LOADING ERROR LOADINGIn a court decision on Wednesday, a federal judge issued a resounding rebuke of a Trump administration policy that’s expanded the deportation of immigrants to “so-called ‘third countries’” where they have no ties. The policy, which was detailed in Department of Homeland Security memos last year, allowed the administration to deport people to places other than their country of origin, with little notice. District Court Judge Brian E. Murphy ruled Wednesday that the policy was unlawful and failed to provide sufficient due process protections. If the administration appeals this decision, the legal fight over it could potentially wind up in the Supreme Court. Previously, the Supreme Court suspended a ruling Murphy made that gave detainees more opportunity to challenge a possible third-country removal.

February 26, 2026 06:34 UTC

They asked if we wanted to join them, but of course it was quite short notice so we could not. Per the Department of Labor’s Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees chart (available online at: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/minimum-wage/tipped), the minimum cash wage varies state-to-state. There are eight states and territories where the minimum cash wage is much higher, and the restaurants are required to pay servers the full state minimum wage before tips. Additionally, servers are usually required to give a portion of their tips to bartenders, bussers and sometimes other staff. It’s something in which you’re an active participant, tip or not, so it’s good to know.

February 26, 2026 06:31 UTC

Lee el artículo en españolCuba said its forces fatally shot four heavily armed people attempting to “infiltrate” its territory on a Florida-registered speedboat on Wednesday, amid simmering tensions between the communist island and the US. Advertisement AdvertisementA passenger on the speedboat shot at the Cuban vessel, wounding its commander, and prompting Cuban forces to return fire, according to the statement. Six other people aboard the speedboat were wounded and are in custody and receiving medical attention. Two of the surviving passengers were previously wanted by Cuba for terrorism, the ministry added. The vessel was not carrying US government personnel and was not on a US government operation, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier.

February 26, 2026 05:41 UTC

Defend Truth. Defend Democracy. With the administration challenging the Court and Congress, independent reporting is the only thing standing between you and the noise. Your membership funds the courage to ask the hard questions. Don't let the truth be sidelined, join HuffAlready a member?

February 26, 2026 05:00 UTC

Cuba's military shot at a U.S.-registered boat Wednesday close to its shoreline, authorities said. The announcement came hours after Cuba said its soldiers killed four people and wounded six others aboard a Florida-registered speed boat that had entered Cuban waters and opened fire on the soldiers first, injuring one Cuban officer. Cuba’s government said it obtained the details about the passengers aboard the boat from the suspects detained following the shootout. The government provided the boat’s registration number, but The Associated Press was unable to readily verify details of the boat because boat registrations are not public in the state of Florida. The move put pressure on Mexico, which Cuba became largely dependent on for petroleum after Trump halted oil shipments from Venezuela.

February 26, 2026 04:36 UTC





“Half of all of working Americans still do not have access to a retirement plan with matching contributions from an employer. The idea was one of numerous revisions to retirement plans contained in the bipartisan SECURE 2.0 Act, which was rolled into the 2023 appropriations bill that Biden signed into law on Dec. 29, 2022. Trump White House spokeswoman Kush Desai attacked Biden personally and suggested that the “Saver’s Match” provision was created by the original SECURE Act that Trump signed into law in his first term in 2019. “Joe Biden was a disaster, and no one wants to take ‘credit’ for anything associated with that failure of a presidency. Democratic National Committee chairman Ken Martin said taking credit for others’ work is not surprising from Trump.

February 26, 2026 04:32 UTC

The Reuters/Ipsos poll, which concluded Monday, found that 61% of Americans would describe Trump as having “become erratic with age.” Some 89% of Democrats, 30% of Republicans and 64% of independents described the president this way. AdvertisementOn Feb. 24, President Donald Trump delivered the longest State of the Union address in U.S. history. Scrutiny over Trump’s health and physical stamina has surged in recent months, as evidenced by the public reaction after he has seemingly struggled to stay awake at a number of recent White House meetings. AdvertisementA number of prominent Republicans, however, have reacted to the discourse with grandiose assertions about Trump’s well-being. AdvertisementShe also attempted to assuage Republicans’ concerns about this year’s midterm elections by assuring them that Trump would be hitting the campaign trail vigorously.

February 26, 2026 04:32 UTC

LOADING ERROR LOADINGPresident Donald Trump couldn’t walk away from his State of the Union address without letting his critics get under his skin. President Donald Trump sent off a testy Truth Social post aimed at his enemies Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Robert De Niro the morning after his blustering State of the Union. Advertisement“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,” Trump’s post continued. AdvertisementRobert De Niro, here last November, delivered a counter-address to Trump's State of the Union Tuesday night. Advertisement“The only difference between De Niro and Rosie is that she is probably somewhat smarter than him, which isn’t saying much,” Trump’s post continued.

February 26, 2026 04:24 UTC

Gates is also said to have told staff he had affairs with two Russian women while married to French Gates. A spokesperson for the Gates Foundation said that Bill Gates, left, “took responsibility for his actions” over ties to Jeffrey Epstein. AdvertisementAccording to the Journal report, Gates apologized for bringing foundation executives into meetings with Epstein. A spokesperson for the Gates Foundation told HuffPost that Gates “took responsibility for his actions” in the meeting. Advertisement“This was a scheduled town hall with employees, which Bill does twice a year,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

February 26, 2026 03:44 UTC

Democrats stayed in their seats as President Trump delivered a rambling one-hour and 47-minute speech to both houses of Congress on Tuesday night. “First of all, I think the bar is in hell for Donald Trump,” he began. So that‘s first.”Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) R) and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MI) shout during U.S. President Donald Trump's State of the Union address. And look, okay, Democrats didn‘t stand up for this. But the fact is, Donald Trump is killing Americans.

February 26, 2026 03:35 UTC

Defend Truth. Defend Democracy. With the administration challenging the Court and Congress, independent reporting is the only thing standing between you and the noise. Your membership funds the courage to ask the hard questions. Don't let the truth be sidelined, join HuffAlready a member?

February 26, 2026 03:30 UTC

FBI Director Kash Patel ordered the ouster of at least 10 employees involved in the investigation of President Donald Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate, four people briefed on the matter told CNN. Patel disclosed the seizure of the records in a statement Wednesday. The FBI director briefed Wiles on the seizure Wednesday, according to a source familiar with the matter. Subpoenaing information for those around Trump was part of the normal process of such an investigation. Patel himself was compelled to testify before a grand jury in 2022 as part of those investigations, CNN previously reported.

February 26, 2026 03:20 UTC

“Half of all of working Americans still do not have access to a retirement plan with matching contributions from an employer. The White House official said that Trump’s proposal “can largely be implemented with existing administrative authorities.” Translation: without Congress. Federal workers currently have a 401(k)-style plan known as the Thrift Savings Plan, with a diverse mix of very low-cost funds. When he was a senator, Secretary of State Marco Rubio proposed a plan to grant non-federal workers access to the TSP. Auto enrollment, for policy experts, is a key feature needed to make meaningful progress in closing the gap in retirement savings for those least likely to amass them on their own.

February 26, 2026 02:38 UTC

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal authorities are barred from conducting an “unsupervised, wholesale search” of electronic devices that they seized from a Washington Post reporter’s Virginia home while investigating allegations that a Pentagon contractor illegally leaked classified information to the journalist, a magistrate judge ruled Feb. 24. U.S. Magistrate Judge William Porter said he will independently review the contents of Post reporter Hannah Natanson’s devices instead of allowing a Justice Department “filter team” to perform a search. The Post sought an order requiring the government to immediately return the devices to its reporter, but Porter denied that request. The FBI began investigating after the Post on Oct. 31 published an article containing classified information from an intelligence report, according to the government. The Post reporter co-wrote and contributed to at least five articles that contained classified information provided by Perez-Lugones, authorities said.

February 26, 2026 02:29 UTC

Feb 25 (Reuters) - Swiss private bank Edmond de Rothschild said on Wednesday its board would "monitor the situation" after U.S. Department of Justice files showed CEO Ariane de Rothschild kept up years-long contact with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as she sought to reassure clients and staff about the firm's financial strength. Ariane de Rothschild this week wrote to clients of the bank and employees to reassure them about the strength of the group, a spokesperson told Reuters. U.S. Justice Department files released last month showed de Rothschild kept up a years-long personal correspondence with Epstein before his 2019 arrest. After the files were released, a spokesperson for the bank told Reuters that Epstein was a business acquaintance of de Rothschild from 2013 to 2019. ($1 = 0.7728 Swiss francs)(Reporting by Fabiola Arámburo in Mexico City, Tommy Reggiori Wilkes, Editing by Franklin Paul and Lincoln Feast.)

February 26, 2026 02:15 UTC