Author: wildgreenquest@gmail.com
An aggressive new policy from the U.S. State Department that will force a group of Americans to give up their passports. On Thursday, the department announced that it would begin revoking passports for anyone who owes more than $2,500 in outstanding child support payments. The planned crackdown was first reported by the Associated Press in February, but made official on Thursday. “Under President Trump, the Department of State is using commonsense tools to support American families and strengthen compliance with U.S. laws,” the State Department wrote on its website. “This includes preventing those who owe substantial amounts of court-ordered child…
Don’t bin that old PC.Getty ImagesMicrosoft is changing Windows Update. For the first time ever, the Secure Boot certificates first issued in 2011 start expiring in June. Microsoft will automatically install new certificates on most PCs. But for hundreds of millions of Windows 10 users, there are no new certificates. After the June expiry date, you will be at risk.When Windows 10 expired in October 2025, Microsoft put in place a free year of extended support. This is available until October. You need to enrol to secure these security updates. You’ll also get new Secure Boot certificates.Don’t bin that old…
Published May 8, 2026 12:28PMClimbing in the Himalaya is like a carefully rehearsed play. Everest is merely the set, and the summit push, the final act. The real work is done behind the stage, by people who vanish into the background and never appear on the playbill.This behind-the-scenes work typically falls to local Nepalese, many of whom bear the revered Sherpa surname. For the Sherpa, mountaineering is a lifestyle. Locals often begin guiding and portering as young as 18 or 19, following in their father’s or grandfather’s footsteps. The labor includes everything from carrying loads to cleaning toilets to hiking…
The Pentagon is releasing “never-before-seen” files on UFOs. The files, many which have been under wraps for decades, can now be accessed by anyone online. The Friday release includes the declassification of 162 files on what the government is calling Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP). The now-public files can be found under a new tab on The Department of War’s site. The move follows a presidential order that came in February, which called for greater transparency around UAP.“The American people can now access the federal government’s declassified UAP files instantly. The latest UAP videos, photos, and original source documents from across…
The Icebreaker event is coming soon. Credit: Battlestate GamesOn the recent TarkovTV stream, the Escape From Tarkov development team revealed the first official details of the hotly anticipated Icebreaker event, revealing that it is due to launch sometime this month.The icebreaker event will be the largest event in Escape From Tarkov history, and will feature a brand new location in the form of a cargo ship. This location will become a permanent addition to Tarkov after the event ends, and it seems to feature some very unique mechanics.In the short but revealing trailer for the event that was shown on…
No screen, no problem. That’s the bet $10 billion brands like Whoop, Oura and Fitbit are making, as sales for screenless fitness trackers surged 88% between 2024 and 2025. Whoop raised $575 million in March while smart ring maker Oura pulled in over $900 million, both now valued north of $10 billion. The market got so hot that Google just launched its own screenless tracker—the $100 Fitbit Air ships May 26. Apple Watch still dominates the wearables market, but the others aren’t trying to compete head-on. Instead, they’re differentiating by removing the one feature everyone assumed was essential. No screen…
Published May 8, 2026 09:44AMI’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve completed the 11-day hike from Himalayan foothills of Lukla up to Mount Everest Base Camp. The 40-mile hike takes in lush forests, picturesque villages, and some truly punishing inclines as it ascends about 8,000 vertical feet.In 2025 I wrote about how the towns, tea houses, and tourism industry along the route have changed and grown over the past few decades. After 28 years of living and trekking in Nepal, it feels almost as if the Mount Everest Base Camp trek and myself have grown up together. Over…
As concerns mount over artificial intelligence and its rapid integration into society, tech companies are increasingly turning to faith leaders for guidance on how to shape the technology — a surprising about-face on Silicon Valley’s longstanding skepticism of organized religion.Leaders from various religious groups met last week with representatives from companies including Anthropic and OpenAI for the inaugural “Faith-AI Covenant” roundtable in New York to discuss how best to infuse morality and ethics into the fast-developing technology. It was organized by the Geneva-based Interfaith Alliance for Safer Communities, which seeks to take on issues such as extremism, radicalization and human…
This is not science fiction. New technology allows parents to screen embryos for traits like high IQ, height and eye color to create “genetically-enhanced” humans—and companies are charging up to $50,000 for the service. Biotech startups like Herasight in North Carolina, Nucleus Genomics in New York and Orchid Health in California use polygenic risk scores to predict which embryos are most likely to produce tall, smart, healthy children. The technology analyzes genetic variants to estimate everything from Alzheimer’s risk to propensity for baldness. “We help people have their best babies,” Kian Sadeghi, founder of Nucleus Genomics told NPR, calling it…
Published May 8, 2026 08:48AMMay 2026 Update: After testing every new stability shoe and comparing them to models already tested, we named eight new category winners, including a new best stability shoe all-around in the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 25, which stood out for its innovative, smooth support and balanced blend of cushioning and responsiveness. For a shoe that supports and also feels fast for up-tempo days, check out the Hoka Arahi 8.About our lead tester: I’ve been a runner since the late ’70s and a running magazine editor, writer, and shoe reviewer since 2000. Once a 2:46 marathoner regularly doing 50+…