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Trump officials have tried to justify ICE shootings
This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here. Just a few hours after Border Patrol agents shot and killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a statement that said, without evidence, that the 37-year-old registered nurse “wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem would later imply Pretti had been “asked to show up and to continue to resist” by Minnesota’s governor. Multiple videos from the scene immediately undercut those claims, and there has been no indication in the days since that Pretti threatened or planned to hurt law enforcement. Several high-profil… |
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Trump to raise US global tariff to 15 percent after Supreme Court ruling
United States President Donald Trump has doubled down on his new global tariffs, raising them from 10 percent to 15 percent, days after the Supreme Court struck down his sweeping levies on imports. The move on Saturday came as businesses and governments around the world sought repayment for the estimated $133bn that Washington has already collected. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump announced the raise “effective immediately” and said the move was based on a review of the “ridiculous, poorly written and extraordinarily anti-American decision” issued by the Supreme Court on Friday. By a six-to-three vote, the court had ruled that it was unconstitutional for Trump to unilaterally s… |
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A few Senate races will decide the future of America
Editorial The American presidency draws the cameras, the rallies, the chants. The Senate decides what survives the morning after. Long after the campaign buses pull away and the victory speeches decay into archive footage, it is the upper chamber that writes the terms of governance: who gets confirmed, which laws live or die, whether crises are met with action or theater. Control of the United States Senate is not a procedural detail. It is the difference between a country that can act and one that performs its arguments until time runs out. This election cycle is saturated with noise—culture war skirmishes, personality feuds, the endless re-litigation of the last decade. Yet the Senate map … |
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AI companies accused of copyrighted infringement
Opinion | Editorial The open letter signed by Scarlett Johansson and hundreds of other creatives didn’t land because it was polite. It landed because it said the quiet part out loud: training commercial AI systems on copyrighted work without permission is theft dressed up as inevitability. The industry has spent years insisting this was a philosophical debate about progress. It isn’t. It’s a business choice—and a corrosive one. The letter, organized through the Human Artistry Campaign, rejects the soothing language that has insulated AI companies from accountability. “Learning,” “absorption,” “transformation.” These words are doing legal work, not descriptive work. They exist to blur a simpl… |
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Kansas town is getting an underground nuclear reactor and splits the townspeople
The so-called Gravity Reactor is being proposed by a California-based start-up company from a father-daughter duo, Liz Muller and Richard Muller Removed from bookmarks A pilot project to bury a nuclear reactor one mile underneath a town in Kansas has split the opinion of local residents, with some fearing the environmental impacts while others hope it will create economic opportunities. The so-called Gravity Reactor is being proposed by Deep Fission, a California-based start-up from a father-daughter duo, Liz Muller and Richard Muller, emeritus professor of physics at University of California, and an inventor. It will be the first time a commercial nuclear reactor operates underground. The s… |
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Daughter and son-in-law charged with killing four family members in 2015
Shocking new charges have been brought in the case of a family that was brutally murdered in their homes on Halloween night in 2015. Cathy Scott, her husband Michael Scott, Mr Scott's mother, Barbara, and Ms Scott's mother, Violet Taylor, were murdered on Halloween night in 2015. Now, the couple’s daughter, Amy Vilardi, and her husband, Rosmore "Ross" Vilardi, have been arrested and charged in their deaths. Ms Vilardi and her husband were featured in tearful television interviews following the murders, but are now considered the prime suspects in the slayings, according to The Daily Beast. The four adults were found shot and killed in their homes in Pendleton, South Carolina, on 2 November 2… |
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UFC fighting cage rises on White House lawn for US and Trump celebrations
Yet another White House construction project is under way in the United States, though this one is meant to be only temporary. Crews are erecting an octagon-shaped cage on the South Lawn that will host next month’s Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bout, marking the nation’s 250th anniversary and President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday. Online renderings depict what the completed, wire-mesh-fence-ringed fight space is expected to look like before the June 14 event. It will be ringed by a red, white and blue stage under a towering arch featuring stars-and-stripes patterns and two large screens showing the action live. The cage and stage will themselves be surrounded by thousands of temporar… |
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How OC Innovators Are Winning the Last Mile of Artificial Intelligence
For years, the artificial intelligence conversation was dominated by a handful of technology giants investing billions into massive data centers, specialized chips and large language models. But a different story is unfolding in Orange County, where a growing wave of “AI-native” startups is proving that innovation doesn’t always require building the foundation models themselves. Instead, local entrepreneurs are focusing on what many industry observers call the “last mile” of AI: applying increasingly accessible open-source and commercial AI models to solve highly specific business problems. The result is a surge in enterprise workflow automation and industry-specific AI applications that are… |
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Attack on Downtown Lviv Ukraine by Russian Drones in Broad Daylight
During the middle of the day on Tuesday, Russian soldiers attacked the center of Lviv, a historic city in western Ukraine that had been mostly untouched by the devastating conflict in other regions of the nation, using drones. Authorities issued a warning that the number of casualties from the unexpected attack, which left more than a dozen people injured, may increase. "Lviv hospitals are already treating thirteen injured people," Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said in an online post. More and more people are falling prey to this epidemic.The regional governor issued a shelter-in-place alert to the people. How did Ukraine defeat Iran's Shahed drones? What can the United States take out from this? The… |
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Stock markets surge as Trump calls off strikes on Iran
Stock markets have surged following US President Donald Trump’s announcement that he called off planned strikes against Iran and a peace deal with Tehran is imminent. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P500 index finished nearly 1.8 percent higher on Thursday, ending a three-day streak of losses for the biggest single-day gain since April. The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.5 percent, while the older, blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average gained about 1.9 percent. The rally continued in the Asia Pacific on Friday, with markets in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Australia racking up gains. South Korea’s Kospi, the best-performing major index this year, surged more than 8 percent in… |
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The assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will likely backfire
A favourite tactic of war is to try to decapitate the enemy leadership. While such strategies might work in certain contexts, in the Middle East, they have proven to be a disastrous choice. For sure, the assassination of an enemy leader might give a quick boost of popularity amid war. Certainly, United States President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are basking in the limelight of their perceived “success” in assassinating Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. But killing an 86-year-old man who had already been planning his succession due to his ill health is not that much of a feat considering the overwhelming firepower that the US and Israel together possess. Mor… |
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Oscars security tighter than ever with 1 mile police buffer amid Iran war
It’s been more than two decades since the Oscars were celebrated as the United States was launching a war in the Middle East. In 2003, the Academy Awards ceremony at the Dolby Theatre occurred just days after U.S. troops invaded Iraq, elevating security concerns surrounding Hollywood’s biggest night so much that they tightened security like never before. This time around — with concerns heightened not only because of a war with Iran, but also a recent shooting at a university in Virginia and an attack on a synagogue in Michigan — security is going to be even more ironclad, authorities said. The dialed-up security, law enforcement and Oscars officials emphasize, is precautionary and there are… |
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The Climate Emergency Governments Still Pretend Is Optional
GENEVA — A coalition of scientists and public health experts this week urged the World Health Organization to formally declare climate change a global public health emergency, escalating pressure on governments as new projections warn 2026 could become one of the hottest and most destructive climate years ever recorded. The demand arrives at a moment of extraordinary contradiction. Governments across Europe, North America, and Asia now openly acknowledge the dangers of climate change while simultaneously approving new fossil fuel projects, subsidizing oil and gas production, and delaying emissions targets that scientists say are already dangerously inadequate. The WHO panel’s argument was bl… |
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Mad as Hell and Tired of Dictators
Letter to the Editor Title: Mad as Hell and Tired of Dictators Author Tim Crestin Look, I ain’t no professor. I’m just a guy who works with his hands. Welding torch, pizza boxes, grocery aisles—you name it, I’ve done it. I’m scrappin’ pennies for journalism school ’cause I still believe words matter. But lemme tell ya, right now I feel like I belong on another planet. This one? It’s busted. Here’s the truth nobody wants to spit out: there’s always gonna be some two-bit wannabe dictator struttin’ around, puffin’ his chest, promisin’ he’s gonna fix everything. That ain’t the shock. The shock is how many nitwits line up to vote for him. The “big man” lovers, the angry mugs, the ones who think s… |
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After the Supreme Court ruling on tariffs companies line up for refunds
By The Associated Press Containers are stacked at the Port of Long Beach Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, in Long Beach, Calif. Damian Dovarganes/AP hide caption WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday struck down President Donald Trump's biggest and boldest tariffs. But the justices left a $133 billion question unanswered: What's going to happen to the money the government has already collected in import taxes now declared unlawful? Companies have been lining up for refunds. But the way forward could prove chaotic. When the smoke clears, trade lawyers say, importers are likely to get money back — eventually. "It's going to be a bumpy ride for awhile," said trade lawyer Joyce Adetutu, a partner at th… |
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Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann sentenced to life in prison without parole for killing 8 women over 2 decades
Rex Heuermann, the Gilgo Beach serial murderer, was sentenced to life in prison without parole, bringing an emotional finish to a decades-long murder case that tormented Long Island. Families clapped and applauded in the courtroom Wednesday when Judge Timothy Mazzei imposed the sentence. “You are disgusting — a despicable man if you are a man at all,” the judge told Heuermann. “And you are a coward.” At sentence, Heuermann was allowed to speak and declared, “I am guilty of everything that was said in this room. What I would say is meaningless.” “Are you even a little bit sorry?” “Yes,” Mazzei inquired, and Heuermann nodded and seemed to say. Heuermann’s ex-wife Asa Ellerup and their two grow… |
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She woke to an eight-foot python coiled on her chest
Opinion | Human Interest Perspective The weight came first, pressing down in a way that felt intentional before it felt impossible. Warm. Dense. Alive. For a split second, the mind tried to soften it into something familiar, because that is what the brain does when the alternative is too large to accept all at once. Then her eyes opened fully, the pattern resolved itself, and the truth asserted its shape. She did not move. That decision, made in the narrow space between panic and understanding, is the only reason the story ends where it does. Pythons do not need to strike to kill. They do not rush. They wait. They respond. They tighten only when prompted, reading movement as resistance and r… |
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LinkedIn Discriminating Against Asians and Disabled People
Letters to the Editor Dear Editor. I hope you will publish my letter. LinkedIn.com refuses to communicate. My name is Pham Hoang. I created an account on their platform and even published a well-written article about space exploration. Despite following all their many rules for account creation, they restricted my account. I cannot use it, which feels as if it has been restricted for no valid reason. LinkedIn requested my ID, and I submitted my Vietnamese government passport. Twice. However, after I sent it to them, LinkedIn immediately restricted my account, which suggests that the platform discriminates against Vietnamese citizens. I can think of no other explanation. I am a poor Vietnames… |
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Wellness Influencer Gabriela Martins Santos de Moura Dead at 31 After IVF Procedure Complications
Wellness influencer Gabriela Martins Santos de Moura has died after undergoing an IVF procedure. She was 31. Brazilian website G1 reported that Santos de Moura’s family confirmed she died on Tuesday, February 24, due to complications from the operation. Her cousin, Nahiza Monteles, told the outlet that she went into cardiorespiratory arrest at a private clinic in São Paulo. Santos de Moura was transferred to a hospital and remained there for eight days while in a coma, according to G1. Monteles told the outlet that the family authorized the donation of her organs. Santos de Moura, who had more than 7,000 followers on Instagram, married Samuel Moura in 2018. She died one day after their eight… |
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The Epstein Files and the Machinery of Forgetting
Editorial The first instinct of power, when threatened, is not denial but delay. Delay until outrage exhausts itself, until headlines thin, until the public grows bored or distracted or numb. The newly unsealed Jeffrey Epstein-related documents land in public view with the weight of something both familiar and unfinished, a reminder not merely of a disgraced financier and the crimes that orbited him, but of how expertly the machinery of forgetting has been engineered. These files do not arrive as a revelation in the cinematic sense. There is no single smoking gun, no neat moral closure. Instead, they arrive like sediment, layer upon layer of testimony, allegation, recollection, and evasion. … |