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US   POLITICS  
Trump halts $250M in Medicaid payments to Minnesota over alleged fraud
- Feb. 25 (UPI) -- The Trump administration announced Wednesday it is pausing more than a quarter-billion dollars in Medicaid payments to Minnesota over alleged fraud, a move state officials called the latest act of political retribution against a Democratic-led state. "We are going to start very aggressively in the administration cracking down on people and the organizations that are defrauding Americans," Vice ...

Source: upi.com
US   BUSINESS   TECHNOLOGY  
Samsung Unpacked: S26 Ultra holds $1,300 price despite rising costs - TechBriefly
- The base S26 and S26+ models received a $100 price hike to $900 and $1,100, a move Samsung attributed to a worldwide shortage of RAM components. Samsung held its latest Unpacked event at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco on Wednesday, unveiling the Galaxy S26 smartphone lineup and redesigned Galaxy Buds 4 earbuds. The event took place ahead of Mobile World Congress, positioning the new devices for immediate ...

Source: techbriefly.com
US  
How Jeffrey Epstein sought to infiltrate the justice system
- By and Jeffrey Epstein didn't beat the justice system by accident. For decades, the New York financier curated a network of influential people — politicians, business titans, media figures and academics — whom he leveraged to build his fortune and restore his reputation after he had been accused of preying on underage girls in South Florida in 2008. While much of the spotlight has been on the elite ...

Source: miamiherald.com
WORLD   POLITICS  
US and Iran hold another round of indirect nuclear talks as American forces mass in Mideast
- GENEVA (AP) — Iran and the United States were holding another round of indirect talks in Geneva on Thursday to try to reach a deal on Tehran's nuclear program and potentially avert another war as the U.S. gathers a massive fleet of aircraft and warships in the Middle East. U.S. President Donald Trump wants a deal to constrain Iran's nuclear program, and he sees an opportunity while the country is struggling ...

Source: apnews.com
US  
What to know about the LA superintendent whose home was searched by FBI
- Los Angeles schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, who has developed a reputation for improving academics and graduation rates while leading two major U.S. districts, had his home searched Wednesday by the FBI as part of a federal investigation. Agents served search warrants at the home as well as the headquarters of the Los Angeles Unified School District and a location near Miami, where Carvalho was ...

Source: apnews.com
US  
Armada Joins VAST Cosmos as a Technology Partner to Deliver Distributed, Sovereign AI Factories
- , a leader in distributed edge and remote infrastructure, announced it has joined the VAST Cosmos Community, a global community of developers, builders, and experts in innovative AI solutions, through strategic collaboration with VAST Data, the AI Operating System company, to deliver a new generation of private, distributed, and global AI factories. Together, the companies provide an integrated solution ...

Source: aithority.com
WORLD   POLITICS  
The father of a US-based Hong Kong activist is sentenced to 8 months under national security law
- HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong court sentenced the father of a U.S.-based activist to eight months in prison Thursday for attempting to withdraw some funds from his daughter's insurance policy, in the first case against a family member of a pro-democracy advocate wanted by the city's authorities brought under a national security law . Kwok Yin-sang, 69, was found guilty earlier this month of attempting to deal ...

Source: apnews.com
Nvidia sees 94% surge in Q1 sales: Chipmaker reports strong AI-driven growth - The
- Chipmaker Nvidia reported stronger-than-expected results for the January quarter on Wednesday. The company also projected current-quarter revenue above market estimates, fueled by strong spending on artificial-intelligence processors by Big Tech companies. The company posted sales of $68.13 billion for the quarter, up 94% from a year ago, exceeding analysts' estimate of $66.21 billion. Adjusted earnings came in at ...

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Global Cyber Agencies Urge Immediate Patching of Cisco SD-WAN Zero Day
- Government security agencies in the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have urged Cisco customers to take immediate action to patch a critical zero-day bug in their SD-WAN kit that has been exploited since 2023. CVE-2026-20127 is an authentication bypass vulnerability in the peering authentication in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller (formerly SD-WAN vSmart) and Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager (formerly SD-WAN ...

Source: infosecurity-magazine.com
Trump unveiled a plan to match retirement savings up to $1,000. Here's what Americans need to know.
- Trump's State of the Union address could be good news for hopeful retirees. President Donald Trump proposed an expansion of retirement savings for Americans without 401(k)s and other employer-provided retirement plans during his Tuesday speech. He said the federal government will soon match individual savings up to $1,000 a year. Over 40 million Americans who work full-time don't have a retirement plan, and nearly ...

Source: businessinsider.com
MEDICINE   SCIENCE  
Some 80-year-olds still have razor-sharp brains — and now scientists know why
- You can now listen to Fox News articles! Older adults classified as "SuperAgers" generate at least twice as many neurons in the hippocampus than their typical aging peers, a new study has revealed. These findings, released on Wednesday by the University of Illinois Chicago and Northwestern University, could help explain why SuperAgers have exceptional memory and cognitive resilience even well past 80 years old. ...

Source: foxnews.com
US   POLITICS  
Trump's Favorite Voter-ID Bill Would Probably Backfire
- Politics Trump's Favorite Voter-ID Bill Would Probably Backfire Congressional Republicans are trying to pass a strict "election integrity" law that seems almost custom-designed to disenfranchise their own supporters. Save On the surface, the debate over the SAVE America Act is familiar, even predictable. At Donald Trump's urging, Republicans are pushing yet another voter-ID bill, ostensibly to prevent fraud and ...

Source: theatlantic.com
POLITICS  
'Inhumane': Nearly Blind Refugee Found Dead After Border Patrol Agents Left Him Miles From Home
- 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, join Huff Already a member? A nearly blind refugee was found dead in Buffalo, N.Y., after Border Patrol agents abandoned him miles from his home, the Investigative Post, a local news ...

Source: huffpost.com
WORLD   POLITICS  
Ukraine says Russia launched a major aerial attack ahead of Geneva talks with US
- KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched a barrage of 420 drones and 39 missiles at Ukraine overnight, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday, as U.S. and Ukrainian envoys prepared to hold more talks in Geneva on ending the war that is now in its fifth year. The nighttime bombardment, which included 11 ballistic missiles, targeted critical infrastructure and residential areas across eight regions of Ukraine, ...

Source: bostonglobe.com
WORLD   POLITICS  
U.S. to offer passport services in illegally occupied West Bank
- Feb. 26 (UPI) -- The United States will offer passport services for the first time in Israeli settlements in the illegally occupied West Bank. The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem announced in a statement Wednesday that in an effort to reach all Americans, consular officers "will be providing routine passport services in Efrat on Friday." The move is expected to draw criticism from foreign governments and human rights ...

Source: upi.com
'Women aren't less than': US hockey team responds to Trump's 'distasteful' joke
- Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent Notifications can be managed in browser preferences. Swipe for next article Trump told the men's team at the weekend he'd risk impeachment if he didn't invite the women's team to Washington Members of the U.S. women's hockey team have expressed disappointment at President Donald Trump's "distasteful" joke about being forced to invite them to Washington, ...

Source: independent.co.uk
US   POLITICS  
Trump's Casey Means Won't Say If Parents Should Vaccinate Children Against Measles
- Trump's Surgeon General Pick Supports Vaccines–But Doesn't Say If She Encourages Parents To Vaccinate Children Against Measles Dr. Casey Means, President Donald Trump's nominee for surgeon general, said she believed "vaccines save lives," but stopped short of agreeing she would encourage mothers to vaccinate their children with the MMR vaccine amid the worst Testifying before the Senate Health, Education, ...

Source: forbes.com
US   POLITICS  
Trump abuse allegations withheld from Epstein files
- Missing pages from documents release reportedly contain allegations that president forced a victim's head 'towards his exposed penis' The US justice department withheld documents from the that allege Donald Trump sexually abused a minor, according to reports. More than 50 pages missing from the release contain notes from several interviews the FBI conducted with a woman who claimed she was abused by Mr Trump in ...

Source: telegraph.co.uk
US   POLITICS  
As electric bills rise, Trump says tech companies should pay more
- WASHINGTON — In a nod to voter frustration over rising electricity prices, President Trump on Tuesday said he was negotiating pledges from major tech companies to pay a greater share of the energy costs associated with new data centers. Silicon Valley is spending hundreds of billions of dollars to build power-hungry data centers for artificial intelligence as demand for electricity is increasing across the ...

Source: bostonglobe.com
US   POLITICS  
Bill Gates reportedly apologizes, admits to two affairs in candid town hall
- Bill Gates spoke with Gates Foundation staff members about newly released documents showing his ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Gates "took responsibility for his actions," a foundation spokesperson said. The Microsoft co-founder also told staff he had an affair with two Russian women, The Wall Street Journal reported. Bill Gates, chair of the Gates Foundation, speaks at the Bloomberg Philanthropies 2025 ...

Source: cnbc.com
Hegseth Demands Anthropic Let Military Use AI However It Wants—Even for Autonomous Killer Drones and Spying On Americans
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has threatened to punish the artificial intelligence company Anthropic if it doesn't let the Pentagon use its technology however it wants—apparently even to create autonomous killer drones or conduct surveillance of Americans. Anthropic's powerful AI model, Claude, is currently the only one permitted to handle classified military data, and the company was awarded a $200 million ...

Source: commondreams.org
BUSINESS  
US tariffs could rise to 15% or more after supreme court blow, trade representative says
- Jamieson Greer warns tariffs may climb from 10% after Trump imposed global levy amid US supreme court setback The US tariff rate for some countries will go up to 15% or higher from the newly imposed 10%, Jamieson Greer, the US trade representative, said on Wednesday, without naming any specific trading partners or other details. "Right now, we have the 10% tariff. It'll go up to 15 [%] for some and then it may go ...

Source: theguardian.com
US   POLITICS  
David Ellison Sweetens Paramount's WBD Offer With a Washington Playbook
- David Ellison is taking his bid for Warner Bros. Discovery into Washington, pairing a higher cash offer with a political strategy aimed at outflanking Netflix in what could become the defining media acquisition of the decade. Paramount Skydance , the company Ellison leads after his Skydance Media acquired Paramount last year, raised its offer yesterday (Feb. 24) to $31 per share, up from $30, to buy all of WBD. ...

Source: observer.com
TECHNOLOGY  
Discord admits it made a mistake, postpones age verification
- Discord admits mistakes in its age verification approach and is postponing the rollout until the second half of 2026 after user backlash. The storm of criticism against Discord's decision to start requiring "age verification" seems to be putting the company in a sweat—enough to change course, at least temporarily. For starters, Discord recently announced that it is cutting ties and distancing itself from ...

Source: pcworld.com
US   POLITICS  
Judge rules Trump administration's policy for "third-country" deportations is unlawful
- Washington — A federal judge ruled Wednesday that a Department of Homeland Security policy that allows immigration authorities to deport migrants to "third countries" that are not their own, without first giving them notice or the opportunity to object, is unlawful. U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy in Massachusetts  sided with a group of noncitizens who filed a class-action lawsuit against the Department ...

Source: cbsnews.com
US   POLITICS  
Judge doesn't trust DOJ with search of devices seized from Wash. Post reporter
- Court to search devices itself instead of letting government have full access. A federal court will conduct a search of devices seized from a Washington Post reporter after a magistrate judge decided yesterday that the Department of Justice cannot be trusted to perform the search on its own. US Magistrate Judge William Porter criticized government prosecutors for not including key information in a search warrant ...

Source: arstechnica.com
Epstein files: Nobel winner Axel quits Columbia U. brain institute over friendship with predator
- Dr. Richard Axel, a Nobel Prize-winning scientist, said he is stepping down as co-director of Columbia University's Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute on the heels of his association with notorious sex predator Jeffrey Epstein drawing public attention. "My past association with Jeffrey Epstein was a serious error in judgment, which I deeply regret," Axel said. Axel won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine ...

Source: cnbc.com
US  
Trump Awards Medal of Honor to Pilot Shot Four Times Capturing Maduro
- President Donald Trump announced the Medal of Honor for Army Chief Warrant Officer 5 Eric Slover at the conclusion of his State of the Union address, recognizing the helicopter pilot for actions during a January raid in Venezuela that captured President Nicolás Maduro. Lieutenant General Jonathan Braga, the commanding general of Joint Special Operations Command, placed the medal around Slover's neck in the ...

Source: bradenton.com
A discrimination lawsuit against ART highlights a pain point: hair
- For more than five years, the American Repertory Theater has made no secret of its ambition to become an anti-racist organization. The Harvard University-based theater has published Indigenous land acknowledgments, hired consultants, and posted a series of reports that chronicle its effort to embed "anti-racism as a core value." So it was perhaps surprising when a Black actor sued the theater last week for race ...

Source: bostonglobe.com
WORLD  
Narendra Modi, Benjamin Netanyahu reunite as Indian PM speaks in Israel
- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi gives a speech at the Knesset Plenum on Feruary 25, 2025. (source: GPO) praised the shared bond between Israel and India during a Knesset plenum address on Wednesday, while outlining plans to strengthen relations by working together in innovation, technology, and economic advancement.  "The friendship between Israel and India remains a source of strength in an uncertain ...

Source: jpost.com
Musk has no proof OpenAI stole xAI trade secrets, judge rules, tossing lawsuit
- Even twisting an ex-employee's text to favor xAI's reading fails to sway judge. Elon Musk appears to be grasping at straws in a lawsuit accusing OpenAI of poaching eight xAI employees in an allegedly unlawful bid to access xAI trade secrets connected to its data centers and chatbot, Grok. In a Tuesday order granting OpenAI's motion to dismiss, US District Judge Rita F. Lin said that xAI failed to provide evidence ...

Source: arstechnica.com
Kalshi Bans MrBeast Video Editor and Political Candidate Over Insider Trading
- Reading time 4 minutes Kalshi has temporarily banned two people from betting on its platform, a video editor for MrBeast and a former gubernatorial candidate in California, over allegations of insider trading, according to a new blog post from the company. The two men have been issued fines, and their cases are being referred to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Kalshi didn't name the two men in its ...

Source: gizmodo.com
Anthropic Rolls Back Safety Protocols as It Waits to Find Out If It's Being Drafted by the Army
- Reading time 3 minutes Let's run through a hypothetical situation real quick: Let's say you're an AI company that has made your calling card safety, and you are negotiating the use of your technology with the military, which has threatened to punish your business if you don't abandon your principles. You'd like to maintain your position as the safety-conscious company in the AI space, which has garnered you a ...

Source: gizmodo.com
US  
NASA identifies astronaut Mike Fincke as triggering the unprecedented medical evacuation of the ISS
- NASA has shed some light on what triggered the unprecedented medical evacuation of four astronauts from the International Space Station last month. On Wednesday the space agency identified longtime astronaut Mike Fincke, age 58, as having experienced the medical event that led to the decision to bring him and the other three members of NASA's Crew-11 mission home weeks ahead of schedule. "On Jan. 7, while aboard ...

Source: scientificamerican.com
US  
Mamdani's relationship with NYPD gets icy after officers were pelted in a snowball fight
- A massive post-blizzard in New York that ended in police officers being pelted is creating a frosty dispute between Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his own police department. has downplayed the fracas in Washington Square Park as kids simply having some fun. The New York Police Department and its leader, Jessica Tisch, are taking it more seriously. The department is searching for four people — and has begun ...

Source: news4jax.com
MEDICINE  
Nearly 6 in 10 women in the U.S. may have cardiovascular disease in the next 25 years
- Driven by rising rates in high blood pressure, nearly 6 in 10 women in the U.S. will have some type of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the next 25 years, according to a new scientific statement published today in  Circulation , the peer-reviewed, flagship journal of the American Heart Association, a global force changing the future of health for all. Forecasting the Burden of Cardiovascular ...

Source: news-medical.net
US  
Man who stabbed four to death in Washington state had history of mental health issues
- Man, 32, shot dead by deputy after stabbing attack was the subject of domestic violence protection orders A man shot dead by a sheriff's deputy after he fatally stabbed four people outside his mother's home near Gig Harbor, Washington, on Tuesday morning was the subject of domestic violence protection orders recording mental health and substance abuse issues stretching back at least five years. Records reviewed by ...

Source: theguardian.com
US   POLITICS  
Tony Gonzales says he won't resign over an alleged affair with staffer
- Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent Notifications can be managed in browser preferences. Swipe for next article Tony Gonzales allegedly asked his staffer what her 'favorite position' and asked her to send him a 'sexy pic' Texas Congressman Tony Gonzales has hit back at calls for him to resign, as more details continue to emerge about an alleged affair with a staffer who later died by ...

Source: independent.co.uk
New Apple API allows age verification without sharing birth dates - TechBriefly
- Apple is introducing new age verification tools to meet child safety regulations in the United States and several international markets. The company announced on Tuesday that it is expanding its "age assurance" suite, which includes a new Declared Age Range API now available for beta testing. The API allows developers to determine a user's age range without accessing sensitive personal data, such as a date of ...

Source: techbriefly.com
US  
US justice department sues UCLA over alleged antisemitism amid pro-Palestinian protests
- Lawsuit is latest action by Trump administration against a university and escalation of president's feud with California The justice department sued the University of California, Los Angeles on Tuesday, alleging the university created a hostile work environment for Jewish and Israeli faculty and staff after protests against the war on Gaza broke out across campus. The lawsuit claims UCLA violated Title VII of the ...

Source: theguardian.com