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'Brain rot' is the word of the year, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. The phrase is a century old.

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Doomscrolling is so 2020 — we're now in the year of "brain rot" instead.

That's 2024′s word of the year according to Oxford University Press, the Oxford English Dictionary's publisher.

For those uninitiated, brain rot is a popular term within internet culture, associated with being chronically online. The Oxford University Press defined ...Read more

Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel/TNS

Orlando to consider adding more school zones, cameras to ticket speeders

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ORLANDO — Kyle Anderson’s daughter rides her bike to Lake Nona Middle School every day, pedaling along one of the region’s busiest roadways where students sometimes weave through traffic on their way to and from campus.

Six-lane Narcoossee Road runs in front of the middle school and Lake Nona High School, which is about a mile away. ...Read more

File photo/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS

Sick New World won't return to Las Vegas in 2025

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LAS VEGAS — Sick New World won’t be coming back for a third year after all.

The massive heavy music festival, which was set to take place at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds April 12 with headliners Metallica, Linkin Park and dozens more, has been canceled.

“It is with great disappointment that we announce that Sick New World will no ...Read more

California Gov. Gavin Newsom wants $25 million to fight the Trump litigation he sees coming

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LOS ANGELES — State lawmakers will gavel in a special session Monday focused on a proposed $25-million litigation fund to respond to President-elect Donald Trump’s anticipated attacks on California policies on civil rights, climate change and abortion access.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has asked the Legislature to approve the funding for the ...Read more

Capitol Police arrest Morelle staffer after finding ammunition

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WASHINGTON — A staffer who works for New York Rep. Joseph D. Morelle, the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee, was arrested on the Capitol campus Monday morning after a bag search turned up magazines and ammunition, according to Capitol Police.

Michael Hopkins, 38, was stopped at an entrance to the Cannon House Office Building ...Read more

Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune/TNS

'Sir, you've been with prostitutes right?; FBI mole Daniel Solis on hot seat in ex-Illinois Speaker Madigan corruption trial

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CHICAGO — An attorney for ex-House Speaker Michael Madigan opened questioning of FBI mole and former Ald. Daniel Solis by bluntly reminding jurors of Solis’ own checkered past.

“As an alderman and as chair of the Zoning Committee, you committed many crimes, is that correct?” attorney Daniel Collins asked Solis, a key prosecution witness...Read more

Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images North AMerica/TNS

IDF confirms death of New Yorker Omer Maxim Neutra

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Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced the death of Cap. Omar Maxim Neutra from Long Island Monday. The tank commander was 21.

Neutra was killed during the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, according to the IDF. He was posthumously promoted from the rank of lieutenant to captain.

Neutra deferred enrolling at SUNY Binghamton to join the IDF ...Read more

Mandel Ngan/Getty Images North America/TNS

Democrat lawmakers split over President's pardon of son Hunter Biden

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Democrats were split Monday over President Joe Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter, with most leaders keeping quiet about the sweeping get out of jail free card.

A few lawmakers criticized Biden for breaking his previous promise not to grant any form of clemency to his troubled son, who was facing prison time after being convicted on a gun ...Read more

Omar Haj Kadour/Getty Images North America/TNS

Syria's Assad and Iran face tough choices as rebels advance

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Syria-based rebel forces are seeking to build on recent gains and capture more territory controlled by the government, raising the question of whether President Bashar Al-Assad can hold onto power.

There are a lot of unknowns in how the latest twist in Syria’s 15-year conflict will play out, and much depends on the agendas of powerful ...Read more

Stefani Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

In final month of the session, Congress looks to clean up loose ends, prepare for Trump

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WASHINGTON — Congress returns Monday with a full plate for December’s legislative session, as well as plenty of announced nominees to begin vetting for the incoming Trump administration.

Leading the list from President-elect Donald Trump’s Thanksgiving week announcements was the choice of Kash Patel for FBI director, once there’s a ...Read more

Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Kash Patel, Trump's pick to lead FBI, appears to have support of GOP while alarming the left

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President-elect Donald Trump’s late-Saturday announcement he will replace the current FBI Director with agency outsider Kash Patel was mostly met with signals of support from leading Republicans, while those at odds with the former president voiced concern over the Trump’s pick to lead the nation’s top law enforcement and counterterrorism ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Sacramento didn't invest much in road safety. It paid $21 million for car crash lawsuits

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento officials agreed to pay $21 million in settlements after vehicle crashes on city streets from 2019 through 2023, a span during which the Department of Public Works repeatedly told the City Council that it lacked enough funding to achieve the council’s goals.

Most of the collisions that were settled — 17 of ...Read more

Matt Stone/Boston Herald/TNSA

Plan to shift Boston's tax burden toward businesses to go before State Senate

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BOSTON — The State Senate is set to take up a proposal by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu to change the way property taxes are calculated in the hope of heading off a dramatic increase in residential rates.

A compromise “residential tax relief” plan worked out between Wu, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, the Massachusetts Taxpayers ...Read more

Arvin Temkar/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS

YSL defendant stabbed at Fulton County Jail annex, attorney says

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ATLANTA — One of the two defendants in the ongoing “Young Slime Life” gang and racketeering trial was stabbed Sunday night at a Fulton County Jail annex while awaiting a jury verdict, his attorney said.

Deamonte Kendrick was stabbed at the Union City annex but is expected to be in court Monday, when the jury continues its third day of ...Read more

NYC captain who cost city $250,000 to settle sex claim hit with new misconduct lawsuit

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NEW YORK — A Rikers Island Correction captain who cost the city $250,000 to settle a sexual misconduct claim has been named in yet another lawsuit — this time accused of subjecting a female subordinate to months of unwanted advances and abuse.

Correction Officer Shante Orr claims that Edwich Jasmin repeatedly propositioned her, exposed ...Read more

Daveallenphoto/Dreamstime/TNS

Private donations pour in for cash-strapped national parks

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​WASHINGTON — The National Park Service is seeing a surge in private support bigger than anytime in its 108-year history, as it also faces a maintenance backlog of more than $23 billion, made worse this fall by hurricane damage to its most popular location.

Three years after setting a goal of raising $1 billion, the Park Service’s ...Read more

Mark Wilson/Getty Images North America/TNS

Is the Supreme Court about to let red states ban hormone treatment for transgender teens?

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WASHINGTON — The conservative Supreme Court is poised to leap into another culture-war battle between red states and blue states, this time involving medical rights of transgender teens and their parents.

Two years after the conservative majority overturned national abortion rights, the justices will hear arguments Wednesday over whether ...Read more

Jam Sta Rosa/Getty Images North America/TNS

Impeachment case filed against Philippines VP Sara Duterte

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An impeachment complaint was filed against Philippines Vice President Sara Duterte by civil society groups, deepening a political crisis over her feud with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Duterte engaged in “culpable violations of the Constitution, graft and corruption, bribery, betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes,” according to ...Read more

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images North America/TNS

Anti-fraud efforts meet real-world test during ACA enrollment period

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Unauthorized switching of Affordable Care Act plans appears to have tapered off in recent weeks based on an almost one-third drop in casework associated with consumer complaints, say federal regulators. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which oversees the ACA, credits steps taken to thwart enrollment and switching problems that ...Read more

The 'Love Boat' faces a tragic ending in a lonely California slough

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LITTLE POTATO SLOUGH, Calif. — Under a nearly full moon at the end of May, a 70-year-old cruise ship with a wild and enigmatic history sunk in a lonely back channel in California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. In the months since, the recriminations and finger-pointing have risen like an angry tide.

The sad end of the MS Aurora is a ...Read more