Shrinking

Electric vehicle sales are dropping sharply, raising questions about whether the technology could shrink into a niche market. ABC News reports on the decline and asks if carmakers' heavy bets on electrification are now at risk as buyers pull back.

Commentators are debating the state of science journalism, asking whether the field is dying. The discussion draws a parallel between today's pressures on science reporting and a so-called 'science crash' that hit the profession roughly 40 years ago, when outlets cut dedicated science desks and coverage declined. The comparison raises questions about whether current job losses, shrinking newsroom budgets and changing media habits mark a repeat of that earlier downturn or something new.

More than 40 percent of all bitcoin have not moved from their wallets in over three years, according to figures circulating in German-language crypto discussions. Commenters argue that this long-term holding shrinks the supply available on exchanges, so rising demand from institutions or ETFs meets an increasingly scarce market, which historically has driven sharper price increases.

Spanish low-cost airline Volotea has cancelled more than 10% of its winter flight programme and will shrink its fleet to around thirty aircraft. The company says the cuts are a response to soaring kerosene prices. Travellers in France, where Volotea operates many regional routes, are searching for information on which flights are affected.

Iranian media are assessing the state of nuclear diplomacy following a response from the United States, with coverage describing talks as still alive but facing a narrowing window. Commentators suggest both sides remain engaged, but that room for compromise is shrinking as pressure builds around the negotiations.

A voting error in Berlin's election has been resolved in a way that hands a direct constituency mandate to the AfD instead of the CDU, according to reporting by WELT. As a result, the AfD gains a seat won outright, the Christian Democrats lose out, and the city's Abgeordnetenhouse will be smaller than originally counted. The affair has revived criticism of Berlin's troubled electoral administration, which has faced repeated scandals over ballot mistakes in recent years.

The two International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, adopted in 1966, have reached their 60th anniversary. The UN Human Rights Office is marking the milestone by urging governments to renew the promise the treaties embody: that every person is entitled to justice, dignity and safety. Rights advocates note the anniversaries come amid ongoing conflicts, shrinking civic space and pressure on international institutions, making the covenants' guarantees a renewed subject of debate.

Writer Derek Thompson argues that Americans have stopped hosting each other for dinner, tracing what he calls the death of the American host. The essay, now heavily discussed online, links the decline of home entertaining to rising loneliness, shrinking social ties and the migration of social life to restaurants, screens and paid experiences rather than the dinner table.

A Faith Works column argues that the middle ground of church life is disappearing, with congregations increasingly split between highly committed members and those drifting away entirely. The piece examines how moderate, casually engaged churchgoers are becoming rarer, reshaping parish communities and the religious landscape more broadly.

The Trump administration is moving to tighten immigration controls while simultaneously reducing the size of the federal workforce. The dual push pairs stricter border and visa enforcement with efforts to shrink government staffing, drawing attention from both supporters who see it as fulfilling campaign promises and critics concerned about the impact on services and enforcement capacity.

Mercedes-Benz is extending its severance programme as the Stuttgart carmaker continues cutting costs and restructuring operations. Under the voluntary scheme, employees can leave the company with a compensation package, a key tool in the group's efforts to shrink its workforce without forced layoffs. Details of the extension have been reported by German media, drawing attention amid ongoing job cuts across the German auto industry.

Maebashi, a city in Gunma Prefecture facing rapid population decline, is betting on art as part of a decade-long rebuilding effort to revitalize itself. The approach mirrors efforts by other shrinking Japanese towns trying to reinvent themselves through culture. Observers are asking whether art-led regeneration can genuinely reverse depopulation in regional Japan.

The head of the Preem-owned Vara refinery business said Europe's defence spending is helping sustain a refining sector that would otherwise keep shrinking. Refineries across the continent face weak margins, ageing plants and competition from larger Asian and American facilities, and defence-related fuel demand is providing support amid closures and underinvestment.

Astrophysicist Ethan Siegel tackles a reader question about Hawking radiation: as black holes evaporate, their event horizons shrink, raising the question of whether sufficiently small horizons could expose something other than a singularity at the core. The discussion explores what happens at the end stages of black hole evaporation and what theoretical physics predicts about these objects' final fate.

A Work Matters column in the Times Union asks whether the retail industry has lost sight of the customer. The piece questions whether cost-cutting, automation and shrinking service levels have come at the expense of the shopper experience. The debate over declining customer service in stores continues to resonate with workers and consumers alike.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is preparing to cut more generals and admirals as part of an effort to remake the military's top ranks. The move would reduce the number of senior officers across the armed forces, continuing a push to shrink the Pentagon's leadership structure. The report, from The Washington Post, has drawn attention to questions about how the reductions will affect military readiness and command.

Advisory firm RSM is cautioning that nonprofit fundraising is becoming increasingly concentrated and uneven, with resources flowing unevenly across organizations and causes. The firm recommends that nonprofits plan strategically for this environment rather than assuming broad-based donor support. The warning reflects broader concerns about tightening philanthropic giving and competition for a shrinking pool of major donors.

Personal finance expert Vivian Tu, known online as Your Rich BFF, is warning that a little-noticed tax is quietly taking money from ordinary households. She urges people to recognize the cost and adjust their budgets accordingly. Her message is circulating widely as Americans face ongoing pressure from rising prices and shrinking purchasing power.

The Register reports on a new open source tool that distills Jev, making it possible to run it on local hardware rather than in the cloud. Distillation shrinks a model so it can run on ordinary machines, lowering cost and keeping data private. The piece describes the tool and what it means for developers wanting offline use.

Sami, a leader of an Arab party in Israel, has been forced to withdraw from the upcoming Knesset elections, according to Al Jazeera. The withdrawal further reduces Palestinian and Arab representation in the Israeli vote, a trend the outlet says is continuing ahead of the election. Details of who forced the withdrawal and under what legal or political mechanism were not included in the available reporting.

Qualcomm faces a decline in chip revenue from the iPhone, but the renewal of its licence agreement with Apple provides a financial cushion. The renewed deal helps offset the company's shrinking modem chip business as Apple moves toward producing more components in-house, softening the blow for the US chipmaker.