President Donald Trump announced that former Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom during a White House event marking the 100th anniversary of Black History Month, as attendees at one point broke into chants of “four more years.”

“Ben’s getting the Presidential Medal of Freedom,” Trump said. “It’s the highest award you can have outside of the Congressional Medal of Honor.”

Trump said Carson would receive the nation’s top civilian honor at a future ceremony, telling him, “Ben, I’ll be seeing you back here pretty soon. I think you’re going to get the award.”

The announcement came as Trump mixed tributes and cultural references with policy and political claims including criminal justice reform, crime reduction and border enforcement while hosting what he described as “many exceptional African American leaders and patriots” at the White House.

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Trump opened the event by noting, “we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Black History Month.”

He then addressed the death of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, saying, “I wanted to begin by expressing a sadness that the passing of a person who was. I knew very well Jesse was a piece of work. He was a piece of work. But he was a good man.”

“I just want to pay my highest respects to Reverend Jesse Jackson,” Trump added, calling him “a real hero,” and saying “he really was special, with lots of personality, grit and street smarts.”

Trump introduced HUD Secretary Scott Turner and brought Carson to the front of the room, noting Carson had recommended Turner. Carson praised Turner’s role in opportunity zones, saying “he was really the driving force behind the Opportunity zones,” and described Trump’s approach as “public private partnerships, and had everybody with skin in the game.”

TRUMP ALLY BEN CARSON SWORN IN AS NATIONAL ADVISOR FOR NUTRITION, HEALTH, AND HOUSING WITH USDA

US President Donald Trump speaks alongside former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson and current Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Scott Turner during a Black History Month event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 18, 2026. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Moments later, Trump returned to Carson and elaborated on the award.

“It’s better because, you know, a lot of people get the Congressional Medal of Honor, and they’re not around,” Trump said. “But it’s the highest award [for] a civilian.”

After remarks from Leo Terrell whom Trump thanked, saying, “Leo, that was very good,” the crowd assembled broke into a chant of “four more years.”

Later, while listing Black artists and athletes, Trump singled out rapper Nicki Minaj.

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US President Donald Trump speaks during a Black History Month event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 18, 2026. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

“I love Nicki Minaj. She was here a couple of weeks ago.”

“So beautiful,” he added, before saying, “and she gets it. And more importantly, she gets it.”

Trump connected Wednesday’s celebration to a broader national moment, saying, “Black History Month is really all about American history,” and referencing upcoming America250 programming.

The President outlined a series of policy accomplishments for the black community, saying he “single handedly secured record long term funding for” historically Black colleges and universities and reiterated, “we got criminal justice reform done,” adding, “Nobody thought it can be done.”

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US President Donald Trump greets Alice Marie Johnson, the “White House Pardon Czar,” during a Black History Month event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 18, 2026. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump tied those policies to electoral performance, saying, “it’s no wonder that in 2024, we won more African-American votes than any Republican president in history.”

Trump also cited economic indicators, saying, “Earlier this month the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose above 50,000 for the first time ever,” and adding, “The S&P broke 7000.”

“More Americans are working today than at any time in American history,” he said, before stating, “Since I took office, African American employment has increased by 182,000.”

The president also promoted a tax proposal, inviting a small business owner from Arkansas to speak. She told the audience, “no tax on tips has been amazing blessing for me.”

Trump later pivoted to crime and border enforcement, arguing “we need order,” and claiming, “Washington DC is amazing. It was a crime capital. It was a horror show a year ago. It was really dangerous. And now it’s one of the safest cities anywhere in the country.”

“We have the lowest murder numbers in 125 years since 1990,” he said, adding, “just one year ago, we had the absolute worst border that we’ve ever had, and now we have the safest border that we’ve ever had.”

He also said he had “deployed the National Guard to bring back safety to Memphis and to New Orleans and Washington,” calling the Guard “incredible.”

He also gave the floor to Alice Johnson, whom he described as the White House “pardon czar,” recounting her case: “We got her out. We did a commutation… I said, full pardon.”

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Johnson credited Trump with the First Step Act, saying, “President Trump did something historic in his first term. He signed the First Step act into law,” and adding, “Over 40,000 individuals have come home to their families early.”

Trump closed by calling the gathering “a very special group of people,” and said, “So happy Black History Month, happy black history year, and happy black history century.”

Donald Trump has launched a fresh broadside on the UK’s Chagos Islands deal with Mauritius, saying Sir Keir Starmer is “making a big mistake”.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, the US president warned against the loss of the US-UK military base on Diego Garcia, which the UK is retaining through a 99-year lease of the island.

“Our relationship with the United Kingdom is a strong and powerful one, and it has been for many years, but prime minister Starmer is losing control of this important Island by claims of entities never known of before,” said Mr Trump.

Mr Trump said that Sir Keir “should not lose control, for any reason, of Diego Garcia, by entering a tenuous, at best, 100 Year Lease”.

He added: “This land should not be taken away from the U.K. and, if it is allowed to be, it will be a blight on our Great Ally. We will always be ready, willing, and able to fight for the U.K., but they have to remain strong in the face of Wokeism, and other problems put before them.

“DO NOT GIVE AWAY DIEGO GARCIA!”

The UK government has defended the deal following Mr Trump’s post.

Read more:
What is in the Chagos Islands deal criticised by Donald Trump – and why is it controversial?

A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said: “The deal to secure the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia military is crucial to the security of the UK and our key allies, and to keeping the British people safe.

“The agreement we have reached is the only way to guarantee the long-term future of this vital military base.”

Sky’s US correspondent Mark Stone says the post will be a “difficult read” for the UK government, who are “exasperated by the flip-flopping that has gone on”.

The Chagos Islands are an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, with the island of Diego Garcia home to a joint UK-US military base.

The islands are an overseas territory of the UK, but after the UK lost a court case over the sovereignty of the islands, the government agreed to cede the islands to Mauritius.

Changing US position on Chagos Islands deal

The US backed the deal to give sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius as recently as Tuesday.

A spokesperson for the US State Department said then: “The United States supports the decision of the United Kingdom to proceed with its agreement with Mauritius concerning the Chagos archipelago.”

Mr Trump previously criticised the deal in January, calling it an “act of total weakness” and “great stupidity” – although following a phone call with Sir Keir on 5 February, he signalled his support for the deal, calling it “the best [Sir Keir] could make”.

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This post from Trump comes just hours after the US government said it supports the deal the Starmer government struck.

Asked by reporters whether Mr Trump’s post meant the US position on the Chagos Islands deal had changed, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “The post should be taken as the policy of the Trump administration, it’s coming straight from the horse’s mouth.”

Sky News understands that Conservative MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith, who is a strong opponent of the deal, has just returned from Washington DC where he lobbied the White House, National Security Council, and State Department on the issue.

‘Kill this terrible deal,’ says Badenoch

The law to formally give away the islands is still before parliament, and the issue has become a significant political row.

The Conservatives and Reform UK both oppose the deal, while the Liberal Democrats have demanded MPs are given a fresh vote on the issue.

Responding to Mr Trump’s latest comments, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said the US president was “right”.

“Chagos is a strategic asset. If our closest ally is saying this, the PM should listen. It’s time to kill this terrible deal,” she added.

But Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey criticised Mr Trump’s changing position: “Trump’s endless flip-flopping on the Chagos Islands shows why Starmer’s approach is doomed to fail. Britain can’t rely on the US while Trump is in the White House.”

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: “Keir Starmer risks alienating our most important ally by giving away the Chagos Islands, the worst deal in British history… Starmer must cancel this deal.”

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Sky’s military analyst Professor Michael Clarke assesses the Chagos Islands deal with the Mauritius.

The House of Lords inflicted four defeats on the government last month on the details of the leasing of Diego Garcia – and the publication of any detailed payments made to Mauritius.

The government pulled the bill from the Lords, and has yet to reschedule it.

FIRST ON FOX: A man accused of shooting a South Carolina deputy in the chest during an early-morning traffic stop has been identified as a criminal illegal immigrant with a prior deportation and felony illegal re-entry conviction, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). 

DHS officials told Fox News Digital that Charleston County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) deputies responded to a call for shots fired shortly after 9 p.m. on Feb. 10 on Johns Island.

They were unable to find the suspect, later identified as Floriberto Perez-Nieto, a criminal illegal immigrant from Mexico.

At about 3 a.m. the next day, deputies received another call from the same person, who reported Perez-Nieto had returned to the area.

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Floriberto Perez-Nieto was killed after allegedly shooting a South Carolina Deputy. (U.S. Department of Homeland Security)

Deputies spotted Perez-Nieto’s car and attempted to pull him over, but he tried to evade arrest and shot one of the deputies in the chest, according to authorities. 

Other deputies returned fire and Perez-Nieto was later pronounced dead at the hospital. 

DHS officials said the deputy who was shot in the chest was wearing body armor.

Charleston County Sheriff Carl Ritchie speaks during a news conference. (Charleston County Sheriff’s Office via X)

DHS ARRESTS ‘WORST OF THE WORST’ ILLEGAL MIGRANTS, INCLUDING MURDERERS AND PEDOPHILES, IN WEEKEND OPERATION

“This criminal illegal alien illegally obtained a firearm and nearly killed a law enforcement officer,” DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital. “Thankfully, the officer’s body armor saved his life. There could have been quite a different tragic outcome for this officer and his family.”

The deputy who was shot has not yet been publicly identified by authorities.

Perez-Nieto was previously arrested after he illegally entered the U.S. from Mexico, at an unknown date and location, and without inspection by an immigration official, according to DHS.

It is unclear when Floriberto Perez-Nieto illegally crossed the U.S. border. (Christian Torres/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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He was subsequently removed from the U.S. on Feb. 20, 2019. 

Officials said he committed a felony by illegally re-entering the country at an unknown date and time.

It is unclear where Perez-Nieto allegedly obtained the firearm.

The CCSO professional standards division will conduct an internal investigation related to the shooting.

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Deputies involved have been placed on paid administrative leave, pending further review, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division was immediately notified, responded to the scene and will lead the investigation.

Donald Trump told protesters in Iran that “help was coming” little over a month ago.

But there was almost no US military presence that would have made a difference in the region.

On 22 January, he said there was a ‘great armada’ assembling, when what he was referring to was the aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln and its attendant Carrier Strike Group 3.

None of it matched his rhetoric. But by this weekend, it will have done so, as a powerful US military force assembles within striking distance of Iran. It has three main elements.

First is the naval force. The Lincoln and its CSG 3 will shortly be joined by the USS Gerald Ford, and its attendant CSG 12. The USS Ford is passing through the Gibraltar Strait in the next 24 hours and can be expected to be on station south of Cyprus in about four days, travelling at normal cruising speed.

Read more:
Middle East seemingly edging closer to war
Iran and US agree ‘guiding principles’

These two Nimitz-class carriers (CVN 72 and CVN 78) will be bringing extra air defence and Tomahawk-carrying destroyers with them, bringing the number of known, and named, US destroyers in the region to 11. They will join three Littoral Combat Ships already on station and a good number of support ships as well. In addition, each CSG includes – though never usually named – a nuclear attack submarine (an SSN), probably of the Virginia class.

And there may also be an Ohio-class SSN in the area, which is specifically designed to launch Tomahawk and other missiles at land targets.

The second element has been provided over the previous 10 days by an extensive series of C-5 and C-17, Galaxy and Globemaster flights in and out of the region, bringing air defence assets to US bases, presumably as cover in the event of any Iranian retaliation in response to potential US attacks. Israeli ‘Iron Dome’ air defence batteries have also been moved from its frontier with Gaza to its borders in the east, probably for the same reason.

And thirdly, the US has sent an extensive force of KC-130 air-to-air refuelling tankers to bolster its existing air tanker force. They left from the British base at Mildenhall (six tankers on 16 February) to Greece, and (on 18 February) no fewer than 10 more came from bases in the continental United States, via Britain, to bases in Greece and Bulgaria. In addition, US aircraft are known to be in the British base at Akrotiri in Cyprus, at Aviano in Italy, in the Azores, in Spain and at the Chagos Island base of Diego Garcia. Well over 100 US combat aircraft – F-15s, F18s, F-22s, F35s and B2 bombers – are now available to US military planners in the potential theatre of operations.

But the extra KC-130 tankers are the giveaway. They give away the possibility that US aircraft might be operating from bases not sited on the territories of America’s Middle East allies, but from less politically sensitive bases further away. And they give away the possibility that any air campaign might be quite prolonged, not just a sudden one-off attack.

The final piece of the jigsaw: no fewer than six E3 Sentry aircraft. These flying control centres can survey and control everything that happens beneath them. They are, in effect, flying HQ’s and a country can run a war from one of them. By the weekend, there will be a lot for these six E3 Sentry aircraft to look at and control.

What all this military power will be used for is still a matter of some speculation.

What does the tracking data show us?

By Freya Gibson, junior OSINT producer

Sky News Data & Forensics team has tracked the locations of US military planes and ships heading to the region in recent days and weeks.

Several US Navy boats have been sent to the Middle East, including the USS Abraham Lincoln, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier that carries 90 aircraft , including F35 fighters, and 5,680 crew. The Lincoln is leading a carrier strike group which includes three destroyers. The ship was last seen in the Arabian Sea around 240km off the coast of Oman. Sky News confirmed the location of this ship on 15 January.

In addition, the USS Gerald R Ford, the lead ship of the US Navy’s nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, is en route to the Middle East. Sky News has confirmed its latest location as tracking shows the Ford was around 600km from the Strait of Gibraltar at 1.58pm on 18 January. This aircraft carrier, like the USS Abraham Lincoln, also forms a carrier strike group that includes three destroyers. In total, there are reported to be more than 12 US ships now in the Middle East.

Sky News has also tracked movements of US aircraft in the region. More than 15 refuelling tankers have repositioned towards the Middle East and Europe since 16 January. These aircraft, the K-135s, are aerial refuelling aircraft. They can carry up to 200,000 pounds of fuel and 83,000 pounds of cargo. They have four engines and operate at speeds up to 530mph and altitudes up to 50,000 feet. 

The aircraft came from multiple locations, including RAF Mildenhall in the UK, Tampa in Florida and Sioux City in Iowa. They have been landing in different locations, including Chania Airport in Greece and Sofia Airport in Bulgaria.

Satellite imagery shows F-15s and A-10 Thunderbolts at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, Jordan. They can conduct precision airstrikes and engage armoured targets, alongside C-130 transport aircraft providing logistical support.

What is Iran doing?

Sky News has tracked the positions of Iranian Navy vessels using data from TankerTrackers. Around six vessels can be seen just off the coast of Bandar Abbas on 16 January. One of these ships is an Iranian Drone Carrier, IRIS Shahid Bagheri. Satellite imagery confirmed its location on 16 January, 10km from the coast.

It is often spotted around this location in the Strait of Hormuz. It can deploy roughly 60 drones along with helicopters.

President Donald Trump praised civil rights activist Jesse Jackson as a “real hero” during a White House Black History Month event Wednesday, just a day after Jackson’s death.

“I wanted to begin by expressing a sadness that the passing of a person who was. I knew very well Jesse was a piece of work. He was a piece of work. But he was a good man. He was a real hero,” Trump said on Wednesday, earning cheers from the audience. 

Trump hosted leaders from the Black community at the White House Wednesday to honor Black History Month in February. He remarked as the event kicked off that there was a “sold-out crowd” and that the upcoming White House ballroom would accommodate far more people. 

VANCE, HARRIS, OBAMA ISSUE TRIBUTES TO REV JESSE JACKSON

 Donald Trump and the Rev. Jesse Jackson with unknown singers from hotel lounge act at Tyson vs Holmes pre-fight party at Trump Plaza Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Jan. 22, 1988.  (Jeffrey Asher/ Getty Images)

Trump had lamented Jackson’s death in a prior Truth Social post Tuesday, elaborating on Wednesday that the pair’s relationship got “better and better all the time.”

“A lot of people you get to know, they get worse and worse. Jesse got better and better. But I knew him well long before becoming president, and he really was special, with lots of personality, grit and street smarts,” Trump continued. 

Jackson, 84, died Tuesday. His cause of death has not been identified, but he had suffered from health issues including living with a rare neurological condition.

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Jackson was a two-time Democratic presidential candidate, and longtime civil rights leader who joined Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960s before his assassination, and was the founder of civil rights group, Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. 

Donald Trump and Jesse Jackson attend Tyson-Spinks Boxing Match on June 27, 1988, at the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)

CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER REV JESSE JACKSON DEAD AT 84 AND MORE TOP HEADLINES

“I will tell you, he was gregarious and someone who truly loved people and a force of nature, who is, somebody that we’re going to greatly miss. And on behalf of everyone here today, I know you join me in sending our condolences to the entire family,” Trump continued. 

The Rev. Jesse Jackson walks to the front of the “Invading our community with peace” weekly Friday peace walk led by St. Sabina Church in Auburn Gresham, Chicago, June 25, 2021.  (Vashon Jordan Jr./Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Wednesday’s event included celebrating the legacy of Black Americans, economic wins under the Trump administration, as well as Trump reigniting his 2025 announcement that former Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, who served under Trump’s first term, would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.  

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“Ben’s getting the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It’s the highest award you can have outside of the Congressional Medal of Honor,” Trump said.

Technology firms that do not take down abusive images from their platforms within 48 hours face being blocked from the UK under new rules proposed by the government.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was putting tech companies “on notice” to take down non-consensual intimate images, and will leave “no stone unturned” to protect women and girls.

Companies will be legally required by law to remove the images within 48 hours of them being reported to them.

If they do not, firms could be fined 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue – which could amount to billions of pounds for some major platforms – or have their services banned from the UK.

Ministers say tech firms should take tackling intimate image abuse as seriously as they take tackling terrorist or child sexual abuse material.

The government is making the change through an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill, which is currently going through parliament.

Media regulator Ofcom is also considering plans to treat non-consensual intimate images as the same as child sexual abuse material, which is digitally marked when found, so that any time they are re-shared, they are automatically taken down.

Additionally, the government says it will publish guidance for internet companies on how to block “rogue websites” that host this content and fall out of reach of the Online Safety Act.

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Social media ban: Have we reached a tipping point?

Sir Keir said he would “leave no stone unturned in the fight to protect women from violence and abuse”.

He said the government had already taken “urgent action against chatbots and ‘nudification’ tools”, and that they were “going further, putting companies on notice so that any non-consensual image is taken down in under 48 hours”.

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said: “The days of tech firms having a free pass are over… No woman should have to chase platform after platform, waiting days for an image to come down.”

Shadow technology secretary Julia Lopez said when a similar proposal was put forward by Conservative peer, Baroness Charlotte Owen, Labour had failed to take action.

“Once again, the government is playing catch-up to duck a major backbench rebellion.

“The reality is that, for all the prime minister’s tough rhetoric, he has arrived late to this issue. He does not know what to believe – he only knows what to do to try and survive another week.”

The move follows controversy in January over X’s AI tool, Grok, creating AI images undressing people without their consent.

Creating non-consensual intimate images, including sexually explicit deepfakes, was criminalised earlier this month, and X stopped Grok from creating the images following the outrage.

Other countries are also taking action against X, with Ireland’s data privacy regulator saying on Tuesday that X faces an EU privacy investigation over the non-consensual deepfakes created by Grok.

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PM announces social media crackdown

Earlier this week, Sir Keir announced a crackdown on social media platforms, such as closing a legal loophole to eliminate “vile illegal content created by AI”.

Downing Street has also launched a consultation on measures like an Australian-style ban on under-16s using social media, and is ensuring it is able to implement one quickly if it is recommended.