“I told them, ‘you’re one-and-done, you lose this game, the season’s over,’” Pitino said. “That’s the way you gotta play to prepare for March Madness. You don’t just show up in March and say, ‘OK, this is what we are going to do.’ You prepare for it now, you prepare for it at the Big East Tournament. They did a fabulous job, just a tough-ass team. Toughness like you can’t believe.”
In typical St. John’s fashion, the players were critical of their miscues and looking ahead to the next challenge.
They were happy, but not satisfied, a hallmark of this team.
Ejiofor and Luis felt the Red Storm struggled in containing Marquette off the dribble, a point of emphasis entering the game.
“We’re going to go back, we’re going to fix those little mistakes,” Luis said, “and we’re going to get ready for the Big East Tournament, because we want to win that, too.”
Missouri Wins $24B COVID-19 Judgment Against China
Missouri won a $24 billion lawsuit against China on Friday for its role in the COVID-19 pandemic after none of its defendants appeared in court.
Missouri won a $24 billion lawsuit against China on Friday for its role in the COVID-19 pandemic after none of its defendants appeared in court.
U.S. District Judge Stephen Limbaugh Jr. ordered China to pay Missouri $24,488,825,457 "at a rate of 3.91 percent, compounded annually."
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey told the Daily Caller it was "no surprise" the Chinese Communist Party didn't appear in court and instead dispatched "proxy organizations" to litigate, "like the Chinese Society of Private International Law rather than appearing in court to answer for their actions."
He said he was protesting "police repression and state violence."
He filmed his climb, which led to the cancellation of tours of Parliament and the closure of the Westminster Bridge.
About three hours after the man reached a ledge on the tower, three emergency personnel were lifted up on an aerial ladder platform to speak with him.
The negotiations continued with no sign of the man agreeing to come down 10 hours later, when Big Ben chimed after nightfall at 21:00 GMT, or 4 p.m. ET.
The man's climb began when he entered the grounds of Parliament and walked up some stairs. He then climbed onto a railing and started scaling Elizabeth Tower.
The climber took his shoes off at one point so he could go higher on the tower, and authorities said he injured his feet, with pools of blood being seen on the tower's stonework.
Nauta was indicted alongside Trump for allegedly violating the Espionage Act and related offenses linked to classified documents stored at the president's Mar-a-Lago estate. The case against Trump was dismissed in July, and an appellate court dropped the charges against Nauta, Trump's personal aide, and property manager Carlos De Oliveira last month.
Trump had pledged to pardon Nauta and De Oliveira if they were convicted.
The president's legal team has included attorney Stanley Woodward, who represented Trump's co-defendants in the classified documents case before joining the White House legal team in January.
Nauta's appointment follows Trump's decision to fire members of the Boards of Visitors for all four major U.S. military service academies, citing concerns over "woke ideology." These boards oversee student life and institutional policies at the academies.
“I am issuing a State of Emergency as Suffolk County fights brush fires in the Pine Barrens. I have spoken to @ExecEdRomaine and offered any necessary State resources. We have @NationalGuardNY helicopters providing air support, and multiple state agencies are on the ground,” Hochul posted on X Saturday evening.
"This is still out of control at this moment. The winds are just wreaking havoc," Hochul told News 12 out of Long Island. The governor confirmed that "one or two homes" have already been destroyed in the fire "with others that are in the way." According to Suffolk County executive Ed Romaine, over 70 fire departments are now battling the fires.
The Times said the action by X to scrub fake accounts is part of an ongoing effort to stamp out illegitimate platform activity. “We take reports like these very seriously, and continue to action millions of accounts per week for platform manipulation and spam violations,” said Dave Heinzinger, X’s head of media strategy, in an email to Epoch Times.
The Times did not say when it began its investigation into the matter. It said results of its findings were sent to X and the platform then began its review of the suspected bot network. Most of the accounts were subsequently taken down by X over the past several weeks. The Times also reported that at least one U.S.-based media outlet had some of its stories promoted by the connected fake accounts.
Cohen's firing came just 18 hours after Blanche released a memo that Cohen had helped him draft which announced that the task force he led would be playing a new leading role in combating illegal immigration, as part of an initiative dubbed "Operation Take Back America."
"It was a shock," Cohen wrote of his firing on LinkedIn, noting he had been meeting regularly with leadership to discuss violent crime initiatives.
"Putting bad guys in jail was as apolitical as it gets," he wrote. "My personal politics were never relevant. Not until yesterday."
Cohen's firing is one of the latest examples of the Trump administration removing or sidelining career Justice Department officials, who typically keep their positions across presidential administrations.
A third prosecutor, Alex Kristofcak, was also placed on leave in response to comments he made on social media, the email said.
In those comments, Kristofcak criticized Washington, D.C.'s interim U.S. attorney, Ed Martin, after he warned Georgetown University Law School that he would not hire its students unless the school removed diversity, equity and inclusion from its curriculum.
"This is a grotesque abuse of power," Kristofcak wrote of Martin.
"I am so sorry for my colleagues in DC who have this thug of a boss."
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York declined to comment.
Other career department officials were also fired Friday, including pardon attorney Liz Oyer and Bobak Talebian, who oversaw the handling of Freedom of Information Act requests.
The effect of hardware scaling solutions extends far beyond Ethereum itself. TradFi players are exploring blockchain-based cross-border payments, which demand real-time processing. With scalability issues inherited from the home layer, L2s alone cannot scale effectively to cater to the sheer TradFi demand. Cross-border transactions hit $190.1 trillion in 2023 and are only expected to grow in 2025, indicating one thing: Hardware acceleration is indispensable in incentivizing institutional adoption of blockchain.
Beyond finance, hardware optimization enhances blockchain utility across industries, accelerating mainstream adoption. A noteworthy example is healthcare, where accelerated blockchain infrastructure could improve the security and privacy of patient data. For gaming industries that rely on dynamic interactions, blockchain networks can help deliver real-time responses to user actions.
The time to invest in hardware is now
Ethereum has relied heavily on L2s to scale, but they remain temporary solutions that fail to meet the network’s fundamental operational demands. Hardware solutions are now non-negotiable for Ethereum to retain its position as a leader in blockchain innovation. From enabling seamless TradFi integrations to supporting real-time interactions in gaming and healthcare, purpose-built hardware resolves the root inefficiencies of Ethereum’s infrastructure. Without decisive investment in hardware acceleration, Ethereum risks stagnating while competitors rise.
Ethereum doesn’t need another short-term patch. It requires a lasting solution. The next wave of blockchain adoption demands an infrastructure that can support it, which means investing in hardware now.
"Higher car prices combined with higher interest rates have driven monthly payments upward and have put pressure on consumers across the income and credit score spectrum," the New York Fed wrote.
Meanwhile, the cost of purchasing a new vehicle has climbed significantly in recent years. According to Cox Automotive, the average price of a new car has risen from approximately $38,000 in January 2020 to more than $48,500 in January 2025, an increase of over $10,000. In the midst of the Biden administration, financing costs surged, with the average monthly payment for a new car loan reaching $795 in December 2022. By January, average monthly financing costs dipped to $755. However, they still remain high above the $566 monthly payment in 2019.
President Donald Trump's tariffs on auto imports for Canada and Mexico, which include a 25% levy on vehicles and parts, went into effect on Tuesday.
“I have never seen anybody drunk on the floor. I don’t think anybody drinks around the floor. I knew a couple of guys that might have had a drink, but the guys I knew that had a drink, they never showed it. They could hold their liquor well,” Cohen told Politico.
Added Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., “Maybe I’m not in that club because I don’t drink.
There was no immediate comment from the White House, which on Wednesday made the surprise confirmation of direct U.S. talks with Hamas.
Over the past week, Israel has pressed Hamas to release half of the remaining hostages in return for an extension of the first phase, which ended last weekend, and a promise to negotiate a lasting truce. Hamas is believed to have 24 living hostages and the bodies of 34 others.
Israel last weekend cut off all supplies to Gaza and its more than 2 million people as it pressed Hamas to agree. The militant group has said that the move would affect the remaining hostages as well.
The ceasefire has paused the deadliest and most destructive fighting ever between Israel and Hamas, sparked by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The first phase allowed the return of 25 living hostages and the remains of eight others in exchange for the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
The foreign ministers gathered in Saudi Arabia for a special session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to address the situation in Gaza. The OIC has 57 nations with largely Muslim populations.
They supported a plan to rebuild Gaza put forward by Egypt and backed by Arab states, including Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
Without mentioning Trump, the ministers' statement said that they rejected "plans aimed at displacing the Palestinian people individually or collectively ... as ethnic cleansing, a grave violation of international law and a crime against humanity."
They also condemned "policies of starvation" they said aim to push Palestinians to leave, a reference to Israel's cutting off all supplies to Gaza.
Trump has called for Gaza’s population to be resettled elsewhere permanently, so that the United States can take over the territory and develop it for others. Palestinians have rejected calls to leave.
Trump's administration aims to pay for an American shipbuilding comeback with help from potentially hefty port fees on Chinese-built vessels as well as ships from fleets with China-made vessels, according to a draft executive order seen by Reuters on Thursday.
The heads of four major labor unions in mid-February called on Trump to boost American shipbuilding and enforce tariffs and other “strong penalties” against China for its increasing dominance in that sphere.
The letter notes China manufactured more than 1,000 ocean-going vessels in 2023, while the United States made fewer than 10 ships. It adds that the Chinese shipbuilding industry received more than $100 billion in government support from 2010 to 2018, such that Chinese shipyards accounted for the majority of worldwide orders last year.
But he condemned "brutal" deadly strikes on eastern Ukraine, saying they proved that Russia was "not thinking about how to end the war."
Trump on Friday threatened new sanctions and tariffs against Russia over its bombardment of Ukraine.
The three-year-long war is now at a critical juncture for Kyiv after Trump suspended military aid following his public falling-out with Zelenskyy last week.
Ukraine still controls some 150 square miles in the Kursk region after launching an offensive last August. Zelenskyy sees this as a possible bargaining chip in peace talks.
But Ukraine's troops in Kursk have seen their position worsen in recent weeks with Russia's army pushing back.
Senior U.S. and Ukrainian officials are set to meet for talks on the war in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. Zelenskyy will also visit Monday for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
For the U.S., Witkoff has said he wants to discuss an "initial ceasefire" with Russia and a "framework" for a longer agreement.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine would be represented by officials including Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.
In his evening address, he told Ukrainians he was "confident that the meeting will be productive."
Zelenskyy also urged allies to "increase sanctions against Russia" after heavy overnight bombardment in the east and northeast.
A Russian barrage hit the centre of Dobropillia in the eastern Donetsk region late Friday, killing 11 people and wounding 40, according to the emergency services.
Most economists say that Trump's plans to slap tariffs on a wide array of imports, including 25% duties on goods from Canada and Mexico that he partially delayed Thursday, will push up prices and slow growth. But many also expect that tax cuts and deregulation could boost the economy.
Powell said the economy remains mostly healthy despite “elevated uncertainty.” He characterized Friday's jobs report, which showed employers added 151,000 jobs and the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.1%, as in line with the “solid” gains of the past six months.
He also noted that there were signs consumer spending has slowed compared with the healthy gains in the second half of last year, and said surveys of consumers and businesses “point to heightened uncertainty about the economic outlook.”
After cutting its key rate three times last year to about 4.3%, Powell indicated in January that the Fed would pause any further cuts amid signs that inflation has remained stuck above its target. The central bank's preferred inflation gauge shows that prices rose 2.5% in January compared with a year ago. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 2.6%, the smallest increase since June.
Technology is the second worst-performing S&P 500 sector year-to-date with about an 8% loss, after consumer discretionary stocks which have tumbled just over 9%.
Hedge funds were caught in crowded trades that sold off leaving those which pick stocks with a 1% average return on the year so far, said the Goldman Sachs note sent to clients on Thursday and seen by Reuters on Friday. U.S. stock pickers finished down 1.4% on Thursday, taking their yearly performance to negative 0.5% for 2025, so far, the note said.
Hedge funds that employ different kinds of trading strategies also had "a challenging day," said the Goldman note. This kind of hedge fund which for the last three years has produced consistently positive returns has this year lost money 18 out of 29 days since January 27, said Goldman.
El Salvador struck a deal with the IMF in December 2024 for a $1.4 billion loan from the organization. As part of that deal, the government of El Salvador agreed to rescind the status of BTC as legal tender in the country and scale back public sector involvement with Bitcoin.
El Salvador continues stacking despite IMF pressure
El Salvador's Congress amended its Bitcoin laws in January 2025 to comply with the IMF loan agreement. Lawmakers repealed the previous version of the law in a 55-2 vote.
Despite the repeal, the government continued stacking Bitcoin, purchasing two BTC in a single day on Feb. 1 and continuing its daily accumulation of the digital currency.
On March 3, the IMF issued a new request pressuring El Salvador to stop accumulating BTC and stipulated that the country could not issue debt or tokenized securities tied to Bitcoin.
During a recent appearance on the All In Podcast, host Jason Calacanis proposed charging a 0.01% tax on every cryptocurrency transaction, which would be denominated in the asset that is transferred, bought or sold. Sacks responded:
“That’s always how taxes start. They are described as being very modest. You know, when the income tax started, it only applied to like a thousand Americans, and the legislators swore up and down that it would never be applied to middle-class people.”
“I don’t particularly like the idea of new taxes, even if it is promised that they won’t affect people very much. That sounds burdensome to me,” Sacks continued.
“Women tend to build more diverse portfolios and focus on long-term wealth creation rather than chasing short-term gains,” according to Gracy Chen, CEO of Bitget cryptocurrency exchange:
“This measured approach is exactly what the crypto ecosystem needs — investors who understand technological fundamentals and look beyond market noise.”
Women and men’s average holding period per asset type Source: Bitpanda
“Women typically adopt a ‘sit on their hands’ investment style,” with less trading frequency than men, Chen said, citing a Charles Stanley study:
“While men made 13 trades annually on average, women executed only 9. This patience and strategic thinking translates beautifully to crypto markets, where emotional reactions to volatility often lead to losses.”
We’re “not chasing overnight gains” or “FOMO-driven decisions”
The majority of women prefer Bitcoin, but not necessarily due to risk aversion alone.
“This approach often stems from thorough research and strategic patience,” according to Mary Pedler, founder of INPUT Comms blockchain and tech-focused communications agency.
“Many women I’ve worked and communicated with do deep research before investing and seldom make FOMO-driven decisions,” she told Cointelegraph, adding:
“When we invest in Bitcoin, it’s after understanding its fundamental value proposition — we’re not chasing overnight gains; we’re building generational wealth.”
Coinbase has requested that the FDIC provide details in court on how it conducted “due diligence” to ensure no documentation related to the event was destroyed. However, the agency “repeatedly refused to do so,” Grewal said.
His comments come a day after the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) eased its stance on how banks can engage with crypto just hours after US President Donald Trump vowed to end the prolonged crackdown restricting crypto firms’ access to banking services.
Trump’s remarks were made during the White House Crypto Summit, where he told industry leaders he was “ending Operation Chokepoint 2.0.”
Grewal added that his team requested that the FDIC give a “sworn testimony” to the court.
On March 4, Coinbase also submitted a FOIA request to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to find out how many investigations and enforcement actions were brought against crypto firms between April 17, 2021, and Jan. 20, 2025.
!summarize #angelreese #wnba #money #strike
!summarize #singapore #ukraine #europe #russia #war
!summarize #azzifudd #genoauriemma #uconn #bigeast #tournament
“I told them, ‘you’re one-and-done, you lose this game, the season’s over,’” Pitino said. “That’s the way you gotta play to prepare for March Madness. You don’t just show up in March and say, ‘OK, this is what we are going to do.’ You prepare for it now, you prepare for it at the Big East Tournament. They did a fabulous job, just a tough-ass team. Toughness like you can’t believe.”
In typical St. John’s fashion, the players were critical of their miscues and looking ahead to the next challenge.
They were happy, but not satisfied, a hallmark of this team.
Ejiofor and Luis felt the Red Storm struggled in containing Marquette off the dribble, a point of emphasis entering the game.
“We’re going to go back, we’re going to fix those little mistakes,” Luis said, “and we’re going to get ready for the Big East Tournament, because we want to win that, too.”
!summarize #sleep #portal #consciousness
!summarize #women #onlyfans #society #elderly
Missouri Wins $24B COVID-19 Judgment Against China
Missouri won a $24 billion lawsuit against China on Friday for its role in the COVID-19 pandemic after none of its defendants appeared in court.
Missouri won a $24 billion lawsuit against China on Friday for its role in the COVID-19 pandemic after none of its defendants appeared in court.
U.S. District Judge Stephen Limbaugh Jr. ordered China to pay Missouri $24,488,825,457 "at a rate of 3.91 percent, compounded annually."
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey told the Daily Caller it was "no surprise" the Chinese Communist Party didn't appear in court and instead dispatched "proxy organizations" to litigate, "like the Chinese Society of Private International Law rather than appearing in court to answer for their actions."
He said he was protesting "police repression and state violence."
He filmed his climb, which led to the cancellation of tours of Parliament and the closure of the Westminster Bridge.
About three hours after the man reached a ledge on the tower, three emergency personnel were lifted up on an aerial ladder platform to speak with him.
The negotiations continued with no sign of the man agreeing to come down 10 hours later, when Big Ben chimed after nightfall at 21:00 GMT, or 4 p.m. ET.
The man's climb began when he entered the grounds of Parliament and walked up some stairs. He then climbed onto a railing and started scaling Elizabeth Tower.
The climber took his shoes off at one point so he could go higher on the tower, and authorities said he injured his feet, with pools of blood being seen on the tower's stonework.
!summarize #ai #ww3 #europe
Nauta was indicted alongside Trump for allegedly violating the Espionage Act and related offenses linked to classified documents stored at the president's Mar-a-Lago estate. The case against Trump was dismissed in July, and an appellate court dropped the charges against Nauta, Trump's personal aide, and property manager Carlos De Oliveira last month.
Trump had pledged to pardon Nauta and De Oliveira if they were convicted.
The president's legal team has included attorney Stanley Woodward, who represented Trump's co-defendants in the classified documents case before joining the White House legal team in January.
Nauta's appointment follows Trump's decision to fire members of the Boards of Visitors for all four major U.S. military service academies, citing concerns over "woke ideology." These boards oversee student life and institutional policies at the academies.
!summarize #brain #garybrecka #biohacking
“I am issuing a State of Emergency as Suffolk County fights brush fires in the Pine Barrens. I have spoken to @ExecEdRomaine and offered any necessary State resources. We have @NationalGuardNY helicopters providing air support, and multiple state agencies are on the ground,” Hochul posted on X Saturday evening.
"This is still out of control at this moment. The winds are just wreaking havoc," Hochul told News 12 out of Long Island. The governor confirmed that "one or two homes" have already been destroyed in the fire "with others that are in the way." According to Suffolk County executive Ed Romaine, over 70 fire departments are now battling the fires.
The Times said the action by X to scrub fake accounts is part of an ongoing effort to stamp out illegitimate platform activity. “We take reports like these very seriously, and continue to action millions of accounts per week for platform manipulation and spam violations,” said Dave Heinzinger, X’s head of media strategy, in an email to Epoch Times.
The Times did not say when it began its investigation into the matter. It said results of its findings were sent to X and the platform then began its review of the suspected bot network. Most of the accounts were subsequently taken down by X over the past several weeks. The Times also reported that at least one U.S.-based media outlet had some of its stories promoted by the connected fake accounts.
!summarize #catholics #orthodox #church #religion
!summarize #ai #mogawdat #humanity #happiness
!summarize #stephenasmith #skipbayless #sports #espn #reunion
Cohen's firing came just 18 hours after Blanche released a memo that Cohen had helped him draft which announced that the task force he led would be playing a new leading role in combating illegal immigration, as part of an initiative dubbed "Operation Take Back America."
"It was a shock," Cohen wrote of his firing on LinkedIn, noting he had been meeting regularly with leadership to discuss violent crime initiatives.
"Putting bad guys in jail was as apolitical as it gets," he wrote. "My personal politics were never relevant. Not until yesterday."
Cohen's firing is one of the latest examples of the Trump administration removing or sidelining career Justice Department officials, who typically keep their positions across presidential administrations.
A third prosecutor, Alex Kristofcak, was also placed on leave in response to comments he made on social media, the email said.
In those comments, Kristofcak criticized Washington, D.C.'s interim U.S. attorney, Ed Martin, after he warned Georgetown University Law School that he would not hire its students unless the school removed diversity, equity and inclusion from its curriculum.
"This is a grotesque abuse of power," Kristofcak wrote of Martin.
"I am so sorry for my colleagues in DC who have this thug of a boss."
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York declined to comment.
Other career department officials were also fired Friday, including pardon attorney Liz Oyer and Bobak Talebian, who oversaw the handling of Freedom of Information Act requests.
!summarize #cuban #cocaine #drugs #jorgevaldes #colombia
The effect of hardware scaling solutions extends far beyond Ethereum itself. TradFi players are exploring blockchain-based cross-border payments, which demand real-time processing. With scalability issues inherited from the home layer, L2s alone cannot scale effectively to cater to the sheer TradFi demand. Cross-border transactions hit $190.1 trillion in 2023 and are only expected to grow in 2025, indicating one thing: Hardware acceleration is indispensable in incentivizing institutional adoption of blockchain.
Beyond finance, hardware optimization enhances blockchain utility across industries, accelerating mainstream adoption. A noteworthy example is healthcare, where accelerated blockchain infrastructure could improve the security and privacy of patient data. For gaming industries that rely on dynamic interactions, blockchain networks can help deliver real-time responses to user actions.
The time to invest in hardware is now
Ethereum has relied heavily on L2s to scale, but they remain temporary solutions that fail to meet the network’s fundamental operational demands. Hardware solutions are now non-negotiable for Ethereum to retain its position as a leader in blockchain innovation. From enabling seamless TradFi integrations to supporting real-time interactions in gaming and healthcare, purpose-built hardware resolves the root inefficiencies of Ethereum’s infrastructure. Without decisive investment in hardware acceleration, Ethereum risks stagnating while competitors rise.
Ethereum doesn’t need another short-term patch. It requires a lasting solution. The next wave of blockchain adoption demands an infrastructure that can support it, which means investing in hardware now.
"Higher car prices combined with higher interest rates have driven monthly payments upward and have put pressure on consumers across the income and credit score spectrum," the New York Fed wrote.
Meanwhile, the cost of purchasing a new vehicle has climbed significantly in recent years. According to Cox Automotive, the average price of a new car has risen from approximately $38,000 in January 2020 to more than $48,500 in January 2025, an increase of over $10,000. In the midst of the Biden administration, financing costs surged, with the average monthly payment for a new car loan reaching $795 in December 2022. By January, average monthly financing costs dipped to $755. However, they still remain high above the $566 monthly payment in 2019.
President Donald Trump's tariffs on auto imports for Canada and Mexico, which include a 25% levy on vehicles and parts, went into effect on Tuesday.
“I have never seen anybody drunk on the floor. I don’t think anybody drinks around the floor. I knew a couple of guys that might have had a drink, but the guys I knew that had a drink, they never showed it. They could hold their liquor well,” Cohen told Politico.
Added Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., “Maybe I’m not in that club because I don’t drink.
!summarize #men #unitedstates
There was no immediate comment from the White House, which on Wednesday made the surprise confirmation of direct U.S. talks with Hamas.
Over the past week, Israel has pressed Hamas to release half of the remaining hostages in return for an extension of the first phase, which ended last weekend, and a promise to negotiate a lasting truce. Hamas is believed to have 24 living hostages and the bodies of 34 others.
Israel last weekend cut off all supplies to Gaza and its more than 2 million people as it pressed Hamas to agree. The militant group has said that the move would affect the remaining hostages as well.
The ceasefire has paused the deadliest and most destructive fighting ever between Israel and Hamas, sparked by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The first phase allowed the return of 25 living hostages and the remains of eight others in exchange for the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
The foreign ministers gathered in Saudi Arabia for a special session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to address the situation in Gaza. The OIC has 57 nations with largely Muslim populations.
They supported a plan to rebuild Gaza put forward by Egypt and backed by Arab states, including Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
Without mentioning Trump, the ministers' statement said that they rejected "plans aimed at displacing the Palestinian people individually or collectively ... as ethnic cleansing, a grave violation of international law and a crime against humanity."
They also condemned "policies of starvation" they said aim to push Palestinians to leave, a reference to Israel's cutting off all supplies to Gaza.
Trump has called for Gaza’s population to be resettled elsewhere permanently, so that the United States can take over the territory and develop it for others. Palestinians have rejected calls to leave.
Trump's administration aims to pay for an American shipbuilding comeback with help from potentially hefty port fees on Chinese-built vessels as well as ships from fleets with China-made vessels, according to a draft executive order seen by Reuters on Thursday.
The heads of four major labor unions in mid-February called on Trump to boost American shipbuilding and enforce tariffs and other “strong penalties” against China for its increasing dominance in that sphere.
The letter notes China manufactured more than 1,000 ocean-going vessels in 2023, while the United States made fewer than 10 ships. It adds that the Chinese shipbuilding industry received more than $100 billion in government support from 2010 to 2018, such that Chinese shipyards accounted for the majority of worldwide orders last year.
But he condemned "brutal" deadly strikes on eastern Ukraine, saying they proved that Russia was "not thinking about how to end the war."
Trump on Friday threatened new sanctions and tariffs against Russia over its bombardment of Ukraine.
The three-year-long war is now at a critical juncture for Kyiv after Trump suspended military aid following his public falling-out with Zelenskyy last week.
Ukraine still controls some 150 square miles in the Kursk region after launching an offensive last August. Zelenskyy sees this as a possible bargaining chip in peace talks.
But Ukraine's troops in Kursk have seen their position worsen in recent weeks with Russia's army pushing back.
Senior U.S. and Ukrainian officials are set to meet for talks on the war in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. Zelenskyy will also visit Monday for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
For the U.S., Witkoff has said he wants to discuss an "initial ceasefire" with Russia and a "framework" for a longer agreement.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine would be represented by officials including Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.
In his evening address, he told Ukrainians he was "confident that the meeting will be productive."
Zelenskyy also urged allies to "increase sanctions against Russia" after heavy overnight bombardment in the east and northeast.
A Russian barrage hit the centre of Dobropillia in the eastern Donetsk region late Friday, killing 11 people and wounding 40, according to the emergency services.
!summarize #ice #uk #ev #sales #crash
Most economists say that Trump's plans to slap tariffs on a wide array of imports, including 25% duties on goods from Canada and Mexico that he partially delayed Thursday, will push up prices and slow growth. But many also expect that tax cuts and deregulation could boost the economy.
Powell said the economy remains mostly healthy despite “elevated uncertainty.” He characterized Friday's jobs report, which showed employers added 151,000 jobs and the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.1%, as in line with the “solid” gains of the past six months.
He also noted that there were signs consumer spending has slowed compared with the healthy gains in the second half of last year, and said surveys of consumers and businesses “point to heightened uncertainty about the economic outlook.”
After cutting its key rate three times last year to about 4.3%, Powell indicated in January that the Fed would pause any further cuts amid signs that inflation has remained stuck above its target. The central bank's preferred inflation gauge shows that prices rose 2.5% in January compared with a year ago. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 2.6%, the smallest increase since June.
Technology is the second worst-performing S&P 500 sector year-to-date with about an 8% loss, after consumer discretionary stocks which have tumbled just over 9%.
Hedge funds were caught in crowded trades that sold off leaving those which pick stocks with a 1% average return on the year so far, said the Goldman Sachs note sent to clients on Thursday and seen by Reuters on Friday. U.S. stock pickers finished down 1.4% on Thursday, taking their yearly performance to negative 0.5% for 2025, so far, the note said.
Hedge funds that employ different kinds of trading strategies also had "a challenging day," said the Goldman note. This kind of hedge fund which for the last three years has produced consistently positive returns has this year lost money 18 out of 29 days since January 27, said Goldman.
!summarize #romanabramovich #oligarch #putin #russia #energy
El Salvador struck a deal with the IMF in December 2024 for a $1.4 billion loan from the organization. As part of that deal, the government of El Salvador agreed to rescind the status of BTC as legal tender in the country and scale back public sector involvement with Bitcoin.
El Salvador continues stacking despite IMF pressure
El Salvador's Congress amended its Bitcoin laws in January 2025 to comply with the IMF loan agreement. Lawmakers repealed the previous version of the law in a 55-2 vote.
Despite the repeal, the government continued stacking Bitcoin, purchasing two BTC in a single day on Feb. 1 and continuing its daily accumulation of the digital currency.
On March 3, the IMF issued a new request pressuring El Salvador to stop accumulating BTC and stipulated that the country could not issue debt or tokenized securities tied to Bitcoin.
!summarize #thewolfofwallstreet #jordanbelfour #crime #movie #truestory
!summarize #georgesoros #elonmusk #doge #democrats
During a recent appearance on the All In Podcast, host Jason Calacanis proposed charging a 0.01% tax on every cryptocurrency transaction, which would be denominated in the asset that is transferred, bought or sold. Sacks responded:
“That’s always how taxes start. They are described as being very modest. You know, when the income tax started, it only applied to like a thousand Americans, and the legislators swore up and down that it would never be applied to middle-class people.”
“I don’t particularly like the idea of new taxes, even if it is promised that they won’t affect people very much. That sounds burdensome to me,” Sacks continued.
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“Women tend to build more diverse portfolios and focus on long-term wealth creation rather than chasing short-term gains,” according to Gracy Chen, CEO of Bitget cryptocurrency exchange:
“This measured approach is exactly what the crypto ecosystem needs — investors who understand technological fundamentals and look beyond market noise.”
Women and men’s average holding period per asset type Source: Bitpanda
“Women typically adopt a ‘sit on their hands’ investment style,” with less trading frequency than men, Chen said, citing a Charles Stanley study:
“While men made 13 trades annually on average, women executed only 9. This patience and strategic thinking translates beautifully to crypto markets, where emotional reactions to volatility often lead to losses.”
We’re “not chasing overnight gains” or “FOMO-driven decisions”
The majority of women prefer Bitcoin, but not necessarily due to risk aversion alone.
“This approach often stems from thorough research and strategic patience,” according to Mary Pedler, founder of INPUT Comms blockchain and tech-focused communications agency.
“Many women I’ve worked and communicated with do deep research before investing and seldom make FOMO-driven decisions,” she told Cointelegraph, adding:
“When we invest in Bitcoin, it’s after understanding its fundamental value proposition — we’re not chasing overnight gains; we’re building generational wealth.”
Coinbase has requested that the FDIC provide details in court on how it conducted “due diligence” to ensure no documentation related to the event was destroyed. However, the agency “repeatedly refused to do so,” Grewal said.
His comments come a day after the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) eased its stance on how banks can engage with crypto just hours after US President Donald Trump vowed to end the prolonged crackdown restricting crypto firms’ access to banking services.
Trump’s remarks were made during the White House Crypto Summit, where he told industry leaders he was “ending Operation Chokepoint 2.0.”
Grewal added that his team requested that the FDIC give a “sworn testimony” to the court.
On March 4, Coinbase also submitted a FOIA request to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to find out how many investigations and enforcement actions were brought against crypto firms between April 17, 2021, and Jan. 20, 2025.
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