This Year’s First Big Stupid Idea: “Retrain ICE”
One of the consequences of covering American politics is that it forces you to have frequent close encounters with some of the dumbest people alive and their terrible ideas. Cutting taxes…
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Culture
106 housing markets are seeing falling home prices—and not a single one is in the Midwest
Want more housing market stories from Lance Lambert’s ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter. Based on our analysis of the Zillow Home Value Index, U.S. home prices…
Elon Musk fails to deliver on his Cybercab and Optimus promises—again
Tesla CEO Elon Musk just admitted what we have been saying since he first made his grand promises about the company’s Cybercab robotaxi and Optimus humanoid robot: His target to…
How the Australian Open became a tech incubator
Every year, Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley issues a challenge to his team that would make most executives—and their teams—break into a cold sweat: Reinvent 50% of the Australian Open.…
The Trump administration has a new mascot: A literal hunk of coal
Mascots are currently enjoying a renaissance. From McDonald’s Grimace to the WNBA’s Ellie the Elephant and Pop-Tarts’ Pop-Tart guy, companies everywhere are leaning on characters to…
Why everyone on TikTok is pretending to be an owl
Over the past couple of days, TikTok has been flooded with owl impressions—albeit ones in which the birds sound like various celebrities, have regional accents, or find themselves in…
5 quick ways to make your iPhone act more like it used to, before Apple’s iOS 26 update
Apple’s iOS 26 has been available for nearly six months now, but it’s still one of the company’s least well-received software updates for the iPhone. Primarily, people have criticized the…
Don’t reply ‘STOP’ to unsolicited text messages. Do this instead
Spammers and malicious actors inundate us with a steady stream of text messages—often purporting to be from legitimate institutions or companies. Stanching this flow isn’t easy. Just as…
Windows, Mac, Android, or iPhone: Save this keyboard cheat sheet now
If you’re an old-school writer like me, usually the words alone are all you need. But once in a while, you need something extra. I’m referring to all the special symbols that don’t appear…
Neuroscience just discovered a weird way to tell when someone is really listening to you
Is there an easy way to tell when someone is really listening to what you say? New research just uncovered one unexpected sign: They may blink less. That’s the finding of a study by…
Why everything you think about yourself could be an illusion
Below, J. Eric Oliver shares five key insights from his new book, How To Know Your Self: The Art & Science of Discovering Who You Really Are. Eric has been teaching at the University of…
Stop tracking employee engagement. Try this instead
Companies have never had more tools to measure engagement, yet employees have never reported feeling more disconnected. It’s one of the defining paradoxes of modern work: Engagement scores…
US lawmakers say TikTok joint venture deal needs scrutiny from Congress
Some US lawmakers on Friday (Jan 23) said a deal by TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance to establish a majority American-owned joint venture (JV) to avoid a US ban on the social…
European stocks end a five-week winning streak after Greenland turmoil
PEAN shares finished lower on Friday (Jan 23) and logged weekly losses as investors exercised caution and assessed any potential trade jitters resulting from frictions with…
US stocks: Dow ends lower, with S&P flat, as Intel's outlook weighs on risk appetite
Dow Jones Industrial Average stumbled to a lower close on Friday (Jan 23), while the S&P 500 ended largely unchanged, as investors’ risk appetite was dimmed at the end of a…
Top Homeland Security Democrat backs impeachment of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem
Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, the senior Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, announced his support Friday for an effort to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Source…
How childcare workers in Minnesota are protesting ICE
Since the Trump administration deployed 2,000 immigration officers to Minneapolis a few weeks ago, childcare workers have been on high alert. Immigration officers have shown up at…
Where's Wesley? GOP congressman skips House votes to run for Senate
Republican Rep. Wesley Hunt of Texas has missed 92% of congressional votes in 2026 while campaigning for U.S. Senate, according to a "Where's Waldo"-themed website tracking his missed…
Dr Pepper used a TikTok creator’s jingle. Now everyone wants to get in on the act
For the first time in Dr Pepper’s 140-year history, the brand is the second-most-popular soda in America. Now it has a shiny new jingle to match. In late December, TikTok creator Romeo…
Colombian President Petro optimistic about high-stakes White House meeting with Trump
Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Friday he was optimistic about a high-stakes White House meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump scheduled for Feb. 3. The announcement marks a…
Army Vet Says ICE Detained Him for 8 Hours, Blocked Access to Lawyer
Just hours after Bovino recounted his dystopian, rather than feel-good, story about detained children, another report emerged that immigration agents had grabbed a child. ICE detained a…
Vance touts the Trump administration's record against abortion at a Washington rally
Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday encouraged anti-abortion activists to "take heart in how far we've come" on the quest to limit the practice, listing the Trump administration's…
CBP Chief Brags They’re “Experts” in Detaining Small Children
Just hours after Bovino recounted his dystopian, rather than feel-good, story about detained children, another report emerged that immigration agents had grabbed a child. ICE detained a…
FEMA Can’t Say “Watch Out for Ice” in Storm Warnings for Fear of Memes
A winter storm is set to hit much of the country this weekend, and naturally, the Federal Emergency Management Association is sending out warnings to make sure people are safe. But they…