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DeSantis sinks Florida Republican’s plan to help pay Trump’s legal bill
A day after ending his campaign for the White House and tepidly endorsing Donald Trump, Florida governor Ron DeSantis sank an effort to use his state’s funds to pay off the former president’s legal expenses.
DeSantis promised to veto a bill from state senator Ileana Garcia, a Republican who sought to effectively dedicate up to $5m from Florida’s state budget to help Trump cover his legal costs. The former president faces 91 criminal charges and assorted lawsuits in various jurisdictions.
DeSantis shared a link on social media to a Politico article headlined “Some Florida Republicans want taxpayers to pay Trump’s legal bills”, and he added the caption: “But not the Florida Republican who wields the veto pen.”
Garcia’s proposal had won an endorsement from the elected official who oversees Florida’s state finances, Jimmy Patronis, a Republican. But Garcia withdrew her proposal shortly after DeSantis came out in opposition of it, FloridaPolitics.com reported.
She said in a statement that having Trump in the White House again would be a gain for Florida, where the former president’s Mar-a-Lago resort is located. “And anything we can do to support Florida presidential candidates, like president Trump, will not only benefit our state but our nation”.
DeSantis ended his White House campaign on Sunday after finishing a distant second to Trump in the Iowa caucuses. Polls suggested DeSantis was on track to finish in third far in Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary, far behind Trump and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley.
Endorsing Trump, Desantis wrote: “It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance. He has my endorsement because we can’t go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear, a repackaged form of warmed over corporatism that Nikki Haley represents.”
Trump thanked DeSantis. But he told Fox News it “was highly unlikely” that the Florida governor would have a role in a second Trump administration.
“I have a lot of great people, and I have great people that have been with me right from the beginning,” Trump said on Sunday.
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Trump’s criminal charges center on his attempts to forcibly overturn his defeat to Joe Biden in 2020, on illegally retaining government secrets after he left office, and on hush-money payments to an adult film actor who has alleged an extramarital sexual encounter with him.
He is also a defendant in civil litigation accusing him of illicit business practices as well as rape, with the latter allegation having been deemed substantially true by a judge.
Smoke rises over Konarak naval base in southern Iran on Sunday. The base was one of hundreds of targets of U.S. and Israeli forces throughout the country.
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Planet Labs PBC
Commercial satellite images are providing a unique look at the extent of damage being done to Iran’s military facilities across the country.
The U.S. and Israeli military campaign opened with a daytime attack that struck Iranian leadership in central Tehran. Smoke was still visible rising from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s compound following the attack that killed the supreme leader.
An image by the company Airbus taken on Saturday shows the aftermath of an Israeli strike on Iran’s Leadership House in central Tehran. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the opening wave of attacks.
Pléiades Neo (c) Airbus DS 2026
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Pléiades Neo (c) Airbus DS 2026
Israel and the U.S. have gone on to strike targets across the country. Reports on social media indicate that there have been numerous military bases and compounds attacked all over Iran, and Iran has responded with attacks throughout the Middle East.
U.S. forces have also been striking at Iran’s navy. In a post on his social media platform, President Trump said that he had been briefed that U.S. forces had sunk nine Iranian naval vessels. U.S. Central Command did not immediately confirm that number but it did say it had struck an Iranian warship in port.
An image captured on Saturday shows a ship burning at Iran’s naval base at Konarak.
Satellite image ©2026 Vantor
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Satellite image ©2026 Vantor
Numerous satellite images show burning vessels at Konarak naval base in southern Iran. Images also show damage to a nearby airbase where hardened hangers were struck by precision munitions.
Hardened aircraft shelters at Konarak airbase were struck with precision munitions.
Satellite image ©2026 Vantor
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Satellite image ©2026 Vantor
And there was extensive damage at a drone base in the same area. Iran has launched numerous drones and missiles toward Israel and U.S. military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar. Many drones have been intercepted but videos on social media show that some have evaded air defenses and caused damage in nearby Gulf countries. In Dubai, debris from an Iranian drone damaged the iconic Burj Al Arab, according to a statement from Dubai’s government.
Buildings at an Iranian drone base at Konarak were destroyed in the strikes.
Satellite image ©2026 Vantor
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Satellite image ©2026 Vantor
Iran’s most powerful weapons are its long-range missiles. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards have hidden the missiles deep inside mountain tunnels. Images taken Sunday in the mountains of northern Iran indicate that some of those tunnels were hit in a wave of strikes.
Following Khamenei’s death, Iran declared 40 days of mourning. Satellite images showed mourners gathering in Tehran’s Enghelab square on Sunday.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told NPR on Sunday that Iran will continue to fight “foreign aggression, foreign domination.”
A White House official told NPR that Trump plans to talk to Iran’s interim leadership “eventually,” but that for now, U.S. operations continue in the region “unabated.”
A large crowd of mourners fill Enghelab Square in Tehran on Sunday, following the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike.
Satellite image ©2026 Vantor
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Satellite image ©2026 Vantor
new video loaded: What the Texas Primary Battle Means for the Midterms
By J. David Goodman, Alexandra Ostasiewicz, June Kim and Luke Piotrowski
March 1, 2026
Gunfire rang out at a bar in Austin, Texas, early Sunday and at least three people were killed, the city’s police chief said.
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis told reporters the shooter was killed by officers at the scene.
Fourteen others were hospitalized and three were in critical condition, Austin-Travis County EMS Chief Robert Luckritz said.
“We received a call at 1:39 a.m. and within 57 seconds, the first paramedics and officers were on scene actively treating the patients,” Luckritz said.
There was no initial word on the shooter’s identity or motive.
Davis noted how fortunate it was that there was a heavy police presence in Austin’s entertainment district at the time, enabling officers to respond quickly as bars were closing.
“Officers immediately transitioned … and were faced with the individual with a gun,” Davis said. “Three of our officers returned fire, killing the suspect.”
She called the shooting a “tragic, tragic” incident.
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said his heart goes out to the victims, and he praised the swift response of first responders.
“They definitely saved lives,” he said.
Davis said federal law enforcement is aiding the investigation.
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