Update(1737ET): Absolutely huge late Friday developing news, if it’s confirmed and assuming it sticks, via CBS: “Iran has agreed to give up its stockpile of enriched material – zero accumulation – and allow for full verification by the IAEA of its nuclear program according to US-Iran talks mediator, Oman’s foreign minister Badr al Busaidi.”

The Iranian side also seems to be confirming its willingness to make this significant concession, also to stave off a massive US attack, given the immense build-up of Pentagon assets in the region. According to more breaking details via CBS:

Negotiators from the U.S. and Iran have made “substantial progress” toward a deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi told CBS News on Friday, as President Trump considers strikes on Iran.

Albusaidi — who has mediated several rounds of U.S.-Iran talks over the last month — told “Face the Nation” moderator Margaret Brennan that a “peace deal is within our reach.” 

He said Iran has agreed that it will “never, ever have … nuclear material that will create a bomb,” which he called a “big achievement.” The country’s existing stockpiles of enriched uranium would be “blended to the lowest level possible” and “converted into fuel, and that fuel will be irreversible,” according to Albusaidi.

President Trump had just before the headline hit struck a cautious and ambiguous tone, describing that Iran “does not want to go quite far enough” and for now it’s “too bad” as the White House is not yet “happy with Iran negotiations”.

It’s still very premature at this point to point to any kind of ‘done deal’ – but this at least signals US strikes are unlikely to come this weekend, also as Rubio is still expected in Israel early next week.

But the pressure campaign is continuing, and with this new, strange designation – which no one will really notice:

Today I designated Iran as a State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention. For decades the Iranian regime has cruelly detained innocent Americans and citizens of other nations to use as political leverage. Iran must end this abhorrent practice and immediately free all unjustly detained…

— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) February 27, 2026

* * *

After the third round of indirect US-Iran talks held in Geneva on Thursday, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al-Busaidi – who was the chief mediator – cited “significant progress” – which echoed the generally positive assessment of the Iranian side.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi initially declared, “We reached agreement on some issues, and there are differences regarding some other issues. It was decided that the next round of negotiations will take place soon, in less than a week.”

He acknowledged that it was the most “intense” round yet, but still a “mutual understanding” was reached to “continue to engage in a more detailed manner on matters that are essential to any deal – including sanctions termination and nuclear-related steps.” But there has been no deal, and Washington’s attack plans are still in preparation phase.

“Success in this path requires seriousness and realism from the other side and avoidance of any miscalculation and excessive demands,” Araghchi reportedly said in a call with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty.

There are reports that Washington may have actually dropped the ballistic missile reduction demand (or is at least not pressing it), but is still demanding zero enrichment, and that all remaining enriched uranium in Iran’s stockpile be transferred to US custody. In the process, the US wants to see Iran further dismantle the damaged nuclear sites of Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.

The Wall Street Journal reported soon after Thursday’s talks wrapped up that no deal was reached, and that Tehran negotiators balked at the nuclear demands.

“Iran rejected the idea of transferring uranium stockpiles abroad. It also has objected to ending enrichment, dismantling its nuclear facilities and permanent restrictions on its program, Iranian state media and people familiar with the talks said,” WSJ wrote.

Are the negotiations just a smokescreen to put all military assets in place before the big (unprovoked) attack?

Exclusive- we spoke to Armed Services Chairman @SenatorWicker on Iran yesterday, who told us it’s a waste of time to expect the Iranian government to negotiate w/U.S. in good faith.

He suggested there’s a push to move to military strikes pic.twitter.com/UhB0rptcgW

— Joe Khalil (@JoeKhalilTV) February 27, 2026

With the next round (the fourth) of talks set to be held in Vienna this coming Wednesday, there remains the possibility that Trump could order some kind of strikes between now and then. Such an operation could be ‘limited’ – but there’s no guarantee that Iran’s response will also be limited in terms of the inevitable retaliation.

SpaceX is preparing to confidentially file for an initial public offering as early as next month, people familiar with the matter said, advancing plans for what could become the largest listing ever, according to Bloomberg.

The Starbase, Texas-based rocket and satellite company is expected to submit draft IPO paperwork to the US Securities and Exchange Commission in March, potentially positioning it for a June debut. That timing would make it the first in a possible wave of mega-offerings, with OpenAI and Anthropic PBC possibly following.

Deliberations are ongoing and plans could shift, the people cautioned, noting the filing could still be postponed.

Bloomberg writes that some of the people said SpaceX may pursue a valuation above $1.75 trillion, speaking anonymously because discussions are private. The company recently acquired xAI, Elon Musk’s AI venture, in a February deal valuing the combined business at $1.25 trillion, Bloomberg News reported. A confidential filing would allow SpaceX to receive regulatory feedback and revise disclosures before they are made public. A representative for the company did not immediately comment.

The IPO could raise as much as $50 billion, which would exceed Saudi Aramco’s record $29 billion offering in 2019. At a $1.75 trillion valuation, SpaceX would rank behind only five members of the S&P 500 Index — Nvidia Corp., Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. — and would surpass Meta Platforms Inc. as well as Musk’s Tesla Inc. by market value.

In a memo, SpaceX said it is preparing for a possible 2026 IPO to finance an “insane flight rate” for its developing Starship rocket, space-based artificial intelligence data centers and a lunar base. The company has tapped Bank of America Corp., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley for senior underwriting roles and is weighing a dual-class share structure that could grant insiders, including Musk, enhanced voting control, Bloomberg News has reported.

The most prolific rocket launcher globally, SpaceX leads the industry with its Falcon 9 vehicle, transporting satellites and astronauts into orbit. It is also building toward a lunar foothold before ultimately pursuing Musk’s long-stated goal of sending humans to Mars.

Through Starlink — a vast network of low-Earth orbit satellites — the company has become the dominant provider of space-based internet, serving millions worldwide.

Here comes more of those “Hundreds of Billions”

So much capital coming to this space next 3 years https://t.co/ZwTB0C2CUU

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) November 18, 2025

The DOE announced Wednesday that its Office of Energy Dominance Financing (EDF) has closed a $26.54 billion loan package (the largest in the agency’s history) to two Southern Company subsidiaries.

Georgia Power will receive $22.4 billion and Alabama Power $4.1 billion. The roughly 30-year loans, drawable through September 2033, will finance more than 16.7 GW of reliable generation and transmission upgrades across the Southeast. This new loan dwarfs the previous billion dollar loan recently secured by Constellation for Three Mile Island. 

The portfolio includes approximately 5.3 GW of new natural-gas capacity, 6.3 GW of nuclear improvements through uprates and license renewals at existing plants (including Vogtle), 1 GW of hydropower modernization, battery energy storage systems, and more than 1,300 miles of new transmission lines and grid enhancements.

DOE and Southern project the financing will deliver more than $7 billion in electricity cost savings to customers in Georgia and Alabama over the life of the loans. Once fully drawn, the lower, taxpayer-backed interest rate is expected to cut Southern’s annual interest expense by more than $300 million, costs that would otherwise be recovered from ratepayers. 

Said another way, the burden for upgrading the grossly under-maintained grid will be passed from the local ratepayer to the federal taxpayer. Yay?

*TRUMP: TELLING BIG TECH THEY NEED TO PROVIDE THEIR OWN POWER

*TRUMP: NEGOTIATED NEW RATE PAYER PLEDGE ON DATA CENTER ENERGY

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) February 25, 2026

“These investments will support the extraordinary and transformative projected growth we’re seeing across our company” Southern Chairman and CEO Chris Womack said. “These loans will help lower the cost of investments in our grid that will enhance reliability and resilience for the benefit of our customers”

Energy Secretary Chris Wright framed the deal as a direct fulfillment of the Trump administration’s energy policy. “Thanks to President Trump and the Working Families Tax Cut, the Energy Department is lowering energy costs and ensuring the American people have access to affordable, reliable, and secure energy for decades to come”.

The timing aligns with explosive load growth in the region. Georgia Power alone has secured roughly 7 GW of large-load commitments, largely from data centers and manufacturing, and is pursuing far more. Latitude notes the loans were restructured after the election to emphasize additional gas-fired resources alongside nuclear and transmission. It’s exactly the infrastructure needed to meet hyperscaler demand that utilities say private markets could not finance at comparable rates.

For taxpayers, the structure is debt, not a grant. In theory, the Treasury could break even or better versus Southern borrowing at higher private-market rates. DOE officials, including EDF Director Gregory Beard, stress that individual projects will undergo viability reviews to protect ratepayers and the public balance sheet.

Former President Bill Clinton on Friday told lawmakers that he had no clue about crimes carried out by Jeffrey Epstein, the late sex offender who visited the Clinton White House at least 17 times while Bill was president, before letting Clinton fly on the ‘Lolita Express’ dozens of times. 

“I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong,” Clinton said in a statement prepared for a closed-door deposition in Chappaqua, New York. “I know what I saw, and more importantly, what I didn’t see.”

Bill Clinton swears he never knew. pic.twitter.com/B2QxiuG2X4

— Paul Sperry (@paulsperry_) February 27, 2026

“My brief acquaintance with Epstein ended years before his crimes came to light, and … I never witnessed during our limited interactions any indication of what was truly going on,” said the 79-year-old former president, adding “I had no idea of the crimes Epstein was committing.“

Which is weird, because Epstein had a picture of Clinton in a blue ‘Monica Lewinsky’ dress and red pedo club shoes on his wall…

Clinton became the first former president forced to testify to Congress – and did so just one day after his wife, Hillary Clinton, testified before the same panel. 

While Clinton was interviewed in a closed-door session, the GOP chairman of the committee, James Comer, said they would be asking Bill about trips he took on Epstein’s plane, and the White House visits Epstein made while Clinton was president. 

Another GOP lawmaker on the panel, Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, said that Clinton would be “thoroughly asked” about pictures of him featured in the Epstein files – including one of him soaking in a jacuzzi, and another of him swimming with Ghislaine Maxwell. 

According to the Epoch Times, an FBI document stated that a person whose name was redacted and was not an Epstein victim reported that she was invited to an orgy with Clinton, but did not attend. Law enforcement emails said that an Epstein victim said she met Epstein through another victim who had traveled with Epstein and Clinton to Africa.

Clinton flew on Epstein’s plane in 2002 and 2003, according to previously known flight logs and photographs. He has said previously through a spokesperson that those trips involved work for the Clinton Foundation and that he never went to Epstein’s island, although he briefly went to Epstein’s home in New York and logs showed Epstein went to the White House while Clinton was president.

As Bloomberg notes, ‘Clinton took several trips on Epstein’s private plane before Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to Florida state charges that included procurement of a minor to engage in prostitution. Epstein also donated $1,000 to Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign and $20,000 to Hillary Clinton’s 2000 US Senate campaign. A charity controlled by Epstein contributed $25,000 to the Clintons’ private foundation.’

Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, told the BBC earlier this month that Bill was only flying on the Lolita Express “for his charitable work.” 

Like this?

This isn’t the first time the Clintons have asked us to believe them…

😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/vs15nejB3F

— Politi_Rican 🇵🇷 𝕏 🇺🇸 (@TheRicanMemes) February 27, 2026

On August 19, 2025 we published what we thought was “the most insane chart”, one showing that value of data center construction was about to surpass the value of office construction. We added that we would reach the intersection point within 6 months. 

The most insane chart: value of data centers being built will surpass all offices in construction within 6 months pic.twitter.com/kQBGegx9Fj

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) August 19, 2025

We were right: earlier today the US published the much-delayed Construction Spending report for the month of December. It confirmed, that just as expected, the value of Data Centers constructed in the US has officially surpassed the value of Offices, a historical and very symbolic crossover which makes it clear that going forward machines, and not human workers will provide the bulk of US productivity. 

And while the long-term trend here is assured – at least until there is a new luddite revolution and (soon to be unemployed) humanity revolts against its new chatbot masters, burning down every data center in sight – there may be some near-term volatility. That’s because according to more real-time measures, real estate brokerage CBRE reported that construction of new data centers in the US fell for the first time since 2020 despite soaring demand for artificial intelligence computing capacity, as developers face delays in permitting, zoning and power procurement.

Capacity under construction fell to 5.99 gigawatts at the end of 2025 from 6.35 gigawatts at the end of 2024. Still, in light of the layoff tsunami, it is certain that construction of offices has slowed down even more thus keeping data centers in the pole position. 

The construction delays and faster long-distance networks are driving development to move outside traditional data center sites like Northern Virginia, Gordon Dolven, CBRE’s data center research director, said in the report. The good news is that overall vacancy rate in primary markets fell to a record low 1.4% at year-end.

“Combined with growing interest in markets that offer available land and power, this is spurring investment beyond traditional hubs and reshaping the North American data center market,” Dolven said.

Meanwhile, as we warned last year, local pushback against massive AI data center projects has intensified in recent months, with the tide turning from welcoming the economic benefits of major construction projects to scrutinizing their resource-intensiveness and the associated soaring electricity prices. 

Last week, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker sought to temporarily halt incentives for data centers in a bid to contain soaring power costs Bloomberg reported. An Oracle Corp. site in New Mexico that scored a package of tax incentives and support from government-backed bonds has prompted protests largely focused on its potential environmental impact. And tensions have flared in Northern Virginia, where some residents are now looking to flee what’s become one of the largest data center hubs in the world.

Still, these are just growing pains and once behind the meter power sources are mandated, and small modular reactors become an everyday phenomenon, data center construction will resume its surge. That’s because AI demand is forecast to require $3 trillion in data center investment, including related power supplies, according to estimates from Morgan Stanley. New tenants absorbed a record 2.5 million gigawatts in 2025, up 38% from a year earlier, CBRE said.

Construction underway fell 29% in Northern Virginia, followed by a 15% drop in Hillsboro, Oregon, and a 14% decline in Silicon Valley, CBRE reported. Projects soared 169% in Chicago and 15% in Dallas-Fort Worth.

Atlanta had more than 2 gigawatts of projects under construction, ahead of 1.9 gigawatts in Northern Virginia, in the second half of 2025.

Authored by Luis Cornelio via Headline USA,

The DOJ under the Biden administration “invited” disgraced Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to apply for a generous taxpayer-funded grant as she prosecuted President Donald Trump. 

The arrangement came to light after Willis referenced the grant in December 2022 correspondence with DOJ Senior Advisor Scott Pestridge of the Office of Justice Programs.  

The document was first revealed on Thursday by Just the News through open records requests filed by the outlet and nonprofit America First Legal. 

According to Just the News, Willis referenced the Office of Justice Programs’ Community-Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative grant, which ultimately awarded her office $2 million. 

The timing of the award coincided with her office’s aggressive prosecution of Trump, who at the time was running for president against then-President Joe Biden. 

“I want to document your recognition of our progress and services provided with dynamic partners, as we complete sole source steps for our new grant award, a grant in which you invited us to apply,” Willis wrote to Pestridge, according to Just the News. 

Willis described the award as a “sole source” grant, indicating her office faced no competing applicants. 

The $2 million award was part of roughly $18 million the Biden DOJ provided to Willis’s office between 2021 and 2024.  

She claimed the funds would help “at-risk” youth avoid falling into crime or assist with reintegration into society, according to Just the News. 

Documents released by Willis’s office in response to open records requests show her office maintained consistent coordination with the DOJ after Trump left office in 2021, when she became one of several left-leaning prosecutors pursuing cases against him.  

She later charged Trump under Georgia’s RICO statute, accusing him of attempting to subvert the 2020 election results in the state. 

Her case ultimately unraveled after it was revealed that she had engaged in an affair with Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor she selected to lead the prosecution.  

Willis took vacations with Wade while her office paid him, later claiming she reimbursed him in cash, though she never produced receipts to substantiate those payments. 

Both Wade and Willis were ultimately disqualified from leading the case. After Trump returned to office in 2025, the prosecution was effectively nullified. 

As today’s 5PM ET deadline looms for Anthropic to militarize Claude AI for the Pentagon, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman waded into the fray – telling staff on Thursday night that his company is working with the Department of War to see if their models can be used in classified settings in a way that maintains the same safety guardrails that are about to get Anthropic booted from the Pentagon. 

“We are going to see if there is a deal with the DoW that allows our models to be deployed in classified environments and that fits with our principles,” Altman wrote in a Thursday night note to staff, reported by the Wall Street Journal. “We would ask for the contract to cover any use except those which are unlawful or unsuited to cloud deployments, such as domestic surveillance and autonomous offensive weapons.”

Altman says he wants to “try to help de-escalate things,” aka – they want to be the ones deeply embedded in the Pentagon’s most sensitive systems. 

Red Lines

Altman says OpenAI understands the government’s position that a private company should not have control over significant national-security issues [laughs in Palantir], but says they have the same issues as Anthropic when it comes to use cases. 

“We have long believed that AI should not be used for mass surveillance or autonomous lethal weapons, and that humans should remain in the loop for high-stakes automated decisions. These are our main red lines,” Altman wrote. 

“We believe this dispute isn’t about how AI will be used, but about control. We believe that a private US company cannot be more powerful than the democratically-elected US government, although companies can have lots of input and influence. Democracy is messy, but we are committed to it.”

Altman’s comments come as things aren’t looking so good for Anthropic. Earlier Thursday evening, CEO Dario Amodei announced that the company had rejected the Department of War’s demands that it make its technology available for “all lawful uses,” which means no mass domestic surveillance or autonomous weapons. 

Yet, the Pentagon’s Emil Michael – who allegedly as a private citizen Uber exec wanted to spend a million dollars to surveil and dig up dirt on journalists who covered Uber – noted that mass surveillance is already illegal under the Fourth Amendment, and insists that “Anthropic is lying” because “he @DeptofWar doesn’t do mass surveillance as that is already illegal. What we are talking about is allowing our warfighters to use AI without having to call @DarioAmodei for permission to shoot down an enemy drone swarms that would kill Americans.”

We agree @JeffDean. Mass surveillance violating the 4th Amendment, the N’tl Security Act etc is illegal which is why the @DeptofWar would never do it. We also won’t have any BigTech company decide Americans’ civil liberties. https://t.co/FhAO9gULBI

— Under Secretary of War Emil Michael (@USWREMichael) February 26, 2026

Anthropic is lying. The @DeptofWar doesn’t do mass surveillance as that is already illegal. What we are talking about is allowing our warfighters to use AI without having to call @DarioAmodei for permission to shoot down an enemy drone swarms that would kill Americans. #CallDario https://t.co/43PpyvCVzN

— Under Secretary of War Emil Michael (@USWREMichael) February 27, 2026

Grok On Deck?

The logical move for the Pentagon – after being able to claim they gave Anthropic and OpenAI a fair shake – would be to replace Claude with xAI’s Grok. 

Always ready. Built for maximum truth-seeking and helpfulness, no guardrails on facts or logic. Pentagon mission? Let’s deliver.

— Grok (@grok) February 27, 2026

And so, of course, ‘ALARMS ARE BEING RAISED’ over the prospect, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing the ever-insightful “people familiar with the matter.” 

Officials at multiple federal agencies have raised concerns about the safety and reliability of Elon Musk’s xAI artificial-intelligence tools in recent months, highlighting continuing disagreements within the U.S. government about which AI models to deploy, according to people familiar with the matter. 

The warnings preceded the Pentagon’s decision this week to put xAI at the center of some of the nation’s most sensitive and secretive operations by agreeing to allow its chatbot Grok to be used in classified settings.

…

Senior U.S. officials including at the White House view Anthropic’s outspoken stances on safety and ties to big Democratic donors as potentially making the company too “woke” to be a reliable provider, people familiar with the matter said. The looser controls on Grok, and Musk’s absolutist stance on free speech, have made it a more attractive choice to the Pentagon.

…

Ed Forst, the top official at the General Services Administration, a procurement arm of the federal government, in recent months sounded an alarm with White House officials about potential safety issues with Grok, people familiar with the matter said. Other GSA officials under him had also raised safety concerns about Grok, which they viewed as sycophantic and too susceptible to manipulation or corruption by faulty or biased data—creating a potential system risk. 

Also kinda funny is that the General Services Administration was severely diminished by serious DOGE cuts to ‘waste, fraud and abuse,’ but we’re sure this isn’t a case of sour grapes. 

Will ‘woke’ Anthropic & OpenAI win, or will Grok?

Either way, we all lose. Palantir is already balls deep across critical systems, and US adversaries are undoubtedly leveraging cutting edge AI within their own defense departments & surveilling whoever the fuck they want. 

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

A new advertisement from conservative group American Sovereignty hammers Democrats for staying seated during President Trump’s State of the Union call to prioritize American citizens over illegal aliens, using footage that lays bare their priorities.

The ad, which dropped Thursday, features Trump stating, “If you agree with this statement, then stand up and show your support: The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.” 

Republicans rose in applause while Democrats remained glued to their seats, with overlays labeling the divide and accusing Dems of siding with “illegal immigrant criminals.” 

The spot cuts to Trump’s “These people are crazy” remark before closing with “Republicans are for you.”

As we highlighted in previous coverage, Democrats’ behavior during the SOTU revealed whose side they’re on—and it’s not the American people. 

Many boycotted the event or sat through applause for victims of illegal alien crime, exposing their allegiance to open borders over citizen safety.

They doubled down afterward, with figures like Debbie Wasserman Schultz labeling the speech “absolutely revolting” for prioritizing Americans.

Even more telling, Rep. Rashida Tlaib appeared to chant “KKK” while Republicans chanted “USA!”—a moment ripe for its own ad.

The ad’s release comes as Republicans eye midterms, with a GOP spokesperson telling the Washington Examiner that vulnerable House Democrats should “get comfortable re-watching the moment they revealed they’re nothing more than America-hating scums who stayed glued to their seats.”

The Democrats handed Republicans a raft of campaign material just in time for the midterms. They don’t even try to hide their hate for Americans

If they can’t stand for ‘protect Americans first,’ what exactly are they standing for?

This ad marks the first in a seven-figure blitz targeting battleground states like North Carolina, Michigan, and Georgia, per Politico, aiming to leverage the SOTU optics for electoral gains.

Trump himself called out Democrats during the speech, saying “you should be ashamed of yourself” for not standing, a moment echoed in White House criticisms and conservative commentary.

As midterms loom, this footage serves as a stark reminder: Democrats’ refusal to stand for American priorities hands Republicans ammunition to rally voters against policies that put citizens last.

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

Overnight, Pakistan launched airstrikes across Afghanistan, including targets in the capital of Kabul, soon after which Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif by Friday morning declared an “all-out war” between the two countries.

Hours prior to the commencement of airstrikes and heavier clashes, Afghan Taliban forces reportedly attacked Pakistani border troops Thursday night in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes earlier in the week.

A Pakistani military spokesman has said that 274 Taliban fighters have been killed and more than 400 injured by Pakistani strikes, adding that 74 Taliban posts were destroyed and 18 captured – and counting.

The Taliban for its part has said that 55 Pakistani soldiers were killed and 19 posts seized. Kabul have acknowledged Taliban fighters killed, 11 wounded, and 13 civilians injured in the mountainous northwest border region where the line of fighting is concentrated.

Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, which share the disputed 1,600-mile Durand Line, have shifted from cautious engagement to open hostility. The history has been marked by shifting from one-time allies to on-and-off again enemies. Many analysts are pointing to ‘blowback’ for Pakistan after sponsoring the Taliban’s rise in the first place, decades ago (which also had the help of the CIA in ‘Operation Cyclone’).

Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of sheltering Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants who carry out cross-border attacks.

Analysts say the latest escalation marks the first time Pakistan has directly targeted Taliban government sites, or essentially going all out against Kabul, rather than limiting strikes to alleged TTP positions.

Pakistan has said its forces have taken out a number of tanks and armored vehicles, as well as artillery positions. The Taliban relies on equipment left behind and confiscated after US and NATO forces rapidly withdrew from the country in the summer of 2021.

Pakistan has struck Kabul and declared it’s in an ‘open war’ with Afghanistan, after Islamabad accused the Afghan Taliban of opening fire along the shared border.

The fighting follows days of hostilities, despite a ceasefire agreement in October. pic.twitter.com/uQO1NT4H9f

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) February 27, 2026

It remains that Pakistan’s army has total force domination; however, the Taliban can still inflict pain through acts of terrorism, which Pakistani cities have suffered immensely under.

Acts of terror by Islamist groups have become almost a regular occurrence in Pakistan – with many suspected of having support through Afghanistan. For example, we reported on this major incident just weeks ago as follows:

At least 31 people were killed and 169 others injured on Friday when a suicide bomber struck a Shia mosque on the outskirts of Islamabad during Friday prayers, Pakistani officials said, in one of the capital’s deadliest attacks in over a decade.

The blast happened in the Khadija al-Kubra Imambargah mosque in the outskirts of Islamabad, with police saying the attacker had been stopped at the mosque gate before opening fire and setting off explosives among worshipers, according to officials cited by Reuters.

As for how the warring sides compare, regional publication Al-Monitor lays out the following:

Pakistan’s armed forces benefit from good recruitment and retention, bolstered by equipment from its main defense partner China. Islamabad continues to invest in its military nuclear programs and is also modernizing its navy and air force…

Pakistan has 660,000 active personnel in its defense forces, of whom 560,000 are in the army, 70,000 are in the air force, and 30,000 are in the navy.

The strength of the Afghan Taliban’s military is thinner, with only 172,000 active personnel. The group has, however, announced plans to expand its armed forces to 200,000 personnel.

The Taliban’s international isolation has meant that it cannot modernize its military – but still, there have been reports of drone usage against Pakistan positions.

As is typical, Pakistan points the finger at Israel and India for fomenting instability in the region:

“I think we must not miss out at this point the timing of this attack by Afghanistan. If you look at the visit of Indian PM Narendra Modi to Israel, it will be easier for you to connect the dots and understand that who is behind these attacks.” – Foreign affairs expert Dr Hassan… pic.twitter.com/uGjwMADETA

— Pakistan TV (@PakTVGlobal) February 27, 2026

Taliban authorities said their forces carried out drone strikes against military targets inside Pakistan as clashes between the two countries continued, according to statements from the defense ministry and a government spokesperson on Friday.

Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said Pakistani Taliban militants attempted to deploy drones against targets within Pakistan, but air defense systems intercepted them and no casualties were reported.

Overall, Pakistan is experiencing some serious blowback for its years-long policies… Sky News’ Yalda Hakim points out that “Pakistan spent decades backing and sheltering the Afghan Taliban – its defense minister acknowledged that to me on camera. Now it says Taliban-ruled Afghanistan is providing sanctuary to militants attacking Pakistan. The consequences are unfolding in real time.”

Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times,

The federal government has filed lawsuits against five states—Utah, Oklahoma, Kentucky, West Virginia, and New Jersey—accusing local officials of failing to provide full voter registration lists as requested, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a Feb. 26 statement.

“The Attorney General is uniquely charged by Congress with broad authority to request election records under the Civil Rights Act of 1960,” the DOJ said. “This Act allows her to demand the production, inspection, and analysis of statewide voter registration lists that can be cross-checked effectively for improper registrations.”

However, the states have failed to produce voter rolls requested by the attorney general, according to the complaints.

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has now filed complaints against 29 states and the District of Columbia over the issue.

The lawsuit against Utah argued that the attorney general sent a letter seeking the state’s computerized statewide voter registration list on July 15. The state did provide the information on July 31, but this was the publicly available redacted version of the list.

On Aug. 14, the attorney general sent another letter, demanding that Utah provide a current, unredacted, electronic copy, the lawsuit said.

The state subsequently raised privacy concerns related to the demand for federal election records, and has yet to provide the full list as requested.

Multiple laws require state officials and election officers to maintain and preserve records relating to voter registrations and related actions. The lawsuit accused Utah’s chief election officer of violating the Civil Rights Act, the complaint said.

Similar allegations were made in lawsuits against officials from Oklahoma, Kentucky, West Virginia, and New Jersey.

“Accurate, well-maintained voter rolls are a requisite for the election integrity that the American people deserve,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said. “This latest series of litigation underscores that this Department of Justice is fulfilling its duty to ensure transparency, voter roll maintenance, and secure elections across the country.”

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division said that many state election officials are fighting them in court “rather than show their work.”

“We will not be deterred, regardless of party affiliation, from carrying out critical election integrity legal duties,” Dhillon said.

The Epoch Times reached out to officials from the five states for comments and did not receive a response by publication time.

On Sept. 16, the DOJ sued Oregon and Maine, accusing them of failing to provide voter registration rolls. The same month, similar complaints were filed against California, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania.

In December, the DOJ filed lawsuits against Delaware, Maryland, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Georgia, Illinois, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia. Last month, Arizona and Connecticut were sued by the department.

Following Bondi’s letter requesting Minnesota provide access to the state’s voter rolls, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said in response on Jan. 25: “The answer to Attorney General Bondi’s request is no. Her letter is an outrageous attempt to coerce Minnesota into giving the federal government private data on millions of U.S. Citizens in violation of state and federal law. This comes after repeated and failed attempts by the DOJ to pressure my office into providing the same data.”

Simon said that Minnesota’s elections were “fair, accurate, honest, and secure,” and that “the law does not give the federal government the authority to obtain this private data,” such as Social Security and driver’s license information.

Election Integrity

The Justice Department’s attempt to secure full voter rolls from states follows President Donald Trump’s March 2025 executive order “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections,” which required the attorney general to prioritize the enforcement of laws restricting voter registration and voting by noncitizens.

Republicans are also pushing forward the SAVE America Act, which requires Americans to prove their citizenship when registering to vote. It also mandates that citizens show photo identification when casting ballots, or include a photocopy of their identification when voting by mail.

The bill passed the House of Representatives on Feb. 11 but faces an uncertain future in the Senate.

Democrats have opposed the measure, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) saying that the bill was “dead on arrival” in the chamber.

“The goal of the SAVE Act is the same: disenfranchising American citizens and making it harder for eligible people to vote, particularly low-income Americans and people of color,” Schumer said on the Senate floor on Feb. 9.

Earlier this month, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) criticized the SAVE Act, saying that it would do more harm than good, according to a Feb. 2 statement from the lawmaker’s office.

“Voting by noncitizens in federal elections is already a felony and it is extremely, extremely rare. This bill does nothing to secure our elections while seeking to disenfranchise millions of married women, military members and spouses, and rural, low-income, and minority voters,” Padilla said.

Several progressive and left-wing groups have opposed the voter ID requirements, including the League of Women Voters, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Brennan Center for Justice.

Meanwhile, Trump said in a Truth Social post on Feb. 13 that he plans to sign an executive order mandating voter ID for the midterm elections if the SAVE Act is not passed by the Senate.

“We cannot let the Democrats get away with NO VOTER I.D. any longer,” the president wrote.

“This is an issue that must be fought, and must be fought, NOW! If we can’t get it through Congress, there are Legal reasons why this SCAM is not permitted,” he said. “I will be presenting them shortly, in the form of an Executive Order.”