.

Regarding the major crime they have committed, Iran no longer makes “any distinction” between the United States and the Zionist regime.

The war will continue until the enemy's calculus is altered and they are driven to regret.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said the group is ready for a prolonged war with Israel, calling the conflict an existential fight.

Qassem said “we have prepared ourselves for a long confrontation.”

He warned Israel “will be surprised on the battlefield.”

He insisted surrender is “not in our vocabulary,” saying resistance is the only option to prevent Lebanon’s destruction or “Greater Israel” ambitions.

He described Hezbollah’s actions as “legitimate defense against Israeli-American aggression.”

Qassem also urged the Lebanese government not to make “free concessions” to the U.S. or Israel and to stand behind the resistance.

JD Vance on Russia-Ukraine:

There’s been a lot of debate about what exactly our foreign policy should be with regards to Russia and Ukraine.

Trump has been very clear: he wants the killing to stop. He wants to get back to commerce. He wants to stop the innocent people who are losing their lives in that conflict. I happen to admire that.