Consumer spending rose 2.4%, a solid increase but notably below the third quarter’s healthy 3.5% gain. Las Vegas tourism suffered its worst year since the pandemic in 2025. Some of that spending may be disproportionately driven by upper-income consumers, in a phenomenon known as the “K-shaped” economy.
Average US long-term mortgage rate dips to 6.01%, lowest level in more than 3 years. Mortgage rates have been trending lower for months, helping drive a pickup in home sales the last four months of 2025. But not enough to lift the housing market out of its slump dating back to 2022.
Confidence is growing that a winter storm will impact the Northeast starting on Sunday. There are still questions about how big of a punch of snow and strong winds it will pack. Models diverge on the storm’s exact track Sunday into Monday, which will determine how many inches of snow pile up.
Grail said Thursday it sold 185,000 tests in 2025, generating $136.8 million. Grail’s test has been the standard bearer for new technologies that promise a blood test can be used to detect many different types of cancer early. The company already sells its test, called Galleri, for a list price of $1,000.
The law will grant general amnesty to political prisoners processed or convicted since 1999 – the start of Hugo Chávez’s presidency. Many in Venezuela – and the United States – will now be watching closely to see whether the remaining political prisoners will soon walk free. The amnesty should not be seen as a “pardon” or state grace, given that many detainees were arbitrarily imprisoned.
Saidani was elected as a lawmaker in 2022 in a parliamentary election with very low voter turnout. He was previously seen as a supporter of Saied’s consolidation of power and the arrest of opposition figures. Saidani has accused the president of monopolising decision-making while avoiding responsibility, leaving others to take the blame.
Women who flocked to the president in the 2024 election feel betrayed. Trump signed an executive order Wednesday to boost U.S. production of glyphosate, the pesticide used in the weedkiller Roundup. Some MAHA moms have directed their anger at the president, but others question why Kennedy is backing production of a chemical he has criticized.
More than 50 Pakistani players – including Afridi, Shadab, Rauf, Saim Ayub and Usman Tariq – have registered for next month’s draft, which will be held in Piccadilly, London. Only nine Pakistani players have featured in the first five seasons of the Hundred, with teams often reluctant to sign them.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to attack Iran over its nuclear programme. The threat was made during a meeting of the Board of Peace on Thursday. But he hasn't spelled out why he thinks attacking Iran would be a good idea. A major attack would also conflict with Trump's push for the Nobel Peace Prize.
The bloc calls on the authorities to reject the logic of Zionist subjugation. The government’s insistence on prioritizing the issue of weapons confiscation, is putting the cart before the horse. The bloc denounces the international silence, which amounts to complicity, towards what the usurping Zionist entity is doing to liquidate the Palestinian issue.
Peru is an outlier in a region where political upheaval often rattles markets. Analysts said Peru’s commodity-driven economy and confidence in its central bank have historically insulated markets from political turbulence. The combination of a copper-dependent economy and a highly credible central bank has cushioned Peru from politics before.
Tarique Rahman was sworn in as Bangladesh's prime minister on 17 February after his centre-right Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) swept to a landslide in the general election. Rahman has now set his goals on a comprehensive “reset" of Bangladesh. Rahman spent 17 years in exile after Sheikh Hasina's ouster.
The administration has already ordered the review of more than 200,000 refugees who entered the U.S. during the Biden administration. A memo obtained by The Associated Press late last year said the administration was planning a broad review of refugees admitted under Biden and immediately halted green card processing for those individuals.
President Donald Trump convened the inaugural meeting of his newly formed Board of Peace at the United States Institute of Pea. Trump: "I don't like young, handsome men. Marco named it after me" Jared Kushner: "We cannot change the past, but I think that what you're seeing today is that we can potentially change the future"
In this image from video circulating on social media, verified by the AP and posted on 17 February, 2026, attendees shout anti-government slogans in Abdanan, Iran, during a memorial known as “chehelom,” Persian for “the 40th,�” marking 40 days since a man was killed during protests.
Austrian climber guilty of manslaughter after girlfriend froze to death on mountain. Court in Innsbruck gives Thomas Plamberger a five-month suspended prison sentence. He was found guilty of causing the woman's death in January 2025 by gross negligence. The case is unusual because while climbing accidents are common, prosecutions are rare.
The King was not informed in advance of the arrest, the BBC understands. The arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on suspicion of misconduct in public office is dominating headlines in the US. Some US lawmakers are asking why no Americans linked to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein are under criminal investigation.
Laila Edwards is set to make history as the first Black female to represent the U.S. in Olympic hockey. Edwards fielded a team of her own in Milan. Travis Kelce reached out to provide advice to the ‘Queen of Cleveland,’ a nickname her teammates gave her.
Many tech leaders and politicians at the Summit have called for more global governance of AI. The US has rejected this stance, with White House technology adviser Michael Kratsios saying: "AI adoption cannot lead to a brighter future if it is subject to bureaucracies and centralised control" Sam Altman, the boss of OpenAI, also called for "urgent regulation" in a speech.
Seedance 2.0 has quickly become the most controversial model in a wave of them released by Chinese technology companies this year. User complaints prompted the recent ByteDance rollback and have also forced popular Chinese Instagram-like app RedNote to restrict any AI-made content.“Obviously a content control system like the Chinese that essentially limits what you can produce, that’s never fun.”
The high court ruled that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not authorize the president to impose tariffs. IEEPA does not prevent the president from imposing tariffs under different trade authorities, the court said. Three lower courts have also ruled the president does not have the power to unilaterally impose the tariffs.
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Iran’s scenario begins with US air and missile strikes targeting nuclear sites, military installations and IRGC bases. Within hours, Tehran would launch barrages of ballistic missiles and drones at US military installations across the region. By threatening global energy supplies, imposing continuous attacks across multiple countries and potentially inflicting significant US casualties, Iran hopes to create an unsustainable multi-front situation.
Eric Dane, the celebrated actor best known for his roles on “Grey’s Anatomy’ and “Euphoria,” has died. Dane later became an advocate for ALS awareness. After high school, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting, landing guest roles on shows like “Saved by the Bell,’ “Married…With Children,�” “Charmed”
Members of Donald Trump's Board of Peace pledge £5.2bn for Gaza relief. There is no indication that Hamas is prepared to hand over its weapons. Israel has been wary about some of Trump's efforts, particularly the invitations to his board for Turkey and Qatar, whom Israel does not want to see take a prominent role in decisions on Gaza.
The BBC has identified the names of 186,102 Russian soldiers killed in the war. Military experts believe our analysis might represent 45-65% of the total, putting the potential number of Russian deaths at between 286,000 and 413,500. Last month, President Volodymyr Zelensky said "officially" 55,000 Ukrainians had been killed on the battlefield.
Ousted South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday remained defiant in his first reaction to a life sentence for rebellion handed down by a Seoul court the previous day. The sign at top reads, “Death.” (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) autoimmune.
Survey looks at "everyday giving" which includes both direct, personal help and donations to organised, non-religious institutions. Estimates suggest that everyday giving makes up about 15% of total giving in India, yet accounts for nearly a third of private donations to the organised social sector. A lot of giving is shaped by proximity and faith, the survey found.
Wet snow avalanches are dangerous, difficult to predict and poorly understood. Europe has seen two major storms in a week and a large amount of heavy snow. This has led to high avalanche warning levels across an unusually large part of the Alps. So have modern avalanche-warning systems and safety measures taken by resorts kept casualty figures down?
Former U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown has voiced deep concern over Epstein's frequent travel in and out of the U.S. Police Scotland confirmed that while it has “not received any report or complaint in relation” to Epstein’s jet using Edinburgh Airport, it would be “keen to speak to anyone with information.”
PONANT Explorations lays the groundwork for future grand epic voyages to Antarctica from home, he said. “Guests range from first time polar explorers to seasoned adventurers who simply cannot get enough of the White Continent,” he added. Lady Jane Franklin’s search, crowd funding, campaigning and media manipulation to thwart Robert McClure's apparent achievement of finding the passage.
"The king has indicated, sometimes through his calculated silence, that as soon as the courts make a decision, then Andrew will be swiftly dealt with," Matta said. "King Charles made a bold move by welcoming Andrew’s daughters back into the royal fold," she added. "Behind the scenes, the royals must be extremely worried that more damaging information could leak," she said.
Since April 2023, the conflict between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary RSF has killed tens of thousands and forced 11 million people to flee their homes. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) carried out ethnically targeted killings, widespread sexual violence and enforced disappearances during their late-October takeover of El Fasher.
Thai police go undercover as Lunar New Year lion dancers to catch thief. Video shows officers hidden beneath a red-and-gold lion costume dancing toward the suspect at a temple in Nonthaburi, a province neighbouring Bangkok. The officer suddenly emerges from the costume’s head and with help from colleagues, wrestles him to the ground.
"There are still questions about what the future holds for the royal family," says a source close to the family. "The future is uncertain," says the source. "We are still waiting to see what happens next," the source adds. The royal family is expected to make a decision on the future of Prince Charles in the near future.
Iran has threatened a significant retaliatory response and plans to target U.S. naval assets. It's not clear though whether Trump's show of force is a kind of negotiating tactic to force Iran's hand to make concessions, or if he is intent on trying to topple the regime. Last summer, following the U.N. bombing of nuclear sites in Iran, Tehran retaliated by launching a barrage of missiles at al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
A 19-year-old Palestinian-American, Nasrallah Mohammed Jamal Abu Siam, was fatally shot by an Israeli settler in the West Bank. The shooting occurred in the village of Mukhmas near Ramallah, as reported by a relative of the victim. The Palestinian Health Ministry said the shooting occurred late Wednesday night.
U.S. President Donald Trump warns Iran it must make a deal over its nuclear program or "really bad things" will happen. He sets a deadline of 10 to 15 days, drawing a threat from Tehran to retaliate against U.S.-based bases in the region if attacked. A Russian corvette warship on Thursday joined planned Iranian naval drills in the Gulf of Oman.
JPMorgan Chase argues that Trump’s claims against CEO Jamie Dimon are “barred as a matter of law.” Chief Judge Cecilia Altonaga, a George W. Bush appointee, has been assigned to the case should it move forward in the Southern District of Florida.
Thames Valley Police say they are "assessing" reports that Mountbatten-Windsor shared confidential information with the late Jeffrey Epstein. The reports stemmed from correspondence between the two men contained in millions of pages of documents from the U.S. Justice Department’s investigation into Epstein.
British couple Lindsay and Craig Foreman were detained in Iran last year whilst on their dream holiday. They've now been sentenced to 10 years in prison for "espionage", charges they firmly deny. Yvette Cooper, Foreign Minister, called the 10-year sentence "totally unjustifiable" and said "We will pursue this case relentlessly"
Cognitive exercise in the 1990s aimed to increase the brain's processing speed. Those who completed eight to 10 roughly hour-long cognitive speed training sessions, along with at least one booster session, lowered their risk of a dementia diagnosis over the next two decades by about 25%. This is because this form of brain training appears to trigger implicit learning.
Syria's Kurds agreed to a deal last month on integrating their forces and civilian institutions into the state. Under the deal, Syria's Kurds must surrender oil fields, which have been the main source of revenue for their autonomous administration. For the Kurds, the agreement all but ended their de facto autonomy in Syria, which they established during the country's 13-year civil war.