Real skeptics study the evidence and ask questions, rather than taking political dogma on faith. Experiencing disasters can open more eyes to the risks.

Understanding climate change in America: Skepticism, dogmatism and personal experience

US science lost a great deal in 2025, including tens of billions of dollars of federal funding, entire research agencies and programs, and a generation of researchers.

‘This year nearly broke me as a scientist’ – US researchers reflect on how 2025’s science cuts have changed their lives

KJ Muldoon received a groundbreaking new treatment earlier this year.

Baby takes 1st steps after receiving groundbreaking gene-edited therapy

A rare interstellar comet has been caught in X-rays by two space telescopes, revealing how its gases interact with charged particles from the sun as it travels through the inner solar system.

Scientists detect X-ray glow from interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS extending 250,000 miles into space

Dec 18 () - Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical said on Thursday its experimental pill for a type of skin disease, developed using ​artificial intelligence, succeeded in two late-stage studies. More than half ‌the plaque psoriasis patients across the studies showed clear or almost clear skin after ‌16 weeks of treatment with the once-daily drug, zasocitinib, the company said.

Takeda's AI-crafted psoriasis pill succeeds in late-stage studies

The still-unsolved shooting death​ of MIT professor Nuno Loureiro​ this week has sent shockwaves through the campus.

Tributes pour in for MIT professor Nuno Loureiro amid unresolved shooting case

The deadline is Friday. But loopholes could limit what comes out.

When will the Epstein files be released — and will they reveal anything new?

Vanessa Miller, a survivor of the terror attack at Australia's Bondi Beach, torched the police officers on the scene for "hiding."

Bondi Beach survivor criticizes police for inaction during terror attack

Authorities are searching for a suspect in the killing of Nuno F.G. Loureiro, a prominent physics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who was shot at his home near Boston.  Loureiro, a married 47-year-old from Portugal, was shot Monday night and died Tuesday at a local hospital.  Authorities have not disclosed a possible motive, and no suspects were in custody as of Wednesday morning, the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office said.

What to know about MIT professor Nuno Loureiro and the investigation into his shooting

Teen use of alcohol, nicotine and marijuana remains at record lows, according to national survey results released Wednesday.  Two-thirds of 12th graders this year said they hadn’t used alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes or electronic cigarettes in the previous 30 days.

Teen drug use remains low, but survey finds small rise in heroin and cocaine use

Nuno Loureiro, a 47-year-old physicist and fusion scientist, was shot Monday night at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Nuno Loureiro, MIT physicist, fatally shot at home; police investigate

Police intensified their search Wednesday for a suspect in the killing of professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, two days after he was shot to death at his home outside Boston.  Loureiro, a 47-year-old physicist and fusion scientist, was shot Monday night at his apartment in Brookline, Massachusetts.  The prosecutor’s office said the homicide investigation was “active and ongoing” as of early afternoon Wednesday and had no update — earlier they had said no sus

Shooting of MIT professor Nuno Loureiro has police searching for a suspect

A six-year-old child reported being struck in the forehead, while two other children said bullets were fired at them, but did not hit. Israel Police have detained an 18-year-old for questioning over a complaint filed on Tuesday morning about a person who fired rubber bullets at a kindergarten in Ashkelon from a suspicious vehicle.

'A prank': Israel Police detain suspect for shooting rubber bullets at Ashkelon kindergarten

The weekend shooting left two students dead and nine others injured at the Ivy League school.

Manhunt for Brown University shooter continues: FBI releases photos of suspect, announces $50K reward

"The phone was ringing off the wall of kids being sick," a school official said.

Kansas school officials report high student illness, dismiss early

A wildlife photographer stumbled upon one of the oldest and largest known collections of dinosaur footprints, dating back about 210 million years to the Triassic Period, high in an Italian national park near the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympic venue of Bormio, officials announced Tuesday.  The discovery in the Stelvio National Park was striking for the sheer number of footprints, estimated at as many as 20,000 over some five kilometers (three miles), and the location near the Swiss border, onc

A photographer finds thousands of dinosaur footprints near Italian Winter Olympic venue

An overwhelming majority of U.S. adults are satisfied with their health insurance coverage overall, including most older Americans and those on Medicare and Medicaid, according to a new NBC News Decision Desk Poll powered by SurveyMonkey

Poll: Most are satisfied with their health insurance, but a quarter report denials or delays

The iconic De Tomaso Pantera, an Italian supercar with a Ford engine, famously became the target of Elvis Presley's heated frustration. Known for its mechanical issues due to being rushed to market by Ford, the Pantera often disappointed its owners, including the King of Rock and Roll himself. Alejandro De Tomaso, the car's creator, had an intriguing past involving a flee from Argentina to Italy, where he founded his car company. The Pantera, despite its advanced features like power windows and

Elvis Presley's Infamous Pantera Shooting

Loons are on the mend in Maine, filling more of the state's lakes and ponds with their haunting calls, although conservationists say the birds aren't out of the woods yet.  Maine is home to a few thousand of the distinctive black-and-white waterbirds — the East Coast’s largest loon population — and conservationists said efforts to protect them from threats helped grow the population.  An annual count of common loons found more adults and chicks this year than last, Maine Audubon said this week.

More loons are filling Maine's lakes with their ghostlike calls

For a Michigan family, it means going without insurance altogether.  Less than three weeks remain until the expiration of COVID-era enhanced tax credits that have helped millions of Americans pay their monthly fees for Affordable Care Act coverage for the past four years.  The Senate on Thursday rejected two proposals to address the problem and an emerging health care package from House Republicans does not include an extension, all but guaranteeing that many Americans will see much higher insur

Higher cost, worse coverage: Affordable Care Act enrollees say expiring subsidies will hit them hard

A Los Angeles jury awarded $40 million on Friday to two women who claimed that talcum powder made by Johnson & Johnson caused their ovarian cancer.  The verdict is the latest development in a longstanding legal battle over claims that talc in Johnson's Baby Powder and Shower to Shower body power was connected to ovarian cancer and mesothelioma, a cancer that strikes the lungs and other organs.  Johnson & Johnson stopped selling powder made with talc worldwide in 2023.

Jury says Johnson & Johnson owes $40 million to 2 cancer patients who used talcum powders

Things will dry off over the weekend, but more flooding could be on the way next week.

Washington state experiences historic flooding as Skagit River hits record high level. See flooding maps, highway closures and forecasts.

A California woman changing her infant daughter's diaper in the bathroom of the Macy’s Herald Square store in New York City was stabbed and injured by another woman in an unprovoked attack, police said.  The attack occurred Thursday afternoon at the store in Manhattan.

Woman charged in unprovoked stabbing of tourist changing baby's diaper in Macy’s Herald Square store

When Scott Hussey heard about the Trump administration’s eagerness to pay for workout equipment in airports, he could not find an upside. If someone got hurt on a pull-up bar, who would they sue? What happens to bags left unattended while travelers get in a few reps? Might this unleash a wave of fitness influencers making - shudder - content at the airport?Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post. “It just struck me as being ki

Working out at the airport? Some fliers can already smell the sweat.

Measles outbreaks are growing along the Utah-Arizona border and in South Carolina, where hundreds are in quarantine.  Between Friday and Tuesday, South Carolina health officials confirmed 27 new measles cases in an outbreak in and around northwestern Spartanburg County.  Church leaders have been “very helpful,” said state epidemiologist Dr. Linda Bell.

Hundreds are quarantined in South Carolina as measles spreads in 2 US outbreaks

Ice blocks drift past Tristen Pattee’s boat as he scans the banks of Northwest Alaska’s Kobuk River for caribou.  Days after Pattee’s unsuccessful hunt, the Trump administration approved construction of the Ambler Access Road — a 211-mile (340-kilometer) route designed to reach massive copper deposits that would cut through that wilderness, crossing 11 major rivers and thousands of streams where salmon spawn and caribou migrate.  The approval, which is facing lawsuits though proponents believe c

Climate change is straining Alaska's Arctic. A new mining road may push the region past the brink

In Northwest Alaska, a proposed mining road has become a flashpoint in a region already stressed by climate change.  The 211-mile (340-kilometer) Ambler Access Road would cut through Gates of the Arctic National Park and cross 11 major rivers and thousands of streams relied on for salmon and caribou.  The Trump administration approved the project this fall, setting off concerns over how the Inupiaq subsistence way of life can survive amid rapid environmental change.

Takeaways from AP’s report on potential impacts of Alaska’s proposed Ambler Access Road

Kimberly Slavens saw the flashing blue lights in her rearview mirror as she neared her Ohio apartment. She knew she was in trouble: She was returning from a bar after drinking about a half-dozen vodka tonics. Slavens was charged with operating a vehicle impaired. She cried for the next few days, worried she would go to jail, get fired from her job and lose custody of her teenage son.Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post. “I

Every year, she thanks the trooper for the arrest that led to her sobriety

The IDF received over 100 reports about the vehicle, which was spotted driving through floodwaters near the Beit Zayit Dam. The Israel Fire and Rescue Authority announced that they are currently searching for a Jeep last seen carrying five passengers in the Jerusalem area on Thursday.

Emergency services search for five people last seen in missing Jeep

The suit alleges the artificial intelligence chatbot intensified a man's "paranoid delusions" and helped direct them at his mother before he died by suicide.

Lawsuit claims ChatGPT exacerbated man's delusions leading to murder-suicide

More people appear to be walking away from ACA coverage or switching to cheaper plans for 2026 compared to this time last year, according to early enrollment data.

With Obamacare premium hikes, more people opting for no coverage or cheaper plans

The number of Americans signing up for Affordable Care Act health insurance for 2026 is moderately higher than it was at a similar time last year, initial new federal data shows, even as subsidies set to expire at the end of 2025 will make the coverage more expensive for many.  “Overall, it’s just too early to know what any of this means,” said Jason Levitis, a senior fellow in the health policy division at the Urban Institute.  The data released Friday shows that by day 29 of the window for Ame

Affordable Care Act enrollment is slightly ahead of last year, despite expiring subsidies

Moments after Luigi Mangione was handcuffed at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s, a police officer searching his backpack found a loaded gun magazine wrapped in a pair of underwear.  The discovery, recounted in court Monday as Mangione fights to keep evidence out of his New York murder case, convinced police in Altoona, Pennsylvania, that he was the man wanted in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan five days earlier.

Bullets in Luigi Mangione’s bag convinced police that he was UnitedHealthcare CEO killing suspect

Mixed nuts from Ohio-based Mellace Family Brands sold at some Wegmans stores could be tainted with Salmonella, FDA warns.

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