Lead On Christmas night 1776, General George Washington led Continental troops across an icy Delaware River and won at Trenton, a reversal that revived American hopes. That freezing weather, once ordinary in the Mid-Atlantic, played a tactical role by reducing enemy vigilance and enabling surprise. Today the same landscape records an accelerating climate signal: regional … Read more
On Feb. 15, 2026 in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Federica Brignone secured her second gold medal of the home Winter Olympics by winning the women’s giant slalom, completing a comeback story that began with a super-G title three days earlier. Brignone, 35, led by 0.34 seconds after the first run and produced a clean second run … Read more
Lead: On Feb. 15, 2026, students in more than three dozen states staged walkouts to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportation tactics, disrupting classes in cities from Salt Lake County, Utah, to coastal Maine. Demonstrations included coordinated exits from multiple schools, marches that halted traffic and public gatherings on bridges and school parking … Read more
This winter, volunteers in south Minneapolis took up community patrols after federal immigration teams repeatedly operated in the city, stopping people across neighborhoods that include a concentrated Native American corridor. Residents and organized groups such as the Many Shields Society scanned streets, bus stops and online alerts for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity, deploying … Read more
Lead: On 15 February 2026 the Israeli cabinet approved a proposal to register large areas of the occupied West Bank as ‘state property’, a move driven by ministers from the political right and described by critics as a step toward formalizing Israeli control over Palestinian land. The measure was submitted by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich … Read more
In the opening days of the 2026 Berlin International Film Festival, organisers issued a lengthy defence of their jury after remarks by jury president Wim Wenders about art and politics sparked a media backlash and prompted Indian author Arundhati Roy to withdraw on Friday. The festival said a “media storm” had swept the Berlinale in … Read more
Lead: On Feb. 12, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) barred Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych from competing after he wore a helmet bearing portraits of fellow Ukrainians killed since Russia’s 2022 invasion. The ruling invoked the IOC’s athlete-expression rules and Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter, which limit political demonstrations in Olympic areas. The decision … Read more
Lead On a wind-brushed Sunday in September at Doran Regional Park, Bodega Bay, Sonoma State University professor Stefan Kiesbye discovered an unusually large, slab-shaped fish during a routine beach cleanup. The animal measured roughly six feet long and three feet across and was later identified by experts as Mola tecta, the rarely seen “hoodwinker” sunfish. … Read more
South Carolina extended its winning streak against LSU to 18 games with a 79-72 victory on Saturday, a game that combined competitive heat with personal subplots. The matchup featured former teammates MiLaysia Fulwiley facing her old roster and produced few overt confrontations, though competitive edge was evident. The Gamecocks leaned on their starters while a … Read more
Lead Johannes Høsflot Klæbo became the Winter Olympics’ most decorated athlete after claiming a record ninth Olympic gold on Sunday at the Milan–Cortina 2026 Games. The 29-year-old anchored Norway to victory in the men’s 4×7.5km relay, securing his fourth title of these Games alongside teammates Emil Iversen, Martin Løwstrøm Nyenget and Einar Hægegård. Norway finished … Read more
Lead: A New York Times–based report says that, in recent months, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued administrative subpoenas to major tech platforms and that Reddit, Meta and Google voluntarily complied with some requests for identifying information about users who had posted criticism of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The requests arrived as part … Read more
Lead: In early February 2025, Moderna disclosed that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had issued a “refuse to file” notice for the company’s mRNA seasonal-flu vaccine application, saying the submission did not meet newly articulated standards. The decision—sent on February 3—halted formal review even after earlier consultations in 2024 during which FDA career reviewers … Read more
Karim Aïnouz’s Rosebush Pruning, presented ahead of its world premiere in Berlin, is a compact, darkly comic assault on privilege and patriarchy set inside a single Spanish villa. The film centers on a disastrously wealthy American family — led by a blind, domineering father and three fractured siblings — whose brittle order unravels after the … Read more
Lead Researchers at the University of Rochester reported on Feb. 15, 2026, that they have engineered narrow aluminum tubes that can trap air and remain buoyant even when punctured or subjected to harsh conditions. The devices—about one-fifth of an inch in diameter—use a superhydrophobic surface to hold pockets of air, allowing stacks of tubes to … Read more
Lead Across the United States, more employees are stepping away from steady work for weeks or months — calling it a mini‑sabbatical, adult gap year or micro‑retirement — to recover from burnout, pursue projects or travel. Research teams and career coaches say the resurgence spans people who self‑fund leaves, those who negotiate unpaid time with … Read more
