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Trump threatens to fire military officials he dislikes

admin - Latest News - September 30, 2025
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Before traveling to address and meet with military officials in Virginia, President Trump told reporters, “If I don’t like somebody, I’m going to fire them right on the spot.”



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October 20, 2025
Oct. 19, 2025, 6:00 AM EDTBy Lindsey LeakeWith age comes a natural decline in cognitive function, even among otherwise healthy adults without dementia. A new study finds that a cognitive training program may boost production of a brain chemical that plays a role in memory and attention.Participants who completed game-like activities through BrainHQ, an online subscription program, showed increased production of acetylcholine, sometimes called the “pay attention” chemical. The process that produces acetylcholine in the brain is called the cholinergic system.Researchers at McGill University in Montreal led a clinical trial of 92 people ages 65 and older. All were healthy, meaning they had not been diagnosed with a cognitive disorder.In the study, called INHANCE (Improving Neurological Health in Aging via Neuroplasticity-based Computerized Exercise), participants were randomly split into two groups of 46. Both groups were asked to spend 30 minutes a day doing an assigned activity on a computer or mobile device for 10 weeks.People in the intervention group did BrainHQ exercises, while those in the control group played games designed for entertainment.Researchers used PET, or positron emission tomography, scans and a radioactive tracer to measure acetylcholine production in participants’ brains at the beginning and end of the trial.People in the BrainHQ group had a 2.3% increase in acetylcholine production in the anterior cingulate cortex, a part of the brain important for learning, memory, attention and executive function. Those in the control group didn’t have a significant change.The research claims to be the first of its kind to show that brain training exercises can offset natural decline in cholinergic function.Senior author Dr. Etienne de Villers-Sidani, a neurologist at The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital), which is affiliated with McGill, said his patients often ask how they can keep their brains sharp.“I’ve always believed that there are things that you can do that have a positive impact on brain health,” said de Villers-Sidani, who is also an associate professor in McGill’s department of neurology and neurosurgery. “Now I’m even more sure with what we’re seeing, that [brain training] has a profound impact on the health of key brain chemical systems.”A still from brainHQ’s Double Decision, one of the games in the study.Courtesy brainHQBrainHQ training has been the subject of more than 300 studies. A study published last year in the journal Healthcare linked select BrainHQ exercises to faster visual processing speed in older adults.But de Villers-Sidani wondered what biochemical changes might be involved in brain training.“We really wanted to see how these [exercises] were changing the brain in a more fundamental way,” he said, “looking specifically at a chemical system that’s crucial for attention, memory and learning, and that also drives plasticity.”San Francisco-based Posit Science, the company behind BrainHQ, sponsored the INHANCE trial, which was funded by the National Institute on Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health. Results of the trial were published Tuesday in the journal JMIR Serious Games.How acetylcholine helps you learn, rememberWhen you’re learning something new, your brain is using acetylcholine. It tells your brain to stay alert. It’s key to other bodily functions, too, including blood pressure regulation and skeletal muscle contraction.Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter, which means it sends messages between neurons and other cells. It’s also a neuromodulator that can influence a neuron’s activity.“It’s a chemical that helps us learn and think and remember. It also helps with alertness,” said Dr. Jennifer Pauldurai, a neurologist at Inova Health System in northern Virginia, who wasn’t involved in the trial. “It’s not the only thing that goes wrong in dementia, but it is one thing that has been shown to be deficient in many types of dementia, Alzheimer’s included.”Previous research has shown that between the ages of 20 and 80, acetylcholine production decreases by about 2.5% per decade in the anterior cingulate cortex.The INHANCE trial results are promising, Pauldurai said.“One of the first things I always say is, ‘Keep your brain active,’” she said. “We all say it, but nobody had really been able to prove or show objective changes in the brain.”Gaming doesn’t equal brain trainingResearch on the relationship between games and puzzles and the aging brain has been mixed.The BrainHQ exercises used in the trial are game-like, yet they’re not games, said Joaquin Anguera, an associate professor at the Weill Institute for Neurosciences at the University of California, San Francisco. He’s also the clinical director of UCSF’s Neuroscape translational science center and has designed brain exercises for use in other cognitive studies.“Games like sudoku or crossword puzzles, those are made to entertain you; they’re designed to engage you and get you excited,” said Anguera, who wasn’t involved in the trial. “Are there benefits to playing those? It depends on the study of what you’re looking for and where you’re looking to see improvements.”BrainHQ exercises are adaptive, de Villers-Sidani said, meaning the levels get progressively harder the better you do and easier the worse you do. People doing such training should be “always pushed to their limit,” he said, noting that the trial exercises mimicked real-life stressors including time constraints and distractions.The two BrainHQ exercises studied in the trial were Double Decision, in which people simultaneously identified objects in the center of the screen and their peripheral vision, and Freeze Frame, which involves the delayed distinguishing of a target image from other similar images.People in the control group played Double Klondike Solitaire and Bricks Breaking Hex, in which players match hexagonal shapes of the same color.A still from BrainHQ’s Freeze Frame game.Courtesy brainHQRegularly exercising your body can help keep you physically healthy, and routinely flexing your cognitive muscles can boost brain health, Pauldurai said. But just as hitting the gym differs from receiving physical therapy, playing a game on your phone isn’t the same thing as training your brain.“A lot of times we have too much fun clicking colorful buttons, and we get a reward because we beat one level or something,” she said. “That doesn’t actually challenge our brain to learn new things, to learn complex information and to apply knowledge.”Could brain training help people with dementia?The INHANCE trial had a number of notable limitations.Nearly 96% of participants were white, and most were well-educated and lived in the Montreal area. The various visuals used in the brain exercises may resonate differently with people of different cultural backgrounds, de Villers-Sidani said.Laura Glass Umfleet, an associate professor of neurology at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, had other concerns. Though McGill scientists handled data collection and analysis, several Posit Science researchers were involved in the trial, hinting at a bias toward BrainHQ in a market saturated with brain training companies.BrainHQ offers free exercises but also promotes paid subscriptions topping out at $96 a year, which may be unaffordable for some people. The software also requires an internet-connected device and some level of tech savviness, said Umfleet, who wasn’t involved in the trial.“Cognitive training required a daily commitment for 10 weeks,” Umfleet said in an email. “There’s no way of knowing if less intense training could be just as effective, or if more intense training has diminishing returns.”De Villers-Sidani said an NIH-funded follow-up trial will determine how people with mild cognitive impairment react to brain training exercises.“You should look at your brain as a physical, medical organ,” Pauldurai said. “We still need the physical engagement.” She recommends eating well, getting 30 minutes of physical activity a day and sleeping seven to eight hours a night.“Take care of your medical health, take care of your mental health, make friends,” Pauldurai said. “And do fun, challenging things with your brain all the time.”Lindsey LeakeLindsey Leake is an award-winning health journalist and contributor to NBC News. She holds an MA in Science Writing from Johns Hopkins University, an MA in Journalism and Digital Storytelling from American University and a BA from Princeton University.
October 11, 2025
Oct. 11, 2025, 8:00 AM EDTBy Alicia Victoria LozanoPORTLAND, Ore. — A small group of federal agents in camouflage and face masks watched from atop the immigration processing center Thursday night as a unicorn, peacock, dinosaur and raccoon danced to Cher’s “If I Could Turn Back Time.” Across the street, the self-proclaimed frog brigade — three adults in inflatable amphibian costumes — posed for photos and bounced around in unison. A small group of counterprotesters nearby shouted, “We love you, ICE!”Similar scenes outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building south of downtown Portland have been playing out for weeks as people protest President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts and the deployment of more than 200 National Guard troops to Oregon’s largest city to protect federal property.The absurdity of adults dancing in inflatable costumes during anti-ICE demonstrations is meant to display community joy, protesters say, and helps to dispel the Trump administration’s narrative that Portland is a crime-ridden “war zone,” a characterization local and state leaders say is false.Plus, the costumes provide protection from gas and other toxins deployed by federal agents, protesters say.“If you’re going to make it silly and say that we’re evil, we’re going to make it silly by showing how evil you are,” said Brooks Brown, of Vancouver, Washington, who passed out 30 inflatable costumes Thursday night to anyone who wanted to get it on “Operation Inflation.”A protester in a frog costume in front of federal officers Monday outside the ICE building in Portland.Stephen Lam / San Francisco Chronicle / Getty ImagesNot without its civic challenges, the greater Portland area has some 7,000 homeless residents, and simple assaults have increased 8% from the time last year, but homicides have dropped 50% and aggravated assaults 4% in the same period, according to police and city data, and overall crime has held steady.Protester Jack Dickinson, known locally as the Chicken Man, first donned his chicken costume in June during Trump’s military parade in Washington. He said he wanted to counter the show of force with farce.As immigration raids accelerated across the country and the administration appeared to fixate on Portland’s protests, the chicken costume took on new meaning, he said.“This is an unacceptable betrayal of the American democracy,” Dickinson said, referring to federalized forces deployed in Democratic-led cities like Chicago and Los Angeles. “ICE is kind of the perfect example of the cruelty with which they are implementing their agenda, and it’s just not something we can sit by and let happen.”The costume strategy appears to be working. Demonstrators have attracted attention from international media outlets in France, Australia and England.California Gov. Gavin Newson, a Democrat and a frequent target of Trump’s verbal and online jabs, seized on the movement to mock the administration on social media.“Portland is war ravaged! SEND IN THE CALIFORNIA (???) NATIONAL GUARD!” he posted this week on X with a video of a unicorn, raccoon and dinosaur dancing outside the immigration building.Despite the costumed antics, the Trump administration stuck to its depiction of the protesters on Thursday during a federal appeals court hearing challenging a judge’s order barring the Guard from being sent to Portland. The panel has not made a decision yet.Department of Justice attorney Eric McArthur called protesters “violent people” who hurled rocks at federal agents, lit fires on the street and blocked cars.“The president is entitled to say enough is enough and bring in the National Guard to reinforce the regular forces,” he added.Federal officials pointed to the three-week closing of the ICE building from mid-June to early July because of damage to windows, security cameras and other parts of the building, allegedly caused by protesters.Protesters have blamed the ongoing federal presence for civil unrest, saying the toxins being used against them are causing health concerns in the residential neighborhood.Speaking before a panel of federal judges Thursday, Senior Assistant Oregon Attorney General Stacy Chaffin said the administration’s portrayal of Portland was “untethered from reality.”Protests in Portland outside the ICE facility on Thursday.Alicia Lozano / NBC NewsAs lingering toxins from tear gas lobbed by federal officers caused people to clear their throats and wipe their stinging eyes Thursday night outside the ICE building, protesters said they were skeptical the Trump administration would follow a court order that was not in its favor.Brown and other demonstrators pulled a cart filled with 30 inflatable costumes and began passing them out to protesters, turning the gathering into a kind of night circus as a raccoon, polar bear and axolotl bounded toward the ICE building.Brown said he created an Operation Inflation website in one night this week after seeing federal police confront protester Seth Todd, otherwise known as “Toad” because of the costume he wears. Brown said he immediately began selling inflatable costumes from the site, adding that the operation is not funded or backed by any outside organization.Brown said he grew up learning about the deadly Kent State shooting in 1970, when four unarmed students were killed and another nine wounded by members of the Ohio National Guard. Operation Inflation is his attempt to de-escalate tensions between protesters and federal officers.Protests in Portland outside the ICE facility on Oct. 9.Alicia Lozano / NBC News“People should be able to protest. They should have their voices heard,” he said between coughs from the tainted air.Dressed as Tigger from “Winnie the Pooh,” Portland resident Joy Wilson marveled at the masked agents staring down at her. She said she usually reads a book during demonstrations to highlight the peace and calm of Portland’s resistance movement, and Thursday night marked her first time attending a protest in costume.But after witnessing federal agents pepper spray Todd in the respiratory hole of his inflatable suit on Oct. 4 in an act that was caught on video and posted to social media, Wilson said she decided to show solidarity because the frog has become a symbol of nonviolent protest.“People sometimes wonder, ‘What can I do’” to protest, Wilson said. “This makes it so accessible.”Wilson’s husband, Kevin, who was wearing regular clothes, stood nearby, carefully picking out more costumes to order online for demonstrators. Their teenage daughter and her friends passed out pizza slices to the demonstrators.“Should I go with the unicorn?” he mused before selecting a range of animals, including a lobster, a shark and a bear.“I already ordered a squirrel,” Wilson confessed with a grin.Alicia Victoria LozanoAlicia Victoria Lozano is a California-based reporter for NBC News focusing on climate change, wildfires and the changing politics of drug laws.
November 3, 2025
Nov. 3, 2025, 2:30 PM ESTBy Daniel ArkinJon Stewart isn’t quite ready to leave the anchor desk.Stewart will continue to host Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” every Monday through December 2026, keeping the political satirist in the chair for next year’s midterm congressional and gubernatorial elections. Paramount announced the news Monday, putting an end to questions about Stewart’s immediate future with the late-night show he originally hosted full-time from 1999 to 2015 before returning last year on a one-night-a-week basis.”Jon Stewart continues to elevate the genre he created. His return is an ongoing commitment to the incisive comedy and sharp commentary that define ‘The Daily Show,’” Comedy Central head Ari Pearce said in a statement.”The renewal is a win for audiences, for Comedy Central and for all our programming partners. We’re proud to support Jon and the extraordinary news team,” Pearce added.Stewart’s deal extension comes during a period of intense upheaval for Comedy Central’s parent corporation and the late-night comedy genre writ large.Paramount was recently acquired in a blockbuster $8 billion deal by Skydance, a media company run by David Ellison. Skydance’s portfolio now includes the Paramount Pictures studio, the CBS broadcast network and the Paramount+ streaming platform.Ellison has also taken control of a collection of legacy cable assets — Comedy Central, MTV and VH1 among them — that have hemorrhaged viewers after years of cord-cutting and a wider shift from linear television to streaming.Meanwhile, late-night comedy in general is struggling to keep its edge. CBS plans to take Stephen Colbert’s talk show off the air next year, leaving a hole on the broadcast lineup that for decades was occupied by “The Late Show.”CBS previously canceled the short-lived “After Midnight,” a late-night show that followed Colbert’s on the lineup. “The Late Late Show with James Corden” ended its nine-season run in 2023.”The Daily Show” debuted in 1996 under host Craig Kilborn, but it did not start to gain traction until Stewart took over three years later. He sharpened the show’s focus on politics, winning a loyal audience with coverage of the chaotic 2000 election aftermath.Stewart helmed the series through the presidencies of George W. Bush and Barack Obama. He left the show near the end of Obama’s second term, as President Donald Trump mounted his first campaign for the White House.Trevor Noah succeeded Stewart, hosting from 2015 to 2022. Since then, “The Daily Show” has not had a permanent emcee, instead featuring a rotating cast.The roster of “Daily Show” hosts for the other nights of the week includes Ronny Chieng, Josh Johnson, Jordan Klepper, Michael Kosta and Desi Lydic. Stewart will continue to serve as one of the show’s executive producers, Paramount said.Daniel ArkinDaniel Arkin is a national reporter at NBC News.
October 2, 2025
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