Vice President JD Vance said Wednesday that the United States has obtained information indicating Iran is attempting to reconstitute its nuclear program, while emphasizing that President Donald Trump is pursuing a diplomatic resolution but retains additional options if talks fail.
Speaking about Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Vance made clear that preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon remains a central U.S. objective.
“The principle is very simple, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. If they try to rebuild a nuclear weapon, that causes problems for us. In fact, we’ve seen evidence that they have tried to do exactly that. So the President is sending those negotiators to try to address that problem,” Vance said.
NOW – Vance says, "we've seen evidence," Iran is trying to rebuild nuclear weapons. pic.twitter.com/dCw7aMcQYq
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) February 25, 2026
He underscored that the administration’s preferred course is negotiation, while noting that other measures remain on the table if diplomacy does not succeed.
“As the President has said repeatedly, he wants to address that problem diplomatically, but of course the President has other options as well.”
President Trump delivered a similar message during his State of the Union address Tuesday evening. He said that last June’s military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities had “obliterated” the country’s program, but added that Iran has since killed more than 32,000 protesters and is working to restart its nuclear activities. He also cautioned that Tehran is advancing missile technology capable of reaching Europe and potentially the United States.
“We’re in negotiations with them. They want to make a deal, but we haven’t heard those secret words, ‘We will never have a nuclear weapon’. My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy. But one thing is certain: I will never allow the world’s number one sponsor of terror to have a nuclear weapon. Can’t let that happen.”
“No nation should ever doubt America’s resolve. We have the most powerful military on earth – hopefully, we seldom have to use it,” continued the President.
{Matzav.com}
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Vice President JD Vance is set to announce that $259.5 million in Medicaid reimbursements to Minnesota will be withheld while federal officials conduct a fraud investigation, along with a nationwide halt on new firms seeking Medicare subsidies for durable medical equipment such as canes and walkers, The Post has learned.
Vance will make the announcement alongside Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, a day after President Trump declared a “war on fraud” during his State of the Union address.
The decision to suspend reimbursement payments to Minnesota affects nearly half of the claims submitted by the state for its Medicaid program serving low-income residents during the most recent fiscal quarter.
The action, described as a “deferment,” targets 14 state-run programs flagged as particularly vulnerable to fraudulent activity. These include services such as autism treatment, in-home rehabilitation, non-emergency medical transportation and overnight supervision. Some of those programs have previously been linked to a major fraud case in the Twin Cities area.
An administration official said Medicaid reimbursements for Minnesota will remain on hold until “further investigation is completed” into potential improper billing practices.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration announced a broader review of Medicaid payments, pausing certain future disbursements to multiple states while investigations were underway. In January, social-services funding was temporarily frozen for five Democrat-led states, including Minnesota and New York. The latest move, however, goes further by affecting claims that have already been submitted for reimbursement.
Separately, the administration is introducing a new policy that will block additional companies from newly enrolling in Medicare’s reimbursement system for durable medical equipment.
Federal officials reported that last year durable medical equipment billing carried an error rate of roughly 20%, amounting to about $1.5 billion in questionable charges. Of that total, approximately $1 billion is believed to involve fraudulent claims, according to officials.
The temporary freeze on new enrollments is intended to give regulators time to scrutinize companies already participating in the program and remove those engaged in improper conduct.
While the Minnesota Medicaid action centers on a Democrat-led state, officials noted that problems tied to Medicare equipment billing are largely concentrated in Republican-led states. One official pointed to elevated levels of suspected fraud in South Florida and in Harris County, Texas.
During his State of the Union address, Trump said Vance would oversee a nationwide campaign to combat misuse of federal benefit programs.
“I am officially announcing the war on fraud to be led by our great vice president, JD Vance,” Trump said, predicting, “we will actually have a balanced budget overnight. It will go very quickly. That’s the kind of money you’re talking about.”
{Matzav.com}
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}
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}
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}
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
