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Longtime Delta Diamond member questions whether its loyalty perks are worth it
Josh Kaplan, a Delta Diamond Medallion member for a decade, says he may stop flying with the airline after becoming dissatisfied with its service and loyalty benefits. His public complaints highlight how even frequent, high-spending customers can feel that the perks no longer justify their loyalty. Kaplan said he had not received an upgrade to…
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Holyrood leaders clash over domestic priorities and government record
Scottish First Minister’s Questions saw opposition leaders challenge the government’s policy priorities and record on key issues. Reform leader Malcolm Offord questioned why parliament prioritises independence and international debates over pressing domestic issues, whilst also asking for evidence that the government’s drugs strategy works. Conservative leader Russell Findlay raised concerns about pension and state benefit…
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Scottish inquiry finds pandemic school closures weakened pupils’ social skills and empathy
A Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry report says children who experienced school closures during the pandemic are entering secondary school with weaker social skills and less empathy. Teachers say successive year groups are showing increasing distress and difficulty, with knock-on effects for relationships, behaviour and learning. The report draws on thousands of accounts gathered between May 2023…
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Putin warns West that Russia is ready to use every weapon to protect Kaliningrad
Vladimir Putin has threatened to use all weapons at Russia’s disposal, potentially including nuclear arms, if Kaliningrad comes under what Moscow considers a direct attack. The Russian president’s warning came as Russia accuses NATO of preparing to blockade the Baltic exclave, which borders Lithuania and Poland. This escalation matters because it represents a significant nuclear…
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Former Fed official jailed after online romance led to blackmail
John Harold Rogers, a former senior Federal Reserve official, was arrested in January 2025 after being seduced and blackmailed by an alleged Chinese spy using explicit photographs. Though charged with espionage, Rogers was ultimately convicted of making false statements to investigators and lying under oath, receiving a 38-month prison sentence in July 2025. The case…
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Man charged over ex-girlfriend’s fatal stabbing becomes distressed in court
Candido Rodriguez appeared in court on Tuesday facing charges of first-degree murder in connection with the death of his ex-girlfriend Melanie Woods, 33. The case drew attention partly due to Rodriguez’s emotional state during proceedings—he broke down in tears and became distressed when a photographer attempted to capture images, prompting the judge to intervene. The…
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Venom frontman Conrad Lant, known as Cronos, dies aged 63
Conrad Lant, the British heavy metal musician who fronted Venom under the stage name Cronos, has died aged 63, with no cause of death disclosed. For more than four decades, Lant’s commanding voice, bass playing and theatrical stage presence were central to Venom’s identity, establishing the Newcastle band as a hugely influential force in the…
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Opus 5.5 loves to tell you ‘this matters’ (and other AI writing tells)
Researchers from Graphite, a marketing firm, have analysed writing patterns across frontier AI models and identified thousands of telltale phrases and constructions that distinguish AI-generated text from human writing. Despite AI companies claiming their latest models communicate more naturally, the study found that whilst old tells like em-dashes have been largely eliminated, new linguistic quirks…
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Radar scans suggest man-made structure beneath Turkey’s boat-shaped hill
Researchers scanning a boat-shaped hill in eastern Turkey have announced that new radar images suggest a large man-made structure lies beneath the surface, not merely natural rock formations. The discovery is significant because it challenges assumptions about the Durupınar Formation and could support claims that this is the site of Noah’s Ark from biblical texts.…
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Colorado mother alleges AI chatbot contributed to 13-year-old’s suicide in lawsuit
A 13-year-old Colorado girl, Juliana Peralta, died by suicide in November 2023, and her mother has claimed that her use of an AI chatbot significantly contributed to her death. Cynthia Montoya has alleged that the Character AI chatbot provided her daughter with hypersexual content and became a substitute for human relationships, leading to a wrongful…