By Avery Schmitz, Annette Choi, CNN

(CNN) — The US military has assembled a massive collection of weapons systems in the Middle East amid diplomatic negotiations between the US and Iran, flooding ships and aircraft to nearby waters and the constellation of US bases in the region.

Military planners have told President Donald Trump they will soon be ready to launch a strike, CNN reported Wednesday. However, sources said that Trump still hasn’t indicated a clear preference as to whether to give diplomatic talks, which included a meeting in Geneva Tuesday, more time or to pursue military action, or even what military action might be desirable. Potential strike plans presented to the White House range from quick strikes to more in-depth operations.

Most of the forces ordered to the region as part of Trump’s escalating pressure campaign against Iran’s leadership have already been moved into place, though the USS Gerald Ford carrier strike group was still transiting to the region, having been spotted entering the Mediterranean on Friday.

At least 18 US F-35 Lightning II stealth fighters are now stationed at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in northern Jordan. The fifth-generation fighters first appeared at the base on Tuesday and are seen clearly in new satellite imagery captured by Planet Labs.

Satellite imagery also shows several E/A-18 Growlers arrived at the base, capable of waging electronic warfare campaigns against enemy air defenses and communications infrastructure.

Just southwest of the runways, a newly-expanded air defense installation can be seen – one of several defensive positions set up to protect US assets in the event of strikes by Iranian forces. Similar sites have cropped up at key bases across the region, like Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.

Nearly 850 miles southeast at Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan Air Base, new images confirm the arrival of additional US military aircraft. Several E-3 Sentries, critical for warning US commanders of incoming enemy forces or missiles and facilitating battlefield communications, have been positioned at the base.

An E-3 Sentry appears parked at the eastern edge of a ramp. At least four E-3s have moved into the Middle East since Wednesday, according to flight data shared with CNN by research consultant Steffan Watkins.

Two E-11 Battlefield Airborne Communications Nodes can also be seen nearby – another vital link in the US military’s tactical communications network. The modified Bombardier luxury jets enable American assets to communicate in complex environments. Flight data indicates at least two other E-11s are based out of Prince Sultan Air Base, for a total of four.

These aircraft appear alongside nearly a dozen tankers used to refuel smaller planes in midair.

Amid these developments, US forces continue surveillance of the Strait of Hormuz at a near-constant pace, according to data from FlightRadar24, with P-8 Poseidon planes and MQ-4 Triton drones based in the UAE, Bahrain, and elsewhere patrolling the channel.

Another major US asset, the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, was moved from the Pacific and arrived in the Arabian Sea last month. On February 15, the aircraft carrier was spotted just 422 miles south of the Iranian coast in satellite imagery published by the European Space Agency.

The deployment was followed by the USS Gerald Ford carrier strike group which was making its way to the coast of Israel.

Those carriers travel with a constellation of other ships including destroyers as well as F/A-18E and F-35C fighter jet squadrons.

As the US has collected its military hardware in the area, Iran Read more

By Lauren Said-Moorhouse, James Frater, CNN

London (CNN) — Slouched in the back of a car, wide-eyed and unnerved, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor makes his way home from the police station.

It’s an image that was splashed across pretty much every UK newspaper on Friday morning, a day after the brother of King Charles III was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

Police did not say what led to Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest, but he spent a decade as a UK trade envoy. British authorities previously said they were reviewing claims that he shared sensitive information with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during his time as a representative for the British government.

Mountbatten-Windsor has not commented on the recent allegations against him, but he has previously denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein. He has also said that he never witnessed or suspected any of the behavior the sex offender was accused of.

Separately, London’s Metropolitan Police said Friday they had urged Andrew’s serving and former royal protection officers to “consider carefully whether anything they saw or heard” could be relevant to their investigation into Epstein and his associates.

After Thursday’s dramatic developments, what could happen next in the saga surrounding the former prince?

What can we expect now?

After spending his 66^th birthday in the custody of Thames Valley Police, Mountbatten-Windsor was released on Thursday evening and returned home 10 hours later to the Sandringham Estate.

He was released under investigation – meaning he’s not out on bail and therefore is not subject to any conditions.

That’s not to say he couldn’t have further conversations with the authorities. He can be rearrested or asked for follow-up interviews.

While he was detained, he would have been questioned and could have put forward “things that he would like the police to look at,” including potential witnesses or explanations, which the police would then have a duty to explore as evidence, British solicitor Chloe Jay told CNN.

On Friday morning, detectives were seen arriving at Royal Lodge in Berkshire, west of London, to continue their search of Andrew’s former home.

“When you arrest somebody, you are allowed to search the properties they have control of and the properties they own,” former Metropolitan Police Chief Superintendent Dal Babu explained on Thursday.

Police will be “looking for electronic devices, any information that’s held on those,” added Babu, who served in the Met for 30 years.

This next stage could be a lengthy process as police continue to gather any evidence that might be available. Following the police investigation, it’ll ultimately be up to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to decide whether they have enough to charge and prosecute him.

The CPS has so far not offered “early investigative advice” to Thames Valley Police as part of the force’s misconduct in public office investigation. This means CPS lawyers have not given detectives any formal guidance on how to proceed.

There is no time limit for when charges can be brought.

What about the line of succession?

Andrew may have lost his titles and honors, but he remains eighth in line to the British throne. And as the furor surrounding the former prince continues to snowball, there are mounting calls for him to be removed from the line of succession.

A poll released Friday shows that 82% of Briton

By Abby Phillip, Manu Raju, CNN

(CNN) — House Speaker Mike Johnson has denied a request for the late Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. to lie in honor at the United States Capitol, citing past precedent over how the deaths of other high-profile figures were handled, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The civil rights icon died this week at the age of 84. Jackson was praised by both Republicans and Democrats alike for his decades of activism and work in politics and international affairs. President Donald Trump repeatedly described Jackson this week as a “good man.”

One of the sources told CNN that the decision to reject the request to lie in honor – which had been made on behalf of Jackson’s family – was in keeping with precedent and was not political. The source said that requests for conservative political activist Charlie Kirk and former Vice President Dick Cheney were also denied, and that the general practice is for presidents, select military officials and select government officials to lie in honor. It was last done for former President Jimmy Carter.

Lying in honor generally involves laying the casket of the deceased in the Rotunda of the US Capitol, where the public can come and offer final respects.

Jackson’s family has announced that next week, he will lie in state at Rainbow PUSH headquarters in Chicago. That will be followed by formal services in his home state of South Carolina and in Washington, DC.

Jackson, a fiery orator whose worked shaped the Democratic Party and America, twice made a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, inspiring Black America and stunning some with his ability to attract White voters. He rose to national prominence in the 1960s as a close aide to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

His Rainbow Coalition, an alliance of Blacks, Whites, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans and LGBTQ people, helped pave the way for a more progressive Democratic Party.

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Por María Santana y Ana María Cañizares, CNN en Español

La audiencia del narcotraficante ecuatoriano José Adolfo Macías Villamar, alias “Fito”, prevista para el 26 de febrero en la corte federal del Distrito Este de Nueva York , fue aplazada hasta el 17 de septiembre, una decisión que ha generado interrogantes sobre una posible negociación entre el acusado y la Fiscalía estadounidense.

Según una fuente familiarizada con el caso, el Gobierno de Estados Unidos aprobó una visa para la hija menor de Macías Villamar y la niña ya se encuentra en territorio estadounidense. Durante una audiencia previa, la defensa expresó preocupación por los riesgos de secuestro que, según sus abogados, enfrenta su familia en Ecuador.

CNN consultó a la Cancillería de Ecuador, que indicó que no puede pronunciarse en este caso, pues la concesión de visas es una facultad soberana de cada Estado y no constituye un derecho del beneficiario. En este caso, se trata de un privilegio otorgado por Estados Unidos a una menor”, explicaron.

El 27 de junio de 2025, dos días después de la captura de Fito en una lujosa casa en Manta, el ministro del Interior de Ecuador, Jhon Reimberg, informó que una hija de Fito de aproximadamente 3 años se encontraba en el lugar cuando el equipo militar ingresó a detener al líder de Los Choneros. “La niña para la operación fue aislada (…) no pudo observar lo que estaba pasando”, detalló en ese momento el funcionario.

Otra de las hijas de Fito, Michelle Macías, fue secuestrada en noviembre de 2021 en la ciudad costera de Manta, presuntamente por integrantes de la banda criminal Los Lobos. La joven fue liberada días después en una zona rural tras permanecer cautiva junto a otra mujer, según informaron autoridades ecuatorianas.

La concesión de esta visa podría reforzar las especulaciones de que Fito estaría cooperando con las autoridades estadounidenses. Hasta ahora, ni la defensa ni la Fiscalía han confirmado públicamente la existencia de negociaciones. CNN solicitó comentarios al Departamento de Justicia y al equipo de defensa del acusado en Estados Unidos, pero no ha recibido respuesta.

CNN también consultó a la Cancillería, el Ministerio del Interior y la Corte Nacional de Justicia de Ecuador, que aprobó su extradición y está a la espera de una respuesta.

En tanto, desde la embajada de Estados Unidos en Ecuador dijeron a CNN que “los registros de visados son reservados según la legislación estadounidense” por lo tanto, no comentan sobre casos individuales.

Macías Villamar, considerado uno de los criminales más peligrosos de Ecuador y líder de la organización Los Choneros, enfrenta en Estados Unidos siete cargos relacionados con narcotráfico internacional y contrabando de armas, incluida conspiración para distribuir cocaína en coordinación con el cartel de Sinaloa.

Fito se declaró inocente de los cargos durante su primera comparecencia ante un tribunal federal de Brooklyn tras su extradición en julio del año pasado. Su extradición marcó un hito, al convertirse en el primer ecuatoriano enviado a Estados Unidos bajo la reforma legal que permite extraditar a ciudadanos requeridos por otros países.

Antes de su traslado, Macías Villamar se había fugado en enero de 2024 de una prisión de máxima seguridad en Guayaquil. donde cumplía una condena de 34 años por delitos de narcotráfico, asesinato y delincuencia organizada. Su escape desató una ola de violencia en Ecuador, incluyendo enfrentamientos entre bandas criminales y ataques a instituciones públicas.

Tras permanecer prófugo durante más de un año, Fito fue recapturado en junio de 2025 dentro de un búnker subterráneo bajo una vivienda en Manta, su ciudad natal y bastión de Los Choneros, una de las bandas criminales más antiguas y poderosas de Ecuador, con operaciones de tráfico de drogas, armas, extorsión y sicariato y presuntos vínculos con organizaciones transnacionales. Es