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  • Saturn’s moon Titan may not have a buried ocean as long suspected, new study suggests

    Saturn’s moon Titan may not have a buried ocean as long suspected, new study suggests

    CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Saturn’s giant moon Titan may not have a vast underground ocean after all.

    Titan instead may hold deep layers of ice and slush more akin to Earth’s polar seas, with pockets of melted water where life could possibly survive and even thrive, scientists reported Wednesday.

    The team led by researchers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory challenged the decade-long assumption of a buried global ocean at Titan after taking a fresh look at observations made years ago by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft around Saturn.

    They stress that no one has found any signs of life at Titan, the solar system’s second-largest moon spanning 3,200 miles and brimming with lakes of liquid methane on its frosty surface.

    But with the latest findings suggesting a slushy, near-melting environment, “there is strong justification for continued optimism regarding the potential for extraterrestrial life,” said the University of Washington’s Baptiste Journaux, who took part in the study published in the journal Nature.

    As to what form of life that might be, possibly strictly microscopic, “nature has repeatedly demonstrated far greater creativity than the most imaginative scientists,” he said in an email.

    JPL’s Flavio Petricca, the lead author, said Titan’s ocean may have frozen in the past and is currently melting, or its hydrosphere might be evolving toward complete freezing.

    Computer models suggest these layers of ice, slush, and water extend to a depth of more than 340 miles. The outer ice shell is thought to be about 100 miles deep, covering layers of slush and pools of water that could go down another 250 miles. This water could be as warm as 68 degrees Fahrenheit.

    Because Titan is tidally locked, the same side of the moon faces Saturn all the time, just like our own moon and Earth. Saturn’s gravitational pull is so intense that it deforms the moon’s surface, creating bulges as high as 30 feet when the two bodies are closest.

    Through improved data processing, Petricca and his team managed to measure the timing between the peak gravitational tug and the rising of Titan’s surface. If the moon held a wet ocean, the effect would be immediate, Petricca said, but a 15-hour gap was detected, indicating an interior of slushy ice with pockets of liquid water. Computer modeling of Titan’s orientation in space supported their theory.

    Sapienza University of Rome’s Luciano Iess, whose previous studies using Cassini data indicated a hidden ocean at Titan, is not convinced by the latest findings.

    While “certainly intriguing and will stimulate renewed discussion … at present, the available evidence looks certainly not sufficient to exclude Titan from the family of ocean worlds,” Iess said in an email.

    NASA’s planned Dragonfly mission — featuring a helicopter-type craft due to launch to Titan later this decade — is expected to provide more clarity on the moon’s innards. Journaux is part of that team.

    Saturn leads the solar system’s moon inventory with 274. Jupiter’s moon Ganymede is just a little larger than Titan, with a possible underground ocean. Other suspected water worlds include Saturn’s Enceladus and Jupiter’s Europa, both of which are believed to have geysers of water erupting from their frozen crusts.

    Launched in 1997, Cassini reached Saturn in 2004, orbiting the ringed planet and flying past its moons until deliberately plunging through Saturn’s atmosphere in 2017.

  • The Oscars will move to YouTube in 2029, leaving longtime home of ABC

    The Oscars will move to YouTube in 2029, leaving longtime home of ABC

    In a seismic shift for one of television’s marquee events, the Academy Awards will depart ABC and begin streaming on YouTube beginning in 2029, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Wednesday.

    ABC will continue to broadcast the annual ceremony through 2028. That year will mark the 100th Oscars.

    But starting in 2029, YouTube will retain global rights to streaming the Oscars through 2033. YouTube will effectively be the home to all things Oscars, including red-carpet coverage, the Governors Awards, and the Oscar nominations announcement.

    “We are thrilled to enter into a multifaceted global partnership with YouTube to be the future home of the Oscars and our year-round Academy programming,” said academy chief executive Bill Kramer and academy president Lynette Howell Taylor. “The Academy is an international organization, and this partnership will allow us to expand access to the work of the Academy to the largest worldwide audience possible — which will be beneficial for our Academy members and the film community.”

    While major award shows have added streaming partnerships, the YouTube deal marks the first of the big four — the Oscars, Grammys, Emmys, and Tonys — to completely jettison broadcast television. It puts one of the most watched non-NFL broadcasts in the hands of Google. YouTube boasts some 2 billion viewers.

    The Academy Awards will stream for free worldwide on YouTube, in addition to YouTube TV subscribers. It will be available with audio tracks in many languages, in addition to closed captioning.

    Financial terms were not disclosed.

    “The Oscars are one of our essential cultural institutions, honoring excellence in storytelling and artistry,” said Neal Mohan, chief executive of YouTube. “Partnering with the academy to bring this celebration of art and entertainment to viewers all over the world will inspire a new generation of creativity and film lovers while staying true to the Oscars’ storied legacy.”

    The Walt Disney Co.-owned ABC has been the broadcast home to the Oscars for almost its entire history. NBC first televised the Oscars in 1953, but ABC picked up the rights in 1961. Aside from a period between 1971 and 1975, when NBC again aired the show, the Oscars have been on ABC.

    “ABC has been the proud home to The Oscars for more than half a century,” the network said in a statement. ”We look forward to the next three telecasts, including the show’s centennial celebration in 2028, and wish the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences continued success.”

    The 2025 Academy Awards were watched by 19.7 million viewers on ABC, a slight increase from the year before. That remains one of the biggest TV broadcasts of the year, though less than half of Oscar ratings at their peak. In 1999, more than 55 million watched James Cameron’s Titanic win best picture.

    The film academy, in choosing YouTube over other options such as Netflix or NBC Universal/Peacock, selected a platform with a wide-ranging and massive audience but one without as much of an established production infrastructure.

    Still, more people — especially young people — watch YouTube than any other streaming platform. According to Nielsen, YouTube accounted for 12.9% of all television and streaming content consumed in November. Netflix ranked second with an 8.3% market share.

  • Jack Smith tells lawmakers his team developed ‘proof beyond a reasonable doubt’ against Trump

    Jack Smith tells lawmakers his team developed ‘proof beyond a reasonable doubt’ against Trump

    WASHINGTON — Former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith told lawmakers in a closed-door interview Wednesday that his team of investigators “developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt” that President Donald Trumphad criminally conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election, according to portions of his opening statement obtained by the Associated Press.

    Smith also said investigators had accrued “powerful evidence” Trump broke the law by hoarding classified documents from his first term as president at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., and by obstructing government efforts to recover the records.

    “I made my decisions in the investigation without regard to President Trump’s political association, activities, beliefs, or candidacy in the 2024 election,” Smith said. “We took actions based on what the facts and the law required — the very lesson I learned early in my career as a prosecutor.”

    He said that if asked whether he would “prosecute a former president based on the same facts today, I would do so regardless of whether the president was a Republican or Democrat.”

    The deposition before the House Judiciary Committee gave lawmakers of both parties their first chance, albeit in private, to question Smith about a pair of investigations into Trump that resulted in since-abandoned criminal charges between the Republican president’s first and second terms in office. Smith was subpoenaed by the Republican-led committee this month to provide testimony and documents as part of a GOP investigation into the Trump inquiries during the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden.

    The former special counsel cooperated with the congressional demand, though his lawyers noted that he had been volunteered more than a month before the subpoena was issued to answer questions publicly before the committee — an overture they said was rebuffed by Republicans. Trump had told reporters that he supported the idea of an open hearing.

    “Testifying before this committee, Jack is showing tremendous courage in light of the remarkable and unprecedented retribution campaign against him by this administration and this White House,” Smith lawyer Lanny Breuer told reporters. “Let’s be clear: Jack Smith, a career prosecutor, conducted this investigation based on the facts and based on the law and nothing more.”

    Smith was appointed in 2022 to oversee the Justice Department investigations into Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 loss to Biden and Trump’s hoarding of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. Smith’s team filed charges in both investigations but abandoned the cases after Trump was elected to the White House last year, citing Justice Department legal opinions that say a sitting president cannot be indicted.

    Multiple prior Justice Department special counsels, including Robert Mueller, have testified publicly but Smith was summoned for just a private interview. Several Democrats who emerged from Smith’s interview said they could understand why Republicans did not want an open hearing based on the damaging testimony about Trump they said Smith offered.

    The committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, said the Republican majority “made an excellent decision” in not allowing Jack Smith to testify publicly “because had he done so, it would have been absolutely devastating to the president and all the president’s men involved in the insurrectionary activities” of the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

    “Jack Smith has just spent several hours schooling the Judiciary Committee on the professional responsibilities of a prosecutor and the ethical duties of a prosecutor,” Raskin said.

    Democrats are demanding that Smith’s testimony be made public, along with his full report on the investigation.

    “The American people should hear for themselves,” Rep. Dan Goldman (D., N.Y.) said.

    The committee chairman, Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, told reporters, “I think we’ve learned some interesting things.” He declined to discuss what was being said in the room, but reiterated his position about the investigations.

    “It’s political,” he said.

    Smith’s interview is unfolding against the backdrop of a broader retribution campaign by the Trump administration against former officials involved in investigating Trump and his allies. The Office of Special Counsel, an independent political watchdog, said in August that it was investigating Smith, and the White House issued a presidential memorandum this year aimed at suspending security clearances of lawyers at the law firm that provided legal services to Smith.

    The deposition also comes as Republicans in Congress, aided by current FBI leadership, look to discredit the investigations into Trump through the release of emails and other documents from the probes.

    In recent weeks they have seized on revelations that the team, as part of its investigation, had analyzed the phone records of select GOP lawmakers from on and around the Capitol siege, when pro-Trump rioters stormed the building to try to halt the certification of Trump’s election loss to Biden.

    The phone records reviewed by prosecutors included details only about the incoming and outgoing phone numbers and the length of the call but not the contents of the conversation. Smith’s lawyers have said Republicans have mischaracterized the phone record analysis and implied something sinister about a routine investigative tactic.

    On Tuesday, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released a batch of internal FBI emails leading up to the August 2022 search of Mar-a-Lago. In one email, written weeks before the search, an agent wrote that the FBI’s Washington field office did not believe that probable cause existed to search the property.

    But Republicans who trumpeted the emails as proof that the Biden Justice Department was out to get Trump omitted the fact that agents who later searched the property reported finding boxes of classified, even top-secret, documents. In addition, the then-head of the Washington field office has testified to lawmakers that by the time of the search, the FBI believed probable caused existed to do it.

  • Trump administration admits to targeting blue states for energy grant cuts

    Trump administration admits to targeting blue states for energy grant cuts

    The Trump administration acknowledged in a court filing this week that a decision to cut energy grants during the government shutdown was influenced by whether the money would go to a state that tended to elect Democrats statewide or nationally.

    Government lawyers also wrote in the filing that “consideration of partisan politics is constitutionally permissible, including because it can serve as a proxy for legitimate policy considerations.”

    The remarkably candid admission echoes President Donald Trump’s frequent vows to punish cities and states that he sees as his enemies, from withholding disaster relief for Southern California to targeting blue cities with National Guard troops.

    It could also raise the possibility that federal attorneys might make similar arguments in legal challenges to other unilateral cuts implemented by the administration for blue cities and states.

    The White House budget office and the Energy Department did not respond to requests for comments about the new filing.

    A coalition of Minnesota clean energy groups and the city of St. Paul sued the Trump administration last month in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after the Energy Department announced it was slashing 321 grants of about $7.5 billion. The cuts included projects to kick-start the hydrogen industry in California, upgrade the electricity grid serving Indigenous communities in New Mexico and generate new energy mostly from wind and solar in Minnesota.

    At the time, Trump’s budget director, Russell Vought, touted the cuts on X, declaring “nearly $8 billion in Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left’s climate agenda is being canceled” and listed blue states.

    California’s Democratic lawmakers had complained about partisan interference in the grant cuts, demanding an investigation by the Energy Department’s acting inspector general. Acting inspector general Sarah B. Nelson wrote in a letter to Democrats this week that her office would be looking into the process for canceling grants “and whether those cancellations were in accordance with established criteria.”

    In their lawsuit, the Democratic city and clean energy groups argue that cuts to funding in Minnesota were entirely politically motivated. Justice Department attorneys did not agree that it was solely a political decision but instead claimed that politics was one factor.

    During the record-long government shutdown that ended in November, Trump and his allies said they would target Democratic priorities and cut funding to programs in mostly Democratic-controlled states.

    “A lot of good can come down from shutdowns,” Trump told reporters in October. “We can get rid of a lot of things we didn’t want, and they’d be Democrat things.”

    At the same time, the government has previously been careful not to invoke political considerations in court cases about its decision-making. In an earlier filing in the same St. Paul case, government attorneys wrote that the terminations were “part of a months-long review process by DOE, and the grant terminations made as part of this review process include entities located in both ‘Red States’ and ‘Blue States’ alike.”

    The Monday filing marked the first time the government had acknowledged in the court documents that politics was a factor.

    Legal experts said the administration’s statement marks a significant departure from legal norms in which agencies have traditionally steered clear of pointing to partisanship in such cases.

    “It really undermines the idea that you’re passing neutral laws that you know are supposed to apply equally to everybody,” said Dan Farber, a professor of law at the University of California at Berkeley. “I find it really startling they would make that concession.”

    The groups are alleging that the administration violated their First Amendment rights by targeting a state that voted for Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.

    David Super, a law professor at Georgetown University, said the free speech claim could chart a new course for grantees impacted by cuts after the Supreme Court previously rejected an effort to restore research funding through the National Institutes of Health based on the argument that the cuts were arbitrary and capricious.

    “I cannot believe that the Supreme Court would want to allow a partisan tit-for-tat to develop with each party pulling grants from its perceived partisan foes, but one can never be entirely certain these days,” Super wrote in an email.

    Eric Schickler, a political science professor at the University of California at Berkeley, said the administration may make the argument that politics can be a proxy for policy considerations in other instances where blue states are systematically disadvantaged, especially if it proves successful in this case. Farber, however, said that the blue cities and states suing the administration could use this latest concession against them in legal attacks.

    “I believe this is likely a preview of a strategy that the administration will adopt more broadly if the courts go along with it,” Schickler said.

    The admission aligned with what some Energy Department employees noticed over the past several months in the cancellation of grants, according to two workers there who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retribution.

    One worker said there were internal discussions at Energy about canceling projects across the country, and that staff were told it would be based on an independent review of criteria including technical merit and alignment with administration objectives. But when she saw a leaked list of canceled grants over the summer, it only effected projects in mostly blue areas: Washington, New York, Illinois, and Massachusetts.

    The second Energy worker said that, over months, he noticed the same: “One of the most important factors deciding which projects get canceled is what state is the performer in. Is it in a blue or a red state?”

    A few times, he and his co-workers tried to make the system work to their advantage.

    They would take a project with an original location of New York or California and try to find ways to move the same work to Iowa or Georgia — anywhere tinged red. The original recipient of the project was often bummed, he said, but willing to try to salvage the federal funding and the project, even if it went to someone else. It’s not yet clear if that strategy will pan out, he said.

    “The work is fine, the administration likes the work, they just don’t like the person doing it,” he said. “It sucks, but it’s better to have the work happen.”

  • Marjorie Taylor Greene says ‘dam is breaking’ within GOP against Trump

    Marjorie Taylor Greene says ‘dam is breaking’ within GOP against Trump

    Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R., Ga.) on Tuesday said President Donald Trump has “real problems” within the Republican Party, adding in an interview with CNN that the president is out of touch with voters on key issues such as affordability.

    Greene told Kaitlan Collins on The Source that the “dam is breaking” in terms of Trump’s hold on support within the party and that she expects Republicans to struggle in next year’s midterm elections.

    Citing the backlash to Trump’s comments on the death of director Rob Reiner, the 13 House Republicans who voted with Democrats to overturn Trump’s executive order on collective bargaining and Indiana Republicans’ rejection of the president’s redistricting push, Greene said she expected “pushback” within the party to grow as lawmakers enter the campaign phase for the upcoming elections.

    “I think the midterms are going to be very hard for Republicans,” Greene said. “I’m one of the people that’s willing to admit the truth and say I don’t see Republicans winning the midterms right now.”

    The White House did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Greene’s interview.

    Greene had carved out a high-profile role as one of Trump’s most vocal allies, first in the “Make America Great Again” movement and then with her support for the “America First” agenda. But after weeks of speaking out against the president on several issues, Greene and Trump had an acrimonious public split last month after she joined with Democrats on a discharge position to compel a House vote calling on the Justice Department to release files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

    Trump, who has called Greene a “Lunatic” and “traitor,” withdrew his endorsement of her reelection. Days after the spat, Greene announced she would resign from Congress as of Jan. 5 and has since criticized the administration for being out of touch with core issues affecting MAGA voters, such as the cost of living and healthcare.

    Speaking to the Washington Post this week, Greene described herself as a “bellwether” who is closely attuned to Trump’s base. “I say it, and then within four to six months, everybody’s saying the same thing,” she said.

    Trump’s advisers have put the criticism down to “cyclical” feedback and have planned for weekly election rallies so Trump can highlight his achievements, the Post has reported. Polling shows Trump maintains support from the vast majority of the party, even though recent polling shows this has dipped slightly below the usual 90% approval mark.

    In the CNN interview Tuesday, Greene said she had only broken with Trump on a few issues — such as the release of the Epstein files, artificial intelligence regulation and foreign workers — “but he came down on me the hardest.”

    “He’s got real problems with Republicans within the House and the Senate that will be breaking with him on more things to come,” she added.

    Greene also said Trump’s supporters “didn’t appreciate” the president’s reaction to the death of Rob Reiner, who was found stabbed to death alongside his wife, photographer Michele Singer Reiner, in their Los Angeles home Sunday. The couple’s son Nick Reiner faces two counts of first-degree murder, among other charges, in their deaths.

    In a social media post less than a day after the Reiners’ bodies were found, Trump suggested the director’s death was somehow linked to his past criticism of the president: “He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump, with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness, and with the Golden Age of America upon us, perhaps like never before. May Rob and Michele rest in peace!”

    Trump’s comments drew bipartisan backlash, including from some prominent figures on the right.

    “I thought that statement was absolutely, completely below the office of the president of the United States,” Greene told CNN. “Classless and it was just wrong.”

    In the interview, Greene described affordability as a “crisis” that Trump has failed to tackle.

    “What I would like to see from the president is empathy for Americans,” she said.

    “Donald Trump is a billionaire, and he’s the president of the United States. When he looks into a camera and says affordability is a hoax and just totally tries to make nothing out of inflation, he’s talking to Americans that are suffering, and have been suffering for many years now, and are having a hard time making ends meet.”

  • Millions are pledged to a Syrian Australian man who stopped a gunman and became a national hero

    Millions are pledged to a Syrian Australian man who stopped a gunman and became a national hero

    WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Like many Australians strolling at Bondi Beach on long, warm summer evenings, Ahmed al Ahmed just wanted a cup of coffee with a friend. Around him, a bloody massacre erupted as two gunmen targeted Jews during Hanukkah festivities at a park close to the shore.

    Soon al Ahmed was creeping, bent over, between two parked cars, before barreling directly toward one of the unsuspecting shooters. In footage that has been viewed millions of times around the world, the 44-year-old father can be seen tackling one of the gunmen, wrestling the man’s shotgun from his grip and turning it on the attacker.

    The story of the Syrian-Australian Muslim shop owner who put an end to the rampage of one of the shooters on Sunday has been seized upon by a country desperately seeking comfort after one of its darkest hours: the slaying of 15 people as they celebrated their Jewish faith.

    In this photo released by the Prime Minister office, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meets Ahmed al Ahmed at St George Hospital in Sydney on Tuesday.

    Millions have been raised for Bondi hero

    “At a moment where we have seen evil perpetrated, he shines out as an example of the strength of humanity,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Tuesday, as he left a Sydney hospital where al Ahmed is being treated for gunshot wounds. “We are a brave country. Ahmed al Ahmed represents the best of our country.”

    A fundraising page established by Australians who had never met al Ahmed had attracted by Tuesday night donations by some 40,000 people, who gave 2.3 million Australian dollars ($1.5 million). Among the supporters was the billionaire hedge fund manager William Ackman, who pledged AU$99,000.

    Father of two faces a long recovery

    Al Ahmed, who is married with two young daughters, faces a long struggle ahead, those who have spoken to him since Sunday’s massacre say. He was shot multiple times in the left arm, apparently by the second gunman in the attack as the man fired indiscriminately from a footbridge.

    He has already undergone surgery and more operations are scheduled, said Lubaba alhmidi Alkahil, a spokesperson for the Australians for Syria Association, who visited al Ahmed in a hospital late Monday. The “quiet and humble” man was conscious but frail and faced at least six months of recovery, Alkahil said.

    A prime minister and a president are fans

    In the days since the attack, a pile of floral tributes and notes of thanks has grown outside the small tobacco store al Ahmed owns opposite a train station in suburban Sydney. Meanwhile, he has received visits at the hospital from Australia’s leaders, apparently telling Chris Minns, the premier of New South Wales state, that he’d take the same action again.

    He has been hailed as a hero by world leaders including U.S. President Donald Trump and Australia’s Governor General, who is the representative of Britain’s King Charles in the country. Minns said al Ahmed saved “countless” lives in what the premier said was “the most unbelievable scene I’ve ever seen.”

    Al Ahmed was once a police officer

    Al Ahmed lived in the town of Nayrab in Syria’s Idlib region before he arrived in Australia, his cousin Mohammad al Ahmed told the Associated Press. He left Syria in 2006 after finishing his studies, before the 2011 mass protests against the government of then-President Bashar Assad that were met with a brutal crackdown and spiraled into a nearly 14-year civil war.

    Nayrab was heavily bombed by Assad’s forces with most of the town’s houses flattened and reduced to rubble. On Tuesday, al Ahmed was the talk of the town.

    “Ahmed did really a heroic job,” his cousin, Mohammad al Ahmed told the Associated Press. “Without any hesitation, he tackled the terrorist and disarmed him just to save innocent people.”

    Ahmed al Ahmed’s parents, who came to Sydney this year to reunite with their son, told Australian Broadcasting Corp. that their son had served with the police and in the central security forces in Syria. Father Mohamed Fateh al Ahmed said his son’s “conscience and soul” compelled him to act on Sunday.

    “I feel pride and honor because my son is a hero of Australia,” the father said.

    Tale of heroism gives hope amid tragedy

    In the aftermath of the mass killing, a country roiling from one of the worst hate-fueled attacks ever on its soil — allegedly committed by an Australian resident who arrived from India in 1998 and his Australian-born son — looked for hope amid their grief. Stories of heroism have started to emerge.

    They included the tale of a married couple, Boris and Sofia Gurman, who were both killed while trying to stop one of the shooters as he climbed from his car and began the massacre, their family has told Australian news outlets.

    Reuven Morrison, 62, was also killed while trying to stop the horror, according to his daughter, Sheina Gutnick. After al Ahmed wrestled the gun from one shooter, a person Gutnick identified as Morrison is seen throwing objects at the gunman — before he was shot by the second man.

    Acts of courage like these were cited by many on social media and in news outlets as examples of what being Australian should mean.

    “When he did what he did, he wasn’t thinking at all about the background of the people he’s saving, the people dying in the street,” Mohamed Fateh al Ahmed said of his son. “He doesn’t discriminate between one nationality and another, especially here in Australia there’s no difference between one citizen and another.”

  • Repairing the World Through Compassionate Care

    Repairing the World Through Compassionate Care

    Robin Brandies, 56, left a career in international law more than 20 years ago to find purpose and meaning in work that would impact individuals’ lives. Now, as the CEO and president of Jewish Family and Children’s Service (JFCS), she is dedicated to ensuring that vulnerable Philadelphians facing challenges get the help they need with dignity and care. “JFCS is rooted in Jewish values, especially tikkun olam, which is the idea of repairing the world,” Brandies said. “Being a Jewish organization means leading with compassion, inclusion, and service for all.”

    With decades of leadership experience in mission-driven organizations, including serving at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital and guiding services at Abramson Senior Care, Brandies brings authenticity and pragmatism to her work. Under her stewardship, JFCS serves as a lifeline for individuals and families facing challenges. The organization offers counseling, care management, financial assistance, as well as food, clothing, housing, and social connectivity. JFCS is founded on Jewish values of giving and caring for others and is open to individuals of all faiths.

    Here, Brandies shares the experiences that drew her to this work, the people who inspire her daily, and the stories that reveal how JFCS transforms everyday lives.

    What experiences led you to dedicate your career to social services?

    My background is actually in international law. I spent several years in Washington working at the intersection of law, human rights, and foreign policy. I was drawn to that world because I wanted to make an impact on a large scale. I believed the political realm was where real change could happen.

    Over time, I realized that doing good in that context was often buried under layers of politics. I remember sitting in a law firm conference room surrounded by stacks of documents, representing the United Nations in a contract dispute, and thinking: This isn’t it. I wasn’t using the best parts of myself, which are my ability to connect with people, my propensity to build relationships, and to care deeply and personally.

    That realization sparked a lot of soul searching. I came to understand that meaningful change doesn’t always have to happen on a global scale. Sometimes it’s just as powerful, maybe even more so, to make a difference close to home. That’s what ultimately led me to this work.

    How did you find your way to the organization?

    Before joining JFCS, I was the President and Executive Director of Abramson Senior Care, another mission-driven nonprofit that had served low-income seniors for more than 160 years. The former CEO of JFCS and I began discussing the idea of a merger between our two organizations, something that could truly strengthen services for older adults in our community.

    I knew pursuing that merger might ultimately mean talking myself out of a job, but I believed it was the right thing to do for the people we serve. A few months into those discussions, [then JFCS’s CEO] Paula Goldstein, announced her retirement from JFCS. The organization launched a national search, and I decided to throw my hat in the ring.

    How has your own family, faith, or upbringing influenced the way you lead and serve?

    I’ve had close family members face a range of challenges, from LGBTQ+ discrimination to mental health struggles, addiction, and developmental disabilities. Watching people I love navigate such complex systems gave me a very personal understanding of what it means to feel unseen or unsupported.

    That perspective has deeply shaped how I lead. It reinforced my belief in the importance of dignity, empathy, and access — the idea that everyone deserves to be met with compassion and respect. Even back in law school, before I knew where my career would lead, I wrote my law review paper on gay adoption. Looking back, the thread of advocacy and inclusion has always been there.

    When the work feels heavy, what keeps you grounded and motivated?

    It might sound simple, but my family, meditation, and time in nature keep me centered. Being in nature helps me recharge and reminds me of the bigger picture.

    What personal values guide your decision-making as a leader?

    Authenticity is a big one for me. I’d much rather work with someone who’s direct and real than someone who’s polished but insincere. I also deeply value courage. In past leadership roles, I’ve had to make tough, often unpopular decisions that required doing what was right rather than what was easy. I admire and try to be the kind of leader who leads with both honesty and bravery.

    Who are the people who inspire you most?

    I’ve been fortunate to have mentors who encouraged me to find my own path. Early in my career, I wasn’t loving my work in international securities law, and my boss — former SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt — gave me incredible support. He allowed me to spend a couple of afternoons a week exploring other interests while keeping up with my responsibilities. That generosity and trust taught me the value of caring mentorship and the courage to explore new directions.

    Later, Carol Irvine, the former CEO at Abramson Senior Care, inspired me in a different way. After stepping away from work for several years to focus on my family, I returned to a vice president role. Carol saw my potential and supported me without judgment, valuing commitment and authenticity over my time away. Both of them modeled courage, integrity, and belief in people, values I carry into my own leadership.

    How do you define success in your role, for the organization and for yourself?

    For me, success has a few dimensions. Professionally, I hope to grow more leaders. True leaders don’t create followers; they create more leaders. I also measure success by how well the organization embraces collaboration and partnership within the community, making the most of limited resources. And finally, I define success by ensuring long-term sustainability, setting JFCS up to serve generations to come.

    What does JFCS provide for families in need that they can’t easily find elsewhere?

    JFCS serves as a gateway to a wide range of integrated services, many under one roof. We address mental health, food insecurity, housing, parenting support, school-based programs, and robust older adult services. Often, a client’s challenge isn’t just one thing — it’s interconnected. Our ability to see the full picture and coordinate care in a holistic way is what truly sets us apart. Human beings are complex, and we acknowledge that and take care of their needs in an integrated way.

    Can you share a story that captures the spirit or impact of JFCS’s work?

    A few weeks ago, I visited JFCS’ mobile basic needs program, Our Closet In Your Neighborhood. What began as a clothing distribution service has grown to offer food and social work support. At each pop-up shop, clients can select clothing in a respectful, dignified way, while a social worker is on hand to address other needs: housing, health care, or guidance. That seamless integration of care really captures what makes JFCS unique.

    How does JFCS balance honoring Jewish values with serving a diverse community?

    JFCS is rooted in Jewish values, especially tikkun olam, which is the idea of repairing the world. It serves as a call to action, encouraging individuals to address social and economic inequality, and other injustices through acts of kindness and service. But we see that as a universal human value. While we provide a safety net for vulnerable members of the Jewish community, we serve everyone, regardless of belief or background. Being a Jewish organization means leading with compassion, inclusion, and service for all.

    What are you most proud of when you look at JFCS today?

    I’m proud that JFCS is a trusted gateway organization, a safety net for people in need with a long history of service. I also admire how nimble we’ve been, adapting to changing community needs. Whether facing food insecurity, benefit disruptions, or other challenges, I’m confident this organization will continue to find solutions and support those who rely on us.

    What is the biggest challenge on your desk? What is the biggest opportunity?

    The biggest challenge is navigating strategic and financial planning in an uncertain funding environment. The biggest opportunity is the JFCS-Abramson merger. By combining our expertise, we can offer a full spectrum of health care, social services, and community support, creating something truly transformative for seniors in need.

    What do you wish people understood better about the families and children you serve?

    These families aren’t so different from anyone else. They’re just facing different challenges. No one is free of challenges at one time or another. Anyone can find themselves in a tough situation. What matters is how we respond, and the resilience and courage I see every day in the people we serve is remarkable.

    When you think about the future, what do you hope your legacy — and JFCS’s legacy — will be?

    I hope my legacy is setting JFCS up for longevity and sustainability so the organization can keep helping people for decades to come. I also want to build lasting partnerships and foster a sense that social services transcend political divides. No matter our opinions on politics or policy, almost everyone agrees we should help people in need. That belief that helping others can unite us is really important to me, and I hope it becomes a defining part of JFCS’s identity.

    What have you read recently that has been impactful in your thinking?

    I recently read David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants, by Malcolm Gladwell, and it really stuck with me. I loved how it highlights the strength and grit people develop when they face challenges. It reminded me that overcoming obstacles can be a source of resilience, and that underdogs often have hidden advantages. It’s a powerful reminder not to underestimate anyone based on appearances or circumstances.

    Do you have a mantra you live by?

    I’m inspired by Billy Joel’s song, “Vienna.” The idea is simple: Go for what you want, give it your all, and make the most of life’s experiences. But I also love the idea that it’s good to just be here today.

    Of course it’s good to strive, to grow, and to have goals. But also balance that with a real appreciation and enjoyment of where you are right now.

    PHILLY QUICK ROUND

    What’s your favorite Philly food splurge? Philly pizza! And Philly water ice, especially root beer and vanilla.

    Biggest misconception non-locals have about Philly? That it’s all toughness and no softness.

    What sports team shirt do you wear most often? The Phillies.

    Favorite Philly restaurant? I love the Israeli restaurant Zahav. Especially their hummus!

    Favorite Philadelphia-born artist? I am a huge Walt Whitman fan.

    When you think of the great Philadelphians in history, who is your GOAT? The signers of the Declaration of Independence.

    I feel most like a Philadelphian when… I’m at the Phillies game.

    Lucy Danziger is a journalist, an author, and the former editor-in-chief of Self Magazine, Women’s Sports & Fitness, and The Beet.

  • Warner Bros asks its investors to reject the takeover bid from Paramount Skydance, saying Netflix’s will be better for customers

    Warner Bros asks its investors to reject the takeover bid from Paramount Skydance, saying Netflix’s will be better for customers

    NEW YORK — Warner Bros. is telling shareholders to reject a takeover bid from Paramount Skydance, saying that a rival bid from Netflix will be better for customers.

    “We strongly believe that Netflix and Warner Bros. joining forces will offer consumers more choice and value, allow the creative community to reach even more audiences with our combined distribution, and fuel our long-term growth,” Warner Bros. said Wednesday. “We made this deal because their deep portfolio of iconic franchises, expansive library, and strong studio capabilities will complement—not duplicate—our existing business.”

    Paramount went hostile with its bid last week, asking shareholders to reject the deal with Netflix favored by the board of Warner Bros.

    Paramount goes hostile in bid for Warner Bros., challenging a $72 billion offer by Netflix

    Paramount’s bid isn’t off the table altogether. While Wednesday’s letter to shareholders means Paramount’s is not the offer favored by the board at Warner Bros., shareholders can still decide to tender their shares in favor of Paramount’s offer for the entire company — including cable stalwarts CNN and Discovery.

    Unlike Paramount’s bid, the offer from Netflix does not include buying the cable operations of Warner Bros. An acquisition by Netflix, if approved by regulators and shareholders, will close only after Warner completes its previously announced separation of its cable operations.

  • A Trump-touted drug for autism is now in demand, but doctors see a dilemma

    A Trump-touted drug for autism is now in demand, but doctors see a dilemma

    Pediatrician Kristin Sohl has lost count of how many times parents of children with autism have asked her for a prescription for leucovorin — the drug thrust into the spotlight after President Donald Trump touted it at a White House event this fall.

    Since September, despite the rising queries, Sohl has typically told her patients no.

    Early clinical trials of the drug showed hints of promise in boosting communication and cognition for some children with autism. But the studies have been small, often just a few dozen participants. Normally, approval by the Food and Drug Administration comes only after years of large-scale testing. But Trump’s pledge to fast-track the drug in September, bypassing that process, has left many doctors on the front lines divided.

    “It leaves me as a practicing physician with a lot of unanswered questions,” said Sohl, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Missouri School of Medicine, who has been working in the field of autism for over 20 years.

    As interest in the drug surges, Facebook groups devoted to it are swelling in membership, message boards are inundated with questions, and Google searches are climbing. Physicians, who typically rely on evidence-based guidelines and clear treatment algorithms, are finding that with leucovorin they must — lacking robust scientific data — improvise. Some are cautiously moving forward with prescribing the drug, but many are still holding off.

    At Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., neurodevelopmental pediatrician Sinan Turnacioglu said the hospital convened a meeting of various departments — including those specializing in autism, developmental pediatrics, genetics and psychiatry, as well as primary care doctors — to come up with a systemwide policy. Their conclusion: that they would like to see more robust research before prescribing it.

    Peter Crino, chair of neurology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and who runs a clinic for neurodivergent adults, likewise said he believes the medication is not ready for prime time.

    “People are asking me a lot about it, but I do not prescribe it. Gosh I hope there will be something to the drug and it will help people in the future, but the data is simply not there yet,” he said.

    Limited evidence

    Each conversation Sohl has with families unfolds differently, she said, shaped by a child’s history, a parent’s worry, a flicker of hope. But the script she follows is steady: she lays out what research has shown — and what it doesn’t — about the treatment, then asks what the family hopes the drug might change.

    In a field with no cure and few therapies, she uses that same framework to guide discussions about the other latest supposed breakthroughs drifting across social media — broccoli extracts, CBD oil, stem cell therapy, and more. The goal isn’t to dismiss any ideas outright but to ground them in evidence, or show the lack of it, before families decide what to do next.

    For leucovorin, Sohl’s main message is that “we’re not on solid science yet.” However, there are “potential suggestions of benefit.”

    Leucovorin or folinic acid has a long history of use in the context of cancer for about 50 years. It’s been shown to protect healthy cells from the toxic effects of one particular chemotherapy drug and to enhance the effectiveness of another one. Side effects were very minimal but in cancer patients have included nausea and fatigue.

    For some children with autism, the immune system may produce antibodies that block the body’s ability to move folate — a vitamin essential for cell growth and DNA production — into the brain. Leucovorin, a prescription form of folate, offers a potential workaround. It crosses the blood-brain barrier by a different route, delivering the nutrient where it’s needed.

    The U.S. clinical trial that got Trump’s attention is being conducted by Richard E. Frye, a pediatric neurologist who was formerly an associate professor at Arizona Children’s Hospital in Phoenix. Its design was considered the gold standard — a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial — but it only had 48 children, ages 5 to 12, in it. In the trial — published in 2018 in the journal Molecular Psychiatry — the drug was well-tolerated and the parents and doctors reported improvements in communication and behavior.

    Frye said in an interview that leucovorin did not work on all of his patients. But it did work for many and that children with no verbal utterances began showing meaningful word approximations, for example, and that those with phrase speech began forming full sentences.

    There have been four subsequent trials in other countries, and all four of them also reported significant improvements and no serious harm. But they were also very small. A study in France with 19 patients was published in 2020, in Iran with 55 patients in 2021, in India with 40 patients in 2024, and in China with 80 patients in 2025.

    The Trump administration latched onto promising research and promoted efforts to expand access to leucovorin for autism, despite the lack of large-scale clinical trials.

    But since then, doctors have been proceeding cautiously. At least two influential medical societies have come out with their own interim recommendations. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Society for Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics both do not recommend the routine use of leucovorin for children with autism. But the AAP left an opening for doctors to prescribe it, stating that pediatric care providers “are encouraged to engage in shared decision-making with families who inquire about or request leucovorin, providing clear information about current evidence and potential risks.”

    Crino said that many medical research papers — including those on leucovorin — are written in ways families can understand, and he encourages patients and their families to read the primary studies themselves. He often reviews the papers with them, he added, pointing out the limitations of the research. In the 2024 study, which was published in the European Journal of Pediatrics, for example, the authors reported that many children showed improvements in speech, but none went from nonspeaking to speaking, and the study offered no evidence about whether those changes affected daily life.

    “There is a lot going on in scientific research that is getting twisted,” he said.

    Turnacioglu said that some of his patients receive leucovorin from other providers. In those cases, he focuses on monitoring their progress by first establishing a baseline assessment of language and adaptive skills and then repeating the same evaluations periodically to track any changes.

    In those cases, he focuses on monitoring their progress by first establishing a baseline assessment of language and adaptive skills and then repeating these evaluations periodically to track any changes.

    He said the growing interest in leucovorin reflects a broader shift toward more personalized autism treatments, fueled by recent research that supports what clinicians have long observed: autism is not a uniform condition that exists along one continuous spectrum, but rather a collection of distinct conditions that have been grouped under a single label. As a result, different people may require different treatments.

    “We don’t yet have enough information to use those findings to guide leucovorin treatment,” Turnacioglu said. “But it’s the kind of direction I’m excited about — figuring out which patients are going to respond to particular treatments.”

    An exception

    Sohl is part of a team of pediatricians who helped draft the AAP guidelines.

    The patients that have approached her are all ages and across the spectrum, including adults and individuals with strong verbal skills. For months, she’d explained her reasons for holding back on leucovorin, and most families accepted them.

    Then, in October, a patient sat across from her and she began to wonder if this might be an exception.

    He was a teen boy she describes as minimally speaking, whom Sohl had been treating for 10 years. She was impressed by his knowledge of the research on leucovorin, his deep and realistic understanding of the potential risks and benefits, and his eagerness to document any changes both quantitatively and in narrative form. Sohl will be meeting with her patient each month to go over any changes.

    “I have low expectations, his mom has low expectations, he has low expectations. But we all agreed it was worth a therapeutic trial,” Sohl said.

    With the recent national attention, information about leucovorin has been spreading online far faster than through the slow, methodical channels of medical research, where studies and peer-reviewed papers can take years to emerge. She learns from the parents and patients who are often the first to encounter new ideas circulating in their communities and online.

    Sohl tells families that while the drug has shown very little in the realm of side effects, this is in the context of adults with cancer, not children with autism. She said she emphasizes that she does not think this is a dangerous medicine, but there has not been enough research.

    “I think it’s my duty as a doctor to say that I don’t know,” Sohl said, “and I want you to know I don’t know.”

  • TikTok’s mental health ‘rabbit hole’? It’s not in your head.

    TikTok’s mental health ‘rabbit hole’? It’s not in your head.

    At first, the mental health-related videos that popped up on Amy Russell’s TikTok feed made her feel seen. The tips and funny anecdotes about living with ADHD reminded her of herself — maybe her forgetfulness wasn’t a flaw but a symptom.

    After two years of learning about the condition on TikTok, she went to a doctor for an assessment. The resulting diagnosis changed her life for the better, she said, as she started taking medication and using strategies to manage daily tasks. She attributes the transformation in part to TikTok.

    There’s just one problem: Now she can’t get the ADHD videos off her feed. The more she scrolls, the stranger and less trustworthy the content becomes, she said. Her efforts to see less of it — scrolling past videos and not engaging — don’t seem to help.

    “You just keep finding more tunnels and it gets harder to find your way out,” Russell, 35, said.

    She’s not imagining it. TikTok’s algorithm favors mental health content over many other topics, including politics, cats, and Taylor Swift, according to a Washington Post analysis of nearly 900 U.S. TikTok users who shared their viewing histories. The analysis found that mental health content is “stickier” than many other videos: It’s easier to spawn more of it after watching with a video, and harder to get it out of your feed afterward.

    “It felt like a rabbit hole to me because you kept going down deeper and deeper,” Russell said.

    TikTok uses an algorithm to select a video and gives users two main options: Watch it or skip past to something else. Along the way, the app learns what a user like Russell likes and dislikes, based on her watching and skipping behavior. It takes skipping past 1.3 videos, on average, to undo the effect of watching one full video about cats or politics, The Post analysis found. For mental health, it takes 2.2 skips — meaning users must work harder to get it out of their feeds.

    TikTok spokesperson Mahsau Cullinane criticized The Post’s methodology as incomplete and said it doesn’t “reflect the reality of how our recommendation system works.”

    This finding comes amid a broader debate on the role of algorithms and influencers in Americans’ understanding of mental health. Content about mental illness and neurological differences is extremely popular across social media apps, with about as many TikTok posts using the hashtag #mentalhealth as those that mention #sports, according to data from analytics firm Sprout Social. Mental health content on TikTok deals with not just conditions like depression or anxiety, but also living with a neurological type such as ADHD or autism.

    People are turning to social media for health information as Americans face a shortage of mental health professionals, barriers to accessing and paying for care, and lingering stigma. Information from social media helps underserved and underdiagnosed populations better understand themselves, many users say. What happens next, however, is rarely examined.

    Over the period that The Post examined Russell’s TikTok data, about one in 11 videos on her feed were mental-health-related. Russell, who spent more than an hour watching videos on many days, said the more she scrolled, the more often she saw videos from nonprofessionals that seemed designed to get a reaction rather than educate.

    Efforts to evaluate mental health content on TikTok support Russell’s impression. Anthony Yeung, a psychiatrist and University of British Columbia researcher, ran a study examining 100 top TikTok videos about ADHD and found that some were helpful, but about half were misleading. (Videos about creators’ personal experiences weren’t classified as misleading.) Other reviews of TikTok content about ADHD and autism by mental health practitioners have found similar results.

    “The algorithm says, ‘Well, you like this video about ADHD, even though it’s misleading, let’s give you another video,’” Yeung said. “And it becomes this very vicious feedback loop of misinformation.”

    The phenomenon is having a profound effect on real-world mental health treatment, clinicians say. Yeung said he deals with “two visions of what ADHD is”: the one discussed on social media and the one he sees among actual patients. On TikTok, ADHD content often paints with a broad brush, portraying common quirks or struggles as not just personal experiences but diagnostic criteria for the condition.

    One popular ADHD account, @lifeactuator, regularly earns views in the millions with titles like “What ADHD feels like” and “Things people with ADHD do despite knowing better.” One widely watched video with the caption “if the world was made for ADHD” depicts a Costco store with ADHD shoppers being chased around by store employees to stop them from making impulse purchases.

    Eric Whittington, the Arizona-based creator behind @lifeactuator, said that because of the constraints of short-form video, he’s not able to include all the information viewers might need to understand what, if anything, his videos reflect about ADHD as an actual medical condition. Taken individually, his videos probably apply to a broad swath of the population, he said — not just people with ADHD.

    “When you only have a minute to work with, it’s hard to add disclaimers on the content saying, ‘Yes, everybody experiences this from time to time, but if it happens all the time, you may have ADHD,’ ” he said.

    Rana Coniglio, an Arizona-based therapist who works primarily with Gen Z clients, said they often arrive at her practice already attached to a diagnosis they found on TikTok. Sometimes, that attachment makes it harder to accurately diagnose or make a treatment plan that could improve that person’s symptoms.

    “I have had people come to me and say, ‘Hey, I saw this video on TikTok and it’s actually the reason that I’m seeking therapy because it made me think I actually do need help,’ and there are benefits to that,” she said. “But I think the majority of people see a diagnosis, take it and run with it.”

    High volume, low quality

    For Ace Bannon, a 19-year-old in Utah, the more he watched, the darker the content became.

    Bannon first got curious about autism and its characteristics after learning that many of his best friends — people he’d met on a Discord server — were autistic. He started watching TikTok videos, with content about autism taking up a growing chunk of his feed. Then, TikTok served him video after video of autistic adults discussing the trauma they endured as children, Bannon said. Before long, he wanted his old algorithm back.

    “Because you’re interested, it starts recommending more of those videos and it makes you fall into these rabbit holes that you just want to get out of after a while, but you can’t.”

    Sometimes this experience actually exacerbates existing mental health problems, some users say. Kailey Stephen-Lane, 30, said she had to temporarily stop using the app because spending time on TikTok was worsening the symptoms of her obsessive compulsive disorder. While her real-life therapist was helping her sit with fears and insecurities without fixating, TikTok was “bombarding” her with videos about the very symptoms that made her so anxious, she said.

    “The TikToks that I’ve been getting are not helpful to my recovery,” she said. “They lead me down a lot of spirals, and me just clicking ‘not interested’ doesn’t seem to work anymore.“

    TikTok provides a high-level description of some of the data its algorithm uses but few details. That makes it difficult to know why mental health videos are stickier than other topics, says Stevie Chancellor, an engineering professor at the University of Minnesota who studies AI and its risks, and whose research found that the algorithm creates a “runaway train” of mental health content.

    But the app’s business incentives offer some clues, Chancellor says. Maybe users who see a lot of mental health videos spend longer on the platform or are more likely to spend money down the line, she said. Maybe the effect is completely unintentional, an example of a black-box algorithm optimizing for what it thinks users want.

    “Watching [mental health] content might lead to other behaviors that are valuable on the platform,” Chancellor said.

    The topic may become sticky because it’s one “that a user only wants to engage with sometimes,” said Laura Edelson, a computer science professor at Northeastern University who collaborated with The Post in a parallel TikTok research effort.

    Cullinane, the TikTok spokesperson, said the company is “transparent” about how its feed works.

    For TikTok users, adjusting the type of content that shows up on their feeds can be hard. It’s not always clear when engaging with a certain video would spawn something undesirable: Even watching clips about romantic relationships made a user more likely to encounter mental health content, The Post’s analysis found. TikTok has gradually added options that could help users tailor their feeds, such as clicking a “not interested” button, blocking videos with certain keywords or resetting their algorithms from scratch. A new “Manage Topics” menu lets users adjust the prevalence of 12 specific topics on their For You page — but mental health isn’t one of them.

    As for Russell, she is glad for the journey toward an ADHD diagnosis because of TikTok. She just wishes her favorite type of content — lighthearted cat videos — got the same treatment from the app’s algorithm.

    “I want like 10-20% cute cat videos, probably even like 30%,” she said. “But those disappear really quickly.”

    Methodology

    Hundreds of TikTok users in the United States sent their watch history data to The Washington Post. We downloaded the collective 14.8 million videos they’d been shown and then sorted them into topics, based on keywords in the transcripts and on-screen text. The Post calculated the stickiness of each topic by computing the difference between the number of topical mental health videos each user had been shown in the previous 50 videos and how many they saw in the next 50. We averaged this for all videos, aggregated by whether the user watched at least 90% of the video, or skipped it.