Fast Facts For Curious Minds

BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS

  • Spotify Stopped Running ICE Recruitment Ads in December 2025
    By Denver Lewis
    Spotify confirmed, via an interview with Rolling Stone, that it has officially stopped running recruitment advertisements for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This development follows months of intense public scrutiny and widespread boycotts from its users. End of Ad Campaign A ...
  • Wager Platform Polymarket Refuses to Pay Venezuela Invasion Bets
    By Denver Lewis
    The prediction platform Polymarket faces intense international scrutiny after refusing to settle millions in wagers following the recent U.S. military operation in Venezuela. This decision has triggered a massive wave of anger among global retail investors. U.S. special forces conducted a ...
  • Trump Moves to Ban Mega Investors from Buying Single-Family Homes
    By Claire Garcia
    U.S. President Donald Trump shocked the national real estate market by announcing a federal plan to ban large institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes. He claims that this move is designed to lower costs for many struggling U.S. families today. The announcement, delivered on 8 ...
  • Retail Apocalypse: These U.S. Retailers Closed Their Doors For Good in 2025
    By Claire Garcia
    2025 was a brutal year for brick-and-mortar retailers in the United States. A report from the retail industry analytics firm Coresight Research showed that more than 8100 stores closed across the country. This is a 12 percent increase from 2024. The shutdowns were driven by high operating costs, ...
  • EU Shifts Gears: 2035 Total Petrol Car Ban Scaled Back
    By Claire Garcia
    The European Commission has officially proposed a revision to its dramatic and controversial climate policy in December 2025. This signals a retreat from the total ban on new internal combustion engines previously slated for 2035. Note that the new “Automotive Omnibus” package replaces the original ...
  • Why Goldman Sachs Analysts Think Aging Population Is Not A Threat
    By Claire Garcia
    There are two long-term forces that are driving global population aging. The first is that people are living longer due to medical advancements. The second centers on the fact that birth rates around the world have fallen sharply. Developed economies have seen the working-age share shrink from 67 ...
  • Trump Media to Merge With Nuclear Fusion Company TAE Technologies
    By Denver Lewis
    Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, announced a definitive agreement to merge with TAE Technologies, a nuclear fusion energy firm, on 18 December 2025. The all-stock deal valued at more than USD 6 billion marks a massive strategic pivot for Trump Media as it ...
  • United States Paused Multi-Billion Tech Deal With The United Kingdom
    By Samuel Thomas
    The United States government has officially put on hold a landmark 42 U.S. dollar technology prosperity deal with the United Kingdom. The deal, which was intended to be a cornerstone of the special relationship under the second Trump administration and the Labour government of Keir Starmer, is now ...

HEALTH AND MEDICINE

  • Those Who Took Ozempic and Similar GLP-1 Jabs Gained Weight in Under 2 Years
    By Franz Williams
    A study published on 7 January 2026 in the British Medical Journal revealed that patients who stop using GLP-1 agonists for weight loss typically regain all lost weight within two years. Researchers found that progress disappears quickly without continued medication. Notable Monthly Weight Gain The ...
  • U.S. HHS and CDC Drastically Overhauled Childhood Vaccine Schedules
    By Franz Williams
    The Department of Health and Human Services announced on 5 January 2026 a major overhaul of the childhood immunization schedule. This policy shift drastically reduces the number of vaccines routinely recommended for all children in the United States today. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ...
  • A Quick Guide to the Common Causes of Hair Loss
    By Suzanne Garcia
    Alopecia or hair loss is a widespread disorder that affects millions of individuals across the world. The condition is often linked with aging although it may occur at any age and can have a substantial influence on the self-esteem and quality of life of an individual. There are different causes of ...
  • Difference Between COVID-19, Influenza, and Colds
    By Franz Williams
    The emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 in December 2019 in China and the subsequent global outbreak beginning in January 2020 have raised another concern: how is it different from influenza or flu and the common cold? Remember that COVID-19 is caused by a ...
  • Why Trump Signs EO to Fast-Track Marijuana Schedule III Reclassification
    By Franz Williams
    United States President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled “Increasing Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research” on 18 December 2025. This marks a historic shift in federal drug policy. The order directs the executive branch to fast-track the reclassification of marijuana and expands ...
  • Link Between Lucid Dreaming and Metacognition
    By Franz Williams
    Researchers from Berlin and Munich discovered that lucid dreamers tend to have a larger anterior prefrontal cortex—an area in the brain that enables self-reflection or metacognition. Hence, these individuals are more likely to self-reflect and have a considerable degree of personal awareness when ...
  • Study: Why Tanning Beds Are Deadlier Than Natural Sunlight
    By Franz Williams
    The World Health Organization has classified indoor tanning devices as Group 1 carcinogens since July 2009. This puts them in the same high-risk category as tobacco smoking, asbestos, and arsenic. However, despite this science-backed classification, tanning beds remain popular in North America and ...
  • mLumiOpto: Light-Induced Gene Therapy Disables Cancer Cell Mitochondria
    By Franz Williams
    Scientists at Ohio State University are working on an innovative approach to cancer treatment by targeting the mitochondria—the energy-producing organelles in cells—to induce cancer cell death using light-induced gene therapy. They call this innovation mitochondrial luminoptogenetics or mLumiOpto. ...