📌 Peace Talks, Greenland Rebuke, More

US and Russian officials began talks in Saudi Arabia today for a broad ceasefire in Russia’s war with Ukraine.

The talks, which followed US negotiations with Ukraine in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, come after US President Donald Trump last week spoke to both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The White House says the talks aim to reach a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, allowing the free flow of shipping, though the area has not been the location of intense military operations in recent months. Trump said on Saturday that efforts to stop further escalation in the conflict were “somewhat under control.”

Beyond a Black Sea ceasefire, White House national security adviser Mike Waltz said the teams will discuss "the line of control" between the two countries, which he described as “verification measures, peacekeeping, freezing the lines where they are.”

He said "confidence-building measures" are being discussed, including returning Ukrainian children taken by Russia. Ukraine's defense minister, Rustem Umerov, the Ukrainian delegation head, said on Facebook the US-Ukraine talks included proposals to protect energy facilities and critical infrastructure.

Greenland's Prime Minister Mute B. Egede criticized a planned visit by US officials, calling it “highly aggressive.”

The visit includes second lady Usha Vance attending Greenland's national dogsled race and celebrating Greenlandic culture, with National Security Adviser Mike Waltz also expected to visit.

Egede expressed concerns that Waltz's presence would increase American pressure to annex Greenland, a goal repeatedly stated by President Donald Trump. Trump's interest in annexing Greenland has highlighted the island's strategic importance and its vast stores of rare earth minerals.

Greenland's recent parliamentary elections saw Egede's party defeated, but he remains prime minister until a new coalition is formed. Jens-Frederik Nielsen, likely Greenland's next leader, criticized the timing of the US visit as disrespectful during ongoing negotiations and municipal elections.

The White House framed Vance's visit as cultural, emphasizing her interest in Greenlandic heritage and the dogsled race. Denmark, which still controls Greenland's security and foreign policy, expressed serious concerns about the US visit, emphasizing respect for sovereignty.

A January poll found 85% of Greenlanders opposed becoming part of the US, with many viewing Trump's interest as a threat.

Alibaba-affiliate Ant Group is using Chinese and US-made semiconductors for building more efficient AI models.

Combining chips not only reduces the time and cost of training AI models but also limits reliance on a single supplier such as Nvidia, the source said, noting the industry trend of tapping multiple networks, known as a mixture of experts — a technique that allows models to be trained with much less of the computer.

The company earlier this month said in a paper it was able to use lower-cost hardware to effectively train its own MoE models, reducing computing costs by 20%. Ant operates Alipay, one of the two major apps for mobile payments in China. Jack Ma founded the company and its affiliate, Alibaba.

Bloomberg reported today that Ant has used chips from Alibaba and Huawei for training AI models. Ant also used Nvidia chips but now relies more on alternatives from Advanced Micro Devices and Chinese chips, the report said.

The company today announced “major upgrades” to its AI solutions for healthcare, which it said were being used by seven major hospitals and healthcare institutions in Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Ningbo.

The US has sought to restrict China’s AI development by limiting Chinese businesses’ access to the most advanced semiconductors used for training models. Nvidia can still sell its lower-end chips to China.

The IRS is reportedly close to a deal allowing immigration officials to use tax data to support Trump's deportation agenda.

The proposed agreement would enable Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to provide the IRS with the names and addresses of undocumented immigrants, which raises concerns about privacy and abuse of power.

This would mark a significant shift, potentially the first time immigration enforcement has relied on the tax system in such a comprehensive manner. The reported deal has raised alarm bells at the IRS, The Washington Post said.

The IRS would cross-reference undocumented immigrants' names with their taxpayer databases, breaching the confidentiality of tax information. Undocumented immigrants are subject to US taxes and often file with individual taxpayer numbers due to a lack of social security numbers.

Over half of the approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants in the US file income tax returns. IRS privacy laws allow the sharing of tax information with law enforcement under court order, but using it for immigration enforcement is rare and outside standard procedure.

Rising property taxes are driving American retirees from expensive states to cheaper locations.

John Burns Research & Consulting (JBREC) identified the highest property taxes in 2023 on the East Coast, especially in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

Midwestern states like Illinois also have high property taxes, while the West and South generally have lower rates, except for Texas. Property taxes have surged nearly 30% nationwide since 2019, exacerbating the housing affordability crisis.

Property taxes significantly impact retirees' housing costs and relocation decisions, as they often own larger, higher-value homes. In 2023, 33% of retirees moved for housing-related reasons, followed by family-related purposes (27%) and other reasons (24%).

States with lower property taxes, such as Nevada, Delaware, and Arizona, are attracting more retirees from out-of-state. Geography influences migration trends, with retirees often moving within the same region to states with lower taxes.

Warm weather and sunbelt climates remain popular for retirees, though rising hazard insurance premiums are shifting trends slightly north. More retirees relocating to cheaper states could increase competition and raise their housing costs, worsening the affordability crisis.

A majority of Gaza residents would leave if they had the opportunity, a survey by Gallup International found.

Conducted March 2–13, the poll found that 38% of respondents would opt for temporary relocation, 14% would move permanently, and 4% would send family members abroad. Electricity and fuel shortages, access to water and physical security were among the reasons cited.

The survey, which included 532 participants from Gaza, also underscored the ongoing deterioration in living conditions since the outbreak of war on October 7, 2023. Most respondents described their current quality of life as either “very bad” or “fairly bad.”

Meanwhile, the Egyptian Information Authority said Cairo denied “all claims spread by several media channels that it is willing to temporarily accommodate one million residents from Gaza, to a designated city in northern Sinai, as part of the reconstruction plan of the Gaza Strip.”

A jewelry thief’s plan to swallow the Tiffany diamonds he stole backfired when police waited patiently for their return.

Jaythan Gilder, 32, swallowed two sets of Tiffany & Co. diamond earrings worth a combined $769,500 when he was arrested by police in Orlando, Fla. Gilder gained access to a VIP room by claiming to be a representative of an Orlando Magic basketball player.

Gilder was shown a pair of 4.86-carat diamond earrings, a pair of 8.19-carat diamond earrings, and a 5.61-carat diamond ring. He allegedly distracted staff before attempting to flee with all three items but dropped the ring in the process.

Gilder sped off in a car, but police tracked him down later that evening. As officers took him into custody, he swallowed the stolen earrings. An X-ray scan released by police showed “foreign objects” in his stomach, Detective Aaron Goss wrote in an affidavit.

“These foreign objects are suspected to be the Tiffany & Co. earrings taken in the robbery but will need to be collected ... after they pass through Gilder’s system,” the affidavit said. Gilder was monitored by detectives at a hospital for over two weeks before all four earrings were finally expelled.

“I should have thrown them out the window,” he reportedly said in the patrol car after his arrest. Gilder remains in custody at the Orange County Jail, facing charges of robbery with a mask and first-degree grand theft.