Phys.org - Dec 18th, 2024
Fluorination strategy unlocks graphene's potential for optoelectronic and energy applications
Researchers from Tohoku University and collaborators have developed a weak fluorination strategy to address the zero-bandgap limitation of graphene. Details of the research were published in the journal Applied Physics Letters.
State Sen. Nick Collins on his decision to help kill Wu's tax shift plan
State Sen. Nick Collins talks about his opposition to a plan from Boston Mayor Michelle Wu that sought to blunt an anticipated spike in homeowners' taxes by raising rates on commercial properties.
Electrek - Dec 18th, 2024
Ford’s future looks bleak in Europe as EV woes worsen, a new study shows
Ford is struggling to stay afloat in Europe. The company is restructuring its business overseas with plans to drastically reduce its workforce. With slowing orders and weak demand for its EVs, many doubt Ford’s future in the region. A new survey underlines “how strong the doubts about Ford’s future viability in the European car market” are. more...
Daily Express Us - Dec 18th, 2024
Nicole Kidman divides fans with 'rude' red carpet response at Babygirl premiere
Nicole Kidman has divided her fans after she made a 'rude' red carpet comment at the premiere of her latest film Babygirl.
Raw Story - Dec 18th, 2024
'Embarrassment from beginning to end': Republicans pile on embattled GOP speaker
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is coming under increased fire from members of his own party over the deal he cut with House Democrats to keep the government open.Conservatives in the House lobbed even more criticism at the proposed continuing resolution, which would give lawmakers a cost-of-living pay raise for the first time since 2009 and would end rules forcing members of Congress to buy health coverage from health care exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act.Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), for one, did not mince words when it came to criticizing Johnson's work on the spending package."The speaker’s been an embarrassment from beginning to end, and the CR is the latest example of this," Hawley said, according to Punchbowl News' Max Cohen. "The CR is a total disaster. Why he continues to be elected as speaker is beyond me."ALSO READ: 'Betrayal to the American people': Democratic strategist confronts ex-Trump adviser on CNNFormer Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, meanwhile, appeared on Steve Bannon's War Room podcast and criticized Johnson's bill for containing "72 pages of pandemic preparedness and response policy" and declared that it "should fail."Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), meanwhile, compared Johnson to a dog eating its own vomit."Like a dog to its vomit, big-spending Republicans in Congress are returning to what’s familiar and neglecting what’s necessary," he wrote on Twitter."Everything I am hearing about the CR thus far leads me to believe that I’ll be voting NO," complained Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY). "Republicans are in the majority and yet the Democrats seem to get more of their priorities in than we do." — (@) — (@) — (@) — (@)
Nbc Sports - Dec 18th, 2024
Marvin Mims Jr. wins second career AFC special teams player of the week award
Sporting News - Dec 18th, 2024
Will the Cleveland Browns trade for Falcons QB Kirk Cousins? | Sporting News
Bleacherreport - Dec 18th, 2024
Video: Rafael Nadal Documentary Announced by Netflix in Teaser Trailer
Netflix dropped a teaser trailer Wednesday showcasing an upcoming documentary series featuring tennis legend Rafael Nadal. Per Deadline's Peter White,...
Tmz - Dec 18th, 2024
Mod Sun Gushes That Life Is Better When He's With Brittany Wisniewski
Mod Sun is head over heels for "Love Is Blind" star Brittany Wisniewski -- he made that crystal clear as he spilled the tea about their relationship to us. Catch this video of the smitten couple hitting up West Hollywood’s Craig’s on Tuesday,... Permalink
Startribune - Dec 18th, 2024
House Ethics Committee secretly voted to release Matt Gaetz ethics report, source says
The House Ethics Committee voted in secret to release the long-awaited ethics report into ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz, raising the possibility that the allegations against the Florida Republican who was President-elect Donald Trump's first choice for attorney general could be made public in the coming days.
Postandcourier - Dec 18th, 2024
TV Highlights for Dec. 19
COLLEGE BASKETBALL (MEN’S)
Wcvb - Dec 18th, 2024
Groups threaten legal action in support of auditing Mass. Legislature
Several advocacy groups are banding together and threatening legal action in support of a voter-approved plan to audit the Massachusetts state legislature.
New Jersey 101.5 - Dec 18th, 2024
Caught on video: Brazen package thieves in NJ twerk on Ring cam
Two porch pirates were caught on a Ring video stealing a package, twerking, then returning the merch two days later, Gloucester Township police said. Continue reading...
Vice News - Dec 18th, 2024
Heavy Metal Docuseries From ‘Dark Side Of The Ring’ Team Coming to Hulu in 2025
Docuseries are all the rage these days, and now Hulu is giving heavy metal some time on the bandwagon. The streamer has greenlit a new docuseries all about the history of metal, and it’s being produced by VICE Studios Canada, with Evan Husney and Jason Eisener involved. Currently, the show’s working title is Into the [...]The post Heavy Metal Docuseries From ‘Dark Side Of The Ring’ Team Coming to Hulu in 2025 appeared first on VICE.
Zdnet - Dec 18th, 2024
This $1 phone scanner app can detect Pegasus spyware. Here's how
Pegasus spyware has been infamous for infecting the phones of journalists, activists, human rights organizations, and dissidents globally. iVerifyBasic helped me scan my phone for spyware in just 5 minutes.
Mcall - Dec 18th, 2024
How to get free Sheetz coffee this month
The Sheetz convenience store chain will offer free self-serve coffee as part of a winter holiday promotion.
The Sun - Dec 18th, 2024
Millions of Brits under 25 feel they are treated negatively at work because of their age, study finds
Phys.org - Dec 18th, 2024
How the science of child development can help parents stress less this holiday season
A recent advisory from the United States Surgeon General has made it clear—parents and caregivers are burned out.
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Zerohedge - Dec 18th, 2024
The Tone Regarding Ukraine's Future Has Shifted Significantly And Fast
The Tone Regarding Ukraine's Future Has Shifted Significantly And Fast By Teeuwe Mevissen, Senior Macro Strategist at RabobankWhile Trump still has to be officially inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States of America, it almost seems he already entered the White House. This has already been demonstrated by Trumps attendance of the formal reopening of one of the pinnacles of French gothic architecture. Indeed, the Notre Dame. In the limelight of this event, Trump, Macron and Zelensky had a meeting where they discussed the future of Ukraine. While no clear deal(s) seem to have been made yet, some would argue that it boiled down to going from a celebrative event organized in a holy place to a meeting that could lead to an unholy deal. While it is unsure yet what has been exactly discussed during the meeting between the three leaders, the tone regarding the future of Ukraine has definitely shifted significantly and fast!Since February 2022, the Western mantra was that Ukraine would be supported for as long as it takes and that it was up to Ukraine to decide whether it wanted to engage in negotiations with Russia. A logical argument for those who also continued to emphasize Ukraine’s sovereignty and, directly related to it, the right of self-determination. Both are crucial pillars of the concept of the nation state that has it roots in the Treaty of Westphalia. If the West would be as serious about upholding the international rules-based order as has been voiced so often, then Ukraine should be considered the litmus test. Not continuing or even stepping up support would in effect boil down to the alternative scenario in which the West would signal that they are unreliable guarantors of security alliances or partnerships (remember that Ukraine received those guarantees from the US and the UK in exchange for giving up its nuclear deterrent), that might makes right and that the West can be impressed and coerced by rattling the nuclear sabre, amongst others. The negative consequences should be clear to anybody with even a basic understanding of security studies or international affairs. History also provides us with clues of what might be the result of such an approach. During the 1930’s, Germany felt humiliated because of the treaty of Versailles and the Nazis came with a fascist concept of a civilization state claiming territory based on both historic and ethnic grounds. After it could seize some territories without putting up a real fight, it eventually decided to test France and the UK by invading Poland. Back in the late 1930’s, the United Kingdom was still recovering from the impact of the Great War and the gradual loss of control over its empire and its hegemonic status. From Chamberlains point of view, another large war was to be avoided at all cost. But as all of us know by now, this attitude soon proved to be even more costly in a such a way that nobody could ever have imagined. The parallels with the current situation should be clear and as such have often been drawn by international relations observers. Making a leap in time, Putin has been very clear all along about his views of the collapse of the Soviet Union which he calls the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century. So to be clear, apparently from the Kremlin’s point of view it is not the more than 25 million Russians that died during World War II fighting Nazi Germany but the nonviolent collapse of a communist block that subjugated many previously independent and sovereign states, that was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the (last) century. Eager to reverse what the Kremlin seems to consider as an unpalatable humiliation, Russia embarked on several ‘adventures’ in Georgia, Chechnya, and now clearly Ukraine. This is relevant because this point of view makes it less likely that a deal between Russia, Ukraine and the West will turn out to be a stable and durable one. Taking all of the above into account it is the West that now seems to position itself as deal takers instead of deal makers when dealing with rule breakers. The majority of blame should go to Europe. While the war has already been dragging on for almost three years, many European member states continue to talk the talk instead of walk the walk. At the cost of precious lives and Europe’s own security. It is again a demonstration of Europe’s infamous lack of true leadership. We have plenty of Chamberlains and government officials dragging their feet but there is no Churchill in sight, except perhaps for some countries in the east that have been ignored in the past but have been warning the rest of us in Europe for many years. Now what does this all mean for the economy the curious and impatient reader might rightfully ask by now. While the government is primarily responsible for offering security to its inhabitants, It also means that businesses – and especially strategic sectors) should be mobilized to support efforts to enhance security in the broadest way. This means efforts to secure the physical (supply chains, industry and logistics) the digital (cyber security, AI and quantum computing) and increasingly space. It should be clear that part of such a mobilization includes much needed funding.It is here that the financial sector comes into play. Until recently, many politicians and governments were highly critical on financial sector involvement related to the defense industry, making the banking sector wary of providing funding. The pendulum has swung. At least amongst politicians. In the Netherlands former Minister of Defence Kaisa Ollongren called for pension funds and other players in the financial sector to increase investments in this specific sector. But this also applies on a European level. And that means that financial markets will also have to play an important role. On a European level we have seen initiatives for EU funding for the defence industry financed via the issuance of Eurobonds. While common debt is still a thorny issue for the more frugal European member states, alternative ways to coordinate funding and effectively channel this to relevant industries or new industrial initiatives should be taken into consideration. The previous Recovery and Resilience Fund could (partly) serve as a blue print. This means that there could also be a role for the ECB. While the possibilities are plentifully it becomes increasingly urgent to act. Tyler DurdenWed, 12/18/2024 - 11:25
Raw Story - Dec 18th, 2024
'Go back to work': Tommy Tuberville demands to 'start cutting' food stamps for poor people
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) insisted that it was time to "start cutting" funds for food stamps because poor people should "go back to work."During a Wednesday interview on Real America's Voice, Tuberville complained that the so-called farm bill in a House resolution to continue funding the government included $10 billion for farmers but did not cut $1.5 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps."The problem is, I got where the farm bill is, it's gonna be $1.5 trillion, and 200 billion goes to the farmers in a five-year period, and 1.3 trillion goes to food stamps," the senator said. "Now, if we need to start cutting, and you know that DOGE group's gonna start looking at that, people gotta go back to work.""We need to take care of the elderly, the veterans, people with mental illnesses, but everybody else gotta go back to work," he added. However, work requirements are already part of the SNAP program. To receive SNAP benefits, non-disabled adults (age 18-54) must complete 80 hours of work or work training each month.Real America's Voice host Steve Bannon told Tuberville that he wanted to see a limit on the types of food poor people could purchase in addition to funding cuts.ALSO READ: We're watching the largest and most dangerous 'cult' in American history"Now, unfortunately, it's a lot of the food I like, but it's food product, but we gotta, here's the thing," Bannon said. "There's so many hard cuts that have to happen, like you're talking about out of food stamps.""Nobody's gonna be cheerful about cutting food stamps, but you're right, you gotta go back," he continued. "They are hard decisions about putting food on the table for people or giving access to it that have to be made, or we're just not gonna be a country anymore."Watch the video below from Real America's Voice or click the link.
