5 Handy Costco Gadgets To Upgrade Your Smart Home – SlashGear

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Lead Costco has quietly become a reliable source for practical smart-home gear, and this round-up identifies five widely available items that deliver measurable value. In recent years interest in smart home technology has surged—about seven in 10 people say they are interested and over 90% now own at least one smart device—while the market is … Read more

N. Korea to hold party congress in February, first since 2021 – Yahoo

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Lead North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party will convene its Ninth Congress in Pyongyang in late February 2026, state media reported Sunday after a Saturday meeting of top party leaders that included Kim Jong Un. The decision, announced by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), marks the first full party congress since January 2021 and is … Read more

3 takeaways from BYU’s loss to No. 8 Houston

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BRIEF: On Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, No. 8 Houston beat No. 16 BYU 77-66 at the Marriott Center in Provo, handing the Cougars their fourth straight loss and further complicating BYU’s Big 12 season. The defeat dropped BYU to 17-6 overall and 5-5 in conference play after the team began 5-1 in the Big 12. … Read more

Housing affordability crisis: Higher earners drive home prices, not lack of supply, researchers say

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Lead: A new research note by UC Irvine PhD student Schuyler Louie and San Francisco Fed researchers John Mondragon, Rami Najjar, and Johannes Wieland finds that rising average incomes — particularly at the top of the distribution — explain house-price growth more than shortages of housing units. Using metro-area data from the mid-1970s through 2024, … Read more

10 Mobile Apps Worth Installing on Your Phone in 2026

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Lead By 2026, app stores are more crowded than ever, and many genuinely useful utilities remain buried beneath the noise. This roundup highlights 10 lesser-known Android and iOS apps that the reporter tested and found to meaningfully improve everyday phone use—boosting convenience, privacy, or creativity. The selection focuses on practical wins rather than repeat recommendations … Read more

Chasity Verret Martinez Wins District 60 Seat in Louisiana Special Election

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Lead Democrat Chasity Verret Martinez won Saturday’s special election for Louisiana House District 60, defeating Republican Brad Daigle and taking the seat vacated by Chad Brown. Martinez, an Iberville Parish Council member since 2023, captured 62% of the vote — 5,159 of 8,328 ballots cast — with results still unofficial pending certification by the Louisiana … Read more

Pokemon Day 2026: What to Expect from the Pokémon Presents

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Lead The Pokémon Company is expected to host its annual Pokémon Day presentation on February 27, 2026 (typically around 9:00 AM EST), and fans anticipate a major reveal. Industry and community signals point to a tenth-generation announcement aimed at the Nintendo Switch 2, plus release windows and updates for several side titles. The broadcast historically … Read more

El Grande Americano Attacks El Grande Americano in AAA Rey de Reyes Qualifier

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Lead: On Feb. 7, 2026, at an AAA television taping, a masked mystery turned violent when one El Grande Americano assaulted another in a backstage and ringside sequence that upended a Rey de Reyes four-way qualifying match. The incident saw one Americano handcuff his counterpart to a ringpost and seize his tournament slot before going … Read more

Iran’s top diplomat doubles down after US talks, saying Tehran’s strength is its ability to say no

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Lead: After indirect talks with U.S. officials in Oman on Friday, Iran’s foreign minister addressed diplomats in Tehran on Sunday and framed the Islamic Republic’s strength as its willingness to refuse great powers. Abbas Araghchi made the comments amid nationwide protests and renewed regional tensions, while Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian called the Oman discussions a … Read more

Double Whammy Ahead: US Jobs and Inflation Reports

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Investors and policymakers face a compact, consequential week as two major U.S. economic releases arrive within days of each other. The January jobs report is scheduled for Wednesday and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Friday, a timing shift caused by a recent partial government shutdown that delayed both releases. The back-to-back cadence compresses the … Read more

James Harden makes mark in Cavs’ debut, helping Cleveland rally from behind in 132-126 win

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Lead James Harden arrived in Cleveland and made an immediate impact as the Cavaliers completed a fourth-quarter comeback to beat the Sacramento Kings 132-126 on Saturday night at Golden 1 Center. Harden scored 15 of his 23 points in the fourth and added eight assists in 32 minutes, while Donovan Mitchell finished with 35 points. … Read more

New snowfall map: Weekend storm could bring up to a foot of snow to Mass.

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This weekend, a low-pressure system moving near New England is forecast to bring measurable snowfall to Massachusetts, with some locations receiving as much as one foot. National Weather Service guidance and local forecasts indicate the heaviest snowfall will fall at varying times over the weekend, depending on the storm track and coastal temperature gradients. Municipalities … Read more

Andrei Arlovski bludgeons Ben Rothwell to claim BKFC heavyweight crown at KnuckleMania 6

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Andrei Arlovski bludgeons Ben Rothwell to claim BKFC heavyweight crown at KnuckleMania 6 Andrei Arlovski, 47, defeated Ben Rothwell, 44, on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia to win the BKFC heavyweight title. The trilogy matchup — their third fight overall after two MMA meetings — ended in the third round … Read more