A British judge last week ended one man’s 12-year legal battle to recover a hard drive he claims holds 8,000 #bitcoins, valued at nearly $750 million, buried in a Newport, Wales landfill. James Howells, 39, offered to fund the excavation and share 25% of the proceeds with Newport City Council; however, the court ruled against him, citing environmental risks and the council's ownership of landfill contents. Howells says his ex-girlfriend mistakenly discarded the hard drive in 2013. It's now buried under 10,000 to 15,000 tons of waste, part of a landfill containing 350,000 tons overall. Howells expressed frustration, saying the decision denied him a chance to present his case and left him with "nothing.”

Fox Business

Judge halts attempt to retrieve Bitcoin hard drive worth nearly $750 million from landfill

A man's attempt to require a city council to let him search a landfill for his £600m bitcoin fortune was denied after a decade-long battle.

Happy New Year 🎊 May 2025 bring you many blessings.

Bitcoin's greatest weakness is that it relies on infrastructure... That won't be here in the near future.

Bitpay is now shutting down accounts.

Uncle Sam is now looking over your shoulder when you buy or sell crypto. Bitcoin has been tamed and is now in the government system. You will be taxed. All blockchain types are reporting to Uncle SAM. I'm out of the crypto. Good luck to all. Hopefully you won't lose millions.

Asm. DeMaio Unveils Republican Contract to Reform California in ‘26. ‘The 2024 election shows California voters are hungry for change' Read more:

Asm. DeMaio Unveils Republican Contract to Reform California in ‘26 – California Globe

How the U.S. Government Spent your Tax Dollars in 2024: -$7 million on various projects studying magic -$1,513,299 to use kittens in a study to analyze motion sickness. -$419,470 to determine if lonely rats sought cocaine at a greater frequency than happy rats -$123,000 teaching children in Kyrgyzstan how to go viral on social media -The State Department spent $4,840,082 on "influencers" Source: https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/FESTIVUS-REPORT-2024.pdf DOGE

#Question: What was coffee’s original use? #Answer: It was used in medieval Arabia to wash hands or even as a general body wash for covering up sweat and other odors. Early treatises dating back to the 9th century include it as an ingredient for cleaning and freshening the hands. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/coffee-history

The Kraken Intel Brief: Reporting Period: 23-26 December 2024 1. Slovakia’s Prime Minister made a surprise visit to Moscow. He went to try and secure an energy deal with Russia. Putin said he would like to, but that such a deal is impossible now. Ukraine is shutting of its pipelines — which transit Russian energy products to Europe — on 1 January. 2. President-elect Trump has suggested retaking the Panama Canal. The canal was given to Panama under the Carter administration. Trump thinks the US needs to reacquire the canal due to high costs associated with its use, and growing foreign influence in the canal’s oversight. 3. The Army has operationalized a next-generation intelligence system. The TITAN, which uses AI technology, will help with intelligence analysis on the battlefield, allowing leaders to use data from multiple domains to make rapid, efficient decisions in real-time. 4. China is going to start constructing railways in Central Asia. China will begin building the CKU railway this week. The deal has been in the works for more than 20 years and is critical to Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The news comes as Turkic fighters in Syria announced their plans to liberate Turkistan (Xinjiang) from China.

Sad it has to come to this... And it's going to get worse.

NBC News

Squeezed by high prices, a growing number of Americans find shelter in long-term motels

A surge in rents and home prices left more lower-income households with no place else to go.

Merry Christmas 🎁

Two of Japan's leading automakers, Honda and Nissan, have formally announced they are exploring plans to merge. The move would create the world's third-largest car manufacturer by revenue ($191B) after Toyota and Volkswagen.

CNBC

Honda and Nissan officially begin merger talks to create world's third-largest automaker

Both companies are grappling with intense global competition in the electric vehicle market from the likes of Tesla and China's BYD.

Would you send your kid to a school taught almost entirely by AI? Arizona has approved a controversial online charter school, Unbound Academy, that will use AI to give lessons in a densely packed two-hour window, with the rest of the day reserved for open-ended workshops. The school says its model adapts to each student’s needs — for example, throwing them more challenging problems if they’re breezing through the current lesson.

TechCrunch

Arizona's getting an online charter school taught entirely by AI | TechCrunch

The Arizona State Board for Charter Schools has greenlighted an application for a new online school that uses AI entirely for teaching.

TWO THINGS FOR YOU TO THINK ABOUT If you're afraid that establishing a boundary with someone will upset somebody, that's the evidence that the boundary is needed in the first place. Uncomfortable Truth: family teaches us how to love people we don’t necessarily like. (Happy holidays!) TWO THINGS FOR YOU TO ASK YOURSELF How do you handle your family during the holiday season? How could you handle them better? ONE THING FOR YOU TO TRY THIS WEEK Establish a boundary that needs to be established over the holidays. You’ll both be better for it. Remember: Small changes lead to lasting breakthroughs.

The 15-year-old suspect in Monday’s Wisconsin school shooting had been in contact with a 20-year-old California man who was planning a government building attack, court documents revealed Wednesday.

Wisconsin school shooter was in contact with California man plotting his own attack, court documents say

A California judge issued a restraining order Tuesday against a 20-year-old man who told FBI agents that he had been messaging with the Wisconsin s...

A New York resident pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges in connection with operating an illegal secret police station for the People's Republic of China out of a building in Manhattan’s Chinatown, according to Justice Department officials.

NYC had a secret, 'illegal police station' for China, DOJ says

Could gold & silver become currency in Florida? CFO Patronis supports the move

FOX 13 Tampa Bay

Could gold & silver become currency in Florida? CFO Patronis supports the move

Precious metals like gold and silver are not legal tender under current Florida law. If the state's chief financial officer gets his way, however, ...

It's cold outside — bundle up and stay safe! 🥶 - Frostbite: Watch for numbness or discolored skin on fingers, ears, or any exposed areas. - Hypothermia: If your body temp drops below 96F, move to a heated location and get medical help immediately! Safety tips: ready.gov/winter-weather #WinterReady

Check before you toss: Is that medicine really expired?

Vox

Are drug expiration dates meaningless?

That Tylenol’s shelf life is longer than you think.

In Syria, Israel has continued airstrikes in addition to building settlements in the Golan Heights. Various factions, including the HST rebels, are competing for influence over Syria’s future. Assad’s collapse has left a significant power gap, with a fractured Syria run by de facto governments and ethnic groups looking increasingly likely.