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President Donald Trump on Thursday inaugurated his Board of Peace to lead efforts at maintaining a ceasefire in Israel’s war with Hamas, insisting that “everyone wants to be a part” of the body he said could eventually rival the United Nations — despite many U.S. allies opting not to participate. In a speech at the World Economic Forum, Trump sought to create momentum for a project to map out a future of the war-torn Gaza Strip that has been overshadowed this week, first by his threats to seize Greenland, then by a dramatic retreat from that push. “This isn’t the United States, this is for the world,” he said, adding, “I think we can spread it out to other things as we succeed in Gaza.” The event featured Ali Shaath, the head of a new, future technocratic government in Gaza, announcing that the Rafah border crossing will open in both directions next week. But there was no confirmation of that from Israel, which said only that it would consider the matter next week. The Gaza side of the crossing, which runs between Gaza and Egypt, is currently under Israeli military control. Shaath, an engineer and former Palestinian Authority official from Gaza, is overseeing the Palestinian committee set to govern the territory under U.S. supervision. US & World Gaza Jan 18 $1 billion gets a permanent seat on Trump's Board of Peace for Gaza Gaza Jan 17 Israel objects to U.S. announcement of leaders who will help oversee next steps in Gaza Gaza Nov 30, 2025 Gaza death toll rises to 70,000 as ceasefire is tested by repeated outbreaks of violence The new peace board was initially envisioned as a small group of world leaders overseeing the ceasefire, but it has morphed into something far more ambitious — and skepticism about its membership and mandate has led some countries usually closest to Washington to take a pass. Trump tried not to let those not participating ruin his unveiling party, saying 59 countries had signed onto the board — even though heads of state, top diplomats and other officials from only 19 countries plus the U.S. actually attended the event. He told the group, ranging from Azerbaijan to Paraguay to Hungary, “You’re the most powerful people in the world.” Trump has spoken about the board replacing some U.N. functions and perhaps even making that entire body obsolete one day. But he was more conciliatory in his remarks on the sidelines of the forum in the Swiss alps. “We’ll do it in conjunction with the United Nations,” Trump said, even as he denigrated the U.N. for doing what he said wasn’t enough to calm some conflicts around the globe. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said some countries’ leaders have indicated they plan to join but still require approval from their parliaments. Why some countries aren’t participating Big questions remain, however, about what the eventual board will look like. Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country is still consulting with Moscow’s “strategic partners” before deciding to commit. The Russian was hosting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday in Moscow. Others are asking why Putin and other authoritarian leaders had even been invited to join. Britain’s foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, said her country wasn’t signing on “because this is about a legal treaty that raises much broader issues.” “And we do also have concerns about President Putin being part of something which is talking about peace, when we have still not seen any signs from Putin that there will be a commitment to peace in Ukraine,” she told the BBC. In the News Russia-Ukraine War Jan 6 Progress for Ukraine talks in Paris uncertain with U.S. focus on Venezuela and Greenland tension Russia-Ukraine War Jan 5 Trump says that Ukraine didn't target Putin residence in drone strike as Kremlin claims Russia-Ukraine War Dec 29, 2025 U.S. offers Ukraine 15-year security guarantee as part of peace plan, Zelenskyy says Norway and Sweden have indicated they won’t participate. France declined…

All the focus is on the weekend storm, but for the here and now, it’s a small window of milder air. After a small batch of overnight snow, we’re waking to much more tolerable temperatures. We push the numbers into the low 40s this afternoon with a pleasant blend of clouds and sun. School closings and delays There are a number of school delays in Connecticut this morning, and a handful in Massachusetts, including Worcester Public Schools, due to the overnight snow. Click here for a list of school delays Extreme cold is coming Colder air moves in tonight, but we’ll hang on by our toenails to highs near freezing tomorrow. Numbing air is our fate, however. Temperatures will crash after sunset as arctic air sweeps in from the west. Bitterly cold wind chills set in Friday night as winds gust over 30 mph in spots. This is the frigid setup for the weekend storm. Major snowstorm this weekend We’re still wrestling with the finer details, but it appears we will get a major snowstorm Sunday into Monday. Click here for active weather alerts There will be travel impacts We know there’s a great deal of travel impact locally (roads) and regionally (airports). If you have flights you can reschedule, now might be a good time to do that. Local roads may become difficult to navigate later Sunday as snowfall rates (how quickly the snow piles up) and winds increase – especially along the coast. This does not look like a blizzard, but it may be hard to get around during the height of the storm. Which, along with specific snowfall amounts, is one of the things we’re working on in the coming days. Storm timing We are fairly certain of the timing (early Sunday) and the finish (early Monday), but peak storm intensity could waver by a few hours. How much snow will we see in New England? Generally, this is a 6+ inch snowfall, with the possibility of a foot in spots. Snow consistency will be fluffy, but along the coast could become sticky as the temperatures rise. Where the coastal front (boundary between temps in the teens and temps in 30s) sets up is also one of the major forecast details to iron out. So there you have it. We’re following the latest guidance – and draw on past experiences with this kind of setup – to bring you the latest. More winter stories Weather Jan 21 How to prepare for the winter storm that is set to hit half of the U.S. this weekend Extreme Weather 23 hours ago A January freeze is taking hold across the U.S. with little sign of letting up

Republican lawmakers are grilling former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith at a congressional hearing that’s expected to focus fresh attention on two criminal investigations that shadowed Donald Trump during his 2024 presidential campaign. Smith testified behind closed doors last month but returned to the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday for a public hearing likely to divide along starkly partisan lines between Republican lawmakers looking to undermine the former Justice Department official and Democrats hoping to elicit new and damaging testimony about Trump’s conduct. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee said the criminal investigations into Trump were “always about politics” as he opened the hearing. “Maybe for them,” retorted Rep. Jamie Raskin, the panel’s top Democrat, during his own opening statement. “But for us, it’s all about the rule of law.” Republicans loyal to the president have been investigating Smith’s cases, which accused Trump of conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden, and of keeping classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Smith told lawmakers that he stood behind his decision as special counsel to bring charges against Trump in separate cases that accused the Republican of conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden and hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, after he left the White House. He said that, as special counsel, he had “followed Justice Department policies, observed legal requirements and took actions based on the fact and the law.” Donald Trump Jan 1 Capitol riot ‘does not happen' without Trump, Jack Smith told Congress Trump Administration Dec 17, 2025 Jack Smith tells lawmakers there's ‘proof beyond a reasonable doubt' of Trump's ‘criminal scheme' “Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in criminal activity,” Smith said. “If asked whether to prosecute a former president based on the same facts today, I would do so regardless of whether that president was a Republican or a Democrat.” “No one should be above the law in our country, and the law required that he be held to account. So that is what I did,” he said. Smith was appointed in 2022 by Biden’s Justice Department to oversee investigations into Trump, who has denied any wrongdoing. Both investigations produced indictments against Trump, but the cases were abandoned by Smith and his team after Trump won back the White House because of longstanding Justice Department legal opinions that say sitting presidents cannot be indicted. Smith was summoned to the hearing by Jordan, who on Thursday advanced a talking point frequently advanced by Trump that the investigation was driven by a desire to derail Trump’s candidacy. “We should never forget what took place, what they did to the guy we the people elected twice,” Jordan said. Smith vigorously rejected those suggestions and said the evidence placed Trump’s actions squarely at the heart of a criminal conspiracy to undo the 2020 election. “The evidence here made clear that President Trump was by a large measure the most culpable and most responsible person in this conspiracy,” Smith said. “These crimes were committed for his benefit. The attack that happened at the Capitol, part of this case, does not happen without him. The other co-conspirators were doing this for his benefit.” From the start, Republicans sought to portray Smith as an overly aggressive hard-charging prosecutor who had to be “reined in” by higher-ups and the courts as he pursued Trump during his campaign. Rep. Kevin Kiley, a Republican from California, portrayed Smith as an overly aggressive prosecutor who did not show the same “humility and restraint” shown by other past special counsels. Kiley accused Smith…

A New Hampshire man was taken into custody on Wednesday after an hours-long standoff with police. Around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, state police troopers responded to a home on Battle Street in Webster in an effort to serve a resident with a domestic violence protection order. The order was for 48-year-old James Carpentier, of Webster, who was inside a camper located on the property at the time. When a trooper knocked on the camper door, Carpentier became uncooperative and made statements indicating that he had a gun. He refused to come out of the camper, resulting in an hours-long standoff with police. During this time, additional law enforcement agencies responded to the scene, along with the New Hampshire State Police SWAT Unit, and a portion of Battle Street was closed for public safety reasons. After extended negotiations, state police were ultimately able to convince Carpentier to surrender peacefully and exit the camper. Carpentier was taken into custody and charged with obstructing government administration and resisting arrest. The incident remains under investigation, state police said.

The Trump administration is now targeting its mass deportation campaign on Maine, a state with relatively few residents in the United States illegally but notable African refugee communities in its largest cities. The Department of Homeland Security named the operation “Catch of the Day,” an apparent play on Maine’s seafood industry, just as it has done for other enforcement surges, like “Patriot” in Massachusetts, “Metro Surge” in Minnesota and “Midway Blitz” in Chicago. Reports of a surge in immigration arrests have struck fear in immigrant communities of Portland and Lewiston and prompted backlash from Gov. Janet Mills and other Democrats, including a refusal to help ICE agents obscure the identity of their vehicles by issuing undercover license plates. Mills said Wednesday that if federal agents have warrants, they should show them, but if they are separating parents who have committed no crime from their children, they are “only sowing intimidation and fear and fostering division and suspicion among neighbors.” Citizens have formed networks to alert neighborhoods to the presence of ICE agents and bring food to immigrants in their homes. Portland’s superintendent said the school district is developing an online learning plan for its students — more than half of whom aren’t white. Many businesses have posted signs saying ICE agents aren’t welcome. “While we respect the law, we challenge the need for a paramilitary approach,” Portland Mayor Mark Dion said at a news conference Wednesday where he was joined by other local officials. “This council doesn’t stand apart from our immigrant communities, we stand with them.” Portland and Lewiston have thousands of residents of African descent. Somali immigration accelerated in the early 2000s, leaving Maine with one of the nation’s highest Somali populations. Now the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents is causing great anxiety in Portland, said city council member Pious Ali, a native of Ghana. “Our schools have seen about a quarter of immigrants not showing up,” Ali said, and many fear going to work as well: “There are immigrants who live here who work in our hospitals, they work in our schools, they work in our hotels, they are part of the economic engine of our community.” ICE agents don’t need to spread trauma by smashing doors and windows, he said: “The federal government has the ability to contact these people without unleashing fear into our communities.” Portland Councilor Wes Pelletier said business owners, teachers and college students have shared information to alert neighborhoods to enforcement activity, while volunteers have delivered groceries and diapers to families too afraid to go outside. “Every arrest feels like a wound to Portland,” the councilor said. Gov. Janet Mills speaks about increased ICE presence in Maine Mills held a press conference Thursday afternoon, addressing the ICE presence in Maine and the fear that is spreading across the state. “This target of 1,400 people seems pretty broad and we’re hearing that there’s a lot of fear within schools, within the employment community, among businesses who are losing employees who have either been detained or are not showing up…businesses are very worried about being able to carry on, all kinds of businesses who rely on employees who are here legally, lawfully, and who have a good work ethic and a good work record with these employers.” Mills said she’s hearing that many of the people who are being detained or who are on the target list are family members here in Maine, people who are working here in Maine, people who have children in the school system, people who have children in homes in Maine, and people with no criminal records: “And that’s concerning.” “Obviously it’s very disruptive to a child’s life, disruptive to a business, disruptive to a school, to a city and town, and tends to…