Tropical Storm Imelda formed Tuesday into Hurricane Imelda

In mid-September, a boring machine defeated the last meter of rock 4,500 feet under the Brenner Pass in the Alps to connect the world’s longest tunnel dug for railroad track. Envisioned as an important connecting vein that will one day see trains running from Helsinki, Finland, to Palermo, Sicily, it will slash commuter times across […] The post Austria and Italy Finish Digging World’s Longest Rail Tunnel–Ready to Reshape Travel Maps appeared first on Good News Network.

Books Five Books About Five SFF Books About Searching for a Missing Sibling Yume Kitasei recommends five SFF books about sibling quests By Yume Kitasei | Published on September 30, 2025 Comment 0 Share New Share These days, romantic storylines dominate the market. While I enjoy them as much as the next person, as a writer I find myself more drawn to “friendmances” about the highs and lows of deep platonic friendships and, like in my most recent book, Saltcrop, stories about siblings. Siblings can offer an interesting foil for the main character or be a source of information about the main character’s past. These are people with similar origins who developed under similar environmental factors, yet may still have ended up with very different worldviews, allegiances, and ways of life. How does that happen? And what does that tell us about who the main character is? Siblings are often side characters, but my favorite kind of story is when the siblings are the one of the main characters, or even, sometimes, the whole point of the story. Take, for example, the classic quest for a missing sibling. Whether siblings love or hate each other, the familial bond can drive characters to do extraordinary things to rescue each other. And along the way, there’s ample room for discovery as a character is forced to confront how the person they love has changed in adulthood—and how they themselves have changed. Siblings who grow up together are like intertwined trees: remove one, and its absence is still clear in the shape of the remaining trunk, and that absence is a space rich with mystery and tension. In Saltcrop, two sisters set out across a climate-ravaged ocean to find their missing sister, and in the process realize there are many things they didn’t know about her—or each other. But the thing about siblings is, it doesn’t matter whether you know the details of their current life, you would still go to the ends of the Earth for them. Here are five science fiction and fantasy books that do the ‘sibling quest’ justice: The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World by J.R. Dawson This gorgeous Orpheus retelling by Dawson tells the story of a young woman, Charlie, grieving for her dead sister in modern-day Chicago when she accidentally follows a dog into the in-between place where souls wait to cross to the underworld. (Yes, a dog—the dogs in this book are as wonderful as the sister story.) There, in limbo, Charlie begins to hope that with the help of Nera, the daughter of the Charon-like ferryman, there might be a way to cross over to the land of the dead itself and rescue her sister. But at what cost? The story is gently devastating as it digs into both the little things that we remember about our loved ones and how losing a sibling can damage the structural integrity of a whole family. Girl in the Creek by Wendy Wagner Over on the horror side of the spectrum, another young woman, Erin, searches for her missing brother where he was last seen in the Clackamas National Forest. Before he went missing, they’d gone their separate paths in adulthood. Part of the mystery is not just finding out what happened to him, but also what he was doing out there in the first place. In the traces he left behind, she begins to get to know the person he’s become in adulthood. Oh, and the forest is inhabited by a sentient mycelial network both unnerving and enthralling, making the search urgent, dangerous, and all the more important. It’s also a great metaphor for the invisible strength of family relationships that drives the search in the first place. Splinter in the Sky by Kemi Ashing-Giwa In the Holy Vaalbaran Empire, Enitan is a scribe in an oppressed, colonized world managing to survive. When she returns home to find her sibling abducted, she’s forced to pack up her tea and travel to the capital itself to try to rescue them. The sibling quest is at the heart of this story, but along the way, Enitan gets drawn into a much larger conspiracy afoot in the rotten core of the empire. Ashing-Giwa masterfully depicts the broad and personal impact of subjugation and exploitation. This Great Hemisphere by Mateo Askaripour I love a dystopian novel, and this one is unlike anything I’ve read before: it depicts a future world where half the population is second class and literally invisible. This physical difference has sweeping social implications and makes the invisibles both the object of fear and disgust. Against this backdrop, Sweetmint, one of the invisible, learns that her missing and beloved older brother is both alive and the suspect of a major political assassination. Determined to find her brother before the state does, this novel is another great example of how you can love someone without really knowing them, and also how two similar people might end up different roads but still find themselves bending back toward each other in adulthood. The Ones We’re Meant to Find by Joan He Sibling quests have always been perfect for the Young Adult arena—they’re one of the most important relationships you have growing up. In this future world, the sisters are both searching for each other. The main character, Cee, is determined to find her sister Kasey—even when she has no memory of anything else—and sets out across the ocean to find her. Meanwhile, Kasey, a teen science prodigy living in a sealed city with a radical plan to save the Earth, is trying to piece together what might have happened to Cee. This novel is a journey through the complexities of family and in doing so explores the secrets we keep from each other and maybe ourselves. Buy the Book Saltcrop Yume Kitasei Buy Book Saltcrop Yume Kitasei Buy this book from: AmazonBarnes and NobleiBooksIndieBoundTarget The post Five SFF Books About Searching for a Missing Sibling appeared first on Reactor.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Governments around the world are increasingly turning to digital ID systems, and Russia is the latest example of how these tools can be tied directly to state control. The country has begun testing a digital identification feature inside Max, a messaging platform created by VKontakte and tightly aligned with the government. The app is being built as an all-in-one hub, offering communication, payments, government portals, and commercial services in a model echoing China’s WeChat. The Ministry of Digital Development, Communications, and Mass Media is overseeing the pilot, which started last week, according to Izvestia. Adults who want to activate the feature must link their Max account with Gosuslugi, Russia’s state services portal. Verification requires either biometric data stored in the Unified Biometric System or a passport upload, combined with a selfie. Once confirmed, the app generates a dynamic QR code stored on the user’s device, serving as their official digital ID. Initial tests are limited to proving age at Magnit supermarkets in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Krasnodar. Officials plan to extend the system far beyond supermarkets. State agencies will gain verified user profiles, while companies can provide access to mini-apps and chatbots for tasks ranging from paying fines to booking medical visits, similar to China’s WeChat. On top of that, content creators are being encouraged to use Max, and as of September 1, the app must be pre-installed on every smartphone sold in the country. The reach of this project raises sharp questions about privacy and surveillance. Max’s terms allow user data to be shared with government bodies, and VKontakte has a track record of close cooperation with authorities. With so many essential services tied into one state-controlled app, users risk handing over sensitive personal information without meaningful safeguards or alternatives. The timing also comes as Russia exerts tighter control over online communication. In August, Telegram and WhatsApp faced restrictions after officials accused them of enabling criminal activity and terrorism. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post Russia Pilots State-Linked Digital ID Through Max App appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

Don Lemon Tells White Men We Are Broken, Inviting Comment About Other Ethnic Groups...

Something to bear in mind if your partner's spending a little too much time online.

NASA's GRACE satellite detected a large gravity anomaly over the Atlantic Ocean. Meanwhile, Earth-based observatories saw a rapid shift in the planet's geomagnetic field.

President Donald Trump and his team deserve considerable credit for the skillful way they gained control of TikTok, the video-sharing app that has become one of America’s main sources of news.The deal could have gone down badly. Critics could have called it “proto-socialism,” especially after the government’s recent purchase of a 10% stake in Intel and its “golden share” of U.S. Steel. Moreover, the same bureaucrats who can’t run the IRS and the post office without getting egg on their faces probably aren’t equipped to run a $30 trillion annual economy either.Every embedded Chinese system carries a national security risk. Each piece of foreign tech installed in American supply chains is another listening device, another lever of control.However, most otherwise critical observers gave this deal a pass because the change in TikTok’s control wasn’t about market meddling; it was about national security. Digital espionageDespite the platform’s American majority of investors, TikTok still posed a significant national security threat. China’s tactic of using electronics for espionage purposes is well-documented. The targets of this espionage go beyond China’s enemies to friends, neighbors, and competitors alike — including the U.S. government. Technologists working on Beijing’s behalf have hacked their way through secure U.S. government systems for at least a decade, if not longer.In that vein, TikTok’s role in Beijing’s espionage apparatus is clear. Its nearly ubiquitous presence on smartphones presents Beijing with tantalizing opportunities: a nearly endless network through which viruses can spread, or a means of obtaining private data from a global consumer base. But turning TikTok over to American management doesn’t solve the problem — not by a long shot.The Chinese telecommunications industry is not like “Ma Bell.” It operates as an adjunct of state security forces, sometimes gathering and reporting requested data back to Beijing. The British press has reported extensively on how Huawei was doing just that: leaving secret back doors open in its equipment that the People’s Liberation Army could walk through anytime it wanted.Spying through shoppingHuawei isn’t the only offender. A lesser-known firm called Hanshow supplies “smart electronic shelf labels” to supermarkets, a price and inventory control tool that provides Beijing with data about what Americans are buying and in real time, wherever it’s installed.In the midst of a trade war — with America overly dependent on China for essential consumer goods and medical supplies — that information could be used against us. It’s not just marketplace ephemera; it’s a road map to identify choke points of a major competitor that could disrupt our daily patterns of life.RELATED: TikTok is finally coming home Photo by Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesThat’s only one of the products Hanshow sells. It also offers AI-powered cameras, inventory robots, and smart shopping carts, which are all tied to a proprietary IT platform called All-Star. These products together provide the company and its associates in the Chinese security services with an entry point into supermarket IT networks, from point-of-sale systems to vendor portals.Like Huawei, Hanshow is backed by investors tied to the regime and is legally bound to cooperate with the Chinese military. Its footprint is expanding, with its technology and systems used in some capacity by major customers in the American marketplace, including Instacart, Kroger, and Walmart. By some estimates, tens of millions of American shoppers have already transmitted critical financial and personal data through portals linked to Hanshow devices. By 2025, it could be more than 150 million.The Chinese digital CerberusEvery embedded Chinese system carries a national security risk. Each piece of foreign tech installed in American supply chains is another listening device, another lever of control. The Chinese Communist Party has a head start, and Washington cannot afford to keep looking the other way.Trump’s TikTok deal was the right move. But the broader fight isn’t about one app. It’s about defending American data and protecting national security. The United States needs a comprehensive response to China’s technological infiltration — starting yesterday.

Members of the church of Latter-day Saints faced a heavy weekend as the head of the church, Russel Nelson, passed away on the same morning that a man shot up an LDS church and set it on fire.At least four were killed.“Yesterday was a very tough day for anybody who is a member of my faith,” Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck says on “The Glenn Beck Program.”“I did get a lot of emails from friends who are part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and most of them were in tears because they were online, and they read the words of so-called Christians,” Glenn says.These “so-called Christians” were saying things like, “I’m glad they’re dead,” “I’m glad the leader died,” “I’m glad those people died because they’re going to hell anyway because they’re a dangerous cult.”“When I read that, I wept with the same kind of pain that I had on the death of Charlie Kirk when the non-Christians celebrated his death. ‘I’m glad he’s dead,’” Glenn recalls.“If your church wasn’t talking about these things yesterday, maybe you should find a new church. I don’t know. There’s been a lot of things going on, and we need pastors that are actually talking about things. They’re not talking about politics; they’re talking about, ‘How do I love my neighbor if my neighbor hates me?’” he continues.“We need people who are applying it to today, because I want you to understand, there is hatred on the rise. There is violence on the rise. There’s all of this stuff on the rise,” he says, asking, “But what is it really? What is really on the rise?”He then answers himself with one word, “evil.”“That’s what’s on the rise: evil, chaos, disorder. That all comes from one author, and it’s evil,” he says, before explaining another horrific murder that occurred in North Carolina over the weekend.A “madman” targeted a crowded dockside restaurant in North Carolina, firing his rifle into a crowd of diners. He killed three people and injured eight.“This is happening in small communities. And you’re like, what? What is happening to us?” Glenn says.“We are now living in Gotham. And you need to understand that the times and the seasons have changed. We’re now living in Gotham, and this is all part of the leftist plan. Destabilize, release people from prison, cause chaos in the streets,” he continues. “This is by design.”Want more from Glenn Beck?To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis, and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.