Author: i2wtc

A U.S. Department of Education employee leaves the building with their belonging on March 20, 2025 in Washington, DC.Win McNamee | Getty ImagesThe Trump administration on Wednesday lost a bid to lift a federal district court order temporarily barring the U.S. Education Department from laying off about half of its employees.The administration had asked the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston to lift the preliminary injunction by the district court judge that had blocked the large reduction in force at the department announced by Education Secretary Linda McMahon in March.A three-judge panel on that appeals court rejected that…

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy speaks at a company event in New York on Feb. 26, 2025.Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesAmazon has formed a new group within its consumer product-development arm that is focused on agentic artificial intelligence, the company said Wednesday.The team will be based in Lab126, the stealthy Silicon Valley-based research and development unit behind the Kindle e-reader, Echo smart speaker and other popular Amazon devices.A growing number of companies are building AI agents as they look beyond text and image generators. In contrast to AI services such as chatbots, agents are capable of completing multistep, complex…

Listen to article ISLAMABAD: Former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on Tuesday that “if” the premier spy agencies of both Pakistan and India “sit together” and collaborate with each other there could be a significant decline in terrorist activities in the region. Bilawal, who is leading a multi-party delegation to world capitals to present Pakistan’s stance on the recent escalation with India, told a press conference in New York that the ceasefire between the two countries was a “welcome first step”, yet it was merely a first step. Bilawal’s press conference came just before his departure for Washington for the delegation’s…

Mateusz Slodkowski | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesReddit is suing artificial intelligence startup Anthropic for what it’s calling a breach of contract and for engaging in “unlawful and unfair business acts” by using the social media company’s platform and data without authority.The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco on Wednesday, claims that Anthropic has been training its models on the personal data of Reddit users without obtaining their consent. Reddit alleges that’s has been harmed by the unauthorized commercial use of its content.Reddit shares closed up more than 6% on Wednesday.The company opened the complaint by calling Anthropic a “late-blooming” AI company…

Listen to article Minister of State for Crypto, Blockchain and CEO of the Pakistan Crypto Council Bilal Bin Saqib has met with the Executive Director of President Trump’s Council on Digital Assets, Robert ‘Bo’ Hines at the White House and discussed strategic alignment on digital assets, Bitcoin integration and the future of decentralised infrastructure. During the meeting, both sides expressed a shared interest in fostering collaboration between the US and Pakistan on digital asset innovation, regulatory coherence and emerging financial technologies, said a press release issued by the Ministry of Finance here on Wednesday. They also discussed ways to support innovation ecosystems…

As more parts of the world face intense drought, new technologies are emerging to clean and reuse existing water. Investors are seeing potential for big profits.Water treatment is expensive. It uses a lot of energy and produces its own waste that gets disposed of at a hefty price. Capture6, a startup in Berkeley, California, says it’s developing a solution, and one with an added benefit to the environment. Capture6’s technology repurposes industrial and water treatment waste, generating clean water and capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.”That combination of water treatment, brine management, and carbon capture all at once is part…

Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump.Mikhail Metzel | Evelyn Hockstein | Via ReutersPresident Donald Trump on Wednesday said he spoke with Russian leader Vladimir Putin for well over an hour about Ukraine’s latest attack on Russian airplanes and nuclear talks with Iran.Putin in that call vowed retaliation against Ukraine for the stunning surprise attack, which Kyiv said resulted in strikes on more than 40 Russian bombers, Trump said.”It was a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate Peace,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.Read more CNBC politics coverageThe Kremlin later confirmed the call, which…

Listen to article At least 14 militants allegedly affiliated with Fitna al-Khawarij, a group identified as an Indian proxy, were killed in intellegence-based operations in North Waziristan between June 2 and 3, it emerged on Wednesday. According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), security forces conducted operations in Dhatta Khel area of North Waziristan. “After a fierce exchange of fire, 14 militants affiliated with the Indian-sponsored group were neutralized.” Sanitization operations are ongoing in the area to ensure the complete elimination of any remaining threats, said the military’s media wing. “Pakistan’s armed forces remain resolute in their mission…

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson on Wednesday blasted President Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” as “immoral” and “grotesque,” and reiterated that he will vote against it unless his GOP colleagues make major changes.”This is immoral, what us old farts doing to our young people,” Johnson said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” after sounding alarms that the massive tax-and-spending-cut bill would add trillions of dollars to national deficits. “This is grotesque, what we’re doing,” Johnson said. “We need to own up to that. This is our moment.””I can’t accept the scenario, I can’t accept it, so I won’t vote for it, unless…

Armed men abducted Tump Assistant Commissioner Hanif Noorzai on Wednesday morning near Tigranabad as he was traveling with his family to Quetta, according to local sources. Eyewitnesses report that between six to eight armed individuals stopped his official vehicle, took him away at gunpoint, and fled with the car. His wife, driver, and official gunman were left at the site and remain unharmed. The incident has prompted a swift response from security forces, who have launched a large-scale search operation in the area. Snap-checking has begun along Zubaida Jalal Road and nearby routes, while intelligence-based efforts are being used to…