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Trump administration enacts 6-month moratorium on Minnesota Medicaid payments – The Hill Lead: The Trump administration announced a six-month moratorium on certain Medicaid reimbursements to Minnesota on Thursday, saying the pause targets suspected fraud in specific programs. Vice President Vance and health official Mehmet Oz flagged 14 programs as high risk and said federal payments … Read more

Lead China’s top legislature has removed nine serving military officers from its list of deputies ahead of the annual “two sessions” in Beijing next week, state news agency Xinhua reported. The removals include five full generals, one lieutenant general and three major generals across multiple PLA branches. Named figures include information support force political commissar … Read more

Lead In late February 2026, roughly 50 influenza scientists gathered at a Hilton in Istanbul for the World Health Organization’s biannual committee to recommend strains for the fall 2026 vaccine. The meeting processes global surveillance data, evaluates last season’s vaccine performance and proposes candidate viruses for manufacturers to begin production. Although the U.S. formally withdrew … Read more

On Feb. 25, 2026 at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, Vice President JD Vance announced an indefinite pause on $259 million in federal Medicaid reimbursements to Minnesota as part of a newly launched “war on fraud.” The administration framed the action as routine enforcement tied to a three‑month audit from early 2025 and … Read more

The Los Angeles Lakers dropped a third consecutive game in Phoenix, surrendering a double-digit second-half lead to an undermanned Suns side. The loss followed a flat showing in Boston and a surrendered finish against Orlando, leaving the Lakers deep in a short-term tailspin. With a potentially shorthanded Golden State team and two favorable home dates … Read more

Lead: A veteran Los Angeles firefighter testified that smoldering hotspots remained at the Lachman fire on Jan. 2, 2025, and that his warnings were dismissed before crews packed up. The sworn statement by Scott Pike came during depositions in a lawsuit brought by victims of the later Palisades fire, which rekindled from the Lachman burn … Read more

Pakistan announced large-scale air and ground strikes against targets in Afghanistan on Friday, saying its “patience has run out” after cross-border attacks earlier in the week. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif framed the operations as a response to assaults on Pakistani military positions and said Islamabad would now wage “open war”. Afghan officials reported strikes on … Read more

Jack Hughes, the 24-year-old New Jersey Devils forward who scored the overtime winner that gave the United States men’s hockey team Olympic gold at Milan-Cortina, is still adjusting to life after the win. On Thursday at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Hughes received a prolonged ovation and chants from a crowd of 18,288, a reminder … Read more

Edmonton built a decisive lead and routed the Los Angeles Kings 8-1 at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday, February 26, 2026. With 1:15 remaining in the third period the scoreline had already been decided, as the Oilers outscored the Kings in every period and finished with a wide advantage in chances. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl … Read more

Research firm IDC warned on February 26, 2026 (updated February 27, 2026) that the global smartphone market will contract 12.9% in 2026 as an unprecedented memory chip shortage ripples through the electronics supply chain. The firm described the situation as “a crisis like no other,” saying heavy demand for advanced memory to power AI workloads … Read more

Lead Late on Feb. 26, 2026, Pima County officers arrested a man on suspicion of driving under the influence outside the Tucson residence linked to the recent abduction of Nancy Guthrie. Witnesses and a local photographer told reporters the individual drove slowly past the property many times before being questioned. Authorities administered a field sobriety … Read more

Lead: State lawmakers in Indiana and Illinois moved this week to position their jurisdictions as the preferred landing spot for the Chicago Bears’ next stadium. The Indiana Senate approved a bill by a 45-4 vote that was signed later the same day by Governor Mike Braun to enable funding for a site near the Illinois … Read more

2026-02-27 — BLACKPINK return with DEADLINE, an EP led by the new single “GO” alongside four additional tracks and the earlier Diplo-assisted single “JUMP.” The release follows the group’s 2025 all-arena DEADLINE World Tour, which covered 16 cities and 33 concerts, and comes after each member launched major solo projects during the group’s hiatus. DEADLINE … Read more

Lead On February 26–27, 2026, Asian equity markets softened after a sharp pullback in Nvidia shares that rattled US benchmarks and curtailed risk appetite. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has still climbed about 7% in February, its strongest February since the index began in 1998, while Europe’s benchmark rose 3.6% and is set for an … Read more

Lead On Feb. 26, 2026, The New York Times’ Wordplay column published answers and commentary for the Friday puzzle that appears as the Feb. 27, 2026 puzzle. The puzzle marks a Times debut for constructor Caroline Hand and coincides with the paper’s rollout of the new daily “Midi” medium-size crossword. Solvers praised the puzzle’s inventive … Read more