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How Doodles Became the Dog du Jour

The New Yorker

Poodle crossbreeds have grown overwhelmingly popular, sparking controversy in dog parks and kennel clubs alike. The features of doodles such as Peaches (above), a goldendoodle, have become the canine equivalent of Instagram face. Meet the Breeds, the American Kennel Club's annual showcase of purebred dogs, took place over two eye-wateringly cold days in early February at the Javits Center, in Manhattan. About a hundred and fifty of the two hundred and five varieties recognized as official breeds by the A.K.C., the long-standing authority in the U.S. dog world, were in attendance for the public to ogle, fondle, and coo "So cute!" to, including the basset fauve de Bretagne, a hunting hound from France that's one of three newly recognized breeds recently allowed into the purebred pantheon. Some of the dogs had competed in the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show earlier in the week, and past champions had their ribbons on display. In spite of the frigid weather, pavilions hosting the more popular breeds--the pug, the Doberman pinscher, the Great Dane, the St. Bernard--were packed. Lesser-known varieties, such as the saluki, the Löwchen, and the Lapponian herder, drew sparser crowds. There were exhibition spaces for each breed, and on the back walls were three adjectives supposedly describing that particular type of dog's temperament. There is, in fact, no evidence that temperament is consistent within a breed, but the idea is deeply rooted in dogdom. I stopped to caress the velvety ear leather of a pharaoh hound ("Friendly, Smart, Noble"), a sprinting breed once used to hunt rabbits in Malta; accept kisses from a Portuguese water dog, bred to assist with retrieving tackle ("Affectionate, Adventurous, Athletic"); and have my photograph taken with a Leonberger, a German breed from the town of Leonberg, in southwest Germany ("Friendly, Gentle, Playful"). No one was supposed to be openly selling dogs, but, if you asked, the breeders would share their information. Excluding what are known as companion dogs, like the Leonberger, most of the animals at the show were designed for a purpose that is no longer required of them. In Great Britain, foxhounds are legally barred from chasing foxes. Consider the fate of the otterhound, an ancient variety with a noble heritage which was once used in the U.K. to hunt river otters, which were prized for their thick fur and disliked by wealthy landowners because they ate fish in their stocked ponds.


Water levels across the Great Lakes are falling – just as US data centers move in

The Guardian

Tue 16 Dec 2025 08.00 ESTLast modified on Tue 16 Dec 2025 08.02 EST The sign outside Tom Hermes's farmyard in Perkins Township in Ohio, a short drive south of the shores of Lake Erie, proudly claims that his family have farmed the land here since 1900. Today, he raises 130 head of cattle and grows corn, wheat, grass and soybeans on 1,200 acres of land. For his family, his animals and wider business, water is life. So when, in May 2024, the Texas-based Aligned Data Centers broke ground on its NEO-01, four-building, 200,000 sq ft data center on a brownfield site that abuts farmland that Hermes rents, he was concerned. "We have city water here. That's going to reduce the pressure if they are sucking all the water," he says of the data center.


Is this why aliens haven't contacted us yet? Extraterrestrials are BORED of trying to find us - and have simply stopped looking, scientist claims

Daily Mail - Science & tech

'Arc de Trump' designed by president unveiled as he reveals controversial past plan for monument site'Vile' American flag spotted in Republican's office sparks Capitol investigation Experts reveal five-day window when'life-threatening' storm is set to smash US as it brews in Atlantic Ocean RICHARD EDEN: The VERY telling video that suggests one of Meghan's closest confidants has been'Markled'. He once leapt to her defence... now like so many others he needs to watch his step She's the dancer caught'going at it' in bed with Britney Spears. Nepo babies dare to bare! Celebrity offspring leave nothing to imagination as they dominate Victoria's Secret show... what would their parents say? Nightmarish moment train door closes on 65-year-old man's coat and drags him to his death MAUREEN CALLAHAN: Trump's depraved critics have committed their foulest act yet... Bella Hadid's health battle takes dark turn: Loved ones reveal hellish new details about model... as ominous texts emerge Why'embarrassed' Keith Urban is'in hiding' amid divorce from wife Nicole Kidman Disney superfan, 31, vanishes from her Midwest home months after announcing pregnancy... then horrific discovery is made at Walt Disney World Selena Gomez admits she was'sobbing' and fearing the worst just WEEKS after marrying music producer Benny Blanco in lavish ceremony Race against time to build a 211-mile gravel track across America's most extreme frontier for new'Manhattan Project'... but it could be too late Victoria's Secret show 2025: Bella Hadid rules the runway after her health woes, Jasmine Tookes opens the show at nine months pregnant and Emily Ratajkowski makes her debut aged 34 as legendary Angels and nepo babies unite after failed woke rebrand Red-eyed female executive, 61, with $1.1m home attacked two Alaska Airlines staff and forced plane to make emergency landing, police say Most shocking moments from female-fronted talk show dubbed'The View for conservatives' Nancy Pelosi explodes at reporter as she's escorted down Capitol Building steps Is this why aliens haven't contacted us yet? READ MORE: Reaching out to aliens could result in'the end of all life on Earth' It's one of the biggest unanswered questions in science: if there's life beyond Earth, why hasn't it contacted us yet?


Experts reveal five-day window when 'life-threatening' storm is set to smash US as it brews in Atlantic Ocean

Daily Mail - Science & tech

'Arc de Trump' designed by president unveiled as he reveals controversial past plan for monument site'Vile' American flag spotted in Republican's office sparks Capitol investigation Experts reveal five-day window when'life-threatening' storm is set to smash US as it brews in Atlantic Ocean RICHARD EDEN: The VERY telling video that suggests one of Meghan's closest confidants has been'Markled'. He once leapt to her defence... now like so many others he needs to watch his step She's the dancer caught'going at it' in bed with Britney Spears. Nepo babies dare to bare! Celebrity offspring leave nothing to imagination as they dominate Victoria's Secret show... what would their parents say? Nightmarish moment train door closes on 65-year-old man's coat and drags him to his death MAUREEN CALLAHAN: Trump's depraved critics have committed their foulest act yet... Bella Hadid's health battle takes dark turn: Loved ones reveal hellish new details about model... as ominous texts emerge Why'embarrassed' Keith Urban is'in hiding' amid divorce from wife Nicole Kidman Disney superfan, 31, vanishes from her Midwest home months after announcing pregnancy... then horrific discovery is made at Walt Disney World Selena Gomez admits she was'sobbing' and fearing the worst just WEEKS after marrying music producer Benny Blanco in lavish ceremony Race against time to build a 211-mile gravel track across America's most extreme frontier for new'Manhattan Project'... but it could be too late Victoria's Secret show 2025: Bella Hadid rules the runway after her health woes, Jasmine Tookes opens the show at nine months pregnant and Emily Ratajkowski makes her debut aged 34 as legendary Angels and nepo babies unite after failed woke rebrand Red-eyed female executive, 61, with $1.1m home attacked two Alaska Airlines staff and forced plane to make emergency landing, police say Most shocking moments from female-fronted talk show dubbed'The View for conservatives' Nancy Pelosi explodes at reporter as she's escorted down Capitol Building steps Experts reveal five-day window when'life-threatening' storm is set to smash US as it brews in Atlantic Ocean A powerful tropical system brewing in the Atlantic Ocean could become the next major threat to lives and property in the US, meteorologists have warned. Forecasters are tracking a tropical wave, a poorly organized area of showers and thunderstorms, currently located off the coast of Africa, which is expected to develop into a named storm between October 21 and 25.


Revealed: What Jesus REALLY looked like - as Mel Gibson sparks outrage for recasting the long-awaited Passion of the Christ sequel

Daily Mail - Science & tech

Nancy Pelosi explodes at reporter as she's escorted down Capitol Building steps Trump threatens'land strikes' on Venezuela as CIA begins covert operations in Latin American country and Maduro declares'No to coups' She's the dancer caught'going at it' in bed with Britney Spears. Bella Hadid's health battle takes dark turn: Loved ones reveal hellish new details about model... as ominous texts emerge Diane Keaton's cause of death revealed just days after actress' passing at 79 as her family pens emotional message to fans Emily Ratajkowski fans rejoice as she makes Victoria's Secret show debut at age 34 Murderer's final words and hearty last meal as he's executed after 30 years on death row Nepo babies dare to bare! Celebrity offspring leave nothing to imagination as they dominate Victoria's Secret show... what would their parents say? Victoria's Secret show 2025: Bella Hadid rules the runway after her health woes, Jasmine Tookes opens the show at nine months pregnant and Emily Ratajkowski makes her debut aged 34 as legendary Angels and nepo babies unite after failed woke rebrand Popular food can be used to fight resistant viruses ... and it costs just pennies Disney superfan, 31, vanishes from her Midwest home months after announcing pregnancy... then horrific discovery is made at Walt Disney World Chilling new footage shows knifeman on night he'stabbed Ukrainian refugee to death' on a train in murder that shook America Britney Spears unleashes on ex Kevin Federline AND her SONS - accusing him of'gaslighting' and claiming she's seen one boy for just 45 minutes in five years Jailed Diddy's harsh reality check as very unglamorous conditions rapper has to abide by after prison revealed Mel Gibson's highly-anticipated sequel to The Passion of the Christ has sparked outrage from fans, after it was revealed that it is moving forward with a new cast due to the time gap. The original 2004 movie followed the final 12 hours of Jesus Christ's life, and starred Jim Caviezel, 57, as Christ. However, The Resurrection of the Christ -- which takes place three days after Christ's crucifixion on Good Friday -- will now star Finnish actor Jaakko Ohtonen, 36, in the role of Christ.


Scientists reveal the surprising age at which your brain reaches its peak - so, are YOUR best days behind you?

Daily Mail - Science & tech

Nancy Pelosi explodes at reporter as she's escorted down Capitol Building steps Trump threatens'land strikes' on Venezuela as CIA begins covert operations in Latin American country and Maduro declares'No to coups' She's the dancer caught'going at it' in bed with Britney Spears. Bella Hadid's health battle takes dark turn: Loved ones reveal hellish new details about model... as ominous texts emerge Diane Keaton's cause of death revealed just days after actress' passing at 79 as her family pens emotional message to fans Emily Ratajkowski fans rejoice as she makes Victoria's Secret show debut at age 34 Murderer's final words and hearty last meal as he's executed after 30 years on death row Nepo babies dare to bare! Celebrity offspring leave nothing to imagination as they dominate Victoria's Secret show... what would their parents say? Victoria's Secret show 2025: Bella Hadid rules the runway after her health woes, Jasmine Tookes opens the show at nine months pregnant and Emily Ratajkowski makes her debut aged 34 as legendary Angels and nepo babies unite after failed woke rebrand Popular food can be used to fight resistant viruses ... and it costs just pennies Disney superfan, 31, vanishes from her Midwest home months after announcing pregnancy... then horrific discovery is made at Walt Disney World Chilling new footage shows knifeman on night he'stabbed Ukrainian refugee to death' on a train in murder that shook America Meghan-linked charity is hit by racism and sexism allegations as staff claim it is a'toxic' and'hostile' workplace Britney Spears unleashes on ex Kevin Federline AND her SONS - accusing him of'gaslighting' and claiming she's seen one boy for just 45 minutes in five years Jailed Diddy's harsh reality check as very unglamorous conditions rapper has to abide by after prison revealed Scientists reveal the surprising age at which your brain reaches its peak - so, are YOUR best days behind you? READ MORE: Actor Tom Hanks thinks 35 is the hardest age - but is he right? With each passing day, you may feel like you're getting further past your peak.


Britain has experienced its first official 'MEGA FIRE' - and scientists warn the devastating blazes could soon become the norm

Daily Mail - Science & tech

Nancy Pelosi explodes at reporter as she's escorted down Capitol Building steps Trump threatens'land strikes' on Venezuela as CIA begins covert operations in Latin American country and Maduro declares'No to coups' She's the dancer caught'going at it' in bed with Britney Spears. Bella Hadid's health battle takes dark turn: Loved ones reveal hellish new details about model... as ominous texts emerge Diane Keaton's cause of death revealed just days after actress' passing at 79 as her family pens emotional message to fans Emily Ratajkowski fans rejoice as she makes Victoria's Secret show debut at age 34 Murderer's final words and hearty last meal as he's executed after 30 years on death row Nepo babies dare to bare! Celebrity offspring leave nothing to imagination as they dominate Victoria's Secret show... what would their parents say? Victoria's Secret show 2025: Bella Hadid rules the runway after her health woes, Jasmine Tookes opens the show at nine months pregnant and Emily Ratajkowski makes her debut aged 34 as legendary Angels and nepo babies unite after failed woke rebrand Popular food can be used to fight resistant viruses ... and it costs just pennies Disney superfan, 31, vanishes from her Midwest home months after announcing pregnancy... then horrific discovery is made at Walt Disney World Chilling new footage shows knifeman on night he'stabbed Ukrainian refugee to death' on a train in murder that shook America Britney Spears unleashes on ex Kevin Federline AND her SONS - accusing him of'gaslighting' and claiming she's seen one boy for just 45 minutes in five years Jailed Diddy's harsh reality check as very unglamorous conditions rapper has to abide by after prison revealed Britain has experienced its first official'MEGA FIRE' - and scientists warn the devastating blazes could soon become the norm READ MORE: Scientists warn that'FIREWAVES' will devastate UK cities Britain has experienced its first official'mega fire' - and scientists warn the devastating blazes could soon become the norm. Back in June, the Carrbridge and Dava Moor in the Scottish Highlands was devastated by the worst wildfire in living memory. The blaze burned over 11,000 hectares (42.5 square miles) of forest and peatland, killing thousands of animals in its path.


The Dire Wolf Is Back

The New Yorker

Extinction is a part of nature. Of the five billion species that have existed on Earth, 99.9 per cent have vanished. The Triassic-Jurassic extinction, two hundred million years ago, finished off the crocodile-like phytosaur. Sixty-six million years ago, the end-Cretaceous extinction eliminated the Tyrannosaurus rex and the velociraptor; rapid climate change from an asteroid impact was the likely cause. The Neanderthals disappeared some forty thousand years ago. One day--whether from climate change, another asteroid, nuclear war, or something we can't yet imagine--humans will probably be wiped out, too.


SelfElicit: Your Language Model Secretly Knows Where is the Relevant Evidence

arXiv.org Artificial Intelligence

Providing Language Models (LMs) with relevant evidence in the context (either via retrieval or user-provided) can significantly improve their ability to provide factually correct grounded responses. However, recent studies have found that LMs often struggle to fully comprehend and utilize key evidence from the context, especially when it contains noise and irrelevant information - an issue common in real-world scenarios. To address this, we propose SelfElicit, an inference-time approach that helps LMs focus on key contextual evidence through self-guided explicit highlighting. By leveraging the inherent evidence-finding capabilities of LMs using the attention scores of deeper layers, our method automatically identifies and emphasizes key evidence within the input context, facilitating more accurate and factually grounded responses without additional training or iterative prompting. We demonstrate that SelfElicit brings consistent and significant improvement on multiple evidence-based QA tasks for various LM families while maintaining computational efficiency. Our code and documentation are available at https://github.com/ZhiningLiu1998/SelfElicit.


Model Successor Functions

arXiv.org Machine Learning

The notion of generalization has moved away from the classical one defined in statistical learning theory towards an emphasis on out-of-domain generalization (OODG). Recently, there is a growing focus on inductive generalization, where a progression of difficulty implicitly governs the direction of domain shifts. In inductive generalization, it is often assumed that the training data lie in the easier side, while the testing data lie in the harder side. The challenge is that training data are always finite, but a learner is expected to infer an inductive principle that could be applied in an unbounded manner. This emerging regime has appeared in the literature under different names, such as length/logical/algorithmic extrapolation, but a formal definition is lacking. This work provides such a formalization that centers on the concept of model successors. Then we outline directions to adapt well-established techniques towards the learning of model successors. This work calls for restructuring of the research discussion around inductive generalization from fragmented task-centric communities to a more unified effort, focused on universal properties of learning and computation.