Business Times

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is reversing key elements of its rapid expansion strategy, restoring longer training requirements and requiring additional instruction for thousands of officers hired under an accelerated recruitment program, according to reports and internal agency documents.

President Trump announced Thursday that he has canceled planned U.S. strikes and bombings against Iran after negotiations were elevated to Iran's highest leadership and received approval.

OpenAI is considering significant price reductions for its artificial intelligence products as competition with Anthropic intensifies and corporate customers increasingly push back against soaring AI spending, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing people familiar with the matter.

President Donald Trump escalated his rhetoric toward Iran on Thursday, warning that the United States could attack the country "very hard" if negotiations over its nuclear program fail, while simultaneously using a White House ceremony for a major border security package to reinforce his administration's broader national security agenda.

The European Central Bank raised interest rates on Thursday for the first time since 2023, citing mounting inflationary pressures linked to the war involving Iran and signaling growing concern that higher energy costs could complicate the euro area's economic outlook.

Bill Gates told members of Congress that Jeffrey Epstein attempted to use knowledge of his extramarital affairs to pressure him into resuming contact, offering the clearest public account yet of how the disgraced financier allegedly sought to maintain influence over one of the world's most prominent businessmen.

Iran has threatened to target business interests linked to Elon Musk across the Middle East, including infrastructure associated with SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service, as military tensions with the United States escalated despite ongoing diplomatic contacts aimed at ending the conflict.

The United States and Iran are moving closer to a potential interim agreement aimed at halting months of conflict, even as both sides continue exchanging military strikes and escalating rhetoric across the Middle East.