レアジョブ英会話 Daily News Article Podcast

A new observation theater at a zoo in northern New Jersey lets visitors see animals get live medical treatments. Veterinarians at the Turtle Back Zoo hope the new installation educates people on the care that animals receive at the zoo while inspiring kids to pursue medicine as a profession. One morning, visitors peered through a large glass window into a new, spacious treatment room, watching as a middle-aged female turkey vulture with arthritis underwent a 30-minute wellness check. During the exam, she was anesthetized, X-rayed, had her eyes and wings examined, had blood drawn, and was microchipped. The animal wound...

Americans will be allowed to contribute more of their money to 401(k) and similar retirement savings plans next year. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said the maximum contribution that an individual can make in 2026 to a 401(k), 403(b), and most 457 plans will be $24,500. That's up from $23,500 this year. People aged 50 and over, who have the option to make additional "catch-up" contributions to 401(k) and similar plans, will be able to contribute up to $8,000 next year, up from $7,500 this year. That means a 401(k) saver who is 50 or older will be able to contribute a maximum of $32,500 to their retirement plan...

Doritos and Cheetos are getting a makeover. PepsiCo said in November that it’s launching toned-down versions of its bright orange snacks that won't have any artificial colors or flavors. Doritos and Cheetos Simply NKD hit store shelves on Dec. 1. It’s part of a broader shift underway at PepsiCo, which announced in April that it would accelerate a planned transition to using natural colors in its foods and beverages. Around 40% of its U.S. products now contain synthetic dyes, according to the company. Dye-free doesn’t mean Doritos and Cheetos Simply NKD are colorless. Instead, they’re just a lighter...

Baumkuchen originated in Germany but has become a wildly popular sweet in Japan, where a prisoner of war (POW) on a small western island started making the treat that has thrived in its new homeland. Today, the confectionery known as “tree cake,” because of the resemblance to a trunk with rings, is considered a symbol of longevity and prosperity in Japan, where Baumkuchen festivals are regularly held. Japanese adaptations, including those using matcha and sweet potatoes, are popular gifts at weddings and birthdays. Baumkuchen is sold in gift boxes at luxury department stores, and individually wrapped, smaller versions can be foun...

Sales during China's largest online shopping festival, Singles' Day, jumped almost 18% from a year earlier, but the pace of growth slowed as bargain hunters opted for more affordable deals. Consumers have been tightening their belts, spending cautiously due to a prolonged slump in the property market, lagging wages, and high unemployment among the young Chinese who usually would be most likely to splurge on online purchases. Chinese retail data provider Syntun said that the estimated combined sales value for this year’s online retail bonanza, the country's equivalent to Black Friday and Cyber Monday when e-commerce giants offer deep discounts, re...

Outdoor Christmas decorations didn’t fly at U.S. Air Force base housing in the Florida Panhandle before Thanksgiving. The private company that operates a community of homes near Tyndall Air Force Base (AFB) instructed residents to remove their Yuletide decorations and refrain from putting them back up until after Turkey Day. “All holiday decorations should be reflective in their respective months and not any sooner than 30 days before the given holiday,” the landlord said in the message. Air Force Capt. Justin Davidson-Beebe, a Tyndall spokesman, said that the landlord, Balfour Beatty Communities, had set the policy. “They are enforcing the comm...

Producing and manufacturing electric vehicles (EVs) and their batteries uses a lot of energy, leading many to be skeptical about the environmental benefits of switching to electric. But a new study says that after two years of use, EVs emit fewer carbon dioxide emissions than vehicles fueled by petrol. The findings are key, as transportation accounts for a significant portion of U.S. emissions. While EVs run on electricity, which cuts out polluting exhaust emissions, traditional internal combustion engine vehicles run on petrol. Petrol is a fossil fuel that, when burned, drives climate change by emitting greenhouse gases that trap...

Jacaranda trees are a symbol of spring in Gauteng. These subtropical trees, with their lavender flowers, bloom yearly in Gauteng, especially Pretoria and Johannesburg, adding a touch of color and joy to the South African cities. Apart from their captivating color and shape, what makes these trees fascinating is that they are not indigenous to South Africa. Scientifically known as Jacaranda mimosifolia, the tree is originally from South America, specifically Brazil, and was introduced to South Africa in the 1800s. These resilient trees are considered an invasive species—they are not naturally part of the South African ecosystem but have ad...

Slime, that gooey, sticky, and often-homemade plaything, was enshrined in the National Toy Hall of Fame along with perennial bestselling games Battleship and Trivial Pursuit. Each year, the Hall of Fame recognizes toys that have inspired creative play across generations, culling its finalists from among thousands of nominees sent in online. Voting by the public and a panel of experts decides which playthings will be inducted. Milton Bradley's Battleship, a strategy game that challenges players to strike an opponent's warships, and Trivial Pursuit, which tests players' knowledge in categories like geography and sports, have each sold more than 100 million copies...

Children wearing helmets and backpacks gathered with their parents in Montclair, New Jersey, for a group bicycle ride to two local elementary schools. Volunteers in orange safety vests made sure everyone assembled in a neighborhood shopping area was ready before the riders set off on their 5-mile “bike bus” route. Every few blocks, more adults and kids on bikes joined in. Eventually, the group grew to over 350 people. Older students chatted with friends, while younger ones focused on pedaling. Cars along the way stopped to let the long line of cyclists pass. Pupils and parents peeled off toward the first scho...

Japanese video-game maker Nintendo’s net profit jumped 85% in April-September from the year before, as its sales more than doubled following the launch of its hit Switch 2 console in June, the company said. Nintendo, based in Japan’s ancient capital of Kyoto, said its profit for the half-year totaled 198.9 billion yen, or $1.3 billion, up from 108.6 billion yen the year before. Sales for the first half of this fiscal year rose to nearly 1.1 trillion yen ($7.1 billion) from 523 billion yen in the same period of 2024. Nintendo, which makes Super Mario and Pokémon games, did not provide a breakdown of quarterly data. Ninte...

Yodel-ay-hee ... what?! Those famed yodeling calls that for centuries have echoed through the Alps, and more recently have morphed into popular song and folk music, could soon reap a response—from faraway Paris. Switzerland's government is looking for a shout-out from the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO, based in the French capital, to include the tradition of yodeling on its list of intangible cultural heritage. A decision is expected by year-end. Modern-day promoters emphasize that the yodel is far more than the mountain cries of yesteryear by falsetto-bellowing male herders in suspenders who intone alongside giant alphorn instruments atop verdant hi...

U.S. airlines began canceling hundreds of flights on November 6 due to the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) order to reduce traffic at the country's busiest airports starting on November 7 because of the government shutdown. More than 790 planned November 7 flights were cut from airline schedules, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks flight disruptions. That number, already four times higher than November 6’s daily total, was likely to keep climbing. The 40 airports selected by the FAA spanned more than two dozen states and included hubs such as Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, and Charlotte, North Carolina, according to the agency's order. In...

A robotic food truck is cooking up fresh Korean stir-fries without the need for a human chef. At the crossroads of robotics and restaurants, one Silicon Valley startup says it’s serving up the future. It's a new kind of food truck hitting the road that might change the way we think about food delivery. In a world where delivery robots are dropping off food, Kish Shin is flipping the script. Kish Shin, CEO & co-founder of Shin Starr Presents, says, "We thought we wanted to disrupt and enhance the food delivery service market by a food truck that is able to...

Indian authorities carried out a cloud-seeding experiment over smog-choked New Delhi in an attempt to induce rainfall and clear the city’s toxic air, which has sparked anger among residents. A plane sprayed chemicals into clouds over some areas of the Indian capital to encourage rain and wash pollutants from the air, which remained in the “very poor” category, according to air quality monitors. Cloud seeding—a weather modification method that releases chemicals into clouds to trigger rain—has been used in drought-prone regions, such as the western United States and the United Arab Emirates, though experts say its effectiveness remains un...

The World Central Kitchen began distributing food to furloughed federal workers in Washington, D.C., during the government shutdown that started on October 1, 2025. Founded by Chef José Andrés in 2010 after Haiti was hit by a catastrophic earthquake, the World Central Kitchen adheres to its mission of feeding those in need. Their global reach has led them to Gaza and Ukraine, but they also swoop in to help domestically, most recently deploying their efforts to Texas following fatal flooding that devastated the region in July. Furloughed federal workers from across the nation's capital lined up to take food that the Wo...

Ever wondered what history smells like? Or ponder the odor of love, or the stench of medieval Paris, or the sacred fragrance of religion? A new exhibition in Germany allows visitors to discover unknown worlds of smells by sniffing their way through 81 different fragrances across 37 different galleries. The show "The Secret Power of Scents," which opened to the public in October at the Kunstpalast museum in the western city of Düsseldorf, combines fragrances with art, taking visitors on a journey of more than 1,000 years of cultural history. "This exhibition is an experiment—and an invitation for our audience to dis...

Citing a chronic shortage of financial backing for independent publishers and nonprofits dedicated to writing and reading, a coalition of seven charitable foundations has established a Literary Arts Fund that will distribute a minimum of $50 million over the next five years. The idea for the fund was initiated by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the country's largest philanthropic supporter of the arts. Mellon President Elizabeth Alexander cited literature as a vital source of expression. “Novelists, poets, and all manner of creative writers have shaped and driven our collective discourse and capacity for invention since the nation’s founding,” Alexander, an acclai...

Character.AI is banning minors from using its chatbots amid growing concerns about the effects of artificial intelligence conversations on children. The company is facing several lawsuits over child safety. Character Technologies, the Menlo Park, California-based company behind Character.AI, said it will be removing the ability of users under 18 to participate in open-ended chats with AI characters. The changes will go into effect by November 25, and a two-hour daily limit will start immediately. Character.AI added that it is working on new features for kids, such as the ability to create videos, stories, and streams with AI characters. The...

One viral video shows what appears to be four sharks swimming in a Jamaican hotel's pool as floodwaters allegedly brought on by Hurricane Melissa swamp the area. Another purportedly depicts Jamaica's Kingston airport completely ravaged by the storm. But neither of these events happened; they’re just AI-generated misinformation circulating on social media as the storm churned across the Caribbean several weeks ago. These videos and others have racked up millions of views on social media platforms, including X, TikTok, and Instagram. Some of the clips appear to be spliced together or based on footage of old disasters. Others appear to...

The most widely used COVID-19 vaccines may offer a surprise benefit for some cancer patients—revving up their immune systems to help fight tumors. People with advanced lung or skin cancer who were taking certain immunotherapy drugs lived substantially longer if they also got a Pfizer or Moderna shot within 100 days of starting treatment, according to preliminary research reported in the journal Nature. And it had nothing to do with virus infections. Instead, the molecule that powers those specific vaccines, mRNA, appears to help the immune system respond better to the cutting-edge cancer treatment, concluded researchers from MD Anderson Cancer Ce...

A decade after a landmark study proved that feeding peanut products to young babies could prevent the development of life-threatening allergies, new research finds the change has made a big difference in the real world. About 60,000 children have avoided developing peanut allergies after guidance first issued in 2015 upended medical practice by recommending introducing the allergen to infants starting as early as 4 months. “That’s a remarkable thing, right?” said Dr. David Hill, an allergist and researcher at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and author of a study published in the medical journal Pediatrics. Hill and colleagues analyzed electronic health records from doz...

The Trump administration has agreed to resume student loan forgiveness for an estimated 2.5 million borrowers who are enrolled in certain federal repayment plans following a lawsuit from the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). Under the agreement reached on October 17 between the teachers' union and the administration, the Education Department will process loan forgiveness for those eligible in certain repayment plans that offer lower monthly payments based on a borrower's earnings. The government had stopped providing forgiveness under those plans based on its interpretation of a different court decision. The agreement will also protect borrowers from being hit with high tax...

Millions of Indians celebrated Diwali in October as lamps illuminated homes and streets across the country to mark the Hindu festival symbolizing the victory of light over darkness. Diwali, derived from the word “Deepavali,” meaning “a row of lights,” is typically celebrated by socializing and exchanging gifts. The dates of the festival are based on the Hindu lunar calendar, typically falling in late October or early November. Shoppers crowded markets to buy flowers, lanterns, and candles. The celebrations were most visible in Ayodhya city in Uttar Pradesh state. Hindus believe the deity Lord Rama was born there and returned after 14 years in...

A large mushroom farm near the Kenyan capital of Nairobi is one of a kind. It grows fungi on an industrial scale—not as food for restaurants but as a building material that some Kenyans say could make more people homeowners. The farm produces mycelium, the root structure of mushrooms that a local company then uses to make building materials, which it says are more sustainable than regular brick and mortar. The company, MycoTile, combines the roots with natural fibers and agents to make panels that can be used for everything from roof and wall insulation to interior decor, at a...

Robotaxi pioneer Waymo plans to expand to London next year, marking the company’s latest step in rolling out its driverless ride service internationally. Waymo said that it will start testing its self-driving cars on London streets—with a human “safety driver” behind the wheel—as it seeks to win government approval for its services. In a blog post, Waymo said it will lay the groundwork for its London service in the coming months. The company said it will “continue to engage with local and national leaders to secure the necessary permissions for our commercial ride-hailing service.” Waymo’s self-driving taxis have been...

OpenAI introduced its own web browser, Atlas, on October 21, putting the ChatGPT maker in direct competition with Google as more internet users rely on artificial intelligence to answer their questions. Making its popular AI chatbot a gateway to online searches could allow OpenAI, the world's most valuable startup, to pull in more internet traffic and the revenue made from digital advertising. It could also further cut off the lifeblood of online publishers if ChatGPT so effectively feeds people summarized information that they stop exploring the internet and clicking on traditional web links. OpenAI has said ChatGPT already has more than 800...

Hospitals and doctors' offices in the U.S. are inviting singers and musicians to help patients manage their pain. No one is suggesting that a catchy song can completely eliminate serious pain. But several recent studies, including those in the journals PAIN and Scientific Reports, have suggested that listening to music can either reduce the perception of pain or enhance a person’s ability to tolerate it. Nurse Rod Salaysay works with all kinds of instruments in the hospital: a thermometer, a stethoscope, and sometimes his guitar and ukulele. In the recovery unit of UC San Diego Health, Salaysay helps pa...

The Australian government has begun a public education campaign with tips on how to wean children off social media ahead of a world-first national 16-year age limit taking effect in December. Australian eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said that information on her agency's website, esafety.gov.au, explained the new laws and how to navigate them. Starting December 10, platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X, and YouTube could be fined up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) if they don’t take reasonable steps to prevent Australians younger than 16 from holding accounts. Messages raising awareness will also be shared across digital ch...

The J.M. Smucker Co. is suing Trader Joe's, alleging the grocery chain's new frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are too similar to Smucker's Uncrustables in their design and packaging. In the lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in Ohio, Smucker’s said the round, crustless sandwiches Trader Joe's sells have the same pie-like crimp markings on their edges that Uncrustables do. Smucker’s said the design violates its trademarks. Smucker’s also asserted that the boxes Trader Joe's PB&J sandwiches come in violate the Orrville, Ohio-based company's trademarks because they are the same blue color it uses f...

Conditions aren’t friendly in the Faroe Islands for growing food. Raked by North Atlantic winds and nibbled by thousands of sheep, the nearly treeless islands have poor soil and little room for planting. Potatoes and rhubarb are local staples. But some residents have had enough of importing almost all their food from the rest of Europe and beyond. Many products are stamped with the flag of Denmark, under which the islands are self-governing. There are efforts to grow more adventurous crops like kale, seen as hardy elsewhere in the world, and to promote local products—from seaweed to meat and...

Injuries are an inevitable part of the NFL with all the high-speed collisions, crushing hits, and high exertion necessary on every play. Success each season often comes down to which teams can be the healthiest at the end, and a string of injuries has already hampered preseason contenders like Baltimore, San Francisco, and Cincinnati. With teams investing hundreds of millions of dollars every season into their rosters, keeping those players available to play is crucial, and any small edge has the potential to lead to better results on the field. To help achieve that, the NFL has turned to technology...

Nestlé is cutting 16,000 jobs globally as the Swiss food giant cuts costs as part of its efforts to revive its financial performance. Nestlé, which makes Nescafé, KitKats, pet foods, and many other well-known consumer brands, said that the job cuts will take place over the next two years. The Swiss company also said that it is raising targeted cost cuts to 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.76 billion) by the end of next year, up from a planned 2.5 billion Swiss francs ($3.13 billion). It has been a turbulent year for the company based in Vevey, Switzerland. In September, Nestlé dismissed CEO Laurent Freixe after an i...

Dozens of reporters turned in access badges and exited the Pentagon rather than agree to government-imposed restrictions on their work, pushing journalists who cover the American military further from the seat of its power. The nation's leadership called the new rules “common sense” to help regulate a “very disruptive” press. News outlets were nearly unanimous in rejecting new rules imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that would leave journalists vulnerable to expulsion if they sought to report on information—classified or otherwise—that had not been approved by Hegseth for release. Many of the reporters waited to leave together at a 4 p.m. dea...

Restoring France's priceless artifacts is delicate and painstaking work, but now experts at the Louvre in Paris are using the same lasers used by top dermatologists to rejuvenate skin. Conservators at the world-famous museum say the lasers are now an essential tool, and they're giving us a rare look inside their laboratories. The restoration is carried out by experts at the Centre for Research and Restoration of the Museums of France (C2RMF). Cleaning sculptures takes months, but it would have taken much longer if the technicians did not have access to the latest laser technology. They are the same...

California will phase out certain ultraprocessed foods from school meals over the next decade under a first-in-the-nation law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The law seeks to define ultraprocessed foods, the often super-tasty products typically full of sugar, salt and unhealthy fats. The legislation requires the state’s Department of Public Health to adopt rules by mid-2028 defining “ultraprocessed foods of concern” and “restricted school foods.” Schools have to start phasing out those foods by July 2029, and districts will be barred from selling them for breakfast or lunch by July 2035. Vendors will be banned from providing the “foods of concern” to schools by...

North America’s last wooden hockey stick factory is facing uncertainty as shifting US tariffs and global competition squeeze production. The operation has roots going back more than a century and continues to make traditional sticks, even as the industry has largely moved overseas and embraced new composite materials. The factory in Ontario is the only remaining large-scale producer of these sticks in North America, an industry that once thrived in Canada and the United States. Today, it turns out about 400,000 sticks a year, but rising costs, shrinking demand, and trade disputes are putting pressure on production. US tariffs on Ca...

Britain’s antitrust watchdog labeled Google a “strategic” player in the online search advertising market, paving the way for regulators to force the company to change its business practices to ensure more competition in that market. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said its investigation found that the U.S. tech giant has “strategic market status” because it has “substantial and entrenched market power” in general search and search advertising. It marks the first time the watchdog has issued the designation since the new U.K. digital rules took effect at the start of the year. The label doesn't imply any wrongdoing...

Federal regulators have opened yet another investigation into Tesla's self-driving feature after dozens of incidents in which the cars ran red lights or drove on the wrong side of the road, sometimes crashing into other vehicles and causing injuries. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a filing that it is looking into 58 incidents in which Teslas reportedly violated traffic safety laws while using the company's so-called Full Self-Driving (FSD) mode, leading to more than a dozen crashes and fires and nearly two dozen injuries. The new probe adds to several other open investigations into Tesla technology that could...

Among the whimpering of rescued dogs, a soft whistle cuts through. It’s Feven Melese, a young woman hoping to support thousands of abandoned dogs on the streets of the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. The 29-year-old music degree graduate has put up a rare shelter on the outskirts of the city, where she provides food and a place to stay for 40 dogs, while feeding about 700 others every week on the streets. Melese said she has found new homes for more than 300 dogs in the past two years. Together with fellow young animal rights activists, they are on a mission to ch...

Thirty paintings created by the bushy-haired, soft-spoken Bob Ross will soon be up for auction to defray the costs of programming for public television stations suffering from cuts in federal funding. Ross, a public television stalwart in the 1980s and '90s, “dedicated his life to making art accessible to everyone,” said Joan Kowalski, president of Bob Ross Inc. “This auction ensures his legacy continues to support the very medium that brought his joy and creativity into American homes for decades.” Bonhams in Los Angeles will auction three of Ross's paintings on November 11. Other auctions will follow in London, New York, Bo...

At several laboratories at a PepsiCo campus in Valhalla, New York, 30 miles north of New York City, scientists are busy figuring out how to replace the company’s artificial food dyes with natural food colorings in its beverages, especially Gatorade, one of its core products. The company’s challenge: keeping Gatorade and other beverages vivid and colorful without the artificial dyes that U.S. consumers are increasingly rejecting. PepsiCo announced in April that it would accelerate a planned shift to natural colors in its foods and beverages. Right now, around 40% of the company’s products contain synthetic dyes. But just as it...

Every Saturday morning, the Miami Street Medicine team heads out from Jackson Memorial Hospital for their street run, providing free mobile healthcare services to homeless people. It’s part of a larger group, Dade County Street Response, which also includes a free clinic called Doctors Within Borders, a disaster relief team and a mental health crisis line. Miami Street Medicine teams of paid staff and medical school student volunteers aren’t just bandaging cuts and handing out aspirin. They’re performing intake on patients with tablet computers and offer follow-up visits for chronic conditions. They're working with specialists like dermatologists, neurol...

OpenAI could now be the world's most valuable startup, ahead of Elon Musk's SpaceX and TikTok's parent company ByteDance, after a secondary stock sale designed to retain employees at the ChatGPT maker. Current and former OpenAI employees sold $6.6 billion in shares to a group of investors, pushing the privately held artificial intelligence company's valuation to $500 billion, according to a source with knowledge of the deal who was not authorized to discuss it publicly. The investors buying the shares included Thrive Capital, Dragoneer Investment Group and T. Rowe Price, along with Japanese tech giant SoftBank and the United Arab Emirates's MGX...

U.S. technology company Nvidia and Fujitsu, a Japanese telecommunications and computer maker, agreed to work together on artificial intelligence to deliver smart robots and a variety of other innovations using Nvidia's computer chips. “The AI industrial revolution has already begun. Building the infrastructure to power it is essential in Japan and around the world,” Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang said, hugging his Fujitsu counterpart Takahito Tokita on stage. “Japan can lead the world in AI and robotics,” Huang told reporters at a Tokyo hotel. The companies will work together on building what they call “an AI infrastructure,” or the system on wh...

The owners of a giant Northern California corn maze once crowned the world's largest want visitors to remember that there is fun in getting lost. "It is confusing. It's exciting, and in a world of GPS and constant signage, you always know where you are, where you're going," said Tayler Cooley, whose family owns Cool Patch Pumpkins. "When you're in the corn, everything looks the same until you pop up on a bridge and you're like, 'Oh wait, I'm all the way over here. I thought I was over there.'" The pumpkin patch and corn maze along Interstate 80 between...

DoorDash has finalized its acquisition of the U.K. food delivery company Deliveroo, saying that the boards of both companies approved the nearly $4 billion deal announced earlier this year. Word of DoorDash's interest in Deliveroo began to circulate in April, and the San Francisco company quickly confirmed that it had agreed to buy Deliveroo for $3.9 billion in cash. The deal, which was approved by a British court, will help DoorDash to expand its business in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. It's the second major international acquisition by DoorDash’s in three years as the company expands from its traditional ba...

Brazil's lower house has approved exempting up to 5,000 reais ($940) a month from income taxes, which would more than double the current exemption and meet a key priority of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's 2022 election campaign. The bill passed the House unanimously on October 1 and will now head to the Senate, where Lula said he expects final approval for the measure, which has drawn broad public support. Lula described the vote on X as "A victory in favor of tax justice and the fight against inequality in Brazil, benefiting 15 million Brazilian workers." In the bill sent to Congress in M...

As Vilnius basks in its Green Capital 2025 accolade, the newest initiative, a small fleet of fully electric boats, has been launched on the Neris River. The Lithuanian capital has become the first European city to integrate fully electric boats into its scheduled public river transport system. The boats that ferry people up and down the Neris River operate by displacing water. This is considered more economical than other electric vessels because it cuts through or displaces water rather than other boats that plane on the water's surface. The broad, rounded hulls of displacement boats make them steady, and because they...

The Uganda Wildlife Authority is celebrating success in rhino conservation with the first-ever naming ceremony in the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. Once extinct in Uganda, southern white rhinos have thrived in the reserve, which is now home to a population of almost fifty. 17 southern white rhino calves, born between 2021 and 2024, were 'adopted' and named by various corporations and individuals. The event aimed to raise over 11 million U.S. dollars for rhino conservation. Rhinos were hunted to extinction in Uganda, but the species was reintroduced in 1996 and the country is now home to almost 50, says James Musinguzi, executive director of the Uganda...

Standing barefoot in a grassy patch of dandelions, Iris Phoebe Weaver excitedly begins listing the many ways the modest plant can be used medicinally and in cooking. "I just picked a bunch of dandelion flowers yesterday and threw them in vodka with some orange peel and some sugar, and that's my dandelion aperitif," Weaver said. "That will make a lovely mixed drink at some point." A longtime herbalist and foraging instructor in Massachusetts, Weaver takes people on nature walks that transform their relationships with their surroundings. Lately, she's been encouraged by the uptick in interest in foraging, a trend she...

Tariffs and years of teetering mall traffic have roiled much of the toy industry. But Build-A-Bear investors are continuing to reap sizeable gains. Shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop are up more than 60% since the start of 2025, trading at just under $72 apiece as of September 23. That compares to just 13% for the S&P 500 since the start of the year and marks dramatic growth from five years ago, when the St. Louis-based retailer's stock sat under $3. The toy industry overall has been “reasonably soft” in recent years, notes Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData—but certain categories, including craft-oriented products, have done very well f...

The skateboard that Tony Hawk used to make history in 1999 has sold for a record-breaking $1.15 million, according to a statement from Julien's Auctions. The deck, called the Birdhouse "Falcon 2," was used by Hawk to land the first-ever 900 trick—a two-and-a-half-turn trick few skateboarders dare to try—at the 1999 San Francisco X Games. After numerous failed attempts, Hawk successfully flipped twice through the air and landed the move. The packed crowd roared, and announcers screamed on the live broadcast. By then, Hawk was 31 years old and already a decorated skateboarder. He had won 73 championships by age 25 and was world champion of vert...

YouTube will offer creators a way to rejoin the streaming platform if they were banned for violating COVID-19 and election misinformation policies that are no longer in effect, its parent company Alphabet said September 23. In a letter submitted in response to subpoenas from the House Judiciary Committee, attorneys for Alphabet said the decision to bring back banned accounts reflected the company's commitment to free speech. It said the company values conservative voices on its platform and recognizes their reach and important role in civic discourse. “No matter the political atmosphere, YouTube will continue to enable free expression on its platform, pa...

Thomasina Clarke has watched school after school close in her once-thriving St. Louis neighborhood, which was hit by a tornado this spring and whose population has plummeted in recent decades. "It's like a hole in the community," Clarke said. St. Louis Public Schools is among the districts nationwide weighing how many urban schools to keep open due to shrinking budgets, the falling birthrate and a growing school choice movement. A district-commissioned report released this year found that the school system has more than twice the schools it needs. Such decisions are gut-wrenching. It's a financial strain to operate half-empty schools...

Agriculture is among the largest sources of climate-warming emissions in the U.S. Though tractors are a small culprit, experts believe an environmentally friendly machine would still attract buyers interested in sustainability. At an August event, researchers at Michigan State University asked farmers what they thought of a new electric tractor. The market is so new they’re still trying to figure out if they’ve designed it well enough to excite growers of specialty crops like carrots, asparagus and blueberries. The small, battery-powered machine isn’t meant to replace the giant diesel tractors used on big commercial soy or corn o...

Meta has unveiled its latest AI-powered smart glasses at its annual developers’ conference in California. The device, created in partnership with Ray-Ban, is pitched as the next step in wearable technology, combining a high-resolution display with voice, camera and gesture controls. The launch is part of a trend that has seen major tech firms racing to position glasses as a platform for artificial intelligence, combining fashion and computing. On stage at Meta’s Connect conference in Menlo Park, CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled the device as part of a wider pitch about how artificial intelligence could become seamlessly integrated into everyday task...

Plans to build the Big Apple's first full-service casino in the heart of the city have run out of luck. A local panel on September 22 rejected the last of three Manhattan proposals that had been among those vying for a new state license to operate a Las Vegas-style casino in the lucrative New York City market. The proposal—a six-acre project near the United Nations headquarters dubbed "Freedom Plaza" and operated by Mohegan, the gaming company run by Connecticut's Mohegan Tribe—was denied by a state-commissioned community advisory committee on a 4-2 vote. A Jay-Z-backed plan to build a Caesars Pala...

Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Jerry Greenfield is leaving the ice cream brand after 47 years, saying that the independence it once had to speak up on social issues has been stifled by parent company Unilever. In a letter that co-founder Ben Cohen posted on social media platform X on Greenfield’s behalf, Greenfield said that he felt the independence the brand had to speak on social issues and events was lost to Unilever. “For more than 20 years under their ownership, Ben & Jerry’s stood up and spoke out in support of peace, justice and human rights, not as abstract concepts, but in relat...

School is back in session, bringing new routines—and new milestones for students. For some, this is the year they are allowed to go home to an empty house instead of an after-school program or day care. It's a decision faced by many parents whose work or other obligations keep them from coming home until long past school release time. With after-school care often expensive and hard to find, parents have reason to encourage independence. But how can they be sure their child is ready to navigate home on their own, even if only for an hour or two? A ha...

Robin is an artificial intelligence-powered therapeutic robot programmed to act like a little girl as it provides emotional support at nursing homes and hospital pediatric units while helping combat staffing shortages. “Nurses and medical staff are really overworked, under a lot of pressure, and unfortunately, a lot of times they don’t have capacity to provide engagement and connection to patients,” said Karen Khachikyan, CEO of Expper Technologies, which developed the robot. “Robin helps to alleviate that part from them.” As AI increasingly becomes a part of daily life, it's found a foothold in medical care—providing everything from note-taking during exams...

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and a bipartisan group of state attorneys general sued Ticketmaster and its parent company, saying they are forcing consumers to pay more to see live events through a variety of illegal tactics. The FTC said Live Nation and its subsidiary, Ticketmaster, have deceived artists and consumers by advertising lower ticket prices than what consumers must pay and falsely claiming to impose strict limits on the number of tickets consumers can buy for an event. In reality, the FTC said, Ticketmaster coordinates with ticket brokers who bypass those ticket limits. The FTC said brokers use fake...

Ford is moving its headquarters (HQ) for the first time in seven decades. The company's current headquarters, colloquially called “The Glass House,” opened in 1956. The carmaker is relocating to a newly constructed building 3 miles away in its longtime home of 1 American Road in Dearborn, Michigan, in November. The new 2.1-million-square-foot structure will formally be called “Ford World Headquarters” when it opens in November. It is part of a larger campus that will take the name of the current HQ: Henry Ford II World Center. Henry Ford II was the grandson of company founder Henry Ford and the uncle of Bill Ford, th...

From surfing the waves to paddling along the powerful Fitzroy River, people in Queensland, Australia are discovering creative ways to keep active as they grow older. While physical activity is key to maintaining good health, experts highlight that the social connections formed by exercising with friends are equally vital for overall well-being. Every week, the “Gold Coast Granny Grommets” meet to surf waves and age gracefully. “We've got a group of about five of us that come every week without fail and get in the cold water regardless of the temperature,” says surfer Caroline Holliday. Surfing in their sixties, they understa...

A top Google scientist and 2024 Nobel laureate said that the most important skill for the next generation will be "learning how to learn" to keep pace with change as artificial intelligence transforms education and the workplace. Speaking at an ancient Roman theater at the foot of the Acropolis in Athens, Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google's DeepMind, said rapid technological change demands a new approach to learning and skill development. "It's very hard to predict the future, like 10 years from now, in normal cases. It's even harder today, given how fast AI is changing, even week by week," Hassabis told the...

Stephen Curry is going down memory lane, though he still has eyes on what’s next. Curry's book Shot Ready was released in September, and the immediate reviews are overwhelmingly positive. Amazon quickly had it ranked among its top 10 current best-sellers and atop its sports book charts. Over more than 400 pages and with more than 100 photographs, many of them of the behind-the-scenes variety, the Golden State Warriors star guard—a four-time NBA champion, an Olympic gold medalist and the league's career 3-point leader—said he's simply trying to give fans a new look inside his mind and at his process. “We wante...

Albania's prime minister tapped an artificial intelligence-generated "minister" to tackle corruption and promote transparency and innovation in his new Cabinet. Officially named Diella—the female form of the word for sun in the Albanian language—the new AI minister is a virtual entity. Diella will be a "member of the Cabinet who is not present physically but has been created virtually," Prime Minister Edi Rama said in a post on Facebook. Rama said the AI-generated bot would help ensure that "public tenders will be 100% free of corruption" and would help the government work faster and with full transparency. Diella uses AI's...

Volleyball, basketball, ping pong, dancing rehearsals or simple chats. Dozens of teens are rediscovering how to reconnect to the real world after a school in Santiago, Chile, implemented a pioneering program in the country that blocks cell phone signals. Now, instead of compulsively scrolling through their Instagram feeds or sharing choreographed TikTok dances, students spend time at the library, the café or along the several courts of Lo Barnechea Bicentenario school. “Breaks are very lively now,” the school’s principal, Humberto Garrido, told The Associated Press. In order to stimulate bonding among youngsters, the school also put in place a “comprehen...

Used condominium prices in the Tokyo metropolitan area have hit an all-time high, a trend driven by a combination of factors, including a shortage of new properties and ongoing low interest rates. In this environment, real estate investment is gaining attention as a stable way to build wealth. Real estate investment is attractive because it could provide stable returns and capital gains with less volatility than the stock market. However, it also comes with its own unique risks. Potential owners face challenges such as vacancy risk, unexpected repair costs, and low liquidity, which means it can be difficult to sell...

Braxton Kimura dreads eating at restaurants. The California teenager is severely allergic to peanuts, shellfish and most tree nuts. Consuming even a tiny amount could send him to the emergency room. “Eating out is definitely really dangerous. It’s something that I try to avoid,” Kimura, 17, said at his home in San Jose. “When dining out, obviously, I always bring my EpiPens, and I’m really nervous all the time.” Restaurant dining in California could soon become less stressful for Braxton and the growing number of Americans with severe food allergies. State lawmakers are set to vote on legislation that would make C...

As an ominous storm approached Buddy Anthony’s one-story brick home, he took shelter in his new Ford F-250 pickup truck parked underneath a nearby carport. Seconds later, a tornado tore apart Anthony's home and damaged the truck while lifting it partly in the air. Anthony emerged unhurt. But he had to replace his vehicle with a used truck that became his home—the spot where he slept for weeks while waiting for President Donald Trump to issue a major disaster declaration so that federal money would be freed for individuals reeling from loss. Disaster survivors such as Anthony are havi...

Nothing makes Brad Lancaster happier than a monsoon downpour. The tall 58-year-old jumped like a kid in the puddles on the sidewalk one August afternoon after a half-inch (1.3 centimeters) of rain suddenly fell in Tucson, Arizona, during an especially dry summer. "Sweet!" Lancaster exclaimed, beaming when he saw how the water pooled in a basin he had dug earlier in dirt planted with native vegetation along the public walkway. "It's really important that you are ready to plant the rain when it comes, even if it is a small amount," he said, referring to a simple type of rainwater harvesting...

Cindy Eggleton has always believed in the power of a story. But the CEO and co-founder of Brilliant Cities, a Detroit-based early childhood development nonprofit that supports learning in underserved communities, never expected someone to tell hers. “It’s never been about me,” said Eggleton, adding that participating in the Nevertheless: The Women Changing the World documentary series on YouTube was her way of honoring her late mother, Geraldine, who inspired her to speak out and help others in their community. However, as they face an increasingly uncertain funding landscape, nonprofits are focusing more on storytelling in outreach to donors—both big...

Global warming in the United States is amping up the country's sweet tooth, a new study found. When the temperature rises, Americans—especially those who are poor or have less education—drink lots more sugary beverages and a bit more frozen desserts. That amounts to more than 100 million pounds of added sugar (358 million kilograms) consumed in the nation a year, compared to the past, according to a team of researchers in the U.S. and the United Kingdom. “Climate change is shaping what you eat and how you eat, and that might have a bad effect on your health,” said study co...

Ballerina Cappuccina, an AI-generated cartoon ballerina with a cappuccino teacup for a head, is one of the most prominent characters in the internet phenomenon known as “Italian brain rot,” a series of memes that exploded in popularity this year, consisting of unrealistic AI-generated animal-object hybrids with absurdist, pseudo-Italian narration. The trend has baffled parents, to the delight of young people experiencing the thrill of a new, fleeting cultural signifier that is illegible to older generations. Experts and fans alike say the trend is worth paying attention to, and tells us something about the youngest generation of tweens. Fabian Mosele, 26, calls them...

A ship likely cut cables in the Red Sea that disrupted internet access in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, experts said, showing the lines' vulnerability over a year after another incident severed them. The International Cable Protection Committee told The Associated Press (AP) that 15 submarine cables pass through the narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the southern mouth of the Red Sea that separates East Africa from the Arabian Peninsula. Authorities in multiple countries identified the cables affected as the South East Asia–Middle East–Western Europe 4, the India–Middle East–Western Europe and the FALCON GCX cables. Then that list expanded...

For more than 20 years, a self-proclaimed “Cycling Chef” has been giving two-wheeled gastronomic tours of the Danish capital, Copenhagen. He even cooks on the go, leading guests on a foodie adventure with his kitchen-bike. Pedaling through the streets of Copenhagen on his custom-built bicycle-turned-portable kitchen, chef Morten Kryger Wulff flips prawns in a frying pan while leading guests on a culinary tour with a twist. In a city famous for fine dining—including Michelin-starred restaurants Noma, Geranium and Alchemist—Kryger Wulff’s five-course tour may be the most unique dining experience of all. “We have, over the last 20 years, been working on t...

School attendance rates in the Australian state of Victoria have declined and remain lower than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, one school is thinking outside the box. It's reconnecting with its students via a food truck—bringing education beyond the classroom. Called the Bitter Sweet Café, this hands-on environment is delivering lessons in literacy and numeracy. It's an initiative set up by MacKillop Education—a school designed for children who are disengaged or at risk of disengaging from education. "I've learnt how to make coffees is one thing I do, I interact with people, so my people skills have...

Rick Clough spent some four decades fishing for lobsters and sea urchins off the Maine coast before spotting one of the ocean's most recognized predators—a great white shark. The approximately 8-foot (2.4-meter) shark, seen off the beach town of Scarborough in July, surprised Clough, but didn't make him fear the ocean—though he admitted, "I'm not sure I'd want to go urchin diving now." Boaters, beachgoers and fishermen like Clough who spend time in the chilly waters of New England and Atlantic Canada are learning to live with great white sharks, the creatures made famous by the 1975 film Jaws. Sigh...

The ‘kidult’ market is keeping the toy industry buoyant in Japan. At Tokyo Big Sight, a trade show in Tokyo, toys specifically aimed at adults grabbed people’s attention. More than 35,000 products were on display from 200 different companies. Japan’s toy market has expanded for five consecutive years and now tops 1 trillion yen ($6.8 billion) according to the Japan Toy Association. At the Tomica booth, some of the toys on display were produced with adults in mind. “The biggest factor is what we call ‘kidults.’ With this target in mind, more and more products have been introduced into the market, and the success th...

A driver was clocked going 27 kilometers per hour (17 mph) over the speed limit on a street in the Swiss city of Lausanne, and now he's facing up to 90,000 Swiss francs (over $110,000) in fines as a result. But he can afford it. Why the eye-popping penalty? Because the speedster, a repeat offender, is one of Switzerland's wealthiest people, and the Vaud region serves up fines based on factors like income, fortune or general family financial situation. The Swiss are not alone. Germany, France, Austria and the Nordic countries all issue punishments based on a person's wealth. The recent fine isn't even...

Before New York Fashion Week kicked off in Manhattan, some of the incoming brands made an early first stop elsewhere—out in Queens, on the blue hard courts of the U.S. Open. In a sport where brands like Nike and Adidas were once the only players, the logos of Gucci and Miu Miu have started to weave their way in. Tennis fashion has been surging, and the luxury fashion industry doesn't want to feel left out. Luxury fashion partnerships in the tennis world have historically been somewhat sparse. They've been testing the waters in recent years, and lately, the de...

Sales of non-alcoholic (NA) drinks are soaring as more people rethink their relationship with booze. But experts warn these alcohol-free alternatives may not be the right choice for everyone. Moderate drinking was once thought to be good for your heart, but recent research shows that drinking less, or nothing at all, is a much healthier way to go. Alcohol has been linked to cancers, injuries, cardiovascular disease and a host of other problems. So the low- or no- alcohol drinks are seen as an attractive alternative. "They have less than 0.5% alcohol by volume. So that's compared to a standard beer...

Honey bee researchers at Michigan State University (MSU) are enlisting a four-legged ally to sniff out a disease that threatens the vital insects. Maple, an English Springer Spaniel, used to work for law enforcement, but now she's doing her bit for the planet to help keep nature's prized pollinators in good health. In her latest role, she's the queen bee among researchers at Michigan State University—helping to sniff out danger to honey bees. The Pollinator Performance Center's wide range of projects includes developing a training program for dogs to use their sensitive noses to uncover a bacterial disease called Am...

For more than 150 years, horse-drawn carriages have been trotting through Manhattan’s Central Park, weathering the arrival of the automobile, years of criticism from animal rights activists and even a mayoral administration that vowed to ban the tourist activity. But now the influential nonprofit that manages the 843-acre park—and has previously stayed out of the debate—has thrown its support behind a proposal to wind down the industry as early as next summer. The Central Park Conservancy argued in an August 12 letter to the City Council that horse carriages have an outsized impact on public safety and road infrastructure in the...

Banks in Thailand are now required to set a daily limit of 50,000 baht ($1,537) on many online transfers to lessen financial fraud, particularly those involving customers judged vulnerable, such as children and older people. The rule announced by the Bank of Thailand is meant to help combat the huge criminal industry of online scams, which makes billions of dollars annually and is especially active in Southeast Asia. In many countries, there is increasing pressure on banks to play a more active role in safeguarding the assets of customers targeted by scammers. The new measure aims to curb financial fraud by preventing...

A medical museum in Philadelphia has redrawn its policies on the collection and display of human remains, limiting its acceptance of additional specimens and working to follow “evolving modern medical ethical standards” in how it handles the 6,500 organs, bones and other body parts in its collection. The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, which owns the Mütter Museum, announced it is restricting the taking of photos and videos of human remains, allowing it only with the museum’s permission. Photography by the public will remain prohibited. The museum “will allow photography as long as it sort of serves an educational purpose,”...

Wiesława Juroszek was only 6 years old when she learned the intricate handicraft of lace crocheting from the women in her family as part of a long tradition in their little mountain village. Now, 53 years later, she is part of a new generation of women using those skills to make Koniaków famous far beyond Poland's borders. Their uniquely crocheted, beautiful wedding dresses, skirts, blouses and even traditional tablecloths are enjoying a surge of popularity and elevated prices for the skilled work. "In Koniaków, almost all the women do hekla, as we call it," Juroszek told The Associated Press. "For...

On the Mercator projection, one of the world’s most popular maps, Greenland and Africa appear to be about the same size. But on the Equal Earth projection showing continents in their true proportions, 14 Greenlands would easily fit inside the African continent. Criticism that the Mercator projection does not accurately reflect Africa’s real size is not new. However, a recent campaign by African advocacy groups is gaining momentum online as it urges organizations and schools to adopt the Equal Earth projection, which they say more accurately displays the size of the continent of more than 1.4 billion people. The African Unio...

Matcha is suddenly popping up in all sorts of things, from lattes and ice cream to cakes and chocolate. No one knows for sure who started the global matcha boom, which has been going on for several years. But it's clear that harvests, especially of fine-grade matcha, can't keep up with demand. Matcha is a type of tea that's grown in shade, steamed and then ground into a very fine powder. It's processed differently from regular green tea. The Japanese agricultural ministry has been working to boost tea growth, offering help to farmers with new machines, special soil, financial aid...

A young Kenyan entrepreneur is harnessing AI to break communication barriers for the deaf community. His web app, Terp 360, aims to become Africa’s first sign language translation platform built for local use. Signvrse’s Terp 360 claims to be Africa’s first AI translation platform built specifically for local use. It translates text and speech into Kenyan Sign Language through avatars, enhancing communication for both deaf and hearing individuals. “We like to call it Google Translate for sign language—and how this works is it interprets text and speech input and outputs very fluid natural avatars, which is a digital human that...

How much is a wave worth? It’s a question gaining global attention as surfing evolves into a booming commercial industry. Locals on the southern coast of Western Australia believe they may have found a solution: an artificial reef they hope will revolutionize the town’s surfing landscape. Wave riders are taking full advantage of the ideal conditions at Middleton Beach in Albany. But things weren’t always like this. Longtime surfer Peter Bolt, who was raised in Albany, has strolled this stretch more times than he can count to check the waves. For much of that time, he saw little...

Prize money at the U.S. Open rose to nearly $85 million across all competitions this year, including a record $5 million each to the women's and men's singles champions, and total player compensation jumped 20% to $90 million, the most in tennis history. The U.S. Tennis Association (USTA) announced the payouts for the year's last Grand Slam tournament, which began with the new mixed doubles event and its $1 million top check on August 19-20. Singles competition started on a Sunday for the first time—August 24—as those brackets expand from 14 days to 15. The increases at Flushing Meadows—where last year's total compensation was $7...

President Donald Trump reestablished the Presidential Fitness Test for American children, a fixture of public schools for decades that gauged young people’s health and athleticism with 1-mile runs, sit-ups and stretching exercises. “This is a wonderful tradition, and we’re bringing it back,” Trump said of the fitness test that began in 1966 but was phased out during the Obama administration. An executive order he signed in August also reinvigorates a national sports council that the president stocked with former and current athletes and other figures from the sports world. Several prominent athletes joined Trump and top administration officials. In the test...

The Milwaukee Brewers are bringing manager Pat Murphy's strange eating habits to fans. Murphy went viral in a recent interview for pulling a pancake out of his uniform pocket and taking a bite—sharing the flapjack with the reporter—as he detailed different ways he shoved food into his pockets to snack on in the dugout. The moment has spawned quite the movement in Milwaukee. The ballclub announced that "Murph's Pocket Pancakes" would be sold at American Family Field during Sunday games for the rest of the season, starting with the August 10 series against the New York Mets. Murphy was aske...

It’s still not hard to entice the under-5 set to make mud pies, smell flowers and eat string beans off the vine, but as children get older and turn to screens, nature exploration often falls to the bottom of their boredom-buster lists. With a little creativity, however, parents can nurture an interest in the great outdoors and inspire a lifelong love for gardening. The key is starting kids young—and giving them ownership. Take children to the nursery and let each decide what they would like to grow. Vegetables should be ones they like to eat; they’ll take pride...

What was intended as a fundraising mission for cancer research has become a nightmare for American teen influencer Ethan Guo, who has been stuck since June in a remote location in Chilean territory in Antarctica. Authorities say Guo landed his small plane illegally after providing false flight plan information to officials who opened an investigation. Guo made headlines last year when the then-19-year-old began a trip in an attempt to become the youngest person to fly solo to all seven continents and, at the same time, collect donations for research into childhood cancer. As part of his trip, the...

U.S. scientists believe they've at last solved the mystery of what killed more than 5 billion sea stars. A strain of the bacterium Vibrio pectenicida has been attacking the sea stars—often known as starfish—in a decade-long epidemic on the West Coast of North America. Marine researchers have been searching for the cause of what has become known as sea star wasting disease since large numbers of them perished in 2013 from Mexico to Alaska. The epidemic has devastated more than 20 species and continues today. Worst hit was a species called the sunflower sea star, which lost around 90% of its popu...

A new report from The Lancet reveals that three out of five liver cancer cases worldwide are linked to preventable risk factors, with obesity-related cases on the rise. The analysis, published on 29th July, estimates that over 60% of liver cancers could be avoided by addressing viral hepatitis, excessive alcohol consumption, and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), a condition driven by excess fat in the liver. The situation is particularly urgent in Africa, where liver cancer cases are projected to surge significantly by 2050. In Nairobi, Ahmed Kalebi is the Principal Pathologist at Dr Ahmed Kalebi Labs. “Am I worried about me...

Germans are in kebab angst. They worry that their most beloved street food option, the spicy, juicy kebab in a pita that can be found on every street corner across Germany, may get more expensive—or even worse, that the country may be sliding into a national kebab shortage. Even if these fears may sound exaggerated at first, they aren't unfounded. Workers at one of Germany's biggest kebab factories are locked in a bitter and ongoing fight with their employer over wages and working conditions. For weeks, workers at the Birtat Meat World SE factory in southwestern Germany have repeatedly st...