'Not down with that'

South Korean engineers have developed a soft, shirt-like exoskeleton to give individuals with degenerative muscle conditions more mobility and independence. Costing thousands less than hard, motor-driven exoskeletons, and weighing less than 2 pounds, it’s a game-changing innovation in the field of robotics. Built by the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, it consists of a […] The post Soft Exoskeleton Shirt Weighs Less Than 2 Pounds But Can Help the Wearer Lift 35 appeared first on Good News Network.

Books cover reveals Revealing Your Beloved Remains by Quinn Connor A creative collaboration spirals into a twisted obsession… By Reactor | Published on January 22, 2026 Photo credit: Frank William Walsh Comment 0 Share New Share Photo credit: Frank William Walsh As fascination turns to obsession, two women drag each other into an academic horror of forgery, murder, and rage… We’re thrilled to share the cover of Your Beloved Remains by Quinn Connor—available October 6, 2026 from Pine & Cedar Books. Archivist Celia Kiel has spent her life on the remote campus of Basin College in the Southern Ozarks. Once a jewel of women’s higher education in the South, the school now molders on its mountaintop, its endowment thinly supported by the bequeathed estate of 19th century writer, Beatrice Donahue. Celia guards the legacy of this venerated, yet scandalous author, who has been the object of her illicit desire since childhood.When the administration announces the college’s imminent closure, Celia discovers a manuscript pickled in formaldehyde, and with it, a chance to save the only home she’s ever known. She will forge Beatrice’s infamous lost work, a spellbinding horror written toward her life’s tumultuous end. To do it, she is forced to recruit her professional rival, literature postdoc Joan Harriot, who has both an astounding talent for mimicry and a dark secret of her own. As their world closes in and the ghosts of the Victorian past encroach, their creative collaboration spirals into an obsession more twisted than even their beloved Beatrice could have penned. Stock photos by Jessica Truscott from Trevillion Images stock agency; Cover design by Claire Sullivan Buy the Book Your Beloved Remains Quinn Connor Buy Book Your Beloved Remains Quinn Connor Buy this book from: AmazonBarnes and NobleiBooksIndieBoundTarget Quinn Connor is one pen in two hands: Robyn Barrow and Alex Cronin. Both writers from a young age, Robyn and Alex met at Rhodes College in Memphis and together developed their unique co-writing voice. They are also the authors of Cicadas Sing of Summer Graves and The Pecan Children. The post Revealing <i>Your Beloved Remains</i> by Quinn Connor appeared first on Reactor.

Books Horror Five Horror Books Set in Inescapable Towns Like it or not, you’re not going anywhere… By Lorna Wallace | Published on January 22, 2026 Kurouzucho village, depicted in Junji Ito’s Uzumaki Comment 0 Share New Share Kurouzucho village, depicted in Junji Ito’s Uzumaki Inescapable settings in horror books are often on the smaller scale. For instance, a family are trapped in their bathroom in We Need to Do Something (2020), four friends are trapped on a hilltop in The Ruins (2006), and a group of Boy Scouts are trapped on a small island in The Troop (2014). But some authors have chosen to widen the scope a bit, trapping their characters within the confines of a seemingly normal town. Here are five books that come up with creative ways to make whole towns eerily inescapable, running the gamut from a witch’s curse to the threat of toxic air. Uzumaki by Junji Ito (1998-1999) I don’t read all that much manga, but when I heard the premise of Uzumaki I knew I had to give it a go, and I’m so glad I did. Kurôzu-cho is a normal little town in Japan… that is, until an obsession with spirals slowly starts infecting the residents. Teenagers Kirie Goshima and Shuichi Saito are among the first to take note of the spiral plague, witnessing how plants, buildings, and even people are bending (literally!) to conform to the mesmerizing shape. When it becomes clear that the town is doomed, the few uninfected people remaining try to do what any sensible person would do: leave. But the supernatural spirals have ensured that that isn’t an option. I would have eaten up a story about malevolent spirals in any format, but Junji Ito’s art really brings the weirdness to life in a horrifying—yet captivating—way. It’s been a few years since I read Uzumaki, but some of the images are still burned into my brain. Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge (2006) Dark Harvest is set in 1963 in a small unnamed Midwestern town that is surrounded by miles of cornfields. For most of the year, this town seems just like any other. But each Halloween, instead of the streets being full of trick-or-treaters, all teenage boys between the ages of sixteen and nineteen are forced to participate in an odd ritual known as the Run. Their goal is to kill Sawtooth Jack—a pumpkin-headed scarecrow monster that comes to life every October 31st. The boy who manages to spill the creature’s candy innards is handsomely rewarded with cash and, best of all, a ticket out of town. That might not sound like much of a motivational prize, but for anyone with dreams of life beyond the cornfields, it’s the only way to leave. The reasons for this lockdown are a little hazy, but I won’t speculate here so as not to spoil anything. Although Dark Harvest left with me with a few questions regarding the lore of Sawtooth and the town’s rules, I enjoyed the ride nonetheless. If you can suspend your disbelief just a little more than usual, you’ll be treated to a chilling and fantastical Halloween tale. Wool by Hugh Howey (2012) Long before the plot of Wool kicks off, an unknown apocalyptic event occurred which resulted in the Earth’s atmosphere becoming toxic to humans. Before the planet’s surface became totally uninhabitable, a few thousand people managed to seek shelter in a vast purpose-built underground silo. Generations have passed since then, with the current residents of the unusual subterranean town having virtually no knowledge of life beyond the 144 levels of the silo. In the rare instance when someone expresses a desire to go outside, they aren’t actually forced to stay below. No, instead the door is opened for them and everyone watches—there are cameras to monitor conditions on the surface—as they succumb to the deadly air. Aside from being a fascinating setting, Wool is driven by a sense of mystery, with a few characters endeavoring to uncover the secrets of the silo. As a result, there are twists aplenty peppered throughout this gripping post-apocalyptic story. Pines by Blake Crouch (2012) Pines might seem like a regular mystery thriller for the bulk of the story, but there’s a sci-fi element lurking there, waiting to be revealed. Our main character is Secret Service agent Ethan Burke, but he doesn’t know that on page one when he wakes up in the small town of Wayward Pines, Idaho, with basically no memory of his life. Ethan soon recovers and remembers that he’s come to town in search of two missing colleagues, but he can’t shake the feeling that something is off with Wayward Pines, despite its seeming idyllic outward appearance. This feeling turns out to be justified when he tries to leave, only to find that the entire town is encircled by a tall electric fence. But Ethan isn’t easily daunted, and he quickly puts his detective skills to use. Pines isn’t the kind of book you savor; it’s the kind of book you devour. I found myself flipping the pages at lightning speed to uncover the secrets at the heart of Wayward Pines. HEX by Thomas Olde Heuvelt (2013) Back in 1664, the residents of Black Spring—a little town in the Hudson Valley—murdered Katherine van Wyler for being a witch. But their act of violence backfired. For more than 300 years, Katherine’s desiccated corpse has wandered the town silently and sightlessly (her mouth and eyes were sewn shut to stop her from casting further spells). Anyone who tries to leave is cursed with a brutal onslaught of suicidal feelings driving them to return, and as a result the residents are essentially chained to Black Spring. Modern technology has made dealing with the Black Rock Witch a lot easier. The townspeople can now track her movements on their phones, making it easier to not only avoid her, but also to hide her existence from visiting outsiders. But modern technology might also be the town’s downfall, thanks to a group of teens deciding to break the chains of their restricted lives by revealing the witch to the world over the internet. HEX is a book of contrasts, with old and new being blended to creepy effect. The idea of a seventeenth-century witch existing alongside phones and apps might not sound like it would work, but in Thomas Olde Heuvelt’s hands it absolutely does. There are, of course, other examples of inescapable towns in horror stories. Stephen King’s Under the Dome (2009) is surely a glaring absence on this list, but I’ve not gotten around to reading it yet. Please feel free to mention any other books I’ve missed in the comments below![end-mark] The post Five Horror Books Set in Inescapable Towns appeared first on Reactor.

Seventeen House Republicans gave California Democrats a late Christmas present this month when they crossed the aisle to vote for extending enhanced Obamacare premium subsidies for another three years. Not only did they move these massive handouts one step closer to permanent entitlement status, but they failed to advance reforms that would actually lower health care costs, like closing the Intergovernmental Transfer loophole that has cost taxpayers tens of billions over time. The Senate should stop this bill in its tracks and—in anticipation of pushback from those who have never seen a government expansion they didn’t like—prepare to argue to the public why propping up a broken system won’t reduce health insurance premiums. As I argued in The Hill, these subsidies just mask the true cost of government distortion. Since the Affordable Care Act passed, average family premiums have exploded to more than $25,000 per year. Government subsidies haven’t stopped that rise. They’ve enabled it—by insulating insurers from competitive pricing and reducing any pressure for meaningful reform. And while Washington debates whether to extend temporary tax credits, states like California are quietly siphoning off billions in federal Medicaid dollars through legalized budget fraud tied to the Intergovernmental Transfer loophole. It works like this: State-run hospitals or county agencies send funds to the state Medicaid program. The state counts those as its own Medicaid spending, uses them to trigger a higher Federal Medical Assistance Percentage match from the federal government, and then sends most of the money back to the local provider—often with a bonus. No new services are delivered. No patients are helped. But billions in federal money change hands—and California is the poster child for using this racket to cover its budget gaps it. The Paragon Institute calls this the “Local Loop.” I call it Medicaid fraud with federal approval. And it’s not new. The Government Accountability Office warned Congress about these tactics in 2004. Back then, Medicaid was a fraction of its current size. In March 2025, Paragon estimated that improper Medicaid payments totaled $1.1 trillion between 2015 and 2024—double what the federal government officially reports. California leads the pack. Gov. Gavin Newsom just introduced a $348 billion state budget, despite running a $3 billion deficit—again. His administration continues to lean on Medicaid Intergovernmental Transfer schemes to extract more money from Washington instead of enacting real fiscal discipline. This scam doesn’t just fleece taxpayers. It undermines care. In California, public ambulance providers that participate in funding transfer schemes are reimbursed more than $1,000 per Medicaid transport. Private ambulance services often receive a quarter of that. The result? Private providers leave the market, rural patients suffer, and public-sector monopolies get even stronger. The real path forward is not more subsidies, whether via the Affordable Care Act or Medicaid. It’s structural reform. We should start by shutting down Intergovernmental Transfer abuse—ending circular transfers, enforcing transparency in Medicaid financing, and tying federal dollars to real services delivered to real patients. Then we need to empower patients directly. In my Empower Patients Initiative with Dr. Deane Waldman, we propose giving Medicaid recipients no-limit Health Savings Accounts, funded through state block grants. These accounts allow individuals to pay providers directly, shop for care, and make health care decisions on their terms. Paired with time limits and work incentives for work-capable adults, this model would reduce dependency, lower costs, and improve outcomes. It would also inject long-overdue competition and price transparency into a system that’s been shielded from both. We shouldn’t spend another dollar on expanding a broken health care system where waste, fraud, and restricted access are the norm. The Senate has a chance to do something the House didn’t: say no to making pandemic subsidies permanent. Say no to another taxpayer-funded bailout for insurers. And say yes to fixing the corruption and distortion that actually drive- up health care costs. Let the subsidies expire. End the Medicaid shell games. And finally start empowering patients—not bureaucracies—to take charge of their care. We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal.    The post 17 House Republicans Cave on Subsidies While California Loots Medicaid appeared first on The Daily Signal.

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—President Donald Trump’s Small Business Administration is reviewing whether Planned Parenthood affiliates illegally received $88 million in loans during the COVID pandemic, The Daily Signal can first report. “At the height of the pandemic, affiliates of Planned Parenthood took $88 million in taxpayer dollars to fund their abortion-on-demand agenda – and the Biden Administration made sure they got nearly every cent forgiven, even after the first Trump Administration protested,” SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler said. “Six years later, the Trump SBA holds the same conviction: Planned Parenthood Federation of America was never eligible to receive a dime in pandemic-era relief from taxpayers.” The administration’s move to challenge millions in funding for America’s largest abortion provider comes the week of the March for Life, when thousands of pro-lifers flock to Washington, D.C. to advocate for the right to life for the unborn. SBA on Thursday sent letters to 38 Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. affiliates requiring them to prove they were eligible for the more $88 million in COVID-era relief through the administration’s former Paycheck Protection Program. In addition, the Biden administration forgave 34 loans to Planned Parenthood affiliates under the program. Now, SBA is reviewing if Planned Parenthood affiliates misrepresented the size of their organizations or the nature of their affiliation with the national organization to unlawfully qualify for the loans. “As part of the review underway, not only will we expose the Planned Parenthood affiliates who took advantage of the American people–we will take every necessary step to force every bad actor to pay them back,” Loeffler said. Planned Parenthood chapters which don’t provide the requested documentation may be determined to have been ineligible for the loan and the subsequent forgiveness. Additionally, affiliates which SBA finds to have provided incorrect or false eligibility certifications will face “severe penalties, including repayment of the loan, ineligibility for loan forgiveness, and possible referral for civil or criminal penalties.” The Paycheck Protection Program, which ran from April 3, 2020 to May 31, 2021, was formed to help small businesses keep employees on payroll amid disruptions caused by the pandemic. Applicants were required to self-certify their size and eligibility to the administration. Though each Planned Parenthood affiliate said they were an independent qualified entity with fewer than 500 employees, per the program’s requirements, the Trump administration found that none of them were eligible due to their affiliation with Planned Parenthood Federation of America, thus together exceeding the 500 employee limit. President Joe Biden’s administration then forgave many of the loans to Planned Parenthood affiliates without “engaging in a meaningful review of their respective applications.” The SBA is able to use its authority to open a review of loans despite prior loan forgiveness, according to a news release. Members of Congress had previously requested an investigation over the PPP funds given to Planned Parenthood affiliates. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, last March demanded “answers over how the funding was approved, and loans were forgiven despite PPFA being ineligible to receive PPP funds but were stonewalled at every turn by the Biden administration.” Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., sent a letter to the first Trump administration asking the Department of Justice to investigate if granting loans to Planned Parenthood violates SBA’s affiliation rules. “As you know, fraudulent loan applications can trigger both civil and criminal penalties,” the letter said. The post EXCLUSIVE: Trump Confronts $88 Million in COVID Funding for Planned Parenthood appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Donald Trump's Arctic Of A Deal

Zohran Mamdani's Friends at a Muslim Youth Center Selling Terrorist Trinkets and Propaganda

The performances were hammy, and the goblins incredibly irritating.

And yes, with the right conditions, your footprints could fossilize too.