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Nov 9, 2026 - World

Some scientists and scientific societies sued President Donald Trump’s administration in the District of Massachusetts on Monday for shutting down the entity that provides nearly two-thirds of federal funding for basic academic research in the social, behavioral, and economic sciences.The administration’s effort to eliminate the National Science Foundation’s Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE) “is a disservice to the American public and a crushing blow to the behavioral and brain sciences,” declared Juliane Baron, executive director of the Federation of Associations in Behavioral and Brain Sciences (FABBS).“When I think about the biggest challenges facing people across our country—advancing health and well-being, providing economic and physical security for our loved ones—these are all inherently human questions,” Baron stressed. “We can’t solve pressing societal challenges without understanding humans.”FABBS partnered with the Society of Experimental Social Psychology (SESP), the Social and Affective Neuroscience Society (SANS), and two researchers—University of Massachusetts Amherst lecturer Jenna Croteau and Boston College assistant professor Gregg Sparkman—in the lawsuit, which Democracy Forward filed on their behalf.Over the past century, the complaint explains, “SBE research has driven some of the most groundbreaking innovations in nearly every aspect of modern life—from the way doctors match kidney donors with patients, to how governments approach economic policy, national security, and international relations, to the models behind Google’s search engine.”“SBE research has helped mitigate the opioid crisis, the spread of diseases like Ebola and Covid-19, and evolving threats posed by cyberhackers and terrorist networks in the United States and abroad,” notes the filing. “And it has transformed economics.”As the complaint details:When the Trump-Vance administration took office, it deemed these fields “woke.” In its 2026 budget proposal, the administration urged Congress to cut funding for the SBE Directorate. Congress refused. The congressional report that accompanied NSF’s January 2026 appropriation expressly directed NSF not to reduce SBE’s budget by more than 5%.Three months later, NSF decided to shutter the directorate anyway. On April 3, 2026—without a director, and without consulting the National Science Board, the body Congress required to make such decisions—NSF leadership announced that it would unilaterally “close-out” the SBE Directorate in fiscal year 2027. Since the April 3 decision, the agency has stopped funding opportunities for basic SBE research, released the scientists who work in the directorate on assignment from universities, and reassigned nearly all the directorate’s permanent staff.“The administration’s dismantling of SBE is not only reckless; it is illegal,” emphasized Democracy Forward president and CEO Skye Perryman. “NSF provided no public explanation for its decision to close the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Directorate, and this dangerous dismissal of scientific expertise is a threat to crucial scientific research. We are honored to work with this coalition to challenge the administration’s crusade against science and the unlawful closure of the directorate.”Coalition members highlighted the importance of them prevailing in court, particularly in the current era of rapidly developing artificial intelligence with inadequate safeguards. SANS president Jennifer Kubota said that “understanding how the brain shapes trust, cooperation, emotion, and social behavior is essential to addressing some of society’s most pressing challenges, from social isolation and polarization to the rapid emergence of AI.”“Eliminating NSF SBE funding for this research threatens decades of scientific progress and the next generation of scientists,” Kubota continued. “Research opportunities lost today cannot simply be recovered tomorrow. We risk losing not only critical discoveries, but also the talented researchers who will make them.”Columbia University professor and FABBS board member Jon Freeman delivered a similar warning, arguing that “we cannot allow this administration to shoot America in the foot.”“American behavioral science has transformed everything from the algorithms powering our technology to how we strengthen human connection, overcome social divisions, improve public health, and make better decisions in our everyday lives,” he said. “Dismantling SBE would devastate a vital part of our scientific workforce at precisely the moment we need it most, as AI reshapes society. It’s scientific self-sabotage, and the American public will ultimately pay the price in the discoveries never made and lives never changed for the better.”SESP executive officer Steven J. Stroessner also not only acknowledged the past but looked toward the future: “For decades, federal support for basic research in social psychology has helped us understand how people think, make decisions, and relate to one another. The resulting discoveries have strengthened our nation by improving education, informing public policy, fostering cooperation, and helping us address some of society’s most persistent challenges. Dismantling that support threatens not only the research being conducted today, but the discoveries we have yet to imagine.”

Nov 9, 2026 - World

Authorities in Trinidad and Tobago are conducting search and rescue operations for several people missing after a boating accident

Nov 9, 2026 - World

Indigenous leaders in Peru are warning that a government decision to reconsider protections for the Mashco Piro could expose their Amazon rainforest territory to logging

Nov 9, 2026 - World

Actor and comedian Russell Brand, who later became an outspoken supporter of Donald Trump, has been sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison after being convicted of rape and sexual assault.The sentence comes days after a London jury found Brand, 51, guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault, according to Variety. Jurors cleared him of two additional rape charges and an attempted indecent assault charge. Brand had denied all of the allegations.Under British law, rape carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, while sexual assault carries up to 10 years.According to Variety, the judge declined to grant Brand conditional bail after the verdict, and he was taken into custody. Brand showed no visible reaction as the verdicts were read. On his way to the holding cells, he gave his lawyers a thumbs-up and mouthed “I’m OK” and “I’m good,” Sky News reported. His wife, Laura Brand, quickly left the courtroom.The case covered alleged attacks between 1999 and 2009. Prosecutors brought three rape counts, including one of oral rape, along with a 2001 attempted indecent assault charge tied to MTV’s U.K. offices and sexual assault counts dating from 2004 to 2009.According to Variety, Brand could face more charges. London’s Metropolitan Police confirmed after the trial that it is investigating new rape allegations from two other women. Brand has been questioned but not charged in those cases.

Nov 9, 2026 - World

Violent storms lash northern Iraq and parts of Iran, while Portugal faces strong winds and Japan braces for further snowfallDeadly flash floods hit northern Iraq on Saturday as severe thunderstorms swept across the region, including in neighbouring Iran. The city of Erbil, in Iraq, was particularly badly hit, with extensive damage to homes and businesses. Streets were inundated as torrential rain fell over a short period.Rainfall exceeded forecasts, with an estimated 80mm falling in the city, compared with expectations of 30mm. Two people were killed in the floods. Continue reading...