rss: npr

  • Shopping for pricy ACA health plans? Some cheaper options come with trade-offs
    Without a fix from Congress, costs for many people who buy health care on the Affordable Care Act marketplace have gone up. Here's what's to know about cheaper choices — and pitfalls to be aware of.
  • Cartagena's iconic horse carriages give way to electric buggies
    Cartagena, Colombia, is set to ban its iconic horse-drawn carriages, replacing them with electric buggies — a move dividing the historic city over tradition, tourism, and animal welfare.
  • New Orleans musicians share their favorite Christmas songs, from bounce to blues
    Rosemary Westwood from member station WWNO asked a few of New Orlean's favorite musicians about the songs they like to listen to around Christmas.
  • On winter's coldest days, this classic Kashmiri coat offers warmth — and wisdom
    In Kashmir, December 21 is said to mark the start of the 40 harshest days of winter. A woolen robe called a pheran is key to keeping warm — and a reminder of how to face and overcome hardships.
  • A radio station in Amsterdam is a lifeline for Sudan. After USAID cuts, it's faltering
    Budget cuts threaten the future of Amsterdam-based Radio Dabanga, which has served as an information lifeline for Sudanese people about their war-torn country.
  • 9 killed, 10 wounded in South African pub shooting
    Authorities report that nine people have died and at least 10 others are injured after a shooting at a South African pub. The incident occurred early Sunday in Bekkersdal, west of Johannesburg.
  • 'Congress is in a coma.' Former lawmakers sound alarm on health of the House
    Congress is wrapping up the year without a lot of legislative accomplishments under its belt and a growing list of lawmakers who are retiring. Former members say the challenges on Capitol Hill have been brewing for a long time.
  • Russia says talks on US peace plan for Ukraine 'are proceeding constructively'
    A Kremlin envoy says peace talks in Florida on a U.S.-proposed plan to end the war in Ukraine are proceeding constructively, after U.S. meetings with Ukrainian and European officials in Berlin.
  • Apple, Google tell workers on visas to avoid leaving the U.S. amid Trump immigration crackdown
    With months-long consulate and embassy delays being reported, the two tech companies say staying put in the U.S. right now could prevent workers from getting stranded in their home countries.
  • University of Alabama suspends student magazines amid DEI crackdown
    Kendal Wright, editor in chief of the University of Alabama's Nineteen Fifty-Six magazine, reacts to the suspension of two student publications amid a federal crackdown on campus DEI policies.


rss: bbc

  • Minute's silence held to remember Bondi Beach attack victims
    Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was booed as he arrived at the memorial event.
  • Israel approves 19 new settlements in occupied West Bank
    Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the move was about blocking the establishment of a Palestinian state.
  • Survivors 'nervous and sceptical' about release of remaining Epstein files
    US lawmakers who pushed for the documents to be made public have criticised the initial release as incomplete.
  • Weight-loss jabs: What happens when you stop?
    You may have lost the weight you wanted to lose - but now you've stopped the jabs, how easy is it to keep it off?
  • Trail hunting to be banned as part of new animal welfare strategy
    The government says the practice is being used as a "smokescreen" for the hunting of wild animals.
  • In pictures: Druids descend on Stonehenge to mark winter solstice
    Thousands take to the Neolithic circle to welcome the sunrise on the shortest day of the year.
  • Rights groups condemn new record number of executions in Saudi Arabia
    At least 347 people have now been put to death this year, according to the UK-based campaign group Reprieve.
  • More than 800 migrants cross Channel in December record
    The 803 arrivals - a record for a December day - brings the total number this year to 41,455.
  • No evidence Reform broke electoral law, watchdog says
    The Electoral Commission says it had not identified evidence of rule-breaking in Nigel Farage's campaign in Clacton.
  • Gunmen kill nine in South Africa tavern attack
    A further 10 people were injured in Bekkersdal after the perpetrators opened fire and "continued to shoot randomly".


rss: the register

  • Workers should control the means of agentic production, suggests WorkBeaver boss

    What if AI vendors focused on the demand side?

    Interview "I think everybody is adopting AI irresponsibly and I think it's going to have a net negative outcome on the socio-economic standing of the world," said Bars Juhasz. "So let's see if we can't pitch more of a win-win future."…

  • NIST tried to pull the pin on NTP servers after blackout caused atomic clock drift

    A rare case of deliberately trying to induce an outage

    A staffer at the USA’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) tried to disable backup generators powering some of its Network Time Protocol infrastructure, after a power outage around Boulder, Colorado, led to errors.…

  • Tired of sky-high memory prices? Buckle up, we're in this for the long haul

    We haven't even hit the peak, TechInsights tells El Reg

    If you were hoping for some relief from stratospheric memory pricing, don't hold your breath. DRAM prices aren't expected to peak until at least 2026, TechInsights analyst James Sanders tells El Reg.…

  • Infinite Machine e-scooter is like the offspring of a Vespa and a Cybertruck

    Custom-designed $10,000 scooter goes 65mph, has a 60-mile range, and runs silently

    hands on Infinite Machine, a New York-based electric vehicle startup, began with a stolen Vespa. …

  • ATM jackpotting gang accused of unleashing Ploutus malware across US

    Latest charges join the mountain of indictments facing alleged Tren de Aragua members

    A Venezuelan gang described by US officials as "a ruthless terrorist organization" faces charges over alleged deployment of malware on ATMs across the country, illegally siphoning millions of dollars.…

  • DOE recruits cloud, chip, and AI giants for Trump's Genesis Mission

    But not Phil Collins, sadly

    The US Department of Energy (DOE) has a Christmas gift for the AI industry in the shape of agreements for collaboration in the Trump administration's Genesis Mission, which aims to use AI to drive scientific discoveries.…

  • WatchGuard sounds alarm as critical Firebox flaw comes under active attack

    Newly disclosed vulnerability already being abused, users urged to lock down exposed firewalls

    WatchGuard is in emergency patch mode after confirming that a critical remote code execution flaw in its Firebox firewalls is under active attack.…

  • Sydney Uni data goes walkabout after criminals raid code repo

    Attackers helped themselves to historical personal info on 27K people

    The University of Sydney is ringing around thousands of current and former staff and students after admitting attackers helped themselves to historical personal data stashed inside one of its online code repositories.…

  • NS&I tech overhaul blows past Treasury spending limits

    UK state-owned bank admits revised plan runs beyond contract end with Atos

    Already £1.4 billion over budget and four years late, a tech transformation project at a UK state-owned bank is outside HM Treasury spending limits and timetable under a revised plan from systems integrator Capgemini.…

  • pearOS is a Linux that falls rather close to the Apple tree

    Revived distro returns on Arch with KDE Plasma, global menus, and a familiar macOS-style sheen

    The new pearOS distro is a Romanian project that picks up the concepts behind the original Pear Linux from 2011 and updates them. It's not going to turn the distro world upside down, but it's fun, interesting, and a showcase for the versatility and customizability of the Linux desktop.…



rss: ars technica

  • How Europe’s new carbon tax on imported goods will change global trade
    The new regulation arrives on New Year's Day.
  • Google lobs lawsuit at search result scraping firm SerpApi
    Google says the lawsuit is its last resort.
  • The evolution of expendability: Why some ants traded armor for numbers
    Ants with lots of workers tend to put less energy into making them armored.
  • Switch 2 pub backs off Game Key Cards after leaking lower-cost cartridge options
    Inin suggests new low-cost options allowed it to "recalculate production" for full cartridge.
  • LG TVs’ unremovable Copilot shortcut is the least of smart TVs’ AI problems
    LG says it'll let people delete the Copilot icon. But TV chatbots aren't going away.
  • Riot Games is making an anti-cheat change that could be rough on older PCs
    BIOS checks will only affect a limited subset of Valorant players for now.
  • Not too big, not too expensive: The Chevrolet Equinox EV
    You get quite a lot of EV for the Equinox's sub-$35,000 starting price.
  • Trump’s energy secretary orders a Washington state coal plant to remain open
    Chris Wright declared an energy “emergency” in the Pacific Northwest.
  • Instacart agrees to refund subscribers $60 million in FTC settlement
    The grocery app will also stop hiding refund options and obscuring delivery costs.
  • Strava puts popular “Year in Sport” recap behind an $80 paywall
    Strava’s most viral feature is suddenly locked away.


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