Headlines Edition

Thursday Headlines: A high-voltage emotional state.

As potential grows for direct talks between Trump and Kim Jong Un, Trump gives himself an escape hatch: "If we don't think it's going to be successful, we won't have it. If the meeting when I'm there isn't fruitful, I will respectfully leave the meeting."

Seven months after Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico, the island's infrastructure remains fragile. Last week, a tree fell on a power line and knocked 840K people off the grid; yesterday, the entire island was plunged into darkness when a utility contractor damaged a line while repairing a tower.

Photographs from San Francisco’s devastating 1906 earthquake, when major fires burned for days.

South Carolina prisons have a pervasive staffing shortage; 12 prisoners were killed by fellow inmates last year.

Malta's culture of impunity assassinated a journalist—and also spells trouble for other European leaders.

China produces more than 90% of rare earth materials; it's actually a wobbly monopoly, because "rare" is a misnomer.

The story of the emergence of Lyme disease now, of its rise in dozens of countries around the world and of millions made sick, must be told through the lens of a modern society living in an altered environment. CDC calls it “endemic” but it’s really an epidemic—thanks to climate change, ticks are spreading in every direction.

To curb noise pollution, authorities in Ghana's capital Accra wants mosques to use WhatsApp for the call to prayer.

Netflix will spend $8 billion this year on original content, and more next year—and investors aren’t scared.

Why fancy coffee shops all have the same stools, and other dilemmas of the authenticity era.

The company that made Neopets was run according to Scientology theories of ancient business management.

You don’t need to be an expert in artificial intelligence or audio engineering... All it takes is a bit of patience and skepticism. To follow ObamaPeele’s timeless advice: Stay woke, bitches. How to spot a deepfake video (at least for now): Inspect the mouth.

Lackluster IoT security allowed hackers to access a casino's high-roller database via an aquarium thermometer.

Vintage cut: At a 1984 dinner, an Alaskan paleontologist served stew made from the meat of a 50,000-year-old bison.

She said I have worked very hard to get to the point where I have a true voice and at this point in my life and my career I have a responsibility to do what’s best for the world and not what is most popular. Tina Knowles-Lawson, Beyoncé’s mother, says the latest show was for a bigger, blacker audience than just Coachella.