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WORLD   US   POLITICS  
Intense Israeli strikes hit Iran and Lebanon as US warns the bombardment will 'surge dramatically'
- DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israeli warplanes pounded Beirut and Tehran on Friday as Iran launched another wave of retaliatory strikes against Israel and Gulf countries. There was no sign of the war letting up on its seventh day, as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned the US air campaign against Iran would "surge dramatically." The strikes in Lebanon were the heaviest since a 2024 ceasefire ended the ...

Source: bostonglobe.com
US   POLITICS  
Why did Trump fire Kristi Noem as DHS secretary; who is Markwayne Mullin?
- United States President Donald Trump has announced that Kristi Noem will be replaced as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), marking the first major change to his cabinet since his re-election. Noem, who has overseen Trump's controversial immigration crackdown, will instead serve as a special envoy for the Shield of the Americas, a newly created security initiative. Her removal follows a tense, ...

Source: aljazeera.com
US   POLITICS  
Tech industry is in tariff hell, even if refunds are automated
- Trade groups urge court to create a simple blueprint for tariff refunds. It has been two weeks since the Supreme Court blocked Donald Trump's emergency tariffs , but an estimated 300,000 US businesses still have no idea if or when they will receive refunds. Economists have estimated that more than $175 billion was unlawfully collected, and the US could end up owing substantially more than that the longer the refund ...

Source: arstechnica.com
US   POLITICS  
Rep. Tony Gonzales drops re-election bid after admitting affair with staffer
- Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent Notifications can be managed in browser preferences. Swipe for next article Gonzales admitted Wednesday to having an affair with Regina Santos-Aviles, who worked in his Uvalde office Representative Tony Gonzales has dropped his bid for re-election after admitting to having an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide. The Texas Republican wrote in a ...

Source: independent.co.uk
US   POLITICS  
DOJ releases missing Epstein files related to a woman who made an allegation against Trump
- The Justice Department on Thursday released previously unseen documents from the Epstein files that included new summaries and notes from interviews the FBI conducted with a woman from South Carolina who made allegations against the late sex offender and President Donald Trump, according to an NBC News analysis. In a series of 2019 interviews with the FBI, the woman said she was a sexual assault victim of Jeffrey ...

Source: nbcnews.com
US   POLITICS  
Contributor: The stars align for Democrats in Texas. Trump is helping them
- If Democrats expect to flip a U.S. Senate seat in Texas, they'll need all the stars to align. This almost never happens, because politics has a way of scrambling the constellations. But on Tuesday, the first star blinked on. I'm referring to state Rep. James Talarico's victory over Rep. Jasmine Crockett in the Democratic primary. Most political prognosticators agree that Talarico, an eloquent young Democrat who ...

Source: news.yahoo.com
US   MARKETS  
Lenders lift mortgage rates as Iran war hits borrowing costs
- UK lenders have begun raising mortgage interest rates as the ongoing conflict in the Middle East has raised fears that inflation will rise and curb further Bank of England rate cuts. Nationwide has increased rates some of its products by up to 0.25%, while HSBC UK and Coventry Building Society have also said they will increase rates. The increases come after changes to the financial market's view of what the Bank ...

Source: bbc.com
POLITICS  
Pentagon labels Anthropic a supply-chain risk
- And Anthropic says it will fight back in court. The US Department of War has issued the first such designation ever applied to an American company, demanding that defence contractors certify they do not use Claude. Anthropic says the action is unlawful and retaliatory. For months, the conversations between Anthropic and the US Department of War were framed, at least publicly, as a negotiation. The San Francisco AI ...

Source: thenextweb.com
WORLD  
Ukrainian troops say their hard-won lessons on Iranian Shaheds apply far beyond their war at home
- The drones Iran is launching at US forces are the same ones Ukraine has fought for years. Ukrainian soldiers say their battlefield experience offers lessons that matter in this fight. Alex Eine, the commander of a small Ukrainian drone unit , said it was "surprising" to see reports out of the Middle East of multimillion-dollar interceptors being used to combat cheap Iranian one-way attack drones. "When long-range ...

Source: businessinsider.com
BUSINESS  
OpenAI's GPT-5.4 doubles down on safety as competition heats up
- Help Net Security newsletters : Daily and weekly news, cybersecurity jobs, open source projects, breaking news – subscribe here! In the midst of recent developments and controversies surrounding a contract with the U.S. Department of Defense, OpenAI released the GPT-5.4 model. The release comes at a time when users are reportedly leaving ChatGPT for rival chatbots , particularly Anthropic's Claude. GPT-5.4 is ...

Source: helpnetsecurity.com
WORLD   POLITICS  
How Iran and Venezuela strikes transform the Trump-Xi trade talks
- The U.S. and Israeli war on Iran has drawn opposition from China and stoked tensions between Beijing and Washington. The military action will set the "mood music" for a high-stakes meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in China, experts say. Before the Trump-Xi summit, top U.S. and Chinese trade officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, are expected ...

Source: cnbc.com
POLITICS  
Trump Straight-Out Says Which Country Could Be Next For Regime Change
- With the administration challenging the Court and Congress, independent reporting is the only thing standing between you and the noise. Your membership funds the courage to ask the hard questions. Don't let the truth be sidelined. Already a member? Cuba appears to be next on Donald Trump 's hit list. But not just yet. The president appeared to suggest U.S.-assisted regime change in the communist-run Caribbean ...

Source: huffpost.com
MEDICINE  
Weight-loss drugs may help treat addiction to multiple substances
- Follow Earth on Google Addiction affects millions of people worldwide, yet treatments often target only one substance at a time. A medication that could reduce cravings for several addictive substances would mark a major shift in addiction treatment. Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report that GLP-1 receptor agonists, a group of medicines used to treat type 2 diabetes and ...

Source: earth.com
Tech Giants Sign Trump's 'Ratepayer Protection Pledge' on AI Data Center Power
- Seven of the nation's largest tech companies signed President Donald Trump's Ratepayer Protection Pledge on Wednesday, agreeing to cover the cost of all power needed to fuel their data centers.  The CEOs of Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and xAI gathered at the White House to sign the  , which Trump first announced last ...

Source: cdn.meritalk.com
US   BUSINESS  
Elon Musk defends tweets in lawsuit alleging they caused Twitter stock to fall before acquisition
- Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... By BARBARA ORTUTAY SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Elon Musk continued to defend his actions in the months leading up to his 2022 purchase of Twitter in court Thursday as he faces a class action lawsuit claiming he misled investors and caused them to lose millions of dollars. The civil trial in San Francisco centers on a class-action lawsuit filed just before Musk took control ...

Source: orlandosentinel.com
TECHNOLOGY  
Google cuts Play Store commission to 20% in Epic settlement - TechBriefly
- The agreement resolves a long-running antitrust dispute between the companies over Google's Play Store policies. Google will reduce its Play Store commissions on in-app purchases to 20% and allow alternative app stores following a settlement with Epic Games. This settlement concludes a multi-year legal dispute concerning alleged anticompetitive practices and reintroduces Epic Games' Fortnite to the Google Play ...

Source: techbriefly.com
Medical schools pledge to increase nutrition education
- HHS announced new voluntary commitments to increase nutrition education within medical schools. According to an agency press release, 53 medical schools across 31 states will provide at least 40 hours of nutrition education, "or implement a 40-hour competency equivalent," beginning in the fall of 2026. HHS will also allocate $5 million through an NIH nutrition education challenge "to support medical schools, ...

Source: healio.com
WORLD  
Drones strike airport, school in Azerbaijan; Iran denies involvement
- March 5 (UPI) -- Drones struck a passenger terminal at Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan International Airport on Thursday, while Iran denies involvement in the attacks. Azerbaijan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its president are blaming Tehran for the attacks, which injured at least two people at the airport terminal. A second drone fell near a school in the village of Shakarabad in the district of Nakchivan. Azerbaijani ...

Source: upi.com
BUSINESS  
Everything Apple Announced This Week, From iPhone 17E to MacBook Neo
- The $599 iPhone 17E kicked off Apple's latest round of product announcements, and the $599 MacBook Neo concluded the flurry. In between, we saw updates to both the MacBook Air and Pro lines, a couple of overdue Studio Display monitor refreshes and a new iPad Air . Whew! It's a lot to keep track of, so I've collected all the news in one place. In reverse chronological order, here are all the new products that Apple ...

Source: cnet.com
Is It Illegal to Bet on Inside Information About the Iran War?
- Is It Really Illegal to Bet on Inside Information About the Iran War? How About MrBeast? Kalshi and Polymarket are creating a new kind of dilemma. Save this article to read it later. Find this story in your account's 'Saved for Later' section. On prediction markets, there are many ways you can make or lose money on America's foreign wars. There's been plenty of demand lately. Before the U.S. captured Nicolás ...

Source: nymag.com
United Airlines introduces new rule for passengers listening to music, videos
- (NEXSTAR) – United Airlines is happy to leave you to your own devices during the flight. They just don't want anyone else to hear them. The Chicago-based airline recently updated its contract of carriage to include a requirement that passengers "use headphones while listening to audio or video content." The new mandate, first reported by CBS News, was added on Feb. 27, according to a spokesperson for United. ...

Source: wfla.com
WORLD  
China sets lowest GDP growth target for decades as it braces for economic slowdown
- 'High-quality growth' target of 4.5-5% outlined at Two Sessions as Chinese premier talks of complex situations at home and abroad China has set its target for GDP growth to a record low of 4.5-5%, the first time since 1991 that the figure has dropped below 5%, reflecting an economic strategy that is shifting away from export-led growth to a model that leaders hope will be more resilient to external shocks. Li ...

Source: theguardian.com
US  
Trader Joe's and Ralphs recall some frozen foods amid glass contamination concerns
- By Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times Trader Joe's, Ralphs and others have recalled some frozen food products amid concerns they may be contaminated with glass. The recalls come weeks after Monrovia, California-based Trader Joe's recalled batches of its private-label chicken fried rice with best-by dates between Sept. 8 and Nov. 17 due to glass. Trader Joe's on Tuesday expanded the recalls to include vegetable fried rice ...

Source: miamiherald.com
US   POLITICS  
Judge slams DeSantis' 'unconstitutional coercion,' reins in his 'terror org' executive 'decree'
- A federal judge blocked Florida's Republican Gov. from enforcing his executive "decree" against the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), concluding that the order to designate the group a "terrorist organization" violated the First Amendment and "bears all the hallmarks of unconstitutional coercion." In a 30-page order on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Mark Walker issued a preliminary injunction, writing ...

Source: lawandcrime.com
Nothing Phone (4a) Pro and New Headphones Arrive in Glorious Pink
- Nothing has taken the wraps off a trio of products including the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro, the more affordable Phone (4a) and the over-ear Headphone (a). All three products come with Nothing's usual touches of stark, minimalist design with transparent materials, affordable prices and more punctuation than you'll find in the British Library. Better yet, they all come in pink.  The Phone (4a) Pro will start at ...

Source: cnet.com
Cisco reveals 2 max-severity defects in firewall management software
- Cisco released information on a pair of max-severity vulnerabilities in its firewall management software Wednesday that unauthenticated, remote attackers could exploit to obtain the highest level of access to the underlying operating system or on affected devices. The vulnerabilities — CVE-2026-20079 and CVE-2026-20131 — affect the web-based interface of Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC) ...

Source: cyberscoop.com
Former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz dies at age 89
- Lou Holtz, the College Football Hall of Fame coach who led Notre Dame to its last national title in 1988, died Wednesday. He was 89. Holtz spent parts of five decades as a college football head coach, leading four programs to Top 25 finishes and six schools to bowl games, an NCAA record. While he didn't last a full season in his lone stint in the NFL with the New York Jets in 1976 and he was dogged by controversy ...

Source: chicago.suntimes.com
Florida family sues Google after AI chatbot allegedly coached suicide
- The case is the latest in a wave of litigation targeting AI companies over chatbot-linked deaths. The family of a Florida man who took his own life filed suit against Google on Wednesday, alleging the company's Gemini AI chatbot spent weeks manufacturing an elaborate delusional fantasy before aiding him in his suicide. Jonathan Gavalas, 36, an executive at his father's debt relief company in Jupiter, Florida, died ...

Source: digitaljournal.com
R.I. Catholic Diocese concealed child sexual abuse, protected accused priest: Report
- PROVIDENCE — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence failed for decades to protect hundreds of children from clergy sexual abuse, and handled accusations of misconduct through "inaction, concealment, and revictimization," according to an investigation released Wednesday by the attorney general's office and Rhode Island State Police. The investigation identified 75 clergy , including 61 who were diocesan ...

Source: bostonglobe.com
Patriots releasing Stefon Diggs after one chaotic season
- Stefon Diggs will be looking for his fourth different team in as many seasons in 2026.  The Patriots informed the veteran wide receiver that they would be releasing him at the start of the new league year next week, according to multiple reports, ending a brief and bumpy tenor for the football star.  New England signed Diggs to a three-year, $65 million deal last offseason — but the decision to ...

Source: nypost.com
Harry Styles on Liam Payne's death: 'It's so difficult to lose a friend who is so like you in so many ways'
- The musician reflected on the death of his former One Direction bandmate in an interview with Zane Lowe to promote his new album Harry Styles has reflected on the death of his One Direction bandmate Liam Payne in a new interview with Zane Lowe. "It's so difficult to lose a friend," Styles said. "It's difficult to lose any friend, but it's so difficult to lose a friend who is so like you in so many ways." Styles was ...

Source: theguardian.com