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Recent Articles
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How to Write and Publish Science Fiction
Science fiction has always been a genre of defiance. From Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower, the best sci?fi stories refuse to accept the world as it is. They imagine what could be, what should be, and sometimes what must never be. Yet for the modern writer, the act of creating and publishing science fiction is itself a rebellion—against shrinking attention spans, against publishing monopolies, against the quiet pressure to write something “safe.” This is not a neutral craft. To write and publish science fiction today is to step into a contested space where art, commerce, and politics collide. 1. The Spark: Writing Against Gravity Every sci?fi story begins … |
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US Embassy in Baghdad attacked with missile that hits helipad
The United States Embassy in the Iraqi capital Baghdad has been hit by a missile attack that caused smoke to rise from the building. An Iraqi security source told Al Jazeera on Saturday that the attack destroyed part of its air defence system, without giving further details. A missile struck a helipad inside the US Embassy in Baghdad, two security officials told The Associated Press news agency. The projectile landed within the embassy’s boundaries in the Green Zone, the heavily fortified district in central Baghdad that houses Iraqi government institutions and foreign embassies, added the security officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity as they are not authorised to speak with the pr… |
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A Child Can Be Saved Now If Her Parents Can Afford the Cure
The number came before the explanation. It sat there, stark and unblinking, a figure so large it did not feel like money anymore but something abstract, like distance or time—millions, arranged neatly in digits, as if that made it reasonable. The doctor spoke afterward, carefully, almost gently, about breakthroughs, about possibility, about a future that would not have existed even a decade ago. There was no cruelty in his voice. That was the worst part. It meant the system no longer needed cruelty to do its work. The child sat in the corner, small and restless, tapping the edge of a chair, unaware that the conversation had already begun to close around her like a narrowing corridor. A cure … |
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At least three dead with a dozen injured in prison riot in Georgia
Early Sunday afternoon, Sheriff Joel Cochran told local station WRDW that several fights broke out inside the facility in Davisboro in Washington County, Georgia, which resulted in 13 inmates being taken to the hospital. The prison is located around 50 miles southeast of Augusta. While the fight was between inmates, one guard was potentially injured, according to Cochran. The Washington County Coroner confirmed two deaths had occurred initially from the fight, and a third individual died later on Sunday evening. “It’s not uncommon for these things to happen at correctional facilities; however, I think it has been quite some time since we’ve had to come to an incident this large,” Cochran sai… |
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The Assassination of Malcolm X
On February 21, 1965, Malcolm X woke up alone in a suite at the Hilton Hotel in New York City.He was, in the most literal sense, a guy without a home. The week before, someone had set fire to his house in the East Elmhurst neighborhood of Queens in the middle of the night. His wife, Betty Shabazz, and his four small children were all well, but for their own protection, they were currently residing with friends in a secret location.Malcolm was sure that his old coworkers from the Nation of Islam (NOI), led by Elijah Muhammad, were responsible for the firebombing. He used to be the second most influential person in the religious and political movement, but now he had to watch out for the milit… |
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Karaoke And The Death Of Public Shame
Opinion There are few sounds more spiritually exhausting than a drunk man discovering a microphone near water. The river carries everything. That is the problem. A terrible singer inside a small bar is survivable. The walls absorb part of the damage. Alcohol softens the rest. But once speakers are dragged outdoors and pointed broadly at civilization itself, the laws of acoustics become instruments of psychological warfare. Somewhere across the dark water, usually male, usually already shouting before the music even begins, a man decides that what the entire neighborhood needs at 11:47 p.m. is his interpretation of “Sweet Caroline.” Interpretation is perhaps too generous a word. What follows … |
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The World Cup plan is merely a proposal and not an obligation
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has called the plan to sell ownership in the World Cup a proposal but said it is "not an obligation," following a significant criticism from several football authorities. FIFA this week said it planned to create a $20 billion subsidiary to run the World Cup and other events, and would sell up to 20% of the subsidiary to outside investors. The proposal was heavily criticized by the sport’s regional confederations, which said they were surprised by FIFA’s plan to incorporate commercial investors in the sport. The commercial side of the game has to grow." "It is a natural growth of the game," Mr Infantino said. “It’s part of a democratic process—a consultation pr… |
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Stock markets surge as Trump calls off strikes on Iran
Stock markets have surged following US President Donald Trump’s announcement that he called off planned strikes against Iran and a peace deal with Tehran is imminent. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P500 index finished nearly 1.8 percent higher on Thursday, ending a three-day streak of losses for the biggest single-day gain since April. The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.5 percent, while the older, blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average gained about 1.9 percent. The rally continued in the Asia Pacific on Friday, with markets in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Australia racking up gains. South Korea’s Kospi, the best-performing major index this year, surged more than 8 percent in… |
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Dangerous Emergency Powers Are Addictive
Editorial | Feature Democracies borrow power in crises but rarely return it. Without safeguards, emergencies become permanent, eroding freedom. The Siren and the Decree It begins with a siren. A coastal city braces for a storm surge, and within hours the government issues a decree: curfews, restricted movement, suspension of normal legislative debate. Citizens line up for aid, but they also face checkpoints. The justification is clear — safety demands speed. Yet beneath the urgency lies a deeper question: when power is borrowed in the name of emergency, will it ever be returned? Part I: The Logic of Emergency Democracies are designed for deliberation. They thrive on debate, compromise, and p… |
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The Climate Emergency Governments Still Pretend Is Optional
GENEVA — A coalition of scientists and public health experts this week urged the World Health Organization to formally declare climate change a global public health emergency, escalating pressure on governments as new projections warn 2026 could become one of the hottest and most destructive climate years ever recorded. The demand arrives at a moment of extraordinary contradiction. Governments across Europe, North America, and Asia now openly acknowledge the dangers of climate change while simultaneously approving new fossil fuel projects, subsidizing oil and gas production, and delaying emissions targets that scientists say are already dangerously inadequate. The WHO panel’s argument was bl… |
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Forever Young
Opinion | Editorial It began not with candlelight or conversation, but with silence. After their injuries in 2018, in a Minnesota hospital ward, two patients lay unconscious, each suspended between life and death. Families kept vigil, doctors measured progress in whispers, and the world outside moved on. Then, slowly, both opened their eyes. What followed wasn’t just recovery, but the improbable intertwining of two lives that had nearly ended before they began together. Their romance between Zach Zarembinski and Isabelle Richard is extraordinary because it starts at the edge of tragedy. Comas aren’t romantic backdrops; they’re medical limbos. Survival rates vary, and recovery is often incomp… |
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Energy Department Announces two Billion for Projects Strengthening Power Grid
The Department of Energy (DOE) has announced a $1.9 billion funding opportunity for projects aimed at speeding up improvements to the nation’s power grid to meet rising electricity demand while bringing down costs, the department said in a March 12 statement. The money comes from the $10.5 billion authorized for a five-year grid resilience program under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. The funds were to be disbursed to states and electric utilities over five years. The money will help build more than 600 miles of new transmission lines and upgrade about 400 miles of existing lines so that they can carry more current. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said the funding is i… |
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Democrats fear rising that too many candidates in governor race could lead to a Republican victory
SAN FRANCISCO — Leaders of the California Democratic Party, along with liberal activists and loyal power brokers, are openly expressing fear that their crowded field of candidates running for governor may splinter the vote and open the door to a surprise Republican victory in November. Because of those concerns, the Democrats lagging at the bottom of the pack are being urged to drop out of the race to ensure that the party’s political dominance in statewide elections survives the 2026 election. “California Democrats are prepared to do what’s required,” state party chairman Rusty Hicks told reporters at the California Democratic Party’s annual convention on Friday. “We are ready and willing a… |
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Florida woman works two jobs to pay student debt
A mountain of student loan debt has accumulated for Rachel Jordan. She's worried that she'll fall farther behind financially even though she's working two jobs to pay off her debt. Rachel Jordan has days that begin at 5 a.m. and don't finish until midnight, sometimes many days in a row. In an interview, she confessed, "I'm just exhausted, honestly." she stated. As he works to repay debts accrued at a young age, 43-year-old Jordan is just one of millions of Americans who must work two jobs just to make ends meet. Jordan puts approximately 70 hours a week on a regular basis to try to pay off his $75,000 in college loans. While Jordan's debts are in forbearance, she is not obligated to make pay… |
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Legal Pricing Tricks Are Making Everyday Purchases More Deceptive Than Ever
Consumer Investigative The number on the shelf is not the number you pay, and somewhere along the way, everyone agreed to pretend that was normal. It starts small enough to feel like coincidence. A flight listed at one price becomes something else entirely after seat selection, baggage, and a fee that appears without explanation. A concert ticket doubles between the first click and the final screen. A meal arrives with a “service charge” that isn’t quite a tip and isn’t quite optional. Each moment is minor, explainable, defensible. Together, they form a system that depends on you being too tired to fight it. This is not chaos. It is design. Pricing used to be a statement. A tag meant somethi… |
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Father grieves for his teen daughter who died in devastating flood
18-year-old Chloe Childress was one of the 27 kids and staff who lost their lives as a result of the floods that occurred at Camp Mystic in the previous summer. According to a recent article in New York Magazine, hChloe's father identified her battered body. She was the 18-year-old Camp Mystic counselor who was killed in the tragic flood last year. The Guadalupe River rose 20 feet in three hours due to the torrential rains that swept over Central Texas that morning on July 4th. More than 130 individuals lost their lives as the catastrophic flood destroyed structures and devastated the area. Following the tragic murders of 25 kids and two counselors, including Chloe, the century-old Christian… |
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Trump and US officials targeted by accused shooter
WASHINGTON — Federal authorities are investigating what they describe as a targeted attack near the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner after a man opened fire Saturday evening outside the secured perimeter of the event, prompting a rapid response from Secret Service agents and other law enforcement. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday that investigators believe the suspect intended to target President Donald Trump and members of his administration who were attending the annual dinner, one of Washington’s highest-profile political gatherings. According to Blanche, the suspect traveled from California to Washington, D.C., by train, passing through Chicago along the way… |
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How the fight for public land around Los Angeles hinges on saving one parcel at a time
Over the last year, activists have organized droves of people across the United States to protest and petition Congress over concerns that the Trump administration will sell off our most beloved outdoor spaces. We’ve worried about general threats to public lands, such as whether the 700,000-acre Angeles National Forest or the 150,000-acre Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area will remain pristine protected landscapes. We’ve also seen specific examples of what activists have cautioned could happen: a large mining operation that could open just outside Joshua Tree National Park and a large housing development proposed at the border of Yosemite National Park. And although that attenti… |
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Woman Threatens Two Girls and Their Mother With A Gun
Two girls went to a mall with their mother. It should have been an ordinary afternoon, the kind that dissolves into memory before evening even arrives. Shopping malls are built for that kind of forgettable time. Fluorescent lights hum overhead, teenagers drift between stores, parents negotiate with children about shoes or snacks, and the world outside—politics, arguments, anger—usually stays somewhere beyond the parking lot. But on that day the ordinary rhythm broke. Somewhere along the corridor, near the cluster of clothing shops and kiosks that fill so many American malls, voices began to rise. Two families had crossed paths and something small turned sharp. Exactly what began the argument… |
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100 year old fighter pilot from Escondido receives Medal of Honor
This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here. President Trump honored two storied military veterans during his State of the Union address, including 100-year-old veteran Royce Williams of Escondido, who survived what is believed to be the longest dog fight in military history. The former Navy fighter pilot, who was seated next to First Lady Melania Trump in the Capitol during the president’s address Tuesday night, flew more than 220 missions in World War II as well as the wars in Korea and Vietnam. Trump called Williams “a living legend” before describing his war-time heroics. “In the skies over Korea in 1952, Royce was in the dogfight of a lifetime, a… |