I was at work when news of James Van Der Beek's death broke. Deeply saddened by his passing, as many millennials were, I walked to the bathroom for a quickie corporate cry. It felt like a piece of my childhood died along with the actor who played Dawson Leery, but it wasn't just a parasocial relationship that had me weeping next to the soap dispenser.
In it, the Tiny Chef (a stop-motion creature vaguely resembling a sentient pea) made plant-based meals for his friends from his home inside a tree stump. But in June, 2025, the Tiny Chef took to his YouTube channel to announce in a heartwrenching video that his series had been canceled unexpectedly by Nickelodeon. It now has nearly two million views and 8,000 comments, nearly all of which are expressing an outpouring of support for Cheffy.
Within hours of the Bondi beach terror attack, the money had already begun to pour in. As images of the tragedy flooded social media, people from around the world donated tens of thousands of dollars to the victims, their families and first responders. Passing the hat around the neighbourhood or the local pub has always been a staple response in times of crisis. But today, that instinct to open your wallet has been exponentially supercharged via a digital simulacrum: online crowdfunding platforms.
Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Witcher 4 won't arrive until at least 2027, but in the meantime, studio CD Project Red is working with Go On Board to create a new board game based on the hit series. A cooperative adventure game for one to four players, The Witcher: Legacy will focus on the events that led to the fall of the School of the Wolf. Players will take on the role of witchers seeking to unravel the conspiracy against their order, fighting monsters and exploring the kingdom of Kaedwen through a branching narrative featuring multiple scenarios.
CES is packed with AI companions and assistant robots this year, but the DeskMate from Yoona is a clever take on the idea: it's a desktop charging hub, with three USB-C ports, one USB-A, and a MagSafe pad, that automatically activates an AI companion app when you attach your iPhone to the wireless charger. What's unique about the DeskMate is that by using your phone, it takes advantage of tech you already have.
An everyday carry tool, colloquially EDC, is only useful and actually worth its weight in gold when the device is built to be convenient to carry and use. The Dark Fire 2.0 is easily the most apt to the idea. It is a pendent, a key chain, or a clip slightly more than the size of a coin, but versatile enough to put many more detailed, hefty and space-consuming EDCs to shame.
Started by couple Farah and Sam in 2022, after Sam began making soft serve at Leila's Cafe where he was head chef, Soft & Swirly has been popping up across London at places like Rambutan, Netil Market and e5 Bakehouse. Over the years, the pair grew the brand from soft serve (they've done flavours like salted black sesame, malted milk & vanilla, watermelon & raspberry sorbet, and ginger & star anise) to include seasonal scoops, ice cream tubs, sundaes and pies.
An 88-year-old army veteran received the surprise of a lifetime from strangers around the world thanks to a viral TikTok video that raised $1.8 million for him. The video was recorded and shared by Australian positivity influencer Sam Wetenhoeffer, who was on what he called a US Kindness Tour through the Christmas holiday. Wetenhoeffer met Ed Bambas from Michigan, who was working the checkout line at a Meijer supermarket.
Most desks accumulate a scattered collection of control devices over time. There's the keyboard and mouse, maybe a Stream Deck for shortcuts, a volume knob for your speakers, a phone running smart home apps, and a separate remote for the desk lamp. Each solves a specific problem, but together they create a landscape of disconnected gadgets competing for space and attention. The monitor sits above it all, while everything underneath becomes a tangled mess of cables and redundant functions.
"I was running and felt a pop in my knee, and it sounded like a water bottle crunching. "I fell to the ground and I just knew. I said to my captain 'it is my ACL'. "It's one of the worst injuries. "Every single player fears it, but I never thought it would happen to me. When I got over the pain, it set in that I would be out for the season."
Baboo Gelato, the award-winning artisan ice cream brand founded on the Dorset coast, has launched a £300,000 crowdfunding campaign as it prepares to scale from a regional favourite to a national name. The business, known for its small-batch gelato, fruit sorbets and its hugely popular dog-friendly frozen treat Doggy Doggy Yum Yum, has opened its campaign on Crowdcube. The raise will remain live for three weeks, with investments starting from just £10.
I met my wife while working at Target, marking the beginning of what became a decadeslong career in retail. Over the years, I moved into leadership roles at several major brands before eventually joining a senior living company in a senior role. Then, in August 2019, I got a call that changed everything: I was being let go. At the time, my wife, Danielle - who'd also built a successful career - was home full-time with our four kids.
For about the price of a mid-range custom PC build, you could instead opt for a top-of-the-line gaming handheld called the OneXFly Apex. OneXPlayer launched its latest Indiegogo campaign for its upcoming handheld that starts at $1,399 and goes up to $2,299 for a fully kitted-out version. While most portable gamers are better off with the Steam Deck, the OneXFly Apex separates itself from the crowd with high-end specs, an external 85Wh battery, and the option for liquid cooling.
"The response since we launched early access has been fantastic and is already mirroring our remarkable first round,"
"On Sunday morning, our dear friend and dedicated community leader, Candace, experienced a devastating fire that damaged both her car and home, destroying many of her personal belongings. We are deeply grateful she is safe, but the fire has created unexpected logistical and financial challenges," Calcagni explained in the online fundraiser. "Anyone who knows Candace knows how tirelessly she works to uplift others. She shows up for her community every day, and now it's our turn to show up for her."
Miss Major, 84 has been in the hospital for 12 days. She has had ongoing health problems, having posted in January that she needed 24-hour nursing care after a recent hospitalization. She had a stroke in 2019. Related: 'Enough Is Enough' 10 LGBTQ+ Elders Share Their Words of Wisdom Miss Major, a Black genderqueer transgender woman, has dedicated the last 50 years to advocating for incarcerated trans people, particularly trans women of color, who are often housed in men's prisons, as she was. She has worked for multiple HIV and AIDS organizations, and she was the first executive director of the Transgender Gender-Variant and Intersex Justice Project, a role she held until she retired in 2015.
Editor's note: This story features several interviewees who requested to be identified only by their first name or call sign for their safety. Every few weeks, Ukrainian bridal shop owner Ilia scrapes together a donation usually no more than $7. "If I had any doubts about how my money was being used, I wouldn't give it," said the grizzled 33-year-old, who is exempt from military service because he is blind in one eye.
(Image credit: Bettini Photo) The UCI Road World Championships in Kigali, Rwanda, will be a historic first for Africa, but the costs of bringing riders, staff, and equipment to the races has already put strain on several federations. The Danish cycling federation announced last year that they would not send any junior or under-23 riders to Rwanda, and this week added elite men's and women's time trials to the cuts.
