Author: i2wtc

FILE PHOTO: Special Counsel of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger poses for a portrait in an undated handout image.U.S. Office Of Special Counsel | Via ReutersA top federal ethics watchdog who was fired last month by President Donald Trump said Thursday that he is dropping a lawsuit challenging his dismissal.The announcement by Office of Special Counsel chief Hampton Dellinger came a day after a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., said that he could be removed from his post by Trump while the legal fight over his case played out.Dellinger, who had retained his job as a…

Michael Siluk | UCG | Universal Images Group | Getty ImagesDine Brands hopes to boost sales this year with a wider swath of value meals and buzzier advertising after a rough 2024 for Applebee’s and IHOP.”We had a soft year in 2024, which disappoints us, but we’re focused on improving that in 2025,” Dine Brands CEO John Peyton told CNBC. “We’ve got to have compelling messages and compelling promotions and compelling reasons to drive traffic into the restaurants.”Dine on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter U.S. same-store sales dropped 4.7% at Applebee’s and 2.8% at IHOP, ending the year with four straight quarters…

European Union leaders have convened for an emergency summit in Brussels to address escalating security concerns after the suspension of United States military aid to Ukraine. During the summit, European leaders have primarily focused on strengthening their defence commitments and ensuring continued support for Ukraine. The gathering is the first summit of the 27 nations since an explosive meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, last week between US President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Trump administration has since announced a freeze on military aid and suspended intelligence-sharing with Ukraine – decisions that could have dire consequences…

A United States-led ceasefire agreement in Ukraine does not appear imminent, but Washington’s relationship with Moscow is growing ever warmer. Russia and the US focused on bilateral issues in their second round of talks last Thursday, following their opening session in Riyadh nine days earlier. Russia floated the idea of resuming commercial flights while the US discussed staffing its Moscow embassy. Neither side mentioned Ukraine in their official statements. Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Maria Zakharova confirmed on Wednesday that, “There are no talks on the situation in Ukraine as yet.” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, “Some first draft…

BARCELONA — China’s Huawei isn’t the only smartphone maker adding a third display to its devices.At the Mobile World Congress (MWC) trade show in Barcelona, a number of firms were showing off their display technology innovations.The South Korean tech giant Samsung revealed its new “trifold” concept devices at the event: the Flex G and Flex S.The Flex G has three screens and folds flat inwards and outwards, a bit like a book. The Flex S, on the other hand, has a more zigzag-like shape. It’s meant to resemble an “S” — hence the name.The Flex S is another concept device…

Meta Platforms is among the U.S. tech giants leading the race to invest in generative AI and the foundational large language models that the AI breakthroughs rely on, and it’s also taken an open-source approach to its AI development, allowing the tech innovations to be shared widely.Those innovations are occurring rapidly. “Not just daily. It’s evolving multiple times a day,” says Clara Shih, head of business AI at Meta.Its Llama LLMs, available to developers around the world, have been downloaded over 800 million times. Earlier this week, Meta chief product officer Chris Cox said the upcoming open-source Llama 4 AI will…

Listen to article RAWALPINDI/PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has once again opened backchannels with Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) as part of its political manoeuvrings against the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), sources confirmed on Wednesday. Amid growing whispers of potential alliances, sources said PTI leader Salman Akram Raja has reached out to JUI-F’s leadership, expressing a desire for talks. However, JUI-F has informed PTI that its chief, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, is currently away for Umrah. With both former rivals staying tight-lipped and moving cautiously, they have reportedly agreed to meet once Fazl returns, with talks expected as early as next week. Moreover, PTI Secretary…

European Union leaders have gathered for emergency talks in their first meeting since an explosive exchange last week between United States President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the war in Ukraine. Leaders of the 27-nation bloc arrived in Brussels on Thursday to discuss ways of increasing their military budgets to support Ukraine in its war with Russia against a backdrop of dramatic policy shifts from Washington that have cast severe doubt over its support for European security and defence. After the fiery meeting at the Oval Office, Trump slammed President Zelenskyy for saying peace with Russia, which launched…

Rep. Al Green (D-TX) shouts out as U.S. President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on March 04, 2025 in Washington, DC.Win Mcnamee | Via ReutersThe House of Representatives voted Thursday to censure Texas Democratic Rep. Al Green for heckling President Donald Trump during the president’s speech to Congress earlier this week.The vote to censure Green was 224–198.Ten of the lawmaker’s fellow Democrats joined Republicans in voting to formally express disapproval for conduct, which consisted of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., reading the censure out loud to Green as he stood in the well…

A version of this article first appeared in CNBC’s Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high net worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox. While family offices pride themselves on investing for the long term, this week’s tariff volatility and confusion around government policy is causing many to slow their deal-making, according to experts. The S & P 500 was down 1.3% on Thursday alone, and all three major averages were down roughly 3% so far this week on the implementation of tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China.…