In the day's other headlines, much of the country is bracing for what weather officials are calling an expansive weekend winter storm as frigid temperatures and snow are hitting the Great Lakes and parts of the northeast.

So-called lake effect snow is already pummeling places like upstate New York, causing white-out conditions on the roads.

By Friday, Arctic air will reach farther south,

with more than two dozen states expected to see some combination of heavy snow, freezing rain,

and ice through Sunday. Forecasters warn the weather could knock out power and heat to hundreds

of thousands of Americans and disrupt travel for days. Nearly 20 nations have now said they will join President Trump's Board of Peace.

That's according to an Associated Press tally.

Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates

issued a joint statement today saying they've accepted

Trump's invitation. Earlier Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said he would join,

after his office initially objected to the makeup of its members. And Italian Prime Minister

Georgia Maloney says Italy needs more time to consider the invitation due to constitutional concerns, but she remains

open to joining. Meanwhile, Sweden and France said today they won't take part. A court in Japan

sentenced the man who killed former Prime Minister Shinso Abe to life in prison today. Tetsuya Yamagami

admitted to assassinating Abe during a campaign event in

2022 in a bid to expose ties between Japanese politicians and a controversial South Korean church.

The 45-year-old is said to have blamed the Unification Church for his family's financial problems

after his mother began making massive donations and neglecting her family.

Yamagami's lawyer said the sentence was regrettable and did not take into account his client's difficult upbringing.

The aspect most closely tied to the motive for this crime is to put it simply, the misery he endured since his minor years due to his mother joining the Unification Church.

Yamagami's lawyers say they'll consider an appeal after consulting with their client.

A judge in Virginia has temporarily blocked government officials from reviewing materials seized from a Washington Post reporter's home last week.

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