Homeowners Shift From Smart Homes to Analog Living, Embracing Landlines and Offline Appliances

Homeowners are shifting from smart homes to analog living, embracing landlines and offline appliances, as the “analog wellness” movement swaps NASA-grade dashboards for humble buttons, switches, and knobs. The pitch: a home that isn’t always “working and listening,” which, as one architect notes, feels more like surveillance than sanctuary. Some are carving out digital detox corners; others are going full “dumb home,” a trend Dwell now pegs as big for 2025 and beyond. Even wealthy Los Angeles buyers are reportedly shunning WiFi-enabled, voice-activated gadgets—apparently the only thing they want their fridge to say is nothing—seeking refuge from a $100 billion home-automation industry that turned living rooms into IT help desks. Landlines, meanwhile, are back in fashion among parents who’ve discovered the ultimate screen-time limiter: a dial tone. Turns out the smartest feature in the house might be an off switch.

Genetic changes enabled early human bipedalism, study finds

Genetic changes enabled early human bipedalism, study finds, with researchers saying small DNA tweaks helped our ancestors stand, balance, and walk upright instead of plodding on all fours like other primates—evolution’s version of a posture correction, no chiropractor required.

Reform’s Andrea Jenkyns calls for revival of “common-sense policing,” saying people deserve to know

Reform’s Andrea Jenkyns calls for revival of “common-sense policing,” saying people deserve to know, after a vicious knife attack on a Doncaster-to–King’s Cross train that halted at Huntingdon; the Greater Lincolnshire mayor told GB News she wants “complete transparency” from police and visible measures to reassure a frightened public, while blaming years of underfunding and seasonal surges for stretched resources. Praising Cambridge’s rapid response—helped, as the host noted, by the police HQ being nearby—she said she wants that pace nationwide, floated a zero-tolerance, Giuliani-style approach, and hinted at taking on Police and Crime Commissioner powers. Superintendent John Loveless said two British nationals were arrested eight minutes after the 999 call, as Jenkyns added that residents don’t feel safe and warned that letting “small” crimes slide only invites worse.

100+ Good Morning Messages for Her, Plus Other Ways to Make Her Smile

100+ Good Morning Messages for Her, Plus Other Ways to Make Her Smile serves up a one-stop morning playbook for anyone who needs romance before caffeine kicks in. Expect 100+ text ideas—sweet check-ins, heartfelt appreciations, swoon-worthy lines, cheeky puns, flirty teases, and literary quotes—plus coach-backed tips to personalize, ask about her day, and, yes, deploy a tasteful emoji. For those allergic to “words of affirmation,” there are analog options: breakfast in bed or a fresh coffee, a tight custom playlist with a playful title, and a bouquet with a short note and follow-up call. The through-line: be specific, be consistent, and maybe memorize her waffle order—because devotion is in the details, not the 17th heart emoji.

Gut muscle rhythms may help explain how brain blood vessels coordinate

File this under “the body is a group chat”: Gut muscle rhythms may help explain how brain blood vessels coordinate. Researchers at UC San Diego say the intestine’s rhythmic contractions could act like a metronome, helping cerebral vessels expand and contract in sync—another plot twist in the gut-brain saga that might change how we think about blood flow upstairs.

Today’s Notable Quote

Today’s Notable Quote: California Gov. Gavin Newsom, in remarks carried by NBC News, declared, “The rules of the game have changed. Now, we have to rewrite the new rules”—translation: new playbook incoming, same players holding the pen.

The Outer Worlds with ray tracing struggles to reach 60 FPS at 540p on RTX 5090 and Ryzen 9 9800X3D, echoing Borderlands 4 performance issues

The Outer Worlds 2 with ray tracing is struggling to reach 60 FPS at a 540p internal resolution—on an RTX 5090 paired with a Ryzen 9 9800X3D—echoing Borderlands 4’s performance fiasco. YouTubers testing max settings report sub-60 FPS even at that postage-stamp resolution. When a flagship GPU needs Game Boy pixels to sniff 60, that’s not next-gen graphics—it’s a masterclass in anti-optimization.

Two British nationals identified as suspects in Huntingdon train stabbings

Two British nationals identified as suspects in the Huntingdon train stabbings were arrested within eight minutes after armed officers boarded the 6:25 p.m. Doncaster-to-London service, halted at Huntingdon on Saturday. Police say the knife attack, believed to have begun shortly after departing Peterborough, is not being treated as terrorism. Two victims remain in life-threatening condition; 11 people were treated in hospital, with four since discharged. One suspect was tasered; both UK-born men, aged 32 and 35, are being questioned at separate stations. The King said he was “truly appalled,” while the Home Secretary praised the “exceptional bravery” of staff and passengers who intervened—one older man reportedly shielding a girl and suffering head and neck injuries as others used clothing to stem bleeding. Huntingdon station remains taped off, nearby roads are closed, and LNER warns East Coast disruption could last until Monday, even as ministers call the incident isolated and urge the public to carry on.

Microsoft lacks sufficient power to deploy all AI GPUs on hand, CEO says

Microsoft lacks sufficient power to deploy all AI GPUs on hand, CEO says — and Satya Nadella admits some of those gleaming AI chips are just sitting in inventory because there’s literally nowhere to plug them in. In the arms race for artificial intelligence, the world’s second-largest company has discovered the final boss is… the wall socket. Time to add “extension cords” to the cloud roadmap.

BBC licence fee set to rise again amid affordability concerns for struggling Britons

BBC licence fee set to rise again amid affordability concerns for struggling Britons: the mandatory charge is poised to jump to about £181 this spring—roughly £7 more than today’s £174.50—courtesy of an inflation-pegged formula keyed to September’s 3.8%. That much-vaunted £175 “threshold” ministers waved around? Breached two years early, though the Department for Culture, Media and Sport now insists no final decision has been made. While living costs bite, around 300,000 households ditched the licence last year, taking active licences to 23.8 million, even as the BBC’s £3.8 billion in fees buys about a third less in real terms than before Netflix hit the UK. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is floating a mixed funding model—keep the licence, add subscriptions for some services, and expand advertising—because if viewers are voting with their remotes, the broadcaster will need more than one collection tin. All this as younger audiences stream elsewhere and GB News touts July ratings wins across several slots.

Early Black Friday PC and hardware deals: components, accessories, and 3D printers now on sale

Early Black Friday PC and hardware deals: components, accessories, and 3D printers now on sale, with early discounts already hitting core parts, peripherals, and maker machines ahead of the annual checkout stampede. Translation: upgrade season starts now—before the chaos, while the carts are still civil.

This week in 1969: The internet’s first message crashed after only two of five letters were received

This week in 1969, the internet’s first message crashed after only two of five letters were received—“LO” sent from UCLA to SRI over the ARPANET. From that half-a-word hiccup 56 years ago sprang the global network, proof that even history’s greatest inventions start like your average app: crashing first, then taking over your life.

UK train stabbing under counterterrorism probe, nine critical

British Transport Police are investigating a mass stabbing on the 6:25 p.m. LNER service from Doncaster to London King’s Cross that left nine people in critical condition and a tenth with non life threatening injuries. The attack began shortly after the train left Peterborough and the service stopped at Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire. A major incident was declared and the Plato protocol for a marauding terror attack was briefly activated, then stood down. Counterterrorism officers are assisting. Two people have been arrested, and the knife-wielding suspect was tasered and detained. No fatalities have been reported. Passengers described panic and improvised first aid, with one older man reportedly shielding a younger girl. Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the incident deeply concerning. Rail services through the area remain disrupted, with LNER warning East Coast Mainline delays into Monday. Authorities have urged against speculation on motive while urgent inquiries continue.

Pavements or parking lots? Wales wrestles with everyday accessibility

In Brynmawr, pavements double as bin-lined chicanes and dropped kerbs are treated like premium parking, a daily obstacle course that turns a mobility scooter into a tactical vehicle. While Cardiff’s SUV surcharge grabs headlines, the real fight is at ankle height. The Welsh Government promised councils new powers to enforce against pavement parking that causes unnecessary obstruction, then parked the plan to prioritise the 20 mph rollout and bus franchising. Consultation slipped to 2025. Advocacy groups say the proposals are too timid, and e-scooters have joined the slalom. Police offer case by case enforcement with fines typically between £50 and £130. The ask is not radical, keep pavements and dropped kerbs clear so children, parents with prams, wheelchair users, and blind or partially sighted people are not forced into traffic. If decision makers had to navigate these streets with a mobility aid, pavements would be reclaimed by tomorrow and the bins might finally retreat to the back yard.

War Powers by water, White House says boat raids are not hostilities

The Trump administration argues the War Powers Resolution does not cover recent maritime strikes on suspected Venezuelan drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean, framing them as operations short of hostilities. Lawmakers disagree, pointing to the 1973 law’s requirement for Congressional approval beyond 60 days and noting that launching attacks at sea does not exempt the executive from oversight. Translation, because boats is not a constitutional carve out. The separation of powers scuffle continues.

Bossie urges impeachment of Judge Boasberg as step one in Arctic Frost accountability push

Conservative activist Dave Bossie is pressing House Republicans to impeach U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, calling it step one in his campaign to investigate what he brands the Arctic Frost probe. He alleges the Biden administration weaponized DOJ and FBI, and points to what he says was a Boasberg order keeping a Jack Smith subpoena for Sen. Ted Cruz's cellphone records under seal, with language suggesting disclosure could spur felonies by a sitting senator. Bossie wants Speaker Mike Johnson and Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan to fast track impeachment and to dig into Arctic Frost, which he claims generated 197 subpoenas targeting 430 Republican individuals and groups, including 26 months of Citizens United bank records, timed to Trump's 2024 launch and his own film premiere. In his telling, Watergate is now a jaywalking ticket. Impeach first, sort out the fallout later, what could possibly go wrong.

Swarm robotics proves cooperation without a boss still works

Researchers say swarms of simple robots can use local cues to pull off complex tasks where central control falls apart. Picture wildfire scouting drones that share coverage and converge on smoke, delivery swarms that reroute and hand off packages when one fails, farm fleets that work offline, and disaster response teams that keep going when networks collapse. In the lab, magnetic micro robots have linked up to punch through artificial clogs, with biodegradable, tissue friendly versions in development, and nanoscale approaches could help target cancers by crossing cellular barriers. Some teams are probing emergent intelligence, simple rules that produce coordinated behavior that looks like a shared mind. No CEO bot in sight, yet the work gets done, please do not tell the boardroom.

Obama rallies for Spanberger and Sherrill, jabs Trump with the greatest hits

On the trail in Virginia and New Jersey, former President Barack Obama rallied for Democrats Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill and sharpened his critique of Donald Trump. Every day, this White House offers up a fresh batch of lawlessness and recklessness and mean spiritedness, he said, turning the stump into a tidy split screen, two candidates asking for votes, and a chaos buffet for contrast. The delivery was cool, the elbows were pointed, and the subtext was clear, governance should not require a daily hazard suit.

Ohio refers suspected registration and voting cases to DOJ, panic merchants still demand sirens

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose referred 1,084 suspected noncitizen voter registrations to the Justice Department after most county prosecutors declined to act on earlier batches, only 12 of 633 cases last year moved forward. He also sent 167 instances where noncitizens allegedly voted in federal elections since 2018, plus 99 suspected double votes across two states, 16 alleged double votes within Ohio, 14 ballots cast after the voters' reported deaths, four suspected ballot harvesting cases, and two improper registration addresses. LaRose credits a special investigative unit and stresses that noncitizen registration is exceedingly rare, incidents number in the hundreds, not thousands. Translation, it happens, but it is a spreadsheet problem, not an extinction level event. That did not stop social media sirens, Elon Musk claimed California and New York banned voter ID and legalized fraudulent voting, a flourish officials in those states dispute. With DOJ interest rising, the hot potato now moves to Washington.

Arizona math shirts ignite outrage based on a bunk rumor

Turning Point USA spokesperson Andrew Kolvet claimed Cienega High School teachers used Halloween to mock Charlie Kirk’s death, a death that did not happen. The Vail district said the blood-red “Problem Solved” shirts were math themed, had been worn last year, and targeted no one. The superintendent apologized for the confusion, said they will not be worn again, and condemned online harassment of staff. Kolvet rejected the explanation, citing dye placement as proof, which is quite the geometry lesson in seeing patterns that are not there.

FAA to Congress: fund the government so planes are not playing chicken

The FAA urged lawmakers to approve funding as more air traffic controllers called in sick, warning that thinning ranks threaten safety and operations. Translation, do your jobs so they can do theirs, and let separation standards be handled by radar, not brinkmanship.

Forever Young storms the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar

The Japanese star flew in, settled a score, and took the $7 million Grade I crown. Revenge served cold, jet lag apparently reserved for the humans.

Maher skewers Trump with monarchy gag during shutdown

On HBO’s Real Time, Bill Maher mocked Trump’s “kingly” vibe, riffing on a golden crown bit during an Asia trip segment. Because nothing says shared sacrifice like cosplay of divine right while the lights are off in Washington.

Plaid Cymru pushes to reconnect Nelson, rails against Westminster math

Plaid MSs asked the UK Rail Minister for a feasibility study to reopen the Valleys link to Nelson in Caerphilly, arguing an existing nearby line makes it relatively straightforward and could cut road congestion. The pitch doubles as a critique of funding politics, heavy rail is not devolved, there is no Barnett uplift, and projects like HS2 get booked as England and Wales spending while never touching Wales. Now for the actual study, track condition, engineering, demand, costs, and environmental impact.

Samsung SDI, BMW, and Solid Power team up on solid-state EV batteries

The trio says it has a real-world system for building all-solid-state cells, with Samsung supplying ASSB cells using Solid Power’s sulfide electrolyte and BMW handling packs and modules. The promise, more range, faster charging, lower costs, assuming physics is in a cooperative mood. With Toyota aiming for 2027 to 2028 and Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen testing their own tech, the race is on and the slide decks might finally meet the factory floor.

Family supports vehicular homicide charge after alleged intentional crash

The family of 22-year-old Daniel Waterman says they are satisfied with prosecutors charging his girlfriend, 24-year-old Leigha Mumby, with vehicular homicide after he died on October 8 from injuries sustained in a February crash in Flagler County, Florida. From his hospital bed, Waterman told troopers Mumby intentionally caused the wreck and quoted her as saying, “I do not care what happens. You will get what you deserve.” Her case was upgraded following his death, and she was released on a 150,000 dollar bond. Waterman, a New York native and expectant father, was remembered by his family as determined and full of energy.

DHS arrests Florida man over alleged online death threats against ICE

Homeland Security Investigations agents in Fort Myers arrested Joseph Giancola, who allegedly posted under the handle “Cain Delon” on Bluesky and urged violence against ICE officers, referring to the agency as “Gestapo.” DHS says death threats against ICE are up 8,000 percent and assaults more than 1,000 percent amid an immigration crackdown. Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said he will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The department blamed overheated political and media rhetoric for fueling the surge and cited other recent incidents, emphasizing that rhetoric is speech and threats are crimes.

Shutdown fallout widens as Congress hits snooze

At the one-month mark, tens of millions feel the pinch as food aid is disrupted, child care faces cuts, and health insurance premiums spike. The Senate ducked out for a long weekend, the House has not met since September 19, and the shutdown is poised to surpass the 35-day record next week. Washington’s latest bipartisan masterstroke, proving that when essential services stop, recess never does.

Obama privately praises Mamdani, offers post-election “sounding board”

In an unreported 30-minute call Saturday, former President Barack Obama commended New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani and offered to serve as a future sounding board, according to two people familiar with the conversation. Obama said he is invested in Mamdani’s success beyond Tuesday’s vote. They discussed staffing a potential administration and building the machinery to deliver on an affordability agenda, no small feat in a city where bureaucracy often costs double and arrives late.

King Charles cuts support for Prince Andrew ahead of historic Vatican visit

After months of careful choreography to spotlight a landmark meeting with the pope, the first such moment for a British monarch since Henry VIII’s split, fresh Prince Andrew scandal chatter threatened to cloud the scene. The King pulled support to keep the Sistine Chapel milestone from getting dragged through his brother’s lingering sleaze, a rare case of royal damage control arriving on time.

Apple aesthetics, AMD attitude

A storage-focused tech firm is moonlighting in the mini PC game, rolling out Mac Pro and Mac mini look-alikes that swap Cupertino lock-in for Ryzen CPUs and your choice of Windows or Linux. It is brushed aluminum cosplay for people who like the vibe, not the walled garden.

Researchers flag gaping security holes in AI browsers Atlas and Comet

Security teams say OpenAI’s ChatGPT Atlas browser and Perplexity’s Comet are dangerously easy to abuse, from malicious prompts smuggled via URLs and spoofed AI sidebars to a reported CSRF chain in Atlas that writes into the assistant’s persistent memory and can survive across sessions and devices. In tests, Edge blocked 53 percent of live threats, Chrome 47 percent, Comet 7 percent, and Atlas 5.8 percent. Experts warn these tools treat their AI agent as a trusted super user across sites, which torches the web’s basic sandboxing model. What could go wrong? Apparently, quite a lot.

RCI Hospitality execs indicted in alleged tax bribe scheme

New York’s attorney general announced a 79-count indictment alleging the parent company of several Manhattan strip clubs and multiple executives bribed a state tax auditor with cash, luxury trips, and private dances to dodge more than 8 million dollars in sales taxes from 2010 to 2024. The company and three clubs are among those charged, and the top counts carry potential 25-year sentences. Defense calls the case sensational and denies any quid pro quo. If proven, it is the rare audit with frequent-flier miles and a VIP wristband.

Early-release inmate charged with murder, policy under scrutiny

A man freed under the government’s overcrowding-driven scheme, which lets some determinate-sentence prisoners out at 40 percent of their term instead of 50 percent, has been charged with murder. He cannot be named for legal reasons. Officials say it is the most serious alleged offense linked to the policy, which excludes sexual, domestic abuse, and terrorism cases, as well as violent offenders jailed for more than four years. Those released remain on licence and can be recalled. The Ministry of Justice offered condolences, said it inherited a prisons system on the brink, and pledged 14,000 new places. Since September 2024, 38,042 prisoners have been released. The overall population dipped from a February 2024 peak of 88,439 to 87,465 in September 2025, still higher than September 2024. Recalls hit 11,041 between April and June 2025, up 13 percent year on year and at historically high levels, which the MoJ links to both the early release scheme and an April 2024 law change requiring short fixed-term recalls for sentences under 12 months. Policy arithmetic is colliding with public safety, and the sums are unforgiving.

Prosecutor says Charlie Kirk was targeted for his influence

Career prosecutor Dr. Wendy Patrick argues the Turning Point USA founder, fatally shot on September 10 during The American Comeback Tour at Utah Valley University, may have been attacked not only for his words but for the reach of his message. She cites global vigils from London to Sydney and a Glendale memorial drawing an estimated 90,000 to 100,000, and credits his bold, gentle, conversational style for why people listened. Commentators across the spectrum, including Ezra Klein, have acknowledged his campus impact. Patrick’s concern aligns with a Network Contagion Research Institute report noting rising justification for lethal violence among some left-aligned younger people. Months before his killing, Kirk warned of a spreading assassination culture. In Patrick’s view, his ability to reach minds and hearts made him a target.

Big districts steer teachers to Zinn Education Project resources

Major public school systems, including New York City, Chicago, Portland, Berkeley, and Columbus, are directing educators to curricula from the Zinn Education Project, named for historian Howard Zinn, which emphasizes teaching U.S. history through lenses of racial and sexual oppression. The nonprofit says more than 176,000 teachers have downloaded over 765,000 materials and partners with the NEA on its annual Teach Truth Day of Action. Examples include NYC highlighting Teaching with Seizing Freedom on Black resistance, Disability Pride links like 10 Quick Ways to Analyze Children’s Books for Ableism, and Black History pages recommending titles such as The Real Ebonics Debate. In 2021, Columbus City Schools assigned an eighth-grade lesson describing Christopher Columbus’ actions as enslavement, terrorism, and mass murder, complete with a quiz. Teacher testimonials tout activities from a climate-crisis mock trial to deconstructing narratives about Columbus and Abraham Lincoln’s roles in white supremacy. Districts cited did not respond to requests for comment. File this under education by download, where bureaucracies outsource nuance to a one-click toolkit and call it critical thinking.

Sussex Police seek suspect after daylight rape of teenage girl in Haywards Heath

Police have launched an urgent search after a teenage girl was raped in Clair Park, Haywards Heath, on October 21 as she walked from Oathall Road. Sussex Police say the victim is receiving support from specially trained officers and have deployed high-visibility patrols. Detectives are appealing for witnesses and any CCTV, doorbell, dashcam, or mobile footage from the time of the attack. The suspect is described as a man of Black or mixed ethnic background, wearing a black hooded top with a grey zip and black jogging bottoms with cargo pockets. Detective Chief Superintendent Karrie Bohanna called it a highly distressing incident and urged anyone with information to come forward.

Major demonstrations planned for first anniversary of Novi Sad train station awning collapse

Major demonstrations planned for the first anniversary of the Novi Sad train station awning collapse will cap nearly a year of nationwide protests sparked by the disaster, which killed 16 people. Protesters have framed the collapse as emblematic of gross mismanagement and corruption, and the anniversary rallies are expected to amplify demands for accountability.

Drone footage reveals widespread destruction across the Caribbean after Hurricane Melissa

Drone footage reveals widespread destruction across the Caribbean after Hurricane Melissa, as days of torrential rain and flooding devastate communities in Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic—displacing families and disrupting essential services across the region.

German exhibition explores the scents of war, feminism, and love

German exhibition explores the scents of war, feminism, and love, inviting visitors to sample 81 aromas across 37 galleries in a fully nose-led tour of culture. For once, a museum that wants you to skip the wall text and follow the whiff.

This Week’s Most-Read Stories on Guido

This Week’s Most-Read Stories on Guido drew 728,643 visitors and 861,004 page views, with clicks piling onto: ‘Ethics Adviser Given “New Information” About Reeves’ Illegal House Rental,’ ‘Labour Achieves Worst Ever YouGov Poll Rating,’ Starmer warning Sarah Pochin’s advert complaint will “tear our country apart,” and a clip of David Lammy blowing his top at Robert Jenrick—because nothing juices traffic like scandal, doom, and a televised tantrum.

London bus routes set for timetable changes in November

London bus routes are set for timetable changes in November, as TfL rejigs services in early month to navigate yet more roadworks. Expect altered frequencies and timings while the network tiptoes around cones and temporary lights. In other words, check before you travel—unless you enjoy the thrill of guessing which bus lane is open today.

Complete list of Lloyds and Santander branch closures in London this November

Complete list of Lloyds and Santander branch closures in London this November: another chapter in the slow-motion vanishing act of the British high street. According to Which?, more than 6,500 bank and building society branches have shut since January 2015—so consider this month’s London cuts less an anomaly than the house style. Because nothing says “personal banking” like a locked door and a nudge toward an app.

Perfume hailed by shoppers as 'most luxurious I've smelled' is 50% off until Monday

Perfume hailed by shoppers as “the most luxurious I’ve smelled” is 50% off until Monday, prompting the usual arc from “just a spritz” to “take my money.” One admirer put it plainly: “Smelt this in a shop and couldn’t stop thinking about it.” If you’re aiming to smell like old money without spending it, the clock’s ticking.

Christmas market in commuter city an hour from London named among Europe’s best

Christmas market in commuter city an hour from London named among Europe’s best—and for once, the hype comes with a practical perk: you can be clinking mulled wine glasses in under an hour from the capital. Perfect for a pre-Christmas dash, it’s twinkly lights, festive stalls, and zero airport drama.

Parma Opens Its Dairies to Visitors for Caseifici Aperti, Italy’s Signature Cheese Festival

Parma opens its dairies to visitors for Caseifici Aperti, Italy’s signature cheese festival— a twice‑a‑year chance to step inside Parmigiano Reggiano production for tours, workshops, and tastings, proving that in Parma, the only thing better than aged wisdom is aged cheese.

Orange flower that blankets Mexico for Day of the Dead faces climate change threat

The orange flower that blankets Mexico for Day of the Dead faces a climate change threat: growers are getting hammered by whiplash weather—heavy rains, drought, floods—making it harder to keep marigold fields alive and on time for the altars. The bloom that colors remembrance now doubles as a barometer, wilting under extremes while officials still debate whether “unprecedented” means “every year now.” If traditions are to endure, growers need support and smarter adaptation—not thoughts and prayers with a side of carbon emissions.

Can autonomous tractors help address agriculture’s labor shortage?

Can autonomous tractors help address agriculture’s labor shortage? At FIRA USA 2025 in California, driverless tractors, drones, and AI-powered rigs roamed fields to show how robotics could keep crops tended when human crews are scarce—machines that don’t call in sick, just reboot—though real-world adoption will depend on cost, reliability, and farm-friendly regulations.

UK post-Brexit payments to the EU expected to exceed £50 billion amid criticism over cost

UK post-Brexit payments to the EU expected to exceed £50 billion amid criticism over cost: New ONS data shows the UK sent £3.25 billion to Brussels last year, bringing total post-2020 payments to roughly £44 billion, with at least £8 billion more committed under the Withdrawal Agreement—pushing the bill past £50 billion, comfortably above what ministers once swore they’d tolerate. Most of it covers obligations racked up while the UK was still a member and during the 2020 transition, a fine-print detail doing little to soothe taxpayers bracing for possible tax rises. Former Tory Brexit minister turned Reform UK figure David Jones calls it a “slap in the face,” while critics say negotiators were outplayed and the Commission is “laughing to the bank.” The settlement was originally pitched at £35–£39 billion; Downing Street even dismissed an EU estimate of £41 billion in 2021. Sovereignty, it seems, came with a surprisingly pricey goodbye card.

North Korea dismisses Korean Peninsula denuclearization as a “pipe dream”

North Korea dismisses Korean Peninsula denuclearization as a “pipe dream,” declaring it can “never be realized” just ahead of a planned Lee–Xi summit on Saturday. Classic pre-summit theater from Pyongyang: why consider concessions when a sneer does the job? The timing signals defiance as Seoul and Beijing prepare to compare notes.

Dominic Cooper says "Frontier" explores truth and morality

Dominic Cooper says "Frontier" explores truth and morality, pitching his new thriller The Last Frontier as compelling entertainment that also tackles big questions. He told UPI the series blends watchability with themes of truth and morality—because apparently even shootouts can pause for a little ethics.

Wicker and Reed call on Hegseth to disclose Caribbean strike orders

Wicker and Reed call on Hegseth to disclose Caribbean strike orders, demanding the Pentagon hand over the directives authorizing strikes on boats the Trump administration labeled drug traffickers. The bipartisan duo released two letters to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, including one dated Sept. 23 pressing the legal rationale and requesting copies of the orders—Congress, in other words, would like receipts for this high-seas war-on-drugs pageant.

Judge blocks Trump’s order requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration

Judge blocks Trump’s order requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration: On Friday in Washington, D.C., U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly sided with civil rights groups and halted the executive order, noting that regulating elections is the job of the states and Congress— not a presidential Sharpie. Federalism, it seems, is still on the books, despite recent attempts at creative reinterpretation.

OpenAI Unveils Aardvark to Find and Fix Hidden Code Bugs

OpenAI Unveils Aardvark to Find and Fix Hidden Code Bugs, a GPT-5-powered autonomous agent that embeds in the development pipeline to scan, reason about, and patch code like a tireless security researcher with fewer coffee breaks. It maps entire repositories, builds a contextual threat model, and watches every new commit for risk or pattern violations—then actually tries to exploit its findings in a sandbox before sounding the alarm, aiming to slash the usual avalanche of false positives. When a vulnerability is real, Aardvark teams with Codex to propose a patch and re-analyzes the fix to ensure it didn’t trade one hole for two. OpenAI claims benchmarks show it catching 92% of known and synthetically introduced flaws across test repos. If that holds outside the lab, developers might finally get a tool that knows the difference between real danger and lint with delusions of grandeur.