The gruff-but-beloved Hackman was among the finest actors of his generation, appearing as villains, heroes and antiheroes in dozens of dramas, comedies and action films from the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s.
He was a five-time Oscar nominee who won for “The French Connection” in 1972 and “Unforgiven” two decades later. His death comes just four days before this year’s ceremony.
Hackman met Arakawa, a classically trained pianist who grew up in Hawaii, when she was working part-time at a California gym in the mid-1980s, the New York Times reported in 1989. They soon moved in together, and by the end of the decade had bought their home in Santa Fe.
The large Southwestern-style ranch in a gated community just outside New Mexico’s capital city sits on a hill with views of the Rocky Mountains.
Some technologists hope quantum computers will be capable of solving problems that stump classical computers. PCs and phones run calculations and store data with bits that are either on or off, while quantum computers work with quantum bits, or qubits, that can operate in both states simultaneously.
"We believe that scaling Ocelot to a full-fledged quantum computer capable of transformative societal impact would require as little as one-tenth as many resources as common approaches, helping bring closer the age of practical quantum computing," Fernando Brandão, Amazon Web Services' director of applied science, and Oskar Painter, the cloud group's quantum hardware chief, wrote in a blog post.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said in 2020, when he was head of AWS, that the company was "optimistic in the future that quantum computing will play a role" as cloud gets bigger in large companies and the public sector.
Six months after Jassy made those comments, AWS released the Amazon Braket service, allowing developers to experiment with quantum computers from other companies, including IonQ and Rigetti Computing. Microsoft's Azure cloud has a similar offering. Amazon is planning for future versions of its quantum chips to become available through Braket, Painter said
In 2023, AWS senior vice president Peter DeSantis talked about building a quantum processor at the cloud group's Reinvent conference in Las Vegas, promising more details in the future.
Like Microsoft, Amazon fabricated its chip internally. Building a system boasting a million qubits will take collaborations with world-leading semiconductor manufacturers, according to Barrett. Outsourcing to a partner is an option as Amazon progresses with quantum hardware, Painter said.
Public interest in the space has risen lately, Painter said, as companies have discussed new ways of assembling qubits that are resistant to errors. Amazon designed Ocelot to tackle the problem of error correction, and Google's Willow also demonstrated improvements in that area, Painter said.
The Reddit co-founder, who created the "front page of the internet" in 2005, also weighed in on the future of social media. "I think we'll get to a place where we as users get to choose our algorithms, and because, without a doubt, these platforms, we're all incentivized to have the best possible algorithm, not because of anything sinister, but because we want to keep people engaged," he said.
In a post about Meta's new content moderation policies, Joel Kaplan, Meta's chief global affairs officer, wrote, "Starting in the US, we are ending our third party fact-checking program and moving to a Community Notes model."
Kaplan added that Meta would "take a more personalized approach to political content, so that people who want to see more of it in their feeds can."
Meta did not immediately reply to CNBC's request for comment.
The community notes model is also favored by Elon Musk-owned X, which says it aims to "create a better informed world by empowering people on X to collaboratively add context to potentially misleading posts."
With a two thousand mile coastline, one would imagine Italy as a seafaring nation -- but no. There are very few natural harbors and those were taken by the Greeks for their Magna Graecia. With virtually no tidal activity, the Mediterranean cannot wash away the silt from the river deltas to help make them into adequate harbors.
South of the hills of Etruria, where the Tiber and Arno flow, there are two plains named Latium and Campania. The soil there is rich, fertile, and full of volcanic ash. Abundant streams provide irrigation and a gentle southwest wind blows across the plains. But for many centuries the plain of Latium was inhospitable to man. As late as 1000 B.C. there were active volcanoes in the region -- more than fifty craters within twenty five miles of Rome.
The company's revenue barely grew in 2020, and plunged by nearly 29% in 2021. Its consumer segment was hit hard, and even as revenue rose 17% year on year to 251.5 billion yuan in 2023, it was just over half of what the unit generated at its peak in 2020.
The telecommunications company started to make a comeback in the smartphone market in 2023 with the release of its Mate 60 Pro in China. Reviews indicated the device offers download speeds associated with 5G — thanks to an advanced semiconductor chip.
Just over a year later, Huawei launched the Mate 70 smartphone series that uses the company's first fully self-developed operating system, HarmonyOS NEXT.
Ukraine's Army Chief Visits Eastern Front Heavily Pressured by Russia
Ukraine's top commander said Thursday he visited brigades defending the Novopavlivka front in eastern Donetsk, where Russia has intensified its assaults.
Ukraine's top commander said on Thursday he had visited brigades defending the Novopavlivka front in the eastern Donetsk region where Russia has stepped up its assaults.
"The enemy is conducting intense offensive actions in this area, trying to break through the defenses of our troops and capture three settlements," Oleksandr Syrskyi, chief of Ukraine's armed forces, wrote on Facebook.
Syrskyi did not say when or which part of the front he had visited.
Zelenskyy says he wants a just and lasting peace that would include security guarantees from Western allies to help deter another Russian invasion in the future.
Israel Refuses to Withdraw From Gaza Corridor, Risking Truce
Israel refuses to withdraw from a Gaza corridor, risking a crisis with Hamas and Egypt amid the fragile ceasefire.
Israel will not withdraw from a strategic corridor in the Gaza Strip as called for by the ceasefire, an official said Thursday. Israel’s refusal could spark a crisis with Hamas and key mediator Egypt at a sensitive moment for the fragile truce.
Hours earlier, Hamas released the remains of four hostages in exchange for over 600 Palestinian prisoners, the last planned swap of the ceasefire’s first phase, which ends this weekend. Talks over the second and more difficult stage have yet to begin.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said Israeli forces needed to remain in the so-called Philadelphi corridor, on the Gaza side of the border with Egypt, to prevent weapons smuggling.
French President Emmanuel Macron said he shared the “immense pain” of the family and loved ones of Yahalomi, who had French citizenship.
Hamas confirmed that over 600 prisoners had been released overnight. Most were detainees returned to Gaza, where they had been rounded up after the Oct. 7 attack and held without charge on security suspicions.
Some of the released prisoners fell to their knees in gratitude after disembarking from buses in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. In the West Bank town of Beitunia, dozens of prisoners were welcomed by crowds of relatives and well-wishers.
The released prisoners wore shirts issued by the Israeli prison service bearing a message in Arabic about pursuing one's enemies. Some of the prisoners threw the shirts on the ground or set them on fire.
Trump's envoy, Witkoff, has said he wants the sides to move into negotiations on the second phase. Those talks were supposed to begin the first week of February.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to return all the hostages and destroy the military and governing capabilities of Hamas, which remains in control of Gaza. The Trump administration has endorsed both goals.
But it's unclear how Israel would destroy Hamas without resuming the war, and Hamas is unlikely to release the remaining hostages — its main bargaining chips — without a lasting ceasefire.
The ceasefire, brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, ended 15 months of war that erupted after Hamas’ 2023 attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people. About 250 people were taken hostage.
"We'll work closely with the government," he said. "We'll do anything we can to help them succeed."
The company called for $2.53 to $2.55 in adjusted earnings per share for the fiscal first quarter, with $9.71 billion to $9.76 billion in revenue. Analysts polled by LSEG had anticipated adjusted earnings of $2.61 per share, with $9.9 billion in revenue.
For fiscal 2026, Salesforce is targeting $11.09 to $11.17 in adjusted earnings per share on $40.5 billion to $40.9 billion in revenue, implying 7.4% growth. The LSEG consensus was for adjusted earnings per share of $11.18 on $41.35 billion in revenue.
As of Wednesday's close, Salesforce shares are down about 8% so far in 2025, while the S&P 500 index has gained about 1%.
Starlink Terminals Being Sent to Restore US Air Traffic Control
Billionaire Elon Musk Thursday said that Starlink terminals are being sent on an emergency basis to restore air traffic control connectivity in the United States.
"The Verizon communication system to air traffic control is breaking down very rapidly. The FAA assessment is single digit months to catastrophic failure, putting air traveler safety at serious risk," Musk said in a post on social media platform X.
The move comes after The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is close to canceling a $2.4 billion contract awarded to Verizon to overhaul a communications system, and awarding the work to Elon Musk's Starlink.
Trump: Tariffs on Mexico, Canada Begin Tuesday
President Donald Trump on Thursday said 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada will go into effect Tuesday, when an additional 10% tariff will be placed on Chinese imports.
Trump had delayed imposing the tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada for one month after the two U.S. neighbors agreed to boost border security efforts.
China already faces 10% U.S. tariffs on its products.
"Drugs are still pouring into our Country from Mexico and Canada at very high and unacceptable levels. A large percentage of these Drugs, much of them in the form of Fentanyl, are made in, and supplied by, China," Trump wrote Thursday on Truth Social. "More than 100,000 people died last year due to the distribution of these dangerous and highly addictive POISONS. Millions of people have died over the last two decades. The families of the victims are devastated and, in many instances, virtually destroyed.
Fasces As A Symbol of Roman Power and Authority
The word fasces comes from the Latin word fascis which means bundle. The fasces was a bundle of white birch rods tied with a red ribbon to form a cylinder. Protruding from the side of the bundle was an axe head. The bundle symbolized unity, the axe power, and the red ribbon careful restraint of that power.
During the period of the Republic, fasces were carried by a group of lictors, who accompanied all public officials granted imperium (power of life and death). Included in this group were Praetors, Consuls, Dictators, and Masters of the Horse. The Axe head was not part of the fasces when it was carried through Rome, indicating that only the assembles had power of life or death within the city.
Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus
The city of Cincinnati Ohio is named after the Society of Cincinnati, an organization founded in 1783 to preserve the ideals and fellowship of the officers of the Revolutionary War. George Washington served as the first president of the society, which is still in existence today.
The society was named after the Roman hero Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus who abandoned his plow in 458 B.C. to save the Roman Army. Lucius, a Roman politician and leader, served as Consul in 460 B.C. When it became time for his re-election, Lucius refused to be nominated because he believed a temporary dictatorship was needed to protect Rome from its enemies. He also felt the consular position was not powerful enough to withstand the new found power of the Tribunes.
Rome as a Fountain of Religion (Part I)
The Romans were by nature practical people -- simple farmers raising crops to sell or eat. Isolated from the rest of the world because they lacked a port, the Romans used their unique character to build a great culture. What was it is that made them aspire to greatness when their neighbors were happy in a tribal existence? There is no doubt they were driven by a passion for organization and a spirit determined to move forward and make life more efficient.
As the Romans moved away from the Etruscans, they carried on their adoption of gods. Following the military victory over the Latins at Lake Regullus in 496 B.C, they brought home the Latin gods Castor and Pollux and built temple to them in the Forum. Below is a picture of the remains of the Temple of Castor & Pollux standing behind the ruins of the Temple of Vesta.
House Oversight to Grill Sanctuary City Mayors
The House Oversight Committee is probing sanctuary cities' refusal to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
Chair James Comer, R-Ky., announced the scheduling of a March 5 hearing in which the mayors of Boston, Chicago, Denver, and New York City are expected to testify.
Comer last month launched a probe into the policies of sanctuary jurisdictions and their impact on public safety and federal immigration enforcement.
"The pro-illegal alien mayors of Boston, Chicago, Denver, and New York City have implemented reckless, illegal policies that shield criminal aliens from federal immigration enforcement and endanger public safety," Comer said in a statement. "Criminal alien predators should not be free to roam our communities.
"When we find him, he's going to be with others — others who aren't a criminal priority, but they're going to be in the country illegally. So we're going to arrest them, too," Homan said.
"So the sanctuary city's going to get exactly what they don't want: more collateral arrests, more noncriminal arrests, and more officers in their neighborhood."
Dems Eying Andrew Cuomo as 2028 WH Dark Horse Pick
Democrats are starting to toss around the name of former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo as a potential dark horse candidate for the 2028 presidential campaign.
Cuomo is days away from an expected announcement to campaign for mayor of New York City, but Democrats who are looking at Cuomo say that his brash style could position him as a candidate who could stand up against President Donald Trump's second-term actions, reports The Hill.
Cuomo and Trump often clashed in the spring of 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 lockdowns. Democrat strategist Jamal Simmons said that if the former governor becomes the mayor of New York, he could once again be a chief antagonist against Trump starting in 2026 — about the midway point in Trump's second term in office.
But Simmons acknowledged that Cuomo may be an "imperfect" messenger for the Democrats' ticket.
As time went on during the period of the Republic, the Greek and Roman gods began to merge. The educated Romans had become tired of their old religious forms and were looking for something new. Although a combined Roman-Greek mythology would open the door for religious skepticism, it provided a pathway to Greek Philosophy which eventually became interesting to the upper classes. The Plebs never gave up their historical connection to the old religion.
The Maniple as a Tactical Unit in the Roman Army
The Manipular Formation was adopted by the Roman Army about 315 B.C. after their use of the Phalanx on uneven ground proved to be a liability against the Samnites. Analyzing the battle, the Roman commanders realized that infantry units needed to be broken down into smaller parts for better maneuverability.
The graphic below shows how the Roman commanders created a new model for infantry deployment.
Judge Denies Injunction Blocking CIA DEI Firings
A federal judge denied an injunction to block CIA firings of employees from diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, NBC's Gary Grumbach reported.
A federal judge ruled against a preliminary injunction that would have blocked the firings of CIA employees who previously worked in diversity, equity and inclusion programs, Gary Grumbach of NBC News reported.
Judge Anthony Trenga in the Eastern District of Virginia said if fairness and morals were the standard, he might have ruled differently, but the law says otherwise, Grumbach reported.
“They had the misfortune of being last assigned to a DEI program,” Judge Trenga said.
Speaker Johnson Denies Big Medicaid Cuts in Budget Plan
House Speaker Mike Johnson said there are no big hits on Medicaid spending in the new budget bill the House has sent to the Senate.
He added that claims to the contrary are wrong.
The American Hospital Association issued a statement from AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack about the budget bill which the association says involves potential cuts.
“On behalf of the hospitals, nurses, doctors, and those who care for and serve the needs of the 72 million patients that rely on Medicaid, we urge you to consider the implications of hinging the budget reconciliation bill’s fate on removing healthcare access for millions of our nation's patients.”
Johnson noted that there's a lot of talk about cutting into Medicaid but no substance.
"That is not part of this equation. We’re talking about finding efficiencies in every program but not cutting benefits for people who rightly deserve that," Johnson told CNN.
Hamas to Resume Ceasefire Talks After Hostage Remains Returned
Militant group Hamas said on Thursday it was ready to begin talks on the second phase of a ceasefire in Gaza after several hundred Palestinians were released from Israeli jails overnight in return for the bodies of four Israeli hostages.
Militant group Hamas said on Thursday it was ready to begin talks on the second phase of a ceasefire in Gaza after several hundred Palestinians were released from Israeli jails overnight in return for the bodies of four Israeli hostages.
It was the final exchange of the six-week first phase of a ceasefire in Gaza that came into effect on Jan. 19.
Israel said on Thursday morning that three of the hostages whose bodies it had received overnight had been murdered in captivity, and the fourth had been killed on the day of the October 2023 Hamas raid into Israel that precipitated the war.
The Romans used the Manipular Formation described here until 107 B.C. when Marius made changes to the formations. The number of maniples was decreased to ten and the number of men in a maniple was increased to one hundred sixty. Marius also made the army professional, inadvertently transferring the soldier's allegiance from the Senate to the commander and paving the way for the downfall of the Republic.
Israel and Hamas were supposed to start negotiations over the second phase of the agreement on the 16th day of the ceasefire, but there has been little indication of progress.
Cohen said Israel was in a stronger position to negotiate now than it was on the eve of the ceasefire because it has full backing from the U.S. administration of President Donald Trump, which this month began shipping heavy bombs.
Egyptian mediators on Wednesday secured the handover of the bodies of the final four hostages in the deal's first phase, in return for 620 Palestinians either detained by Israeli forces in Gaza or jailed in Israel. Israel had earlier refused to release prisoners on Saturday after Hamas handed over six hostages in a staged ceremony.
In 281, the consul L. Aemilianus Barbula was sent with an army and an ultimatum for Tarantum to compensate for the attack on the convoy or face the consequences. The Tarentines were at the point of capitulation when the envoy from Pyrrhus arrived with a message saying the king would lend them a hand.
Pyrrhus, always the adventurer, was ready to move away from the frustrations of Greek politics and pursue something more interesting. As the son-in-law of Agathocles King of Syracuse and a relative of Alexander the Great, he had a legacy to apply to empire building in the west. Courageous, ambitious, and skillful, Pyrrhus would present a challenge to the Roman citizen army.
The Romans used two consular armies to push Pyrrhus out of Italy in 275 and he was finished in Rome for good. Two years later he was killed in Argos when he was hit in the head by a roof tile thrown by a woman during a riot.
In 2012 Indianapolis hosted the Super Bowl. A week or two later they hosted a national firefighter convention. The firefighter convention had a larger economic impact locally. There were just as many people in town and the hotels and restaurants were almost as busy, but it was also found that convention goers were more likely to visit local museums, go to local clubs, buy merchandise at local shops etc. at a much higher rate than people who were in town for the Super Bowl.
Hannibal had an army of forty to fifty thousand men so the Romans knew it would take a large coordinated force to defeat him. Unfortunately, they could not assemble one because they were handicapped by their command structure and the arrogance of their leaders. As we have discussed before, the Republic had two senior magistrates (consuls) who were elected simultaneously for one year. In time of war, each consul served as commander of one of the two armies. Jealousy and personal ambition often put the two commanders on different paths and divided the army - often with disasterous results as the story of the battle of Trebia will show us.
Longus argued with Scipio about what they should do. Scipio was cautious and advised against a major battle before the end of the year (it was late December). Longus sought the glory of victory and the rare chance to command two armies. He knew if Rome waited until the next year to fight Hannibal, consular elections would intervene and the glory might go to the next commander instead of himself. Longus foolishness would set the stage for disaster.
Hannibal knew, from spies, the new Roman commander was anxious for battle so he set a trap. He located his camp on the west side of the Trebia River and then found a place to hide 2000 hand-picked men south of the camp. Early, on the day of the battle, Hannibal sent his cavalry to the Roman camp. Their purpose was to feign an attack and induce the Romans to fight. Longus took the bait, brought is army out, and followed the Carthaginians. When Longus reached the east side of the river he could see that the Carthaginians were on the opposite side so he sent his men across. The water was chest deep and freezing. The Roman army had not eaten breakfast so they were exhausted by the time they reached the other side. Meanwhile Hannibal’s men ate at their leisure and warmed themselves in front of campfires.
The battle began in a snowstorm with the Romans pushing into the middle of the Carthaginian line. Once the Romans were deep in the center, the Punic cavalry closed the wings against an inferior Roman cavalry and began to destroy the Roman infantry. Then, when the moment was right, the hidden Carthaginian force attacked from behind the Roman position. After heavy losses, Longus decided to retreat, so he took the majority of his force northward to a bridge, crossed the Trebia, and proceeded to the town of Placentia. Many of his men tried to cross the river to return to the Roman camp but were cut down by the Carthaginians.
The gruff-but-beloved Hackman was among the finest actors of his generation, appearing as villains, heroes and antiheroes in dozens of dramas, comedies and action films from the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s.
He was a five-time Oscar nominee who won for “The French Connection” in 1972 and “Unforgiven” two decades later. His death comes just four days before this year’s ceremony.
Hackman met Arakawa, a classically trained pianist who grew up in Hawaii, when she was working part-time at a California gym in the mid-1980s, the New York Times reported in 1989. They soon moved in together, and by the end of the decade had bought their home in Santa Fe.
The large Southwestern-style ranch in a gated community just outside New Mexico’s capital city sits on a hill with views of the Rocky Mountains.
!summarize #lucid #ceo #peterrawlinson #automotive
Some technologists hope quantum computers will be capable of solving problems that stump classical computers. PCs and phones run calculations and store data with bits that are either on or off, while quantum computers work with quantum bits, or qubits, that can operate in both states simultaneously.
"We believe that scaling Ocelot to a full-fledged quantum computer capable of transformative societal impact would require as little as one-tenth as many resources as common approaches, helping bring closer the age of practical quantum computing," Fernando Brandão, Amazon Web Services' director of applied science, and Oskar Painter, the cloud group's quantum hardware chief, wrote in a blog post.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said in 2020, when he was head of AWS, that the company was "optimistic in the future that quantum computing will play a role" as cloud gets bigger in large companies and the public sector.
Six months after Jassy made those comments, AWS released the Amazon Braket service, allowing developers to experiment with quantum computers from other companies, including IonQ and Rigetti Computing. Microsoft's Azure cloud has a similar offering. Amazon is planning for future versions of its quantum chips to become available through Braket, Painter said
In 2023, AWS senior vice president Peter DeSantis talked about building a quantum processor at the cloud group's Reinvent conference in Las Vegas, promising more details in the future.
Like Microsoft, Amazon fabricated its chip internally. Building a system boasting a million qubits will take collaborations with world-leading semiconductor manufacturers, according to Barrett. Outsourcing to a partner is an option as Amazon progresses with quantum hardware, Painter said.
Public interest in the space has risen lately, Painter said, as companies have discussed new ways of assembling qubits that are resistant to errors. Amazon designed Ocelot to tackle the problem of error correction, and Google's Willow also demonstrated improvements in that area, Painter said.
The Reddit co-founder, who created the "front page of the internet" in 2005, also weighed in on the future of social media. "I think we'll get to a place where we as users get to choose our algorithms, and because, without a doubt, these platforms, we're all incentivized to have the best possible algorithm, not because of anything sinister, but because we want to keep people engaged," he said.
In a post about Meta's new content moderation policies, Joel Kaplan, Meta's chief global affairs officer, wrote, "Starting in the US, we are ending our third party fact-checking program and moving to a Community Notes model."
Kaplan added that Meta would "take a more personalized approach to political content, so that people who want to see more of it in their feeds can."
Meta did not immediately reply to CNBC's request for comment.
The community notes model is also favored by Elon Musk-owned X, which says it aims to "create a better informed world by empowering people on X to collaboratively add context to potentially misleading posts."
With a two thousand mile coastline, one would imagine Italy as a seafaring nation -- but no. There are very few natural harbors and those were taken by the Greeks for their Magna Graecia. With virtually no tidal activity, the Mediterranean cannot wash away the silt from the river deltas to help make them into adequate harbors.
South of the hills of Etruria, where the Tiber and Arno flow, there are two plains named Latium and Campania. The soil there is rich, fertile, and full of volcanic ash. Abundant streams provide irrigation and a gentle southwest wind blows across the plains. But for many centuries the plain of Latium was inhospitable to man. As late as 1000 B.C. there were active volcanoes in the region -- more than fifty craters within twenty five miles of Rome.
The company's revenue barely grew in 2020, and plunged by nearly 29% in 2021. Its consumer segment was hit hard, and even as revenue rose 17% year on year to 251.5 billion yuan in 2023, it was just over half of what the unit generated at its peak in 2020.
The telecommunications company started to make a comeback in the smartphone market in 2023 with the release of its Mate 60 Pro in China. Reviews indicated the device offers download speeds associated with 5G — thanks to an advanced semiconductor chip.
Just over a year later, Huawei launched the Mate 70 smartphone series that uses the company's first fully self-developed operating system, HarmonyOS NEXT.
Ukraine's Army Chief Visits Eastern Front Heavily Pressured by Russia
Ukraine's top commander said Thursday he visited brigades defending the Novopavlivka front in eastern Donetsk, where Russia has intensified its assaults.
Ukraine's top commander said on Thursday he had visited brigades defending the Novopavlivka front in the eastern Donetsk region where Russia has stepped up its assaults.
"The enemy is conducting intense offensive actions in this area, trying to break through the defenses of our troops and capture three settlements," Oleksandr Syrskyi, chief of Ukraine's armed forces, wrote on Facebook.
Syrskyi did not say when or which part of the front he had visited.
Zelenskyy says he wants a just and lasting peace that would include security guarantees from Western allies to help deter another Russian invasion in the future.
Israel Refuses to Withdraw From Gaza Corridor, Risking Truce
Israel refuses to withdraw from a Gaza corridor, risking a crisis with Hamas and Egypt amid the fragile ceasefire.
Israel will not withdraw from a strategic corridor in the Gaza Strip as called for by the ceasefire, an official said Thursday. Israel’s refusal could spark a crisis with Hamas and key mediator Egypt at a sensitive moment for the fragile truce.
Hours earlier, Hamas released the remains of four hostages in exchange for over 600 Palestinian prisoners, the last planned swap of the ceasefire’s first phase, which ends this weekend. Talks over the second and more difficult stage have yet to begin.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said Israeli forces needed to remain in the so-called Philadelphi corridor, on the Gaza side of the border with Egypt, to prevent weapons smuggling.
French President Emmanuel Macron said he shared the “immense pain” of the family and loved ones of Yahalomi, who had French citizenship.
Hamas confirmed that over 600 prisoners had been released overnight. Most were detainees returned to Gaza, where they had been rounded up after the Oct. 7 attack and held without charge on security suspicions.
Some of the released prisoners fell to their knees in gratitude after disembarking from buses in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. In the West Bank town of Beitunia, dozens of prisoners were welcomed by crowds of relatives and well-wishers.
The released prisoners wore shirts issued by the Israeli prison service bearing a message in Arabic about pursuing one's enemies. Some of the prisoners threw the shirts on the ground or set them on fire.
Trump's envoy, Witkoff, has said he wants the sides to move into negotiations on the second phase. Those talks were supposed to begin the first week of February.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to return all the hostages and destroy the military and governing capabilities of Hamas, which remains in control of Gaza. The Trump administration has endorsed both goals.
But it's unclear how Israel would destroy Hamas without resuming the war, and Hamas is unlikely to release the remaining hostages — its main bargaining chips — without a lasting ceasefire.
The ceasefire, brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, ended 15 months of war that erupted after Hamas’ 2023 attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people. About 250 people were taken hostage.
"We'll work closely with the government," he said. "We'll do anything we can to help them succeed."
The company called for $2.53 to $2.55 in adjusted earnings per share for the fiscal first quarter, with $9.71 billion to $9.76 billion in revenue. Analysts polled by LSEG had anticipated adjusted earnings of $2.61 per share, with $9.9 billion in revenue.
For fiscal 2026, Salesforce is targeting $11.09 to $11.17 in adjusted earnings per share on $40.5 billion to $40.9 billion in revenue, implying 7.4% growth. The LSEG consensus was for adjusted earnings per share of $11.18 on $41.35 billion in revenue.
As of Wednesday's close, Salesforce shares are down about 8% so far in 2025, while the S&P 500 index has gained about 1%.
Starlink Terminals Being Sent to Restore US Air Traffic Control
Billionaire Elon Musk Thursday said that Starlink terminals are being sent on an emergency basis to restore air traffic control connectivity in the United States.
"The Verizon communication system to air traffic control is breaking down very rapidly. The FAA assessment is single digit months to catastrophic failure, putting air traveler safety at serious risk," Musk said in a post on social media platform X.
The move comes after The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is close to canceling a $2.4 billion contract awarded to Verizon to overhaul a communications system, and awarding the work to Elon Musk's Starlink.
Trump: Tariffs on Mexico, Canada Begin Tuesday
President Donald Trump on Thursday said 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada will go into effect Tuesday, when an additional 10% tariff will be placed on Chinese imports.
Trump had delayed imposing the tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada for one month after the two U.S. neighbors agreed to boost border security efforts.
China already faces 10% U.S. tariffs on its products.
"Drugs are still pouring into our Country from Mexico and Canada at very high and unacceptable levels. A large percentage of these Drugs, much of them in the form of Fentanyl, are made in, and supplied by, China," Trump wrote Thursday on Truth Social. "More than 100,000 people died last year due to the distribution of these dangerous and highly addictive POISONS. Millions of people have died over the last two decades. The families of the victims are devastated and, in many instances, virtually destroyed.
Fasces As A Symbol of Roman Power and Authority
The word fasces comes from the Latin word fascis which means bundle. The fasces was a bundle of white birch rods tied with a red ribbon to form a cylinder. Protruding from the side of the bundle was an axe head. The bundle symbolized unity, the axe power, and the red ribbon careful restraint of that power.
During the period of the Republic, fasces were carried by a group of lictors, who accompanied all public officials granted imperium (power of life and death). Included in this group were Praetors, Consuls, Dictators, and Masters of the Horse. The Axe head was not part of the fasces when it was carried through Rome, indicating that only the assembles had power of life or death within the city.
Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus
The city of Cincinnati Ohio is named after the Society of Cincinnati, an organization founded in 1783 to preserve the ideals and fellowship of the officers of the Revolutionary War. George Washington served as the first president of the society, which is still in existence today.
The society was named after the Roman hero Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus who abandoned his plow in 458 B.C. to save the Roman Army. Lucius, a Roman politician and leader, served as Consul in 460 B.C. When it became time for his re-election, Lucius refused to be nominated because he believed a temporary dictatorship was needed to protect Rome from its enemies. He also felt the consular position was not powerful enough to withstand the new found power of the Tribunes.
Rome as a Fountain of Religion (Part I)
The Romans were by nature practical people -- simple farmers raising crops to sell or eat. Isolated from the rest of the world because they lacked a port, the Romans used their unique character to build a great culture. What was it is that made them aspire to greatness when their neighbors were happy in a tribal existence? There is no doubt they were driven by a passion for organization and a spirit determined to move forward and make life more efficient.
As the Romans moved away from the Etruscans, they carried on their adoption of gods. Following the military victory over the Latins at Lake Regullus in 496 B.C, they brought home the Latin gods Castor and Pollux and built temple to them in the Forum. Below is a picture of the remains of the Temple of Castor & Pollux standing behind the ruins of the Temple of Vesta.
House Oversight to Grill Sanctuary City Mayors
The House Oversight Committee is probing sanctuary cities' refusal to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
Chair James Comer, R-Ky., announced the scheduling of a March 5 hearing in which the mayors of Boston, Chicago, Denver, and New York City are expected to testify.
Comer last month launched a probe into the policies of sanctuary jurisdictions and their impact on public safety and federal immigration enforcement.
"The pro-illegal alien mayors of Boston, Chicago, Denver, and New York City have implemented reckless, illegal policies that shield criminal aliens from federal immigration enforcement and endanger public safety," Comer said in a statement. "Criminal alien predators should not be free to roam our communities.
"When we find him, he's going to be with others — others who aren't a criminal priority, but they're going to be in the country illegally. So we're going to arrest them, too," Homan said.
"So the sanctuary city's going to get exactly what they don't want: more collateral arrests, more noncriminal arrests, and more officers in their neighborhood."
Dems Eying Andrew Cuomo as 2028 WH Dark Horse Pick
Democrats are starting to toss around the name of former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo as a potential dark horse candidate for the 2028 presidential campaign.
Cuomo is days away from an expected announcement to campaign for mayor of New York City, but Democrats who are looking at Cuomo say that his brash style could position him as a candidate who could stand up against President Donald Trump's second-term actions, reports The Hill.
Cuomo and Trump often clashed in the spring of 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 lockdowns. Democrat strategist Jamal Simmons said that if the former governor becomes the mayor of New York, he could once again be a chief antagonist against Trump starting in 2026 — about the midway point in Trump's second term in office.
But Simmons acknowledged that Cuomo may be an "imperfect" messenger for the Democrats' ticket.
As time went on during the period of the Republic, the Greek and Roman gods began to merge. The educated Romans had become tired of their old religious forms and were looking for something new. Although a combined Roman-Greek mythology would open the door for religious skepticism, it provided a pathway to Greek Philosophy which eventually became interesting to the upper classes. The Plebs never gave up their historical connection to the old religion.
The Maniple as a Tactical Unit in the Roman Army
The Manipular Formation was adopted by the Roman Army about 315 B.C. after their use of the Phalanx on uneven ground proved to be a liability against the Samnites. Analyzing the battle, the Roman commanders realized that infantry units needed to be broken down into smaller parts for better maneuverability.
The graphic below shows how the Roman commanders created a new model for infantry deployment.
Judge Denies Injunction Blocking CIA DEI Firings
A federal judge denied an injunction to block CIA firings of employees from diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, NBC's Gary Grumbach reported.
A federal judge ruled against a preliminary injunction that would have blocked the firings of CIA employees who previously worked in diversity, equity and inclusion programs, Gary Grumbach of NBC News reported.
Judge Anthony Trenga in the Eastern District of Virginia said if fairness and morals were the standard, he might have ruled differently, but the law says otherwise, Grumbach reported.
“They had the misfortune of being last assigned to a DEI program,” Judge Trenga said.
Speaker Johnson Denies Big Medicaid Cuts in Budget Plan
House Speaker Mike Johnson said there are no big hits on Medicaid spending in the new budget bill the House has sent to the Senate.
He added that claims to the contrary are wrong.
The American Hospital Association issued a statement from AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack about the budget bill which the association says involves potential cuts.
“On behalf of the hospitals, nurses, doctors, and those who care for and serve the needs of the 72 million patients that rely on Medicaid, we urge you to consider the implications of hinging the budget reconciliation bill’s fate on removing healthcare access for millions of our nation's patients.”
Johnson noted that there's a lot of talk about cutting into Medicaid but no substance.
"That is not part of this equation. We’re talking about finding efficiencies in every program but not cutting benefits for people who rightly deserve that," Johnson told CNN.
Hamas to Resume Ceasefire Talks After Hostage Remains Returned
Militant group Hamas said on Thursday it was ready to begin talks on the second phase of a ceasefire in Gaza after several hundred Palestinians were released from Israeli jails overnight in return for the bodies of four Israeli hostages.
Militant group Hamas said on Thursday it was ready to begin talks on the second phase of a ceasefire in Gaza after several hundred Palestinians were released from Israeli jails overnight in return for the bodies of four Israeli hostages.
It was the final exchange of the six-week first phase of a ceasefire in Gaza that came into effect on Jan. 19.
Israel said on Thursday morning that three of the hostages whose bodies it had received overnight had been murdered in captivity, and the fourth had been killed on the day of the October 2023 Hamas raid into Israel that precipitated the war.
The Romans used the Manipular Formation described here until 107 B.C. when Marius made changes to the formations. The number of maniples was decreased to ten and the number of men in a maniple was increased to one hundred sixty. Marius also made the army professional, inadvertently transferring the soldier's allegiance from the Senate to the commander and paving the way for the downfall of the Republic.
Israel and Hamas were supposed to start negotiations over the second phase of the agreement on the 16th day of the ceasefire, but there has been little indication of progress.
Cohen said Israel was in a stronger position to negotiate now than it was on the eve of the ceasefire because it has full backing from the U.S. administration of President Donald Trump, which this month began shipping heavy bombs.
Egyptian mediators on Wednesday secured the handover of the bodies of the final four hostages in the deal's first phase, in return for 620 Palestinians either detained by Israeli forces in Gaza or jailed in Israel. Israel had earlier refused to release prisoners on Saturday after Hamas handed over six hostages in a staged ceremony.
In 281, the consul L. Aemilianus Barbula was sent with an army and an ultimatum for Tarantum to compensate for the attack on the convoy or face the consequences. The Tarentines were at the point of capitulation when the envoy from Pyrrhus arrived with a message saying the king would lend them a hand.
Pyrrhus, always the adventurer, was ready to move away from the frustrations of Greek politics and pursue something more interesting. As the son-in-law of Agathocles King of Syracuse and a relative of Alexander the Great, he had a legacy to apply to empire building in the west. Courageous, ambitious, and skillful, Pyrrhus would present a challenge to the Roman citizen army.
The Romans used two consular armies to push Pyrrhus out of Italy in 275 and he was finished in Rome for good. Two years later he was killed in Argos when he was hit in the head by a roof tile thrown by a woman during a riot.
A list of the leading cities of Magna Graecia would include:
Syracuse – a powerful city-state aligned with Sparta and Corinth
Tarantum – a wealthy and powerful seaport, center of trade with Greece, powerful enough to pursue expansion
Neopolis (Naples) – seaport and ally of the Romans against Carthage
Cumae – early Greek settlement, defeated by the Oscans in 421 BC, survivors founded Neopolis
Paestum – also defeated by the Oscans, stayed loyal to Rome against Hannibal
Rhegium – ally of Syracuse, occupied by the Romans during the First Punic War
Thurii – late Greek colony, constantly under attack from neighbors, defended by Rome
In 2012 Indianapolis hosted the Super Bowl. A week or two later they hosted a national firefighter convention. The firefighter convention had a larger economic impact locally. There were just as many people in town and the hotels and restaurants were almost as busy, but it was also found that convention goers were more likely to visit local museums, go to local clubs, buy merchandise at local shops etc. at a much higher rate than people who were in town for the Super Bowl.
Hannibal had an army of forty to fifty thousand men so the Romans knew it would take a large coordinated force to defeat him. Unfortunately, they could not assemble one because they were handicapped by their command structure and the arrogance of their leaders. As we have discussed before, the Republic had two senior magistrates (consuls) who were elected simultaneously for one year. In time of war, each consul served as commander of one of the two armies. Jealousy and personal ambition often put the two commanders on different paths and divided the army - often with disasterous results as the story of the battle of Trebia will show us.
Longus argued with Scipio about what they should do. Scipio was cautious and advised against a major battle before the end of the year (it was late December). Longus sought the glory of victory and the rare chance to command two armies. He knew if Rome waited until the next year to fight Hannibal, consular elections would intervene and the glory might go to the next commander instead of himself. Longus foolishness would set the stage for disaster.
Hannibal knew, from spies, the new Roman commander was anxious for battle so he set a trap. He located his camp on the west side of the Trebia River and then found a place to hide 2000 hand-picked men south of the camp. Early, on the day of the battle, Hannibal sent his cavalry to the Roman camp. Their purpose was to feign an attack and induce the Romans to fight. Longus took the bait, brought is army out, and followed the Carthaginians. When Longus reached the east side of the river he could see that the Carthaginians were on the opposite side so he sent his men across. The water was chest deep and freezing. The Roman army had not eaten breakfast so they were exhausted by the time they reached the other side. Meanwhile Hannibal’s men ate at their leisure and warmed themselves in front of campfires.
The battle began in a snowstorm with the Romans pushing into the middle of the Carthaginian line. Once the Romans were deep in the center, the Punic cavalry closed the wings against an inferior Roman cavalry and began to destroy the Roman infantry. Then, when the moment was right, the hidden Carthaginian force attacked from behind the Roman position. After heavy losses, Longus decided to retreat, so he took the majority of his force northward to a bridge, crossed the Trebia, and proceeded to the town of Placentia. Many of his men tried to cross the river to return to the Roman camp but were cut down by the Carthaginians.