Live updates: Trump presidency news, US talks on Iran and Ukraine in Geneva
A motorcade of the Russian delegation arrives at the InterContinental hotel in Geneva, Switzerland, on Tuesday, for US-mediated peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. Last night, Trump told reporters that he would be involved in the talks “indirectly.” Here’s the latest:• Iran talks: A second round of US-Iran nuclear talks began this morning in Geneva, Switzerland. The talks are aiming to curb Iran’s nuclear program – potentially in exchange for the US lifting sanctions – and reduce tensions between the two countries. • US demands: Not content merely to secure curbs on Iran’s nuclear program, the US is also seeking to include Iran’s ballistic missiles and its regional proxies – including Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza – in any future agreement. • Russia-Ukraine talks: This afternoon, Witkoff and Kushner have pivoted to another thorny dispute, taking part in trilateral talks with Russia and Ukraine aimed at ending the nearly four-year war.
Source:CNN
February 17, 2026 13:30 UTC
Four Seasons Hotel Kuwait at Burj Alshaya Earns Fourth Consecutive Forbes Five-Star Rating, Setting a New Benchmark for Luxury Hospitality in Kuwait
Forbes Travel Guide has once again recognized Four Seasons Hotel Kuwait at Burj Alshaya with the prestigious Five-Star rating. This marks the Hotel’s fourth consecutive year earning the highest distinction, making it the first and only hotel in Kuwait to achieve this milestone for four years running. Awarded by the world’s only independent global rating system for luxury hospitality, the Forbes Five-Star accolade reflects excellence across more than 900 exacting standards, evaluated anonymously by professional inspectors. Set against the striking gold-patterned Burj Alshaya tower and overlooking Al Shaheed Park, Four Seasons Hotel Kuwait has established itself as an urban sanctuary where resort-style tranquillity meets the energy of the city. “We are incredibly proud to receive the Forbes Five-Star rating for a fourth consecutive year,” says Martin Kipping, General Manager of Four Seasons Hotel Kuwait at Burj Alshaya.
Source:Forbes
February 17, 2026 13:14 UTC
I'm An Outsider Living Deep In MAGA Country. This Is What Most People Will Never Know About Life Here.
They didn’t all stay, but the ones who did became the spine of my new life. Living as a leftist trans woman in MAGA country is like speaking a language nobody wants to admit they understand. When the world feels small, I build new ones. Advertisement AdvertisementAdvertisement AdvertisementThere’s a certain loneliness that comes from living where your truth feels like a foreign language. Not the kind that waves on porches, but the kind that says, I’m here, and I’m not leaving quietly.
Source:Huffington Post
February 17, 2026 12:56 UTC
Forbes names NJ companies among best employers for 2026
Listen to this article Listen to this articleThe basics:Forbes, Statista survey 217,000 US employees for 2026 rankings22 New Jersey companies make Best Large Employers list15 New Jersey companies named Best Midsize EmployersNovo Nordisk, Johnson & Johnson, NJIT among top NJ employersTo help jobseekers find “the right fit,” Forbes has once again released its annual America’s Best Midsize and Large Employers lists. 114: Cooper University Health Care, CamdenIndustry: Healthcare & Social ServicesIndustry: Healthcare & Social Services No. 118: University Hospital, NewarkIndustry: Healthcare & Social ServicesIndustry: Healthcare & Social Services No. 253: Capital Health, TrentonIndustry: Healthcare & Social ServicesIndustry: Healthcare & Social Services No. 257: Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center, LivingstonIndustry: Healthcare & Social ServicesIndustry: Healthcare & Social Services No.
Source:Forbes
February 17, 2026 12:44 UTC
Gisèle Pelicot’s memoir launches, turning horror into hope for survivors
(AP Photo/Lewis Joly)PARIS -- Gisèle Pelicot’s memoir was released Tuesday in 22 languages worldwide, sharing details of the horror she went through and sending a powerful message of hope and support to victims of sexual abuse. “Gisèle has demonstrated to the world that it’s not for victims of sexual abuse to feel shame — it’s the perpetrators,” Biles said. “By waiving her anonymity and refusing to feel shame, Gisèle paves the way for other victims to come forward." The unprecedented trial exposed how online pornography, chat rooms and distorted notions of consent can fuel sexual violence. Until then, rape under French law was defined as penetration or oral sex using “violence, coercion, threat or surprise.”
Source:ABC News
February 17, 2026 12:22 UTC
Civil rights icon Reverend Jesse Jackson dies at age 84
Jesse Louis Jackson, the towering civil rights leader whose moral vision and fiery oratory reshaped the Democratic Party and America, has died, his son said. Martin Luther King Jr. After King’s assassination in 1968, Jackson became one of the most transformative civil rights leaders in America — to the chagrin of some of King’s aides, who thought he was too brash. ”It is where I get the drive to think I could change the South through the civil rights movement and run for President,” Jackson said. In his later years, Jackson became an elder statesman in the civil rights movement. Jackson announced plans to step down as president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition in 2023, more than 50 years after he founded the international human and civil rights organization.
Source:CNN
February 17, 2026 12:17 UTC
Anderson Cooper Departing ‘60 Minutes’ as Correspondent
Anderson Cooper is ending his time at 60 Minutes. Cooper remains with CNN, where he anchors the nightly Anderson Cooper 360 and a weekly newsmagazine, The Whole Story. “Being a correspondent at 60 Minutes has been one of the great honors of my career,” Cooper said in a statement. 60 Minutes will be here if he ever wants to return.”Cooper’s departure marks the first big on-air change for 60 Minutes under the CBS News leadership of editor-in-chief Bari Weiss. The piece eventually ran on Jan. 18.Cooper began his tenure on 60 Minutes during the 2006-07 season.
Source:CNN
February 17, 2026 12:08 UTC
The Rev. Jesse Jackson dies at 84
TMZ gets 4th email in Guthrie caseTMZ says it received a fourth email from a person claiming to know who kidnapped Nancy Guthrie and where she is, again demanding bitcoin. Founder Harvey Levin says he offered to pass any information to the FBI if the sender does not trust investigators.
Source:CNN
February 17, 2026 12:08 UTC
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie grapple with fallout from parents’ Epstein scandals
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Source:CNN
February 17, 2026 12:05 UTC
Jesse Jackson, Civil-Rights Leader and Democratic Presidential Candidate, Dies at 84
Jesse Jackson , a longtime civil-rights activist and Democratic political leader, has died. About a year after Jesse was born, his mother married Charles Jackson, a postal worker who adopted the boy. The campaign drew support from liberal members of the Democratic Party, especially minority groups. Jesse L. Jackson Jr., a former Democratic congressman from Chicago, resigned in 2012 during an investigation into alleged misuse of campaign funds. Jesse Jackson announced in 2017 that he had Parkinson’s disease and said he planned to remain active as long as possible.
Source:Wall Street Journal
February 17, 2026 11:00 UTC
Britain’s Monarchy Can’t Escape the Shadow of the Epstein Scandal
“give him a hug,” Epstein emailed Stern, when he was on his way to Singapore to meet Andrew in June 2018. In early 2010, Ferguson emailed Andrew, suggesting Stern could help the prince with a nascent plan to create a wealth fund in China. “We very discreetly make PA part of it and use his ‘aura and access,’ ” Stern wrote, referring to Prince Andrew. In July 2013, Stern emailed Epstein saying that he and Andrew met with Howard Lutnick, then chief executive of Cantor Fitzgerald. “I have a very beautiful friend comoing to london on tues. ANdrew might want to have her for a dinner,” Epstein wrote in October 2013 to Stern.
Source:Wall Street Journal
February 17, 2026 10:44 UTC
Giants free agency 2026: IS OL Austin Schlottmann worth bringing back?
Veteran center/guard Austin Schlottmann showed the value of having capable veteran backup offensive linemen in 2025, when he played well in four starts for the New York Giants as a fill-in for John Michael Schmitz. According to PFF, Schlottmann had a phenomenal 99.2 pass blocking efficiency rating, allowing just three pressures in 212 pass blocking snaps. It will be if the Giants invest heavily on the interior of the offensive line and bring back Greg Van Roten as a backup. Van Roten, with experience at both guards and center, could fill that same three-position backup role. If the Giants are penciling Van Roten into that backup role, spending money on Schlottmann would likely be unnecessary.
Source:New York Times
February 17, 2026 10:42 UTC
Bangladesh’s new prime minister is sworn in after his party’s landslide election win
Bangladesh’s new prime minister has been sworn in after his party’s landslide win in parliamentary elections last week, the country’s first since the massive 2024 uprisingBangladesh’s new prime minister is sworn in after his party’s landslide election winPresident of Bangladesh Mohammed Shahabuddin, left, congratulates Tarique Rahman, Chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party after administering him oath of Prime Minister of Bangladesh at the National Parliament in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)DHAKA, Bangladesh -- DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladesh’ s new prime minister was sworn in on Tuesday after his party’s landslide win in parliamentary elections last week, the country’s first since the massive 2024 uprising and a vote billed as key to the nation's future political landscape after years of intense rivalry and disputed polls. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, whose term will last for five years, is the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and former President Ziaur Rahman. He is also Bangladesh’s first male prime minister in 35 years. Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay and an Indian delegation were among the guests, as well as dignitaries from Nepal, Sri Lanka and other countries.
Source:ABC News
February 17, 2026 10:37 UTC
CNN Polling Guru Blown Away by Trump’s Disastrous New Lows
CNN data analyst Harry Enten says President Donald Trump is now in a league of his own when it comes to sinking approval ratings. So we’re ranging from -19 points, all the way to -26 points,” Enten said. In February 2018, during his first term, Trump’s net approval among independents was -17, according to Quinnipiac. U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a visit to the Fort Bragg U.S. Army base on February 13, 2026 in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. CNN suggests that Donald Trump’s plan of “simply blaming Biden” for the state of the economy is not working with the public.
Source:CNN
February 17, 2026 10:35 UTC
Top Model Doc Producer Answers Everyone's Big Question About Tyra Banks' Involvement
Tyra Banks in 2018 via Associated PressThe team behind the new documentary Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model have opened up about Tyra Banks’ participation. Premiering on Monday, the three-part series charts the rise of America’s Next Top Model in the 2000s, as well as tackling some of its thornier and more controversial moments. And in case there was any doubt, executive producer Vanessa Golembewski has now clarified that Tyra was not given any special treatment as an interviewee. “Tyra’s perspective was always important to the series, but it was just as important that her involvement was as an interview subject only. Near the end of Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model, Tyra teased that a new season of the divisive reality show is in the works, telling viewers: “I feel like my work is not done.
Source:Huffington Post
February 17, 2026 08:50 UTC