AP

President Trump has suggested the U.S. is on the brink of war with Iran. The U.S. is building a massive military presence in the region, and the president used his State of the Union address this week to build the case.

But first: Officials from the U.S. and Iran are in Geneva today for high-stakes talk about Iran’s nuclear program. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are leading the talks. Omani officials are mediating. This is considered the last opportunity to avoid a conflict.

How are the talks going so far?: Witkoff and Kushner have held more than three hours of talks so far today, per Axios. After a break, the talks will resume, says the Omani foreign minister.

What each side must accomplish for today to be a success: “In the talks, Iran must convince Americans that it has no intention to weaponize its nuclear program and also give Mr. Trump enough leeway to claim he achieved more than his predecessors ever did in dealing with Iran. The U.S., in turn, has to incentivize Iran with some tangible rewards, like lifting both the threat of war and economic sanctions on Iran’s international banking and oil sales that have contributed to the near collapse of its economy.” (The New York Times)

Timing: Seven days ago, Trump said he would decide whether to strike Iran in the next 10 to 15 days. 

The growing U.S. military presence in the region: The Trump administration has destroyers and aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to prepare for a possible strike on Iran.

Read more on how close to war the U.S. is with Iran: ‘Trump builds case for war with Iran ahead of pivotal talks’

💬 Follow today’s live blog

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said today that any military strikes against Iran should result in regime change.

House lawmakers are deposing former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Chappaqua, N.Y., today as part of their investigation into the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. They will then do the same with former President Clinton tomorrow.

What we know about Hillary Clinton’s deposition: She told the committee she had no information about Epstein’s criminal activities. She also said she doesn’t recall ever encountering Epstein.

The Clintons’ attorneys have been arguing with leaders of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee for months about this interview. The Clintons wanted public testimony, while the committee insisted it happen in private. The GOP-led panel even threatened the Clintons with contempt charges if they did not comply.

Why these proceedings are a big deal: A former president is being forced to testify. And it’s coming from both sides. Democrats joined Republicans in requiring their testimony.

Keep in mind: The Clintons have denied any wrongdoing.

“As the first tranche of Epstein files were released, Republican figures were quick to draw attention to various photos of Bill Clinton, including one on a plane as a woman whose face is redacted wraps her arm around him and another with the former president relaxing in a pool.” Read more

The Washington Post’s Karen Tumulty and Yasmeen Abutaleb write, “Trump stirred rumors for years. Now, it’s the Clintons’ turn to speak about Epstein.”

The gist: “Bill and Hillary Clinton have survived decades of scrutiny and conspiracy theories. Often, their adversaries come out on the losing end.”

“The Justice Department will review whether it failed to publish several documents in the Epstein files after various media outlets reported several records related to accusations made against President Trump were removed from the tranche,” reports The Hill’s Rebecca Beitsch.

What documents?: “The documents in question relate to accusations made by a woman who said that as a minor she refused Trump’s sexual advances, prompting the president to respond violently and kick her out of the room. While the woman’s accusation was cataloged in the Epstein files, serial numbers tracking the various documents show that while the woman spoke to the FBI four times, roughly 50 pages related to the woman’s interviews were not publicly released; instead, only files detailing her accusations against Epstein were published.”

The DOJ has denied the accusations but changed its tune on Wednesday. It will now conduct a review.

Read more: ‘DOJ reviewing whether any Epstein records withheld after reports of missing Trump-related documents’

Trump’s former Surgeon General Jerome Adams was not impressed by the new surgeon general nominee, Casey Means, after hearing her confirmation hearing on Wednesday.

Adams wrote on X: “As a former U.S. Surgeon General who held an active medical license and practiced medicine while in the role (at Walter Reed and aboard the USS Comfort) it is incomprehensible that the Senate is even considering a nominee for this role who lacks any active license and has never practiced unsupervised.”

Keep in mind that historically, it has been a requirement for the surgeon general to be a licensed physician. However, Casey Means is a wellness influencer who dropped out of her residency and does not hold an active medical license. Senators grilled her on her stances on vaccines, birth control and her business ties.

Related analysis from The Atlantic’s Tom Bartlett: “Well, That Didn’t Sound Like Casey Means. The nominee for surgeon general kept her most eccentric wellness beliefs largely in check at her confirmation hearing.”

Meanwhile: Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) called the focus on Means's past recommendation about using psilocybin, commonly called magic mushrooms, "a red herring" in a NewsNation interview.

"Let’s focus on the fact that she’s a great communicator, that she has a great following, that she is leading this Make America Healthy Again fad that’s going on out there," he said.

Catch up on more fireworks from the hearing 📺 here.

— Mentalist Oz Pearlman will be the entertainer at this year’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. For what it's worth, Punchbowl’s Jake Sherman says this guy is amazing.

— The FDA has recalled cottage cheese sold at Walmart in 24 states. And an Oregon-based brand is recalling 60,000 pounds of frozen blueberries.

— FCC Chair Brendan Carr says he thinks CBS is “doing a great job” under its new management.

The New York Times: Trump’s Push for Election Power Raises Fears He Will ‘Subvert’ Midterms

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Politico: Republicans are freaking out over Texas Senate race

The New York Times: Kash Patel’s Olympics Schedule Left Plenty of Time for Leisure

The Hill: Trump adds pressure on Thune to pass voting bill despite ‘talking filibuster’ misgivings

The Washington Post: Why RFK Jr. is suddenly talking less about vaccines