President Donald Trump’s newly created Board of Peace is set to hold its first meeting Thursday, with administration officials and participating countries framing the gathering as a step toward implementing the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire and reconstruction effort rather than a moment likely to deliver an immediate breakthrough. At least 20 countries are expected to attend the inaugural ...

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has reportedly been holding secret talks with the grandson of Raul Castro, the former President of Cuba.  The talks between Rubio and Raul Guillermo Rodriguez Castro are bypassing official Cuban government channels, Axios reported.  ‘Our position — the U.S. government’s position — is the regime has to go,’ a senior official told the news outlet. ...

President Donald Trump announced that former Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom during a White House event marking the 100th anniversary of Black History Month, as attendees at one point broke into chants of ‘four more years.’ ‘Ben’s getting the Presidential Medal of Freedom,’ Trump said. ‘It’s the highest award you ...

President Donald Trump praised civil rights activist Jesse Jackson as a ‘real hero’ during a White House Black History Month event Wednesday, just a day after Jackson’s death. ‘I wanted to begin by expressing a sadness that the passing of a person who was. I knew very well Jesse was a piece of work. He was a piece of work. ...

The president of a Florida insurance brokerage firm and the CEO of a marketing company were sentenced Wednesday to 20 years each in prison for leading a sprawling, $233 million Affordable Care Act fraud scheme that preyed on Florida’s most vulnerable residents — including homeless and jobless individuals and newly displaced hurricane victims — to pocket millions in unearned commissions. ...

: This was the kind of prison break officials say could have changed the region, and perhaps even the world, overnight. Nearly 6,000 ISIS detainees, described by a senior U.S. intelligence official as ‘the worst of the worst,’ were being held in northern Syria as clashes and instability threatened the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, the guards responsible for keeping the ...

The debate over U.S. missile defense is increasingly focused on space, and defense experts argue that stopping threats in the earliest moments after launch could determine whether the homeland remains protected against Russia and China’s expanding arsenals. At a policy discussion marking roughly a year since the rollout of the ‘Golden Dome’ homeland defense initiative, former senior defense officials said ...

A Washington, D.C., grandmother who lost her grandson to gun violence delivered a fiery defense of President Donald Trump during a Black History Month celebration Wednesday at the White House. Forlesia Cook’s grandson, Marty William McMillan Jr., was killed in 2017 at the age of 22. Cook has since spoken publicly about the loss, including testifying before Congress about his ...

Here’s a quick recap of the crypto landscape for Wednesday (February 18) as of 9:00 a.m. UTC. Get the latest insights on Bitcoin, Ether and altcoins, along with a round-up of key cryptocurrency market news. Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$68,092.31, down 0.3 percent over the last 24 hours. Bitcoin price performance, February 18, 2026. Chart via TradingView Ether (ETH) ...

The US Department of Commerce has sharply increased trade penalties on Chinese graphite anode materials, concluding that producers in China engaged in unfair pricing and subsidy practices that harmed the US market. In a final determination issued February 11, 2026, Commerce raised countervailing duties on Chinese natural graphite anode material to 66.68 percent and maintained anti-dumping duties at 93.5 percent. ...