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  • Fears over sick online club that manipulates boys to torture other children and animals

    The National Crime Agency (NCA) has raised the issue around The Corn with ministers, and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is understood to be concerned.
  • DOGE is flirting with the ‘third rail’ of American politics — errors could delay or disrupt benefits, a former top Social Security official says

    • The Social Security Administration is laying off 12% of its workforce, and the loss of expertise, especially on key systems, could put benefits at risk as DOGE tries to look for fraud, according to a former staffer at the agency. 

    Historically, toying with Social Security benefits has been long seen as a political “third rail,” meaning whoever touches it will get zapped.

    The White House said in a press release it won’t cut Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits, but that doesn’t rule out the chances of a mistake. 

    Amid the Department of Government Efficiency’s cost-cutting endeavor within federal agencies in recent weeks, a former top Social Security Administration staffer is worried about benefit interruptions as the agency loses expertise while DOGE looks for fraud in its systems.

    In February, the SSA released a statement announcing plans to lay off roughly 12% of its 57,000 employees through voluntary resignation and a reduction-in-force plan. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump and world’s richest man Elon Musk, the figurehead for DOGE, have claimed fraud on a massive scale, though experts have said it’s limited. 

    Still, DOGE is looking for evidence and seeks full access to the SSA’s Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW), which houses information about anyone with a Social Security number, including financial and banking information, according to a declaration filed in a lawsuit last week by former senior official Tiffany Flick. 

    She said that SSA typically doesn’t provide full access to all data systems—even to the most skilled and highly trained experts—to protect against inadvertent or unauthorized changes to the system. 

    Flick said DOGE officials lacked interest in understanding SSA’s systems and programs, while disregarding critical processes like providing the “least privileged” access on a need-to-know basis.

    “That combined with a significant loss of expertise as more and more agency personnel leave, have me seriously concerned that SSA programs will continue to function and operate without disruption,” she said.

    Flick said that inadvertent error poses the risk of “benefits payments not being paid out or delays in payments.”

    The SSA information technology programs are made up of complex systems that use old programming languages that require specialized knowledge, she warned, adding that they are easily broken if long-standing procedures aren’t followed.

    “I understand that DOGE associates have been seeking access to the ‘source code’ to SSA systems,” Flick wrote. “If granted, I am not confident that such associates have the requisite understanding of SSA to avoid critical errors that could upend SSA systems.”

    In addition to her concerns regarding benefits, Flick is not convinced DOGE has the proper experience to prevent sensitive information from getting into the hands of bad actors. 

    “In such a chaotic environment, the risk of data leaking into the wrong hands is significant,” she said.

    Andrew Biggs, an American Enterprise Institute senior fellow, told Axios the agency could increase productivity and efficiency, but he doubts DOGE’s ability to do so due to its lack of experience.

    “I just find it hard to accept that you can go in there having been there just a few weeks, and do these far-reaching changes having fully thought out the consequences of them,” he said.

    Biggs says while checks are automated and won’t be disrupted, possible disruptions to customer service bring concerns regarding budget cuts.  

    “It’s kind of a foot race between whether they can improve service before these cuts are impacting service,” Biggs said. 

    The White House, the U.S. DOGE Service, and the SSA did not respond to Fortune’s request for comment.

    This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

  • At least 50 dead after fire at North Macedonian nightclub where over 1,500 people attended a concert

    The fire broke out in the early hours of Sunday at the Pulse club in Kocani, a town 100 kilometres east of the capital Skopje.
  • British ‘mum on the run’ TikToker speaks out from ‘hell on Earth’ Thai prison, reveals the truth about her UK benefits and child abuse claims

    Ellis Matthews, 32, is being held in the Mothers and Children Immigration Detention Centre in Bangkok with her four-year-old son Cairo.
  • Raising my son in Spain has helped me embrace motherhood. I’m now considering having a second child.

    Lara Gibson holding her young child and smiling for the camera
    I love raising my son in Valencia.

    • Shortly after I got pregnant, my husband and I decided we wanted to move from the UK to Spain.
    • Living as a new mom in Valencia has made me fall in love with motherhood like I never expected.
    • I’m now considering having a second child, whereas before, I was on the fence.

    My son was only 6 weeks old when we boarded the plane from London to Valencia, Spain. I had heard plenty of horror stories online about flying with such a young baby, and I was nervous.

    However, the moment we stepped onto the plane, everything felt different. The passengers around us, largely Spanish, greeted my baby with smiles and warm words. No one seemed bothered by our little one.

    Perhaps it was the welcoming, calm environment that made all the difference, but — neither my son nor the other small baby seated near us cried a single tear the entire flight.

    We settled in Valencia at the start of 2025. Since then, I’ve felt a deep sense of community when my husband and I take our baby out. Small things like strangers offering to hold my baby while I drink my coffee or helping me carry the stroller onto the metro have made me feel accepted.

    I wanted to be a parent in Spain

    Lara Gibson in pink dress pushing a pink stroller
    I don’t feel mom guilt about bringing my baby around to public places.

    We decided to move to Spain not long after I found out I was pregnant. I had visited Spain several times, and the family-first atmosphere felt so different from the one I had known in London.

    In London, I felt like the culture was often about children being confined to suburban life, with mothers staying home after work to care for them. In contrast, in Valencia, I’ve noticed that babies are accepted as part of everyday life, accompanying parents to restaurants, public events, and bars.

    I’ve also loved how much the culture here supports both motherhood and individuality. I have felt absolutely no mom guilt or judgment from others when I take my baby out to restaurants late at night or leave my son at home with his dad to meet new girlfriends.

    Being a mother in Spain has eased a lot of my anxiety about parenthood

    Becoming a new mother has been difficult for me, and I’ve often worried about my new identity. How will I socialize? How will I work? How will I make time for myself?

    Living in Spain has made me realize that life doesn’t stop when you become a mother; it transforms into something even richer.

    Soon after we moved here with our baby, I experienced a dramatic shift in my perspective on motherhood. My worries about being judged for bringing a small baby everywhere disappeared. I can’t think of a single negative encounter with my son since moving to Spain.

    Even the stern security guard at our residency card appointment cracked a smile when he saw my baby. And when I was rushing around town in search of baby passport photos the evening before, the photographer kept his shop open extra late and entertained my baby to get the perfect shot.

    Everywhere I go, it feels like people want my baby to be there. I can’t count the number of times older women have stopped me in the street to admire my son, offering smiles, kind words, and a shared appreciation for the preciousness of new life.

    I’m so inspired by motherhood I’m considering a second child

    The medical care here is another source of reassurance. The child-focused healthcare system in Spain offers me peace of mind, knowing that my baby’s well-being is a top priority.

    The therapists and doctors at my son’s health center have been nothing short of incredible. When my son suffered a head injury at 2 months old, affecting his development, we found him an amazing physio and speech and language therapist who have the most infectious enthusiasm and are helping his recovery.

    It’s also made me want to have another baby, knowing that I, and my future child, will be well looked after. Before, I was on the fence about having a second child due to high childcare costs in my home country, and I was worried about losing myself entirely to motherhood.

    However, living in Spain has deepened my love for motherhood in ways I never expected. The combination of a supportive community, a child-friendly culture, and a focus on well-being has made it far easier for me to embrace the joys of parenting.

    It’s made me realize that the path of motherhood doesn’t have to be walked alone, and there’s a whole world out there, ready to help, support, and celebrate with you.

    I’m not planning on leaving Spain anytime soon because it’s such a great place to raise a family.

    Read the original article on Business Insider