On Thursday, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order declaring a national emergency related to the threat posed by Cuba towards the United States, citing their support for China, Russia, Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah. Under the order, the Secretary of State, along with the Secretary of Commerce, are directed to impose an additional “ad valoremrate of duty” on goods imported into the United States that are products by any other country that directly or indirectly sells or otherwise provides any oil to Cuba.

The B-52Hs that departed Barksdale Air Force Base yesterday arrived in Guam earlier in the day on Thursday, likely a quick stop before continuing on to Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. It is not known if the B-52s departing the Continental United States tonight will make a similar stop, or if they will fly direct to Diego Garcia.

President Donald J. Trump has announced that he will nominate Kevin Warsh as the next Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, replacing Jerome Powell when his tenure ends on May 15, 2026.

The ongoing airlift of air-defense systems and other military equipment to the U.S. Central Command’s Area-of-Responsibility continues Friday, with a C-5M “Super Galaxy” Strategic Heavy-Lift Aircraft departing Ramstein Air Base in Germany earlier bound for Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. In the last 24 hours, over 20 C-17 Globemaster III and 2 C-5M Super Galaxys have arrived or are currently enroute to bases in the Middle East, with the ongoing airlift by the U.S. Air Force appearing to enter its peak, similar to what we saw prior to last June’s strikes against Iran.

U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett today dismissed several death-eligible counts from the charges levied against Luigi Mangione, the 27-year-old Italian-American accused of stalking and murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024, meaning that Mangione will no longer face the death penalty in his trial expected to begin in October.

Considering the number of military cargo flights transporting just air-defense equipment we saw prior to last year’s strikes again Iran, which amounted to well over 75 flights by both C-17A Globemaster IIIs and C-5M Super Galaxys, we are still likely a week or so away from air-defense preparations being completed in the Middle East.

President Donald J. Trump spoke to reporters in the Oval Office earlier about potential negotiations and military action against Iran.

Reporter: “Are you giving Iran any kind of deadline to make a deal before potentially taking military action?”

Trump: “Only they know for sure.”

Reporter: “Have you communicated that to them directly?”

Trump: “Yeah, I have.”

Reporter: “Do you have a timeline for when you're going to pull back potentially the federal presence there?”

Trump: “We'll see how it all works out. They have to float someplace. They might as well float near Iran. But it's a rough situation going on. So I stopped 837 people, as you know, last week from being hung. They were going to hang 830 - it was all set. And I'm looking at the people behind me, and they say, what kind of - racing is a lot nicer than that? They were going to hang 837 people. And I told them, if you do it, you're going to pay a price like nobody's ever paid before. And they pulled back. I appreciated that. But a lot of people are being killed. So we'll see what happens. I can say this. They do want to make a deal.”

Following yesterday’s announcement by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) regarding a two-day live-fire naval exercise in the Strait of Hormuz scheduled to begin on Sunday, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has urged the IRGC to conduct the announced naval exercise in a manner that is safe, professional and avoids unnecessary risk to freedom of navigation for international maritime traffic moving throughout the Strait.

Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman said in an hour-long private briefing with Middle East think-tank experts and representatives from several Jewish organizations in Washington on Friday, that if President Donald J. Trump doesn't follow through on his threats against Iran, the regime will end up stronger, four sources in the room tell Axios.

Decision-making circles in the United States and Israel have moved past diplomacy with Iran, viewing military action as effectively decided, with only the timing still under debate, a Western source familiar with coordination talks told the London-based Iranian opposition outlet Iran International.

Israel is reported to be on full alert and that one scenario under discussion involves waiting for a “spark” to trigger the next phase, such as Iran attempting to fire a first missile toward Israel, which could then be used as justification for launching a far broader and more destructive campaign directed at the regime in Tehran.

“The decision has been made. This will happen. The only question is when.”

Saudi Arabia will not allow the United States to use its airspace or bases for military strikes against Iran, following several meetings this week in Washington with Saudi defense and intelligence officials, a high-ranking government figure from a state within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) told Fox News.

The U.S. Government has now entered its second shutdown in less than a year, as of 12:00 a.m. on Saturday, despite a deal being agreed upon between Senate Democrats and the White House as well as the Senate passing five long-term spending bills, with the exception of Homeland Security, on Friday. Unlike last year’s shutdown, which lasted over 40 days, this shutdown is expected to be brief, with the House set to vote on the five bills immediately after returning to Washington on Monday, though House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has declined to say whether House Democrats will support the bills approved by the Senate.

The U.S. External Office for Venezuela announced Friday that they have now confirmed that interim authorities have released all known Americans being held in Venezuela.

Lots of entirely fake or otherwise false information circulating on social media this morning of explosions in multiple cities across Iran. Besides an explosion earlier today inside an apartment building in Bandar Abbas, Southern Iran, there have no other confirmed explosions or “strikes” anywhere else in Iran.