The judge found that immigration agents were likely acting illegally when making arrests without a warrant.

Almost every election night this year has gone poorly for the Republicans a familiar position for the party that occupies the White House.

The president posted 160 times on Truth Social in one night, according to news reports. One host says his thumbs were as swollen as his ankles.

This aerial photo taken using drone shows a village affected by a flash flood in Batang Toru, North Sumatra, Indonesia, on Dec. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara, File)2025-12-03T05:04:49Z HANOI, Vietnam (AP) Southeast Asia is being pummeled by unusually severe floods this year, as late-arriving storms and relentless rains wreak havoc that has caught many places off guard.Deaths have topped 1,400 across Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, with more than 1,000 still missing in floods and landslides. In Indonesia, entire villages remain cut off after bridges and roads were swept away. Thousands in Sri Lanka lack clean water, while Thailands prime minister acknowledged shortcomings in his governments response. Malaysia is still reeling from one its worst floods, which killed three and displaced thousands. Meanwhile, Vietnam and the Philippines have faced a year of punishing storms and floods that have left hundreds dead.What feels unprecedented is exactly what climate scientists expect: A new normal of punishing storms, floods and devastation.Southeast Asia should brace for a likely continuation and potential worsening of extreme weather in 2026 and for many years immediately following that, said Jemilah Mahmood, who leads the think tank Sunway Centre for Planetary Health in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Asia is facing the full force of the climate crisisClimate patterns last year helped set the stage for 2025s extreme weather.Atmospheric levels of heat-trapping carbon dioxide jumped by the most on record in 2024. That turbocharged the climate, the United Nations World Meteorological Organization says, resulting in more extreme weather.Asia is bearing the brunt of such changes, warming nearly twice as fast as the global average. Scientists agree that the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events are increasing.Warmer ocean temperatures provide more energy for storms, making them stronger and wetter, while rising sea levels amplify storm surges, said Benjamin Horton, a professor of earth science at the City University of Hong Kong. Storms are arriving later in the year, one after another as climate change affects air and ocean currents, including systems like El Nino, which keeps ocean waters warmer for longer and extends the typhoon season. With more moisture in the air and changes in wind patterns, storms can form quickly.While the total number of storms may not dramatically increase, their severity and unpredictability will, Horton said. Governments were unpreparedThe unpredictability, intensity, and frequency of recent extreme weather events are overwhelming Southeast Asian governments, said Aslam Perwaiz of the Bangkok-based intergovernmental Asian Disaster Preparedness Center. He attributes that to a tendency to focus on responding to disasters rather than preparing for them.Future disasters will give us even less lead time to prepare, Perwaiz warned.In Sri Lankas hardest-hit provinces, little has changed since 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, said Sarala Emmanuel, a human-rights researcher in Batticaloa. It killed 230,000 people. When a disaster like this happens, the poor and marginalized communities are the worst affected, Emmanuel said. That includes poor tea plantation workers living in areas prone to landslides. Unregulated development that damages local ecosystems has worsened flood damage, said Sandun Thudugala of the Colombo-based non-profit Law and Society Trust. Sri Lanka needs to rethink how it builds and plans, he said, taking into account a future where extreme weather is the norm.Videos of logs swept downstream in Indonesia suggested deforestation may have made the floods worse. Since 2000, the flood-inundated Indonesian provinces of Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra have lost 19,600 square kilometers (7,569 square miles) of forest, an area larger than the state of New Jersey, according to Global Forest Watch.Officials rejected claims of illegal logging, saying the timber looked old and probably came from landholders.Billions are lost, while climate finance is limitedCountries are losing billions of dollars a year because of climate change.Vietnam estimates that it lost over $3 billion in the first 11 months of this year because of floods, landslides and storms. Thailands government data is fragmented, but its agriculture ministry estimates about $47 million in agricultural losses since August. The Kasikorn Research Center estimates the November floods in southern Thailand alone caused about $781 million in losses, potentially shaving off 0.1% of GDP. Indonesia doesnt have data for losses for this year but its annual average losses from natural disasters are $1.37 billion, its finance ministry says. Costs from disasters are an added burden for Sri Lanka, which contributes a tiny fraction of global carbon emissions but is at the frontline of climate impacts, while it spends most of its wealth to repay foreign loans, said Thudugala. There is also an urgent need for vulnerable countries like ours to get compensated for loss and damages we suffer because of global warming, Thudugala said.My request ... is support to recover some of the losses we have suffered, said Rohan Wickramarachchi, owner of a commercial building in the central Sri Lankan town of Peradeniya that was flooded to its second floor. He and dozens of other families he knows must now start over. Responding to increasingly desperate calls for help, at the COP30 global climate conference last month in Brazil, countries pledged to triple funding for climate adaptation and make $1.3 trillion in annual climate financing available by 2035. Thats still woefully short of what developing nations requested, and its unclear if those funds will actually materialize.Southeast Asia is at a crossroads for climate action, said Thomas Houlie of the science and policy institute, Climate Analytics. The region is expanding use of renewable energy but still reliant on fossil fuels.What were seeing in the region is dramatic and its unfortunately a stark reminder of the consequences of the climate crisis, Houlie said.___Delgado reported from Bangkok. Associated Press writers Edna Tarigan in Jakarta, Indonesia, Jintamas Saksornchai in Bangkok, Thailand, Sibi Arasu in Bengaluru, India, Eranga Jayawardena in Kandy, Sri Lanka, and Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, contributed to this report.___The Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL Ghosal covers the intersection of business and climate change in southeast Asia for The Associated Press. He is based out of Hanoi in Vietnam. twitter mailto ANTON L. DELGADO Delgado covers climate and energy stories across Southeast Asia for The Associated Press. twitter instagram mailto

Goalie Carter Hart, one of five 2018 Canada world junior hockey players acquitted of sexual assault in July, made his first NHL appearance in nearly two years Tuesday night, debuting for the Golden Knights in a 4-3 shootout victory over the Blackhawks.

FILE -Trucks carrying humanitarian aids prepare to cross the Egyptian gate of the Rafah crossing, waiting for inspections by Israeli authorities before entering the Gaza Strip, following an agreement between Israel and Hamas on a ceasefire, Oct. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohamed Arafat, File)2025-12-03T06:29:01Z JERUSALEM (AP) Israel said Wednesday that partial remains returned by militants did not match the hostages remaining in Gaza, while it announced plans to reopen a key Gaza border crossing for the exit of Palestinians from the strip.While the DNA findings marked a setback for ceasefire efforts, the reopening of the Rafah border crossing indicated that the U.S.-backed plan is still moving ahead.The ceasefire deal calls for the crossing to be opened for medical evacuations and for travel to and from the strip.The World Health Organization says there are more than 16,500 sick and wounded people who need to leave Gaza for medical care.The statement by COGAT, the Israeli military body charged with facilitating aid to Gaza, said Israel would coordinate with Egypt on the exit of Palestinians under the supervision of a mission from the European Union. It did not say whether there would be restrictions on who was allowed to leave Gaza beyond that they would require Israeli security approval. It also did not say when the crossing would open. The crossing was sealed off in May 2024 when Israels miliary invaded the area. It was briefly opened in February this year for the evacuation of sick and wounded Palestinians for treatment, as part of the previous ceasefire deal. With the remains of two hostages, one Israeli and one Thai national, remaining in Gaza, the sides are close to wrapping up the first phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire. The remains handed over Tuesday were found in Gazas northern town of Beit Lahiya, according to Palestinian media. In a statement, the Prime Ministers Office said forensic testing showed the remains were not linked to two remaining hostages.Hamas has yet to comment on the latest handover.Twenty living hostages and the remains of 26 others have been returned to Israel since the ceasefire began in early October. The returns are a key part of the terms of a shaky agreement, which both Hamas and Israel have accused the other of breaking. The two hostages remaining in Gaza are Ran Gvili and Sudthisak Rinthalak. Gvili helped people escape from the Nova music festival on Oct. 7, 2023 and was killed fighting at another location. The military confirmed his death four months later. He is survived by his parents and a sister.Sudthisak Rinthalak was an agricultural worker from Thailand who had been employed at Kibbutz Beeri, one of the hardest-hit communities in the attack. According to media reports, Sudthisak had been working in Israel since 2017. A total of 31 workers from Thailand were abducted, the largest group of foreigners to be held in captivity. Most of them were released in the first and second ceasefires. The Thai Foreign Ministry has said in addition to the hostages, 46 Thais have been killed during the war.Israel has been releasing 15 Palestinian bodies for the remains of each hostage as part of the ceasefire agreement. The Gaza Health Ministry said the total number of remains received so far is 330.Hamas has said recovering bodies is complicated by the widespread devastation in Gaza. Israel has pushed to speed up the returns and in certain cases has said the remains were not those of hostages. Under the ceasefire deal, Hamas returned 20 living hostages to Israel on Oct. 13. The further exchanges of the dead have been the central component of the initial phase of the U.S.-brokered agreement which requires Hamas to return all hostage remains as quickly as possible.The exchanges have gone ahead even as Israel and Hamas have accused each other of violating other terms of the deal. Israeli officials have accused Hamas of handing over partial remains in some instances and staging the discovery of bodies in others.Hamas has accused Israel of opening fire on civilians and restricting the flow of humanitarian aid into the territory. The number of casualties has dropped since the ceasefire took effect, but officials in Gaza have continued to report deaths from strikes, while Israel has said that soldiers have also been killed in militant attacks. Health officials in Gaza have said they have only been able to identify a fraction of the bodies handed over by Israel, and the process is complicated by a lack of DNA testing kits.After the exchanges, the 20-point plan calls for creating an international stabilization force, forming a technocratic Palestinian government and disarming Hamas.The ceasefire aims to wind down the war that was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage.Gazas Health Ministry says the Palestinian toll has topped 70,100. The ministry does not distinguish between militants and civilians, though it says roughly have of those killed have been women and children. The ministry operates under the Hamas-run government. It is staffed by medical professionals and maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by the international community.___Magdy reported from Cairo. JULIA FRANKEL Frankel, based in Jerusalem, has reported from across Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Her reporting focuses on war, human rights, displacement and criminal justice. twitter mailto SAMY MAGDY Magdy is a Middle East reporter for The Associated Press, based in Cairo. He focuses on conflict, migration and human rights abuses. twitter facebook mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Mohamed Salah has long been a target for clubs in the Saudi Pro League. Transfer Talk has the latest news and rumors.

The authorities quickly arrested critics demanding accountability, signaling an expansive use of the security law to silence dissent over nonpolitical tragedies.

Nature, Published online: 03 December 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-03912-wAstrocytes make up one-quarter of the brain, but researchers are only now realizing their true value.

In late 2019, a pair of Montana ranchers got in trouble with the Forest Service, which oversees the federal lands where they had a permit to graze their cattle. Agency staff had found their cattle wandering in unauthorized locations four times during September of that year. The agency also found some of their fences in disrepair and their salt licks which provide cattle with essential minerals too close to creeks and springs, drawing the animals into those habitats.After repeated calls, texts and letters, the Forest Service sent the ranchers a notice of noncompliance, according to documents obtained via public records requests. The agency asserted that the ranchers had engaged in a willful and intentional violation of their permit and warned that future violations could lead to its revocation.The ranchers were hardly the largest or most politically influential among those who graze livestock on public lands. But they soon had help from well-placed people as they pushed back, hoping to get the warning rescinded based on their belief that they had been treated unfairly.The Forest Service needs to work with us and understand that grazing on the Forest is not black and white, the ranchers wrote to the agency. The agencys acting district ranger, for his part, said his staff had gone above and beyond to help the ranchers comply with the rules.With assistance from a former Forest Service employee, the ranchers contacted their congressional representatives in early 2020. Staffers for then-Rep. Greg Gianforte and Sen. Steve Daines, both Republicans, leapt into action, kicking off more than a year of back-and-forth between the senators office and Forest Service officials.When they hear something they dont like, they run to the forest supervisor and the senators office to get what they want, a Forest Service official wrote in a 2021 email to colleagues.Public lands ranching is one of the largest land uses in many Western states like Montana, where there are more cattle than people. Politicians have shown themselves remarkably responsive to requests for help from grazing permittees, even those of modest means.Ranchers who have been cited for violations or who resist regulations have called on pro-grazing lawyers, trade group lobbyists and sympathetic politicians, from county commissioners to state legislators and U.S. senators like Daines. These allies some of whom now hold positions in the Trump administration have pushed for looser environmental rules and, in some cases, fewer consequences for rule breakers.Multiple current or former Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service employees told ProPublica and High Country News that ranchers powerful allies can pose a serious obstacle to enforcement of grazing regulations. When pushback comes, regulators sometimes cave.If we do anything anti-grazing, theres at least a decent chance of politicians being involved, said one BLM employee who requested anonymity due to a fear of retaliation from the administration. We want to avoid that, so we dont do anything that would bring that about.In this 2021 email, a Forest Service official writes to colleagues about how ranchers were turning to a sympathetic senator to get around staffers attempts to enforce regulations. Obtained, redacted and highlighted by ProPublica and High Country NewsMary Jo Rugwell, a former director of the BLMs Wyoming state office, said that a majority of ranchers in the public lands grazing system do things the way they should be done. But some are truly problematic they break the rules and go above and around you to try to get what they want or think they deserve. Ranching interests can be very closely tied to folks that are in power, she added.Since 2020, members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have written to the BLM and Forest Service about grazing issues more than 20 times, according to logs of agency communications obtained by ProPublica and High Country News via public records requests. In addition to Daines and Gianforte, these members include Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz.; former Rep. Yvette Herrell, R-N.M.; former Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.; Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and others. Their communications addressed such issues as Request for Flexibility with Grazing Permits and Public Lands Rule Impact on Ranchers and Rural Communities.Rick Danvir, who was a longtime wildlife manager on a large ranch in Utah, said pressure on the BLM comes not just from ranchers and their allies, but also from litigious environmental organizations opposed to public lands grazing. Everyone is always kicking them, he said of the agency. I didnt feel like the BLM was out to pick on people, he added. But the agency, wary of being taken to court, often ends up in a defensive crouch.In the Montana dispute, Daines office, from March 2020 through February 2021, sent a stream of emails to Forest Service officials about the issue, including demands for detailed information about the agencys interactions with the ranchers. In April 2021, a Daines staffer showed up unannounced at a meeting between the ranchers and the Forest Service, only to be turned away because the Forest Service did not have the appropriate official present to deal with a legislative staffer. But interventions by Daines office apparently made an impact.Its not unusual for people regulated by the government to reach out to their elected representatives, and constituent services are a big part of every senators and House members official duties. But local Forest Service officials involved in the dispute noted that the pressure from outside political forces was leading them to give the ranchers special treatment.If this issue was solely between the [ranger district] and the permittee, we should administer the permit and end the discussion there, wrote one Forest Service official in 2020. Unfortunately, we have regional, state and national oversight from others that deters us from administering the permit like we would for others. It is very unfair to the top notch operators that call/coordinate/manage consistently. But, what the [ranchers] perceive as picking on them, for political reasons, has become a mandate that we make accommodations outside the terms of a mediated permit. So be it.Another agency official wrote, It leaves a sour taste to think I am expected to hold all other permittees to the terms of their permits/forest plan/forest handbook yet be told to continually let it go with another.In this 2020 email, a Forest Service employee complains that being forced to apply rules inconsistently after a politician intervened in a grazing dispute leaves a sour taste. Obtained, redacted and highlighted by ProPublica and High Country NewsBy June 2020, the acting district ranger expressed willingness to cut [the ranchers] some slack if it would improve relations. In December 2020, the agency found the ranchers were once again violating the terms of their permit, citing evidence of overgrazing that could lead to declining vegetation and soil health, but decided not to issue another formal notice of noncompliance. By late 2022, the agency noted the Montana ranchers had been in violation of their permit for four consecutive years and warranted yet another notice of noncompliance. Agency staff, however, were wary of the conflict that would likely ensue.Although the Forest Service found that the ranchers grazing land showed widespread signs of overuse, the agency declined to officially recommend another citation in its year-end report for 2022, according to agency records.As one agency official wrote during the yearslong squabble, the drama continues.A spokesperson for Daines, in a statement, said that the senator advocates tirelessly on behalf of his constituents to federal agencies and was glad to be able to advocate for the ranchers in this case. The Forest Service, the ranchers and Gianfortes office did not respond to requests for comment.Friends in High PlacesThe second Trump administration is shaping up to be another powerful ally for ranchers who have argued against what they see as government overreach.The administration appointed Karen Budd-Falen, a self-described cowboy lawyer, to a high-level post at the U.S. Department of the Interior. Budd-Falen comes from a prominent ranching family and owns a stake in a Wyoming cattle ranch, according to her most recent financial disclosure released by the Interior Department. She also has a long history of suing the federal government over the enforcement of grazing regulations. In one of her best-known cases, she used the anti-corruption RICO law often used to target organized crime to sue individual BLM staffers over their enforcement of grazing regulations. (The case made it to the Supreme Court, where Budd-Falen lost in 2007.) She also represented an organization of New Mexico farmers and stockmen in a legal filing supporting Utahs failed 2024 lawsuit to take control of millions of acres of federal land within its borders.President Donald Trump nominated Michael Boren, a tech entrepreneur and rancher, as undersecretary of agriculture for natural resources and environment at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a post overseeing the Forest Service. Boren has a contentious history with the Forest Service, which manages a national recreation area that surrounds his 480-acre ranch in Idaho. Among other issues, a company he controlled received a cease-and-desist letter from the agency in 2024 for allegedly clearing national forest land and building a private cabin on it. He was confirmed to his USDA position in October.The new administration has also wasted no time in dismantling Biden-era reforms designed to strengthen environmental protections for public rangelands.In September, the Trump administration proposed rescinding the Public Lands Rule. The rule, finalized in May 2024, sought to place the protection and restoration of wildlife habitat and clean water on equal footing with uses such as oil drilling, mining and grazing on federal land. It would have allowed individuals, organizations, tribes and state agencies to lease BLM land for conservation purposes and sought to strengthen the BLM process for analyzing the impact of grazing and other economic activities on the environment.Under the Biden administration, the BLM also issued a memo prioritizing environmental review for grazing lands that were environmentally degraded or in sensitive wildlife habitat. The Trump administration effectively nullified that memo this year.The Interior Department and BLM said in a statement that any policy decisions are made in accordance with federal law and are designed to balance economic opportunity with conservation responsibilities across the nations public lands.A BLM grazing allotment in Colorado shows both signs of a healthy environment marked by native Indian ricegrass, first image, and areas degraded by cattle, second image.The administration is also undertaking a broad effort to reopen vacant federal grazing lands to ranchers as part of its drive to position grazing as a central element of federal land management. The administration says there are 24 million acres of vacant grazing land nationwide. Many of these vacant grazing allotments are temporarily without livestock because they needed time to recover from wildfire, did not have enough water or forage to support cattle, or were awaiting removal of invasive species.Still, in May, Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz gave staff about two weeks to compile lists of unused grazing allotments that could be quickly refilled with livestock, according to internal communications obtained by ProPublica and High Country News via public records requests. Such policies cater to grazing permittee advocates like the Public Lands Council, which in a 2024 policy paper called on federal agencies to swiftly fill vacant allotments. The council did not respond to requests for comment.Vacant grazing allotments have always been open and available to permitted grazing, a USDA spokesperson told ProPublica and High Country News.The Trump administration has sometimes run afoul of ranchers. In October, ranching groups blasted the administration for increasing beef imports from Argentina amid rising prices for consumers.Long before Trump first took office, presidential administrations that tried to raise grazing fees or strengthen regulations faced fierce pushback from ranching interests.In the mid-1990s, the Clinton administration backed off a proposal to raise fees amid widespread rancor from public lands ranchers and their Republican allies in Congress. Many in the industry saw then-Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitts proposed reforms as an existential threat. The government is trying to take our livelihood, our rights and our dignity, said one rancher at a hearing on Babbitts failed push to raise fees. We cant live with it.Ranching industry groups do not spend anywhere near as much money lobbying Congress as do well-funded industries like pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, and defense contracting. But they get their perspective heard in the Capitol.J.R. Simplot Co. the largest holder of BLM grazing permits, according to a ProPublica and High Country News analysis spent about $610,000 lobbying Congress from 2020 through 2025. Earlier this year, the company hired the Bernhardt Group to lobby on its behalf in Washington, D.C. David Bernhardt, who launched the firm this year, served as Secretary of the Interior during the first Trump administration and sits on the board of Trumps media company.Those with fewer resources may turn to trade groups such as the National Cattlemens Beef Association, which has affiliates in 40 states. In recent years, the association and its allies have sued the Environmental Protection Agency over Biden-era water regulations and the Interior Department over endangered species protections for the lesser prairie-chicken. A federal judge in August vacated protections for the imperiled species after a request from the Trump administration. The administration has also moved to roll back the water regulations at the center of the associations EPA lawsuit.The association, which represents public lands ranchers as well as the beef industry as a whole, spent nearly $2 million lobbying in Washington, D.C., over the past five years and contributed more than $2 million to federal candidates and political action committees in the last two election cycles. During the 2024 election cycle, more than 90% of its political contributions went to Republicans.The association vociferously opposed the Public Lands Rule and, alongside other groups, filed a lawsuit to halt its implementation before the Trump administration moved to rescind it. Rancher Mark Eisele, then-president of the association, called the rule a stepping stone to removing livestock grazing from our nations public lands. The association did not respond to requests for comment.Groups like the cattlemens association and Public Lands Council were influential in getting the Public Lands Rule rescinded, said Nada Culver, a deputy director of the BLM during the Biden administration.The political influence of ranchers, she said, goes beyond their relatively modest lobbying and campaign donations. It is tied to their cultural power, she said. They are icons of the American West.From Bunkerville to the Halls of GovernmentState and local officials, from legislators to county commissioners to sheriffs, also sometimes come to the aid of ranchers who run into trouble with the Forest Service or BLM.In June 2019, in the midst of a long-running dispute between a group of ranchers and employees of Utahs Fishlake National Forest, a forest supervisor told a rancher that he would receive a citation if he failed to sign his permit, place ear tags on his cattle to identify them and otherwise abide by the rules. The rancher became really angry, said there were two ways this could go, and he wasnt going to court because the courts are all stacked in our favor, the Forest Service employee wrote in an email recounting the conversation.He then said if anyone in his family got hurt by this, remember I have a family and they can get hurt too, the supervisor noted in his email. I asked him if he was threatening my family, and he said his family has worked hard for what they have and werent going to have it taken away, or something to that effect. The rancher declined to comment for this story.The ranchers in the dispute, which lasted years, had support from a local sheriff. At one point, the sheriff expressed his willingness to jail Forest Service personnel, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. Minutes from a January 2016 meeting of the Piute County Commission note that the sheriff said that he will not allow this to be a Bundy situation, referring to the infamous 2014 standoff between rancher Cliven Bundy and the BLM in Bunkerville, Nevada. If that entails jailing the forest service he will do it!!! The sheriff told The Salt Lake Tribune that his comments were taken out of context.In a few cases, ranchers who violate grazing regulations have even taken up arms without losing support from elected officials.Heavy grazing has left this BLM parcel near the Colorado-Utah border largely denuded of grass and with native greasewood shrubs stunted.This was the case during the Bundy familys Bunkerville standoff. After two decades of chronic trespassing, the Bundys owed about $1 million in grazing fines and unpaid fees. Bundy maintained, without evidence, that the U.S. government had no say over grazing on public lands in Nevada. When federal agents arrived with a court order to round up the familys trespassing cattle, Bundy and a group of supporters engaged in an armed standoff. The agents eventually retreated. Ill be damned if Im going to honor a federal court that has no jurisdiction or authority or arresting power over we the people, Bundy told The New York Times in 2014.Throughout the dispute, the family was supported by political figures from across the region. The commissioners of Nye County, Nevada, for instance, passed a resolution denouncing armed federal bureaucrats operating outside their lawful delegated authority, and at least one commissioner traveled to Bunkerville to support the Bundys. Michele Fiore, a member of the Nevada Legislature at the time, voiced her support for the family, and several members of the Arizona Legislature traveled to Nevada after the standoff to support the Bundys.The Bundys ties to powerful officials have only grown. Celeste Maloy, Bundys niece, was elected to represent Utahs 2nd Congressional District in 2023. (Bundy married Maloys aunt.) During her short time in the House of Representatives, Maloy has pushed for the sale of some federal lands and sponsored legislation to make it easier for ranchers to access vacant grazing allotments during droughts and extreme weather. During the 2024 election cycle, Maloy received $20,000 in campaign contributions from the National Cattlemens Beef Association.Maloys office did not respond to requests for comment.Everything Stacked against YouWayne Werkmeister, a longtime BLM employee who spent most of his career overseeing federal grazing lands before retiring in 2022, said he knows how difficult it can be to enforce public lands protections.When you have everything stacked against you, when youve got political pressure on you, when youve got management who doesnt want to hear it, when youve got a rancher whos trying to prove himself, its nearly impossible, he said in an interview with ProPublica and High Country News.By 2017, after intensive on-the-ground research, Werkmeister and his colleagues had determined that two ranchers near Grand Junction, Colorado, were damaging habitat across the more than 90,000-acre allotment where they grazed roughly 500 cattle. Werkmeister began pushing to reduce the number of cattle on the land.Wayne Werkmeister, a former BLM employee, spent years fighting to reduce the number of cattle grazing on the West Salt Common allotment.In response, the ranchers hired former BLM employees to argue their case, accusing the agency of agenda driven bullying. They copied then-U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, a Colorado Republican, on correspondence with the BLM. Werkmeister said he had to justify the agencys actions to the senators aides.In October 2018, Werkmeisters office received a two-page letter from the Budd-Falen Law Offices the firm co-founded by Budd-Falen, now a high-ranking official in the Interior Department which represented the two Colorado ranchers. The actions of the BLM in reducing livestock grazing on the West Salt Common Allotment could potentially and unnecessarily force them out of business, the letter read. The firm also sent the letter to local county commissioners.Werkmeister said his bosses quickly ordered him back into the field to gather more data, even though, as BLM records show, he and his colleagues had already spent years documenting the condition of the allotment, its precipitation patterns and its use by the ranchers. The ranchers continued to dispute the agencys findings.Ultimately, Werkmeister said he was never able to reduce grazing enough to give the allotment time to recover. As recently as 2024, agency records show, the BLM reapproved grazing there.The ranchers, their attorney and Gardner did not respond to requests for comment.Werkmeister counts his inability to turn around the parcels ecological fortunes as among his biggest failures. During a recent visit, he pointed out the denuded ground and nubs of native bunchgrasses amid a sea of invasive cheatgrass.Overgrazed to the point of gone, he said.A cattle trail cuts through an overgrazed field in the West Salt Common allotment near Grand Junction, Colorado.The post Powerful Friends: Sympathetic Officials and Cultural Power Help Ranchers Dodge Oversight appeared first on ProPublica.

A singers almost totally relatable look at the woes of aging.

Nature, Published online: 03 December 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-03909-5Artificial intelligence promises rapid and polite feedback on papers but we must first review the reviewer.

Nature, Published online: 03 December 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-09726-0Retraction Note: The economic commitment of climate change

Three weeks after flash floods in Texas Hill Country killed more than 100 people, state lawmakers chastised Kerr County leaders for rejecting money a year earlier to create a warning system that could have alerted residents to rapidly rising water.Several lashed out as a Kerr official representing the local river authority tried to explain why it declined money from a $1.4 billion state fund to help guard against destructive flooding.One state senator on the special legislative committee tasked with investigating the deadly floods called the decision pathetic. Another said it was disturbing. State Rep. Drew Darby, a Republican from San Angelo, said the river authority simply lacked the will to pay for the project.But Kerr leaders were not the only ones who rejected the states offer, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune found. In the five years since the funds launch, at least 90 local governments turned down tens of millions of dollars in state grants and loans.Leaders from about 30 local governments that the news organizations spoke with said the state grants paid for so little of the total project costs that they simply could not move forward, even with the programs offer to cover the rest through interest-free loans. Many hoped the state program would provide grants that paid the bulk of the costs, such as the ones from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which typically supply at least 75%. They believed that they could raise the rest.Instead, many were offered far less. In some cases, the state offered grants that paid for less than 10% of the funding needed.In Kerrs case, the state awarded a $50,000 grant for a $1 million flood warning system, or roughly 5%. It said the river authority could borrow the rest and repay it over the next three decades, but local officials were not sure they would be able to pay back the $950,000 and failure to do so could carry state sanctions.City officials in Robinson, located between Dallas and Austin, sought about $2.4 million in funding to buy and tear down homes directly in the floodway. The state offered $236,000 and required that the city conduct an engineering study that would have eaten up more than half of those grant funds, the city manager told the news organizations.The state also proposed giving the East Texas city of Kilgore a fraction of what Public Works Director Clay Evers had anticipated for a drainage study aimed at minimizing flooding. The city needed the money, Evers said, but the states offer required a far larger match than the council members had planned to set aside based on the federal grant system as a guide. The state also required the city to go through a second application process to secure the grant, which Evers said would further strain resources.So, Evers dropped out.Four years after he turned down the state funding, Evers watched in shock as lawmakers lambasted Kerr leaders. It could have just as easily been him trying to defend a choice he never wanted to make in the first place.I dont have this unlimited pot of money, Evers said. That is an incredibly difficult decision, and when the impossible, improbable, traumatic happens, how do you defend the decision you just made?Several Texas leaders who created and oversaw the fund defended the program as a significant investment and said that local communities must also be willing to invest in flood warning and mitigation projects.Local officials, particularly those in smaller, rural communities, said a limited tax base, along with continued state restrictions on their ability to raise new taxes, have made it difficult to fund necessary projects.After learning of the newsrooms findings, two lawmakers and a former state employee who helped launch the fund expressed concerns over the high number of communities that turned down the money. Though state Rep. Joe Moody, a Democrat from El Paso, and Darby said that the state cant pay for the entirety of every project, they acknowledged lawmakers created a flawed system.I absolutely know that what were doing now is not adequate for the people that we represent, Moody said. Its OK for us to admit that the system isnt good enough. We shouldnt be afraid of saying that. The question then is, what are we going to do about it?Moody and Darby said the state program merits a thorough review by lawmakers during the next legislative session in 2027.It is a frustrating prospect that we have this program thats designed to be important to help peoples lives, and the Legislature determined it to be a priority, and we put money in, and to find it still in the bank accounts, and not being deployed, Darby said. We need to fix it.During a 2016 flood in Kilgore, Turkey Creek, which runs through the town, inundated nearby neighborhoods. Residents were rescued from their homes by emergency management officials. Michael Cavazos for ProPublica and The Texas TribuneToo Little for SomeLawmakers in 2019 approved the Flood Infrastructure Fund, making Texas one of the few states in the country with a dedicated program to invest in helping cities and counties pay for flood prevention projects, experts said.The investment was a response to the destruction wrought by Hurricane Harvey two years earlier. Applicants seeking to qualify for grants must meet criteria that includes securing supplemental federal funding, showing that they have a median household income below the statewide average or meeting a narrow definition of a rural community that is more restrictive than the ones used by other Texas programs.Lawmakers tasked the Texas Water Development Board with creating a ranking system for proposed projects and determining how much each community would receive. The board awarded $670 million to 140 projects, with the largest grants going to applicants that had the lowest median household income.That meant communities like Kerr, which have higher median income, received far less money than other areas with needs deemed less pressing.A spokesperson for the water board defended its grant distribution, saying the aim was to fund as many projects as possible across the state. While the agency had received some feedback from communities that felt the offer was too low to be a feasible avenue for them, spokesperson Kaci Woodrome said it was challenging to attribute their choice to turn down the money to a single root cause.Tom Entsminger, a longtime water board employee who helped launch the fund, said he and his colleagues were charged with figuring out how to divvy up the money before they knew how many local agencies would apply, what projects they would propose or how much they would cost. He said there wasnt a specific logic behind the exact grant amounts that anybody would have defended.We had to just get through that funding cycle before we knew that it was too little for some folks, he said.The state began a second round of funding last year, but its leaders made few changes to the rubric used to distribute it. So far, they have seen similar results.Entsminger, who left the state agency in 2021 for a consultant job, considers the program an overall success. Still, he said the fact that local governments, many of which were rural or had fewer than 20,000 residents, declined the state funding shows the boards grant process likely needs to be reviewed. About $100 million went unused for years, the newsrooms found.Among local governments that rejected the money was the Trinity Bay Conservation District, which provides water services to 6,000 customers in two rural counties in Southeast Texas. It would have received 9% of the nearly $12 million needed to fund projects that would widen a local bayou and reduce flooding in the area. The 300-resident town of Rose Hill Acres, also in Southeast Texas near Beaumont, was offered a 14% grant for its $12 million flood mitigation efforts.Another such community was Kilgore, which has fewer than 14,000 residents.The city needed $575,000 to assess and create an updated map of its drainage system. Without it, Evers had to rely on maps left by previous city officials in a green spiral notebook dated 1965 that kept him guessing which outdated pipes he needed to replace before they failed.Dozens of pipes had collapsed since 2018, when his office began tracking the destruction that creates sinkholes in residents yards, church property and, in the worst-case scenarios, the middle of busy roads. The chaos forced Evers to triage emergency funds to fix the most dangerous basketball-sized holes across the city, only for another to pop up in a citywide game of Whac-a-Mole.Its only accelerating. Every year that passes, the infrastructure thats still in the ground gets a year older, Evers said. Im trying to get ahead of it.The announcement of the state water development board program gave him hope that he could secure enough money for needed projects. But that feeling quickly deflated when the board published its master list ranking all the projects and outlined how much funding each would get.Kilgore was offered a grant covering 13% of the drainage studys cost. To stay in the running for the grant, the program required applicants to submit a separate lengthy application, which Evers said would have required him to hire a pricey consultant. The board had ranked Kilgore so low among hundreds of projects that Evers felt the citys chances of getting the money were slim.Evers faced a choice that many other applicants recounted to the newsrooms: spend more resources for a chance at some state money or cut their losses now.We are disappointed in our ranking, Evers wrote in an email to the water development board in which he declined to move forward with the application. Our small town needs apparently pale in comparison to the other 200 projects ahead of us.Evers points to a map showing the areas that were inundated during a 2016 flood. Michael Cavazos for ProPublica and The Texas TribuneA map in Kilgores 1965 comprehensive plan depicts the citys storm water drainage system. Michael Cavazos for ProPublica and The Texas TribuneStill WaitingAfter stepping away from the state program, Evers searched for other funding sources as the need for a drainage study became more pressing. Pipes kept breaking, flooding streets and homes, and forcing the city to tap into dwindling emergency funds.Finally, Evers landed a $300,000 federal grant this year. It didnt cover the full cost of the project, but Evers said he would start by examining the most flood-prone neighborhoods and then try to scale up.It wont be 100%, but itll be enough to where I can at least have some semblance of a plan to begin, he said. I got lucky.But Kerr has not been as lucky.Tara Bushnoe, general manager of the Upper Guadalupe River Authority, which applied for and then declined funding from the state program, said in an email that the agency approved incrementally using money from its budget for a flood warning system, but having a complete system with all planned sirens to alert residents could take years.Immediately after the deadly floods, state leaders promised to help, saying they would allocate additional funding specifically for such warning systems.Were not going to be able to stop everybody from dying, said state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Houston Republican. But we could have gotten a lot of people out of the way if they had heard those sirens and went to higher ground, and thats the best thing you can do, is try to save lives as a legislator.This summer, lawmakers passed Bettencourts legislation that would provide $50 million for flood sirens in some Texas counties.But Kerr County, whose devastation after the floods spurred the state to infuse dollars in the first place, wont automatically get help to pay for its warning system.State lawmakers put money into a new fund with a new selection process that will be open to a few dozen flood-prone counties.Kerr leaders will again have to apply.The post Texas Lawmakers Criticized Kerr Leaders for Rejecting State Flood Money. Other Communities Did the Same. appeared first on ProPublica.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Russian Presidential foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov, left, attend talks with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, back to a camera, at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)2025-12-03T09:24:44Z KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Ukrainian and European officials accused Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday of feigning interest in peace efforts after five hours of talks with U.S. envoys at the Kremlin produced no breakthrough.The Russian leader should end the bluster and the bloodshed and be ready to come to the table and to support a just and lasting peace, said U.K. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha urged Putin to stop wasting the worlds time.The remarks reflect the high tensions and gaping gulf that remain between Russia on one side and Ukraine and its European allies on the other over how to end a war that Moscow started when it invaded its neighbor nearly four years ago.A day earlier, Putin accused the Europeans of sabotaging the U.S.-led peace efforts and warned that, if provoked, Russia would be ready for war with Europe. Since Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022, European governments, along with the U.S., have spent billions of dollars to support Kyiv financially and militarily. Under President Donald Trump, however, the U.S. has tempered its support and instead made a push to end the war. Where the peace talks go from here depends largely on whether the Trump administration decides to increase the pressure on Russia or on Ukraine to make concessions.A U.S. peace proposal that became public last month was criticized for being tilted heavily toward Moscow because it granted some of the Kremlins core demands that Kyiv has rejected as nonstarters. Many European leaders worry that if Russia gets what it wants in Ukraine, it will have free rein to threaten their countries, which already have faced incursions from Russian drones and fighter jets, and an alleged widespread sabotage campaign.Putin met Tuesday in Moscow with U.S. President Donald Trumps envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner. The Russian and American sides agreed not to disclose the substance of the talks, but at least one major hurdle to a settlement the fate of four Ukrainian regions Russia partially seized and occupies and claims as its own remains. After the talks, Yuri Ushakov, a senior adviser to Putin, told reporters that so far, a compromise hasnt been found on the issue of territory, without which, he said, the Kremlin sees no resolution to the crisis.Ukraine has ruled out giving up territory that Russia has captured.Asked whether peace was closer or further away after these talks, Ushakov said: Not further, thats for sure.But theres still a lot of work to be done, both in Washington and in Moscow, he said.Europeans step up assistance for Ukraine Foreign ministers from European NATO countries, meeting in Brussels on Wednesday, showed little patience with Moscow.What we see is that Putin has not changed any course. Hes pushing more aggressively on the battlefield, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said. Its pretty obvious that he doesnt want to have any kind of peace.Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen struck the same note. So far we havent seen any concessions from the side of the aggressor, which is Russia, and I think the best confidence-building measure would be to start with a full ceasefire, she told reporters. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Ukraines partners will keep sending it military aid to ensure pressure is maintained on Moscow.The peace talks are ongoing. Thats good, Rutte said.But at the same time, we have to make sure that whilst they take place and we are not sure when they will end, that Ukraine is in the strongest possible position to keep the fight going, to fight back against the Russians, he said.Canada, Germany, Poland and the Netherlands announced that they will spend hundreds of millions of dollars more together to buy U.S. weapons to donate to Ukraine.In August, European allies at NATO began buying American weapons for Ukraine under a financial arrangement known as the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, or PURL. The war claims more lives Russia and Ukraine are engaged in a grim war of attrition on the battlefield and are using drones and missiles for long-range strikes behind the front line. Many analysts have noted that the slow slog favors Russias larger military, especially if disagreements between Europe and the U.S. or among Europeans hampers the delivery of weapons to Ukraine.Russian drones hit the town of Ternivka in Ukraines Dnipropetrovsk region, killing two people and injuring three more, the head of the regional military administration, Vladyslav Haivanenko, said Wednesday.Two people were in critical condition, he said, after the attack destroyed one house and damaged six more.Overall, Russia fired 111 strike and decoy drones at Ukraine overnight, Ukraines air force said.Meanwhile, Russias Ministry of Defense said Wednesday that air defenses destroyed 102 Ukrainian drones overnight. Falling drone debris sparked a fire at an oil depot in the Tambov region, about 200 kilometers (120 miles) south of Moscow, local Gov. Yegveniy Pervyshov said.___Cook reported from Brussels.___Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Design by: Sophie Holland.Subscribe nowEditors Note: This article includes references to topics such as rape, sexual assault and violence. Reader discretion is advised.Being a trans woman in prison has always been hard for Lexie Handlang. At 38 years old, shes a writer for the Prison Journalism Project and is currently working on a kids fantasy book starring a young trans girl and her friend who encounter a mysterious magical being.Handlang has been incarcerated in mens prisons in Missouri for 11 years, where she says shes experienced a great deal of violence and discrimination.She says her fears today are at an all-time high. After Trump passed an executive order on his first day in office that rolled back a suite of the scant and hard-won rights of trans women in federal prisons, Handlang remembers prison staff gleefully gloating.Transgenders dont exist no more.Its not a thing.Im not gonna call you by your preferred pronouns.Im gonna call you sir.They did this even though the state facility Handlang is at isnt affected by Trumps order.A majority of the staff, they dont like trans people, Handlang told Uncloseted Media over a phone call from the Jefferson City Correctional Center. Ever since Trump started doing everything hes been doing they feel that its okay to go ahead and voice the hatred of trans people.Trump signs the executive order. (The White House)The executive order, titled Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government, includes a mandate requiring trans women to be housed in mens prisons and a ban on the use of federal funds for gender-affirming care. The following month, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) issued a memo banning gender-affirming items like chest binders and undergarments and requiring staff to refer to incarcerated people by their legal name or pronouns corresponding to their biological sex.While the order does not apply to state prison systems, Uncloseted Media spoke with five trans women incarcerated in three different states who say Trumps crackdown has created a trickle-down effect. They say it has produced a climate where staff are ramping up their mistreatment of trans women, federal grants for prisons are at risk as the Trump administration feuds with states, and anti-trans propaganda is turning fellow prisoners against them.Theres a lot of wardens whove been waiting for thisthe discrimination has increased and its not anything new, says Kenna Barnes, advocacy manager at Black and Pink, a nonprofit focused on prison abolition and the rights of incarcerated trans people. Its happening in every faction of the carceral system, and they are getting very emboldened, and this is a cue for them.Subscribe for LGBTQ-focused, accountability journalism.Escalating AttacksEven though the Trump administration cant force anti-trans policies on state prisons, they have still been pushing for them. In April, the Department of Justice pulled $1.4 million in funds from Maines Department of Corrections, the bulk of which had been allocated to support a substance use treatment program for all incarcerated people. The funding was pulled in retaliation for continuing to allow a trans woman, Andrea Balcer, to be housed in the womens section of the Maine Correctional Center.Balcer at her sentencing in 2018. (Central Maine)You asked my feelings on being in the center of this feud between Trump and MaineI am not in the center, I am underneath the feet of these two giants colliding, a mecha and a kaiju if you will, Balcer, 24, told Uncloseted Media in a phone interview from the prison. So I am not so much the center as I am collateral damage.Balcer was transferred to the womens section of the prison in November 2023 due to concerns about her safety in mens prisons, which are notoriously dangerous for trans women.She spends much of her time playing Pathfinder, a role-playing game based on Dungeons & Dragons, and has been trying to start a group to host discussions on paganism and monthly full-moon rituals.Balcer says she tries to keep a low profile and was getting along fairly well with her fellow prisoners after a period of adjustment.But that changed when Attorney General Pam Bondi bullied her on Fox and Friends by calling her a giant, 6-foot-1, 245-pound guy and claimed that funding cuts will protect women in prisons. Balcer says some women at the facility turned on her and started to parrot Bondis rhetoric about a man in a womans prison.The cultural backlash has been astounding, she says. And its not that I dont understand these womenI 100% understand their position. Things that have helped them and things that have done so many good things for them are being taken away, and theyre angry, as they have every right to be. But they cant take out their anger on the people who quite frankly deserve it, [so] they take out their anger on the people that are the indirect cause of this.While Balcer says things have slightly improved since Maine successfully appealed the funding cuts, life is still much harder under Trump 2.0.Subscribe nowAnd shes not the only trans woman who has a target on her back. Michelle Kailani Calvin was housed at the Central California Womens Facility (CCWF) since the states Transgender Respect, Agency and Dignity Actwhich she advocated forpassed in 2021. The act allowed trans women to be housed in womens facilities.Calvin, 54, was one of several trans women whose photos were included in a consequential advertisement for Trumps 2024 campaign, which criticized Kamala Harris for supporting gender-affirming surgery in California prisons and included the infamous slogan Kamalas for they/them, not you.Difficulty Accessing Gender-Affirming CareAerial view of the Central California Womens Facility. (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation)While gender-affirming surgeries in prison are still legally accessible in California, Calvin told Uncloseted Media via a phone call from CCWF that she has found it very difficult to get any kind of care since Trumps reelection.She says she was scheduled for facial feminization surgery and a revision to her bottom surgery earlier this year to address complications including pain, bladder leakage and intense bleeding. Staff kept delaying them, however, claiming that she hadnt passed a psychiatric evaluation and that she had a dirty toxicology report. According to Calvin, the substance that had been flagged was prescription Gabapentin.Calvin believes this foot-dragging is due to the Trump administrationsthreatsto cut funding, as they did with Maine.This is the game that the institution plays. Instead of just saying, Were not giving you a surgery because Trump aint giving us our money, she says.Emboldened StaffCalvin, in 2020, was still housed at a mens prison. (NBC News)Beyond having limited access to health care, Calvin says trans women face emboldened staff in Trumps new America. In her case, this has involved increased scrutiny: After three years of no rule violations, she says she was hit with five in the span of four months.She says several of those cases were provoked by abuse from guards. In one instance, which was documented in a report reviewed by Uncloseted Media, a guard forcefully removed her from her wheelchair and slammed her on the ground after he squeezed her shoulder without consent. She was later written up for resisting an officer.And in March, the prison began investigating Calvin on allegations that she had assaulted her partner, who is also incarcerated. This led the prison to file a case with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations (CDCR) Departmental Review Board to have her moved to a mens prison. Calvin says that numerous advocacy groups then sent letters to CDCR calling on them to reject the push. One lawyer, Jen Orthwein, wrote that claims made against Ms. Calvin were submitted long after the alleged event by unnamed confidential informants, with no supporting documentation or medical evidence and that the alleged victim has indicated that the accusations are entirely false. Uncloseted Media also spoke with the alleged victim from the prison where she is housed, and she affirmed that Michelle never hurt me or any other female.[The prison] feels like the Trump administrations gonna have their back on whatever that they do, so theyre taking more bolder chances to isolate us or send us back to a mens facility, says Calvin.While Calvin is still at a womens facility, not everyone has been so lucky. CDCR recently proposed new guidelines that explicitly create a process for trans women to be transferred back to mens prisons if they have two or more serious Rules Violation Reports within a 12-month period. Kelli Blackwell, 58, told Uncloseted Media on a phone call from CCWF that at least three trans women have been transferred to mens prisons since 2024, which we confirmed on the California Incarcerated Records and Information Search website.A post from earlier this year supporting a campaign calling on California Gov. Gavin Newsom to commute Blackwells sentence.Blackwell is hopeful shell get released soon. With that in mind, she got her dentistry license and is set to earn a degree in sociology next spring. She also has a partner living with her in the womens facility. But with increased scrutiny from CDCR and pressure from the Trump administration, she fears that a transfer to a mens prison could disrupt all of that.You have trans women here thats actually had the surgery, had the vaginoplastytheyre still finding ways to send them back to a mens prison, she says.In an email, CDCR said that they are committed to providing a safe, humane, respectful and rehabilitative environment for all incarcerated people. They also noted that the department has a detailed process for patients seeking gender-affirming care, including hormonal treatment.Subscribe nowSupport Systems Have Become UselessTrans women in prison are also losing the little support they had. Patricia Trimble, a 66-year-old trans woman, writer and advocate, has been incarcerated in mens facilities in Missouri since 1979. While in prison, shes pursued paralegal studies at Platt Junior College, theology at St. Louis University and business at Central Methodist University.Patricia Trimble. Photo courtesy of Jordana Rosenfeld.Shes used her education to advocate for herself, often through the Transgender Committee, a group of staff members required by law at each Missouri prison. The committee is meant to help the prison make informed recommendations regarding the health and safety of transgender and intersex offenders.However, Trimble says that since the start of the year, the committee has become absolutely useless.At one point in time, I could sit down with the Transgender Committee and we would discuss things that make the prison safer, and they were receptive, Trimble told Uncloseted Media on a phone call from the Southeast Correctional Center. Since Trump, there are no conversations like that. When I go to the Transgender Committee, the Deputy Warden just kinda looks at me with that smile on her face like you aint gettin nothing here, and I already know what youre gonna ask, so lets just go through the motions and then you can go away.Trimble says this makes every issue harder to fight. In a recent incident, she tried to get transferred after being housed with a transphobic cellmate who would bully and constantly pick on her.Trimble says that even though there were empty cells in her wing, she was sent back and forth between the Transgender Committee, case workers and her unit manager before getting approved to move into one of them. While she had the know-how to stand up for herself, most people dont.Even with her experience in advocacy, she says staff have been harder than usual on her. Earlier this year, after advocating for gender-affirming surgery, she says the prison put her on a call with a doctor who said she will not be filing a report recommending any further treatment.She had the audacity to tell me that she finds that I no longer suffer from gender dysphoria, Trimble says. And I just kinda laughed and said, Okay, I guess were done here, and I got up and left.In an email, the Missouri Department of Corrections wrote that they do not tolerate unprofessional conduct by staff, and that no changes [have been] made to policies pertaining to transgender residents of Missouri state prisons after the 2024 election.The Danger of Mens PrisonsWhile life in the womens facilities is far from perfect, the people we spoke with say its worth fighting to stay.According to a 2016 analysis by the Williams Institute at UCLA, 37% of incarcerated trans peoplethe overwhelming majority of whom are housed in prisons that do not match their gender identityhad experienced sexual assault within a one-year period, compared to just over 3% of cis people.Blackwell says physical violence at the mens prison, often spurred by gang activity, is structured and can get you killed. Calvin says she was raped multiple times at the mens prison, and Trimble recounted numerous instances when guards strip-searched her in the presence of men.Handlang says shes experienced extreme abuse by guards at the mens prison: They went in my cell and they were ripping up pictures of family, trying to get me to react, ripping up my clothes, ripping up my bras, ripping up panties, destroying my makeup. When she tried to fight back, she says they went off camera and they broke my ankle and my foot and stomped on me and punched on me.As threats continue to escalate, and Trumps policies continue to trickle down, Trimble fears she could lose the few rights she has left.I know that all it would take is a phone call from Trump or one of Trumps surrogates to the governor, and the governor simply signs an Executive Order and everything weve got is taken away and we would end up having to go to court again, she says. If the governor wanted to, he could make our lives a lot worse with just a stroke of the pen.Fighting BackIn the face of all these horrors, these women are advocating for themselves and caring for their trans sisters.Handlang says that this often involves the most basic gestures: listening to their troubles, teaching them how to do their makeup and helping them buy hygiene products.Calvin and Blackwell are still working to defend and uphold the trans-inclusive bills they helped pass, and Trimble has used her years of experience to work with legal advocacy groups to get support for things like name changes and to pressure the state to address mistreatment.If youre going to be an advocate or an activist it can never be about you, Trimble says. Its about our boys and girls that are suffering in this oppressive system.Donate to Uncloseted MediaIf objective, nonpartisan, rigorous, LGBTQ-focused journalism is important to you, please consider making a tax-deductible donation through our fiscal sponsor, Resource Impact, by clicking this button:

Nature, Published online: 03 December 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-09981-1Author Correction: Seismic detection of a 600-km solid inner core in Mars

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A person on a bicycle waits in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Monday, Dec. 1, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)2025-12-03T06:22:55Z BANGKOK (AP) European and Asian shares were mixed Wednesday after stocks on Wall Street held steadier as both bond yields and bitcoin stabilized.In early European trading, Germanys DAX picked up 0.4% to 23,813.38, while the CAC 40 in Paris climbed 0.3% to 8,100.09. Britains FTSE 100 was unchanged at 9,702.28. The future for the S&P 500 edged 0.1% higher while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.2% higher. In Asian trading, Tokyos Nikkei 225 jumped 1.1% to 49,864.68 on big gains for technology shares like Tokyo Electron, which jumped 4.7%. Adventest, a maker of computer chip testing equipment, surged 5.3%. Technology and telecoms giant SoftBank Group Corp. surged 6.4% following reports that its founder, Masayoshi Son, regretted having to sell shares in computer chip maker Nvidia to help pay for other investments. The companys share price sank after it announced last month that it had sold the shares for $5.8 billion. South Koreas Kospi also got a lift from tech shares, gaining 1% to 4,036.30. Shares in Samsung Electronics, the countrys biggest company, rose 1.1%. But Chinese markets declined following the release of data showing weaker factory activity. Hong Kongs Hang Seng fell 1.3% to 25,760.73, while the Shanghai Composite index shed 0.5% to 3,878.00. Australias S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.2% higher, to 8,595.20. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.2% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.4%. The Nasdaq composite gained 0.6%. The U.S. economy has been holding up overall, but thats masking sharp divisions beneath the surface. Lower-income households are struggling with higher prices while richer households are benefiting from a stock market thats within 1% of its all-time high set in late October.In the bond market, Treasury yields calmed following their jumps the day before. The 10-year yield edged down to 4.08% from 4.09% late Monday, while the two-year yield eased to 3.51% from 3.54%. Higher yields can drag prices lower for all kinds of investments, and those seen as the most expensive can take the biggest hit. Mondays climb in Treasury yields came after the governor of the Bank of Japan hinted that it may raise interest rates there soon. But hopes are still high that the Federal Reserve will cut its main interest rate when it meets in Washington next week. The Japanese central bank is likely to raise its benchmark rate at its Dec. 19 meeting, Tan Boon Heng of Mizuho Bank in Singapore, because failing to do so could lead investors to sell off Japanese yen. Yet, delivering a done deal hike may perversely deny any appreciable JPY (Japanese yen) gains, whilst boosting long-end yields, he said in a report. The Fed has already cut its overnight interest rate twice this year in hopes of shoring up a slowing job market. But lower rates can fan inflation, which has stubbornly remained above its 2% target.Complicating things is the U.S. governments earlier shutdown, which delayed reports on the job market and other areas of the economy.In other dealings early Wednesday, bitcoin, which tumbled below $85,000 on Monday as bond yields worldwide marched higher, rose to $93,330.U.S. benchmark crude oil rose 71 cents to $59.35 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 67 cents to $63.12 per barrel.The U.S. dollar slipped to 155.65 Japanese yen from 155.87 yen. The euro rose to $1.1645 from $1.1626. ELAINE KURTENBACH Based in Bangkok, Kurtenbach is the APs business editor for Asia, helping to improve and expand our coverage of regional economies, climate change and the transition toward carbon-free energy. She has been covering economic, social, environmental and political trends in China, Japan and Southeast Asia throughout her career. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)2025-12-03T12:04:53Z WASHINGTON (AP) Pete Hegseth barely squeaked through a grueling Senate confirmation process to become secretary of defense earlier this year, facing lawmakers wary of the Fox News Channel host and skeptical of his capacity, temperament and fitness for the job.Just three months later, he quickly became embroiled in Signalgate as he and other top U.S. officials used the popular Signal messaging application to discuss pending military strikes in Yemen.And now, in what may be his most career-defining moment yet, Hegseth is confronting questions about the use of military force after a special operations team reportedly attacked survivors of a strike on an alleged drug boat off the coast of Venezuela. Some lawmakers and legal experts say the second strike would have violated the laws of armed conflict.These are serious charges, and thats the reason were going to have special oversight, said Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the Republican chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee. The scrutiny surrounding Hegseths brash leadership style is surfacing what has been long-building discontent in Congress over President Donald Trumps choice to helm the U.S. military. And its posing a potentially existential moment for Hegseth as the congressional committees overseeing the military launch an investigation amid mounting calls from Democratic senators for his resignation. Hegseth vowed a warrior culture, but lawmakers take issueSince working to become defense secretary, Hegseth has vowed to bring a warrior culture to the U.S. governments most powerful and expensive department, from rebranding it as the Department of War to essentially discarding the rules that govern how soldiers conduct themselves when lives are on the line.Hegseth on Tuesday cited the fog of war in defending the follow-up strike, saying that there were explosions and fire and that he did not see survivors in the water when the second strike was ordered and launched. He chided those second-guessing his actions as being part of the problem.Yet the approach to the operation was in line with the direction of the military under Hegseth, a former infantry officer with the Army National Guard, part of the post-Sept. 11 generation, who was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and earned Bronze Stars.During a speech in September, he told an unusual gathering of top military brass whom he had summoned from all corners of the globe to the Quantico Marine Corps Base in Virginia that they should not fight with stupid rules of engagement.We untie the hands of our warfighters to intimidate, demoralize, hunt and kill the enemies of our country, he said. No more politically correct and overbearing rules of engagement, just common sense, maximum lethality and authority for warfighters.But now lawmakers and military and legal experts say the Sept. 2 attack borders on illegal military action.Somebody made a horrible decision. Somebody needs to be held accountable, said Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who in January held out support for Hegseth until only moments before casting a crucial vote for his confirmation. Secretary Talk Show Host may have been experiencing the fog of war, but that doesnt change the fact that this was an extrajudicial killing amounting to murder or a war crime, said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. He must resign.Rep. Don Bacon, a Republican who served 30 years active duty in the Air Force, finishing his career at the rank of brigadier general, said he hasnt been a fan of Hegseths leadership. I dont think he was up to the task, Bacon said. Will Hegseth keep Trumps support?Trump, a Republican, has largely stood by his defense secretary, among the most important Cabinet-level positions. But the decisions by Wicker, alongside House Armed Services Chair Mike Rogers of Alabama and the top Democrats on the committees, to open investigations provide a rare moment of Congress asserting itself and its authority to conduct oversight of the Trump administration.Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., who shepherded the defense secretarys nomination to confirmation, has said the boat strikes are within Trumps authority as commander in chief and he noted that Hegseth serves at the pleasure of the president.I dont have, at this point, an evaluation of the secretary, Thune said at the start of the week. Others can make those evaluations.But Hegseth also has strong allies on Capitol Hill, and it remains unclear how much Republicans would actually be willing to push back on the president, especially when they have spent the first year in his administration yielding to his various demands.Vice President JD Vance, who cast a rare tiebreaking vote to confirm Hegseth, has vigorously defended him in the attack. And Sen. Eric Schmitt, another close ally to Trump, dismissed criticism of Hegseth as nonsense and part of an effort to undermine Trumps focus on Central and South America. Hes not part of the Washington elite, said Schmitt, R-Mo. Hes not a think tanker that people thought Trump was going to pick. ... And so, for that reason and others, they just, they dont like him.Tension between some Republican lawmakers and the Pentagon has been rising for months. Capitol Hill has been angered by recent moves to restrict how defense officials communicate with lawmakers and the slow pace of information on Trumps campaign to destroy boats carrying drugs off the coast of Venezuela.As he defends his job, Hegseth has spoken to both Wicker and Rogers, the top lawmakers overseeing the military. Rogers said he was satisfied with Hegseth after that conversation, while Wicker said that he told Hegseth that he would like him to testify to Congress.Hegseth at first tried to brush aside the initial report about the strike by posting a photo of the cartoon character Franklin the Turtle firing on a boat from a helicopter, but that only inflamed criticism of him and angered lawmakers who felt he was not taking the allegations seriously.Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York called Hegseth a national embarrassment, adding the defense secretarys social media post of the cartoon turtle is something no serious leader would ever think of doing.What information will Congress get?Later this week, the chairs of the armed services committees, along with the top Democrats on the committees, will hear private testimony from Navy Vice Adm. Frank Mitch Bradley, who the White House has said ordered the second strike on the survivors.Republicans have been careful to withhold judgment on the strike until they complete their investigation, but Democrats say that these problems with Hegseth were a long time coming. Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, pointed back to Hegseths tumultuous confirmation hearing, at which issues were raised with his management of nonprofits, as well as allegations of a sexual assault and abuse, and drinking on the job. Hegseth had vowed not to consume alcohol if confirmed.You dont suddenly change your judgment level or change your character when you get confirmed to be secretary of defense, Kaine said. Instead, the things that have been part of your character just become much more dire and existential.___Follow the APs coverage of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at https://apnews.com/hub/pete-hegseth. STEPHEN GROVES Groves covers Congress for The Associated Press. twitter mailto

Flight officer Rayan Gharazeddine scans the water in the southern Indian Ocean off Australia from a Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion during a search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 on March 22, 2014. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith, File)wld2025-12-03T04:03:45Z KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) Malaysias transport ministry said Wednesday that a private firm will resume a deep-sea hunt for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 later this month, renewing hopes of finally locating the jet that vanished without a trace more than a decade ago.The search will be carried out by Texas-based marine robotics firm Ocean Infinity, which signed a new no-find, no-fee contract with Malaysias government in March. Ocean Infinity made its first seabed search operation for the plane in 2018 under a similar deal and found nothing. The firm restarted the seabed search operation at a new 15,000-square-kilometer (5,800-square-mile) site in the Indian Ocean after Malaysias government gave it the greenlight, but the search was halted in April due to bad weather.Ocean Infinity will be paid $70 million only if wreckage is discovered. It is unclear if the company has new evidence of the planes location. Ocean Infinity CEO Oliver Punkett reportedly said last year that the company had improved its technology since 2018. He has said the firm is working with many experts to analyze data and had narrowed the search area to the most likely site. The Boeing 777 plane disappeared from radar shortly after taking off on March 8, 2014, carrying 239 people, mostly Chinese nationals, on a flight from Malaysias capital, Kuala Lumpur, to Beijing. Satellite data showed the plane turned from its flight path and headed south to the far-southern Indian Ocean, where it is believed to have crashed. Stay up to date with the news and the best of AP by following our WhatsApp channel. Follow on An expensive multinational search failed to turn up any clues to its location, although debris washed ashore on the east African coast and Indian Ocean islands. Malaysias transport ministry said in a brief statement Wednesday that Ocean Infinity will search intermittently from Dec. 30 for a total of 55 days, in targeted areas believed to have the highest likelihood of finding the missing aircraft. The latest development underscores the government of Malaysias commitment in providing closure to the families affected by this tragedy, it said.In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said, We ... appreciate the efforts made by the Malaysian side.___Associated Press writer Ken Moritsugu in Beijing contributed.

Nature, Published online: 03 December 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-03715-zThe first Nature Index table on the field shows how research in the East is focused on industrial strategy.

Nature, Published online: 03 December 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-03486-7By creating a network of early-career principal investigators, my colleagues and I have enacted change and battled bureaucracy.

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This story was reported with support from theMuckRock foundation.As prices for streaming subscriptions continue to soar and finding movies to watch, new and old, is becoming harder as the number of streaming services continues to grow, people are turning to the unexpected last stronghold of physical media: the public library. Some libraries are now intentionally using iconic Blockbuster branding to recall the hours visitors once spent looking for something to rent on Friday and Saturday nights.John Scalzo, audiovisual collection librarian with a public library in western New York, says that despite an observed drop-off in DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K Ultra disc circulation in 2019, interest in physical media is coming back around.People really seem to want physical media, Scalzo told 404 Media.Part of it has to do with consumer awareness: People know theyre paying more for monthly subscriptions to streaming services and getting less. The same has been true for gaming.As the audiovisual selector with the Free Library of Philadelphia since 2024, Kris Langlais has been focused on building the librarys video game collections to meet comparable interest in demand. Now that every branch library has a prominent video game collection, Langlais says that patrons who come for the games are reportedly expressing interest in more of what the library has to offer.Librarians out in our branches are seeing a lot of young people who are really excited by these collections, Langlais told 404 Media. Folks who are coming in just for the games are picking up program flyers and coming back for something like that.Langlais collection priorities have been focused on new releases, yet they remain keenly aware of the long, rich history of video game culture. The problem is older, classic games are often harder to find because theyve gone out of print, making the chances of finding them cost-prohibitive.Even with the consoles were collecting, its hard to go back and get games for them, Langlais said. Im trying to go back and fill in old things as much as I can because people are interested in them.Locating out-of-print physical media can be difficult. Scalzo knows this, which is why he keeps a running list of films known to be unavailable commercially at any given time, so that when a batch of films are donated to the library, Scalzo will set aside extra copies, just in case a rights dispute puts a piece of legacy cult media in licensing purgatory for a few years.Its whats expected of us, Scalzo added.Tiffany Hudson, audiovisual materials selector with Salt Lake City Public Library has had a similar experience with out-of-print media. When a title goes out of print, its her job to hunt for a replacement copy. But lately, Hudson says more patrons are requesting physical copies of movies and TV shows that are exclusive to certain streaming platforms, noting that it can be hard to explain to patrons why the library can't get popular and award-winning films, especially when what patrons see available on Amazon tells a different story.Someone will come up to me and ask for a copy of something that premiered at Sundance Film Festival because they found a bootleg copy from a region where the film was released sooner than it was here, Hudson told 404 Media, who went onto explain that discs from different regions arent designed to be ready by incompatible players.But its not just that discs from different regions arent designed to play on devices not formatted for that specific region. Generally, it's also just that most films don't get a physical release anymore. In cases where films from streaming platforms do get slated for a physical release, it can take years. A notable example of this is the Apple+ film CODA, which won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2022. The film only received a U.S. physical release this month. Hudson says films getting a physical release is becoming the exception, not the rule.Its frustrating because I understand the streaming services, theyre trying to drive people to their services and they want some money for that, but there are still a lot of people that just cant afford all of those services, Hudson told 404 Media.Films and TV shows on streaming also become more vulnerable when companies merge. A perfect example of this was in 2022 with the HBO Max-Discovery+ merger under Warner Bros Discovery. A bunch of content was removed from streaming, including roughly 200 episodes of classic Sesame Street for a tax write-off. That merger was short-lived, as the companies are splitting up again as of this year. Some streaming platforms just outright remove their own IP from their catalogs if the content is no longer deemed financially viable, well-performing or is no longer a strategic priority.The data-driven recommendation systems streaming platforms use tend to favor newer, more easily categorized content, and are starting to warp our perceptions of what classic media exists and matters. Older art house films that are more difficult to categorize as comedy or horror are less likely to be discoverable, which is likely how the oldest American movie available on Netflix currently is from 1968.Its probably not a coincidence that, in many cases, the media that is least likely to get a more permanent release is the media thats a high archival priority for libraries. AV librarians 404 Media spoke with for this story expressed a sense of urgency in purchasing a physical copy of The Peoples Joker when they learned it would get a physical release after the film premiered and was pulled from the Toronto International Film Festival lineup in 2022 for a dispute with the Batman universes rightsholders.When I saw that it was getting published on DVD and that it was available through our vendorI normally let my branches choose their DVDs to the extent possible, but I was like, I dont care, were getting like 10 copies of this, Langlais told 404 Media. I just knew that people were going to want to see this.So far, Langlais instinct has been spot on. The parody film has a devout cult following, both because its a coming-of-age story of a trans woman who uses comedy to cope with her transition, and because it puts the Fair Use Doctrine to use. One can argue the film has been banned for either or both of those reasons. The fact that media by, about and for the LGBTQ+ community has been a primary target of far-right censorship wasnt lost on librarians.I just thought that it could vanish, Langlais added.Its not like physical media is inherently permanent. Its susceptible to scratches, and can rot, crack, or warp over time. But currently, physical media offers another option, and its an entirely appropriate response to the nostalgia for-profit model that exists to recycle IP and seemingly not much else. However, as very smart people have observed, nostalgia is default conservative in that its frequently used to rewrite histories that may otherwise be remembered as unpalatable, while also keeping us culturally stuck in place.Might as well go rent some films or games from the library, since were already culturally here. On the plus side, audiovisual librarians say their collections dwarf what was available at Blockbuster Video back in the day. Hudson knows, because she clerked at one in library school. and the collections dwarf what youd find at Blockbuster Video back in its heyday.Except we dont have any late fees, she added.

We start this week with Josephs very weird story about Apple Podcasts. The app is opening by itself, playing random spirituality podcasts, and in one case directing listeners to a potentially malicious website. After the break, Matthew tells us how it sure looks like a map of Ukraine was manipulated in order to win a bet on Polymarket. In the subscribers-only section, Sam breaks down how half of the U.S. now requires a face or ID scan to watch porn.Listen to the weekly podcast onApple Podcasts,Spotify, orYouTube. Become a paid subscriber for access to this episode's bonus content and to power our journalism.If you become a paid subscriber, check your inbox for an email from our podcast host Transistor for a link to the subscribers-only version! You can also add that subscribers feed to your podcast app of choice and never miss an episode that way. The email should also contain the subscribers-only unlisted YouTube link for the extended video version too. It will also be in the show notes in your podcast player. Timestamps:2:00 - Story 1 -Someone Is Trying to Hack People Through Apple Podcasts21:55 - Story 2 -'Unauthorized' Edit to Ukraine's Frontline Maps Point to Polymarket's War Betting37:00 - Story 3 -Half of the US Now Requires You to Upload Your ID or Scan Your Face to Watch Porn

Tennessee state Rep. Aftyn Behn (D) may have lost her race in Congress, but the progressive juggernaut has nevertheless been hailed as a historymaker for even coming close to victory.A staunch supporter of LGBTQ+ rights, Behn lost a special election on Tuesday to Republican opponent Matt Van Epps in the states 7th district. But with 95 percent of the vote counted, Behn only trailed Van Epps by nine points. In a district that went for Trump by 22 points in the 2024 election, this is no small feat. Related Dem. LGBTQ+ rights champion giving anti-trans Republican a run for his money in deep red district This was a district that Trump won handily, and he and his billionaire friends had to spend millions of dollars to bolster their candidate of choice, Behn reportedly told CNN as ballots were being counted. The result of Republican gerrymandering, the district encompasses parts of Nashville and nearby rural counties andwas essentially designedto always go red.While Behn ran a campaign focused on affordability, Republicans tried to center her support for LGBTQ+ rights as a reason not to vote for her. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today In aTruth Social poston November 30, the president claimed Behn wants Transgender for everybody and men in womens sports. Republicans also glommed onto a (factual) 2020 comment she made about how both men and women can give birth. Among many other right-wing accounts, the GOPposted the clip on Xand called her radical, unhinged, and out of touch.Behn spoke withNewsweekon Monday in the hours before Election Day to respond to the presidents tirade against her on Truth Social. Behn: This isn't the end of our story. It's not even close, because what we have built here in this district, this grassroots movement, is part of something bigger that is happening across the south and is happening across this country. Because we are tired of people outside of pic.twitter.com/XuC2tjcgli Acyn (@Acyn) December 3, 2025She said he is saying all these things because he doesnt have a plan to address the rising cost of health care and to ensure that working Tennesseans are able to afford health care, groceries and utilities.Van Epps has championed a strong right-wing platform, including strong opposition to trans rights, oras he put iton his website, the woke lefts push for gender surgeries and mutilation on minors. He also said he would fight to ban trans women (whom he referred to as biological men) from competing in womens sports.Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin called Behns overperformance in the race historic and a flashing warning sign for Republicans heading into the midterms.A spokesperson for the liberal House Majority PAC said the race makes it clear that No House Republicans reelection should be considered safe next November.One House Republican, who elected to remain anonymous, admitted to Politico that the race is a sign that 2026 is going to be a b*tch of an election cycle. According to the publication, experts believe Behns singular focus on affordability and her refusal to take her opponents bait on culture war issues is what spoke to so many. Democrats are hoping to replicate her strategy across the country during the midterm elections. Behn: I called the congressman elect, Matt van Epps, and I had one question for him: What will define what happens next? Do not let the affordable care act subsidies expire. Do not raise healthcare costs for working families in Tennessee pic.twitter.com/MCgu2kaotM Acyn (@Acyn) December 3, 2025Ahead of election day on Tuesday, it was clear that powerful Republicans were sweating over Behns unprecedented popularity in the area. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) attended a rally for Van Epps, where, according to theNew York Times,he declared, I thought Tennessee was deep red as he questioned how Behn who he called a dangerous far leftist had gained so much steam.Behn has long been known in the state for her progressive ideals and her grassroots rise to victory in state politics. In 2023, local reporter Kathryn Rickmeyer called Behn the AOC of Tennessee. Her longtime partner also has a trans son, and she called the Supreme Court decision upholding her states gender-affirming care ban a gut punch to transgender youth and their families.In Tennessee, this ruling adds fuel to the fire of the GOPs war on trans youth, she wrote. The exhaustive list of anti-trans legislation and resolutions passed by the Tennessee General Assembly isnt about protecting kids its about using fear to distract us from real issues like the fact that our budget is busted, our roads are falling apart, and our grocery prices are the highest in the country.In her concession speech, Behn assured supporters this was not the end of her story and that the energy around her campaign proves the South is not destined to be red forever. The South is not silent because the South has something to say! she yelled over cheering supporters. We may not have won tonight, but we changed the story of whats possible here, and were not done. Not by a long shot.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

Fire Island, Provincetown, Palm Springs, Puerto Vallarta... there's no doubt that all of these places revel in Pride, but nothing quite compares to a sickening drag show at Palace Bar & Restaurant in Miami Beach, Florida.Since 1988, this iconic gay bar has had drag queens kicking, splitting, dancing, and causing total chaos all year round on the legendary Ocean Drive. It's safe to say that jaws are on the floor for every drag performance that Palace Bar has to offer.To be completely honest, the title of a 'drag brunch' doesn't even accurately describe all of the shenanigans and high level of performance that's offered during a Palace Bar show.Between the intense choreography, hilarious comedy numbers, audience participation, delicious food, and constantly flowing bottomless mimosas, there are literally no breaks during the nearly three hour long show. Plus, there's no shortage of laughter and grins that stretch from ear to ear. See on Instagram If the phrase 'queer joy' had a photo or video in the dictionary, then Palace Bar would have to be prominently displayed. There's simply nothing like it.It's also extremely rewarding as a gay person to support drag at an establishment that's based in Florida. The conservative state is constantly trying to erase queer visibility, but Palace Bar is the perfect reminder that the LGBTQ+ community simply isn't going anywhere. In fact, we're only getting more fabulous and free as the years go by!As if the overall experience enjoying the drag brunch weren't enough, the party continues with a lively and gorgeous rooftop pool party that offers stunning views of Miami Beach, along with a fully stocked bar that has plenty of delicious cocktails on tap.In my idea of heaven, I think Palace Bar really sums up everything that I could ever want. Incredible drag, inclusivity for all, tasty food and drink, no judgement to be found, and plenty of opportunities to keep the party going at the nearby rooftop pool or beach.Life is undeniably short, so I'm extremely grateful that I've had the opportunity to experience a little bit of gay heaven during my time on Earth. Don't miss out on your opportunity to experience queer joy at its finest by booking your tickets to attend a show on the official website here.This unbelievable experience was provided by Palace Bar & Restaurant.

Nature, Published online: 03 December 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-03784-0Just passing through.

Nature, Published online: 03 December 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-09979-9Author Correction: Cleavage of RIPK1 by caspase-8 is crucial for limiting apoptosis and necroptosis