Nvidia is in advanced talks to buy Israel-based AI startup AI21 Labs for as much as $3 billion, the Calcalist financial daily reported on Tuesday. Nvidia declined to comment, while AI21 was not immediately available to comment. A 2023 funding round valued AI21 at $1.4 billion. Nvidia and Alphabet's Google participated in that funding. AI21, founded in 2017 by Amnon Shashua and two others, is among a clutch of...
Isiah Whitlock Jr., Scene-Stealing Character Actor in ‘The Wire,’ Dies at 71
Isiah Whitlock Jr., a character actor best known for his scene-stealing role as a smooth-talking, corrupt politician in the widely acclaimed HBO show “The Wire,” died Tuesday in New York City. He was 71. His manager, Brian Liebman, announced his death, in a hospital, in a post on Instagram. He...
US Held Talks With Ukraine, European Countries on Next Steps in Ending Ukraine War, Witkoff Says
President Donald Trump's advisers held talks on Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and national security advisers from the UK, France and Germany to discuss the next steps in ending Russia's war in Ukraine, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said. "We focused on how to move the discussions forward in...
World Begins to Bid Goodbye to 2025 With Fireworks and Icy Plunges
10...nine...eight... As Wednesday turned to Thursday, people around the world said goodbye to a sometimes challenging 2025 and expressed hopes for the new year to come. Midnight arrived first on the islands closest to the International Date Line in the Pacific Ocean, including Kiritimati (Christmas Island), Tonga and New Zealand....
Trump Vetoes 2 Bills, Drawing Accusations of Retaliation
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump issued his first vetoes of his second term this week, rejecting legislation that passed Congress with bipartisan support and prompting criticism that his actions were the latest moves in the president’s retribution campaign. The two bills aimed to fund a water pipeline...
Flu Cases Rise Across US as Holiday Travel Fuels Spread
Flu cases are climbing across the U.S. amid holiday travel and gatherings, with infections rising faster than in previous years, according to latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Estimates released on Tuesday showed at least 7.5 million illnesses, 81,000 hospitalizations and 3,100 deaths so far this...
Gaza Aid Groups Face Suspensions Under New Israeli Rules
More than three dozen humanitarian groups will have their authorizations to operate in the Gaza Strip suspended on Jan. 1 and will have to clear out by March after failing to comply with new registration rules, Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs said on Tuesday. Israeli officials say the new rules...
Jon Kyl, Former Arizona Senator, Says He Has Dementia
Jon Kyl, a Republican from Arizona who served in both chambers of Congress for nearly 30 years, said Tuesday that he was diagnosed with dementia. Kyl, 83, was one of the Republican Party’s most consequential Senate leaders of his era. He began his congressional career in the House of Representatives...
US DOJ to Review 5.2 Million Pages of Epstein Files, Document Shows
The U.S. Justice Department revealed it has 5.2 million pages of Epstein files left to review and needs 400 lawyers from four different department offices to help with the process through late January, according to a government document reviewed by Reuters on Tuesday. This is likely to extend the final...
Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Ferlin Ray Hudson
December 31, 2025 Most Wanted Person of the Day Suspect Name: Ferlin Ray Hudson Suspects Date of Birth: July 8, 1970 Physical Description: American Indian Male, 5’ 6, 175 lbs., Black Hair, Brown Eyes. Charges: False imprisonment with violence. Warrant Number: F25907877 Synopsis of the Case: Ferlin Ray Hudson is...