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Trump’s Fed chief nominee faces hurdles as clock ticks on Powell’s term

February 27, 2026 5:41 PM UTC / Reuters

By Ann Saphir

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Former U.S. Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh speaks during a monetary policy conference at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution in Palo Alto, California, U.S. May 9, 2025. REUTERS/Ann Saphir/File Photo

• Summary

• US Senate will decide whether to confirm Warsh as next Fed chief
• Powell’s term as head of US central bank ends on May 15
• Department of Justice investigation into Powell complicates Warsh nomination
• Trump wants a Fed chief who will deliver big interest rate cuts

Feb 27 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump has yet to formally nominate Kevin Warsh to succeed Jerome Powell as head of the Federal Reserve, a delay that while not unprecedented is also not typical and adds to uncertainty in a process clouded by concerns about political pressure on the U.S. central bank.

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A bar chart showing the number of days between nomination announcement and official nomination to the senate of the Fed’s governors since 2010.

Trump named Warsh, a former Fed governor, as his nominee four weeks ago. Since 2010 only two nominees for the Fed chief job and other seats on the central bank’s Board of Governors have experienced a gap longer than four weeks between the White House announcement and the filing of paperwork to the Senate that kicks off the official confirmation process.

The reason for the extended wait in Warsh’s case is unclear, though Republican Senator Thom Tillis has promised to block any Fed nomination as long as a Department of Justice investigation into Powell regarding his testimony to Congress about central bank building renovations in Washington remains open.

Tillis says the probe is frivolous and a form of intimidation by the Trump administration, which has made no secret of its frustration with Powell for not cutting interest rates as quickly or deeply as it would like.

“It does strike me as odd that there’s been no forward movement on the Warsh nomination,” said Derek Tang, an analyst with forecasting firm LH Meyer. “The White House seems no closer to overcoming the Tillis block: that the senator won’t let any nominee for the Fed get past the Senate Banking Committee unless and until the Powell probe goes away.”

“The White House continues to work with the Senate to swiftly confirm Kevin Warsh as our next Federal Reserve chairman,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said, adding that Warsh is “eminently qualified to restore competence and confidence in Fed decision-making.”

The Fed’s insulation from short-term political considerations and the ability to set interest rates without regard to the preferences of a given president is widely considered essential to its ability to keep inflation under control and steer the economy to a healthy footing.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said the Republican-controlled Senate Banking Committee has agreed to move forward with a confirmation hearing once Warsh is formally nominated. The panel’s Republican members, including Tillis, have said they see Warsh as well qualified and a good pick for the job.

But without Tillis’ vote to advance Warsh’s nomination to consideration by the full Senate, the committee’s slim Republican majority does not have the power to override unified Democratic opposition.

Warsh and Fed spokespersons declined to comment.

THE POWELL PROBE

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Powell disclosed the DOJ’s probe in January, describing it as part of the Trump administration’s “threats and ongoing pressure” on the Fed to cut rates.

The central bank has asked a judge to quash the government’s subpoenas in the probe, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. The Fed declined to comment on the report.

The probe is not the only hurdle to Trump’s long-held goal of installing a rate-cut-friendly Fed chief in place of Powell.

TICKING CLOCK

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The 11 weeks until the end of Powell’s term on May 15 is less time than it took for most of the Fed’s current governors to go from their nominations to Senate confirmation.

The timing is by no means overly tight, as the Senate showed last fall when it moved to confirm then-Trump economic adviser Stephen Miran as a Fed governor less than two weeks after the president nominated him.

But a long delay on the Warsh confirmation would leave the nominee – and the central bank – in uncomfortable limbo as the clock ticks toward the central bank’s June 16-17 meeting, the earliest expected time for a serious debate on, if not delivery of, a rate cut.

MUSICAL CHAIRS AT THE FED?

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Trump is expected to nominate Warsh to fill a seat currently occupied by Miran, whose term expired on January 31 but who may remain in his role until his successor is confirmed by the Senate. The switch would replace one rate-cut advocate with another, leaving Trump-appointees one seat short of a majority on the seven-member Fed board.

The president has made an unprecedented effort to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook for what he says were misrepresentations on her mortgage applications. Cook, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, denies wrongdoing and is fighting her removal in a case that is before the Supreme Court. Powell attended oral arguments in January, calling it “the most important ⁠legal case in the Fed’s ‍113-year history” because of its implications for the central bank’s independence.

COULD POWELL STAY PUT?

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Powell could, if he chooses, stay on as a Fed governor at least until January 31, 2028. He has declined to say if he will leave the board when his term as head of the central bank ends, as nearly all his predecessors have done.

Bucking that precedent would be an extraordinary move that would signal Powell’s abiding concern about the Fed’s ability to continue to operate independently from the administration.

Reasons for such concern range from the fact that Trump made support for rate cuts an explicit condition for anyone he nominated to replace Powell, and the unprecedented means by which the president’s administration has sought to pressure central bank leaders, including through the DOJ probe.

But staying on would almost certainly draw criticism from the Trump administration and others as a partisan bid to thwart the president’s prerogative to name a new Fed governor.

LEADERSHIP QUESTIONS

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Even if Powell did remain as a governor, there’s little doubt that the central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee would stick with institutional norms and elect Warsh to lead the policy-setting panel.

But it would leave Warsh, who already faces the daunting task of convincing a divided committee to support the rate cuts he says he wants – contending with the complications of sharing the policymaking table with the person who used to have his job.

Reporting by Ann Saphir; Additional reporting by David Morgan and Andrea Shalal; Editing by Anna Driver and Paul Simao

Flashback: Clinton deposed in Epstein case nearly 29 years to the day after ‘blue dress’ scandal

Former president’s February 27 sit-down comes exactly 29 years after alleged Monica Lewinsky encounter that led to impeachment

By Charles Creitz
Fox News

Published February 27, 2026 12:24pm EST

Former President Bill Clinton is sitting Friday for a deposition over the Epstein scandal nearly 29 years to the date of an infamous encounter with an intern that sparked a famous public denial.

On February 28, 1997 — 29 years from Saturday — Clinton allegedly had his “blue dress” encounter with then-intern Monica Lewinsky at the White House.

The official report from independent counsel Kenneth Starr to Congress lists the date in its section laying out “Physical Evidence.”

“Physical evidence conclusively establishes that the president and Ms. Lewinsky had a sexual relationship,” the referral from Starr to the House of Representatives reads.

“After reaching an immunity and cooperation agreement with the Office of the Independent Counsel on July 28, 1998, Ms. Lewinsky turned over a navy blue dress that she said she had worn during a sexual encounter with the President on February 28, 1997.”

Starr’s report went on to say that when Lewinsky next pulled the blue dress from her closet she “surmised that the stains” then appearing on it “were the president’s semen.”

That discovery led Starr’s office to request a blood sample from Clinton, which he provided to a physician in the White House Map Room on August 3, 1998, in the presence of an FBI agent and one of Starr’s attorneys.

Two subsequent tests concluded the president’s DNA was found on the dress and that “genetic markers” on the semen were characteristic of 1 out of 7.87 trillion Caucasian males.

BILL AND HILLARY CLINTON FACED ‘SURPRISE’ FROM DEMOCRATS CALLING FOR EPSTEIN TESTIMONY, SAYS REP COMER

When Clinton was deposed in the Paula Jones matter, he was asked whether he had sexual contact with Lewinsky, which he denied. The February 28 encounter, however, was later used by Starr to argue that Clinton had lied under oath.

Clinton publicly denied the affair at the end of an unrelated January 26, 1998, press conference:

“I want to say one thing to the American people: I’m going to say this again. I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky,” Clinton said.

“I never told anybody to lie. Not a single time. Never. These allegations are false, and I need to go back to work for the American people.”

Clinton was later impeached by the House, but the Senate voted against removing him from office.

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: CLINTONS CALL FOR OPEN EPSTEIN FILES HEARING AFTER MONTHS OF DEFYING SUBPOENAS

A painting depicting Clinton wearing Lewinsky’s blue dress and sitting in a provocative pose was recorded on page EFTA00000862 of the Justice Department’s Epstein Files cache.

The painting was originally reported in 2019 to have been photographed inside Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse. It was not commissioned by Clinton and is not a White House image. Clinton himself also denied knowledge of the unique work.

Also on February 28 — this time in 1989 — federal authorities effectively shut down the financial firm that ultimately led to the Whitewater investigation. On February 28, 1989, federal authorities placed Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan, owned by Clinton ally Jim McDougal, into conservatorship. The entity became the genesis of Kenneth Starr’s Whitewater investigation, which later expanded to include the Lewinsky matter. While scrutinizing Bill and Hillary Clinton’s connection to the real estate dealings beginning in 1994 — for which they were both exonerated — Starr ultimately uncovered a presidential affair with an intern and the public deceit that followed.

What resulted in Clinton’s 1998 impeachment began more than a decade earlier, as Starr examined real estate transactions in a resort community project called Whitewater Estates in the Ozarks that involved a company formed by the future first couple and their politically-connected friends Jim and Susan McDougal.

The Clintons and McDougals wanted to sell lots for vacation homes, but in 1979, interest rates rose to nearly 20%, leaving potential buyers wary, according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas.

Jim McDougal eventually took control of a rural bank later renamed Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan.

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Starr ultimately investigated whether loans from Madison were improperly connected to Whitewater, and whether or what political influence benefitted McDougals financial dealings.

The Clintons were both investigated but never charged in connection with the bank or Whitewater, but the McDougals were, along with Clinton’s gubernatorial successor, Gov. Jim Guy Tucker.

The Clinton Foundation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Related Article

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.

He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.

Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.

Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.

Book excerpt: “Never Mind the Happy” by Marc Shaiman

February 27, 2026 / 2:57 PM EST / CBS News

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We may receive an affiliate commission from anything you buy from this article.

In his memoir, [“Never Mind the Happy: Showbiz Stories from a Sore Winner”] (published by Regalo Press), Tony- and Emmy-winning composer Marc Shaiman, known for Broadway hits like “Hairspray,” and music for “South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut,” writes of his half-century in show business.

Read the prologue below, in which he recounts preparing to perform on the Oscar stage with the idol of his youth, Bette Midler (an adoration that would grow into a collaboration),and don’t miss Tracy Smith’s interview with Marc Shaiman on [“CBS Sunday Morning”] March 1!

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[“Never Mind the Happy” by Marc Shaiman]

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Prologue

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It’s February 24, 2019, and I am on stage with Bette Midler at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, moments away from performing at the 91st Annual Academy Awards. On the other side of the closed curtain are 3,400 of the most powerful and successful players in Hollywood—plus another thirty million people tuning into the television coverage worldwide. One such player in the auditorium is Scott Wittman, my lyrical collaborator of almost fifty years, with whom I co-wrote the Oscar-nominated song “The Place Where Lost Things Go”—the very song Bette and I are about to perform. It has only been two months since Disney released Mary Poppins Returns—which has garnered my sixth and seventh Oscar nominations— and even though I am calm as I sit at the keyboard of the polished black grand piano, I am also conscious of what a fight it has been to get here.

A few weeks earlier, on the morning the Oscar nominations were announced, my husband, Lou Mirabal, and I sat on the couch in our Manhattan loft, our golden retriever, Chops, no doubt wondering why we were glued to the television at 8:30 a.m. instead of making her breakfast. A similar scene was playing out with Scott and his partner, Brian, at their apartment just six blocks to the south. Mary Poppins Returns had been a hit film, if not the billion-dollar blowout the studio had hoped it would be. Scott and I were very proud of the songs we wrote for the sequel to Disney’s classic about a magical British nanny, but they had inevitably been compared to the unforgettable music from the original—so we didn’t know if we should get our hopes up on the morning of the nominations.

Luckily, Oscar smiled and we were nominated for our song “The Place Where Lost Things Go,” and I was also nominated for Best Score. We were all excited and relieved, perhaps nobody more than Lou, because he was the one who would have had to mop me off the floor if things had turned out differently.

I always say, though, that if showbiz puts you on a pedestal on Tuesday, it’s only to have a better shot at your balls on Thursday. And right on schedule, after two days of elation, the producers of that year’s Oscars telecast announced that of the five nominated songs, only two—one a duet by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper from A Star Is Born, the other by Kendrick Lamar and SZA from Black Panther—would be performed. Clearly, they wanted star power to boost the broadcast’s ratings and, by cutting three songs, perhaps also trim a few minutes from its running time. But to say the remaining songs were not worthy of inclusion sent a message both to the public—and worse, to the Oscar voters, who had yet to cast their ballots—that they were not considered equal. It really was a low blow.

What those Oscars producers didn’t anticipate, however, was just how much a dog with a bone I can be. First, I put together an appeal from the writers of the three orphaned songs (including my dear and foul-mouthed friend Diane Warren)—but that led to a dead end. Then, I went to Alan Horn, who was chairman of Walt Disney Studios at the time and who I knew from his years as Rob Reiner’s producing partner. Since Disney owns ABC, the television network that broadcasts the Oscars, I thought he would be able to pull some strings—but he gruffly said, “The ship has sailed, there’s nothing I can do.” Well, maybe there was nothing he could do, but I was not going to give up.

I had met Bradley Cooper a few times due to our shared friendship with the great actor Victor Garber. Bradley had been to the home I then shared with Scott, my romantic partner for nearly thirty years, when he and Victor were filming the TV show Alias, and he had always been very friendly whenever I ran into him at other showbiz functions. I had also just recently become pals with Kevin Feige, Supreme Intelligence of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In fact, it was at an Academy event just a few weeks earlier (where we had all been schmoozing for nominations) when someone tapped me on my shoulder and said, “Kevin Feige would like to meet you.”

“Kevin Feige would like to meet me?” I queried. I was in shock and couldn’t believe, of all nights, that my Marvel-nerd husband wasn’t with me. It turned out Kevin, who you would think is busy enough, also has time to be a serious film-score fanatic. And after enjoying a few minutes of him praising my work, I asked if we could take a selfie together so I could send it to Lou.

Not only are Bradley and Kevin two of the nicest guys in Hollywood, at that moment, being friendly with them was uniquely useful. After all, Bradley produced A Star Is Born and Kevin produced Black Panther—the two films whose Oscar-nominated songs had been anointed by the Academy to be performed. So, I reached out to them both to explain the situation, which they agreed was unfair, and each offered to do what they could to help.

I’m not privy to what happened next, but those two gentlemen clearly have their own superpowers, because only a day or so later, it was announced that all five songs would be performed. Thank you, Bradley, and thank you, Kevin—if you ever need a favor from someone less powerful, let me know.

And so, I made it onto the Oscars stage that year after all. Moments before our performance, through the curtain, I could hear the orchestra play a snatch of our movie theme, and then the crowd respond as Keegan-Michael Key was lowered from the ceiling of the Dolby Theatre clutching a Mary Poppins–style black umbrella.

“This evening’s next nominee for best original song was written by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman for the film Mary Poppins Returns,” he said. “In addition to lifting the Banks children’s spirits through a series of magical adventures, Mary Poppins offers comfort and compassion with this tender lullaby, underscoring the notion that a loved one who is lost can still be very much present. Performing ‘The Place Where Lost Things Go’ with Marc Shaiman on piano, please welcome the Divine Miss M.”

(Both Bette and I thought—but of course did not have time to discuss in the moment—What, he couldn’t say her name?

Then the curtain lifted, Bette stepped into the spotlight as twenty-eight red umbrella lanterns descended against a stage backdrop of London’s foggy skyline, and I started accompanying my favorite performer in the world—on a song I had co-written with my cherished collaborator—from a musical about my most beloved literary character—at the Academy Awards.

How did I get there? Well, as an old-school piano player might say, it went a little something like this…

From “Never Mind the Happy: Showbiz Stories from a Sore Winner” by Marc Shaiman. © 2026 by Marc Shaiman. Reprinted with permission from Regalo Press. All Rights Reserved.

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• [“Never Mind the Happy: Showbiz Stories from a Sore Winner”]by Marc Shaiman (Regalo Press), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats
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Bill Clinton says he had ‘no idea’ of Epstein’s crimes during closed-door deposition

By Elizabeth Elkind, Fox News | Published February 27, 2026 11:55am EST

Former President Bill Clinton is telling the House Oversight Committee that he had “no idea” of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes as his deposition kicks off in Chappaqua, New York.

Clinton is in the hot seat for the committee’s bipartisan investigation into the late financier and sex trafficker for what is expected to be an all-day session of questions into his relationship with Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.

“Now, let me say what you’re going to hear from me. First, I had no idea of the crimes Epstein was committing. No matter how many photos you show me, I have two things that, at the end of the day, matter more than your interpretation of those 20-year-old photos,” Clinton said, according to his prepared opening remarks.

“I know what I saw and more importantly, what I didn’t see. I know what I did and more importantly, what I didn’t do. I saw nothing and I did nothing wrong.”

Clinton also warned lawmakers, “You’ll often hear me say that I don’t recall,” but said he would not speculate when asked questions.

“That might be unsatisfying, but I’m not going to say something I’m not sure of. This was all a long time ago, and I’m bound by my oath not to speculate or to guess. This is not merely for my benefit, but because it doesn’t help you for me to play detective 24 years later,” Clinton said.

Meanwhile, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., suggested he had an abundance of questions for the former president ahead of the deposition.

“I think everyone’s seen that there are a lot of photos that have been released by the Department of Justice (DOJ) as well as the Epstein estate. There are a lot of email correspondence that included President Clinton,” Comer said when asked what he needed to hear.

“Secretary Clinton confirmed this yesterday: Jeffrey Epstein was in the White House 17 times while Bill Clinton was president. We know that Bill Clinton flew on Jeffrey Epstein’s plane at least 27 times. So those are questions that we’re going to ask.”

But Clinton said in his opening remarks that he would not have ridden on the plane if he knew the illicit things that took place there.

“As someone who grew up in a home with domestic abuse, not only would I have not flown on his plane if I had any inkling of what he was doing — I would have turned him in myself and led the call for justice for his crimes, not sweetheart deals,” Clinton said.

“But even with 20/20 hindsight, I saw nothing that ever gave me pause. We are only here because he hid it from everyone so well for so long, and by the time it came to light with his 2008 guilty plea, I had long stopped associating with him.”

Comer also said questions would pertain to Epstein and to Clinton’s relationship with Ghislaine Maxwell, the late financier’s accomplice who is serving out a prison term in Texas after being convicted on federal sex trafficking charges.

Comer told reporters that his list of questions for Clinton had “increased” in the wake of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s own deposition before the committee on Thursday.

“Mrs. Clinton deferred a lot of questions to her husband today. There were at least a dozen times when she said, ‘You’ll have to ask my husband that. I can’t answer that,’” the chairman said.

He said that many of those deferrals had to do with the Clintons’ nonprofit work.

“There are so many examples in the evidence the Department of Justice released, in correspondence where Epstein bragged about how involved he was initially in setting up the Clinton Global Initiative and the Clinton Foundation,” he said.

“We asked those questions to Secretary Clinton yesterday, and she kept saying she was in the Senate at that time. She wasn’t focused on it. ‘You’ll have to ask my husband.’ So a lot of the Clinton Global Initiative questions yesterday went unanswered because Mrs. Clinton deferred to her husband.”

The former president defended his wife during his opening statement as well, telling lawmakers that “before we start, I have to get personal.”

“You made Hillary come in. She had nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein. Nothing. She has no memory of even meeting him,” Clinton said. “She neither traveled with him nor visited any of his properties. Whether you subpoenaed 10 people or 10,000, including her, was simply not right.”

Like Hillary Clinton did in her opening remarks, he said Epstein’s victims deserve both “justice” and “healing,” telling lawmakers that it was for them that he was appearing before the committee.

President Donald Trump was also asked about Clinton’s testimony on Friday and told reporters, “I don’t like seeing him deposed.”

Clinton’s deposition began a few minutes after 11 a.m. on Friday, a person familiar with planning told Fox News Digital.

Comer told reporters on Thursday after Hillary Clinton’s sitdown that he expected the ordeal to be “even longer” on Friday.

Her deposition lasted roughly six hours from start to finish, with a brief lunch break in between.

Neither of the Clintons has been accused of anything related to Epstein’s crimes. But the former president’s name appears multiple times in documents released by the DOJ and the House Oversight Committee pertaining to the investigation into Epstein.

Like his wife’s testimony, Clinton will speak to the committee behind closed doors and under oath.

The interview will be transcribed, with a video likely to be released within a week of its conclusion.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6390069499112

Rare 2,000-year-old treasure unearthed by metal detectorists in Wales: “We were astonished”

Updated on: February 27, 2026 / 2:06 PM EST / CBS News

Metal detectorists in western Wales found two lead ingots that date back to the Roman era, a Welsh museum said Tuesday. The pieces are the first of their kind to be found in the region.

Metal detectorists Nick Yallope and Peter Nicolas found the pieces while searching land owned by farmer Geraint Jenkins in Ceredigion, according to a news release from Welsh national museum Amgueddfa Cymru. The pair had permission to search and dig on the land.

Ceredigion is a coastal area with Celtic heritage. Museum curator Carrie Canham said its “rich mineral and ore deposits” were a major reason the Romans sought to conquer this area.” Lead mined in Ceredigion during the Roman era spread across the empire, she said.

The ingots, also known as lead “pigs,” were used to produce tools and weapons, according to CBS News partner BBC News. They date back to AD 87, based on lettering written on them, the museum said. During that time, Rome was ruled by Emperor Domitian, who was known for empire building, the BBC reported.

The two lead ingots. Alex Martin / Amgueddfa Cymru

In 2005, archaeologists found the remains of a Roman lead smelting site in a peat bog in Ceredigion. Nearby mines may have supplied the lead, the BBC reported at the time, and the metal may have been transported throughout the Roman empire.

The pieces were found on grazing land about 18 inches deep. The pieces were less than six feet apart from each other, the museum said.

“I feel incredibly proud to have uncovered something so rare and important to our local heritage. Unlocking a new chapter of our area’s past, is incredibly exciting,” Yallope said in the museum’s news release.

“It’s remarkable to think that land we now farm organically once played a role in a much wider Roman landscape,” Jenkins said.

Lead pig found by Nick Yallope and Peter Nicolas after being dug out of ground Nick Yallope and Peter Nicolas

The pieces will be displayed in a new archaeology gallery opening at the Amgueddfa Ceredigion museum in spring 2027, Canham said.

Metal detectorists in Wales need permission to explore private land, and any items that are believed to be treasure must be reported to the country’s Portable Antiquities Scheme. The organization then examines the items to determine their value.

Between 2020 and 2022, a hoard of Bronze Age artifacts including axes, spearheads, rings and a sword scabbard were discovered by metal detectorists in Wales. Those artifacts were declared treasure by the government in 2023.

Kansas sued over new transgender ID and bathroom law

February 27, 2026 6:49 PM UTC / Daniel Wiessner

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Transgender rights activists gather outside the U.S. Supreme Court, in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 13, 2026. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo

• Summary

• Law requires identification to show sex at birth
• ACLU represents plaintiffs claiming law violates equality and privacy rights
• Lawsuit alleges numerous constitutional violations

Feb 27 (Reuters) – Two transgender men in Kansas filed a lawsuit on Friday seeking to strike down a new state law that invalidated the driver’s licenses and birth certificates of more than 1,000 transgender people.

The American Civil Liberties Union is representing the plaintiffs, who claim in the lawsuit, filed in Kansas state court, that the law violates their rights to equality, due process and privacy under the state constitution.

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The law makes Kansas the only U.S. state to invalidate previously approved changes to gender markers on identification documents, part of a broader push by Republican-led legislatures to restrict the rights of transgender people.

The sweeping law, which took effect on Thursday, requires state residents to change their gender identification on driver’s licenses and birth certificates to the sex they were assigned at birth, and bans them from changing their gender on those documents in the future.

The law also prohibits transgender people from using multi-occupancy bathrooms in government buildings that do not correspond to their sex assigned at birth, and authorizes private citizens to sue people who violate the law.

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The plaintiffs, who filed the lawsuit under pseudonyms, said the law will require them to disclose their transgender status each time they present identification and expose them to harassment and violence when they use public bathrooms. They said they would seek an order temporarily blocking the law while the case proceeds.

Kansas officials on Thursday said identification documents had been invalidated for more than 1,000 state residents. Affected residents must pay for new driver’s licenses.

The office of Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, a Republican, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The defendants in the lawsuit are Kobach’s office and state agencies that issue identification documents and maintain government buildings.

At least eight other states, including Texas, Florida and Indiana, have prohibited such changes moving forward, and several of those laws are being challenged in court.

Transgender people in the United States have faced increasing restrictions at the state and national levels. Republican President Donald Trump has issued a series of executive actions targeting transgender rights since returning to office last year.

One Trump directive stated that the U.S. government will recognize only two sexes: male and female. Others sought to exclude transgender athletes from female sports and require applicants for U.S. passports to list the sex they were assigned at birth.

Kobach’s office in 2023 filed a lawsuit claiming that changing the gender markers on driver’s licenses, which had been permitted up to that point, was already unlawful under state law. A state court rejected those arguments last year.

State lawmakers then introduced the bill later enacted into law after the Kansas legislature overrode Democratic Governor Laura Kelly’s veto.

Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Ethan Smith

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

State Farm to offer $100 average refund to car insurance customers

Updated on: February 27, 2026 / 12:20 PM EST / CBS News

State Farm is issuing an average refund of $100 per vehicle to its auto insurance customers in what the company says is the largest dividend in its history.

The insurer said Thursday that the refunds will go out to policyholders of 49 million vehicles this summer. The exact payment amount will vary based on where a customer lives and their individual premiums. All told, the refunds will amount to $5 billion total in cash flowing back into customers’ wallets, State Farm said in a statement.

It is unclear what form the refunds will take, although the Bloomington, Illinois-based company told CBS News that the cash distribution “will not be issued as a credit.” A spokesperson said more details on refunds will be shared in the coming months.

State Farm cited “stronger than expected underwriting performance” and shrinking auto repair costs as factors that enabled it to issue the coverage refunds.

State Farm provides insurance for autos, homes and small businesses and has nearly 97 million policyholders.

Other insurance companies have also recently moved to cut their coverage rates and reimburse customers. USAA, which provides insurance to members of the military and their families, said in January that it delivered a total of $3.8 billion in savings to customers last year.

Scouting America, the organization previously known as the Boy Scouts of America, has agreed to make several changes, according to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.

The group is under pressure from the U.S. Department of War, which has threatened to yank its support.

In a video message issued Friday, Hegseth said he had been “very seriously considering ending our support of scouting altogether,” accusing the group of adopting “radical, woke ideology.”

But he said the organization has agreed to implement changes, mentioning five, while indicating there were more.

“First, Scouting America has agreed to comply immediately with the provisions of Executive Order 14173. This includes reviewing and replacing politicized, divisive, and discriminatory language throughout the organization, programs, and all publications. No more DEI, zero,” he declared.

He said that a DEI-related merit badge has been discontinued.

“Third, Scouting America will modify its policy to make clear that membership will be based solely on biological sex at birth and not gender identity,” he said.

“That means that the application, any application, will have only two sex designations, male and female, and the application must match the applicant’s birth certificate. Scouting will also make clear that biological boys and girls will not be allowed to occupy or share intimate spaces together. Toilets, showers, tents, anywhere like that.

“Fourth, Scouting America will honor those who serve by waiving the registration fees for children of active duty, guard, and reserve families,” he noted. “Fifth, in partnership with the War Department, Scouting America will introduce a new military service merit badge.”

[BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA NAME CHANGE BECOMES OFFICIAL IN EFFORT TO BE MORE ‘INCLUSIVE’]

“Scouting America is proud to uphold our longstanding commitment to military families across the globe through a renewed, strengthened partnership with the Department of War,” the organization said in a statement Friday.

“Over several months, we engaged in dialogue with Department leadership to align on how we could deepen our service to military families, while making programmatic updates to comply with Executive Order 14173.

“Today we are moving forward with implementing new programmatic elements that deliver on that mission: waiving registration fees for military families, launching a new merit badge focused on military service and veterans, and reinforcing our commitment to Scouting’s foundational ideas: leadership, character, duty to God, duty to country and service,” the release noted.

Earlier this month, Assistant to the Secretary of War for Public Affairs Sean Parnell said in a post on X, “Our review of the DoW’s financial assistance and partnership with Scouting America, including its quadrennial National Jamboree celebration, has been rigorous and ongoing.”

Hegseth said in his video message Friday the department will evaluate the group’s progress in six months.

He said the Department of War’s “support for Scouting America is contingent on them making substantial progress toward reaching these and many other positive changes in the next six months.”

[HEGSETH APPEALS RULING BLOCKING PUNISHMENT OF DEM SENATOR OVER ‘ILLEGAL ORDERS’ VIDEO]

“If we’re unsatisfied with Scouting America’s progress toward and commitment to the agreed-upon reforms, we will find them in violation of the president’s executive order and cease our support,” he said.

“Ideally, I believe the Boy Scouts should go back to being the Boy Scouts, as originally founded, a group that develops boys into men. Maybe someday.”

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6390079023112

This simple tip can save you tens of thousands of dollars on your mortgage, experts say

February 27, 2026 / 2:35 PM EST / CBS News

As mortgage rates recede to their lowest levels in years, experts say that shopping around for the right loan could save first-time home buyers tens of thousands of dollars.

The average rate for a conventional 30-year mortgage across the U.S.fell this week below 6%, down almost an entire percentage point from January of 2025 and the lowest since 2022, according to data from Freddie Mac.

Better rates are expected to attract more house-hunters as the spring buying season heats up. But experts advise buyers not to settle until they’ve shopped around, noting that rates can vary a lot depending on the lender. The average gap between the lowest and highest APR is 0.74 percentage points, according to LendingTree, an online loan marketplace.

How much can I save?

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Although experts don’t expect mortgage rates to decline much further this year, predicting they will hover around 6% for a 30-year loan, they said homebuyers can now find lower-cost loans as lenders compete for business.

“We’re seeing a lot more dispersion with what lenders are quoting,” Kate Wood, a lending expert at NerdWallet, told CBS News. “So at any time, absolutely, you should be requesting rate quotes from multiple mortgage lenders.”

The lowest average APR for a 30-year loan is 5.82%, according to LendingTree. Compared with the highest average APR of 6.56%, that lower rate could save borrowers nearly $58,000 over the life of the loan, or about $1,930 annually, LendingTree calculated.

At 5.82%, versus the national average of 5.98%, a borrower could save $12,352 over the life of a 30-year home loan, according to Matt Schulz, chief consumer finance analyst at LendingTree.

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As usual, securing a low rate hinges on an individual’s credit record, while other factors that can affect borrowing costs include how much a buyer can put down for a home and a loan’s duration.

LendingTree based its calculations on the lowest average loan offers that homebuyers who use its platform received from lenders between January 1 and February 26.

Even if home buyers don’t qualify for a lower rate, they can still benefit by comparing rates, Schulz told CBS News. “It only takes a small fraction of a percent movement to potentially save tens of thousands of dollars over the life of the mortgage.”

Schulz emphasized that by shopping around, buyers can solicit competing loan offers, which can help in negotiating the best terms with their preferred lender.

“It’s hard to overstate the importance of a lower interest rate with a mortgage, just because it is, for most people, the biggest purchase they’ll ever make,” he said.

Edited by Alain Sherter

Trump raises prospect of ‘friendly takeover’ of Cuba, says Rubio in talks

February 27, 2026 6:12 PM UTC / Reuters

By Andrea Shalal and Steve Holland

Item 1 of 2 U.S. President Donald Trump waves before boarding Air Force One as he departs for Corpus Christi, Texas, at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, U.S., February 27, 2026. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

[1/2]U.S. President Donald Trump waves before boarding Air Force One as he departs for Corpus Christi, Texas, at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, U.S., February 27, 2026. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

• Summary

• Trump says Rubio dealing with Cuba at ‘high level’
• US president says Cuban government talking with US
• Cuban government has said it is not in high-level talks with US

WASHINGTON, Feb 27 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday raised the prospect of a “friendly takeover” of Cuba, telling reporters at the White House that Secretary of State Marco Rubio was dealing with the issue at a “very high level.”

“The Cuban government is talking with us, and they’re in a big deal of trouble,” Trump said as he left the White House for a trip to Texas. “They have no money. They have no anything right now, but they’re talking with us, and maybe we’ll have a friendly takeover of Cuba.”

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Trump described Cuba as a failing nation in need of change, adding that he had been hearing about the country’s woes since he was a little boy.

“I can see that happening. Marco Rubio is dealing on it and at a very high level,” he said. “They have no money, they have no oil, they have no food. And it’s really right now a nation in deep trouble and they want our help,” he said.

HAVANA HAS SAID NOT IN HIGH-LEVEL TALKS

The Cuban government has said it is not in any high-level talks with the United States but has not outright denied press reports that U.S. officials may be in informal talks with Raul Guillermo Rodriguez Castro, the grandson of former Cuban President Raul Castro.

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Axios reported this month that Rubio had been holding secret talks with the grandson of Cuba’s former leader. U.S. officials close to Rubio met with the grandson again on the sidelines of this week’s regional Caribbean Community conference in St. Kitts and Nevis, the Miami Herald reported on Thursday.

Tensions with Cuba ratcheted up after Cuban forces this week killed four exiles and wounded six others who sailed into Cuban waters aboard a Florida-registered speedboat and opened fire on a Cuban patrol. Rubio denied it was a U.S. operation and said no U.S. government personnel were involved.

The incident took place as the United States has blocked virtually all oil shipments to the island, increasing pressure on the Communist government. Last month, U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, removing a key Cuban ally from power.

Rubio has railed against the Cuban government in recent weeks, calling the status quo there unsustainable, and saying Cuba needed to change “dramatically.”

Cuban exiles who are largely concentrated in Miami have long dreamed of overthrowing the Cuban government or seeing it fall and have in the past plotted against the government that was established by the late revolutionary leader Fidel Castro.

Trump mentioned the large Cuban community, saying a takeover of Cuba by the U.S. could be “something good … very positive” for people who had been expelled from the country.

“We have people living here that want to go back to Cuba, and they’re very happy with what’s going on,” he said.

Reporting by Steve Holland and Andrea Shalal in Washington; additional reporting by Daniel Trotta in Havana; Editing by Doina Chiacu, Rod Nickel

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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• United States