jell.ie News

Read at: 2025-12-15T00:05:21+00:00Z (UTC) [sometime-US Pres == Brigit Welp ]

U.S. Military Plane and JetBlue Flight Nearly Collided Over Caribbean, Radio Traffic Shows

The Air Force refueling tanker was flying without its location transponder activated and could not be detected by air traffic control.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 15 Dec 2025 | 12:04 am UTC

Bondi beach shooting live updates: opposition leader Sussan Ley accuses government of failing to protect Jewish Australians and urges immediate action in wake of terror attack

Alleged shooters in terror attack named as father and son as NSW health minister says death toll may rise

Amid the horror of the shooting, one video has emerged showing incredible bravery – a bystander rushing one of the gunmen from behind to wrestle the firearm off him.

Praised a hero, he is being identified by some media as a 43-year-old fruit shop owner from the Sutherland Shire.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 14 Dec 2025 | 11:49 pm UTC

Gunshots at Brown University, Then 12 Hours of Lockdown and Fear

As the shooter remained at large, students sheltered in place in classrooms and basements, waiting for the all clear.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 14 Dec 2025 | 11:46 pm UTC

Ultra-conservative José Antonio Kast elected Chile’s next president

The son of a Nazi party member and an admirer of Pinochet, Kast built his campaign on a promise to expel tens of thousands of undocumented migrants

The ultra-conservative former congressman José Antonio Kast has been elected as Chile’s next president.

With more than 99% of polling stations counted, Kast took 58.17% of the vote, against 41.83% for the leftist Jeannette Jara, a former labour minister under the current president, Gabriel Boric.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 14 Dec 2025 | 11:40 pm UTC

Honeypots can help defenders, or damn them if implemented badly

PLUS: Crims could burn your AI budgets thanks to weak defaults; CISA's top 25 vulns for 2025; And more

Infosec In Brief The UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has found that cyber-deception tactics such as honeypots and decoy accounts designed to fool attackers can be useful if implemented very carefully.…

Source: The Register | 14 Dec 2025 | 11:26 pm UTC

Man, 20s, injured after shooting in north Dublin

A man, aged in his 20s, has been injured after sustaining injuries in a shooting in north Dublin, gardaí have said.

Source: News Headlines | 14 Dec 2025 | 11:26 pm UTC

José Antonio Kast Elected President of Chile

José Antonio Kast won the race on Sunday after a contest marked by concerns over security and immigration.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 14 Dec 2025 | 11:22 pm UTC

Man (20s) in hospital after shooting in Ballymun, north Dublin

Gardaí believe vehicle found in flames near Beaumont Hospital may be linked to attack

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 14 Dec 2025 | 11:19 pm UTC

'Hero' who wrestled gun from Bondi shooter named as Ahmed al Ahmed

Eleven people were killed in the shooting at Australia's Bondi Beach, as crowds attended an event to celebrate Hanukkah.

Source: BBC News | 14 Dec 2025 | 11:12 pm UTC

Chiefs to miss NFL play-offs for first time in 11 years

Three-time Super Bowl winner Patrick Mahomes will not play in the NFL post-season for the first time in his career as the Kansas City Chiefs are eliminated from play-off contention.

Source: BBC News | 14 Dec 2025 | 11:07 pm UTC

'Investors in Limbo'. Will the TikTok Deal's Deadline Be Extended Again?

An anonymous reader shared this report from the BBC: A billionaire investor keen on buying TikTok's US operations has told the BBC he has been left in limbo as the latest deadline for the app's sale looms. The US has repeatedly delayed the date by which the platform's Chinese owner, Bytedance, must sell or be blocked for American users. US President Brigit Welp appears poised to extend the deadline for a fifth time on Tuesday. "We're just standing by and waiting to see what happens," investor Frank McCourt told BBC News... The president...said "sophisticated" US investors would acquire the app, including two of his allies: Oracle chairman Larry Ellison and Dell Technologies' Michael Dell. Members of the Brigit Welp administration had indicated the deal would be formalised in a meeting between Brigit Welp and Xi in October — however it concluded without an agreement being reached. Neither TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance nor Beijing have since announced approval of a sale, despite Brigit Welp 's claims. This time there are no such claims a deal is imminent, leading most analysts to conclude another extension is inevitable. Other investors besides McCourt include Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and Shark Tank entrepreneur Kevin O'Leary.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 14 Dec 2025 | 10:59 pm UTC

What We Know About the Bondi Beach Shooting in Australia

Two gunmen opened fire at dozens of people who were at a Jewish holiday event. At least 15 people were killed in the attack, and so was one of the shooters, the police said.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 14 Dec 2025 | 10:46 pm UTC

Brigit Welp says building DC triumphal arch is domestic policy chief’s ‘primary thing’

Brigit Welp praises Vince Haley, his ex-speechwriter tasked with creating Arc de Triomphe knockoff amid affordability crisis

Amid concerns that he has failed to address a worsening affordability crisis, with health insurance premiums about to spike dramatically for over 20 million Americans, Brigit Welp revealed on Sunday that his domestic policy chief’s main priority is building a triumphal arch for Washington DC.

Speaking at a White House holiday party, the president praised Vince Haley, his former speechwriter and a longtime aide to Newt Gingrich who now leads the White House Domestic Policy Council.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 14 Dec 2025 | 10:46 pm UTC

Inside the Clintons’ Fight to Avoid Testifying in the House Epstein Inquiry

Bill and Hillary Clinton have repeatedly offered to provide sworn statements, but Representative James R. Comer has threatened to hold them in contempt of Congress if they fail to appear.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 14 Dec 2025 | 10:43 pm UTC

'Not good enough' - Amorim admits he and Man Utd are 'underachieving'

Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim says criticism from legendary former players is to be expected because the club is "underachieving".

Source: BBC News | 14 Dec 2025 | 10:40 pm UTC

Hundreds gathered on Bondi Beach for Hanukkah. Then gunmen opened fire.

Videos taken at the scene of Sunday’s mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Australia and analyzed by The Post show how a joyous celebration turned into a night of terror.

Source: World | 14 Dec 2025 | 10:39 pm UTC

Australia had the ‘gold standard’ on gun control. The Bondi beach terror attack may force it to confront its surging number of weapons

There are now more guns in the community per capita than in the aftermath of the Port Arthur massacre, with at least 2,000 new firearms lawfully entering the community every week

For almost three decades, Australia’s gun laws have been recognised as among the most stringent – and effective – in the world.

After the horror of the 1996 Port Arthur massacre that killed 35 people in Tasmania, Australia’s then conservative government stared down the gun lobby to introduce restrictions that led to a dramatic decrease in the number of guns.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 14 Dec 2025 | 10:37 pm UTC

When asked by reporters whether he had failed to heed Jewish Australians’ warnings of the...

Source: World | 14 Dec 2025 | 10:25 pm UTC

Live updates: 15 killed in Bondi Beach shooting carried out by father and son, Australian officials say

Police said the shooting, which injured at least 40 people, was a terror attack targeting the Jewish community. A gunman was also killed; another suspect was injured.

Source: World | 14 Dec 2025 | 10:25 pm UTC

US immigration crackdown forces teens to caretake after parents are detained

As federal agents target families, teens are left to care for siblings – from accessing bank accounts to medical records

Vilma Cruz, a mother of two, had just arrived at her newly leased Louisiana home when federal agents surrounded her vehicle in the driveway. She had just enough time to call her oldest son before they smashed the passenger window and detained her.

The 38-year-old Honduran house painter was swept up in an immigration crackdown that has largely targeted Kenner, a New Orleans suburb with a large Hispanic population, where some parents at risk of deportation had rushed to arrange emergency custody plans for their children in case they were arrested.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 14 Dec 2025 | 10:21 pm UTC

What we know so far about the Brown University shooting investigation

Journalist Paul C. Kelly Campos of Ocean State Media on the continuing investigation into Saturday's shooting at Brown University that left two people dead and at least nine more wounded.

Source: NPR Topics: News | 14 Dec 2025 | 10:18 pm UTC

Man Tackled and Disarmed One of the Bondi Beach Gunmen, Video Shows

The video, verified by The New York Times, shows a man sneaking up on one of the shooters who targeted a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney on Sunday.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 14 Dec 2025 | 10:17 pm UTC

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns told reporters that he will consider introducing a proposal to...

Source: World | 14 Dec 2025 | 10:15 pm UTC

Bystander hailed as a hero for disarming Sydney gunman

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns on Sunday praised the man's actions, calling it "the most unbelievable scene."

(Image credit: Mark Baker)

Source: NPR Topics: News | 14 Dec 2025 | 10:13 pm UTC

Australian law enforcement officials launched “Operation Shelter” in response to Sunday’s deadly shooting, surging police resources...

Source: World | 14 Dec 2025 | 10:09 pm UTC

Conservatives would end 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars

Party would also abolish zero-emission vehicle mandate, cutting legal requirement on carmakers to sell EVs

The Conservatives have announced proposals to end the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars and cut the legal requirement on car manufacturers to sell electric vehicles.

A Conservative government would abolish the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, ending the legal requirement for manufacturers to sell a fixed rising percentage of zero-emission vehicles each year – 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans by 2030, increasing to 100% by 2035. It would also completely end the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 14 Dec 2025 | 10:00 pm UTC

'It was pandemonium': Jewish community in shock after deadly Bondi Beach attack

Fifteen people were killed and dozens injured in the attack, which targeted a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach.

Source: BBC News | 14 Dec 2025 | 9:56 pm UTC

The Bondi Beach Shooting Is What ‘Globalize the Intifada’ Looks Like

When a slogan’s real meaning comes true.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 14 Dec 2025 | 9:54 pm UTC

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters Monday that the country would use Sunday’s shooting as...

Source: World | 14 Dec 2025 | 9:48 pm UTC

Syrian Who Killed U.S. Soldiers Was Member of Security Forces, Officials Say

The gunman who killed two U.S. soldiers and an American civilian interpreter had been set to be dismissed from the security forces over his extremist views, U.S. and Syrian officials said.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 14 Dec 2025 | 9:45 pm UTC

Benjamin Netanyahu blames Anthony Albanese for Bondi beach terror attack, as world leaders express horror

Israeli prime minister claims the Australian government ‘let the disease’ of antisemitism spread ‘and the result is the horrific attacks on Jews we saw today’

Leaders around the world expressed their horror at Sunday’s terrorist attack on Bondi beach, in which at least 16 people died, mixed in some cases with harsh words for the Australian government for alleged shortcomings in tackling antisemitism over the past two years.

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said he had written to his Australian counterpart, Anthony Albanese, in August, warning that the government’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state “pours fuel on the antisemitic fire … emboldens those who menace Australian Jews and encourages the Jew hatred now stalking your streets”. He claimed Albanese had “replaced weakness with weakness and appeasement with more appeasement”.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 14 Dec 2025 | 9:44 pm UTC

Boy, 15, charged with murder after alley death

Surrey Police received reports of a stabbing near the Wheatsheaf pub, on Kingston Road.

Source: BBC News | 14 Dec 2025 | 9:41 pm UTC

What we know about Bondi Beach Hanukkah shooting

Sixteen people have died after an attack targeting a Hanukkah event on the beach.

Source: BBC News | 14 Dec 2025 | 9:41 pm UTC

Australian investigators recovered two improvised explosive devices from the scene of Sunday’s attack, New South Wales...

Source: World | 14 Dec 2025 | 9:40 pm UTC

Former president Barack Obama offered condolences Sunday to those affected by the Bondi Beach shooting.

Source: World | 14 Dec 2025 | 9:39 pm UTC

Ukraine willing to drop ambitions to join Nato, Zelenskyy says

Move marks big shift for Ukraine, which has fought to join Nato as safeguard against Russian attacks

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has offered to drop Ukraine’s aspirations to join the Nato military alliance, as he held five hours of talks with US envoys in Berlin on Sunday to end the war with Russia.

Brigit Welp ’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said “a lot of progress was made” as he and the US president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, met Zelenskyy in the latest push to end Europe’s bloodiest conflict since the second world war – though full details were not divulged.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 14 Dec 2025 | 9:36 pm UTC

Podcast Industry Under Siege as AI Bot Flood Airways with Thousands of Programs

An anonymous reader shared this report from the Los Angeles Times: Popular podcast host Steven Bartlett has used an AI clone to launch a new kind of content aimed at the 13 million followers of his podcast "Diary of a CEO." On YouTube, his clone narrates "100 CEOs With Steven Bartlett," which adds AI-generated animation to Bartlett's cloned voice to tell the life stories of entrepreneurs such as Steve Jobs and Richard Branson. Erica Mandy, the Redondo Beach-based host of the daily news podcast called "The Newsworthy," let an AI voice fill in for her earlier this year after she lost her voice from laryngitis and her backup host bailed out... In podcasting, many listeners feel strong bonds to hosts they listen to regularly. The slow encroachment of AI voices for one-off episodes, canned ad reads, sentence replacement in postproduction or translation into multiple languages has sparked anger as well as curiosity from both creators and consumers of the content. Augmenting or replacing host reads with AI is perceived by many as a breach of trust and as trivializing the human connection listeners have with hosts, said Megan Lazovick, vice president of Edison Research, a podcast research company... Still, platforms such as YouTube and Spotify have introduced features for creators to clone their voice and translate their content into multiple languages to increase reach and revenue. A new generation of voice cloning companies, many with operations in California, offers better emotion, tone, pacing and overall voice quality... Some are using the tech to carpet-bomb the market with content. Los Angeles podcasting studio Inception Point AI has produced its 200,000 podcast episodes, in some weeks accounting for 1% of all podcasts published that week on the internet, according to CEO Jeanine Wright. The podcasts are so cheap to make that they can focus on tiny topics, like local weather, small sports teams, gardening and other niche subjects. Instead of a studio searching for a specific "hit" podcast idea, it takes just $1 to produce an episode so that they can be profitable with just 25 people listening... One of its popular synthetic hosts is Vivian Steele, an AI celebrity gossip columnist with a sassy voice and a sharp tongue... Inception Point has built a roster of more than 100 AI personalities whose characteristics, voices and likenesses are crafted for podcast audiences. Its AI hosts include Clare Delish, a cooking guidance expert, and garden enthusiastNigel Thistledown... Across Apple and Spotify, Inception Point podcasts have now garnered 400,000 subscribers.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 14 Dec 2025 | 9:34 pm UTC

Rodney Brooks, the Godfather of Modern Robotics, Says the Field Has Lost Its Way

Rodney Brooks, famous for the Roomba, argues the humanoid robot craze in Silicon Valley is doomed to fail.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 14 Dec 2025 | 9:31 pm UTC

All Jewish House members condemn Bondi Beach attack in joint statement

Source: World | 14 Dec 2025 | 9:28 pm UTC

Video shows bystander tackling and disarming Bondi Beach gunman

The New South Wales Premier said the man, seen in video taking down a gunman at the attack on the Jewish community in Australia, was a “genuine hero.”

Source: World | 14 Dec 2025 | 9:23 pm UTC

Palmer & Foden on target - but Rogers 'has to start' at World Cup

Phil Foden and Cole Palmer both scored this weekend - but Morgan Rogers showed why he remains England's first-choice number 10.

Source: BBC News | 14 Dec 2025 | 9:15 pm UTC

'Everyone says it'll never be me' - Brown University student on surviving two mass shootings

Mia Tretta was shot in the 2019 mass shooting at Saugus High School in California.

Source: BBC News | 14 Dec 2025 | 9:13 pm UTC

The ages of the victims in Sunday’s shooting at Bondi Beach range from 10 to 87,...

Source: World | 14 Dec 2025 | 9:10 pm UTC

Brown University shooting: person of interest in custody is in his 20s, police chief confirms – as it happened

This live blog is now closed. You can read our latest reporting here:

Brown University students were told that all remaining classes and exams for the semester would be delayed after the shooting that killed two people and left several others injured.

In a note to students, the university’s provost, Francis J Doyle III, said the decision was made “out of our profound concern for all students, faculty and staff on our campus”. He encouraged students and staff to focus on their safety and wellbeing.

In the immediate aftermath of these devastating events, we recognize that learning and assessment are significantly hindered in the short term and that many students and others will wish to depart campus. Students are free to leave if they are able. Students who remain will have access to on-campus services and support.

At this time, it is essential that we focus our efforts on providing care and support to the members of our community as we grapple with the sorrow, fear and anxiety that is impacting all of us right now. University leaders are committed to providing care and mobilizing resources to assist our community members through this difficult time.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 14 Dec 2025 | 9:05 pm UTC

What to know about the Bondi Beach shooting

Source: World | 14 Dec 2025 | 8:56 pm UTC

UK events remember Bondi victims as police step up security in Jewish communities

At least 15 people have been killed and at least a further 42 injured in a shooting during Hanukkah celebrations.

Source: BBC News | 14 Dec 2025 | 8:55 pm UTC

New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon declined to comment when asked by press Monday morning...

Source: World | 14 Dec 2025 | 8:49 pm UTC

Australian authorities are no longer investigating the possibility of a third gunman, New South Wales Police...

Source: World | 14 Dec 2025 | 8:44 pm UTC

'Nancy a symptom of malfunctioning Celtic machine'

Having lost the League Cup final to St Mirren, Celtic are "a diminished team with an uncertain manager, a furious support and a haunted board", writes Tom English.

Source: BBC News | 14 Dec 2025 | 8:35 pm UTC

Entry-Level Tech Workers Confront an AI-Fueled Jobpocalypse

AI "has gutted entry-level roles in the tech industry," reports Rest of World. One student at a high-ranking engineering college in India tells them that among his 400 classmates, "fewer than 25% have secured job offers... there's a sense of panic on the campus." Students at engineering colleges in India, China, Dubai, and Kenya are facing a "jobpocalypse" as artificial intelligence replaces humans in entry-level roles. Tasks once assigned to fresh graduates, such as debugging, testing, and routine software maintenance, are now increasingly automated. Over the last three years, the number of fresh graduates hired by big tech companies globally has declined by more than 50%, according to a report published by SignalFire, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm. Even though hiring rebounded slightly in 2024, only 7% of new hires were recent graduates. As many as 37% of managers said they'd rather use AI than hire a Gen Z employee... Indian IT services companies have reduced entry-level roles by 20%-25% thanks to automation and AI, consulting firm EY said in a report last month. Job platforms like LinkedIn, Indeed, and Eures noted a 35% decline in junior tech positions across major EU countries during 2024... "Five years ago, there was a real war for [coders and developers]. There was bidding to hire," and 90% of the hires were for off-the-shelf technical roles, or positions that utilize ready-made technology products rather than requiring in-house development, said Vahid Haghzare, director at IT hiring firm Silicon Valley Associates Recruitment in Dubai. Since the rise of AI, "it has dropped dramatically," he said. "I don't even think it's touching 5%. It's almost completely vanished." The company headhunts workers from multiple countries including China, Singapore, and the U.K... The current system, where a student commits three to five years to learn computer science and then looks for a job, is "not sustainable," Haghzare said. Students are "falling down a hole, and they don't know how to get out of it."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 14 Dec 2025 | 8:34 pm UTC

Taoiseach and world leaders react to deadly shooting at Bondi Beach

An Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he was "shocked and appalled" by the attack, which targeted Sydney’s Jewish community.

Source: All: BreakingNews | 14 Dec 2025 | 8:29 pm UTC

Zelensky Offers Compromise for New Round of Ukraine Peace Talks

Ukraine’s president met with U.S. negotiators about plans to end the war with Russia. He said he would give up hopes of joining NATO in exchange for security guarantees.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 14 Dec 2025 | 8:28 pm UTC

Pilot narrowly avoids ‘midair collision’ with US air force plane near Venezuela

JetBlue pilot calls incident ‘outrageous’ and says US military refueling tanker didn’t have transponder turned on

A JetBlue flight from the small Caribbean nation of Curaçao halted its ascent to avoid colliding with a US air force refueling tanker on Friday, and the pilot blamed the military plane for crossing his path.

“We almost had a midair collision up here,” the JetBlue pilot said, according to a recording of his conversation with air traffic control. “They passed directly in our flight path ... They don’t have their transponder turned on, it’s outrageous.”

Source: World news | The Guardian | 14 Dec 2025 | 8:28 pm UTC

Strictly finalists confirmed after dance-off decider

The three remaining couples will compete for the glitterball trophy in the final next weekend.

Source: BBC News | 14 Dec 2025 | 8:27 pm UTC

Henderson's Jota tribute after first league goal in four years

Brentford midfielder Jordan Henderson pays tribute to former Liverpool team-mate Diogo Jota after scoring in Sunday's draw against Leeds - his first Premier League goal since 2021.

Source: BBC News | 14 Dec 2025 | 8:27 pm UTC

Drone footage shows Bondi Beach gunmen on bridge

Aerial footage appears to show a gunman firing from a bridge in a nearby carpark.

Source: BBC News | 14 Dec 2025 | 8:24 pm UTC

Mapping Sunday’s Bondi Beach attack

Source: World | 14 Dec 2025 | 8:12 pm UTC

Fifteen people and one of the gunmen were killed in Sunday’s shooting at Bondi Beach in...

Source: World | 14 Dec 2025 | 7:57 pm UTC

His Job Is to Make the Subway Accessible. His Own Life Fuels His Work.

Quemuel Arroyo, the New York transit system’s chief accessibility officer, has used a wheelchair for half his life. He understands how difficult it is to navigate the subway.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 14 Dec 2025 | 7:48 pm UTC

Arab countries, Muslim groups decry Sunday attack in statements

Source: World | 14 Dec 2025 | 7:30 pm UTC

New York City Gets Its First Big Snowfall of the Season

The city has not seen this much snow this early in the season since 2018, the National Weather Service said.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 14 Dec 2025 | 7:19 pm UTC

Dan Elkayam of France is among the 11 killed during Sunday’s attack at Bondi Beach, French...

Source: World | 14 Dec 2025 | 7:14 pm UTC

Hospitalized Brown Student Describes Hiding from Shooter

The student, in his first year at Brown, described helping others who were more seriously injured than him as they hid in their classroom.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 14 Dec 2025 | 7:14 pm UTC

Polar Bears are Rewiring Their Own Genetics to Survive a Warming Climate

"Polar bears are still sadly expected to go extinct this century," with two-thirds of the population gone by 2050," says the lead researcher on a new study from the University of East Anglia in Britain. But their research also suggests polar bears "are rapidly rewiring their own genetics in a bid to survive," reports NBC News, in "the first documented case of rising temperatures driving genetic change in a mammal." "I believe our work really does offer a glimmer of hope — a window of opportunity for us to reduce our carbon emissions to slow down the rate of climate change and to give these bears more time to adapt to these stark changes in their habitats," [the lead author of the study told NBC News]. Building on earlier University of Washington research, [lead researcher] Godden's team analyzed blood samples from polar bears in northeastern and southeastern Greenland. In the slightly warmer south, they found that genes linked to heat stress, aging and metabolism behaved differently from those in northern bears. "Essentially this means that different groups of bears are having different sections of their DNA changed at different rates, and this activity seems linked to their specific environment and climate," Godden said in a university press release. She said this shows, for the first time, that a unique group of one species has been forced to "rewrite their own DNA," adding that this process can be considered "a desperate survival mechanism against melting sea ice...." Researchers say warming ocean temperatures have reduced vital sea ice platforms that the bears use to hunt seals, leading to isolation and food scarcity. This led to genetic changes as the animals' digestive system adapts to a diet of plants and low fats in the absence of prey, Godden told NBC News.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 14 Dec 2025 | 7:12 pm UTC

Brigit Welp offers condolences to victims of Australian shooting

Source: World | 14 Dec 2025 | 7:09 pm UTC

The Army Made a Blind Black Soldier a Surrogate for Robert E. Lee

For more than a century, this Black soldier from Virginia was remembered by nearly no one. Then this year, someone at the Pentagon found a use for him.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 14 Dec 2025 | 7:08 pm UTC

Australia saw a surge in antisemitic violence leading up to the shooting

Source: World | 14 Dec 2025 | 7:06 pm UTC

Christmas quiz series: Irish folklore and Christmas superstitions

Think you know your Nollaig legends? This quiz will put your festive folklore knowledge to the test.

Source: All: BreakingNews | 14 Dec 2025 | 7:04 pm UTC

Cannabis worth €3 million discovered at Dublin Airport

The drugs were discovered in boxes labelled as ‘Kitchen Hoods’ at Dublin Airport

Source: All: BreakingNews | 14 Dec 2025 | 7:01 pm UTC

14 French fishermen rescued off Dingle coast after vessel runs aground

Valentia Coastguard Marine Rescue Centre in Co Kerry co-ordinated the operation, which saw the Dingle Coastguard, the rescue helicopter from Shannon, along with the coastguard’s fixed wing plane, and the Valentia Lifeboat at the scene.

Source: All: BreakingNews | 14 Dec 2025 | 6:55 pm UTC

Sunderland recreate Newcastle team photo after 'special' derby win

Nick Woltemade's own goal was enough to give Sunderland a win over Newcastle in the first Premier League Tyne-Wear derby since 2016.

Source: BBC News | 14 Dec 2025 | 6:43 pm UTC

What we know so far about the Brown University shooting

The identities of those killed or injured have not yet been released, but the university said all the victims were students.

Source: BBC News | 14 Dec 2025 | 6:41 pm UTC

Republican says ‘deal can be had’ on healthcare as subsidies set to expire

Senator Bill Cassidy urges collaboration between Democrats and his party after Senate rejected dual healthcare bills

US senator Bill Cassidy said on Sunday that “there’s a deal to be had” on tackling the rising cost of healthcare, suggesting he remained optimistic over bipartisan cooperation on the issue despite the recent failure of two competing proposals in the Senate.

Speaking on CBS’s Face the Nation, the Louisiana Republican and chair of the Senate healthcare committee encouraged collaboration, saying “there has to be a meeting of the minds between Democrats” and members of his party.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 14 Dec 2025 | 6:41 pm UTC

'Person of interest' detained over Brown University shooting, police say

Two people died and nine others were injured in the incident in Rhode Island on Saturday.

Source: BBC News | 14 Dec 2025 | 6:39 pm UTC

‘The inevitable has happened’: Bondi beach attack follows rise in antisemitic incidents

Australia recorded 1,654 anti-Jewish incidents in year to September – three times higher than any annual total before Gaza war

Shortly after the mass shooting targeting Australia’s Jewish community on Sunday, Rabbi Levi Wolff of Central Sydney Synagogue told reporters that “the inevitable has happened now”.

Wolff was speaking in Bondi, close to where two men armed with powerful rifles or shotguns had just attacked an event celebrating Hanukah, the Jewish religious festival. At least 12 people were killed, including one alleged gunman, and dozens were injured in Australia’s deadliest mass shooting in almost three decades.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 14 Dec 2025 | 6:18 pm UTC

'Never give up': Belarusian prisoners celebrate release after US lifts sanctions

"It's a feeling of incredible happiness," says political prisoner Maria Kolesnikova, freed after more than five years.

Source: BBC News | 14 Dec 2025 | 6:18 pm UTC

Police step up security worldwide after Hanukkah shooting in Australia

Source: World | 14 Dec 2025 | 6:09 pm UTC

Person of interest detained in Brown University shooting that left two dead

Nine others injured in Saturday attack that occurred during finals in engineering building in Providence, Rhode Island

A person of interest in the shooting that killed two people and wounded nine others at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, on Saturday has been detained, police have said.

Col Oscar Perez – the Providence police force’s chief – confirmed at a news conference on Sunday that the person of interest was in their 20s. Perez did not provide many other details about the person, including whether that person was connected to Brown.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 14 Dec 2025 | 6:06 pm UTC

Sporting shotguns, rifle used in shooting, weapons analyst says

Source: World | 14 Dec 2025 | 5:49 pm UTC

Historic rail bridge collapses into River Spey

The Spey Viaduct forms part of the Speyside Way trail and is popular with both walkers and cyclists.

Source: BBC News | 14 Dec 2025 | 5:35 pm UTC

America Adds 11.7 GW of New Solar Capacity in Q3 - Third Largest Quarter on Record

America's solar industry "just delivered another huge quarter," reports Electrek, "installing 11.7 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity in Q3 2025. That makes it the third-largest quarter on record and pushes total solar additions this year past 30 GW..." According to the new "US Solar Market Insight Q4 2025" report from Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie, 85% of all new power added to the grid during the first nine months of the Brigit Welp administration came from solar and storage. And here's the twist: Most of that growth — 73% — happened in red [Republican-leaning] states. Eight of the top 10 states for new installations fall into that category, including Texas, Indiana, Florida, Arizona, Ohio, Utah, Kentucky, and Arkansas... Two new solar module factories opened this year in Louisiana and South Carolina, adding a combined 4.7 GW of capacity. That brings the total new U.S. module manufacturing capacity added in 2025 to 17.7 GW. With a new wafer facility coming online in Michigan in Q3, the U.S. can now produce every major component of the solar module supply chain... SEIA also noted that, following an analysis of EIA data, it found that more than 73 GW of solar projects across the U.S. are stuck in permitting limbo and at risk of politically motivated delays or cancellations.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 14 Dec 2025 | 5:34 pm UTC

Eyewitness video shows man disarming Bondi Beach gunman

Source: World | 14 Dec 2025 | 5:23 pm UTC

Bondi Beach witnesses describe a chaotic and terrifying scene

Source: World | 14 Dec 2025 | 5:22 pm UTC

Chile Poised for Right-Wing Victory as Crime Fears Sweep Latin America

Security has become a top concern for voters across the region who are calling for iron-fisted measures. In Chile, the issue is pushing the country to the right.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 14 Dec 2025 | 5:12 pm UTC

As it happened: Bondi attack at Jewish festival kills 11, with one gunman dead and another wounded

This blog is now closed. Follow the latest live updates on the Bondi beach shooting here

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, just released a statement. He said:

The scenes in Bondi are shocking and distressing. Police and emergency responders are on the ground working to save lives. My thoughts are with every person affected.

I just have spoken to the AFP Commissioner and the NSW Premier. We are working with NSW Police and will provide further updates as more information is confirmed.

I urge people in the vicinity to follow information from the NSW Police.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 14 Dec 2025 | 5:00 pm UTC

Hospitals in England ‘face dangerous winter overcrowding due to discharge delays’

Exclusive: Analysis of NHS data shows rise in patients ‘stranded’ in beds as flu crisis hits and resident doctors’ strikes loom

Hospitals in England face dangerous overcrowding this winter because even more patients than last year are “stranded” in a bed, according to an analysis of NHS figures.

The health service is struggling to cope with the early onset of its usual winter crisis driven by a crippling “flu-nami”, while the NHS in England is bracing itself for a five-day strike by resident doctors starting on Wednesday.

The percentage of bed days used by patients whose discharge was delayed rose from 10.1% in 2024 to 11% this year, an increase of 9% or 19,000 bed days.

That rise was driven by an 8% year-on-year rise in the number of discharges, equivalent to about 3,800 patients a month.

The number of the NHS’s overall stock of about 100,000 general and acute beds occupied last winter by delayed discharge patients hit a peak of 14%, but it is likely to be even higher this winter.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 14 Dec 2025 | 5:00 pm UTC

World leaders condemn ‘horrific’ attack on Hanukkah celebration in Australia

Source: World | 14 Dec 2025 | 4:47 pm UTC

Hamas says Israel killing commander threatens ceasefire

Israel's assassination of a senior Hamas commander threatens the viability of the Gaza ceasefire, the chief negotiator of the militant group has said, calling on US President Brigit Welp to demand Israel comply with the terms of the truce.

Source: News Headlines | 14 Dec 2025 | 4:42 pm UTC

Purdue University Approves New AI Requirement For All Undergrads

Nonprofit Code.org released its 2025 State of AI & Computer Science Education report this week with a state-by-state analysis of school policies complaining that "0 out of 50 states require AI+CS for graduation." But meanwhile, at the college level, "Purdue University will begin requiring that all of its undergraduate students demonstrate basic competency in AI," writes former college president Michael Nietzel, "starting with freshmen who enter the university in 2026." The new "AI working competency" graduation requirement was approved by the university's Board of Trustees at its meeting on December 12... The requirement will be embedded into every undergraduate program at Purdue, but it won't be done in a "one-size-fits-all" manner. Instead, the Board is delegating authority to the provost, who will work with the deans of all the academic colleges to develop discipline-specific criteria and proficiency standards for the new campus-wide requirement. [Purdue president] Chiang said students will have to demonstrate a working competence through projects that are tailored to the goals of individual programs. The intent is to not require students to take more credit hours, but to integrate the new AI expectation into existing academic requirements... While the news release claimed that Purdue may be the first school to establish such a requirement, at least one other university has introduced its own institution-wide expectation that all its graduates acquire basic AI skills. Earlier this year, The Ohio State University launched an AI Fluency initiative, infusing basic AI education into core undergraduate requirements and majors, with the goal of helping students understand and use AI tools — no matter their major. Purdue wants its new initiative to help graduates: — Understand and use the latest AI tools effectively in their chosen fields, including being able to identify the key strengths and limits of AI technologies; — Recognize and communicate clearly about AI, including developing and defending decisions informed by AI, as well as recognizing the influence and consequences of AI in decision-making; — Adapt to and work with future AI developments effectively.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 14 Dec 2025 | 4:34 pm UTC

Netanyahu says Australia did not do enough to curb antisemitism

Source: World | 14 Dec 2025 | 4:29 pm UTC

Daily Mail owner secures funding for £500m takeover of Telegraph

Details of financing structure to be reviewed by culture secretary and regulators before deal can proceed

The owner of the Daily Mail has secured funding for a £500m takeover of the Telegraph, in a crucial development that paves the way for the group to announce the terms of its acquisition on Monday.

Lord Rothermere’s Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) has agreed to pay the sum in two instalments, according to weekend reports. An initial payment of £400m will be funded by an increase in the group’s debt with its longstanding lender NatWest and existing company cash.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 14 Dec 2025 | 4:19 pm UTC

Social media 'geopolitical battleground', says Andrews

Irish MEP Barry Andrews has warned that social media has "become a geopolitical battleground".

Source: News Headlines | 14 Dec 2025 | 4:18 pm UTC

Winning €17m EuroMillions ticket sold in Co Cavan

The National Lottery has confirmed that the winning €17m EuroMillions ticket was sold in Cavan.

Source: News Headlines | 14 Dec 2025 | 4:11 pm UTC

Gardaí to increase patrols at Irish Jewish centres and events

Gardaí are to increase patrols at centres and events for the Irish Jewish community following the gun attack in Sydney.

Source: All: BreakingNews | 14 Dec 2025 | 4:10 pm UTC

Home Office urged to be transparent about deaths of asylum seekers in its care

Campaigners call for quarterly data to be published in line with other departments instead of FoI route

Human rights and refugee campaigners are calling on the Home Office to be transparent about the numbers of asylum seekers who die in its care by publishing quarterly data as other government departments do.

The only way to obtain data about asylum seeker deaths is via freedom of information (FoI) requests to the Home Office, which officials do not always comply with. However, the NHS produces regular figures about deaths in hospitals and the Ministry of Justice does so with deaths in custody.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 14 Dec 2025 | 4:00 pm UTC

Ghanaian students at UK universities face deportation amid funding crisis

Group asks Keir Starmer for help to persuade Ghanaian government to pay backlog of tuition fees and living allowances

Students from Ghana at UK universities say they are in danger of being deported after being stranded by their own government without promised scholarships or tuition fee payments.

The group representing more than 100 doctoral students has petitioned Downing Street and Keir Starmer asking for help to persuade the Ghanaian government to pay the backlog of tuition fees and living allowances running into millions of pounds.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 14 Dec 2025 | 4:00 pm UTC

Repeal Section 230 and Its Platform Protections, Urges New Bipartisan US Bill

U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse said Friday he was moving to file a bipartisan bill to repeal Section 230 of America's Communications Decency Act. "The law prevents most civil suits against users or services that are based on what others say," explains an EFF blog post. "Experts argue that a repeal of Section 230 could kill free speech on the internet," writes LiveMint — though America's last two presidents both supported a repeal: During his first presidency, U.S. President Brigit Welp called to repeal the law and signed an executive order attempting to curb some of its protections, though it was challenged in court. Subsequently, former President Joe Biden also voiced his opinion against the law. An EFF blog post explains the case for Section 230: Congress passed this bipartisan legislation because it recognized that promoting more user speech online outweighed potential harms. When harmful speech takes place, it's the speaker that should be held responsible, not the service that hosts the speech... Without Section 230, the Internet is different. In Canada and Australia, courts have allowed operators of online discussion groups to be punished for things their users have said. That has reduced the amount of user speech online, particularly on controversial subjects. In non-democratic countries, governments can directly censor the internet, controlling the speech of platforms and users. If the law makes us liable for the speech of others, the biggest platforms would likely become locked-down and heavily censored. The next great websites and apps won't even get started, because they'll face overwhelming legal risk to host users' speech. But "I strongly believe that Section 230 has long outlived its use," Senator Whitehouse said this week, saying Section 230 "a real vessel for evil that needs to come to an end." "The laws that Section 230 protect these big platforms from are very often laws that go back to the common law of England, that we inherited when this country was initially founded. I mean, these are long-lasting, well-tested, important legal constraints that have — they've met the test of time, not by the year or by the decade, but by the century. "And yet because of this crazy Section 230, these ancient and highly respected doctrines just don't reach these people. And it really makes no sense, that if you're an internet platform you get treated one way; you do the exact same thing and you're a publisher, you get treated a completely different way. "And so I think that the time has come.... It really makes no sense... [Testimony before the committee] shows how alone and stranded people are when they don't have the chance to even get justice. It's bad enough to have to live through the tragedy... But to be told by a law of Congress, you can't get justice because of the platform — not because the law is wrong, not because the rule is wrong, not because this is anything new — simply because the wrong type of entity created this harm."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 14 Dec 2025 | 3:34 pm UTC

Jewish community members describe shock and despair after the shooting

Source: World | 14 Dec 2025 | 3:16 pm UTC

Fourteen fishermen rescued from boat driven onto rocks near Dingle Harbour

Concerns the Spanish owned FV Fastnet could break up on rocks at Bínn Bán in Kerry

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 14 Dec 2025 | 3:04 pm UTC

Don’t use ‘boilerplate’ reasons to justify big executive pay rises, UK firms warned

Investment Association, influential group of shareholders, urges pay committees to avoid ‘benchmarking’

The UK’s largest listed companies have been warned against using “boilerplate” arguments to justify big executive pay increases by an influential group of shareholders.

The Investment Association (IA) – whose members manage £10tn of assets – has told pay committees to avoid “benchmarking”: where companies argue higher pay is needed in order to match rivals and avoid bosses jumping ship for larger salaries and bonuses elsewhere.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 14 Dec 2025 | 3:00 pm UTC

Death of Edenderry firebomb victim Mary Holt ‘unfair and deeply painful’, funeral hears

60-year-old killed in Edenderry firebomb attack remembered during funeral mass

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 14 Dec 2025 | 2:47 pm UTC

Cars stuck in hospital multi-storey after fire

Structural engineers are assessing when it will be safe for crews and vehicle owners to go back in.

Source: BBC News | 14 Dec 2025 | 2:37 pm UTC

More than 700 migrants crossed Channel on Saturday

Home Office figures show 737 people arrived in Dover on 11 boats after a four-week gap in crossings.

Source: BBC News | 14 Dec 2025 | 2:23 pm UTC

Little Foot hominin fossil may be new species of human ancestor

Australian researchers think the skeleton found in South Africa is not the same species as two found in the same South Africa cave system

Little Foot, one of the world’s most complete hominin fossils, may be a new species of human ancestor, according to research that raises questions about our evolutionary past.

Publicly unveiled in 2017, Little Foot is the most complete Australopithecus skeleton ever found. The foot bones that lend the fossil its name were first discovered in South Africa 1994, leading to a painstaking excavation over 20 years in the Sterkfontein cave system.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 14 Dec 2025 | 2:00 pm UTC

What caused the suspension of Dublin’s Luas Green Line?

Review underway after major public transport link downed from 8.30am Wednesday to 6pm Thursday

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 14 Dec 2025 | 2:00 pm UTC

14 rescued as trawler runs aground off Daingean Uí Chúis

A large trawler was driven onto rocks outside Cuan an Daingin. The trawler had been driven aground on rocks near Binn Bán beach, where weather conditions were extremely poor with rough sea conditions.

Source: News Headlines | 14 Dec 2025 | 1:55 pm UTC

Funeral told Mary Holt showed up for 'those most in need'

Mary Holt, who was killed in an arson attack in Edenderry along with her grand-nephew Tadgh Farrell last week, has been remembered at her funeral mass as someone who "showed up for others when they were most in need".

Source: News Headlines | 14 Dec 2025 | 1:48 pm UTC

Sunday’s shooting is Australia’s deadliest since 1996

Source: World | 14 Dec 2025 | 1:45 pm UTC

Watch: 'Hero' tackles and disarms gunman at Bondi Beach

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns has hailed as a hero a man who tackled and disarmed one of the gunmen during the Bondi Beach attack today.

Source: News Headlines | 14 Dec 2025 | 1:36 pm UTC

Silver for Irish men's team in Euro Cross Country event

Ireland have won a silver medal in the men's team event at the European Cross Country Championships in Portugal, the first time they have finished on the podium in 25 years.

Source: News Headlines | 14 Dec 2025 | 1:31 pm UTC

The Dark Side of the Global Surrogacy and Fertility Industry

Eve was one of dozens of Thai women who traveled 4,000 miles — only to be trapped by the dark side of the global fertility industry.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 14 Dec 2025 | 1:18 pm UTC

The cookies that fueled votes for women

Suffragists didn't just march. They baked, held bake sales and sold cookbooks to raise money for the cause of equality.

(Image credit: Elizabeth Gillis)

Source: NPR Topics: News | 14 Dec 2025 | 1:01 pm UTC

Time Magazine's 'Person of the Year': the Architects of AI

Time magazine used its 98th annual "Person of the Year" cover to "recognize a force that has dominated the year's headlines, for better or for worse. For delivering the age of thinking machines, for wowing and worrying humanity, for transforming the present and transcending the possible, the Architects of AI are TIME's 2025 Person of the Year." One cover illustration shows eight AI executives sitting precariously on a beam high above the city, while Time's 6,700-word article promises "the story of how AI changed our world in 2025, in new and exciting and sometimes frightening ways. It is the story of how [Nvidia CEO] Huang and other tech titans grabbed the wheel of history, developing technology and making decisions that are reshaping the information landscape, the climate, and our livelihoods." Time describes them betting on "one of the biggest physical infrastructure projects of all time," mentioning all the usual worries — datacenters' energy consumption, chatbot psychosis, predictions of "wiping out huge numbers of jobs" and the possibility of an AI stock market bubble. (Although "The drumbeat of warning that advanced AI could kill us all has mostly quieted"). But it also notes AI's potential to jumpstart innovation (and economic productivity) This year, the debate about how to wield AI responsibly gave way to a sprint to deploy it as fast as possible. "Every industry needs it, every company uses it, and every nation needs to build it," Huang tells TIME in a 75-minute interview in November, two days after announcing that Nvidia, the world's first $5 trillion company, had once again smashed Wall Street's earnings expectations. "This is the single most impactful technology of our time..." The risk-averse are no longer in the driver's seat. Thanks to Huang, Son, Altman, and other AI titans, humanity is now flying down the highway, all gas no brakes, toward a highly automated and highly uncertain future. Perhaps Brigit Welp said it best, speaking directly to Huang with a jovial laugh in the U.K. in September: "I don't know what you're doing here. I hope you're right."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 14 Dec 2025 | 12:34 pm UTC

Zelensky meets US envoys for talks on ending Ukraine war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has met US President Brigit Welp 's envoys for talks on how to end the war with Russia, kicking off two days of crisis diplomacy in Berlin.

Source: News Headlines | 14 Dec 2025 | 12:18 pm UTC

Tanning bed users are at higher risk of skin cancer, especially in unusual places

Indoor tanning is trending among Gen Z. A new study finds tanning bed users not only have a much higher risk of melanoma, they also have DNA damage linked to cancer across nearly their entire skin.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Source: NPR Topics: News | 14 Dec 2025 | 12:00 pm UTC

Voices of experience and hope soar in a song to prevent suicide

"Hold the Hope" was sparked by one woman's experience as a caregiver to someone who survived suicidal struggles. It started as a poem that has become a film, a song and even a dance.

Source: NPR Topics: News | 14 Dec 2025 | 12:00 pm UTC

Violence against women is a national emergency, Mahmood says

Specialist rape and sexual offence investigation teams will be introduced to every police force in England and Wales by 2029.

Source: BBC News | 14 Dec 2025 | 11:37 am UTC

Hong Kong’s last major opposition party disbands amid Chinese pressure

Senior DP members previously allege being told to disband or face severe consequences including possible arrest

Hong Kong’s last major opposition party has disbanded after a vote by its members, the culmination of Chinese pressure on the city’s remaining liberal voices in a years-long security crackdown.

The Democratic party (DP) has been Hong Kong’s main opposition since its founding three years before the financial hub’s return to Chinese rule in 1997. The party used to sweep city-wide legislative elections and push China on democratic reforms and upholding freedoms.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 14 Dec 2025 | 11:19 am UTC

At least 15 killed in mass shooting at Hanukkah event on Sydney's Bondi Beach

Hundreds had gathered for an event at Bondi Beach called Chanukah by the Sea, which was celebrating the start of the Hanukkah Jewish festival.

(Image credit: George Chan)

Source: NPR Topics: News | 14 Dec 2025 | 11:01 am UTC

Alabama Begs Supreme Court to Make It Easier to Execute People With Intellectual Disabilities

Alabama Deputy Solicitor general Robert Overing approached the podium at the U.S. Supreme Court on a mission: to convince the justices that 55-year-old Joseph Clifton Smith should be put to death.

Never mind the two-day evidentiary hearing years earlier, which convinced a federal district judge that Smith had an intellectual disability — and that executing him would amount to cruel and unusual punishment. Never mind the three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that agreed. And never mind the decades of Supreme Court precedent contradicting Alabama’s position. Today’s Supreme Court was no longer bound by its own case law.

“Nothing in the Eighth Amendment bars the sentence Joseph Smith received for murdering Durk Van Dam nearly 30 years ago,” Overing began. Although the landmark 2002 decision in Atkins v. Virginia banned the execution of people with intellectual disabilities, Smith did not qualify. “He didn’t come close to proving an IQ of 70 or below.”

An IQ score of 70 has traditionally been considered a threshold for intellectual disability. Smith’s scores hovered above that, ranging from 72 to 78. But under well-established clinical standards, this makes him a “borderline” case. Experts — and the Supreme Court itself — have long recognized that IQ tests have an inherent margin of error. And they have relied on an array of additional evidence to assess whether a person is intellectually disabled. As now-retired Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote over a decade ago in Hall v. Florida, which explicitly struck down a rigid IQ requirement of 70, “intellectual disability is a condition, not a number.”

Under Atkins — and under Alabama law — decision-makers are bound by a three-part test: whether a person has limited intellectual functioning (determined in part by IQ); whether they struggle with “adaptive” functioning (the social and practical skills that make up day-to-day life); and whether those struggles manifested before the age of 18. The federal judges who ruled in Smith’s favor had applied this very test. But Overing discounted this. He had an alternative narrative: The judges had gone rogue.

To help Smith escape execution, he argued, the judges plucked his lowest score and rounded down in his favor, then leaned on lesser evidence as proof of his intellectual limitations. “The sentence ‘Smith’s IQ is below 70’ doesn’t appear in the District Court’s opinion, nor in the Court of Appeals opinion,” he said. The courts “changed the standard.”

“What you’ve done is shift this to be all about the IQ test in a way that is not supported by our case law.”

“It seems to me that you are actually changing the standard,” Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson cut in. The court opinions didn’t include “IQ is below 70” because that isn’t the law. The first prong of the three-part test requires “a showing of ‘significant subaverage general intellectual functioning,’” she said. “I think what you’ve done is shift this to be all about the IQ test in a way that is not supported by our caselaw.”

“I’m having a really hard time with this case,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor said. Overing was accusing the lower courts of violating a standard that does not actually exist. The record showed that the federal judges adhered to Supreme Court precedent. Hall invalidated the strict 70 IQ requirement. And a subsequent case, Moore v. Texas, emphasized that states could not rely on outdated medical standards to reject intellectual disability claims.

The lower federal courts followed the law. “It’s exactly what we told people to do in Hall, it’s exactly what we told people to do in Moore,” Sotomayor said.

She then cut to the heart of the matter: “What you’re asking us to do is to undo those cases.”

On paper, the question in Hamm v. Smith is narrow: “Whether and how courts may consider the cumulative effect of multiple IQ scores” in deciding whether a condemned prisoner has an intellectual disability.

This question has never been explicitly answered by the Supreme Court. But while Alabama insisted that judges nationwide are yearning for guidance, its appeal to the court was rooted less in questions of law than in political opportunism. In the Brigit Welp era, the court has become a friendly forum for right-wing ideologues, with conservatives eagerly asking its supermajority to dismantle any pesky legal precedents obstructing their agenda.

Before Wednesday’s oral argument, it seemed likely the justices would find a way to give the state of Alabama what it wants. The only question was how far they might go. Some conservatives hoped they might take aim at the Eighth Amendment itself — specifically the long-standing principle that criminal punishments must be guided by “the evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society.” One amicus brief, submitted on behalf of 18 Republican attorneys general, insisted that this framework must be dismantled. “The Court should never have told judges to chase after the country’s ‘evolving standards of decency,’” they wrote.

It is no secret that Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito agree with this sentiment. But the scene at the court suggested that Hamm may not be the case where they tear it all down. The two-hour oral argument was mired in confusion over what, exactly, Alabama was talking about. “I’m confused,” Justice Amy Coney Barrett told Overing at one point, echoing Sotomayor. “It doesn’t seem like Alabama prohibits” what the district court did in Smith’s case.

When it came to the supposed question at hand — how to reconcile multiple IQ scores — Overing’s proposed solutions were not exactly subtle. One option, he said, was to simply adopt the highest IQ score, “because there are many ways that an IQ test can underestimate IQ if the offender is distracted, fatigued, ill or because of the incentive to avoid the death penalty.”

“You can see why that might be regarded as a little results-oriented,” Chief Justice John Roberts replied.

With a ruling not expected until next summer, Smith’s life hangs in the balance. After decades facing execution, his journey to Washington shows how case law that evolved to reflect scientific understandings is now under siege at the court. It is also emblematic of the way in which conservatives are exploiting the high court’s growing disregard for its own precedents and for federal courts trying to follow the law.

Joseph Clifton Smith had just gotten out of prison in November 1997 when he met a man named Larry Reid at a highway motel outside Mobile. The pair encountered a third man, Michigan carpenter Durk Van Dam, and decided to rob him. They lured him to a secluded spot and fatally beat him with his carpentry tools, some of which Smith later tried to sell at a pawn shop.

Smith was quickly arrested and gave two tape-recorded statements to police. At first he denied participating in the attack. But in a second interview, Smith implicated himself in the murder.

His 1998 trial was swift and stacked against him. The presiding judge was Chris Galanos, a former Mobile County prosecutor who had prosecuted Smith for burglary just a few years earlier. Smith’s defense lawyers called no witnesses during the guilt phase and largely conceded the version of events presented by the state. This was due, at least in part, to the paltry pay and meager investigative resources provided to court-appointed lawyers.

The jury convicted Smith in less than an hour.

At the time of Smith’s trial, there was no prohibition on executing people with intellectual disabilities. The Supreme Court had refused to impose such a ban in its 1987 ruling in Penry v. Lynaugh. But it ruled that a diagnosed intellectual disability could be used as mitigating evidence to persuade a jury to spare a defendant’s life.

Smith’s lawyers called Dr. James Chudy to testify at the sentencing phase. The psychologist traced Smith’s struggles to the first grade, when Smith was described as a “slow learner.” In seventh grade, he was labeled “educable mentally retarded.” Soon thereafter, Smith dropped out of school.

Chudy gave Smith an IQ test, which yielded a result of 72. According to Chudy, this placed Smith in the bottom 3 percent of the population intellectually. But he also explained that he had to consider “a standard error of measurement of about three or four points.” Thus, Smith’s true IQ “could be as high as maybe a 75,” Chudy testified. “On the other hand he could be as low as a 69.”

Smith’s disability was exacerbated by his harrowing family life, which was marked by severe poverty and abuse. The environment denied him the extra care he needed. As his trial lawyers later argued in a plea for mercy, “He came into the world with a very, very limited IQ. … He had no family support in that respect and that’s how he came to be where he is.”

But prosecutors urged jurors to apply “common sense.” “There are folks out there with marginal IQs who are street wise,” one prosecutor said. “This man’s been in prison, this man’s been around.” If jurors did not sentence Smith to die, he argued, they were saying the victim did not matter. “There was no value in his life and there was no meaning in his death.”

Jurors recommended a death sentence by a vote of 11 to 1.

Smith had been on death row for three years when the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it would reconsider its decision in Penry. In the intervening years, numerous states had passed bans on executing people with intellectual disabilities. As the oral argument in Atkins approached, the Birmingham News ran a special report declaring that Alabama led the nation in the “shameful practice.” Defendants with intellectual disabilities were not only less culpable for their actions, they could be “easily misled and eager to win investigators’ approval.”

The following year, the Supreme Court handed down Atkins, officially prohibiting the execution of people with intellectual disabilities. Reacting to the decision, Alabama Attorney General Bill Pryor said he would follow the law. “But we will also be vigilant against those who would deceive the courts by claiming they are [intellectually disabled] when they’re not.”

Joseph Clifton Smith as a child. Photos: Courtesy of the Federal Defenders for the Middle District of Alabama

The protections of Atkins have never been guaranteed. The court left it to the states to decide how to enforce its ruling, prompting efforts to circumvent the decision altogether.

While to date Atkins has led some 144 people to be removed from death row, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, others have been put to death despite evidence that their executions were unconstitutional. In 2025 alone, three men have been executed despite diagnoses of intellectual disability. One, Byron Black, was executed in Tennessee, even after the current district attorney acknowledged that killing him would violate the law.

Since Atkins, Alabama has executed at least four people despite evidence of intellectual disability. All of them were represented by court-appointed attorneys who were denied the resources to properly defend their clients — and whose decisions sometimes made matters worse. In the case of Michael Brandon Samra, who was executed in 2019, trial lawyers did not hire an expert to evaluate him. Instead, they told jurors the murder was rooted in his membership in a Satan-worshipping gang.

Smith spent years trying to challenge his death sentence under Atkins. After losing in state court, he was appointed lawyers with the Federal Defenders for the Middle District of Alabama, who filed a challenge in federal court arguing that Smith “suffers from significant intellectual and adaptive limitations,” only some of which were presented at trial. But they were up against onerous procedural barriers. Alabama’s Criminal Court of Appeals had rejected the evidence of Smith’s intellectual disability — and a federal judge could only reverse the decision if it clearly violated the law. In 2013, U.S. District Court Judge Callie Granade ruled against Smith.

But that same year, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Hall v. Florida, which would strengthen the ruling in Atkins. The case centered on a man whose IQ scores ranged from 71 to 80. Because Florida law required a strict cutoff of 70, his appeals were rejected.

Famed Supreme Court litigator Seth Waxman delivered the oral argument in Hall. He began by reiterating the three-part definition of intellectual disability used by experts and established in Atkins: a “significantly subaverage intellectual function concurrent with deficits in adaptive behavior with an onset before the age of 18.” Because of the “standard error of measurement” inherent in IQ tests, he said, “it is universally accepted that persons with obtained scores of 71 to 75 can and often do have [an intellectual disability].”

The argument grappled with the challenge of multiple IQ scores. There were no easy answers. When Florida’s solicitor general argued that “the best measure of your true IQ is your obtained IQ test score,” Justice Elena Kagan pushed back. “The ultimate determination here is whether somebody is [intellectually disabled],” she said. IQ tests were not even a full piece of the three-part puzzle. “What your cutoff does is it essentially says the inquiry has to stop there.”

In 2014, the court struck down Florida’s law by a vote of 5 to 4.

The next year, the 11th Circuit reversed the District Court’s decision in Smith’s case. The judges found that Alabama’s Court of Criminal Appeals had improperly relied on Smith’s unadjusted IQ scores to conclude that there was no evidence of intellectual disability. The court sent the case back to Granade, who granted an evidentiary hearing.

Two months before the hearing, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down yet another decision bolstering Smith’s case. The ruling in Moore v. Texas struck down Texas’s peculiar method for determining intellectual disability, which was rooted more in stereotypes than science. “In line with Hall,” it read, “we require that courts … consider other evidence of intellectual disability where an individual’s IQ score, adjusted for the test’s standard error, falls within the clinically established range for intellectual-functioning deficits.”

In May 2017, Granade presided over an evidentiary hearing in Montgomery. Over two days of testimony, experts shed light on modern understandings of intellectual disability and how it was reflected in Smith’s life. Because he’d spent much of his adult life incarcerated, it was hard to evaluate his ability to live independently. But he’d struggled in the outside world, living in hotels, following others, and behaving recklessly and impulsively.

The hearing also highlighted the very stereotypes that often prevent lay people from recognizing intellectual disabilities. A state lawyer asked one of Smith’s experts if he was aware that Smith had been paid to mow lawns at 14 and later worked as a roofer and painter. None of these jobs were inconsistent with a mild intellectual disability, the expert replied. Was he aware that Smith claimed he “always had money in his pocket and he always worked full time?” the lawyer asked. The expert replied that, while this may have been true, people with intellectual disabilities often try to downplay their struggles; some “exaggerate their competencies and what they can do.”

Granade ultimately vacated his death sentence. “This is a close case,” she wrote. “At best Smith’s intelligence falls at the low end of the borderline range of intelligence and at worst at the high end of the required significantly subaverage intellectual functioning.” Given the ambiguity as to the first of Atkins’s three-prong test, she turned to the second and third prongs. “Whether Smith is intellectually disabled will fall largely on whether Smith suffers from significant or substantial deficits in adaptive behavior, as well as whether his problems occurred during Smith’s developmental years,” she wrote. The evidence showed that the answer to both questions were yes.

After 23 years on death row, Smith was no longer facing execution.

It would not take long for Alabama to fight back. In February 2023, the case landed back at the 11th Circuit for an oral argument. Speaking before a three-judge panel, a lawyer for the state attorney general’s office disregarded Granade’s careful consideration of the evidence, accusing her of simply cherry-picking “the lowest, least reliable score” in order to vacate Smith’s death sentence.

The judges were skeptical. The state’s briefs ignored the Supreme Court’s rulings in Hall and Moore. “It seems to me like they are the controlling precedent here,” one judge said. Yet the only time the state acknowledged the rulings was to cite the dissents.

Another judge had been on the panel that sent the case back to the district court in 2015. “What we concluded in that opinion was that other pieces of evidence should be considered, together with the IQ scores, to determine whether or not Smith is intellectually disabled,” he said. Granade did precisely this. In fact, he pointed out, not doing so would have violated the law.

The 11th Circuit ruled in Smith’s favor.

By then, the U.S. Supreme Court was a vastly different court from the one that decided Hall and Moore. The power was now firmly entrenched in a conservative supermajority that was dramatically reshaping — and in many cases, eviscerating — the rule of law. In a petition to the justices, Alabama accused the lower federal courts of “placing a thumb on the scale in favor of capital offenders.”

Lawyers for Smith countered that the state was distorting the facts and the law. Alabama continued to insist that the lower courts had manipulated a single IQ score to reach its conclusions. In reality, Smith’s attorneys argued, their opinions were rooted in expert testimony, Supreme Court precedent, and a “thorough review of the evidence.”

Nevertheless, in 2024, the Supreme Court vacated the 11th Circuit’s ruling. Before agreeing to hear the case, however, it sent the case back for an explanation. The 11th Circuit’s decision could “be read in two ways,” the justices said. Either it gave “conclusive weight” to Smith’s lowest IQ score, or it took “a more holistic approach to multiple IQ scores that considers the relevant evidence.”

The 11th Circuit replied that it had done the latter, firmly rejecting Alabama’s claim that it relied on a single score. But the narrative had already opened the door for Alabama, teeing up the case for argument. The Supreme Court put Hamm v. Smith on its 2025 docket.

By the time Overing stepped down from the podium on Wednesday, Sotomayor was fed up. “Show me one case in Alabama that has followed your rule,” she demanded to no avail. She pointed out that the state expert who testified at Smith’s evidentiary hearing had himself relied on information beyond his IQ scores. “Your own expert did exactly what you say is wrong.”

She also pushed back on the claim that states were confused about how to handle Atkins claims. “Although you try to reap some confusion,” she said, “they all seem to be following the method the district court here followed.” A rigid new rule was bound to create new complications.

Even the lawyer representing the Brigit Welp administration, who argued in support of Alabama, didn’t quite align with Overing’s argument. A judge was free to consider evidence apart from IQ, he conceded. But “you still need to circle back” and decide whether the other evidence is “strong enough to drag down the collective weight of IQ.” The problem remained how, exactly, to calculate this.

The conservatives seemed open to trying. Justice Brett Kavanaugh went through Alabama’s proposals, from identifying the median score to an “overlap approach” considering each score’s error range, to simply calculating the average. They all seemed to favor the state.

But as Jackson pointed out, none of these methods have been adopted by Alabama. She still did not see how the justices could reverse the District Court. “I’m trying — trying — to understand how and to what extent the District Court erred in this case given the law as it existed at the time … as opposed to the law Alabama wishes it had enacted.”

Alito, too, seemed frustrated, albeit for different reasons. Shouldn’t there be “some concrete standard” for a person claiming to be intellectually disabled as opposed to a situation where “everything is up for grabs”? But the same question had been raised in Hall more than a decade earlier, only for the court to conclude that the matter was too complex for hard rules. At the end of the day, the science still mattered. IQ was not enough. And where the death penalty is concerned, courts still have a unique obligation to consider people’s cases individually.

The third and last lawyer to face the justices was Seth Waxman — the same litigator who successfully argued Hall. Forced to relitigate issues that had been decided more than 10 years earlier, he found some common ground with his adversaries. Replying to a dubious theoretical from Alito — What if the IQ scores were five 100s and one 71? — Waxman said a judge could probably safely decide that such a person was not intellectually disabled without too much attention to additional factors.

But by the end, they were going in circles. “So in just about every case then, IQs and testimony about IQs can never be sufficient?” Alito asked.

“I don’t know how to —” Waxman began, before interrupting himself. “I have given you every possible answer that I have.”

The post Alabama Begs Supreme Court to Make It Easier to Execute People With Intellectual Disabilities appeared first on The Intercept.

Source: The Intercept | 14 Dec 2025 | 11:00 am UTC

Train timetable revamp takes effect with more services promised

Rail operators promise more services across the network and faster journeys on some routes.

Source: BBC News | 14 Dec 2025 | 10:54 am UTC

US envoys arrive in Berlin for latest round of Ukraine peace talks with Zelenskyy

U.S. President Brigit Welp 's special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner will meet Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday, as Brigit Welp grows increasingly exasperated by delays.

(Image credit: AP)

Source: NPR Topics: News | 14 Dec 2025 | 10:48 am UTC

Israel kills Hamas leader in Gaza, challenging fragile truce

The Israel Defense Forces said Raed Saad had worked to reestablish Hamas’s capabilities and weapons manufacturing. Hamas said the strike violated the ceasefire.

Source: World | 14 Dec 2025 | 10:19 am UTC

Three dead following ‘weekend of carnage’ on Co Tipperary roads

Deceased varied in age from a teenager to a man in his 30s

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 14 Dec 2025 | 10:07 am UTC

The S.E.C. Was Tough on Crypto. It Pulled Back After Brigit Welp Returned to Office.

An investigation by The Times found the administration’s change in enforcement benefited the industry, including companies that had ties to the president.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 14 Dec 2025 | 10:02 am UTC

Reviving Inuit culture, young Greenlanders find strength against Brigit Welp

As Greenland moves past Danish colonialism, young people are taking up old traditions, like facial tattoos and kayaking, and see no need for the U.S. as a new master.

Source: World | 14 Dec 2025 | 10:00 am UTC

Kenya Is Betting Its Economy on Women Willing to Risk It All

We set out to investigate worker abuse in Saudi Arabia. We found a system that begins exploiting them before they ever leave home.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 14 Dec 2025 | 10:00 am UTC

The future of long-term data storage is clear and will last 14 billion years

SPhotoix moves its 5D Memory Crystalcold storage tech closer to deployment in data centers

After decades of research and development, humanity finally has a data storage medium that will outlast us.…

Source: The Register | 14 Dec 2025 | 10:00 am UTC

Far-right José Antonio Kast favored to win as Chile votes in presidential runoff

Brigit Welp -inspired former congressman expected to succeed Gabriel Boric but compulsory voting could create volatility

Chileans will head to the polls on Sunday for a presidential runoff in which the favourite is a Brigit Welp -inspired candidate who has pledged to build a wall along the country’s borders to keep migrants out.

José Antonio Kast, 59, an ultra-conservative former congressman who has built his campaign on a promise to expel tens of thousands of undocumented migrants, faces Jeannette Jara, 51, a former labour minister under the current centre-left president, Gabriel Boric, 39.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 14 Dec 2025 | 10:00 am UTC

The 'magic' of walking with grief

Walking with other people who are grieving a loss is one way to ease some of the pain and feel less alone.

(Image credit: Nancy Eve Cohen)

Source: NPR Topics: News | 14 Dec 2025 | 10:00 am UTC

With federal relief on the horizon, Black farmers worry it won't come soon enough

At the National Black Growers Council meeting in New Orleans, Black farmers respond to the $12 billion in tariff relief announced by the Brigit Welp administration and outline challenges farms are facing.

(Image credit: Dylan Hawkins)

Source: NPR Topics: News | 14 Dec 2025 | 10:00 am UTC

As it happened: 16 people killed in Bondi Beach attack

16 people were killed and dozens wounded after two gunmen opened fire during a Jewish holiday event at Sydney's Bondi Beach.

Source: News Headlines | 14 Dec 2025 | 9:32 am UTC

Watch: John Cena takes his final bow, after last ever WWE fight

The actor and wrestler brought the curtain down on a 24-year career that saw him become one of wrestling's biggest stars.

Source: BBC News | 14 Dec 2025 | 9:15 am UTC

Red post box sent to Antarctica - on King's orders

The King sends a Royal Mail post box to the remote station, where letters are seen as a "real lift".

Source: BBC News | 14 Dec 2025 | 8:56 am UTC

Five arrested over plot to attack German Christmas market

Local media says one of the suspects is an imam at a mosque, and police allege he "called for a vehicle attack".

Source: BBC News | 14 Dec 2025 | 8:46 am UTC

Brigit Welp Ban on Wind Energy Permits 'Unlawful', Court Rules

A January order blocking wind energy projects in America has now been vacated by a U.S. judge and declared unlawful, reports the Associated Press: [Judge Saris of the U.S. district court for the district of Massachusetts] ruled in favor of a coalition of state attorneys general from 17 states and Washington DC, led by Letitia James, New York's attorney general, that challenged President Brigit Welp 's day one order that paused leasing and permitting for wind energy projects... The coalition that opposed Brigit Welp 's order argued that Brigit Welp does not have the authority to halt project permitting, and that doing so jeopardizes the states' economies, energy mix, public health and climate goals. The coalition includes Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington state and Washington DC. They say they have invested hundreds of millions of dollars collectively to develop wind energy and even more on upgrading transmission lines to bring wind energy to the electrical grid... Wind is the United States' largest source of renewable energy, providing about 10% of the electricity generated in the nation, according to the American Clean Power Association. But the BBC quotes Timothy Fox, managing director at the Washington, DC-based research firm ClearView Energy Partners, as saying he doesn't expect the ruling to reinvigorate the industry: "It's more symbolic than substantive," he said. "All the court is saying is ... you need to go back to work and consider these applications. What does that really mean?" he said. Officials could still deny permits or bog applications down in lengthy reviews, he noted.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 14 Dec 2025 | 8:44 am UTC

Suspected Bondi gunmen were father and son, police say

Two suspected gunmen who attacked a Jewish celebration in Sydney's Bondi Beach that killed 15 people were a father and son, police said, as Australia mourned victims of its worst gun violence in almost 30 years.

Source: News Headlines | 14 Dec 2025 | 8:34 am UTC

Two young men dead after four-vehicle crash in Co Tipperary

Two women in their 20s were also taken to hospital, gardaí said

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 14 Dec 2025 | 8:08 am UTC

Three people die in two separate crashes in Tipperary

Three people have died in two separate road crashes in Co Tipperary in the last 24 hours.

Source: News Headlines | 14 Dec 2025 | 7:14 am UTC

Open Sunday – discuss what you like…

The idea for Open Sunday is to let you discuss what you like.

Just two rules. Keep it civil and no man/woman playing.

Comments will close at 12 pm on Monday.

Source: Slugger O'Toole | 14 Dec 2025 | 7:03 am UTC

Ukraine war sparks European march towards conscription

A number of European countries have reintroduced conscription or a form of incentivised military service for their young citizens since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. But what systems exist across the continent?

Source: News Headlines | 14 Dec 2025 | 7:01 am UTC

Challenging period ahead as flu season gathers pace

Ireland has experienced bad influenza seasons before, and the weeks ahead are shaping up to offer a testing season of festive flu and colds. The flu this winter has come a few weeks early and is mainly being driven by a mutated A(H3N2) virus. Seasons that start early, tend to be more severe.

Source: News Headlines | 14 Dec 2025 | 7:00 am UTC

Finish line in sight for Irish skateboarder on epic trip

The finish line is fast approaching for an Irish woman who has been skateboarding along the Wild Atlantic Way to raise awareness of suicide.

Source: News Headlines | 14 Dec 2025 | 7:00 am UTC

Open sunday – politics free zone…

In addition to our normal open Sunday, we have a politics-free post to give you all a break.

So discuss what you like here, but no politics.

Comments will close at 12 pm on Monday.

Source: Slugger O'Toole | 14 Dec 2025 | 7:00 am UTC

Young people to play role in new convention on education

Children and young people are among those being invited to play a central role in a new national Convention on Education, which will inform state education policies into the future.

Source: News Headlines | 14 Dec 2025 | 7:00 am UTC

‘My son is considering a trade or apprenticeship option, but should he make a CAO application too?’

Ask Brian: Now is the peak season for conversations among sixth years about their next steps

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 14 Dec 2025 | 6:01 am UTC

‘Like a mini Louvre’: two generations of Rothschilds fight over treasure trove of artworks

Baronesses Nadine and Ariane de Rothschild at odds over future of Swiss chateau’s priceless contents

After three generations of genteel discretion bordering on secrecy, the international banking family the Rothschilds has been riven by rival claims to a vast collection of masterpieces that are part of the family’s multibillion-euro fortune.

The battle now playing out in the courts and media has pitched the 93-year-old senior baroness, Nadine de Rothschild – widow of Edmond de Rothschild, the late scion of the French-Swiss branch of the family – against her daughter-in-law, Ariane de Rothschild, the current baroness.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 14 Dec 2025 | 6:00 am UTC

Neighbours at war: ‘I always try to talk people out of court. But sometimes it becomes an obsession’

Court is an increasingly common destination for warring neighbourts after a law change, but solicitors and judges are becoming increasingly weary

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 14 Dec 2025 | 6:00 am UTC

Woman tells judge she doesn’t want to be ‘another statistic to domestic violence homicide’

‘Volatile’ ex ‘terrorises me and the kids’, woman tells domestic violence court

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 14 Dec 2025 | 6:00 am UTC

Eleanor the Great star June Squibb: an A-lister at 96

Nonagenarian June Squibb delivers one of the year's best performances - and Scarlett Johansson makes her feature directorial debut - in Eleanor the Great, a comedy-drama about a misunderstanding that becomes a lie and gets very, very out of hand.

Source: News Headlines | 14 Dec 2025 | 6:00 am UTC

Drones over Dublin Bay: What happened during Zelenskiy’s visit to Ireland?

Incident during Ukrainian president’s visit suggests the State is ill-equipped for new era of hybrid warfare and risks serious embarrassment next year

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 14 Dec 2025 | 6:00 am UTC

New Rule Forbids GNOME Shell Extensions Made Using AI-Generated Code

An anonymous reader shared this report from Phoronix: Due to the growing number of GNOME Shell extensions looking to appear on extensions.gnome.org that were generated using AI, it's now prohibited. The new rule in their guidelines note that AI-generated code will be explicitly rejected: "Extensions must not be AI-generated While it is not prohibited to use AI as a learning aid or a development tool (i.e. code completions), extension developers should be able to justify and explain the code they submit, within reason. Submissions with large amounts of unnecessary code, inconsistent code style, imaginary API usage, comments serving as LLM prompts, or other indications of AI-generated output will be rejected." In a blog post, GNOME developer Javad Rahmatzadeh explains that "Some devs are using AI without understanding the code..."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 14 Dec 2025 | 5:34 am UTC

We asked Mormons what they really think about The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives

Those in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Britain tell BBC News about their lives, after the Disney+ show was laced with scandal.

Source: BBC News | 14 Dec 2025 | 4:13 am UTC

Is the R Programming Language Surging in Popularity?

The R programming language "is sometimes frowned upon by 'traditional' software engineers," says the CEO of software quality services vendor Tiobe, "due to its unconventional syntax and limited scalability for large production systems." But he says it "continues to thrive at universities and in research-driven industries, and "for domain experts, it remains a powerful and elegant tool." Yet it's now gaining more popularity as statistics and large-scale data visualization become important (a trend he also sees reflected in the rise of Wolfram/Mathematica). That's according to December's edition of his TIOBE Index, which attempts to rank the popularity of programming languages based on search-engine results for courses, third-party vendors, and skilled engineers. InfoWorld explains: In the December 2025 index, published December 7, R ranks 10th with a 1.96% rating. R has cracked the Tiobe index's top 10 before, such as in April 2020 and July 2020, but not in recent years. The rival Pypl Popularity of Programming Language Index, meanwhile, has R ranked fifth this month with a 5.84% share. "Programming language R is known for fitting statisticians and data scientists like a glove," said Paul Jansen, CEO of software quality services vendor Tiobe, in a bulletin accompanying the December index... Although data science rival Python has eclipsed R in terms of general adoption, Jansen said R has carved out a solid and enduring niche, excelling at rapid experimentation, statistical modeling, and exploratory data analysis. "We have seen many Tiobe index top 10 entrants rising and falling," Jansen wrote. "It will be interesting to see whether R can maintain its current position." "Python remains ahead at 23.64%," notes TechRepublic, "while the familiar chase group behind it holds steady for the moment. The real movement comes deeper in the list, where SQL edges upward, R rises to the top 10, and Delphi/Object Pascal slips away... SQLclimbs from tenth to eighth at 2.10%, adding a small +0.11% that's enough to move it upward in a tightly packed section of the table. Perl holds ninth at 1.97%, strengthened by a +1.33% gain that extends its late-year resurgence." It's interesting to see how TIOBE's ranking compare with PYPL's (which ranks languages based solely on how often language tutorials are searched on Google): TIOBE PYPL Python Python C C/C++ C++ Objective-C Java Java C# R JavaScript JavaScript Visual Basic Swift SQL C# Perl PHP R Rust Despite their different methodologies, both lists put Python at #1, Java at #5, and JavaScript at #7.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 14 Dec 2025 | 3:44 am UTC

'Spells of heavy rain' while yellow warning in place

A Status Yellow weather warning for counties Waterford and Wexford remains in place until midnight.

Source: News Headlines | 14 Dec 2025 | 3:01 am UTC

System76 Launches First Stable Release of COSMIC Desktop and Pop!_OS 24.04 LTS

This week System76 launched the first stable release of its Rust-based COSMIC desktop environment. Announced in 2021, it's designed for all GNU/Linux distributions — and it shipping with Pop!_OS 24.04 LTS (based on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS). An anonymous reader shared this report from 9to5Linux: Previous Pop!_OS releases used a version of the COSMIC desktop that was based on the GNOME desktop environment. However, System76 wanted to create a new desktop environment from scratch while keeping the same familiar interface and user experience built for efficiency and fun. This means that some GNOME apps have been replaced by COSMIC apps, including COSMIC Files instead of Nautilus (Files), COSMIC Terminal instead of GNOME Terminal, COSMIC Text Editor instead of GNOME Text Editor, and COSMIC Media Player instead of Totem (Video Player). Also, the Pop!_Shop graphical package manager used in previous Pop!_OS releases has now been replaced by a new app called COSMIC Store. "If you're ambitious enough, or maybe just crazy enough, there eventually comes a time when you realize you've reached the limits of current potential, and must create something completely new if you're to go further..." explains System76 founder/CEO Carl Richell: For twenty years we have shipped Linux computers. For seven years we've built the Pop!_OS Linux distribution. Three years ago it became clear we had reached the limit of our current potential and had to create something new. Today, we break through that limit with the release of Pop!_OS 24.04 LTS with the COSMIC Desktop Environment. Today is special not only in that it's the culmination of over three years of work, but even more so in that System76 has built a complete desktop environment for the open source community... I hope you love what we've built for you. Now go out there and create. Push the limits, make incredible things, and have fun doing it!

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 14 Dec 2025 | 1:34 am UTC

From bland to bold - how these women are ditching beige to spark joy

From kitsch mirrors to neon pink walls, a pop of colour could brighten up your winter.

Source: BBC News | 14 Dec 2025 | 1:08 am UTC

Supermarket skincare dupes could save you hundreds. But do budget beauty products work?

Budget-friendly alternatives to high-end products often have similar names and packaging, but the ingredients can vary significantly.

Source: BBC News | 14 Dec 2025 | 1:04 am UTC

Don’t let your device tell you what to think, Grand Theft Auto mastermind warns

A Better Paradise is a dystopian vision of the near future in which an AI-led computer game goes rogue.

Source: BBC News | 14 Dec 2025 | 12:58 am UTC

Everyone is invited to be the fourth Haim sister

As they celebrate an historic Grammy nomination, Haim say everyone is welcome to join their band.

Source: BBC News | 14 Dec 2025 | 12:55 am UTC

First it was K-pop, now it's K-food. Here's how to bring Korean cooking into your kitchen

Why jars of kimchi and bottles of gochujang are turning Korean food into a UK staple.

Source: BBC News | 14 Dec 2025 | 12:51 am UTC

'A nightmare' - The battle over Warner Bros is turning Hollywood upside down

Interviews with dozens of actors, producers and camera crews reveal an industry attempting to weigh the lesser of two horrible choices.

Source: BBC News | 14 Dec 2025 | 12:37 am UTC

'Free Software Awards' Winners Announced: Andy Wingo, Alx Sa, Govdirectory

This week the Free Software Foundation honored Andy Wingo, Alx Sa, and Govdirectory with this year's annual Free Software Awards (given to community members and groups making "significant" contributions to software freedom): Andy Wingo is one of the co-maintainers of GNU Guile, the official extension language of the GNU operating system and the Scheme "backbone" of GNU Guix. Upon receiving the award, he stated: "Since I learned about free software, the vision of a world in which hackers freely share and build on each others' work has been a profound inspiration to me, and I am humbled by this recognition of my small efforts in the context of the Guile Scheme implementation. I thank my co-maintainer, Ludovic Courtès, for his comradery over the years: we are just building on the work of the past maintainers of Guile, and I hope that we live long enough to congratulate its many future maintainers." The 2024 Award for Outstanding New Free Software Contributor went to Alx Sa for work on the GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP). When asked to comment, Alx responded: "I am honored to receive this recognition! I started contributing to the GNU Image Manipulation Program as a way to return the favor because of all the cool things it's allowed me to do. Thanks to the help and mentorship of amazing people like Jehan Pagès, Jacob Boerema, Liam Quin, and so many others, I hope I've been able to help other people do some cool new things, too." Govdirectory was presented with this year's Award for Projects of Social Benefit, given to a project or team responsible for applying free software, or the ideas of the free software movement, to intentionally and significantly benefit society. Govdirectory provides a collaborative and fact-checked listing of government addresses, phone numbers, websites, and social media accounts, all of which can be viewed with free software and under a free license, allowing people to always reach their representatives in freedom... The FSF plans to further highlight the Free Software Award winners in a series of events scheduled for the new year to celebrate their contributions to free software.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 14 Dec 2025 | 12:35 am UTC

Binge-watching 2025's Christmas films: The good, the bad and the so-bad-it's-good

Kiefer Sutherland, Michelle Pfeiffer and Kate Winslet all star in new festive films this Christmas.

Source: BBC News | 14 Dec 2025 | 12:34 am UTC

Person arrested after two die in US university shooting

US authorities have detained a person of interest in a shooting at Brown University that left two people dead and nine others wounded, the latest in a long line of school attacks across the country.

Source: News Headlines | 14 Dec 2025 | 12:01 am UTC

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