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Jared Isaacman. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman blasted the "troubling" failures of the Boeing Starliner mission. In a letter to NASA staff, he said it wasn't initially deemed a mishap due to reputational concerns. A report into the mission found "unprofessional behavior," including yelling in meetings. The head of NASA sent a scathing letter to employees on Thursday, outlining the failures of the botched Boeing Starliner mission that left a pair of astronauts stuck in space. Jared Isaacman slammed "design and engineering deficiencies" but said the "most troubling failure" was decision-making and leadership. "If left unchecked, [it] could create a culture incompatible with human spaceflight," he added. The mission took place in June 2024, flying two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station. However, helium leaks saw Starliner's thrusters malfunction. The mission was supposed to last eight days, but the pair ultimately spent over 90 days in space before returning to Earth on a SpaceX flight. "We returned the crew safely, but the path we took did not reflect NASA at its best," Isaacman told staff. Also on Thursday, the incident was formally designated as a "Type A mishap" — the most severe level, on par with the Columbia and Challenger Space Shuttle disasters. NASA defines such mishaps as those causing more than $2 million in failure costs, the loss of a vehicle or its control, or deaths. However, a mishap was not initially declared for Starliner, despite a loss of control and, according to Isaacman, "cost thresholds exceeding a Type A mishap by a factor of one hundred," implying a loss of at least $200 million. This decision was influenced by "concern for the Starliner program's reputation," he added. Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, before boarding Starliner in June 2024. MIGUEL J. RODRIGUEZ CARRILLO/AFP via Getty Images Isaacman's letter wasn't entirely gloomy. He praised the "extraordinary professionalism" of controllers and crew who recovered control of the spacecraft and achieved docking with the International Space Station. "At that moment, had different decisions been made, had thrusters not been recovered, or had docking been unsuccessful, the outcome of this mission could have been very different," he added. 'Unprofessional behavior' included 'yelling in meetings' The letter coincided with the publication of the report into the Starliner mission. It's over 300 pages long and details the engineering and cultural problems. Investigators said there were "times of unprofessional behavior" as NASA and Boeing butted heads on how to bring the astronauts home. "There was yelling in meetings," one interviewee said. "It was emotionally charged and unproductive." Another said they heard safety engineers being berated "off muted mics." "It was probably the ugliest environment that I've been in," said another. The report listed three root causes for the debacle. Firstly, it said NASA had a "hands-off approach" to setting up the contract, leading to insufficient oversight of Boeing's design and testing. Then, Boeing didn't verify the propulsion system across all environments and use cases during the design phase, leaving Starliner exposed to conditions for which it wasn't properly certified, the report said. Lastly, it said the culture at NASA's Commercial Crew Program led to greater acceptance of technical risk and a reluctance to fully challenge Boeing's analyses. Isaacman said that NASA will continue working with Boeing. "But to be clear: NASA will not fly another crew on Starliner until technical causes are understood and corrected, the propulsion system is fully qualified, and appropriate investigation recommendations are implemented," he added. In a statement, Boeing said it was "grateful" to NASA for its "thorough investigation." "In the 18 months since our test flight, Boeing has made substantial progress on corrective actions for technical challenges we encountered and driven significant cultural changes across the team that directly align with the findings in the report." Read the original article on Business Insider

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SARAJEVO, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA â" JANUARY 4: Snowfall blankets city as winter weather affects the capital Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on January 4, 2025. Samir Jordamovic/Anadolu/Getty Images Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, hosted the Winter Olympics in 1984. Not even a decade later, the city was ground zero in the war for Bosnian independence. Four decades after the Games, many of the Olympic venues have remained abandoned. Over 40 years ago, the Yugoslavian city of Sarajevo hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics. Many new structures were built, and the Games were seen as something of a reunion since many countries had boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympics held in Moscow. But six years later, the country would be thrown into turmoil during the Yugoslav Wars, which led to the fall of Yugoslavia. Sarajevo became the capital of a new country, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in 1992, but the fighting didn't end until 2001. During the fighting, Olympic venues became battlegrounds, with ski slopes heavily mined and hotels turned into prisons. While Sarajevo's story is singular, it's not the only former Olympics host city where venues now resemble ghost towns. Olympics host countries famously pour millions of dollars into building new venues, which sometimes fall into disrepair after the crowds have gone home. Milan Cortina, the host of this year's Olympics, hopes to avoid this costly mistake. "The Games are capitalizing on existing infrastructure and local winter sports expertise, aiming to create lasting socio-economic benefits for the local population," said Marie Sallois, the IOC director for sustainability. Of the 13 venues being used across northern Italy, 11 either already exist or are set to be torn down after the games. The country only needed to construct two new permanent venues, per the IOC. Here's what the 1984 Sarajevo Olympic venues look like in 2026. The 1984 Winter Olympics were held in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, from February 8 to 19. The medal podium at the ski jump venue. Ioanna Sakellaraki / Barcroft Im / Barcroft Media via Getty Images The 1984 Games were the first Winter Olympics to be held in a socialist state and the second consecutive Games to be held in a socialist country after the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. The 1984 Games were seen as a grand reunion, since many Western countries had boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympics, including the US. The Olympic rings are seen on the Jahorina mountain near Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina February 5, 2019. Picture is taken February 5, 2019. Dado Ruvic/Reuters The US boycotted the Olympics in Moscow in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. More than 60 nations refused to take part, according to the US State Department. In 1984, many of the events took place near Jahorina Mountain, seen here in 2019. But soon after the Olympics ended, Yugoslavia was thrust into turmoil, with the country formally collapsing in 1992. In this picture taken on Friday, Feb. 21, 2014, graffiti by London creative collective The Lurkers "The Lurkers do Sarajevo" is written on a destroyed hotel at Mt. Igman. Wartime destruction and negligence have turned most of Sarajevo's 1984 Winter Olympic venues into painful reminders of the city's golden times. The world came together in the former Yugoslavia in 1984 after the West had boycotted the 1980 Olympics in Moscow and Russia boycotted the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles. Just eight years later, the bobsleigh and luge track on Mount Trbevic was turned into an artillery position from which Bosnian Serbs pounded the city for almost four years. Today, the abandoned concrete construction looks like a skeleton littered with graffiti. Amel Emric/AP A destroyed hotel at Mount Igman, where events including ski jumping were held in 1984, is pictured in 2014. Sarajevo was almost immediately put under siege — just eight years after the Olympics ended, the bobsled track was turned into an artillery position by the Bosnian Serbs. The bobsleigh track originally built for the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Olympics lies unused on Mount Trebevic Tim Goode/PA Images via Getty Images This is what the bobsled track looked like in 2014 — it's been almost completely left to nature. Sylvia Hui at the Associated Press wrote that year, "Today, the abandoned concrete construction looks like a skeleton littered with graffiti." Sarajevo was under siege for almost four years, "the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare," NPR reported. BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA - FEBRUARY 20, 2014: Former Winter Olympic Venue now abandoned Giles Clarke/Getty Images NPR reported the Bosnian war led to 100,000 deaths and the "worst atrocities in Europe since World War II." This hotel, which was built as part of the Olympic Village, was turned into a prison during the war. BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA - FEBRUARY 20, 2014: The abandoned shell of a hotel constructed for the 1984 Winter Olympics and where competitors stayed. Ten years later, the hotel was turned into a prison and place of execution for Bosnian Muslims - all overseen by Serb Forces Giles Clarke/Getty Images According to Getty, 10 years after the Winter Olympics, "the hotel was turned into a prison and place of execution for Bosnian Muslims — all overseen by Serb Forces." Even the medal podium was turned into an execution site, Bloomberg reported. By the time the war ended in February 1996, thousands of civilians were dead, and the new country of Bosnia and Herzegovina had to decide how to move forward. Sarajevo 1984 Winter Olympics logo is seen on the tower near the Zetra hall in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 14, 2015. Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images Many of the Olympic venues had been damaged or destroyed by the constant bombing and warfare. Decades later, many of the tracks and venues are still empty and abandoned, like these ski jumps at Mount Igman. Abandoned Igman Olympic Jumps in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 14, 2015. Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images According to Getty, "The area around the 90-meter hill was heavily mined during the Bosnian war." Here's what they look like from another angle. IGMAN, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA - FEBRUARY 20, 2014: Children gather at foot of the 1984 Olympic Ski jump hill at Igman just 25km from downtown Sarajevo. The area around the 90m hill was heavily mined during the Bosnian war just 8 years after the 1984 Winter Olympics. Giles Clarke/Getty Images The mountains border the city. The ski jump was left to the elements. In this picture taken Friday, Feb. 21, 2014, the abandoned ski jumping facility is seen covered in moss at Mt. Igman near Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. Wartime destruction and negligence have turned most of Sarajevo's 1984 Winter Olympic venues into painful reminders of the city's golden times. The world came together in the former Yugoslavia in 1984 after the West had boycotted the 1980 Olympics in Moscow and Russia boycotted the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles. Just eight years later, the bobsleigh and luge track on Mount Trbevic was turned into an artillery position from which Bosnian Serbs pounded the city for almost four years. Today, the abandoned concrete construction looks like a skeleton littered with graffiti. Amel Emric/AP Moss and debris cover the jumps. There are reminders of the Olympics scattered throughout the old venues. Destroyed Olympic rings on the abandoned Igman Olympic Ski Jump in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 14, 2015. Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images These Olympic rings have fallen into disrepair. Here's where the judges sat during the ski-jumping competition. Judges tower on the Igman Olympic Jumps in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 14, 2015. Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images East Germany's Jens Weißflog and Finland's Matti Nykänen each took home gold medals in ski jumping that year. The bobsled track was located on Mount Trebević, which was reachable by cable car from the city. It closed in 1989 and was destroyed during the war. picture taken on February 5, 2014 shows Sarajevo's abandoned Sarajevo's bob sleigh track near Sarajevo. Built and used as an Olympic venue during Sarajevo's 1984 Winter Olympic Games, the track was heavily damaged during Bosnia's 1992-95 war. It was never rebuilt and it's large concrete fragments remain standing as a memento of past and training ground for young generations of graffiti artists ELVIS BARUKCIC/AFP via Getty Images "The remains of destroyed restaurants, hotels, sports facilities and mountain huts were left to rot and the thousands of mines were cleared at a painstakingly slow pace" after the war ended, The Guardian wrote in 2018. After the war ended, the track gained two new uses: a place for graffiti artists to paint and a place for bikers to practice. Downhill bikers Kemal Mulic (C), Tarik Hadzic (L) and Kamer Kolar train on the disused bobsled track from the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Olympics on Trebevic mountain near Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, August 8, 2015. Abandoned and left to crumble into oblivion, most of the 1984 Winter Olympic venues in Bosnia's capital Sarajevo have been reduced to rubble by neglect as much as the 1990s conflict that tore apart the former Yugoslavia. The bobsled and luge track at Mount Trebevic, the Mount Igman ski jumping course and accompanying infrastructure are now decomposing into obscurity. The bobsled and luge track, which was also used for World Cup competitions after the Olympics, became a Bosnian-Serb artillery stronghold during the war and is nowadays a target of frequent vandalism Dado Ruvic/Reuters A photo from 2015 shows downhill bikers using the bobsled tracks for training. There are hundreds of feet of concrete for artists to express themselves. The bobsleigh track originally built for the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Olympics lies unused on Mount Trebevic Tim Goode/PA Images via Getty Images The walls are covered in tags and street art. This is what it looked like in early 2018. The bobsleigh track is seen on Mount Trebevic in Sarajevo, January 16, 2018 Dado Ruvic/Reuters The track on Mount Trebević was covered in snow when it was photographed in January 2018. However, the cable car, which ferried people to the bobsled events on the mountain, triumphantly reopened in 2018. Sarajevo below the Mount Trebevic cable car in 2018. Tim Goode/PA Images via Getty Images The cable car follows the same route today as it did during the Olympics. People can now walk the old tracks without fear. People walk along the Sarajevo bobsleigh track on Mount Trebevi, built for the 1984 Winter Olympics and later repurposed by Bosnian Serb forces as an artillery position during The 1992-1995 siege of Sarajevo on July 13, 2025 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The war ended with the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement in 1995, which established Bosnia and Herzegovina's current political structure Pierre Crom/Getty Images "The mountain has slowly returned to something like its former self," The Guardian wrote in 2018. "Hotels, restaurants and cafes have been rebuilt, mines swept away and hikers from all over Sarajevo visit en masse." Yet, the reminders of the war will always be part of Sarajevo's history, along with the Olympics. A picture taken on March 19, 2019 shows the Kosevo wartime cemetery in Sarajevo. - The cemetery was established on an auxiliary football pitch of the Sarajevo city stadium, next to the "Zetra" Olympic Hall (seen in the background). ELVIS BARUKCIC/AFP via Getty Images A wartime cemetery was built right next to the Zetra Olympic Hall. Following the war, the Zetra Ice Hall was rebuilt in 1997 and reopened in 1999. It's still in use and is now known as the Juan Antonio Samaranch Olympic Hall. In 2024, Sarajevo marked the 40th anniversary of the Olympics. Olympic rings adorn ski slopes at Mount Jahorina, used as one of Alpine skiing Olympic venues during Sarajevo's XIV Winter Olympics in 1984, south of Sarajevo, on February 6, 2024 ELVIS BARUKCIC/AFP/Getty Images In 2024, some of the slopes remain abandoned. Olympics branding, like these rings, was still visible. Even though it's been four decades, graffiti with the Olympic mascot Vucko is still seen on the streets of Sarajevo. Pedestrians walk past graffiti depicting the official olympic mascot "Vucko" from the XIV Winter Olympic Games held in Sarajevo in 1984, on a painted wall painted mural in a an alley, in Sarajevo city center, on February 7, 2024. ELVIS BARUKCIC/AFP/Getty Images Unfortunately, Sarajevo isn't the only city that has to reckon with abandoned Olympic venues. There are empty stadiums all over the world. Read the original article on Business Insider

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FBI Director Kash Patel Says Bureau Uncovered Antifa Funding Sources Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), FBI Director Kash Patel said on Feb. 18 that the law enforcement agency uncovered what he said are funding sources tied to antifa organizations, suggesting that more enforcement actions could come against the left-wing movement. FBI Director Kash Patel speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice in Washington on Dec. 4, 2025. Daniel Heuer/AFP via Getty Images “Whether it’s antifa or any other violent criminal organization—we know their operations don’t exist alone; they operate with heavy funding streams,” he wrote in a post on X, along with a clip from an interview with former deputy director Dan Bongino, on his show. Patel said that the FBI is “finding them and those who fund their criminal activity.” The FBI chief did not provide more information about the organizations, the source of the funding, or specific donors who may be involved. However, he said the FBI is looking into any financial backers linked to violence committed by alleged antifa operators. Agents are looking at whether funding was sent through U.S.-based nonprofit groups and whether any of those nonprofits had tax-exempt status. They are also evaluating potential foreign funding streams, he said. “Money doesn’t lie,” Patel told Bongino in the interview, saying that the FBI is right now “following the money” and that the law enforcement agency is “starting to arrest people who used their funds to incite violence in the guise of political peaceful protest.” Last year, Patel told The Epoch Times’s Jan Jekielek in an interview that the FBI is mapping out the entire antifa network and indicated that funding streams are being traced, coming months after the Trump administration designated antifa as a domestic terrorist group. The executive order, issued by President Donald Trump on Sept. 22, called antifa a “militarist, anarchist enterprise that explicitly calls for the overthrow of the United States Government, law enforcement authorities, and our system of law.” The administration also designated foreign antifa groups as foreign terrorist organizations in November 2025. The State Department, in its designation, stated that “groups affiliated with this movement ascribe to revolutionary anarchist or Marxist ideologies, including anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, and anti-Christianity, using these to incite and justify violent assaults domestically and overseas.” In his first term, Trump signaled that he would designate antifa a terrorist group in the midst of anti-police riots, violence, and demonstrations in the summer of 2020. At one point during the 2020 unrest, Trump warned that he would invoke the Insurrection Act that was last used during the Los Angeles riots in 1992, and he again suggested invoking the law as National Guard deployments were sent to multiple cities last year. Patel on Feb. 18 also dismissed longstanding claims that antifa is only an ideological framework and said that dozens of people in Texas have been arrested in connection with the left-wing organization. Federal officials in October 2025 targeted antifa and filed terrorism charges against five people in Texas, citing the order issued by Trump. In November 2025, the five defendants pleaded guilty in response to charges that they were accused of supporting antifa in a July shooting that wounded a police officer outside a Texas immigration detention center. Patel previously said the charges in Texas are the first time a material support to terrorism charge has targeted antifa. Bongino, who was the FBI deputy director before leaving the government in January, returned to hosting his podcast this month. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Tyler Durden Fri, 02/20/2026 - 08:55

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How A Water War Is Brewing Over A Drying Lake In Nevada Authored by John Haughey via The Epoch Times, A Nevada lawsuit trickling toward trial could determine how the nation’s most arid state balances the legal rights of upstream landowners to divert water from rivers for agricultural irrigation with the impacts those withdrawals have on downstream ecologies and economies. Water rights exceed water supply across much of the western United States. With many watersheds failing to deliver enough water for local needs, the suit is being watched by attorneys, state water managers, and federal agencies. It could potentially set a precedent in revising how states across the West regulate access to water. The Nevada case, filed by the Walker River Paiute Tribe and Mineral County, may also present an opportunity for a win-win solution, in which nonprofits and government entities purchase private water rights from willing upstream sellers and dedicate them to downstream public benefit. Without public-private intervention and the changes in state water law that the suit seeks, geologists and environmental experts agree the future is bleak for Walker Lake, a 13-mile long terminal lake about 75 miles southeast of Reno near the California state line in rural, sparsely populated Mineral County. The lake is completely dependent on diminishing Sierra Nevada snowmelt runoff into the Walker River—runoff that, for decades now, has been almost entirely diverted for irrigation by upstream farmers and ranchers. As a result, a desert oasis that once generated more than half of Mineral County’s economic activity through recreational pursuits such as fishing, migratory bird-watching, boating, and camping is now a lifeless “sludge pond,” while the town of Walker Lake faces an accelerating prospect of extinction. “The last fish was caught in 2013 or 2015, I believe. When the fish died, the fishing died; boating, recreation, that all just disappeared,” Mineral County Commissioner Tony Ruse said. “There were restaurants here. There were hotels here. There were businesses here. Now? All gone, just 300 residents struggling.” A Mineral County native, Ruse returned in 2020 after working 34 years as a Switzerland-trained chef in Europe and Asia, including 20 years in South Korea, to open The Big Horn Crossing, a restaurant and convenience store in a shuttered bait shop. It’s now Walker Lake’s only remaining retail business. “It was dead. There was nothing,” he told The Epoch Times. “We should be selling bait here. We should be selling fishing supplies. There should be boats parked in our driveway right now.” (Top) Mineral County Commissioner Tony Ruse fields a phone call at The Big Horn Crossing, a restaurant and convenience store that is the only remaining retail business in Walker Lake, Nev., in January 2026. (Bottom) Walker Lake, a town of fewer than 400 people, is anchored on the slopes of Mount Grant, but no longer supports a fishery, boat races, or the waterfront restaurants and hotels that once made it a desert oasis for tourists, anglers, and campers, in Mineral County, Nev., in January 2026. John Haughey/The Epoch Times Marlene Bunch and her husband Glenn lead the Walker Lake Working Group, created in 1991 to ensure water reaches the lake to sustain its recreational economy. “Upstream diversions have been our nemesis, and that’s what our legal case is for,” Bunch, a former Mineral County clerk and treasurer, told The Epoch Times. Bunch.has lived in Walker Lake since the 1960s. She recalls a 1991 discussion with Nevada Department of Wildlife fisheries biologist Mike Sevon about what would happen if water levels continued to drop. Diminishing Returns Walker Lake retains water flowing east 100 miles from California’s Bridgeport and Topaz reservoirs through Nevada’s Smith and Mason valleys and the Walker River Paiute Tribe’s reservation. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, its water levels have declined more than 160 feet since 1882. Nearly 30 miles long in 1850, the lake is only 12 miles long today. The runoff provided hydrological pressure that sustained area water wells, especially in Walker Lake, where Ruse said residents are seeing “very brackish” water coming from taps, a potential death knell for the town. “It’s getting harder and harder to keep the federal standards for potable water,” he said. “So there’s going to be a day—and I’m waiting for the call—that we need to put a reverse-osmosis system in, which we couldn’t afford to do.” Walker Lake and nearby Hawthorne, the Mineral County seat, struggle in the desert—Hawthorne has seen its population decline 60 percent from 10,000 in 1980 to just over 3,000 in 2020. Meanwhile, agriculture in the Smith and Mason valleys has thrived. (Top) Walker Lake has receded well beyond the sign on U.S. Route 95, in Mineral County, Nev., in January 2026. Decades ago, anglers could shorecast for fish that can no longer survive in the shrinking lake. (Bottom) Nevada’s Walker Lake, a 13-mile-long lake about 75 miles southeast of Reno near the California state line in rural Mineral County, was once more than 30 miles long and 160 feet higher than it is now, in Mineral County, Nev., in January 2026. John Haughey/The Epoch Times But with mountain runoff unreliable for decades now, when upstream users divert their share, little to no water makes it to Walker Lake, leaving once-bustling waterfront businesses marooned as hulking shells far from a distant, receding shore. The case, United States and Walker River Paiute Tribe v. Walker River Irrigation District, is not a new case, but ongoing litigation arising from a lawsuit filed in 1924. It’s part of a flood of litigation stemming from Walker River allocations, going back to 1902, when rancher Henry Miller sued Thomas Rickey over water rights on the river. A 1936 Walker River Decree issued by the Nevada U.S. District Court finalized water rights for more than 500 private landowners, primarily farmers and ranchers, within the Walker River Basin, including those in the Walker River Irrigation District, under a “first in time, first in right” policy that remains the standard almost a century later. Like Nevada, most western states allocate water by the policy, known as prior appropriation. Therefore, under the 1936 decree, upstream users have legal priority to Walker River water. But in 2015, Mineral County filed a lawsuit citing the public trust doctrine, the legal principle that certain natural and cultural resources be preserved for public use. The lawsuit claimed that under the public trust doctrine, it is the state’s duty to maintain minimum inflows into public waters, such as Walker Lake, to sustain environmental, wildlife, recreational, and economic resources. The U.S. District Court ruled in the county’s favor. The irrigation district appealed. The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court overturned the ruling; the public trust doctrine, it held, was a state law issue that had not been decided in Nevada. That kicked the case back to the Nevada Supreme Court, which in 2020 determined all Nevada waters will now be allocated under the public trust doctrine—but that already-issued water rights would not be, and can never be, reallocated. The Supreme Court of Nevada building in Carson City, Nev., in this file photo. In 2020, the court determined that all Nevada waters will now be allocated under the public trust doctrine. Steven Frame/Shutterstock The court directed Mineral County to recommend ways to restore the lake without reallocating water rights, and to work with the Walker Basin Conservancy, a nonprofit created in 2014 with federal funding initially secured by Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Walker Basin Restoration Program. In 2021, Mineral County amended its 2015 complaint to intervene in the decades’-long parallel suit by the Walker River Paiute Tribe seeking to boost Walker River flows into a reservation reservoir and secure water rights for 167,460 acres added to the reservation since 1936. The county’s complaint includes 24 “actions … necessary to restore and maintain Walker Lake’s public trust values.” After years of procedural delays, including a requirement to individually serve more than 1,000 watershed landowners across the country, the case is set to proceed into discovery. A potential trial looms. But an alternate “win-win” solution orchestrated by the Walker Basin Conservancy is gaining traction and could, perhaps, mitigate the need for a court-ordered resolution. ‘The Only Solution’ Since its creation, the conservancy has restored public access to 33 miles along the Walker River and purchased more than 13,700 acres of water rights, enough to restore about 60 percent of the river inflow biologists maintain is needed to restore the lake’s fishery. Conservancy CEO Peter Stanton and Water Program Director Carlie Henneman did not return emails and repeated phone requests for comment about the program from The Epoch Times. Nor did the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Walker River Irrigation District attorney Gordon DePaoli, or Walker Basin Working Group’s Oregon-based legal advisers, Jamie Saul of the Wild & Scenic Law Center and Kevin Cassidy of Lewis & Clark Law School’s Earthrise Law Center. Several attorneys representing different parties would only speak off-the-record, underscoring the contentious complexities of the case. A sign of the Walker River Paiute Tribe in Shurz, Nev., on Oct. 16, 2024. Walker Lake retains water flowing east 100 miles from California’s Bridgeport and Topaz reservoirs through Nevada’s Smith and Mason valleys and the Walker River Paiute Tribe's reservation. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images Roderick E. Walston, an attorney with Best Best & Krieger in Walnut Creek, Calif., told The Epoch Times his clients above the Bridgeport Reservoir in California are apprehensive about Mineral County’s suit, which he said essentially demands the federal court to reallocate existing water rights under the public trust doctrine. “Our response is basically that the Nevada Supreme Court resolved that issue four years ago,” he said. Walston was a California deputy attorney general in 1983 and argued the Mono Lake case before the California Supreme Court. In that case, the state’s public trust doctrine was used to thwart Los Angeles from purchasing Mono Lake water rights that would have devastated the lake’s ecology and Sierra Nevada economies. “So I argued both the case in California Supreme Court 40-something years ago and then also argued the case in the Nevada Supreme Court about four years ago,” he said. Walston said the case could have “great impact” on water disputes in states that uphold the prior allocation doctrine. “This is an absolutely large case,” he said. Meanwhile, Mineral County District Attorney Ryan McCormick, who assumed his post seven weeks ago, told The Epoch Times he’s playing catch-up in reading filings “from decades and decades of litigation.” A sign is pictured at Walker Lake in Hawthorne, Nev., on Oct. 16, 2024. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, Walker Lake’s water levels have declined more than 160 feet since 1882. Nearly 30 miles long in 1850, the lake is only 12 miles long today. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images “In a perfect world, if we get some specific performance and find a way to divert water back into the lake and have the levels rising again, that would be absolutely ideal,” he said, adding he isn’t privy to the reasoning behind all of the 24 actions assembled by the Walker Lake Working Group. It’s a complicated case in a long-litigated watershed but the best resolution is simple, McCormick said. “With the best interests of Mineral County, Hawthorne, and Walker Lake in mind here, we would like the lake to be receiving fresh water again. It would be nice to see some economic development right now, right?” But Walston said odds are slim the court will cast aside the state’s Supreme Court determination that existing water rights cannot be reallocated. Working with the conservancy and other groups to purchase water rights from willing landowners at $3,000 to $4,000 per acre foot—an acre of one-foot deep water—is a win-win for all involved, he said. “It’s the only solution, really. The Nevada Supreme Court has said you can’t just take water rights that have been adjudicated and take that water and put it into Walker Lake,” Walston said. “But you can go to various water users and negotiate with them and buy their water rights. In that case, then you could reallocate.” Tyler Durden Wed, 02/18/2026 - 22:35

I like to prep my meals for the Mediterranean diet in advance. George Arkley I've followed the Mediterranean diet for years, and I meal prep to save time and money. My favorite Chicken meatballs are versatile and packed with protein. I like to pair my prepped dishes with olive salad, which I can also make in advance. I have followed the Mediterranean diet for more than five years. It's long been considered the healthiest diet, and this way of eating emphasizes the consumption of unprocessed foods and healthy fats. Common ingredients people on the diet eat include vegetables, seafood, whole grains, and beans. While following it, I like to cook meals in advance in larger batches so I can enjoy them throughout the week or freeze them to eat at a later date. Some of my go-to Mediterranean-diet recipes stray slightly from more typical ones I've seen, but I try to stick with the core principles of this style of eating while keeping things interesting. Here are some of my favorite meals to make in advance and how I usually prepare them. I make chicken meatballs to pair with salads and pasta dishes. George Arkley Chicken meatballs are versatile and can be easily incorporated into pasta dishes, salads, wraps, and sandwiches. Plus, they freeze well. To make them, I usually combine ground chicken, chopped red onion, egg, breadcrumbs, and olive oil. Then, I mix in oregano, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper and form my meatballs. I pop them in the air fryer or oven until brown, let them cool, then freeze them in individual portions for later. Stuffed peppers are a budget-friendly, easy-to-make dish that's perfect for freezing for later. George Arkley Stuffed peppers are easy to customize with different types of meat, rice, cheese, and vegetables. To start, I cut each bell pepper in half and remove the seeds. I drizzle the peppers in olive oil and bake them for a bit while I cook my preferred filling on my stovetop. I often stuff peppers with a mix of cooked ground turkey (be sure to drain any excess juice), diced onions, canned diced tomatoes, garlic, tomato puree, chicken stock, and herbs. Once I bake and cool the peppers, I freeze them. When I defrost them, I add grated cheese and heat them in the oven until they're hot and the cheese is golden. I whip up a big batch of beef stew for cold days. George Arkley Sometimes I spend a free afternoon cooking a large batch of beef stew I can fill my freezer with. To make it, I brown ground beef in olive oil on my stove and set it aside on a plate. Then, I add diced onion, rosemary, and garlic to the pan I was using. I cook them for a few minutes and then add red wine. I then pour in beef stock, canned chopped tomatoes, and jarred grilled peppers. I add the beef back in and cook my stew in the oven for two hours. Then, I stir in canned butterbeans and olives and cook for another 30 minutes. I make a slurry with cornstarch and cold water and stir it into my stew to help it thicken. I let it simmer until I like the consistency. Once it cools, I freeze individual serving sizes that I can thaw whenever I want them. Try these fishcakes even if you're not a fan of white fish. George Arkley Homemade fishcakes are a great way to incorporate seafood into your diet without spending a fortune at the fishmonger. To make them, I fry chopped leeks on the stove and set them aside in a bowl. Then, I grind up a few tilapia filets in a food processor and add them to the leeks, along with an egg, breadcrumbs, garlic, parsley, lemon juice, and cumin. I form my mixture into small cakes, then fry them in a pan for five minutes on each side until golden brown. I freeze the cakes individually and usually serve them with garlic mayo and salsa. My favorite chicken traybake works well as leftovers. George Arkley A one-pan chicken traybake is perfect to throw in the oven on a busy weeknight, particularly if you also need lunch prepped for the next day. For mine, I chop potatoes, onions, and lemons into medium-sized chunks and toss them in a pan with olive oil, capers, jarred peppers, sundried tomatoes, rosemary, oregano, salt, and pepper. I start roasting them in the oven while I season chicken thighs with olive oil, salt, and pepper. I fry the thighs skin-side down on the stove until the skin turns brown, then add them to the tray of things I began roasting. I cover the whole thing in foil for a bit, then keep baking and tossing everything around until my potatoes are crispy. Once finished, I serve myself a portion and keep the rest for lunch the next day. It's very tasty leftover. I cook Moroccan soup to use up any veggies that are on their way out. George Arkley Nothing says batch cooking like a cozy soup. Drizzle diced carrots, onion, celery, and leeks with olive oil and cook in a large pan on the stove. Season with turmeric, harissa, and red-pepper flakes before adding chopped tomatoes, fresh cilantro, vegetable stock, and water. Leave to simmer uncovered for at least 30 minutes, then add cans of green lentils and chickpeas. Simmer for another half an hour. Whisk a couple of eggs, a tablespoon of flour, and lemon juice into a couple of cups of water, then add that mixture to the soup. Let it simmer for a few more minutes before pouring yourself a serving and freezing the rest. Olive salad is the perfect side dish. George Arkley I prepare olive salad once or twice a week to keep in the fridge. To make it, I chop pitted olives, shallots, cherry tomatoes, carrots, and bell peppers into tiny chunks. I toss those in a dressing made with lemon juice, sweet paprika, extra-virgin olive oil, and chili flakes. Lastly, I top my salad with fresh parsley, mint, crumbled feta, and walnuts. It can be eaten on its own, but I usually serve a small portion of it with one of my batch-cooked recipes. This story was most recently updated on February 18, 2026. Read the original article on Business Insider

Enpro anticipates 8%-12% sales growth in 2026, fueled by an accelerating semiconductor recovery and the integration of its AlpHa and Overlook acquisitions.

The transcript for EnPro's (NPO) Q4 2025 earnings call has been released, providing details on the company's financial performance and outlook.

Oil Surges On Report Warning US-Iran War Is Far Closer Than Americans Realize Axios' Barak Ravid, a journalist very close to the Israeli government, writes Wednesday that the Trump White House is now "closer to a major war in the Middle East than most Americans realize. It could begin very soon." The sources he spoke to, which could be American or Israeli, say that such an operation would be a "massive" campaign at least weeks in sustained length. If it the campaign goes the way of Iraq or Afghanistan, or Syria, the conflict could eventually be measured in years and not just months. Further, "The sources noted it would likely be a joint U.S.-Israeli campaign that's much broader in scope — and more existential for the regime — than the Israeli-led 12-day war last June, which the U.S. eventually joined to take out Iran's underground nuclear facilities." USAF/CNN All of this looks to be going down with no public or Congressional debate whatsoever: "With the attention of Congress and the public otherwise occupied, there is little public debate about what could be the most consequential U.S. military intervention in the Middle East in at least a decade," notes Axios. Both sides are citing 'progress' in the two rounds of indirect negotiations (in Oman and then Geneva) which have taken place thus far, however, there's been nothing yet in the way of specific agreement. Washington's commitment to see talks through even for weeks at this point is highly in quesiton. The following was the initial Iranian assessment of how the talks led by Witkoff and Kushner in Geneva went this week: Iran has said it has reached an understanding with the US on the main "guiding principles" to resolve their dispute over Tehran's nuclear programme. Speaking after indirect talks in Geneva, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi added that work still needed to be done. The US said "progress was made". Badr Albusaidi, foreign minister of mediator Oman, said the negotiations "concluded with good progress towards identifying common goals and relevant technical issues". The Iranians have asked for two weeks to hammer out a detailed proposal, with an American official stating, "Progress was made, but there are still a lot of details to discuss. The Iranians said they would come back in the next two weeks with detailed proposals to address some of the open gaps in our positions." Given President Trump has ordered a second US carrier group to the region, along with a huge number of support aircraft, does Iran really have two weeks to spare?  Oil reaches HOD Wednesday soon on heels of Axios report, with WTI kissing $64/barrel... To some degree, the Iranians are likely buying time, knowing that a surprise, unprovoked attack could be imminent. This would be similar to the June war, but unlike that scenario this would indeed be much bigger. There's reason to believe Trump may stay restrained, however, and give negotiations time. Fear of higher oil prices could ultimately be the deciding factor here, pushing Trump to settle with Iran and not spark another completely unpredictable, likely disastrous war in the Middle East.  Tyler Durden Wed, 02/18/2026 - 08:36

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Norwegian cross-country skier achieved unprecedented feat with victory in the 50km mass start “I’m starting to believe maybe he is a machine.” Martin Løwstrøm Nyenget was not alone in his assumption

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Japanese researchers have found evidence of an unprecedentedly long magnetic pole shift on Earth, lasting 40 million years.

A review expresses surprise at the unprecedented number of Oscar nominations received by the nearly year-old, R-rated vampire horror film 'The Guilty,' questioning if it truly deserves the title of 'best film ever.'

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Norwegian cross-country skier achieved unprecedented feat with victory in the 50km mass start

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UK budget surplus hits record in January and retail sales rose, while private sector activity is strengthening in February UK reports record-breaking budget surplus of £30.4bn in surprise boost for Rachel Reeves Art and antiques help lift retail sales in Great Britain to biggest monthly rise since 2024 The jump in tax receipts last month may show that UK government receipts are starting to get the boost from inflation and wage growth earlier in the year. Nick Ridpath, research economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, says: Today’s data on the public finances is particularly important, given the outsized impact of January’s self-assessment returns on revenues and borrowing for the year as a whole. Income tax receipts had been a little disappointing over 2025, lagging behind forecasts even as inflation and wage growth exceeded expectations. But today’s data shows that self-assessment revenues in January were almost £2bn (6%) higher than forecast. Mail order retailers, which are predominantly online, experienced a boost from retailers selling sports supplements, as well as continued strong sales volumes by online jewellers. Comments from jewellers reported that demand had hit unprecedented levels. Continue reading...

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Medical Groups Sue FTC Over Probe Into Gender Dysphoria Treatments Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), Two medical groups on Feb. 17 sued the federal government over its probe into the organizations’ recommendations for children with gender dysphoria, or the belief that they are a different gender. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in Washington on Aug. 6, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Endocrine Society said in separate lawsuits filed in federal court in the District of Columbia that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is unconstitutionally targeting the groups over their speech. “Using the threat of investigation or prosecution against an organization in order to silence speech the government does not like is retaliation, prohibited by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,” the American Academy of Pediatrics, which says it represents 67,000 pediatricians, said in its lawsuit. “Moreover, issuing an overbroad subpoena as a tool to compel disclosures in such a retaliatory action violates the Fourth Amendment.” The academy said in a 2018 statement, reaffirmed in 2023, that pediatricians could give drugs such as puberty blockers to children who identify as a gender different from their birth sex. FTC officials in a civil demand in January requested details on how the academy came up with the position, as well as each type of pediatric gender dysphoria treatment the academy had advertised or promoted, and whether there were any financial relationships between the organization and companies or doctors that treat gender dysphoria. Officials demanded similar information from the Endocrine Society, a nonprofit that promotes hormone science research and says it has 18,000 members. The society in 2017 said that people who have gender dysphoria or gender incongruence need “a safe and effective hormone regimen that will (1) suppress endogenous sex hormone secretion determined by the person’s genetic/gonadal sex and (2) maintain sex hormone levels within the normal range for the person’s affirmed gender.” FTC officials said in the demand letters that they are investigating whether false or unsubstantiated representations were made concerning the marketing and advertising of treatments for pediatric gender dysphoria. Federal law prohibits people from engaging in deceptive practices affecting commerce and disseminating false advertisements. The probe targets the Endocrine Society over speech that “reflects pure scientific opinion,” the society said in its legal challenge. If allowed to proceed, the investigation would “endanger the ability of organizations to share information and opinion on any issue, be that vaccine safety and efficacy, environmental health risks, emerging infectious diseases, or gender dysphoria,” it added later. The groups want judges to declare that the civil demands violated the First Amendment. Judges should immediately and permanently bar FTC officials from taking action against the groups over their treatment guidelines and any other statements concerning “gender affirming care,” the groups also said. The Epoch Times reached out to the FTC for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication. Tyler Durden Thu, 02/19/2026 - 17:00

The United States has invested $40 million in CIMMYT, a Mexican nonprofit dedicated to developing high-yield grain varieties and preserving Mexico's native corn biodiversity.

Ben Goertzel had dozens of email exchanges with Jeffrey Epstein. Horacio Villalobos#Corbis/Getty Images Ben Goertzel, a computer scientist who popularized the term AGI, courted Jeffrey Epstein for research funding, emails show. DoJ files show that Goertzel was aware of Epstein's criminal charges, and their correspondence continued until at least 2018. Goertzel told Business Insider he "made a mistake" in accepting Epstein's money and regretted not doing due diligence. In January 2013, Jeffrey Epstein sent a blunt email to the computer scientist Ben Goertzel. Epstein had funded Goertzel's research in artificial intelligence and was frustrated with a lack of progress. However, on this day, the disgraced financier wasn't writing to discuss algorithms or neural networks — he wanted to discuss Goertzel's hair. "I think it is now time for you to drop the hippie look," Epstein wrote, warning Goertzel that his "disheveled 80s appearance" was an "unnecessary hindrance" to securing the capital that might one day help the two men achieve AGI — artificial general intelligence, a hypothetical level of computer intelligence that could surpass that of humans. Epstein compared the scientist's ponytail to "spinach in the teeth of a friend." "I would be willing to cut my hair for a lot of AGI money," Goertzel replied. Ben Goerzel (right) with Kelly Larson (co-curator of TEDx Hong Kong and Asia Consciousness Festival) and Jeffrey Martin (visiting assistant professor at Polytechnic University) Chris Ip/South China Morning Post via Getty Images The exchange was among dozens between Epstein and Goertzel in files released by the Department of Justice, chronicling Epstein's fascination with the potential of AI. Goertzel, a researcher who helped popularize the term AGI and develop the humanoid robot Sophia, courted Epstein for money over several years, promising he could build the "Sputnik of AI," the emails show. In an online résumé that has since been removed, Goertzel said Epstein gave him a $100,000 research grant in 2001. Emails reviewed by Business Insider show Epstein agreed to give Goertzel at least another $100,000 between 2008 and 2018, spread out across multiple transfers. It could not be learned how much of the money Goertzel ultimately received. The emails show Goertzel was aware of Epstein's criminal charges. In a 2010 email, Goertzel congratulated Epstein on his release from the Palm Beach County Jail. In 2008, Epstein had pleaded guilty to two sex charges, including solicitation of a minor. In 2015, several days after Prince Andrew was named in a lawsuit over underage sex claims related to Epstein, Goertzel wrote about "utterly idiotic negative publicity in the news" and said he was sorry Epstein's camp had to deal with it. "Maybe some variation of what is alleged did happen, but if so it was surely an occurrence among reasonably mature people who mutually consented at the time, so why is it anybody else's business?" Goertzel wrote, before asking for $25,000 for a "corporate contribution" to one of his companies. In a statement to Business Insider, Goertzel said he "made a mistake" in accepting Epstein's money. He said he regretted not doing due diligence on Epstein's crimes and that he had "basically zero knowledge of Epstein's sexual peculiarities and exploitative practices." He added: "I deeply regret being social-engineered by this terrible human being and not doing more research into him decades ago. I won't make this sort of mistake again." 'The Sputnik of AI' Goertzel is currently the CEO of SingularityNET, an AI and blockchain company. He is also chair of The AGI Society, a nonprofit that holds an annual AI conference. His correspondence with Epstein was among millions of documents released by the Justice Department. The files have reverberated through the business world, revealing emails between Epstein and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Virgin founder Richard Branson, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, among others. The fallout for some people named in the files has been swift. Goldman Sachs' top lawyer, Kathryn Ruemmler, resigned in mid-February, and Brad Karp resigned as chairman of the law firm Paul Weiss, among others. Appearing in the files does not necessarily suggest that a person has engaged in wrongdoing. In one of the emails released by the Justice Department, Goertzel said he had known Epstein since 2001. Epstein took an interest in what labs like MIT and Google were doing in the AI field. Goertzel, who some consider one of the "godfathers of AGI," coauthored a 2006 book on the topic, and in 2008, he created OpenCog, an open-source project to try to architect human intelligence. Goertzel told Business Insider that he met Epstein through "mutual friends" in New York City. Epstein was well-connected with the rich and the powerful. Martin BUREAU / AFP via Getty Images Epstein appeared concerned in some emails by the lack of support for Goertzel's AGI theories among mainstream experts. "i believe in you. i can't figure out why i am in the minority," he told Goertzel in 2010. In a 2011 email, Goertzel asked if Epstein would fund half of a $3 million grant over four years to fund a "full speed ahead toward AGI" plan, which included building AI that could control a video game character and a humanoid robot. "Of course, US$3M is a lot of money. However, this would be the 'Sputnik of AGI' -- it would set the development of AGI on a whole new course," Goertzel wrote. In his statement to Business Insider, Goertzel said, "I had basically zero knowledge of Epstein's sexual peculiarities and exploitative practices and have no orientation toward that sort of thing and little understanding of it -- it was all about being overly desperate at that stage for any source of $$ to fund innovative frontier science, which Epstein did recognize as valuable but mainstream science at the time did not." Epstein sometimes pushed Goertzel for more tangible proof of breakthroughs and tried to influence some research directions, the emails show. In February 2013, he emailed Goertzel and suggested that having an AI system pass "iq tests for children" would provide a concrete research milestone. Goertzel agreed to pursue the idea. "Epstein was very smart and fairly technically savvy and had a lot of ideas about AI, which were not terribly stupid nor terribly brilliant," Goertzel told Business Insider. "I did not pay much attention to them nor did they influence my work in any way." Ben Goertzel, gives a press conference with Hanson Robotics at Web Summit, 2019 Henrique Casinhas/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Epstein used corporate and foundation vehicles to send money to Goertzel, including his Southern Trust Company, registered in the US Virgin Islands, the emails show. "As before, we can do this as a tax-deductible donation to a nonprofit, assuming that's still your preference," Goertzel said in a September 2010 email to Epstein. Depending on the circumstances, Goertzel, who spent some of his time in Hong Kong, requested that the money be sent to different nonprofits' accounts, the emails show. In 2014, Goertzel requested that Epstein send the money to Humanity+, a nonprofit focused on transhumanism that he was vice president of. Goertzel said it would act as a fiscal "pass-through" so the money could be diverted to himself and other researchers. "Yes all this was totally legit, the funding was going to open-source AGI R&D for the good of humanity and its future, which was very much within the mandate of Humanity+ as a 501-3c nonprofit," Goertzel told Business Insider. 'Moronic media shitstorm' Goertzel told Business Insider he "reconnected" with Epstein in 2008 after several years of no contact, and that Epstein told him about his legal situation. "He framed it as a politically motivated prosecution for involvement with a consenting adult. I believed him. I should not have," Goertzel told Business Insider. Several emails show Goertzel and Epstein arranging to meet in person. Goertzel told Business Insider they met on several occasions at Epstein's New York and Florida offices. "I never hung out with him in a social setting, never went to the island or flew in the jet or saw him partying with girlfriends or anything like that," he said. In 2015, Goertzel was following up on a payment he hoped to receive from Epstein. Richard Kahn, Epstein's accountant, responded that it had to be put on hold due to "bad press." The Guardian had reported days earlier that Prince Andrew was named in a US lawsuit involving Epstein. "I don't want to push you guys at a difficult time, but given my own situation I do feel moved to ask if Jeffrey might still be able to help with $25K for my 'corporate contribution' to the OpenCog Hong Kong project," Goertzel wrote. "He has helped in this way every year since 2010, usually via a donation to Humanity+." The South China Morning Post reported earlier on some of the payments Epstein made to Goertzel to help him secure Hong Kong grants. Epstein responded, "yes 25," and Goertzel thanked him and said he hoped to resume conversations "once this current moronic media shitstorm blows over." Emails between the men continued for several years. In December 2018, a few days after the Miami Herald published an investigation into Epstein that contributed to his arrest on federal sex-trafficking charges the next year, Goertzel sent an email inviting Epstein to an AI and blockchain event in New York. Alternatively, he said, they could find another time to meet in the city. "let me know if you're in town and might spare a few moments," Goertzel wrote. "it's been a while!" Have something to share? Contact this reporter via email at hlangley@businessinsider.com or Signal at 628-228-1836. Use a personal email address and a non-work device; here's our guide to sharing information securely. Read the original article on Business Insider

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Voyages To The End Of The World: The Moral Costs Of Techno-Utopianism In their highly read First Things essay “Voyages to the End of the World,” Peter Thiel and Sam Wolfe use Francis Bacon’s utopian “New Atlantis” to argue that modern faith in unlimited technological progress has subtly redefined salvation as a human-controlled achievement rather than a divine gift, displacing religious understandings of human destiny with promises of security, abundance, and mastery over nature. They warn that this Baconian project - disguised in Christian imagery - risks creating a seductive but spiritually impoverished civilization where technological power outpaces moral wisdom, potentially leading to an end-times trajectory of false salvation unless reintegrated into a framework that respects natural and spiritual limits. Authored by William Brooks via The Epoch Times, Founded in 1990 by the late Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, First Things magazine strives to promote a well-informed public philosophy in the Christian and Jewish traditions. Last year, one of the most read essays in First Things was titled: “Voyages to the End of the World” by Peter Thiel and Sam Wolfe. Thiel is a tech entrepreneur, investor, and author. Wolfe is a writer and researcher at Thiel Capital. These thinkers offer a probing examination of our modern technological ambitions. Using Francis Bacon’s unfinished 17th-century work “New Atlantis” as a point of departure, Thiel and Wolfe suggest that modern faith in scientific progress is corroding the religious understanding of human destiny. They contend that Bacon’s utopian tale about knowledge and prosperity contains a warning about the moral costs of unlimited technological mastery. Thiel and Wolfe’s central claim is not that science itself is evil or that technological progress must be rejected. Rather, they argue that Bacon’s scientific project—and the modern world that has adopted it—rests on a redefinition of salvation. Whereas Christianity views redemption as a divine process that transcends history, Bacon relocates it firmly within human control. In doing so, modern technological civilization risks mistaking power for wisdom. This could have grave consequences as we enter an epoch defined by unprecedented technological advancement. At the heart of their essay is a close look at Bacon’s fictional account of the island society of Bensalem. On its surface, Bensalem appears harmonious, pious, and benevolent. Its inhabitants are devout, orderly, and humane; its institutions promise healing, abundance, and stability. Its governing institution, Salomon’s House, is dedicated to the systematic investigation of nature for the “relief of man’s estate.” Bacon presents scientific inquiry as a quasi-religious vocation, cloaked in Christian imagery and moral restraint. Thiel and Wolfe warn that this superficial harmony conceals a radical transformation of the human relationship to nature, knowledge, and God. They argue that Bacon’s true ambition was not merely to advance science but to replace the classical-Christian understanding of limits with a project of total technological mastery. Knowledge, in Bacon’s vision, is not ordered toward moral formation but toward domination and control. Nature is no longer something to be understood within an inherited moral order; it is something that can be conquered and redesigned. This shift has profound implications. Bacon’s scientific method implicitly promises what religion once offered: security, healing, abundance, and even a form of immortality. By embedding these promises within a framework that appears Christian, Bacon disguised the degree to which his vision subtly marginalized the hand of God. In New Atlantis, God remains present, but increasingly as a symbolic guarantor of human progress rather than as the ultimate judge of human action. Thiel and Wolfe interpret this displacement through an eschatological lens. Drawing on biblical imagery, they suggest that Bacon’s utopia resembles the deceptive peace promised in apocalyptic literature—a peace achieved not through repentance or divine reconciliation, but through human ingenuity and centralised power. The danger is not tyranny in its crudest form, but something more seductive: a world so efficient and secure that it no longer recognizes its spiritual impoverishment. One of the essay’s most troubling conclusions is that modern technological civilization may be better understood as an end-times trajectory rather than a benign accumulation of new tools. Scientific progress does not merely extend human capacities; it reshapes human expectations about the future. When technology promises to eliminate scarcity, suffering, and even death, it inevitably assumes the role once played by theology. In this sense, modernity reconfigures the religious impulse by substituting technique for grace. The authors argue that this substitution is inherently unstable. Technological power expands far more rapidly than moral wisdom, and the belief that every problem has a technical solution blinds societies to questions of meaning, responsibility, and restraint. The more humanity relies on systems it only partially understands—artificial intelligence, biotechnology, etc.—the more it risks becoming subject to forces it can neither fully control nor morally justify. A further conclusion concerns the cultural conditions that allow this dynamic to persist. Thiel and Wolfe suggest that widespread biblical and philosophical illiteracy leaves contemporary society unable to recognize the spiritual dimensions of technological ambition. Apocalyptic language, once central to the Western moral imagination, is now dismissed as superstition. Yet without such language, we lose a critical framework for discerning the difference between genuine progress and false salvation. The result is not rational clarity, but naivete—a readiness to accept sweeping promises of safety and efficiency without asking what is being sacrificed in return. The relevance of “Voyages to the End of the World” becomes especially clear as we move deeper into the 21st century. Humanity now possesses technologies capable of reshaping life itself, from genetic engineering to autonomous systems that make decisions once reserved for human judgment. Political and economic leaders increasingly speak in utopian terms, promising that innovation will solve social conflict, environmental degradation, and even moral disagreement. These assurances echo Bacon’s vision of a world governed by knowledge rather than virtue, technique rather than tradition. Thiel and Wolfe suggest we correct our course. They invite readers to reconsider whether the goals of technological civilization are as harmless as they appear. The question is no longer whether we can build more powerful tools, but whether those tools are shaping a conception of life that is ultimately compatible with human well-being. The authors do not advocate withdrawal from modern life or a rejection of scientific inquiry. Their argument is one of discernment. Technological progress, they assert, must be reintegrated into a moral framework that acknowledges the natural limits of human power. Without such a framework, progress becomes self-justifying, and power becomes an end in itself. We are reminded that the future we build should not be merely technical. It should also be moral, spiritual, and ultimately related to the destiny of human souls. As the second quarter of the 21st century unfolds, “Voyages to the End of the World” offers a timely caution. The greatest danger facing technological civilization may not be catastrophe, but success—the achievement of a techno-managed world that no longer knows why or for what it exists. Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or ZeroHedge. Tyler Durden Mon, 02/16/2026 - 23:35

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