Emmy Awards, Palestine Statehood, & Bidet Usage

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Adam Rogers
September 15, 2025

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Streaming platforms dominated the Emmy Awards Sunday, with Apple TV+'s 'The Studio' making history as the most-awarded freshman comedy series ever with 13 total wins. Seth Rogen swept three categories for the Hollywood satire, winning acting, directing, and writing awards in a single night and tying the record for most wins by one individual.
Major upsets rocked key categories, with medical drama 'The Pitt' defeating nomination leader 'Severance' for best drama series. Netflix's 'Adolescence' ruled limited series categories, while 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' won its first talk series Emmy as the show ends in 2026.
Host Nate Bargatze created a unique format by tying acceptance speech lengths to charity donations for the Boys & Girls Club. The counter dipped to negative $50,000 when winners exceeded their 45-second limit, but CBS and Bargatze pledged $350,000 anyway.

Scientists discovered that Iberian harvester ant queens can produce males of a different species, Messor structor, directly from their own eggs. The finding, published in Nature, emerged after researchers noticed thriving colonies in 69 regions with no nearby related species.
Normally, queens need M. structor males to create the worker hybrids that keep colonies running. Yet some colonies thrived without any nearby populations of this species. Genetic testing revealed the queens themselves were cloning M. structor males, making outside mates unnecessary.
Researchers call the system “xenoparity”—the first known case where one animal produces another species as part of its life cycle. The discovery challenges fundamental assumptions about reproduction and may help explain other puzzling biological phenomena that previously made no sense.

The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly voted 142-10 on Friday to support a two-state solution and urge Israel to commit to Palestinian statehood. The US was among 10 countries voting against the resolution, which Netanyahu rejected hours earlier. The resolution, sponsored by France and Saudi Arabia, endorsed the "New York Declaration," which outlines a phased peace plan.
The document condemns both Hamas's October 7 attacks that killed 1,200 Israelis and Israel's siege of Gaza, creating a "humanitarian catastrophe." It calls for Hamas to end its rule and transfer weapons to the Palestinian Authority, while envisioning an international stabilization mission and transitional government after a ceasefire.
The vote came as Israel ordered all remaining Gaza City residents to evacuate immediately. The army claims 250,000 people have left, though the UN puts the figure at 100,000 since mid-August. Over 64,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Americans who say college is "very important" dropped sharply over a decade, with Republicans falling from 68% to 20% and Democrats from 83% to 42%, despite college graduates earning twice as much. (More)

Secretary of State Rubio met Israeli leaders Sunday after Israel's unprecedented attack on Hamas in Qatar angered allies and collapsed Gaza ceasefire talks. (More)

California voted to phase out PFAS "forever chemicals" from cookware and household items by 2030, citing health risks after studies show nearly all Americans have the chemicals in their blood. (More)

Equatorial Guinea shut down the internet to the remote Annobón island after residents protested Moroccan construction blasting, jailing dozens, and cutting off banking, hospital, and communication services for over a year. (More)

North Korea executes citizens for watching foreign films and TV shows, according to a U.N. report based on interviews with 300 North Korean escapees over the past decade. (More)

Over 100,000 people attended a far-right rally in London on Saturday, organized by Tommy Robinson, with Elon Musk appearing via video to call for government change. (More)

US stock markets closed mixed on Friday (S&P -0.05%, Nasdaq +0.44%, Dow -0.59%). The three major averages finished out the week with gains on investor belief that the Fed will lower interest rates this week. (More)

The FAA started a program to fast-track electric air taxis with Archer and Joby Aviation, allowing supervised trials to begin next year before full commercial approval. (More)

Food-focused convenience stores like Wawa and Casey's are stealing breakfast customers from McDonald's and rivals, with c-store morning visits up 9% versus 1% for fast-food chains. (More)

Terence Crawford beat Canelo Alvarez by unanimous decision Saturday night at Allegiant Stadium, becoming the first male boxer to win undisputed titles in three weight classes during the four-belt era. (More)

Georgia jumped to fifth in the AP Top 25 after beating Tennessee 44-41 in overtime, while Miami moved to fourth and Texas A&M entered the top ten following wins over ranked opponents. (More)

Kansas City fell to 0-2 for the first time under Patrick Mahomes after losing 20-17 to Philadelphia, with a late interception off Travis Kelce's hands ending their comeback drive. (More)

Dietitians say when you eat matters less than what you eat, but recommend finishing dinner three hours before bed and eating more calories earlier in the day. (More)

NASA's experimental GUARDIAN system detected a July tsunami from Russia within 20 minutes using satellite signals, providing 30-40 minutes of advance warning before waves hit Hawaii and Pacific coastlines. (More)

Scientists developed a new "atomic clock for fossils" using uranium-lead dating to analyze dinosaur eggshells directly, successfully dating 85-million-year-old eggs from China's Qinglongshan site for the first time. (More)

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