Knowledge
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Today's Word "profligate"
profligate \PROF-luh-guht; -gayt\ (adjective) - 1 : Openly and shamelessly immoral; dissipated; dissolute. 2 : Recklessly wasteful.
(noun) - A profligate person.
"Both Curtiss and Feldmar agreed that after the birth of ...Read more
This Day in History, December 12
On December 12th, 1781, the HMS Victory defeated the French fleet during the Revolutionary War.
The Breakfast Challenge
You are enjoying your breakfast after having put some salt on your scrambled eggs when your nerdy brother presents you with an ice cube floating in a glass of water and a short length of string. He challenges you to remove the ice cube from the glass using the string without tying any knots. What strategy do you use to remove the ice cube from the water glass?
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Haiti farmers battered by Hurricane Melissa are still reeling, UN says
A month and a half after Hurricane Melissa killed dozens of people in Haiti, the country is still struggling with its aftermath.
Haitians, who were already going hungry because gang violence has blocked highways and cut ...Read more
SpaceX launches 1st of 5 missions on tap in next 8 days on Florida's Space Coast
ORLANDO, Fla. — SpaceX and United Launch Alliance are combining for a busy week of rocket launches on the Space Coast.
First up Thursday evening was SpaceX’s planned Starlink 6-90 mission with 29 Starlink satellites ...Read more
Washington floods: Dozens rescued while stranded in homes, vehicles
SEATTLE — Rescue crews saved dozens of people Thursday as historic flooding and heavy rains swept through Western Washington.
Those living near the Snohomish and Skagit rivers face the brunt of record flooding described...Read more
California extends red abalone fishing ban for another 10 years
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Fish and Game Commission voted Thursday to extend the closure of the recreational red abalone fishery for another decade, keeping the ban in place until April 2036.
The fishery has ...Read more
Hopkins neurologist designed artificial intelligence to work like a human brain
BALTIMORE — Artificial intelligence systems designed to physically imitate natural brains can simulate human brain activity before being trained, according to new research from Johns Hopkins University.
“The work that...Read more
Toxic water from Texas oil production is set to be treated and pumped into rivers
Texas is about to deploy a potential solution to the oil industry’s toxic wastewater problem — but it’s a move that carries environmental risks of its own.
State regulators are working to issue permits that would ...Read more
Instacart is charging different prices to different customers in a dangerous AI experiment, report says
The grocery delivery service Instacart is using artificial intelligence to experiment with prices and charge some shoppers more than others for the same items, a new study found.
The study from nonprofits Groundwork ...Read more
'Nothing beautiful about that': Erase Trump's face from parks pass, lawsuit demands
Calling the design decision crass and disgusting as well as illegal, an environmentalist group is demanding that President Trump’s image be removed from the 2026 national parks pass.
A lawsuit filed Wednesday, Dec. 10, ...Read more
SpaceX mission today 1st of 5 launches in 8 days on tap for Space Coast
ORLANDO, Fla. — SpaceX and United Launch Alliance are combining for a busy week or rocket launches on the Space Coast.
First up Thursday afternoon is SpaceX’s planned Starlink 6-90 mission with 29 Starlink satellites ...Read more
You can touch them, just don't eat them: Death cap mushrooms sicken Californians
LOS ANGELES — The winter season has brought cold and wet conditions that are perfect for fungi like death cap mushrooms, or Amanita phalloides, to grow in California, experts say, but with that has come a rash of people ...Read more
Rooster 'epidemic' fueled by backyard coops, sanctuaries say
BALTIMORE -- A yearslong surge in displaced roosters is overwhelming animal sanctuaries in Maryland and across the country, fueled by a pandemic-born boom in backyard chicken coops and the noisy realities of owning a ...Read more
Today's Word "extemporaneous"
extemporaneous \ek-stem-puh-RAY-nee-us\ (adjective) - 1 : Composed, performed, or uttered on the spur of the moment, or without previous study; unpremeditated; impromptu. 2 : Prepared beforehand but delivered without notes...Read more
This Day in History, December 11
On December 11th, 1872, P.B.S. Pinchback was sworn in as the first African-American member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Venus
You awake inside a small transparent capsule sitting on the surface of Venus. From a small speaker you hear a voice that says, "We will leave you here either for a day or a year. If you choose to stay a day, we will give you $1 million. If you choose to stay a year, we will give you $2 million. Either way, you will have sufficient food and water. We will make sure the temperature is a constant 70 degrees Fahrenheit. We will also supply cable ...
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Washington flooding a state of emergency, governor says
CAMP MURRAY, Wash. — Gov. Bob Ferguson declared a state of emergency Wednesday, called in the National Guard and said he is requesting assistance from the federal government following historic flooding that continues in ...Read more
Amazon bets on color and AI with its priciest Kindle to date
Amazon.com Inc.’s new Kindle Scribe Colorsoft is the company’s most serious effort yet to turn its e-reader into a productivity tool. But with a starting price of $630 — making it the priciest Kindle yet — Amazon ...Read more
AI slop ad backfires for McDonald's
People aren't lovin' it.
McDonald's was forced to pull down an AI-generated Christmas commercial from YouTube after some consumers said the AI-slop-filled tongue-in-cheek take on the holidays was distasteful.
The ad, ...Read more
Inside Knowledge
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