'Fishing expedition': Hillary Clinton berates lawmakers after Epstein testimony

Former Secretary of StateHillary Clintonsaid on Feb. 26 that Republican lawmakers who called her to testify aboutaccused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epsteinwere not serious in their investigations and should have made her testimony open to the public.

"They had a chance to do it in public and I wish they had done it in public, I think they're making the wrong decision by avoiding doing it in public," Clinton told reporters outside the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center, where she wascalled to testifyin a closed-door hearing near her home in suburban New York.

Clinton was deposed by House lawmakers after they subpoenaed her for information about Epstein, the disgraced financier suspected of facilitating the philandering or worse of some of the world's richest and most powerful people. Among thosecaught upin the scandal — some facing serious consequences — are former Obama administration Treasury SecretaryLarry Summers, the United Kingdom's former PrinceAndrew Mountbatten-WindsorandMicrosoft founder Bill Gates.

Clinton said that she told the committee in her opening statementthat she knew nothingabout Epstein's criminal activity.

"I do not recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein. I never flew on his plane or visited his island, homes or offices. I have nothing to add to that," she said in the statement to the committee, according to apost she made on X.

Clinton also urged the committee not to rely on press gaggles with PresidentDonald Trumpbut to ask him "directly under oath about the tens of thousands of times he shows up in the Epstein files."

Former President Bill Clinton is among the elite figures to appear in the so-called Epstein files, a trove of millions of documents the Justice Department has been releasing in accordance with a law passed by Congress and signed byTrump, Epstein'sonetime friendwho alsoappears prominentlyin the files.

Bill Clinton is expected to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Feb. 27.

House Democrats on the Oversight Committee released photos from Jeffrey Epstein's email on Dec. 12, 2025, that show former President Bill Clinton and Ghislaine Maxwell with Epstein in this undated photograph. Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have agreed to give depositions to a House committee about accused late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, defusing a potential showdown between the legislative and executive branches.

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See photos of Bill Clinton from the Epstein files

House Democrats on the Oversight Committee released photos from Jeffrey Epstein's email on Dec. 12, 2025, that show former President Bill Clinton and Ghislaine Maxwell with Epstein in this undated photograph.Former President Bill Clintonandformer Secretary of State Hillary Clintonhave agreed to give depositions to a House committee aboutaccused late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, defusing apotential showdown between the legislative and executive branches.

What did Hillary Clinton say about being called to testify?

Clinton accused House lawmakers of going on "a fishing expedition" for information rather than questioning Justice Department officials who failed to prosecute Epstein.

"If the majority was serious, it would not waste time on fishing expeditions," she said. "What is being held back? Who is being protected? And why the cover-up?"

The former Democratic candidate for president who lost to Trump in the 2016 election said the questioning she faced "didn't seem to me to be very productive."

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"It was very repetitive," Clinton told reporters Thursday. "They asked literally the same questions over and over again, which didn't seem to me to be very productive."

Some questions were "totally off subject," she said.

"If they are going to fulfill their responsibility literally to investigate the investigations," said Clinton, "they could have spent the day more productively."

Clinton's testimony behind closed doors comes after she had challenged Rep. James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky leading the inquiry, to ask her his questions in public.

"If you want this fight, @RepJamesComer, let's have it — in public," the former first ladysaid on social media. "You love to talk about transparency. There's nothing more transparent than a public hearing, cameras on."

Clinton said she has asked for video and the transcript of her testimony to be released as soon as possible.

What will Bill Clinton be asked?

Clinton's husband, the former president, will testify before the House Oversight Committee on Friday.

The former first lady appeared unphased when asked about the "numerous times" her husband appears in the Epstein files, including one photograph showing the 42nd president lounging in a hot tub. Another photo shows the former president in a pool with Epstein'sconvicted accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.

When asked if she was "100% confident" her husband didn't know about Epstein's crimes, the former first lady said, "I am."

"The connection he had with Epstein ended several years before anything about Epstein's criminal activities came to light," said Clinton.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:'Fishing expedition': Hillary Clinton berates probe after Epstein testimony

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February 26, 2026

'Fishing expedition': Hillary Clinton berates lawmakers after Epstein testimony

Former Secretary of StateHillary Clintonsaid on Feb. 26 that Republican lawmakers who called her to testify aboutaccused ...

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Florida Drought Is Worst In 25 Years. Any Relief In The Forecast?

Florida is suffering its worst drought in at least 25 years, and with only little short-term relief expected, the state could experience a spring of wildfires, stressed crops and water shortages through the rest of the dry season.

Drought Status

The latest Drought Monitor analysis from NOAA and the National Drought Mitigation Center below shows the entire state of Florida in at least some degree of drought.

That's the most widespread drought in the Sunshine State since April 2012, according to the analysis.

But about two-thirds of the state is classified as in "extreme" drought, shown by the darker red contours in the map below. That's the most serious drought in Florida since spring 2001.

The drought also extends through much of the Southeast, from southern Alabama to the mid-Atlantic states, and also from Texas and Louisiana to parts of the Midwest.

It has beenone of the driest winters on recordin parts of the Southeast, including Florida, according to the Southeast Regional Climate Center. This is aclassic signature of a La Niña winter in the South.

Impacts

This parched ground with dried out vegetation from both a lack of rain and recent freezes has been fuel for wildfires in recent days, including a large one burning in the Everglades, as well as other fires in Louisiana and Texas.Outdoor burn bansare in effect in multiple Florida counties.

Farmers in Levy County reported current conditions are the worst in at least 20 years, and some crop losses have been reported, according to theNational Weather Service.

Water shortage warningswere issued by the South Florida Water Management District for parts of South Florida, including Miami-Dade County.

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Some Rain Through Saturday

Rain and a few thunderstorms will sag through the Southeast through Saturday.

Some areas may pick up over an inch of rain, particularly from the Carolinas to Alabama.

Northern and Central Florida have the best chance of picking up an inch of rain, with showers becoming more hit-or-miss by the time they reach South Florida.

This will be a little short-term relief, but won't do much to replenish the lack of soil moisture or groundwater levels built up over months.

Dry March?

More soaking rain could fall from Texas to the Ohio Valley in several rounds beginning Tuesday into the first weekend of March. Those locally heavy soakings could end up being a little too much of a good thing for that area of drought, potentially triggering flash flooding in spots.

But that wetter pattern may not make it to Florida, and that could be a harbinger of March, overall.

The latest March outlook from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center has most of Florida skewing drier than average.

GivenFlorida's dry seasontypically lasts into mid-May, that could mean more water restrictions, stressed crops and a dangerous rash of wildfires in the Sunshine State this spring.

Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him onBluesky,X (formerly Twitter)andFacebook.

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February 26, 2026

Florida Drought Is Worst In 25 Years. Any Relief In The Forecast?

Florida is suffering its worst drought in at least 25 years, and with only little short-term relief expected, the state c...

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Cuba slams US for 'impunity' on speedboat attack suspects

By Mario Fuentes and Daniel Trotta

Cuba says it killed several exiles and wounded others who attacked from Florida speedboat

SANTA CLARA, Cuba, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Cuba criticized the U.S. government for allowing anti-Cuban groups to operate with impunity on Thursday, as Cuban exiles wounded in an apparent attack aboard a Florida-registered speedboat convalesced at a provincial Cuban hospital.

The government in Havana said heavily armed Cuban nationals tried to infiltrate the country by ‌speedboat on Wednesday, leading to gunfire at sea in which Cuban forces killed four Cuban nationals and wounded six others, who were in Cuban custody.

According to a U.S. official in ‌Washington, at least two of those aboard the speedboat were U.S. citizens, one of the dead and one of the injured, who was receiving medical care in Cuba. Others may have been legal U.S. residents, the official said.

While Cuba laid blame at the ​U.S. for allowing anti-Castro groups to operate freely, it also said it had been in communication with U.S. officials since the outset of Wednesday's incident, saying the Americans in turn showed a willingness to cooperate on clarifying what happened.

The boat's owner alleged that the vessel was stolen by an employee, the U.S. official said.

The deadly confrontation took place at a tense moment in the frequently antagonistic U.S.-Cuban relationship. U.S. President Donald Trump has further tightened economic sanctions on Cuba since the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, a key Cuban ally, on January 3.

Fernando de Cossio, a senior foreign ministry official, told reporters in Havana on Thursday that Cuba has in ‌the past alerted the United States to an "increase in violent and terrorist ⁠plans and actions against Cuba" by groups and individuals in U.S. territory, but that the U.S. has failed to act.

"Anti-Cuban groups operating in the United States resort to terrorism as an expression of their hatred of Cuba and the impunity they believe they enjoy," de Cossio said in a prepared statement. He did not take ⁠questions.

He said two of the assailants were previously wanted for plotting attacks and were on a list of suspects shared with the United States.

Cuban exiles who are largely concentrated in Miami have long dreamed of overthrowing Cuba's Communist government or seeing it fall, and Cuban exile paramilitaries have attempted or carried out acts of sabotage in the past.

The suspects came from the U.S. dressed in camouflage and armed with assault rifles, handguns, homemade explosives, ballistic vests and ​telescopic ​sights, Cuba said.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday his government would independently investigate the incident and that ​the U.S. Embassy in Havana was seeking access to the survivors to determine ‌whether any were U.S. citizens or permanent residents. He said it was not a U.S. operation and that no U.S. government personnel were involved.

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HOSPITAL UNDER HEAVY GUARD

Cuba said the six survivors were receiving medical attention. At least some of them appeared to be in custody at the Arnaldo Milian Castro Provincial Clinical Surgical Hospital in Santa Clara, about 250 km (150 miles) east of Havana.

Santa Clara is the capital of the province where the incident was reported to have taken place, about one nautical mile off a northern cay.

The civilian hospital was under heavy guard. Security personnel who stopped Reuters journalists near the entrance confirmed the suspects were held there but provided no further details. Uniformed Interior Ministry troops came and went from the hospital.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, whose government has been dealing with an acute oil shortage since the U.S. halted ‌flows from Venezuela and threatened to impose tariffs on any country delivering oil to Cuba, issued a defiant statement on ​X earlier on Thursday.

"Cuba will defend itself with determination and firmness against any terrorist and mercenary aggression that seeks to affect ​its sovereignty and national stability," Diaz-Canel said.

SUSPECTS IDENTIFIED

Cuba said two of the detainees - Amijail Sanchez ​Gonzalez and Leordan Cruz Gomez - were previously wanted and appeared on a 2025 list of suspects that Cuba deemed as terrorists.

Sanchez was accused of involvement in a plot ‌against a municipal court and a Communist Party organization in Havana, and Cruz ​was suspected of arms trafficking in a purported attack ​on a military unit in Matanzas. Both are aged 47 and Cuba-born U.S. residents, according to a report filed with Cuba's official gazette.

The other wounded survivors were identified as Cristian Ernesto Acosta Guevara, Conrado Galindo Serrior, Jose Manuel Rodriguez Castello and Roberto Alvarez Avila.

Galindo was briefly detained in Cuba on at least one occasion, according to the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation, an inactive ​group that previously reported allegations of Cuban repression.

Cuba identified the four dead as ‌Pavel Alling Peña, Michael Ortega Casanova, Ledian Padron Guevara and Hector Duani Cruz Correa.

Cuba also said it previously had incorrectly identified Rolando Roberto Ascorra Consuegra as a suspect, saying ​now he was uninvolved.

(Reporting by Mario Fuentes in Santa Clara and Daniel Trotta in Havana; Additional reporitng by Sarah Morland in Mexico City, Anett Rios in Havana, Humeyra Pamuk in ​Washington and and Gabriel Araujo in Sao Paulo; Editing by Alistair Bell, Rod Nickel and Stephen Coates)

byNeo

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February 26, 2026

Cuba slams US for 'impunity' on speedboat attack suspects

By Mario Fuentes and Daniel Trotta Cuba says it killed several exiles and wounded others who attacked from Fl...

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Romanian court rejects Wiz Khalifa's appeal against 9-month jail sentence for drug possession

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A Romanian court on Thursday rejected an appeal by American rapper Wiz Khalifa to annul his nine-month jail sentence handed down for drug possession in the Eastern European country.

The Constanta Court of Appeal's decision came after Khalifa, whose real name is Cameron Jibril Thomaz, filed an appeal last month against theDecember conviction. The sentence came after Khalifa was stopped by Romanian police in July 2024 after allegedly smoking cannabis on stage at the Beach, Please! Festival in Constanta County.

Prosecutors said the rapper was found in possession of more than 18 grams of cannabis, and that he consumed some on stage.

The court convicted Khalifa of "possession of dangerous drugs, without right, for personal consumption."

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The appeals court on Thursday rejected as inadmissible Khalifa's appeal to annul the sentence, and ruled as unfounded a request to suspend the sentence.

The Associated Press contacted Khalifa's representatives via email to request a comment on the latest legal developments, but has not yet received a response.

That December conviction came after a lower court in April issued Khalifa a criminal fine of 3,600 lei ($830) for "illegal possession of dangerous drugs," but prosecutors appealed that decision and sought a higher sentence.

Romania has some of the harsher drugs laws in Europe. Possession of cannabis for personal use is criminalized and can result in a prison sentence of between three months and two years, or a fine.

It isn't clear whether Romanian authorities will seek to file an extradition request, since Khalifa is a U.S. citizen and doesn't reside in Romania.

byNeo

in

February 26, 2026

Romanian court rejects Wiz Khalifa's appeal against 9-month jail sentence for drug possession

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A Romanian court on Thursday rejected an appeal by American rapper Wiz Khalifa to annul his nin...

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