Friday, December 5
Belgium’s 15-year-old prodigy earns PhD in quantum physics
Laurent Simons and his parents. Credit: Justin Stares
Belgian child prodigy Laurent Simons has officially become a doctor in quantum physics at just 15 years old.
On Monday, he successfully defended his doctoral thesis at the University of Antwerp, VTM Nieuws reported.
"After this, I’ll start working towards my goal: creating ‘super-humans’," he told the broadcaster shortly after the milestone achievement.
According to VTM, Laurent believes he may be the youngest person ever to obtain a PhD. His latest success marks a new peak in a trajectory that has fascinated the scientific world for years, a journey that began long before his teenage years.
Bachelor at 12
Laurent’s academic feats were already making headlines back in 2022. Then aged 12, he had just completed a bachelor’s degree in physics with distinction at the University of Antwerp, finishing the three-year programme in only 18 months.
Thursday, December 4
Headlines
Photo by Adam GRAY/AFP via Getty Images
Trump’s immigration crackdown comes to New Orleans and Minnesota. Federal agents arrived in New Orleans yesterday and began an immigration enforcement operation that the Department of Homeland Security said would focus on people who are in the country without authorization and have a criminal history. But many people detained in past sweeps have not had criminal records, according to federal officials, and immigrants in the city told news outlets they were fearful of leaving their homes. New Orleans is the latest Democrat-run locale to be targeted, and, as in other cities, there have been protests in response. An operation was also launched in Minnesota, a day after President Trump went on a tirade against the state’s Somali population during a Cabinet meeting, saying, “I don’t want them in our country.”
Watchdog reportedly finds Hegseth could have endangered troops with Signal chat. The Pentagon’s inspector general’s report on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of Signal to discuss a forthcoming military strike in Yemen said it could have put troops and their mission at risk—but also found that Hegseth had the power to declassify the information disclosed in the chat, sources who’d seen the findings told the Associated Press yesterday. The report is also said to note that Hegseth violated Pentagon policy by using a personal device for official business. The Signal use became public after an editor from The Atlantic was accidentally included in a chat. The report comes as Hegseth faces scrutiny from lawmakers over a second strike that killed the survivors of a previous attack on an alleged drug boat.
Trump admin to roll back car fuel-efficiency standards. With executives from General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis in attendance, President Trump announced plans to weaken Biden-era fuel economy standards that were intended to help boost electric cars. Under newly proposed Department of Transportation rules, most cars would need to achieve 34.5 miles per gallon through the 2031 model year, down from the 50 miles per gallon standard adopted under former President Biden. The DOT said the proposal would save Americans $109 billion over the next five years, while critics say the change will encourage automakers to continue to focus on environmentally unfriendly vehicles that could ultimately cost consumers more at the gas pump.—AR
Robert Reich
His brain is turning into sh*t
Friends,
After criticizing media coverage about him aging in office, Trump appeared to be falling asleep during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Tuesday.
But that’s hardly the most troubling aspect of his aging.
In the last few weeks, Trump’s insults, tantrums, and threats have exploded.
To Nancy Cordes, CBS’s White House correspondent, he said: “Are you stupid? Are you a stupid person? You’re just asking questions because you’re a stupid person.”
About New York Times correspondent Katie Rogers: “third rate … ugly, both inside and out.”
To Bloomberg White House correspondent Catherine Lucey: “Quiet. Quiet, piggy.”
About Democratic lawmakers who told military members to defy illegal orders: guilty of “sedition … punishable by DEATH.”
At A Glance
YouTube lists defining cultural trends of 2025.
... and the 100 best TV episodes of the century.
Why birds don't get frozen feet.
How old is too old to shovel snow?
Read a girl's letter to Santa from 1883.
How Rudolph's nose could scientifically glow.
Study finds having a dog may improve teens’ mental health.
Lego to make life-size World Cup trophy from 2,842 bricks.
Clickbait: A raccoon’s booze bender.
Historybook: English philosopher Thomas Hobbes dies (1679); President Woodrow Wilson travels to Versailles for WWI peace talks, is first US president to travel to Europe while in office (1918); Jay-Z born (1969); Tyra Banks born (1973); American journalist Terry Anderson released after more than six years as hostage in Lebanon (1991).
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Apple Music unveils year-end charts; Bruno Mars and Rosé’s “APT.” takes the No. 1 spot across several categories, and Morgan Wallen leads all artists for most entries with 12 top-100 songs (More)
> Cannes-winning director Jafar Panahi sentenced in Iran to one year in prison and a two-year travel ban on propaganda charges while he's in New York City accepting Gotham Awards for “It Was Just an Accident," a film he illegally shot in Iran (More)
> International sports court rules Russian skiers and snowboarders can apply as neutral athletes for qualification events to the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, overturning ban imposed in February 2022 over Russia's invasion of Ukraine (More)
Science & Technology
> Samsung debuts its first trifold smartphone with 10-inch display, available in South Korea this month and in the US next year; Chinese company Huawei released trifold phones last year, and Apple is expected to debut a foldable iPhone next year (More)
> Researchers find shingles vaccine may slow progression of dementia, building on an earlier study that linked the vaccine to a lower risk of developing dementia (More)
> Terminally ill baby ants emit a chemical signal that prompts adult ants to kill them, helping protect the rest of the colony from infection (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close up (S&P 500 +0.3%, Dow +0.4%, Nasdaq +0.6%); bitcoin bounces back above $90K (More) | Madison Avenue, bubbles, post-work happy hours: Explore these topics and more in tomorrow's business and finance newsletter (Sign up)
> Prada Group finalizes purchase of Milan fashion rival Versace in nearly $1.4B cash deal (More) | Paramount, Netflix, and Comcast submit second-round bids for Warner Bros. Discovery, with Netflix submitting mostly all-cash offer (More)
> Nearly 203 million US consumers shopped from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday, marking largest five-day turnout since 2017 when tracking began (More) | Online US shoppers spent record of roughly $44B across five-day period (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defends follow-up strike on alleged drug boat in September, saying he didn't see survivors in what he called "the fog of war" (More)
> Former Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernandez is released from West Virginia prison after being pardoned by President Donald Trump over drug-trafficking charges (More) | Centrist candidate Salvador Nasralla takes slight lead in Honduras presidential election, as votes are counted by hand (More)
> Tennessee voters select Republican Army veteran Matt Van Epps to replace outgoing Rep. Mark Green (R, TN-7) in special election (More)
SOURCE: 1440 NEWS
Charitable Gifts
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What that tells me is that NINETY PERCENT (90%) of Americans are only spending what they absolute have to spend to pay their bills and nothing more.
America's wealthy are carrying the water for the rest of us... and if technology continues to grow like it has grown in the past, this financial divide will only get worse.
WITH THIS SAID... there are dozens of television commercials on cable, satellite, and through WIFI connections that solicit the viewers to pay $11/month, $15/month, or $19/month, or more... so that this person or that person can be taken care of.
Most of the people veterans, first responders, law enforcement or fire fighters who have been catastrophically injured in the line of duty.
SO...
most of those people who make these kinds of contributions, if not all of them, come from the NINETY PERCENT (90%) that don't have the funds necessary to help the US economy....
and yet...
these commercials are designed to make them feel guilty.
Is this really fair?
I am not saying that the WEALTHY should be the ones to pick up this tab... what I am saying is that OUR OWN FEDERAL GOVERNMENT through the collection of taxes (where everyone pays their fair share) should pay for this...
NOT THE STRUGGLING NINETY PERCENT.
If it doesn't come from taxes, then it should come from TARIFFS.
U.S. Scientists Engineered a “Superwood”
A new wood-based material developed by scientists in the United States may soon disrupt one of the most entrenched pillars of modern manufacturing: steel. Derived from natural timber, this so-called superwood has been chemically and mechanically transformed to become stronger, tougher, and lighter than some industrial metals, all while remaining renewable and biodegradable.
First developed by researchers at the University of Maryland, the process involves removing key components from raw wood and then compressing it into a dense, fibrous structure that radically outperforms untreated timber. According to peer-reviewed tests, the resulting material boasts tensile strength comparable to high-grade alloys, while weighing a fraction of what metals typically do.
It’s not just a promising lab experiment. The material has already begun commercial production through a spin-off company and is being positioned as a low-carbon alternative for industries ranging from construction and aerospace to automotive and defense.
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