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Dystopian Horror: ONE IN FOUR British Teens Turn To AI ‘Therapy’ Bots For Mental Health

One in four British teenagers have resorted to AI chatbots for mental health support over the past year, exposing the chilling reality of a society where machines replace human connection amid crumbling government services. 

The Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) surveyed 11,000 kids aged 13 to 16 in England and Wales, revealing that over half sought some form of mental health aid, with a quarter leaning on AI. 

Victims or perpetrators of violence were even more likely to confide in these digital voids. As The Independent reported, “The YEF said AI chatbots could appeal to struggling young people who feel it is safer and easier to speak to an AI chatbot anonymously at any time of day rather than speaking to a professional.”

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Byrna Files Lawsuit Against CA for Blocking Ammunition Sales of Less-Lethal Weapons

Bryan Ganz is the founder of Byrna, the less-lethal self-defense weapons, which looks like handguns but shoot powerful chemical irritants rather than lethal bullets, designed to immobilize an attacker air intruder. The weapons are legal in all 50 states. But, in California, Ganz told the Globe that the state blocked sales of Byrna’s ammunition and launchers.

Why? We thought a less-lethal weapon (some say it’s non-lethal) would be a wildly popular option, and hailed by California’s Attorney General and law enforcement. The Byrna uses a pepper-gel projectile, like a pepper spray, rather than bullets.

But it’s complicated, the Gun Zone explains, thanks to California’s highly regulated gun control laws. “Because it doesn’t discharge a projectile ‘by means of an explosive,’ as defined by California Penal Code section 16520, it technically falls outside the strict definition of a firearm. However, this doesn’t automatically grant free rein. California law, particularly when dealing with weapons designed for defense, is highly regulated.”

And it’s further complicated by brazen gun control and anti-police politics.

In 2021, California passed Assembly Bill 48 by then-Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, which outlawed “the use of kinetic energy projectiles or chemical agents by any law enforcement agency to disperse any assembly, protest, or demonstration, except in compliance with specified standards set by the bill, and would prohibit their use solely due to a violation of an imposed curfew, verbal threat, or noncompliance with a law enforcement directive.”

In 2021, with the well-funded George Floyd protests across the country, police  were confronted with violent riots and protesters, and forced to use crowd control measures. Assemblywoman Gonzalez claimed that her bill was in response to the unwarranted force used by law enforcement against protestors, journalists and others in the George Floyd protests. She objected to the injuries caused by rubber bullets, beanbag rounds, foam rounds, and other projectiles, the Globe reported in 2021.

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Children’s Health Defense Files CITIZEN PETITION Urging FDA to Revoke COVID Vaccine Licenses After Evidence Agency Violated Its Own Approval Rules — Here’s How Americans Can Submit Comments

Children’s Health Defense (CHD) has filed a sweeping Citizen Petition demanding that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) immediately revoke the biologics licenses for all Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines — Comirnaty, Spikevax, and their licensed analogues.

CHD alleges that the Biden-era FDA broke its own laws, bypassed mandatory safeguards, ignored manufacturing violations, and labeled experimental EUA products as “fully licensed vaccines” without the clinical, manufacturing, and regulatory compliance required under federal law.

According to CHD, the public, including doctors, nurses, parents, service members, and anyone affected by the mandates, may now submit comments directly to the FDA docket and demand the agency follow the law.

This petition could become the most consequential public challenge to COVID-19 vaccine licensure since 2020.

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Florida Executes 18th Death Row Inmate This Year, Setting Record Pace for US

Dozens gathered along a small two-way highway outside Florida State Prison Tuesday evening in rural Raiford, Florida, to protest the execution of convicted killer Mark Geralds, which brought the state’s record executions in a single year to 18.

Florida leads the nation in executions for 2025 and has surpassed its previous amount of eight within a year—another execution is scheduled in the state next week. The states with the second-most executions this year include Texas, Alabama, and South Carolina, with five each, according to state records. South Carolina executed three out of five by firing squad this year.

More than three decades ago, a jury unanimously recommended the death penalty for Mark Geralds after he was found guilty in the burglary, robbery, and stabbing death of a woman in her home in Panama City, Florida.

At a press conference after the execution, spokesman for the Florida Department of Corrections Jordan Kirkland said Geralds did not request a final meal and did not meet with a spiritual adviser before his execution.

The execution by lethal injection was carried out without incident and Geralds died at 6:15 p.m., Kirkland said.

Geralds worked as a carpenter and had previously helped remodel the home. The victim’s 8-year-old son found her body on the kitchen floor, according to court documents.

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The Encryption Double Life of Canberra

The Australian government is quietly relying on encrypted messaging to conduct sensitive business, even as it hardens its stance against public use of secure communications.

While the public faces increasing surveillance and legal pressure for using end-to-end encryption, senior officials are steering policy conversations into private digital spaces, shielding them from scrutiny under Freedom of Information (FOI) laws.

Since midyear, ministerial staff have been advising lobbyists, peak bodies and industry groups to avoid email altogether and submit reform proposals through the encrypted messaging app Signal.

Some of these exchanges have been requested using disappearing messages, ensuring there is no record retained on government systems.

Several sources confirmed to the Saturday Paper that this guidance is now common across a number of policy areas.

In addition to Signal, stakeholders have been encouraged to use phone calls for detailed conversations and limit the content of any written communications.

In at least one case, after a formal meeting, the follow-up came in the form of a verbal summary rather than the usual written recap sent by email.

While the government has maintained formal channels for official submissions, a secondary mode of policymaking is taking shape.

This mode operates out of reach of archiving protocols and public oversight.

One participant in this informal process described it as an effort to protect the early phases of policy development from outside scrutiny, arguing that “fluid thoughts and ideas” should be exempt from public record.

Yet the effect of these practices is to create a shadow layer of government consultation that leaves no trace and falls outside the accountability mechanisms intended to safeguard democratic participation.

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Mitt Romney’s Sister-In-Law Cause of Death Revealed

The cause of death for Mitt Romney’s sister-in-law was revealed on Tuesday: Carrie Elizabeth died by suicide, the LA County Medical Examiner said.

“The L.A. County Medical Examiner determined 64-year-old Carrie Elizabeth Romney died from blunt traumatic injuries after falling from the rooftop of a parking structure in Valencia, California, north of Los Angeles, back in October,” TMZ reported.

s previously reported, Mitt Romney’s sister-in-law, Carrie Elizabeth Romney, was found dead near a parking garage in Valencia, California in October.

Authorities responded to a call on a Friday night in mid-October on reports of a dead woman near a parking garage.

The woman, later identified as former Senator Mitt Romney’s sister-in-law, Carrie Romney, plunged from a five-story structure near the Valencia Town Center mall.

The 64-year-old died on scene.

Carrie Romney was married to former Senator Mitt Romney’s older brother, George Scott Romney, 81.

According to divorce records obtained by The New York Post, George Romney was trying to make sure that his wife Carrie got awarded nothing in a bitter divorce battle.

George Romney, a prominent lawyer with a very powerful and politically connected brother, sought to block his wife from receiving spousal support and said they had no shared property.

The two were married for 8 years, and their divorce was not final at the time Carried plunged to her death.

“Our family is heartbroken by the loss of Carrie, who brought warmth and love to all our lives,” Mitt Romney previously said in a statement to PEOPLE. “We ask for privacy during this difficult time.”

In September 2023, Mitt Romney announced he would not seek reelection to the US Senate.

“At the end of another term, I’d be in my mid-80s,” Romney, who was 76 at the time, said. “Frankly, it’s time for a new generation of leaders. They’re the ones that need to make the decisions that will shape the world they will be living in.”

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Federal Judge Orders Release Of Old Ghislaine Maxwell Files About Jeffrey Epstein

A federal judge in New York on Dec. 9 ruled that the Department of Justice (DOJ) can unseal records in the case against Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, weeks after the passage of a law that required the government to disclose case records related to both Epstein and Maxwell.

Judge Paul A. Engelmayer issued the ruling after the DOJ, in November, asked two judges in New York to unseal grand jury transcripts and exhibits from Maxwell and Epstein’s cases, along with investigative materials.

Last month, President Donald Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law, meaning that the records could be made public within roughly 10 days.

The law requires the DOJ provide Epstein-related records to the public in a searchable format by Dec. 19.

In the order, the judge wrote that the law “does not explicitly refer to grand jury materials,” but added that it “textually covers the grand jury materials in this case.”

“The Court thus finds that modification of the Protective Order is necessary to enable DOJ to carry out its legal obligations under the Act,” he added.

“The Act unambiguously applies to the discovery in this case,” Engelmayer stated, adding that “unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials” are covered in relation to Maxwell, Epstein, and connected individuals.

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Cannabix Technologies’ Marijuana Breath Test Device Clears Key U.S. and Canadian Regulatory Hurdle

Cannabix Technologies says its handheld Marijuana Breath Test system has moved a step closer to market, announcing that its Breath Collection Unit has officially passed electronic emissions testing required for devices sold in both the United States and Canada.

The approval, issued under FCC Part 15 rules in the U.S. and ICES-003 standards in Canada, confirms the unit meets federal limits on radio-frequency emissions. The company received an ISO/IEC 17025 accredited test report verifying compliance, marking what it called a major milestone as it works to commercialize the technology.

The Breath Collection Unit, paired with Cannabix’s proprietary single-use Breath Cartridges, forms the core of a system designed to collect stable breath samples for laboratory confirmation of recent marijuana use. The company says engineering refinements over recent months focused heavily on meeting these regulatory expectations ahead of planned market entry.

Testing was performed at QAI Laboratories in British Columbia, an accredited facility recognized by regulators in both countries for electrical safety certification. Cannabix notes that passing emissions testing is one of the foundational requirements before the device can be marketed or sold in North America.

The Marijuana Breath Test system is built to support forensic-level analysis using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Cannabix is developing the platform in partnership with Omega Laboratories, a longtime drug-testing provider with federal and international certifications. The two companies are working together to bring the breath-based THC detection system to customers in the U.S. and Canada.

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Rich People, Poor Morals: Wealthy Are The Most Likely To Rip Off Self-Checkout Machines

Rich people, poorer morals? A new LendingTree report claims the shoppers most likely to rip off the self-checkout machine aren’t the desperate — they’re the well-off, according to the NY Post.

Americans making over $100,000 a year are twice as likely to steal at self-checkout compared to low-income shoppers. A hefty 40% of six-figure earners admitted they’ve deliberately skipped scanning an item, while just 17% of those making under $30,000 confessed to the same.

The Post writes that middle-income households didn’t look much better: 27% of people earning between $50K and $99K say they’ve helped themselves without paying. And men are the biggest culprits overall, with 38% admitting to theft versus only 16% of women.

Even with AI scanners and weight sensors trying to outsmart sticky fingers, self-checkout theft is still rising.

A chunk of shoppers don’t feel bad about it either. Nearly one-third say big retailers make plenty of money, so swiping something “doesn’t hurt.” Another 35% defend the habit by claiming they’re basically unpaid store workers and grabbing an item or two is “compensation.”

Still, most blame inflation rather than guilt-free shoplifting. Forty-seven percent say rising prices are forcing people to cheat at the register — meaning even wealthy shoppers might be feeling the squeeze, just not enough to pay for everything in their cart.

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This FTC Workshop Could Legitimize the Push for Online Digital ID Checks

In January 2026, the Federal Trade Commission plans to gather a small army of “experts” in Washington to discuss a topic that sounds technical but reads like a blueprint for a new kind of internet.

Officially, the event is about protecting children. Unofficially, it’s about identifying everyone.

The FTC says the January 28 workshop at the Constitution Center will bring together researchers, policy officials, tech companies, and “consumer representatives” to explore the role of age verification and its relationship to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA.

It’s all about collecting and verifying age information, developing technical systems for estimation, and scaling those systems across digital environments.

In government language, that means building tools that could determine who you are before you click anything.

The FTC suggests this is about safeguarding minors. But once these systems exist, they rarely stop where they start. The design of a universal age-verification network could reach far beyond child safety, extending into how all users identify themselves across websites, platforms, and services.

The agency’s agenda suggests a framework for what could become a credential-based web. If a website has to verify your age, it must verify you. And once verified, your information doesn’t evaporate after you log out. It’s stored somewhere, connected to something, waiting for the next access request.

The federal effort comes after a wave of state-level enthusiasm for the same idea. Texas, Utah, Missouri, Virginia, and Ohio have each passed laws forcing websites to check the ages of users, often borrowing language directly from the European Union, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Those rules require identity documents, biometric scans, or certified third parties that act as digital hall monitors.

In these states, “click to enter” has turned into “show your papers.”

Many sites now require proof of age, while others test-drive digital ID programs linking personal credentials to online activity.

The result is a slow creep toward a system where logging into a website looks a lot like crossing a border.

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