Salem News Channel

How Close Are We to War with Iran?

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President Donald Trump told the first meeting of his Board of Peace on Thursday that nations had contributed $7 billion to a Gaza reconstruction fund that aims to rebuild the enclave once Hamas disarms, an objective that is far from becoming a reality. The disarmament of Hamas militants and accompanying withdrawal of Israeli troops, the size of the reconstruction fund and the flow of humanitarian aid to the war-battered populace of Gaza are among the major questions likely to test the effectiveness of the board in the months ahead. In a flurry of announcements at the end of a long, winding speech to representatives from 47 nations, Trump said the United States will contribute $10 billion to the Board of Peace. He said contributing nations had raised $7 billion as an initial down payment for Gaza reconstruction. Nations contributing included Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, and Kuwait, he said. Trump proposed the board in September when he announced his plan to end Israel's war in Gaza. He later made clear the board's remit would expand beyond Gaza to tackle other conflicts worldwide. Trump said FIFA will raise $75 million for soccer-related projects in Gaza and that the United Nations will chip in $2 billion for humanitarian assistance. Trump said Norway would host a Board of Peace event, but Norway clarified it was not joining the board. The Board of Peace includes Israel but not Palestinian representatives. Trump's suggestion that the Board could eventually address challenges beyond Gaza has stirred anxiety that it could undermine the U.N.'s role as the main platform for global diplomacy and conflict resolution. "We're going to strengthen the United Nations," Trump said, trying to assuage his critics, even though the United States is in arrears on making payments. The meeting came as Trump threatens war against Iran and has embarked on a massive military buildup in the region in case Tehran refuses to give up its nuclear program. Trump said he should know in 10 days whether a deal is possible. "We have to have a meaningful deal," he said. Trump said several nations are planning to send thousands of troops to participate in an International Stabilization Force that will help keep the peace in Gaza when it eventually deploys. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto announced his country would contribute up to 8,000 troops to the force "to make this peace work." The plan for the force is to begin working in areas Israel controls in the absence of Hamas disarmament. The force, led by a U.S. general with an Indonesian deputy, will start in the Israeli-controlled city of Rafah and train a new police force, eventually aiming to prepare 12,000 police and have 20,000 troops. Hamas, fearful of Israeli reprisals, has been reluctant to hand over weaponry as part of Trump's 20-point Gaza plan that brought about a fragile ceasefire last October in the two-year Gaza war. Trump said he hoped the use of force to disarm Hamas would not be necessary. He said Hamas had promised to disarm and it "looks like they're going to be doing that, but we'll have to find out." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in Israel that Hamas will be disarmed one way or the other. "Very soon, Hamas will face a dilemma - to disarm peacefully or disarmed forcefully," he said. In Gaza, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said any international force must "monitor the ceasefire and prevent the (Israeli) occupation from continuing its aggression." Disarmament could be discussed, he said, without directly committing to it. The event had the feel of a Trump campaign rally, with music blaring from his eclectic playlist that included Elvis Presley and the Beach Boys. Participants received red Trump hats. Hamas, which has resumed administration of the ruined enclave, says it is ready to hand over to a U.S.-backed committee of Palestinian technocrats led by Ali Shaath, but that Israel has not allowed the group into Gaza. Israel has yet to comment on those assertions. Nickolay Mladenov, a Bulgarian with a senior role in the Board of Peace, said at the meeting that 2,000 Palestinians have applied to join a new transitional Palestinian police force. "We have to get this right. There is no plan B for Gaza. Plan B is going back to war. No one here wants that," said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

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In the lead-up to June's primary elections, conservative voters are voicing deep dissatisfaction with Republican leadership, threatening to sit out local races.

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Congressman Brandon Gill, the steadfast Republican incumbent for Texas's 26th District, is gearing up for a decisive 2026 reelection battle, emphasizing the urgent need to crush the radical left and rally conservative voters.

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The State Of America's Education In 2026 With Erika Donalds, America First Policy Institute’s Chair of Education Opportunity.

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Republicans Sue To Stop Virginia Redistricting Referendum With Bryce Reeves, Virginia State Senator (R-28).

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Affordability In 2026 America With Mike Palicz, Tax Policy Director for Americans for Tax Reform, Former Trump 45 admin official.

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A federal panel is set to advance President Donald Trump’s plan to build a massive ballroom on the site of the former White House East Wing. The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts is expected to vote on the project’s design at its monthly meeting Thursday. While commissioners previously questioned the scale of the ballroom, they broadly support the president’s vision for a grand expansion.

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Iran and the United States are both applying naval pressure as tensions surrounding Tehran’s nuclear negotiations continue. Tehran held military drills Thursday alongside Russia, while the U.S. moved another aircraft carrier — the USS Gerald R. Ford — closer to the Middle East. The additional deployment of warships and aircraft does not guarantee a strike, but it does give President Donald Trump the option should he choose to act.

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The Donald Trump administration is giving immigration officers broader authority to detain legal refugees seeking green cards as part of expanded national security vetting efforts. A new memo from the Department of Homeland Security requires refugees to return to government custody one year after arriving in the United States for additional inspection and re-screening. Officials say the policy is aimed at strengthening post-admission vetting, aligning refugee reviews with other immigration processes, and promoting public safety as applications for lawful permanent residency move forward.

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President Trump will host a Board of Peace meeting today in Washington, where he will announce that member states have pledged more than $5 billion for reconstruction and humanitarian efforts in Gaza. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Wednesday that more than 20 countries would participate in the gathering. She added that the president would give details on the financial package: "He will announce that member states have pledged more than $5 billion towards the Gaza humanitarian and reconstruction efforts and have also committed thousands of personnel to the international stabilization force and local police to maintain security and peace for Gazans." Asked about the Vatican's decision not to participate in the initiative, Leavitt called the move "deeply unfortunate."

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Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office. The former British prince was stripped of his royal titles because of his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Thames Valley Police said on Thursday that a man in his 60s from Norfolk in eastern England was arrested and remained in custody. The force did not identify the suspect, in line with standard procedures in Britain. Mountbatten-Windsor is 66 and moved to his brother King Charles III’s estate in Norfolk after he was evicted from his longtime home near Windsor Castle.

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Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office. The former British prince was stripped of his royal titles because of his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Thames Valley Police said on Thursday that a man in his 60s from Norfolk in eastern England was arrested and remained in custody. The force did not identify the suspect, in line with standard procedures in Britain. Mountbatten-Windsor is 66 and moved to his brother King Charles III’s estate in Norfolk after he was evicted from his longtime home near Windsor Castle.

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Another Shooting by a Transgender

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One of the most promising leads yet in the investigation into the abduction of Nancy Guthrie proved a disappointment on Tuesday when DNA from a glove found near her Arizona home failed to score a match in a national database of genetic profiles. The outcome, announced by the Pima County Sheriff's Department and FBI, marked a major setback for investigators as the search for the 84-year-old mother of television journalist Savannah Guthrie stretched into its 17th day. Investigators had hoped a DNA sample retrieved from the glove last week would produce what forensic experts call a "hit" when it was submitted for comparison with known DNA profiles stored in a national database called CODIS, short for the Combined DNA Index System. The glove, found discarded in a roadside field about 2 miles from the elder Guthrie's Tucson-area house, resembled a pair worn by an armed man in a ski mask seen in video footage trying to disable her doorbell camera in the early morning hours shortly before she was abducted. Sheriff Chris Nanos has said he believes the man in the video, who was also wearing an over-stuffed backpack and a handgun in a holster, is the likely perpetrator of the abduction and the primary suspect authorities are looking for. But the sheriff's department said on Tuesday that the glove DNA failed to trigger a match in CODIS or with DNA found at the Guthrie property. "At this point, there have been no confirmed CODIS matches in this investigation," the sheriff's office said, adding that additional DNA evidence recovered at Guthrie's residence was still being analyzed. "CODIS is one option of many databases that are available," the agency said. Guthrie's disappearance, treated by authorities as an apparent kidnapping for ransom, has drawn intense public interest around the globe, with news media outlets following every twist and turn in the case. Much of the probe involved old-fashioned detective work, including investigators working with managers of Walmart retail outlets to pinpoint a person who purchased the backpack seen in the video, the sheriff's office said. Phillip Martin, co-owner of a Tucson gun store, told Reuters on Tuesday that an FBI agent who acknowledged he was working on the Guthrie case visited his shop with a list of fewer than 20 potential customers and asked if any had purchased a weapon there. Martin said he checked but none had. The visit to this gun shop was more than a week ago, and law enforcement continue to refine lists of potential persons of interest. The list being shown to gun stores was developed from cross-referencing backpack and holster purchases and other data points, a law enforcement official told Reuters. In other efforts, the sheriff's department said its investigators had been using a "signal sniffer" technology that produces a heat map to identify potential search targets within a given area. Parsons Corp, which designed the system, said it has been used by search teams in the Guthrie case operating by helicopter, ground vehicles and on foot. Nancy Guthrie was last seen on January 31 when she was dropped off at her home near Tucson by her family after she had dined with them, and was reported missing by relatives the following day, authorities have said. Nanos has said the elder Guthrie was extremely limited in her physical mobility and could not have left her home unassisted, leading investigators to conclude early on that she had been taken against her will. At least two purported ransom notes have surfaced since she vanished, both of them delivered initially to news media outlets. There has been no known direct contact between any suspects and Guthrie's family or authorities. Savannah Guthrie, 54, co-anchor of the popular NBC News morning show "Today," has posted several video messages, along with her brother Camron Guthrie and sister Annie Guthrie, pleading for their mother's return and appealing for the public's help in solving the case. On Sunday, Nanos released a statement declaring that immediate family members - all siblings and their spouses - have been ruled out as suspects in the case, saying "The Guthrie family are victims, plain and simple." Traces of blood found on Guthrie's front porch were confirmed by DNA tests to have come from Guthrie, officials said last week. Law enforcement and family members have described her as being in frail health and in need of daily medication to survive. She also has a pacemaker. Nanos told Reuters last week that no proof of life has surfaced since the abduction, but added that "there's not been any proof of death either," saying his working presumption is that Nancy Guthrie remains alive.

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President Donald Trump spoke at a reception for Black History Month in the East Room of the White House Wednesday.

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How Long Will War Last Against Iran? 

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The War Will Start Soon...It's Inevitable 

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Josh opens the show by breaking down new reports that the United States may be preparing for a potential conflict with Iran. He explains what this could mean for Americans at home, the long-term implications for the country, and the latest details emerging about the possible timing and strategy. Rachel Bovard, Vice President of Programs at the Conservative Partnership Institute, joins the program to discuss the voting legislation passed in the House last week and the growing debate in Washington over eliminating the filibuster. Josh also calls out what he sees as misinformation from Stephen Colbert and The Late Show regarding the FCC, and why he believes the narrative being pushed doesn’t match reality.

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