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Sen. Fetterman says he’ll vote “no” on the Iran War Powers Resolution in the Senate.

Earlier today, the FBI conducted a raid on Los Angeles schools superintendent Alberto Carvalho’s office and residence. No additional details have been provided by the FBI.

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}

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday defended the Trump administration’s military operation to capture Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, telling Caribbean leaders, many of whom objected to that move, that the country and the region were better off as a result. Speaking to leaders from the 15-member Caribbean Community bloc at a summit in the country […]

Vice President JD Vance announced Wednesday that the Trump administration would “temporarily halt” some Medicaid funding to the state of Minnesota over fraud concerns, as part of what he described as an aggressive crackdown on misuse of public funds. Vance, who made the announcement with Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid […]

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 has acknowledged that a Gaza-based physical therapist working for Doctors Without Borders was also a senior commander in the terror group, confirming long-standing Israeli claims that armed groups are embedded within humanitarian organizations operating in the enclave. In a statement, Saraya al-Quds, the terror group’s military wing, identified Fadi al-Wadiya as a “martyr […]

UTJ MK Meir Porush on Wednesday delivered the second part of a speech he began in the Knesset plenum on Tuesday, during which he referred to the “Losers’ Government,” composed of members from various parties who served in the previous government and desperately want to be re-elected. According to Porush, what distinguishes the members of […]

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}

Cuban soldiers killed four people and wounded six others aboard a Florida-registered speed boat that had entered Cuban waters and opened fire on soldiers, the Cuban government said Wednesday. Cuba’s Interior Ministry issued a statement that provided few details about the shooting, but noted that the boat was roughly 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) northeast of […]

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 

Antisemitic incidents in Italy surged to a record level in 2025, with nearly 1,000 cases reported nationwide, underscoring growing concerns about online radicalization and the normalization of hate speech in public life. According to new data released by the Center of Contemporary Jewish Documentation (CDEC), 963 antisemitic incidents were documented last year — the highest […]

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 

Israeli police are investigating a yeshiva bochur who allegedly sent a message suggesting violence against senior government officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in what authorities say may have been an attempt to entrap an opposition leader. According to police and media reports, the bochur sent a text message last month to opposition leader Yair […]

Four people aboard a speedboat registered in Florida were killed in a shootout with the Cuban Coast Guard after the occupants allegedly opened fire when authorities approached the vessel to conduct an identification check, according to Cuba’s Interior Ministry. The incident resulted in four fatalities and six injuries among those on the boat. The injured […]

Prime Minister Netanyahu was seen wearing traditional Indian-style attire alongside Prime Minister Modi during Modi’s visit to Israel.

Rep. Jeffries on Trump: His poll numbers are an extinction level event. It’s over for these extremists.

VP Vance on fixing Biden’s economic disaster: We are absolutely pushing that car uphill, but here is the good news: I think we’re about to get over the hump. Tax season is around the corner. A lot of Americans… are about to get a massive refund.

Power failures, waist-high canyons of snow and more flurries Wednesday bedeviled parts of the Northeast in the aftermath of a massive storm that dumped icy piles on streets and sidewalks from Maryland to Maine. The fallout persisted across the region: In Rhode Island, where 3 feet (0.9 meters) of snow surpassed the record set in the Blizzard […]

President Donald Trump, in his State of the Union address Tuesday night, suggested a major new retirement benefit for tens of millions of American workers, embracing an economic policy that proponents say could bolster the federal retirement safety net.

Speaking to congressional lawmakers, Trump pledged to extend to private-sector workers the same type of retirement plan already available to federal employees. He also said the government would kick in up to $1,000 per year to their accounts, presumably in matching benefits. Roughly 54 million workers in the private sector have no workplace retirement benefits and do not benefit from stock market gains, according to research cited by the Economic Innovation Group, a Washington-based think tank, as part of what some experts have termed a “retirement crisis” in America.

“Half of all of working Americans still do not have access to a retirement plan with matching contributions from an employer,” Trump said. “To remedy this gross disparity, I’m announcing that next year, my administration will give these often forgotten American workers – great people, the people that built our country – access to the same type of retirement plan offered to every federal worker. We will match your contribution with up to $1,000 each year.”

The announcement was celebrated by Trump supporters as a major new economic policy heading into the 2026 midterm elections, but critics pointed out some problems with Trump’s pledges, and are skeptical it will substantially boost savings for working-class Americans.

The most obvious challenge is that it’s not clear how much Trump can do on his own. Under existing authorities, the administration can create portable retirement accounts – modeled on the Thrift Savings Plan used by federal employees – and make them available to workers who currently lack a workplace plan. But the government cannot compel employers or workers to automatically enroll, nor can it unilaterally appropriate funds to provide a universal $1,000 match to all eligible workers.

Instead, the administration can facilitate take-up of a benefit that already exists. The bipartisan Secure 2.0 bill, signed by President Joe Biden in 2022, created a “Saver’s Match” – a federal contribution of up to $1,000 annually for qualifying workers who put $2,000 in an eligible retirement account. One problem has been that many eligible workers have had nowhere to put their contributions. Trump’s executive action could create additional account infrastructure, but eligibility would still be constrained. Only workers who make less than $25,000 per year, or roughly $41,000 for couples, are eligible.

More impactful would be if Trump’s comments spur congressional action. A White House official suggested that the administration will support bipartisan legislation to automatically enroll eligible workers in federal accounts, provide the $1,000 federal match for low- and moderate-income workers, and make those accounts portable across jobs. One bill is backed by a coalition that spans Charles Schwab, AARP, DoorDash and Uber.

White House economist Kevin Hassett has backed a similar kind of approach. Of the more than $200 billion in annual income tax expenditures related to retirement savings, less than 1 percent flows to workers in the bottom income quintile, according to the Economic Innovation Group. This would move some of those benefits down the income distribution.

“Since we’ve had the 401(k) system this has always been the problem: A huge share of the workforce has not been participating and doesn’t have access to these benefits. Closing that gap is a big first step,” said John Lettieri, co-founder of the Economic Innovation Group. “It’s a long-run exercise to get people into the market, engaged in long-term savings and investment behavior with matching benefits. That’s a proven way of building wealth over time, including for low-income savers.”

That said, there are reasons to doubt that even the legislation being debated in Congress would do much to increase retirement security for low-income workers. Low-income Americans often do not have enough to live on already, much less an extra $2,000 per year to put into retirement accounts, said Matt Bruenig, founder of the People’s Policy Project, a left-leaning think tank.

The Survey of Consumer Finances suggests that fewer than 12 percent of people who earn below $43,000 save for retirement.

“Almost no low-income people have retirement accounts. This is not because they are disallowed from having them,” Bruenig said. “It’s because they can barely pay their bills. Nothing in the president’s plan changes that.”

(c) 2026, The Washington Post