The United States launched military strikes and “major combat operations” against Iran on Feb. 28, President Donald Trump said, targeting the country’s missile capabilities.

“Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people,” Trump said, calling the strikes “a massive and ongoing operation.”

The attack follows weeks of rising tensions as Trump repeatedly threatened to attack Iran if negotiations over its nuclear and missile development programs fail.

Live updates: Iran hit by ‘massive’ US attack; supreme leader targeted: Updates

Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, was directly targeted, a Middle Eastern official familiar with the matter told USA TODAY. Khamenei’s fate was unknown.

Iran launched retaliatory drone and missile strikes against American and Israeli targets after the joint U.S.-Israeli attack, hitting a U.S. Navy base in Bahrain. Iran said its enemies would be “decisively defeated.”

Images from Tehran early Saturday showed smoke rising from the Iranian capital as residents ran for cover. Iran said 40 people were killed in a strike at a girl’s school in the south.

Officials from the Volunteer State reacted.

‘It’s time,’ says Sen. Marsha Blackburn

U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, praised the operation on Saturday morning, Feb. 28.

“The Iranian regime has chanted ‘Death to America’ for decades,” she said, in a statement on X. “It’s time to end the reign of terror.”

Alongside her statement, she shared the announcement made by Trump early Saturday morning.

“A short time ago, the United States military began major combat operations in Iran. Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard terrible people,” Trump said in a video statement, which he delivered from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

The Trump administration has for weeks held negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program while also building up its military presence in the region. Tehran refused to abandon its nuclear ambitions, the U.S. president said, prompting the overnight airstrikes, which sent smoke plumes over Iran.

“They just wanted to practice evil,” Trump said in the video posted on social media. “And we can’t take it anymore.”

Sen. Bill Hagerty, Rep. Chuck Fleischmann support the operation in Iran

U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty stated his support for the operation.

“The world knows the death and destruction that Iran has perpetrated for decades,” he said, in a statement on social media. “The regime must be held accountable.

“(Trump) knows that strength—not weakness—brings peace. The president will not pass the buck to avoid necessary decisions to protect the American people. May God bless America, our Service Members, and our Allies.”

U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann echoed Hagerty.

“For decades, Iran and its theocratic dictatorship have been the world’s largest state sponsor of terror, threatening the United States and the peace of the world,” he said on social media. “President Trump will always defend America’s national security and interests. May God bless the men and women of our armed forces and our coalition partners.”

Rep. Andy Ogles thanks Trump and Israeli Prime Minister

U.S. Rep Andy Ogles thanked Trump, alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for the operation.

“I firmly stand with the people of Iran and support their right to take their country back from the mass murderer the Ayatollah. Thank you (Trump) and the White House for your leadership and (Netanyahu) for your partnership in securing freedom in the region.”

However, not everyone agreed with the strikes.

State legislator calls strikes ‘dangerous’

Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, called the strikes “dangerous for us all.”

“The leader of his proclaimed ‘Board of Peace’ is dragging us into an illegal war to deflect from his failures and profit donors in the war industry,” he said. “We are being led by a madman with no check from Congress and no clear justification to the American people.”

POLK COUNTY, Tenn. — More Tennesseans could soon be able to request library books be removed under a bill making its way through the General Assembly.

The new piece of legislation aims to expand an existing law that lets libraries choose who can submit requests for review of a book.

Friday we spoke with the chairman of the Polk County Library Board, who says he worries this legislation infringes upon First Amendment rights.

“There are groups that I feel that can take advantage of this process,” Timothy Woody says.

Chairman of the Polk County Library Board Timothy Woody says while this bill wouldn’t drastically change how Polk County operates, he’s concerned about how it could be used in other parts of Tennessee.

“Libraries all across the state of Tennessee, for lack of better terms, are being attacked in some areas. Groups are coming into libraries, and they’re trying to get books banned. They’re pushing these reconsideration forms over and over and over and trying to get books taken out of libraries.”

According to the American Library Association, book challenges reached record highs nationwide in 2022 and 2023 with Tennessee among the states reporting some of the highest numbers in recent years.

Teen reads book on floor of library. Getty Images.

In 2025, the University of Maryland says the top reasons for banning books had to do with content that was sexually explicit or inappropriate for certain age groups.

But a bill making it’s way through the Tennessee General Assembly would let any resident in any county to ask a library to “withdraw, move, or reclassify an item.”

That request would go before the library board, which then has 90 days to respond.

In Polk County, Woody says they currently operate under a collection development policy that lays out exactly how materials are selected and how they’re challenged.

Anyone requesting a review must fill out a reconsideration form detailing their concerns.

Woody says strong policies like Polk County’s are what protect libraries from outside pressure.

“Your library boards have to be open minded and non biased when it comes to any type of views…”

This issue is sparking concern on social media.

One user commenting on our Facebook post wrote, “If you don’t like a book, don’t read it.” Another called the proposal “a slippery slope.”

Woody says he understands those concerns.

“It is an infringement on our First Amendment rights.”

Although censorship is considered a First Amendment violation, some limitations are constitutionally permissible. According to Middle Tennessee State University, a court of law may take community standards into account when deciding whether materials are obscene and thus subject to censorship.

Gas prices are much higher than Trump claimed in Tennessee.

• President Donald Trump bragged about low gas prices for drivers during State of the Union address.
• Only 8 out of 150,000 gas stations are selling gas below $2 a gallon. TN gas prices are much higher.

President Donald Trump bragged about low gas prices during his State of the Union address Feb. 24, but prices are considerably higher than he claimed — even in Tennessee, where gas usually costs less than the national average.

AAA.com’s national average gas price stands at $2.98, almost an entire dollar-per-gallon higher than Trump’s claims of gas costing “$1.99 in some states” based on CNN fact checking. Here’s how Tennessee’s actual gas prices compare to Trump’s claims.

How much does gas cost in Tennessee compared to Trump’s claims?

Tennessee’s current gas price is $2.56 a gallon, according to AAA. That is about 57 cents higher than the prices Trump said gas cost in some states during his State of the Union address. It is also 26 cents higher than the $2.30-per-gallon price Trump claimed was common in most states, according to CNN.

Tennessee is one of the few states selling gas for under $2.60 a gallon. In fact, the Volunteer State has some of the lowest gas prices in the nation as of late February. TN average gas prices are down 24 cents a gallon year-over-year from $2.80 a gallon.