Government
During WWII, a dress-wearing squirrel sold war bonds alongside FDR
US bomber crews even carried photos of Tommy Tucker on missions. Tommy Tucker did radio spots, had a fan club, and even posed for LIFE magazine. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. A few months after the attack on Pearl Harbor thrust the United States into World War II, a little girl was walking to school in northwest Washington, D.C. when she found a baby squirrel that had apparently fallen out of a hickory tree. She took the tiny rodent home, fed him warm milk, and made him a cozy bed in a red woolen hat.
Opposed to Data Centers? The Working Families Party Wants You to Run for Office
The influential progressive third party announced Thursday that it was putting out a recruitment call for candidates specifically opposed to data centers. The Working Families Party said Thursday that it is putting out a specific recruitment call for people who are organizing against data centers in their communities to run for office. The announcement comes amid a period of heightened political turmoil around data centers, as some high-profile Democrats wade into the fight. Earlier this week, three Democrats in the Senate sent letters seeking information from Big Tech companies about how data centers impact electricity bills, while senator Bernie Sanders, the independent from Vermont, became the first national politician to call for a moratorium on data center construction. "We see our role as responding to what working families and working people are concerned about, what issues are keeping them up at night," says Ravi Mangla, the national press secretary for the Working Families Party. "We would be ignoring the needs of our constituents if we were not responding to the issue of data centers and their impacts on communities."
George Osborne has a new job in tech, and it doesn't bode well for Britain Chris Stokel-Walker
George Osborne has a new job in tech, and it doesn't bode well for Britain OpenAI is the latest to make a political hire as big tech spreads its tentacles around the world. Since leaving frontline politics, the former chancellor has served as the chair of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, edited (not entirely successfully) the Evening Standard, advised asset manager BlackRock, joined boutique advisory firm Robey Warshaw, been appointed as the chair of the British Museum and taken on roles including advising crypto firm Coinbase . But Osborne's latest job is the most eye-opening - and is an alarming augur of what is to come. OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, has become the latest organisation to employ Osborne . He will run OpenAI for Countries, a unit tasked with working directly with governments while expanding the company's Stargate datacentre programme beyond the US.
The 8 worst technology flops of 2025
The Cybertruck, sycophantic AI, and humanoid robots all made this year's list of the biggest technology failures. Welcome to our annual list of the worst, least successful, and simply dumbest technologies of the year. This year, politics was a recurring theme. Donald Trump swept back into office and used his executive pen to reshape the fortunes of entire sectors, from renewables to cryptocurrency. The wrecking-ball act began even before his inauguration, when the president-elect marketed his own memecoin, $TRUMP, in a shameless act of merchandising that, of course, we honor on this year's worst tech list. We like to think there's a lesson in every technological misadventure.
AI boom has caused same CO2 emissions in 2025 as New York City, report claims
The AI boom has caused as much carbon dioxide to be released into the atmosphere in 2025 as emitted by the whole of New York City, it has been claimed. The global environmental impact of the rapidly spreading technology has been estimated in research published on Wednesday, which also found that AI-related water use now exceeds the entirety of global bottled-water demand. The figures have been compiled by the Dutch academic Alex de Vries-Gao, the founder of Digiconomist, a company that researches the unintended consequences of digital trends. He claimed they were the first attempt to measure the specific effect of artificial intelligence rather than datacentres in general as the use of chatbots such as OpenAIâ s ChatGPT and Googleâ s Gemini soared in 2025. The figures show the estimated greenhouse gas emissions from AI use are also now equivalent to more than 8% of global aviation emissions.
Artificial tendons give muscle-powered robots a boost
Our muscles are nature's actuators. The sinewy tissue is what generates the forces that make our bodies move. In recent years, engineers have used real muscle tissue to actuate "biohybrid robots" made from both living tissue and synthetic parts. By pairing lab-grown muscles with synthetic skeletons, researchers are engineering a menagerie of muscle-powered crawlers, walkers, swimmers, and grippers. But for the most part, these designs are limited in the amount of motion and power they can produce.
Drone strike plunges Sudan major cities into darkness as civil war rages
Major cities across Sudan, including the capital, Khartoum, and coastal city Port Sudan, have been plunged into darkness after drone strikes hit a key power plant in the country's east. Flames and smoke rose from the facility in Atbara, River Nile state on Thursday, which is controlled by the government-aligned Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and under attack by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the ongoing civil war that has ripped the nation apart. Sudan's RSF trying to hide atrocities: Report Two civil defence members were killed, power plant officials said, while trying to extinguish the fire that erupted after the first strike, adding that rescue workers were injured when a second drone hit as they battled the flames. Al Jazeera correspondent Mohamed Vall in Port Sudan reported that residents initially thought a routine power cut had occurred, only to learn it was linked to incidents in Atbara, roughly 320km (about 230 miles) north of Khartoum. He added that such strikes have become a frequent occurrence in Sudan's war.
Third of UK citizens have used AI for emotional support, research reveals
AISI's report also found chatbots could sway political opinions but often delivered substantial amounts of inaccurate information. AISI's report also found chatbots could sway political opinions but often delivered substantial amounts of inaccurate information. A third of UK citizens have used artificial intelligence for emotional support, companionship or social interaction, according to the government's AI security body. The AI Security Institute (AISI) said nearly one in 10 people used systems like chatbots for emotional purposes on a weekly basis, and 4% daily. AISI called for further research, citing the death this year of the US teenager Adam Raine, who killed himself after discussing suicide with ChatGPT.
Ukraine drones kill 3 in Russia's Rostov as EU debates war funding for Kyiv
What is in the 28-point US plan for Ukraine? 'Ukraine is running out of men, money and time' Can the US get all sides to end the war? Why is Europe opposing Trump's peace plan? Ukraine drones kill 3 in Russia's Rostov as EU debates war funding for Kyiv Ukraine has hit Russia's southern region of Rostov with an overnight drone attack that killed three people, as European countries strive to unlock Russian assets to help Kyiv and United States-led efforts to end the war have yet to yield any tangible results. Yury Slyusar, the acting regional governor of the Rostov region, said on Telegram on Thursday that the attack caused a fire on a cargo ship that had been extinguished, with two crew members killed and three left injured. Using Russia's money to aid Ukraine The attack on the region, the latest in a series of nightly Ukrainian raids deep inside Russian territory, came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged European Union leaders meeting in Brussels on Thursday to approve plans that would release 210 billion euros ($247bn) of frozen Russian assets to assist his country.
Mystery as flock of UFOs seen hovering above power station for more than a year
Kimberly Guilfoyle's bitter reaction to Don Jr's engagement with Bettina Anderson as scorned ex insists she'wants what's best' for the first son Simone Biles is slammed by furious animal rights activists after allegedly chopping her dog's EARS off The full story of Nick Reiner and these murders is so much more unbearable than everyone thinks. Even Hollywood wouldn't dare write it: MAUREEN CALLAHAN I sneakily looked at my perfect son's phone... What a terrible mistake! Rob Reiner and his wife's cause of death revealed'It was a cover up': Kirsty MacColl's ex-husband speaks out 25 years on from Fairytale of New York singer's death... and says she was'killed by speedboat driven by the richest man in Mexico' Reiner family bombshell as insiders reveal who is paying for Nick's celebrity lawyer... their secret motive... and who will REALLY inherit $200m fortune Trump's border patrol boss gets in VERY public spat with city mayor as he gives him rude awakening Chilling new video of Nick Reiner making disturbing comments about murder... as friend reveals dad Rob's tragic failed attempt to save him: 'I'm going to kill that f***ing dog' Tara Reid speaks out for the first time since THAT video emerged... and tells KATIE HIND why she is convinced she was spiked after watching CCTV How Bettina Anderson's engagement ring measures up to Kimberly Guilfoyle's... and which Don Jr spent most money on Elon Musk is blasted on social media over'pathetic' comments about Sydney Sweeney's breasts Biohacker Bryan Johnson says he will be immortal in 15 years... as he finally'cracks' the secret to living forever Natalee Holloway's killer Joran van der Sloot attempts to take his own life inside maximum-security Peruvian prison Chilling new details of father's death a day before facing justice for leaving his daughter, 2, to die in a hot car Pouty dine-and-dash diva interrupts judge MULTIPLE times as she's hauled to court for bill-skipping spree Sign up for our US Editor's Picks newsletter to get all the biggest exclusive stories A small town sheriff has admitted he is perplexed by a series of mysterious flying objects which have been bewildering locals in his Wyoming community for more than a year. Unidentified flying objects [ UFOs ] have been regularly spotted for 13 months above the Jim Bridger Power Plant and Sweetwater County's Red Desert. John Grossnickle, the Sheriff of Sweetwater County, saw lit-up, drone-like objects as recently as December 13, his spokesman Jason Mower told Cowboy State Daily .