Microplastics Pose Serious Risk To Our Guts

At this time, almost everyone is aware that microplastics are finding their way deep into our bodies, such is their ubiquity in the world around us. However, their health impacts are still not clear. Those impacts may well include damage to gut integrity and harmful changes in gut bacteria, according to a new study published in Nature Communications.

The study was led by researchers from the National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan, who fed mice polystyrene nanoplastics for 12 weeks. Nanoplastics are the smallest type of microplastic, and in these experiments the fragments were just 100 nanometers in size, thousands of times smaller than the width of a human hair.

Careful analysis of the animals revealed subsequent changes to protein production, gene activity, bacteria levels, and the microRNA coding inside cells. For example, two proteins that normally keep the gut sealed and protected became less abundant.

The beneficial bacteria Lactobacillus decreased, the potentially harmful bacteria Ruminococcaceae increased, and a bacteria called Lachnospiraceae actually ate some of the nanoplastics.

Doing so changed the way the bacteria secreted tiny packages called extracellular vesicles, which in turn inhibited the production of intestinal mucus.

"This study is the first to show that plastic particles can interfere with the microRNA carried by extracellular vesicles between mouse intestinal cells and specific gut microbes, disrupting host–microbe communication and altering microbial composition in ways that may harm the gut health of mice," says microbiologist Wei-Hsuan Hsu, from the National Cheng Kung University.

For those of us who aren't biologists, these changes can be hard to interpret in a simple way, but overall the integrity and health of the guts of the mice took a turn for the worse. It's likely that the risk of related health complications would go up as a result.

In this study, the mechanisms behind how nanoplastics affect the gut are just as important as the effects themselves, and will now point researchers towards new approaches for understanding how microplastics might alter our bodies on a fundamental level.

"The research identifies a molecular mechanism by which plastic particles disturb gut microbiota," says Hsu.

It's important to add some context to this study. Mice are useful substitutes for humans in research, but they're obviously not an exact match, so we need to see if similar gut changes come about in people.

What's more, the mice were fed nanoplastics at a much higher level than humans would usually be exposed to. It's not clear if we are ingesting anywhere near enough plastic to trigger the changes shown in this study.

"Given the current limitations in nanoplastic detection technologies and the uncertainties associated with extrapolating animal model results to humans, continued research is critical to accurately evaluate the potential long-term health effects of nanoplastics in humans," says immunologist Yueh-Hsia Luo, from the National Central University in Taiwan, who wasn't involved in the study.

Read More

UCLA Graduating Student Showed Off His ChatGPT Answers

For a few years now, artificial intelligence posed as both a threat and an opportunity in academia. There is a delicate balance that must be maintain to avoid abuse and improper behaviour.

But while most prefer to keep their AI schoolwork aids confidential, one student at the University of California, Los Angeles, brazenly boasted about employing the tech during his commencement ceremony.

The shocking moment was captured during UCLA’s livestream at the Pauley Pavilion earlier this month, but videos have since been reshared to Instagram and X, where they’ve amassed millions of views.

In the brief clip, which was displayed on the facility’s Jumbotron, Andre Mai, a computational and systems biology major, is seen holding up his laptop to show off walls of AI-generated text that he ostensibly used for his final exams.

The footage shows the undergrad proudly scrolling through the evidence of his so-called high-tech homework hacking as the rest of the graduating class of 2025 whoops and cheers in the background.

"Let’s gooooo!!!!!!" he mouths while hyping up the crowd.

The video didn’t sit nearly as well with online viewers, many of whom saw it as indicative of societal decline.

"We’re so cooked," lamented one disillusioned commenter under a repost on X, while another wrote, "Pandora’s Box has been opened."

"We’re still supposed to take college degrees seriously btw," scoffed a third.

"Our future doctors really gon have one AirPod in asking ChatGPT how to do open heart surgery," quipped one X wit.

"If ChatGPT is why you graduated, ChatGPT has already taken your job," theorized one poster, reiterating techsperts’ concerns that AI could render effectively render human employees obsolete.

These fears were also echoed on Reddit. "This is going to be the biggest problem," fretted one poster. "People just aren’t going to learn anything anymore, instead of a tool to help you learn people are just going to think it’s a magic answer box."

However, some defenders applauded Mai for seemingly gaming the system with one X fan writing, "Hot take ChatGPT and AI are tools that are going to be with us for good or bad for the foreseeable future."

"So proving that they can effectively use the tools he had to achieve what was required of him is not cheating," they added. "It proves he will be able to provide similar results in the real world."

Read More

AI-Generated Ghost Students Create Problems For U.S. Schools

Across the United States' community colleges and universities, sophisticated criminal networks are using AI to deploy thousands of "synthetic" or "ghost" students—sometimes in the dead of night—to attack colleges.

The hordes are cramming themselves into registration portals to enroll and illegally apply for financial aid. The ghost students then occupy seats meant for real students—and have even resorted to handing in homework just to hold out long enough to siphon millions in financial aid before disappearing.

The scope of the ghost-student plague is staggering. Jordan Burris, vice president at identity-verification firm Socure and former chief of staff in the White House’s Office of the Federal Chief Information Officer, told Fortune more than half the students registering for classes at some schools have been found to be illegitimate. Among Socure’s client base, between 20% to 60 percent of student applicants are ghosts.

"Imagine a world where 20 percent of the student population are fraudulent," said Burris. "That’s the reality of the scale."

At one college, more than 400 different financial-aid applications could be tracked back to a handful of recycled phone numbers. "It was a digital poltergeist effectively haunting the school’s enrollment system," said Burris.

The scheme has also proved incredibly lucrative. According to a Department of Education advisory, about US$ 90 million in aid was doled out to ineligible students, the DOE analysis revealed, and some US$ 30 million was traced to dead people whose identities were used to enroll in classes.

The issue has become so dire that the DOE announced this month it had found nearly 150,000 suspect identities in federal student-aid forms and is now requiring higher-ed institutions to validate the identities of first-time applicants for Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms.

"Every dollar stolen by a ghost is a dollar denied to a real student attempting to change their life," Burris explained. "That’s a misallocation of public capital we really can’t afford."

Maurice Simpkins, president and cofounder of AMSimpkins, says he has identified international fraud rings operating out of Japan, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nairobi that have repeatedly targeted U.S. colleges.

The attacks specifically zero in on coursework that maximizes financial-aid eligibility, said Mike McCandless, vice president of student services at Merced College. Social sciences and online-only classes with large numbers of students that allow for as many credits or units as possible are often choice picks, he said.

For the spring semester, Merced booted about half of the 15,000 initial registrations that were fraudulent. Among the next tranche of about 7,500, some 20 percent were caught and removed from classes, freeing up space for real students.

In addition to financial theft, the ghost student epidemic is causing real students to get locked out of classes they need to graduate. Oftentimes, students have planned their work or childcare schedule around classes they intend to take—and getting locked out has led to a cascade of impediments.

According to the DOE, the rate of financial fraud through stolen identities has reached a level that "imperils the federal student assistance programs under Title IV of the Higher Education Act." In a statement, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said the new temporary fix will help prevent identity theft fraud.

"When rampant fraud is taking aid away from eligible students, disrupting the operations of colleges, and ripping off taxpayers, we have a responsibility to act," said McMahon.

Read More

Pre-Wimbledon Matches Are Heating Up

The tune up leading to the Wimbledon has been heating up. This was evident during the match between Maria Sakkari and Yulia Putintseva.

The tennis rivals got into a heated argument after facing off at the Bad Homburg Open in Germany last 22 June, with Sakkari saying to Putintseva: "Nobody likes you."

The incident began when the pair shook hands following Sakkari’s 7-5, 7-6 (6) win in the first round of the tournament, a grass court tune-up for Wimbledon.

There were clear tensions during the clash, and Sakkari was seemingly furious that Putintseva did not look her in the eye while shaking hands and said something to her opponent about it.

That initiated a vigorous back-and-forth, with Putintseva offering Sakkari an incredibly sarcastic curtsy.

As both players went to shake hands with the umpire, Sakkari told Putintseva she should’ve made eye contact "like a human being," to which a clearly frustrated Putintseva replied: "I was a human being – look at yourself."

Sakkari walked over to Putintseva’s bench and inaudible arguing ensued, with Sakkari eventually muttering "f–king hell" and then repeating "nobody likes you" after some more back and forth.

Finally, the umpire butted in, saying, "Ladies, please," before Putintseva eventually left the court.

It’s unclear what prompted the no-look handshake from Putintseva, a 30-year-old from Kazakhstan, or if the whole situation was a major overreaction from Sakkari, a 29-year-old from Greece.

"I don’t think she’s going to invite me for dinner for the rest of our lives, but I don’t care," Sakkari said afterwards to the on-court interviewer. "I have very good friends and I’ll go to dinner with them. Let me leave it here, and just say that I have respect for her as a player, but that’s it."

Read More

Mattel Plans To Include AI In Future Toys

Hopefully, kids in the future will be ready to evoke the rich tapestry of the human experience with their favorite toys by harnessing the power of artificial intelligence.

Mattel, the maker of Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels cars, has inked a deal with OpenAI to use its AI tools to not only help design toys but power them, Bloomberg reports.

Details are scant at this point. In a joint interview, Mattel chief franchise officer Josh Silverman and OpenAI chief operating officer Brad Lightcap said the collab is at an early stage, and declined to comment on what the first product would be.

But Bloomberg did float some ideas. AI could be used to create digital assistants based on Mattel characters, for example. And have you considered that toys like the Magic 8 Ball and games like Uno could be even more interactive with a large language model thrown in there?

"We plan to announce something towards the tail end of this year, and it's really across the spectrum of physical products and some experiences," Silverman said, as quoted by Bloomberg. "Leveraging this incredible technology is going to allow us to really reimagine the future of play."

However it all pans out, it's a pretty alarming collaboration. Evidence of AI chatbots' deleterious effects on our mental health has been steadily mounting, with countless friends and family members watching their loved ones become obsessed with ChatGPT and spiral into wild delusions, sometimes with tragic consequences.

It's especially risky for children. Earlier this year, researchers at the Stanford School of Medicine's Brainstorm Lab for Mental Health Innovation released an AI risk assessment warning about teens interacting with AI companions, a type of AI chatbot designed to be eerily human-like and personable.

Their conclusion? That these aren't safe for anyone under the age of 18 to use.

As to the nature of the deal, Mattel's Silverman said that the toymaker isn't licensing its intellectual property to OpenAI and will retain full control over the products that'll be created.

In any case, the two companies are anticipating a fruitful relationship. Mattel has been expanding its empire into the realm of entertainment — as heralded by its smash-hit 2023 blockbuster "Barbie," — while OpenAI is trying to land deals with Hollywood studios to use its AI video generator Sora.

"The idea exploration phase of creative design for companies like Mattel and many others, that's a critical part of the workflow," Lightcap said. "As we think about how AI builds tools that extend that capability, I think we're very lucky to have partners like Mattel that we can work with to better understand that problem."

Read More

There's A New Requirement For U.S. Student Visas

The U.S. State Department said last 18 June that it is restarting the process for foreigners to apply for student visas but says all applicants must have their social media accounts set to 'public' to allow review by officials.

Consular officers will be looking for activity, posts and messages showing "any indications of hostility toward the citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles of the United States," the department said. It said a refusal to do so could be a sign they are trying to evade the requirement or hide their online activity.

The announcement is the latest step in President Donals Trump administration’s crackdown on international students, and the U.S. said applicants who refuse may have their applications rejected.

Students around the world have been waiting anxiously for U.S. consulates to reopen appointments for visa interviews, as the window left to book their travel and make housing arrangements narrows ahead of the start of the school year.

On Wednesday afternoon (18 June), a 27-year-old Ph.D. student in Toronto was able to secure an appointment for a visa interview next week. The student, a Chinese national, hopes to travel to the U.S. for a research intern position that would start in late July.

"I’m really relieved," said the student, who spoke on condition of being identified only by his surname, Chen, because he was concerned about being targeted. "I’ve been refreshing the website couple of times every day."

Students from China, India, Mexico and the Philippines have posted on social media sites that they have been monitoring visa booking websites and closely watching press briefings of the State Department to get any indication of when appointment bookings might resume.

Read More

Danica Patrick: "Stop Blaming Age"

Danica Patrick had a blunt message for out-of-shape Americans on social media last 16 June.

The retired professional racing star, who retired in 2018, has remained very physically active. Patrick, now 43, hits the gym most days. She has also been getting into golf and tennis, among other things.

Patrick, it's safe to say, is still in very good shape for someone of her age - or any age, for that matter.

But most Americans are not like that. The United States is one of the most obese countries in the world. It's unfortunate when you look at the statistics.

Patrick, who often posts on social media about her gym going habits, had a three-word message about Americans who are out of shape.

"Stop blaming age," the post shared by Patrick read.

Patrick shared a post on social media about the current state of Americans and their fitness.

"Stop blaming age," the post read.

"You don't lose muscle because you're getting older. You lose muscle because you stop using it."

Patrick likes to hit the gym hard, as she's revealed that her workout routine consists of high-intensity interval training and combines aerobic exercise with calisthenics.

Read More

Blanket Ban On Transgender Athlete Might Be Adopted In The Next Olympics

In the next Olympics, transgender women will likely be banned from the female category across all sport after another leading candidate to become International Olympic Committee president backed a new blanket policy.

Individual sports were able to set their own rules at last year’s Paris Games, prompting a patchwork of policies that prevented anyone who had gone through male puberty competing in sports such as athletics and swimming, but potentially eligible in women’s football.

There are also sport-by-sport Olympic rules regarding athletes with differences in sexual development, with athletics, led by Lord Coe, ruling that athletes must reduce their testosterone level to below 2.5 nanomoles per litre. That has meant that Caster Semenya, who won the 800 metres Olympic title in 2012 and 2016, is ineligible.

Coe, who is the president of World Athletics and a leading candidate to succeed Thomas Bach as president of the IOC, has long made it clear that he would bring similar clarity to gender policy across all Olympic sports.

Among the other leading candidates is Kirsty Coventry, a member of the IOC executive board since 2018, who now also supports an Olympic-wide policy similar to athletics or swimming.

"Protecting the female category and female sports is paramount – it’s a priority that we collectively come together," said Coventry, who won seven Olympic medals, including two gold, in swimming.

"There is more and more scientific research. We are not having a conversation about how it is detrimental to men’s sport. That, in itself, says we need to protect women’s sport. It is very clear that transgender women are more able in the female category, and can take away opportunities that should be equal for women."

Coventry was also part of the executive board that handled the huge Olympic controversy in Paris when Lin Yu-ting and Imane Khelif won gold after they were previously deemed ineligible for the female category by the International Boxing Association; a body that was subsequently stripped of the right to run the sport because of governance and ethical issues.

Coventry said that "lessons are always going to be learnt – Paris is definitely one of those times", but claimed that they could not have foreseen the specific controversy.

Read More

The WNBA "Phenom" Is Back!

Last 14 June , WNBA phenom Caitlin Clark made her return to the Indiana Fever after suffering a quad injury that kept her out of the lineup for five games.

She nearly pulled off a 30-point triple-double by dropping 32 points, 9 assists and 8 rebounds in a 102-88 victory over the New York Liberty, handing the reigning WNBA champions their first loss of the season.

"Don't we always expect that kind of game from Caitlin?" Indiana coach Stephanie White said after the game. "I knew her adrenaline was going to be high to start. She's been itching to get back out there. [Her scoring] carried us in the first half, and then everybody else carried us in the second half. Her decision-making was outstanding. She did a really good job of getting everybody involved, and that's what she does."

Despite missing the previous five games, Clark didn't suffer an off shooting night and didn't feel fatigued.

"I saw three in a row go in, so that gives you a lot of confidence," Clark said. "Even in the second half, they all came off my hand feeling really good...My legs felt really strong. I felt in good shape," she said. "A lot of that is credit to our medical team. They have kept me in shape. Now for me, it's just how I recover, especially with the schedule that we have coming up."

The Fever went 2-3 without Clark on the court, but got back to .500 on the season with the big win on Saturday afternoon.

Read More

Ohio State University Encourages Students To Use AI

The conversation around artificial intelligence continues to impact several industries and businesses everywhere, and it's also had a tangible effect on academics.

Teachers and professors around the country have said that an increasing number of students rely on AI to write papers or help them complete homework assignments.

The Pew Research Group says 26 percent of teenagers used ChatGPT for schoolwork in 2024, twice as many as in the previous year.

Proponents of AI in the classroom have cited the ability to help students who may not be able to learn traditionally, while critics have said that the reliance on tools like ChatGPT could lead to students having difficulty retaining and comprehending information.

Ahead of a new school year later in 2025, one of the most prominent state universities in America has revealed its stance on students using artificial intelligence.

Ohio State University says that it will not only encourage the use of artificial intelligence, but it will require each student at the school to take a class on AI literacy.

"Through AI Fluency, Ohio State students will be 'bilingual' — fluent in both their major field of study and the application of AI in that area," said OSU provost and executive vice president Ravi V. Bellamkonda.

The school plans to integrate AI education throughout the curriculum for undergraduate students, with a special emphasis on the incoming class. Bellamkonda says that by 2029, the aim is for every Ohio State student to be fluent in how AI is applied to their chosen field of study.

Some professors at the university have incorporated AI into their lessons, and one says he's embraced students turning in AI-assisted work.

"A student walked up to me after turning in the first batch of AI-assisted papers and thanked me for such a fun assignment. And then when I graded them and found a lot of really creative ideas," said associate professor of philosophy Steven Brown.

"My favorite one is still a paper on karma and the practice of returning shopping carts."

All of Ohio's public universities have incorporated artificial intelligence in some capacity, but Ohio State is the first of those 14 institutions to declare that it will officially incorporate AI into the curriculum of every student.

Starting this fall, every Ohio State student will be asked to use artificial intelligence. https://t.co/CrJ8pBfbW8 pic.twitter.com/jDXAHL7hhk

— NBC4 Columbus (@nbc4i) June 8, 2025

Read More

Paraguayan Olympic Swimmer Out To Correct Misconceptions

Months after she was accused of creating an "inappropriate" atmosphere at the Olympic Village, Paraguayan Olympic swimmer Luana Alonso has come out to air her side of the story and to refute several claims.

The 21-year-old called the allegations "false rumors" while explaining in detail what actually happened at the time.

She also claimed that after leaving of her own volition, Paraguayan swimming officials begged her to return for an upcoming competition in August. However, Luana Alonso previously shared that she remains unsure if she will return to competitive swimming in the near future.

Taking to her Instagram Stories last 3 June, Luana Alonso launched into an intense rant, addressing the misconduct allegations made against her by Paraguayan swimming officials during her participation in the Olympics last year.

At the time, the head of the Paraguayan Olympic Committee, Larissa Schaerer, claimed that the 21-year-old's presence was "creating an inappropriate atmosphere" within the team, which led to her alleged removal.

Now, Alonso has countered those claims, stating that she "left" on her own and calling the accusations "false rumors."

"The Paraguayan Olympic team claimed I created an 'inappropriate environment simply because I decided I didn't want to swim anymore," Alonso further explained to her fans on her page, per The New York Post.

"They tried to take my accreditation away, but that's not something they had the right to do. I chose not to hand it over, and apparently that was 'inappropriate' to them," Alonso added in her post.

Alonso's remarks come 11 months after the incident, seemingly a long time for the drama to have died down.

However, according to the swimmer, she is breaking her silence now because the claims are still affecting her to this day.

"Seriously, this (sic) lies are wild and affecting my life, and that's why I decided I'm keeping my life lowkey," she stated.

Further in her rant, Alonso also revealed that she could bring lawsuits against the outlets that published the claims about her being allegedly booted out of the Olympic Village last year.

"I'm seriously considering legal action against the magazines and media outlets spreading false rumors like that I was expelled from the Olympic Village. Really? Who came up with that nonsense? Well that it's not true," she said.

Read More

Simone Biles Apologizes To Riley Gaines

In a post last 10 June and reported by Chris Cwlk, Simone Biles apologized for not showing "empathy and respect" in a tweet where she ripped Riley Gaines for the former swimmer's stance on transgender athletes.

"I wanted to follow up from my last tweets. I’ve always believed competitive equity & inclusivity are both essential in sport. The current system doesn’t adequately balance these important principles, which often leads to frustration and heated exchanges, and it didn’t help for me ..." — Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) June 10, 2025.

In her post, Biles said she believed "competitive equity and inclusivity" are essential in sport. She said she did not want to advocate for policies that "compromise fairness in women’s sports." Biles added that she took issue with Gaines singling out a child in her post.

Biles ended her post by saying:

"Individual athletes — especially kids — should never be the focus of criticism of a flawed system they have no control over. I believe sports organizations have a responsibility to come up with rules supporting inclusion while maintaining fair competition. We all want a future for sport that is fair, inclusive, and respectful."

Biles and Gaines engaged in a verbal back-and-forth on X on after Gaines attacked Minnesota's high school interscholastic governing body for allowing a transgender girl to compete in the girl's state softball tournament. Champlin Park, with the transgender girl on the mound, won the state 4A championship 6-0. Biles responded to that tweet, calling Gaines a "sore loser" and a "bully."

Shortly after Biles' post, Gaines responded to Biles' post.

"I accept Simone's apology for the personal attacks including the ones where she body-shamed me. I know she knows what this feels like. She's still the greatest female gymnast of all time.

"A couple of things. Sports ARE inclusive by nature. Anyone can and everyone SHOULD play sports. Competition, on the other hand and by definition, is exclusive. So the idea of "competitive equity" is nonsensical.

"Secondly, the boys are publicly humiliating the girls. To suggest that women and girls must be silent or ignore a boy who is PUBLICLY hurting or humiliating them is wrong. You can't have any empathy and compassion for the girls if you're ignoring when young men are harming or abusing them. I am not ashamed to be a voice for the voiceless.

"Lastly, I agree with you that the blame is on the lawmakers and leaders at the top. Precisely why I'm suing the NCAA and support candidates who vow to stand with women. That's why I joined @realDonaldTrump at the signing of his Executive Order. I didn't see you there or championing this effort with your platform.

"Women's sports can't be used as an excuse for girl's to center the feelings and validation of men and boys.

"I welcome you to the fight to support fair sports and a future for female athletes. Little girls deserve the same shot to achieve that you had."

Read More

Riley Gailes Is Pulling No Punches Against Simone Biles

This is getting testy and Riley Gaines is pulling no punches this time.

The conservative anti-trans activist couldn’t resist going for the low blow in her ongoing online spat with gold medal-winning gymnast Simone Biles.

In her latest reply in the back-and-forth between the pair, Gaines referenced convicted sexual predator Larry Nassar — the former Team USA doctor who abused the Olympic legend and other females gymnasts.

"All the horrific sexual abuse @Simone_Biles witnessed and spoke out against caused by one man, yet [she] believes women should be forced to strip naked in front of men to validate the man’s feelings," the former collegiate swimmer posted to X.

"You know how many gold medals you’d have if your 'inclusive' dream came true? Zero."

Nassar is serving 40 to 175 years in prison for sexually abusing hundreds of gymnasts, including Olympians Biles, Aly Raisman, and Gabby Douglas.

Biles blasted Gaines on X for criticizing a Minnesota softball team that included transgender player Marissa Rothenberger.

The pitcher threw a shutout and helped bring a state championship home to Champlin Park High School.

"To be expected when your star player is a boy," Gaines wrote in response to a photo of the team celebrating the winning season.

Biles, a seven-time Olympic gold medalist, told Gaines she was "truly sick."

"All of this campaigning because you lost a race. Straight up sore loser," Biles wrote to Gaines, who competed against trans swimmer Lia Thomas in 2022.

"You should be uplifting the trans community and perhaps finding a way to make sports inclusive OR creating a new avenue where trans feel safe in sports. Maybe a transgender category IN ALL sports!! But instead ... You bully them ... One things for sure is no one in sports is safe with you around!!!!!"

In another post, Biles added, "bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male."

Gaines called the dig "disappointing," and added, "It’s not my job or the job of any woman to figure out how to include men in our spaces. You can uplift men stealing championships in women’s sports with YOUR platform. Men don’t belong in women’s sports and I say that with my full chest."

Gaines added in a separate post, "My take is the least controversial take on the planet," and accused Biles of "being a male-apologist at the expense of young girls’ dreams."

Read More

Martina Navratilova Was Allegedly "Censored" By ITV

ITV has been accused recently of trying to "censor" Martina Navratilova for stating a controversial boxer was male.

Dozens of other comments were also "hidden" from the broadcaster's X feed after it posted a story about Imane Khelif, the boxer who won a gold medal after being allowed to compete in the women’s event at last year's Olympic Games.

Earlier this week, Khelif was banned from women’s boxing by the regulator, World Boxing. A leaked blood test showed the Olympian has male XY chromosomes.

ITV later published a story headlined "Naming Imane Khelif has caused 'immeasurable psychological damage'" after the Algerian Boxing Federation complained about World Boxing’s decision to name the boxer.

Navratilova, the nine-time Wimbledon singles champion who has campaigned for gay rights, commented: "But a male beating the crap out of women is not too bad, apparently."

This comment was hidden by the broadcaster and reinstated only after users complained.

Dozens of other comments remain hidden, even though many of them simply state that the boxer is male.

Read More

Apology Expected For Suspended Student Who Used The Term "Illegal Alien"

The family of a North Carolina high school student suspended for using the term "illegal alien" is expected to become US$ 20,000 richer once their paid under a proposed settlement, according to The New York Post.

The outlet reported 4 June that the settlement was reached to remove all references to racial bias from now-17-year-old Christian McGhee's record, provide compensation and issue a public apology "for the mischaracterization of racial bias."

"The Proposed Settlement provides C.M. with monetary compensation intended to defray the costs of his new school, which is private and charges annual tuition," according to the document.

The settlement is now pending a judge's approval.

McGhee’s lawyer, Liberty Justice Center attorney Dean McGee, told the Carolina Journal that a motion had been filed on 5 June, asking the court to approve a settlement to resolve the matter.

"Because Christian is a minor, a court hearing is required before the settlement can become final," he explained.

"We’ll have more to say after that hearing, but we're pleased to take this important step toward clearing our client’s name."

The teen received a three-day suspension last year after asking his teacher if a conversation in class was centered around "spaceship aliens" or "illegal aliens who need green cards" after he returned to the classroom from the restroom.

A Latino student present in the class reportedly "joked" that he was going to "kick Christian’s a--," leading the teacher to escalate the situation to the assistant principal.

The comment was ultimately deemed racially insensitive by the school administration, which the family disputes, and prompted a year-long legal battle.

Read More

Marijuana And Cannabis Gummies Linked To Health Risk

It has been observed that long-term cannabis use in any form has been linked to a greater risk of heart disease.

In a new study, researchers at UC San Francisco determined that eating edible cannabis, such as gummies, has the same impact on cardiovascular risk as smoking marijuana.

The risk stems from reduced blood vessel function, according to the study, which was published in JAMA Cardiology on 28 May.

The study included 55 people between 18 and 50 years of age who were "outwardly healthy."

The participants were divided into three groups: those who regularly smoked marijuana, those who ate edibles containing THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), and those who didn’t use cannabis, according to a UCSF press release.

The cannabis users had been consuming the substance at least three times weekly for at least one year.

On average, the smokers had the habit for 10 years, while those consuming edibles had been doing so for five years, the release noted.

In September 2024, the participants underwent testing to determine how well their blood vessels functioned and whether the cells lining the blood vessels were affected.

All cannabis users were found to have "decreased vascular function," comparable to those who smoke tobacco.

Their blood vessel function was roughly half compared to those who did not use cannabis.

This side effect has been linked to a higher risk of heart attack, high blood pressure and other cardiovascular conditions, the researchers noted.

The participants who smoked marijuana were also found to have changes in their blood serum that harmed cells lining their blood vessels and lymphatic vessels, an effect that was not seen in those who ate edible cannabis.

The researchers noted that while smoking marijuana and consuming edibles both affect vascular function, they likely do so for different reasons.

"Chronic cannabis smoking and THC ingestion were associated with endothelial dysfunction [impaired functioning of the endothelial cells lining the inside of blood vessels] similar to that observed in tobacco smokers, although apparently occurring via distinct mechanisms," the researchers wrote.

"This study enhances the understanding of the potential risks to vascular health linked to cannabis use and provides more evidence that cannabis use is not benign."

Read More

Alum Blasted Harvard For "Poorly Investing" Funds

Last 6 May, billionaire investor Bill Ackman said Harvard University, one of the nation's oldest and wealthiest, should not be entitled to taxpayer funds when the school wastes money on what he calls "administrative bloat."

Ackman, who earned undergraduate and business degrees from Harvard more than three decades ago, was speaking hours after the Trump administration said it was freezing future grants to Harvard.

He also criticized the school's investment policies, saying the Ivy League university is facing a financial crisis and that its US$ 53 billion endowment is "poorly invested."

"They have lost all future grants, their tax exemptions are at risk," Ackman said on a panel at the Milken Institute Global Conference where 5,000 financiers, educators and scientists gather to discuss critical issues of the day.

"It is all self-induced gross mismanagement and I think that the (Trump) administration is doing precisely the right thing now," Ackman told the packed room.

The U.S. Department of Education informed Harvard last 5 May that it was freezing billions of dollars in future research grants and other aid until the university concedes to a number of demands from the Trump administration, a senior department official said.

Harvard responded that the administration letter doubles down on demands that would impose "unprecedented and improper control" over the university and makes new threats to "illegally" withhold funding for lifesaving research.

"The notion is the federal government money is only going to fund breakthrough research, that is just false," Ackman said.

Read More

Mandatory Testing Now Part Of Women's Boxing

Do you still remember Imane Khelif? She's the athlete, whose gold medal at last year’s Paris Olympics caused a global scandal. She was banned from competing in all future World Boxing events in the women’s category unless the Algerian can provide proof of being biologically female.

In a major development, World Boxing has bowed to intense pressure from campaigners for safety and fairness in women’s sport, many of whom had expressed outrage that Khelif was being allowed to compete again in the female division at next week’s Eindhoven World Cup.

The international governing body announced that Khelif, who was disqualified from the 2023 World Championships after tests indicated the presence of male chromosomes, would need to pass mandatory sex screening in order to be deemed eligible.

So far, Khelif has not submitted to any such test in the nine months since a hugely controversial Olympic campaign, in which beaten Italian opponent Angela Carini said she had feared for her life.

Instead the 26-year-old’s efforts have been directed towards lawsuits against JK Rowling and Elon Musk and a heavily made-up appearance on the cover of Vogue Algeria. Khelif had pledged to defend Olympic gold at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, but that route appears to have been irrevocably closed off.

"The introduction of mandatory testing will be part of a new policy on 'Sex, Age and Weight' to ensure the safety of all participants and deliver a competitive level playing field for men and women," World Boxing said in a statement. "The fighters’ national federations will be responsible for administering the tests and providing the results to World Boxing."

The organization confirmed that the decision was taken in response to "the particular circumstances around some boxers": namely, Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, both of whom had been banned by the International Boxing Association after failing sex eligibility tests, but who were permitted to fight in Paris last year after the International Olympic Committee decided that womanhood could be determined by passport status rather than biology.

World Boxing, provisionally approved to run the next Olympic event, confirmed it had informed Khelif and the Algerian federation of the shift in policy.

"Imane Khelif may not compete in the female category at the Eindhoven Box Cup or in any World Boxing event until Imane Khelif undergoes genetic screening in accordance with World Boxing’s rules and testing procedures," it said.

Read More

Can The Taliban End The "Bacha Bazi" Practice?

"Bacha Bāzī" is a traditional practuce in Afghanistan in which men exploit and enslave adolescent boys for entertainment and/or sexual abuse. The man exploiting the young boy is called a Bacha Baz.

These preadolescent boys, also known as "Bacha Bareesh" or beardless boys, come from impoverished families and serve as "entertainers" to influential Afghans. Dressed as girls and wearing makeup they dance for their masters who later take them in order to get involved in a sexual relationship. This is how these boys provide for their families.

It is not rare that these children are often taken from their parents with the excuse that they are going to be provided with an education and a promising future.

When they reach adolescent age and once their beard starts growing, their service is no longer desired and they are released. This is where their tragic lives continue to worsen due to the psychological damage caused and due to very difficult reintegration into society.

As the perpetrators have always been empowered warlords who have important positions in the Afghan corrupted government, police, and military systems, this practice, going back several centuries into the history of the country, has been a challenge when it comes to its eradication. As a deeply rooted custom, it has been a part of their culture whose archaic aspects are not easily forgotten.

During the reign of the Taliban government, the practice was outlawed. After the US invasion in 2001, the former mujahideen arose again and brought this custom back to life. Since then, the Bacha Bazi custom has evolved and pedophilia reached its peak. Across lawless Afghanistan young boys were kidnapped, raped, trafficked, and sold as sexual slaves (Foreign Policy, 2013).

The situation and the mentality in Afghanistan got so distorted that the families of these boys consensually handed over their sons knowing exactly what their destiny was. The fact that this custom has evolved into an institutionalized practice in certain regions is beyond disturbing. All the efforts made to suppress the practice failed due to the level of corruption of the Afghan government and its involvement in it.

Once the custom made its comeback following the US invasion in 2001, members of US Special Forces could hear from their bunks Afghan militia members sexually abusing boys in their base, however, they were not allowed to take action and were advised to "look the other way because it’s their culture" (The New York Times, 2015). Nevertheless, in 2011 one of the captains of US Special Forces beat up an Afghan National Police (ANP) for keeping an Afghan boy tied to his bed as a sex slave (AP News, 2015).

Hope that "Bacha Bazi" would finally face its end was high when the Taliban took Afghanistan again in August 2021. The problem is that the legal system in the country became more complex because the perpretrators are reportedly powerful individuals ruling the transitioning Afghanistan.

Read More