📌 Iran Sanctions, Nazi ‘Ratlines,’ More

The US has imposed another round of sanctions targeting Iran, seeking to stem its petrochemical profits.

The move comes amid ongoing nuclear talks between the two countries. The State Department announced the sanctions against seven firms and two shipping vessels accused of engaging in the trade of Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products.

The sanctions come a day after the US sanctioned six individuals and six entities in Iran and China, accused of being a ballistic missile propellant ingredient network for Tehran.

”So long as Iran attempts to generate oil and petrochemical revenues to fund its destabilizing activities, and support its terrorist activities and proxies, the United States will take steps to hold both Iran and all its partners engaged in sanctions evasion accountable,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.

The sanctions are the latest round imposed by the administration of President Donald Trump on Iran since February, when he reimposed his so-called maximum pressure campaign on Tehran to coerce the Middle Eastern country to forge a new nuclear weapons deal.

The sanctions come as US–Iran talks are ongoing in Oman, with another round of negotiations set for Saturday.

Argentina has publicly released over 1,850 documents detailing Nazi activities in the country post-World War II.

The documents reveal the arrival and activities of Nazi war criminals like Adolf Eichmann and Josef Mengele in Argentina. The files, titled ”Documentation on Nazi presence in Argentina,” resulted from investigations by federal authorities and intelligence agencies from the 1950s–1980s.

The documents are accessible online, following declassification by President Javier Milei at the request of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. The records include intelligence bulletins and press reports on Eichmann, Mengele, and Martin Bormann, detailing their post-war activities.

Mengele reportedly entered Argentina in 1949 under the alias Gregor Helmut and later legalized his identity as Joseph Mengele.

The release marks a significant moment in uncovering South American banking networks that helped Nazis flee Europe via ”ratlines.” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley has been investigating Nazi assets at Credit Suisse and its predecessor banks.

The bank failed to disclose the accounts during prior investigations, Grassley said in January. A spokesperson for Credit Suisse parent UBS said the bank was ”committed to contributing to a fulsome review of the Credit Suisse archives concerning Nazi-linked legacy accounts.”

Google is in discussions with Apple to integrate its Gemini AI into iPhones by mid-2025.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai mentioned the potential deal during testimony in a legal case against the US Department of Justice. Pichai confirmed discussions with Apple CEO Tim Cook about including Gemini AI within Apple Intelligence.

The DOJ is challenging Google's agreements with major companies like Apple, Samsung, AT&T, and Verizon to be the default search engine on mobile devices. The judge is weighing what actions Google should take to restore competition.

Google planned to experiment with including advertising in its Gemini app. Prosecutors argue Google could leverage its dominance in online search to expand into AI, supported by lucrative deals with carriers and manufacturers.

The DOJ and a broad coalition of state attorneys general are pressing for remedies, including requiring Google to sell off its Chrome web browser, banning it from paying to be the default search engine, and requiring it to share search data with competitors.

Provisions that would require the company to share its search index and search query data were ”extraordinary,” and amount to a ”de facto divestiture of our [intellectual property] related to search,” Pichai said. Google has said it plans to appeal once the judge makes a final ruling.

A national survey of older Americans reveals a growing interest in early testing and treatment for Alzheimer's disease.

The survey of 1,700 people 45 and older, part of an Alzheimer's Association report, found growing interest in testing, diagnosis and treatment for the deadly disease. Over 7 million Americans have Alzheimer's, the report says.

79% of respondents want to know if they have Alzheimer's before symptoms interfere with daily life; 80% would ask a doctor for testing rather than waiting for it to be offered; and 91% would like a simple blood biomarker test to detect Alzheimer's, though many are unaware such tests exist.

On taking medication, 92% would likely take a drug to slow Alzheimer's progression if diagnosed, despite potential side effects; and 83% would consider participating in clinical trials for experimental Alzheimer's treatments.

Most (81%) believe treatments to halt Alzheimer's progression will be available within the next decade, and 44% express concern about insurance coverage for Alzheimer's treatment and care.

The responses show that people are becoming less afraid and more proactive about an Alzheimer's diagnosis, says Elizabeth Edgerly, a clinical psychologist.

The European Space Agency launched the Biomass satellite to monitor Earth's forests, crucial for climate mitigation.

Biomass features the first P-band synthetic aperture radar in space, capable of penetrating dense vegetation to provide 3D maps of forests. The technology will help scientists understand how forests absorb and emit carbon and the impact of human activities like deforestation and wildfires.

Forests, covering nearly one-third of the planet, absorb around 7.6 billion metric tons of CO2 annually and produce oxygen.

The mission aims to quantify forest carbon stocks and fluxes, enhancing understanding of the carbon cycle and climate change impacts. Measurements of tree trunks, branches, and stems will serve as proxies for determining carbon storage, a key mission goal.

The satellite's development involved 50 companies, including Airbus UK, and the mission is set to last five-and-a-half years.

The US has gained access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals in exchange for an investment fund in an agreed deal.

The deal comes after weeks of intense negotiations that at times turned bitter and temporarily derailed Washington’s aid to Ukraine. Ukraine’s economy minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, was in Washington to sign on behalf of the Ukrainian government.

”All resources on our territory and in territorial waters belong to Ukraine,” she said, adding: ”It is the Ukrainian state that determines what and where to extract. Subsoil remains under Ukrainian ownership — this is clearly established in the Agreement.”

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky was expected to strike the deal during his trip to Washington in February, but the agreement was left unsigned when that visit was cut short following a contentious Oval Office meeting.

Under the deal, the US and Ukraine will create a joint investment fund in Ukraine with equal contributions from both and equal distribution of management shares between them, Ukraine Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.

Kyiv’s allies have long eyed the country’s mineral riches. Ukraine has deposits of 22 of the 50 materials classed as critical by the US Geological Survey. These include rare earth minerals and other materials critical to the production of electronics, clean energy technologies and some weapon systems.

The Texas Department of Transportation was called to sort out an overturned truck spilling 8 million dimes on a state highway.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said the 18-wheeler rolled onto its side in the southbound lanes of U.S. 81/287 near the Farm Road 1655 exit in Alvord. The department said the truck had gone off the road and the driver over-corrected, causing the vehicle to overturn.

The driver and a passenger were taken to a hospital with minor injuries. The Alvord Fire Department confirmed that the truck lost its load of about 8 million freshly minted dimes.

The highway was closed for several hours while Department of Transportation crews cleaned up $800,000 of loose change.