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President Donald Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday, signaling a first step toward negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. It was the first conversation between the leaders of both countries since early 2022, and the pair reportedly agreed to visit each other's country to meet in person in the future.
The conversation came as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth laid out a first look at the administration's goals in ending the conflict, describing Ukraine's desire to recover territory lost since 2014—including the strategic Crimean Peninsula—as unrealistic and calling on Ukraine to end its bid to join NATO. Trump reportedly spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shortly after the call with Putin.
In related news, former House Rep. Tulsi Gabbard was confirmed as director of national intelligence in a 52-48 vote, while health secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. advanced to a final floor vote, likely to be held today. They were considered two of the most at-risk Trump nominees. |
Italian officials orchestrated a series of raids in Palermo and neighboring towns Tuesday, targeting suspected members of the Mafia and arresting around 150 people. The large-scale operation was part of a continuous effort by Italy to dismantle organized crime.
More than 1,200 officers helped conduct raids—reportedly the largest scale since 1984—against Cosa Nostra. Targeting people for crimes including Mafia affiliation, attempted murder, and drug trafficking, the arrests are part of an ongoing weakening of the infamous Sicilian Mafia that served as inspiration for the “Godfather” movies. The mobsters wreaked havoc on the southern Italian island in the late 20th century, but have since lost influence due to authority crackdowns and the growing power of the Calabrian group, ‘Ndrangheta.
Prior to the raids, two years of investigations revealed how clans cooperate, recruit new members, and exercise control in the region while also revealing a wide network of informants. Despite these efforts, the Mafia continues to wield influence in industries ranging from tourism to prisons.
Read more about the evolution of the Italian mafia here. |
Apple Maps users in the US will see the Gulf of Mexico renamed the Gulf of America, a change made this week to align with President Donald Trump's January executive order. The iPhone maker joins Google in adopting the new name, which only appears for US users—Mexican users will see it called Gulf of Mexico, while other countries will see both names.
Mexico, Cuba, and the US each border the Gulf (see official US map), which was first named the Gulf of Mexico in the 16th century. The US controls more than 1,600 miles of the Gulf’s coastline—a little less than half of the total—and its sovereign territory extends 12 nautical miles beyond the coast. The country possesses economic rights over a further 200 miles offshore.
The US place names are typically determined by the US Board on Geographic Names, a federal body under the Interior Department. Founded in 1890, the board rules on hundreds of naming conventions annually and has maintained the Geographic Names Information System since the 1970s. In the Gulf's case, the executive order instructed the agency to update the name.
Apple's adoption of the change wasn't legally required, as the president's order only applies to federal agencies. |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> Mariah Carey, Oasis, and Outkast headline the list of 14 nominees for the 2025 class of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (More) | Super Bowl LIX pulls in record $800M in ad revenue for Fox Corp. (More) |
> Sean "Diddy" Combs files $100M defamation lawsuit against NBCUniversal, claiming false allegations against Combs in a documentary that premiered in January on Peacock (More) |
> President Donald Trump named chair of Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in unanimous vote by newly appointed board of trustees; vote comes one week after Trump removed Democratic members of the board (More) |
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> Underwater observatory detects the most energetic neutrino to date; known as the "ghost particle," an estimated 10 trillion neutrinos pass through your body every second (More) | Neutrinos 101 (More) |
> Sea turtles create mental maps of Earth's magnetic field to help guide them to foraging areas, study finds; the animals also "dance" when sensing food-related magnetic fields (More) |
> Engineers develop functioning, fully 3D-printed spray engine at much lower cost than existing technology; devices are used to propel crafts like small satellites through space (More) |
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> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 -0.3%, Dow -0.5%, Nasdaq +0.0%) as US 10-year Treasury yield rises above 4.6% after hotter-than-expected inflation data (More) | Core consumer price index rose 0.4% month over month and 3.3% year over year in January (More) | The history of inflation in the US (1440 Topics) |
> Chevron to lay off between 15% and 20% of its global workforce, or as many as 9,000 people, by end of 2026; move is part of efforts to cut costs by between $2B and $3B and comes amid pending $53B acquisition of Hess Corp. (More) |
> Olipop prebiotic soda valued at $1.85B after raising $50M in latest funding round (More) | NYSE Chicago to reincorporate in Texas, rebrand as NYSE Texas (More) |
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> Eight inspectors general sue the Trump administration for allegedly violating federal law by terminating a group of government watchdogs last month without notifying Congress (More) | Judge allows federal worker buyout plan to proceed (More) |
> More than 90 million people under winter weather advisories or warnings as snowstorms sweep across US Midwest and East Coast; Chicago, Detroit, and Kansas City, Missouri, among places to be hit with largest snowfall (More) |
> US Coast Guard releases recording thought to be the sound of 2023 Titanic submersible implosion (More) | See previous write-up (More) |
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> A Visit to Dog College
Popular Science | Lauren Leffer. At Penn Vet Working Dog Center, pups hone their sniffing superpowers to become scent detectors, tackling challenges from finding missing persons to sniffing out diseases and even protecting the environment. (Read)
> The Happiest Place on Earth
WSJ | Robbie Whelan. Disney’s magic comes at a steep price, and after post-pandemic price hikes, many families are being priced out—leaving some insiders worried the parks are losing their grip on the middle class. (Read) |
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In partnership with SmartAsset |
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"At the moment of truth, there are either reasons or results." |
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*Disclosure: “The Value of a Financial Advisor: What’s It Really Worth?” SmartAsset (Nov. 2024)
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**In making an investment decision, investors must rely on their own examination of the issuer and the terms of the offering, including the merits and risks involved. World Tree has filed a Form C with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with its offering, a copy of which may be obtained here: invest.ecotreeprogram.com |
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