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'House Burping' Is Catching On in US

The idea of opening windows regularly for ventilation plays off Germany's 'lüften'

(Newser) - This week's odd viral term: "house burping." All kinds of outlets are writing about the trend, which involves briefly opening the windows of a home for ventilation—even in the dead of winter. As IFL Science explains, this is actually an age-old practice in Germany known as...

TikTok Finalizes Deal to Stay in the US
TikTok Is in the
US to Stay
Jan 23, 2026 12:30 AM CST

TikTok Is in the US to Stay

Social video platform finalizes deal to create American version of the app

(Newser) - TikTok has finalized a deal to create a new American version of the app, avoiding the looming threat of a ban in the US that has been in discussion for years, the AP reports. The social video platform company signed agreements with major investors including Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX...

Snap Avoids First Big Tech Addiction Trial

Company settles suit, leaving Meta, YouTube, TikTok to defend against alleged harms

(Newser) - Snap has avoided the witness stand in the first in a series of trials over alleged social media addiction. The company has struck a deal to resolve a high-stakes lawsuit that claimed its products were intentionally designed to keep teens endlessly engaged, days before the case moved to trial, per...

Why Northeastern Students Are Choosing the SEC

TikTok, Greek life and cheaper tuition lure Northerners south

(Newser) - High school seniors aren't just choosing colleges anymore—they're choosing Instagram locations. Vox reports that as application season winds down, students from the Northeast are increasingly enrolling at large Southern public universities, particularly schools in the Southeastern Conference, drawn by campuses that promise spectacle, community, and a highly...

Sting's Ex-Bandmates Want $10M From Him

Streaming royalties a key issue in battle over 'Every Breath You Take,' which could extend to other hits

(Newser) - A bitter court fight over "Every Breath You Take" is dragging the Police back into the kind of turmoil that marked the song's creation more than 40 years ago. At issue this week in London's High Court is whether Sting's former bandmates, drummer Stewart Copeland and...

Worker at Hilton Hotel Fired After ICE Warning

Gia's post and subsequent firing in Dallas spark boycott calls and threats

(Newser) - A valet worker at a Hilton hotel in Dallas says she lost her job after posting a TikTok video warning that federal immigration agents were staying in the building. The 20-year-old, who identifies herself only as Gia for safety reasons, filmed a short video Wednesday at the Hilton Anatole showing...

There's a New 'Karen' in Town
There's a
New 'Karen'
in Town
Jan 10, 2026 7:30 AM CST

There's a New 'Karen' in Town

Gen Z is using 'Jessica' for another way to explain a certain 'entitled' stereotype

(Newser) - Gen Z appears to have filed "Karen" under "outdated internet slang" and pulled a new name from the complaint counter: "Jessica." The once-ubiquitous Karen meme took off around 2018 on Reddit as shorthand for a certain brand of entitled behavior—think demanding to "speak to...

Influencers, OnlyFans Models Dominate Elite US Artist Visas

Attorneys say follower counts now help prove 'extraordinary' ability to qualify for O-1B visas

(Newser) - The visa once used to keep John Lennon in the United States is now helping TikTok stars and OnlyFans creators stay put, too. Immigration attorneys say applicants for the O-1B visa—meant for foreign nationals with "extraordinary" talent in the arts—are increasingly social media influencers and subscription-based models,...

Disney Grapples With Epcot's 'Drink Around the World' Trend

Veterans of the usually boozy adventure have mixed approaches, while staffers try to wrangle the drunks

(Newser) - At one Florida Disney park, the thrill ride isn't on a track—it's in a glass. At Epcot, the unofficial "Drinking Around the World" challenge—knocking back a beverage in each of the 11 World Showcase countries—has morphed from low-key fan tradition into a social-media sport,...

Teen in Cruise Ship Killing Says He Can't Remember

Texts between his parents show their concern in keeping his name out of the public eye

(Newser) - A 16-year-old boy under investigation in the killing of his 18-year-old stepsister aboard a cruise ship told his mother that he doesn't remember anything about it, according to texts obtained by Fox 35 Orlando .
  • "I was able to talk to him last night for under two minutes briefly
...

TikTok Creator Arrested After Alleged Fatal Livestream Crash

Illinois TikTok personality charged with reckless homicide after allegedly fatal livestream

(Newser) - A Chicago-area TikTok personality who allegedly struck and killed a pedestrian while livestreaming behind the wheel is now facing felony charges, the Guardian reports. Police in Zion, Illinois, on Tuesday arrested 43-year-old Tynesha McCarty-Wroten, known online as "Tea Tyme," in connection with the Nov. 3 death of 59-year-old...

Woman in Coldplay Kiss Cam Breaks Her Silence

Ex-Astronomer HR exec Kristin Cabot recounts fallout, abuse from '#coldplaygate' to NYT

(Newser) - The woman briefly at the center of "#coldplaygate" says the internet punishment never really ended, even after the memes moved on. In her first in-depth interview, 53-year-old HR exec Kristin Cabot tells the New York Times how a few seconds on a stadium jumbotron with her boss at a...

Harvard Probes Students Over Viral Videos of Larry Summers

Students face potential discipline over unauthorized filming tied to Epstein comments

(Newser) - Harvard is quietly scrutinizing two seniors who helped thrust Larry Summers' ties to Jeffrey Epstein back into the spotlight. Sources tell the New York Times that the university has opened a confidential disciplinary investigation into students Rosie P. Couture and Lola DeAscentiis after they posted TikTok videos of Summers addressing...

World Watches as Australia Boots Kids Off Social Media

Rahm Emanuel wants the US to follow suit

(Newser) - Tuesday's the day many Australian youth have been dreading. The country's unprecedented social media ban for under-16s goes into effect, with more than 1 million accounts set to be deactivated, per NBC News . The ban, the first of its kind, is an experiment of sorts, closely watched by...

African Grays Are Tiktok Stars, but There's a Dark Side

Rolling Stone looks at the thriving black market that is endangering the parrots

(Newser) - African gray parrots are all over the place on TikTok, and no wonder. As Rene Ebersol writes at Rolling Stone , they "have the intelligence of young children and are renowned for their freakish ability to mimic human speech"—hence all those popular videos of the birds doing just...

Dermatologists Give Side-Eye to New Scalp Craze

Luxury head spas, social media are driving the trend in pursuit of healthier hair

(Newser) - A rising beauty trend has Americans massaging their scalps and flocking to high-end head spas—sometimes for hundreds of dollars a session—all in pursuit of healthier hair, even if dermatologists aren't convinced most people need the help, per the New York Times . The scalp has emerged as the...

Aussie Under-16s Really Not Happy With Social Media Ban

Two 15-year-olds are taking their right to TikTok, etc., to the nation's highest court

(Newser) - Australia's social media ban for anyone under 16 is facing a high-profile legal challenge from two teenagers, who say the measure tramples their constitutional rights to free communication. The law, which takes effect Dec. 10, requires platforms like Facebook , TikTok, and YouTube to block accounts for anyone under the...

Prime Minister Busted for Doing '6-7' With Kids

School visit goes viral as Keir Starmer joins in on kids' banned dance

(Newser) - UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer found himself on the wrong side of school rules this week after leading a class of primary students in the now-infamous "6-7" meme during a visit to Welland Academy in Peterborough. Starmer, accompanied by Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, was at the school to talk...

Stranded Driver to Helper: 'Are You Justin Bieber?'

Singer greets surprised roadside stranger in viral TikTok

(Newser) - Justin Bieber is earning accolades online after a viral TikTok video showed the pop star unexpectedly stopping to help a stranded motorist. The video, posted by a man who goes by "Buku," captures his surprise as Bieber pulls over in a Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUV to offer assistance, per...

Meta Tells Aussie Kids to Get Their Stuff Before They're Banned

Those under the age of 16 are told to start downloading files before Dec. 10 social media ban

(Newser) - Technology giant Meta on Thursday began sending thousands of young Australians a two-week warning to downland their digital histories and delete their accounts from Facebook, Instagram, and Threads before a world-first social media ban on accounts of children younger than 16 takes effect. The Australian government recently announced that the...

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