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Trump to host military parade to celebrate Army’s 250th birthday, honor active-duty service members, veterans

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EXCLUSIVE: President Donald Trump will host a military parade in June to honor military veterans and active-duty service members and commemorate the U.S. Army’s 250th birthday, Fox News Digital has learned. 

The parade is scheduled for June 14, the 250th birthday of the United States Army and Trump’s birthday. 

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President Donald Trump salutes at a campaign rally March 16, 2024, in Vandalia, Ohio.  (AP/Jeff Dean)

TRUMP TO CREATE TASK FORCE TO PLAN ‘EXTRAORDINARY CELEBRATION’ FOR 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF AMERICA’S INDEPENDENCE

The parade will have reenactors, equipment and more from the Revolutionary War, Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Gulf War/Desert Storm and the Global War on Terror (Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria). It will also feature active-duty service members and students at U.S. military academies.

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Former President Donald Trump with military wreath at Arlington National Cemetery

President Donald Trump salutes as he participates in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery to commemorate Memorial Day May 25, 2020, in Arlington, Va. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images)

«The president is planning an historic celebration of the Army’s 250th birthday that will honor generations of selfless Americans who have risked everything for our freedom,» White House Domestic Policy Council Director Vince Haley told Fox News Digital. 

«Exactly 250 years ago, the first American patriots died for the cause of Independence. We owe our freedom to them and to every solider who has given their life for our nation in the 2½ centuries since.» 

The parade comes after Trump, in January, signed an executive order creating «Task Force 250,» which is focused on coordinating the plans and activities celebrating the 250th anniversary of American independence. The 250th anniversary of America’s founding is July 4, 2026.

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«As one of the first events of the year-long celebration of our 250th anniversary, this commemorative parade will be a fitting tribute to the service, sacrifice and selflessness of the brave men and women who have worn the uniform and devoted their lives to defending the greatest experiment in liberty known to man,» Vance told Fox News Digital. 

Donald Trump, Melania Trump and family watch fireworks at Trump National Golf Club

The White House is coordinating closely with the Pentagon, the Department of Homeland Security, the National Parks Service and a number of other agencies to plan the parade.  (Alex Brandon/Pool via Reuters)

TRUMP WHITE HOUSE RELEASES VIDEO SERIES LEADING UP TO AMERICA’S 250TH BIRTHDAY: ‘ROAD TO INDEPENDENCE’

The White House is coordinating closely with the Pentagon, the Department of Homeland Security, the National Park Service and a number of other agencies to plan «this spectacular event honoring our veterans, active-duty service members and military history,» an official told Fox News Digital. 

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«We love our military and take great pride in honoring our warfighters,» Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Fox News Digital. «In celebration of 250 years of the U.S. Army, we will throw the biggest and most beautiful military parade in our nation’s history.» 

Meanwhile, the task force is coordinating «the plans and activities of federal agencies for an extraordinary celebration of the 250th Anniversary of American Independence.» 

Hegseth Vance

«We love our military and take great pride in honoring our warfighters,» Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Fox News Digital.  (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)

Task Force 250 builds upon the U.S. Bicentennial Celebration half a century ago. The celebration «emphasized national renewal of our founding ideals after a period of national unrest and division,» the White House told Fox News Digital.

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AHEAD OF TRUMP SPEECH TO CONGRESS, FLASHBACK TO 2017 ADDRESS ASKING ‘WHAT WILL AMERICA LOOK LIKE’ AT 250

In the lead-up to the major 2026 celebration, the White House has celebrated the anniversaries of major events in America’s founding, including the 250th anniversary of Patrick Henry’s «Give Me Liberty or Give me Death» speech in March, the 250th anniversary of Paul Revere’s famous ride in April and the 250th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord. 

TOPSHOT - US President Donald Trump salutes during the presidential inaugural parade on January 20, 2017 in Washington, DC.

The executive order that established the task force also reinstated executive orders from Trump’s first administration, establishing the National Garden of American Heroes, a statuary park memorializing 250 historically significant Americans.  (Nicholas Kamm/AFP/AFP via Getty Images)

The executive order that established the task force also reinstated executive orders from Trump’s first administration, establishing the National Garden of American Heroes, a statuary park memorializing 250 historically significant Americans, and commissioning artists for the first 100 statues. 

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The National Garden of American Heroes honors «American heroism» after dozens of monuments to Americans, including presidents and Founding Fathers, were toppled or destroyed and never restored.

The order also reinstated an order to protect American monuments, memorials and statues from destruction or vandalism.

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The White House said America’s 250th anniversary will «afford an opportunity to unite the American people around their shared history and common future as a nation.»

During Trump’s first term, he held a unique «Salute To America» event on the Fourth of July in 2019, which was different from typical Independence Day celebrations put on by past presidents. 

The event included a prominent display of military hardware with tanks parked near the National Mall and military flyovers by an array of aircraft. It also included an address on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial from the president and the typical fireworks display.

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Apagones, inflación y transporte limitado: la vida incierta de los cubanos sin combustible por el cerco impuesto por Estados Unidos

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Apagones prolongados, transporte limitado, empleos amenazados y precios en alza: la crisis energética golpea la vida cotidiana de los cubanos y alimenta la incertidumbre sobre lo que depara el futuro.

El estado de las reservas de combustible del país sigue siendo la gran incógnita. Por el momento, las medidas de emergencia anunciadas por el gobierno estarán vigentes hasta los primeros días de marzo.

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Transporte limitado

En la isla de 9,6 millones de habitantes, el gobierno suspendió la venta de diésel y restringió drásticamente la de gasolina como parte de las medidas de emergencia frente a la crisis actual.

Los propietarios de vehículos ahora tienen acceso a 20 litros de gasolina a través de una aplicación móvil que organiza la distribución que puede tardar meses.

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Mientras el transporte público se ha reducido sustancialmente, se ha duplicado el precio del pasaje de los pocos taxis privados que aún circulan por las calles de La Habana y el de los triciclos eléctricos que sirven de transporte colectivo.

«Los tiempos están complicados», explica a la AFP Yixander Díaz, un albañil de 27 años que vive en un municipio periférico de La Habana y se desplaza cada día en bicicleta hasta el centro de la ciudad para trabajar, con herramientas y materiales en su bicicleta.

Hasta hace poco, este padre de dos niños trabajaba como taxista, pero ante la escasez de petróleo debió «parquear la moto, parquear el carro» y regresar a su antiguo oficio de albañil para «seguir sobreviviendo».

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Empleos amenazados

Como parte de las medidas, que también incluyen una semana laboral de cuatro días, el gobierno informó que mantendrá durante un mes el 100% del salario para los empleados públicos.

Personas esperan transporte público en La Habana (Cuba). Foto EFE

Asimismo, la desaceleración de la actividad económica ya afecta a las empresas privadas, a los trabajadores autónomos y los informales.

Alexander Callejas, de 49 años, trabaja por su cuenta como parqueador en un restaurante privado de La Habana Vieja, donde la cifra de clientes que llegan en sus coches se ha reducido. «En cualquier momento me quedo sin trabajo y no sé cómo voy a alimentar a mi familia», asegura.

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Según una investigación de la consultora privada Auge, el 96,4% de las pequeñas y medianas empresas privadas del país (unas 8.904) enfrentan un impacto que va de «severo a catastrófico» ante la escasez de combustible.

– Apagones –

La producción local de crudo, de unos 40.000 barriles diarios, apenas permite alimentar las ocho centrales termoeléctricas del país. La falta de diésel paraliza una batería de generadores eléctricos que completan la producción.

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Entre el 1 de enero y el 15 de febrero, la disponibilidad de electricidad disminuyó un 20% respecto a 2025, año en el que Cuba solo satisfizo la mitad de sus necesidades de electricidad, según cifras oficiales recopiladas y analizadas por la AFP.

Sin embargo, esta baja se ve mitigada por un aumento significativo de la producción de energía solar desde principios de 2026, en comparación con 2025 (+42,3%), de acuerdo con la misma fuente.

«Aquí quitan la luz todos los días», declara a la AFP Eduardo, que prefiere no dar su apellido. Resignado, este hombre espera en el umbral de su casa en La Habana que llegue la electricidad para «ver si» puede «cocinar».

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Precios disparados

El aumento del precio de los combustibles y la escasez de transporte han impulsado el encarecimiento de productos como el aceite comestible y diversos bienes agrícolas en el comercio privado. Cuba importa el 80% de los alimentos que consume.

Luis Amauri Morales, vendedor ambulante de frutas y verduras, reconoce que los productos agrícolas son cada día más caros. «Puede llegar la escasez», si persisten la crisis del combustible y el aumento de su precio, vaticina este hombre de 52 años. Un litro de petróleo se cotiza ya a cinco dólares en el mercado negro.

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Yordan González, de 20 años, empleado de un pequeño comercio de Centro Habana que vende frutas y verduras importadas, ya siente el impacto de la escasez.

«Empezamos a trabajar a las nueve de la mañana y a las doce del día tenemos que cerrar ya porque no hay mercancía» y «no hay petróleo» para traer más, refiere.

En el puerto comercial de El Mariel, el mayor de la zona occidental de Cuba, los contenedores se acumulan por falta de diésel para distribuir las mercancías, según una fuente del sector.

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Con Rigoberto Díaz. Agencia AFP

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From grief to gold medals, Trump’s SOTU guest list tells a bigger story

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President Donald Trump will deliver his fourth State of the Union address of his presidential tenure Tuesday night, which will include guests stretching from conservative speaker Charlie Kirk’s widow, Erika, to the parents of the National Guard member fatally shot on the streets of Washington, D.C., in November 2025. 

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Trump will take the dais at 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time Tuesday, when he is expected to deliver a data-heavy speech focused on the economy and his administration’s wins lowering cost-of-living woes. 

He will be joined by special guests who will help illustrate how his policies have delivered real savings to everyday Americans, those who have been the victims of crimes and tragedy and those embodying American triumph. 

Among top names invited to the address are Erika Kirk, who is now leading conservative group Turning Point USA after her husband, the group’s co-founder and executive director, was assassinated in September 2025 while touring college campuses. Trump’s speech will include mentions of the U.S.’ «tremendous revival of faith, Christianity, and belief in God in our country» since Kirk’s death, The Daily Wire reported. 

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Brady Tkachuk, Jack Hughes, Matthew Tkachuk and Quinn Hughes attend a celebration of the USA Men’s Hockey Team’s Olympic Gold Feb. 23, 2026, in Miami.  (Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images for E11EVEN Miami)

The U.S. men’s hockey team also is traveling to the speech after winning the gold in the Olympics after defeating Canada 2–1. The team traveled on a blue-and-white Air Force jet from Miami to the nation’s capital Tuesday.

Everyday Americans also will play a large role in Trump’s speech, with the president inviting women such as Catherine Rayner of Norfolk, Virginia. Rayner and her husband have been navigating fertility complications and in vitro fertilization for five years. 

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LIBERAL PUNDITS CALL TEAM USA HOCKEY PLAYERS ‘MORONS,’ SCOLD GOLD MEDALISTS OVER TRUMP CALL

Rayner became the first patient of TrumpRx.gov — a government-run portal designed to steer consumers toward lower-cost prescription drugs offered by manufacturers — earlier in February when it rolled out, and saw pharmaceutical bills drop from about $4,000 to $500, Fox News Digital previously reported. 

Trump points while delivering 2025 State of the Union speech

President Donald Trump will deliver his fourth State of the Union address of his presidential tenure Tuesday night.  (Win McNamee/Pool via Reuters)

The president also invited Pennsylvania mom Megan Hemhouser, who homeschools her two children and also works as a waitress in the evenings. Her husband is a heavy machinery operator, with the family showcasing how the president’s «no tax on tips» and «no tax on overtime» policies have benefited everyday families. The Hemhousers have benefited from a $5,000 increase in take-home pay under Trump’s tax plans included in the one «big beautiful bill.» 

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GROWING NUMBER OF DEMOCRATS SKIPPING TRUMP’S 2026 STATE OF THE UNION

National Guard Continue Patrolling Washington, DC After Shooting

Members of the National Guard patrols along Constitution Ave. on December 01, 2025 in Washington, DC. Two West Virginia National Guard troops were shot blocks from the White House on November 26, resulting in the death of Sarah Beckstrom on Thursday, November 27, following what authorities called a targeted attack. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)

Trump also invited the parents of Sarah Beckstrom, the 20-year-old National Guard member who was killed in Washington, D.C., ahead of Thanksgiving 2025. 

Dalilah Coleman, 7, will also attend the speech, CBS News reported. Coleman was left seriously injured by a California car crash involving an illegal immigrant truck driver in 2024. 

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SPEECHWRITERS FROM REAGAN TO BIDEN AGREE: TRUMP’S SOTU IS A CRITICAL TEST FOR HIS SECOND TERM

Trump and Melania at New Year's event

President Donald Trump revealed that first lady Melania Trump is no fan of his public dancing on stage.  (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

First lady Melania Trump invited guests who the White House said reflect on her «Be Best, Fostering the Future» push, including Sierra Burns, a participant in her Foster Youth to Independence Program, and Everest Nevraumont, a 10-year-old student at an AI-focused private school, Alpha School, an AI advocate and a TedX speaker. 

The pair will join the first lady in her box for the 2026 State of the Union, spotlighting her focus on expanding opportunity through education and technology, according to the White House’s website. 

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Trump additionally invited the U.S. women’s hockey team to the speech after their gold win over Canada, but they declined due to the timing of the speech. 

Trump’s speech is expected to focus on economic wins under his leadership, while celebrating the nation’s landmark 250th anniversary of independence. 

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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital ahead of the speech, «President Trump’s State of the Union Address will celebrate 250 glorious years of our nation’s independence and excellence, highlighting incredible stories of American heroes throughout the speech.»

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Iran’s shadowy chemical weapons program draws scrutiny as reports allege use against protesters

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A new report from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) raises concerns about Iran’s opaque chemical weapons program, which argues policymakers have paid little attention to compared with Iran’s more scrutinized nuclear weapons program. 

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The FDD report outlines how the Iranian regime may have resorted to the unconventional use of chemical weapons while it faced an unprecedented uprising beginning in December 2025, a wave of unrest Tehran has not seen since the 1979 Islamic revolution. Any use of chemical weapons by Iran would be in defiance of their obligations under the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention.

«The United States, its allies and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) should investigate credible claims that Iran’s regime used chemical weapons against its own people,» Andrea Stricker, deputy director of FDD’s nonproliferation program and author of the report, told Fox News Digital.

An Iranian military truck carries surface-to-air missiles past a portrait of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during a parade on April 18, 2018, in Tehran. (Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)

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Iran’s illicit chemical weapons program is under renewed scrutiny as the Trump administration appears closer to taking military action against Iran and its nuclear weapons program.

While the U.S. has been engaged in indirect talks with Iranian officials mediated by Oman in Geneva, the U.S. has increased its military presence in the Persian Gulf, sending the USS Gerald R. Ford to join dozens of other warships to the region.

On Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi posted on X that «Iran will resume talks with the U.S. in Geneva with a determination to achieve a fair and equitable deal—in the shortest possible time.»

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The foreign minister claimed that Iran will not pursue nuclear weapons under any circumstances but emphasized that Iran will not forgo its right to harness peaceful nuclear technology.

ISRAELI OFFICIALS REPORTEDLY WARN IRAN’S BALLISTIC MISSILES COULD TRIGGER SOLO MILITARY ACTION AGAINST TEHRAN

Exterior view of the headquarters of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, OPCW, in The Hague, Netherlands, Friday, May 5, 2017. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

The headquarters of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague, Netherlands, May 5, 2017. (Peter Dejong/The Associated Press)

«A deal is within reach, but only if diplomacy is given priority,» he added.

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Despite the optimism and push for continued talks, there remain fears that Iran will not make any meaningful concessions on their nuclear program, which could lead to U.S. military strikes on the nation.

A broader regime change campaign to topple the Islamic republic’s government, led by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is also not off the table, according to some reports.

«If Washington launches strikes against Iran, it should give serious consideration to targeting the regime’s chemical weapons research and production facilities. Such action would help halt further development and potential use of these weapons while sending a clear message that the regime cannot commit atrocities with impunity,» Stricker said.

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The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which Iran is party to, upholds the norms against state-held chemical weapons, specifically, banning states’ development, stockpiling, production and use of chemical weapons, even for retaliatory reasons, as well as their receipt from or transfer to anyone.

US ASSETS IN MIDDLE EAST POSITIONED FOR ‘HIGHLY KINETIC’ WAR, EX-PENTAGON OFFICIAL WARNS

Israel’s deputy ambassador to the Netherlands, Yaron Wax, said in July 2025 before a special meeting of the OPCW that «over the past two decades Iran has been developing a chemical weapons program based on weaponized pharmaceutical agents.»

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These agents, Wax said, impact the central nervous system and can be fatal even in small doses. 

The ambassador said at the Shahid Meisami Research Complex, destroyed by Israel in June 2025, Iran’s Shahid Meisami Group (SMG) was working on fentanyl opioid-derived tactical munitions for military use. Israel believes the pharmaceutical-based agents were transferred to Syria’s longtime and now deposed dictator, Bashar al-Assad, and Iraqi Shia militias as well.

Iran began developing its chemical weapons program in 1983 during its war with Iraq in response to chemical attacks from the regime of Saddam Hussein, according to the U.S. Intelligence Community.

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As recently as 2024, the U.S. has repeatedly found Iran in noncompliance with its obligations under the CWC.

In a post on X in November 2024, the Iranian mission to the United Nations pushed back on the charges against it. «A victim of Western-donated chemical weapons employed by the Saddam regime, Iran stands as a responsible member of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). Over the past several decades, not a single instance of Iranian violation has been recorded. The current unfounded reports are merely an outgrowth of psychological warfare propagated by the Zionist regime in the wake of its recent defeat on the Lebanese front.»

Burning cars line a street in Tehran as thick smoke rises during unrest.

Cars burn in a street during a protest over the collapse of the currency’s value in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 8, 2026. (Stringer/West Asia News Agency via Reuters)

TRUMP WARNS IRAN, DELAYS STRIKES AS RED LINE DEBATE ECHOES OBAMA’S SYRIA MOMENT

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Stricker says the U.S. and international community have failed to hold Iran accountable for its illegal chemical weapons program, and meaningful action must be taken to prevent Iran from transporting banned substances to Iran’s nefarious proxy actors in the Middle East.

The report notes that the U.S. and OPCW should launch a pressure campaign against Iran, calling out the regime and publicizing any violations. The Trump administration, the report recommends, should demand a formal ultimatum to demonstrate compliance with the convention and accept monitoring and verification mechanisms.

FDD also suggests Israel should ratify the CWC and work within the OPCW, which would give Israel more credibility in combating Iranian violations.

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Smoke rises after an explosion in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 13, 2025. Israel attacked Iran's capital early Friday, with explosions booming across Tehran.

Smoke rises after an explosion in Tehran, Iran, June 13, 2025, during an attack by Israel. (Getty Images)

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The report says that, as a last resort, the U.S. should consider launching strikes targeting regime chemical weapons facilities, or support Israeli efforts, if actionable intelligence indicates movement on Iran’s chemical weapons efforts or a renewed push by the regime to use such illegal weapons to crack down on anti-government protests.

«The only solution to Iran’s persistent WMD threat is for the United States and Israel to undermine the regime’s grip on power. Until then, the two nations will periodically be forced to play whack-a-mole with Tehran’s capabilities whenever they endanger regional peace,» Stricker said.

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