Archive for October 2025

Some 4 million people could lose federal housing assistance under new plans… according to experts who reviewed drafts of two unpublished rules obtained by ProPublica. The rules would pave the way for a host of restrictions long sought by conservatives, including time limits on living in public housing, work requirements for many people receiving federal housing assistance and the stripping of aid from entire families if one member of the household is in the country illegally.

Director William K. Marshall III told the agency’s nearly 35,000 employees that the union, the Council of Prison Locals, had become “an obstacle to progress instead of a partner in it.” The contract, he said, “too often slowed or prevented” changes meant to improve safety and morale. Above: The federal prison complex in Terre Haute, Ind., is shown in 2020

As AI bots like ChatGPT become inextricably tangled with people’s private and public lives, it’s causing unpredictable new crises. One of these collision points is in romantic relationships, where an uncanny dynamic is unfolding across the world: one person in a couple becomes fixated on ChatGPT or another bot — for some combination of therapy, relationship advice, or spiritual wisdom — and ends up tearing the partnership down as the AI makes more and more radical interpersonal suggestions.

The law, called the ECA Digital after its Portuguese initials, is intended to update the country’s 1990 Statute of the Child and Adolescent to protect children’s rights in the digital environment. Technology companies with services likely to be used by children would be compelled to design products with young users’ best interests in mind and provide them with the highest levels of privacy and safety by default.

Wednesday, 1 October is United Nations global day of Older Persons. A celebration of later life, ageing and the contribution older people make to our world. And a day to take action against ageism.