Good morning. It's Wednesday, Feb. 12, and we're covering a ceasefire deal in jeopardy, the winner of an annual dog show, and much more. First time reading? Join over 4 million intellectually curious readers. Sign up here.
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President Donald Trump met with Jordan's King Abdullah II at the White House yesterday, reiterating his proposal to control and develop the Gaza Strip while relocating 2 million Palestinians to neighboring countries. Though Abdullah dismissed the proposal last week, he offered to receive 2,000 sick Palestinian children in the meeting. An estimated 5,000 children are critically ill in the territory.
Jordan, as well as most Arab states, condemns the idea of resettling more Palestinians in their countries, with Jordanian lawmakers proposing a bill last week banning the policy. Israel's eastern neighbor hosts more Palestinian refugees than any other country, with more than 2 million registered and accounting for 20% of the country's population.
The talks come as the three-week-old ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip faces a potential breakdown. Hamas warned Monday it would pause hostage releases due to reported Israeli violations of the ceasefire, prompting Israel to threaten to end the truce this weekend. |
Monty the Giant Schnauzer |
Monty, a giant schnauzer, was crowned Best in Show yesterday at the 2025 Westminster Kennel Club dog competition—the second-longest continuously held sporting event in the US (behind the Kentucky Derby).
The 149th prestigious US canine show (see overview), which began in 1877, returned to its traditional home at Madison Square Garden in New York City after a four-year hiatus. Over three days, roughly 2,500 pampered pups representing 201 breeds competed for Best of Breed, with the winners of those categories competing against each other in their broader respective groups.
A total of seven dogs then competed for Best in Show. Those dogs included Monty (working group); Bourbon the Whippet (hound group), who won the runner-up prize; Freddie the English Springer Spaniel (sporting group); Archer the Skye Terrier (terrier group); Comet the Shih Tzu (toy group); Neal the Bichon Frisé (non-sporting group); and Mercedes the German Shepherd (herding group).
See the winners here and photos from the Westminster Dog Show here. |
Steve Bannon pleaded guilty yesterday to one felony count of fraud in connection with a fundraising campaign that aimed to construct a wall along the US-Mexico border. The former adviser to President Donald Trump will avoid prison time and restitution payments in exchange for a three-year conditional discharge.
The initiative, launched in 2018, raised more than $20M by promising donors 100% of their contributions would fund the construction of the wall. Prosecutors alleged Bannon funneled some of the donor money to pay salaries and personal expenses. Bannon maintains that he did not personally profit. He received a federal pardon from Trump in 2021 for similar charges; however, state prosecutors pursued the case independently, as presidential pardons do not apply to state crimes. Two codefendants have already been convicted and sentenced.
Bannon's plea deal bars him from fundraising for or managing charitable organizations in New York. This marks Bannon's second criminal conviction after serving four months in federal prison for contempt of Congress last year. |
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The Smartphone Story Isn’t Over Yet… |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> Super Bowl LIX hauls in 127.7 million viewers across all platforms, a new record and 3% jump over last year (More) | UEFA Champions League knockout phase kicks off; see latest matchups (More) |
> Shopify pulls down Yeezy website run by Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, after the online store began selling T-shirts with swastikas on them (More) |
> YouTube viewership via TV surpasses phone and desktop viewing for first time (More) | Disney to change content warnings ahead of some classic films as part of overhaul to company DEI policies (More) |
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> Tests of AI chatbots suggest platforms struggle to answer questions about the news roughly half the time; about one in five answers include factual errors (More) |
> Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD to add self-driving capabilities across its auto lines, including the roughly $10K economy Seagull hatchback; BYD passed Tesla as world's biggest EV maker last year (More) | The best resources on electric vehicles (1440 Topics) |
> Researchers report third known case of resistance to inherited Alzheimer's; man in his mid-70s shows no cognitive decline despite genetic mutation causing symptoms around age 50 (More) | Everything we know about Alzheimer's and how it works (1440 Topics) |
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> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 +0.0%, Dow +0.3%, Nasdaq -0.4%) as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell urges caution on rate cuts, says central bank won't create its own digital currency (More) |
> Consumer Financial Protection Bureau senior leaders announce resignations after acting Director Russell Vought instructs staff to cease working (More) | Drone maker Anduril Industries to take over managing Microsoft's $22B augmented reality headset program for US Army (More) |
> Activist investor Elliott Investment Management builds more than $2.5B stake in Phillips 66, wants the energy company to sell or spin off its oil transport and storage unit (More) |
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> US Senate expected to hold vote today for Tulsi Gabbard's confirmation for director of national intelligence (More) | President Donald Trump and Elon Musk appear together to defend efforts to downsize federal government and limit spending (More) |
> Ukraine offers rare earth deal to President Donald Trump in exchange for more US military aid; rare earth elements are essential to consumer technology, including cellphones and hard drives (More) | American schoolteacher Marc Fogel released from Russian custody after his 2021 arrest on drug charges (More) |
> Dual winter storms to bring heavy snow, ice, and severe weather from the US Midwest to the East Coast this week; largest snowfall of up to 12 inches to hit Washington, DC, area (More) |
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Big Data’s Worst Nightmare |
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