Nation/World | The Spokesman-Review

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Pentagon’s first kamikaze drone unit ready for Iran strikes

UPDATED: Thu., Feb. 26, 2026

The Pentagon’s first kamikaze drone unit is ready to participate if President Donald Trump decides to launch strikes on Iran, according to U.S. officials and analysts. The drone unit is known as Task Force Scorpion and evolved from an experimental U.S. military drone unit. It’s now ready for operations, U.S. Central Command spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins said in an emailed statement. “We ...

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Secret talks: Rubio team meets with Castro grandson on sidelines of Caribbean conference

UPDATED: Thu., Feb. 26, 2026

U.S. officials close to Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Raul Castro’s grandson on the sidelines of the annual meeting of Caribbean leaders on Wednesday in Saint Kitts’s capital as efforts to negotiate economic and political changes in Cuba continue.

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Judge says Trump White House ballroom construction can proceed for now

UPDATED: Thu., Feb. 26, 2026

A federal judge declined to stop President Donald Trump's plan to build a $400 million White House ballroom at the site of the since-demolished East Wing, saying preservationists challenging the move failed to meet the high bar to halt the project for now.

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Hillary Clinton tells congressional panel she has no information on Epstein

UPDATED: Thu., Feb. 26, 2026

Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a congressional committee on Thursday that she did not remember ever meeting the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and had no information to share about his criminal activities.

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As MAGA embraces Erika Kirk, Candace Owens goes on the attack

UPDATED: Thu., Feb. 26, 2026

Right-wing influencer and conspiracy theorist Candace Owens is lobbing her latest “truth bomb” at the heart of the conservative movement that made her a star.

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Melania Trump to chair a meeting of the UN Security Council, White House says

UPDATED: Thu., Feb. 26, 2026

First lady Melania Trump will chair a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Monday as the U.S. takes over the monthly rotating ⁠presidency, the White House said.

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Cindy McCain announces departure as head of UN World Food Program

UPDATED: Thu., Feb. 26, 2026

Cindy McCain intends to step down as head of the United Nations World Food Program, she said on Thursday, months after she suffered a mild stroke.

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‘America’s Time Capsule’ will bury artifacts underground for 250 years

UPDATED: Wed., June 24, 2026

When West Point archeologists pried open a 200-year-old time capsule left by cadets in the early 1800s, they expected to discover forgotten treasures and historic documents. Instead, they found gray clumps of dust and a few old coins.

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The Mojave Desert is a hot spot for off-roading. Here’s why a judge shut down more than 2,200 miles of trails

UPDATED: Thu., Feb. 26, 2026

MOJAVE DESERT — The desert tortoise, a once-resilient reptile, is a keystone species in the Mojave Desert, where other animals depend for their survival on the burrows it digs. But it is imperiled in California thanks in part to an unusual predator: off-road vehicles that race through thousands of miles of trails — official and unofficial — that crisscross millions of acres of tortoise ...

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Hurricane Melissa now tied for strongest winds in an Atlantic storm

UPDATED: Wed., Feb. 25, 2026

Hurricane Melissa, which claimed at least 95 lives last fall, got an upgrade from the National Hurricane Center in a post-season review.

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FBI obtained Kash Patel and Susie Wiles phone records during Biden administration

UPDATED: Wed., Feb. 25, 2026

WASHINGTON – The FBI subpoenaed records of phone calls made by Kash Patel and Susie Wiles, now the FBI director and White House Chief of Staff, when they were both private citizens in 2022 and 2023 during the federal probe of Donald Trump, Patel told Reuters on Wednesday.

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Judge says Trump administration can’t search reporter’s devices

UPDATED: Wed., Feb. 25, 2026

A federal judge has barred President Donald Trump’s administration from searching through materials the FBI seized during a January raid of a Washington Post reporter’s Virginia home as part of a national security leak investigation.

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Cuba says it killed 4 exiles, wounded 6 others who attacked from Florida speedboat

UPDATED: Wed., Feb. 25, 2026

HAVANA – Cuban forces killed four exiles and wounded six others who sailed into Cuban waters aboard a Florida-registered speedboat Wednesday and opened fire on a Cuban patrol, the Cuban government said at a time of heightened tensions with the United States.

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FBI raids LA Unified School District superintendent’s home, office

UPDATED: Wed., Feb. 25, 2026

Federal authorities are raiding the home and office of Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, the FBI confirmed.

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Bill Gates apologizes for Epstein ties, admits to affairs with Russian women

UPDATED: Wed., Feb. 25, 2026

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates issued an apology for his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during a townhall for the Gates Foundation, during which he also confessed to having two affairs while married to his ex-wife, Melinda French Gates, according to reports.

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Trump projects power but heads weakened into a season of tough political challenges

UPDATED: Wed., Feb. 25, 2026

President Donald Trump headed into Tuesday night's State of the Union speech projecting confidence in his personal power to "Make America Great Again," despite the woes he says he's been saddled with by his Democratic predecessors.

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A professor challenged the Smithsonian. Security shut the gallery.

UPDATED: Wed., Feb. 25, 2026

On a Monday afternoon this winter, 64-year-old historian James Millward climbed the steps of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery with a “little stack of handouts, like a good professor,” and no sense of the drama that was about to unfold.

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Epstein files related to Trump abuse investigation withheld by DOJ: report

UPDATED: Tue., Feb. 24, 2026

The Justice Department allegedly withheld dozens of files related to Jeffrey Epstein that included an FBI investigation into claims of abuse against President Trump, according to a new report.

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Hegseth threatens to force AI firm to share tech, escalating Anthropic standoff

UPDATED: Wed., Feb. 25, 2026

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has threatened Anthropic, saying officials could invoke powers that would allow the government to force the artificial intelligence firm to share its novel technology in the name of national security if it does not agree by Friday to terms favorable to the military, people familiar with the ongoing discussions said.

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Massachusetts Blizzard of ’26 cleanup efforts barrel ahead; Boston schools set to reopen

UPDATED: Tue., Feb. 24, 2026

BOSTON — Students are set to return to class in Boston after an extended February school vacation, thanks to the Blizzard of ’26 that dumped 17 inches of snow in the city and canceled two days of class. Mayor Michelle Wu has announced that Boston Public Schools and central offices will reopen on Wednesday, while scores of other districts have called for an extra snow day as they continue to ...

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