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CTCARE in Saigon refused a disabled girl who traveled 300 km to buy a wheelchair battery CTCARE in Saigon refused a disabled girl who traveled 300 km to buy a wheelchair battery

A disabled girl from Dalat was left humiliated, stranded, and emotionally devastated after traveling hundreds of kilometers to Ho Chi Minh City in search of a replacement wheelchair battery, only to encounter hostility and confusion at a local mobility equipment dealer, CTCARE. The girl, who relies entirely on an electric wheelchair for mobility and survives on government assistance, believed she had purchased her wheelchair several years earlier from CTCARE, a wheelchair and mobility equipment business in Saigon. When the battery failed, she contacted the company seeking to by a replacement. She saved her money, but apparent pride and stubbornness from the owner refused her. She had a frien…
Hegseth says more US forces arriving in Middle East as Iran war ramps up Hegseth says more US forces arriving in Middle East as Iran war ramps up

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said more United States forces are arriving in the Middle East, as the country’s war against Iran intensifies amid mounting concerns over the civilian toll of US-Israeli strikes. Hegseth said during a news conference at the Pentagon on Wednesday that the US-Israeli campaign against Iran was “just getting started”. “We are accelerating, not decelerating … More bombers and more fighters are arriving just today,” he told reporters, adding that the US would be using a “nearly unlimited” supply of 226kg (500lb), 453kg (1,000lb) and 900kg (2,000lb) bombs. The US and Israel, he said, would sow “death and destruction from the sky, all day long”. Hegseth’s combat…
We Built Systems to Avoid Responsibility and Now They Are Failing Us We Built Systems to Avoid Responsibility and Now They Are Failing Us

Halenews Editorial A HaleNews feature editorial on responsibility, governance, and the cost of delay. For much of modern history, progress has been treated as a natural force—something that happens automatically as time passes, technology improves, and societies mature. This assumption is comforting, but it is also false. Progress has never been inevitable. It has always been the result of deliberate choices made under pressure, often against the interests of those who benefited from delay. What distinguishes the current moment is not the presence of crisis, but the convergence of crises that all demand the same thing: responsibility exercised before catastrophe makes it unavoidable. Climate…
Kristi Noem and the politics of cruelty Kristi Noem and the politics of cruelty

Kristi Noem’s defense of the ICE agent who killed Renee Nicole Good has ignited one of the most explosive political firestorms of her career. Her remarks—branding Good a “domestic terrorist” and standing behind a podium emblazoned with a Nazi-era slogan—have drawn condemnation from lawmakers, activists, and ordinary citizens who see her as emblematic of authoritarian excess. The controversy is not a passing headline; it is a defining moment that reveals the deeper instincts of a politician who has built her career on toughness, loyalty, and spectacle, but who now finds herself accused of weaponizing cruelty into policy. The reaction to her stance has been visceral because it touches a raw ne…
Gemini 3 Flash frontier intelligence built for speed Gemini 3 Flash frontier intelligence built for speed

Gemini 3.5 Flash delivers intelligence that rivals large flagship models on multiple dimensions, at the speeds you have come to expect from the Flash series. It’s our strongest agentic and coding model yet, outperforming Gemini 3.1 Pro on challenging coding and agentic benchmarks like Terminal-Bench 2.1 (76.2%), GDPval-AA (1656 Elo) and MCP Atlas (83.6%), and leading in multimodal understanding (84.2% on CharXiv Reasoning). When looking at output tokens per second, it is 4 times faster than other frontier models. Gemini 3.5 Flash is the latest model with frontier intelligence built for speed that helps everyone learn, build, and plan anything — faster. Google is releasing Gemini 3 Flash, a f…
Trump officials have tried to justify ICE shootings Trump officials have tried to justify ICE shootings

This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here. Just a few hours after Border Patrol agents shot and killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a statement that said, without evidence, that the 37-year-old registered nurse “wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem would later imply Pretti had been “asked to show up and to continue to resist” by Minnesota’s governor. Multiple videos from the scene immediately undercut those claims, and there has been no indication in the days since that Pretti threatened or planned to hurt law enforcement. Several high-profil…
Energy Department Announces two Billion for Projects Strengthening Power Grid Energy Department Announces two Billion for Projects Strengthening Power Grid

The Department of Energy (DOE) has announced a $1.9 billion funding opportunity for projects aimed at speeding up improvements to the nation’s power grid to meet rising electricity demand while bringing down costs, the department said in a March 12 statement. The money comes from the $10.5 billion authorized for a five-year grid resilience program under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. The funds were to be disbursed to states and electric utilities over five years. The money will help build more than 600 miles of new transmission lines and upgrade about 400 miles of existing lines so that they can carry more current. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said the funding is i…
Do not believe Andy Burnham and his PR machine Do not believe Andy Burnham and his PR machine

On Monday, former Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham is officially stepping into office as British prime minister after public pressure forced Keir Starmer to resign from the post. The change comes at a time when the governing Labour Party is experiencing a massive slump in support. Burnham has promised to take the party and the government on a new path that focuses on re-establishing internal unity and addressing the hardships of working-class Brits. One of the main issues that has torn Labour apart for over a decade has been Palestine. On July 9, before his confirmation as the new prime minister, Burnham decided to address the issue in a video posted on social media, saying Labour “didn’t ge…
Convicted murderer rearrested after cutting GPS monitor Convicted murderer rearrested after cutting GPS monitor

This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here. Authorities have caught a convicted murderer who they say was on probation and cut off his GPS ankle monitor and disappeared while attending classes at an Orange County community college. Jose Angel Aguilar, 22, was found around 11 p.m. Thursday and taken into custody without incident after Anaheim SWAT officers executed a search warrant at a motel room where the youth had been observed, according to the Orange County Probation Department. Aguilar fled Tuesday from Santiago Canyon College while on a court-approved academic furlough from a juvenile probation facility, according to the Orange County Probation…
Britain resisting a genocide is now treated as terrorism Britain resisting a genocide is now treated as terrorism

At a moment when Israel and its leaders stand accused before international courts of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, Britain has chosen to direct some of its most powerful legal tools not at those enabling the destruction of Gaza, but at activists protesting against it. The sentencing of the Filton 4, therefore, raises questions that extend far beyond the fate of four individuals. Whatever one’s view of their actions, the case forces Britain to confront an uncomfortable contradiction: why does opposition to Israel’s actions increasingly attract the language of extremism and terrorism, while support for those actions remains firmly within the bounds of respectable politics? …
Children Kidnapped is The Everyday Horror We Pretend Is not Happening Children Kidnapped is The Everyday Horror We Pretend Is not Happening

Opinion | Editorial The words “Children Kidnapped!” should stop us cold. They should rip through the noise of daily life, louder than any headline about markets or elections. Yet somehow, they don’t. We scroll past them, we shake our heads, we mutter “how awful,” and then we move on. That is the scandal. Society has learned to absorb the shock of child abductions as if it were routine. The recent case of a school bus driver accused of kidnapping after allegedly veering off his route is not an isolated nightmare. It is a symptom of a deeper rot. Parents put their children on buses every morning, believing in the ritual of safety. Signs such as yellow paint, stop signs, and uniforms serve as r…
Dangerous Emergency Powers Are Addictive Dangerous Emergency Powers Are Addictive

Editorial | Feature Democracies borrow power in crises but rarely return it. Without safeguards, emergencies become permanent, eroding freedom. The Siren and the Decree It begins with a siren. A coastal city braces for a storm surge, and within hours the government issues a decree: curfews, restricted movement, suspension of normal legislative debate. Citizens line up for aid, but they also face checkpoints. The justification is clear — safety demands speed. Yet beneath the urgency lies a deeper question: when power is borrowed in the name of emergency, will it ever be returned? Part I: The Logic of Emergency Democracies are designed for deliberation. They thrive on debate, compromise, and p…
Catherine OHara as The Girl Who Became Our Comic Conscience Catherine OHara as The Girl Who Became Our Comic Conscience

Catherine O’Hara stunned the world when she chose to walk away from Saturday Night Live. It was an incredible opportunity, one that could launch a career overnight, but she declined it. The stakes were high—she risked fading into obscurity before anyone recognized her name—yet that choice demonstrated her determination to forge her own path. She grew up in Toronto, the youngest in a large family, surrounded by the noise and warmth of siblings who never let her fade into the background. Catherine was quick to laugh, quicker to make others laugh, and she discovered early that humor was her way of connecting. She would mimic voices, invent characters, and turn ordinary afternoons into small per…
How OC Innovators Are Winning the Last Mile of Artificial Intelligence 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…
Nvidia CEO Huang denies he is unhappy with OpenAI says 'huge' investment planned Nvidia CEO Huang denies he is unhappy with OpenAI says 'huge' investment planned

Business TAIPEI, Jan 31 : Nvidia plans to make a "huge" investment into OpenAI, probably its largest ever, CEO Jensen Huang said on Saturday, denying he was unhappy with the ChatGPT maker. The chipmaker in September announced plans to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI, a deal that would give OpenAI the cash and access it needs to buy advanced chips that are key to maintaining its dominance in an increasingly competitive landscape. The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that the plan had stalled after some inside the chip giant expressed doubts about the deal. The report said Huang had privately underlined to industry associates in recent months that the original $100 billion agreement …
Stock markets surge as Trump calls off strikes on Iran Stock markets surge as Trump calls off strikes on Iran

Stock markets have surged following US President Donald Trump’s announcement that he called off planned strikes against Iran and a peace deal with Tehran is imminent. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P500 index finished nearly 1.8 percent higher on Thursday, ending a three-day streak of losses for the biggest single-day gain since April. The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.5 percent, while the older, blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average gained about 1.9 percent. The rally continued in the Asia Pacific on Friday, with markets in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Australia racking up gains. South Korea’s Kospi, the best-performing major index this year, surged more than 8 percent in…
Jordan Jones shot dead Jordan Jones shot dead

Local police reported that a security officer at a Georgia club was shot and murdered while trying to break up a quarrel between a guy and a woman. The Acworth Police Department reported in a news statement that Jordan Alexander Jones, 28, of Lawrenceville, Ga., was shot and killed approximately 2:42 a.m. local time while trying to break up the altercation. According to the news release, when APD officers got to the site, they "found a victim with a gunshot wound." "As soon as they got there, officers started helping until Cobb County Fire and Metro EMS arrived. The APD said, "The victim was taken to Kennestone Hospital, where he later died from his injuries." The police agency stated it got…
China with its axis of authoritarians is only growing stronger under Trump 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…
Woman Threatens Two Girls and Their Mother With A Gun Woman Threatens Two Girls and Their Mother With A Gun

Two girls went to a mall with their mother. It should have been an ordinary afternoon, the kind that dissolves into memory before evening even arrives. Shopping malls are built for that kind of forgettable time. Fluorescent lights hum overhead, teenagers drift between stores, parents negotiate with children about shoes or snacks, and the world outside—politics, arguments, anger—usually stays somewhere beyond the parking lot. But on that day the ordinary rhythm broke. Somewhere along the corridor, near the cluster of clothing shops and kiosks that fill so many American malls, voices began to rise. Two families had crossed paths and something small turned sharp. Exactly what began the argument…
The Vote That Was Not Supposed to Happen The Vote That Was Not Supposed to Happen

The House’s vote to cancel Trump’s tariffs on Canada is less about trade mechanics than about political courage. In a chamber long bent under executive power, a bipartisan crack appeared. Whether symbolic or substantive, the rebellion signals a deeper struggle over democracy, consumer costs, and the meaning of loyalty in American politics. On February 11, 2026, the House of Representatives narrowly voted 219–211 to terminate President Donald Trump’s emergency tariffs on Canadian imports. Six Republicans broke ranks to join Democrats, while one Democrat opposed the measure. The resolution, spearheaded by Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, challenges Trump’s use of emergency powers to justify swe…