“In just seven years, Jakarta, Indonesia, took a giant leap from 33rd biggest city in the world to surpass Tokyo at the top of the list. The city has grown to 42 million residents. Nearly half the world’s population now lives in cities, and the number of megacities such as Jakarta, which are home to more than 10 million people each, has ballooned from less than 10 to more than 30 in the last 50 years, according to a United Nations report. … According to the report, the world’s three largest cities are Jakarta and its 42 million residents; Dhaka, Bangladesh, with nearly 40 million residents; and Tokyo, with roughly 33 million residents, the report said. The only non-Asian city in the top 10, the U.N. found, is Cairo, Egypt.” (11/25/25)
Normally when we turn on the “firehose” at RRND/FND it’s a Friday. But this week Wednesday IS Friday in the US due to the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. So instead of a regular 60-item email / social media edition we’ve got more than 100 news stories, opinion pieces, and audio/video links lined up for you here at the web edition.
We’re thankful for all 5,000 or so of our readers on the web, on social media, and via email. Especially those who’ve been with us for a long time (maybe even since the Freedom News Daily or even Libernet days going back to 1991). And MOST especially those who financially support our work at:
No, your $2.50, $5, or $10 donation isn’t “too small.” Nor would a $714.16 donation be “too big.” Whatever you 1) think we’re worth and 2) can afford is a Goldilocks donation — just right!
Thanks in advance (and yet another thanks to those who’ve already kicked in). Whether you celebrate the US Thanksgiving holiday or not, have a happy, healthy, and prosperous weekend!
Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily
“A volcano in Ethiopia has erupted for the first time in nearly 12,000 years, sending a vast ash cloud across major air corridors in the Red Sea and forcing airlines in India and the Middle East to cancel or divert flights. The Hayli Gubbi volcano, located in Ethiopia’s Afar region near the Eritrean border, erupted on Sunday for several hours, spewing ash up to 14km (nine miles) into the atmosphere. Thick plumes were tracked drifting over Yemen and Oman before spreading across Pakistan and into northern India on Monday and Tuesday, according to the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre and the India Meteorological Department.” (11/25/25)
“Bitcoin Core, the widely used software running the world’s largest blockchain, has completed its first publicly available third-party security audit. The review was conducted by cybersecurity firm Quarkslab, funded by Brink, and coordinated by the Open Source Technology Improvement Fund (OSTIF). The engagement marks a major milestone for Bitcoin’s security lifecycle, providing an independent examination of software that secures trillions of dollars in value. Bitcoin Core has evolved significantly since 2009, with more than 46,000 commits and contributions from dozens of developers. Despite its maturity, the project had never undergone a full public audit from an external firm, an absence this review aimed to address.” (11/25/25)
“One of Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s transition team picks to advise on community safety is an author who once penned a book titled ‘The End of Policing.’ Alex Vitale, a Brooklyn College sociology professor, was among those tapped on Monday to help staff Mamdani’s committee on community safety amid the mayoral turnover. ‘I’m excited to announce that I have been asked to join the Mamdani Transition Team to work on community safety issues. A New Era for NYC,’ Vitale posted on X touting the news. The liberal professor is behind the 2017 anti-cop book — that decries ‘broken windows’ and other proactive policies. ‘The problem is not police training, police diversity, or police methods. The problem is the dramatic and unprecedented expansion and intensity of policing in the last 40 years, a fundamental shift in the role of police in society,’ a description of the book reads.” (11/25/25)
“A federal judge in Manhattan is demanding more information from the Justice Department as he weighs its request to unseal records from the sex trafficking case against Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime confidante Ghislaine Maxwell. Judge Paul A. Engelmayer on Tuesday ordered the Justice Department to tell him what materials it plans to publicly release that were subject to secrecy orders in the British socialite’s case. The deadline: Noon on Wednesday. Engelmayer’s order came after the Justice Department on Monday asked for his permission to release grand jury records, exhibits and discovery materials in the Maxwell case. Engelmayer said government lawyers must file a letter on the case docket describing materials it wants to release ‘in sufficient detail to meaningfully inform victims’ what it plans to make public.” (11/25/25)
“The brain goes through five distinct phases in life, with key turning points at ages nine, 32, 66 and 83, scientists have revealed. Around 4,000 people up to the age of 90 had scans to reveal the connections between their brain cells. Researchers at the University of Cambridge showed that the brain stays in the adolescent phase until our early thirties when we ‘peak’. They say the results could help us understand why the risk of mental health disorders and dementia varies through life. The brain is constantly changing in response to new knowledge and experience – but the research shows this is not one smooth pattern from birth to death. Instead, these are the five brain phases: Childhood (from birth to age nine); Adolescence (nine to 32); Adulthood (32 to 66); Early ageing (66 to 83); Late ageing (83 onwards).” (11/25/25)
“Venezuela has told international airlines to resume flights to the country within 48 hours or risk being stripped of their clearance to fly there altogether. Several airlines suspended their flights to Venezuela after the US aviation regulator warned on Friday of ‘heightened military activity’ in the area. The warning came as the US ramped up pressure on the Venezuelan government, sending the world’s largest aircraft carrier to the southern Caribbean as part of a larger military build-up. The International Air Transport Association (Iata) has warned Venezuela’s aviation authority that rescinding airlines’ clearance would only isolate the country further. Venezuela’s aviation authority (Inac), which reports to the country’s ministry of transport, issued the ultimatum on Monday.” (11/25/25)
“Sen. Jim Justice (R-W.Va.) on Monday agreed to pay more than $5 million in back taxes to settle a Department of Justice lawsuit stemming from nearly two decades ago. The Justice Department filed suit against Justice early on Monday, saying that the West Virginia Republican has ‘“neglected or refused to make full payment’ of $5.16 million in debt that he and his wife owed [sic] in 2009. It was filed in the Southern District of West Virginia and at the request of the IRS. Later in the day, a separate filing showed that Justice and his wife agreed to pay back [sic] the total in full. … The IRS filed tax liens against the Justices last month to the tune of more than $8 million, also dating back to 2009. The West Virginia lawmaker indicated to reporters last month that he believed the IRS’s claims against him were politically motivated.” (11/25/25)
“President Donald Trump is directing the federal government to combine efforts with tech companies and universities to convert government data into scientific discoveries, acting on his push to make artificial intelligence the engine of the nation’s economic future. Trump unveiled the ‘Genesis Mission’ as part of an executive order he signed Monday that directs the Department of Energy and national labs to build a digital platform to concentrate the nation’s scientific data in one place. It solicits private sector and university partners to use their AI capability to help the government solve engineering, energy and national security problems, including streamlining the nation’s electric grid, according to White House officials who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to describe the order before it was signed. Officials made no specific mention of seeking medical advances as part of the project.” (11/24/25)
