Will hurricane season 2026 be bad? Why experts are watching El Niño.

Like an oncoming ship on the distant horizon, the 2026 Atlantichurricane seasonis steadily approaching.

Now just over three months away, meteorologists are busy preparing their forecasts for the upcoming season, which begins June 1. And most eyes are on what's happening with theEl Niño/La Niña cyclein the tropical Pacific Ocean.

"The big question coming up for the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season is… will we get El Niño, and if we do, how strong will it be?," saidColorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbachin an email to USA TODAY.

Simply put, if we get an El Niño as expected, the Atlantic season may be less active than average. "Overall I'd expect a little bit less activity this year, but how much less is to be determined," said associate scientistAndy Hazelton of the University of Miamiin an email to USA TODAY.

According to theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the average Atlantic hurricane season between 1991 and 2020 featured about 14 named storms, of which seven were hurricanes. Of those seven hurricanes, three were major hurricanes (Category 3 and higher).

How might the looming El Niño impact the Atlantic hurricane season?

El Niño, a natural warming of the tropical Pacific Ocean, can have an huge impact on the severity of the Atlantic hurricane season.

"Typically, El Niño leads to more rising air over the tropical Pacific, which then leads to stronger upper-level wind shear and sinking air across the tropical Atlantic," Hazelton said. "This usually reduces the number of hurricanes in the Atlantic, especially in the Caribbean and Gulf."

However, he said we've seen El Niño years where the Atlantic was very warm, and that offset some of the El Niño effects. 2023 was a good example, he added.

But an El Niño is no guarantee of a quiet season: "You can get major hurricane impacts during El Niño seasons. For example, the last 3 category 5 hurricanes to hit the U.S. (Camille 1969, Andrew 1992, and Michael 2018) all occurred during hurricane seasons as the ocean was transitioning to weak El Niño conditions," Hazelton said.

Hurricane Melissa hit the southwestern coast of Jamaica around 1 p.m. ET Tuesday with catastrophic winds speeds of about 185 mph after churning slowly toward the island nation. The hurricane center said Melissa's landfall is one of the most powerful in the Atlantic Basin's recorded history. As the storm's center moved across western Jamaica to its northern coast, Melissa became a Category 4 storm with winds of 145 mph and torrential rainfall that caused flash flooding and life-threatening storm surge, the hurricane center said.

A police officer inspects a car damaged by a fallen tree after the passage of Hurricane Melissa.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> A store stands destroyed following the passage of Hurricane Melissa in Manchester, Jamaica, on October 28, 2025.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> A man looks at a fallen tree in St. Catherine, Jamaica, shortly before Hurricane Melissa made landfall on October 28, 2025.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

Category 5 Hurricane Melissa slams Jamaica: See the aftermath of catastrophic winds, rain

Hurricane Melissahit the southwestern coast of Jamaica around 1 p.m. ET Tuesday with catastrophic winds speeds of about 185 mph after churning slowly toward the island nation. The hurricane center said Melissa's landfall is one of the most powerful in the Atlantic Basin's recorded history. As the storm's center moved across western Jamaica to its northern coast, Melissa became a Category 4 storm with winds of 145 mph and torrential rainfall that caused flash flooding and life-threatening storm surge, the hurricane center said.A police officer inspects a car damaged by a fallen tree after the passage ofHurricane Melissa.

How likely is an El Niño?

NOAA's latest odds are pretty aggressive for moving away from La Niña quite quickly, with a 60% chance of neutral conditions by the February-April average (so probably the next few weeks), Klotzbach said.

Klotzbach added that upper-ocean heat content anomalies have really increased in recent weeks in the eastern/central tropical Pacific. "This often portends a transition away from La Niña to neutral (and possibly El Nino conditions)."

Looking toward the heart of the hurricane season, NOAA's latest outlook gives a 59% chance of El Niño for August - October.

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What other factors will affect the hurricane season?

Although the status of El Niño/La Niña is an important factor in the hurricane season, it's not the only one. Hazelton said that Atlantic water temperatures, particularly in the so-called "Main Development Region" in the Caribbean Sea and east of the Antilles, will be important.

"Right now it is near average there overall. If that region warms a lot, we may see the Atlantic 'fight back' against the developing El Nino, but if it doesn't, the Pacific may be in the driver's seat this season (in the form of El Nino)," Klotzbach said.

Klotzbach also pointed out that "the tropical Atlantic certainly is in a cooler state (thankfully!) then it has been the past couple of years at this point."

Hazelton added that it's also worth keeping an eye on Africa: A stronger African monsoon can offset some of the effects of El Niño and produce hurricanes in the east Atlantic, as we saw in 2015 and 2018-2019.

Could El Niño impact the eastern or central Pacific hurricane seasons?

Yes, El Niño tends to lead to more active Pacific seasons, though the details of where the warmest water sets up (eastern vs. central Pacific) may determine which basin is most above normal, Hazelton said.

Eastern Pacific hurricanes tend to stay out to sea and seldom impact the United States, except their remnants can soak the Southwest. Central Pacific hurricanes can impact Hawaii.

More:Hurricane Melissa now tied for strongest winds in an Atlantic storm

Still early for a hurricane forecast

"It is really early for a seasonal hurricane forecast," Klotzbach told USA TODAY. "One of the reasons why we don't put out a forecast in the February/March timeframe is because during the late winter/early spring, you can get really big changes in the atmosphere/ocean system," he said.

Klotzbach's team at Colorado State University will issue their first forecast for the season on April 9. Other forecasts will follow, including NOAA's, which comes out in late May.

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.

Doyle Rice is a national correspondent for USA TODAY, with a focus on weather and climate.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Hurricane season 2026 forecast developing as forecasters watch El Niño

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

March 06, 2026

Will hurricane season 2026 be bad? Why experts are watching El Niño.

Like an oncoming ship on the distant horizon, the 2026 Atlantichurricane seasonis steadily approaching. Now jus...

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Everything we know on the seventh day of the US and Israel’s war with Iran

Nearly a week into the latest Middle East conflict, Iran's strikes in the region have decreased significantly – while US attacks on Iran continue ramping up and Israeli strikes prompt panic in southern Beirut.

The Trump administration warns the war which, according to Lebanese and Iranian state media, has already killed more than 1,320 people, will soon escalate – and NATO allies are reluctantly getting pulled into the conflict.

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Here's what you need to know.

What are the main headlines?

• US and Israel intensify attacks: US-Israeli strikes against Iran and Lebanon have ramped up, with explosions heard across Tehran and Beirut overnight into early Friday. Some of Tehran's residents described it as the "worst night" since the war began while a CNN team on the ground witnessed heavy strikes just before dawn.

• Iran reduces strikes: Meanwhile, Iranian ballistic missile attacks have decreased by 90% and drone attacks by 83%, said US Central Command on Thursday – bringing possible relief for neighboring Gulf states that have borne the brunt of Iran's retaliation.

• Trump's comments: President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social there can be no deal with Iran "except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER." He told CNN's Dana Bash he's not worried whether Iran becomes a democratic state as long as the new leader treats the US and Israel "well."

• Europe drawn in: Countries including Britain, France and Spain have agreed to provide military support to protect the interests of their allies. But many are also critical of the war. Even as Italy sent defensive weapons to the Persian Gulf, its defense minister said the US-Israel attack on Iran had violated international law.

• Energy supply concerns: Shipping giant Maersk became the second shipping company to suspend its operations in the Middle East. Oil storage tanks are filling up across the region, analysts say, since exports have all but stopped due to the Iranians effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz. That means there is a growing risk oil production will have to halt.US oil prices and Brent crude, the international benchmark, have surged 31% and 24%, respectively, this week.

What's happening in Iran and Lebanon?

• More Israeli strikes: Israel is moving to the "next phase" of the war, its military chief said late Thursday, after carrying out 2,500 strikes with more than 6,000 weapons. He added that the Israel Defense Forces would push deeper into Lebanon. Meanwhile in Iran, Israel began a "broad-scale wave of strikes" on key regime infrastructure in Tehran early Friday.

• Beirut targeted: New Israeli strikes have targeted the southern suburbs of Lebanon's capital, areas it considers a stronghold of the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. Evacuation orders on Thursday covering entire neighborhoods home to more than half a million people caused mass panic as people rushed to leave. Pictures show displaced families sleeping rough and residential buildings in ruins.

• Growing toll: The US-Israel strikes have killed more than 1,200 people in Iran and more than 217 in Lebanon since the latest conflict began, according to Iranian state media and the Lebanese health ministry. The strikes have damaged more than 3,000 homes across Iran, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society. Iranian strikes have also killed dozens of people in other countries around the region.

• Girls' school bombing: The White House has not ruled out that US military carried out a strike which hit a girls' elementary school in the southern Iranian city of Minab on Saturday, killing at least 168 children and 14 teachers, according to state media.

What's happening in the rest of region?

• Iran attacks Israel: Iran said it launched a hybrid drone and missile attack at Tel Aviv on Thursday night. CNN teams on the ground saw what appeared to be a cluster warhead in the skies above central Israel.

• Strikes in the Gulf: Saudi Arabia's Defense Ministry said Friday three drones had been intercepted east of the capital Riyadh, while its air defenses intercepted three ballistic missiles targeting a base south of the capital the night before. In Bahrain, a hotel, two residential buildings and an oil refinery were hit by Iranian strikes. Iran's armed forces said Friday it had launched another wave of drones targeting US bases in Kuwait.

• US-made radars targeted: Satellite images from key military bases in the Arabian Peninsula suggest that Iran is trying to weaken THAAD air defense systems by destroying US-made radars that detect incoming missiles and drones.

• Theater widens: Iran is also accused of attacking Azerbaijan, in the first strikes on the country since the beginning of the conflict – which Iran denies.

• Travelers stuck: Hundreds of Americans returned home on the first chartered evacuation flight from Abu Dhabi on Thursday. Tourists from other countries are arriving home on similar repatriation flights though disruptions still remain. More than 11,000 flights across 10 countries in the region have been canceled since the conflict began, according to flight tracker Flightradar24.

• NATO gears up: NATO member states have increased their defense posture after a suspected Iranian missile was shot down while traveling toward Turkish airspace on Wednesday. Iran has said did not fire any missiles toward Turkey, per state media.

• Impact on sport: Iran's women's national soccer team was forced to salue and sing its national anthem, sources told CNN Sports, ahead of a Women's Asia Cup match just days after the squad refused to do so. Iran will not compete at the Winter Paralympics since its lone para athlete cannot travel safely.

The latest from Washington

• Congress votes, again: The House on Thursday failed to pass a measure that would have curbed Trump's war powers, after a similar vote failed in the Senate on Wednesday.

• Next supreme leader: Trump said he must be "involved in the appointment" of Iran's next leader and dismissed the prospect of Mojtaba Khamenei succeeding his father, the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

CNN's Alejandra Jaramillo, Austin Culpepper, Jack Guy, Thomas Bordeaux, Gianluca Mezzofiore, Tamar Michaelis, Oren Liebermann, Tim Lister, Ivan Watson, Frederik Pleitgen, John Liu and Tori B. Powell contributed reporting.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account atCNN.com

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

March 06, 2026

Everything we know on the seventh day of the US and Israel’s war with Iran

Nearly a week into the latest Middle East conflict, Iran's strikes in the region have decreased significantly – while...

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Blanket evacuation orders in Lebanon raise international law concerns, says UN human rights chief

By Olivia Le Poidevin

GENEVA, March 6 (Reuters) - Large-scale evacuation orders issued by the Israeli army for southern Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs ‌raise serious concerns under international law, the U.N. human rights chief said ‌on Friday.

"These blanket, massive displacement orders we are talking here about hundreds and thousands of ​people," said United Nations human rights chief, Volker Turk.

"This raises serious concern under international humanitarian law, and in particular when it comes to issues around forced transfer," he added.

Israel carried out heavy airstrikes on the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut overnight ‌after ordering its residents to ⁠leave, while the Iran-backed group warned Israelis to leave towns and villages at the frontier.

On Thursday, an Israeli military spokesperson ⁠told residents of the southern suburbs to move east and north, posting a map showing four large districts of the capital he said they must leave, including ​areas adjacent ​to Beirut's airport.

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Lebanon was pulled into the ​war in the Middle East ‌on Monday when Hezbollah opened fire, triggering a new Israeli offensive, with airstrikes focused on Beirut's southern suburbs and on southern and eastern Lebanon.

"Lebanon is becoming a key flashpoint. I'm extremely concerned and worried about the latest developments," Turk said in Geneva following the firing of rockets into Israel by Hezbollah and ‌the Israeli army's strong response in recent days.

Hezbollah, ​in a message published in Hebrew on ​its Telegram channel early on Friday, ​warned Israelis to leave towns within 5 km (3 miles) of ‌the border.

During fighting between Hezbollah and ​Israel in 2024, ​tens of thousands of Israelis were evacuated from towns in the border area, but many have since returned. Israeli officials have previously said there ​are no plans to ‌remove them for now.

"The world urgently needs to see steps to ​contain the Middle East crisis," Turk added.

(Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin, ​Editing by Friederike Heine and Thomas Derpinghaus)

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

March 06, 2026

Blanket evacuation orders in Lebanon raise international law concerns, says UN human rights chief

By Olivia Le Poidevin GENEVA, March 6 (Reuters) - Large-scale evacuation orders issued by the Israeli army for...

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ICE is paying 'eye-popping' prices for warehouse detention centers

The rapid effort by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to convert commercial warehouses into detention centers has hit another controversy: big price tags.

The initiative has involved a parade of warehouse purchases in which the government has repeatedly paid tens of millions above documented appraisal values or recent sale prices. In a competitive real estate market, theDepartment of Homeland Securitysays the prices represent "fair market value."

On March 3, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker criticized Homeland Security SecretaryKristi Noemat a hearing on Capitol Hill, accusing DHS of supporting an "incredible empire of for-profit companies that are profiting at rates we've never seen."

"You paid $129.3 million for a facility in my state that was assessed at less than half of that, at $62 million," Booker said to Noem, who has since beenousted by President Donald Trump. "To work for a president who says he's a great dealmaker ... I can't believe he thinks that you're a great dealmaker."

Meanwhile, in Hamburg, Pennsylvania, DHS paid $87.4 million for a warehouse that sold in 2024 for $57.5 million, public records show.

"Those prices are pretty eye-popping," said Troy Schaum, a professor at Rice University with expertise in commercial and institutional real estate development, adding that there could be a number of explanations for the price jumps.

Schaum said that appraised values, which are used for tax purposes, almost always lag behind true market values. And even in states like Georgia that require assessments to keep up with the market, doing so can be challenging as high demand for data centers and other emerging technologies inflates prices for commercial space.

In February, DHS purchased an empty warehouse in Social Circle, Georgia, for $128.5 million. The property's current value: $29.7 million, according to the Walton County Tax Assessor'swebsite. And in Oakwood, Georgia, the government paid $68 million for a warehouse and surrounding land that was appraised in 2025 for a combined $7.1 million, according to Hall County records.

In a statement, ICE defended the purchases and said DHS is paying "fair market value for these properties."

"For each site, an appraisal is prepared in accordance with the DOJ's Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisition standards," the agency said. "They are independently reviewed and approved by a government appraiser to establish the fair market value of the property and serves as the basis of our purchase price of the property."

The federal appraisals have not been made publicly available, leaving critics with state tax records, recent sale prices and other data to approximate the value of the properties.

The warehouse spending spree is being funded byTrump's Big Beautiful Bill Act, which set aside $38.3 billion toboost ICE's detention capacity. To do this, the agency has begun buying up commercial warehouses that it intends to retrofit into sprawling detention facilities, some of which would hold up to 10,000 undocumented immigrants slated for deportation.

The effort has drawn backlash from officials from both parties, who've criticized ICE for not notifying local communities of its plans and raised concerns that the facilities could overwhelm local infrastructure, especially in rural communities.

Experts in federal property acquisition said DHS may be paying high prices to compel developers and commercial landowners to sell their property despite local opposition. They also noted the agency now has billions at its disposal to buy property.

"They've got money to burn," said Rick Su, a professor of law at the University of North Carolina and an expert in immigration and local government. "When you double or triple a budget, this is the kind of spending spree you would expect."

Su also said DHS's actions appear to be out of step with standard procedures for federal land acquisition, which typically involve local input, extensive review processes and bidding procedures. ICE's initiative has also been marked by a series of mistakes that have led the agency to retract statements about several proposed facilities.

"The scale of this particular effort does seem to be rather large and also rather rushed," said Sara Bronin, a law professor at George Washington University and an expert in property land use and zoning.

Why is ICE buying warehouses?

DHS is purchasing commercial space as part of an initiative to increase ICE's immigration detention space by 92,600 beds, according to planning documents reviewed by USA TODAY. The agency is seeking to bring all 24 proposed facilities online by October, internal documents show.

As of early March, the government had purchased at least 10 warehouses and was eyeing at least two others, according to a USA TODAY analysis and the Department of Homeland Security. Local pushback has contributed to the collapse of at least 11 additional deals, including some after the government paid tens of millions for commercial space.

The resistance has been consistent across communities nationwide even though DHS has targeted heavily Republican districts for warehouse purchases.

Local, state and federal officials have raised concerns about transparency and whether their communities have the infrastructure to support what would become the nation's largest immigration detention centers. Some officials and advocates are also questioning whether warehouses built for commercial cargo can be made to house people, citing reported problems at detention centers constructed in the last year.

Planning documentsrelated to a proposed processing center in New Hampshire show ICE planned to spend $158 million retrofitting the warehouse, adding recreational areas, dormitories, courtrooms and cafeterias, as well as religious spaces and medical facilities.

DHS says each detention facility will meet federal standards and provide jobs to surrounding communities.

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"These will be very well-structured detention facilities meeting our regular detention standards," ICE said in a statement, adding: "Sites undergo community impact studies and a rigorous due diligence process to make sure there is no hardship on local utilities or infrastructure prior to purchase."

Deals struck with little local notice

ICE and DHS's procurement process appears out-of-step with federal land acquisition procedures, which typically involve coordination with local officials and an extensive review process, some experts say.

"ICE is certainly not following ordinary procedure," said Su, noting that the government often works to "get the best price" through bidding processes or surveys of alternative sites.

Over the last several months, elected leaders, including Republicans, say they learned of the plans only after the government finalized real estate deals.

"There was absolutely no warning," said Commissioner Christian Leinbach at a public meeting in Berks County, Pennsylvania, where DHS bought a 500,000‑square‑foot warehouse, which is about the size of eight football fields.

In New Jersey, where DHS bought a 470,000-square-foot warehouse in Roxbury, the township's all-Republican council unanimously voted to oppose the facility after news of the purchase circulated. Booker said he tried to arrange a meeting between the agency and local officials but said DHS didn't respond.

"That is unacceptable," Booker said to Noem at a hearing in Washington on March 3. "You didn't even have a conversation."

Bronin called it "unusual" that the federal government has proceeded with sales of such large sites without alerting local authorities. She also raised concerns about the pace at which DHS is buying warehouses. Bronin said site selections alone can take "months if not years" to allow for environmental reviews and other requirements.

ICE has said in documents shared with local authorities that it conducts site inspections, environmental surveys, water‑infrastructure reviews and explores "alternative options" for each of the warehouses it's attempting to purchase.

Still,local and state officialshave said they've not received such reports despite requesting them. Others said the federal government's responses have been insufficient.

On Feb. 23, Maryland's attorney general filed a lawsuit seeking to block a detention facility in Washington County. The lawsuit accuses ICE of keeping the community "in the dark" about the facility it paid $102.4 million for and said the agency failed to perform a "required environmental review."

The Department of Homeland Security described the lawsuit as an effort to "stopPresident Trumpfrom making America safe again."

Retractions and errors complicate ICE's warehouse rollout

ICE's rapid expansion has also been marred by a string of errors that officials say have eroded public trust.

Over a three‑day span in February, the agency retracted three separate statements announcing warehouse purchases.

"ICE has NOT purchased a facility in Lebanon, Tennessee," the agency toldThe Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network, a day after confirming the acquisition to multiple news outlets. "That statement was sent without proper approval, and this mistake has since been rectified."

ICE also walked back statements saying it had bought warehouses in Chester, New York, and Roxbury, New Jersey – sowing confusion in each community.

In New Hampshire, Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte and Republican lawmakers have criticized the administration's handling of a proposed ICE facility in the state, accusing the agency of rushing the process and providing inaccurate information.

ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons testified to Congress that he had shared an economic impact report with Ayotte's office. But the governor said "this is simply not true" and wrote in a statement that she did not receive the report until after Lyons' appearance on Capitol Hill.

"After my office inquired about the economic impact study following today's Senate hearing, DHS has now for the first time distributed the document," Ayotte said. "Once the document was received, we immediately shared it with the Town of Merrimack. We are publishing this document on my website for the public to find."

The report itself raised fresh concerns: Its first paragraph refers to the "Oklahoma economy."

"The data we got last night was clearly a cut‑and‑paste job," said New Hampshire state Sen. Tim McGough, a Republican. "It said Oklahoma in the first paragraph, and it talked about a sales tax and an income tax. We don't have either of those here."

Christopher Cann is a national breaking news reporter for USA TODAY. Contact him via email at ccann@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:ICE warehouse detention center project hits 'eye-popping' costs

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

March 06, 2026

ICE is paying 'eye-popping' prices for warehouse detention centers

The rapid effort by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to convert commercial warehouses into detention centers has ...

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US Postal Service expects to run out of cash in a year without help from Congress, postmaster says

TheU.S. Postal Servicewill run out of cash within a year unless Congress lifts a decades-old cap and allows the agency to borrow more money, the new postmaster general warned in an interview.

If it doesn't, the Postal Service might not be able to pay its employees or vendors by February 2027, with potentially dire consequences for mail delivery,Postmaster General David Steinertold The Associated Press.

"How long are employees going to work and vendors going to show up if we're not paying them?" Steiner said in an interview on Wednesday.

The postmaster general is scheduled to testify before Congress later this month about the Postal Service's financial struggles and the need to change longstanding rules and regulations that he considers burdensome. He singled out the $15 billion cap on borrowing that has been in place since 1990.

The Postal Service is an independent agency that is funded mostly through postage revenue and the services it provides. Steiner said it has all the burdens of a government agency, such as having to deliver mail six days a week to every address, but none of the benefits, such as an annual appropriation from the federal budget.

"We have to have a conversation with the American public," Steiner said. "If you want us to deliver everywhere, every day, we'll do it. That's not a problem. But who is going to pay for it?"

Steiner, a former CEO of the nation's largest waste management company and a former member of the FedEx board of directors, took over the struggling Postal Service last July. He said raising the borrowing limit is the easiest thing lawmakers can do immediately to help the agency.

"That will buy us the time to make the fixes we need to make, and we can sail on down the road," he said.

He has called forexpanding the service's revenue base, including extending itslast-mile delivery serviceto more entities. Last-mile delivery refers to the final step of getting a package from a local distribution center to a customer's door, the most labor-intensive part of the delivery process.

USPS's net losses for the 2025 fiscal year totaled $9 billion, even though total operating revenue increased by $916 million or 1.2%, due largely to its Ground Advantage shipping service. Net losses in fiscal year 2024 were $9.5 billion.

Ultimately, other changes are needed, as well, Steiner said, including giving the Postal Service authority to raise postage prices high enough to cover losses. He said increasing the price of a first-class stamp to 95 cents, from today's 78 cents, would be enough to "fix" the Postal Service's fiscal woes. A decade ago, a first-class stamp was 47 cents, although postal officials note it's still the lowest price in the industrialized world and covers a delivery range that's ten times farther than in other countries.

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But he said an independent agency created by Congress to oversee the Postal Service won't allow it, he said.

"If the Postal Regulatory Commission adopted our pricing model, problem solved," he said, adding how the package delivery side of the business could then subsidize the mail side.

Steiner and other Postal Service officials also have called for reforms to its pension and retiree health benefit obligations, including the ability to invest the money in something other than Treasury bills.

Multiple postmaster generals over the past two decades have repeatedly asked Congress or regulators to change the various rules governing the Postal Service. In 2022, Congress did pass the Postal Service Reform Act, which ended a requirement that the agency prefund its retiree health benefits, but it left other constraints intact.

Meanwhile, the Postal Service has seen annual volume plummet from about 220 billion pieces to about 110 billion today as more people pay bills and communicate online.

"Take those 110 billion and put a 78-cent stamp on them. That's $86 billion of revenue that evaporated in 15 years," he said. "If either FedEx or UPS lost $86 billion of revenue, they would have no revenue."

But instead of helping the Postal Service, Steiner said regulators and Congress have imposed costly mandates.

"I like to say we sort of got thrown overboard on a ship into the cold water, right? And instead of throwing us a life preserver, we get thrown an anchor," he said.

Calls on Thursday to some members of Congress who oversee the Postal Service were not immediately returned. A message was also left with Keep Us Posted, an advocacy group launched in 2021 in response to price increases and service delays. Last month, the organization warned the USPS was "headed for a taxpayer bailout" given its cash flow issues. The group urged Congress to pass legislation it says would limit rate increases to once a year, tying them to service performance, among other measures.

Steiner acknowledged he didn't realize the depth of the Postal Service's cash crunch until he took the postmaster general job last year.

"Interestingly, I'm not sure some of the people at the Postal Service realized how dramatic it was," he said.

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

March 05, 2026

US Postal Service expects to run out of cash in a year without help from Congress, postmaster says

TheU.S. Postal Servicewill run out of cash within a year unless Congress lifts a decades-old cap and allows the agency to...

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Wisconsin man who killed his parents to fund Trump assassination attempt gets life in prison

WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin teemager who killed his parents and stole their money to fund his plan to kill President Donald Trump with a bomb dropped from a drone was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday.

Nikita Casap, 18, pleaded guilty in January to two counts of first-degree intentional homicide in Waukesha County Circuit Court in connection with the shooting deaths of his mother, Tatiana Casap, and stepfather, Donald Mayer, in 2025. Prosecutors dropped seven other charges in a plea deal, including two counts of hiding a corpse and theft.

Judge: Casap may never change after 'horrific' crimes

First-degree intentional homicide carries a mandatory life sentence. The only question as Judge Ralph Ramirez began the sentencing hearing Thursday afternoon was whether he would make Casap eligible for parole at some point.

Calling Casap's offenses "horrific" and "inexplicable," Ramirez ultimately handed down two life sentences with no chance at extended supervision, the term the Wisconsin criminal justice system uses for parole. The judge said he didn't have a "crystal ball" that would tell him when Casap would change, if ever.

"I choose to find he's not eligible for extended release because I do not know ... when and if and whether a profound and significant change can occur," Ramirez said.

Mother, stepfather killed in their home

According to a criminal complaint, investigators believe Casap shot his stepfather and mother at their home in the village of Waukesha on or around Feb. 11, 2025.

He lived with the decomposing bodies for two weeks before fleeing across the country in his stepfather's SUV with $14,000 in cash, jewelry, passports, his stepfather's gun and the family dog, according to the complaint. He was eventually arrested during a traffic stop in Kansas on Feb. 28 after four days on the run.

Federal authorities have accused Casap of planning his parents' murders, buying a drone and explosives and sharing his plans with others, including a Russian speaker. They said in a federal search warrant that he wrote a manifesto calling for Trump's assassination and was in touch with others about his plot to overthrow the U.S. government

"The killing of his parents appeared to be an effort to obtain the financial means and autonomy necessary to carrying out his plan," that warrant said.

Detectives found several messages on Casap's cellphone from January 2025 in which Casap asks how long he will have to hide before he is relocated to Ukraine. An unknown individual responded in Russian, the complaint said, but the document doesn't say what that person told Casap. In another message Casap asks: "So while in Ukraine, I'll be able to live a normal life? Even if it's found out I did it?"

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Prosecutors insist Casap too dangerous to ever be released

District Attorney Lesli Boese told the judge Thursday that Casap was too dangerous to ever be released from prison.

Pulling from an interview Casap gave to the FBI, Boese said that Casap and his mother moved to the United States from the Republic of Moldova when Casap was a grade-schooler but he became increasingly addicted to what she called "disturbing websites" as he grew older. She didn't elaborate, but at one point said he had been researching serial killers and school shootings.

Boese said Casap developed a plan in late 2024 to target Trump with an AK-47 rifle attached to a drone. The teen later decided he wanted to drop explosives on Trump from a drone and then flee by ship to Ukraine, where he planned to hide for a decade, according to the district attorney. Casap told agents he wouldn't have cared how many people around Trump got hurt during the assassination attempt.

He started talking with two people online who offered to sell him the drone and the explosives. He sent one of them $8,700 inbitcoinfrom his stepfather Mayer's account without realizing they were scamming him and there was never a drone or any explosives, Boese said.

"He walked right into it," she said.

Defense attorney asks for mercy

Casap's attorney, Paul Rifelj, asked Ramirez to make Casap eligible for parole after 20 years. He said that news of a doctor whodrove his car into a Christmas marketin Magdeburg, Germany, in December 2024 sent Casap into a rage. The teen decided then that he wanted to change the world by killing a politician, Rifelj said.

The two contacts who promised to help him kill Trump convinced him that he was part of a larger military strategy, offering him direction and purpose at a time when he was becoming isolated at school, according to Rifelj.

"Children are more than their worst deeds," he said.

Casap: 'I thought I was part of a revolution'

Casap appeared to tremble as he listened to both sides make their cases. He gave a tearful speech, saying that he loved his mother and he was worried about her all the time, even when she was reaching for something on a high shelf. He said he wasn't as close with Mayer, but Mayer still treated him like a son.

But he became obsessed with hateful thoughts.

"I thought I was part of a revolution," he said. "I thought I was part of a war. I told myself bad things had to happen."

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

March 05, 2026

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More states restrict what SNAP recipients can buy with food benefits

Kansas, Nevada, Ohio and Wyoming have joined18 other statesin implementing restrictions on what food assistance recipients can purchase using their taxpayer-funded benefits.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollinssigned new waiversallowing restrictions on spending of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits on March 4.

The waivers are tailored to each state. Most ban the purchase of soda and candy.

The latest:

• Kansas will ban SNAP users from purchasing candy and soft drinks;

• Nevada will ban them from buying candy and sugar sweetened beverages;

• Ohio will also ban sugar sweetened beverages;

• and Wyoming will ban purchasing sugar sweetened carbonated beverages.

"As I have said before Wyoming taxpayers expect their dollars to support food assistance that helps families put healthy food on the table," Wyoming Republican Gov. Mark Gordon saidin a statement. "This waiver is about supporting healthier communities in Wyoming and is a reasonable, commonsense step that aligns the program with its original purpose."

Free food as SNAP benefits halted

For 60 years, the Department of Agriculture under presidents of both parties has denied state requests to restrict SNAP-eligible foods, saying it could not waive the definition of "food" for purchase with SNAP benefits that Congress set in law, Professor Tyson-Lord Gray, who teaches at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, told USA TODAY. SNAP recipients could buy anything except alcohol, tobacco, hot and prepared foods, and personal care products.

PresidentDonald Trump's administration began granting waivers in 2025, despite no change in the law. The USDA says these waivers are permitted under its pilot project authority to test the impact of excluding some foods on health and nutrition.

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"The Trump Administration is unified in improving the health of our nation. America's governors have proudly answered the call to innovate by improving nutrition programs, ensuring better choices while respecting the generosity of the American taxpayer. Each waiver submitted by the states and signed is yet another step closer to fulfilling President Trump's promise to Make America Healthy Again," Rollins said when she signed the first waivers in June 2025.

Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia have been granted waivers. Many focus on candy and sugary drinks, some specifically talk about energy drinks or juice. Each has a different definition of what items are banned.

Gray said he's surprised that no lawsuits have been filed yet. In 2007, the USDA issued a memo stating that the pilot project authority the Trump administration is acting under could not be used to restrict food choices.

Gray said businesses that have locations across many states are facing "compliance chaos" and would have the greatest standing to sue because the varied standards will require changes including point of sale software and employee training.

"Every state has their own definition of what is candy, what is a sugary beverage. So now you have businesses that have locations across the country that have to literally update their (point of sale) systems in every state to adhere to specific restrictions for that state," he said.

Though Congress did not change the legal definition of what recipients can purchase, it incentivized states to apply for waivers in the GOP tax and spending bill signed into law last summer. The law created a$50 billion Rural Health Transformation Programthat scores states on whether they submit SNAP restriction waivers.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:SNAP benefits restricted in more states. See the list.

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

March 05, 2026

More states restrict what SNAP recipients can buy with food benefits

Kansas, Nevada, Ohio and Wyoming have joined18 other statesin implementing restrictions on what food assistance recipient...

Read More