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  United States President Donald Trump says the US has begun “major combat operations” in Iran after Israel also said it ⁠had launched missile attacks against the country. Iranian media reports, citing the Red Crescent, say at least 201 people have been killed across 24 provinces. Iran has retaliated, targeting Israel and US assets in multiple Middle East countries, including Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Multiple explosions have been heard in Iran’s capital, Tehran, while blasts have also been reported in several other locations across the country. A strike on a school in southern Iran has killed more than 80 people, according to state media. Several countries across the region have shut their airspace amid the exchange of attacks. Read more...

  Negotiators from Iran and the United States have resumed work in this third round of indirect nuclear talks in Geneva, Switzerland. Tehran says that “important” and “practical” proposals were advanced during negotiations this morning on Iran’s nuclear programme and the lifting of sanctions. The discussions take place amid a massive US military build-up in the Middle East, with a number of countries warning their citizens to leave Iran due to the threat of possible US attacks. During his State of the Union address on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump struck a belligerent tone but said he would prefer to resolve the standoff diplomatically. Iran has also said it wants to find a diplomatic solution but will defend itself if the US resorts to military action. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said Iran remained “crystal clear” that it would “under no circumstances ever develop a nuclear weapon”, while also recognisin...

  Afghanistan has launched attacks againt Pakistani military positions along the border in response to Pakistani air strikes last week, Taliban authorities said. The media office of Afghanistan’s military corps in the East said in a statement that “heavy clashes” had begun late on Thursday “in response to the recent airstrikes carried out by Pakistani forces in Nangarhar and Paktia” provinces. “In response ‌to repeated provocations and violations by Pakistani military circles, large-scale offensive operations have been launched ⁠against Pakistani military ⁠positions and installations along the Durand Line,” Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah ⁠Mujahid wrote in a post on X. Read more...

  U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents detained a Columbia University student on campus the morning of Feb. 26 after allegedly misrepresenting themselves to enter a residence hall in search of a missing person, the school said. In a morning update sent to the university community, Columbia's acting President Claire Shipman announced DHS agents entered a Columbia residential building about 6:30 a.m. local time and detained a student. "Our understanding at this time is that the federal agents made misrepresentations to gain entry to the building to search for a 'missing person,'" Shipman wrote in the announcement. "We are working to gather more information, working to reach the family, and providing legal support." Read more...

  Bill Gates "took responsibility for his actions" over ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in a town hall meeting with employees of the Gates Foundation, the group said in a statement. Gates answered questions at the twice-a-year meeting Feb. 24 on a range of issues, "including the release of the Epstein files," the foundation said. "In the townhall, Bill spoke candidly, addressing several questions in detail, and took responsibility for his actions," the foundation said. The statement came in response to a Wall Street Journal report that said Gates had apologized to staff at the event over his ties to Epstein. Read more...

  President  Donald Trump  declared the country is booming, his opponents are "crazy" and his administration is engaged in unprecedented levels of "winning" in a defiant, marathon State of the Union address that comes as polls showed deep skepticism of his leadership heading into a crucial midterm election. The president delivered a full-throated and intensely partisan defense of his policies amid a low point in his second term as he grapples with a major setback on tariffs, strong opposition to his immigration enforcement tactics, low approval ratings, and other challenges at home and abroad, including a partial government shutdown and a potential military conflict with Iran. Read more...

  Hamas and the Palestinian Authority (PA) have condemned an announcement by the United States that it will offer consular services at a settlement in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. In a statement on Wednesday, Hamas described the move as “a dangerous precedent” and “a practical recognition of the legitimacy of colonial-settlements and the occupation’s control over the West Bank”. The Palestine Liberation Organization’s Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said in a statement the decision “constitutes a clear violation of international law and a blatant favouring of the occupation authorities”. Read more...

  A franchise cricket tournament in the United Kingdom has been the subject of controversy surrounding the selection of Pakistani players for teams partially owned by Indian businesses. Four of the eight teams in the Hundred – a professional franchise cricket league organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) – are part-owned by businesses that own franchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Various media reports last week said Pakistani cricketers will not be considered by these four teams when players are drafted by the franchises in an auction in March. Read more...

  •  Trump’s big speech:  President Donald Trump will deliver the 2026 State of the Union address tonight at 9 p.m. ET. Trump is expected to tout his administration’s actions and focus on the economy. Check out CNN’s visual guide to the SOTU address. •  Democrats boycott:  At least a dozen Democratic lawmakers are opting to skip the speech and instead participate in a counterprogram at the National Mall. Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger will deliver the Democratic response to Trump’s speech. •  What the polls say:  Trump faces a public that increasingly questions his priorities and expresses broad doubts about whether his policies are helping the nation, according to a CNN poll conducted by SSRS. Read more.. .

  During a visit to Kyiv on the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion, European leaders have promised to “stand firm” with Ukraine. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has said Ukraine and its allies are “pushing themselves to the edge” in their determination to defeat Moscow and will “regret” that. The latest peace talks took place in Geneva earlier this month in the latest of several attempts to end the deadliest fighting in Europe. The World Bank has updated its cost estimate for Ukraine’s reconstruction, raising it to $588bn as of the end of last year from $524bn in its previous report. Read more...

  Behind high walls outside Marrakesh,  Bin Ennakhil  unfolds like a private kingdom. The estate spans 4.6 hectares (11.4 acres) and has 60 marble fountains that spill into mosaic-tiled courtyards. Gold-draped salons open onto gardens threaded with olive trees and more than 2,000 palms. A hammam steam spa sits beneath carved ceilings while an outdoor pool glints in the Moroccan sun. It is the kind of property that keeps its owner beyond the view of the outside world. Read more...

  Mexican forces killed Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “ El Mencho ”, the leader of the  Jalisco New Generation Cartel  (JNGC), in a high-risk operation in the western state of Jalisco on Sunday. Security forces tracked El Mencho, one of the United States’s most wanted fugitives, to a property in the mountain town of Tapalpa, central-western Mexico, after receiving intelligence linked to a close associate. Troops launched a predawn raid on Sunday, triggering hours of gun battles and a wave of violence across several states. The killing marks the most significant blow against organised crime since Mexican and US authorities recaptured Joaquin Guzman, known as “ El Chapo ”, nearly a decade ago. Read more...

  Editor's Note: Law enforcement has asked anyone with information to contact 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov, the Pima County Sheriff's Department (520-351-4900), or  88-CRIME . Savannah Guthrie  is speaking out about the "agony" of her 84-year-old mother's disappearance and announcing a new  $1 million reward  as the search stretches into its fourth week. The "Today" show host, 54, posted an emotional video on Instagram on Feb. 24 as investigators in Arizona continue to search for her mother, Nancy Guthrie, who was reported missing on Feb. 1. Authorities have said they believe Nancy Guthrie was taken from her home outside of Tucson, Arizona, against her will. Read more...

  •  Trade war:  Tariffs deemed illegal by the Supreme Court will stop being collected after midnight ET, according to US Customs and Border Protection. President Donald Trump has doubled down on his trade war, announcing new 15% global tariffs over the weekend  and warning countries that “play games”  could face higher levies . •  SOTU address:  As Trump prepares to speak to the nation in his State of the Union address tomorrow, just 32% of Americans now say that he has had the right priorities, according to poll conducted by SSRS. Trump said it will be a “long speech, because we have so much to talk about.” •  Iran tensions:  The US and Iran plan to hold more talks in Geneva this week, according to a US official. Trump has said he’s mulling potential military action if Tehran does not agree to a nuclear deal. Read more...

  Israeli settlers have defaced and set fire to a mosque in the occupied West Bank during the Muslim  holy month of Ramadan , marking the latest incident in a wave of Israeli violence against Palestinians in the territory. The Wafa news agency reported on Monday that settlers graffitied racist slogans on the walls of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq Mosque, located between the towns of Sarra and Tal, near Nablus in the north of the West Bank. Worshippers arriving for the day’s first prayers found the damage and a smouldering fire that spewed black smoke across the mosque’s entrance and stained the ornate doorway, The Associated Press reported. “I was shocked when I opened the door,” Munir Ramdan, who lives nearby, told the news agency. “The fire had been burning here in the area, the glass was broken here and the door was broken.” Read more...

  With the likelihood increasing of a United States attack on Iran, Israeli politicians are already turning their attention to another regional rival: Turkiye. Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who is expected to run and do well in the country’s elections this year, was the latest prominent politician to declare Turkiye a threat to Israel. Speaking at a conference last week, Bennett said that Israel must not “turn a blind eye” to Turkiye, accusing it of being part of a regional axis “similar to the Iranian one”. Read more...

  The  killing  of Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, the leader of Mexico’s Jalisco New Generation Cartel, also known as “El Mencho”, who had long been on the run from the authorities, led to a wave of violence across the country, plunging some parts into a state of chaos. As the leader of one of Mexico’s most rapidly expanding criminal networks, the 59-year-old was notorious for trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine into the United States, while orchestrating brazen attacks against government officials. Read more...

  Nick Reiner , the son of  Hollywood director Rob Reiner  and  his wife Michele Singer Reiner , entered a plea of not guilty in Los Angeles court Monday on murder charges in the killing of his parents. His arraignment, originally set for early January, was postponed after  his lawyer, Alan Jackson , resigned from the case. Reiner, who has since been  assigned public defender Kimberly Greene , appearing alongside his counsel in court, wearing a gray jumpsuit with his hair closely shorn, and only uttering one word: "Yes." Read more...

  Police in Libya have recovered the bodies of five asylum seekers that washed ashore near the capital, Tripoli, as authorities in Greece announced the deaths of three others in a separate incident off the coast of Crete. The bodies in Libya were found on Saturday by residents of the coastal town of Qasr al-Akhyar, according to a police officer. Hassan al-Ghawil, head of investigations ⁠at the Qasr al-Akhyar police station, told the Reuters news agency that the bodies were all of “dark-skinned people”. Two of them were women. He said people in the area had reported seeing a child’s body wash ashore before the waves returned it to sea. Read more...

  NEW YORK (WABC) --  A powerful winter storm is set to slam New York City and the Tri-State area Sunday night into Monday, bringing blizzard conditions, dangerous travel, and the potential for widespread power outages. Eyewitness News Meteorologist Jeff Smith says this could be one of the most significant snowstorms the region has seen in years. The storm is poised to be the biggest snow-maker to slam the Tri-State area since the storm of January 2016, which was the biggest snowstorm to ever hit NYC on record. The last time we faced a blizzard warning was in March 2017, so this is a rare event. The storm involves the convergence of energy from the Ohio Valley colliding with Gulf and ocean moisture to produce a storm that almost resembles a winter hurricane. Read more...

  Arsenal will look to banish their untimely bout of title race anxiety as the wobbling Premier League leaders head to bitter rivals Tottenham for the north London derby. Mikel Arteta’s men are in danger of blowing a commanding position in the title race after successive draws against Brentford and Wolves left them with just two wins in their last seven league matches. The Gunners squandered the lead in both matches, with Wednesday’s 2-2 draw at bottom-of-the-table Wolves especially galling as they conceded a stoppage-time equaliser having led 2-0. Read more...

  •  Trump doubles down:  President Donald Trump says he’ll increase his new global tariffs to 15%. The president is digging in on his trade war after yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling that duties he issued using sweeping emergency authorities were illegal. •  What’s next:  The new levies can take effect for a maximum of 150 days, barring congressional approval for an extension. Trump has signaled there will be protracted legal battles over calls to refund companies billions of dollars for the emergency tariffs. •  Ripple effects:  Businesses and trade partners face renewed uncertainty. As for average Americans, economists don’t expect the high court’s ruling to be a game-changer for consumer prices. Read more.. .

  Police in the Albanian capital, Tirana, fired tear gas and used water cannon as protesters clashed with security forces during demonstrations to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama. Demonstrators hurled Molotov cocktails and fireworks at the prime minister’s office on Friday before marching towards parliament, where they were confronted by anti-riot police. Fierce clashes lasted for about two hours in the streets surrounding the legislature, according to a journalist with the AFP news agency who was at the scene of the violence. Read more...

  Police are continuing their desperate search for  Nancy Guthrie , the 84-year-old mother of "Today" show anchor Savannah Guthrie, nearly three weeks after her disappearance. Guthrie  was last seen at her Tuscon, Arizona, home on Jan. 31, after a family member dropped her off following a dinner nearby. When she did not show up for church the following morning, a friend called her family, who reported her missing to police on Feb. 1. Law enforcement in Arizona said they believe she was taken against her will. Read more...

  The Supreme Court on Friday ruled that President Donald Trump violated federal law when he unilaterally imposed sweeping tariffs across the globe, a striking loss for the White House on an issue that has been central to the president’s foreign policy and economic agenda. The decision is arguably the most important loss the second Trump administration has sustained at the conservative Supreme Court, which last year repeatedly sided with the president in a series of emergency rulings on immigration, the firing of the leaders of independent agencies and deep cuts to government spending. Read more...

  Milan, Italy  —  After she finished her free skate, the house coming down all around her, Alysa Liu gave her ponytail a flick, stuck the toe of her skate into the ice and turned to take her bow. Before she did, she dramatically brought both of her arms up and wiped her hands, as if to say, “Well, that’s done. Time to go hit a karaoke bar.” Ordinarily, the only chill in figure skating emanates from the ice itself. Sports are inherently fraught with tension, but some seem preordained to it more than others. Figure skating asks a singular athlete to stand alone on an ice rink. Nowhere to hide. No teammates to lean on. Literal bright lights bearing down on them, with the gaze of thousands of eyes as they twirl through spins and power through jumps.  Read more...

  As the United States continues a significant military buildup in the Middle East, Iran has taken steps to signal its readiness for war, including fortifying its nuclear sites and rebuilding missile production facilities. Iranian and US negotiators held indirect talks in Geneva for three-and-a-half hours on Tuesday, but it ended with no clear resolution. Iran’s top diplomat Abbas Araghchi said both sides agreed on a set of “guiding principles,” but US Vice President JD Vance said the Iranians had not acknowledged “red lines” set by US President Donald Trump. Read more...

  Eyes are still on  Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor  on Friday, Feb. 20, after British authorities arrested and later released the former prince. On his 66th birthday, Feb. 19, the disgraced royal was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public life before he was seen leaving the Aylsham Police Station in Aylsham, England. A photo obtained by Reuters showed him seated in the back seat of a vehicle as he left the station. The U.K.'s  Thames Valley Police  confirmed that an unnamed man in his 60s had been arrested. Six unmarked police cars were spotted on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, England, where Mountbatten-Windsor recently moved, according to the  Daily Telegraph  newspaper. Read more...

  • Iran tensions:  President Donald Trump urged Iran to make a deal, suggesting he could reach a decision on potential military action within 10 days. Sources yesterday said the US is prepared to strike Iran as early as this weekend but that Trump had not yet made a final decision. Meanwhile, Israel raised its alert level amid growing indications of a potential joint US-Israel attack on Iran, Israeli sources said. • Board of Peace meeting:  In remarks to world leaders, Trump said his Board of Peace will be “looking over” the United Nations. He also said the US will contribute $10 billion for the board to resolve global conflicts and outlined various countries that have pledged support for Gaza. Read more...

  British police have arrested Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor  on suspicion of misconduct in public life, according to multiple news outlets in the United Kingdom. The U.K.'s  Thames Valley Police said in a Feb. 19 statement  that they arrested an unnamed man in his 60s and were carrying out searches at addresses in Norfolk and Berkshire, adding that an investigation has been opened. The  Daily Telegraph  newspaper reported that six unmarked police cars and around eight plain-clothed officers were seen arriving at Wood Farm on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, England, where Mountbatten-Windsor recently moved. The BBC was the first to report the development. Read more...

  Authorities in Arizona are continuing  their search for Nancy Guthrie  nearly three weeks after the 84-year-old  mother of "Today" anchor Savannah Guthrie was last seen . Nancy Guthrie has been missing since Sunday, Feb. 1, and law enforcement in Arizona has said they believe she was taken from her home outside Tucson against her will. Investigators are analyzing biological evidence found at Guthrie's residence, according to The Pima County Sheriff's Department, which previously said that DNA was found that could potentially belong to the suspect. Over the weekend, the sheriff's department said gloves were recovered that appeared to match those worn by a man seen in doorbell camera video at Guthrie's front door the morning she disappeared, but the DNA profile found on the glove did not turn up any matches in the FBI's database. Read more...