When we think of technological advances, writes Javier Blas at Bloomberg, we tend towards picturing faster internet, smarter devices, AI, driverless cars, and phone-controlled household appliances. But humanity continues to make advancements with even the most primitive technologies, epitomized by this year’s incredible Asian rice crop. Blas suggests the news alleviates any fear that a […] The post This Year’s Nice Rice Price Marks an 18-year Low Amid a Doubling of Per-Acre Yield appeared first on Good News Network.

News Charlie Brooker Black Mirror Creator Charlie Brooker’s Next Show Is a Crime Thriller That May Not Be What It Seems It’s serious but it’s funny but there’s blood but there’s also frowning! By Molly Templeton | Published on September 9, 2025 Screenshot: Netflix Comment 0 Share New Share Screenshot: Netflix Charlie Brooker is taking a break from the future—or at least that’s how it seems. The creator of Black Mirror (pictured above) has set a new project at Netflix, and this one is described as a “stunningly original crime thriller,” according to Variety. But Netflix’s Tudum notes, “The show’s described as a ‘profoundly serious’ crime thriller, which is the first clue that he’s up to something wickedly funny.” This messaging is somewhat contradictory. The four-part, as-yet-untitled series is set to star quite the lineup: House of the Dragon’s Paddy Considine, Barbarian’s Georgina Campbell, and Game of Thrones’ Lena Headey. Intriguingly, it is set in a fictional city called Bleakford (subtle, very subtle), as well as in London. Netflix says it follows “a tormented detective on a relentless mission to catch a ritualistic serial killer before they run out of victims.” This is a pretty standard thriller concept, but Brooker also promised there will be “blood and frowning” aplenty, and got cheeky with his quote for the announcement: In true Brooker fashion, the creator couldn’t resist poking fun at the announcement itself. “I’m beyond thrilled to be saying these words for the press release,” Brooker tells Tudum. “I’ve dreamt of providing a quote ever since I was a young foetus, and now here I am doing it. I’d pinch myself, but like all of us, I’m terrified that if I do that, I might wake up and discover 2025 has all been a magical dream. Please watch my show. I am begging you.” Are we perhaps beginning to suspect there may be more to this show than meets the brief synopsis? Perhaps? Brooker is the show’s sole creator, but worked with quite a team of writers, including three writers for Cunk on Earth and Cunk on Life, Ben Caudell, Jason Hazeley, and Joel Morris; Emer Kenny (EastEnders, Harlots), and Daniel Maier (Class Dismissed and a whole lot of comedy), “with additional material” by Victoria Asare Archer (Missing You). More than anything Tudum says, that list of writers is a pretty blazing clue that Brooker’s crime show is going to be anything but procedural.[end-mark] The post <i>Black Mirror</i> Creator Charlie Brooker’s Next Show Is a Crime Thriller That May Not Be What It Seems appeared first on Reactor.

Books Horror Five Horror Stories Featuring Big Families and Big Drama Family dynamics can be messy even without ghosts, curses, and supernatural strife… By Lorna Wallace | Published on September 9, 2025 Comment 0 Share New Share Leo Tolstoy starts Anna Karenina (1878) with this iconic line: “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” But even the happiest of families have moments of conflict that are unique to their specific dynamic. Whether a family lives under the same roof or only gathers together for important occasions, such as birthdays and holidays, arguments are bound to occur sometimes. While families are capable of creating drama at the best of times, it’s pretty much guaranteed during stressful times—such as you would find in a horror story. And it’s often the case that each additional person added into the mix creates an exponentially messier dynamic. Here are five stories from both the page and screen that explore the chaos that comes when big families—including a nuclear family with lots of kids, large extended families, and even a found family—find themselves thrown into horror scenarios. The Elementals (1981) by Michael McDowell The Elementals follows the Savages and McCrays—families that are united by marriage—over the course of the summer after the death of matriarch Marian Savage. The two families typically spend the hotter months of the year at Beldame, a small stretch of sand on Alabama’s coast occupied by three Victorian houses. Two of the houses serve as vacation homes for each of the families, while the third has been abandoned for many years and is slowly being consumed by sand. The atmosphere of the story feels oppressive—thanks both to the relentlessly hot summer sun and the simmering secrets that are threatening to come to a boil, in spite of everyone’s best efforts. But teenager India McCray has never been to Beldame before, and she can’t help but be curious—especially about the mysterious third house. While most of the adults do their best to pretend that the decrepit building doesn’t exist, India finds herself drawn to it. Not only does her curiosity dredge up some serious family drama, but she also discovers that the house is haunted by something rather strange and very scary. Good Dogs (2024) by Brian Asman Stories about found families can often be quite feel-good, but Good Dogs goes in almost the opposite direction. Our family is a pack of six unrelated werewolves who have been cast out by their blood relatives and are now living together in San Diego. Main character Delia is the unofficial den mother and she’s fully aware that the vastly different personalities of her pack make things difficult. But those challenges are worth the sense of belonging that comes from being around fellow werewolves. Things get particularly complicated when the pack wake up to a severed leg in their garden after a night of debauchery fueled by the full moon. They decide to flee the city and head to an abandoned town in the middle of the woods. It’s not ideal, but at least they won’t be behind bars or risk endangering anyone else’s life. But once there, they realize that something with far bigger teeth than them might be on the hunt… Good Dogs captures the frustration of dealing with family members with whom you never seem to see eye-to-eye. And yet despite that, it also demonstrates the lengths we are often willing to go to in order to protect those we count as family—even the really annoying ones. The Unseen (2025) by Ania Ahlborn Isla Hansen loves being a mother—she’s got five kids with her husband Luke—but she’s currently struggling with a recent miscarriage. While she’s gardening one day, a strange young boy walks out of the woods and she feels an instant connection to the feral, silent, and presumably traumatized child. There have been a lot of recent reports of missing kids in the area, so she assumes he must be one of them…but when no one claims him, she decides to take him into her own family. The rest of the Hansens are very much not okay with adding a new kid—now named Rowan—into their mix, but Isla doesn’t give them a choice. Not only does Rowan’s very presence creep them all out—and the family’s two dogs especially don’t like him—but pretty soon serious accidents and scary unexplainable events start happening whenever he’s around. A mounting sense of dread creeps its way into the story, with the previously relatively settled family dynamic—well, as settled as any family with five kids can be—becoming increasingly fraught and chaotic as things start going off the rails. Ready or Not (2019) Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett and written by Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy, Ready or Not largely takes place on the night that Grace (Samara Weaving) marries into the wealthy Le Domas family. After the vows are exchanged and the photos have been taken, Grace learns that it’s a tradition for the family to play a game on the night that someone new joins their ranks (the Le Domas clan made their fortune with a games company, so this tradition only seems slightly weird at first). The bride is instructed to draw a card at random from a puzzle box and she selects “Hide-and-Seek.” While Grace runs around the mansion trying to find a hiding spot, she’s unaware that her new family members are currently arming themselves and plan to kill her when they find her. What follows is a darkly funny (for the audience, not for Grace) and blood-soaked night. Thankfully for Grace though, all is not well within the Le Domas dynasty and she’s able to take advantage of that internal conflict as she fights for survival. The Fall of the House of Usher (2023) Another rich family with dark secrets are the Ushers from Mike Flanagan’s The Fall of the House of Usher. The miniseries starts at the end, with Roderick Usher (Bruce Greenwood)—the CEO of a massive pharmaceutical company and the patriarch of the Usher family—being haunted by the deaths of his six children, all of whom died in bizarre ways over the course of just two weeks. Roderick decides to reveal to his long-standing enemy, assistant US Attorney Charles Auguste Dupin (Carl Lumbly)—who has been trying to convict the Ushers of their crimes for years—the truth behind his success and downfall. With that storyline as the framework, we jump back to two other timelines: Roderick’s rise to power as a young man and the two-week period in which the Ushers start dropping like flies. The Ushers are a very messy bunch and they don’t react well to the dawning realization that they’re being picked off one by one. If you want to see a morally corrupt powerful family unravel at the seams in gory fashion, then you’ll find The Fall of the House of Usher to be a very satisfying watch. This list only gathers together a small selection of horror stories that focus on big families, so if I’ve missed any of your favorites—be they books, movies, or TV shows—please feel free to mention them in the comments below![end-mark] The post Five Horror Stories Featuring Big Families and Big Drama appeared first on Reactor.

The House Freedom Caucus—the conservative faction of the House which is always the loudest in demanding spending cuts and uncompromising Republican legislation—is set to lose almost half a dozen members seeking statewide office in their home states. Here’s how they’re adapting. So far, three Freedom Caucus members are running for governor back home in 2026: Reps. Andy Biggs in Arizona, Byron Donalds in Florida, and Ralph Norman in South Carolina. Also, Rep. Chip Roy of Texas is running for state attorney general, and Rep. Barry Moore, R-Ala., recently launched a run for elevation to the Senate. But multiple Freedom Caucus members argued to The Daily Signal that this changing of the guard will not slow down the caucus’ mission in Congress after ten years of policy fights in their push for more fiscally and socially conservative legislation. “Look, obviously, the faces will change, but I believe that we’re going to recruit even more members now that they see that—and I say it tongue-in-cheek—that obviously, to be the governor of Florida you have to have been in the House Freedom Caucus,” the caucus’ chairman Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., told The Daily Signal Thursday.  House Freedom Caucus Chairman Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) Donalds is running to succeed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a founding member of the caucus. Harris added that Freedom Caucus members leaving for their home states will “enhance recruitment into the caucus and it will show that if you stand up for principals here in Washington, you actually get rewarded with higher political office.” But caucus members also have acknowledged that the loss of a half dozen members will be felt and that others will have to step up to the plate. “You know the phrase, the next man up, the next woman up? We’re going to have to step up. I don’t know who that is,” said Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, Thursday. “We’ve got some freshmen, you heard it already, who are really great conservatives. They’re going to have to find their voice.” Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) Self brought up the example of Chip Roy, one of the caucus’ most prominent fighters, who has spent years the Texas political scene, and has brought a wealth of experience to the caucus as a former employee of Texas attorney general Ken Paxton, as well as Lonestar State Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz. Roy was among the most vocal members in demanding that the “big, beautiful” budget reconciliation bill include substantial spending cuts, Medicaid reform, and phase-outs of green energy subsidies. “How do you replace Chip Roy, his experience in the Senate as a chief of staff, now as a member of the House? How do you replace that? A lawyer, a constitutional lawyer. How do you replace that?” Self asked in a rhetorical tone. He added, “We’re going to have to find a way to replace the policy guy that also has the depth of knowledge of Chip Roy. You’re just going to have to do it. I don’t know the answer to it, but it’s the next man up, the next woman up.” Rep. Mark Harris, R-N.C., a freshman in the freedom caucus, acknowledging that “we’re going to miss those guys,” told The Daily Signal that new members will have to step up. “I am thankful that there are folks that have come in that have joined, new members,” said Mark Harris, adding: “Nick Begich is from Alaska, he is a solid individual. Sheri Biggs has come in from South Carolina and is part of the Freedom Caucus. Brandon Gill, from Texas, had a tough primary as well that he got through in ‘24 and got elected. He joined the Freedom Caucus along with myself and others.” In particular, the North Carolina representative mentioned his bittersweet feelings over the departure of Norman for the South Carolina governor race. He mentioned how “conservative leaders” in North Carolina had told him when he was elected that “when you get there [to Congress], you need to connect with Ralph Norman and that Ralph would probably make a great mentor for you.” “Ralph and his wife Elaine have become great friends as well, and we’re going to miss the leadership that they brought,” Mark Harris said. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) But Norman is not sweating his departure. “I will increase the number of Freedom Caucus members in South Carolina and around the country,” Norman said bluntly when asked if the departures of lawmakers would change the caucus’ work. “I’ll go anywhere to recruit people.” For Norman, running for governor is part of the same mission he’s been on for nearly a decade in Congress. “People will come [to South Carolina] because it’s a great state,” said Norman, adding: “We need to keep [South Carolina] great. And we’re at the pivotal point, and my services are needed in South Carolina more so than in Congress. I’ve served in Congress for eight years. We’ve done a great job with conservatism, with bending the curve toward less government, less taxes, less regulations. In South Carolina, if we don’t have that, we’ll become like California … which is just a cesspool of drugs, crimes, and you name it.” The post ‘NEXT MAN UP’: Freedom Caucus Adjusts to Members Leaving appeared first on The Daily Signal.

BREAKING: Israel Hits Hamas Meeting -- In Qatar; UPDATE: Trump Green-Lit Op?

According to the team, the signal seen around the world was "unlike any previously recorded".

Be thankful that they are – we may have them to thank for our very existence.

Was it a one-off? Or the start of something new?

The Daily Show returned to Comedy Central on Monday after over a month off, with Jon Stewart wasting no time getting back into old form by hysterically warning that the Supreme Court just green-lit President Trump and ICE to “nullify the Fourth Amendment” with their immigration raids. Earlier, Stewart mocked various administration officials for what he considered to be excessive praise of Trump, and now he accused the Court of doing the same, “But if you think there is some government institutions that are above this kind of insulting obsequiousness, you would be wrong. Today, the Supreme Court bent over backwards to grant Trump even his most unconstitutional wishes. Like, maybe you can arrest people for looking Mexican.” That led to a clip of Newsmax’s Bianca de la Garza reporting, “Breaking at this hour, the Supreme Court again has backed President Trump's approach towards immigration. It is now ruled that they are allowing federal agents to proceed with raids in Southern California if they target people for deportation based on their race or language.”     Stewart was greatly displeased, “Hey, the good news: The Supreme Court supports affirmative action based on race. The bad news is that action is ICE deporting you. What the [bleep]? What kind of a Make-a-Wish kid wants to nullify the Fourth Amendment?” There are a couple of things Stewart left out. First, because this was a procedural case, the Court simply removed a stay put in place by a lower judge while declining to rule on the specific question. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, however, wrote a concurring opinion where he criticized the idea that seems to suggest that deportation raids are now unconstitutional simply because Trump is doing them, “Immigration stops based on reasonable suspicion of illegal presence have been an important component of U. S. immigration enforcement for decades, across several presidential administrations.” Kavanaugh also listed two areas in addition to race or language that ICE can use including “presence at particular locations such as bus stops, car washes, day laborer pickup sites, agricultural sites” and “the type of work one does.” Finally, Kavanaugh addressed Stewart’s claim that the government can arrest anyone for “looking Mexican,” writing, “To be clear, apparent ethnicity alone cannot furnish reasonable suspicion; under this Court’s case law regarding immigration stops, however, it can be a ‘relevant factor’ when considered along with other salient factors.” Nevertheless, Stewart continued, “I'm beginning to think Trump isn't a benign suffering child at all. I'm beginning to think everybody treats Trump like this not because he's a Make-a-Wish kid, but because he's that Twilight Zone kid that anytime somebody made him mad, he sent them out to the cornfield.” Stewart was trying to suggest that anyone can be arrested simply if they look Mexican or Latino. That is not true, but the truth is harder to fearmonger about. Here is a transcript for the September 8 show: Comedy Central The Daily Show 9/8/2025 11:16 PM ET JON STEWART: But if you think there is some government institutions that are above this kind of insulting obsequiousness, you would be wrong. Today, the Supreme Court bent over backwards to grant Trump even his most unconstitutional wishes. Like, maybe you can arrest people for looking Mexican. BIANCA DE LA GARZA: Breaking at this hour, the Supreme Court again has backed President Trump's approach towards immigration. It is now ruled that they are allowing federal agents to proceed with raids in Southern California if they target people for deportation based on their race or language. STEWART: Hey, the good news: The Supreme Court supports affirmative action based on race. The bad news is that action is ICE deporting you. What the [bleep]? What kind of a Make-a-Wish kid wants to nullify the Fourth Amendment? I'm beginning to think Trump isn't a benign suffering child at all. I'm beginning to think everybody treats Trump like this not because he's a Make-a-Wish kid, but because he's that Twilight Zone kid that anytime somebody made him mad, he sent them out to the cornfield.

The long-awaited film from Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer and director Rob Reiner arrives Sept. 12, 2025. The post Countdown Resumes For Spinal Tap Sequel, ‘The End Continues’ appeared first on Best Classic Bands.