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Lead: Former US President Barack Obama addressed renewed attention to his remarks about extraterrestrial life after a podcast exchange in which he said, “They’re real.” The comment came during a rapid-fire segment on Brian Tyler Cohen’s show published on Saturday; Obama posted a clarification on his official Instagram the following day. He said the statistical … Read more
Lead: On remote outcrops in the Garvellach islands off Scotland’s west coast, a continuous rock sequence records a global turning point: between about 717 and 635 million years ago the planet plunged into repeated, near-global glaciations. These Cryogenian events — chiefly the Sturtian (beginning ~717 Ma, lasting ~57 Myr) and the Marinoan (about 645–635 Ma) … Read more
Lead Recent scientific work is challenging the long-held idea that women are innately more empathetic than men. Studies spanning fetal hormone measurements (2006–2007), large genetic surveys (2018), a 2025 infant meta-analysis, and 2023 brain-imaging and behavioral experiments show small average differences, large within‑group variation, and strong effects of social context and motivation. The result: biology … Read more
Lead Israeli producer Dana Eden, 52, a co-creator and producer of the Emmy-winning series Tehran, was found dead in an Athens hotel room on Monday, February 16, 2026. Eden was in Greece with her production company for the shoot of the show’s fourth season. Greek media and local authorities said bruises and pills were reported … Read more
Lead On Feb 16, 2026, Google pushed security updates for Chrome after confirming an actively exploited zero-day tracked as CVE-2026-2441. The bug is a use-after-free vulnerability in CSS with a CVSS score of 8.8 and was reported by researcher Shaheen Fazim on Feb 11, 2026. Google acknowledged an exploit exists in the wild but has … Read more
Lead Annabelle Singer, an associate professor and biomedical engineer at Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, is testing whether patterned sensory stimulation can slow Alzheimer s progression. In Atlanta labs she uses goggles and headphones that deliver 40 Hz flicker and synchronized clicks to probe neural rhythms tied to memory. Early preclinical work and … Read more
Lead: On Sunday at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, medals were decided across nine events in a packed schedule that included alpine skiing, skeleton, biathlon and speed skating. U.S. athletes pushed for podiums while established champions and new record-setters left their mark on the Games. Mikaela Shiffrin entered the women’s giant slalom seeking her … Read more
The Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami emerged as a decisive force in Bangladesh’s first national election since the 2024 student-led upheaval, winning 68 of the 297 parliamentary seats and reshaping a political landscape long dominated by two dynastic parties. The vote, held in mid-February 2026 and reported on Feb. 15, 2026, delivered a clear parliamentary majority to … Read more
Lead: India opened a five-day artificial intelligence summit in New Delhi this week, convening 20 heads of state and government alongside senior technology executives to discuss the expanding global role of AI. The India AI Impact Summit—the first edition staged in the Global South—aims to balance questions of safety, economic opportunity and governance as AI … Read more
Lead: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Budapest on Monday to meet Prime Minister Viktor Orbán as officials prepared to sign a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement. The signing follows Rubio’s stop in Slovakia and a recent White House meeting between Orbán and President Donald Trump in November. Hungary has signaled willingness to support construction … Read more
Amazon is offering the Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm) for $299 — down from its $399 list price — as part of its Presidents’ Day promotions. The discount, equal to roughly 25% off, is available through Amazon’s sales event and may be time-limited. Creative Bloq reviewers who tested this exact model for a month … Read more
Last week (mid-February 2026) several prominent AI safety researchers resigned from leading labs, warning that companies prioritising revenue were sidelining safeguards and accelerating risky product rollouts. The departures — reported at OpenAI and Anthropic among others — have renewed concern that commercial incentives are reshaping system design and deployment choices. Industry moves such as hiring … Read more
Lead: As the United States approaches the 2026 midterm elections, scholars and civic observers are increasingly warning that democratic norms are under strain. In February 2026, analysts from research institutes and universities described steps by the federal government and related political actors that, they say, fit patterns of “electoral autocracy” or competitive authoritarianism. Specific incidents … Read more
At least eight people were killed and two others suffered minor burns after a large explosion tore through a fireworks shop in a village in Donghai County, Jiangsu province, on Sunday afternoon. Local authorities said the blast followed a resident igniting pyrotechnics too close to the store, and emergency, fire and health teams were dispatched … Read more
Lead: On Monday, a rare Pikachu Illustrator trading card owned by Logan Paul sold at Goldin Auctions for $16.492 million, with a diamond-encrusted necklace included and a promise of hand delivery to the buyer. The 42-day auction closed after 97 bids and hours of extended bidding; a Guinness World Records official subsequently confirmed it as … Read more
