IC

Feb 25 2026POLITICS

City Council’s Big Budget Moves: From School Fields to Animal Shelters

The council met on Feb. 19 and decided to release $2. 3 million from the city’s free‑cash pile, a move that follows the mayor’s request and the Finance Committee’s nod. The biggest chunk—$2 million—was earmarked for Westfield High School’s new athletic fields. City Treasurer‑Collector Matthew Bar

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Feb 25 2026HEALTH

Smart Ways to Beat Malaria with Limited Money

In places where malaria still thrives, every dollar counts. Recent studies from 2018 to 2025 show how best to spend that money on prevention and cure. Researchers gathered data from many countries that still fight the disease. They looked at which tools—like bed nets, medicines, or mosquito‑killi

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Feb 25 2026FINANCE

Japan’s Finance Ministry Plans to Shift Bond Auction Time Frames

The Japanese government is thinking about changing how it groups bond auctions by maturity. This move could make borrowing easier for projects that need money over a long time. Last week, officials sent out surveys to investors and banks to get their opinions on a possible reshuffle. Right now

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Feb 25 2026TECHNOLOGY

Voice‑Powered Loans: How AI Helps Homebuyers Fast

Better. com, a company that uses artificial intelligence from the start, has built an AI voice helper called Betsy. Betsy talks to people who want a mortgage and can answer questions, check rates, and lock in prices. Each month the system handles about one hundred thousand phone calls. In 2025 alone

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Feb 25 2026CRIME

Texas Supplier Accused of Medicare Scam

A small medical supply shop in Austin is at the center of a federal complaint that says it billed Medicare for unnecessary urinary catheters. Investigators say the company, linked to a Russian citizen living in Texas, is part of a scheme that moved millions of dollars overseas. The complaint n

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Feb 25 2026POLITICS

A New Surgeon General on the Horizon

The Senate health committee will hear from Dr. Casey Means, a 38‑year‑old wellness advocate, on Wednesday as she seeks the top public health post in Washington. The meeting was pushed back from last October after Means unexpectedly went into labor the day she was scheduled to appear. During her t

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Feb 25 2026ENTERTAINMENT

Twilight Zone Highlights: The Episodes That Still Shock

The original “Twilight Zone” series, running from 1959 to 1964, used sci‑fi and horror tricks to talk about deep social issues. Critics still love its sharp writing and surprise twists, showing that human mistakes keep repeating no matter the setting. Even after a 1983 movie and later TV revivals, t

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Feb 25 2026EDUCATION

Students Share Science Projects at Boulder County Fair

The fair in Boulder Valley brought together middle and high school students from 15 schools to showcase their own research. Amika Begin, a junior at Nederland Middle/Senior High, studied how social media helps college athletes earn money. She tested whether likes and comments or the sheer numb

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Feb 25 2026SCIENCE

Sneakers on the Court: Why They Sound and What It Means

The sound that rings out when a player slides on a hardwood floor is not just noise; it’s the result of tiny, rapid changes happening inside the shoe. A scientist from Harvard studied this by sliding sneakers over a glass surface, recording the sounds with a microphone and capturing the motion with

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Feb 25 2026HEALTH

Art as Medicine: How Creative Touch Can Heal

A scientist in London began to notice that patients who watched shows or listened to music felt better, even when they didn’t need painkillers or could not remember names. This sparked a long career that mixed music, psychology and biology to prove that art can lower stress hormones, reduce inflamm

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