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The unusual, unexpected, bizarre, funny, fascinating, and occasionally inexplicable stories happening around the world.
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Prediction-market platform Kalshi has permanently banned former congressman George Santos and fined him $71,356 after an investigation into trades linked to his attendance at Donald Trump’s State of the Union address. The company said Santos did not fully cooperate with the inquiry.
2 sources reporting
A long-running program in Japan’s Nagano region combines bear trapping, scientific monitoring, fencing and trained dogs to reduce encounters without relying entirely on culling. The approach comes as bear sightings and fatal attacks rise across the country.
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Researchers have created two beagles whose genes were edited to eliminate Can f 1, a common dog allergen. The dogs have not shown detectable levels of the protein in saliva or dander, but they are not yet available to the public and would not address every dog allergy.
Fresh From the Feed
Germany says Russia provided equipment and expertise for a failed drone attack targeting a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig/Halle airport. The government says the device could have caused a catastrophe and plans coordinated measures with European partners.
Alastair Chambers flew back to Kathmandu after delivering supplies to flood-hit communities, but Nepalese authorities apparently entered his details on a list of rescued people. The error led journalists to contact him about an ordeal he said had never happened.
New simulations suggest the Moon may have emerged intact within roughly five hours after a Mars-sized body struck the young Earth. The result depends heavily on the temperature and material strength of the colliding worlds, researchers report.
A homeowner building a terrace in Rebild, Denmark, struck a buried hoard containing about 18.5 kilograms of silver and roughly 700 objects. The collection, including coins, jewelry, bars and a small Thor’s hammer, is the largest known Viking Age silver hoard found in Denmark.
A two-square-meter shop at China’s Shiniuzhai National Geological Park serves climbers partway up a vertical cliff. Reaching it requires an ascent secured by metal anchors, while employees carry drinks up before their shifts.
The Fermi Explorer Mission says it hopes to send a small probe toward the Alpha Centauri system by 2029. The proposed spacecraft would become the first mission aimed at another star, although reaching its destination would take roughly 80,000 years.
A leafless tree in Riga’s Esplanāde park is covered with scores of colorful wooden nesting boxes. The birdhouses serve a practical purpose, but the origin of this unusually crowded arrangement remains undocumented.
More than 1,000 people have died after a glacier collapse triggered devastating floods across Nepal’s border region with China, while thousands remain missing. Nepalese police are collecting blood samples and photographs from relatives of unidentified victims, including missing foreign tourists and pilgrims.
A new study suggests that the fading light seen in some repeated black hole feeding events may be linked to a star’s rotation. Researchers also propose that these rapidly spinning stars could have been captured after their binary partners were flung away.
Darryl Parker of North Augusta, South Carolina, is trying to surpass the Guinness World Record for the largest collection of socks. He says he has already gathered more than 2,000 pairs and plans to keep collecting before seeking official verification.
Firefighters and wildlife officials rescued a mother bear and three cubs after the animals fell into a water-filled concrete cistern at Marshall Canyon Regional Park in La Verne, California. The rescue team drained the tank and created an exit route for the trapped bears.
A West Loop bar gathered 1,969 people to simultaneously drink shots of Jeppson’s Malört, an intensely bitter Chicago-area liqueur, in an event recognized as a Guinness World Record. The gathering also raised money for Ravenswood Community Services.
