Britney Spears Shared Rare Footage of Her Grown-Up Sons From a Day Out With Fiancé Sam Asghari

Associated Press
Marbury v. Madison, the case that established the courts' power to review the law, explained
When it comes to respecting the rulings of courts, President Donald Trump has been of two minds. If the decision goes his way, as it did when the Supreme Court ruled 11 months ago that his name should be on the ballot in Colorado, he hails it as a “BIG WIN FOR AMERICA.” Now, as president, he has been critical of federal judges who have moved to block some of his most contentious actions, such as his move to freeze federal spending.
Associated Press
Hegseth makes first visit to NATO with allies impatient to hear about US plans for Ukraine
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday made the first trip to NATO by a member of the new Trump administration, as the allies wait to learn how much military and financial support Washington intends to provide to Ukraine's government. Hegseth held talks with U.K. Defence Secretary John Healey, before a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at NATO headquarters in Brussels. Hegseth's predecessor, former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, set up the forum for drumming up arms and ammunition for Ukraine in 2022.
CBS News
Russia attacks Ukraine's capital, rules out returning any occupied land
Ukraine's leader says a Russian strike on Kyiv shows Putin is "not preparing for peace," as the Kremlin rules out swapping occupied territory for a peace deal.
USA TODAY
Winter whiplash: Another snow, ice storm smacks Midwest, East
A second winter storm in as many days will slam parts of the Midwest before rolling toward the East Coast. Major travel disruptions are likely.
Associated Press
Syria's interim foreign minister says Russia-Iran ties to Assad are an open wound after war
Syria's relations with Iran and Russia remain an open wound for its people after those nations backed autocratic President Bashar Assad during the long civil war, the country's new, interim foreign minister said Wednesday. Speaking at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Asaad al-Shibani acknowledged some “positive” signs from both Moscow and Tehran but did not elaborate. “Syria has recovered its freedom and dignity" after decades of despotism, al-Shibani said.
AFP
'Make California Great Again': Danes dream of buying golden state
In the wake of US President Donald Trump's threats to take control of Greenland, some Danes are California dreaming, offering to buy the golden state and infuse it with a Nordic vibe and universal health care."Let's buy California from Donald Trump!"
Yahoo Finance
Tesla's stock slide looks to be unrelenting
Tesla's shares continue to sell off as concerns mount on Elon Musk's many distractions.
Associated Press
Romania's Iohannis steps down, leaving caretaker president in charge until election rerun in spring
After over a decade in office, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis stepped down on Wednesday and has been replaced by the senate president who will serve in an interim capacity until a new presidential election is held in spring. Ilie Bolojan, a 55-year-old former mayor and leader of the center-right National Liberal Party, or PNL, will serve as acting president at Cotroceni Palace in Bucharest until a successor is elected in a presidential race scheduled for May in the European Union and NATO member country.
Reuters
Musk cuts based more on political ideology than real cost savings so far
The first phase of the rapid-fire effort by Tesla CEO Elon Musk and President Donald Trump to cut waste from government agencies appears driven more by an ideological assault on federal agencies long hated by conservatives than a good-faith effort to save taxpayer dollars, according to two veteran Republican budget experts. Since Trump's inauguration on January 20, Musk has dispatched members of his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to scrutinize sensitive personnel and payment information in government computer systems and led a successful drive to dismantle two agencies - one that provides a lifeline to the world's needy and another that protects Americans from unscrupulous lenders.
AFP
Stock markets gain before US inflation data
Asian stock markets rose and there were fresh record highs for leading European indices Wednesday as attention turned to upcoming US inflation data.Hong Kong led gains across most Asian stocks markets Wednesday thanks to another rally by its tech firms.
Reuters
Trump's DOJ antitrust nominee to be grilled on enforcement
President Donald Trump's pick to oversee the U.S. Department of Justice's blockbuster antitrust cases against Alphabet's Google and Apple will have her commitment to enforcement tested by a Senate panel at her confirmation hearing on Wednesday. Gail Slater, a veteran antitrust attorney and economic adviser to Vice President JD Vance, would lead the DOJ division that enforces laws against illegal monopolies and anticompetitive business behavior, if confirmed as assistant attorney general of the antitrust division.
Associated Press
Trump doubles down on plan to empty Gaza. This is what he has said and what's at stake
Behind U.S. President Donald Trump’s vows to turn Gaza into a “Riviera of the Middle East” lies a plan to forcibly drive a population from its land, rights groups say, warning it could be a war crime under international law. Trump doubled down this week on his vows to empty Gaza permanently of its more than 2 million Palestinians, saying they would not be allowed to return and suggesting at one point he might force Egypt and Jordan to take them in by threatening to cut off U.S. aid. Whether it’s serious, a negotiating tactic or a distraction, Palestinians have roundly rejected the idea of leaving.
Reuters
US Republicans find unity on taxes a heavy lift in Trump 'golden age'
Barely a month after predicting a new "golden age" under President Donald Trump, congressional Republicans are struggling to move forward on the president's tax-cut agenda, despite their control of both the Senate and House of Representatives. House and Senate Republicans are pursuing rival plans for enacting Trump's tax proposals, including an extension of the 2017 tax cuts that were the signature legislative accomplishment of his first presidential term, and key party members in both chambers claim they can largely ignore an estimated cost of more than $4 trillion. With only a 218-215 majority, House Republicans are split between lawmakers from Democratic states who want a bigger federal tax deduction for state and local tax payments, hardliners pushing offsetting spending cuts and centrists worried about the potential ill-effects of those cuts back home.
Reuters
Analysis-Trump's Justice Department hits the brakes on anti-corruption enforcement
The U.S. Justice Department has sharply stepped back its anti-corruption efforts under President Donald Trump, from loosening enforcement of laws meant to stop companies from bribing foreign officials to directing its prosecutors to drop a criminal case against New York Mayor Eric Adams. It has disbanded an effort to enforce sanctions against Russian oligarchs and fired veteran public corruption prosecutors who played a role in the department's two criminal cases against Trump during his years out of office.
CBS News
Climate change is threatening cacao crops, researchers say
Rising temperatures and shifting rainfall patterns in West Africa, which supplies around 70% of the world's cacao, are disrupting the crop, affecting both the quantity and quality of beans — and driving up prices for consumers..
Yahoo Finance
Why the 'best hedge' against the AI rally losing steam in 2025 is healthcare: Morning Brief
Investors have largely abandoned much of the healthcare space in favor of tech. But as tech falters, some strategists see the underrated sector as being the perfect tech hedge.
CNN
A sports reporter died before the Super Bowl. Police want to know whether someone they call a ‘career criminal’ is involved
Adan Manzano was in New Orleans to cover Super Bowl LIX, but the sports reporter was found dead in his hotel room before kickoff. Police are trying to figure out what happened and what, if anything, “a career criminal” police say is known to run fraud schemes in the city’s French Quarter had to do with his death.
Associated Press
Kremlin says unidentified Russian freed in US in exchange for Moscow's release of Marc Fogel
The Kremlin said Wednesday that a Russian citizen was freed in the United States in exchange for Moscow’s release of American Marc Fogel, but refused to identify them until they arrive in Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the unidentified individual would return to Russia “in the coming days,” and when they are on the Russian soil, their name would be revealed — unlike during past prisoner exchanges between Moscow and Washington, when Russians and Americans were released simultaneously and their identities were revealed right away.
Reuters
Russia says it will never swap Ukrainian territory for Kyiv-held parts of Kursk region
The Kremlin said on Wednesday Russia will never discuss trading the Ukrainian territory it holds for areas in Russia's western Kursk region held by Kyiv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the Guardian newspaper that he planned to offer Russia a straight territory exchange to help bring an end to the war, including offering pockets of Kursk that Ukraine holds.
Reuters
Lyft shares sink as tough competition takes a toll on bookings forecast
The ride-hailing platform has been aggressively working on luring customers away from Uber through competitive pricing and new features, but faced challenges from wildfires and extreme weather in some crucial markets.

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