Donate to Uncloseted MediaUncloseted Media has riled Kim Davis lawyers up with our reporting that looks at their anti-LGBTQ track record. A few days after Liberty Counsel, the Christian legal group that represented Davis, had their case to overturn marriage equality rejected by the Supreme Court, I wrote about how we need to remain vigilant against their continued efforts to upend our rights.Less than two weeks later, their founder, Mat Staver, who authored a book titled Same-sex Marriage: Putting Every Household at Risk, sent out a newsletter.LGBTQ-favoring media raising the alarm about Liberty Counsel, he wrote, citing Uncloseted Medias reporting and describing us as an outspoken LGBTQ group.But what genuinely shocked me was that Staverwho has written about how homosexuality is rooted in fractured emotionsused this to activate people to donate to Liberty Counsel: Will you help us defend religious freedom rights against attacks by the LGBTQ? Give now and a Year-End Challenge Grant will DOUBLE the impact of your gift.Thats right. Liberty Counsel is one of the nearly 2 million tax-exempt nonprofits in the U.S. According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), charitable activities that help an organization qualify as a nonprofit include work that helps poor and underprivileged people, work that eliminates prejudice and discrimination, work that defends human rights and work that advances religion.Like many other American institutions, far-right extremists have taken advantage of tax laws to promote homophobia and transphobia under the guise of advancing religion. And its not just Liberty Counsel. The Southern Poverty Law Center-designated anti-LGBTQ hate group Alliance Defending Freedom, which has advocated in favor of anti-sodomy laws and is currently trying to convince the Supreme Court to overturn conversion therapy bans, is asking for donations after amassing $111 million in revenue in 2024. And the American Family Association, which had a revenue of $31 million in 2024, is asking their supporters to donate because Anti-God, anti-family Leftist radicals are on the warpathseeking to undermine your biblical values and indoctrinate your children with immoral propaganda.Im sure there are countless charities advancing religion in positive ways. And having lived in the U.S. for 11 years, Im no longer naive to how difficult it would be for the IRS to no longer accept charities trying to advance religious agendas. But why does the IRS give organizations that preach anti-LGBTQ hate and work to undermine the rights of marginalized groups charitable status?We need a broader effort to fight for some form of policy change that stops allowing U.S. charities to get tax breaks for pushing hate.Because what on earth makes hate charitable?We have 20 days left in our December Giving Campaign. Cataliotti Law P.C. and another generous Uncloseted Media supporter will match donations up to $15,000 through the end of 2025. Fight back against the countless charities advocating for hate and double your gift by donating now: Donate to Uncloseted MediaWe are officially partnering with MISTR, the largest national telehealth platform providing free online PrEP, DoxyPEP, STI testing, Hepatitis C care and long-term HIV treatment. We are so grateful to Tristan Schukraft and his team for supporting our healthcare coverage from now through 2026.MISTR will not have any editorial input into the content of our stories.I joined the Freedom From Religion Foundation podcast to talk about our investigative work into Christian extremism.Angry dad says school violated cis daughters bodily integrity by not outing trans kid (LGBTQ Nation)The dad found out weeks after his daughters volleyball game that a member of the opposing team was trans and says he had a right to know.Egypt and Iran complain about planned World Cup Pride match in Seattle (ABC News)Egypt and Iran, two Middle East nations that target gays and lesbians, have complained to FIFA over the scheduling of a World Cup soccer match in Seattle thats expected to celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride.HHS changed the name of transgender health leader on her official portrait (NPR)Admiral Rachel L. Levine led the Public Health Corps during the Biden administration. Her official portrait was changed during the government shutdown to her previous name.They punished a devoted teacher & called her a lesbian witch. Now shes having the last laugh. (LGBTQ Nation)She and another female staffer were part of an LGBTQ coven at their school, officials claimed.Joe Biden says MAGA Republicans want to make LGBTQ+ people into something scary (The Advocate)The former president warned that the nations move toward equality must be protected in the age of Trump.Over the next week, be on the lookout for new Uncloseted reporting: Uncloseted shares a profile of Queen Suzie, a 47-year-old woman from the Bible Belt who has become one of the fiercest queer allies youll ever meet. This essay tenderly captures a kind of allyship you dont see oftenunconditional, unwavering and rooted in love rather than doctrine. Many queer South Asian women are forced to navigate cultural shame at home as well as racism and erasure in LGBTQ spaces. Nandika Chatterjee reports.Thanks for reading! Feel free to email me with questions, complaints and story ideas! Spencer Macnaughton, Editor-In-Chief spencer@unclosetedmedia.comIf 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:Donate to Uncloseted Media

Nature, Published online: 11 December 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-03897-6Nature asked about your most memorable scientific gifts. You delivered.

Nature, Published online: 11 December 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-03806-xPerovskites are promising materials for solar cells. A layer of dipolar molecules at the perovskite surface improves the efficiency of these devices.

Nature, Published online: 11 December 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-03807-wHighlights from News & Views published in 2025.

For years, Sen. Ron Johnson has been spreading conspiracy theories and misinformation about COVID-19 and the safety of vaccines.Hes promoted disproven treatments for COVID-19 and claimed, without evidence, that athletes are dropping dead on the field after getting the COVID-19 vaccination. Now the Wisconsin politician is endorsing a book by a discredited doctor promoting an unproven and dangerous treatment for autism and a host of ailments: chlorine dioxide, a chemical used for disinfecting and bleaching.The book is The War on Chlorine Dioxide: The Medicine that Could End Medicine by Dr. Pierre Kory, a critical care specialist who practiced in Wisconsin hospitals before losing his medical certification for statements advocating using an antiparasite medication to treat COVID-19. The action, hes said, makes him unemployable, even though he still has a license.Kory has said theres a globally coordinated campaign by public health agencies, the drug industry and the media to suppress evidence of the medicinal wonders of chlorine dioxide. His book, according to its website, contends that the remarkable molecule works to treat everything from cancer and malaria to autism and COVID.The book jacket features a prominent blurb from Johnson calling the doctors treatise: A gripping tale of corruption and courage that will open eyes and prompt serious questions.Chlorine dioxide is a chemical compound that has a range of applications, including as a disinfectant and deodorizer. Food processing plants apply it to sanitize surfaces and equipment. Hospitals use it to sterilize medical devices, and some municipalities use low levels to treat public water supplies. Paper mills rely on it to whiten wood pulp. Safety experts advise those who handle it to work in well-ventilated spaces and to wear protective gloves.Concentrations in drinking water systems higher than 0.8 milligrams per liter can be harmful, especially to infants, young children and fetuses, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.Still, for many years people in online discussion groups have been promoting the use of chlorine dioxide in a mixture that they call a miracle mineral solution, ingested to rid people of a host of maladies. The Food and Drug Administration has warned that drinking these chlorine dioxide mixtures can cause injury and even death.It is not medicinal, despite Korys contention. It is all lunacy. Absolutely, its 100% nonsense, said Joe Schwarcz, director of McGill Universitys Office for Science and Society in Montreal and an expert on the threat of pseudoscience. Schwarcz has written articles about the so-called miracle mineral solution, calling it a poison when its in high concentrations.The cover of the paperback version of The War on Chlorine Dioxide features a quote from Sen. Ron Johnson. Bella Luna PressKorys book, set to be released to the public in January, argues that word of chlorine dioxides effectiveness has been suppressed by government and medical forces that need people to remain perpetually ill to generate large profits. The use of the word war in the title is fitting, Kory said in a recent online video on his co-authors Substack. In the book I detail many, many assassination attempts of doctors who try to bring out knowledge around chlorine dioxide, he said.Johnson confirmed to ProPublica in an email that he authorized the statement on the cover. After reading the entire book, yes I provided and approved that blurb, he said. Have you read the book?ProPublica asked Kory and his co-author, Jenna McCarthy, to provide an advance copy, an interview and responses to written questions. Kory did not respond. McCarthy wrote in an email to ProPublica that she was addressing some of the questions on her Substack. (She did not send a book or agree to an interview.)The book is a comprehensive examination of the existing evidence and a plea for open-minded inquiry and rigorous research, she wrote on Substack. She dismissed warnings about chlorine dioxides toxicity in high concentrations, writing: Everything has a toxic dose including nutmeg, spinach, and tap water.She said that chlorine dioxide is being studied in controlled settings by researchers in the United States and Latin America and that the real debate is how it should be used, at what dose, and in which clinical contexts.Her Substack post was signed Jenna (& Pierre).Johnson did not agree to an interview and did not answer questions emailed to his office by ProPublica, including whether he views chlorine dioxide as a world-changing medical treatment and whether he believes the FDA warnings are false.Its Called Snake OilJohnson has been an advocate of Korys for years, calling the doctor as an expert witness in two 2020 Senate hearings. In one, Kory championed taking the drug ivermectin, an antiparasite medicine, to treat COVID-19.In 2021, an analysis of data from clinical trials concluded that ivermectin could reduce deaths from COVID-19 and may produce other positive effects. McCarthy cited that analysis in her Substack response.In 2022, however, the American Journal of Therapeutics, which had published the study, warned that suspicious data appears to invalidate the findings regarding ivermectins potential to decrease deaths.Later clinical trials have found no beneficial effect of ivermectin for COVID-19, and the FDA has warned that taking large doses can be dangerous. The drugs manufacturer has said it hadnt found any scientific basis for the idea that ivermectin can effectively treat COVID-19. Kory, though, continued advocating for ivermectin.In 2024 the American Board of Internal Medicine, which credentials physicians in certain specialties, revoked Korys certifications in internal medicine, pulmonary disease and critical care for making false and misleading public statements about the ability of ivermectin to treat COVID-19. Hospitals and many insurance networks typically require doctors to be board certified.Kory vigorously fought the disciplinary action, arguing to the ABIM that he provided substantial medical and scientific evidence to support his recommendations for addressing COVID-19, though not the consensus-driven approach. He also sued the board in federal court, citing his free speech rights in a case that is still progressing in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. On Substack, McCarthy excoriated the ABIM, saying it bullies physicians and enforces ideological conformity.In 2022, Johnson and Kory penned a Fox News op-ed opposing a California bill that would strip doctors licenses for espousing misinformation about COVID-19. The bill became law but was repealed after a court fight. A federal judge found the statutes definition of misinformation to be too vague, which could infringe on doctors right to free speech.Johnson, who has been in Congress since 2011, has a history of advocating for experimental treatments and viewing the government as an impediment. Dr. Peter Lurie, president and executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a public health advocacy group, said that among members of Congress, Johnson was an early adopter of anti-science ideas.Lurie said that Johnson is no longer an outlier in Washington, which now has many more elected lawmakers whom he considers anti-science. What may have started off as the cutting edge of an anti-science movement has now turned into a much more broader-based movement that is supported by millions of people, he said.Earlier this year, Johnson held a hearing highlighting a flawed study claiming that vaccinated children had an increased rate of serious chronic diseases when compared to children who were not vaccinated. The conclusion questions the scientific consensus that vaccines are safe. The studys researchers chose not to publish it because of problems they found in their data and methodology.In November, Johnson and Kory were listed among the speakers at a conference of the Childrens Health Defense, a nonprofit that stirs anti-vaccine sentiment. It was launched in 2018 by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose FDA is considering new ways to more closely scrutinize vaccine safety.HHS did not respond to requests from ProPublica about Kennedys views on chlorine dioxide. At his confirmation hearing, Kennedy praised President Donald Trump for his wide search for a COVID-19 remedy in his first term, which Kennedy said included vaccines, various drugs, even chlorine dioxide.Korys publisher is listed as Bella Luna Press, which has issued at least two other titles by McCarthy. Thanks to the Censorship Industrial Complex, you wont find The War on Chlorine Dioxide on Amazon or at Barnes & Noble. We had to design and build this website, figure out formatting and printing and shipping, and manage every aspect of order processing ourselves, the books website states. (A representative for Bella Luna could not be reached for comment.)As this new book is released, the autism community is also grappling with another controversy: the unsubstantiated assertion by Kennedy that Tylenol use by pregnant women poses an increased risk of autism. In addition, under Kennedy, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised its website in November to cast doubt on the long-held scientific conclusion that childhood vaccines do not cause autism.Some parents of children with autism, desperate for a remedy, have long reached for dubious and at times dangerous panaceas, including hyperbaric oxygen chambers and chelation therapy, used for the treatment of heavy metal poisoning. Neither method has been proven effective.Helen Tager-Flusberg, director of the Center for Autism Research Excellence at Boston University, said Johnson has acted extremely irresponsibly in lending his name to a book making claims about chlorine dioxide treating autism.Wisconsin is filled with experts clinical experts, medical experts, scientists who understand and have studied autism and treatments for autism for many many years, she said. Hes chosen to completely ignore the clinical and the scientific community.People with autism may take medication to reduce anxiety, address attention problems, or reduce severe irritability. Many benefit from behavioral interventions and special education services to help with learning and functional abilities. But there is no cure, said Tager-Flusberg.Referring to chlorine dioxide, she said: We have had examples of this probably throughout the history of medicine. Theres a word for this, its called snake oil.In her response on Substack to ProPublica, McCarthy wrote that chlorine dioxide is being used to treat (nobody said cure) autism with life-changing results.The Search for Miracle CuresThe mother of an autistic son, Melissa Eaton of North Carolina, heard Kory reference his book in early November on The HighWire, an internet talk show hosted by Del Bigtree, a prominent vaccine skeptic and former communications director for Kennedys 2024 presidential campaign. She then looked up the book online and noticed Johnsons endorsement.Eaton for many years has worked to expose people who peddle chlorine dioxide and to report apparent injuries to authorities. She monitors social media forums where parents discuss giving it to their children orally or via enemas. Sometimes the families reveal that their children are sick. Theyre throwing up and vomiting and having diarrhea and rashes, Eaton said.Some adherents advise parents that the disturbing effects indicate that the treatment is working, ridding the body of impurities, or that the parents should alter the dosage.Most of these kids are nonverbal, Eaton said. Theyre not able to say whats hurting them or whats happening to them. The parents feel theyre doing the right thing. Thats how they view this: Theyre helping to cure autism.The idea that chlorine dioxide can be a miracle cure began to spread about 20 years ago when a gold prospector, Jim Humble, wrote a book claiming his team in Guyana fell ill with malaria and recovered after drinking safe amounts of chlorine dioxide.Humble later co-founded a health and healing church in Florida with a man named Mark Grenon, who called himself an archbishop and sold a chlorine dioxide solution as a cure for COVID-19. They described it as a miracle mineral solution, or MMS.Grenon went to prison in 2023 for conspiring to defraud the United States by distributing an unapproved and misbranded drug. The scheme took in more than $1 million, according to prosecutors.An affidavit in the case filed by a special agent with the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations noted: FDA has received numerous reports of adverse reactions to MMS. These adverse reactions include hospitalizations, life-threatening conditions, and death.Grenon, who is now out of prison, told ProPublica that he too is writing a book about chlorine dioxide. My book will tell the truth. He declined further comment.Chlorine dioxide is currently used in many ways that are not harmful. It is found in some consumer products like mouthwashes, but it is not meant to be swallowed in those instances. (One popular mouthwash warns to keep out of reach of children.) Its also available to consumers in do-it-yourself packages where they combine drops from two bottles of different compounds commonly sodium chlorite and hydrochloric acid and add it to water. Hikers often carry the drops, or tablets, using small amounts to make quarts of fresh water potable.But numerous online shoppers post product reviews that go further, referring to it as a tonic. Various online guides, some aimed at parents of autistic children, recommend a shot-glass-size dose, sometimes given multiple times a day and even hourly. That can far exceed the threshold the EPA considers safe.McCarthy, addressing ProPublica on Substack, wrote: You point to various online guides that offer what could be considered dangerous dosing instructions. We agree, the internet is a terrifying wasteland of misinformation and disinformation.In the Substack video, Kory said he felt compelled to spread the word about chlorine dioxide much as he did about ivermectin, even though it cost him professionally.He no longer has a valid medical license in Wisconsin or California, where he did not renew them, according to the Substack post. His medical licenses in New York and Michigan are active.I like to say I was excommunicated from the church of the medical establishment, he said in the Substack video. As a result, he said, he turned to telehealth and started a practice.In the Nov. 6 HighWire episode hosted by Bigtree, the discussion included talk not just of chlorine dioxides medicinal potential but also of how cheap and easy it is to obtain.On Amazon, its literally, you get two bottles, well, it comes in two, Kory started to explain, before stopping that train of thought.I wouldnt know how to make it, he said.The post Senator Endorses Discredited Doctors Book on a Chemical He Claims Treats Everything From Autism to Cancer appeared first on ProPublica.

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Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan leaves the federal courthouse after a hearing in Milwaukee on May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Manis, File)2025-12-11T05:03:45Z MADISON, Wis. (AP) Defense attorneys and prosecutors were set Thursday to choose the jurors who will decide whether a Wisconsin judge accused of helping a Mexican immigrant dodge federal officers committed a crime. Federal prosecutors charged Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan this spring with obstruction and concealing an individual to prevent arrest. They allege she showed 31-year-old Eduardo Flores-Ruiz out of her courtroom through a back door when she learned federal authorities were in the courthouse looking to arrest him. Dugan is set to stand trial beginning Monday in the latest show of force in the Trump administrations sweeping immigration crackdown. She faces up to six years in prison if convicted on both counts. Heres what to know about the case, jury selection and the trial: FBI: Angry Dugan orchestrated escape attemptAccording to an FBI affidavit, Flores-Ruiz illegally reentered the United States from Mexico in 2013. Agents learned that he had been charged in state court with battery in March and was scheduled to appear in front of Dugan on April 18.Agents traveled to the courthouse to arrest Flores-Ruiz after the hearing. A public defender noticed the agents in the corridor and told Dugans clerk about them. Dugan grew angry, according to the affidavit, declared the situation absurd and approached with another judge. Dugan argued with the agents over whether their warrant was valid and told them to speak to the chief judge. Dugan returned to her courtroom, told Flores-Ruiz to come with her and led him and his attorney out a back jury door to the public corridor outside the courtroom, the affidavit says. Agents on their way back from the chief judges office spotted Flores-Ruiz, but he made it outside. He was eventually captured after a foot chase. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced in November that he had been deported. Dugan defenders scouring jury pool for biasDemocrats insist President Donald Trumps administration is trying to make an example of Dugan to blunt judicial opposition to its immigration crackdown. The administration, for its part, has been vilifying Dugan on social media. FBI Director Kash Patel posted a photo of her being led out of the courthouse in handcuffs and the Department of Homeland Security posted that Dugan has taken the term activist judge to a whole new meaning. Dugan told police she found a threatening flyer from an anti-government group at her home and at her mother and sisters homes four days after Flores-Ruiz was captured.Dugans attorneys have said theyre worried publicity about the case has tainted the jury pool. They sent a questionnaire to prospective jurors this fall in an effort to gauge their political involvement and leanings, asking whether they belong to political organizations, what radio shows and podcasts they follow, and what stickers, signs and patches they have on their cars, water bottles, backpacks and laptops.Attorneys on both sides have already agreed to strike 44 prospective jurors, online court records show. A group of 40 prospective jurors was scheduled to show up Thursday morning at the federal courthouse in Milwaukee and fill out yet another questionnaire about whether their views have changed since they completed the first survey. Attorneys plan to spend the day questioning them in person.The lawyers are prepared to bring in more prospective jurors on Friday if necessary. Questions of immunity and protocolDugans defense team has argued that shes immune from prosecution because she was acting in her official capacity as a judge and therefore had no consciousness of wrongdoing, no wrongfulness, no deception, according to their filings.Her attorneys tried to persuade presiding Judge Lynn Adelman to dismiss the case in August on those grounds. The judge refused, saying that theres no firmly established judicial immunity barring criminal prosecution. Dugan also has argued that she was following protocols and did not intend to disrupt agents. According to her arguments, Milwaukee County Chief Judge Carl Ashley sent out a draft policy on immigration arrests in the courthouse about a week before Flores-Ruiz was arrested. The policy barred agents from executing administrative warrants in nonpublic courthouse areas and required court personnel to immediately refer any immigration agents to a supervisor, which Dugan did. Dugan further contends that Ashley denied the agents permission to arrest Flores-Ruiz in the courtroom or the hallway. The agents then abandoned their plan to arrest him in the building and instead followed him outside so they could arrest him on the street, according to Dugan.(Dugan) was trying to ascertain, and follow, the rules, her attorneys argued ahead of the trial.Under federal guidance issued Jan. 21, immigration agents may carry out enforcement actions in or near courthouses if they believe someone they are trying to find will be there.Immigration agents are generally required to let their internal legal office know ahead of time to make sure there are no legal restrictions, and are supposed to carry out arrests in nonpublic areas whenever possible, coordinate with court security and minimize impact on court operations. Bill Clinton appointed the judge presiding over the caseThen-President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, appointed Adelman to the federal bench in 1997. A Wisconsin native, he served as a state senator for 20 years. He also worked as an attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Wisconsin and as a Columbia University Law School researcher. Hes now 86 years old. He struck down Wisconsins voter photo identification law in 2014, calling it an unfair burden on poor and minority voters. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated the law later that year, however. Adelman also wrote an article in 2020 accusing the U.S. Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts of eroding democracy. TODD RICHMOND Richmond is an Associated Press reporter covering Wisconsin politics and courts as well as environmental issues and breaking news across the Great Lakes region. He is based in Madison. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

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A person shops for produce at a market in San Francisco on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)2025-12-11T10:00:39Z WASHINGTON (AP) Sweeping taxes on imports have cost the average American household nearly $1,200 since Donald Trump returned to the White House this year, according to calculations by Democrats on Congress Joint Economic Committee.Using Treasury Department numbers on revenue from tariffs and Goldman Sachs estimates of who ends up paying for them, the Democrats report Thursday found that American consumers share of the bill came to nearly $159 billion or $1,198 per household from February through November.This report shows that (Trumps) tariffs have done nothing but drive prices even higher for families, said Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the economic committee. At a time when both parties should be working together to lower costs, the presidents tax on American families is simply making things more expensive. In his second term, Trump has reversed decades of U.S. policy that favored free trade. Hes imposed double-digit tariffs on almost every country on earth. According to Yale Universitys Budget Lab, the average U.S. tariff has shot up from 2.4% at the beginning of the year to 16.8%, the highest since 1935. The president argues that the import taxes will protect U.S. industries from unfair foreign competition, bring factories to the United States and raise money for the Treasury. President Trumps tariffs have actually secured trillions in investments to make and hire in America as well as historic trade deals that finally level the playing field for American workers and industries, said White House Spokesman Kush Desai. Democrats spent decades complaining about lopsided trade deals undermining the American working class, and now theyre complaining about the one president who has done something about it. The taxes are paid by importers who typically attempt to pass along the higher costs to their customers. Democrats did well in elections last month in Virginia, New Jersey and elsewhere largely because voters blame Trump and the Republicans for the high cost of living, just as theyd blamed Trumps predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, for the same thing a year earlier.Economist Kimberly Clausing of the UCLA School of Law and the Peterson Institute for International Economics, last week told a House subcommittee that Trumps tariffs amount to the largest tax increase on American consumers in a generation, lowering standards of living for all Americans.' Clausing, a Treasury Department tax official in the Biden administration, has calculated that Trumps import taxes amount to an annual tax increase of about $1,700 for an average household.'

A television on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, display a news conference with Fed chairman Jerome Powell, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)2025-12-11T05:29:39Z MANILA, Philippines (AP) World shares were mixed on Thursday after the U.S. stock market again approached its record high following the Federal Reserves cut in its main interest rate. The Feds rate cut was widely expected, but comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell encouraged hopes for more cuts in 2026. However, some Asian technology companies saw sharp declines after Oracle, a bellwether in the artificial intelligence sector, reported weaker than expected earnings. Its shares sank 11.5% in aftermarket trading. The companys spending spree in AI has some worried about its cash flow. Frankly, the report was not dramatically bad, but it came to confirm concerns around heavy AI spending, financed by debt, with an unknown timeline for revenue generation, Ipek Ozkardeskaya of Swissquote said in a commentary.The future for the S&P 500 fell 0.7% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.3% lower. In early European trading, Germanys DAX shed 0.1% to 24,106.63. Britains FTSE 100 edged 0.1% higher, to 9,664.09, while Frances CAC 40 rose 0.5% to 8,059.53.In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index fell 0.9% to 50,148.82, pulled lower by a 7.7% drop in technology and telecoms giant SoftBank Group Corp., a major investor in AI. Local shares are under pressure from growing expectations that the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates at its meeting next week. Hong Kongs Hang Seng shed earlier gains and shed less than 0.1% to 25,530.51 after the Hong Kong Monetary Authority followed the Feds lead and trimmed borrowing costs to 4.00%, their lowest rate since October 2022. The Shanghai Composite index fell 0.7% to 3,873.32. Sentiment was cautious ahead of Chinas November credit data. New yuan loans fell sharply in October, missing forecasts and showing weaker consumer demand.Australias S&P/ASX 200 added nearly 0.2% to 8,592.00 after three days of decline, boosted by strength in gold and mining stocks. The countrys seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in November was unchanged from October at 4.3%, below the expected 4.4% In South Korea, the Kospi shed gains in early session, falling 0.6% to 4,110.62. Chip maker SK Hynix fell 3.8% after the countrys main stock exchange issued warnings over its meteoric rise this year. Taiwans Taiex index closed 1.3% lower, while Indias BSE Sensex rose 0.4%. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 climbed 0.7% and finished just shy of its all-time high, which was set in October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1% and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.3%.Wall Street loves lower interest rates because they can boost the economy and send prices for investments higher, even if they potentially make inflation worse. Wednesdays cut to interest rates did not move markets much by itself. But some investors took heart from comments by Powell, which they said were less forceful about shutting down the possibility of future cuts than they had been anticipating. Powell said again on Wednesday that the central bank is in a difficult spot, because the job market is slowing while inflation is facing upward pressure. By trying to fix one of those problems with interest rates, the Fed usually worsens the other in the short term. Powell also said for the first time in this rate-cutting campaign that interest rates are back in a place where theyre pushing neither inflation nor the job market higher or lower. That gives the Fed time to hold and reassess what to do next with interest rates as more data comes in on the job market and on inflation.On Wall Street, GE Vernova flew 15.6% higher after the energy company raised its forecast for revenue by 2028, doubled its dividend and increased its program to buy back its own stock. Palantir Technologies added 3.3% while Cracker Barrel Old Country Store rose 3.5%.In other dealings early Thursday, U.S. benchmark crude oil slid 76 cents to $57.70 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 80 cents to $61.41 per barrel.The U.S. dollar was unchanged at 156.02 Japanese yen. The euro fell to $1.1692 from $1.1696.

President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable discussion with business leaders in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)2025-12-11T12:00:43Z WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trumps approval on the economy and immigration have fallen substantially since March, according to a new AP-NORC poll, the latest indication that two signature issues that got him elected barely a year ago could be turning into liabilities as his party begins to gear up for the 2026 midterms.Only 31% of U.S. adults now approve of how Trump is handling the economy, the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds. That is down from 40% in March and marks the lowest economic approval hes registered in an AP-NORC poll in his first or second term. The Republican president also has struggled to recover from public blowback on other issues, such as his management of the federal government, and has not seen an approval bump even after congressional Democrats effectively capitulated to end a record-long government shutdown last month. Perhaps most worryingly for Trump, whos become increasingly synonymous with his party, hes slipped on issues that were major strengths. Just a few months ago, 53% of Americans approved of Trumps handling of crime, but thats fallen to 43% in the new poll. Theres been a similar decline on immigration, from 49% approval in March to 38% now. The new poll starkly illustrates how Trump has struggled to hold onto political wins since his return to office. Even border security an issue on which his approval remains relatively high has declined slightly in recent months. The good news for Trump is that his overall approval hasnt fallen as steeply. The new poll found that 36% of Americans approve of the way hes handling his job as president, which is down slightly from 42% in March. That signals that even if some people arent happy with elements of his approach, they might not be ready to say hes doing a bad job as president. And while discontent is increasing among Republicans on certain issues, theyre largely still behind him. Declining approval on the economy, even among RepublicansRepublicans are more unhappy with Trumps performance on the economy than they were in the first few months of his term. About 7 in 10 Republicans, 69%, approve of how Trump is handling the economy in the December poll, a decline from 78% in March.Larry Reynolds, a 74-year-old retiree and Republican voter from Wadsworth, Ohio, said he believes in Trumps plan to impose import duties on U.S. trading partners but thinks rates have spiraled too high, creating a vicious circle now where they arent really justifying the tariffs.Reynolds said he also believes that inflation became a problem during the coronavirus pandemic and that the economy wont quickly recover, regardless of what Trump does. I dont think itll be anything really soon. I think its just going to take time, he said. Trumps base is still largely behind him, which was not always the case for his predecessor, President Joe Biden, a Democrat. In the summer of 2022, only about half of Democrats approved of how Biden was handling the economy. Shortly before he withdrew from the 2024 presidential race two years later, that had risen to about two-thirds of Democrats. More broadly, though, theres no sign that Americans think the economy has improved since Trump took over. About two-thirds of U.S. adults, 68%, continue to say the countrys economy is poor. Thats unchanged from the last time the question was asked in October, and its broadly in line with views throughout Bidens last year in office.Why Trump gets higher approval on border security than immigrationTrumps approval ratings on immigration have declined since March, but border security remains a relatively strong issue for him. Half of U.S. adults, 50%, approve of how Trump is handling border security, which is just slightly lower than the 55% who approved in September. Trumps relative strength on border security is partially driven by Democrats and independents. About one-third of independents, 36%, approve of Trump on the border, while 26% approve on immigration. Jim Rollins, an 82-year-old independent in Macon, Georgia, said he believes that when it comes to closing the border, Trump has done a good job, but he hopes the administration will rethink its mass deportation efforts. Taking people out of kindergarten, and people going home for Thanksgiving, taking them off a plane. If they are criminals, sure, said Rollins, who said he supported Trump in his first election but not since then. But the percentages based on the governments own statistics say that theyre not criminals. They just didnt register, and maybe they sneaked across the border, and theyve been here for 15 years. Other polls have shown its more popular to increase border security than to deport immigrants, even those who are living in the country illegally. Nearly half of Americans said increasing security at the U.S.-Mexico border should be a high priority for the government in AP-NORC polling from September. Only about 3 in 10 said the same about deporting immigrants in the U.S. illegally. Shaniqwa Copeland, a 30-year-old independent and home health aide in St. Augustine, Florida, said she approves of Trumps overall handling of the presidency but believes his immigration actions have gone too far, especially when it comes to masked federal agents leading large raids. Now theyre just picking up anybody, Copeland said. They just like, pick up people, grabbing anybody. Its crazy. Health care and government management remain thorns for TrumpAbout 3 in 10 U.S. adults approve of how Trump is handling health care, down slightly from November. The new poll was conducted in early December, as Trump and Congress struggled to find a bipartisan deal for extending the Affordable Care Act subsidies that will expire at the end of this month. That health care fight was also the source of the recent government shutdown. About one-third of U.S. adults, 35%, approve of how Trump is managing the federal government, down from 43% in March. But some Americans may see others at fault for the countrys problems, in addition to Trump. Copeland is unhappy with the countrys health care system and thinks things are getting worse but is not sure of whether to blame Trump or Biden.A couple years ago, I could find a dentist and it would be easy. Now, I have a different health care provider, and its like so hard to find a dental (plan) with them, she said. And the people that do take that insurance, they have so many scheduled out far, far appointments because its so many people on it.___The AP-NORC poll of 1,146 adults was conducted Dec. 4-8 using a sample drawn from NORCs probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 4 percentage points. LINLEY SANDERS Sanders is a polls and surveys reporter for The Associated Press. She develops and writes about polls conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, and works on AP VoteCast. twitter WILL WEISSERT Weissert covers the White House for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington. twitter mailto

Candy store owner James Lamb only stepped away from his shop for a moment. But when he returned, his Pride flag out front had been torn down.Two 10-year-olds standing in front of the shop told Lamb they saw the man who did it. When they told him that theyd call the police, the vandal replied, Call the cops. Its 1-800-WHO CARES. No gay people. Related The history of the iconic LGBTQ rainbow flag Luckily, surveillance video captured the suspect, reportedly pulling down the flag in front of the Evolution Candy store. Police in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, identified the suspect as 60-year-old James Mellon.Lamb told WPVI-TV that the suspect seemed to be drunk or have a limp, based on his movements in the video. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today You can hear him on the audio saying No gay people,' Lamb told the news station. Yes, gay people. Yes, people! Just leave people alone. Let them be who they are.Police charged Mellon with disorderly conduct and criminal mischief. Sadly, Lamb said its the fourth time that his shop has been targeted in recent years.This marks the second time that the tearing down of a Pride flag has recently made headlines.In October, Tucker Alden Kemp, a 31-year-old resident of St. Petersburg,Florida, made national headlinesafter he complained to a Starbucks manager about an offensive rainbow Pride flag on the coffee shop wall. When the manager refused to remove it, Kemp tore it off the wall and pushed it into a trash can.Kemp was arrested and is facing a charge of criminal mischief. Police believe he caused $210 worth of damage to the flag and wall. After his arrest made headlines, he lost his job at Dignity Memorial, a funeral home, where he had worked for over a decade.Imade some poor decisions that led to my rightful arrest and termination from my career at the funeral home, Kemp wrote in a handwritten appeal to a judge.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

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A sign for Time magazine is displayed outside the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025 in New York. (AP Photo/Donald King)2025-12-11T05:01:45Z NEW YORK (AP) The Architects of AI were named Time magazines person of the year for 2025 on Thursday.The magazine cited 2025 as the year when the potential of artificial intelligence roared into view with no turning back.For delivering the age of thinking machines, for wowing and worrying humanity, for transforming the present and transcending the possible, the Architects of AI are TIMEs 2025 Person of the Year, Time said in a social media post.The magazine was deliberate in selecting people the individuals who imagined, designed, and built AI rather than the technology itself, though there would have been some precedent for that.Weve named not just individuals but also groups, more women than our founders could have imagined (though still not enough), and, on rare occasions, a concept: the endangered Earth, in 1988, or the personal computer, in 1982, wrote Sam Jacobs, the editor-in-chief, in an explanation of the choice. The drama surrounding the selection of the PC over Apples Steve Jobs later became the stuff of books and a movie. One of the cover images resembling the Lunch Atop a Skyscraper photograph from the 1930s shows eight tech leaders sitting on the beam: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, AMD CEO Lisa Su, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, the CEO of Googles DeepMind division Demis Hassabis, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and AI pioneer Fei-Fei Li, who launched her own startup World Labs last year. Another cover image shows scaffolding surrounding the giant letters AI made to look like computer componentry. Stay up to date with the news and the best of AP by following our WhatsApp channel. Follow on It made sense for Time to anoint AI because 2025 was the year that it shifted from a novel technology explored by early adopters to one where a critical mass of consumers see it as part of their mainstream lives, Thomas Husson, principal analyst at research firm Forrester, said by email. AI was a leading contender for the top slot, according to prediction markets, along with Huang and Altman. Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope whose election this year followed the death of Pope Francis, was also considered a contender, with President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani topping lists as well. Trump was named the 2024 person of the year by the magazine after his winning his second bid for the White House, succeeding Taylor Swift, who was the 2023 person of the year.The magazines selection dates from 1927, when its editors have picked the person they say most shaped headlines over the previous 12 months.

In his latest assault on transgender Americans, President Donald Trump has ordered federal prisons to house transgender women in mens facilities and halt their gender-related healthcare.The directive follows an executive order Trump issued on his first day in office declaring the federal government would recognize only two immutable sexes, male and female. Related Donald Trump may soon ban trans people in the military. Advocates say he wont get away with it. The executive order, titled Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government, also applies to immigration detainees in federal facilities. It does not address trans men held in detention. 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 The directive requires all gender-related healthcare for trans women inmates to cease, ordering no federal funds be spent for any medical procedure, treatment, or drug for what the order describes as conforming an inmates appearance to that of the opposite sex.Advocates for transgender rights say the new policy will put transgender women in danger.There will be rapes and physical assaults because of this policy, Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, told The New York Times. Its also terrible for prison officials, who right now have the authority to use discretion about what makes the most sense for the safety and security of the facility.Data from the Department of Justice indicates transgender prisoners are 10 times more likely to be sexually assaulted than straight prisoners.Were encouraged to see these protections for privacy in womens prisons and in rape shelters, ensuring that no woman ever has to face abuse, harassment, or the loss of privacy and dignity from a man sharing these intimate spaces, said Matt Sharp, senior counsel and director for public policy at the right-wing Alliance Defending Freedom. Multiple court cases have found housing transgender women in mens facilities and denying gender-related healthcare are violations of the Eight Amendment to the Constitution, which bars cruel and unusual punishment. Trumps order will likely be challenged on that basis.In 1994, the Supreme Court held that the government had a duty to protect transgender prisoners from violence in Farmer v. Brennan. The plaintiff in the case, Dee Farmer, said she had been raped while housed with men.Farmer now leads Fight4Justice, a nonprofit advocacy group for LGBTQ+ prisoners. Yesterday I got three calls from inmates who were in a panic about what was about to happen to them, she said. During the Obama administration, the Bureau of Prisons releasednew guidancethat transgender prisoners be housed according to their gender identity in most cases. In his first term, Trump narrowed that guidance to rare cases. President Joe Biden restored the Obama-era policy when he came to office.Trumps new order follows a campaign that prominently featured Vice President Kamala Harris support for transgender prisoners in California. Republicans spent $215 million on ads attacking Harris and Democrats on the issue.Roughly 1,500 federal prisoners are transgender women,according to the Bureau of Prisons, accounting for 15 percent of the total population of women in prison. 750 men identify as transgender out of about 144,000 male prisoners.About one percent of the U.S. population identify as transgender, according to UCLAs Williams Institute.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

Spotify Unwrapped may tell you about your listening habits throughout the year, but when popular gay cruising app Squirt gets in on the analytical action, we learn all about what turned on gay men in 2025. Squirt Unloadeds naughty stats showed us who the top gay adult performers are, that daddies and bears were the most sought-after types of men on the app, and which porn categories are the most popular (hint: its bareback, orgy, and amateur). But it was the Popular Sex Positions category that may have been the most surprising. Doggy style, missionary, cowboy, side-by-side, and trotting topped the list. Experimenting with wild sexual poisons can be fun, but the old standbys like doggy style and missionary are what everyone returns to time and time again. Theyre classics for a reason!This spicy list got us thinking: how can you get the most out of the most popular sex positions of 2025? So we talked to Sofie Roos, a bisexual licensed sexologist, relationship therapist, and author at relationship magazine Passionerad, to get the scoop on how you can maximize your pleasure when trying these moves in the bedroom. 1. Doggy StyleEveryone is probably familiar with this one, but the penetrating partner usually stands or kneels behind someone who is usually bent over on their hands and knees although you can also do this one standing or lying down. Roos says, the angle is everything when youre trying to make this position as hot as possible. "The one being penetrated can arch their lower back, or the one penetrating can stand on their feet and hang in over their partner, which gives a deeper penetration that stimulates the prostate, she tells PRIDE.But you can also do this one while standing, having your partner lean over a piece of furniture like a table or couch, or they can brace their hands against a wall and bend at the waist. If the bottom is flexible, they can even take support from the floor by bending over and leaning their hands against it, which makes a very hot version of doggy, she says.Roos also recommends having the bottom stroke their penis while being penetrated, while the top tweaks their nipples. Remember to communicate around rhythm and depth as doggy style is a very intense sex position, and lastly try to stimulate also other erogenous zones at the same time, she says.2.MissionaryHopefully missionary being number two on Squirt's list will end straight peoples belief that gay men cant do this particular sex position Red, White & Royal Blue really shouldnt have had to teach them that.But if youve missed out on trying this more intimate position, youre in luck because Roos has tips on how to take things up a notch. In this position, one partner lies on top of the other, but that doesnt mean things have to be boring. The partner on the bottom can put your legs over their partners shoulders, which will open you up for a greater angle towards your prostate, which can lead to pleasurable p-spot orgasms, she says. You can also combine this with putting a pillow under your lower back to get deeper penetration,I recommend gays to slow down the tempo, Roos advises. The missionary is by many seen as vanilla and a position you should have rough for it to be interesting, but lowering the tempo and focusing on soft, slow and deep movements can be surprisingly hot, so try that!3.Cowboy/ridingWith cowboy, the partner doing the penetrating is either lying down or sitting while the bottom rides them from a sitting or kneeling position. By leaning more forward or backwards as the one on top, you create a better position for penetrating your prostate, which can lead to amazing orgasms, especially if combined with going back and forth instead of up and down over the dick, as that makes it rub more intensely against the p-spot, Roos highly recommends. The trick with this position is to make sure you are stabilizing yourself so that you dont tire yourself out too quickly. The one riding can put their hands on the partners thighs for more stabilization, but you can also put your hands against the headboard or hold your partners hands, she says. And dont forget to use your legs as well, where the knees closer to your partner's body makes more stabilization, while having them far out leads to increased mobility.You can also switch things up and try out reverse cowboy by turning around and facing away from your partner!4.Side-by-sideThis is a sex position you do while lying down in a spooning position, with the person doing the penetrating taking on the role of the big spoon. If youre the one in the bottom position (the little spoon), you can draw one of your knees up to your chest to feel the penetration even deeper. The person doing the penetrating also has easy access to their partners nipples and penis, so Roos recommends stimulating both. For the ones wanting to try something more advanced, you can have side-by-side in the bed against a wall, and put a suction cup dildo which the penetrator gets penetrated by during the session, leading to double stimulation, she says.5.FrottingFrotting usually involves either rubbing your penises together to create friction or using your hands to hold both penises and jerk them off together. Lube is always a good idea, but Roos says its extra important here, so you should invest in a thicker, longer-lasting silicone option to get the most out of the experience.Experiment with different amounts of pressure, rhythms, angles, and speeds to figure out what feels best to both of you. And dont forget to stimulate your partners balls. Explore frotting in different positions and situations, she says. You dont need to lay down in a bed, but can stand, sit against each other, you can be face to face, in the car, in the forest, in the shower or on the sofa, or why not in the kitchen, so get creative.

Nature, Published online: 11 December 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-04063-8Researchers are devising ways to make new machines face off, without the hype.

Manchester United's net debt has broken the $1 billion barrier for the first time due to summer borrowings for player recruitment.

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U.S. imports and exports ticked up from lows the previous month when the presidents global tariffs went into effect, while the trade deficit continued to fall

New York is a city of hustlers, of odds makers and shot takers. For 54 years, Jimmys Corner has been their bar.

After nearly 11 months in office, the presidents tendency to talk about his predecessor is more pronounced than ever.

The rare player to compete in all three, he had an impressive career, becoming a three-time All-Star in the major leagues and later a fan favorite in Japan.

Greys Anatomy first premiered on March 27, 2005. In honor of 20 years on the air and the series upcoming 22nd season, The Onion looks back on some of the medical dramas best and worst episodes of all time.Best:Patrick Dempsey Lists the Major Symptoms of Strep Throat(Season 2, Episode 11)To this day, there has yet to be a better or more compelling example of Patrick Dempsey listing the major symptoms of strep throat.Happy Birthday, Meredith Grey(Season 8, Episode 15)Meredith discovers the unknown object stuck in the chest of her patient is none other than Dr. Shepherd, who has hidden inside for a birthday surprise.Its A Small World(Season 5, Episode 14)The Chief suspects the new anesthesiologist may be a Disney adult while Owen treats a porn star with leprosy. Meredith worries she did something wrong during surgery after noticing a spleen on the floor.Yikes, Hopefully Nobody Out There Needs Us(Season 7, Episode 4)In this beloved bottle episode, the whole gang gets trapped inside an MRI machine.The Annoying Doctor(Season 6, Episode 21)In this special season finale crossover episode, The Good Doctor himself arrives at Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital and starts annoying everyone in sight. When Cristina attempts to kill him but botches the job, Meredith must go against her better judgment and save him.Sexual Healing(Season 6, Episode 3)The hospital gets slapped with a lawsuit after a patient wakes during open heart surgery and catches all of the surgeons having sex in the storage closet.Worst:Im Like A Bird(Season 8, Episode 1)In an attempt at crossover appeal, the entire new crop of interns is made up of the 2013 Seattle Seahawks 53-man roster.A Hard Days Night(Season 1, Episode 1)The new surgical interns first shift at the hospital reveals Sandra Oh is about to be trapped in this waste of a role for a decade of her life.Signs(Season 11, Episode 20)Link treats an elderly puppeteer who may be the Zodiac killer, while Owen punches a CPR dummy. Meredith and Maggie huff nitrous oxide and play flashlight tag in the morgue.The Space You Needle(Season 9, Episode 12)The doctors pay $40 each to go to the top of the Space Needle and realize Seattle is simply not that exciting of a city to see from above.Active Shooter, Again(Season 20, Episode 4)Fans generally agree that the return of mass shooter Gary Clark, now as an unstoppable titanium cyborg rebuilt by rival Seattle Presbyterian Hospital, was a ratings gimmick at best.Pick One(Season 16, Episode 1 Present)Drop in on any random episode from the past six years and its a good bet it will be the worst one ever.The post The Best And Worst Greys Anatomy Episodes Of All Time appeared first on The Onion.

The post The Top 100 Most Influential People, Locked In Our Oubliette. Not So Influential Now, Are You? appeared first on The Onion.

General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping died from cancer complications at 72 this weekend, but the rest of the bought-and-sold press will never tell you that.The post General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping appeared first on The Onion.

MARBLEHEAD, MAHer body seizing with energy after hearing the request from her youngest son to pass the asparagus, local mother Christina Nadlers eyes reportedly rolled back in her head Thursday as she fed on her familys enjoyment of the dinner she had prepared. Yes, yes, ask for another Parker House rollit only makes me stronger! said Nadler, grasping the edges of her chair in order to stabilize herself against the influx of overwhelming power surging into her from the sight of her family appreciating the meal. You will eat the lemon-pepper chicken, and I will eat the power that this lends me. It may have taken 90 minutes to prepare this nourishing meal, but it was a small price to pay for this grand feast of untold strength I now enjoy.Oh God! More! More! Eat! More! At press time, the violently trembling Nadler had collapsed to the floor with a triumphant shriek after the family conceded they had all saved room for dessert.The post Moms Eyes Roll Back In Head At Dinner Table As She Feeds On Familys Enjoyment Of Food appeared first on The Onion.

Members of the National Guard patrol in front of the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)2025-12-11T05:12:14Z WASHINGTON (AP) Senators for the first time are poised to question military leaders over President Donald Trumps use of the National Guard in American cities, an extraordinary move that has prompted legal challenges as well as questions about states rights and the use of the military on U.S. soil.The hearing Thursday before the Senate Armed Services Committee is expected to feature tough questioning for Pentagon leaders over the legality of the deployments, which in some places were done over the objections of mayors and governors.The hearing will bring the highest level of scrutiny to Trumps use of the National Guard outside of a courtroom since the deployments began and comes a day after the president faced another legal setback over his muscular use of troops in larger federal operations.Trump has justified the use of the military in American cities by saying the National Guard is needed to support federal law enforcement, protect federal facilities and combat crime. Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., said she had threatened to hold up the annual defense bill if Republican leadership continued to block the hearing, which she said is long overdue. Donald Trump is illegally deploying our nations service members under misleading if not false pretexts, Duckworth told The Associated Press. Duckworth, a combat veteran who served in the Illinois National Guard, said domestic deployments have traditionally involved responding to major floods and tornadoes, not assisting immigration agents who are detaining people in aggressive raids. Duckworth said she has questions for the military about how Trumps deployments are affecting readiness, training and costs. She also wants to know if Guard members will have legal protections if an immigration agent wrongfully harms a civilian. Im deeply concerned that our nations military is being put in jeopardy by these policies, Duckworth said. The hearing comes two weeks after two West Virginia National Guard members deployed to Washington were shot just blocks from the White House in what the citys mayor described as a targeted attack. Spc. Sarah Beckstrom died a day after the Nov. 26 shooting, and her funeral took place Tuesday. Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe is still hospitalized in Washington.Meanwhile, a federal judge in California on Wednesday ruled that the Trump administration must stop deploying the California National Guard in Los Angeles and return control of the troops to the state. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco granted a preliminary injunction sought by California officials, but also put the decision on hold until Monday. The White House said it plans to appeal.Trump called up more than 4,000 California National Guard troops in June without Gov. Gavin Newsoms approval to further the Trump administrations immigration enforcement efforts.The move was the first time in decades that a states National Guard was activated without a request from its governor and marked a significant escalation in the administrations efforts to carry out its mass deportation policy. The troops were stationed outside a federal detention center in downtown Los Angeles where protesters gathered and later sent on the streets to protect immigration officers as they made arrests. The number had dropped to several hundred by late October. The 100 or so California troops that remain in Los Angeles are guarding federal buildings or staying at a nearby base and are not on the streets with immigration enforcement officers, according to U.S. Northern Command.Trump also had announced National Guard members would be sent to Washington, D.C., Illinois, Oregon, Louisiana and Tennessee. Other judges have blocked or limited the deployment of troops to Portland, Oregon, and Chicago, while Guard members have not yet been sent to New Orleans.

Subscribe to 404 Media to get The Abstract, our newsletter about the most exciting and mind-boggling science news and studies of the week. Humans made fires as early as 400,000 years ago, pushing the timeline of this crucial human innovation back a staggering 350,000 years, reports a study published on Wednesday in Nature.Mastery of fire is one of the most significant milestones in our evolutionary history, enabling early humans to cook nutritious food, seek protection from predators, and establish comfortable spaces for social gatherings. The ability to make fires is completely unique to the Homo genus that includes modern humans (Homo sapiens) and extinct humans, including Neanderthals.Early humans may have opportunistically exploited wildfires more than one million years ago, but the oldest known controlled fires, which were intentionally lit with specialized tools, were previously dated back to about 50,000 years ago at Neanderthal sites in France.Now, archaeologists have unearthed the remains of campfires ignited by an unidentified group of humans 400,000 years ago at Barnham, a village near the southern coast of the United Kingdom.This is a 400,000-year-old site where we have the earliest evidence of making firenot just in Britain or Europe, but in fact, anywhere else in the world, said Nick Ashton, an archaeologist at the British Museum who co-authored the study, in a press briefing held on Tuesday.Many of the great turning points in human development, and the development of our civilization, depended on fire, added co-author Rob Davis, also an archaeologist at the British Museum. We're a species who have used fire to really shape the world around usin belief systems, as well. It's a very prominent part of belief systems across the world.Artifacts have been recovered from Barnham for more than a century, but the remnants of this ancient hearth were identified within the past decade. The researchers were initially tipped off by the remains of heated clay sediments, hydrocarbons associated with fire, and fire-cracked flint handaxes.But the real smoking gun was the discovery of two small fragments of iron pyrite, a mineral commonly used to strike flint to produce sparks at later prehistoric campfires such as the French Neanderthal sites.Discovery of the first fragment of iron pyrite in 2017 at Barnham, Suffolk Image: Jordan Mansfield, Pathways to Ancient Britain Project.Iron pyrite is a naturally occurring mineral, but through geological work in the area over the last 36 years, looking at 26 sites, we argue that pyrite is incredibly rare in the area, said Ashton. We think humans brought pyrite to the site with the intention of making fire.The fire-starters were probably Neanderthals, who were known to be present in the region at the time thanks to a skull found in Swanscombe, about 80 miles northeast of Barnham. But its possible that the fires were made by another human lineage such as Homo heidelbergensis, which also left bones in the U.K. around the same period. It was not Homo sapiens as our lineage emerged in Africa later, about 300,000 years ago.Regardless of this groups identity, its ability to make fire would have been a major advantage, especially in the relatively cold environment of southern Britain at the time. It also hints that the ability to make fire extends far deeper into the past than previously known.We assume that the people who made the fire at Barnham brought the knowledge with them from continental Europe, said co-author Chris Stringer, a physical anthropologist at the Natural History Museum. There was a land bridge there. There had been a major cold stage about 450,000 years ago, which had probably wiped out everyone in Britain. Britain had to be repopulated all over again.Having that use of fire, which they must have brought with them when they came into Britain, would have helped them colonize this new area and move a bit further north to places where the winters are going to be colder, he continued. You can keep warm. You can keep wild animals away. You get more nutrition from your food.Excavation of the ancient campfire, removing diagonally opposed quadrants. The reddened sediment between band B is heated clay. Image: Jordan Mansfield, Pathways to Ancient Britain Project.Although these humans likely had brains close in size to our own, the innovation of controlled fire would have amplified their cognitive development, social bonds, and symbolic capacities. In the flickering light of ancient campfires, these humans shared food, protection, and company, passing on a tradition that fundamentally reshaped our evolutionary trajectory.People were sitting around the fires, sharing information, having extra time beyond pure daylight to make things, to teach things, to communicate with each other, to tell stories, Stringer said. Maybe it may have even fueled the development of language.We've got this crucial aspect in human evolution, and we can put a marker down that it was there 400,000 years ago, he concluded.

Anti-LGBTQ+ Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) is enraged over the latest version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which the House recently approved and which has toned down some of the anti-trans provisions from the original legislation. Boebert called the recently released negotiated draft the result of negotiations after the House and Senate each approved their own versions a garbage bill that she refused to vote for. Related Pete Buttigieg revealed the biggest scandal to hit the GOP in the 2024 election The House passed a strong bill. Whats coming back is a woke, pork-stuffed betrayal of our troops and our country, she wrote, decrying the fact that it funds DEI madness and still forces women in our military to compete against (and shower with) biological men pretending to be women. While the most recent version of the bill still contains anti-trans riders, it has indeed dialed back some of the original provisions. 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 The provision banning the Defense Department from funding gender-affirming surgery, for example, has been completely removed, which trans journalist Erin Reed called a significant and unexpected victory. The bill still contains an anti-trans sports ban for folks attending military academies, but that provision has also been dialed back. The ban now applies exclusively to people enrolled at military academies, whereas it used to include people from other schools who came to compete.This bill funds DEI madness, is weak on border security, and is a gift to foreign countries that hate us. But it gets worse Rep. Lauren Boebert (@RepBoebert) December 10, 2025 That shift matters, Reed wrote. In practice, transgender military members are already being targeted for removal and a sports ban limited to enrolled cadets is far narrower than the previous proposal, which would have applied to the spaces themselves and swept in anyone competing there.Boebert also raged against the bill for being weak on border security, calling it a gift to foreign countries that hate us. And yes, this NDAA still forces women in our military to compete against (and shower with) biological men pretending to be women.Letting men dominate womens sports and invade their private spaces. Our female troops deserve better. Rep. Lauren Boebert (@RepBoebert) December 10, 2025 Shes also angry that the bill provides $400 million in aid to Ukraine over the next two years. Charity starts at home, and Americas wallet is not Zelenskyys personal ATM, she said.The House passed the bill on Wednesday in a 312-112 vote. 18 Republicans and 94 Democrats voted against it. The Senate is expected to approve it soon. Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.