Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, December 23, 2025

Chinese Researcher on US Visa Charged with Smuggling E. Coli Into the Country. Meanwhile, other Chinese researchers arrested for smuggling biological materials into the U.S. earlier this year have been released and sent back to China.

Big Boxships Return to Suez After Two-Year Hiatus

Third-Quarter GDP Grew at an Annual 4.3% Rate, But With a Catch

Tesla Doors That Won’t Open Have Led to 15 Crash-Related Deaths

Scientists find hidden placental changes linked to gestational diabetes

Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, December 22, 2025

Japan aims to take in 1.23M foreign workers under labor migration programs

Power outage paralyzes Waymo robotaxis when traffic lights go out

Call of Duty co-creator Vince Zampella dies in LA car crash

Sacred Infrastructure

Russian officials tell Meduza that mobile Internet blackouts and blocked messaging apps are undermining their ability to manage public sentiment

New Bird Flu Strains Appear to Target Dairy Cattle More Effectively. Meanwhile, hundreds of snow geese have been found dead in Pennsylvania from suspected bird flu.

MapsMapped: Recession Risk by State in 2025

Marijuana use has surged among Americans 65 and older.

One Protein Is a Better Predictor of Heart Disease Than Cholesterol

The LinkedIn job scam is global. The hook is local

Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, December 21, 2025

Netanyahu Expected to Brief Trump on Possible Iran Missile Strike During Visit

Japan must have renewed discussions about the country’s long-held three non-nuclear principles, a senior Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmaker said Sunday, as Tokyo continues to rely on the U.S. “nuclear umbrella” — the latest signal that revisions could be on the horizon.

In 1950, Europe had about 12 million births versus 1.7 million in Nigeria. In 2023, that relationship had reversed, with Nigeria recording more birth each year than all of Europe (including Russia) combined! I checked that claim here and it seems to hold up. The world is changing more then even those of us who think we are paying attention to demographics can grasp.

Water, a ticking time bomb for Mexico. The San Juan River offers a way to deliver the promised volume of water to the United States, but the prolonged drought is forcing the countries to reform their agricultural models to comply with the bilateral agreement in the medium and long term

“The average U.S. car commuter is spending a record 63 hours annually stuck in traffic. That’s the most since 1982, when the dataset begins.”

The most cited reason for using AI is Therapy/Companionship. The second most commonly cited use is “organizing my life”. The third most cited is “finding purpose”. Fourth most commonly cited use of AI is “enhanced learning” (which I cynically take to mean cheating but maybe it is just using AI as a better search engine). It is only when you get to #5 that maybe you get to “generating code”.

Scientists Warn Tramadol May Do More Harm Than Good

Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, December 19, 2025

The End of the Road for Japan

Little-Known Issue Contributing to Deadly Muslim Attacks on Christians in Nigeria

Trump Orders Blockade as U.S. Seizes Second Oil Tanker Near Venezuela

Substation Fire Knocks Out Power Across Parts Of San Francisco. The power outage in San Francisco has caused Waymo’s self-driving cars to come to a halt, leading to traffic disruptions across the city.

Why Are 50,000 New York City Apartments Vacant?

Brand-New BMW X3 SUV Steering Wheels Have a Mind of Their Own. According to a new recall submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, several thousand 2025 and 2026 BMW X3 crossovers have a problem with their steering system software that could cause the wheels to move unintentionally.

A long article on how gift cards work from a technical perspective and how that impacts common scams. The American Association of Retired People (AARP, an advocacy non-profit for older adults) has paid for ads on podcasts I listen to. The ad made a claim which felt raspberry-worthy (in service of an important public service announcement), which they repeat in writing: Asking to be paid by gift card is always a scam. Of course it isn’t. Gift cards are a payments rail, and an enormous business independently of being a payments rail. Hundreds of firms will indeed ask you to pay them on gift cards! Gift card scams are also enormous. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received $16.6 billion in reports in 2024 across several payment methods; this is just for those consumers who bothered reporting it, in spite of the extremely real received wisdom that reporting is unlikely to improve one’s direct situation.

In a significant escalation of the ‘tanker war’ between Russia and Ukraine, which has so far played out mainly in the Black Sea, Ukrainian aerial drones have struck a tanker belonging to Russia’s so-called ‘shadow fleet’ in the Mediterranean.

US launches widespread airstrikes against Islamic State in Syria after deadly Palmyra attack

Boys to be sent on courses to tackle misogyny in schools. The government hopes that by tackling the early roots of misogyny, it will prevent young men from becoming violent abusers in England.

Egyptian authorities confirmed on Thursday a major deal to import natural gas from Israel, but immediately sought to protect themselves from Arab criticism, saying the agreement had nothing to do with politics and served a strategic interest for the country.

Surging Barrels at Sea Spook Oil Markets More Than Russia or Venezuela

Illinois Legalizes Assisted Suicide, and New York Will Likely Follow

Simply put, based on our test fleet, about 45 percent of new cars today don’t come with a spare tire, though they might be equipped with a compressor and sealant kit to temporarily fix a flat tire.

Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, December 18, 2025

Why are they disclosing this now? Russia discloses direct war spending for the first time, estimating over $137 billion in 2025

Israel Approves $35 Billion Gas Export Deal With Egypt

Brown shooter found dead, identified as Portuguese national Claudio Manuel Neves Valente

Ford Zaps Production of Big EV Trucks, Taking $19.5 Billion Hit

Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, December 17, 2025

This article has been blowing up and is getting coverage all across the political spectrum good and bad depending on people personal perspective. I have my own opinions but that is for another time. I will note that one thing he misses is that almost all the industries is talking about are also ones that are dying or are going down in pay and status relative to other ones. He was trying to play under old rules in more ways then one. The Lost Generation

SUNY Plattsburgh approves furry club, joining campuses across nation

Hmmm. Long-term study reveals physical ability peaks at age 35

Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, December 16, 2025

Russia has, for the first time, deployed its entire fleet of eight nuclear-powered icebreakers simultaneously to maintain winter shipping lanes in the Gulf of Ob and the Yenisei Gulf, underscoring the strategic importance of Arctic energy exports.

Continuing Cambodia–Thailand Clashes Leave 38 Dead, Border Towns Emptied Out

As home sales continue to plummet, Beijing has curbed independent reporting of real estate figures. The gag order masks a deepening property slump that continues to erode household wealth and strain China’s banks.

Mexico confirms first case of so called ‘super flu’ variant

Trump Orders Total Blockade of Sanctioned Venezuelan Oil Tankers

Taxpayers Send Millions to Nonprofits Filing Costly Climate-Related Lawsuits

Texas sues biggest TV makers, alleging smart TVs spy on users without consent

Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, December 15, 2025

Russia Weighs Extending Gasoline Export Ban

Ukraine Claims World’s First Underwater Drone Attack On Russian Submarine

When you outsource your security to the government

Aussie PM Invokes ‘Right-Wing Extremism’ After Islamic Terrorist Attack, Vows Crackdown On Guns

I have read speculation that they had their cameras turned off for fear the footage would be used by ICE. Otherwise it is quite the mystery about why they are releasing such poor quality footage to supposedly ask the public for help in finding this person when they are known to have a campus fool of cameras. Rhode Islanders want Brown to answer why it doesn’t have or haven’t released any footage from the school.

Valero Eats $1.1 Billion Loss to Escape California

Oracle’s collapsing stock shows the AI boom is running into two hard limits: physics and debt markets

Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont said, “electric bills are too damn high,” with his state having one of the highest residential electric bills in the nation — almost twice as high as neighboring Pennsylvania and the national average. As a result, on July 1, he signed Senate Bill 4, which reduces the state’s targets for its renewable portfolio standard (RPS) and allows for wood-burning and other biomass to count toward meeting the standard.

Measure to enshrine education as right in state constitution challenged as ‘deceptive and prejudicial.’ Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins must rewrite a ballot summary after a county judge found the original language potentially misleading.