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Recent Articles
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Why Are Cereal Boxes Only Half Full
Consumer Investigative The first time you notice it, you assume you’re imagining things. You open a familiar cereal box — the same brand you’ve bought since childhood — and it feels oddly light. You shake it. You peer inside. Half the box is empty. You tell yourself it must be settling. That’s what we’ve been trained to think. Gravity, transport, crumbs falling into gaps. Physics, not profit. But physics doesn’t explain why the box itself hasn’t gotten any smaller. This is not an accident. It is a business strategy, and it has a name: shrinkflation. Companies quietly reduce the amount of product while keeping the packaging, branding, and price largely the same. The goal is simple: preserve p… |
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AI Cameras Are Watching School Children
The camera in the corner of the classroom used to be a rumor, something whispered about after a substitute teacher mentioned “district policy” and nobody quite believed it. Now it’s not just real—it’s multiplying, quietly, efficiently, and with almost no resistance. Across the United States, school districts are installing AI-powered surveillance systems that track student behavior, monitor facial expressions, flag “suspicious” movement, and in some cases analyze tone of voice or written language. The stated goal is always the same: safety. Prevent violence. Identify threats early. Protect children. And here’s the uncomfortable truth: it sounds reasonable. That’s exactly why it’s dangerous. … |
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How OC Innovators Are Winning the Last Mile of Artificial Intelligence
For years, the artificial intelligence conversation was dominated by a handful of technology giants investing billions into massive data centers, specialized chips and large language models. But a different story is unfolding in Orange County, where a growing wave of “AI-native” startups is proving that innovation doesn’t always require building the foundation models themselves. Instead, local entrepreneurs are focusing on what many industry observers call the “last mile” of AI: applying increasingly accessible open-source and commercial AI models to solve highly specific business problems. The result is a surge in enterprise workflow automation and industry-specific AI applications that are… |
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China with its axis of authoritarians is only growing stronger under Trump
As Donald Trump prepares to depart for China to meet Xi Jinping, it is a moment for America’s traditional allies to reflect on a sobering fact: the balance of power is rapidly shifting against the United States. Since becoming president, Trump’s actions have fractured America’s alliance system just as Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin have consolidated theirs. As if to underscore this, the Russian president will likely arrive in Beijing days after Trump. His will be a red carpet welcome. Donald Trump’s will be far more exposing – and we all know why. Instead of a mighty demonstration of American firepower, his Iran war has exposed huge vulnerabilities. And less discussed but no less consequentia… |
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Humans are on the way out and there may be no way to stop
Extinction Isn’t a Metaphor I walk through this world like a man pacing a burning house. The walls are cracking, the air is poison, and everyone else is sipping cocktails as if the smoke is just weather. Extinction isn’t a metaphor—it’s the goddamn bill collector at the door, pounding, and we keep turning up the music to drown him out. I see forests gutted like carcasses, oceans foaming like rabid dogs, skies thick with the exhaust of our arrogance. We’re clever enough to split atoms, to stitch genes, to whisper to satellites—but too stupid to stop sawing through the floor we stand on. I want to grab humanity by the collar, slam it against the wall, and snarl: Are you aware of the implicatio… |
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5 year old girl swept into ocean off Laguna Beach is identified and mourned
The body of a 5-year-old girl who was swept into the ocean with her family in Laguna Beach before vanishing in dangerously high surf has been recovered. The girl’s body was spotted during an aerial coastline survey about 1:30 p.m. Thursday near Christmas Cove, about a quarter of a mile away from where she was initially lost at Treasure Island Beach, the city announced in a news release. The child was later identified as Amada Mia Brown of San Bernardino, said Sgt. Lizbeth Gwisdalla of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. Amada’s father, Aaron Brown, described his daughter as full of life and “a sweet little baby” in an interview with NBC. “She loved the beach and she wasn’t afraid of wate… |
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Renee Nicole Good-her murder made people think
The killing has already been diced into bureaucratic fragments: a federal agent, a Minnesota street, a woman dead, a government mumbling about procedure while another city absorbs yet another rupture. That sterile accounting matters, but it is not enough. The public keeps asking a question older than the press and more durable than outrage: who was she? And why must we only learn her name after the state has erased her? Renee Nicole Good did not seek to be a symbol. She did not audition for national relevance. She lived a life that should have remained private—work, children, grief, partnership, rebuilding. And yet here we are, forced to know her only through the instant of her death. That i… |
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Smile for the Camera because Immigration Enforcement Gets a Makeover
Guest Editorial I'm writing this from Saigon, where traffic confidently ignores rules, and no one pretends that chaos is order. The atmosphere is refreshing. Handguns are not allowed in Vietnam, and I haven't seen a police officer in over a year—not even any traffic accidents. It's amazing. There's no road rage here. I've been away long enough to witness Trump veering toward obscurity or damnation. Not sure which, but it will be exciting. I admit I’m biased. Can you tell? Distance sharpens perspective. There's no violent crime here, and the people are friendly. You can see American politics more clearly when you’re far enough away to stop smelling the perfume it sprays on itself. So, I felt … |
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Cast members of Secret Lives of Mormon Wives speak out
Just one day after a new video surfaced showing their co-star Taylor Frankie Paul assaulting her ex-boyfriend in front of her kid three years ago, two stars of "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" on Hulu's streaming service have spoken out against domestic abuse. In a post on Friday on her Instagram account, Miranda McWhorter expressed her strong stance against domestic violence and abuse. “As a human, and especially a mother, I cannot support that kind of behavior. The kids involved in this situation have my deepest sympathies; I pray they are secure, loved, and supported. McWhorter stated that she has been struggling to articulate her feelings about this situation, and added that witnessing… |
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Ecuador Chone Killers gang as now terrorist organisation
The US? State Department has designated the Ecuadorean gang Chone Killers as a foreign “terrorist organisation”, imposing sanctions on a crime ?group that Washington has accused of carrying out attacks on civilians and public officials. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the gang ?has also been classified as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist”. “Chone Killers has committed numerous attacks targeting civilians, law enforcement officers and government officials, including high-profile assassinations of public officials,” Rubio said in a statement announcing the designations. The move against the Ecuadorian street gang ?is part of a broader campaign by US President Donald Trump’s admi… |
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US Embassy in Baghdad attacked with missile that hits helipad
The United States Embassy in the Iraqi capital Baghdad has been hit by a missile attack that caused smoke to rise from the building. An Iraqi security source told Al Jazeera on Saturday that the attack destroyed part of its air defence system, without giving further details. A missile struck a helipad inside the US Embassy in Baghdad, two security officials told The Associated Press news agency. The projectile landed within the embassy’s boundaries in the Green Zone, the heavily fortified district in central Baghdad that houses Iraqi government institutions and foreign embassies, added the security officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity as they are not authorised to speak with the pr… |
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The New Face of American Power
Opinion | Editorial America’s Doctrine of Power in 2026 The opening week of 2026 has stripped away any lingering illusions about the trajectory of U.S. foreign policy. In Caracas, a military raid removed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from power. Days later, Washington floated the possibility of acquiring Greenland by force. These are not isolated provocations. They clearly show a belief that control over land can be bargained for, valuable resources are seen as rewards, and military power is used as a way to gain economic advantage. Venezuela: Justice or Oil? Officials framed the Caracas operation as a crackdown on corruption and narcotics trafficking. Maduro and his wife were flown to… |
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Trial of Stanford students charged in 2024 pro-Palestinian protests deadlocked
The jury found the defendant guilty of vandalism by a vote of 9 to 3 and guilty of conspiracy to trespass by a vote of 8 to 4. After five days of talking about it, the jurors indicated they couldn't come to a decision. Judge Hanley Chew asked each of them if taking additional time to think would help, and they all said no. There was a mistrial in the case of five current and former Stanford University students who were prosecuted following pro-Palestinian protests in 2024, when they locked themselves inside the executive offices of the university president and provost. Chew remarked, "It looks like this jury is hopelessly deadlocked, so I'm going to declare a mistrial in counts one and two."… |
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US Secret Service opens fire on shooter near White House
The US Secret Service fired fire at a shooter near the White House, injuring him and causing a short lockdown. The incident occurred on Monday and the Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department has initiated an investigation. The incident follows an alleged attempt to assassinate United States President Donald Trump at the White House journalists' luncheon last month. Secret Service Deputy Director Matthew Quinn said the incident happened after plainclothes officers recognized a “suspicious individual” they suspected was armed. Agents chased the man a short distance and asked for assistance. When uniformed Secret Service personnel showed up there, the suspect tried to run, and they shot. A… |
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From Seconds to Minutes As Fusion Energy Takes a Historic Step
Nearly unlimited fusion power on a global scale is the objective. It will be the highest achievement in human history. And it's moving ahead at a fast pacde. Humanity has always been defined by its relationship with fire. The first spark struck from stone gave us warmth, protection, and the power to cook food. Centuries later, coal and oil lit the furnaces of industry, driving trains, ships, and factories. But those fuels came with a cost: smoke in the skies, carbon in the air, and wars fought over pipelines and reserves. For decades, scientists dreamed of a different fire—the fire of the stars themselves. Fusion, the reaction that powers the sun, was the ultimate prize. If we could hold it,… |
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LinkedIn Discriminating Against Asians and Disabled People
Letters to the Editor Dear Editor. I hope you will publish my letter. LinkedIn.com refuses to communicate. My name is Pham Hoang. I created an account on their platform and even published a well-written article about space exploration. Despite following all their many rules for account creation, they restricted my account. I cannot use it, which feels as if it has been restricted for no valid reason. LinkedIn requested my ID, and I submitted my Vietnamese government passport. Twice. However, after I sent it to them, LinkedIn immediately restricted my account, which suggests that the platform discriminates against Vietnamese citizens. I can think of no other explanation. I am a poor Vietnames… |
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Winning peace in Lebanon is harder than winning war
But a symbolic meeting would not be enough to resolve the conflict in Lebanon, which has deep historical roots and a wide geopolitical reach. Despite the ceasefire, Israel continues to occupy parts of southern Lebanon. The aim of the ongoing operation, as declared by Defense Minister Israel Katz, is to establish a “security zone” over the entire area south of the Litani River – which represents 10 percent of Lebanon’s national territory. The civilian population has been barred from returning to their homes while Israeli forces have continued bombing and mass demolition. Netanyahu appears to be using the narrative of “destroying Hezbollah” to cover up what is really a campaign of mass destruc… |
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President Trump Fires Attorney General Pam Bondi
President Donald Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi in the middle of an escalating international conflict, removing the nation’s top law enforcement authority at the exact moment legal clarity matters most. There was no transition window, no easing into change—just a sudden rupture that leaves a sharper question than the conflict itself: who is enforcing the law now, and on whose terms? A sitting president has dismissed his attorney general in the middle of an escalating international conflict. Not after resolution, not during a lull, not at the clean edge of a policy cycle—but in the thick of it, when legal clarity and institutional steadiness are not luxuries but requirements. That tim… |
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Two more people die while skiing in the Lake Tahoe region
There have been two additional fatalities in the Sierra Nevada, adding to the total number of fatalities that have occurred throughout the winter season. The avalanche that occurred on Castle Peak last week killed nine lives. According to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, which arrived just before noon, the most recent deaths occurred on Friday in two "fatal ski incidents" that were unrelated to each other at the Boulder Lodge of Heavenly resort. In a press statement, the Sheriff's Office stated that paramedics from the Ski Patrol and the Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District attempted to save the life of the subject. On the other hand, both persons were pronounced dead at the site of th… |
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Foreign element caused recall of 90000 bottles of child ibuprofen
Federal regulators have ordered a nationwide recall of nearly 90,000 bottles of children’s ibuprofen after contamination was discovered in two production lots. The medicine, manufactured by Strides Pharma and distributed by Taro Pharmaceuticals, was pulled from circulation following complaints of “gel-like masses and black particles” in the liquid suspension. The Food and Drug Administration confirmed the recall earlier this month, classifying it as a Class II event—meaning the risk of serious harm is considered remote, but temporary or reversible health effects are possible. Parents are being urged to stop using the affected bottles immediately, which carry expiration dates of January 31, 2… |