The world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, has been ordered to sail from the Caribbean Sea to the Middle East.
That’s according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke Thursday on condition of anonymity. It comes as U.S. President Donald Trump considers whether to take possible military action against Iran.
Recommended Videos
The move, first reported by The New York Times, will put two carriers and their accompanying warships in the region as Trump increases pressure on Iran to make a deal over its nuclear program.
— By Konstantin Toropin and Jon Gambrell
The latest:
Justice Department sues Harvard over access to admissions records
The Trump administration is suing Harvard University, saying it has refused to provide admissions records that the Justice Department demanded 10 months ago.
In a lawsuit filed Friday in federal court in Massachusetts, the Justice Department said Harvard has “thwarted” efforts to investigate potential discrimination.
The department asked Harvard to turn over admissions records last year to determine whether the university has continued considering applicants’ race in admissions decisions.
The Supreme Court barred affirmative action in admissions in 2023 after lawsuits challenged it at Harvard and the University of North Carolina.
Trump officials have accused colleges of continuing the practice, which the administration says discriminates against white and Asian American students. Harvard did not immediately comment.
A statement from Attorney General Pam Bondi said she will “continue fighting to put merit over DEI across America.”
Funding for DHS set to expire Saturday
Another shutdown for parts of the federal government is expected this weekend as lawmakers debate new restrictions on Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda.
Funding for the Department of Homeland Security is set to expire Saturday. Democrats say they won’t help approve more funding until new restrictions are placed on federal immigration operations after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis last month.
The White House has been negotiating with the Democrats, but the two sides failed to reach a deal by the end of the week, guaranteeing that funding for the department will lapse.
Unlike the record 43-day shutdown last fall, the closures will be narrowly confined, as only agencies under the DHS umbrella — like Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection — will be affected.
Still, depending on how long the shutdown lasts, some federal workers could begin to miss paychecks and services like airport screening could suffer if the shutdown drags on for weeks.
German leader calls on US and Europe to repair trust
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called on the U.S. and Europe to “repair and revive trans-Atlantic trust together,” arguing that being part of NATO is also to America’s advantage.
Merz acknowledged a rift in trans-Atlantic relations over the past year as he opened the Munich Security Conference on Friday, an annual gathering of top global security figures.
Last year’s gathering set the tone for growing differences between the Trump administration and Europe. This year’s meeting brings together top European officials with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and many others.
Trump goes to Fort Bragg to celebrate Maduro’s capture
Trump is heading to North Carolina on Friday to celebrate members of the special forces who stormed into Venezuela on the third day of the New Year and whisked away that country’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, to face U.S. smuggling charges.
First lady Melania Trump will also be making the trip to Fort Bragg, one of the largest military bases in the world by population, to spend time with military families.
The president spoke at Fort Bragg in June at an event meant to recognize the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. But that celebration was overshadowed by his partisan remarks describing protesters in Los Angeles as “animals” and his defense of deploying the military there.
Republicans mostly don’t like Trump’s stand on Greenland
A new AP-NORC poll finds that Trump’s recent push to seize control of Greenland is divisive even within his own party.
The survey finds that about 7 in 10 U.S. adults disapprove of how Trump is handling the issue of Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark.
That’s higher than the share who dislike how he’s handling foreign policy generally, suggesting that Trump’s Greenland approach has created a particular weak spot for the administration.
Even Republicans aren’t thrilled. About half don’t like his attempt to turn the icebound landmass into American territory, something that Trump has insisted is critical for national security in the Arctic.
Taiwan reaches trade deal with U.S.
Taiwan has reached a trade deal with the United States that cuts almost all of its tariff barriers.
The U.S. Trade Representative’s office says the agreement covers 99% of Taiwan’s tariffs. The U.S. relies on Taiwan for computer chip production.
U.S. data shows chip exports from Taiwan help drive a large trade imbalance. The gap reached nearly $127 billion in the first 11 months of 2025.
U.S. officials attended the signing through the American Institute in Taiwan. The deal comes ahead of Trump’s planned visit to China in April and suggests a deepening economic relationship between the U.S. and Taiwan.