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. ...

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 ...

: 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 ...

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. ...

LaFleur Minerals Inc. (CSE: LFLR,OTC:LFLRF) (OTCQB: LFLRF) (FSE: 3WK0) (‘LaFleur Minerals’ or the ‘Company’) is pleased to provide an update on the advancement of its Beacon Gold Mill restart plans, further to the Company’s press release dated January 26, 2026, which outlined its near-term production strategy and the ongoing advancement of its comprehensive Preliminary Economic Assessment (‘PEA’). The Company’s assets, ...

A stockpile of 1,000 metric tons of uranium seized from a French-operated mine in Niger is now sitting at a military airbase in Niamey that was recently attacked by Islamic State militants, raising fresh concerns over security and the material’s uncertain future. The uranium, which is processed yellowcake used to fuel nuclear reactors, has been offered for sale by Niger’s ...

Ormat Technologies (NYSE:ORA) confirmed it has signed a long-term agreement to supply up to 150 megawatts of geothermal power to support Google’s data center operations in Nevada. The Reno-based renewable energy company announced Tuesday (February 17) that it entered into a portfolio power purchase agreement (PPA) with NV Energy, the Berkshire Hathaway-owned utility serving Nevada. The electricity will ultimately support ...

Precious metals prices continued to face downward pressure this week as investors took strong US economic data and a changing geopolitical landscape into consideration. After climbing to fresh all-time highs at the start of 2026, a myriad of factors in February have seemingly taken the sails out gold, silver and platinum prices. However, the underlying fundamentals for the precious metals ...