📌 High Terror Risk, Migration, More

The Department of Homeland Security said the risk of foreign and domestic terror threats against the US remains high.

DHS cited “potential violent extremist responses to domestic sociopolitical developments — particularly the 2024 election cycle — and international events like the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.” It added, “Lone offenders and small groups continue to pose the greatest threat.”

DHS said it is pushing resources toward detecting and stopping the trafficking of drugs like fentanyl and has seen success in reducing annual overdose deaths. It said it is working to identify and stop people “who may present a threat to public safety or national security” from entering US borders.

The department said China, Russia and Iran are still the biggest foreign state threats to US infrastructure and warned state actors and financial criminals may continue to call for physical attacks, especially in response to international conflicts.

DHS encouraged the public to report suspicious incidents or violent threats to local law enforcement and the FBI.

The Dominican Republic says it plans to deport up to 10,000 undocumented migrants a week to tackle uncontrolled migration.

The plan was announced by President Luis Abinader's spokesman, Homero Figueroa, who blamed the international community's slow response to months of gang violence in neighboring Haiti and its failure to restore stability.

Tens of thousands of Haitians have fled across the border into the Dominican Republic. Critics say the government has treated Haitian migrants inhumanely, many of whom are fleeing the extreme gang violence and poverty in the capital Port-au-Prince.

According to the UN's International Organization for Migration, last year, the Dominican Republic forcibly returned more than 200,000 people to Haiti.

Fizzy drinks (pop), fruit juices, and coffee consumed in excess of four cups increase stroke risk, while black and green tea lower it.

Fizzy drinks, including both sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened such as diet or zero sugar, were linked with a 22% increased chance of stroke, and the risk increased sharply with two or more of these drinks a day, according to studies by an Irish and Canadian university and an international research network.

Freshly squeezed fruit juices are most likely to bring benefits, but not fruit drinks made from concentrates, which can have added sugars and preservatives. Such drinks were linked with a 37% increase in the chance of stroke due to bleeding (intracranial hemorrhage). With two of these drinks a day, the risk triples.

Drinking 3-4 cups daily of black tea was linked with a 29% lower chance of stroke; 3-4 cups daily of green tea was linked with a 27% lower chance of stroke. The reduction was lost for those who added milk. Drinking over 7 cups of water daily was linked with reduced odds of stroke caused by a clot.

Stroke occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off and damages brain cells. It can be either ischemic stroke, usually due to a blood clot, or intracerebral hemorrhage, which is bleeding into the brain tissue.

The devastation in North Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Helene could have severe implications for the tech industry.

Tucked in the Blue Ridge Mountains on the outskirts of Spruce Pine, a town of less than 2,200, are two mines that produce the world’s purest quartz. The material is a critical component in semiconductor chips, which power everything from smartphones and cars to medical devices and solar panels.

Sibelco and The Quartz Corp, the companies that separately manage the two mines, say they shut down operations ahead of the storm and are working to restart.

Supply chain experts say it could take weeks to make the mines operational again, which could mean chip shortages and price hikes.

OpenAI completed its long-anticipated funding round, raising $6.6 billion in what is considered the largest venture capital deal.

OpenAI continues to grow its revenue, but the giant investment reflects its rising costs. It plans to shift to a for-profit structure, and reports say investors can ask for their money back if it doesn't complete those changes in two years.

OpenAI is transforming from a nonprofit lab to a product-focused company — a move that has attracted investors. But CTO Mira Murati and two top researchers are leaving the company amid multiple reports of a culture clash.

“The new funding will allow us to double down on our leadership in frontier AI research, increase compute capacity, and continue building tools that help people solve hard problems,” OpenAI said in a blog post.

Denmark rose from the No. 4 spot in 2023 to No. 1 on this year’s ranking of the best countries in the world based on quality of life.

To rank the 89 countries listed, U.S. News and World Report, global marketing and communication services company WPP and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania surveyed nearly 17,000 people worldwide from Mar. 22 to May 23, 2024.

Quality of life scores were based on affordability, job market, economic stability, family friendliness, income equality, political stability, safety, public education, and public health.

The Danes pay high taxes — up to half of their income — but this is balanced by free healthcare, subsidized childcare, no university tuition, grants to help cover expenses while studying, pensions and care helpers.

Ranked second to tenth are Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Canada, Finland, Germany, Australia, the Netherlands and New Zealand.

The US missed the top 10, ranking 22, and was dragged down by affordability (57) and bureaucracy (49), but it ranked third overall in the best countries in 2024.

A woman in northwest China born with two uteruses gave birth to twins from both wombs.

The woman, surnamed Li, has a condition that affects only 0.3% of women worldwide. According to China National Radio, both her uteruses were fully formed and included ovaries and oviducts.

The double ovary condition is rare, but it is even more uncommon for a woman to give birth successfully. Li had been pregnant before but suffered a miscarriage at 27 weeks due to unidentified factors, a report said.

The babies were born healthy, with the boy weighing 7.28 lbs and the girl 5.29 lbs. A cesarean operation was performed. Li and her newborns were discharged from the hospital four days later.