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Sen. Cassidy Questions Vaccine Link to Autism; Casey Means Says Causes Still Unclear
Sen. Fetterman to Vote No on Iran War Powers Resolution
FBI Raids LA Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho’s Office and Home
FBI Makes Final Sweep of Nancy Guthrie’s House In Sign Investigation Has Hit a Dead End
Federal agents returned to the Arizona residence of Nancy Guthrie on Wednesday, spending several hours combing through the property before determining whether her family would be permitted to move back in, sources told The NY Post.
The latest search indicates that the probe into the 84-year-old’s disappearance has stalled, as she has now been missing for 25 days and investigators have not publicly identified any suspects in the perplexing case.
Agents arrived at Guthrie’s Tucson home early Wednesday and remained at the upscale property for more than two hours as part of what sources described as a final review of the scene.
According to those familiar with the investigation, authorities were believed to be checking for any remaining evidence that may have been missed during earlier searches before potentially clearing the house for the Guthrie family’s return.
Guthrie — the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie — was first reported missing on Feb. 1 after she failed to attend church services that morning.
Video obtained from her doorbell camera showed a masked individual — or possibly two different individuals, as some observers have suggested — lingering outside her front door on the night investigators suspect she was abducted.
The footage shows the person carrying a black Ozark Trail Hiker backpack and attempting to obscure the camera’s view with tree branches.
Later that morning, on Feb. 1, Guthrie was officially reported missing.
Residents of the Catalina Hills neighborhood subsequently told authorities that they had noticed a suspicious young man spending time on the street near Guthrie’s home in the weeks before she vanished.
{Matzav.com}
Sec. Of State Rubio Defends Maduro Capture In Tense Meeting With Caribbean Leaders
CRACKDOWN: VP Vance Says Trump Admin Halting $259 Million In Minnesota Medicaid Funding Over Fraud Concerns
Trump Calls for ‘Mentally Deranged’ Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib to ‘Be Institutionalized’ for SOTU Antics
President Donald Trump sharply criticized Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib following their conduct during his State of the Union address Tuesday night, suggesting the two lawmakers “should be institutionalized” over what he described as disruptive behavior.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump reacted to the scene in the House chamber, taking aim at the two members of the progressive “Squad” caucus.
“When you watch Low IQ Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, as they screamed uncontrollably last night at the very elegant State of the Union, such an important and beautiful event,” Trump began on Truth Social.
He continued with harsher language in the same post.
“They had the bulging, bloodshot eyes of crazy people, LUNATICS, mentally deranged and sick who, frankly, look like they should be institutionalized,” he added.
Trump went on to question their fitness for office and called for their removal.
“When people can behave like that, and knowing that they are Crooked and Corrupt Politicians, so bad for our Country, we should send them back from where they came — as fast as possible.”
During the address, Tlaib (D-Mich.) was seated in the House chamber wearing a “[Curse] ICE” pin on her lapel. She and Omar (D-Minn.) repeatedly interrupted and heckled the president throughout portions of the speech before leaving the chamber prior to its conclusion.
{Matzav.com}
Islamic Jihad Admits Doctor Without Borders Volunteer Was A Terrorist Commander
“People Are Being Killed? She Doesn’t Care:” Porush Slams The “Attorney General Of The Losers’ Government”
Clashes Erupt in Yerushalayim After Anti-Draft Rally; Police Deploy Water Cannon
Dozens of demonstrators took to the streets of Yerushalayim on Wednesday evening following a rally protesting the arrest of yeshiva students over military conscription, blocking a major roadway and prompting police to use crowd-control measures, including a water cannon.
The protest followed a large gathering organized by the Eidah HaChareidis against what participants referred to as the “conscription decree.” After the rally concluded, groups of protesters moved onto Chaim Bar-Lev Boulevard, where they blocked traffic and clashed with police forces at the scene.
Demonstrators obstructed the roadway with their bodies, and some descended onto the nearby light rail tracks. During the unrest, trash bins and metal barriers were dragged into the center of the street in an apparent effort to halt traffic and disrupt normal activity in the area.
Yerushalayim District police units were dispatched to the scene and worked to disperse the crowd. Police said officers used crowd-dispersal methods in order to restore public order, push back those involved in the disturbances, and reopen the roads that had been blocked.
In a statement, a police spokesperson emphasized that “The Israel Police will act to allow protest and freedom of expression for every citizen, but will not allow a breach of public order, blocking of roads, and disruption of daily life.”
As a result of the events, heavy traffic congestion was reported along Chaim Bar-Lev Boulevard and surrounding streets. Drivers were advised to seek alternate routes.
{Matzav.com}
Four Killed In Clash Between Cuban Forces And Florida-Registered Vessel
AI Lost Out to Traditional Models in Forecasting NYC’s Blizzard
Two days before New York’s biggest snowstorm in a decade began, forecasters were still unsure how much snow would fall. One traditional US model had consistently predicted a major hit, while newer artificial intelligence systems weren’t so certain.
The long-running Global Forecast System, or GFS, signaled the storm would be a whopper for much of the Northeast. Because of lingering skepticism about the GFS’ past performance – and the fact that it stood alone in predicting massive impacts – many forecasters waited until Friday afternoon before declaring the possibility of more than a foot of snow for parts of New York.
The totals reported by the US National Weather Service have been staggering: Central Park saw nearly 20 inches, one of its biggest snowstorms on record. On Long Island, snowfall measured at more than two feet.
Forecasting powerful winter storms is a distinctive challenge, scientists said. Unlike hurricanes, which form at sea and spend days barreling toward land, nor’easter storms often build and strike the East Coast within 24 hours. Providing advance warning for this week’s storm meant forecasting where incoming waves of cold air and moisture would land and interact with a streak of low pressure in the jet stream, days in advance.
So far, AI models haven’t made that task much easier, said Bob Oravec, a senior branch forecaster for the US Weather Prediction Center in Maryland.
“There’s no perfect model yet,” Oravec said. “That’s the problem.”
In the US, storm warnings and alerts are issued by the National Weather Service and redistributed by commercial forecasters. A local office in Upton, New York, was responsible for safety advisories spanning New York City and parts of New Jersey and Connecticut. Forecaster David Stark said staff waited to issue the first alerts until Friday due to lingering uncertainty about the storm’s path.
“We don’t like to put out warnings early and give a false sense of alarm if it’s not needed,” Stark said.
While the GFS – developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a federal science agency – was ultimately correct about the storm’s impacts on New York City, scientists said it overstated the threat in parts of the Mid-Atlantic and was slightly off on the storm’s duration.
Those mixed results are giving forecasters pause as the GFS now sees the possibility of another significant storm early next week.
At times, the GFS has predicted heavy wintry precipitation in the Northeast beginning early next week. A similar signal has been picked up by a traditional European forecast model, which is generally considered the best of its kind. But as of Tuesday morning, a powerful new European AI model sees a lower threat.
Though the models may continue to shift in the coming days, Columbia Climate School researcher Andrew Kruczkiewicz said he’s watching how forecasters prioritize AI predictions before warning the public about incoming storms.
“We’re so trained to think anything AI is better,” said Kruczkiewicz. “Even if models are considered better or high quality, decision-making is not necessarily simplified.”
(c) 2026, Bloomberg
“Moral Barriers Are Collapsing”: Italy Faces Record Spike in Anti-Jewish Hate Last Year
What to Know About Trump’s Accounts for Children: $1,000 Per Kid
President Donald Trump touted a program during his State of the Union address Tuesday that created investment accounts for children born during Trump’s second term seeded with $1,000 per child from the federal government.
Republicans created the program, officially dubbed “Trump accounts,” through the GOP tax-and-spending law last summer.
“Tax-free investment accounts for every American child. This is something that’s so special,” Trump said during the speech.
He claimed the accounts “could grow to over $100,000 or more” by the time the child turns 18 years old.
Here’s what you need to know about the program:
Young children are eligible
Children born between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2028, are eligible for the accounts, which are a type of traditional IRA that allows for investments in index funds.
They must be U.S. citizens and have a valid Social Security number. The account would receive a one-time contribution of $1,000.
Children born before Jan. 1, 2025, but who are not yet 18 years old can also open accounts, but they would not receive the federal seed money.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last week that families had already applied to open some 3 million accounts, though the program doesn’t officially begin until this summer.
How they work
Parents can file to open the accounts beginning this tax filing season using IRS Form 4547, named for Trump’s presidential terms.
The authentication process begins in May, and the administration says the seed money would be available in accounts July 4. The child would own the account, while the parent can act as a custodian until they turn 18.
Withdrawals would be taxable until they reach retirement age, unless the beneficiary is using the money for education, a first-time home purchase, birth or adoption costs, or medical expenses.
Who can contribute
In addition to the federal seed money, any adult can contribute to the accounts up to $5,000 annually.
Employers can also contribute to their employees’ children’s accounts up to $2,500 per year per employee as part of the $5,000 annual limit.
But states, local governments and nonprofit organizations can also contribute to the accounts, and doing so does not count toward the annual cap.
Trump calls on billionaires and companies to give
Late last year, the administration called upon ultra-wealthy people to donate to the program.
Dell Technologies founder and CEO Michael Dell and his wife, Susan, have said they would contribute $6.25 billion.
Billionaire investor Ray Dalio has said he would contribute $250 per account for babies in his home state of Connecticut, an approximately $75 million donation.
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, as well as BNY, Charles Schwab, SoFi and Charter Communications have also announced programs to match employees’ contributions to the accounts.
(c) 2026, The Washington Post
