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Likely tornado rips through Houston area

admin - Latest News - November 25, 2025
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A massive funnel cloud sliced through the Houston area, downing trees and tearing pieces from buildings. NBC News’ Priscilla Thompson reports from hard-hit Spring, Texas.



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Nov. 25, 2025, 6:40 AM ESTBy Evan BushAs we age, the human brain rewires itself. The process happens in distinct phases, or “epochs,” according to new research, as the structure of our neural networks changes and our brains reconfigure how we think and process information.For the first time, scientists say they’ve identified four distinct turning points between those phases in an average brain: at ages 9, 32, 66 and 83. During each epoch between those years, our brains show markedly different characteristics in brain architecture, they say.The findings, published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications, suggest that human cognition does not simply increase with age until a peak, then decline. In fact, the phase from ages 9 to 32 is the only time in life when our neural networks are becoming increasingly efficient, according to the research. During the adulthood phase, from 32 to 66, the average person’s brain architecture essentially stabilizes without major changes, at a time when researchers think people are generally plateauing in intelligence and personality. And in the years after the last turning point — 83 and beyond — the brain becomes increasingly reliant on individual regions as connections between them begin to wither away. “It’s not a linear progression,” said Alexa Mousley, a postdoctoral researcher associate at the University of Cambridge, who is the study’s lead author. “This is the first step of understanding the way the brain’s changing fluctuates based on age.” How AI is transforming healthcare across the country03:59The findings could help identify why mental health and neurological conditions develop during particular phases of rewiring.Rick Betzel, a professor of neuroscience at the University of Minnesota who was not involved in the research, said the findings are intriguing, but more data is needed to support the conclusions. The theories may not hold up to scrutiny over time, he said.“They did this really ambitious thing,” Betzel said of the study. “Let’s see where it stands in a few years.” For their research, Mousley and her colleagues analyzed MRI diffusion scans — which are essentially images of how water molecules move within the brain — from about 3,800 people from age 0 to age 90. The goal was to map the neural connections across the average person’s brain at different stages in life. In the brain, the bundles of nerve fibers that transfer signals are encapsulated in fatty tissue called myelin. Think of it like wiring or plumbing. Water molecules diffused in the brain tend to move in the direction of these fibers, rather than across them, meaning researchers can infer where the neural pathways are located. “We can’t crack open skulls … we rely on non-invasive approaches,” Betzel said of this type of neuroscience research. “What we’re trying to figure out is where these fiber bundles are at.” Based on the MRI scans, the new study maps the neural network of an average person across a lifespan, determining where connections are strengthening or weakening. The five “epochs” it describes are based on the neural connections the researchers observed. The first phase is from 0 to age 9, they suggest. The brain rapidly increases in gray and white matter; it prunes extra synapses and restructures itself. From ages 9 to 32, there is an extended period of rewiring. The brain is defined by rapid communication across the entire brain and efficient connections between different regions. Most mental health disorders are diagnosed during this time period, Mousely said: “Is there something about this second era of life, as we find it, that could lead people to be more vulnerable to the onset of mental health disorders?”From 32 to 66, the brain plateaus. It’s still rewiring itself, but less dramatically and more slowly. Then, from 66 to age of 83, the brain tends toward “modularity,” where the neural network is divided into highly connected subnetworks with less central integration. At age 83, connectivity declines further. Betzel said the theory described in the study likely jives with people’s lived experiences with aging and cognition. “It’s intuitively something we gravitate towards. I have two kids and they’re really young. I think all of the time, ‘I’m getting out of my toddler era,’” Betzel said. “Maybe the science ends up being there. But are those the exact right ages? I don’t know.” In the ideal version of a study like this, he added, the researchers would have MRI diffusion data for a large group of people, each of whom were scanned during every year of life from birth to death. But that wasn’t possible because the technology wasn’t available decades ago. Instead, the researchers combined nine different data sets containing neuroimaging from previous studies and attempted to harmonize them. Betzel said each of those data sets varies in quality and approach, and the effort to make them correspond with one another could wash away important variability, ultimately leading to bias in the results. Nonetheless, he said the authors of the paper are “thoughtful” and skilled scientists who did their best to control for that possibility. “Brain networks change over the lifespan — absolutely. Is it discrete such that there are five exact change points? I’d say stay tuned. It’s an interesting idea.”Evan BushEvan Bush is a science reporter for NBC News.
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Oct. 7, 2025, 5:37 PM EDTBy The Politics DeskWelcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, a newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.In today’s edition, Steve Kornacki digs into why a blue wave doesn’t appear to be materializing (yet) for Democrats in next year’s midterm elections. Plus, the government shutdown stretches into a 7th day. Sign up to receive this newsletter in your inbox every weekday here.— Adam WollnerThe signs of a blue wave aren’t there like they were in Trump’s first termAnalysis by Steve KornackiThe blue wave that interrupted President Donald Trump’s first term could be seen coming from far away. This time around, the signs are not so clear.By the fall of 2017, Trump’s first year in office, Democrats had opened a sizable advantage in the generic congressional ballot. On this day in 2017, according to the Real Clear Politics polling average, the Democratic lead was 7.8 points. It’s a margin that would more or less hold over the ensuing year, culminating in a 40-seat gain in the 2018 midterms that gave Democrats control of the House.Today, by contrast, the RCP average has Democrats up by only 3 points in the generic ballot. This comes even as Trump’s overall job approval rating sits in the low- to mid-40s — similar to his first term — and as he continues to accrue negative ratings for his handling of the economy and inflation.Views of Trump’s opposition, though, look very different today than they did eight years ago. In the run-up to the 2018 midterms, Democrats fared consistently — and significantly — better than the Republicans on party image. This time around, it’s a different story.Earlier this year, Democrats registered their lowest positive rating in the history of our NBC News poll, which dates back more than three decades. Similar findings have emerged in other surveys. A significant factor is self-identified Democrats expressing unfavorable views of their own party. This internal frustration — combined with other data that shows these voters want a more confrontational posture from their party’s leaders — helps explain why Democrats in Washington have embraced a government shutdown.This also raises the question of what other new tactical or ideological steps Democratic leaders may take to appease their base — and whether the wider electorate will be receptive to them. In Trump’s first term, independents took a less negative view of Democrats than Republicans. Now, it’s more of a wash.Of course, to win back the House next year, Democrats don’t need a wave; a net gain of just three seats will do the trick. But Republicans may end up effectively raising that number to the high single digits through mid-decade redistricting efforts. Typically, the opposition party can count on a midterm boost by serving as the protest vehicle for whatever dissatisfaction voters want to express with the White House. But in today’s atmosphere of intense polarization, there may be some voters who want to express their displeasure with the opposition party, too.Shutdown, Day 7: Trump dials up the pressure as MTG breaks with her party on ObamacareThe White House raised the stakes of the government shutdown as it entered its seventh day with a draft memo arguing that furloughed federal workers are not entitled to back pay, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told NBC News.The memo, first reported by Axios, comes despite the Office of Personnel Management’s own September guidance, which said federal workers will receive retroactive pay after the shutdown lifts.The memo also clashes with a 2019 law that requires back pay for federal workers. The law, called the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019, says all federal employees, whether furloughed or deemed essential and working without pay, must receive back pay after a shutdown ends.Asked about the White House’s position on back pay, President Donald Trump told reporters, “I would say it depends on who we’re talking about.” Trump also likened the shutdown to a “kamikaze attack“ by Democrats.The idea of denying back pay prompted some intraparty backlash, with Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., calling it a “horrible message” and a “bad strategy.”Speaking of GOP divisions: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., broke with her party by calling for action on expiring Obamacare subsidies to avoid premium hikes, Sahil Kapur reports. In a long post on X, Greene, the far-right MAGA firebrand, made it clear she was not in Congress when the 2010 law passed.“Let’s just say as nicely as possible, I’m not a fan,” she wrote. “But I’m going to go against everyone on this issue because when the tax credits expire this year my own adult children’s insurance premiums for 2026 are going to DOUBLE, along with all the wonderful families and hard-working people in my district.” “Not a single Republican in leadership talked to us about this or has given us a plan to help Americans deal with their health insurance premiums DOUBLING!!!” Greene added.Asked by our colleague Ryan Nobles about Greene’s comments, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said she doesn’t sit on the committees of jurisdiction and “she’s probably not read in on some of that.” He added that “everybody’s entitled to their opinion,” but “not everyone knows everything.” At the airport: Flight delays across the U.S. stretched into a second day as the Federal Aviation Administration braced for more airport staffing shortages amid the shutdown, Matt Lavietes and Corky Siemaszko write. Maya Rosenberg and Jay Blackman also note that federal funding for air travel in rural areas will run out Sunday if the shutdown continues. In the states: Some governors are drawing on state funds to keep popular national parks open for tourists, Raquel Coronell Uribe reports. 🗞️ Today’s other top stories⚖️ SCOTUS watch: The Supreme Court appeared poised to back a free speech challenge to a Colorado law that bans conversion therapy aimed at young people questioning their sexual orientations or gender identities in a case likely to have national implications. Read more →🪑 On the hot seat: Attorney General Pam Bondi faced questions from senators about National Guard deployments and immigrant arrests in U.S. cities, the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, and files related to Jeffrey Epstein. Read more →🇨🇦 Oh, Canada: Trump said there’s “mutual love” but “natural conflict” between the U.S. and Canada as he met with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House. Read more →📱 Sprint to November: In the final weeks of the Virginia governor’s race, Republican Winsome Earle-Sears is attempting to tie Democrat Abigail Spanberger to the uproar over the violent texts that surfaced from the Democratic nominee for attorney general in the state. Read more →🗳️ If it’s Tuesday: Voters are heading to the polls for a special primary election to fill former Rep. Mark Green’s seat in Tennessee’s deep-red 7th District. Trump stepped in at the last minute with an endorsement of Matt Van Epps, the former commissioner of the state Department of General Services. Read more →➡️ Explainer: Trump suggested numerous times this week that he could invoke the sweeping presidential powers granted by the Insurrection Act “if necessary.” Here’s what that is →That’s all From the Politics Desk for now. Today’s newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner.If you have feedback — likes or dislikes — email us at politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.comAnd if you’re a fan, please share with everyone and anyone. They can sign up here. The Politics Desk    
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