I wrote about that viral video of Tesla's Optimus robot falling over and other times when it's become obvious that Elon Musk's robots don't work autonomously.

The UN plans to reduce by half the amount of money it requests from donor countries in 2026 to help people affected by war and natural disasters, a consequence of the drastic cuts by the U.S. and European governments to their foreign aid budgets.

America’s new National Security Strategy is the latest and fullest statement of what “America First” means in foreign policy. And, for many of its readers, it will be profoundly alarming econ.st/493aNlN Photo: Getty Images

This is enough money to feed 137,000 children for a year with SNAP, by the way.

More and more people are saying it: SCOTUS is a reactionary monarchist vanguard against all the rest of the courts, who would prefer that law and their lives mean something www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/u...

BREAKING: Nigel Farage has been reported to police by a former member of his campaign team over claims of falsified election expenses. Given the serious nature of the allegations the Met’s specialist crime group will assess the documents that have been submitted.

Supreme court appears ready to add gasoline to the fire. Again.

The Trump DOJ met a Friday deadline set by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg to submit sworn declarations by the officials involved in the decision to continue with the Alien Enemies Act deportation flights in mid-March–but signaled it would cooperate no more. talkingpointsmemo.com/morning-memo...

Just so we're clear how this works 👇

BREAKING: A magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck off eastern Aomori Prefecture around 11:15 p.m. Monday. A tsunami warning has been issued for coastal areas of Aomori, Iwate and Hokkaido prefectures. People in these areas are urged to evacuate.

Tokyo’s rat population isn’t going anywhere, and a growing number of scientists say the real solution isn’t eradication but coexistence. 👉 ebx.sh/wtpClf

A 7.2 Magnitude Earthquake has hit off Aomori Prefecture in Japan. A tsunami warning has been issued.

Trump was selected as the character to be burned with the devil in Guatemala as part of the annual tradition to put all bad things behind them before Christmas. (Reuters)

I'm sure Trump will be backing the Kushner/Saudi bid! bsky.app/profile/carl...

Eli Weinstein was sentenced to 24 years in prison for his role in a $44 million Ponzi scheme. He was released after Trump commuted his sentence but within six months, Weinstein started up a new scam. The path through which Weinstein procured his pardon and how much he paid for it remain unclear

A CDC Advisory Committee is now trying to rollback decades-long recommendations that have protected newborns and children from diseases and saved lives. We believe in scientific evidence, and families with any concerns hepatitis B should discuss them with their health care provider. (1/2)

🇲🇩🇷🇴 Moldova requests emergency electricity assistance from Romania due to attack on Ukraine A statement from Moldovan power grid operator Moldelectrica says that an attack on Ukraine's power system in the region "has caused a major power outage."

Boston doesn't back down, especially when the health of our families is at stake. We’re partnering with experts and leaders, across states, to share knowledge and unite in the fight for the health and well-being of our communities.

“At the meeting, several presenters and advisers repeated myths and misinformation about vaccines, including inaccurate claims that they weren’t studied adequately or that they cause allergies and autism, links that have been roundly debunked in decades of research.”

I would offer that schedule has been under appropriate scrutiny since 1964 when the ACIP was established. This is something else entirely and the intent is malign.

I hate to say that sex workers tried to warn y'all this wasn't going to stop at just porn sites, but...

Here's a super-sized Espresso Martini on @secretsandspies.bsky.social for your weekend listening. We talk about CIA's connection to the tragic DC National Guard shooting, Trump’s "final” Ukraine offer, Venezuela, ISIS, Hegseth—and, yes, Russian spy pigeons. 🎧 pod.fo/e/36128f 🎥 youtu.be/yr-CKl1Z6Tk

A 26-year-old woman presented with pain in her left elbow after falling on an outstretched hand while ice-skating. 1/2 #MedSky

I woke up this morning to see that many states across the country have decided to #REJECT the decision to scrap the #HBV vaccine birth dose by #ACIP. Here are some (alt-text included). But who will be left behind? 1/

Very good read on how David Ellison is turning Paramount/Skydance into a safe haven for men accused of sexual abuse as he prepares to pump out movies aimed at TrumpWorld.

Disgusting

Russia unleashes massive drone and missile attack on Ukraine as diplomatic talks continue

"This is, quite straightforwardly, a program for regime change in Europe, aimed at turning it into an illiberal polity."

A former leader of a Kaliningrad Spetsnaz-unit suddenly appeared in an unmarked uniform on a shadow fleet vessel in Oresund. Pilots have reported several sightings of these ‘little green men’ in the Danish straits, and now we’ve identified one of them. Full story in Danish:

After the spectacular attempt by Zhuque-3, China's next launch and recovery attempt appears imminent, following a static fire of the Long March 12A at Jiuquan.

this shit is just beyond parody, man

Dementia Comes in Many Forms. Alzheimer’s Is Just One. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/01/w... #Alzheimers #dementia #LBD #FTD #LATE #VCID #neurology #neuroscience #NeuroSkyence

Everyone knows the distinctive curves and lines of Frank Gehry’s buildings. But where do they come from? Gehry, who died this week at 96, described drawing as his way of “thinking aloud.”

"A Fascist Comintern," which Steve Erlanger suggests here might be a foreign policy objective of Trump, emerges unequivocally as a centerpiece of Trump's national security policy framework published this morning.

What a disaster of a week for public health in the US. www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/...

Farce. Graft. Completely ridiculous. I laughed when I read the headline.

A massive step back for the United States Panel Votes to End Recommendation for Hepatitis B Shots for All Newborns @apoorvanyt.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/h...

Frank Gehry, who died Friday at 96, redefined architecture with buildings like the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. Here are 12 of his essential, stunning projects.

A study in Nature analyzes 154 genomes from 21 animal phyla and reconstructs ancestral adaptations to life on land across 11 distinct events, providing strong evidence of convergent genomic evolution and repeated terrestrial colonization in the animal kingdom. go.nature.com/4pHIwYF 🧪 #evolution

Pakistani troops and Afghan forces exchanged fire late on Friday along the two countries’ tense border but no casualties or damage were reported. Each side blamed the other for triggering the clash in violation of a fragile ceasefire in place for the past two months.

"At some point the men began waving to something overhead, which three people familiar with the briefing said logically must have been U.S. aircraft flying above them. All three interpreted the actions of the men as signaling for help, rescue, or surrender."

‘Burn and fire hazard’: More than 16,000 wireless earbuds recalled

Yuuuuuup. Cassidy was the deciding vote to install RFK Jr. as the head of the American health system. We had decades of evidence that Kennedy was a dangerous crackpot, and it was ignored. Kinda late to be trying to CYA here.

The New York Times Dec. 5, 2025, 2:17 p.m. ET BREAKING NEWS Supreme Court Agrees to Review Trump Order Restricting Birthright Citizenship The administration asked the justices to uphold an executive order ending birthright citizenship after lower courts ruled it violated the Constitution.

For those unfamiliar--she is a MD/PhD but her expertise is in sports medicine. Prior to the pandemic she had 7 pubs on eye issues in athletes. She has zero expertise in infectious disease or vaccination, but coauthored a bunch of papers with Prasad on COVID and rose to prominence as a contrarian.

“Nostalgia is not a strategy,” says Canada’s prime minister. In a guest essay, Mark Carney explains the concept of variable geometry, and why states should embrace it in this new era

Frank O. Gehry, Titan of Architecture, Is Dead at 96 www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/a...

In a phase 1 trial, treatment of fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma with a therapeutic peptide vaccine targeting the DNAJB1::PRKACA fusion, together with nivolumab and ipilimumab, was safe and led to encouraging preliminary clinical responses. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-025-03995-y