news today – Google Search google.com/search?q=news+tod…
news today
February 26, 2026. Major news stories include high-stakes nuclear negotiations in Geneva, the aftermath of the killing of a major Mexican drug lord, and legal developments in the Epstein investigation.Today is
International & Diplomacy
U.S.-Iran Nuclear Talks: Indirect negotiations are underway in Geneva as a last-ditch effort to prevent conflict. Iran has signaled that an agreement is “within reach,” though the U.S. has maintained pressure with new sanctions.
Russia-Ukraine War: As the conflict marks its fourth anniversary, Russia claims to have handed over the bodies of 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers. Meanwhile, peace talks are continuing for a second day in Abu Dhabi.
could “get along” with the U.S. if its nuclear status is accepted, while simultaneously warning of South Korea’s complete destruction if provoked.North Korea Relations:Kim Jong Unstated thatNorth Korea
Mexico Violence: Unrest continues inMexicofollowing the military operation that killed drug lord ‘El Mencho’. FIFA President Gianni Infantino expressed confidence in Mexico’s ability to co-host the World Cup despite the violence.📷BBC +5
U.S. Politics & National News
expected to testify tomorrow.Epstein Investigation:Hillary Clintonis scheduled for a closed-door deposition today regarding the Jeffrey Epstein probe, withBill Clinton
has demanded an investigation into the arrest of her guest during the speech.State of the Union Fallout: Following President Trump’s address, Rep.Ilhan Omar
Medicaid Funding: The Trump administration is withholding $259 million in Medicaid funds from Minnesota, citing a “war on fraud”.
Immigration Rulings: A federal judge has ruled that the administration’s policy of deporting individuals to third countries without due process is unlawful.📷NBC News +5
Business & Technology
is resigning from his remaining roles at Harvard University following revelations in the Epstein files.Corporate Resignations: Former Treasury SecretaryLarry Summers
NVIDIA Growth: The chipmaker reported record sales of $68 billion for the latest quarter, fueled by continued AI demand.
Samsung Galaxy S26: Samsung has officially announced its newGalaxy S26lineup, featuring expanded AI capabilities.📷NBC News +2
Other Notable Headlines
Health Recall: The FDA has upgraded a frozen blueberry recall across several states to a “life-threatening” level due to Listeria risk.
Winter Weather: The Northeast is still recovering from a historic blizzard, with more snow forecasted for early next week.📷Google News +3— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) Feb 26, 2026
Month: February 2026
#FBI #CIA #Trump
The U.S. #Elections 2016 and 2024: the #Israeli #Mossad and other parties interference: assessments, significance, analysis, prevention – Google Search google.com/search?q=The+U.S.…Foreign interference in U.S. elections, particularly in 2016 and 2024, has moved beyond traditional espionage into complex, multi-actor information operations designed to polarize the electorate and influence policy. While Russian, Iranian, and Chinese actions have been extensively documented by the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC), allegations of interference have also extended to Israeli intelligence (Mossad) and associated private entities, particularly regarding efforts to influence U.S. policy toward the Middle East
2016 Election: Allegations and Analysis
Russia: The U.S. Intelligence Community concluded that Russia launched an extensive, multifaceted campaign to damage Hillary Clinton and boost Donald Trump, involving hacking the DNC and spreading disinformation.Israel (Mossad): Evidence suggests that in 2016, a covert Israeli operation, potentially under the direction of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, offered intelligence to the Trump campaign against Hillary Clinton.
Collusion & Intelligence Sharing: Reports indicate that Israeli intelligence was eavesdropping on Russian and WikiLeaks communications, providing information to the Trump campaign, including data related to the Iran nuclear deal, which Netanyahu sought to cancel.Significance: While the Mueller report focused on Russia, undisclosed FBI warrants pointed to an Israeli agent communicating with Trump advisors, aiming to prevent a Trump defeat and influence policy on Jerusalem and Iran. [2, 6, 7, 8]
2024 Election: Evolving ThreatsMain Actors: The 2024 election has seen high-volume interference from Russia (the most active threat), China, and Iran, focused on undermining confidence in democratic institutions.
Israeli Influence Campaigns: Reports indicate an ongoing, covert $2 million campaign paid for by the Israeli government, using social media bots to target U.S. lawmakers to sustain military support, often targeting Black Democrats.
Tactics:
AI-Generated Content: Russia and other actors are using AI to create fake news sites and deepfakes to sow disinformation.Influence Operations: Iran has targeted campaigns with cyber-enabled phishing, while China (“Spamouflage”) has posted content criticizing the U.S. administration.
Perception Hacking: Adversaries aim to make Americans doubt the security of their own voting systems. [1, 3, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14]
Assessments and AnalysisStrategic Objective: The goal for foreign actors is to create social division, reduce trust in U.S. democracy, and push U.S. policy toward their interests, particularly regarding NATO and Middle Eastern affairs.
Impact vs. Influence: While the IC maintains that it is difficult for foreign actors to alter actual vote counts, the impact of their influence operations—shaping voter perception through social media—is significant.
Differential Treatment: Critics highlight a discrepancy in the U.S. response to interference, where Russian meddling triggers widespread investigations, while Israeli interference, involving similar methods, receives far less public or legal scrutiny. [12, 14, 15, 16, 17]
Prevention and Security MeasuresPaper Ballots: Increased use of paper ballots, now used for all but 1.4% of votes (down from 25% in 2016), provides a secure, auditable backup.
Proactive Disruption: U.S. agencies (FBI, Treasury) are engaging in “real-time” neutralization, such as sanctions against Iranian and Russian entities attempting to steal information and create fake, divisive content.
Intelligence Sharing: The creation of specialized centers, such as the Foreign Malign Influence Center, helps coordinate the response to electoral disinformation.
Transparency: The U.S. government is increasingly declassifying information about foreign threats to warn the public and mitigate the impact of disinformation campaigns. [4, 9, 12, 15, 18]
AI responses may include mistakes.[1] thesoufancenter.org/intelbri…
[2] youtube.com/watch?v=mWgqoUx3…
[3] brookings.edu/articles/forei…
[4] atlanticcouncil.org/content-…
[5] jacobin.com/2024/03/israel-m…
[6] thenation.com/article/world/…
[7] youtube.com/watch?v=0VLQuJFM…
[8] youtube.com/watch?v=mWgqoUx3…
[9] brennancenter.org/our-work/a…
[10] 2021-2025.state.gov/briefing…
[11] home.treasury.gov/news/press…
[12] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreig…
[13] brennancenter.org/our-work/a…
[14] responsiblestatecraft.org/is…
[15] 2021-2025.state.gov/briefing…
[16] homelandsecuritynewswire.com…
[17] responsiblestatecraft.org/is…
[18] ir.usembassy.gov/sanctions-i…— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) Feb 26, 2026
The U.S. #Elections 2016 and 2024: the #Israeli #Mossad and other parties interference: assessments, significance, analysis, prevention – Google Search google.com/search?q=The+U.S.…
Foreign interference in U.S. elections, particularly in 2016 and 2024, has moved beyond traditional espionage into complex, multi-actor information operations designed to polarize the electorate and influence policy. While Russian, Iranian, and Chinese actions have been extensively documented by the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC), allegations of interference have also extended to Israeli intelligence (Mossad) and associated private entities, particularly regarding efforts to influence U.S. policy toward the Middle East
2016 Election: Allegations and Analysis
Russia: The U.S. Intelligence Community concluded that Russia launched an extensive, multifaceted campaign to damage Hillary Clinton and boost Donald Trump, involving hacking the DNC and spreading disinformation.Israel (Mossad): Evidence suggests that in 2016, a covert Israeli operation, potentially under the direction of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, offered intelligence to the Trump campaign against Hillary Clinton.
Collusion & Intelligence Sharing: Reports indicate that Israeli intelligence was eavesdropping on Russian and WikiLeaks communications, providing information to the Trump campaign, including data related to the Iran nuclear deal, which Netanyahu sought to cancel.Significance: While the Mueller report focused on Russia, undisclosed FBI warrants pointed to an Israeli agent communicating with Trump advisors, aiming to prevent a Trump defeat and influence policy on Jerusalem and Iran. [2, 6, 7, 8]
2024 Election: Evolving ThreatsMain Actors: The 2024 election has seen high-volume interference from Russia (the most active threat), China, and Iran, focused on undermining confidence in democratic institutions.
Israeli Influence Campaigns: Reports indicate an ongoing, covert $2 million campaign paid for by the Israeli government, using social media bots to target U.S. lawmakers to sustain military support, often targeting Black Democrats.
Tactics:
AI-Generated Content: Russia and other actors are using AI to create fake news sites and deepfakes to sow disinformation.Influence Operations: Iran has targeted campaigns with cyber-enabled phishing, while China (“Spamouflage”) has posted content criticizing the U.S. administration.
Perception Hacking: Adversaries aim to make Americans doubt the security of their own voting systems. [1, 3, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14]
Assessments and AnalysisStrategic Objective: The goal for foreign actors is to create social division, reduce trust in U.S. democracy, and push U.S. policy toward their interests, particularly regarding NATO and Middle Eastern affairs.
Impact vs. Influence: While the IC maintains that it is difficult for foreign actors to alter actual vote counts, the impact of their influence operations—shaping voter perception through social media—is significant.
Differential Treatment: Critics highlight a discrepancy in the U.S. response to interference, where Russian meddling triggers widespread investigations, while Israeli interference, involving similar methods, receives far less public or legal scrutiny. [12, 14, 15, 16, 17]
Prevention and Security MeasuresPaper Ballots: Increased use of paper ballots, now used for all but 1.4% of votes (down from 25% in 2016), provides a secure, auditable backup.
Proactive Disruption: U.S. agencies (FBI, Treasury) are engaging in “real-time” neutralization, such as sanctions against Iranian and Russian entities attempting to steal information and create fake, divisive content.
Intelligence Sharing: The creation of specialized centers, such as the Foreign Malign Influence Center, helps coordinate the response to electoral disinformation.
Transparency: The U.S. government is increasingly declassifying information about foreign threats to warn the public and mitigate the impact of disinformation campaigns. [4, 9, 12, 15, 18]
AI responses may include mistakes.[1] thesoufancenter.org/intelbri…
[2] youtube.com/watch?v=mWgqoUx3…
[3] brookings.edu/articles/forei…
[4] atlanticcouncil.org/content-…
[5] jacobin.com/2024/03/israel-m…
[6] thenation.com/article/world/…
[7] youtube.com/watch?v=0VLQuJFM…
[8] youtube.com/watch?v=mWgqoUx3…
[9] brennancenter.org/our-work/a…
[10] 2021-2025.state.gov/briefing…
[11] home.treasury.gov/news/press…
[12] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreig…
[13] brennancenter.org/our-work/a…
[14] responsiblestatecraft.org/is…
[15] 2021-2025.state.gov/briefing…
[16] homelandsecuritynewswire.com…
[17] responsiblestatecraft.org/is…
[18] ir.usembassy.gov/sanctions-i…— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) Feb 26, 2026
 |
Michael_Novakhov shared this story from  Comments on: CIA Enters ‘Scale Phase’ of AI Adoption.
|
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is entering the scale phase of its artificial intelligence (AI) implementation and has hundreds of AI projects underway, Israel Soong, deputy director of the CIA’s Office of AI, said Tuesday.
After years of work, Soong said during a Federal News Network webinar that the agency has successfully rolled out an AI literacy program to thousands of officers, built a state-of-the-art model repository, deployed a chatbot, and partnered with four major cloud providers to bring frontier model capabilities to the agency.
In some cases, Soong said that the agency is able to make new models available to users within seven to 10 days after they are released.
“Over the past few years, we’ve made significant investments in foundational infrastructure to make AI broadly available across the CIA,” Soong said. “And right now, we’re kind of at an inflection point. Like, we’ve moved decisively beyond asking, ‘Should we adopt AI?’ to asking, ‘How do we operationalize it responsibly at scale?’”
“In other words, we successfully completed an additional adoption phase, and now we’re expanding the capabilities and trying to transform mission execution,” he added.
The next step for the agency is to continue to accelerate the adoption of AI while eliminating redundancies and prioritizing resource allocations, Soong said.
“Now what we need is strategic stewardship,” he explained. “Now we’re trying to work AI into our mission workflows, not just as experimental tools, but as reliable capabilities changing how our workforce operates daily.”
One way the CIA is doing that is by embedding large language models, retrieval-augmented generation techniques, and chatbot-style interfaces directly into analysts’ daily workflows, Soong said. The goal, he added, is to free officers from time-consuming data review and allow them to focus on more complex mission tasks.
“Already, we’re seeing significant benefits to CIA’s intelligence mission,” Soong said. “It’s not the AI or the cloud in isolation, but all the elements of the AI tech stack working together, … that integrated approach of the two stacks is key.”
In the future, Soong says that AI agents will also play a role in the CIA’s daily operations, picturing a world where there are “teams of CIA officers managing teams of AI agents.”
“There’s a potential for AI to assist analysis, but also identify blind spots for the analyst and generate novel hypotheses for them to consider when they write about their analysis. Also, we could have AI autonomously identify intelligence gaps and generate novel collection strategies,” Soong explained, adding that the CIA is aiming to have officers spend 80% of their time thinking critically about intelligence instead of collecting it.
“Imagine this in the future,” he said. “AI agents have already … triaged the overnight intelligence for you. They’ve highlighted the most relevant operational developments, and they’re also combining and collating the intelligence reporting for you to review as you drink your morning coffee.”
For now, Soong said the CIA’s next AI push centers on deploying smaller models and AI agents at the tactical edge so officers in remote or hostile environments can use AI with little or no connectivity.
#FBI
#Trump #News today – Google Search google.com/search?q=trump+ne…— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) Feb 26, 2026
#FBI #News – #AI Review
Leadership Changes: Following his February 2025 inauguration, Director Kash Patel is conducting personnel changes within the bureau, specifically targeting those involved in previous investigations related to classified records and Trump. – Google Search google.com/search?q=Leadersh…Based on reporting from February 2026, newly inaugurated FBI Director Kash Patel has initiated significant personnel changes, including the firing of at least 10 to 20 employees, specifically targeting those involved in previous investigations into Donald Trump, including the classified documents case. [1, 2, 3]
Key Details of the Personnel Changes (Feb 2026):Targeted Retaliation: The terminations are characterized as a “revenge-fueled” move following the discovery that the FBI previously subpoenaed phone records of Patel and current White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles during the 2022-2023 investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.
Scope of Purge: The firings included agents and support staff who worked on the Mar-a-Lago documents case and other investigations related to the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
Internal Investigation: Patel, sworn in on February 21, 2025, ordered an internal investigation into the bureau’s prior actions, leading to the removal of employees considered not in alignment with the new administration.
Additional Removals: In addition to the “10 or more” fired in late February 2026, reports indicated Patel had previously removed over a dozen agents linked to Trump investigations, and separately fired agents who were photographed kneeling during 2020 protests.
Industry Response: The FBI Agents Association condemned the actions as “unlawful,” stating they undermine trust and endanger national security by removing experienced staff. [3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]Patel, a staunch ally of Donald Trump, has described the actions as necessary accountability to “rebuild” an FBI he claimed was weaponized against conservatives. [2, 11]
AI responses may include mistakes.
[1] facebook.com/nbcpalmsprings/…
[2] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kash_P…
[3] nbcchicago.com/news/politics…
[4] timesunion.com/news/politics…
[5] yahoo.com/news/articles/fbi-…
[6] thedailybeast.com/keystone-k…
[7] youtube.com/watch?v=e_NzQDBo…
[8] facebook.com/NBCNews/posts/t…
[9] ms.now/news/fbi-fires-agents…
[10] bostonglobe.com/2026/02/25/n…
[11] fbi.gov/news/stories/new-fbi…— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) Feb 26, 2026
#FBI #News – #AI Review
Leadership Changes: Following his February 2025 inauguration, Director Kash Patel is conducting personnel changes within the bureau, specifically targeting those involved in previous investigations related to classified records and Trump. – Google Search google.com/search?q=Leadersh…Based on reporting from February 2026, newly inaugurated FBI Director Kash Patel has initiated significant personnel changes, including the firing of at least 10 to 20 employees, specifically targeting those involved in previous investigations into Donald Trump, including the classified documents case. [1, 2, 3]
Key Details of the Personnel Changes (Feb 2026):Targeted Retaliation: The terminations are characterized as a “revenge-fueled” move following the discovery that the FBI previously subpoenaed phone records of Patel and current White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles during the 2022-2023 investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.
Scope of Purge: The firings included agents and support staff who worked on the Mar-a-Lago documents case and other investigations related to the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
Internal Investigation: Patel, sworn in on February 21, 2025, ordered an internal investigation into the bureau’s prior actions, leading to the removal of employees considered not in alignment with the new administration.
Additional Removals: In addition to the “10 or more” fired in late February 2026, reports indicated Patel had previously removed over a dozen agents linked to Trump investigations, and separately fired agents who were photographed kneeling during 2020 protests.
Industry Response: The FBI Agents Association condemned the actions as “unlawful,” stating they undermine trust and endanger national security by removing experienced staff. [3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]Patel, a staunch ally of Donald Trump, has described the actions as necessary accountability to “rebuild” an FBI he claimed was weaponized against conservatives. [2, 11]
AI responses may include mistakes.
[1] facebook.com/nbcpalmsprings/…
[2] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kash_P…
[3] nbcchicago.com/news/politics…
[4] timesunion.com/news/politics…
[5] yahoo.com/news/articles/fbi-…
[6] thedailybeast.com/keystone-k…
[7] youtube.com/watch?v=e_NzQDBo…
[8] facebook.com/NBCNews/posts/t…
[9] ms.now/news/fbi-fires-agents…
[10] bostonglobe.com/2026/02/25/n…
[11] fbi.gov/news/stories/new-fbi…— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) Feb 26, 2026
#Leadership Changes: #KashPatel …
#fbi news today – Google Search google.com/search?q=fbi+news…
As of February 26, 2026, major FBI headlines include new Director Kash Patel firing personnel connected to investigations into Donald Trump and classified records. Additionally, federal agents are investigating the LAUSD, having raided the superintendent’s home and office, while the agency continues “Operation Winter SHIELD” to combat cyber threats. [1, 2, 3, 4]Key FBI News & Developments (Feb 25-26, 2026):
Leadership Changes: Kash Patel was sworn in as FBI Director on February 21, 2026, and has begun restructuring, firing officials involved in the Trump investigations.
LAUSD Investigation: The FBI executed search warrants at the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) headquarters and the home of Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, with the investigation believed to involve white-collar crime.
Cyber Operations: The FBI launched “Operation Winter SHIELD” to protect critical infrastructure, with multiple field offices participating.
National Security: A former U.S. Air Force officer was arrested in Indiana for allegedly selling stolen trade secrets to a Russian broker.
Criminal Enforcement: Numerous arrests and indictments were announced nationwide, including drug trafficking rings in New Mexico and gang members indicted on racketeering charges. [1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8]Other Ongoing Concerns:
The FBI is warning of increased, sophisticated, and fraudulent schemes targeting the public.
The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) reported over 859,000 complaints last year, with losses exceeding $16 billion. [9, 10]AI responses may include mistakes.
[1] nytimes.com/2026/02/25/us/po…
[2] youtube.com/watch?v=wf1D3qyS…
[3] fbi.gov/investigate/cyber/ne…
[4] theguardian.com/us-news/us-p…
[5] fbi.gov/investigate/transnat…
[6] fbi.gov/news/press-releases/…
[7] fbi.gov/news/stories
[8] youtube.com/watch?v=qEZvI58Z…
[9] fbi.gov/video-repository/ny-…
[10] fbi.gov/investigate/public-c…–
— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) Feb 26, 2026
Categories
Trump, Netanyahu, Putin, Mob
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
#cia #news #today – Google Search google.com/search?num=10&new…
AI Overview
As of February 25-26, 2026,the CIA is actively pushing for new informants in Iran via social media, providing Farsi-language instructions for secure contact amid heightened U.S. military buildup and threats of potential action by President Trump. Concurrently, the agency is addressing intelligence standards and looking toward the 250th anniversary of the U.S..📷X +3This video discusses the CIA’s recent actions regarding Iran:
–
CIA withdraws nearly 20 intelligence reports, citing bias – The Washington Post— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) Feb 26, 2026