22+ min ago (244+ words) A late-night kidnapping alert at UC Berkeley was sparked by what police now say was a fantasy football punishment carried out by a group of students. UC Berkeley's police department issued a crime alert early Wednesday morning after a witness claimed they saw 810 college-aged men carry another person into a cargo van near Stephens Hall shortly before midnight. The witness reported the incident about an hour later, prompting the university to warn of a possible kidnapping and aggravated assault on campus. In its initial alert published at 2:10 a.m., UCPD said authorities were attempting to locate the victim and had limited information about the people involved. The report did not indicate whether the person taken into the van was a student. According to The Berkeley Scanner, UCPD followed up Wednesday afternoon with new details after detectives were finally able to speak with…...

53+ min ago (264+ words) A mysterious statue discovered in the Mojave Desert has taken over gaming social media after fans traced Geoff Keighley's cryptic post to a real-world location, leading to widespread speculation about a major reveal at The Game Awards on December 11. On November 28, Geoff Keighley posted an image showing a sculpture with the caption "regal.inspiring.thickness." Players quickly recognized the phrase as a What3Words address. Entering the coordinates led to a remote area near Joshua Tree, California. Some who traveled to the location said staff on-site declined to explain its purpose or origin. The Game Awards statue is located in the Mojave Desert in a field on the corner of 29 Palms Highway and Yucca Mesa Road. The discovery has fueled widespread debate about what announcement might be tied to the installation. Many players believe the demonic imagery closely resembles monsters from Diablo…...

1+ day, 29+ min ago (355+ words) A viral TikTok involving The Wiggles has sparked criticism from parents and child-safety experts after an edited clip appeared to show the group's characters dancing to a song referencing ecstasy. The video, posted to musician Keli Holiday's account, was removed on Friday, November 28, but not before it was viewed more than 92,000 times. Holiday, also known as Peking Duk member Adam Hyde, shared footage that cut between him dancing in a towel and The Wiggles' Blue Wiggle Anthony Field doing the iconic "Wiggle Finger." The clip was set to Holiday's track Ecstasy, which includes the lyric: "You and your pocket full of ecstasy." As first reported by The West Australian, the group said the video was edited and uploaded without their knowledge. It's important to note, there are several videos circulating of Holiday's live performance of "Dancing2' during the TikTok Awards. These…...

1+ day, 6+ hour ago (428+ words) AI reforestation drones developed in Japan are restoring damaged landscapes at speeds up to ten times faster than human planting teams. The autonomous systems use advanced mapping tools and biodegradable seed pods to rapidly replant areas hit by wildfires and erosion. The drone technology combines LiDAR terrain scanning, soil analysis, and machine-learning models to determine ideal planting zones. Once mapped, the drones fire biodegradable seed pods packed with nutrients and beneficial fungi designed to support early growth and boost survival rates. Researchers say this targeted system avoids many of the failures seen in traditional reforestation efforts. Happy Eco News reports that field trials in wildfire-affected regions achieved germination success rates above 80 percent. That performance surpasses many manual planting projects, which often struggle with difficult terrain, degraded soil, or limited manpower. The drones operate in coordinated swarms under a single operator,…...

1+ day, 7+ hour ago (369+ words) More than $100,000 worth of escargot was stolen from a French snail farm supplying Michelin-starred restaurants, leaving the producer scrambling to rebuild stock during one of the busiest periods of the year. L'Escargot Des Grands Crus, based in Bouzy in northeastern France, said on Facebook that thieves broke into its facility overnight between Sunday and Monday, taking nearly all of its fresh and frozen snails. The family-run farm breeds around 350,000 snails annually and earns roughly 60% of its yearly revenue during the Christmas and New Year season. The Times reports that the thieves cut through a fence, forced their way into storage buildings, and emptied refrigerators holding about 450 kilograms of snail meat. Owner Jean-Mathieu Dauvergne stated that the thieves encountered shelves "full of snails: in jars, fresh, frozen," and that some of the product taken wasn't even ready for consumption yet. The…...

1+ day, 18+ hour ago (488+ words) A Rockstar Games insider is calling out "BS" rumors about GTA 6 being delayed further to 2027 or beyond amid controversy at the studio. Grand Theft Auto VI is set to finally release on November 19, 2026 after suffering a couple of delays. Reports indicate that while the game is "complete," Rockstar is ensuring that it launches in a bug-free state and without the immense glitches that plagued other titles such as Cyberpunk 2077. Amid the delay, Rockstar was accused of "union busting," leading to some significant firings and protests outside the studio's offices. One dev, who was not fired, revealed that staff members at Rockstar were concerned that GTA 6 could endure yet another delay in the aftermath. "They are not easily replaced and will certainly affect us in making our project deadlines," they said. "These are very senior artists, animators, QA testers, designers, programmers…...

1+ day, 20+ hour ago (376+ words) PewDiePie says his gaming era is largely behind him. Felix Kjellberg revealed that, after more than a decade of making gaming videos, he no longer sees video games as a "valuable" way to spend his time. The 36-year-old YouTube icon has shifted heavily into lifestyle content in recent years, sharing updates on his life in Japan with wife Marzia and their son, Bj'rn. While he still dips into lighter titles like GeoGuessr or Poppy Playtime on occasion, the days of marathon gaming sessions are long gone. Kjellberg explained in his Kjellberg Mail newsletter that fatherhood completely changed his relationship with time. "Since becoming a dad, everything does get evaluated differently. Every hour has weight now in a way it didn't before," he wrote, as per PC Gamer. "If I really wanted to, there'd be plenty of time for me to…...

2+ day, 26+ min ago (570+ words) A former Twitch staff member who helped build monetization tools says the platform's new 1000 gifted sub feature is designed to hit revenue targets amid pressure from Amazon. On November 26, Twitch gave viewers the ability to gift 1000 subscriptions at once. While this would typically cost $6,000, the 1K bundle comes with a $1,000 discount. The feature was almost immediately hit with criticism with big streamers rallying against it, worried that viewers would go into debt donating, fear of chargebacks, and accusing Twitch of focusing on profit. The option was removed amid the backlash, likely due to another discount being implemented in its place for a limited time, but that hasn't stopped discourse about it from continuing. According to Dev Iyer, a former Senior Project Manager at Twitch, the Amazon-owned site only implemented the ability to gift 1000 subs at once to hit end-of-year revenue goals....

2+ day, 34+ min ago (615+ words) Disney Dreamlight Valley's third paid expansion introduces horses, one of the most in-demand features since the cozy game released back in 2022. But are the four-legged friends worth the $30 entry fee? Just like the two previous expansions, A Rift In Time and Storybook Vale, Wishblossom Ranch builds on the success of DDV's base game, adding multiple horses, four new villagers (Cruella, Tinker Bell, Tigger, and Snow White), a new story, and a brand new world to explore, complete with all the recipes, crafting, and items that bring the Ranch to life. It's this exciting, new content that allows Wishblossom Ranch to set the standard for every future expansion, despite a few hiccups along the way. Horses are the beating heart of the expansion, complete with the ability to customize your own mount and unlock some beloved horse companions like Mulan's Khan,…...

2+ day, 54+ min ago (365+ words) Arc Raiders has proven its popularity once again, this time by making a coveted cameo in an episode of South Park. Since arriving in October, Arc Raiders has become one of the biggest games of 2025. Its impressive player count has only grown over time, and it was even nominated for best multiplayer game at The Game Awards 2025, going head to head with the likes of Battlefield 6 and Elden Ring Nightreign. Now, after all the praise and accolades it's received, the extrication shooter has just achieved another monumental feat " a surprise cameo in South Park. During the Season 28 episode "Turkey Trot," the 2025 Thanksgiving episode, Tolkien Black can be seen sitting on a couch with a controller in his hand. When Cartman bursts in and asks what he's doing, he simply replies, "Playing Arc Raiders," while its distinctive gunshots play in the…...