Why Security Guarantees Are So Crucial, and Thorny, for Ukraine
While Kyiv has reported progress in negotiations, and is accelerating talks in the coming days, major questions remain unresolved about which countries will provide what kind of security for how long.
Hannah Dugan, Wisconsin Judge Convicted of Obstructing Immigration Agents, Resigns
Hannah C. Dugan, a state court judge, was convicted by a jury in federal court. Wisconsin lawmakers called on her to resign from the bench.
Jobs Vulnerable to AI Replacement Actually 'Thriving, Not Dying Out', Report Suggests
AI startups now outnumber all publicly traded U.S. companies, according to a year-end note to investors from economists at Vanguard.
And yet that report also suggest the jobs most susceptible to replacement by AI "are actually thriving, not dying out," writes Forbes:
"The approximately 100 occupations most exposed to AI automation are actually outperforming the rest of the labor market in terms of job growth and real wage increases," the Vanguard report revealed. "This suggests that current AI systems are generally enhancing worker productivity and shifting workers' tasks toward higher-value activities..."
The job growth rate of occupations with high AI exposure — including office clerks, HR assistants, and data scientists — increased from 1% in pre-COVID-19 years (2015 through 2019) to 1.7% in 2023 and beyond, according to Vanguard's research. Meanwhile, the growth rate of all other jobs declined from 1.1% to 0.8% over the same period. Workers in AI-prone roles are getting pay bumps, too; the wage growth of jobs with high AI exposure shot up from 0.1% pre-COVID to 3.8% post-pandemic (and post-ChatGPT). For all other jobs, compensation only marginally increased from 0.5% to 0.7%... As technology improves production and reallocates employee time to higher-value tasks, a smaller workforce is needed to deliver services. It's a process that has "distinct labor market implications," Vanguard writes, just like the many tech revolutions that predate AI...
"Entry-level employment challenges reflect the disproportionate burden that a labor market with a low hiring rate can have on younger workers," the Vanguard note said. "This dynamic is observed across all occupations, even those largely unaffected by AI..." While many people see these labor disruptions and point their fingers at AI, experts told Fortune these layoffs could stem from a whole host of issues: navigating economic uncertainty, resolving pandemic-era overhiring, and bracing for tariffs. Vanguard isn't convinced that an AI is the reason for Gen Z's career obstacles.
"While statistics abound about large language models beating humans in computer programming and other aptitude tests, these models still struggle with real-world scenarios that require nuanced decision-making," the Vanguard report continued. "Significant progress is needed before we see wider and measurable disruption in labor markets."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Trump’s Attack on Venezuela Is Illegal and Unwise
We know that Mr. Trump’s warmongering violates the law.
After Half a Decade, the Russian Space Station Segment Stopped Leaking
A small section of the International Space Station that has experienced persistent leaks for years appears to have stopped venting atmosphere into space. ArsTechnica: The leaks were caused by microscopic structural cracks inside the small PrK module on the Russian segment of the space station, which lies between a Progress spacecraft airlock and the Zvezda module. The problem has been a long-running worry for Russian and US operators of the station, especially after the rate of leakage doubled in 2024. This prompted NASA officials to label the leak as a "high likelihood" and "high consequence" risk. However, recently two sources indicated that the leaks have stopped. And NASA has now confirmed this.
"Following additional inspections and sealing activities, the pressure in the transfer tunnel attached to the Zvezda Service Module of the International Space Station, known as the PrK, is holding steady in a stable configuration," a space agency spokesman, Josh Finch, told Ars. "NASA and Roscosmos continue to monitor and investigate the previously observed cracks for any future changes that may occur."
For the better part of half a decade, Russian cosmonauts have been searching for the small leaks like a proverbial needle in a haystack. They would periodically close the hatch leading to the PrK module and then, upon re-opening it, look for tiny accumulations of dust to indicate the leak sites. Then the Russian cosmonauts would apply a sealant known as Germetall-1 (which has now been patented) to the cracks. They would close the hatch again, monitor the pressure inside the PrK module, and begin the search anew for additional leaks. This process went on for years.
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Vaccines Are Helping Older People More Than We Knew
Many shots seem to have “off-target” benefits, such as lowering the risk of dementia, studies have found.
Angie Katsanevas Went From Real Housewives Outsider to the Center Snowflake
Angie Katsanevas has carved her own path through life, and her deadly quips on “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” have made her a breakout star.
NYC Phone Ban Reveals Some Students Can't Read Clocks
New York City's statewide smartphone ban that went into effect this fall has been largely successful at getting students to focus in class and socialize at lunch, but teachers across the city have discovered an unexpected side effect: many teenagers cannot read analog clocks. "The constant refrain is 'Miss, what time is it?'" said Madi Mornhinweg, a high school English teacher in Manhattan, who eventually started responding by asking students to identify the big hand and little hand themselves.
Tiana Millen, an assistant principal at Cardozo High School in Queens, said the ban has helped move foot traffic more swiftly through hallways and gotten more students to class on time -- they just don't know it because they can't read the wall clocks. The city's education department says students learn clock-reading in first and second grade. A 2017 Oklahoma study found only one in five children ages 6-12 could read analog clocks, and England began replacing classroom analog clocks with digital ones in 2018.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
There Was Probably a Flashover in the Swiss Bar Fire. Here’s What That Means.
A flashover is an event where an entire room is rapidly engulfed in flames.
Lenny Dykstra Faces Charges After Police Find Drugs During Traffic Stop
The Pennsylvania police did not say what charges would be filed against the former baseball star. His lawyer said the drugs were not Mr. Dykstra’s.
Economic Inequality Does Not Equate To Poor Well-Being or Mental Health, Massive Meta-Analysis Finds
A new sweeping meta-analysis has found no reliable link between economic inequality and well-being or mental health, challenging a long-held assumption that has shaped public health policy discussions for decades. The study, led by Nicolas Sommet at the University of Lausanne and Annahita Ehsan at the University of British Columbia, synthesized 168 studies involving more than 11 million participants across most world regions. The researchers screened thousands of scientific papers and contacted hundreds of researchers to compile the dataset, extracting more than 100 study features from each paper and linking them to more than 500 World Bank indicators.
They also replicated their findings using Gallup World Poll data spanning 2005 to 2021, which surveyed more than two million respondents from more than 150 countries. People living in more economically unequal places did not, on average, report lower life satisfaction or happiness than those in more equal places. The average effect across studies was not statistically significant and was practically equivalent to zero. Studies that did find links between inequality and poorer mental health turned out to reflect publication bias, where small, noisy studies reporting larger effects were over-represented in the literature. The study adds: Further analyses showed that the near-zero averages conceal more-complex patterns. Greater income inequality was associated with lower well-being in high-inflation contexts and, surprisingly, higher well-being in low-inflation contexts. Greater inequality was also associated with poorer mental health in studies in which the average income was lower. We conclude that inequality is a catalyst that amplifies other determinants of well-being and mental health (such as inflation and poverty) but on its own is not a root cause of negative effects on well-being and mental health.
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Diane Crump, First Woman to Ride in Kentucky Derby, Dies at 77
She was the first professional female jockey to compete at a track in the United States where betting was legal, and notched up 228 career victories.
‘Chinese Peptides’ Are the Latest Biohacking Trend in the Tech World
The gray-market drugs flooding Silicon Valley reveal a community that believes it can move faster than the F.D.A.
2 Navy Service Members Accused of Entering Sham Marriages With Chinese Nationals
Federal prosecutors say two female service members are facing fraud charges after having accepted thousands of dollars for the marriages.
Coast Guard Suspends Search for Survivors of Latest Boat Strikes
The service said that conditions in the area where the search was taking place included nine-foot seas and winds approaching 50 miles per hour.
Federal Appeals Court Says California Open-Carry Ban Is Unconstitutional
A Ninth Circuit panel said the ban ran afoul of a 2022 Supreme Court ruling that required courts to evaluate gun laws based on the country’s “historical tradition of firearm regulation.”
Dell's XPS Brand May Return Just a Year After Being Retired, Report Claims
Dell is planning to bring back its XPS laptop branding, according to a news report, just one year after the company retired the storied name in favor of a simplified naming scheme that organized its consumer and professional lineup into Dell, Dell Pro and Dell Pro Max tiers. VideoCardz reported this week that Dell has presented an updated XPS lineup during prebriefings ahead of CES 2026, though the company has not officially confirmed the badge's return.
The reported reversal would come after Dell launched the Dell 14 Premium and Dell 16 Premium in mid-2025 as flagship consumer models meant to carry the XPS legacy forward. Those machines replaced the XPS 14 and XPS 16 in Dell's lineup.
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Stephen Schwartz Criticizes Kennedy Center, Saying He Won’t Host Gala
The Washington National Opera said the “Wicked” composer was scheduled to host its annual event at the center this spring.
After Watergate, the Presidency Was Tamed. Trump Is Unleashing It.
In the 1970s, Congress passed a raft of laws to hold the White House accountable. President Trump has decided they don’t apply to him.
Swiss Bar Fire Likely Caused By Sparklers, Authorities Say
Fireworks attached to bottles of Champagne sent up showers of sparks that appear to have ignited insulation in a bar. The blaze killed 40 people.