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Sloth bears play a critical role in structuring India’s dry deciduous forests by dispersing viable seeds and influencing plant regeneration, reports contributor Sneha Mahale for Mongabay India. “Dry deciduous forests’ plant compositions are a function of sloth bear presence, movement, and dietary habits,” study co-author K.S. Gopi Sundar, an independent scientist, told Mongabay India. For the study,  the researchers surveyed the mountainous south-central Aravalli range in the western state of Rajasthan between November 2021 and July 2022. They analyzed 180 droppings or scats of sloth bears (Melursus ursinus)  and discovered that the bears’ diet shifted from plant-dominated in…

Two faces that appeared on my Instagram feed in recent months gave me pause. One belonged to John Travolta at Cannes. The other to Carla Bruni on a date night with her husband, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Both looked recognisably themselves, yet, they both also looked oddly unfamiliar. Their looks have provoked speculation about cosmetic enhancement, though never acknowledged by them. Bruni has previously denied having had work done.In any case the feeling lasted only a second: a flicker of unease, as though I were looking at people who had become approximations of themselves.There is a name for that…

He was just a boy when he earned his first money, carrying neighbors’ groceries in his wagon. As an adolescent, he stripped the electric wiring of destroyed houses, which led to work as an electrician. But life under Russian occupation was “cruel,” he said, adding impishly, “Much was worse than matcha lattes.”At 18, to avoid being forced to join the government’s police force, he escaped East Germany, lying to the guards that he was going to visit his grandparents in West Berlin, he said. He wore a suit and rode his bicycle. He never returned.What followed was an adulthood full…

Kim Yo-jong, a powerful adviser and sister of North Korea’s leader, on Wednesday dismissed President Trump’s abrupt decision to scale back major military exercises with South Korea, saying the attempted overture “holds no interest for us.”“If the U.S. calculates that it can propagate its recent measure as one of so-called good faith, they will not get the desired answer,” Ms. Kim, a spokeswoman for her brother Kim Jong-un’s government, said in a statement carried by state media. The reduced exercises, she said, were still “provocative and aggressive.”She also said she was “unaware” of any communication between the governments in Pyongyang…

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the worldNorth Korea has dismissed Donald Trump’s decision to scale back joint military exercises with South Korea and cast doubt on the US president’s claim that there had been communication between Pyongyang and Washington. Kim Yo Jong, the sister of leader Kim Jong Un who sometimes speaks on his behalf, said in a statement late on Wednesday evening that the reduction of the joint exercises was “not even worth commenting on” and cutting their size or duration did not change their…

This is Optimizer, a weekly newsletter sent from Verge senior reviewer Victoria Song that dissects and discusses the latest gizmos and potions that swear they’re going to change your life. Opt in for Optimizer here.For the past week, I’ve been testing the Google Pixel Watch 5. In many ways, it’s a typical, modern smartwatch. In others, it feels like one part of a wearable future that’s increasingly in flux. Everyone I’ve spoken to in wearable tech has roughly the same goal — soon, your tracker of choice will feature a helpful AI coach, “check engine” alerts that preventively flag hard-to-detect…

A suspected ransomware affiliate is posing as a ransomware recovery service called “Ransom Busters,” contacting victims before the attacks become public and claiming it can provide decryption keys and delete stolen data for a fee. GuidePoint Security’s Research and Intelligence Team (GRIT) disclosed this activity after responding to several recent ransomware attacks in which victims received emails from Ransom Busters offering to help recover from the attack. The messages were suspicious because they were sent to victims before the attacks became public, raising questions about how they knew about the cyberattacks in the first place. Ransom Busters claimed it exploited vulnerabilities in…

U.S. President Donald Trump is set to host crypto bigwigs at the White House Wednesday.  The meeting — first reported last week by POLITICO — will see executives from the prediction market and digital asset space meet to discuss regulation.  According to reports, some of the big names due to meet include executives from Coinbase, Kraken parent company Payward, and Blockchain.com.  It hasn’t been reported which prediction markets executives will be at the meeting.  Despite the long-awaited crypto market structure bill — the Clarity Act — being delayed, regulators are moving ahead with digital asset initiatives.  The Securities and Exchange…

Firefighters are gaining ground on three large wildfires that have burned more than 47,000 acres across southwestern Montana, but unhelpful warmer temperatures, lower humidity and breezy conditions are returning after recent rainfall slowed the fires’ growth.  According to the U.S. Forest Service, containment on the Sand Creek Fire, southeast of Wisdom, increased from 2 percent to 7 percent as of mid-morning Mountain Time on Wednesday. Firefighters increased containment on the nearby Bobcat Lakes Fire from 19 percent to 40 percent.  A total of 843 personnel, 53 engines, 10 crews and 11 dozers were assigned to the two fires. Firefighters were…

Reading Time: 6 minutes Click here to read highlights from the story Wisconsin collects statewide data on serious police uses of force, but inconsistent reporting standards make it difficult to reliably compare departments. Police departments differ in what they define use of force, with some tracking actions — such as dog bites, pointing firearms or vehicle maneuvers — that others do not. One expert says inconsistent statewide standards can make agencies that report more comprehensively appear more force-prone, potentially discouraging transparency. A Madison police officer’s fatal shooting of 38-year-old Corey Ruiz last month was the department’s first in more than…