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FOR A COUNTRY known for long winters and high taxes, Finland appears remarkably chipper. On March 20th it came top of the World Happiness Report, an annual UN-backed study, notching its eighth consecutive win ahead of 146 other countries. Not far behind it were Denmark, Iceland and Sweden. What makes the Nordics so happy? The World Happiness Report is more a study of life satisfaction than smiles and laughter. It is based on a survey by Gallup, a pollster, where participants are asked to rate their lives out of ten. Finns are not known to gloat (or, for that matter,...

Stick with me on this, I promise I’m going to deliver the goods! Does the United States already possess teleportation technology? You know, like “Beam me up, Scottie!” I know that sounds crazy at first glance, but you might just change your mind once you see what I’m about to show you. It all starts with this Tweet that caught my attention today, suggesting that President Trump has teleportation technology and so badly wants to let the cat out of the bag: Trump wants to tell people we can teleport stuff so badly.⚡️ https://t.co/4qmUhEEpyG pic.twitter.com/uPR5IF95St— Ashton Forbes (@JustXAshton) April 10,...

The triumphal arch holds a very important place in the annals of Western architecture and urbanism. In Roman times it played a lofty honorific role, even though most Roman arches commemorated civic achievements and personages rather than military victories. The freestanding monumental arch was a syncretic creation, structurally derived from Etruscan gateways and decoratively enriched with Hellenistic architectural and sculptural forms. Its distinctive presence, which accommodated an astonishing variety in massing and detail, enriched towns and cities across the Roman empire, from Spain to Syria. The monumental arch should be regarded as a universal entity—eminently appropriate, one would think, to...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departed the meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday evening practically empty-handed. Expectations in Israel were high that Netanyahu would be able to secure either a reduction in the 17% tariffs announced by President Trump last week, or a strong stance against Iran for resisting U.S. efforts at negotiations over the country’s nuclear ambitions, or possibly even positive developments in the issue of the hostages, after Netanyahu met with Trump and his special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. However, to the disappointment of many in Israel, Netanyahu left with little good news for Israel. Instead...

Democrats love to portray themselves as the compassionate ones. They just want to help people, especially the poor and downtrodden. When you ask them about illegal immigration, they will tell you that these are just poor people looking for a better life for themselves and their families. That's why they were perfectly okay with a wide-open southern border and letting millions of people into the country. It was all about compassion. However, as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) continues to dig into the twisted story of America's finances, we are finding out that the compassion ruse is just that,...

Scientists invent a new chewing gum that may help prevent viral transmission. (New Africa/Shutterstock) In a nutshell * A plant-based chewing gum made from lablab beans can trap and neutralize flu and herpes viruses in the lab, offering a potential new way to reduce transmission directly in the mouth, where these viruses often spread. * The antiviral protein in the gum (FRIL) stays stable for over two years at room temperature, making it a promising option for global use without the need for refrigeration or injections. * Though results so far are limited to lab tests, the gum has passed...

Happiness rankings in the Americas have seen notable shifts, with some smaller nations climbing while major economies have experienced steady declines.Despite these changes, the region maintains a relatively high overall happiness level. Across North, Central, and South America, average scores generally range from 5.7 to 7.3.This map, via Visual Capitalist's Kayla Zhu, showcases the findings for countries in North, Central, and South America from the 2025 World Happiness Report, an annual publication that measures global contentment based on life evaluations, social support, freedom of choice, GDP per capita, and additional indicators of well-being. The data is drawn from the Gallup...

United Nations -- The Israeli military backtracked on its account of the killing of 15 Palestinian medics by its forces last month after phone video appeared to contradict its claims that their vehicles did not have emergency signals on when troops opened fire on them in the Gaza Strip. The military initially said it opened fire because the vehicles were “advancing suspiciously” on nearby troops without headlights or emergency signals. An Israeli military official, speaking late Saturday on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said that account was “mistaken.” The footage shows the Red Crescent and Civil Defence teams...

He may be in favour with the Trump administration, but Conor McGregor's chances of making the ballot paper in Ireland's presidential poll are close to zero, experts tell Euroverify. Former martial arts fighter Conor McGregor will very unlikely be able to run for the Irish presidency, two experts have told Euroverify, despite widespread media reports claiming the UFC champion will attempt to appear on the presidential ballot, which is due to take place by 11 November. McGregor, who has emerged as a figurehead for Ireland's far right, made headlines last Friday when he announced on Instagram he would run for...

Scientists from Princeton University and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) have invented a device that seemingly generates electricity from the Earth’s rotation. Although generally accepted theories show that generating electricity from a uniform field like Earth’s magnetic field is impossible, the team believes they have found a “loophole” that allows their device to generate tiny but measurable amounts of electricity. If independent reviews can confirm the team’s work, they say the next steps to building a practical energy-generating device would involve miniaturization and scaling efforts, as proposed in a new paper detailing their current efforts. Device That Generates Electricity from...

The secret to happiness? Doing pretty okay, I guess.For the eighth year in a row, Finland tops the “happiness” league tables — but that doesn’t mean its citizens are feeling the joy.Thursday marked 2025’s International Day of Happiness, a celebration established by the United Nations back in 2012 — which, in stark contrast with today, was a time when the organization seemingly had capacity to do stuff like inaugurate special days for “recognizing the relevance of happiness and well-being as universal goals.”In nearly every year since, Finland has topped the list as the happiest country in the world, and this...

Terry Bradshaw has changed political parties and he's refusing to apologize for it. The legendary NFL quarterback, who won four Super Bowls during his time with the Pittsburgh Steelers, hasn't shied away from discussing politics. In fact, he's been pretty open about it. The iconic Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, like some other athletes - Danica Patrick, Charles Barkley - has actually switched political parties during his career. Bradshaw, 76, was a longtime Republican. However, he ultimately decided to switch political parties, becoming a registered Independent voter. He has been with the Independent party for the past several years. The former NFL...

Is this another Godfather-esque play to make Ali Khamenei an offer he can't refuse? Is it a reversal on Barack Obama's JCPOA? Or is it a way to de-escalate with both Russia and China and dial down tensions by restoring commerce as the main medium of international relations? Or is this just spitballing to suss out the possibilities? Perhaps Khamenei is asking himself the same questions after receiving a letter from Donald Trump asking to negotiate an end to Iran's nuclear-weapons program:President Trump said he sent a letter on Thursday to Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei and stressed that he...

Korean researchers have developed advanced Ni-rich cathodes that improve all-solid-state battery performance, offering longer lifespans and greater energy efficiency. n an era where electronic devices and electric vehicles demand better battery performance, scientists are racing to develop batteries that last longer, charge faster, and store more energy. A promising solution lies in all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs), which could outperform traditional lithium-ion batteries in both efficiency and safety. At the heart of this innovation is the cathode active material (CAM), particularly those rich in nickel (Ni), which plays a crucial role in boosting battery performance. Role of Ni-rich cathodes ASSBs differ from...

Food prices have been on an increasingly upward trend for the past several years thanks to COVID-19 and inflation. And while U.S. tariffs against Canada and Mexico were on hold, President Donald Trump has now announced that they will go into effect on March 4, "as scheduled." The president made this announcement in a post on the social media platform Truth Social. Those 25% tariffs against Canada and Mexico were on hold after the two countries reached an agreement with the United States, but now that they're back on, your grocery budget is likely to be affected—after all, those countries...

This is a simple question, but one that needs you to seriously consider before you respond. This is because, when you think about it, you will then be confronted with the reality that most of the wars America has been in since the end of WWII have nothing to do with our national interests. Now we could argue whether or not WWI was in our best interest. Yet since the end of WWII, other than a very few instance, our military actions have almost exclusively been because of problems caused by European nations. (Both Western and Eastern nations) Mind you,...

Hawaiian Supreme Court rules that individuals have no Second Amendment rights under its history, state law, and “spirit” “As the world turns, it makes no sense for contemporary society to pledge allegiance to the founding era’s culture, realities, laws, and understanding of the Constitution. ‘The thing about the old days, they the old days.’” –Justice Todd Eddins Justices with the Hawaii Supreme Court argue that Hawaii must follow the “spirit of Aloha,” not the rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court, when it comes to the Second Amendment rights of individuals. The Supreme Court of Hawaii has handed down a decision...

Friends, If you are experiencing rage and despair about what is happening in America and the world right now because of the Trump-Vance-Musk regime, you are hardly alone. A groundswell of opposition is growing — not as loud and boisterous as the resistance to Tump 1.0, but just as, if not more, committed to ending the scourge. Here’s a partial summary — 10 reasons for modest optimism. Please add any that I may have missed in the comments. 1. Boycotts are taking hold. Americans are changing shopping habits in a backlash against corporations that have shifted their public policies to...

EXCLUSIVE: @GrossmanHannah and I [e.g., Christopher Rufo] have obtained logs from the NSA’s secret transgender sex chatroom, in which NSA, CIA, and DIA employees discuss genital castration, artificial vaginas, piss fetishes, sex polycules, and gangbangs—all on government time. This is insane. 🧵 The NSA maintains a chat system for the "intelligence community" called Intelink. The servers are supposed to be used for government work, but gender activists have hijacked at least two channels—LBTQA and IC_Pride_TWG—to discuss fetishes, kink, and sex, all legitimized as "DEI." One popular chat topic was male-to-female transgender surgery, which involves surgically removing the penis and turning...

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs on Tuesday vetoed a bill aimed at speeding up ballot counting in the state, citing concerns that it would make voting more difficult.House Bill 2703, introduced by Republican state Rep. Laurin Hendrix, would have changed Arizona election laws by eliminating emergency voting centers and setting a new deadline for voters to drop off early ballots.Hobbs said earlier this month that she would veto the measure amid concerns it could create difficulties for voters, leading to negotiations with lawmakers that ultimately stalled.In a Feb. 18 statement posted to the social media platform X, Hobbs said she had...