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Warner Bros. Discovery on Feb. 17, 2026 said it would reopen merger talks with Paramount Skydance, giving Paramount until Feb. 23 to present a best-and-final offer. The decision revives a months-long contest with Netflix after WBD in December favored Netflix’s $83 billion acquisition of its streaming and studio assets over Paramount’s earlier $108 billion takeover … Read more

February 17, 2026 — Thrive Capital, the venture firm founded by Josh Kushner, said it has raised more than $10 billion in its largest-ever fund. The oversubscribed raise—announced on Feb. 17 and later updated—saw the firm turn away billions in potential commitments. Thrive said the new capital will expand investments across artificial intelligence applications and … Read more

Lead: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla met Bangladesh’s newly sworn-in prime minister, Tarique Rahman, on Tuesday and handed over a personal congratulatory letter from India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi. The meeting took place shortly after Rahman’s oath-taking in Dhaka, where Birla represented the Indian government. Bangladesh’s high commissioner to India said both leaders exchanged greetings … Read more

Lead: A report in The Times highlights research suggesting that brushing teeth up to three times daily may be associated with a lower risk of developing dementia. The claim links improved oral hygiene with reduced systemic inflammation, a hypothesized pathway to brain disease. The story is published behind a paywall and draws on recent observational … Read more

Lead The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a towering figure in the American civil-rights movement and the architect of a modern “rainbow coalition” that mobilized poor and working-class voters, died on Feb. 17, 2026, at age 84. His family confirmed he “died peacefully” in a brief statement but did not specify a cause. Jackson had been hospitalized … Read more

Lead WWE has announced that next week’s Monday Night Raw in Atlanta will be dedicated to a tribute for AJ Styles, the veteran who recently lost a retirement match to GUNTHER at the Royal Rumble. The announcement follows a moment in which Styles briefly left his gloves in the ring, then put them back on … Read more

February 16, 2026 — As Prime Minister Mark Carney moves to lower tariffs on imports of Chinese electric vehicles, new polling indicates a notable shift in Canadian consumer attitudes. A Nanos Research Group survey for Bloomberg found that 53% of Canadians say knowing an EV was made in China would have no effect on their … Read more

Lead This summer many Americans are rethinking travel because costs have surged and everyday add-ons keep piling up. Tim Plyant of Austin plans to skip trips this year, citing sticker shock at fares and airport food; others report similar decisions. Industry data show travel costs are up 23% since 2019, and younger travelers are disproportionately … Read more

Lead Stock futures opened lower on Tuesday as U.S. markets tried to steady after a second consecutive weekly decline. S&P 500 futures slipped about 0.3%, Nasdaq 100 futures gave up roughly 0.7% and Dow futures fell 46 points (about 0.1%). The selling pressure followed a holiday-shortened week in which the S&P 500 and Dow each … Read more

Lead On Feb. 16, 2026, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass publicly urged Casey Wasserman to resign as chairman of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic organizing committee after his name appeared in newly released Justice Department documents tied to Jeffrey Epstein. Bass, speaking to CNN, said she lacked the authority to remove him directly and that … Read more

Tom Pritzker, 75, announced on Feb. 16, 2026 that he is stepping down immediately as executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels Corporation after newly disclosed records showed repeated contact with financier Jeffrey Epstein following Epstein’s 2008 plea deal. In a letter to the Hyatt board, Pritzker said he had failed to distance himself from Epstein and … Read more

Lead On 17 February 2026 communities across East and Southeast Asia marked the first day of the Lunar New Year, the Year of the Fire Horse. Public events ranged from lion dances outside Sydney Town Hall to temple visits in Beijing and incense offerings at cemeteries in Vietnam. China expected a record 9.5 billion cross-regional … Read more

Lead: Federal and local investigators in Tucson continue an active search after 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie went missing. Authorities say DNA recovered from a glove found about two miles from her home produced a profile of an unknown male and is being prepared for entry into the FBI’s CODIS database. Pima County and FBI teams have … Read more

Lead On Feb. 16–17, 2026, Asian markets prepared for a subdued open as US equity-index futures fell and investors returned from a Presidents’ Day holiday. Contracts for the S&P 500 slid about 0.4% while Nasdaq 100 futures dropped roughly 0.7%, reflecting a multiweek pullback in technology names. Treasuries inched higher and precious metals retreated, underscoring … Read more

Salesforce cofounder and CTO Parker Harris told product and engineering staff on Feb. 17, 2026, that he was personally “not OK” with CEO Marc Benioff’s jokes about US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) made at the company kickoff in Las Vegas. Harris described the remarks as “a very bad joke” and said the comments have … Read more