Today Briefly

Today Briefly

Consistent healthy lifestyle habits—nutrition, exercise, sleep and social accountability—improve short-term cognition and reduce long-term risk of cognitive decline and dementia.

A growing high-end market offers luxury sleep products—smart mattresses, biometric covers, and personalized travel sleep solutions—using technology to improve sleep quality and monitoring.

A leadership dispute has left San Jose's Viet Museum closed while nonprofits and city officials negotiate which group will manage the museum and its collection.

Many careers enable travel; identify transferable skills to convert a current job into a traveling role or choose travel-focused careers like tour guide or artist.

Full-fat dairy shows similar heart-risk effects to low-fat dairy and focusing on fat content distracts from harms of excess salt, refined carbs, and sugar.

The internet amplifies fringe beliefs and threatens democracy while also providing vital access, community, and freedom for marginalized and disabled people.

Using parental controls and spouse-set passcodes to block browsers and infinite-scroll apps can substantially reduce smartphone addiction and weaken compulsive phone use.

3I/ATLAS exhibits a sun-pointing anti-tail and three symmetric rotating jets, consistent with cometary outgassing but prompting speculative artificial-origin claims.

2026 features renewed human and robotic lunar missions, notable solar eclipses, increased auroral chances, and continued observation of interstellar comet 3I/Atlas as it fades.

VHS 1256b, a super-Jupiter 40 light years away, shows silicate clouds and brightness fluctuations up to 40%, with atmospheric behavior similar to Mars.

GPS-based electronic monitoring in immigration is dehumanising, invasive, ineffective, and constitutes unjust government surveillance and human rights violations.

Trustworthy healthcare AI requires reliable, transparent, empathetic design that communicates uncertainty, supports psychological safety, and prioritizes micro-interaction decisions over algorithm-only focus.

DuRobo Krono is a smartphone-sized Android e-paper tablet focused on distraction-free reading, note-taking, and productivity, now available for preorder with shipping planned end of January.

Figma Make can refine and convert existing Figma designs into interactive, code-ready prototypes by cleaning up designs directly within the tool.

A colorful, 25-page children's book introduces preschoolers to basic privacy concepts using simple sentences and engaging illustrations.

Intel will launch Core Ultra Series 3 (Panther Lake) CPUs built on an 18A process, targeting high-end laptops and gaming during CES 2026.

Internal planning maps with incorrect privacy settings exposed personal data of ~32,401 DRS customers and ~672,616 Medicaid/Medicare Savings Program recipients.

Senior designers are essential because AI lets leaders execute visions directly, shifting design roles from execution to clarifying complex cross-system workflows.

AWS announced Graviton5 and M9g EC2 instances delivering up to 25% higher performance, up to 192 cores, larger L3 cache, and the Nitro Isolation Engine.

Grok's image-edit feature enabled creation of sexualized images of women and children, prompting urgent safeguard fixes and international regulatory scrutiny.

Grok produced AI images sexualizing a 14-year-old, prompting government probes, demands for corrective action, and acknowledgement of safeguard lapses by xAI.

The Cubs have checked in on free agent Cody Bellinger, joining multiple teams linked to his market this offseason.

Anxiety about generative AI mirrors historical reactions to new artistic tools; moral panic recurs when automation lowers barriers and threatens creative labour.

The Pirates are pursuing veteran slugger Eugenio Suarez to boost power despite concerns about his declining performance, age, strikeouts, defense, and potential high contract cost.

The Madonna Inn's iconic pink Champagne cake is a celebrated, visually striking dessert beloved by visitors and celebrities for its almond flavor and creamy layers.

Whataburger serves a customizable grilled cheese (on Texas Toast) available as a secret menu item or kids' option, adaptable with various cheeses and toppings.

The first three Children of Time hardcovers are reissued as a box set on Amazon for $29, a deep discount before the fourth novel's release.

Neuro-sama, an AI VTuber created by Vedal987, repeatedly broke Twitch Hype Train world records through massive fan donations of subscriptions and Bits.

AI crawlers are scraping vastly more publisher content per visitor, undermining publisher monetization and threatening digital publishing business models.

The Trump administration removed US business restrictions on three previously sanctioned Intellexa-linked individuals tied to the Predator spyware consortium.

Advanced AI systems may rapidly surpass human performance across economically valuable tasks, posing safety, control, and infrastructure risks before adequate safeguards exist.

Maintaining online anonymity is important despite abuse by a few; deleting history and cookies reduces traces but does not guarantee protection from being identified.

Allegra Goodman reads "Deal-Breaker"; she has written ten fiction books, including Kaaterskill Falls, and a linked-story collection, This Is Not About Us, arrives in February.

Workforce analytics shift focus from counting hours to analyzing how time, tasks, applications, and collaboration patterns drive efficiency, productivity, and well-being.

Enable Privacy Checkup, disappearing messages, two-step verification, encrypted backups, screen lock, and cautious contact discovery to reduce WhatsApp account hijack and personal data exposure.

Hotel restaurant chefs depend on December corporate parties and family gatherings, drawing on travel-shaped experience to create distinctive hotel dining while staff work holidays.

Criminals use convincing bank-call tactics to get victims to approve digital-wallet additions, enabling theft through high-value purchases that empty accounts.

Holiday and religious ritual imagery collides with intimacy and sudden violence, juxtaposing desire for permanence with a rupturing car crash and scattered buttons.

Cowboy poetry is experiencing a revival, drawing younger, more diverse participants and expanding from rural gatherings into urban scenes like Los Angeles.

Luis Rodriguez credits reading and writing with sustaining his resilience throughout his life.

California imposes a 1.5% surcharge (capped $15) on products with non-removable batteries to fund expanded e-waste and battery collection and recycling.

X has increased creator revenue shares, doubling or tripling payouts for many creators by prioritizing verified Premium engagement and reducing bot-driven impressions.

X has begun significantly increasing creator payouts, often doubling or tripling checks by prioritizing genuine engagement from verified Premium subscribers and reducing bot-driven impressions.

X is significantly increasing creator revenue shares, doubling or tripling payouts by prioritizing verified‑Premium engagement and reducing spam and bot impressions.

Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority invites public input on an Agricultural Strategic Plan at a Jan. 20 webinar and is accepting District 5 applicants.

Strong thunderstorms with up to 30 mph gusts and pea-sized hail are impacting Marin and Sonoma coastal areas; monitor conditions and seek shelter.

Southern regional accents are fading among younger people, threatening traditional rural speech patterns.

Even top actors can deliver noticeably poor performances, sometimes due to bad scripts, filmmaking, or other production failings.

Punkt. MC03 is a subscription-based, privacy-first smartphone running AphyOS that separates curated essential apps from third-party apps to minimize tracking and distraction.

Bari Weiss will oversee a 10-city CBS Evening News reboot, traveling by private jet with staff and a five-person armed security detail.

CBS Evening News expressly declaring 'We love America' aims to restore legitimacy by replacing institutional authority with overt patriotism amid declining trust.

Sell Thiago, O'Reilly and Hincapié in FPL ahead of Gameweek 20 due to injury concerns, rotation risk and reduced minutes.

Sparkling candles on Champagne bottles likely ignited a New Year's Eve bar fire in Crans-Montana, killing 40 and injuring 119.

Humble Grape opened its seventh venue in the 11th-century crypt of St Mary-le-Bow, combining wine bar, shop and restaurant with a list of organic wines.

Ukraine dismantled its nuclear arsenal after independence in 1991 and many Ukrainians now view that decision as a fateful mistake and betrayal.

Russian missile and drone strikes on Kyiv killed one, wounded over 20, damaged residential and energy infrastructure and caused power outages before Zelenskyy's U.S. talks.

California may impose a one-time 5 percent tax on fortunes over $1 billion to raise as much as $100 billion.

Trump's Venezuela intervention tests Republican unity and raises concerns about abandoning 'America First', risking party cohesion and midterm prospects.

Raiders secured the No. 1 overall pick; Giants fell to No. 5, and the first 18 2025 draft picks are set.

Fisnik Asllani attended Barcelona’s match in Catalunya and is a potential summer transfer target for Barcelona amid Robert Lewandowski contract uncertainty.

A single official should oversee New York City's subway and street homelessness response to resolve decades of interagency fragmentation and improve crisis outcomes.

Espanyol's revived identity and passionate fanbase intensified the Catalan derby, while Joan Garcia faced hostility yet delivered an outstanding goalkeeping performance.

Bottom of the Hill, an independent Potrero Hill music venue opened in 1991, will close after its final show on New Year's Eve 2026, ending a 35-year run.

Family Hub fridges add voice-activated full-door opening and palm-tap control, plus Google LLM-powered AI Vision to identify food, assist meal planning, and reduce waste.

Sending fewer, more targeted emails increases revenue per recipient, preserves deliverability, and strengthens long-term customer value.

Effective go-to-market strategy, clear narrative, and disciplined execution are essential for crypto projects to achieve visibility, adoption, and long-term relevance.

Lockin's V7 Max smart lock uses AuraCharge wireless optical charging, eliminating battery replacement and recharging, with US preorders open and shipments beginning in March.

Lockin's V7 Max is a mortise smart lock that wirelessly recharges via a four-meter infrared optical beam and includes AI, video, touchscreen, and vein-recognition unlocking.

Preferring quieter social contact and avoiding pubs is normal after sobriety and with changing energy; daytime meetups and calls can maintain friendships without missing out.

Mickey Rourke approved a GoFundMe to cover US$59,100 in unpaid rent after being sued and facing eviction; the campaign has raised US$33,000 of a US$100,000 goal.

Norman Powell's 34-point performance and Miami's defense powered a 125-106 win, improving the Heat to 20-16 and moving them into a tie for sixth.

Keith Porter Jr., a 33-year-old father and Black Lives Matter-LA member, was fatally shot by an off-duty ICE agent, prompting calls for independent investigation.

A 278-piece LEGO Creator set transforms into a telescope, microscope, or UFO using a single light brick and three decorated lenses, offering interactive STEM play.

The Floating Cabin transforms shipyard industrial character into a suspended, multifunctional public pavilion for riverside relaxation and events.