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Showing posts from July, 2025

Toxic Algal Bloom Devastates South Australia’s Coast

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  A devastating ecological crisis is unfolding along South Australia’s coastline, where a massive toxic algal bloom has transformed vibrant marine ecosystems into underwater graveyards. Since March, the harmful bloom — fueled by a marine heatwave — has spread across more than 4,500 square kilometers (1,737 square miles) of coastal waters, killing an estimated 15,000 animals from over 450 species. The algae have poisoned iconic native creatures such as longfinned worm eels, leafy seadragons, surf crabs, and even common bottlenose dolphins. Ecologist Professor Scott Bennett described seeing the sea floor littered with the lifeless remains of razor clams during a recent trip to the Great Southern Reef. “100% of them were dead and wasting away,” he said. A report from the Biodiversity Council, backed by 11 Australian universities, calls it “one of the worst marine disasters in living memory.” A Crisis Set in Motion by Climate Extremes The event traces its origins to a chain react...

Australia Adds YouTube To Under-16 Social Media Ban In Major Policy Shift

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  Australia has formally decided to include YouTube in its upcoming social media restrictions for children under 16, reversing an earlier pledge to exclude the platform. The decision aligns YouTube with other major platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and X under new legislation set to take effect in December. The law requires platforms to actively prevent users under 16 from creating accounts or face fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars (around $32 million USD). YouTube Now on the Hook Owned by Alphabet, YouTube had previously been considered by the Australian government as an educational tool rather than a traditional social media platform. However, that exemption was scrapped following new data from the eSafety Commission showing 37% of surveyed children reported encountering harmful content on YouTube. That content includes hate speech, sexist or misogynistic videos, dangerous challenges, or material promoting disordered eating. “YouTube uses the s...

‘Love Island USA’ Stars JaNa Craig And Kenny Rodriguez Split: What We Know

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  President Donald Trump reacts as he plays golf at the Trump Turnberry Golf Course on July 27, 2025. JaNa Craig and Kenny Rodriguez, who placed third on “Love Island USA” last summer and now star on spinoff “Beyond the Villa,” announced their split Tuesday in a series of heated Instagram posts, with Craig blasting her now-ex-boyfriend as a "manipulative liar.” Key Facts Fans noticed over the weekend Craig and some of her “Love Island” co-stars had unfollowed Rodriguez on Instagram, sparking theories the pair may have split. Craig posted an  Instagram story  Tuesday evening confirming the breakup and stating the fan theories do not match “how terrible, disgusting and disappointing” their split was, stating Rodriguez is not who she thought he was. Rodriguez  posted his own statement on Instagram shortly after, calling the past few days “incredibly difficult” while wishing Craig happiness and “no ill will.” Craig quickly  responded  to Rodriguez in another In...

Will Trump's Golf Course Host The Open? Maybe—But Not While He’s In The White House

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President Donald Trump reacts as he plays golf at the Trump Turnberry Golf Course on July 27, 2025.   Eric Trump on Wednesday said he thinks his father, President Donald Trump, “deserves” to have his Scottish golf course Turnberry host The Open Championship and said he thinks politics are the only reason it hasn’t happened. Key Facts Eric Trump told  BBC Sport  "there's no one that has been better for the game of golf" than his father and both the course and the president "deserve" to have the storied tournament at Turnberry. He said thinks Trump's passion for the game "will be rewarded" with another chance to host The Open, though it won’t be until he is no longer president. The course, which Trump bought in 2014 for some  $60 million  and renamed Trump Turnberry, is famous for its history of hosting Open Championships, but hasn't been the site of the tournament since 2009. The head of The R&A, the global governing body of golf, in 2021 sa...

U.S. Airlines Issue Tsunami Travel Waivers—Here’s What To Know If You’re Flying

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Major U.S. carriers, including Hawaiian Airlines, have issued travel waivers for passengers due to the tsunami alerts. Following   tsunami advisories   triggered by one of the most powerful earthquakes recorded, major U.S. airlines are allowing passengers flying in or out of Hawaii to change their travel plans without extra cost. Key Facts On Tuesday night, Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines temporarily held or redirected flights bound for Hawaii in response to a tsunami warning issued for the Hawaiian Islands and parts of Alaska—but both airlines resumed service by Wednesday morning. Alaska Airlines issued a  travel advisory  covering four Hawaiian airports (Oahu, Kona, Kauai, Maui), allowing passengers ticketed to fly Wednesday to rebook at no charge for travel through Sunday, Aug. 3. Hawaiian Airlines issued a nearly identical  travel waiver , covering the same four airports with the same rebooking conditions. United Airlines also issued a  travel ale...

Epstein Grand Jury Transcripts Don’t Include Any Interviews With Victims, DOJ Says

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  Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell at Cipriani Wall Street on March 15, 2005 in New York City. Grand jury documents in Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s cases only include interviews with law enforcement and do not include any testimony from Epstein’s victims directly, the Justice Department confirmed in a filing late Tuesday, further suggesting the  grand jury materials  may not include any explosive details the public wants as the Trump administration pushes to release them instead of the FBI’s full Epstein files. Key Facts The Trump administration is asking multiple courts to unseal grand jury documents in the prosecutions against Epstein and Maxwell, which would detail what the grand juries were told in order to decide the defendants should be indicted. The DOJ submitted a  court filing  late Tuesday further laying out its case for why the grand jury materials should be released, as federal law only allows those documents to be unsealed under very...