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Lead: Newly released Justice Department emails dated Feb. 8, 2026 show that Ghislaine Maxwell, long associated with Jeffrey Epstein, played a substantive behind-the-scenes role in launching the Clinton Global Initiative in 2004. The documents indicate she joined budget discussions, coordinated with event producer Publicis Groupe and arranged a $1 million wire to pay for the … Read more

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

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

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

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

On Sunday in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Lindsey Vonn’s attempt to claim an Olympic medal ended when she crashed 13.4 seconds into the women’s downhill final on the Tofane course. Racing nine days after rupturing the ACL in her left knee and competing in a brace, Vonn did not finish the 1.6-mile run and was airlifted from … Read more

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

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

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

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

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

Lead On Saturday at Breslin Center in East Lansing, No. 5 Illinois saw its 12-game winning streak end in an 85-82 overtime defeat to No. 10 Michigan State. Jeremy Fears Jr. carried the Spartans with 26 points (including 11 in OT) and a game-high 15 assists, while Illinois freshman Keaton Wagler was held to 16 … Read more

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

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

Lead On Feb. 6, 2026, scientists aboard the South Korean icebreaker Araon, operating in the Amundsen Sea, used airborne tactics to sample waters beneath the fractured floating tongue of the Thwaites Glacier. Teams could not reach a half‑mile‑deep borehole through the main ice mass, so they instead lowered sensors into narrow rifts between giant ice … Read more