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War Secretary Pete Hegseth declared “America is winning” the war against Iran, saying the results in just four days of conflict have been “historic.”Hegseth says more fighters and bombers are arriving daily to the Middle East, adding that the U.S. and Israel have achieved “complete control” over Iranian airspace.”America is winning decisively, devastatingly and without mercy,” Hegseth said. “Only the United States of America could lead this. Only us. But when you add the Israeli Defense Forces, a devastatingly capable force, the combination is sheer destruction for our radical Islamist Iranian adversaries.””They are toast, and they know it,” he added.This is a developing story. Check back soon for updates.

Team USA is sending a loaded roster to this year’s World Baseball Classic as they look to avenge their 2023 loss to Team Japan in the final.While a lot of the roster has changed, manager Mark DeRosa is returning for the second straight World Baseball Classic in the dugout. Los Angeles Angels superstar Mike Trout was the team’s captain in 2023, but he is not on the roster due to insurance issues.DeRosa named New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge as Team USA’s captain.CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COMTeam USA has four MVP winners on its squad: Judge is a three-time AL MVP, Bryce Harper a two-time NL MVP, Paul Goldschmidt a NL MVP and Clayton Kershaw a MVP. On the pitching staff, they have three Cy Young winners: Kershaw is a three-time NL Cy Young winner, Tarik Skubal a two-time Cy Young winner and Paul Skenes has won the award once.Team USA’s roster has 30 players, who combine for 65 All-Star selections, 20 Silver Sluggers and 12 Gold Gloves.Below is Team USA’s roster, broken down by position.AARON JUDGE SAYS TEAM USA BASEBALL ‘FIRED UP’ AFTER HOCKEY GOLD, WANTS TO ‘COPY’ WHAT OLYMPIC TEAMS DIDPitchers:MIKE TROUT GIVES THE $35 MILLION REASON WHY HE WILL NOT PLAY FOR TEAM USA IN WORLD BASEBALL CLASSICCatchers:WHEN DOES TEAM USA PLAY IN THE WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC? HERE ARE THE DATES AND TIMESInfielders:Designated Hitter:Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

The United States Army Drill Team marches on the Jefferson Memorial Plaza for Twilight Tattoo. Army photo by Spc. Brian K. Parker.
As President Trump has successfully brought about regime change in Venezuela and eliminated Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, liberals on social media are urging Republicans, “If you support Trump’s wars, go join the Army.”
But the data show that Republicans serve in the military at a much higher rate than Democrats. Consequently, the political party that largely supports Trump’s actions is the same party standing on the front lines.
Liberals are quick to criticize Trump’s lack of military service, but no Democrat president has been a veteran since 1979.
Jimmy Carter served in the U.S. Navy as a submarine officer from 1946 to 1953 and was the last Democrat president to have served in the military.
Bill Clinton had no military service and notably avoided the draft during Vietnam, which became a significant political controversy. Barack Obama had no military service. Joe Biden received five deferments from the Vietnam-era draft and was classified 1-Y due to asthma, effectively draft-exempt.
Republicans, by contrast, include Ronald Reagan, who served in the U.S. Army Air Forces from 1937 to 1945 and reached the rank of Captain.
George H.W. Bush was a U.S. Navy aviator and decorated combat veteran of World War II, the youngest naval aviator at the time of commissioning, and was shot down in combat over the Pacific. George W. Bush served in the Texas Air National Guard as an F-102 pilot from 1968 to 1973.
Donald Trump had no active military service and received deferments, including a medical deferment for bone spurs. However, he graduated from New York Military Academy in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York.
He enrolled in 1959 at age 13, graduated in 1964, and rose to the rank of Student Captain, the highest rank available to cadets, commanding the entire corps of cadets in his final year.
In recent Congresses, Republicans have consistently had higher rates of military veterans among their members than Democrats. Of the 80 veterans in the House, 62 are Republicans and 18 are Democrats, meaning Republicans make up 77.5% of House veterans while Democrats make up 22.5%.
Of the 17 veterans in the Senate, 10 are Republicans and seven are Democrats, meaning Republicans make up about 58.8% of Senate veterans while Democrats make up about 41.2%. The trend of Democrats having fewer veterans in Congress has accelerated since roughly 2000.
A number of pro-Iran protesters, as well as liberals and Democrats who oppose the U.S. striking Iran, toppling the regime, and moving the Iranian people closer to liberation than they have been in decades, argue that MAGA supporters who back the war should have to fight in it. The short answer is that MAGA is already fighting in the war.
Republicans outnumber Democrats in the active-duty military, and Gallup and Pew Research data consistently show that veterans vote Republican at significantly higher rates.
Active-duty enlisted personnel demonstrate a 1.7-to-1 Republican-to-Democrat partisan ratio, and enlisted personnel are about three times more likely to identify as independents compared to civilians. According to Pew Research, about 63% of veterans lean toward the Republican Party.
Many assume that the Marine Corps and the Army would be the most conservative branches, with the Navy and Air Force coming last.
However, using Federal Election Commission aggregated data on contributions to political parties, the Marines and the Air Force tend to be significantly more conservative than the Navy and the Army.
The ranking, based on FEC data, appears to be Marines most conservative, Air Force second most conservative, Army less conservative than expected, and Navy least conservative.
There is also a significant difference in party affiliation between enlisted personnel and officers. About two-thirds of majors and higher-ranking officers identify as conservative.
However, only 32% of Army enlisted soldiers consider themselves conservative, while 23% identify as liberal and the remaining 45% are self-described moderates.
Two out of three officers consider themselves either Republican or Democrat, but only 37% of enlisted personnel do so. Officers tend to be not only more partisan but also more Republican, with GOP affinity strongest among the highest ranks.
The Marines’ conservative lean can be explained by several structural factors. It is the smallest branch and the most selective, with the highest standards.
It has the strongest institutional culture and places heavy emphasis on unit cohesion. The Marines recruit heavily from rural Southern and Midwestern communities.
The culture emphasizes traditional values, discipline, and hierarchy. Historically, it has had lower minority representation than the Army. Its combat infantry focus also attracts a specific demographic profile.
The Army ranks lower than expected largely because it is the largest branch and therefore the most demographically diverse. It has a higher proportion of minority enlisted personnel, who statistically lean more Democratic.
The Army also draws from a broader geographic recruiting pool rather than concentrating heavily in traditionally conservative regions. In addition, it includes far more administrative and support roles, which reduces the self-selection effect seen in combat-oriented branches that tend to attract a narrower demographic profile.

Fewer Democrats serve in the military, and during President Trump’s State of the Union address, when Democrats refused to stand for the American people, it became clear they simply love the country less.

The post Who Really Fights America’s Wars? The Military’s Republican Majority appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

“Continuing hurriedly along the corridor regardless of what’s happening, my cheeks flush as I feel a gushing flow trickle down my thigh, over my ankle and into my left ballet pump. It is too late.”

How to rank Steph Curry and Kobe Bryant on the NBA’s pantheon of greatest players is an all-time debate, but at least in terms of the tougher assignment, Iman Shumpert knows his pick.

In proclaiming a “golden age of America” in his State of the Union address, President Trump correctly focused on his initiatives to fix the problems perpetrated by the Bush, Obama and Biden administrations that undermine the physical and economic security of the United States. One of those initiatives is Trump’s war on fraud, which, according to the president, is intended to root out and remedy the “corruption that shreds the fabric” of our nation.Under the leadership of Vice President JD Vance, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and Colin McDonald, Trump’s nominee for the newly created federal post of assistant attorney general for the National Fraud Enforcement Division, Trump’s war will be waged aggressively. As the president put it, “We are not playing games.”But to win the war against fraud, the Trump administration must force the uniparty institutionalists at the Justice Department to change course and protect a key ally in the war on fraud: whistleblowers. Despite being treated as pariahs for decades by the Justice Department’s elitist careerists, whistleblowers are instrumental in enabling the recovery of taxpayer dollars from entities that defraud the government. Whistleblowers play a critical role under the False Claims Act, which has been used to recover $85 billion in taxpayer dollars since 1986. Just last year, the government recovered more than $6.8 billion under the False Claims Act – the highest single-year recovery in its history.Unfortunately, parts of the Justice Department have not gotten Trump’s memo. This is particularly true of the career attorneys in the DOJ’s Civil Division, which is given investigatory and litigation responsibilities under the False Claims Act.DOGE’S MEDICAID DATA DUMP AIMS TO EXPOSE FRAUD — BUT PRIVACY AND LEGAL HURDLES LOOMThe Civil Division maintains policies that undermine Trump’s war on fraud. How? Those policies undermine whistleblowers — the foot soldiers in the trenches — who uncover and litigate fraud claims on behalf of the Justice Department. The Civil Division maintains it has the unfettered discretion to dismiss any anti-fraud lawsuit brought by a whistleblower under the False Claims Act merely by deciding the lawsuit will not vindicate the government’s interest — whatever that means. The Civil Division maintains it can make this decision without evidentiary support and without regard to the underlying facts. That’s hard to reconcile with the Supreme Court’s 2023 8-1 decision in U.S. ex rel. Polansky v. Exec. Health Res., Inc., which held that the Justice Department does not enjoy such unfettered dismissal discretion.CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINIONMore problematically, the Civil Division’s continuation of the Bush, Obama and Biden anti-whistleblower policy undermines the Trump administration’s efforts to combat fraud. Indeed, despite years of hard work and a lot of money invested by whistleblowers, the Civil Division maintains it can pull out the rug from under whistleblowers at any time, for any reason, or no reason. This arbitrary Civil Division policy makes it much less likely whistleblowers will enlist in Trump’s war on fraud.Targets of fraud enforcement by the Trump administration properly include Somalian day care centers, university DEI programs and other examples of corruption actively promoted by Democrats. A whistleblower exposing such fraudulent and illegal activities does so at considerable personal risk. But what whistleblower would knowingly take this risk if her action under the False Claims Act were subject to Civil Division policy it could dismiss any lawsuit, at any time, for any reason or no reason?Americans have learned the hard way that we have magnitudes more fraud than federal prosecutors and agents to root it out, so the Justice Department’s support of whistleblowers is more critical than ever. A successful war against fraud requires alignment across the government. Vance acknowledged as much, noting in a recent Fox News interview that his efforts will include a “full, whole government approach” to investigating fraud concerns. But this approach necessitates that the Civil Division change its policies to support, rather than undermine, a critical ally in Trump’s war on fraud: whistleblowers.CLICK FOR MORE FROM MIKE DAVIS

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force General Dan Caine hold press briefing on Operation Epic Fury (March 2, 2026) – photo by Jordan Conradson
War Secretary Pete Hegseth will deliver another press briefing with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force General Dan Caine this morning to provide updates on US military operations. 
Hegseth and Caine held a press conference on Monday, where they provided an update on Operation Epic Fury after the US attacked Iran on Saturday, killing dozens of senior officials and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Today’s briefing comes as Operation Epic Fury enters its fifth day and as US forces continue operations against designated foreign terrorist cartels in the Western Hemisphere.
As The Gateway Pundit reported on Tuesday, the US Southern Command announced new operations with the Ecuadorian military against narco-terrorists in Ecuador.
NEW: US Southern Command Says US and Ecuadorian Forces Have Launched Operations Against Narco-Terrorist Organization in Ecuador, Releases Footage (VIDEO)

In the Middle East, Iran has been escalating retaliations, including the suicide drone bombing of the US consulate in Dubai on Tuesday and the US Embassy in Saudi Arabia on Monday, where the CIA station was hit. US Central Command reports that the Iranian regime has already fired more than 500 ballistic missiles and over 2,000 drones.
As a result, at least six US Service Members have been killed in action since the beginning of the operation.
Central Command Commander Admiral Brad Cooper said in an update on Tuesday, “More than 50,000 troops, 200 fighters, two aircraft carriers, and bombers from the United States are participating in this operation—and more capabilities are on the way.” Recent reporting suggests that the US may also move to arm Kurdish fighters to ignite an uprising in Iran and take over the government.
The State Department on Tuesday directed Americans in an emergency advisory to immediately leave more than a dozen Middle Eastern countries as the regional conflict intensifies and security risks multiply.
In an update on Tuesday, President Trump said that “more than 9,000 Americans have safely returned home from the Middle East,” urging all to return home on chartered flights free of charge.
Since the launch of Operation Epic Fury, more than 9,000 Americans have safely returned home from the Middle East.
If you are a U.S. Citizen in the Middle East, and you want to come home, please register with the State Department at Step.State.Gov.
The Department will identify where you are, and provide travel options to you. We are already chartering flights, free of charge, and booking commercial options, which we expect will become increasingly available as time goes on.
U.S. Citizens may also call the 24/7 State Department Task Force at +1-202-501-4444.
Step.State.Gov

The press briefing is scheduled to begin at 8 am ET.
Watch live below:

The post WATCH LIVE: Pete Hegeth and Dan Caine Deliver Press Briefing – 8 AM ET appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

World At War: Iranian Warship Reportedly Sunk Off Sri Lanka In Submarine Attack

The latest escalation, with at least ten tankers burning in or around the Strait of Hormuz, an overnight kamikaze drone boat strike on a Russian shadow-fleet LNG tanker in the Mediterranean Sea, and the reported sinking of an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka in what local officials described as a submarine attack, only suggests to any seasoned military strategist that the conflicts tied to the Middle East and Eastern Europe are expanding beyond their traditional theaters.

Reuters reports that Iran’s Navy Mowj-class frigate Dena was sunk by a US submarine off Sri Lanka’s Indian Ocean coast. According to a source in Sri Lanka’s navy and defense ministry, the submarine attack left 32 personnel rescued by Sri Lankan authorities, while 101 remain missing.

Defense sources explained to the media outlet that it was unclear who attacked the Iranian warship.

Here’s more from Reuters:

The navy received a distress call from an Iranian ship and informed the Sri Lankan air force, and both launched a search and rescue operation, the spokesman said.

Sri Lankan forces were focused on saving lives on the Iranian ship and will investigate the cause of the incident later, he said.

Sri Lankan forces had also not observed any other ship or aircraft in the area of the incident, he added.

“We are hopeful we can rescue more people and will continue (operations) until we are sure,” he said.

Related:

Russia Says Ukrainian Drone Boat Blew Up Shadow LNG Tanker In Mediterranean

Trump Gives Assurances To Tankers Passing Through Hormuz

Let’s not forget that US forces in Operation Epic Fury have destroyed the headquarters of the Iranian naval fleet in the port of Bandar Abbas, while Ali Shamkhani, an admiral in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, was killed by an airstrike. The US-Israeli strikes have reportedly wiped out Iran’s air force and navy.

“They have no navy; it’s been knocked out. They have no air force; it’s been knocked out. They have no air detection; that’s been knocked out,” President Trump said on Tuesday afternoon during a news conference at the White House with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

.@POTUS touts the UNBELIEVABLE success of Operation Epic Fury. 🇺🇸
“They have NO NAVY, it’s been knocked out. They have NO AIRFORCE, it’s been knocked out. NO AIR detection—that’s been knocked out. Just about everything has been knocked out…We have a great military.” 🙏 pic.twitter.com/b9Uazk6rkA
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 3, 2026
Without a credible air force or navy, the IRGC’s ability to sustain any meaningful blockade of the Strait of Hormuz will be limited. However, its capacity to wage asymmetric warfare through drones is still unsettling to shipowners, which helps explain why President Trump has offered insurance backstops and naval escorts for tankers transiting the narrow waterway.

Tyler Durden
Wed, 03/04/2026 – 07:45

A Northern Virginia school board has reportedly reached a settlement with the families of two male students who were investigated for sexual harassment and suspended after questioning why a female student was inside the boys’ locker room.According to a new report by ABC 7 News, a federal judge had ordered the parties to mediation, and court records show a settlement was reached. The terms were not disclosed.”While we are not able to share specifics of the settlement agreement, what we can say is that our clients are very happy with the result,” attorneys at Founding Freedoms Law Center, who represented the boys in court, wrote in a press announcement on March 3.The case stems from a March 2025 incident in the boys’ locker room at Stone Bridge High School in Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS). A female student, who identifies as male, recorded three male students in the locker room who expressed “confusion and discomfort” over sharing the boys’ locker room with a biological female.TRUMP DOJ PROBES MICHIGAN SCHOOLS OVER GENDER CURRICULUM, JOINS LAWSUIT AGAINST LA RACE-BASED PROGRAMUnder LCPS policy, students are allowed to use the locker room and restrooms that correspond with their gender identity.LCPS pursued a Title IX investigation and found two of the three students responsible for “sexual harassment” and discrimination. ABC7 reported the findings appeared on their student records and that the district ordered 10-day suspensions.The school district dropped its Title IX claim against one of the students, who is Muslim, and brought additional Title IX violations against the two other students, who are Christian, according to their lawyers at the Founding Freedoms Law Center.The students’ families sued the school board in federal court, seeking to block the suspensions and remove the Title IX findings from their sons’ records, ABC7 reported.VIRGINIA PARENTS FACE $125K BOND PAYMENT TO CONTINUE CONTROVERSIAL TRANSGENDER LOCKER ROOM CASEIn September, a federal judge granted the families emergency relief, blocking the district’s disciplinary actions while the case moved forward, and the students were allowed to return to class.The U.S. Department of Justice also sought to intervene and continue litigation against the school board, arguing the boys’ religious beliefs were violated.On Friday, a federal judge denied the Justice Department’s motion to intervene, calling the case closed after the parties reached a settlement.According to the ABC7 report, “An attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice told the judge that the department has the authority under current statute to intervene despite the status of the case, and that the U.S. Congress intended to allow the federal government to defend people when their religious freedoms are violated.”TRUMP ADMIN FINDS CALIFORNIA BAN ON NOTIFYING PARENTS OF GENDER TRANSITIONS VIOLATED FEDERAL LAWLoudoun County Public Schools declined to comment to Fox News Digital.The Founding Freedoms Law Center and America First Legal celebrated the settlement.”We’re glad that our clients and Loudoun County were able to reach an agreement that ends this litigation,” Victoria Cobb, the president of Founding Freedoms Law Center, told ABC7. “We hope that, in the future, as a result of the attention brought to this situation and our efforts to help vindicate these boys, Loudoun County will have an even greater incentive to protect vulnerable students from the harms of gender ideology.”CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTUREIan Prior, senior counsel at America First Legal, told Fox News Digital, “America First Legal is proud to have litigated this important case on behalf of our clients’ state and federal constitutional and statutory rights. We are pleased that we were able to successfully mediate this case and will continue to vigorously advocate for the rights of students, parents, and teachers, whether that be in Northern Virginia or anywhere else in America.”

The Miami (Ohio) RedHawks’ men’s basketball team continued their perfect start to the season on Tuesday night.The No. 19 RedHawks defeated the Toledo Rockets, 74-72, improving to 30-0 and clinching at least a share of the Mid-American Conference regular-season title. Miami is the only undefeated team in Division I men’s basketball and has the best start and longest winning streak in conference history.CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COMThe team celebrated with the regular-season trophy as confetti fell onto the court in the arena.”That’s the beauty of basketball: When you’re having fun with the right group of guys, you can become unbeatable,” Miami star Peter Suder told reporters, via the school’s website.”It’s a surreal moment, obviously,” he added as he reflected on his family and the support he’s received through his collegiate career. “They’ve been with me through it all, and I’m just super-happy they were there tonight and soaked in the moment as well.”AP COLLEGE BASKETBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: ARIZONA’S BURRIES, VANDERBILT’S BLAKESSuder had 19 points in the win and is averaging 14.8 points per game this season.The RedHawks needed to dig deep to hang on against Toledo.The Rockets cut the deficit to one on four different occasions. Toledo’s Austin Parks had a good opportunity to put the team ahead, but Miami’s Eian Elmer blocked him at the rim. Toledo trailed by two points and had the ball with 13 seconds left, but a costly turnover sealed the win for Miami.Miami completed its first season sweep of Toledo since the 1996-97 season and are now on a three-game winning streak against the Rockets after losing 22 straight from 2012-24.The RedHawks will finish the regular season on the road against the Ohio Bobcats on Friday night.The Associated Press contributed to this report.Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.