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Arizona bill would force businesses to allow people with concealed guns
A new bill filed would force Arizona businesses to let anyone with a concealed weapons permit to bring their guns inside.
Application Security Code and Protecting the Digital Heart of Today’s Business
Creating strong protections requires a mix of testing, monitoring, and policy enforcement.
How a Trump business deal with a crypto firm exposes potential conflicts of interest
Crypto.com was under siege — investigated by President Joe Biden's Democratic administration and told enforcement action was likely. Then Donald Trump won the 2024 election, and the company’s legal peril dissipated.
Space Force Uses Magic: The Gathering-Style Cards To Announce The War Names For Its Satellites
You've really got to see the cards to believe them.
Rob Reiner was more than a Hollywood legend. He helped shape California politics
Rob Reiner may be best known for his Hollywood films, but he was also a Democratic political force in California.
RODENTS GALORE: These 5 Central Florida restaurants shut down over health issues
Another five Central Florida eateries were forced to shut down, and they all reportedly shared one feature in common: rodent droppings.
Task force says SF should cull commission system
Voter-approved body recommends significant reforms.
Will Congressional Inaction Force Farmers to Choose Between Health Insurance and Their Farm Budget?
Farmers likely need to prepare for substantially higher premiums and healthcare costs for 2026, unless Congress acts now to address the problem.
What does losing Harris Democratic Party endorsement mean for John Whitmire?
Harris County Democratic Party officials argue that today’s political climate will force them to be more outspoken in future races — even the nonpartisan ones.
RiverStone Health announces crackdown on kratom sales in Yellowstone County
RiverStone Health announced Monday it will begin enforcement against the sales of kratom in Yellowstone County.
Blindsided: Iconic Gainesville businesses included in 49 ADA lawsuits
Owners forced to settle or spend after dozens of mirror suits.
Sports generate up to $280 million in local economic activity for Colorado Springs, study finds
The inaugural Pikes Peak Sports Economy Report was released this month.
White House launches 2-year 'Tech Force' hiring for roughly 1,000 jobs that will pay $130,000 to $195,000
US Tech Force employees will have recruitment opportunities with a host of private companies ranging from Meta and Google to Apple and Nvidia.
A JetBlue jet had a near-miss with an Air Force plane close to Venezuela. Cockpit audio shows how it happened.
A JetBlue flight was ascending out of Curaçao, near Venezuela, when the pilot spotted an Air Force plane. "It's outrageous," he told ATC.
ASUS launches GeForce RTX 5060 DUAL Evo series, slimmer design and shorter PCIe interface
ASUS quietly lists Dual GeForce RTX 5060 EVO and RTX 5060 Ti EVO models ASUS has added new Dual GeForce RTX 5060 EVO and Dual GeForce RTX 5060 Ti EVO
Apple and Google forced into emergency patching 0-day
: Both admit attackers were already exploiting the bugs, with scant detail and hints of spyware-grade abuse
Trump is taking on America's college debate
Trump is expanding short-term credential programs through the Workforce Pell grant, while the debate over the value of a college degree continues.
To control costs, State Health Plan leaders look to invest in members’ health
As NC Treasurer Brad Briner trims a massive budget deficit, he says part of the puzzle will be addressing the health of the workforce.
Rob Reiner used his fame to advocate for progressive causes. 'Just a really special man. A terrible day'
The Hollywood director known for 'Stand by Me' and 'When Harry Met Sally' was also a political force and an outspoken voice for same-sex marriage and early childhood education.
Homicide detectives investigating at address connected with Hollywood director Rob Reiner
Homicide detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department are on scene and conducting an investigation at an address associated with Hollywood director Rob Reiner, a law enforcement source tells CNN.
Dell and Lenovo may limit mid-range laptops to 8GB DDR5 RAM in response to rising memory prices
With DDR5 RAM prices skyrocketing, some mid-range laptops could soon ship with budget-level specs. TrendForce expects companies like Dell and Lenovo to stock more notebooks with 8GB of memory. These reasonably priced options may no longer handle intense office and gaming tasks.
America Needs a Tech Skeptic in the 2028 Race
A long-shot 2028 run by Utah Gov. Spencer Cox could force tech and social media into the center of the presidential debate.
ASUS claims No. 1 OLED monitor market share at 21.9%, citing TrendForce
ASUS surpasses samsung to take top OLED monitor share in Q3 2025 ASUS says it has reached the No. 1 position in global OLED monitor market share after a
ICE arrests employee of a Brooklyn Park business
An employee at Crumbs and Coffee was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Brooklyn Park Friday.
Universal Health Services (UHS): Reassessing Valuation After Strong Q3 Earnings Beat and Revenue Growth
Q3 earnings power recent move in UHS shares Universal Health Services (UHS) recently delivered an upbeat Q3 earnings report, with revenue jumping about 13% year on year and topping expectations. This reinforced confidence in its operations during a tough backdrop for hospital operators. See our latest analysis for Universal Health Services. The strong Q3 print has helped Universal Health Services hold on to a solid uptrend, with the 90 day share price return of 16.1% and one year total...
Who is Al Carns? Former Marine and Labour minister with sights on leadership
Ex-special forces colonel, who is sounding alarm on Russia, has risen swiftly to role of armed forces minister
Andrew DiCuirci
Andrew DiCuirci is continuing a proud family tradition, earning his degree and commissioning to the Air Force with family by his side.
The Trump Effect: How One Man’s Politics Rewired Europe
From defense to trade to climate policy, Trump’s second term has shaken Europe’s foundations and forced leaders across the continent to adapt to a new transatlantic reality.
BIA Business Perspective: Connecting political and business leaders creates solutions
At the BIA’s 11th annual Leadership Summit this week a consistent theme arose: access to talent and available workforce is critical for New Hampshire’s economic future.
Amazon Pulls AI Recap Video After 'Fallout' Mess
Amazon is being forced to repeatedly learn a lesson: use AI slop, and get people yelling at you until you don't.
Space Force officials fear program delays from small business fund fight
The Space Rapid Capabilities Office already is seeing an impact from the congressional impasse on reauthorizing Pentagon use of Small Business Innovation Program grants, Director Kelly Hammett said.
Doctors: Florida plan to repeal vaccine rules a 'direct threat' to health
Florida’s medical community came out in force on Friday at a Department of Health workshop in Panama City on vaccine requirements in Florida.
Stock ban fight, Memphis task force and TN governor race endorsement
The week in politics: A showdown over a proposed stock ban; Memphis Safe Task Force updates and a new governor's race endorsement.
Health Technologies: Where We Are Now and a Look Ahead to 2026
More than ever before, digital solutions are transforming how health care is accessed and delivered. The potential of health technologies to bring about transformative change is especially pronounced in rural areas where health care challenges such as hospital closures and health workforce shortages are acute.
‘Pig butchering’ cryptocurrency scam cheats Minnesota business owner out of $500K
The scam’s target went to law enforcement after being asked for another $240,000, according to a court filing.
Benin settles after failed coup attempt, but regional concerns remain
Loyalist troops aided by Nigeria's air force foiled putsch, but confidence in nation's democratic stability is shaken.
Why Indiana is such a major unforced error for Trump
The Indiana state Senate’s rejection of President Donald Trump’s redistricting push is one of the most significant GOP rebukes of Trump to date, and at a particularly inauspicious time for him.
Distrust of Trump, fear of China propel new political force in Taiwan
The Kuomintang party’s new leader, Cheng Li-wun, is pushing much closer ties with China, reflecting growing fears Washington would not help in a war over Taiwan.
Employers join forces at career fair to boost local business hires post-Helene
Employers gathered at the Valley Hope Church in Swannanoa on Thursday, Dec. 11, to take part in the Black Mountain Swannanoa Chamber Foundation career fair.
Sherrone Moore fired: Inside the industry reaction after Michigan's move
With most of the carousel settled, Michigan's decision forces a rare late-cycle reset and could reshape the remaining coaching market.
HR's big challenge with AI will force HR people to reinvent themselves
Workers fear AI, so one of HR's biggest challenges is getting workers to trust and adopt it by building credibility and addressing employee concerns.
Republicans struggle to unite on health care as Obamacare subsidies expire
Recent weeks have showcased a free-for-all of competing GOP ideas and reinforced deep partisan divisions over the issue.
The New WHO Pandemic Treaty and Global Health Governance: Incorporating Common but Differentiated Responsibilities into PABS - Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
On May 20, 2025, the World Health Assembly unanimously adopted the World Health Organization (WHO) Pandemic Agreement, an international treaty designed to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response. The product of three years of arduous negotiations, the treaty marks a new era of global cooperation in public health. However, core aspects of the agreement remain unresolved—notably the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) System, which is intended to ensure equitable access to pandemic-related materials and benefits. To support the successful implementation of the WHO Pandemic Agreement, the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities” should be formally incorporated into the negotiating agenda of the PABS annex. Introduction For the first time, an international treaty has enshrined the principle of “One Health,” the compelling idea that the health of animals, humans, and the environment all contribute to pandemic risks. SARS (2003), H1N1 (2009–10), Ebola (2014–16), and COVID-19 all emerged through zoonotic spillover from animal hosts—respectively, civets, hogs, and bats. Together, they underscore the need for a coordinated, cross-sectoral approach. The Pandemic Agreement responds to this call, requiring state parties to acknowledge the ecological interplay and commit to a comprehensive “One Health” strategy. Specifically, Article 5 charges governments to address “the drivers of pandemics and the emergence and re-emergence of infectious disease at the human-animal-environment interface,” including wild animal markets, deforestation, and antibiotic overuse. Yet the effectiveness of this “One Health” vision depends equally on the free flow of scientific information and data among countries and institutions. Just as environmental and animal health factors have been neglected in past global frameworks, so too has data sharing been marginalized, despite its centrality to timely detection and response. The Pandemic Agreement takes an important step by requiring governments to enhance data collection and cooperate with the World Health Organization (WHO). However, these provisions will remain aspirational without a robust Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) annex. The PABS system will determine whether countries and researchers can rapidly exchange pathogen samples and genetic data while ensuring equitable access to resulting research and development, including diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines. Without such mechanisms, the treaty’s promise to operationalize “One Health” and strengthen global preparedness will risk becoming largely symbolic, echoing earlier failures to translate shared principles into coordinated action. Equity Concerns When the 2025 Health Assembly adopted the Pandemic Agreement, it left the difficult question of access to pathogens and the sharing of resulting benefits to be addressed in a separate agreement. Negotiations on this separate agreement, PABS, are now underway in Geneva. Yet governments remain divided over fundamental questions of equity between the countries that primarily contribute to the system and those that primarily draw from it—and consequently benefit. For example, wildlife in countries bordering the equator is likely to produce PABS materials, but companies in Europe are likely to use them to develop lucrative products. The most likely contributor countries are likely to be those biodiverse countries around the equator, such as Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Indonesia, where the number of human-mammalian viral host interactions is large. Conversely, countries most likely to benefit from this material are those with the technology, investors, and infrastructure to capitalize on genomic data, such as the United States, EU member states, and Japan. This imbalance reflects a broader pattern seen in prior international frameworks. Now, as in the past, the wealthiest countries in the world (a useful heuristic is membership of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)) disproportionately benefit from systems in which pathogens and genomic sequencing data are contributed to a common source. Under the International Agreement on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (the “Plant Treaty” or “Seed Treaty”) and the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (PIP) Framework, companies from Europe and North America disproportionately withdraw biological samples and data for development into lucrative medical products. Their governments and companies have both statutory and contractual claims to the products that those companies correspondingly produce. PABS appears poised to follow the same pattern. The text calls for strong language on access to pathogens and associated data, but the corresponding benefits that should flow to poorer countries are couched in equivocal or non-binding language. Common but Differentiated Responsibilities To address these inequities, the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities” should be formally incorporated into the negotiating agenda of the PABS annex. Common but differentiated responsibilities are often a feature of climate change negotiations. The basic principle is that, even though all countries should reduce carbon emissions, governments that became rich and powerful through massive carbon emissions (e.g., France, the United Kingdom, the United States) should have a greater obligation to address the resulting crises. Applied to PABS, it would require that governments hosting and supporting companies developing lucrative products carry greater obligations toward the cost of running the PABS system; share benefits or final medical products; and transfer technology to help countries worldwide develop their own capacities to innovate and manufacture vaccines during an emergency. For example, an annex could mandate that any company based in an OECD country that withdraws PABS material would be obligated to donate the resulting diagnostics, therapeutics, or vaccines to the WHO during a public health emergency or pandemic. Questions remain about how robust those donations would be, but the principle is that they should deliver highly significant lifesaving benefits to be equitably shared. Theoretically, this approach mirrors the PIP Framework, in which companies withdrawing influenza samples are required to pay half of the operating costs. In practice, however, the framework has fallen short. The PIP Framework Secretariat has struggled to secure payments from companies, with companies often disagreeing over how much is owed. Additionally, without another pandemic influenza to test the strength of the agreement during a public health emergency, corporate compliance with sharing mechanisms remains unknown. Even if these limitations did not characterize the PIP Framework, partially paying for operating expenses does not address the inequity in access to genetic data and pathogen samples that left less developed countries last in line for COVID-19 vaccines (and, before them, H1N1). Common but differentiated responsibilities would go further, addressing governments’ legitimate grievances regarding information sharing. It would make withdrawals of PABS material and resulting products more transparent, building trust across the board. Enforcement and Enduring Success A key implication of this approach is that the governing mechanism of the PABS must have real enforcement authority. The WHO Pandemic Agreement delegates its core governance responsibilities to a Conference of the Parties (COP)—a governing body composed of one representative from each participating government, similar to those established under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The proposed WHO Pandemic Agreement COP is charged with oversight functions but ultimately possesses no real authority to compel a government to take any action it does not wish to take. The text does not give the COP the ability to, for example, sanction a party that does not comply with either textual obligations or PABS provisions. In other words, there are no effective mechanisms in place to ensure compliance. Perhaps just as significant, establishing a meaningful enforcement mechanism within the PABS system would strengthen the WHO’s credibility and its ability to ensure compliance across global health governance. By setting a precedent for accountability, such a mechanism could enhance the organization’s authority not only within the Pandemic Agreement but also in enforcing the revised International Health Regulations and other frameworks for public health emergencies. Conclusion The PABS annex can—and should—be different. It should establish clear responsibilities for funding as well as for sharing the diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines that result from contributions to the system. The system, in turn, must include a dedicated body empowered to hold governments and the corporations they sponsor accountable for their responsibilities before, during, and after pandemics. Doing so would restore trust in the broader agreement, which was eroded as commitments were repeatedly diluted while parties scrambled to meet their own self-imposed deadlines during the Pandemic Agreement negotiations. A robust PABS Annex would cement a grand social bargain. Wealthier countries and their corporations would gain unimpeded access to scientific information essential for developing and manufacturing lifesaving medical products. As such, they would stand to gain considerable economic benefit. Yet that privilege must be matched with responsibility. The grand bargain must include not only the right to innovate, but also the duty to ensure that innovation serves all. As medical products are developed and produced through collective contributions, every person must have equal access. All human beings deserve an equitable chance to survive—to save their own life, the lives of their families, and the well-being of their communities. … Sam Halabi, JD, MPhil, is the Bette Jacobs Endowed Professor at Georgetown University’s School of Health and the Director of the Center for Transformational Health Law at Georgetown Law. He serves as the co-lead for the WHO’s Working Group on Regulatory Consideration on AI and Health’s training workstream. He earned his JD from Harvard, his MPhil from Oxford, and undergraduate degrees from Kansas State University. Lawrence Gostin, LLD (Hon.), JD, BA, is University Distinguished Professor and Founding Director and Timothy and Linda O’Neill Professor of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law. He is the author of Global Health Security: A Blueprint for the Future (Harvard University Press, 2021); Global Health Law (Harvard University Press, 2014); Public Health Law: Power, Duty, Restraint (University of California Press, 3rd ed., 2016); Public Health Law and Ethics: A Reader (University of California Press, 3rd ed., 2018); Law and the Health System (Foundation Press, 2014); Principles of Mental Health Law & Practice (Oxford University Press, 2010). He also directs the WHO Collaborating Center at Georgetown University. Image Credit: United States Mission Geneva, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At the Intersection of Science and Faith: Institute for Water and Health and 12 community leaders unite to protect Brunswick’s waterways
In a remarkable collaboration, residents of Brunswick, Georgia, have joined forces with scientists and faith leaders to address critical water quality issues. Their innovative approach, centered on community involvement, is not only protecting local waterways but also setting a precedent for other cities facing similar challenges.
Virginia City business owners face steep rent increases from state
Virginia City business owners say new state lease agreements increasing rent to 15% of gross revenue could force closures in the historic town.
DealBook Summit: Business Executives Share Tips for Leadership
Executives on a DealBook Summit task force panel said fear was not the way to build teams capable of navigating difficult times.
Downtown St. Louis entertainment district to deploy mounted police force starting next year
Downtown St. Louis entertainment district to deploy mounted police force starting next year
Downtown St. Louis could get a permanent mounted police patrol and more mega-concerts as part of a new entertainment district launching in 2026.
America’s Emotional Divide: Navigating the Powerful Decision-Making Forces Impacting Politics, Policies & Personal Choices Pt. 2
CEO Brent Buchanan, alongside VP Chris Kratzer, unpacks the insights behind his #1 Amazon bestseller in Elections America’s Emotional Divide: Navigating the Powerful Decision-Making Forces Impacting Politics, Policies & Personal Choices.
UAMS to Train 75 Community Health Workers with Support from Arkansas Office of Skills Development
LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Institute for Community Health Innovation will work with partners to continue building the community health worker (CHW) workforce across the state after receiving $375,000 in support from the Arkansas Office of Skills Development Training Grant Program. The Office of…
Accrete Health Partners Launches Partnership with Atalan to Co-develop Groundbreaking Patient Experience Intelligence Module
Strategic Co-Development Partnership Expands Relationship between Bon Secours Mercy Health and Atalan to Unify Workforce and Patient Experience AnalyticsPHILADELPHIA, Dec. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Atalan, the world’s first Clinical Retention Intelligence (CRI) platform, today announced a strategic partnership with Accrete Health Partners, the venture arm of Bon Secours Mercy Health (BSMH), one of the top 20 largest health systems in the U.S. The partnership will focus on accelerating the dev
Governors cross aisle to call for ‘moral clarity’ amid political violence
Govs. Josh Shapiro (D) and Spencer Cox (R) join forces to denounce the rise in political violence in the past few years.
A new threat to affordability – just in time for winter
A new problem is threatening to worsen the affordability squeeze this winter: Natural gas prices have raced back up just as extreme cold forces Americans to crank up the heat.
Mission Valley Bank Unveils Sleek, Bold, Contactless Mastercard® Business Debit Card
Mission Valley Bank today announced the launch of its new Mastercard® Business Debit Card, a major enhancement to the Bank's suite of business banking solutions. Designed with sleek, bold, contactless functionality and built for entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and business professionals who demand speed, security, and control, the new debit card reinforces Mission Valley Bank's commitment to delivering high-touch, high-performance financial tools that move at the pace of modern business.
Organizers submit enough signatures to block gerrymandered Missouri map
More than 300,000 signatures delivered to secretary of state to force referendum on Republican-drawn map
Vitable Health and DirectShifts Partner to Expand Clinicians’ Access to Care and Coverage
PHILADELPHIA, December 09, 2025--Vitable Health, an all-in-one health benefits platform redefining care for the American workforce, today announced a new partnership with DirectShifts, a leading clinician staffing platform, to make it easier for clinicians nationwide to access everyday healthcare and insurance coverage.
WGU Workforce Decoded Report Reveals Employers Rewriting Hiring Playbooks as Business Needs Shift
Survey of 3,000+ U.S. employers underscores opportunity to reimagine higher education to better support career development WGU Workforce Decoded Report Reveals Employers Rewriting Hiring Playbooks as Business Needs Shift Survey of 3,000+ U.S. employers underscores opportunity to reimagine higher education to better support career development SALT LAKE CITY, Dec. 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WGU today released its inaugural Workforce Decoded Report, which reveals employers’ perspectives on workfo
Clothes-folding robot joins San Francisco laundry business's workforce
Health Care Workforce: A System Under Pressure, Poised for Reinvention
AHA's 2026 Workforce Scan highlights six pressures that will define workforce strategy in the coming years: financial stress that limits flexibility; demographic shifts that increase demand; rapid technological transformation; changing worker expectations; the urgent need for new pipelines; and geographic disparities that threaten access.
Another restaurant in beleaguered San Francisco mall closing
Shake Shack closes San Francisco Westfield location Dec. 14, affecting 26 workers as new mall owners force all tenants out of struggling downtown property.
Some Memphis businesses suffer amid federal Task Force presence
MEMPHIS — Saturday lunch is usually peak busy at La Guadalupana restaurant, one of the city’s oldest sit-down Mexican taquerias along a busy commercial strip in the city’s diverse Berclair neighborhood. But on one recent Saturday, owner Juan Castelan gestured in the direction of mostly empty tables. Business is down 30% to 40% since the […]
I was an ambitious Amazon exec who thought burnout was for the weak. Then I had to solve my own.
Burnout at Amazon forced this executive to embrace real self-care, set boundaries, and rediscover balance without alerting coworkers.
Jets takeaways, report card from NFL Week 14 loss to Dolphins
Takeaways from the Jets’ 34-10 loss to the Dolphins on Sunday.
Ukrainians get creative to keep businesses alive amid winter blackouts
Small businesses have been forced to get creative to keep their doors open and customers happy while power supplies remain unreliable.
Conejo Valley’s life science moment has arrived
The Conejo Valley’s life science moment is here — driven by global leaders, emerging innovators, modern infrastructure, and a skilled workforce.
Scientists are turning Earth into a giant detector for hidden forces shaping our Universe
SQUIRE aims to detect exotic spin-dependent interactions using quantum sensors deployed in space, where speed and environmental conditions vastly improve sensitivity. Orbiting sensors tap into Earth’s enormous natural polarized spin source and benefit from low-noise periodic signal modulation. A robust prototype with advanced noise suppression and radiation-hardened engineering now meets the requirements for space operation. The long-term goal is a powerful space-ground network capable of exploring dark matter and other beyond-Standard-Model phenomena.
Nursing Graduates Poised to Strengthen Health Care Workforce
Wake County’s health care system will soon benefit from a new wave of skilled nurses as nearly 70 graduates of Wake Tech’s popular Martha Mann School of Nursing prepare to enter the workforce.
DOT temporarily halts enforcement of Biden-era refund requirements for airline flight renumbering
DOT temporarily suspends airline refund requirements for renumbered flights, allowing carriers to change flight numbers without triggering automatic refunds.
Business Engagement Grant Proposal Request
5ccd75f0-74a5-4f77-9019-a51e00f6e04cRequest: To provide workforce development services to businesses supporting talent placement, development, retention and advancement.Issuance Date: December 8, 2025Submittal Deadline: January 9, 2026 @ noonLetter of Intent Deadline: December...
Small business advocate Ron Friedman remembered for impact in Corning, Elmira
Friends called Elmira business owner and Corning resident Ron Friedman a dynamic force to be reckoned with.
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff says he might rename the company 'Agentforce'
The SaaS pioneer recently learned in focus groups that customers want to talk about AI agents now
Roberts and Kagan prepare for another showdown on executive power
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Elena Kagan are well matched, rhetorically forceful opposites. And they have been clashing for more than a decade over an increasingly relevant question of presidential power: How easy should it be for the president to fire the heads of independent agencies?
Marc Benioff is writing Salesforce's annual strategy document. He shared the key details early with Business Insider.
The CEO is a few weeks into drafting the company's annual strategy plan. He shared the vision so far.
Schumer to force Senate GOP to vote on three-year extension of health insurance subsidies
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) announced Thursday that Democrats will force Republican senators to vote next week on a three-year extension of enhanced health insurance premium subsi…
Weapons, drug compounds seized from Palm Bay business during raid
'Breaking Bad' on steroids is how Sheriff Wayne Ivey describing what was found in a raid carried out by federal and local law enforcement agents.
New workforce development labs at Mote SEA open doors for aspiring marine scientists
As Mote continues to grow, it is setting the stage for the next generation of marine science professionals with new STEM Workforce Development Labs.
The Blood Ravens are not alone in a new Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV story trailer
Reinforcements are on the way.
Black women federal unemployment surges. Could the change be long term?
With the Trump administration's cuts to diversity programs and the federal workforce, it may be even more difficult for Black women to recover when economic conditions improve.
Hate, threats force more and more women out of public life
Often labeled as bad mothers, insulted for their looks and threatened with physical violence, female politicians face a particularly high level of hate. Many step down out of fear.
'Story that isn't a story': town official states amid businesses' outdoor area closures
More business owners in Black Mountain say sudden enforcement changes by the town are threatening their livelihood.
Politician Ayachi Hammami latest arrest in Tunisia opposition crackdown
Tunisia opposition says charges are fabricated, as police enforce a five-year prison sentence.
Avahi Named to Inc.’s 2025 Best in Business List in Best AI Implementation
The annual list recognizes industry-leading companies for exceptional achievement and impactSan Francisco, CA, Dec. 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Avahi is proud to announce its inclusion on the Inc. Best in Business list in the Best AI Implementation category. Inc.’s annual Best in Business Awards celebrate companies that have made a profound and lasting impact on their industries. Jack Singh, CEO of Avahi This recognition reinforces Avahi’s commitment to accelerating digital transformation by de
Intensifying Regulatory Pressures Force Seismic Shift in Health Plan Concerns for 2026 According to HealthEdge Research
BOSTON, December 02, 2025--As healthcare organizations navigate an increasingly complex policy environment, 85% of health plan executives say regulatory pressures are impacting their costs and margins, according to new research published today by HealthEdge®. The report, "The Great Rebalancing: Inside the New Realities Shaping Health Plan Performance," identifies the top challenges in the payer market, how they are evolving, and strategies health plans are deploying to overcome them.
Shall future military leaders be mere ideological drones?
As my regular reader will recall (Hi, Jeff!) from my mentioning it here dozens of times, I spent the largest part of my 25-plus years as an active-duty Air Force officer teaching at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. Though I taught a wide range of courses during the 15 years I spent there […]
Winter storm impacts Small Business Saturday, owner calls for community support
Local business owner encourages intentional spending at small businesses after weather forces closures
‘Heartbreaking:’ Snow shutters some stores on Small Business Saturday
Local retailers see mixed results as the weather forces closures and reduces foot traffic.
PAHO Director calls for strengthened health legislation and primary care during visit to the Dominican Republic
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, December 1, 2025 (PAHO) – The Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, today urged countries in the region to strengthen health legislation and reinforce primary health care, key pillars for more equitable, resilient, and sustainable health systems.
Charles Barkley, Dick Vitale to join forces on 2 college basketball broadcasts, including Vitale's first NCAA tournament game
Even Microsoft’s retro holiday sweaters are having Copilot forced upon them
Microsoft has not one, not two, but three new sweaters available for $60 to $80.
Thinking Of Starting A Business In 2026? Focus On These 4 High-Impact Areas.
Discover the four high-impact areas where entrepreneurs can build meaningful, future-proof businesses in 2026—from workforce reskilling to human-AI collaboration.
Funders "should mandate change in science publishing"
Paper argues that funders, governments and universities should intervene more forcefully to prevent "draining of research"
Higher health costs force financial trade-offs: Investors 'worry about all these moving pieces,' top advisor says
Rising health premiums and expenses on top of already higher costs for everyday items are forcing people to make trade-offs in their budgets.
Indigenous knowledge and science join forces to save the choro mussel in Chile
Huellelhue means “place for swimming” in Mapudungun. It’s also the name of one of the rivers that flow through the Lafken Mapu Lahual Multiple-Use Conservation Area, established in 2005 in southern Chile’s Los Lagos region. The name of this area is more than just a grouping of words, says Eduardo Vargas, president of the Nirehue […]
FEMA workers reinstated after suspension and investigation over letter criticizing Trump’s overhaul of agency
A group of FEMA workers has been reinstated after three months of forced leave and an investigation into alleged misconduct for signing an open letter to Congress that criticized the Trump administration’s overhaul of the disaster relief agency and warned it could put American lives in danger.
Science must move from materialism to mystery
Theoretical physicist and neuroscientist Àlex Gómez-Marín argues that modern science has become trapped in a framework that mistakes matter for the whole of reality. In this wide-ranging interview, Gómez-Marín challenges the foundations of materialism, defends the scientific study of near-death experiences, and calls for a new type of science grounded in mystery and a renewed sense of the sacred. He suggests that abandoning materialism could open the door to a deeper understanding of consciousness, death, and the purpose of human existence. Simon Custer: You are both a theoretical physicist and a neuroscientist, and you have also been fiercely critical of materialist theories of mind and consciousness. What do you think the ultimate nature of reality is?Àlex Gómez-Marín: I don't know what the ultimate nature of reality is, but what I try to first assess is whether the stories that they [mainstream science] have told us about it are right, or maybe whether there are other alternatives. That's why I've been a fierce critic of materialism. As a scientist, I realized that they had sold us this idea that to be a good scientist you also had to subscribe to many other -isms, like materialism, reductionism, and even secularism. And so first I think one needs to unmount these -isms, and then, as is happening today in consciousness studies, we have a huge landscape where there isn't only one game in town, the idea that matter is the only thing that really exists. But because we are studying the hard problem of consciousness, it may be the case that other views of reality, like idealism, or even dualism, or other theories like dual aspect monism... these are philosophical ideas that now, I think, have room in science to be taken seriously. How does something like materialism relate to dualism or idealism? What is materialism in the first place?Well, materialism is the philosophical position that matter is the only really ‘real’ thing in the universe. And I think that worked kind of well because science started 400 years ago and Galileo made that split, I call it the foundational wound. It was a great business move.He said, let's start doing science on that portion of reality that lends itself more easily to mathematization and measurement. So, for some reason, the solidity of this table or the movement of planets lend themselves very well to this foundational idea of science. But as time went on, 400 years later, we realized that we had forgotten the other side, which is what really matters.What really matters is pain, is love, is feelings, sensation, consciousness, which is very hard to define, but very intimate. We all know what it is. It's that thing that disappears when we go into deep sleep and comes back in the morning. SUGGESTED VIEWING On the edges of knowledge With Michael Shermer, Rupert Sheldrake, Güneş Taylor It's what it is like to be, as Nagel said. It's the feeling of being alive. So, materialism is good to study certain things, but then when it ossifies into this ideology and then is dressed like science, now it's preventing us from understanding these key questions that are really that everybody wants to know.Why are we here? Why do we feel reality? Where do we go when we die? And so we need other ways. We need pluralism. I'm only asking for having more options on the table and taking them seriously. Why does materialism fail to explain consciousness? For example, if you were to lobotomize me, I would not be a functional human being. What do you say to someone who might think that materialism adequately explains the mind?Well, here we could speak about different things. We could talk about physics or about neuroscience. I happen to have training with both.For instance, for neuroscientists, 99% of them, I'm not included in that portion, believe that the brain can only be a productive organ. It's an organ that somehow, somewhere, consciousness emerges. It's like a lamp. And then something happens, magic happens, and then consciousness emerges.That's the position you need to be if you're a materialist because if the only really ‘real’ thing is matter, then you need to say, just give us some more time and money and we'll figure out how mind emerges or is produced from matter. There are many philosophically sophisticated ways of criticizing this.Now there's another option, which is the brain as a permissive organ. This was said by William James more than 100 years ago.Now then the brain wouldn't be like this machine, like for instance, a heat engine whose smoke is consciousness, which is what we would have in the first big model, the productive model. But in the permissive model, the brain would be a kind of a filter. And so the brain would still have a very important role in consciousness, but it wouldn't be a productive role.It would be permissive, much like a filter or much like a prism which would receive light. And - I'm speaking metaphorically - it would receive the light of the mind and then it could reflect it and refract it.Now, with these two big options on the table, I think we can make progress into what I call the edges of consciousness, which are all these experiences, weird experiences that many people have, but we don't talk about enough, like near-death experiences, precognitive dreams, synchronicities. These experiences are very important for humans and they have a place in the permissive hypothesis and they are literally impossible in the productive hypothesis. So that's yet one more reason to explore alternatives to materialism. There may be anecdotal evidence for near-death experiences, but is there robust evidence that would be accepted by the majority of scientists who subscribe to the scientific method?Sure. And the plural of anecdotes, someone said, is data.And there's a lot of data. Actually, this year is the 50th anniversary, half a century, since Dr. Raymond Moody realized that we have two ears and one mouth and started listening to what his patients had to say about their experiences while they were clinically dead.The heart had stopped, breathing had stopped in these patients. These patients would come back and tell him these amazing stories that some people may say are hallucinations, but for the patients were hyper-real, like seeing light at the end of the tunnels, seeing deceased family members waiting for them, feeling bliss.___I would say the evidence suggests that the mind can survive the death of activity of the brain.___And so he and others started taking them seriously and writing their accounts down. And then you can do a science based on that material of experience that people have. Now, on the more objective side, more recently people have started to measure what's going on in the brain when people are clinically dead and brought back. This has opened a proper field of study, which is near-death studies.Evidence is a difficult word, because sometimes people think that when you say evidence, this is just the final proof. Evidence is like in a jury. You bring testimony, you bring pieces of data that point in one direction or another.I would say the evidence suggests that the mind can survive the death of activity of the brain. When brains are broken or shut off, there can still be mind going on. And that's revolutionary.That would entail that when we die, it's not game over, which, by the way, is the thesis of materialism. If consciousness survives, materialism dies. It's game over for materialism if something of us continues after we die. Do you think that there is mental continuity after death?Well, I think so, and I believe so, and I could also say I may have experienced it myself, because four years ago I had a near-death experience. I was in the hospital, I lost a lot of blood, and I saw those beings at the end of the tunnel, three beings, and there was yellow light. I was in a well, I was looking upwards, and I hadn't read about NDEs by then, but when I came back from this experience, I decided I would try to integrate this also in my professional life. Not just my personal life, of course, but my professional life as a physicist and as a neuroscientist. So I may have had the experience of glimpses of what an afterlife would be, and I'm not ashamed to say it in this way, and then one can do science of it, and then one can do philosophy of it.One can think about what -isms we were discussing, what views on reality would allow those experiences to be really ‘real,’ as opposed to, well, poor guy, the brain was kind of broken, it must have been a hallucination. Do you have a view about whether individuality or “the ego” persists after death, or whether we sort of merge into some sort of cosmic consciousness instead?I don't know, but my view would be along those lines you're suggesting. I think we could speak about a kind of universal mind, and then the problem is not how we emerge from matter, but how we fragment from a more holistic consciousness into these individual eddies and then when we die, this kind of dissipates.But I'm not sure. For instance, idealism would promote that view, but then what would survive of us after these eddies just vanish and become again the big Consciousness, I'm not sure what that would be. I don't know for sure, but I would tell you I believe something of us survives.And there are other lines of research, not just near-death experience, that can address this really hard question of survival. For instance, there are children who remember previous lives. This was studied by Ian Stevenson at the University of Virginia for more than 50 years.___Research takes place within a selection mechanism that also sometimes reinforces things that are not very scientific.___It's amazing research. He went all over the world, especially in the East, and collected all these case studies, all these stories. In plural, these were data of kids, very young age, who would describe up to 40 items that then he could go and verify.There was no internet. There was really no way the kid could know. Why would the kid say that when I was living in this other body and I was a woman and that's how my house would look like or that's how I would die, right? Again, there is evidence, not proof, but there's evidence not only that something weird and interesting is happening as we cross the threshold, but also when we come back to this life.Scientists should not be afraid of studying this, but they are because there's stigma. There's usually stigma upon the enigma, and this is so unfortunate. And one of the reasons is because of the ideology of materialism, because those things cannot be possible. What is wrong with the politics of science such that they have generated this stigma?So many things. Science is a human activity to begin with.So it falls prey to all our passions and ego and greed. That's one thing. Science is a job for the good and for the bad.You need to get a salary. You need to get grants. Research takes place within a selection mechanism that also sometimes reinforces things that are not very scientific.And then, we didn't have time to unpack this, but science for many years become entangled, as I was suggesting before, to other -isms, materialism, secularism. So anything that smells like the afterlife, people may think has to do with God, and then they freak out.Anything that suggests that there's something about the mind that may not need a physical material substrate to exist, it smells like non-materialism. So, all these -isms are ideologically blocking that kind of research, and then there are all these sociopolitical constraints as to what should be studied and what shouldn't be studied.I call it the backstage of science. Sometimes we scientists or science communicators seem to speak as if the data is the only thing that matters. We say, well, data and theory.But then there's a third leg of this stool, which is all the politics that goes behind the scenes. And we often don't speak about this, and it's quite vicious and petty, and it's very real. Why is materialism so attractive to most scientists?Well, an easy answer is because we've grown up with it.It's what the educational system promotes, and that's what you hear when you go to university. So it's like growing in a culture. It feels like the air in which you breathe.So it's very hard to begin with to detect, well, maybe there's another alternative. Maybe there are other ways of doing science, other environments in which one could do science. That's one reason.And other reasons maybe are more profound, and I'm not qualified to explain them, but I could say, looking at this 400-year history of science, since it started around 1623 with Galileo's book The Assayer, that science went and coupled with all what's going on in the West.And so the fall of religion, you could say, and science presented us this new alternative that then could be coupled very well with other -isms, and this idea of growth, and then science losing its good twin brother, which was philosophy. There's a whole natural history of science starting as philosophy, kind of emancipating or breaking out from philosophy, and then marrying technology, and then marrying other social systems.From that point of view, materialism is a very convenient idea to propose. There were attempts, like the German idealists tried to do a more romantic science. But no, the idea prevailed, like Francis Bacon said: You should pursue nature through all her corners, he said, and make her spill her secrets.Our attitude towards nature in the science that dominates is very much reflecting how we treat nature in our society, in our culture, like a resource to extract secrets by force and then dominate it. How is materialism related to the notions of growth and progress? What's wrong with having a productive citizenry?This is another very interesting and very difficult question to answer.But there's this recent book coming out by Paul Kingsnorth. In it, he explains this idea of the machine and this idea of progress. And this, again, this conflation of more is better, of we need to go forward always, and convincing us that the way to do that is to continually extract more from nature. But because we don't have the religious context anymore, because God is dead, then what do we have? We have what we can do as humans with our own gadgets.It's kind of the story of the Promethean fire. We will just build anything to make ourselves God.A good example today is transhumanism. Transhumanism is this pseudo-religion dressed in technoscientific language whose goal is very religious. They promise immortality, they promise redemption, they promise transformation of the entire natural world, but it's done by human means through technology. Are you suggesting that we can't have ethics without religion?Well, we should have ethics with or without religion. That's another pruning that has happened in science. We say, forget about aesthetics, although some physicists still think that beautiful means probably true, and forget about politics. We pretend there's no backstage of science, and even let's forget about ethics.___Science needs to be in the service of mankind.___Scientists, when they become more like engineers, they're just thinking how to make things work so that they can go to the moon, go to Mars, make machines that think, but they don't think whether that's a good idea.And also consider metaphysics. Many scientists for a long time pretended, and maybe that comes from the stream of positivisms, that really one doesn't need metaphysics at all, except that materialism is always the metaphysics running the system.You see, it's not just ethics. It's the pruning of all of these, you could say, five main legs of philosophy that just makes a kind of unconscious science, a science that doesn't really know what it's doing. It's doing it very well locally, but it just doesn't know what it's doing globally. Do you think science has to have an ultimate vision and purpose behind it for it to be effective or for it to be meaningful and transformative?Yes, a way I would say that is that science needs to be in the service of mankind. And it hasn't been that. And we can see it through, you know, when we discovered the secrets of the atom, and all of a sudden, the Manhattan Project, and then we create nuclear weapons.And now we're trying to crack how machines may think, and now we're creating this mess, right? So science needs to be in service of mankind, not in service of a few ideas that maybe want to make more money or just dominate upon nature. What about planes, trains, automobiles, and modern medicine? Hasn't science served mankind by helping us develop those technologies?Yes and no. I see where you're going, and it's fair.I came here by plane, and it's a blessing. When I almost died, the surgeons did their job, and they saved my life. But these two forced choices between Luddites and Silicon Valley types, I think, of course, it's a false dichotomy.Progress, in a way, it's good, but we often don't speak about the dark side of the moon. We say the great things that progress has brought, and we don't speak about the disasters, the side effects that it has come with, and the same when we promise new technologies. We tend to think that any technology is great, that email is going to save us so much time because we don't need to write letters and send them anymore.Is that true? I spend so many hours a week writing emails. Let's just say there are great things about it and bad things about it. People like Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker, for example, argue that we've made moral progress over time because of the Enlightenment. Do you think that's totally wrong-headed?I think he's emphasizing a side of the moon, and he does that very well, and you can find tons of plots where there's a slope going up and say it's great. But I think he should also tell the not-so-friendly story.But if your ideology is just to resist and continue to explain that the Enlightenment is the best thing ever and reason is the best thing ever… this feels to me like you're worshipping these abstractions.I'm very critical of it and also of these, again, science communicators and scientists that say, Oh, science says, in the name of science, experts say. It's like, come on, let's be careful because we can shoot ourselves in the foot by putting forth to the people an image of science that we know is not really true. Recently there's been a resurgence of spirituality and of people who say that they're spiritual but not religious, especially in the United States. If materialism is going away, what is going to fill that gap? Are we going to return to traditional religion? Do you see that being connected with the rise of the political right?I'm not a fortune teller, so I don't know what's going to happen. But, yeah, we could say we're in this post-materialist age and even post-secular age. One cannot come back to the past, but maybe just to contact with the roots is a good idea.What do I mean by that? I think we need to do a science 2.0, a science that says thank you to Galileo and thank you to materialism, but we need to reinvent even a new kind of scientific method. We need to do so in a culture where we realize humans cannot thrive in a vacuum where there's this idea that the sacred has to be removed.Now, how do we do that without bringing in back all the vices of religion? I don't know. I'm from a Catholic country.Here we are in England, so there are differences and interreligious dialogue has always been a challenge. But I think maybe a way of putting it is: after all these conflicts and branchings I was quickly alluding to, science from philosophy and then also from religion, now there's a time of reconciliation perhaps and maybe debates in the proper sense, like exchange of ideas in service of learning and getting into something higher than both poles. We need science to talk to religious people and it's interesting when people say they're spiritual and not religious.I think this is just a way of saying, no, I don't want to go back, I want to go forward. But at the end of the day, religions have offered us practices and grounding that we now desperately need. Everybody can and should just meditate or pray or do whatever they want, but we're in a crisis and it's time for reconciliation. What do you say to critics that say you are merely projecting our need for meaning onto a fundamentally indifferent universe?Yeah, I know that the typical science communicator says something like this. But we're not projecting. Human beings feed on meaning.It's the other way around. If you're a materialist, because the only thing that there is is matter, all that comes next, free will, consciousness, meaning, this is a kind of illusion that we need to explain.They're just craving for meaning, but there isn't really for them. I would also like to remind my materialist friends that for decades, if not centuries, they've said in the name of science, we know that this and this and this doesn't really exist. I think now they sense they're forced to say, well, actually, we don't know. We've been saying, for instance, that there's nothing after you die, and now probably they need to admit that they don't know the answer.___We need to do a science 2.0, a science that says thank you to Galileo and thank you to materialism, but we need to reinvent even a new kind of scientific method.___So it's a moment to open up possibilities and also to gently but fiercely critique these claims that I think harm society. If you say in the name of science, get on with it, when your father dies, you'll never see him again. Well, what the F do you know about it? You haven't studied the literature, you haven't had any of those experiences, and basically what you're doing is you're just doing marketing on ideology. This needs to stop. Do you think that it's scarier for some people to entertain the thought that there might be life after death, compared to a materialist worldview where you just die, given that there might be consequences for unsavory behaviour?Well, death and dying is scary. It's maybe the ultimate ending. It's a limit on life, and when we're in this conquest mode, we don't like limits.And it also has, there's a shockwave backwards, so I think if you change your notion of what death is or may be, you live differently. It also has consequences, as you're saying, for the future because this is not our only goal here and we come back in whatever form. And again, different religions would say different things. I the East, they are more happy with the idea of reincarnation, and here in the West, there are other preferences. But in any case, it changes how we live, and that's really what matters.It's not about just projecting or imagining what we'll be after, but how we live now and also how we treat those who are dying. So it goes from the individual to the families, to the hospitals.Now in the near-death research I do, this has ramifications at all these levels, all the way to society.But our society is thanatophobic. It has a phobia of death. We don't want to hear about death, and this is another thing we need to put on the table and be willing to talk about it. Do you think that we might get closer to answering ultimate questions like why is there anything at all if we jettison materialism?That’s an excellent question, Simon. Two things: we should stop treating reality, I believe, as a great sudoku, as an enigma, as something that with intelligence, money, and time that we will crack and instead treat reality more like a mystery. And what you do for in front of a mystery is not to be the clever guy in a class and say “I’ll solve you” but more like “I will bow and you will transform me.”I know this sounds a bit like a scientist speaking like a mystic. But I think this reorientation is needed. In the end, we won’t crack the big questions, but they will transform us. If we free ourselves from this prison of materialism, the way we will explore these questions will be freer, more creative, and in service of mankind. Do you think exploring mystery is the reason why we are here?I think we are here because, and this pseudo-theological argument I’m making off the cuff, But the One, the Absolute, if there is such a thing, had everything except limitation. We are that absolute experiencing that contingency. It’s like an act of divine proprioception. It’s a wonderful adventure, it’s just incredible to be alive. Perhaps we have forgotten why we are here and the whole point is to experience the flesh.Let me end by saying this. I criticize materialism harshly. I bang on this dead horse, because I think it’s dead. But matter is a great mystery. So maybe my invitation is as follows: hey materialist friends, come here, let’s work on materialism 2.0! Consciousness is a mystery, but matter is also a mystery. The fact that we can have an intersubjective experience consensus, the fact that we can apply mathematics, that we can measure things... the physical world we take for granted, but it is a great mystery too.Maybe that’s related to your last question: why are we here? Why did spirit decide to incarnate? Being in the flesh may be a great thing if spirit decided to do so.Àlex Gómez-Marín, thank you very much.My pleasure.
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