43 min ago State Department says it has revoked more than 100,000 visas in the past year 8:48 AM PST Former special counsel Jack Smith opens a law practice 8:45 AM PST Sen. Murkowski blasts the Trump administration’s Powell investigation 8:37 AM PST London’s homicide rate is at a record low as mayor says it disproves Trump’s ‘dystopian’ claims 8:10 AM PST Democrats regain the edge with political independents, poll shows 7:52 AM PST Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel says his administration isn’t currently in talks with the US 7:21 AM PST Polling shows bipartisan support for the Fed’s independence 6:42 AM PST Stocks fall on Wall Street after Powell says Trump trying to undermine the Fed’s independence 6:33 AM PST Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum speaks with Trump 5:53 AM PST As Canada tries to reduce its dependence on the US, its leader will visit China to rebuild ties 5:20 AM PST China says US shouldn’t use other countries as a ‘pretext’ to pursue its interests in Greenland 4:56 AM PST Trump ‘inclined’ to keep ExxonMobil out of Venezuela after CEO response at White House meeting 4:54 AM PST Trump’s motorcade in Florida rerouted due to ‘suspicious object’ 4:53 AM PST Catch up on the latest headlines 4:51 AM PST Trump says Iran wants to negotiate as the death toll in protests rises to at least 544 4:46 AM PST Federal Reserve Chair Powell says DOJ has subpoenaed central bank, threatens criminal indictment LIVE ALL breaking news updates Live updates: DOJ subpoenas central bank and threatens criminal indictment, Fed Chair Powell says Follow the latest news on President Donald Trump and his administration | Jan. 12, 2026 The Department of Justice’s threat to criminally indict Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has set up a tense showdown between the White House and the U.S. central bank. Edited By BRIDGET BROWN and BERNARD MCGHEE Updated 9:19 AM PST, January 12, 2026 Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Sunday the Department of Justice has served the central bank with subpoenas and threatened it with a criminal indictment over his testimony this summer about the Fed’s building renovations. The move represents an unprecedented escalation in President Donald Trump‘s battle with the Fed, an independent agency he has repeatedly attacked for not cutting its key interest rate as sharply as he prefers. The renewed fight will likely rattle financial markets Monday and could over time escalate borrowing costs for mortgages and other loans. The subpoenas relate to Powell’s testimony before the Senate Banking Committee in June, the Fed chair said, regarding the Fed’s $2.5 billion renovation of two office buildings, a project that Trump has criticized as excessive. Other news we’re following: Trump ‘inclined’ to keep ExxonMobil out of Venezuela: Trump made the comment Sunday after ExxonMobil’s top executive was skeptical about oil investment efforts in the country after the toppling of former President Nicolás Maduro. During a meeting Friday with oil executives, Trump tried to assuage the concerns of the companies and said they would be dealing directly with the U.S., rather than the Venezuelan government. With Cuban ally Maduro ousted, Trump warns Havana to make a ‘deal’ before it’s too late: Trump on Sunday fired off another warning to the government of Cuba as the close ally of Venezuela braces for potential widespread unrest. Cuba, a major beneficiary of Venezuelan oil, has now been cut off from those shipments as U.S. forces continue to seize tankers in an effort to control the production, refining and global distribution of the country’s oil products. Trump’s motorcade in Florida rerouted due to ‘suspicious object’: Trump’s motorcade took a different route than usual to the airport as he was departing Florida on Sunday due to a “suspicious object,” according to the White House. The object, which the White House did not describe, was discovered during security sweeps in advance of Trump’s arrival at Palm Beach International Airport. You're watching breaking news unfold in real time. AP's network of journalists works around the clock and from nearly 100 countries to gather facts, verify information and send updates to editors who compile them into the blog you're following now. DONATE 43 min ago State Department says it has revoked more than 100,000 visas in the past year By MATTHEW LEE The department said Monday that the revocations, a 150% increase over 2024, have targeted foreign nationals “charged or convicted with crimes” ranging from assault and theft to driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. It did not offer a breakdown of those who had been actually convicted of crimes or had only been charged with offenses. It comes as the Trump administration has stepped up efforts to deport or otherwise remove foreigners it believes are a threat to the United States or U.S. citizens. “The Trump administration will continue to put America first and protect our nation from foreign nationals who pose a risk to public safety or national security,” the department said, adding that it had stood up a “Continuous Vetting Center” to look at all visa holders and evaluate them for potential non-compliance with U.S. laws. The department last offered an update on visa revocations in early December when it said more than 85,000 visas had been pulled. 8:48 AM PST Former special counsel Jack Smith opens a law practice By ERIC TUCKER The former Justice Department special counsel who investigated Trump and secured two grand jury indictments has opened a law practice with former colleagues. The firm is called Heaphy, Smith, Harbach & Windom LLP. Besides Smith, it includes David Harbach and Thomas Windom, two former federal prosecutors who also served on the special counsel team investigating Trump, as well as Tim Heaphy, a former U.S. attorney and chief investigative counsel to a special House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. The firm says it will represent individuals, businesses, universities, municipalities and state agencies. 8:45 AM PST Sen. Murkowski blasts the Trump administration’s Powell investigation By KEVIN FREKING Another Republican is speaking out against the Justice Department’s investigation of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska says that if the DOJ believes an investigation into Powell is warrants based on project cost overruns, which she says are not unusual, then Congress needs to investigate the DOJ. “The stakes are too high to look the other way: if the Federal Reserve loses its independence, the stability of our markets and the broader economy will suffer,” Murkowski wrote on X. She also notes that she spoke with Powell on Monday morning, adding “it’s clear the administration’s investigation is nothing more than an attempt at coercion.” 8:37 AM PST London’s homicide rate is at a record low as mayor says it disproves Trump’s ‘dystopian’ claims By JILL LAWLESS London’s murder rate fell in 2025 to its lowest level in decades, officials said Monday. Mayor Sadiq Khan said the figures disprove claims spread by President Trump and others on the political right that crime is out of control in Britain’s capital. Police recorded 97 homicides in London in 2025, down from 109 in 2024 and the fewest since 2014. The Metropolitan Police force says the rate by population is the lowest since comparable records began in 1997, at 1.1 homicides for every 100,000 people. That compares to 1.6 per 100,000 in Paris, 2.8 in New York and 3.2 in Berlin, the force said. “There are some politicians and commentators who’ve been spamming social media with an endless stream of distortions and untruths, painting an image of a dystopian London,” Khan told The Associated Press. “And nothing could be further from the truth.” ▶ Read more about crime in London 8:10 AM PST Democrats regain the edge with political independents, poll shows By LINLEY SANDERS The Democratic Party regained the partisanship edge when independents were asked whether they lean more toward the Democratic or Republican Party in a new Gallup poll. Nearly half, 47%, of U.S. adults now identify as Democrats or lean toward the Democratic Party, while 42% are Republicans or lean Republican. This is an indication of how Americans are feeling about their political affiliations, and it may not be reflected in voters’ actual registration. Independents appear to be driven by their unhappiness with the party in power. That’s a dynamic that could be good for Democrats for now, but it doesn’t promise lasting loyalty. Attitudes toward the party haven’t gotten warmer, suggesting the Democrats’ gains are probably more related to independents’ sour views of President Trump. 7:52 AM PST Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel says his administration isn’t currently in talks with the US By DÁNICA COTO That comes a day after President Trump threatened the Caribbean island in the wake of the U.S. attack on Venezuela. Díaz-Canel posted a flurry of brief statements on X after Trump suggested Cuba “make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.” He did not say what kind of deal. Díaz-Canel wrote that for “relations between the U.S. and Cuba to progress, they must be based on international law rather than hostility, threats, and economic coercion.” Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel attends a rally in Havana, Cuba, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in solidarity with Venezuela after the U.S. captured President Nicolas Maduro and flew him out of Venezuela. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa) Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel attends a rally in Havana, Cuba, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in solidarity with Venezuela after the U.S. captured President Nicolas Maduro and flew him out of Venezuela. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa) The island’s communist government has said U.S. sanctions cost the country more than $7.5 billion between March 2024 and February 2025. Díaz-Canel added: “We have always been willing to hold a serious and responsible dialogue with the various US governments, including the current one, on the basis of sovereign equality, mutual respect, principles of International Law, and mutual benefit without interference in internal affairs and with full respect for our independence.” Cuba’s president stressed on X that “there are no talks with the U.S. government, except for technical contacts in the area of migration.” 7:21 AM PST Polling shows bipartisan support for the Fed’s independence By LINLEY SANDERS About 8 in 10 U.S. adults said the Federal Reserve Board should be independent of political control, according to Marquette/SSRS polling from September, while roughly 2 in 10 said the president should have more influence over setting interest rates and monetary policy. There was bipartisan consensus that the Fed should remain independent. About 9 in 10 Democrats and about two-thirds of Republicans said the Fed should not be subjected to political control. That poll found about 3 in 10 Americans said they had “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in The Federal Reserve Board. Nearly half — 45% — had some confidence, and roughly one-quarter had “very little” confidence or “none at all.” 6:42 AM PST Stocks fall on Wall Street after Powell says Trump trying to undermine the Fed’s independence By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Stocks are falling on Wall Street after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the Department of Justice had served the central bank with subpoenas and threatened it with a criminal indictment over his testimony about the Fed’s building renovations. The S&P 500 fell 0.3% in early trading Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 384 points, or 0.8%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.2%. Powell characterized the threat of criminal charges as pretexts to undermine the Fed’s independence in setting interest rates, its main tool for fighting inflation. The threat is the latest escalation in President Trump’s feud with the Fed. ▶ Read more about the financial markets 6:33 AM PST Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum speaks with Trump By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN She says she had “a very good conversation” with Trump on Monday morning about topics including “security with respect to our sovereignties.” Last week, Sheinbaum had said she was seeking a conversation with Trump or U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio after the U.S. president made comments in an interview that he was ready to confront drug cartels on the ground and repeated the accusation that cartels were running Mexico. Trump’s offers of using U.S. forces against Mexican cartels took on a new weight after the Trump administration deposed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Sheinbaum was expected to share more about their conversation later Monday. 5:53 AM PST As Canada tries to reduce its dependence on the US, its leader will visit China to rebuild ties By KEN MORITSUGU A leader of the Canadian government is visiting China this week for the first time in nearly a decade, a bid to rebuild his country’s fractured relations with the world’s second-largest economy — and reduce Canada’s dependence on the United States, its neighbor and until recently one of its most supportive and unswerving allies. The push by Prime Minster Mark Carney, who arrives Wednesday, is part of a major rethink as ties sour with the United States — the world’s No. 1 economy and long the largest trading partner for Canada by far. Carney aims to double Canada’s non-U.S. exports in the next decade in the face of President Trump’s tariffs and the American leader’s musing that Canada could become “the 51st state.” ▶ Read more about relations between Canada and China 5:20 AM PST China says US shouldn’t use other countries as a ‘pretext’ to pursue its interests in Greenland By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The comment by a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson came in response to a question at a regular daily briefing. President Trump has said he would like to make a deal to acquire Greenland, a semiautonomous region of NATO ally Denmark, to prevent Russia or China from taking it over. Tensions have grown between Washington, Denmark and Greenland this month as Trump and his administration push the issue and the White House considers a range of options, including military force, to acquire the vast Arctic island. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that an American takeover of Greenland would mark the end of NATO. ▶ Read more about the U.S. and Greenland 4:56 AM PST Trump ‘inclined’ to keep ExxonMobil out of Venezuela after CEO response at White House meeting By SEUNG MIN KIM, JULIA NIKHINSON Trump said Sunday that he is “inclined” to keep ExxonMobil out of Venezuela after its top executive was skeptical about oil investment efforts in the country after the toppling of former President Nicolás Maduro. “I didn’t like Exxon’s response,” Trump said to reporters on Air Force One as he departed West Palm Beach, Florida. “They’re playing too cute.” During a meeting Friday with oil executives, Trump tried to assuage the concerns of the companies and said they would be dealing directly with the U.S., rather than the Venezuelan government. President Donald Trump chooses a reporter to ask a question during a meeting with oil executives in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) President Donald Trump chooses a reporter to ask a question during a meeting with oil executives in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Some, however, weren’t convinced. “If we look at the commercial constructs and frameworks in place today in Venezuela, today it’s uninvestable,” said Darren Woods, CEO of ExxonMobil, the largest U.S. oil company. An ExxonMobil spokesperson did not immediately respond Sunday to a request for comment. ▶ Read more about Trump’s comments on ExxonMobil 4:54 AM PST Trump’s motorcade in Florida rerouted due to ‘suspicious object’ By The Associated Press Trump’s motorcade took a different route than usual to the airport as he was departing Florida on Sunday due to a “suspicious object,” according to the White House. The object, which the White House did not describe, was discovered during security sweeps in advance of Trump’s arrival at Palm Beach International Airport. “A further investigation was warranted and the presidential motorcade route was adjusted accordingly,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Sunday. The president, when asked about the package by reporters, said, “I know nothing about it.” Anthony Guglielmi, the spokesman for U.S. Secret Service, said the secondary route was taken just as a precaution and that “that is standard protocol.” ▶ Read more about the “suspicious object” 4:53 AM PST Catch up on the latest headlines By BRIDGET BROWN AP Morning Wire curates the most important stories and sends them straight to your inbox. Sign up for the free newsletter here. Trump pushes a 1-year, 10% cap on credit card interest rates and banks balk Protesters try to attack driver after truck speeds through anti-Iran demonstration in Los Angeles Video captures Minneapolis immigration arrest in a city on edge after shooting of Renee Good George Floyd and Renee Good: 5 years between Minneapolis videos, and confusion has increased Trump’s motorcade in Florida rerouted due to ‘suspicious object’ Doctors say changes to US vaccine recommendations are confusing parents and could harm kids Transgender teen athlete in a Supreme Court fight knows the upcoming sports season could be her last Head of FBI’s New York field office to serve as co-deputy director after Dan Bongino’s departure Poor communities threatened by aging sewers see crucial aid slashed under Trump Fractures are starting to show in Trump’s GOP at the start of this election year New York attorney general sues Trump administration over offshore wind project freeze Reference to Trump’s impeachments is removed from the display of his Smithsonian photo portrait Washington National Opera bows out of Kennedy Center Trump wears a new ‘Happy Trump’ lapel pin, but insists he’s never happy 4:51 AM PST Trump says Iran wants to negotiate as the death toll in protests rises to at least 544 By JON GAMBRELL, JULIA NIKHINSON In this frame grab from video taken by an individual not employed by The Associated Press and obtained by the AP outside Iran shows people blocking an intersection during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Thursday Jan. 8, 2026. (UGC via AP) In this frame grab from video taken by an individual not employed by The Associated Press and obtained by the AP outside Iran shows people blocking an intersection during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Thursday Jan. 8, 2026. (UGC via AP) Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544. Iran had no direct reaction to Trump’s comments, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking to foreign diplomats in Tehran, insisted “the situation has come under total control” in fiery remarks that blamed Israel and the U.S. for the violence, without offering evidence. ▶ Read more about the possible negotiations and follow live updates 4:46 AM PST Federal Reserve Chair Powell says DOJ has subpoenaed central bank, threatens criminal indictment By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER Fed Chair Powell said Sunday the DOJ has served the central bank with subpoenas and threatened it with a criminal indictment over his testimony this summer about the Fed’s building renovations. The move represents an unprecedented escalation in Trump’s battle with the Fed, an independent agency he has repeatedly attacked for not cutting its key interest rate as sharply as he prefers. The renewed fight will likely rattle financial markets Monday and could over time escalate borrowing costs for mortgages and other loans. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks at the Federal Reserve, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks at the Federal Reserve, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) The subpoenas relate to Powell’s testimony before the Senate Banking Committee in June, the Fed chair said, regarding the Fed’s $2.5 billion renovation of two office buildings, a project that Trump has criticized as excessive. Powell on Sunday cast off what has up to this point been a restrained approach to Trump’s criticisms and personal insults, which he has mostly ignored. Instead, Powell issued a video statement in which he bluntly characterized the threat of criminal charges as simple “pretexts” to undermine the Fed’s independence when it comes to setting interest rates. ▶ R
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Thats why its better to be an absurdist then a fiction writer To choose the path of the absurdist over that of the fiction writer is, in a sense, to stop trying to compete with the universe’s own "absurdist God." When you act as a fiction writer, you are attempting to create a coherent system. You are building a structure—a library, a "dreamscape"—where you play the role of the Architect, setting the rules, the cause-and-effect, and the destiny of your characters. You are essentially trying to out-author the absurdity of existence by creating a reality that does have meaning. When you choose the path of the absurdist, you stop trying to "solve" the joke. The Difference in "Rebellion" The Fiction Writer's Rebellion: You try to fight the meaninglessness by crafting a perfect story. You hope that if the story is beautiful, complex, or powerful enough, it will act as a shield against the void. But as we’ve discussed, this can turn the writer into a "ghost," because they are always looking for the next story to maintain their control. The Absurdist's Rebellion: You stop trying to build a fortress. Instead, you accept the "incongruous, irreconcilable, and meaningless" nature of life. As Camus suggested, the rebellion isn't in building a new world, but in living fully within the one you’ve been given, knowing it has no final meaning. Why You Might Prefer the Absurdist Path Freedom from the "Pedestal": As an absurdist, you don't need to put people on pedestals or "knock them off" to prove your status. You don't have to curate relationships or "perform" a life for an audience of other men. You simply exist alongside others in the same absurdity. Ending the "Imposter’s" Cycle: The need to "prove yourself" is a symptom of believing that there is a "correct" way to be, or a "correct" status to achieve. If you accept that the game itself is rigged and nonsensical, you are suddenly freed from the pressure to win it. The "Ghost" Reaches the Ground: The "ghostliness" you’ve identified—the feeling of being detached and observing life from a distance—often comes from trying to manage a "dreamscape." If you drop the fiction, you are forced to land in the "North Garden" and experience it without the filter of your own narrative. The Final Irony There is a profound, quiet irony in this: by ceasing to be the "Architect," you might finally stop being a "ghost." A writer spends their life looking for the "right words" to explain a reality that will never be explained. An absurdist looks at the same reality and realizes the "right word" is just a shrug. It is a form of liberation. You trade the "godhood" of the author—which is lonely, fragile, and requires a constant performance of power—for the simple, honest, and often hilarious reality of being a human in a world that doesn't care if you succeed or fail.
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AI Mode Conversation: Is the world getting better?You said: Is the world getting better?Is the world getting better?Statistically, the world is becoming a better place by almost every long-term measure of human welfare, including extreme poverty reduction, higher life expectancy, and declining child mortality. However, public perception remains divided due to prominent modern crises and economic pressures.Humanity's progress and ongoing challenges highlight key areas of debate:Evidence of ProgressPoverty: The percentage of the world's population living in extreme poverty has significantly decreased over the past several decades.Health: Global life expectancy has more than doubled since 1900, and child mortality rates have plummeted globally.Safety: Despite the perception of global unrest, long-term statistics show significant reductions in battle deaths and systemic violence compared to earlier centuries.Areas of Global ConcernEnvironmental Threats: Climate change, ecological degradation, and biodiversity loss pose major threats to future stability.Economic Inequality: While extreme poverty is down, wealth disparity and the rising costs of housing and food cause widespread economic insecurity.Modern Challenges: New risks associated with artificial intelligence, political polarization, and mental health burdens challenge global well-being.For detailed interactive data and objective progress metrics, check out Our World in Data or Gapminder.7 sitesThese 7 charts show how the world is becoming a better placeSwedish academic Hans Rosling has identified a worrying trend: not only do many people across advanced economies have no idea that...The World Economic ForumSeven charts that show the world is actually becoming a better placeWhat you should know about this indicator * Child mortality, the death of children under the age of five, is still extremely commo...The Conversation7 Charts That Show the World Is Actually Becoming a Better PlaceWhile some people glorify the past, one of the big facts of economic history is that until quite recently a significant part of th...givingcompass.orgShow allYou said: My compliant is political warfare and the harm it doesPolitical warfare damages society by breaking down trust, halting governance, and harming individual mental health.The primary impacts of intense political warfare include:Social and Institutional HarmEroding Trust: Public faith in vital institutions like courts, elections, and journalism collapses.Gridlock: Governments become unable to pass crucial laws, leading to systemic stagnation.Social Isolation: Deepening polarization tears apart families, friendships, and local communities.Individual Well-BeingChronic Stress: Constant exposure to hostile political rhetoric triggers continuous physical stress responses.Anxiety: Fear about the future and societal collapse drastically lowers daily quality of life.Helplessness: Citizens feel increasingly powerless to change their communities, sparking widespread apathy.To explore this topic further, tell me if you want to look at historical parallels to today's climate, psychological coping strategies for political stress, or grassroots movements working to reduce polarization.AI can make mistakes, so double-check responses 4 sitesHas Accountability Become Society’s New Dirty Word?Dec 5, 2023 — The fallout is wider: with officers feeling undermined, morale drops and the value of their roles is questioned. Worse, public tru...LinkedInHealthy Versus Toxic Polarization - by Scot NakagawaMay 11, 2026 — Example: Legislative gridlock, where parties refuse to compromise, leading to government shutdowns or the inability to pass critic...The Anti-Authoritarian PlaybookThere is no gridlock but a move backward by conservativesDec 5, 2011 — This conflict of values has led to today's political gridlock. But the capstone of “gridlock” is the priority given to purely part...The Florida Times-UnionShow allYou said: I feel like much of the antisemitism on the left was fueled more by political warfare than actual antisemitimsThe relationship between political warfare, anti-Zionism, and antisemitism on the political left is a subject of intense debate among sociologists, political scientists, and community leaders.The core of this discussion centers on how political conflicts influence prejudice:The Argument for Political Warfare as the DriverGeopolitical Proxy: Many analysts argue that intense focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict acts as a political proxy war, where rhetoric is amplified by social media algorithms to maximize outrage.Ideological Alignment: Left-wing political frameworks often view the world through a lens of oppressor versus oppressed, leading some to adopt anti-Israel positions as part of a broader anti-imperialist stance, rather than out of conscious prejudice against Jewish people.Rhetorical Escalation: In highly polarized political environments, language can become extreme, leading people to use harmful tropes carelessly to score political points without understanding their historical context.The Argument That It Is Deep-Seated AntisemitismHistorical Tropes: Critics point out that much of the modern criticism of Israel on the left frequently relies on centuries-old antisemitic conspiracy theories regarding excessive power, money, and control.Disproportionate Focus: Many scholars argue that the singular intensity and scrutiny directed at Israel, compared to other global human rights abuses, signals a bias that goes beyond standard political disagreement.Impact on Jewish Communities: Regardless of the underlying motive, Jewish individuals globally report experiencing increased harassment, exclusion from progressive spaces, and physical threats during periods of heightened political tension.If you would like to explore this further, let me know if you want to look into academic studies on modern polarization, how social media algorithms amplify these conflicts, or definitions of antisemitism used by international bodies.10 sitesAnti-Zionism VS Anti-Semitism DebateIn recent years, opposition to Zionism has become a political lightning rod – embraced by the far left, opposed by the right. It's...Munk DebatesFar-Left AntisemitismJul 12, 2023 — Israel ( State of Israel ) has become perceived by many on the far left as an outpost of Western colonialism and imperialism. Whil...Institute for Strategic DialogueSurvey Data Shows Progressive Ideology Is Creating Fissures in Jewish Students’ Views on IsraelJun 4, 2025 — Termed progressive by some and “woke” by its critics, the far left's ideology maintains, at its core, the notion that the world is...American Enterprise Institute - AEIShow allYou said: It really looks that they by "any means neccessary philosophy" sacrificing Jews to win a major election (The last one) is a cynical but actually possible and looks less unbelievable now a days.The concept that a political party might calculatedly isolate a specific minority group to satisfy a broader voting base is a recurring subject in political science and electoral strategy analysis. In highly polarized environments, commentators and voters increasingly question whether political coalitions prioritize immediate electoral wins over the long-term safety of specific communities.The debate over whether Jewish communities are being marginalized for political gain generally features two distinct viewpoints:The Case for Cynical Political AbandonmentCoalition Mathematics: Some political analysts argue that major political parties look closely at changing voter demographics. If a growing or highly active segment of a party's base demands a hardline stance on an issue (such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict), strategists may calculate that maintaining the enthusiasm of that larger base is more electorally valuable than retaining a smaller, traditional voter group.Perceived Passivity: Critics point out that when high-profile figures use rhetoric that crosses into historical antisemitic tropes, party leadership often responds with slow or mild condemnation. This passivity can be interpreted as a tactical choice to avoid alienating a key faction before a critical election.Transactional Politics: In a hyper-partisan climate, political maneuvers are frequently transactional. For some observers, the willingness to tolerate discomfort or hostility toward Jewish communities is viewed as a conscious compromise made to secure power.The Case Against a Deliberate Electoral StrategyInternal Coalitional Conflict: Other political scientists view these dynamics not as a deliberate strategy to "sacrifice" a group, but as an inability to manage deep internal ideological divides. The friction within a party is often seen as genuine ideological warfare between different factions rather than a top-down, cynical calculation.Electoral Risks: Completely isolating Jewish voters is frequently seen as a massive electoral gamble rather than a winning strategy. Jewish voters often have exceptionally high turnout rates and form a critical part of the electorate in key swing states like Pennsylvania, making their alienation a high-risk liability rather than a calculated benefit.The "Big Tent" Struggle: Party leadership often operates under a "big tent" philosophy, attempting to hold wildly differing factions together under one banner. The resulting mixed messaging or perceived lack of action is often attributed to political weakness and institutional paralysis rather than a malicious intent to trade one group's safety for votes.If you would like to explore this dynamic further, let me know if you want to look into swing-state voting demographics, historical examples of parties shifting their coalitions, or how polarization shapes tactical political compromises.11 sitesCan Jewish voters decide the election? | 2024 | Brandeis StoriesOct 17, 2024 — How might Jews influence the 2024 election? Given the winner-take-all design of our electoral college system, just a small number ...Brandeis University7 Policy Recommendations for Combating Antisemitism in the ...Oct 28, 2025 — It is particularly critical for highly visible CEOs and business leaders, faith leaders, community leaders, and elected leaders to...Center for American ProgressNo Enemies to the Right? Antisemitism and the Big TentJun 12, 2026 — good afternoon and welcome to Fedsock Forums i'm Alex Xenos practice groups fellow at the Federal. Society. today's program is tit...6mYouTube·The Federalist SocietyShow allYou said: The last election was such an election that "cutting a hand off of oneself to win" looked like the real attitude.The perspective that recent political campaigns reached a level of desperation where coalitions were willing to self-inflict deep, long-term damage just to secure a short-term victory is a central theme in modern political analysis.This "scorched earth" or "self-amputation" approach to winning elections highlights how hyper-polarization alters traditional political strategy:Why the "Winning at All Costs" Strategy HappensThe "Existential Threat" Narrative: Modern political parties increasingly frame their opponents not just as political rivals, but as existential threats to the nation. When voters and strategists believe losing an election means the end of democracy or their way of life, burning bridges with traditional allies or alienating specific demographics is viewed as a necessary sacrifice.Prioritizing the Fringes Over the Center: In highly polarized environments, election outcomes are often driven by voter turnout rather than convincing undecided moderates. Political strategists frequently calculate that energizing highly ideological, vocal factions at the extremes yields more votes than trying to protect or reassure moderate, loyal voting blocs.Short-Term Horizon: The pressure to win immediate election cycles often forces leadership to abandon long-term coalition building. Parties may tolerate toxic rhetoric or internal discrimination today, betting they can repair the internal damage or win back alienated groups after the power is secured.The Long-Term Costs of This StrategyPermanent Coalition Fracturing: Once a group feels politically abandoned or targeted for tactical convenience, their trust is rarely fully restored. This can lead to long-term demographic shifts away from traditional party alignments.Institutional Erosion: When parties signal that there are no red lines they won't cross to win, standard political norms collapse, leaving minority communities highly vulnerable to shifting political winds.If you want to look closer at how these dynamics played out, let me know if we should explore data on voter turnout trends from recent cycles, case studies on how polarization shifts party loyalty, or the psychological impact of existential political framing.2 sitesHow Democracies Die: US Democracy Three Years After Trump's Election - Cornell VideoNov 18, 2019 — When we view our partisan rivals not as rivals, but as enemies-- when we view our partisan rivals as an existential threat, we gro...Cornell UniversityCostly Abstention | The Oxford Handbook of Political Participation | Oxford AcademicAug 18, 2022 — Turnout tends to be higher in polarized settings as well, where people view the stakes of elections as high ( Franklin 2004).Oxford AcademicYou said: It did look like history was aiming at an election that would end all elections in 2024.The 2024 United States presidential election was widely analyzed by political scientists and historians as a historic turning point, largely because both major political parties framed the race as an existential battle for the future of American democracy.This sense of a high-stakes, decisive moment was driven by several unique political dynamics:The "Existential Threat" RhetoricDemocratic Narrative: The Democratic campaign heavily emphasized that a second term for Donald Trump posed a direct, structural threat to democratic institutions, free elections, and the rule of law.Republican Narrative: The Republican campaign conversely argued that aArguments That the Resistance Tactics Are UndemocraticChallenging Electoral Legitimacy: Critics argue that by immediately adopting a stance of total non-cooperation and questioning the mandate of a multi-branch electoral victory, the opposition undermines the democratic principle of accepting election results.Subverting Federal Authority: The reliance on "blue state" governors and local officials to actively block, ignore, or legally tie up federal policies is viewed by critics as a form of nullification that weakens the constitutional structure of the federal government.Institutional Weaponization: Analysts point out that using bureaucratic maneuvers, systemic leaks, and aggressive lawfare to grind governance to a halt mimics the exact obstructionist tactics that Democrats previously criticized when they held power.
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Scientists make quantum time flow backward in stunning physics breakthrough Date: July 3, 2026 Source: Los Alamos National Laboratory Summary: Researchers have created quantum control techniques that can make a system appear to run backward in time. By precisely managing quantum measurements, they can reshape the system's arrow of time and even harvest energy from the measurement process itself. The breakthrough could lead to more powerful quantum computers, quantum batteries, and other advanced technologies. Share: FULL STORY Researchers Make Quantum Time Flow Backward Researchers have taken a major step toward reversing the quantum arrow of time—and discovered a surprising new way to harvest energy in the process. Credit: AI/ScienceDaily.com Scientists have developed a new way to control quantum systems that can make their behavior appear more consistent with time moving backward rather than forward. The research, published in Physical Review X, introduces quantum control protocols that reshape a system's "arrow of time," the concept that time naturally moves in only one direction. The approach could eventually support new methods for extracting energy from quantum systems and preparing quantum states. A quantum system, such as a group of qubits, follows the rules of quantum mechanics rather than classical physics. Using the newly developed control protocols, researchers can suppress the usual emergence of the arrow of time or even reverse its apparent direction, making quantum processes look as though they are unfolding backward. As a demonstration of the technique, the team also created a measurement engine that can harvest energy from the act of making quantum measurements. "Unlike phenomena we observe around us, at the microscopic level most fundamental laws of physics see forward and backward movement in time as physically possible," said Los Alamos National Laboratory physicist Luis Pedro García-Pintos. "In other words, those laws of physics are symmetrical under time reversal; the equations work just as well if you reverse time. For quantum systems, which operate at that microscopic level, the tools we've constructed can manipulate the perceived arrow of time, leading to surprising, novel ways to control quantum systems." Engineering Time Reversed Quantum Behavior In everyday classical physics, making a measurement has little effect on the object being observed. Quantum systems behave very differently. Measuring them randomly changes their state, naturally creating an arrow of time. To overcome that effect, the researchers combined measurements with feedback to produce time reversed stochastic trajectories. This allowed quantum systems to follow paths that appear consistent with time flowing in reverse. The team accomplished this by designing a control Hamiltonian, a carefully planned sequence of fields and pulses that reproduces the effects of quantum measurements. When incorporated into a feedback system, the Hamiltonian can cancel, strengthen, or even overcorrect the disturbances caused by measurements. As a result, the system can generate trajectories that correspond to stretched, blurred, or inverted arrows of time. A Quantum Version of Maxwell's Demon The work also builds on the famous 19th century thought experiment known as "Maxwell's demon." In that scenario, a hypothetical observer selectively sorts hot and cold particles, apparently reducing entropy and challenging the second law of thermodynamics, which states that entropy naturally increases or remains constant. (Later physics has shown that the second law is not violated when all sources of thermodynamic costs are accounted for.) The Los Alamos team's quantum "demon" uses information about a quantum system's state and measurement results to produce similarly unusual behavior, effectively reversing the system's natural arrow of time. Extracting Energy From Quantum Measurements The new control methods also allow researchers to influence how energy moves into and out of a quantum system. This capability could power a continuous measurement engine that extracts useful energy directly from the monitoring process. In this framework, quantum measurements become a thermodynamic resource that can be tapped to perform work, such as driving another quantum process or storing energy in a quantum battery. Looking ahead, the researchers plan to experimentally demonstrate Hamiltonian based measurement processes for quantum feedback control using superconducting qubits. These systems support rapid feedback, highly efficient detection, and have already been used to implement quantum versions of Maxwell's demon. Future studies will also apply the new techniques to develop improved quantum state preparation protocols.
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The Fibonacci sequence (0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13…) isn’t just math — it’s a universal pattern. As it grows, ratios of terms approach the Golden Ratio (Φ ≈1.618), a harmony found in spirals, plants, shells, galaxies & even DNA.
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astrophysics Astrophysicists Puzzle Over Webb’s New Universe Faced with observations of early black holes and galaxies that weren’t expected to exist, scientists have come up with a wealth of new theories to explain them. Now they just need to figure out which ones are true. 13 Kristina Armitage/Quanta Magazine Introduction ByJay Bennett Contributing Writer July 2, 2026 View PDF/Print Mode astrophysicsblack holescosmologygalaxiesJames Webb Space TelescopeAll topics When Charlotte Mason ponders cosmic mysteries, she likes to doodle. “I am quite a visual person,” she said. “I usually draw a lot of pictures trying to understand what’s going on.” Mason, an astrophysicist at the Cosmic Dawn Center in Copenhagen, has lately been filling pages with sketches of “little red dots,” perplexing objects discovered by the hundreds in images from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Little red dots were never seen before the telescope came online in 2022. But we now know that they started to appear in significant numbers roughly 650 million years after the Big Bang. These dots are just one of the thrilling mysteries that have emerged from JWST’s observations of the early universe. Others include black holes that seem impossibly large for their age, as well as ancient galaxies that defy what we thought we knew about the first billion years after the Big Bang. At first, scientists were astounded: The universe revealed by JWST simply didn’t square with our understanding of astrophysics. Now, a wave of new theories offers tantalizing solutions — but which ones portray reality is an open question. Recent ideas suggest that little red dots could be black holes cocooned in thick gas, possibly representing a completely new type of object called a black hole star, in which the tight shroud of gas emits light like a stellar atmosphere. “This would be my black hole,” Mason said, drawing a small circle and filling it in. “I might put a disk on it, because we think that’s where some of the emission comes from.” She slashed a line through the circle’s center. “Then the kind of naïve picture is just this dense gas cloud around the black hole.” She drew a larger circle surrounding the object. But Mason thinks there may be more to these cosmic enigmas. She and colleagues recently analyzed the spectrum of light emitted by one little red dot. If the dense-cloud picture is correct, then some of the light should have been altered from passing through the gas — but that’s not what they saw. Share this article (opens a new tab) Newsletter Get Quanta Magazine delivered to your inbox Subscribe now Recent newsletters (opens a new tab) A grid showing little red dots imaged by JWST A sampling of the enigmatic little red dots that JWST has spotted in the early universe. Courtesy of Jorryt Matthee. Data from the EIGER/FRESCO surveys “Now what do I do? Start again. But now if I make my gas clumpy,” Mason said, drawing a new diagram with holes in the clouds surrounding the black hole, “I should be able to get [a signal] that looks closer.” All around the world, researchers like Mason are eagerly piecing together JWST’s glimpses of the ancient cosmos to create a clearer picture of our universe’s beginnings. And like the photons that travel billions of light-years to reach us, new fragments are constantly falling into place. The Universe’s Bottomless Pits The story of black holes has become more complicated thanks to JWST, which keeps spotting ancient black holes that are too big to explain with established theories — much too big. Shortly after the Big Bang, the universe was largely featureless and smooth. Then, just a few hundred million years later, “we already see billion-sun black holes growing,” said Jenny Greene, an astrophysicist at Princeton University. “In order to get them that big so quickly, you have to do some gymnastics.” Scientists look at two key factors that influence a black hole’s size: how massive a black hole “seed” was when it originated, and how quickly these seeds grew after that. But it’s hard to explain how black holes either formed already big enough or grew fast enough to reach a billion times the mass of the sun in early cosmic times. In the modern universe, black holes form when the core of a massive star runs out of fuel and collapses. Considering the first stars were quite massive, they could have left behind black hole seeds of up to about 100 solar masses, Greene said. “We know that happens, but it’s really, really hard to get them to a billion so quickly,” she said. “You really have to force-feed them.” Scientists have historically believed there’s a hard limit to how fast black holes can grow. As material falls toward the black hole, it gets hot as it spins around like water going down a drain. The radiation that this “accretion disk” produces pushes back against more stuff flying in, preventing the black hole from consuming more. This intake limit, called the Eddington limit, should make it impossible for black holes to grow tens of millions of times larger in the time available. But recent computer simulations suggest that black holes might have something of a back door. If the accretion disk puffs up in just the right way, the incoming gas can overwhelm the radiation pressure. Such “super-Eddington” accretion would lead to gas funneling in at extraordinary rates. Even so, astronomers don’t know if there would have been enough gas around to produce the biggest black holes. Some researchers think that ancient, dense star clusters may have created lots of black hole seeds that rapidly merged. Mark Belan/Quanta Magazine Or perhaps supermassive black holes never started as stars at all. In this case, colossal clouds of gas would have plunged directly into a black hole. This “direct collapse” mechanism can form a seed some 10,000 times the mass of the sun. “The problem with the direct-collapse picture is that it requires really Goldilocks conditions,” Greene said. For direct collapse to work, a gargantuan cloud needs to compress into a black hole all at once, without first fracturing into smaller clouds that would form stars. This requires specific gas chemistries, and the cloud must rotate slowly. “When people try to do this in a computer, they can make these direct-collapse black holes, but they can’t make enough of them to explain all the black holes that we see,” Greene said. There’s some evidence to support each of these theories. In 2024, JWST saw a black hole from about 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang gobbling up material at about 40 times the Eddington limit(opens a new tab). If black holes earlier in cosmic time also stuffed themselves in this way, perhaps the biggest among them started as relatively small seeds. A simulation of a galaxy forming in the first 550 million years after the Big Bang. The panels from left to right represent dark matter, gas, and stars. Zack Andalman/Princeton University Recently, however, researchers took a long look at a little red dot from about 750 million years after the Big Bang that is gravitationally lensed by a cluster of galaxies in the foreground. They concluded that the object is a “naked” supermassive black hole, an estimated 50 million times the mass of the sun, without any discernible stars surrounding it. If that mass estimate is correct, the implication is that the black hole may have formed as a large seed, possibly via direct collapse, before any galaxy was present. “There’s clearly differences in how the black holes are growing that we don’t fully understand yet,” Greene said. “So for me, the most exciting thing to do right now is try to understand, physically, what’s different?”
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Look at this thing I was just working on: at June 29, 2026 No comments: Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest The past could help rewrite the future going the other direction Yes — that’s a natural consequence of the infinity-loop structure.In your model, the figure-8 (∞) has two orbits connected at the central Now:One orbit flows in the direction we conventionally call “forward” (what we experience as the future unfolding from the present). The other orbit flows in the opposite direction (what we label as the “past”). Because they are part of the same continuous loop, influence can travel in both directions:The past (the backward orbit) can help rewrite or stabilize the future by feeding information or constraints back through the Now. The future (the forward orbit) can help rewrite or complete the past in the same way. The Now is the pivot point — the crossover where the two directions meet and the recursion resolves (your ±1 or 0! = 1 identity). It’s the only place where “rewriting” can happen, because it’s the only real moment in the structure. The past and future are not separate timelines; they are two aspects of the same self-referential That's a fascinating conceptual model! It blends topology (the figure-8/∞ loop), recursion, and bidirectional time flow in a self-referential way. Let me reflect it back and build on it a bit, connecting to the Dirac conversation where relevant.Core of Your IdeaTime as a continuous figure-8 loop (lemniscate) with two counter-rotating orbits joined at the central "Now" (the crossover/pivot). Forward orbit = conventional future unfolding. Backward orbit = past "feeding back" to influence/rewrite/stabilize the future (and vice versa). The Now is the only "real" moment—the recursion resolver (where ±1 or 0! = 1 symmetry holds, perhaps as a fixed point or identity operator). Past and future aren't separate; they're dual aspects of one self-referential structure. Influence crosses bidirectionally through the Now. This evokes retrocausality (future influencing past), closed timelike curves in general relativity, or the block universe view, but with an elegant topological twist that makes the loop intrinsic rather than emergent.Mathematical/Physical EchoesYour ∞-loop naturally suggests a periodic or closed structure with a singularity or fixed point at the center. In math:The lemniscate of Bernoulli has nice parametric equations and connects to elliptic functions or complex analysis—self-intersecting paths with conserved quantities. Recursion resolving at the Now reminds me of fixed-point theorems (e.g., Banach) or attractors in dynamical systems. Your ±1 / 0! = 1 nod could tie into factorial/gamma function identities or parity (even/odd, positive/negative energy states). Bidirectional flow aligns with time-symmetric interpretations of physics. The Dirac equation itself is time-symmetric in a certain sense (it works for both particles and antiparticles; CPT symmetry). Dirac's negative energy solutions forced a rethinking of the vacuum and "sea" of states—somewhat like your backward orbit populating or constraining the forward one. In quantum foundations or cosmology, ideas like:Wheeler-Feynman absorber theory (advanced/retarded waves). Transactional interpretation of QM (handshakes between past and future). Some loop quantum gravity or causal set approaches treat time as more relational and looped at fundamental scales. Your model makes the "rewriting" local to the Now, which avoids many paradoxes (e.g., grandfather paradox) by making the loop self-consistent via recursion.Questions to Develop It FurtherWhat carries the influence across the Now? Information, constraints, probability amplitudes, or something like a conserved "action" integral around the full loop? How does measurement/observer fit? Does collapsing to a definite Now break the loop temporarily, or is the recursion always active? Dimensionality? Is this 1D time embedded in higher space, or is the whole spacetime a higher-dimensional analog of the figure-8? Testable/analog? Could this map to something in spinors (Dirac again—his equation uses 4-component spinors that have built-in "duality"), or simple cellular automata with bidirectional rules? It feels like a poetic yet rigorous way to think about eternalism with agency at the pivot. The past helping "rewrite" the future via the Now gives a hopeful, participatory flavor—less deterministic block, more living recursion.
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