- The top 25 stories curated by editors and fellow readers!
Editor's Pick |
| Work F.A.A. Bans Drone Flights Near Key Sites in New York  The temporary ban covers parts of Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island. The F.A.A. also issued a monthlong ban on drone flights over a large swath of New Jersey. |
| Work Videos That Purport to Show Drones in New Jersey Likely Show Planes  Here’s why it’s hard to distinguish objects in the night sky. |
| Work Japan's $100BN Plan to Disaster Proof Tokyo  Fred Mills uncovers Japan's epic plan to disaster-proof Tokyo. |
| Work What Makes You Procrastinate (Which Isn't Always a Bad Thing)  Our brain's cognitive biases enable us to put off important tasks, even though it hurts us later. But are there benefits to procrastination? |
| Work Dad Was Dying. His Shocking Confession Solved an Infamous Crime  How well can you really know someone? If you'd asked me that a few years ago, I'd have said that everyone probably has a couple of people they know nearly as well as they know themselves. |
| Work Secrets of People Who Stay Happy in the Worst Circumstances  In the face of setbacks, some people seem to fall apart, while others find ways to move forward and continue to get things done. Are there things you can do to be resilient? |
| Work Kaspersky's Security Apps Quietly Removed From Google Play After US Ban  Google Play has quietly removed all Kaspersky security products from its app store, citing the White House's ban on the Russian antivirus provider. |
| Work How Kabukicho Bars Are Turning Dating Apps Into Traps  In Kabukicho, love isn't blind -- it's expensive. For many men lured there by women on dating apps, a night out can end in financial ruin. |
| Work Some pubs start to run out of Guinness as supply limit bites  Some Irish pubs in Great Britain have told the BBC they ran out of Guinness this week, after limits were imposed on supply in the run up to Christmas. The Liffey in Liverpool, where Guinness is usually the top seller, says it has been without the alcoholic drink since Wednesday. |
| Work AI video is having its Stable Diffusion moment Sora reset expectations about what a video model could be. The output was high resolution, smooth, and coherent. The examples looked like real video. It felt like we'd jumped into the future. The problem was, nobody could use it! It was just a preview. |
| Work Bat Feces Used to Fertilize Cannabis Is Linked to 2 Deaths  Two men died after they contracted a rare fungal infection from exposure to bat feces, also known as guano, that they were using to grow cannabis plants, according to a report published in a medical journal. The men, who lived in Rochester, N.Y. |
| Work Gov. Hochul Signs Law Making the Restaurant Reservation Black Market Illegal  Today, Governor Kathy Hochul has signed the Restaurant Reservation Anti-Piracy Act into law. |
| Work Weight Loss Drugs Changed Their Lives. Then They Lost Coverage.  The letter came in June. Mindy McCormick, 67, read that her insurer would soon stop covering the weight loss drug Wegovy, which she had been taking for more than two years. What? she remembers thinking. They're just going to take it away from me? |
| Work Florida to Lose PornHub Access  PornHub is blocking website visits from Florida on the first day of 2025 in response to the state's new over-18 age verification law for access to adult websites. |
| Work Gaza death trap: MSF report exposes Israel's campaign of total destruction  This article is part of a developing story. Amid continued attacks, siege, and blockade, Israel is destroying conditions of life in Gaza. |
| Work AI learns to distinguish between aromas of US and Scottish whiskies  Notch up another win for artificial intelligence. Researchers have used the technology to predict the notes that waft off whisky and determine whether a dram was made in the US or Scotland. |
| Work 'Hawk Tuah' girl Hailey Welch has disappeared from public view after crypto rug pull  Hailey Welch has gone MIA. The "Hawk Tuah" girl has not released a new episode of her popular weekly podcast, Talk Tuah, in two weeks. There was no previously announced hiatus of the show. Welch also has not posted on her social media channels in weeks either. |
| Work Google releases its own 'reasoning' AI model  Google has released what it's calling a new "reasoning" AI model -- but it's in the experimental stages, and from our brief testing, there's certainly room for improvement. The new model, called Gemini 2. |
| Work Gene therapy trials should emphasize transparency, not secrecy  Rafael Escandon is the founder and principal of DGBI Clinical Research and Ethics Consulting, a consultancy for the biotechnology industry. Arthur Caplan is Mitty professor of medical ethics at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. They are both members of the Pediatric Gene Therapy & Medical Ethics Working Group in the department of medical ethics at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. |
| Work STAT's most memorable photos of 2024  It’s been a big year for news — global conflict and political turmoil have filled headlines — but underneath it all are more personal stories. In an emergency room in St. Louis, a woman battled the pain of a sickle cell crises. Inside an NIH lab, a researcher investigated the effects of ultra-processed diets. And tucked among the hilly neighborhoods of Lisbon, Portugal, a promising model for family medicine provided a potential blueprint for the U.S. |
| Work The market plunge will trigger dormant sell signals if stocks don't recover 'dramatically,' technical analyst warns  "We can't rule out a 10% stock market correction, but we would view that as a buying opportunity rather than as a reason to panic out of the market since we don't expect a recession or a bear market," he wrote on Thursday. |
| Work Oil falls on demand growth concerns, robust dollar  In a move that could pare supply, G7 countries are considering ways to tighten the price cap on Russian oil, such as with an outright ban or by lowering the price threshold, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. |
| Work New Genetic Link to Autism Identified on X Chromosome  Summary: Researchers identified variants in the DDX53 gene, located on the X chromosome, as contributors to autism spectrum disorder (ASD). These genetic variants, found predominantly in males, provide critical insights into the biological mechanisms behind autism's male predominance. |
| Work British university spinoff Mindgard protects companies from AI threats | TechCrunch  With a headcount of 15, Mindgard’s team is relatively small, and will remain so, with plans to reach 20 to 25 people by the end of next year. That’s because AI security “is not even in its heyday yet.” But when AI starts getting deployed everywhere, and security threats follow suit, Mindgard will be ready. Says Garraghan: “We built this company to do positive good for the world, and the positive good here is people can trust and use AI safely and securely.” |
| Work Republicans fail to pass spending bill in House in setback for Trump  Government funding is due to expire at midnight on Friday. If Congress fails to extend that deadline, the US government will begin a partial shutdown that would interrupt funding for everything from border enforcement to national parks and cut off pay cheques for more than 2 million federal workers. |
| Work US deportations under Biden rose to decade high, outpacing Trump years  While deportations rose in fiscal year 2024, the number of Ice arrests of immigrants living in the US illegally dropped by 33% compared with the previous year, the agency’s annual report said, attributing the falloff to more officers assisting with border security operations. |
| Work Retail sales in Great Britain weaker than expected despite early Black Friday deals  “This was driven by clothing, which fell to its lowest level since January 2022. The only saving grace was half-term and Halloween spending helped to slightly offset disappointing sales throughout November.” |
| Work Paul McCartney reunites with Ringo Starr at London concert  Other set highlights included his attempt at Sweet-esque glam in Jet and a euphoric rendition of Wings’ James Bond theme Live and Let Die, which prompted fireworks and pyrotechnics, replicating the film’s opening title. |
| Work University bans on big oil firms at recruitment fairs rise by 30%  The University of Bedfordshire was named as the overall winner, having finished in the top three for the past three years. The report found the university had taken steps to divest endowment funds from the fossil fuel industry and to end recruitment links with oil, gas and mining companies. They scored highly for their energy sources and carbon reduction after investing in renewable energy generated on campus over the past 10 years. |
| Work Lift for Rachel Reeves as UK borrowing hits three-year low  “What will worry government is that recent economic indicators such as weak GDP growth and rising inflation are flashing amber, and what this could mean for tax receipts and the cost of servicing government debt in 2025. Money remains extremely tight and that is unlikely to change any time soon.” |
| Work King Charlesa??s cancer treatment a??will continue into next yeara??  In a video interview to mark the end of a tour of South Africa, William said: "I'm so proud of my wife, I'm proud of my father, for handling the things that they have done. But from a personal family point of view, it's been, yeah, it's been brutal." |
| Work Diplomats welcome Peter Mandelsona??s expected appointment as next ambassador to US a?? UK politics live  I find it very helpful when readers point out mistakes, even minor typos. No error is too small to correct. And I find your questions very interesting too. I can't promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog. |
| Work Who does Trump want in his cabinet, and why? a?? podcast  As Donald Trump's nominees woo Senate Republicans to secure their confirmation, Joan E Greve and Hugo Lowell look at who could be in charge of the major government departments and what they'll have to do to keep the president happy for the next four years |
| Work Top US diplomats arrive in Damascus to meet new Syria leaders in first visit since Assad outing  Sharaa on Monday met with the UN envoy for Syria, Geir Pederson, and a day later with a German delegation. French diplomats returned to their embassy in Damascus, raising the tricolor flag for the first time since 2012. The US closed its own embassy in Damascus in February 2012 and has made no immediate move to reopen it, with the Czech Republic representing US interests in the country. |
| Work Middle East crisis live: mediators push on with Gaza ceasefire talks amid fresh strikes  Bashar al-Assad’s face has been ripped away from posters at the abandoned checkpoint that separates Sheikh Maqsoud, a neighbourhood in the north of Aleppo, from the rest of the city. No cars dare use the wide boulevard any more because the road is still watched by Kurdish snipers allied to the regime. The units retreated into the warren of bombed and burnt-out buildings when Islamist rebel groups launched an unprecedented attack on the city at the end of November, triggering a chain reaction that led to the swift collapse of the Assad dynasty. |
| Work Black anti-racism coordinator excluded from European Commission reshuffle  Insiders suggest this reflects the rightward shift of the parliament since June’s European elections led to a record number of far-right MEPs. “We are witnessing a more polarised and increasingly racist European parliament,” Camara said. |
| Work Friday briefing: Will the GisA?le Pelicot case finally change how we view violence against women?  "Our next generation will live here," says Gajanan Themke, one of the gram sabha's worker-managers. "If they don't get jobs elsewhere, they will always have the forest business." |
| Work Russia-Ukraine war live: airstrike on Kyiv following warnings of ballistic missile attack  Zelenskyy said he needed both Europe and the United States on board to secure a durable peace, as he huddled with EU leaders at their final summit before Donald Trump’s inauguration. “I believe that the European guarantees won’t be sufficient for Ukraine,” he said after talks with his EU counterparts. |
| Work a??Many highs and some unfortunate lowsa??: Nationals MP Keith Pitt quits politics with some parting shots  "I think it's important that we never let the tail wag the dog, that the Liberal party stands up for itself and is clear in terms of its values and opinions, but I absolutely acknowledge the important role and place that the National party have." |
| Work Coalition a??not seriousa?? about nuclear policy and Duttona??s plan is a??political fixa??, Matt Canavan says  "Peter Dutton's been out there saying that they had a costing of consumers and how they would benefit. There's nothing in this costing to indicate that that is the case. Nothing. And it was backed up by the shadow treasurer. They're just making things up," Albanese said. |
| Work a??Wea??re gobsmackeda??: climate groups angered by Labora??s a??no new coalminesa?? claim  "All morning, my hardworking staff have been giving statements to the police instead of helping local residents with things such as Medicare, Centrelink and disability matters, like they usually do." |
| Work a??Someone seniora?? should be held accountable after AGL handed record $25m fine, Shorten says  "The record $25m penalty reflects the seriousness of the breaches and serves as a warning that the AER expects all retailers to refund customers if they have been overcharged and to provide consumers the full protections afforded under the rules," she said. |
| Work a??Heroica?? childcare manager who sounded alarm over a??Australiaa??s worst paedophilea?? found not guilty of hacking  In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, and adult survivors can contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. The crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. In an emergency, call 000. International helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org. |
| Work Blob-headed fish and amphibious mouse among 27 new species found in a??thrillinga?? Peru expedition  "Although we don't know scientific names, we've developed a classification of these species ⦠I believe the discoveries are for the scientific world, not so much for us, as these species are known under other names or for their usefulness or behaviour in nature." |
| Work Iran scrambles to build ties with Syrian leaders as regional influence wanes  For years, Iran’s rulers have been saying that “defending Iran must begin from outside its borders.” This hugely costly strategy is largely obsolete, and how Iran explains its Syria reverse will be critical to deciding what replaces that strategy. |
| Work The best laptops for gaming and schoolwork in 2025  Here's the latest list of the most powerful and affordable laptops for gaming that students can also use for school, as reviewed by experts from Engadget. |
| Work The best budgeting apps for 2025  Rocket Money is another free financial app that tracks spending and supports things like balance alerts and account linking. If you pay for the premium tier, the service can also help you cancel unwanted subscriptions. We did not test it for this guide, but we'll consider it in future updates. |
| Work A Quantum Computer Could Crack Bitcoin in Half, Research Finds  Earlier this month, Google announced a brand-new quantum chip dubbed Willow. |
| Work Feds Warn SMS Authentication Is Unsafe After 'Worst Hack in Our Nation's History'  Do you use text messages for multi-factor authentication? You should probably switch to a different method, especially with everything we're learning about a recent hack that's been dubbed the "worst in our nation's history. |
| Work 'United Healthcare' Using DMCA Against Luigi Mangione Images Which Is Bizarre & Wildly Inappropriate  Someone purporting to be United Healthcare is filing DMCA requests to scrub the internet of artists' depictions of the surveillance video of Luigi smiling, parody merchandise of "Deny, Defend, Depose," and other merchandise showing the alleged shooter. |
| Work Sam Altman once owned some equity in OpenAI through Sequoia  OpenAI CEO Sam Altman sat before Congress in 2023 to testify about the dangers of AI. He told American lawmakers at the time that he owns no equity in OpenAI, something he's said many times, claiming he just runs the company because he loves it. |
| Work Inside the race to rescue Arctic relics before it's too late  The Arctic is home to pristine artifacts. A few archeologists are rushing to find them, and the critical clues they can offer modern culture, before climate change destroys them forever. |
| Work It's AI Versus the World's Largest Tuberculosis Epidemic  The scourge of tuberculosis (TB) may be largely a distant memory for most Americans and Europeans, but it killed roughly 1.25 million people last year around the world. |
| Work The Life, Death and Diplomacy of the Siberian Cat Mir Gifted by Vladimir Putin  In the realm of international diplomacy, we've seen everything from tense summits to symbolic gift exchanges. But rarely do such exchanges involve a cat whose life becomes a curious cross-cultural saga. |
| Work AI is boosting interest in nuclear power, but won't soon benefit from it  With AI pushing energy use up, big-tech companies and figures are turning to nuclear energy, but new reactors are still years away at best from meeting the industry-driven increased electricity demand. |
| Work N Korea hackers stole $1.3bn of crypto this year - report  Research firm Chainalysis says hackers affiliated with the reclusive state stole $1.3bn of digital currencies - more than double last year's haul. |
| Work Opinion | 'Presidents Enjoy Remarkable Freedom': Three Legal Experts on Trump 2.0  Opinion writers discuss potential legal issues and executive power in a second Trump term. |
| Work Ukrainians Mourn the Loss of Viktoria Roshchyna and Her Stories  Viktoria Roshchyna died in September in Russian custody. The reporter had been well-known for her stories about life in parts of occupied Ukraine. |
| Work Adams Hosts Fox News at City Hall, as N.Y. Leaders Mute Trump Hostility  In an interview, Mayor Eric Adams criticized the Biden administration and did not take aim at President-elect Donald J. Trump. He is not the only New York Democrat treading lightly. |
| Work ICON Announces Construction is Underway for More 3D-printed Homes to Serve the Chronically Homeless in Texas  Mobile Loaves & Fishes Receives Gift from Lennar Foundation to Bring the Resilient, Dignified Homes to Community First! Village |
| Work U.S. Files Murder Charge Against Mangione That Could Bring Death Penalty  Federal authorities filed a total of four counts against Luigi Mangione, who is accused of killing Brian Thompson, the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare. |
| Work During Pelicot Trial, Avignon's Ramparts Give a Platform to Denounce 'Rape Culture'  A feminist collective, the Amazons of Avignon, has been plastering the walls of the city with testimony from the trial of the 51 men who were convicted in the Gisèle Pelicot rape case. |