Open Newswire

A Missouri appeals court rewrote the language for a proposed abortion ban set to appear on the November 2026 ballot after the judges concluded Thursday the previous wording drafted by Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins was riddled with errors. The judges found both the ballot language and the summary statement that will be posted […]

En un tiempo en que la inteligencia artificial avanza más rápido que nuestra capacidad para comprenderla, la pregunta sobre si las máquinas pueden llegar a ser conscientes se vuelve ineludible.

The four lawsuits at the center of a Republican-led effort to ensure law enforcement can access reproductive health records are now mostly resolved, after attorneys for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton agreed last week to dismiss the last remaining suit challenging the legality of a foundational health privacy rule. Paxton filed the lawsuit in September 2024 […]

(The Center Square) – Americans can now wager on sports results through Fanatics Predicts in 24 states that have not allowed legal sports wagering including California, Texas, Georgia, Washington and more. National sportsbooks including FanDuel, DraftKings and Fanatics announced earlier this year that they would join prediction markets such as Kalshi in what they call sports event contracts where users wager against each other on the results of everything from sports markets to elections. One major difference for states is that they do not receive taxes for prediction market wagers or revenue and instead it is regulated federally through the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Fanatics beat the rush of the national brands into the markets with FanDuel and DraftKings expected to open markets in 2026. “For years, Fanatics has given fans new ways to enhance their fandom through team merchandise, collectibles, tickets, gaming, events and more,” said Matt King, Chief Executive Officer, Fanatics Betting and Gaming. “Now, with Fanatics Markets, we’re giving fans a safe, and intuitive way to engage with the moments that move sports and culture, and to pick a side and profit along the way if their prediction is correct.” Kalshi and its prediction markets have been the subject of lawsuits and cease-and-desist letters from state sports wagering oversight boards across the country including a large-scale class action lawsuit during the week of Thanksgiving claiming the company is operating unlicensed sports betting and the company wasn’t clear who they were betting against. Fanatics said it is live in 24 states as of Wednesday including Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas and Washington. Fanatics launched with offering in sports, finance, economics and politics and said that early in 2026 it will add crypto, stocks/IPOs, climate, pop culture, tech/AI, movies and music. A Wisconsin lawmaker recently warned colleagues that prediction markets could take over the state’s wagering if it didn’t act swiftly to allow for legalized wagering through the state’s 11 tribes. “If we leave a gray area in state law, national prediction platforms will fill it without our compact framework, Wisconsin oversight, or Wisconsin consumer safeguards,” wrote Wisconsin Rep. Tyler August, R-Walworth.

Les images ont fait le tour des réseaux sociaux. Début décembre, des comptes proches de l'armée ukrainienne ont diffusé la vidéo de la destruction en plein vol d'un drone expérimental russe, visiblement équipé d'un missile air-air. Une première, mais visiblement, l'attelage d'un vieux missile et d'un drone couramment utilisé par la Russie sur le champ de bataille ukrainien n'a pas donné les effets espérés.

WASHINGTON — Americans who purchase their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace are bracing for a steep rise in costs next year that many say they will not be able to afford, according to a poll released Thursday by the nonpartisan health organization KFF. Nearly 60% of enrollees surveyed could not cover the […]

Մերցն ու Ալիևը հեռախոսազրույց են ունեցել:

(The Center Square) – Netflix’s attempt to buy major assets from Warner Bros Discovery is already facing criticism from Republican lawmakers who say the proposed deal could raise significant antitrust concerns. U.S. Sen. Mike Lee said on X that the reported bid “would raise serious competition questions – perhaps more so than any transaction I’ve seen in about a decade.” Lee leads the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, which would oversee any congressional review. U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., have also raised early concerns. They say federal regulators should closely examine any deal that could further concentrate power in the streaming and entertainment markets. “With more than 300 million global subscribers and a vast content library, Netflix currently wields unequaled market power,” Issa wrote in a statement. “Adding both HBO Max’s subscribers and Warner Bros.’ premier content rights would further enhance this position, reportedly pushing the combined entity above a 30 percent share of the streaming market: a threshold traditionally viewed as presumptively problematic under antitrust law.” Netflix has reportedly hired antitrust attorney Steven Sunshine of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates to guide its bid. Sunshine has advised on several high-profile mergers over the past decade that faced federal challenges. In multiple cases where he represented the acquiring company, the deals were blocked or later abandoned after intervention from the Department of Justice or the Federal Trade Commission. Those included Visa’s attempted purchase of Plaid, Adobe’s effort to buy Figma, and Sabre’s proposed acquisition of Farelogix. If Warner Bros Discovery accepts the Netflix offer, the DOJ antitrust division will likely conduct an expansive review, The New York Post reports. The report says DOJ officials are preparing for a “sweeping, multiyear investigation” into the competitive effects of the transaction. The sale process itself has also drawn criticism. Paramount Global, which is competing with Netflix for the same Warner Bros assets, sent a letter to Warner Bros Discovery this week questioning whether all bidders are receiving fair treatment. “It has become increasingly clear, through media reporting and otherwise, that WBD appears to have abandoned the semblance and reality of a fair transaction process, thereby abdicating its duties to stockholders, and embarked on a myopic process with a predetermined outcome that favors a single bidder,” the letter from attorneys at Quinn Emanuel says. “We specifically request and expect this letter will be shared and discussed with the full board of directors of WBD.” Netflix’s bid would give the company control of one of the largest film and television libraries in the world, along with its massive streaming infrastructure. Lawmakers say those assets would significantly expand Netflix’s reach and raise new questions about market power in a sector already dominated by a powerful few. Federal regulators have not publicly confirmed any action. However, the early reaction from Republican lawmakers indicates the deal would not move forward without intense scrutiny.

Aunque parezca extraño, existen ciertos grupos de personas sin nacionalidad que viven en un limbo legal, deambulando por el mundo sin la posibilidad de demostrar un origen o pertenencia. Ahora bien, ¿qué es la apatridia y cuál es la situación de sus afectados?

Una de las ideas esenciales del ensayismo de Carmen Martín Gaite es que el amor es un cuento que nos contamos a nosotros mismos, y cuando nos lo contamos mal nos exponemos a un descalabro.

A wildfire in California’s Joshua Tree National Park burned through some 29 hectares (72 acres) of land during the recent federal government shutdown in October and November. That’s a small fire by California standards, but firefighters estimate it scorched roughly 1,000 of the park’s iconic Joshua trees, according to The Los Angeles Times. The burned […]

En el centenario de Carmen Martín Gaite, revisamos uno de sus libros más queridos y admirados: ‘El cuarto de atrás’.

En sus ‘collages’, Carmen Martín Gaite nos invita a participar en el juego de recomponer el mundo con lo que otros han desechado.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry has appointed Jarrod Coniglio as the next secretary of the state Department of Revenue.  Coniglio replaces former Secretary Richard Nelson, who is resigning to become president of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System.  Coniglio is currently deputy revenue secretary and has worked for the department for more than a decade. […]

Billing problems, dry taps and excessively leaky pipes paint a picture of a rural water utility that is “barely limping along” and may need state intervention, one of New Mexico’s three Public Regulation Commission members said at a recent meeting.

(The Center Square) - Shreveport City Council members agreed Thursday to refinance $190 million worth of water and sewer bonds in a bid to save on long-term debt costs and boost the city’s ability to upgrade its systems. The council’s 5-0 vote occurred during a special meeting the week after credit rating agency Moody’s downgraded the city’s bond ratings. Moody’s also issued a “negative” outlook, saying the city’s finances are becoming less flexible and that it lacks a solid plan to generate revenue. Another credit rating agency, Standard & Poor’s, maintained its ratings for the city’s bonds but revised its financial outlook from “stable” to “negative.” The ratings can affect borrowing costs and interest payments for government projects. Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux has said that refinancing the revenue bonds should help improve the city’s next bond ratings. Mike Busada, the city’s bond attorney, told the council the refinancing will save the city around $8 million, “depending on what the market looks like the day we go out for sale.” He said the refinancing won’t be affected by the bond rating downgrade. “This is just one other step to help address the concerns, by saving money and being prudent and making sure we get all the cost savings we can,” Busada said. Tom Dark, the city’s chief administrative officer, said the refinancing “means a tiny bit less need for revenue.” “If at some point we ask you for rate increases, it might be a little smaller than if you haven’t done this,” he told the council. Arceneaux has said other steps are needed to improve the city’s bond ratings, including becoming “more aggressive” in maintaining and increasing its reserve funds. He said he’s begun discussions to renegotiate terms of a 2014 federal consent decree that mandated $342 million in sewer system upgrades to comply with the Clean Water Act. The city has spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to comply, which has affected its ability to maintain solid bond ratings, he said.

Чем вызваны запреты и почему мост не может работать полноценно?

(The Center Square) — New York's pending ban on natural gas in new buildings and homes could be preempted by a plan working its way through Congress, which would block states from setting restrictions on new fossil fuel hookups. The House Committee on Energy and Commerce on Wednesday voted 24-21 to recommend the Energy Choice Act be forwarded to the full House of Representatives for consideration along with 14 other bills aimed at reducing the cost of energy and blocking restrictions on fossil-fuel powered appliances. The Energy Choice Act, if approved and signed by President Donald Trump, would prevent states or local governments from banning energy sources like natural gas or propane in new construction. That would effectively block New York's All-Electric Buildings Act — described by critics as a "gas stove ban" — before it goes into effect next year. The bill's primary sponsor, New York Republican Rep. Nick Langworth, said the movement on the legislation is a "major victory for New Yorkers and a critical step toward blocking Governor Kathy Hochul’s natural gas ban in homes and businesses across the state." He is urging fellow lawmakers to pass the legislation. "Banning natural gas in New York is one of the most reckless and clueless policies ever pushed on working families," Langworthy said in a statement. "It rips away an affordable, reliable energy source and replaces it with higher costs, weaker grids, and winter blackouts waiting to happen. It’s dangerous, it’s out of touch, and it’s going to have a cataclysmic effect on our energy supply, economy, and New Yorkers’ budgets." Langworthy said the bill is backed by more than 200 local governments that have passed resolutions in support, 124 co-sponsors in the House from dozens of states and is endorsed by key industry stakeholders. Republicans have filed a similar bill in the U.S. Senate. The New York law, which bans natural gas and oil heating in most new construction by 2029, was set to take effect on Jan. 1 but the Hochul administration decided to delay implementation of the requirements while a legal challenge from industry groups plays out in court. Hochul has pushed for a ban on new and existing gas hook-ups as part of her environmental agenda, saying the move would improve public health and help reduce the state's carbon footprint. She has been pressured by environmental groups who want New York to electrify its buildings, claiming they contribute to a large portion of the state's excess greenhouse gas emissions that are contributing to climate change. But Republican lawmakers and construction industry groups have criticized the new law as government overreach, saying it would punish consumers with higher energy costs but do little to blunt the impacts of climate change. Langworthy said there is "zero doubt" that Hochul is planning to delay implementation of the gas ban until after next year's election, when the Democrat will be on the ballot seeking another four years in office. "That’s why it’s more important than ever to pass my Energy Choice Act to ensure that New Yorkers have federal protections against this radical, dangerous ban," he said. "New York is already on its knees facing the worst affordability crisis in the nation — this would send us off the cliff with no return."

Cuantas más palabras sabemos, mejor entendemos lo que leemos. Pero no es solo una cuestión de cantidad: la clave está en la calidad. ¿Cómo podemos ampliarlo de forma sistemática y profunda?

Frente a un sistema que premia la reacción antes que el juicio y la apariencia sobre la coherencia, la antigua filosofía del pórtico emerge como un contrapeso incómodo y necesario, recordándonos que pensar —de verdad pensar— sigue siendo un acto de resistencia.