CNN 5 Things

Hey, from CNN, I'm Ifeoma Dike with the five things you need to know for Thursday, February 26th.

'Former First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is testifying behind closed doors for House lawmakers in New York as part of a Congressional Jeffrey Epstein investigation. While Clinton remained defiant that she had no information regarding the late convicted sex offenders' criminal activities and that of his co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell. Top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Robert Garcia, said Clinton is cooperating and answering questions in good faith.

Secretary Clinton never met Jeffrey Epstein. She never visited the island. She never flew on his plane. She also had no knowledge of Jeffrey Epstine's horrific crime. So zero knowledge.

Former President Bill Clinton is expected to appear tomorrow, and Garcia says it sets precedent for the committee to depose President Donald Trump.

We should oppose the person that is mentioned in the Epstein files almost more than any other person next to Colleen Maxwell and that's Donald Trump.

'We should note there are no plans to depose President Trump, and neither Trump nor Clinton have been accused by law enforcement of any wrongdoing related to Epstein. This all comes as a new CNN analysis found more than 100 redaction errors in the Epstein files that the Justice Department posted online last month, including unredacted nude photos and personal data on passports and driver's licenses. The DOJ re-uploaded the images with proper redactions.

More news when we come back, including a surprise meeting at the White House.

'A third round of nuclear talks between the U.S. And Iran in Geneva ended without a major breakthrough like a finalized deal, but showed signs of progress. That's what sources familiar with the meeting tell CNN. Iran's foreign minister said elements of a potential agreement are taking shape. Both sides are expected to meet again in Vienna next week, as mediators hope to avoid a potential military escalation. US Officials also met with Ukrainian and Russian negotiators in Geneva for the latest round of talks on the war in Ukraine. Kyiv's delegation met with U.S. Envoy Steve Wyckoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner to talk about a, quote, prosperity package to rebuild Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says the next round of negotiations will likely be held in Abu Dhabi next month.

Pakistan says its military forces are responding to an attack launched by the Afghan Taliban earlier today. It marks the latest escalation of violence between the neighboring countries. Pakistan claimed that its army killed 36 Afghan Taliban fighters, injuring many others, and that multiple Afghan military posts and equipment have been destroyed. Afghanistan didn't immediately respond to the claims. Earlier Thursday, Afghanistan's military launched an offensive on Pakistani positions. Calling it a retaliation for weekend airstrikes that left at least 18 people dead.

President Trump met with the New York City mayor, Zoran Mamdani, in Washington, D.C., today. Mamdiani wrote on X that he had a productive meeting with Trump this afternoon, and he's looking forward to building more housing in New York city. Shortly after, he posted that he spoke on the phone with the president regarding the Columbia University student detained by federal immigration officers this morning. The mayor said Trump told him the student will be released eminently. CNN has reached out to the White House. The student later posted on social media that she'd been released. The meeting comes just days after Trump mentioned the mayor in his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, calling Mom Donnie a nice guy. The visit was unannounced, citing no public events on the mayor's schedule as of Wednesday night.

Coming up, a buyer bright spot in the housing market.

Hey, welcome back. CNN's Samantha Delouya is here with good news for people looking to purchase a home.

'Hi, Ifeoma. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate dropped to 5.98% this week, the lowest level in three and a half years. That's a sharp turnaround from early last year when rates were hovering above 7%. And lower rates are already boosting buying power. Zillow says the typical U.S. Household can now afford a home priced about $30,000 higher than a year ago. But there's still a catch. Home prices are up roughly 50% since 2020 and remain near record highs, meaning for many buyers relief may be noticeable, but not transformative.

For us, our next episode drops at 7 a.m. Eastern.